“And dangerous,” Patrick added. “But you have to admit, he’s good at it.”
Kristof swooped along, then dove at a steep angle into the clouds, where he disappeared into the mists.
“I was better at his age,” she said. “We should make him keep practicing.”
“That won’t be difficult.”
A cargo ship came in with goods they had ordered from the various Roamer clans, then dispatched here to the gas giant Qhardin, where the Kellums had set up their new cloud harvester.
Del Kellum came up to the rooftop, interrupting their quiet moment, as Zhett had known he would. She knew to relish every bit of peace with her husband, but there was also business to be done. “He says he won’t extend our credit, by damn!” said Del. “Who does he think he is?”
“A conservative businessman, probably,” Patrick said.
“Our credit’s been stretched to the breaking point, and it’s been tied and reknotted.” Zhett turned to follow her father. “I’ll have words with him. We need another month before this skymine is producing surplus ekti.”
Del snorted. “The man says with ekti prices so low, it’ll take us five generations to harvest enough fuel to pay off the debts we’ve already incurred!”
“He should go back to Academ and see if Jess and Cesca are still teaching math. Any fool knows that the Confederation’s stockpiles will run out soon enough, now that we’ve stopped harvesting bloaters. Half of the clans had already given up skymining, and now they’ll have to ramp up fast again.” Zhett was starting to feel annoyed. “But we’re ahead of the game. This skymine will be one of the first to bring regular ekti to market.”
Del snorted. “I’m inclined to tell him just to take his cargo and fly somewhere else.”
“Let me talk with him first before you have a tantrum, Dad.”
Patrick made a wry smile. “Well, that’s it, then—how could anyone ever say no to her?”
Del commiserated. “You know my daughter as well as I do. You better go along, too, Patrick—just in case she needs backup.”
Zhett sniffed. “You think I can’t handle it myself?”
Del shrugged. “No, I just wanted your husband to think he was useful.”
After helping to spread the news about the bloaters and Eternity’s Mind, Del had overseen the dismantling of the Kellum ekti-extraction operations out beyond Ikbir, but they had already harvested enough stardrive fuel that Zhett and Patrick sold it at Newstation for a decent price. Then they’d tracked down the surviving members of clan Duquesne.
A few months ago, Aaron Duquesne had come to their distillery on Kuivahr, trying to unload his family’s cloud harvesters; he claimed they wanted to get out of the skymining business. At the time, the Kellums were content running their quiet but modestly successful brewing operations, and Zhett had seen how Iswander Industries was able to produce stardrive fuel far more cheaply than any traditional Roamer operation. Zhett missed their Golgen skymine and had been sorely tempted to make the business deal, but the prospect of competing against Iswander seemed a sure road to bankruptcy.
Not long afterward, though, they had lost the Kuivahr distillery, too, so they were no better off. Circumstances beyond our control. When the family jointly decided to go back into traditional skymining, Del remembered that the mothballed clan Duquesne skymines were still on the market. They had scraped together enough investors and a down payment to purchase the old cloud harvester. Now the Kellums were established again on a new gas planet.
Zhett knew this was where she belonged. The Kellums were meant to do skymining. This was where she felt most at home.
As she and Patrick followed her father down from the upper observation deck, her mind was preoccupied with business concerns. Ready for a debate with the intractable trader, she considered arguments about the increasing price of ekti, the significant investments she had here, the historic reliability of clan Kellum—no, scratch that, she thought. She didn’t want to call attention to how many businesses they had operated and how many disastrous failures they had suffered (through no fault of their own).
When the three finally reached the landing bay, she had all of the salient points lined up in her mind and had worked herself into a mood that would surely win any debate. Then she realized that her father was grinning. “What’s wrong with you, Dad? You’re smiling.”
“Oh, nothing, my sweet. Just glad I managed to hide it this long.” With a grand gesture, he opened the sliding door and they stepped through the personnel access to the wide landing bay.
Shareen and Howard were there waiting for them.
Zhett was taken completely aback. Patrick let out a loud laugh. “You knew all along, Del!”
“Yes I did, by damn. I wanted to see the look on your face.”
Zhett let him enjoy his practical joke while she ran forward to their daughter. “When did you get back?”
“We came through Newstation and hitched a ride aboard the cargo ship.”
Del frowned, seeming embarrassed. “I feel terribly guilty I sent you both to Fireheart Station. I thought it would be a good experience. I thought you’d learn a lot but—what a disaster!”
“A disaster perhaps, sir,” said Howard, “but we certainly learned a lot. As you promised we would.”
“Sounds like there was just as much of a disaster if we had stayed with you on Kuivahr,” Shareen pointed out. “And this way we were the last ones to work with Kotto Okiah.”
“It was a great honor,” Howard said.
Zhett draped her arms over both their shoulders, “You’re back here now in a skymine in the clouds. In my opinion, this is just how it should be.”
Shareen mused. “Howard and I will stay here to make sure your new skymine is up and running properly, but there’s talk of building a new research station at Fireheart to study the supernovas.”
Howard added, “It offers a great many scientific and industrial possibilities. We’d like to participate at the beginning.”
“So, Howard’s staying with you, then?” Patrick asked. “Shouldn’t we take him back to his family?”
“Wait, weren’t they on Earth?” Zhett said with sudden alarm.
Howard shook his head. “They just lived there temporarily for a contract job my mother took. They moved back to New Portugal a week after I first came here with Shareen.”
Shareen said, “We sent a message to them to let them know he’s all right. Howard’s old enough to make his own decisions, and we’ve decided that he’s staying right here with me.” When she took his arm, Howard blushed furiously.
Zhett smiled at the two. “Like I said, just the way everything should be.”
CHAPTER
135
RLINDA KETT
Flying carefully so as not to strain the ship’s frayed systems, Rlinda brought Declan’s Glory to the Rendezvous asteroid cluster. “If Handon Station is open for business,” she transmitted, “then I’ve got some business.”
Xander and Terry were both delighted to see her, and they hurried out to greet the scarred and battered ship in the main bay. Rlinda emerged and swept them into big bear hugs. Terry was wearing contraptions on his legs that let him walk better, even in the low gravity.
Running his gaze over the hull, Xander made a scornful noise. “Not sure how much we can pay you for that salvage, Rlinda … if there’s anything salvageable.”
“Salvage? Not on your life, dear boy. You’re going to make Declan’s Glory even better than new. Spare no expense—I want Declan to be as fancy as the Verne.”
“That’s a tall order,” said Terry.
“And we’re going to do it.” Xander rubbed his palms briskly together. “We’ll take Before and After images to use in our advertising—‘Handon Station can do the impossible!’”
Rlinda just snorted again.
“Save room for us in the bay,” Tasia called as the Voracious Curiosity cruised into the Roamer center only moments later.
Both ships had dropped t
he Fireheart refugees at Newstation. Many—including Rlinda—had to undergo treatment for heavy radiation exposure, but even though the medication caused a constant queasy nausea and (worse) a loss of appetite, it was better than dying from radiation sickness. And far better than being wiped out by bugbots or the Shana Rei.
As Tasia and Robb got settled, Rlinda chose the best available quarters in the main Rendezvous asteroid, since it would be a while before Declan’s Glory was repaired. She took the time to assess the many things she had to do: Her fine restaurants on Relleker and Earth were wiped out, but she still had her favorite of the three, Arbor, on Theroc. She had already made up her mind that it was time for an expedition to Theroc, especially since hearing the news about Prince Reynald’s unexpected treatment from the Onthos.
She had sent Zachary Wisskoff instructions for him to see that Raindrop was properly fed, but before she could leave she had other important business to attend to. The headquarters of Kett Shipping had been destroyed on Earth, but much of her fleet was still intact, having been out on trading runs across the Spiral Arm. Her pilots were good people and her ships in great demand, but she didn’t dare let her ships manage themselves, though—it would be like herding cats. Rlinda liked cats, but one had to be realistic with expectations for their cooperation.
Terry and Xander sent Roamer repair crews to work on the Declan’s Glory, giving her ship priority. Handon Station was already a bustling place, with many salvaged starships and more scrap components than they could use in a decade. Rlinda was sure that very soon this place would be just as vital and profitable as Ulio Station had been. Considering the connections Tasia and Robb already had through their son, Rlinda decided that this was where she wanted to hitch her star.
Later that day, Rlinda made her proposal to Xander and Terry, while Tasia and Robb sat in on the meeting. Since it wouldn’t be a proper meeting without refreshments, she had taken care to make a custard-filled Napoleon and extra-sticky baklava.
She put her elbows on the table. “I want to buy one of these asteroids, set up new Kett Shipping headquarters. It makes sense. Handon Station will be a trade center, a repair yard, and a refueling station, everything my ships could need. I may as well bring business to you.”
Xander laughed. “Terry and I talked about that yesterday. We wholeheartedly agree. By the Guiding Star, this is where Kett Shipping should be.”
Terry said, “But we won’t let you buy one of the asteroids. You’ve earned it. Just set up shop here, claim one of the abandoned complexes, make it your new headquarters.”
“I won’t take advantage of your kindness, dear boy,” she said, tapping a stern finger on the tabletop. “This is Handon Station. You’re in charge. I appreciate the gesture, but I expect to pay for it—at a fair price.”
“We were prepared for that, too.” Terry gestured to OK, who called up numbers on the table’s filmscreen. “After agreeing on a price, we’ll sell the asteroid to you on credit. We expect you to pay us back over time.”
“Yes,” Xander grinned. “Terry and I already decided on terms—take them or leave them.”
Rlinda had never expected these two to be hard negotiators. “And what are the terms?”
“We want you to pay us back at a rate of ten credits per year,” Terry said, “over the next million years or so. That should be sufficient.”
Rlinda blinked. Tasia and Robb both burst out laughing. Rlinda extended a large hand. “Deal.”
“We have a lot of good news to celebrate,” Tasia said.
“Then let’s get on with celebrating,” Rlinda said. “I’ll cook.”
She returned to her private quarters—quarters that she decided would be her permanent ones, to be remodeled and expanded to her specifications. For now, they were cozy and comfortable enough.
She removed the silver capsule of ashes from her pocket, held it between her fingers, and smiled wistfully. She set the capsule on a stand inside one of the rock alcoves in the wall. She still dreamed of a romantic ending someday, having her ashes sent off with his into open space, but for now the capsule would stay right there on the shelf.
“I won’t be needing to move you for a long, long time, BeBob. Get used to staying here.”
CHAPTER
136
ARITA
In their new treeship forms, Celli and Solimar came to Theroc, looking even more intimidating than the verdani battleships that remained as sentries in orbit. Collin led Arita up to the canopy so they could watch the arrival together. “I want to be with you to see this.”
They climbed into the open air and sat among the rustling fronds. Though Arita had prepared herself, she was still astonished when the immense forms drifted down through the blue skies like thistles each the size of a space station.
“Celli and Solimar are inside those?” she whispered.
Collin turned his face to the hazy sky, extending his hand both to point at the trees and to welcome them. “They aren’t in those trees. They are the trees, one and the same. Celli and Solimar are part of the heartwood.”
Arita saw the sheer wonder on his face. “You wouldn’t ever do that, would you?”
He gave the question serious consideration. “No, because then I would have to leave you behind.” Collin continued, “Through telink, I know everything that Celli and Solimar feel, what they’ve experienced, how they’ve grown together with the trees. I’m sorry you can’t sense it in the same way.”
Arita said, “I used to feel disappointed about that, and I still wish I could become a green priest, but I have something else that makes up for it.”
Although Eternity’s Mind had quieted now that the Shana Rei were eradicated, she could still hear those immense thoughts throbbing through the universe, whispering in the back of her mind. She understood that she was touching something incomprehensible, and she was part of it. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I have all the sense of wonder I can handle.”
Many others arrived in the canopy to stare and wave at the new treeships, including the King and Queen. The crowds gathered, representatives from various Confederation planets, Roamer traders who had pulled back from bloater harvesting.
Collin stood up. “We can join the others now. Look, Reynald is stronger than ever.”
Arita’s brother had climbed up to the canopy on his own, although he often leaned on Osira’h’s arm. Oddly, he never seemed to need the help of anyone else, Arita thought with a smile. She and Collin joined them, and they all watched the sentient trees hang in the air.
Queen Estarra had a wistful look on her face. She spoke aloud, as if the treeships could hear—and maybe they could. “Little sister, I remember you catching condorflies and spending your days climbing trees. Now look at you. I hope you’re happy.”
In an eerie unison, ten nearby green priests spoke in harmony. “She is.”
Arita couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud. “Of course she is.”
Collin nodded to her. “And all the green priests are happy for her.”
Reyn still hung on to Osira’h’s arm, though he seemed perfectly steady. Osira’h said, “I miss my mother and my brother and sister.” She heaved a sigh. “Gale’nh and Muree’n are the only two left.”
“You should go home,” Reyn said, “at least for a while. They need you there.”
“I’m waiting for you to get well enough to accompany me.”
“I’ll be well enough to go soon,” he said, “as long as you take care of me.”
“It would be a responsibility I take seriously,” Osira’h said.
Estarra looked concerned, but Peter seemed much more understanding. “I think you’re well enough to represent us to the Mage-Imperator.”
Osira’h smiled. “My father will send an entire Solar Navy septa to escort us home.” Arita could tell that she meant it.
Now that the blight was gone from the Onthos, the surviving Gardeners had gone to the Wild, where they were working with Theron teams to clear the fallen wood from
the dead zone. Meanwhile, green priest acolytes climbed among the healthy worldtrees in the main forest, harvesting seedlings from gaps in the bark scales. Teams of volunteers would replant the entire dead zone with a new grove so the worldforest would thrive again.
She and Collin intended to go there to help, and she would continue her studies of Theron biology as well. That was what she had always wanted to do, and now she would have her chance without other obligations or distractions. Her work had helped find the right cure for her brother.
Overhead, several spacecraft arrived, cargo ships filled with goods to disperse and sell; all the vessels bore the Kett Shipping logo. Arita looked up as the trading ships darted around the enormous verdani treeships. Even though Earth and Relleker were both gone, the rest of the Confederation continued to thrive. The human race would keep growing and spreading.
Eternity’s Mind seemed to be dreaming and content. She could feel it in the back of her thoughts. Arita inhaled deeply of the moist forest air and leaned against Collin. The sun and the stars seemed very bright indeed.
GLOSSARY
ACADEM: Roamer school inside a hollowed-out comet, near the Roamer complex of Newstation. The school is run by Jess Tamblyn and Cesca Peroni.
ADAR: highest military rank in Ildiran Solar Navy.
AELIN: Iswander’s former green priest, with a special connection to the bloaters. Killed at Ulio Station.
ALAKIS, ADAM: researcher on Vaconda, father of Zoe Alakis, died of Heidegger’s Syndrome.
ALAA’KH: one of the misbreeds in the Kuivahr sanctuary dome.
ALAKIS, ZOE: wealthy head of the Pergamus medical research facility.
ALU, BEREN: station chief of Fireheart Station.
ANNIE D: Roamer salvage worker at Relleker.
ARAGAO, OCTAVIO: communications officer aboard the Kutuzov.
ARITA, PRINCESS: daughter of King Peter and Queen Estarra, a budding naturalist.
ATOA: Confederation world, known for hanging kelp-vine gardens.
Eternity's Mind Page 53