by Scott Rhine
“What’s the governor’s mansion like? Photos never made it back to Luna.”
He described the grounds as he remembered and gave a rough count of rooms. Borrowing her pad, he sketched the layout of the stables and the flower gardens. She seemed entranced by the description of the horses. He shared a copy of the books Reuben had completed, including the one by his grandfather.
After her drink was empty, he refilled it for the governor’s wife.
She stared down at the simple gesture. “You’re not what I expected. You’re far too kind for her.”
Max sensed his opening. “That’s what I came to discuss. I want to propose to Lisa, and I wanted to purchase one of your stones.”
“Out of the question.”
“Ma’am, it can be any stone in your collection, no matter how small. I’ll pay registered credit. If this is about my affiliation with Reuben Black Ram and Doma Isolchar—”
“You misunderstand. You are one of the few people on this miserable world we’re sentenced to that I could consider a friend. It’s precisely for that reason that I cannot condone any union with that unconscionable woman. You’re too good for her,” Helena decreed.
“She’s been very kind to me, ma’am.”
“Hmph! Did she tell you who brokered the deal with the shipyards that brought my family low, or how she knew who to bribe in the transportation bureau?”
“No, ma’am.”
“She neglects to tell her men the details until it’s too late. I wish to be alone now.” At her gesture, the bodyguard moved in. “I’m sorry your friend didn’t survive.”
“Reuben’s dead?” Max hadn’t visited his assistant in weeks. What kind of friend and protector am I?
The bodyguard shook his head. “No, sir. The Phib.”
“Nobody called me,” Max said.
“He bled out,” the bodyguard said. “Nothing anyone could have done.”
I didn’t warn them about the anti-clotting side effects. Did he trip and hit his head? “Has anyone performed an autopsy?”
“No need. The other doctor signed the paperwork. We left the heavy bugger in the loading bay.”
“For burial on the planet?”
“Nah. We’re going to space him when we enter the Eden star system.” The bodyguard wanted to continue the chat, but Helena expressed her disapproval. Max had to leave.
All Max had to do was keep his mouth shut, and Reuben got away with murder. Guilt gnawed at him, so he grabbed his bag. He used Hans’ access key to enter the cargo bay. No guards remained, and Max had easy access to the piano-box coffin.
The body wasn’t pretty. All the joints showed evidence of internal bleeding, as did the rope burns on his legs. His stomach was full of koi and drugs. Someone had beaten and tortured Isolchar for days, sustaining the high with more fish. Damn the governor.
Max took photos, closed the coffin, and went to find Reuben.
The Goat had rigged a hammock in the growing void in the storage closet. “You missed her. Your lady just finished her inventory.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around,” Max began.
“Why don’t you just put this speech on a recording? It’ll be easier for both of us.” Reuben hopped off his hammock.
“We have a problem.”
“Oh,” Reuben said theatrically. “Now it’s we?”
“The governor’s thugs tortured Isolchar to death.”
“And?”
Max sighed. “We know the truth. There’s nothing to stop them from spacing us, too.”
“Actually, there is. One, you left digital footprints behind in Jotunheim. The Turtles will be expecting us. Two, the governor’s wife called while Troutwine was in here, and she wants to plan your hero’s welcome ceremony at the capital. Three, even a shark like the Trout wouldn’t kill her lover.”
“Why do you refer to her that way? It’s rude. Mrs. Claremont called her the same thing.”
“Her men call her that because she’s a cold freaking fish who makes Sageworthy look warm and fuzzy.” When Max failed to catch on, Reuben explained, “She’s the head of Union Intelligence for this area of Human space.”
“No.”
“Come on, they don’t hand out colonel’s bars for nice tits.”
The tiles fell into place in Max’s mind, the things he had been overlooking for too long. Her college was a prime recruiting ground for the intel community. She was smart, knew the latest ciphers, and had access to classified documents. The guard had sent her into the ship first to do a risk assessment. She had held Isolchar’s leash at Jotunheim Station. Of course she was a spook, and she had been milking him for information the whole trip. His next words came out like a eulogy. “Can I stay here for a while and think?”
“Yeah, buddy. Whatever you need,” Reuben replied.
****
Lisa was waiting for Max when he returned to his room three hours later. “What’s wrong, babe? Why did you need your medical bag?”
“Autopsy on Isolchar,” Max said, tossing the bag in his closet with more force than necessary. Jeeves shuddered.
“He was old and dirty. You’ve killed a hundred who did less wrong than that fat bureaucrat.” The lack of denial or trace of regret in her voice eliminated any possibility of a misunderstanding.
He spun to face her. “Did he really have a message of peace for the survivor?”
“Yes, but it’s not one that Humans want the Turtles to have. It’s better for everyone if you just let this one lie. I’m not even telling my superiors until I see them again in person. Some things you can’t trust to the ansible.”
Ignoring the cryptic statement, he asked, “So you’re going back to Luna, your career restored?”
“Thanks to you, I’ll have a promotion. Make no mistake, I am grateful. I’d like you to come with me.”
“Was all this an act to turn me?”
She gazed at him for a moment. “You do need to come in out of the cold, if not with me, then someone else from Union Intel. Otherwise one of your enemies will kill you. You’re a valuable asset who deserves to be protected.”
No mention of love. Shrapnel had hurt less when it had ripped through his chest. Unable to breathe, he looked down at her feet.
She detected his mood swing and raised his chin. “Hey. I didn’t turn you in at Jotunheim. You were technically a foreign operative. I could have traded you right then for my old career back. I respect you too much for that. Good Lord, your kills are so clean we only gave you credit for a tenth of what you’ve told me about.” She had genuine admiration in her eyes … for his wet work.
Is that what turned her on all those times? Is that why she wants me by her side?
Max wanted to vomit, but he hadn’t eaten today. Lisa’s beauty had been an illusion as well, lacking a soul or heart. “Please leave.”
She stroked his beard, making him want to cringe. “When you change your mind, you know my personal link address. Use your old code name, Medusa. If you need anything, and I do mean anything, I’ll move the cosmos to make it happen. I owe you more than you know.”
****
Every time Max brushed against his beard to think, he was reminded of her. The first thing he did was shave it off. Unsatisfied, he paced the stateroom. Everything he owned smelled of her. Max gathered up all his sheets and clothes, and stampeded to the laundry.
While Max stared at the appliance door, Reuben wandered into the utility room. “How do these things work: water, sonics, nano, or electrostatics?”
“No idea. No separate drier or settings. I just push the button, and they come out clean.” I wish I could do the same with my memory … or my hands.
“You put her full drawers and hangars out in the hall. Subtle. So the cohabitation is at an end?”
“Maybe you should hang out in my room until I get smarter.”
“I figured you did all this as an object lesson to me. Why I should swear off ewes.”
“Imagine how many people someone like her w
ould kill if she were smart enough to get away with it—us and the governor’s wife included.”
Reuben nodded. “Yes, teacher.” After pondering for a moment, he said, “Sorry you won’t get to see her naked anymore, even if she is evil. Because I peeked once, and oh-ho-ho-ho.”
“Not helping.”
Reuben switched to English. “I analyzed the metal pellets.” He listed five primary components, including tellurium.
“That last material isn’t normally in ship hulls. That means the cargo is most likely from an automated mine near the hubward gap. We need to get the coordinates to Gina for other reasons, but I’m curious why the place is such a big secret to the Blue Claw Clan.”
“You knew all along?” the kid complained.
Max handed Reuben the Phib’s computer pad. “Assignments are about stretching your skills. Here’s your next job: find a eulogy in there somewhere.”
Reuben read to him out of the poetry collected from several races. The poem Isolchar accessed most was the one about the colossal wreck a former ruler had become. Maybe, in the end, he had been sincere. The one honest being on this ship had been a murdering, gluttonous Phib. Now that message of peace would never be heard.
Chapter 18 – Faux Pas
Lisa moved out while Max was doing laundry. The governor’s entire retinue was frosty toward Max afterward. When he saw her in the hall, he turned the other direction, even if it meant traveling around the entire ship to do so.
The next evening, Max found himself lying on the floor next to Jeeves’ food dish as the creature ate. “You never trusted her, did you, boy?” Though it seemed just as likely that the mimic was psi active and could sense approaching predators.
Jeeves was particularly fond of bread crust, so Max trimmed his toast at every meal in order to make more. When he reached out his hand to pet the mimic, Jeeves stopped eating and turned the color of the carpet. “Right. We keep this relationship purely platonic. The moment things get physical, everything goes to hell.”
He backed off, and the creature resumed its meal. Max had maps of Eden strewn over his bed, along with search routes and names of contacts for each region. However, he couldn’t concentrate on his upcoming mission. Instead, he leapt up and announced, “I need to see Gina.”
Jeeves instinctively hopped back up on the top shelf, scattering the leftovers.
Max shook his finger. “Good point. The Trout knows about my hiding place. I have to find another one.” Only three of the four holes still had screws in them. Crap! Too late. He unscrewed all of the fasteners as fast as possible, prying his hiding cubby open.
The cube was still there.
He held it to his chest protectively. For the foreseeable future, he would keep it on his person. Lisa probably knew all his hiding places. Was she watching him on hidden cameras like he did the Saurians?
Max tried to link to the captain to request that Gina be awakened. His call was blocked for some reason. This was too important for petty power plays. He decided to visit the captain’s dining room. The elevator allowed him access.
When the doors opened, the entire governor’s staff was seated around a long table, including Lisa in a sleeveless, cream evening dress. He caught himself staring when Zrulkesh asked, “Can I help you, Dr. Culp?”
“I wanted your permission to see your masseuse.”
“I’m sorry,” Helena Claremont said with a giggle in perfect Banker, “but I can’t imagine a Saurian woman rolfing you. My husband’s been twice and says she’s quite rough. If it weren’t for his sciatica, he’d never go back.”
The thought of Claremont going anywhere near Gina steamed him more than what the captain had done to her. He couldn’t trust himself to speak.
Zrulkesh said, “The good doctor is her most regular customer. He can’t get enough. Minder, do wake the girl.”
Mrs. Claremont wouldn’t let the topic rest. “What does she look like? Pink scales and eye shadow?”
Feeling perverse, Max whipped the cube out and hit play. Gina appeared in all her glory in the center of the table. Men dropped their silverware. Mrs. Claremont covered her face with a napkin.
Lisa stood, lips pressed together. “You were sleeping with this slut when we were together?”
“She’s not a slut! They make her do it for money to breathe.” Not what I meant to say. “Nothing happened.”
“For a solid week?” Zrulkesh teased. “Even I don’t believe that, friend. He didn’t even come out for food. She refused to see other crew members.”
His mouth worked but no sounds emerged.
Livid, Lisa turned to the captain. “Want to know where your precious escaped mimic is?”
“Please, no. Don’t lash out.” Max ran over to her side, placing a hand on her arm. Using his velocity against him, she flipped him into the wall before he knew what was happening. His cheek hurt. That’s going to bruise.
“Look in his closet. He feeds it bread crumbs and forces it to do housework.”
Max forced a smile. “Now you’re just talking crazy.”
The captain stepped into the elevator. He ordered the Saurian servant, “Make sure they stay here.”
Mrs. Claremont scooped ice into a napkin and offered it to Max. She continued in Banker, possibly to keep the Human bodyguards in the dark. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Tell me more about this masseuse.” Even Lisa seemed to be listening for the answer.
“She’s actually a Magi neutral. I’m treating her because she lost both her triad partners.”
“Isn’t that fatal?” asked Helena.
“She’s been getting weaker. The last time I visited her, I told her I was planning to marry … Lisa.” Max paused, glancing around the room.
“Bullshit!” Lisa snapped, still full of righteous indignation.
“Actually, he tried to buy the diamond from me. I refused,” said Helena.
One of the guards nodded support. “That’s how it happened, boss. The day you broke up.”
“Why?” Lisa asked, the wind knocked out of her sails.
Helena buttered a roll. “Because he deserves better.”
Gritting her teeth, Lisa clarified, “Why tell the Magi?”
Max looked at the floor. “She can live if she attaches to another couple, even a Human one.”
“So that’s why you went after me, to be a life-support system for another woman?”
“A neutral,” the governor stressed, making sure his wife caught the implied lack of sexuality.
“No. I fell for you when I knew it was wrong,” Max said.
Lisa held the icepack on the side of his face. “You asked for it.”
Unsure of what she was referring to, he agreed.
A few minutes later, the captain returned, miffed. “You waste my time, woman. There was no trace of the beast.”
Max held a poker face. Jeeves 2, Captain 0. “I told you. She never saw it.”
Zrulkesh waddled up to Lisa, “There are penalties for lying on my vessel.”
The governor started to object, but Helena waved her hand. “I saw the mimic. He hid at the base of a bird’s nest for the first week.”
“Where is it now?” Zrulkesh said, swiveling his muzzle her way.
Max interceded with the simplest lie. “She told Isolchar, and he ate it.”
“I knew it!” said the captain. “He was always sneaking food that didn’t belong to him.”
The guards of both races relaxed visibly.
Turning back to Lisa, Zrulkesh asked, “Then why try to get the doctor killed?”
The Saurian servant interrupted before anyone else could concoct a lie. “He tried to offer her secondhand stones from another woman’s trove.” Saurian women still built nests for their young, if only symbolically.
Zrulkesh shook his head. “Friend Max, you are a skilled killer and doctor, but your mating skills are nonexistent.”
Lisa whispered, “They weren’t that bad.”
The captain gestured to her midsection. �
��As often as he squeezed you, and you’re still not with child? Shameful.”
She had the grace to blush.
Max bowed out toward the elevator. “I should be seeing to my patient.”
When he arrived in the core, Gina was waiting for him. Call her Echo for everyone’s sake. Max said, “I came to apologize. I should have treated you like a patient from the beginning.”
She held up both hands. “We uplift one another.”
“Um … I won’t be getting married. We were after different things. I couldn’t trust her after all.” Max let his head droop.
“It is better that you find this now, before you consummated.”
“Yeah,” he agreed nervously. “About Jeeves. I can sit beside him, but not touch him. He hides from everyone else. I think he can use tools.”
“Like a stick to eat ants?”
“More like screwdrivers and toilets.”
Echo smiled. “Advanced for one so young.”
“What?”
“I explained. He would be the equivalent of a toddler. Continue to monitor him. Try to find out his planet of origin. It may become important.”
“Right.” Max plunked down on the sofa. “The breakup with Lisa was a little traumatic.”
“You were distracted at sparring again.”
He touched the bruise on his cheek. “Something like that. Is there any magic mind thingy you can do to make me forget about the last month?”
“No.”
“Figured.” Max closed his eyes. “This might be the last time I’ll ever get to see you. I want you to know that I’ll die to free you if I can, but I don’t think I could kill another person, not even a bad one.”
She curled up beside him. “I know. That’s why I like you so much.”
“I’m supposed to be rescuing you.”
“No. I’m supposed to be mentoring you into a higher level of sentience.” Her people still took smoothing out Human flaws as a sacred duty. Their interactions with Human explorers were filled with parables and Zen questions.
Max nodded. “Why does the lesson have to hurt so frilling much?”