Rainscape

by Jaye Roycraft

  Dina felt totally drained. She wanted nothing more than to sleep for hours but knew she couldn’t put off the meeting with Jon. First things first, though. She stopped at the AEA Center and handed over to the chief technician the knife and samples she had collected personally, with instructions to give the results only to her. At the Visitor Center, she took a shower, put on a fresh outfit, then knocked softly at Jon’s door.

  “Come in.”

  Dina took a deep breath and, as Rayn had instructed, tried her best to relax. She opened the door and stepped into Jon’s room, noticing, as always, his appearance. Jon’s T-shirt was wrinkled, and strands of his light brown hair drooped along either side of his face. His usual easygoing, companionable expression was gone, replaced by a look of stern concern. He sat with his injured leg supported and a tall glass in his hand.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  There was a flatness in his voice Dina had never heard before.

  “Yes, just tired. How’s your leg?”

  “I’ll live. If you want anything to drink, help yourself.”

  Dina’s mouth felt like she had swallowed a mouthful of the Albho, so she poured herself a glass of ice water before sitting down opposite Jon.

  “How’s the situation at the Dailjan camp?” he asked.

  “DeStar regained consciousness. I think he’ll be all right. No one else was affected by the poison attempt.”

  Dina waited for the thunderclap she feared would come, but Jon’s voice stayed level.

  “Dina. Why were you there all day?”

  “Jon, DeStar is the key to our entire investigation. He knows who the killer is, and the killer, in turn, knows that. It’s the reason the attempt was made on DeStar’s life. It was critical I try everything in my power to help save his life.”

  “What evidence do you have of any of this? Has DeStar disclosed the killer’s identity?”

  “No, not yet.”

  Jon twirled the tumbler on top of the table, skating the bottom on the circle of condensation that had formed under the cold glass. “Has he promised he will?”

  “He’ll help me. I’m sure of it.”

  Jon raised cool green eyes to hers. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Dina concentrated on her breathing. Jon’s questions were exasperating, though not unexpected. “No, he hasn’t promised me anything. He only regained consciousness shortly before I had to leave. There wasn’t time.”

  Jon paused, even holding the glass still. “’No time.’ Dina, when someone is attacked, isn’t the first question you were taught to ask is ‘who did it?’”

  “Jon, the situation is more complicated than that.”

  He expelled a deep breath, leaned his head back, and stared at the ceiling. After long heartbeats of silence, his head bobbed forward again, and he sent the glass spinning.

  “No doubt. Dina, here it is. You’ve had four days to meet with DeStar, and you’ve made just as many trips into the desert. Trips alone, which I never should have allowed you to make in the first place. For all that time spent, you have absolutely no information to give me regarding the killer’s identity, whereabouts, or motives. And by your own admission, you don’t even have a promise by this man to tell you these things.”

  “I’ve probed his mind. He’ll cooperate. I just need more time.”

  She could feel the frustrated restlessness in Jon and knew that if his leg wasn’t hurting him, he’d be pacing back and forth across the small room. Instead, Jon closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “Dina, I wish you could hear yourself. Ever since you met this man, all your good sense and training seem to have eluded you. You’ve put yourself at risk and have nothing to show for it. And now this so-called poisoning. Do you have any real reason to believe the killer is the same person who poisoned DeStar? There could very well be some members, or ex-members, of his band that bear a grudge against him. Do you have proof that DeStar was even the intended victim?”

  Dina had no answers to any of these questions. In fact, she had asked herself many of the same questions. What could she say?

  Jon nodded. “I thought so. Is DeStar a dark outworlder?”

  It was the one question that Dina had been expecting. She met his eyes and did not hesitate. “I don’t know what he is. All I know is that he’s the key to everything. I don’t know what to say to you to convince you of that.”

  “Some information and evidence would go a long way in convincing me. I need more than just your gut instinct, and I certainly need a hell of a lot more than DeStar’s hunches.”

  Dina couldn’t believe she had heard that. Not from Jon. Not from the one person who had trusted her. The companionable closeness she had always had with Jon seemed light years away, and the ease she usually felt with him was gone, replaced by a sudden tightness in her chest and an invisible fist that squeezed her by the throat.

  She fought back with her own anger. “Just when did my instincts stop being an asset to you? When they don’t agree with yours? Or is there more to it than that?”

  “Your instincts cease to be an asset when you allow yourself to be influenced by the people we’re investigating, that’s when.” The last two words were fairly spat out, and absolute quiet followed their utterance, as if both parties realized that tired tempers were taking control of the discussion.

  Jon paused, and Dina watched as he closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and ran his hand through his tousled hair. She knew he had allowed her every benefit of the doubt and more latitude than he would have allowed another junior officer. But she also knew that his patience was at an end and that she was not likely to win this battle. Every line in his face told her that he had had enough. She listened to the long sigh that accompanied the fix of his baleful stare on her.

  “Dina, listen to me. This is the bottom line. You will make no more trips alone into the desert. If DeStar is to be questioned further, we will do it together. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “I hope so, because this is not a suggestion, it’s an order. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes, sir. I understand.”

  “Good. Now go get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow morning. Meeting at the ninth hour, mark zero, okay?”

  Dina could only nod, relieved that the ordeal of this meeting was over. Back in her room, she, like Rayn, fell immediately into a chasm of deep sleep.

  RAYN WOKE EARLY the next morning and was relieved to feel that some of his strength had returned, but he was even more thankful that his mind felt clear and strong. The first order of business was arranging for the safety of his elite—Alee, Gaard, Kindyll, Trai, and Raethe.

  They would be moved to a new location immediately. The other Dailjan would be moved later, to a secondary location. Rayn already had several caverns in mind that had been discovered long ago and stocked with basic supplies. It was something he did on a regular basis, the scouting and provisioning of new caverns, and Rayn knew almost every rock comprising the Chayne and Wiara. He issued orders to everyone to begin packing necessities immediately. The elite would be moved that night under cover of darkness.

  DINA ALSO AWOKE early the following morning, feeling more tired and irritable than she had since landing on Exodus. She decided to call Rayn early, before her morning meeting with Jon. She sighed, not knowing what bothered her more, that she had lied to Jon, or that she was worried about a dens.

  Jon. She had not only argued with her partner, she had intentionally lied to him. It was something she never thought she would do, but when he had asked if DeStar was a dark outworlder, she hadn’t wavered. She would not betray Rayn to Jon or any other officer. Four days. After only four days she was at odds with the best friend and partner she had ever had and aligned instead with a dens, a creature she thought to hate more than anything in the uni
verse. The hate she had hosted for so many years . . . where had it gone?

  Rayn.

  I’m here.

  How do you feel?

  Weak, but stronger every hour.

  I’m glad. What I feared, has happened. Jon has forbidden me to go into the desert to meet with you again.

  It’s just as well. It isn’t safe here. I’m moving my people out of Sanctuary.

  Rayn, I need to see you. Not right now, of course, but . . . soon.

  I understand. It will be soon, I promise.

  Rayn . . . She didn’t want to let him go yet, but didn’t really know what to say to him. She had always been so self-sufficient. This strange need was new territory and a little frightening.

  Dina. She shuddered as she felt him caress her cheek. Dina, you’ll get through this. I’ll be as close to you as that. Until later.

  She opened her eyes and was shaking. How could he have done that? He was decbars away, and yet she swore she had felt his fingers on her skin, warm and gentle. It had been real. But how?

  She spent a few more minutes clearing her mind. She would see Jon soon and knew she would need her concentration for whatever interviews or research he had in mind for the day.

  He was cordial enough at their meeting, yet Dina still felt that she had lost a good measure of his trust and respect. Jon was convinced that the motive for the murders involved either the mines themselves or Mother Lode Mining Consolidated. Just before his accident he had been at the mines for the complete tour he had missed the day Dina was attacked. He had interviewed both the miners and administrative Mother Lode personnel at length.

  Jon’s new assignment for Dina was to meet with Mother Lode’s resident lawyer and review all the legal contracts in place between the company and the Synergy. Though some of her colleagues may have felt it to be a boring assignment, Dina was actually glad for it.

  She thought it was a good idea, first of all, and second, it would give her an opportunity to put some of her schooling into practice. She’d taken several courses in interplanetary law and one in legal contracts. The mining rights on Exodus were a highly sought after prize, and there was a lot of money at stake. Finding a legal loophole could very well explain the motive for the killings.

  Dina met with Mother Lode’s senior on-planet attorney, Faitaz Chukar, high inside the impressive Mother Lode structure. A light probe at the beginning of their meeting revealed the contempt she was so familiar with, but rather than let herself be upset by it, Dina decided to turn it to her advantage.

  She tilted her head to the side and knotted her brows. “Mr. Chukar, could you help me, please? I’m not familiar with some of this terminology.”

  The man smiled, the broad curve of his mouth against his pale skin in perfect harmony with the exquisite waves in his ash blond hair. “Of course, Miss Marlijn. I understand how difficult legal documents are for a lay person.”

  Dina smiled her thanks broadly in return. She thusly viewed file after file, asking numerous questions which Chukar seemed only too happy to answer. While she discovered some very interesting facts, she was disappointed to learn nothing ground-shattering in importance.

  On her way out of the building, she ran into Rum Ctararzin, Mother’s Operations Manager.

  “Agent Marlijn! How nice to see you. You’re making progress on the investigation, I hope?”

  “Yes, sir, we are. I’m sure you understand that I can’t discuss any of the details of that progress with you at this time,” Dina replied with a pleasant smile.

  “I see.” His dark eyes said otherwise. “I hope you found my colleagues here to be helpful.”

  “Yes, Mr. Ctararzin. Very helpful, thank you.”

  Ctararzin dipped his head to her, and her smile broadened as she took a perverse pleasure in the man’s condescending acknowledgment.

  Dina left the Mother Lode building and made her way back to the Visitor Center, where she had dinner with Jon and gave him a report on her findings.

  “The contracts are very complicated, and there are a good number of them. Quite a few were changed when Exodus changed administrations. I haven’t looked at any of the old contracts yet. I’ll try to view them tomorrow. Anyway, everyone understands the basics. The Synergy has territorial rights over Exodus. This includes all on-planet resources as well as the planet’s value positionally in the system. The one valuable resource so far discovered, of course, is the exodite.”

  She paused and took a sip of hot mocava. “Mother Lode Mining won the mining rights by virtue of submitting the highest bid. But they run a very efficient operation, so even with the amount they pay the Synergy, Mother still turns a tidy profit. Where it starts to get complicated are the conditions under which either Mother Lode or the Synergy can legally break the contracts. If Mother Lode can prove gross negligence on the part of the local administration directly affecting mining operations, Mother can break the contracts. The suit currently being threatened would fall under this purview.”

  She took another sip of the sweet drink. “The Synergy, in turn, can break the contracts if Mother fails to make their payments or is found guilty of fraud. The previous set of contracts expired earlier this year, and the current set runs for five more years. At the end of the contract period the Synergy has the option to automatically renew the contracts or to accept new bids from other mining companies.”

  “If Mother’s profits are high, why would they intentionally want to break the contracts, especially after just renewing them?” asked Jon.

  “Have we verified Mother’s financial statements for the past few years? Perhaps they’re not really making as much as they contend.”

  “I’ve seen the current numbers, but it would be a good idea to view all the statements, current and past, in detail. When you finish with the contracts, I want you to dig in to their finances.”

  Dina nodded. “There could be a lot of possibilities, depending on Mother Lode’s true state of affairs and that of the mines. We should try to arrange for a current Synergy survey of the mines’ potential.”

  Jon smiled at her, the first he had bestowed on her since before she made yesterday’s trip to Sanctuary. “Another good idea. I’ll follow up on that tomorrow. You did a good job today, Dina. That’s the kind of work I expect from you.”

  Whereas in the past Dina would bask in Jon’s praise, she merely nodded. They ended their evening meeting soon after, and Dina returned to her room. She looked out her window and saw that the dying sun would soon perform its final act before the curtain of merkwia fell. Done with work for the day, she thought again about Rayn.

  RAYN.

  I’m here, Dina.

  Is everything going well?

  So far. How about you?

  Things went better today than I expected. And I appear to be back in Jon’s good graces, at least for the time being.

  Rayn was silent for a moment. This was a woman who was in love with someone else. He couldn’t blame her or himself. He’d known from the start that this was a relationship headed for disaster—had known in his heart it was wrong—yet had allowed it to develop anyway. No, he thought. He hadn’t just allowed it, he had pursued it. Pursued it for reasons she would never understand.

  Rayn?

  I’m glad it went well. I told you it would.

  I suppose you’re busy with your move. I shouldn’t have bothered you. Her Voice faltered, just a little.

  Rayn heard it. Dina. Don’t ever hesitate to call me, ever. Whatever the reason. Or even if there’s no reason. Do you understand that?

  Yes, I understand.

  I doubt you do, yet. Are you off Rzije’s leash for the day?

  He doesn’t have me on a leash. And, yes, I’m done for today.

  Rayn smiled at Dina’s defense of her partner. She was as loyal to Jon as his men were to him
. Go to the Crown two hours from now.

  What for?

  Ever the questioning mind. When are you going to start trusting me?

  I don’t think you’d like me if I didn’t have a questioning mind.

  You’re right. And I don’t think you’d like me if I wasn’t imperious. Go to the rec hall.

  Yes, Rayn.

  Until later.

  For once, his sign-off was devoid of guile or mockery. Dina sighed. He was such a hard man to understand. Well, she thought, perhaps that was part of the attraction. Maybe someone would meet her there with a message. Rayn seemed to have friends all over.

  After resting for an hour, she rose, showered, and dressed. She left a message for Jon on the computer as to her destination, then left at the appointed time. Numerous admiring male glances and two separate offers to escort her wherever she was going came her way as she walked toward the Crown. She politely refused the offers and continued, ignoring the attention directed her way. She entered the rec hall and started for the Oasis, but halfway past the Furnace, she stopped so suddenly the man behind her bumped into her.

  He’s here, she thought, puzzled. He hadn’t called to her, she was sure of it. She opened the door and saw a neon sign on one wall that urged patrons to “Come out of the desert into the Furnace!”

  The room was overflowing with bodies and noise. The constant ebb and flow of the people who were on their feet made it difficult to tell if they were dancing or merely coming or going. Peals of laughter, voices that strained to be heard, and the clinking of glasses skipped off the surface, while the undercurrent of music flowed steadily. The light level was that of a starlit night, and the numerous neon wall sculptures, mostly in the form of flames, pulsed and danced in counterpoint to the undulating bodies on the floor.

  Dina didn’t have to look around. She knew exactly where Rayn was. She wove her way patiently toward the far end of a long, curved bar where men and women were standing or sitting, enjoying drinks and each other’s company.

  Well, you said you wanted to see me.

  She squeezed her way through to him, smiling, forced by the crowd to stand close enough to him to count the links in his neck chain. He was dressed in tight, mahogany-brown pants the same color as his hair and a loose, long-sleeved white shirt. She looked into his eyes and her breath caught.