by Aaron DeMott
Nilre smiled at her as she stood up and then quickly frowned again, her eyes fixed over Bast’s shoulder. “Trouble.”
“What?” Bast followed Nilre’s gaze.
“Tomed and Senator Kiskia are talking to Jonathan Vincent. This could be bad. Come on.”
“I just don’t understand why Earth is giving such a large investment away,” Vincent said to Tomed and Senator Kiskia. His voice continued to rise in volume with every sentence.
Tomed forced a polite smile and resisted the urge to throttle him.
“Yes,” Senator Kiskia replied in a quieter tone, “It is a large investment, and a lot for UGAL to just ‘give away.’ However, the political benefits are enormous. Due to our different physical needs, the SeQish don’t serve on any UGAL ships and vise versa. Naturally, the SeQish feel inadequate with their part in the Alliance.”
“Well, not to be rude, but they aren’t exactly our equals.” Vincent managed to take a long enough breath to sigh dramatically. “We provide all the technology, all the people... The only things they provide are resources from the oceans of the few habitable planets that we’ve found!”
“Mr. Vincent,” Tomed stepped forward and raised both hands, palms out, “the SeQish have provided more technology than you seem to recall. Most of the OCP’s tech to clean Earth’s oceans comes from the SeQish. In addition, thanks to them, we’re learning about the vast unexplored oceans of our own planet. Without their help, we wouldn’t be able to access the high-quality resources from the oceans of the colony worlds you’ve mentioned. Not to mention their other contributions.”
“I don’t seem to understand your position, John.” Senator Kiskia paused long enough to catch his attention, and continued quickly before he could respond. “You’re the vice president of research at Anaheim Q-tronics. The SeQish involvement with UGAL has brought you all kinds of raw materials to work with. Not to mention a new customer. I don’t understand why you aren’t thrilled with this arrangement.”
Before Vincent could reply to the Senator, Nilre and Bast walked up to the group. Tomed shot her a thankful smile.
“Gentlemen, this conversation is drawing more attention than anyone would like,” Nilre said.
Tomed looked around the room. Most people were still enjoying the party, but a handful of those closest to them started to stare.
“I believe Nilre is right.” Tomed glanced over to a nearby door. “Let’s move to a private location to continue our chat, shall we?”
Tomed stepped forward to stand to the right of Vincent. Senator Kiskia quickly flanked his left, and the two of them herded Vincent out to the patio. Nilre followed closely behind them and shut the door, leaving the three of them alone on the patio.
Senator Kiskia stepped in front of Vincent. “Mr. Vincent, is there anything we can do to allay your concerns?”
Vincent’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes darted between Tomed and the Senator. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “This is not about ‘concerns’, gentlemen. The von Braun is only the third Heim-class ship ever built. Thousands of people are still starving here on Earth, and those ships could take some of them to other planets where they could get and grow more food than they’ve ever seen. Enough food to even ship back here for the people who can’t work. But instead, the Heim is off exploring, the Goddard is putting out fires with the various pirate groups, and now, there goes the von Braun. What’s left to save humanity? And who gets the next ship, those cats?”
Vincent pivoted on his heel and stomped off the patio and across the lawn.
Chapter 5
Jonathan Vincent found himself at his office when he should have been home and asleep. He paced in front of his desk. On the one hand, UGAL didn’t sound like it would change its decision to give the von Braun to the SeQish. On the other hand, his making a scene in the middle of a party wasn’t the best decision he’d ever made. He paused mid-stride. Yet he might be able to achieve his goals if he approached a few key officials in private.
No, that’s what he should have done in the first place. By now, anyone who was in position to aid him had attended the party and would have already talked to Senator Kiskia. If it were any other senator, he might have had a chance, but Kiskia was well liked by Earth Government and UGAL officials.
Considering the circumstances, it was time to go to Plan B—despite how much he disliked it. He sighed and frowned before he ran through his options once more. He straightened his tie, walked around the corner of his desk, and pressed the button to activate the computer terminal. A few keystrokes deleted all operations conducted at the terminal.
He then left his office and went down to the main lobby. Since every communication went through SatNet anyway, the only way to place a secure call was using a quantum comm unit. Using the public terminal in the lobby wouldn’t prevent anyone from finding out he placed the call, but it gave him plausible deniability—and he didn’t have a secure number for this contact anyway.
He picked up the receiver and punched in a number. “Hi, this is Ceres. I’d like to place a takeout order for fish.”
“When do you want delivery?” The voice sounded as though it was run through a scrambler.
“As soon as possible.”
“Have they arrived yet?”
“No, the guests haven’t arrived, but I’d like to have dinner waiting for them.”
“Very well. We’re glad to finally have you as part of our team.”
“Thank you.”
Alpha Centauri Station
Max Loker entered the bar. There weren’t any station security or UGAL officers in sight. To the best of his knowledge, he wasn’t currently wanted for anything. Still, it was a good idea to keep out of the view of the law in his line of work.
He ordered a beer and cast a casual glance around the room while he waited. The only other customer looked like he’d had one too many several hours ago.
Max drummed his fingers on the bar. “What’s taking so long?”
He pulled out his belt-comp and checked the time. Three in the morning. Well, that might explain the delay. Still, the only thing the barkeep needed to do was pull out a glass and pour a beer into it. Was that so hard?
The beer finally came, and he retreated to a table in the far corner where he could keep an eye on the entrance, the drunk, and the bartender. He didn’t expect trouble, but old habits die hard.
He’d just finished hauling an extra load of ore from a mining outpost to the station. Perfectly legitimate work and paid well. If he wanted to make good money and stay out of trouble with the law, he could make a good profit that way… if he wanted to die of boredom.
He took another sip of beer, pulled out his belt-comp again, and looked to see if there were any more exciting job listings posted on SatNet. Some idiot had posted a job to raid the Antar Resort—on the UGAL posting board of all places. Max wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. It was too obvious to be a UGAL pirate trap, but he had a hard time believing anyone could be that stupid. He scanned through the rest of the list but found nothing interesting.
Max finished the last of his beer. His belt-comp beeped just as he set his glass on the table. He frowned and pulled it out of his pocket. Only a few people had his code, and none were likely to offer any sort of legal job. He held the unit to his ear and pressed the button. “Max here.”
“This is Ceres. I have a job offer for you.”
“Ceres, huh. I don’t believe I’ve heard of you.”
“You haven’t. We do, however, have a mutual friend who recommended you.”
“Really.” Max leaned back in his chair. “What kind of job is it, and why would I want it?”
“I’m afraid it’s the kind I can’t give details about until we’ve reached an agreement.”
“Having trouble with UGAL, are we?”
“I’d rather they not know of this little enterprise, if that’s what you mean.”
Max sighed softly to himself. He wouldn’t get any information from the
so-called Ceres, and the job would definitely be illegal. He checked the code Ceres called from and blinked in surprise. It was his sister’s. He didn’t get along well with any of his siblings, but he was closest to his sister—until she had started to spout nonsense about how the SeQish would cause the downfall of humanity. This job was starting to look like it might be fun.
“Problems with the SeQish, then?”
Ceres was silent for a moment. “Would that make any difference to you?”
“Nope. But it might cost extra, and money always interests me.”
“Indeed. How much would one hundred thousand interest you?”
“Enough to listen to the rest of your proposal, and, if after hearing it, if I don’t end up interested enough to take the job, I might suddenly decide to take a vacation somewhere UGAL couldn’t find me for whatever time frame might be convenient to you.”
Ceres chuckled. “If you were anyone else, I’d laugh and hang up. However, I’ve read UGAL’s file on you, and talked to a few people who have hired your services in the past. I’ll accept your terms.”
Max listened to the rest of Ceres’s scheme, and then was silent for several seconds as he thought it over. An interesting challenge certain to put UGAL on his tail for the rest of his life. “I assume you have some kind of plan?”
“I intend to leave the planning to you, but I will provide full blueprints and access code overrides. Not counting the deposit, the job pays fifty million, plus expenses and equipment.”
“Well, I can’t argue with those terms. Can you give me until tomorrow to think of a way to pull it off?”
“I’m afraid I can only give you an hour to decide.”
With a beep, the line went dead.
Max flipped a few plastic coins onto the table to pay for his drink before he stood and walked out.
Jake counted slowly to ten after Loker had left the bar before he dared lift his head from the table. He’d been asleep for the beginning of Loker’s conversation, but he’d overheard enough.
He ran from the bar and down the corridor of the space station. Jake paused as he reached a fork in the corridor, and then he heard a loud crash from off to the right.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” It was Loker’s voice.
After a muttered apology, Karn McTarkin ran down the corridor to Jake’s left and continued past him.
Psygen Building, Earth
Bast blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light in the lobby of the Psygen building. Nilre sat at a table and sipped a beverage out of a small ceramic cup.
“Good morning, Bast, Rrrark,” Nilre said.
“Good morning, Nilre,” Bast replied as Rrrark nodded.
“Are you sufficiently rested after last night’s party?”
“I think so... we met a lot of people there.”
Nilre smiled. “Yes, but don’t worry. You did fine.”
“Are you sure? A lot of people were staring, and I think that Mr. Vincent said something about us before he skulked away.”
“Most of them are just curious.” Nilre took another sip of tea. “And don’t worry about Vincent. There will always be a few people who fear anything new. He’ll come around eventually. Do you have anything planned for today?”
“Yes,” Rrrark said. “I’ve been meaning to go over more of your planet’s history. I’ve also been making notes so when we get back to our world I can put together an overview of our history to send back to you.”
“Thank you. That would be wonderful,” Nilre said.
The door to the left opened, and Tomed walked in. “Hi, everyone! What’d I miss?”
“Not much.” Nilre took another sip of tea. “We were just discussing the party and potential plans for today.”
“Good.” Tomed grinned. “I’ve got an idea.”
He sat down in a chair next to Nilre, across from Rrrark. “UGAL intelligence has a lead on the pirates that attacked us, and I have to go follow up on that. I’d rather stay and show you around. I apologize for having to leave like this.”
“We’re sorry to see you go, but we understand you have other responsibilities,” Rrrark said.
Bast wondered if she’d ever be able come up with the right thing to say like that. She sighed and flopped down onto the floor.
Nilre set down her cup, dabbed her lips with a napkin, and turned to face her. “Don’t underestimate your own importance, Bast. At the moment, you and Rrrark are our number one priority. Ever since the disaster with the Xernock, humanity and the Psygens have made it a priority to ensure good relations with any aliens that we may encounter. We do truly wish to be your friends, if that is what your people want as well.”
“Thank you, Nilre.” Bast blinked slowly and politely looked off to the side.
“Anyway—” Tomed stood and walked over to stand behind a desk in the corner of the room. “—I think I know just the person to assist you.”
He reached down and pressed a small button and then returned to sit with the others. A few moments later, a door to the right opened and Evelyn ran into the room.
“Hi, Tomed, Nilre! Did you need me for something?” Evelyn bounced on her toes and waved. “Oh, hi, Bast, Rrrark! Nice to see you again! Are you having fun?”
Tomed grinned. “Sorry. I have to leave on some unfortunately-timed pressing business and we were wondering if you’d care to show Rrrark and Bast around?”
Evelyn beamed. She looked as excited as a kitten.
“Really? Oh, that will be so much fun! I can show them all around the city—they’d probably love the museums, and there are all kinds of restaurants...”
“Actually, I thought you could take them home to meet your family,” Tomed said.
“Really?” Evelyn’s brow furrowed, and she glanced back and forth between Tomed and Bast.
“Yes, really. They’re here to learn about our people and culture, and meeting a typical family in their home would show them more about us than any brochure or museum.”
“Oh.” She pursed her lips and then smiled. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. It does sound like a good idea.”
“How about you call your parents and make sure it’s okay with them?”
Evelyn smiled at them. “Okay. I’ll be right back!” With that, she turned and skipped out of sight.
Tomed watched her leave. “That girl does have a lot of energy...”
“How old is she?” Bast asked. It’s hard to tell with humans...”
Tomed leaned back in his chair. “She’s seventeen, almost an adult by human standards. She’s in her last year of primary education. Next year she’ll start her secondary education and pick an area to specialize in. She’s an exceptional student, so she earned the opportunity to work part-time as an aide. So she chose to work with us. That, and—” he winked and flashed a smile, “—some people say you need a lot of energy to keep up with Psygens.”
“More for some Psygens than others,” Nilre added in a droll tone.
Bast laughed. “Well, she’s got plenty!”
Nilre rose and left the room. Bast stared after her and was about to ask where she was going, when Nilre returned carrying a plate of food. The plate was piled high with three-layered triangle slices. The top and bottom layers smelled like a grain-based product, and the middle layer smelled like fish.
“Bast, Rrrark.” Nilre looked back and forth between them. “At the party I saw you mostly eating various meats. Can you eat vegetables or grains? I can get something other than sandwiches for you if it’s a problem.”
Rrrark approached the plate, twitched his whiskers, and sniffed at the sandwiches. “These should be fine. Meskka mainly eat meat, but we do consume small quantities of vegetables and grains on occasion.”
Bast took a sandwich and slowly chewed it. The fish was delicious, and the grain-based product wasn’t that bad.
A few minutes later Evelyn bounced into the room. “I’m back! My parents said now’s a great time, so let’s go.”
Bast turned t
o Rrrark. He blinked at her and followed Evelyn out the door.
Outside, Bast looked around and sniffed at a crack in the sidewalk. The lack of plants still bothered her.
“My house is about two kilometers that way.” Evelyn gestured down the street. “How did you want to get there?”
“Well, it’s close enough to walk.” Bast glanced over at Rrrark to see if he agreed with her.
Rrrark blinked and looked the direction Evelyn had pointed.
“Oh.” Evelyn pursed her lips and her shoulders drooped slightly. “Well, we can... if you’d like.”
Evelyn kept up a constant stream of chatter as they walked. She asked the Meskka all about their planet, what they thought of Earth, and if they liked space travel. From the number of questions she asked about space travel, it sounded like Evelyn really wanted to go to space.
After several blocks, the buildings changed, and they no longer passed the occasional tree.
“This area of the city looks different.” Bast sniffed at a metal pole that rose up out of the concrete beside the sidewalk.
“This is the warehouse district. Most of these buildings are used to store all sorts of stuff. Everything from food to spare parts for almost anything,” Evelyn said.
As they talked, a man in dark clothing ran out from a side alley brandishing a large knife. Evelyn screamed.
Rrrark jumped out in front of her and roared. The man yelped, dropped the knife, and took off back down the same alley he came from.
“What was that?” Bast peered down the side street. The man had already disappeared around a corner.
“Should I apprehend him?” Rrrark asked.
Evelyn took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think he planned on mugging me. No, you should probably just let him go. I don’t think you could catch him now.”
“Actually, I think I could.” Rrrark swiveled an ear to listen for the mugger. “Humans don’t run very fast.”
“But how could you find him?”