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CHAPTER EIGHT


The research station consisted of a set of five interconnected buildings and a single landing pad along a narrow dirt road about a kilometer to the north. A patchwork quilt of test crop fields of various sizes surrounded the pad and buildings, extending from a group of hills to the northwest to a narrow river running along the eastern edge of the grounds and nearly to the horizon in all other directions.

The pad was a standard hinterlands design: a single flat repulsor-equipped pad big enough to handle a medium transport or small freighter and flanked by a pair of no-frills but sturdy-looking grav beam towers. The area around the pad had been deserted as we put down, but by the time I’d powered the engines to standby and we headed down our ramp’s zigzag configuration a man and an open-topped car were waiting for us.

“Any particular objectives here you have in mind?” Nikki asked softly from behind me as we made our way down the zigzag.

“Making our calls and getting out in one piece,” I said. “That’s about it.”

“And no one dying,” Selene added from behind Nikki.

Nikki grunted. “No guarantees on that last one. But I’ll try.”

“Greetings,” the man called as we reached the ground. “I’m Dr. Elfred Landon. Your visit is something of a surprise, to say the least. I assume you’re the Gregory Roarke who called in to us?”

“I am,” I said, nodding politely. “These are my partners, Selene and Nikki.”

“Welcome,” Landon said. “What can we of Landon Station do for you?”

“First of all, thank you for allowing us to land,” I said. Landon Station. So he’d named the place after himself? “I know you and your colleagues are doing important work out here, and we have no desire to interrupt or otherwise cause any disruption.”

“I would hope not,” Landon said. “At the same time, you were rather evasive when you spoke earlier with Dr. Stuart.”

“Yes, and I’m sorry about that,” I said. “But we needed to be circumspect. We’re crocketts, as I told Dr. Stuart. We were doing a survey a few light-years away from Lucias Four, found something completely unexpected that we believe our client would be interested in, and came here hoping you’d permit us to buy some time on your StarrComm array to report in and ask for further instructions.” I offered my most disarming smile. “In these things, as I’m sure you know, time is of the absolute essence, and your base and StarrComm facility are hours closer than anywhere else.”

“I understand,” Landon said. “But our array is normally only for our own researchers’ use.” He pursed his lips. “On the other hand, as a scientist I’m certainly well acquainted with surprise discoveries.”

“And the need to follow up on those discoveries as quickly as possible.”

“Indeed.” His eyes flicked across all of us, lingering a moment on Selene. Probably wondering what species she was. “And of course, the only reason we’re here in the first place is because the company’s own crockett report hinted at potentially useful soil and native flora,” he continued. “So I have a soft spot for people like you. Let me speak with the StarrComm technician and see what can be worked out.”

“Thank you,” I said. “That would be very much appreciated.”

“Happy to help.” Landon’s wrinkled face creased in a smile. “And in case you were wondering, the station is named for my aunt, not me. I’m as egotistical as any other scientist, but I’m not that egotistical.”

“The thought never even crossed my mind,” I assured him.

“I’m sure it didn’t,” he said, still looking amused. “Please; follow me.”

* * *

The car Landon had brought was every bit as uncomfortable as one would expect from a purely utilitarian vehicle. But it was roomy enough, and it beat the hell out of walking. As my father used to say, Riding is always to be preferred, unless it’s going to attract unwanted attention. In this case, I was pretty sure there would be unwanted attention around every corner, but there was nothing we could do about that.

And the car was still faster than walking.

The dirt path Landon drove us along was bordered on both sides by the test plots I’d seen on our way in, squares that ranged anywhere from garden-sized arrays three meters across to farmer-sized fields that were a good ten by ten. Landon identified each crop as we passed it, just a name as we drove by the smaller plots, a name and a brief description or history during the additional time we had alongside the larger ones. I listened with half an ear, noting with annoyance that the brisk wind was rolling over us from the direction of the Ruth, which would severely limit Selene’s ability to pick up any scent clues from the base itself until we were practically on top of it.

If Selene was worried about that, it didn’t show in her pupils. To the contrary, she seemed fully immersed in Landon’s running commentary. That, or she was far better at faking interest than I was.

The StarrComm facility was inside the northernmost of the five linked buildings, the first structure we reached after passing through the test fields. It was tucked away like an afterthought at the eastern end of a large cafeteria. The array grid itself was nowhere to be seen, of course—its land and power requirements would have taken up the research station’s entire complement of cropland and overwhelmed their modest reactor. It would be kilometers away, probably planted in the woodlands I’d seen beyond the hills to the northwest.

Landon was leading us across the cafeteria toward the unlabeled door he’d identified as the StarrComm control room and privacy booth when Selene gave out a small and nearly silent gasp. I turned to her, my stomach tightening as I spotted the sudden tension in her eyes.

I took her arm reassuringly with my left hand, casually dropping my right hand to my hip and plasmic concealed beneath my loose jacket. On Selene’s other side, I saw that Nikki had picked up on Selene’s reaction and hooked one thumb casually on the edge of her belt sash. The StarrComm door swung open.

Standing there facing us, his mahogany-red face set in stone, was a Patth.

“Ah—Uvif,” Landon greeted him casually as we continued forward. “This is Mr. Roarke. He’s a passing crockett who needs to use your facility to contact his client. Is there any way he can buy a few minutes of time?”

For a moment Uvif stood in silence. I felt Selene twitch, and looked casually over my shoulder to see that an Iykam had slipped into the cafeteria and was standing stiffly just inside the door.

“There will be no trouble with his request, Dr. Landon,” Uvif said. “There will also be no charge for his time.”

I turned back to the office. The Patth had stepped out of the doorway and was gesturing inside. “I greet you, Mr. Roarke. Please; the facility is yours.”

I felt my throat tighten. Over the past couple of decades the Patth had wormed their way into practically every major industry in the Spiral, and StarrComm was no exception. I knew they could tap into the system and search out supposedly private conversations at will, with only the huge amount of StarrComm traffic and the finite number of Patth eavesdroppers putting a limit on their goal of galactic omniscience.

But with a Patth sitting right here knowing where the call originated, it would be laughably trivial for them to not only trace my call but probably record it as it happened.

As my father used to say, It doesn’t take much of a change in circumstances to make even the most lively plan roll over and die. There was no chance now that I could update the admiral and the rest of the Icarus Group on what had been happening with us and Nikki. Bad enough that the Patth might be able to sift out a private conversation a few days or weeks from now, when it hopefully would be of only limited use to them. I had no intention of letting them record and distribute what I had to say in real time.

“Thank you,” I said, inclining my head to Uvif. “But as we humans say, ladies first. My associate Nikki also has a call she needs to make. With your permission, I’ll wait to make mine until she’s finished.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nikki’s forehead crease a bit. A person in her line of work would be very sensitive to atmosphere, and she clearly recognized there was something going on between Uvif and me.

But most of my attention was on the Patth. I was hardly an expert on their facial expressions, but the disappointment that flickered across his face was obvious. Clearly, he’d hoped I would assume he hadn’t recognized my name and would make my call, giving him the chance to score the double triumph of getting not only my conversation but also the Icarus Group’s contact number.

Still, as my father used to say, Get used to disappointment. It’s the only thing besides lima beans where the supply has always exceeded the demand.

“I see,” Uvif said, sounding a bit deflated as he looked back and forth between Landon and me. Maybe he was trying to think of some reason why I could make calls but Nikki couldn’t.

If he was, he missed his opportunity. “Thank you,” Nikki said brightly, already moving toward him. “I appreciate it.”

For a second Uvif looked like he still might try to object. But if so, he was again too slow on the uptake. Nikki strode past him, giving him a genial smile as she closed the door behind her.

“Excellent,” I said briskly, mostly to distract Landon from any confusion he might be having about what had just happened. Uvif’s Plan A was over and done with. The big question now was whether Plan B involved letting us walk out of here, or whether it would include a shade more violence.

Which meant that my Plan B now was to see what kind of resources the Patth had available to work with beside the single Iykam standing behind us. “While we wait for her to finish, Dr. Landon, perhaps you’d be kind enough to give us a quick tour of your facility.”

“I don’t know,” Landon said, looking uncertainly back and forth between Uvif and me. “Surely your associate won’t be long.”

“Our client is unfortunately quite wordy,” I said. “Though of course she’ll cut the call short if one of your people needs to use the facility.” I gave him my best ingratiating smile. “The truth is that I’m fascinated by what you’re doing here. As a crockett I’ve scooped up a lot of alien flora, but I’ve never seen what happens once I hand it off to my clients.”

Landon’s face cleared, and he waved at the door behind the Iykam. “All right, but it will have to be quick,” he said. “We have a great deal of work yet to complete before we retire for the night. This way, please.”

As my father used to say, Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Ask him about his passion and he’ll talk until the fish rots.

* * *

I’d wondered if the Iykam would insist on tagging along, which I didn’t want. Fortunately, Uvif was apparently wary enough of Nikki that he didn’t want to be left alone with her. I caught his subtle hand signal to his guard, and when Landon led us out of the cafeteria the Iykam stayed put.

The tour was indeed quick, bringing to mind the whirlwind metaphor for such things I remembered hearing when I was younger. But Landon was up to the task, rattling off names, numbers, facts, histories, hopes, suppositions, and personal anecdotes with a speed that rivaled even that of Bolfin quick-talkers. Once again, I listened just closely enough to be able to put in an occasional interested-sounding comment while I spent the bulk of my attention on doors, windows, blind corners, potential cover, and items that might be utilized for attack or defense.

Selene, for her part, didn’t bother with any comments, but spent the entire time sniffing and fluttering her eyelashes.

We were halfway through the fourth building when Landon got the call I’d been expecting.

“Uvif says your friend is finished,” he announced as he put away his phone. “Time for us to head back.”

“Can we finish the tour first?” I asked. “This whole operation is fascinating.”

“Sadly, no,” Landon said. “We’ll need to send our daily report in about an hour, and you still have your own call to make.”

“Understood,” I said. “Still, with any luck we’ll be back this way again in the future. Maybe we can finish the tour then.”

“Maybe we can,” Landon said as he turned and began retracing his steps. “It’s been a treat to share some of our trials and successes with genuinely interested parties.”

He opened the connecting door and started down the passageway leading back to the third building. As he did so, I dropped back to Selene. “Well?” I murmured.

“One more Iykam,” she murmured back. “Fifteen humans. No additional Patth.”

So of the hundred or so residents listed in the planetary stats, eighty-five of them were out in the fields or working in the building that we hadn’t gotten to. Under the circumstances, much better odds than I’d hoped for. “Call Nikki and have her meet us at the car,” I told her. “Tell her to make it look and sound casual, like she’s going out for fresh air or something.”

Selene nodded and pulled out her phone. I left her and hurried forward, reaching the passageway door just as Landon reappeared. “Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “No problem. Why?”

“I thought I’d lost you,” he said, looking over my shoulder. “What’s she doing with her phone?”

I looked back. Selene had closed her eyes and was holding her phone pressed to her forehead. “She gets headaches sometimes when she hears and sees too much this quickly,” I told Landon. “Her species’ version of a migraine combined with sensory overload. Her phone has a setting for a low-frequency vibration that helps lower her blood pressure and ease the pain.”

“Oh,” Landon said, sounding both confused and interested. “I’m sorry—I didn’t realize the tour would affect her like that.”

“No apology needed,” Selene assured him, opening her eyes briefly and then closing them again.

But not before I spotted the amusement in her pupils. One of the side benefits of partnering with a rare species like Selene’s was that I could make up pretty much any physical or psychological quirk for her that I needed to fit a given situation, and no one could call bull on me. It was an endless reservoir of excuses for me, and a correspondingly endless source of entertainment for her.

Which wasn’t to say I should push it. “Another minute and she’ll be fine,” I assured Landon. “She’ll catch up as soon as she’s able to travel.”

“I think she should come with us now,” he said, his eyes going suddenly hard. “In fact, now that our security chief has finally returned from the fields, I think it’s time we all had a conversation together.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, putting on my bewildered face as I silently berated myself for taking Landon at face value. Of course the head of a multi-billion-commark research facility wouldn’t let strangers wander around without wondering if they were corporate spies here to steal his work. All the smiles and tours had been his way of stalling until the people charged with protecting his little fiefdom made it back from their other duties.

“I’m talking about a former crockett—yes, former crockett—named Gregory Roarke and his team of troublemakers,” Landon said darkly. “According to Uvif, the Patth have a deep file on your activities throughout the Spiral over the past year or so.”

“I think Uvif has me confused with someone else,” I said stiffly. “Do I look like a troublemaker? Does she look like one?” I pointed sharply at Selene with my left hand, jabbing my finger toward her like I was trying to stab her.

An experienced bounty hunter or even a moderately aware civilian would never have fallen for such a simple trick. But Landon was neither. Even as he pulled out his phone, his eyes reflexively followed my finger toward Selene.

And by the time his gaze returned to me I had my plasmic out and pointed at him.

“Easy,” I cautioned as his eyes and mouth went wide. “And no, we’re not here to steal any secrets. We really did only want to make some StarrComm calls.”

“You won’t get away with this,” Landon said, the words coming out mechanically. Apparently, his expectations about upper-level gentlemanly espionage didn’t include weapons.

“Probably not,” I agreed. “Selene?”

She stepped to Landon’s side and plucked the phone from his frozen fingers. “There were storage closets lining the passageway,” she reminded me.

“Yes, there were,” I agreed, motioning with my plasmic. “Just ease back into the passageway, Dr. Landon. No screaming or other noise, of course.”

If I’d said shouting instead of screaming he might have considered risking it. But screaming came packaged with images of pathetic and laughable losers, and I could see in his face that the thought of looking like that had driven off any such temptation. Taking a deep breath, he turned and stalked back to the passageway door.

As my father used to say, Offering someone the smart option is good. Offering him the dignified one is often better.

Ninety seconds later, Landon was secured in the nearest closet. “Did you get through to Nikki?” I asked Selene as I took Landon’s phone from her and tossed it into one of the other closets.

“Yes,” she said. “She’ll meet us at the car.”

“Good.” I pointed to a nearby exit door. “Time to go cross-country. This way.”

Nikki was waiting at the car when we reached it, her eyes methodically sweeping both the nearest doors and the landscape around us. “What’s wrong?” she asked as we arrived.

“Nothing,” I said, motioning her and Selene to get in as I climbed into the driver’s seat. Like most company vehicles I’d seen in secure or isolated facilities, it didn’t require a key. “Well, the Patth in there probably wants to kill me,” I amended as I started the engine. “Aside from that we’re good. You get what you needed?”

“No,” Nikki said as she got in the car behind me. She had two guns in hand now, I saw: a Fafnir plasmic like mine and a Jaundance 4mm. “But not from lack of trying. Business or personal?”

“Mostly business,” I said as I pulled onto the narrow road leading back to the Ruth. The top of the ship was visible over the patches of waving grain and low shrubs, but the underside was still out of sight.

Still, with the wind that had been at our backs earlier now blowing in our faces . . . “Maybe some personal thrown in,” I added. “Selene? What’ve we got?”

“Two armed humans.” She paused, and I risked a glance at her to see her eyelashes fluttering as she tried to isolate something very faint. “Firearms, I think. I can smell lubricating oil.”

“As expected,” I said, nodding.

“Why as expected?” Nikki asked.

“Firearms are better than plasmics in frontier situations,” I told her, frowning. Did she really not know that?

No, of course she didn’t. An assassin who charged half a million commarks per hit would be going after the high and mighty, who were mainly to be found in cities or private fortresses. Country life would be way outside her professional experience. “Better range and stopping power for varmints and predators, easier to maintain, and if you’ve got propellent and a supply of slugs you can easily reload the cartridges. Any idea where that other Iykam could be?”

Selene shook her head. “Somewhere behind us, probably.”

So two armed humans in front of us, a Patth and two armed Iykams behind us. Terrific. “Guess we’ll have to play this by ear. Any of these plots seem of particular interest to Landon?”

“Yes, two of them,” she said. “One was about four back from the Ruth. It had green and yellow spotted leaves, with a sort of . . . ” She waved a hand helplessly. “They’re hard to describe.”

“No need,” I assured her. “Just point me to the plot when we get there. You said there were two?”

“The other one’s coming up now,” she said, pointing. “Four plots ahead.”

“Here they come,” Nikki warned.

I half turned to look over my shoulder. Three more cars were visible back there, roaring toward us in clouds of dust, the narrowness of the road forcing them to go in single file. “Selene, get ready to take the wheel,” I said, looking forward again. “I’m getting off at this first plot. Nikki, Selene will drive you to one of the other plots and stop. Wait there, watch the guards at the ship, but don’t make any moves unless I do. Got it?”

“What’s the plan?” Nikki asked.

“No time,” I said. “Just play off my cues. I’ll have my phone on so you can listen in on what’s happening here.”

“There,” Selene said, pointing to a group of purple-flowered bushes with clusters of low-hanging nuts or fruits.

I slammed on the brakes, threw the car into park, and hopped out. Selene slid into my seat, shifted back into drive, and roared off again. I keyed on my phone and put it in my pocket, then drew my plasmic. Keeping my arms at my sides with the weapon pointed at the ground, I turned to face the approaching vehicles, Landon was at the wheel of the lead car, I could see now, with Uvif beside him and the two Iykams in the back seat behind them. With all the dust they were churning up I couldn’t see into the trailing cars, but I would have bet good money that they were full of researchers and every single gun in the station.

Under other circumstances, I could imagine Landon hitting the accelerator and doing his best to run me down. But with me standing motionless, armed but not directly threatening anyone, there really wasn’t any way for him to justify that. Still, he let the car come uncomfortably close before braking hard and slewing to a halt five meters away.

The Patth was out of the car practically before it stopped, the two Iykams right behind him, moving to flanking positions on either side of him. Landon was only slightly behind them, while the two cars behind him similarly stopped and began disgorging their passengers.

And from the number of rifles I could see flailing around as the researchers sorted themselves into a confrontation line I was pretty sure I’d called that one right, too.

“Dr. Landon,” I called over the burble of auditory chaos accompanying the general scrambling. “I strongly suggest you keep your people back if you don’t want a disaster on your hands.”

“You suggest that, do you?” Landon snarled back, his voice rich with rage and mortification. He’d thought he was being clever, inviting potential spies into his web, only to have them completely turn the tables on him. “You think you can take all of us? Is that what you think?”

“We came to make a StarrComm call, not to steal your secrets,” I called. “We’ve made our call, and now we just want to leave.”

“You may find that difficult,” Uvif put in. The Iykams, I noted with interest, were standing stiffly with their hands inside their loose robes but hadn’t yet drawn any weapons. However Uvif had arranged to be in charge of the StarrComm facility, there was a fair chance he’d pitched the Iykams as assistants instead of bodyguards.

All of which, in retrospect, made a lot of sense. If the portal-hunting group on the other side of the planet managed to dig something out of the ruins they would want all other communications with the outside universe locked down until they could get the equipment here to cart it off.

“We didn’t steal any secrets,” I repeated, looking directly at Uvif now. “Nikki’s call had nothing to do with your operation. You know that.”

Landon half turned to look at the Patth, his eyes narrowing slightly. StarrComm communications were supposed to be strictly private, only my comment implied that wasn’t the case. At least, not here on Lucias Four.

And since Landon had no inkling of what the other Patth on the planet were up to, his natural conclusion would be that Uvif had wormed his way into Landon Station for the purpose of spying on his precious crop research.

“The point is that we just want to leave,” I continued. “And with the minimum of damage.”

Landon’s head snapped back around to face me. “What do you mean?” he demanded.

“I mean this.” Raising my arm from my side, I pointed my plasmic directly at the crop plot beside me.

And suddenly, the whole group went very still.

As my father used to say, If you do it right, threatening to punch someone in the face is as effective as actually punching him, and it takes a lot less effort.

Landon took a step toward me, close enough now that I could see the veins in his neck throbbing. “Roarke, if you so much as . . . ” He broke off.

Though as my father also used to say, Of course, if you do it wrong, you’re the one who’ll probably end up with a faceful of fist.

“We just want to leave,” I said again, resisting the impulse to take a step backward in response. “No harm, no foul, and you’ll never see us again.”

For another eight heartbeats we all just stood there, the air crackling with tension, all the guns in the world—possibly literally, for a change—pointed at me. I kept my plasmic pointed at the plants, wondering distantly whether I’d have time to set them on fire if Landon called my bluff, or even if I would consider it justified to do so.

Then, to my relief, Landon sagged a little. “Go,” he muttered, giving me a short, rather tired nod. “Just go.”

I nodded back. “Thank you,” I said. “If you’ll be kind enough to call your men back from my ship—”

“No,” Uvif snarled. He made a twitching motion with his hand.

And suddenly both Iykams were pointing corona guns at me.

“Uvif?” Landon demanded, his mouth dropping open as he again turned to stare at the Patth. “What in hell’s name—?”

“Silence,” Uvif cut him off. “This human is a threat to the Patthaaunuth. He cannot and will not be allowed to leave.”

“Uvif—”

“I said silence!” Uvif snarled. “Step aside or burn where you stand.”

Landon drew himself up. “How dare you threaten a senior researcher of Crodalian Enterprises—”

“Fool!” Uvif cut him off. “Who do you think owns Crodalian Enterprises and your pitiful little research station? We do.”

Landon shot a startled look at me, then turned back to Uvif. “I had no idea—”

“Or so he says,” I spoke up quickly. As my father used to say, Always have a bigger bluff ready in case they call your first one. “You have any actual proof of that, Uvif? I’ll bet you don’t.”

You be silent,” the Patth retorted. “You may speak once you are in Patthaaunuth custody.”

“I don’t think so,” I said calmly. “You see, I know how the Patth do things. You want to take over Crodalian Enterprises, all right, and the fact that you’re playing StarrComm tech here tells me that Dr. Landon’s project is the key.”

Uvif gave a sort of rumbling snarl. “I am finished trading words.” He gestured the Iykams forward. “Take him.”

“No,” Landon said, his voice suddenly calm. “Take them.

And abruptly the guns that had been pointed at me were pointed at Uvif and the Iykams.

Uvif actually sputtered. “You foolish humans. The Patthaaunuth will tear you down to your bones.”

“Put your weapons down,” Landon said. His voice was shaking a little, but his face and stance were firm enough. “Pillay, put them in the fertilizer storage room.”

“If I were you, I’d call your head office as soon as they’re secure,” I offered as two of the men strode up behind the Iykams and relieved them of their weapons. “Tell them what happened and that you need backup as fast as they can get it to you. I don’t know what kind of force the group on the other side of the planet can muster, but they’re bound to at least have a few more like these two. Still, once your story is out they should be leery about doing anything that will make it worse.”

“And you?” Landon asked, turning his eyes back on me.

“Like I said, we came to make a call,” I told him. “But just like you have a soft spot for crocketts, I have a soft spot for people getting screwed over by the Patth.” I gave him a nod, turned, and headed at a fast jog for the Ruth.

I half expected to get shot in the back, or at least ordered to stop and come back. But Landon apparently had had all the intrigue and potential weapons fire on his plate that he could handle for one day. Besides which, even if his people were able to take me down there would still be Nikki and Selene to deal with.

Halfway to the Ruth I passed the two men who’d been guarding the ship, hurrying the other direction. We eyed each other as we passed, but none of us said anything.

Nikki was waiting beside the car when I reached it. “Are you insane?” she demanded.

“Probably,” I conceded. “Selene gone inside?”

“Yes.” Nikki slipped her plasmic back into concealment, keeping her Jaundance and most of her attention on the distant group behind us as she followed me to the ship. “What if Landon changes his mind and decides not to boost us?”

“He will,” I assured her. “The main reason spaceports use pad repulsors and perimeter grav beams is that thrusters fired at ground level make a mess of everything in their path. If Landon was worried about me scorching his favorite test plot, he sure as hell won’t want us burning everything aft of the ship on our way out.”

Still, I felt a flicker of relief when whoever was in charge of Landon Station’s lift system did indeed kick in the repulsors and grav beams with only slightly less efficiency than I’d seen elsewhere in this kind of rural setup. I returned the favor by keeping the thrusters on lower power than usual until we were well clear of the station and the crops.

Half an hour later, without any Patth ships having peeked over the horizon from the other side of the planet, the Ruth’s cutter array sliced us into hyperspace and we were gone.


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