“I hope so,” Jelena said. “He’s with your Dr. Ogiwara now.”
“Ah? Kiyoko is an honorable young woman. And a talented surgeon. Your friend is in good hands.”
Jelena tried to find comfort in her words. She remembered those soldiers who’d wanted to wring Masika’s neck and felt that she and Thor should wrap this up so they could check on her and Erick soon.
Maybe we should negotiate for her, Thor spoke silently.
Who?
The doctor. Didn’t you want to hire one for your ship?
Mom suggested that. But we don’t need a doctor for five people.
One of whom was recently shot, Thor pointed out. If you’re going to continue to deliver cargo—and pursue mercenary contracts—throughout the border worlds, having a doctor around wouldn’t be a bad idea.
We can’t afford to pay a doctor. Besides, it sounds like her people need her here.
Yes, we’d have to stop their war if we were going to try to entice her to join us.
I thought you didn’t care about their war.
I would if they had something desirable to barter in exchange for our help.
Jelena frowned over at him. Why was he implying a doctor was a thing that could be traded for rather than a person who would have to be housed and paid? Thor, if we truly needed a doctor, I’m sure we could hire one legitimately out in the system somewhere.
Doctors don’t come cheap, nor do I suspect most are excited by the prospect of working on mercenary ships.
Could we even do anything to stop the war? If we wanted to?
He didn’t answer, instead meeting Hakim’s eyes again. “We’ll talk to the prisoners with you and let you know what can be gleaned from their thoughts.”
“Excellent.”
Are you doing this to help her or so that she’ll guide us to the plant and open the door for us? Jelena asked, lost as to what Thor was thinking. One minute, he didn’t care about helping, and the next, he had some new idea to do so? Or did he simply want to fulfill his deal with the Opuntians?
We’ll see.
“War Leader Hakim?” The aide with the tablet returned to her side, his face troubled. “Our spies report another wave of Opuntian bombers being prepared. They’re expected to be here within four hours, and it’s believed that they mean to level the city to the ground this time.”
Hakim’s fingers curled into fists, though her face remained calm. “No news from the forcefield generator station?”
“News, but not good news. The saboteurs made a mess. We’d need a bunch of new parts, and…” He shrugged helplessly.
“There’s nothing new on the planet, I know.” Hakim looked at Thor and Jelena. “I don’t suppose Starseers can wave their fingers and fix machines?”
It was an offhand remark, and she didn’t look like she expected it to be possible or for either of them to respond. She was already turning back to her man when Jelena said, “Actually…”
Hakim’s eyes, suddenly keen with intensity, swung back toward her.
Jelena paused to consider the rest. She’d been about to say that Erick had that knack, but it occurred to her that this might be a way to get what they’d come here hoping to get.
“Starseer finger waving might not help, but I have an engineer on my ship who’s very capable and good with machines,” Jelena said.
Thor made a noise deep in his throat. A gag? A choke? You’re thinking of Austin? Not Ostberg?
I’m thinking of getting permission for my ship to land.
“We have engineers there now,” Hakim said, her face falling.
“My person is familiar with imperial technology,” Jelena said.
Now I have no idea who you’re thinking of, Thor remarked silently.
Erick and Austin can work together to figure something out. I think Erick has the specs for most ships—Alliance, imperial, and civilian—in the Snapper’s database. In fact, I’m certain of it, because I complained to him when he couldn’t disable a grab beam quickly enough for my tastes because he wasn’t familiar with the ship. I told him to download specs for everything out there.
A forcefield generator isn’t a ship.
They can figure it out. They’re smart, and Mica was the one to train Erick. She is familiar with imperial technology.
Thor grunted dubiously.
“It couldn’t hurt to have someone else take a look, ma’am,” the aide said. He and Hakim had been exchanging silent looks.
“I suppose I would be foolish to reject help of any kind,” Hakim said, though she squinted at Jelena, as if she suspected an ulterior motive.
How would that be surprising? Didn’t everyone on this planet have ulterior motives?
“Where’s your ship and your engineer?” she asked.
“Possibly on the way here now, but he wasn’t going to attempt to land.” Jelena let some dryness infuse her own tone. “We were shot at without warning the other day when we flew over your continent.” She wasn’t truly disgruntled at this point, but maybe she should let Hakim think she was, so the woman realized that they had as little reason to trust her as she had to trust them.
“A necessary precaution these days, I’m afraid,” Hakim said. “Though there should have been buoys in orbit warning about the no-fly zone currently being enforced over our land.” Her tone turned into a grumble. “Maybe the Opuntians shot those down along with our satellites.”
It’s not a lie, Thor told Jelena.
“If you could arrange for your missile stations not to shoot at our ship—” Jelena touched her earstar. “I can order my engineer to come here.”
“Can he be here in less than four hours?”
Good question.
“I hope so,” Jelena said.
“Comm your man. I’ll make arrangements with Weapons Control. In the meantime—” Hakim gestured toward the gate, “—may I take you to see our prisoners?”
Nerves fluttered in Jelena’s belly. They’d promised to read the prisoners’ minds, but Thor had to be thinking the same thing that she was, that this could be their chance to extract them. And if Austin was on his way in with the Snapper, they could load the hostages aboard, perhaps escape the city unscathed, return to Opuntia, deliver their cargo, and collect their money. And have the Alliance thinking fondly of the Snapper and her crew. If they helped these people and went against the Alliance, what might the ramifications be?
Jelena rubbed her face. Why did it always seem that there was so much more to be gained by going along with the flow than by obstructing it?
Chapter 13
The water treatment plant hadn’t been bombed yet, but Jelena wasn’t sure explosives would make much of a difference. The stone walls were crumbling, the tanks were cracked and leaking, and the rickety, rusty walkways stretching across the holding pools looked like they would crumble and collapse if anyone used them.
Hakim, her aide, and an escort of ten soldiers led Jelena and Thor through the cavernous building, not flinching at the clanks, thunks, and groans coming from the machinery. So what if they sounded more like the dying wheezes of a centenarian than the well-oiled machinery of a system that provided all of the water needs for a civilization?
Jelena? Erick’s voice sounded in her mind, soft and distant. He was presumably still back at the underground hospital.
Yes, I’m here. How are you doing?
I’m fine. His mental words had an odd note to them. A soldier just came in and mentioned how the war leader had captured some Starseers. Have you been captured, Jelena?
Well. Jelena eyed Hakim’s back as they continued past more pools toward a door at the back of the facility. I don’t think it’s considered being captured when you walk into the enemy fort of your own volition.
You turned yourself in? I thought you were going to rescue the prisoners.
Austin commed, and we decided we had to do something else first.
Like turning yourself in?
We’re with the war leader, but we haven’t gi
ven up any freedoms. We’re going to see the prisoners now. Are you all right? Did the doctor remove the bullet?
She did, yes. Painfully. They don’t have Painpro here. They gave me something made from cactus thorns. I felt her digging around in my shoulder with her pointy sticks. It was awful. There was crying.
In front of Masika?
No, she stayed outside the curtain.
Good, I don’t think she’s the type who would be impressed by a man crying.
Afterward, Dr. Frankenstein sewed me up like a zombie. With thread. They don’t have QuickSkin here, either, Jelena. I’m going to have a scar. This place is benighted.
I understand it’s a challenging place to live. Listen, I just talked to Austin a few minutes ago. He’s flying across the ocean in the Snapper.
Austin is flying? Erick asked. He doesn’t know how to fly.
That’s not what he said.
He’s seventeen. You can’t trust seventeen-year-olds.
Thanks for that encomium. Can you and Masika get out of Dry Wash? The war leader told me to have him land north of the city along the coast. She promised the missile systems wouldn’t fire at the Snapper, but it might be a good idea to have all our forces together in case something goes wrong. Such as if she and Thor, after talking with the prisoners and getting their side of the story, decided to attack their escort, knock out Hakim, and lead the Alliance representatives out of the city. Most likely while soldiers chased them and shouted orders to rearm their missile stations.
There are guards at this impromptu hospital now, Erick replied. And guards following the doctor around. We’re being watched closely, though I gather they’re more worried about a strike team that’s out in the city, the one that’s believed to be responsible for the destruction of the forcefield generator.
Ah, yes, about that generator… do you think you and Austin could fix some very old imperial machinery that’s in need of new parts?
Are there new parts available?
Unlikely. Jelena eyed some of the water pumping machinery they passed as they drew close to the door. Huge flywheels and tubes and other pieces she couldn’t name reminded her of pictures of the Industrial Revolution on Old Earth.
That’ll be a fun project then.
Another squadron of bombers is expected to arrive in three and a half hours. Even if we’re not sure which side we’re working for, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to fix the forcefield, if only for our own safety. Jelena thought of the boy and the dog and the praying people again, knowing full well she wasn’t thinking only of their own safety.
We’re not sure which side we’re working for? Erick asked, incredulous. Since when are we not sure? This side shot us.
Technically, they only shot you.
Well, that’s all right then. Jelena! Is Thor twiddling with your brain?
I’ll explain more later. They were passing through the doorway, and Jelena sensed people up ahead, in a space at the end of a dim tunnel. Just find a way to meet us at the landing spot.
Thor looked back at Jelena as their escort led them down the passage, the clanking of machinery and trickle of water growing faint behind them. Several soldiers turned on flashlights.
Twiddling? he asked.
It’s like diddling but with less direction.
I wasn’t asking for a definition.
She tamped down an urge to swat him, both because they were surrounded by strangers and because she wasn’t sure he would appreciate it. Someday, she was going to have to have a chat with him about using the back door into her mind and spying on her thoughts and conversations.
Clinks and scrapes came from ahead of them, and a door creaked open. Hakim led them into a room lit with oil lamps rather than electricity.
“Report,” she said, as soldiers near the door came to attention.
Men and women on cots or blankets on the floor squinted as flashlight beams searched the room. They wore dirty civilian clothing, and the place smelled of body odor and mildew, but none of them appeared harmed or starved. Most of them were older, with four men for every woman present. Jelena supposed female officials were rare over on Opuntia.
“The prisoners tried to make trouble and escape during the bombing, ma’am,” a private said, standing straight and rigid as he reported. “But we got them under control without hurting them.”
“Not entirely,” a man on a cot in the back grumbled. One of his eyes was swollen shut.
“Without shooting them,” the private amended.
“Good work,” Hakim said.
Jelena was about to ask which ones were the Alliance representatives, but Thor touched her arm, then stepped back to lean casually against the wall by the door. Right. It might be better to simply observe—observe and surf people’s thoughts. The prisoners would grow more guarded if they realized Starseers had come, though they’d probably already caught on, since Jelena still wore her robe. If there was time to change when Austin arrived with the Snapper, she would do so. She looked forward to putting on something clean—and colorful.
“Have you come to offer the terms of your surrender, Colonel Hakim?” the man who’d groused asked. “It doesn’t sound like the war is going well for your people this week.”
“Who would we be surrendering to, Powell?” Hakim walked toward the speaker. Another man and a woman sat on cots next to him. “To the Alliance? Or to Opuntia?”
“We are merely representatives, as we’ve told you before. Our job is to facilitate the peaceful integration of Fourseas into the Alliance. Since you refused to work with us, we’re working through Opuntia. An alliance with the Alliance will make your entire planet richer. Your war is only delaying what would be a vast improvement to your lives.”
“Or the death of my people.”
His brow crinkled, as if the comment confused him. Did it? Or was it an act? Even though she knew Thor would do a better job—he never had qualms about jumping into strangers’ minds—Jelena used her senses, trying to get a feel for his emotions and thoughts. To her surprise, the man truly did seem confused.
“From ahridium poisoning,” Hakim added.
Powell rolled his eyes. “We’ve been over all that. More than a year ago. You’re overdramatizing things and creating an imaginary problem. Even if the miners weren’t able to keep contaminants out of the water—and they’ve promised that they have the equipment to do so—you’d be wealthy beyond your wildest imaginings. You could have gourmet meals hand-delivered to your planet, along with bottled glacier water from Teravia if you wished. But there would be no need for any of that. They’ve promised us—”
“I’m sure that corporation would promise you whatever you wanted to hear,” Hakim said, “but at the end of it all, neither you nor the miners would be living here. They’d come in, destroy our ocean to get their ore, and leave. And it would be our people who have to live with the consequences. Or not live with them, as the case might be. Or we’d be forced to leave what’s been our homeland for centuries. And there’s nowhere left to go, is there? All the desirable and easily habitable planets and moons have been taken, given to those with the right belief system.”
“Why is it always about religion with you people? Why can’t you just run your government without bringing that into everything? The Alliance doesn’t care what devils you worship, so long as you’re not starting wars and making trouble.”
What do you think? Jelena asked Thor, hoping he was getting more out of the conversation than she was. Hakim hadn’t brought it around to the one thing she’d claimed to be wondering about, whether the representatives had the backing of the Alliance higher-ups or not.
They both believe what they’re saying.
Yeah, I got that. Though Jelena was more inclined to put stock into Hakim’s words, since, as she said, her people would be the ones who had to live with any repercussions that came about due to the mining.
I’m telling her to ask about what the rest of the Alliance wants.
“If I did want to neg
otiate,” Hakim said, not looking back at Thor, but keeping her gaze on Powell, “who would I speak to in the Alliance? Could you arrange a meeting with someone higher up on your totem pole? I’d want to have a few promises from the prime minister before agreeing to anything.”
“Quite frankly, you lost your chance to speak with him. At this point, we’d only be accepting terms of surrender.”
Huh.
Yes? Jelena sensed that Powell was bluffing or speaking a half-truth, but she wasn’t sure about the details.
Not only is your government not behind him on this; I don’t think they even know about it. It looks like the CEO of a down-on-its-luck mining corporation was prospecting down here without permission and found out about the ahridium. Knowing the Chollans wouldn’t allow mining, the CEO went to an Alliance ambassador, that woman specifically—Elizabeth Friedman is her name—who then brought in her two colleagues there. Their job actually is to help foster peaceful development of promising governments on border worlds in the hope of adding new territories to the Alliance, territories that would bring more resources than trouble. Thor snorted mentally. Picky, aren’t they?
These three haven’t gone to their higher-ups to get permission for any of their meddling?
No, they don’t want to cut anyone in on the mining shares they’ve been offered.
Naturally not.
Maybe we should let this all play out and then blackmail them for the fifty thousand to pay off your parents’ loan.
Was that a joke, Thor?
Not an effective one, I guess. How much do those humor implants you mentioned cost?
Jelena elbowed him.
Leonidas must have gotten one in order to understand your mother’s jokes. He never struck me as brimming with humor. And your mother is…