Eternity's End (87 page)

"Bobby is what—your nephew?" Tracy-Ace asked.

Morgan bobbed her head. "And I'm extremely grateful— really—for the news."

Tracy-Ace took a sip of wine. "But you're not so sure about me, I take it."

"Well, it's not—"

"I think," said Maris, speaking for the first time, "that we're both wondering... well... are you here with Legroeder in a purely
official
capacity, or..."

"We're friends," Tracy-Ace said quickly.

"Good friends," Legroeder echoed, in a voice that seemed exceedingly hollow.

"Ah-hah," Maris said, nodding.

Morgan also nodded, more slowly. "Then we should—"
Regard you as a friend? Claw your eyes out? What?
her eyes seemed to say.

Legroeder cleared his throat. "You should treat her as a friend of mine," he said softly. "As someone I trust, and someone who has helped me tremendously. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be back here now." He could feel the flush in his face as he said it—annoyance, defensiveness, guilt. Love for Tracy-Ace, and embarrassment about it.

"Perhaps," Harriet said, in an even voice, "we could let Tracy-Ace speak. I'm sure she'd like to answer some of our questions."

"I would be happy to answer your questions," Tracy-Ace said softly.

Answering their questions was no trivial matter; and as Tracy-Ace talked about Ivan's scheme to draw first the Narseil and Legroeder—and later the Centrist Worlds—into talks, Morgan grew increasingly restless. "That's all very well," she said, "but what about the kidnapping of Maris? And those attacks on my mother and Legroeder? They almost
died
getting to McGinnis, you know. Are you going to explain those away?"

Tracy-Ace looked a little startled by the ferocity of the question. She closed her eyes for a moment; her cheek implants flickered frenetically. She muttered something under her breath before opening her eyes again. "We certainly had nothing to do with those attacks. I believe it was the local group Centrist Strength, under orders from Kilo-Mike/Carlotta."

"If you knew that, why didn't you do something to stop it?" Morgan demanded.

Tracy-Ace turned her palms up. "We didn't know in
advance
. Understand, we have a few people here, but nothing like Carlotta. She has agents everywhere, including—well, we know where, now. All the way at the top of the Spacing Authority. We did what we could." She turned to Maris. "I didn't know until just now about your... protective custody. But yes—it was our people who took you."

Maris's face tightened.

"Our field commander had learned of the attack on Legroeder and Harriet," Tracy-Ace continued. "It was his judgment that you were in grave danger, Maris, and that you very likely would not have left that hospital alive, or free, if they did not take action at once." Tracy-Ace opened her hands in apology. "I'm sorry they treated you like a prisoner.
Very
sorry. Our agents truly were ordered to protect you. But they were insufficient, as it turned out. And they both paid with their lives. I'm very glad that your friends came to rescue you." She nodded toward Morgan.

For a moment, no one seemed to know what to say, Legroeder least of all. Maris stared at Tracy-Ace with an uncertain expression. She seemed to be trying to process this latest twist, and coming up short. Finally Legroeder cleared his throat. "Maris, Tracy-Ace and her people saved my life, more than once. If she says that's what happened, you can believe her."

Maris did not shift her gaze from Tracy-Ace. But after a moment she nodded decisively. "Very well. Since you are a friend of Legroeder's, I will allow that you may be telling the truth." She glanced at Legroeder with a trace of a grin. "Seeing as how
you
saved my life, too, eh?"

Legroeder allowed a smile to tickle at his lips.

Tracy-Ace drew a deep breath. "That was one time when we managed to act ahead of Carlotta. But don't misunderstand—even with North dead, Carlotta still has plenty of agents here, and they've managed to disassociate themselves from Centrist Strength with that attack on North's ship. But don't believe for a minute that they're not still pulling strings in that group. They can cause plenty of trouble."

"What do you intend to do?" Harriet asked.

Tracy-Ace opened her hands. "What
can
I do? It's your world, not mine. I'll help if I can—but my help won't matter much if we don't get
Impris
, and Legroeder and his implants, to the Narseil Rigging Institute."

"Do you want to explain that to the others?" Harriet asked.

Tracy-Ace looked to Legroeder, who sighed. "When the Narseil fitted me with these implants—" he rubbed at his temples and behind his ears "—I didn't know that they were going to end up recording some of the most crucial data in the history of starship rigging—and then treat it as a Narseil state secret."
(You bastards. Are you still there? Answer me, damn you.)

// Awaiting release codes.//

Stunned, Legroeder drew a sharp breath.
(You're there?)

No answer.

"You okay?" Tracy-Ace asked, cocking her head, as if she'd caught an echo of it.

Legroeder nodded slowly. "And so right here," he continued, tapping the implants, "is where the data remain, even as we speak."

Morgan and Maris stared at him.
"What data?"
Morgan demanded.

Legroeder closed his eyes with a shiver. "When we came out of the underflux with
Impris
, my implants mapped it all. It's the most astounding, and beautiful, and deadly thing I've ever imagined—this network of quantum flaws woven through the whole galaxy, through spacetime." He opened his eyes. "Every rigging world, and every rigger, needs to know about this." He drew a breath. "And only the Narseil Rigging Institute can get at the data."

Morgan and Maris sat stunned.

"So," said Harriet, who had already had a chance to grasp the political implications, "it's crucial that we get you to the Narseil Institute in one piece... along with
Impris
."

"An understatement."

"And... is this what the future peace is going to hinge upon?"

"That is almost certainly the case," Tracy-Ace said softly. "Our mutual friend here—" her gaze drifted meaningfully to Legroeder "—has a long road still ahead of him." Her eyes twinkled in contact with his. "Don't you, babe?"

Legroeder grunted and tried not to notice the raised eyebrows all around him.

Chapter 42

Beginnings

It was another two days before Tracy-Ace was permitted to make her full presentation on behalf of Outpost Ivan. Though Special Envoy Clark made clear that a formal response from the government would take time, she acknowledged that the secretary general was open-minded on the subject of establishing relations with the Kyber outposts. "This does not in any way imply that we condone piracy," she said sternly. "But we recognize that we have to
consider
being willing to move on. If you are serious about repatriating citizens—"

Tracy-Ace raised a hand. "Our first shipload of repatriates has just called in. They've entered the Faber Eri system."

The officials in the room stirred as Clark replied, "Then we may indeed have something to talk about."

The Narseil ambassador leaned forward. "That is good news, indeed." He turned to the envoy. "May I ask if we might also talk about moving forward with the
Impris
investigation, and getting Rigger Legroeder to our Institute for study? In the interests of maintaining good relations with a people who have been forgiving of certain transgressions for these many years?"

Special Envoy Clark, with a faint smile, bowed her head slightly. "I think, my friend Mr. Ambassador, that it may be time to talk about that, as well."

It was late that night, station time, when Legroeder finally got some time alone with Tracy-Ace, with watchful station guards standing a discreet distance away. Tracy-Ace clearly felt the strain of being around his friends—something he could only hope would pass, in time—and she gripped his hand tightly as they walked along the station's observatory deck, watching the largest Faber Eri moon set behind the planet's horizon.

"You'll let me know the instant you hear from YZ/I about—"

"Harriet's grandson? Of course. But you know, Legroeder..." Her words caught, and he felt a sudden chill. "There's something you ought to know."

He cocked his head, waiting uneasily.

Tracy-Ace hesitated, pressing her lips together. "Well—it's just that not everyone will necessarily
want
to return."

He tugged her around to face him. "What are you saying?"

Her gaze was unflinching. "Some of the people we offered repatriation to, for example. I know, I know—but Legroeder, for some people it becomes their way of life, to be with us. I'm not saying it
should
be that way, or that it'll happen with Bobby. But it is possible." She shrugged, and suddenly chuckled. "Although it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to stay with KM/C, if they could help it." She squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry—I shouldn't worry you about that. I'm sure it'll work out."

Legroeder nodded, and tried not to worry. There was more than enough to worry about already. He kept trying not to think about the quantum-flaw data, for one thing. He was taking it on faith that meaningful answers to the rigging hazards would be found within those maps in his head. It was a lot to stake on faith.

He drew a deep breath, and for a moment simply enjoyed standing on the deck of a space station—in normal-space—with Tracy-Ace at his side.

"When are you planning to tell them about the Kyber colonizing plans?" he asked, after a while. "That could be pretty explosive news, you know."

Tracy-Ace chuckled. "That's why I figured, one thing at a time. I thought I'd bring it up along with the negotiations for the
Impris
investigation—" she squeezed his hand and grinned "—meaning, the Rigger Legroeder implant investigation."

How reassuring
. "There's no telling how they'll react, you know."

Tracy-Ace shrugged. "Maybe they
need
to be shaken out of their complacency and timidity. But one thing has to be clear—and that's that we, and Carlotta, are deadly serious about getting the full report on the quantum flaws. Without that, everything falls apart."

"Carlotta. Huh. You know, I was wondering why they just up and left, rather than sticking around to make sure things went the way they liked."

"Well, now, that was part of their agreement with YZ/I. They got a chance to make a little demonstration of force, but still appear to be good guys." Tracy-Ace snorted. "Or as good as they know how to be. They knew
we
were there, of course."

"Ah. Of course."

"And I wouldn't assume that they've gone too far away. They're almost certainly around somewhere."

Legroeder absorbed that in silence. It would not do to become complacent about Carlotta's future behavior, either. It wouldn't take much, here on Eridani, for the analysis of
Impris
—and the data he carried—to become mired in disputes. "Tell me something, Trace. Is this all part of that bet between YZ/I and KM/C you told me about earlier?"

"Of course. All part of YZ/I's plan to get Carlotta to start thinking about doing things differently. While keeping her own best interests in mind, naturally. She'd already lost
Impris
, but YZ/I convinced her that she could get something better. So she was willing to flush out some of her spies here, if it helped to ensure that she'd get access to this." Tracy-Ace gently touched the side of Legroeder's head.

He shivered at the reminder. "Will she stick to it? Will she stop the raiding? Is this where the honor among thieves kicks in?"

Tracy-Ace's eyebrows went up. "We'll find out, won't we? She wouldn't do it if she didn't need the information from the Narseil as badly as we do. YZ/I let them save face here, but it's in everyone's interest to make sure Carlotta doesn't wind up feeling conned. They did, after all, refrain from going after
Impris
—and you—while you were en route here."

Legroeder felt that knot in his stomach again. He gazed at Tracy-Ace, and something else in his stomach told him there was more for him to ask. "And you... came to make sure Carlotta's ships behaved themselves?"

"That, and other reasons." Tracy-Ace looked out at the stars and laughed.
Nervously?
She turned to face him again, and clasped his hands between her own. "I was thinking... I might stay on a while."

Legroeder felt a rushing in his ears.

Tracy-Ace looked down at their clasped hands. "For one thing, YZ/I wants to maintain a presence here. Through me."

"Yes?" he murmured. "And the other?"

She let her breath out slowly and raised her eyes to meet his. Her implants were afire. "The other is, I'd like to stay with you. If you want me."

His breath escaped with searing slowness.

"Do you want me?"

Legroeder's eyes were blurring. "You mean that? Really?"

"I just
said
it, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but—"

She stepped closer, until their bodies were just touching. "But what?"

He had trouble meeting her eyes. "Well—you have a life with—the Kyber, right? And I've got this history, where the Kyber are concerned. What about that?"

Tracy-Ace slipped her arms around him and hugged him wordlessly. She pressed her face to his shoulder.

He wanted, desperately, to be satisfied with that. "Trace," he murmured, squeezing her, "what if YZ/I doesn't live up to
his
promise?"

"Which promise?" she whispered.

"The promise to stop piracy."

She chuckled into his shoulder. "I have a pretty good idea what promises he can be expected to keep, and why. I'm
connected
to YZ/I, Legroeder. I'm
part
of him." She drew back and peered at him. "You mean you never suspected?"

Legroeder stared at her, feeling utterly stupid. "Do you mean that you're—of course, you're connected to him. Your augments..." He suddenly remembered his dream—or had it been a dream?—of
his
augments connected to Tracy-Ace's, while he slept and she fought with YZ/I.