Eternity's Mind (19 page)

“I didn't say I disagreed with the decision, girl—in fact, wasn't I suspicious from the start about where all that stardrive fuel came from?” She clapped her hands. “But with the excitement you generated, we'll be distributing the ekti-X from a dozen new Roamer operations, so I consider that a net positive. Where's Orli? I sent her with you for safekeeping.”

As Rlinda walked around the
Curiosity,
admiring her old ship, they explained about leaving Orli with Garrison back at Fireheart Station. Although she let Tasia and Robb fly her ship, Rlinda still felt quite possessive. “You two need to stop adventuring and sit your butts in your office chairs. I chose you to be administrators so I wouldn't have to do that crap.”

Robb had a sparkle in his eye. “Does that mean you took care of the management details while we were away?”

“Not a chance—you both have a month of catching up to do … and you're welcome to it.”

A group of hangar workers, maintenance techs, and interim pilots came to greet them, eager to hear how they had shot their way out of the Iswander extraction field, but Rlinda brushed them aside and hurried Tasia and Robb along. “Come down to the lower hangar. I've got something to show you—and someone you'll want to see.”

A few techs followed, still pestering them with questions, but Tasia waved them off. “We'll tell the whole story during drinks after hours. In fact, we can meet in the lounge area of Rlinda's restaurant, if she'll set it aside for us?”

The big woman nodded. “Cash bar, though.”

Robb said, “And promise there won't be a band. We want to talk. We've got stories to tell, and I'll make sure Tasia sticks to the facts, for the most part.”

Tasia snorted. They all took a lift down to the next hangar level, where they were surprised to see Xander and Terry waiting for them.

Xander smiled. “There you are! We've been fighting black robots and shadow clouds, barely escaping the destruction at Ulio Station—and now you think you can upstage us with some tall tales?”

“We live in exciting times, for better or worse.” Tasia gave her son and his partner warm hugs, as did Robb. Not wanting to be left out, Rlinda took the opportunity to scoop Xander and Terry into an embrace of her own.

OK spoke up. “Are you here to inspect the
Verne?
We are very pleased at the repairs we've completed.”

“We spared no expense,” Xander said. “This is the best ship in the Kett fleet.”

Terry interrupted, “But we won't be flying regular trade routes anymore. We've come up with a way to invest the money Maria left me. Xander and I are going to set up a salvage hub to take the place of Ulio Station. We wanted to seize the opportunity, start a viable business that will help trade everywhere.”

Xander nodded. “They'll flock to a new place. We just need to find the right location, establish the facilities, find a crew and the necessary equipment, then start collecting ships in need of repair, or total wrecks that we can refurbish as habitation units—like hotels.”

“That's an ambitious plan,” Robb said. “Where are you going to gather all this stuff?”

“First off, we're going to take the
Verne
out to Newstation and see if other Roamers are willing to join us.”

Tasia felt warm inside. “That's a grand idea.”

Rlinda clapped her hands again, steering Tasia and Robb along. “Enough of the reunion. Back to my office where I can hand over the paperwork. You two have duties, and I want to give the complainers someone else to talk to.”

“Ah, the glamorous life of running a large company,” Tasia muttered.

“Damn right,” said Rlinda. “The real glamorous part comes when you retire and hand off the duties to someone else.”

Rlinda kept the largest penthouse office in the Kett Shipping tower, where she enjoyed the view. Half of her office had been converted into a company kitchen, because she liked to cook for herself and for anyone else who might visit. Since she was such a good cook, she often had visitors.

As soon as they entered the office, though, Rlinda's mood grew serious. “A lot of bad things are going on out there in the Spiral Arm, things we can't ignore. I wanted to show you some images from Xander and Terry. They barely limped home in the
Verne.
” She raised her eyebrows. “We all know what a pain in the ass the black robots are, but the Shana Rei are much, much worse. Watch this.”

The transparent surface of her desk platform displayed the log images of Xander and Terry battling their way from Ulio Station. Ferocious-looking angular ships piloted by black robots soared in, ripping apart the Ulio complex, destroying Roamer ships that scattered, blowing up vessels under repair in spacedock. The
Verne
barely got away, pursued by robot attackers; Terry activated their stardrive just in time and streaked away, leaving the doomed station behind.

Rlinda's face was heavy with worry as she slumped into a padded, oversized chair behind her desk. “It makes me nostalgic for the good old days when we were just being chased by hydrogues.”

Tasia felt sick watching it. Robb's face was distraught. “I can't believe the boys got out of that.”

Rlinda said, “They may act cocky, but they're not stupid. When they set up their new Ulio, you won't need to worry about them any more than you worry about the rest of us.” With a great sigh, she reached forward to pick up a small silver capsule mounted on a Plexiglas stand on her desk. She held it between thumb and forefinger, regarding it with a longing expression.

“What is the Spiral Arm coming to? I could say that I'm glad BeBob didn't survive to see days like these … but that would be total bullshit. I miss him, and I'd get through this better if he were beside me.” She rubbed the capsule, then lovingly replaced it on its stand.

“Throughout human history, people have said, ‘This is a tough time to be alive.' If there was ever a perfect golden age, I haven't found it. We'll just have to get through.” She looked up at Tasia and Robb, her expression intense. “You will abide by your promise, right? If anything happens to me, see that my ashes are put in a capsule like this one and launch both of us into space, so that Bebob and I can travel together for all eternity.” She forced a small chuckle. “It's sappy, I know, but that's what I want.”

“Nothing's going to happen to you,” Robb said.

“Don't be an idiot. Everybody dies.” She patted her girth.” And look at me—I'm not the picture of health. At my age, I have to think about such things, whether or not there are monsters out to destroy the universe.” Her voice grew harder. “Promise me.”

“Of course we promise,” Tasia said. “But I'd prefer to take care of a lot of other problems first.”

“So would I.” Rlinda stood up and headed toward the small private kitchen. “Let's make something to eat.”

 

CHAPTER

30

ZOE ALAKIS

The more deadly the disease, the more fascinating Zoe found it. And the Onthos plague was endlessly fascinating.

After returning from her nerve-racking journey to Theroc and her successful bargain with the King and Queen, Zoe had isolated herself in her sterile sanctuary on Pergamus, where she could pore over the records about the alien virus.

Throughout her many years at Pergamus, Zoe had lived within her secure habitat, breathing filtered air and eating bland purified food. There, she reviewed the countless research reports her teams submitted as they analyzed deadly pathogens, virulent endoviruses, and recursive genetic maladies, as well as malicious parasites. New diseases seemed to appear just as fast as medical researchers found cures.

The universe was out to kill them. Zoe had always known that, and she would not let her guard down.

Pergamus was an arsenal that contained those malignant microorganisms, and Zoe reveled in them like a collector who managed a zoo of dangerous monsters—monsters too small to be seen, but monsters nevertheless. Degenerative neural diseases, cancers that resisted every known treatment, debilitating muscular diseases, brain parasites—the breathtaking range of virulence made Zoe wonder how the human race had survived this long.

She took comfort in her sterile home, still astonished that she had ever been brave enough to go to Theroc, a place infested with innumerable contaminants. But she had returned home with a tremendous prize: Iswander's data archive from the plague-soaked Onthos space city.

When Tom Rom returned from Kuivahr with Tamo'l's treasure trove of Ildiran genetic information, he had also brought the chief researcher herself. One of the weaknesses of Zoe's collection was that it contained little information about Ildiran morbidities. Since the alien genetics were extremely adaptable and similar enough to humans' to allow interbreeding, their diseases were also of great interest.

As Tamo'l settled in to work in one of the isolated Pergamus domes, Tom Rom sent a list of what she needed to continue her studies. The halfbreed woman seemed surprisingly cooperative, and Zoe looked forward to her initial reports. Maybe Tamo'l was a dedicated and curious scientist, just like Zoe. The researcher was, however, unduly concerned about her refugee misbreeds, wanting to speak to them or at least send them a message. Zoe had allowed Tamo'l to record a message to be delivered to Ildira, which seemed to reassure her, although Zoe had no intention of letting Tom Rom deliver the recording.

Although Tamo'l's stated purpose was to help the misbreeds, the sanctuary domes on Kuivahr had served more as a hospice than as a rigorous research laboratory. Here on Pergamus, though, Tamo'l would have an opportunity to do pure science without the distractions of sick and suffering misbreeds.

After Tom Rom had spent several days establishing Tamo'l alone in her new lab dome, Zoe insisted that he come inside to see her. Thus, he was currently making his way through the succession of decontamination interlocks. Today he and Zoe would have lunch like two normal people—except for the fact that they were inside a sterile dome, eating autoclaved gruel that was full of nutrients but lacking in flavor.

In order to see her, Tom Rom would take nearly five hours to complete the scrubbing and decontamination process to guarantee that he was safely noninfectious when he was with her. Zoe was eager to hear about his adventures on Kuivahr, but it made her worry that he had once again nearly been killed during his service to her. She begged him not to risk himself, but she knew he wouldn't change his ways. He needed to do this—for her, and for himself—and Zoe just had to have faith in his competence and abilities.

She checked his progress, saw that he had two more decontamination zones to endure before reaching her. It would take him another hour, so she settled back to read the reports detailing the symptoms and course of the Onthos plague, as well as how the outcasts of clan Reeves had discovered the derelict space city, found the alien corpses, and begun to suffer the symptoms themselves.

Zoe studied the documents with intense interest, never forgetting that Tom Rom had nearly died from the same illness. In the data archive, she also found numerous insipid farewell messages from dying Roamers recording their last words, as if anyone cared. Zoe had listened to all of them—once—hoping that some victims might provide interesting insights into the progress of the disease. Instead, they were just maudlin goodbyes and not worth repeating. She had done something similar while hovering over Tom Rom in what she thought were his last days of life, before her teams had found a cure based on Klikiss royal jelly.

She blocked out the thoughts, not wanting to remember that time when he had been so sick, when she had been so frightened. She would rather focus objectively on the actual data. That was what mattered.

That fascinating plague had originated with the Klikiss, and the warlike insect race had preyed upon the Onthos survivors after they fled the Shana Rei. Something about the disease's genetic composition made it highly adaptable so that it existed as a retrovirus in the Klikiss survivors, then jumped to the Onthos race … and recently, the disease had mutated to infect humans as well. Zoe thought the virus was marvelous. She kept her library specimens under tight quarantine security, where the plague could never infect anyone else.

After his tedious decontamination, Tom Rom finally entered her sterile central chamber. Dressed in a disposable polymer garment, he was obviously as pleased to see her as she was to see him.

Zoe smiled and sighed. “I know how inconvenient it is for us to have a face-to-face meeting, but it's worth the effort. You and I need to remain in contact.” Her voice dropped. “You're my only friend, Tom Rom.”

“And I will do anything you wish,” he said with a smile, “so long as it doesn't place you in danger.”

“How could you ever place me in danger?”

“Don't underestimate the risks inherent in the universe.”

Zoe looked at the enlarged images on wall screens all around her, scanning electron micrographs of malicious disease organisms. “I don't ever underestimate the risks. You should know better.”

She had set out two bowls of the lukewarm gruel from the autoclave, and Tom Rom took his, sitting down across her desk so they could look at each other while they ate. Zoe knew that other human beings would have touched, even embraced, but she would not tolerate that, nor did Tom Rom expect it. They had their bond. It was sufficient.

She indicated the records of the Onthos plague. “These files are very interesting, some of the best data I have in my collection, but I am interested in learning more.”

“I'm glad you consider the bargain with the King and Queen worthwhile. I've heard that the Confederation Defense Forces have cracked down on Rakkem, as promised. The biomerchants will never prey on anyone else.”