Hold the Star: Samair in Argos: Book 2 (64 page)

              Tamara shrugged.  “He’s just grumpy because his plans for domination over the Cluster are going to cost.”

              “Yes, I heard,” she said, tapping one claw against the tabletop.  “Seven million.  And it seems we don’t have it.”

              “No,
I
don’t have it,” Vincent confirmed. 

              “Well, it’s easy enough, Captain,” Stella piped in.  “You can make the payments by selling minerals and increased fuel loads to the station.  The big rock that we’re moving out from the belt is just
loaded
with all kinds of goodies.”

              “Excellent idea and it’s one that I think will work,” Corajen said.  “I know the last one, the smaller rock we brought in had about two kilos of gadolinium in it.  Not to mention platinum and some… what?”

              “Gold,” Stella replied.  She shrugged as Corajen pointed at her. 

              “Exactly,” the lupusan said.  “That’s got to be several hundred thousand right there.  From that one rock alone.  And that big one we’re bringing in is going to do the same.”

              “We need some of those materials for the projects we’re working on, you know,” Tamara pointed out.

              “Some, yeah,” Corajen replied with a shrug.  “But you keep a healthy percentage of the marketable stuff aside and pay it to the locals.”

              “That’s a great idea, in theory,” Vincent replied.  “But they have to be willing to purchase the minerals that you bring in.  They aren’t building anything.”

              “That’s not entirely true,” Stella said slowly.  “We do know that they are working on the
Leytonstone
, if what Administrator Korneyev says is true.”

              “I have no reason to doubt her.”  Vincent ran a hand over his head.  “She would have no reason to lie and her anger at the local administration was certainly genuine enough.”

              Stella stood up, now hovering a few centimeters over the table.  She blinked her eyes once and then nodded.  “Well, that’s interesting.”

              “What?” Eamonn asked, looking at her.

              “I just got into the station net again,” she started to explain.

              “Should you be doing that?” Corajen asked.  “Won’t they catch you?”

              Stella laughed.  “Oh, they could, if their security protocols or firewalls weren’t absolute garbage.  It’s like trying to stop a flood with a chain-link fence.  A chain link fence whose gate is wide open.  And I’m only penetrating their systems for one ten-thousandth of a second.  Even if their systems weren’t crap, my intrusion into the station net is minimal.”  She waved that thought away.  “They have stripped the
Kara
down to the bulkheads.  Every iota of working tech, they’ve pulled it all out.  I think they even scraped off the paint on the interior bulkheads.  And they took all that everything and they’ve installed it, transferred it and retrofitted it on the
Leytonstone
.”

              “Really?” Vincent said, sounding interested.  He pointed.  “Would you put it up on the monitors?”

              She raised one hand to her shoulder height, as though she was holding a ball.  Her image rotated so that her left hand, which was now holding a swirling, crackling ball of energy was oriented toward the monitors.  The energy ball looked like something out of a holo vid, like something a sorceress would conjure to throw and cause destruction.  With a casual flick, her arm was fully extended and the energy ball leapt from her fingertips toward the monitor.  It disappeared from the holo projector’s pickup but an instant later, the information about the
Samarkand
blinked out and new data about the battlecruiser appeared.

              “Cute, Stella.  Next time, less theatrics, please?” the captain asked with a slight smile.

              Stella’s image blinked, suddenly she was wearing a chiffon ball gown.  She swept her arms out and gave a full curtsey, going all the way down to one knee, her forehead nearly touching the “floor” she was standing on.  Her image blinked again and she was back to her usual self, wearing her regular gray ship suit. 

              “Oh, I’m sorry, Captain.  I must have misheard.  I thought you said more theatrics,” she said impishly.  She laughed and then cleared her throat.  “I apologize.  Okay, so according to what I found here, they have the
Kara
’s reactor plugged in and are performing preliminary testing.”

              Tamara was nodding, Corajen looked unimpressed, but the Captain looked concerned.  “How much capability can they realistically expect out of one reactor?”

              “Limited, of course,” Tamara replied.  “But that’s certainly better than what they’ve got now.  I don’t know how much movement they’re going to get, or shield coverage, or weapons, or any of a thousand things, but now that they’ve got a reactor working in there, they have more than just a big dead bluff.”

              “Yeah, they have a big, wounded bluff,” Corajen put in.

              The engineer shrugged.  “True, but better than before.”

              “Which brings us back to the original point of discussion, Captain,” Stella said, addressing him.  “Yes, there are things that the locals are going to need and want.  They’re going to need an ever increasing supply of fuel both for the station and for that ship.  Then they’re going to need processed minerals, and they’re going to need a lot of them.”

              Eamonn shook his head.  “And if the admins won’t buy from us?”

              “Then they’re idiots,” Corajen said bluntly.  “But we all knew that.  You’re already selling fuel to the engineers, sell to them.”

              “I’ll talk with them,” Eamonn said with a sigh.  “See what they say.”

              “All right,” the lupusan said, crossing her arms.  “Back to the real matter at hand.  Why am I in this room right now?”

              “I want you to stay here with me in the system,” Tamara said without hesitation.

              The wolf woman looked to her.  “You’re staying here?”

              “I’m going to talk to my team later, I want them to stay too when
Grania Estelle
heads back out, but yes, I will be staying here.  There’s a lot of work in progress and a lot that still needs to be done.  And I need someone to hold everything together while I get that work done.”

              “And you want me?”  She sounded disbelieving.

              Tamara smiled slightly.  “Take this in the spirit it was intended, but if you want people to stay off your lawn, you get the meanest, nastiest bitch you can find to guard it.”

              Corajen stared at the woman for a long moment, then let out a yip of a chuckle.  “So we’re staying here and building an economic empire.  You were saying something about a ship?”

              Tamara nodded.  “The
Samarkand
, yes.”

              “So you’re going to be skippering the ship?”

              But the engineer shook her head.  “No, the Captain pointed out that doing that is a full time job and if I’m commanding the
Samarkand
I can’t be doing the job he wants me to be doing.  So, we need a captain.  And I have one in mind.”

              “You want me to come and work for you?” Galina Korneyev asked, incredulous.

              The lupusan, Tamara and Eamonn were meeting on the station, in one of the small cafes.  Tamara had her usual cup of coffee, but the others had ordered tea.  The former administrator had been keeping herself busy as much as possible since Vincent’s meeting with the local business executives, but both of the humans could tell that she was looking a bit worn.  She had become persona non grata with the government for her outspoken views and her apparent siding with these upstart outsiders and it was always hard for a captain to lose her ship.

              “Is that such a hard thing to believe?” Vincent asked.  “That your skills might be sought after?”

              She gave him a look that dripped bitterness.  “If you’ve been living the way I have, getting the looks and snide comments I have, you wouldn’t find it so hard to believe.”

              “Well, it’s true,” Vincent replied.  “I want you on my team.  Tamara here,” he gestured, “Agrees.  I’m working to secure another ship and I’d like you to be the captain.”

              Galina’s ears twitched.  “You have another ship?”

              Vincent gave a wry smile.  “Not yet.  That’s my next stop.  I have to see my lawyer and then make a stop at the bank.”

              “You can just buy a ship?” Galina asked, impressed.  “I didn’t realize you were so wealthy.”

              Vincent shook his head.  “Sadly, I’m not.  I’ve got some more sources of potential income to tap, but until I can find someone here on the station that is willing to purchase, my source of funds is somewhat insufficient.”

              The wolf woman eyed him for a moment.  “Comments like that suddenly make me less interested in accepting this offer.”

              “I would too,” the captain replied.  “But I have a very large crate filled with gadolinium in my hold and a large amount of gold and platinum in that same bay.”

              Galina’s ears went back.  “Then why can’t you just buy a ship?  With that kind of dosh, I should think it should be a simple affair.”

              “Remember that comment you made a minute ago?  About looks and snide comments?”  She nodded.  “Well, you’re not the only one who’s been getting them.  The admins on the station don’t like me and these new ‘progressive reforms’ I’ve been bringing.”

              “And no one on the station is talking to you?”

              “Well,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I have an ongoing business relationship with the station engineers.  I sell them fuel for the station’s reactor.”

              She nodded.  “I’d heard about that.  I still have a few friends here on the station.  And from what I heard, they are worshipping the space you fly through, Captain.”

              “Well, that’s encouraging,” Tamara said.

              The two humans looked to the elder lupusan.  “So, Galina, will you join us?”

              She smiled, but leaned her head back slightly.  “So far, Captain, I’m not seeing anything
to
join.  Get yourself a ship and we’ll talk.”  She picked up her teacup, which was more of a bowl, and used her long tongue to drink some of the liquid.

              “That’s your final word?” Eamonn asked, unable to hide all of his disappointment.

              “It is,” Galina replied.  “Don’t look so hurt, Captain.  You’ve proven that you’re a man of your word, but right now you’re only selling an idea.  And as an idea, I’m interested.  If you get yourself a ship, come back.”

              “Mister Jollin, it’s good to see you again,” Vincent said, extending his hand.

              A burly man rose from where he was rewiring a panel and beamed.  “Captain!  Always good to see you.”  He wiped his hands on a rag, then clasped the captain’s hand warmly.  “What are you doing down here?” the man asked.

              Vincent smiled.  “This is hardly the bowels of the station, Mister Jollin,” he replied.  “Hub three is in decent shape, thanks to you.”

              “We’re keeping the station running, thanks to your fuel loads,” Jollin said. 

              “Well, keeping things running is in part what I’m here to talk with you about,” Vincent went on.

              Jollin flicked his chin at Tamara.  “Who’s your friend?”

              Vincent smiled.  “This is Tamara Samair, she’s my Operations officer for my affairs here in Seylonique.  Won’t be long before my ship is ready to roll, and I’m going to need someone to stay here and run things for me.  Tamara, this is Mikos Jollin, one of the head engineering officers on the station.”

              “A pleasure to finally meet the man,” Tamara said, shaking his hand.

              “And you, miss,” he said with an appraising look.  He looked over to Vincent.  “Looks like you hire pretty, Captain.”

              Tamara grimaced.  It wasn’t anything that she hadn’t heard before.  Though in the Republic this kind of thing had long since fallen to the wayside, there were still the occasional people, usually men, who would joke or speak in less than flattering terms.  Jollin’s comment was downright innocent compared to what Tamara had heard in the past. 

              She looked him over with a critical eye.  “Well,” she said with a slight smile.  “I do appreciate a man who works with his hands.”

              “And I didn’t hire her because she’s pretty, Miklos.  I hired her because she’s a damned good engineer.”

              “Well then, Ms. Samair, you are definitely someone I want to get to know better,” he said enthusiastically.

              “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few months,” she told him.  “In the spirit of friendship,” she said, pulling a slip of flimsi and handing it to him, “I have a pallet of replacement parts in hangar bay two that I think will interest you.”