Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids (9 page)

“Arjuk Norcar!  Why him?”

“Because we need someone outside the Federation to pose as an interested buyer of Rinncal Haf-joab’s Epsirt estate,” I said, as I finally dragged myself to the side of the bed and sat up.

“Wrinkles Half Job,” Kala snickered.  “You’re going to try to buy Wrinkle’s estate on Epsirt?”

I gave Kala a frown and said, “Yes! I'm going to try to buy
Rinncal
’s estate!  It’s the only way we can gain access to the planet without creating an incident.”

“So you want Arjuk Norcar to broker the deal for you as an unknown buyer?  Don’t you think Rinncal will want to know who the actual buyer is?”

“Oh I’m quite sure he will insist on knowing.  I want Arjuk Norcar to
be
the buyer.  I'll provide the money, so it won’t cost him anything.  As compensation for his help, he can keep the place or sell it, whatever he wishes.  All I want him to do is pose as the buyer, close on the sale as soon as possible, and facilitate whatever paperwork is needed to expedite visas for my men to respond to the estate as his representatives under the guise of preparing for his own arrival at a later date.  Once they’re mobilized to the surface, search teams can be organized to search for Sisopan and Professor Fass Hakwin.”

“If you
do
find them, then what?” Kala asked.

“Then we go in and get them,” I said.  “Hopefully Hakwin is still alive and not cooperating with them willingly – and hopefully he hasn’t become a whacked-out God Sweat addict.  It would be great if we could get him to help us solve this problem we have with the speed ceiling on our ships.  As for Sisopan, I would prefer that she die, to be honest; but if we can take her alive, we will.  I know there’s potential to extract a wealth of information from her about Brotherhood activities.”

“Stop it, Reide!  Don’t tease him!”  I heard Lunnie’s voice shouting in the next room.

“I’m a fubalo burger, eat me.”  Reidecor was apparently teaching Mimic some new and colorful language, as I could hear the fubalo burger phrase repeated while Reide laughed a deep belly-laugh.”

“Stop it, Reide, it’s not funny!  Daddyyyy, make Reide stop making Mimic say
I’m a fubalo burger, eat me
!” Lunnie said, as she barged into our room with Mimic in her arms.

“I’m a fubalo burger, eat me,” Mimic said, while looking directly into my eyes.

“See Dad, see what he’s doing?!” Lunnie said crossly.

“See Dad, see what he’s doing?!” Mimic repeated.

“Reide, stop tormenting your sister and Mimic,” I said, while trying not to grin.

Reide peeked around the corner to reveal one eye and half of a huge grin.  Lunnie glared at him and stuck out her tongue.  Sticking out one's tongue seemed to be a universal sign of childhood contempt.

“So can I go, Daddy?”

“Go where?” I asked.  Lunnie’s abrupt change of subject caught me off guard, but in the back of my mind I knew there was something I was supposed to be remembering; I just couldn’t place it.

DAD!  You and mother said you would tell me this morning if I could go to the estate for a while be with my friends – AND bond with Poccot.”

“Oh yeah, right,” I said as it all came back to “me.  “I’m sorry Lunnie, but with the attack that happened yesterday and all that went on after, I haven’t been home to talk with your mother about it.”

“Day
before
yesterday,” said Kala.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Dad!” Lunnie exclaimed in disappointment.

“The attack was at dinner two nights ago, not yesterday.”

“Dad!”

“Oh yeah, right.”  I was beginning to feel like I was losing the plot and that maybe I should go back to bed.

“Tib,” said Kala, “I’ve talked to Jenira and she says that she and a few of the Women with Swords are willing to accompany Lunnie to the estate for a while.  She says she will do her best to watch out for Lunnie while remaining as unobtrusive as possible, so she can associate with her friends freely.  I’m willing to let her go if you are.”

“Seriously?” I asked, somewhat shocked at Kala’s decision.  Kala had been overly-protective of the twins ever since they got lost in the maintenance tunnels when they were three… and the later episode at the theater, where they nearly drowned on the anti-gravity stage inside the suspended pool of water didn’t help to quell those tendencies.  So to hear her say she was willing to allow Lunnie to travel to the estate for two weeks without her was the last thing I expected.  “What about Reidecor?  Is he going too?" 

“If Lunnie gets to go to the estate, I want to go too!” Reidecor declared from his position around the corner.

“What will you do there?” I asked.

“I can go playing with Rory at the cove.”

The cove was an area of the estate we had set aside years ago for orphans from Goo’Waddle.  Most of them were now grown and had moved away from the estate; but as they left, there were always new orphans to replace them.  Many were refugees from planets attacked or captured by the Brotherhood.  Rory was one of those orphans.  He was unusual, in that he was the first person I had encountered in the Federation who had Down Syndrome – a condition that was much more prevalent on Earth than anywhere I’d visited in the Federation.  Though it wasn’t unheard of, it was extremely rare.  Because of the advanced capabilities of the Federation scientists and medical professionals, this genetic anomaly could be corrected as late as the second trimester of fetal development by way of something they called
migrated in vitro genetic splicing
.  However, it wasn’t always caught in time. 

Reide and Rory made a strange pair.  Rory idolized Reide and was fascinated by everything Reide did.  Reide liked Rory, because he was attentive to all he said and showed interest in what he was doing.  When we were at the estate, the two were inseparable.

“What do you think, Kala?  Would you survive letting BOTH of your children out of your sight for that long?” I chided.

“Oh Tib, I don’t care.  There’s no reason Lunnie should be the only one allowed to go.  Let them both go.  It’s only for two weeks.”

“So we can go?” Lunnie asked eagerly.

“Yes, you and Reide can go,” I said.  “But what about Mimic?  Who’s going to take care of him?”

“But what about Mimic?  Who’s going to take care of him?” Mimic repeated.

“I’ll take him with me.  It will do him good to get some fresh air and sunshine,” Lunnie said.  I had to suppress a grin at her attempt to sound grown-up by saying Mimic needed fresh air.  In truth, she was probably right; it probably
wouldn’t
hurt the critter any.

Five years had passed since the Federation saved Weccies from the Brotherhood attack and, in the long restoration period following that crisis, a strong alliance formed between the Federation and the otherwise fiercely independent nation-planet.  Until the Weccies were able to rebuild their forces and reestablish their defenses, the Federation agreed to keep the starship
SOKAIA
stationed in orbit for interim protection.  Once the Weccies were again confident in their ability to defend themselves, the
SOKAIA
was reassigned elsewhere; but an active starship-sized Cantolla Gate was maintained nearby to facilitate a speedy response, should the need arise.  A limited-use Cantolla Gate was left on the mercantile space station used by the Weccies to carry out interplanetary transactions and dock freighter pallets of commercial goods at an accessible point outside of their defended orbits.  Anyone conducting business with the Weccies accepted this unusual and unforgiving means of planetary oversight without question; the Weccies did not allow outsiders to set foot on their planet, and these terms were not negotiable.

When I made my request to the Weccies to speak to Chief Banker Arjuk Norcar, I wasn’t sure how long it would be before he responded; but as one of the planet's largest depositors, I expected it wouldn’t be a terribly long wait.  It was important that I had a clear head and no distractions when I talked to Norcar, so I kept my morning activities comparatively simple and quiet.  I was back aboard my carrier flagship, the
MAXETTE,
when he called.

“Admiral Tibby, what a pleasure to speak with you again.  How may I be of service?  I hope all things are well…?” Arjuk Norcar said as soon as he appeared on the vid screen.

“I’m not sure that
well
is the term I would use, Chief Banker, but things seem to be stable at the moment.  At least I can say that we haven’t lost anymore planets to the Brotherhood in some time now; but they did give us a shakeup this week.”

“Yes, I saw the broadcasts of the attack during the inauguration dinner.  Messy thing, that attack.  I’ve also heard there was a rather nasty skirmish where you lost several dozen patrol ships and men; but I’m confident that this won’t become the norm, Admiral.  I trust that your call doesn’t have anything to do with these events…?” he finished again with a tone of query.

“Not directly, sir,” I said, “but insofar as the Brotherhood is concerned, yes, it does.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” he replied with a bit less cheer in his banker’s temperament, “Nevertheless, how may I be of help?”

“We’re searching for a scientist who we believe is being held against his will by the Brotherhood. We also believe that we’ve discovered the hideout of Sisopan, one of the chief operatives responsible for the Brotherhood’s Reduviid terrorists.  You may have seen the images of her that were broadcasted during the news conference.  Unfortunately, both the scientist and the hideout appear to be located on the planet Epsirt, and we have no way of getting any of our own operatives to the planet’s surface to investigate.” 

“Yes, I understand they allow only property owners and their employees on the surface,” replied Norcar.  “But I don’t know how I can assist you with this matter.  We have no agents on Epsirt.”

“I didn’t think you did.  The nature of
your
assistance, Chief Banker, would pertain more precisely to a Federation prisoner convicted of treason – a man named Rinncal Haf-joab,” I saw Norcar raise an eyebrow when I said the name, “who happens to own an estate on Epsirt.  We’re hoping that a private buyer might convince him to sell this property and that the new owner would then concede to securing a number of Federation covert agents as his employees, which means sponsoring the necessary visas – preferably on an expedited basis – to allow them passage to the surface.  However, given the circumstances, it’s highly unlikely that Rinncal would sell to anyone from the Federation.”

“I know this Rinncal Haf-joab.  He maintains sizeable deposits on Weccies.  I hope you aren’t planning to ask me to do anything with his funds, Admiral.  I’m afraid that would violate our banking statutes.”

No, Chief Banker, nothing of that nature; rather, I was thinking that you yourself might serve as the buyer.”

“Before you speak, allow me to say, first off, that your support would come with no financial risk, as the purchase of the estate would proceed with my own private funds.  Likewise, your personal safety would not be compromised in any way, since your physical presence at the estate during these operations would not be required.  Nor would our investigation be traceable back to you, as our agents’ clandestine movements outside the estate would be virtually indistinguishable from those associated with their sanctioned roles as the buyer’s representatives. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t make a request of this magnitude without offering significant compensation for your expertise in matters of financial finesse, which I believe is essential to gaining Rinncal’s trust and convincing him to sell.  As far as the effort associated with the recording of deeds and vetting of entry documents, I understand that remote protocols are used routinely for these purposes.  Just the same, these matters would require your attention and your attention
only
, and would likewise involve a considerable commitment.

“Of course, my people would be available to assist with details such as preparation of credentials that align with the visa applications; formal requests for expedited entry documents outlining some urgency that supports the need for speedy access – let’s say, oversight of some aspect of the estate such as an urgent repair or time-sensitive renovation project; and other documents such as proxies or owner declarations.

“To the point, Chief Banker, in return for your keen negotiating skills, valuable time and irreproachable discretion, the estate would belong to you in every respect – legally and otherwise – as the sole buyer of record to use or sell as you please, once the operation is concluded.”

“I see.  Interesting offer.”

Norcar paused thoughtfully before continuing.  “I’ve heard the estates on Epsirt are quite exquisite.  What makes you think that Rinncal Haf-joab will sell the place to me?”

“Well, for one thing, it’s costing him a lot of money to maintain and, while he certainly has lots of money, he can’t use the place and won’t be able to for a long time to come.  If someone were to come to him with an offer about 50% higher than the going market price, I think he might give the opportunity some serious thought – especially if the buyer is someone he thinks might be influential in optimizing his financial interest in the future, should he ever get out of prison.”