Kismet

by Watts Martin

  Ansel’s still looking at her, waiting for a response. She forces a smile. “Uh, yeah. Just kind of a stressful day.”

  “You said the talk at the school went well.” Sky tilts her head. “Although you haven’t said much else.”

  “It did. I mean, I think I kind of stumbled through a lot of it, but I guess…” She trails off. “I guess I found a voice I didn’t think I really had.”

  “You’re not going to start sounding like Sky, are you?”

  Sky crosses her arms. Ansel gives the wolf a studiously innocent look.

  Gail sips her yerba mate soda and smirks. “I don’t have the gravitas. Anyway, I see you found a new hat.”

  Instead of the cap he’s been wearing, he sports a woven straw hat with a wide brim, shaped to fit around his ears. “I don’t think I’ve seen a handmade hat designed for a totemic before. This is what I mean about being surprised. I hadn’t thought about what a difference it makes to be in a place that treats us as the norm rather than the exception. I love my neighborhood on Panorica, but some of the cultural differences tip in New Coyoacán’s favor.” He waves a hand. “Look at places like this. It’s not much more expensive than most Panorica pubs, and it’s fully staffed. I’ve seen more waiters in two days here than I have in a month back home.”

  “Maybe if you went more places than Acceleration you’d see more full service restaurants.”

  “Come on, the difference isn’t my imagination.”

  “No.” It isn’t. She’s noticed it, too. “You sound like you’re warming to the place.”

  “Don’t think that makes me less skeptical of the politics. You know what props this all up, don’t you?” He points overhead. “Ceres. The water, the minerals. The Cooperative may be a non-profit in name, but without that revenue stream, you’d all be paying much more for all the social services.”

  Sky’s ears go back.

  “Not to change the subject, but where’s Jack? You just said he was ‘out.’”

  “That’s all I know. He checked out of the Sonora River Inn when I did, but he said they couldn’t book him on the next Earthbound ship, so he’s here for another week. When I last saw him he was heading to the canoe rental place.”

  She laughs. “Of course.” Then she glances at Sky. “So how did, uh, tribunal preparation go?”

  “The panel selection went surprisingly smoothly. Captain Taylor was less…obstreperous than I’d been expecting, and Nakimura was confident enough in Keces’ position to not object repeatedly. So we’re ready to go for tomorrow.”

  Gail’s ears lower. So much for the hope she’d have an extra day to strategize. She should just tell Sky about Nelson, right now. She should tell Nakimura about Nelson, too. He knows Quanta has spies in Keces, but doesn’t have any idea the biggest one is someone he’s personally contracting with.

  And if you try and tell anyone about this… God, why didn’t she think to trigger Kis’s recording when he was threatening her? That’d still be telling people, though, wouldn’t it? Just backing it with evidence.

  “You’re looking a little peaked. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Yeah. I am.” She forces her tail to stop twitching, and looks from Ansel back to Sky. “So that’ll be held at the RJC building?”

  Sky nods. “There are tribunal rooms on the first floor.”

  She runs a hand through her hair. “Visible to the public, I’m guessing.”

  “Open to the public.” Sky tilts her head questioningly.

  “Like everything, right.” She doesn’t have to make a big confession, she can just guide her sister. This is what she’s supposedly good at. “I’m just…I don’t want to sound paranoid, but I’m worried about security. Neither Keces nor Quanta wants to be here, they’ve both engaged in skullduggery—”

  Ansel lifts a brow. “Skullduggery? Really?”

  “It’s a terrific word. The point is we’re relying on them to play nice.”

  “I see your point.” Ansel looks between her and Sky. “But—I mean, what are they going to do? They’re holding this at a police station.”

  What are they going to do is the question she doesn’t want an answer to. “No, it’s going to be at a Judicial Cooperative building, which makes it more like—like a judiciary’s office than like even a PFS substation.” Gail sighs and looks at Sky. “I’m just suggesting you should consider ramping up security for this one.”

  Sky looks nonplussed. Maybe the like a judiciary’s office line; the wolf’s always found the notion of privatizing law to be kind of nutty, even if she’ll admit it works in practice. But in this case it’s absolutely true: the Ring employs few armed officers, and as much as they consider that a point of pride, right now it doesn’t feel like an advantage. Although maybe Sky’s wondering if this is another crazy scheme of Gail’s she doesn’t understand, but doesn’t fully trust. Finally, she sighs. “I’ll call Karen tonight.”

  Right. As much as Sky may act like she’s in charge of everything, she’s just a mediator. “Okay.” Gail nods, and again barely manages to keep her anxiety display limited to her tail. She remembers Jack’s conversation a few days ago about totemics keeping animal advantages while discarding the disadvantages. Right now she’d like a sharp word with whoever thought physically broadcasting their emotions belonged in the advantage column.

  “Relax.” Ansel pats Gail’s hand. “You should come to the dance club with me tonight.”

  “You know I don’t dance.”

  His tail wags. “You know that’s immaterial.”

  She half-smiles. “Maybe tomorrow.” Assuming they’re all still alive, and all still speaking to one another.

  “You’re more subdued than usual.”

  Gail looks across the table at Sky, giving her a weak smile. This is the third home-cooked dinner she’s had in four days, and while this one isn’t as elaborate as the other two—a homemade spice mix rubbed over chicken, finished in the combochef along with a couple of pre-made side dishes—she can’t remember the last time her diet’s been on such a streak. She eats out a lot; even cheap restaurants cook better than she knows how to. After these last few days, though, going back to that’s going to be depressing. Cheap restaurants don’t cook better than this.

  When she doesn’t say anything, Sky tilts her head questioningly.

  “You know I have a lot on my mind right now. Bright and chipper isn’t on the star map.” Hey, you know that databox? You didn’t happen to bring it home with you, did you? Leave it some place that isn’t locked?

  The wolf smiles reassuringly. “I don’t think you’ll have much to do at the tribunal, other than answer questions about your involvement. Remember, you’re not being accused of anything.”

  “It sounds like it’s all kind of a foregone conclusion anyway, isn’t it? I mean, we know who owns what on the databox, unless Nakimura’s lying.”

  “We can’t discount that ‘unless.’ And we don’t know how convincing a case Quanta’s going to make.”

  “How convincing a case can they make? They hired Corbett to steal the box in the first place.”

  “Captain Taylor is right about all our evidence being circumstantial.” She sighs. “And Quanta’s not the group whose paranoia made this data vulnerable to being physically stolen, or who were transporting the last copy in as untraceable a fashion as possible, or who bullied you into helping them recover it. Everything Keces has done makes it look like they’re the ones dealing in stolen property.”

  That’s true, and—oh God, this is an opening, isn’t it? If they decide in favor of Quanta, she doesn’t have to steal the box. But she’s been arguing for Keces all this time, and Sky would still say they’re the least worst outcome. They probably are.

  But Gail knows her big sister. If she argues strenuously enough against Quanta, then Sky’s going to at least talk her through the opposing side. “Okay, sure. But what about Quanta’s Purity connection? If there is one, this is like…well, like handing a weapon to your worst enem
y.”

  “That’s another big ‘if.’ I’ve looked into the Lantern Foundation myself. Purity’s been laying low for years, but Lantern feels like—like their academic successor, offering up a pseudo-scientific basis for why they were right all along.” She takes a big bite of the chicken, barely chewing. She always ate faster when she got exasperated. “But we barely have enough to connect them with Quanta.”

  “We have Thomas Burke.”

  “And his son. I know.” Sky sighs. “The theory you and Jack have fits the facts. But as much of an ass as Taylor is, he raised a good question today. Why not just have destroyed all the copies of the databox? That stops Shakti.”

  “But then Quanta loses the advances Keces made on Kali, too, though.”

  “Is that enough to go through all this?”

  “Nakimura doesn’t seem surprised by it.”

  “Given the way he’s treated you from the start, I can’t say that I trust his judgement.”

  “Paranoia’s probably what makes him a good businessman.” She polishes off the last bite of her own chicken, and keeps her voice casual-to-morose. “What would make you decide in favor of Quanta?”

  “Personally?” Sky leans back, frowning thoughtfully. “Proof their claim is legitimate, and definitive proof Keces has been lying to us.”

  Quanta isn’t here to provide proof, and she doubts they’ve told Taylor enough that he can. She might be able to affect the other side of the equation, though. If Sky’s already suspicious of Nakimura, what can she do to tip the scales?

  But Mara’s Blood, if she figures out a way to throw the trial and Keces knows she’s done it on purpose—and they will—she might as well light out for the fringes right now. If Quanta pays her what Nelson says they will, maybe she can flee to Rothbard and drink enough to forget everyone she’s screwed over. Not just Keces, but Sky. Ansel. Hell, even Nevada, a friend she didn’t know she had until a few days ago.

  “Hmm?”

  Sky’s noise jabs her. She refocuses on the wolf, raising her brows inquiringly.

  “You had an odd expression. Sad. Now you look like I just woke you from a daydream.”

  She shakes her head. “No. Sorry. I’m getting lost in thought.” She bites her lip. “So is Quanta really letting Taylor be their stand-in?”

  “Yes. They’ve been one of the most frustrating companies I’ve ever dealt with. I’m almost—almost—sympathetic to the Captain. It’s clear they feel he should just be able to order us to stop playing cops and robbers and hand the databox over to him, and they’re putting a lot of pressure on both Interpol and the PFS.”

  “They understand that not only could they lose the databox, but they might actually face charges for the theft, right? I mean, that could happen. RJC investigations lead to actions on other platforms sometimes.”

  “Quanta could have a socius indignus order placed against them and need to pay reparations. I don’t know what they’d face on Earth, though. The organizations that would have to investigate them seem more interested in protecting them.”

  “Even so, I think they’d take this more seriously.”

  “I don’t think they take us seriously. Not just totemics, the whole River. We’re a bunch of lunatics who made ourselves look like animals and went to live on artificial worlds with minimal governments.” She crosses her arms and half-smiles. “Agent Thomas has joined our side and I’m fairly sure he still thinks that. How do you think people who’ve never left Earth see us?”

  She flashes the expected wry grin in response. But is that it? If they’re pulling Lantern’s strings and Randall works with Purity and the whole theory she and Jack came up with is correct, Quanta’s highest executive levels don’t see totemics as crazy furry space libertarians. They see them as an existential threat.

  She can’t figure out how to reconcile that thesis with them deputizing Captain Spitty, though. They don’t care enough to even send over Nakimura’s equivalent. That’s a blow-off, a corporate hand wave. That’s Quanta saying “ha ha, crazy furry space libertarians.”

  But maybe not. Maybe it’s them saying that as far as they’re concerned the game’s fixed, that they can’t win. That’s why they’re having Suspicious Detective put the screws to her.

  Sky stands up. “Are you finished?”

  Gail nods. “Yeah, thanks.” She stands, too. “I think I’m gonna go for a walk around the block.”

  “If you wait for me to load the dishes, I can walk with you.”

  “No, that’s okay. I just want to clear my head a bit.”

  Sky tilts her head, but nods.

  Gail gives the wolf a hug before heading out, holding it until Sky’s tail wags. “Thanks.”

  It’s just past dusk, the sky filtered down to a dim orange, the few wispy clouds glowing from behind. She stops about a block away at a tiny park, walking into the grass, sitting down and looking up. The sunsets on Panorica look more natural to her now—silly, since this is at least natural light. But it’s two “sunsets,” effectively, the light brightest on the edges of the horizons by the Ring’s rims.

  Is a true horizon sunset—the kind you can only get on a planet—prettier? The light filtered by immense, thick clouds, the sun sinking behind mountains thousands of meters high or into vast oceans? Earth life sounds so incredibly strange: all that physical space everywhere, hundreds of millions of square kilometers, gravity so strong it makes getting back into space frightfully difficult. Maybe if she’d been born there, she’d be piloting atmosphere-bound ships. Or ocean-bound ones. Maybe she’d just be running a junkyard.

  Maybe she’d never have come to a point where she had to decide between betraying her adopted sister and—if she can believe Nelson’s threat—risking her life.

  “I wish you were better at giving advice, Kis.” She says it out loud, just above a whisper.

  “I can weigh probabilities.”

  “Only when you can attach numbers to them.”

  “That is true.” Gail fancies she hears a tone of regret in the ship’s voice. “Are you sure there is no way to do that?”

  “I don’t think so. On the one hand I can try and throw the tribunal and send the databox back to Quanta, which is what Nelson’s trying to force me to do. There’s no guarantee I’ll succeed if I try, but even if I fail, I’ll leave Sky and pretty much everyone I know hating me. On the other hand…” She shrugs. “I confess this all to Sky, or just do nothing, and risk that they’ll try and kill my family and friends. Or worse.”

  “What must happen for the tribunal to be thrown?”

  “Captain Spitty’s going to vote for Quanta and Nakimura won’t. So it’ll come down to getting two other votes to go with Quanta—either Sky and one of the two pool members, or both pool members.”

  “How difficult will that be?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “In the first scenario, the positive outcome is uncertain, but the negative effect of everyone you know hating you is guaranteed. In the second scenario, both outcomes are uncertain.”

  “So statistically, the second scenario’s a better choice. I get it, but the negative outcome from the second one is people dying. I’m screwed either way, but in the first scenario I don’t bring others down with me.” She drops onto her back, staring up at the sky. It’s black in the center now, orange retreated to the edges of the horizons. “I don’t know which one’s going to be easier to do. Or easier to live with.”

  “I do not, either.”

  She lets another minute pass in silence, then pushes herself up to a sitting position, taking out her viewcard. She doesn’t know why she doesn’t want to ask Kismet to run this message for her, but she doesn’t.

  I can’t physically get the databox. But I think I can throw the trial in Quanta’s favor. Ok?

  She stares at the text. Simple. Straightforward. Just like signing an indentured servitude contract. There’s still time to back out, until she touches send.

  She touches send, then closes her eyes.

>   After she lets another minute pass, she stands up and walks back toward Sky’s place.

  As she walks back in, the wolf looks up from the couch. Something on Gail’s face, in her expression, must give away how miserable she’s feeling. She musters an almost-relaxed smile, but it’s too late.

  “Did you clear your head? You look more troubled now than you did when you left.”

  She laughs weakly. “No, I think I’ve gotten some things straightened out.”

  The viewcard pings in her pocket.

  “All right.” Sky looks unconvinced, but lets it drop. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  As Sky heads into the kitchen, she pulls out the card and looks at the one-word reply.

  No

  She puts it back in her pocket and tries to keep from shaking. She can’t.

  When Sky returns, she frowns, setting both coffees down and dropping into a seat by her sister, putting her hands on her shoulders. “Gail, enough. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Taking a quick breath feels like rocks in her throat. “I—Sky, do you trust me?”

  The wolf’s brow furrows. “Of course.”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I think—I don’t think the tribunal’s a good idea. I don’t think we can let a committee decide what happens to the databox. They’re going to end up giving it to Keces and you’re right, they aren’t trustworthy.”

  Sky looks bewildered. “But that’s what the tribunal is for. To decide that.”

  “No. You don’t understand. We can—just get it to…” She stops. She doesn’t know where she’s going with this, what she can say without letting what she knows tumble out. Without putting Sky in danger.

  Sky’s hands drop off her shoulders; she looks at Gail with a baffled expression, then a hurt one, then a measured, doubtful one. “Get it to who?”

  “People—its rightful—God.” She rubs her face. Yes, she’d be so terrific at sales. Come on. Stop panicking.