Mapped Space 1: The Antaran Codex
Page 32
“Yeah I know, seven hundred thousand years ahead of ours,” I said cutting her off. “Which means even if you could reverse engineer it – which I doubt – you couldn’t make another.”
“True,” she said wistfully.
“I’m keeping it. Considering the Black Sauria have sworn to kill me, I may need it.”
“A lot of people have sworn to kill you, Sirius. I’m sure the Matarons will find out just how difficult that is to achieve.”
“My chances will be a whole lot better if I had ammo that could punch through their skin shields.”
“We’re working on it. If we come up with something, you’ll be the first to know.” She took another draw on her fume-stick. “What about the neutron rifle? I really should make you hand it over. It’ll get you life in prison and your ship confiscated, if you’re caught with it.”
“I know, but Izin really likes it. It would break his heart if I took it away from him.” I put the souvenir bag on the table in front of her. “You can have this instead. One used Mataron plasma rifle. The owner doesn’t need it any more on account of his being . . . dead and all.” We could never copy such an advanced weapon, but understanding what damage it did might help develop a defense against it.
“I love it when you bring me gifts, Sirius.” She pulled the bag towards her, opened it just enough to see inside, then with an approving look, placed it below the table out of sight – deal made. She smiled, slowly shaking her head in disbelief. “A tamph with a neutron rifle! Now that really would scare some people, but he did well. Very well . . . Maybe it’s time we brought a few tamphs into the Service. I could create a special department for them, dedicated to reverse engineering whatever the Matarons are using against us.”
“Good luck with that,” I said, knowing the opposition she’d face on Earth.
“Bringing the tamphs in will scare a lot of people, but we need them and they’re ready to play a part. Izin proved that.” She gave me a knowing look. “And anyone who really opposes it . . .” she shrugged helplessly.
“Will be subverted by you or others like you?”
“For the greater good, Sirius. I’ll call it . . . Team Izin.”
“He’d like that, not that he’ll ever know.”
“Only the males though,” Lena added. “No females. Even I don’t trust them.”
“I trust Izin, but he’s the only one. You’ll find the males are honorable. If they give you their word and you keep the females away from them, you could work with them. Earth is their home too, don’t forget that.”
She nodded slowly. “So how much do you want? This was a contract and you have a crew to pay. Shall we say 5 million credits?”
My eyes bulged. “I could buy a new ship for that!”
“You’ve earned it.”
“It’s too much. I couldn’t explain it to my crew. Izin’s already suspicious.”
“They don’t need to know. Think of it as your personal retirement fund.”
I gave her a bemused look, realizing that even though she was a prober, she really didn’t understand me at all. “The repairs will cost thirty five thousand. Add shares for Jase and Izin, and Marie’s cut . . . ” I did a few quick sums. “Make it a hundred thousand. Small profit for everyone. Not too conspicuous. I’ll tell them Jie Kang Li always pays his debts and I would have got a lot more if I’d delivered the Codex.”
“It’s believable.”
“I also want you to put the survivalist community on Deadwood back into the navy’s astrographics catalogue.”
“That’s a little sentimental, Sirius, even for you.”
“It’s the deal I made. They help us save mankind’s right to the stars, we save their planet from the Consortium. It’s a small price to pay.”
“OK, the navy will make sure they have prior claim.”
“And I want a thousand SN6 sniper rifles, a hundred thousand rounds of smart ammo – various types – and fifty orbital cannons.”
She gave me a wide-eyed look. “Are you serious?”
“This mission would have failed without Klasson. We owe him. You owe him. Or you could give me the five million and I’ll buy them on the black market, but I’d rather not have the navy catch me smuggling weapons. I want it legal. Consider it a fitting punishment for the Consortium consorting with the enemy.”
“Unknowingly consorting,” she corrected.
“Come to think of it, I really don’t like the Consortium. I want an orbital gunship as well. Klasson wrecked the piece of junk he was flying saving my ass. It’s the least I can do.”
Lena grinned. “Any particular model?”
“No, just something with a big gun, a comfortable acceleration couch and a case of genuine Earth-distilled Kentucky bourbon, for the pilot.” When she gave me a puzzled look, I shrugged. “What can I say? I like Klasson.”
He probably couldn’t stop the Consortium from terraforming Deadwood, but a little leverage might let him save his corner of it.” I leaned towards her. “I gave him my word. You’re not going to make me break my word are you?”
She sighed. “OK, I have no love of the Consortium either. You can pick up your weapons from Armin’s in thirty days and the navy will look the other way, although, you might have to wait a few years for the bourbon.”
“It’s always a pleasure doing business with you, Lena.”
She gazed at me, seemingly perplexed, or maybe she was doing her spooky prober thing on me again. Eventually, she said, “If you really don’t care about money, Sirius, why did you leave the service?”
“I like the freedom, and my brother’s out there somewhere.”
“Forget about him, Sirius. You know what he’s become.”
“People can change. Sometimes, all they need is the right encouragement.”
“What about Marie? She almost cost you your life on the Soberano. You shouldn’t have dropped your weapon to save her, you know that. You should have killed the Mataron with the Q-blade, while his gun was pointed at her head. That was the smart option.”
And Marie would certainly be dead. Fortunately, I’m not that smart. “That’s another reason why I left the Service. I don’t make decisions like that.”
“Marie Dulon is your blind spot, Sirius. While she’s around, you will make mistakes.”
“Yeah, but what mistakes!”
“She’ll get you killed one day.”
“Maybe, but not today.” I offered Lena my hand. “I guess it’s time you switched me off.” The mission was over and my threading was still active.
Lena looked at my hand thoughtfully, then slowly shook her head. “You may not realize it, Sirius, but you’re the best agent we have out here. I told you on the Nassau, we consider you a freelance asset. Judging by what’s happened, we were right. You keep doing whatever it is you do and when we need you again, we’ll be in touch. And if you find something that needs doing, you take care of it.”
“I don’t even know how to contact you.” Since my threading’s emergency purge on Icetop, I’d lost the keys to the kingdom: all the authentications and recognition codes were gone.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “All it takes is a handshake to bring you back up to speed.”
“Goodbye, Lena,” I said standing, certain she was never going to let me go, but now that it was on my terms, it might be a good deal for both of us.
Perhaps I’d always been a freelance asset without ever realizing it. For now, I had another week with Marie before the Lining was repaired. A week with no cares, no Mataron’s, no responsibilities, just one headstrong, tantalizing woman to keep the nights long and the days stimulating.
It would be a week to remember.
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