She felt her face redden, feeling foolish. She was sure that beneath his mirrored sunshield, the corporal was arching his brows. “The man made eye contact, then fled.”
Khilioi laughed. “This is not exactly the high rent end of the city, Miss Marlijn.”
Dina ignored him. She approached the merchant at the tent where the man had been standing. “Excuse me, do you know the man who was here a moment ago? The man in the headscarf and khaki suit?”
“Sorry, miss, I didn’t recognize him.”
“Come along, Miss Marlijn. You’re wasting your time. Won’t get any cooperation here,” interjected the corporal.
Frustrated, she knew it would be fruitless to pursue the matter. She turned and headed back to the hugger with Jon and Khilioi. She tried to pick up the thread of their previous conversation.
“If the Dailjan do that much business here, I would think the tradespeople would be a good source of information about them,” Dina said.
The corporal snorted as they stepped once more into the coolness of the vehicle. “As I said, you won’t get much cooperation there. The Dailjan are good customers. These people won’t risk losing their business.”
“You’re the law here,” stated Jon, obviously trying to keep the impatience from his voice. “I would think it would be easy to put some pressure on. Threaten to revoke their trade licenses. They won’t lose business. From what you tell us, the Dailjan have no choice but to get their goods here.”
“All due respect, sir, you don’t understand the complexities. First of all, the mercari are very competitive. They struggle to make a living here. Won’t do anything that threatens to reduce any edge they have over their competitors. Secondly, Mother Lode is the most influential power here on Exodus, not us. They wouldn’t stand for any threats or pressure put upon the mercari. Mercari keep the miners happy. Right now, Mother wants more than anything to keep their miners happy.”
Dina concentrated on what the corporal was saying, which wasn’t easy considering the ire that rose at his condescending attitude. “Why all these small independent tradespeople? Why not a single supply post run by the city? Seems like that would simplify things and eliminate problems of competition.”
Khilioi shook his head. “What you’re suggesting is exactly how Ranchar ran things. He had one centralized trading post which had a monopoly on everything from bottled water to play chips. Ran the prices on everything so high that the miners finally protested enough for Mother to step forward and put pressure on the administration to allow free enterprise.”
“The Dailjan obviously don’t work in the city. How do they get the goods or credits to buy or trade for so much of what they need?” asked Jon.
Corporal Khilioi shook his head. “Damned if I know. They produce some jewelry and artwork which they trade, but that doesn’t come close to accounting for the amount of supplies they acquire. You’d be surprised how well equipped they are. Most likely there’s some ‘Avs’ among the Dailjan.”
“’Avs’?” asked Dina and Jon together.
“Don’t know much about our proud history, do you? Avvis Ranchar and his network of corrupt officials? Well, back then there were the ‘Avs’ and the ‘Av Nots.’ Either you were part of his network and getting rich, or you were victimized by his system and starving to death.” Khilioi laughed, but neither Jon nor Dina saw much humor in the remark.
“I thought that all of Ranchar’s cronies were found out and prosecuted,” said Jon, frowning.
“Oh, sure. Most were, most were.” Khilioi turned the hugger around and headed back into the city. “Detailed maps of Exodus with exact coordinates for all known structures and settlements should be in your rooms. As I said, the Albho Road is pretty heavily traveled with miners. Lots of ground markers along the way, and way stations every five decbars that are kept well stocked with water and supplies, should a skimmer or transport break down.”
Jon and Dina looked at each other, each one knowing that one raised eyebrow hung behind the sunshields of the other. Khilioi snickered.
Dina turned and glowered at him, but it was a wasted gesture, lost behind antiglare lenses.
“Oh, a precaution only. Our machinery and equipment here are of the highest quality,” continued the corporal, his snigger reined in to a mere smirk. Dina suddenly felt sticky beneath her weather suit and silently rejoiced when they arrived back at the Visitor Center.
“Your maps and weather suits should have already been delivered to your rooms. If there’s anything else you need, just call me,” droned Khilioi, tiredly slipping back into his role as the proper and professional liaison officer.
“Thank you, Corporal. We will,” said Jon, equally proper. He lowered his sunshield to the tip of his nose and winked at Dina. She suppressed a small smile, noticing that in the strong sunlight, Jon’s hair appeared to be streaked with gold. Hot and sweaty as the man was, there was no mistaking the twist she felt in her stomach when she looked at him. Khilioi, on the other hand, reminded Dina more and more of a sleek and smug rodent.
RAYN SAT ON his skimmer in the shade of the first desert way station and smiled. He shaded his eyes toward distant Aeternus, the lights of Ghe Wespero glinting on the horizon like large exodites.
His excitement mounted.
The woman he had seen had taken his breath away with her beauty. But it had been much more than that. He’d had lovers on this world before, all of them lovely to look at—including Alessane, his latest, who was sweet and willing to please—but none of them had provided what he truly needed. Sport, and the resulting victory.
He had made the first move. The connection had been formed. His eyes had challenged hers, and when her gaze had squared off against his, she hadn’t been able to mask the recognition on her face.
He smiled again as he took off his headgear and drank from a flask of water. She would remember her “dream,” and would wonder about him. Her mind would search for a logical explanation of his appearance, and the puzzle would give her no rest.
He put the water away, pulled his hood back on, and powered up his skimmer.
Little girl, the next move is yours, he thought, shooting his skimmer westward toward the mountains of the Chayne Gwer.
AN HOUR LATER, refreshed and fed, Dina joined Jon in his room and sat beside him at the table. Jon had already started organizing the reports and files he wanted to view. Though eager to begin studying the files on the Dailjan, Dina knew she had to start at the beginning. They reviewed the facts surrounding the actual murders first.
The victims were eight males, all miners in good standing in the employ of Mother Lode. Five were from Dina and Jon’s home world, Glacia; two were Dreinen; and one was a Feoht. All were relatively young and in good health until they were found, their skulls crushed, in little-used or abandoned crosscuts of Kewero Kel and Dheru Kel, two of the three Mother Lode mines. Thus far, no victims had been found in Sawel Kel, the third, and newest mine.
The first victim, Dais Johnter, a Glacian, was found by a co-worker seven months and four days ago. The second victim, Kilist Marhjon, another Glacian, was found three weeks later. R’ke Kai-Men, a Dreinen, was found next, six weeks later. The eighth victim, the Feoht Gillique Samek, was found just three days before Dina and Jon arrived.
The facts themselves were unremarkable. Nothing reportedly was stolen, no gems were unaccounted for, there were no witnesses, and no physical evidence had been found. A background check on all the victims revealed little. All the miners were members of the Miner’s Guild, but had signed on at Exodus at different times. None of the victims apparently knew each other before arriving on Exodus.
Jon rubbed his face with the palms of his hands. Dina knew he was still as tired as she was. “All right. I know you’re itching to look at the Dailjan file. Go through that material while I look at the interviews of the captured dark outworlders.�
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Dina nodded and returned to her room where, with renewed enthusiasm, she opened the first file on the Dailjan. She raised her eyebrows. There was a lot there. She was bound to find something useful. The AEA had actually made quite a few attempts to learn the identity and location of the Dailjan. AEA personnel, both uniformed and dressed as civilians, had questioned suspected members of the Dailjan at the Wespero marketplace numerous times. The Dailjan questioned were reported to be cooperative and polite, always removing their hoods and presenting their ID chips. Thus, there were several names, photographs, and holos on file, but all such identified were legal residents of Exodus.
One, Kindyll Sirkhek, was a miner whose contract had expired. Rather than renew his contract or return to his home world, where he reportedly had no remaining family, he had chosen to remain on Exodus and live the simple life of a Dailjan. He would have his contract fulfillment bonus, Dina thought. So much for Khilioi’s silly “Avs” theory. Here already was a logical explanation for some of the Dailjan’s wealth. When questioned about the “leader” of the Dailjan, Sirkhek had been vague. He had stated that there was no single leader, that everyone participated in the decisions that had to be made and the work that had to be done.
Another Dailjan questioned was Trai Morghen, a former dock worker who had hurt his back and had decided to “retire” to the desert. He, too, gave no information regarding the leadership of the group, and both Sirkhek and Morghen gave the location of the Dailjan main settlement to be “north of the Ghel Mar, south of the Pur-Pelag.”
Another ex-miner, Raethe Avarti, had had his guild membership revoked. Dina sat up straighter and reread the entry. Basically, this man had been fired, but worse still, could no longer work as a miner for any company requiring good standing in the guild. A reason to hold a grudge against Mother Lode or individuals who had contributed to his revocation? All her fatigue now forgotten, she pulled up the detailed Mother Lode file on Avarti. The charge had been “failing to safeguard confidential company business while off company premises.” The incident had occurred a year before, but the revocation hearing had taken place only nine months ago. Before the killings started. Rum Ctararzin, Mother Lode Operations Manager, had signed the revocation order. A hearing, thought Dina, probably meant that witnesses testified against Avarti. A motive for revenge? Dina made a note to find out more about this man.
She didn’t believe for a moment that the Dailjan had no single leader. And he’s very, very clever, she thought. He only sends members who are legal into Aeternus to trade. The illegals and dark outworlders, if any, stay well hidden in the mountains.
Dina opened another interesting file detailing the results of AEA officers attaching a homing device to Morghen’s large cargo skimmer. They had tracked his progress into the desert following a large supplies purchase. A simple tactic, Dina mused, but not so effective in this case. The AEA had tracked Morghen’s skimmer to a cavern near the base of the Chayne Gwer. There they found the skimmer and some supplies, but nothing more. The AEA had tried staking out the cavern on several occasions, but with negative results.
The AEA had even tried infiltrating the Dailjan by having an undercover officer pose as a disgruntled city worker anxious to join the desert band. Dina hunched forward, her gaze riveted to the holo file.
The officer, mingling with the mercari, approached a legal Dailjan at one of the stands. Dina smiled as she recognized the officer as Khilioi, wearing a rather poor disguise which included a head scarf, narrow sunshield, and the loose shirt and trousers favored by the desert dwellers. Dina watched him stroll casually up to the tall Dailjan, who was closely examining a pair of rare, knee-high leather boots.
“Afternoon, friend. Cygian leather, are they not? Finest in the galaxy,” said Khilioi.
The Dailjan, wearing a hood and sunshield but no mask over the lower part of his face, looked up, but did not reply. Dina could see only tanned skin and a severe expression below the sunshields.
Khilioi tried a new tact. “Listen, friend, don’t mean to bother you, but I know you’re Dailjan. I was told you might be able to help me. Was terminated from my job last month, and I can’t find work in the city. I’d like to join you. Almost out of funds.”
“We’re not a charity group,” said the Dailjan, the frost in his voice apparent even through the recording.
“Willing to work. I’ll pull my share, I promise.”
“Do you have a skimmer with you?”
Khilioi nodded. “Over there.”
“Come with me.”
Dina watched as the holo continued with Khilioi and the tall Dailjan waiting on their skimmers at a place which was obviously well into the desert. The white sand whirled in tiny dust devils about their skimmers while a second Dailjan approached on a one-person skimmer, halted the machine, and dismounted. The holo showed the second Dailjan as a man of medium height and build, dressed in a weather suit with a full hood. Nothing at all of the man’s skin or hair was visible. His voice, distorted by the faceplate, would be difficult to recognize. Dina waited patiently while Khilioi again made his appeal to be accepted into the desert band.
Khilioi finished his speech, and there was silence as the second Dailjan apparently considered his reply. When the Dailjan did speak, it was with a voice that was as chilling as any she had ever heard.
“The commitment to the desert and to the Dailjan is not one to be made lightly, and certainly not one to be made as a last resort simply because one cannot find a job in the city.”
Dina shivered, spellbound by the man’s voice. For a moment she forgot she was viewing a holo.
“You will not be accepted as one of us. I suggest you go back to Aeternus and evaluate your life and the choices available to you. The desert life is one of hardship, deprivation, and above all else, dedication. The willingness to embrace all this is something I doubt you have now, or will ever have.”
Dina could see that Khilioi’s face had reddened, whether from the sun or from anger, she couldn’t tell. Khilioi tried to protest, but the Dailjan ignored him, vaulting onto his skimmer and powering the machine away.
Either he’s very cautious, or somehow he spotted the officer for a ringer, she thought. She would love to meet this man and probe his devious little mind. Already a plan was taking form in her mind as she envisioned herself as the down-on-her-luck civilian attempting to join up with the Dailjan. If only Jon would approve it. But she also knew better than to ask him right away. They still had a lot of basic legwork to do before trying a scheme like that.
Dina started the next holo, which once again showed Khilioi in his disguise approaching a Dailjan at the marketplace. Dina smiled as Khilioi used the same opening line, admiring the boots the Dailjan was looking at. This Dailjan, more affable than the last, in turn admired Khilioi’s own. Dina watched the corporal brush the red dust from his high leather boots and boast about the deal he had made to purchase them.
Her eyes tiring from the strain of viewing the holos, Dina was glad to hear Jon’s soft knock on the door. “Come in.”
Jon poked his head into Dina’s room. “How about we share some dinner? I know we have a lot to do, but I think both of us could use a break.”
“Let’s try the commissary below. It’ll get us out of these rooms, and we can stretch our legs. If it’s not too crowded down there, we can swap some information.”
“Sounds good.”
A few minutes later Dina and Jon shared a secluded booth in the commissary, their plates filled with succulent raw fruit slices and a lightly seasoned mixture of grains and vegetables. As they started eating, however, they noticed a number of people file into the room, and the low hum of conversation became apparent. Jon thought it best to wait until they were back in his room to discuss their findings about the Dailjan and dark outworlders. Dina agreed, and relaxed for the first time all day. She forced herself to eat slowly, bu
t all too soon the break was over, and they were back in Jon’s room.
“One of the dark outworlders captured was a mantis named Xuche,” Jon began. “No other name, just Xuche. He was found living in a small cavern in the Wiara Gwer about eight months ago.”
“Wiara Gwer?” Dina was trying to remember from the study of her maps where that was.
Jon reached for his map and pointed out the area. “It’s a range of winding dunes north of the Albho Mar. I take it it’s a pretty isolated area, not really close to where the Dailjan are thought to be. Anyway, Xuche was found on an anonymous tip to the AEA. And he was found alone. From what I know about the mantis, they rarely, if ever, live alone. That would be in complete opposition to their . . . What would you call it? ‘Mission?’ ‘Calling?’”
Dina shrugged. “As good a term as any. I know what you mean. So what did Xuche say when questioned?”
“This is interesting. He said he had been the Uz-Dailjan, but that his teachings over the past few months had become more and more unpopular among his followers. They came to a mutual parting of ways, and Xuche was in the Wiara Gwer trying to establish a settlement he could bring a new following to. When questioned about the other members of the Dailjan, he refused to give any information.”
Dina shook her head. “Doesn’t sound right to me based on what I know about the mantis. They thrive on challenges and overcoming them. Giving up a following voluntarily . . . that sounds all wrong. Unless the truth is that he was forcibly ousted by someone more powerful.”
“Another dark outworlder perhaps?”
Dina looked into Jon’s eyes. “Perhaps. I don’t know. We still don’t have any concrete evidence that there are any on Exodus. But whoever it is, he’s very cunning.” She related to Jon what she had found in the files on the Dailjan. When she finished, Jon stood up, turned away, rubbed his temples with the heels of his palms, then ran his hands through his hair. He turned around to face Dina, and quietly said, “No.”
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