“Heeeeeeey, Vakno, how’s it going girl? It has been a while hasn’t it but hey, you still look repulsive as ever. Don’t really give a guy much time to himself though, do you? I mean, I’ve only had the FTL engaged for, what? 15 minutes? And you’re already calling me to see how I’m doing? I’m touched but –”
He was interrupted by a dry voice liberally tinged in anger, “Where have you been? Our agreement was that you would complete three favors for me, one before you dealt with your . . . problem . . . and two after. I fulfill my side and what do you do? The moment you finish your business you disappear. I’ve already alerted the authorities to your position and they’ll intercept you once you’ve entered established space lanes, but before that happens I’m willing to make your punishment slightly less severe if you tell me how you managed to evade me for so long.”
Selvim’s calm was starting to slip, “Whoa there, authorities? You just said you don’t know what I’ve been up to, so what are you pinning on me?”
“You’re driving a stolen vehicle.”
“Wait, the guy I stole this from hadn’t bought it? What a dick.”
“And in the time you’ve been gone I think you’ll find humans have received somewhat greater attention than they once did. Several particular newscasts come to mind, but also do you think I wouldn’t be able to significantly increase the list of charges brought against you?”
“You’re an information broker Vakno, not some all-powerful spymaster. You know what’s up, you can’t affect what’s going on beyond giving the cops an anonymous tip about a stolen vehicle.”
Eallva could almost hear the deadly glare in ‘Vakno’s’ response, “Would you like to test that statement?” the lack of an answer from Selvim made the reply clear. After his brief silence he attempted a different tack.
“Look, I haven’t forgotten about our agreement. Really, things just took a little longer to wrap up than I thought. But I’m back and I’m here to fulfill the rest of my side of the bargain. And to be fair, you never specified a time limit on how long I took, so you can’t even say you deserve some kind of compensation. So really if you think about it, were I to divulge the tactic I used to thwart your surveillance of me I would be doing you a favor, which I would be happy to trade for one which I owe you.”
By the end of his speech most of his usual confident tone had returned.
“However,” he continued, “It’d be very difficult to offer you my services promptly were I to be unjustly detained by the authorities,” His voice had taken on a forbearing and sardonic tone Eallva was learning to hate, “And I wouldn’t want to cause you any concern on my part, so what if you call off the dogs and I’ll tell you how I did it and we call it square?”
Quiet came from the other side of the conversation until Vakno cursed under her breath. Her next sentence had a grudging respect to it, “Glad to see you’re still not a complete idiot.”
“Aw Vakno, don’t get all mushy on me now, keep saying things like that and I might just start believing it.”
Moments passed, “The authorities are cleared, and for good measure your vehicle is no longer ‘stolen’. Now, how did you manage to hide yourself to the point that I couldn’t find even a trace of your location?”
“I wasn’t really trying, I just ended up stranded on that planet whose moon you sent me to.”
A few more moments went quiet before Selvim spoke again, “You okay there Vakno? Don’t do that to your teeth it’s not good for them.”
“I’m fine,” snapped the reply, “one moment.”
Vakno
The Contact, calmly as she could, closed the channel. The human’s smug face disappeared just before Vakno howled in rage. Of course that’s where he’d gone to ground you idiot! How had you managed to forget he was a deathworlder, that’s what made him useful in the first place! So if he was a deathworlder then he’d have no qualms about going down to a deathworld. Moron! Useless, dull-minded, imbecile!
The Contact was the picture of calm, never ruffled. Vakno, however, despised missing the obvious. Spitting in rage she indulged in several more lurid phrases she’d found appealing during her work, often reserved for contacts who went beyond their agreed upon terms. Eventually the tirade slowed, and she regained her composure. Ordering her thoughts, she reopened the channel.
“Now that the unfortunate business of your previous whereabouts and current mode of transportation are settled,” Vakno’s calm face stared back at me. I had to give her credit, she got over my last revelation fast. I’d thought from the way she’d looked immediately after I told her that she was going to spit blood or somehow kill me through the view screen. Corti have a mean glare, or maybe it was just this Corti. “I do in fact have a task for you. So long as you were serious about being at my disposal then I need you to travel to this station. Coordinates inbound.”
My communications panel bleeped a successful coordinate reception, “Once there I need you to convince a former informant to continue serving in his previous capacity.”
“ ‘Convince’? What do you mean when you say ‘convince’ because I’m not too hot on the whole killing thing lately.”
Vakno gave me her customary “You’re-an-idiot” glare, “Obviously I don’t want them harmed or killed, how would they continue to serve me if they were dead?”
Right. “Okay then if someone doesn’t need killing, why do you want me to do this? Don’t you have any other goons that could do this for you?”
“Yes,” she responded coolly, “But I’m sending you. Will that be a problem?”
“Nope, so what’s my bonus condition?”
Her expression went from cool to confused instantly, “Bonus condition?”
“Yeah, you know, like last time you had what I asked for so long as I technically completed the job, but if I did it really well you threw in a little extra. What do I have to do to get that little extra?”
“There is no ‘extra’ this time, this is purely a one way deal. You’re providing me with a favor because of what I did for you last time,” she straightened, expression clear she considered the matter over, “Make only stops that are absolutely necessary, I want you at that station as soon as possible. Also, despite humanity’s recent reputation, I would prefer you not wear a privacy field going to and from the informant’s quarters.”
“’kay, not that I was planning on it, but where would I have even gotten one of those?”
“I assume your ship has a nanofactory?”
“It does?”
Her look was incredulous, “How did you not know it had a nanofactory?”
I shrugged, “I didn’t know every ship came with them. First two ships I was on I wasn’t really considered a part of the crew, third and fourth ships had them but they were military so I didn’t extend the same supposition to civilian craft, next ship I care to remember was that blasted hunter ship, and believe me I didn’t really poke around it more than I had to, and then I had that piece of shit you gave me which I honestly wonder if it was even built this century.”
“It wasn’t if it makes you feel better.”
“Not particularly.”
“Well, your ship does – I can most definitely assure you – have a nanofactory. I guarantee it has the specs for a privacy field were you to need one.”
“Fine,” I snapped, “Anything else you want me to do for you while I’m at the station? Pick up milk, bread?”
“Just be sure people can see you. Contact me the moment you’re done” The channel closed.
I sat back in my chair, considering the conversation. My thoughts – such as they were – shattered at a voice from the doorway. “I think she wants you to do it because it’ll boost her reputation.”
I swiveled around to see Eallva reentering the room. “Excuse me?”
“The reason she’s sending you and not someone else. Didn’t she say humanity’s developed something of a reputation? That, combined with how you said she only sent you when she wanted someone dead makes me think she’s sending you just to let people know she has a human under her control.”
That . . . actually made a lot of sense, “Wait, how did you become so knowledgeable about space all of a sudden.”
She gave me a look, “Information brokers existed back in Sordit too you know. You may use magic, but you’re all still people up here. If humans are what you and she made them out to be, and she’s sending you on an persuasion mission to an informant, then I’d be willing to bet she wants everyone to know she’s got someone like you at her beck and call.”
“I’m not at her – well fine yes I am, but it’s only temporary.”
“I didn’t mind. Aside from her vocation I don’t know anything about this Vakno.”
“Hope to keep it that way, because if you start learning any more about her, I guarantee she’ll find out about you.”
“And that’d be a bad thing?”
“The Corti – that’s what Vakno’s people call themselves – have a thing for abducting pre-warp species – of which your people are one I’ll just say right now – and doing unethical stuff to them. Humans are also one such species and that’s how I ended up out here. From something Vancil told me a while back I don’t think the Corti know you guys exist yet. Someone does, but not the Corti. If Vakno finds out I guarantee she’d find a lucrative way of selling the fact that another deathworld race is out there, and the most lucrative would probably be going straight to her own Directorate. Soon after that your people would be getting zapped up just like mine probably still are.”
“Oh,” Eallva’s figure slumped, eyes deep in thought.
“So yeah, we’re going to have to be careful with where you go and who’ll see you.”
She hopped her understanding, then opened her mouth, “So wait, if I’m not going to be able to go everywhere, do we still need to have the gravity alternating between each room?”
Dang she really did not like the gravity arrangement although to be fair she moved about by literally jumping, so maybe it had a greater effect on her.
“No, it’s still something you should learn.”
She hopped in a way that suggested she had already known that to be the answer. Another question quickly followed, “So where’re we headed?”
“Not a clue,” I shrugged, “Computer will handle all the details and plot the course. In the meantime, I’m hungry, and I’m hoping you are as well . . . ?” She hopped her agreement. I smiled widely, “Then it is time for me to introduce to you the rapturous experiences that are the grey dough-spheres of fulfillment.
The look she gave me was cautious, “Then why are you smiling like that? That’s not a natural smile.”
“Because,” I said, still smiling widely, “We’re about to have fun!”
If anything she looked more reserved, “Fun doing what?”
I started towards the dough-sphere dispenser, “Learning if dough-spheres have an expiration date.”