Blood of the Cosmos (47 page)

“Unacceptable.”

“Then I'm afraid we can't do business. How much does the girl mean to you? What is a cure worth?”

Tom Rom did not hesitate. “You won't take anything from her. She remains intact. But I…”

Zoe felt a surge of energy. “No, you will not!”

Tom Rom looked at her with a hard gaze. “I'll do what I have to.”

Zoe put steel in her own voice. “You will do as I say. I forbid you to sacrifice any part of yourself for me.” Even if she survived the fever, she couldn't live with herself if he did that.

He wrestled with his own obligations. “Then, I'll find another way.” He gave Zoe a supportive arm, lifted her out of the chair, and they left the cure seller's offices. The man didn't bother to make another offer, didn't call them back. It was as if he knew they were going to return anyway. No one else would give her a cure.

When they got back to the ship, Tom Rom placed her on the bunk, told her to rest. She lay reeling, feverish, knowing that a vaccine existed but remained out of reach. “They won't help us. What are we going to do?”

“I am going to find a cure for you. And you are going to recover.”

She tried to ask him how, but she was too weary.

Several hours passed, or several days—Zoe wasn't at all sure. What she knew next was Tom Rom standing next to her, injecting her. She could barely force herself awake. “What is that?”

“Your salvation.” He put the syringe away. “The vaccine.”

“How did you find it?”

“Don't concern yourself with details.”

She drifted for a while, then forced herself back to consciousness. “How did you get it?”

Tom Rom lied. “I found a man who had recently recovered from Conden's Fever. He still had antibodies in his bloodstream. I didn't have enough money to buy your cure, but I did have enough to pay a contract laboratory to process the blood samples into the antibodies you needed.”

“Oh…” She fell back to sleep.

Later, she learned that Tom Rom had gone back to the cureseller, tried to threaten him, tried to break in to his vault, tried to harm him. But the Rakkem biomerchant had plenty of experience with desperate patients, and his security was such that even Tom Rom couldn't defeat it. Instead, he did find a patient who had recovered from the same disease. Tom Rom had offered him significant pay for a mere blood sample—and that man had scornfully turned him down as well. “Why should I help your little whore?”

So Tom Rom killed him and took the blood he needed.

He eventually told her the whole story, after she had recovered. And Zoe remembered every detail of it.…

*   *   *

Now, separated by quarantine walls, she was glad to have Tom Rom returned from his necessary mission to eliminate the traitor Paolus. Together, they discussed via comm what they would do if the Confederation Defense Forces laid siege to the research facility. In order to be prepared, Tom Rom tapped into direct reports from Theroc, keeping an eye on activities there. But he was distraught, waiting for them to move on Pergamus.

Two days later, Zoe could see the excitement on his face. “You know I failed to deliver the Onthos plague data. Orli Covitz almost killed me, and I assumed all those records were lost.” His eyes lit up. “But she survived and delivered the complete database to the industrialist Lee Iswander. And he just delivered that data to Theroc … as a favor!”

Zoe quickly said, “We need to have it.”

“I'm convinced the King and Queen will share those records with us, all of them.” He paused. “But you know the price they will ask.”

 

CHAPTER

77

GARRISON REEVES

After finishing his weeklong assignment on the energy film farm and ready for his duties on the main Ring project, Garrison had earned a day of downtime.

He got to know the other people on his crew. One of his coworkers, Jan Coughlin, had worked with clan Reeves on the Rendezvous reconstruction project five years ago, before moving on. Though Jan expressed deep sympathy for the loss of Garrison's family, he gave the distinct impression that he had butted heads with Olaf Reeves. Garrison couldn't fault him for that.

The Big Ring construction workers were chosen from a large pool of qualified applicants. Everyone from the project supervisors down to the lowest girder assembler understood the basics of zero-gravity assembly and high-tech engineering. Garrison was part of the team, and a part of history.

And he was eager to tell Seth about it.

During downtime, most of the Fireheart construction workers gathered in community modules to watch entertainment loops, play games, or socialize. Garrison, though, requisitioned a scout pod and flew to the greenhouse dome, promising his coworkers that he would bring back a load of fresh produce. “Strawberries, please,” Jan Coughlin said. “Lots of strawberries.”

Garrison promised to get them, but that wasn't the reason he wanted to see the green priests. He was going to send a message to his son.

After he entered the greenhouse dome, the lush fecundity of the place struck him immediately. The moist air, the smell of worldtree fronds and green crops filled the air with the exotic scents of subtle spices. A Roamer worker approached with a bunch of freshly pulled carrots like a trophy in her muddy hands. “Come to get your hands dirty, or just to pick up?”

“A pickup for the Big Ring construction crew,” he said, because that was his legitimate excuse. “Strawberries were specifically requested.”

The woman snorted. “Jan Coughlin always requests strawberries. And the carrots are ready, too.”

“I'd also like to see the green priests. Are they…?”

“You'll be able to find them.”

As soon as he entered the central greenhouse, he saw Celli and Solimar close to the giant trees. They bent down to dig in the imported mulch, planting flower bulbs. Both wore only traditional loincloths; they were entirely hairless with green skin the color of a worldtree frond. Solimar had a broad chest and muscular arms, while Celli was slender with small bare breasts.

They looked up at him at the same time. “Would you like to help us plant some of the bulbs?” Celli asked. “A trader brought yellow tulips from Earth.”

Garrison didn't think he had ever seen a real tulip. Normally in Roamer installations, every scrap of resources had to be useful, every bit of waste recycled. “Aren't flowers a luxury?”

Solimar said, “That depends on how you measure it. A little beauty is necessary too.” The two moved together so seamlessly: Solimar hollowing out a divot in the dirt, Celli selecting a bulb and placing it in the hole, then the two of them covering it up and packing down the soil.

“You are new to Fireheart,” Celli said. “Recently assigned?”

“Yes, one of the new construction workers. I wondered if I could engage your services to send a telink message?”

Solimar gave a casual nod. “Someone back home?”

“My son, Seth—he's eleven, and I just left him at Academ.”

Celli brightened. “We send messages there all the time.” She stood up, didn't bother to wipe the dirt from her fingers, and reached out to touch the wide worldtree trunk. “What do you need to tell him?”

Garrison felt the words catch in his throat. He had so much to say, but Seth already knew it. “Tell him I miss him, and I'm proud of him, and that I hope to see him soon.” It was the best he could think of.

Solimar joined Celli in the telink. “That's all? How about some details?”

Encouraged, Garrison started talking about Fireheart Station, describing his week rigging and folding the energy-absorbent film; then he talked about the Big Ring and the construction work he was doing. As he rambled, the two dutifully relayed the words into the tree; a counterpart green priest at Newstation would receive them through his treeling. When Garrison finished, he was satisfied. “Yes, I think that'll do it.”

Solimar and Celli smiled back at him. “Is there anything else?”

Garrison drew a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the worldtrees. “There is one more thing. I'd like to send another message—to someone named Orli Covitz.…”

 

CHAPTER

78

ORLI COVITZ

The
Verne
and the
Voracious Curiosity
arrived at Ulio Station together.

Ulio was a frenetic bustle in space. Incoming ships raced about in search of open docking ports like insects buzzing around a bright flower. The
Verne
found an available slot by sheer luck, but Tasia had to fly the
Curiosity
for an extra hour, circling until a Confederation freighter disengaged and departed. Robb logged their arrival with Ulio Station traffic control and was pleased to list Orli Covitz, employee of Kett Shipping, as a “first timer.”

“Is there some kind of initiation?” she asked, not sure she wanted to participate.

Tasia gave her a wry smile. “No. Would you like us to arrange one?”

“I'd rather not.”

After disembarking, they worked their way through the interconnected ships to the main core of Ulio Station. Robb turned in a separate direction to retrieve reports from other Kett Shipping traders, who left deposits here and records of their deliveries. Tasia took Orli and DD along with her. “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

With DD beside her, Orli saw a rich array of clothing and body types, heard a range of accents and dialects. Tasia was particularly alarmed when some traders mentioned that clan Duquesne was now also selling ekti-X. Frowning, she pressed into the discussion. “What do you mean? Where are they getting it?”

The two traders looked at her, noting the Kett Shipping insignia on her shoulder. “Ah, I didn't think you'd be happy about that. You're Tamblyn, right? Well, whatever Iswander's process is, clan Duquesne figured it out, too. They sold their first load here a few weeks ago. Looks like you've got competition.”

Orli could tell that Tasia was not pleased as they made their way to the restaurant where they had agreed to meet Xander and Terry. The restaurant specialized in a roasting array with skewers of spiced vegetables, meats, and a dizzying selection of sauces. The smells made Orli's mouth water. Terry and Xander had already secured a table. DD spotted OK, and the two compies quickly communicated and summarized what they had each seen on the station.

Robb joined them a few minutes later, breathless. “Did you hear that clan Duquesne is also selling ekti-X?” he said before anyone else greeted him.

“Yeah, we just learned that, too,” Tasia said.

Xander put his elbows on the table. “Then maybe our news isn't so significant. The tracker on Elisa's ship automatically uploaded into an encrypted file the last time she stopped at Ulio. We have a complete log of every place she went since the last time we met her. We can track them down to their operations.”

Tasia narrowed her eyes. “We'd better get right on that if clan Duquesne is already producing stardrive fuel.”

Robb looked dejected. “We had a plum trading relationship and made a lot of profit in a short amount of time—but that'll change now. Orli told us where the ekti comes from. Does it matter?”

“I don't like it when people keep secrets from us,” Tasia said. “
I
still want to know what Iswander's doing.”

DD offered, “With the tracker data I can create a navigational map and retrace her path.”

Terry had his priorities. “
I'd
like to finish lunch first. Have you tried the medusa meat with the green mint sauce?”

Their meal was interrupted when a green priest entered. His emerald skin and his scant clothing looked quite out of place. He looked around the tables and rushed over to them. “Orli Covitz!”

She rose to her feet, surprised anyone would know her name or be able to find her—especially here. Then her face lit up. “Aelin!” She turned to her companions. “This is the green priest who figured out how to cure me from the plague. He saved my life at the Iswander operations when everyone else had given up.” Though Aelin seemed skittish, Orli threw her arms around him. “I didn't know you were here on Ulio. Did Iswander transfer you?”

“I … I came here on my own,” he said; then his face became drawn. “I could not stand it anymore. The pain, the agony—it is a slaughter! So many butchered. So much blood spilled.” He had to steady himself on a chair, so great was his despair.

Tasia shot Robb a determined glance. “Maybe not so innocent as we thought. All the more reason to go out there.”

Aelin darted his gaze from side to side. “You must not tell anyone I am here. But if you can help stop them…”

“We will do what we can,” Orli promised. “Was that why you wanted to see me? To give me a warning?”

Aelin's expression changed. “No … no. I am still a green priest. A message came through the worldforest mind for you—from Garrison Reeves. I noticed you were here on Ulio. I wanted to see you … to know if you have the same connection with the bloaters as I do. You were immersed in their blood. Do you still hear them?”

Orli remembered the chiming connection she had felt in the dim distance of her mind when the
Prodigal Son
had flown past all the chains of bloaters extending away from Ikbir. “Maybe … just a faint echo. Nothing like the connection you had.” She could not set aside the warm feeling in her heart, though, the eagerness to hear news. “But you said you had a message for me from Garrison?”

Aelin fought against distractions ricocheting in his mind. “Yes … Garrison. It was good to hear from him again, and to hear about Seth at Academ. Seth was my student briefly, along with Arden.” He blinked, focused again as he saw Orli's expression filled with anticipation. “Garrison wanted you to know that he is doing well at Fireheart Station, that he thinks of you often, and that he hopes you find what you are looking for.”