Crossways (48 page)

Uncle Ben smiled. “Possibly. It's still three years in the future. A lot can happen in three years.”

“Yes, a lot can happen,” Dad said, in that kind of way that made Ricky think he'd be getting a lot of lessons in farming between now and his fourteenth birthday.

“No pressuring the lad, Rion,” Nan said. “It's his life. He'll be what he'll be.”

Dad sighed and nodded. “Agreed.”

“What do you know about Cotille?” Garrick asked Ben on a visit to Blue Seven. They'd settled in Ben's office over caff, which Garrick drank with good grace.

“Not much,” Ben said. “It was set up by the Trust just as Hera-3 was kicking off. It's a planet with some small potential for platinum, but not enough to draw unwanted attention. It's heavy in iron and coal, so several manufacturing firms took out industrial contracts and sent out engineering specialists. Sofia Lake was the officer in charge of a two-year setup program. She's a very competent administrator, so I doubt there were any problems with the initial mission. Sofia's team would have left behind a Trust officer in charge of a small admin staff, but I'm not sure who that would have been. It should be on the Trust's open records.”

Garrick checked his handpad. “It was Lake herself who stayed behind. She's enquired about terms for a potential trading agreement. They're interested in discussing a move to declare independence.”

“Interesting. I worked with Sofia a couple of times, just after I joined the Trust. She was my boss on my very first colony setup. She always said she might retire into colony admin eventually. Looks like she's finally done it. She has a
family who used to go with her on missions, so I expect they've all settled together.”

“What did you think of her?”

“Psi-3 Telepath and a skilled pilot. Very reliable, evenhanded, a good person to learn the ropes from. Was always particularly good at bringing on new talent in her team. Several of her younger officers have since gone on to command positions.”

“Loyal to the Trust?”

“Yes, but not slavishly. She'll always stand up for what she thinks is right.”

“Ah, good.”

“Does that fit with what you wanted to know?”

Garrick nodded. “One of the reasons she's quoted for wanting to talk to us about leaving the Trust is that she's seen the vid of your confrontation with Crowder and says that she knows you well enough to believe your account. She wants to talk to you.”

“To me?”

“Might it be a trap?”

“If you're sure the message was from Sofia Lake herself and not someone else on her behalf, I would be inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Good, because on your behalf I turned down the invitation for you to visit Cotille, but I invited Lake here.”

“And?”

“She accepted. She'll be here tomorrow morning.”

“I'm planning to take Rion and the family to Jamundi and then to get on with hunting down the lost colonists.”

“I know. Please bear with me and meet with Ms. Lake first.”

Ben waited on the concourse outside the public dock for Sofia Lake's ship to cycle through the air lock and her delegation to emerge. The port operated on a low-pressure, thin-air system designed to cut down on incidents. For anyone newly arrived it was like experiencing high altitude without the slow ascent to acclimatize. Try and cause a ruckus and you'd most likely fall over and pass out. The port officials wore a bio-grafted breathing tube in various imaginative ways. Some snaked along their jawline, up and around the side of their mouth to
their nostrils, others had the tubes grafted horizontally from above their ear with slim oxygen packs worn as hats.

Ben watched from the glazed arrivals gallery as Sofia led three individuals to the immigration gate. With Garrick's personal invitation, the small party was quickly admitted, though, Ben noticed, they still had to pass through a scanner that would pick up most kinds of weaponry, including minute traces of explosives. All four were clean.

Ben scooted down a short flight of steps and arrived at the main gate in time to meet them at the outer air lock where Syke and Nan were already waiting. He'd enticed Nan away from her packing duties. Her Empathy was much more reliable than either Ronan's or Cara's when it came to reading emotions and intent from both psi and non-psi.

“Benjamin.” Sofia held out both hands and Ben took them. “It's good to see you again.”

She'd aged well, her hair iron gray, now, instead of black, but she was still trim and carried her height well. Her skin was barely lined.

“Good to see you, too.” Ben only just stopped himself from calling her Boss. “You retired into colony admin like you always said you would.”

“I did. Got a bit tired of all that cryo.”

“How is your family?”

“Well. Janie is with me on Cotille, but the kids are off doing their own thing. Bran got his implant and is at university on Earth—Edinburgh—studying exobiology and contracted to the FPA. Juno tested negative for psi, but did rather well in engineering. She's an independent contractor on the rim, married to a very nice couple from Walder-5. I'm a grandma four times over. I'll show you the baby pictures later.”

“Sofia, this is my grandmother, Louisa Benjamin.”

“The Louisa Benjamin who negotiated the peace on Scarra?”

“That's some time ago.” Nan smiled.

“But still quoted in the textbooks.”

“I believe so.” Nan inclined her head.

“And this is Captain Syke,” Ben said, making a final introduction. “Norton Garrick and Mother Ramona's Chief of Security. Forgive us for being overcautious. We've had some close calls over the last few weeks.”

“No apology required. These are my colleagues from
Cotille, Elder Zakhar, Elder Gully, and Andrew Hoffman.” Everyone shook hands with everyone else except for Syke, who settled for a bow of acknowledgment and stepped back with his crew. “Elders Zakhar and Gully have been recently elected as Speakers on Foreign Affairs,” Sofia continued. “Andy is my legal guru.”

Ben led the way to the tub system where one of Syke's men had a flotilla of cabs waiting to take everyone to Garrick's Mansion House. Nan sat with the two elders and Syke while Ben settled himself in with Sofia, Andy, and one of Syke's guards. Two tubs of guards, one in front and one behind, escorted them.

“You're looking well, Sofia,” Ben said. “Does colony life suit you?”

“Surprisingly, it does. You should try it. You look like hell, Benjamin. What have you been doing to yourself?”

“Had a small argument with the Folds.”

“Sorry to hear that.” Tactfully she didn't inquire any further.
*Tell me what happened to put you on the wrong side of the Trust.*

*You heard about Hera-3?*

*Who didn't? Hell of a bad break. Platinum pirates and most of your colonists slaughtered. You were damn lucky to get out alive.*

*We got fifteen hundred settlers out, but I lost all but forty-seven of my crew. Wenna Phipps—remember her?—lost an arm. Most of the rest weren't so lucky.*

*Bloody pirates!*

*It's worse than that. Follow the money. Who ended up with the platinum from Hera-3?*

*The Trust, but you don't mean . . . *

*I suspected an inside job, someone leaking information. I didn't expect to find Crowder and Ari van Blaiden in it together.*

*Van Blaiden defected to Alphacorp years ago.*

*Yes, but who was his mentor in the Trust?*

*Oh, gods, Crowder.*

*Exactly.*

*And this Olyanda thing? I've seen the vid. Crowder and van Blaiden.*

*Platinum again, only this time Crowder decided to wipe out the whole colony with a plague. We stopped him.*

He left Cara's part out of it altogether, figuring she would prefer not to have the details shared.

*Van Blaiden?*

*We stopped him, too.*

*And landed on the wrong side of the law,*
Lake said.

*Pretty much.*

*Tell me about Garrick.*

*Clever, manipulative, ambitious, ruthless.*
Ben shrugged.
*Everything you might expect from someone who's scrambled to the top of the heap on Crossways, but he's got vision and a long-term plan that could see this place legitimized.*

*An empire builder.*

*In a way, yes, but not for personal gain. I don't think it's even for personal power, though don't get me wrong, he's not a pushover. He's on top and he intends to stay that way. He's a born politician, but as I understand it, raised on a prison planet for the first sixteen years of his life, not exactly the sort of environment where you can take up politics. He landed on Crossways after a few adventures around the galaxy and spent twenty years working his way to the top.*

*Can we trust him?*

*You can trust him to do what he says he'll do.*

*That's your considered opinion?*

*It is. He didn't let me down. My team and the colonists would be dead if it wasn't for Garrick and Mother Ramona.*

*Fair enough.*

*You've got problems on Cotille?*
Ben asked.

*First couple of years were fine. We're self-sufficient in food production now, but we export high-cost, low-volume goods such as quality cocoa beans and luxury chocolate, but more importantly, catechin and epicatechin for the pharma industry. The Trust is now only offering half the market value while trebling the cost of transport. The Elders have seen the way the Trust's stock has nosedived since your vid hit the S-LOGS and it's given them the push they needed to look for a better deal.*

The tubs pulled up at the central hub where the visitors could instantly appreciate the colossal waste of space of the area, open through seven levels to an artificial azure sky. Hub Park, replete with specimen trees and lush tropical plants, filled the whole of the center. Opposite, flanked by more modest but still impressive residences, stood
Garrick's Mansion House. This time they took the external stair to the grand entrance where Garrick and Mother Ramona formed a welcoming committee.

“Ms. Lake, Mr. Hoffman.” Garrick stepped forward and shook hands warmly as Ben made the introductions. Mother Ramona had dressed more conservatively than she normally did and drew Elders Gully and Zakhar along with her to the impressive state reception room with its elegant proportions and tasteful furniture. A butler and two smartly dressed waiters offered trays of drinks and canapés. Ben caught the eye of one of them and recognized her as one of Syke's guards, then spotted the bulge beneath the bow of her apron that denoted a weapon. Garrick was taking no chances.

Ben glanced at Nan. She smiled and nodded.
*Genuine,*
she said.
*They are who they appear to be and they're looking for a better deal than they're getting with the Trust.*

He felt a wash of relief. He could leave the details of the negotiation to Garrick. He'd played his part.

Four hours later he excused himself, the main points having been agreed upon. From now on Cotille's trading agreement with Crossways included several mutual obligation clauses including a minimum market price for various staple foodstuffs and protection from everything from harassment to a full-scale attack.