The Catalyst (Targon Tales) (12 page)

"Yes, sir," Drackon said without letting his resentment show. The agent sent to take care of the woman had been one of Rellius’ own Prime Staff. Untraceable, unknown, surely a puzzle at Carras’ hands right now. Why was the blame now his?

Rellius turned the skimmer back toward Talan An. "What about the Delphian lab?"

"We believe it to be on one of the Pelion moons. It will be eliminated within days."

"Why am I less confident of that than you seem to be?"

Chapter Eight

"You sure this is it?" Seth peered up at the metal-walled building over the top of his respirator. They were faced by an endless expanse of wall leading to what appeared to be an airfield in the distance. Shuttles and small cargo frigates appeared and disappeared behind the building, indicating a busy shipping concern. There were no windows on the massive warehouse but a jumble of signs in many languages promised a plethora of goods for sale and trade.

"Yeah, only Humans can build something this ugly," Nova said and shifted the oxygen tank slung over her back. "I miss Magra," she added with a smile. A cold and abrasive wind riffled through their clothing and she wished she had worn a few more layers.

He scanned the wide traffic lane beside the building. It was a dusty scrape of bare rock dividing rows of similar warehouses and manufactories. Skimmers and sleds hovered noiselessly along this highway but there were few people on foot. Apparently, Pelion offered some very lovely and livable areas to those who could breathe the air; this was not one of them. The constant air traffic here made the assembly of a dome to accommodate other species impractical.

Seth pulled on a small door next to a sign promising safe and prompt shipping to many destinations. They entered a metal-walled and dust-covered service area. It displayed little more than a weighing platform and a conveyor leading into the rear of the building. The sound of voices and of shipping containers being handled by rails and wheeled trolleys echoed somewhere in the rear halls of the building. Here, too, the walls were covered in signs as well as price lists and insurance notices.

Nova leaned over the conveyor. "Waiter!"

It took several minutes before a Human in coveralls ambled from the back to greet his newest customers. "Help you?” he said, most of his attention on Nova’s legs. Instead of a full respirator, the additional oxygen he needed was fed to him by two slim tubes directly into his nose. Probably more comfortable in the long run, thought Nova.

"Looking for a shipper," Seth said. "A Delphian. You get many Delphians around here?"

"Not often," the man said. "Got a name?"

"No. You took a shipment a couple of days ago, bound for Magra on the
Dyona
."

"Not my problem. Ship got robbed. They had their own insurance."

"I’m not interested in insurance. I need to speak to the Delphian."

Nova hopped up onto the conveyor and idly picked up a wad of wrap used to secure boxes onto their pallets. "Brought in a box about this big. Tempered glass. Yellow stuff in it." She held out her hands to describe the tank in the air.

"You can’t sit on that. We don’t give out information about our customers."

"Except to rebel agents?"

The Human squinted at them suspiciously. "Who’s asking?"

Seth glanced at Nova as if surprised by the question. "We are. Do you see anyone else here?”

"Look, Centauri. You two be on your way. I’ve got nothing for you."

Seth’s hand shot out to grasp the man’s ear and pull his head down onto the conveyor before he had time to react. Nova placed her boot heel onto his neck. Seth took her wad of wrapping and stuffed it into the man’s mouth.

The clerk shouted into his gag, eyes wide. Seth placed his gun to the Human’s nape when Nova removed her foot and slid off the conveyor to peer through the door leading into the back halls.

"I think maybe if I removed that stuff you’re choking on you might be able to give us a name and address?" Seth asked politely.

The man screamed again.

Seth looked over to Nova. "Red, since he’s one of your people, would you mind terribly if I broke his arm?"

"Hmm, can I watch?"

He grinned and tipped his head toward a computer screen mounted on the wall. Nova activated it.

"Batch number," Seth said to the clerk. "Or your arm. Choose."

The clerk nodded eagerly, no longer interested in protecting his clientele. Seth pulled out the gag and the man rattled off a series of numbers that Nova entered into the computer. Seth replaced the gag and leaned on the man’s back while he watched Nova.

She tapped her way through recent records until she found the date she looked for. Among the entries to be found there was the one for the
Dyona
. The payload listed a box destined for Magra and the name beside it sounded Delphian. "This must be it. HazMat shipment, armed escort. Sent by someone Celessa. No other name. On Tyra. Got the coordinates."

Seth turned his attention back to the clerk. "You know, there is something that interests us. When you were asked to arrange for a Union escort, whom did you contact other than the base on Zera?"

The man shook his head, looking even more panicked.

"Come on, you can tell us. We haven’t even broken your arm yet."

The clerk closed his eyes in resignation and went limp. Seth carefully removed the gag again. "I was told to send a message to Magra. Some guy named Zizzy."

Seth looked up at Nova. "Pe Khoja’s flunky." He gently squeezed the trigger of his gun. The man’s body jerked briefly and then collapsed. "He’ll be out for a while but we don’t have much time."

Nova helped him shift the clerk to the floor and push him under the weigh scale, out of sight of the casual observer. "We need to find some weather gear for you," Seth said. "I don’t think I have anything that’ll fit you. Let’s try one of the trading places elsewhere in case someone here gets nosy."

* * *

A short trip brought the Dutchman down onto Tyra, one of Pelion’s many moons. Its orange surface boasted little more than a scattering of mining facilities, some dilapidated to the point of safety hazard, and a convenient dump for Pelion’s dangerous waste products. Seth and Nova climbed into pressure suits for the walk to the buildings listed on the shipper’s waybill.

"Have you had much to do with Delphians?" Seth asked as they were preparing to step out of the plane. He placed her helmet onto her neck plate and watched for the sensors to indicate a seal before bending to let her help him with his own gear.

"Not a lot." She watched him lift a gloved hand to indicate that he was able to hear her over their com system. “Snooty bunch. I don’t think they like Humans very much."

"Well, they don’t really like anybody who isn’t from Delphi. Isolationists, the lot of them. But their huge brains just won’t let them stay put. Ever since the Union got to this part of the galaxy, they’ve been crazy about exploration."

"Seems like a bit of a contradiction."

"It makes sense to them. We need them more than they need us. So they get to play with our toys while pretending to be above such trifles. No wonder people think they’re, um, snooty."

"But you don’t?" Nova activated the controls to depressurize the cargo bay after checking to make sure that everything in the small chamber was securely fastened.

"They’re not so bad once you get to know them. Be sure to treat them politely. They like that."

"I’m always polite."

He snorted in derision and nudged her onto the ramp. They walked slowly toward a single-storied metal box seemingly dropped at random into the moistureless landscape. Other buildings, mostly domed, appeared to belong to the miners. There were a few transporters parked nearby but no one was about. A camera above the hatch of what they assumed to be the Delphian lab followed them as they approached. Seth waved at it.

"So how do you know they’ll even want to talk to us?" Nova said, awkwardly twisting in her suit to look around the barren moon.

"Yes," a cool voice issued from the speakers in their helmets. "How do you?"

Seth hummed thoughtfully. "How about: we have your catalyst? Courtesy of one Myrid passenger aboard the
Dyona
."

Nova snickered when she heard the connection pop in her ear as someone in the building cut off their com link. Only a few moments later the light above the door blinked to indicate depressurization. They were inside a few minutes later and peeling out of their suits when the interior door opened to admit a tall blue-haired woman wearing coveralls.

"Welcome to our castle," she said, but there was neither welcome nor humor in her expression. "You can imagine that we are intrigued by your assertion about the catalyst." She stood aside to let them enter the building. Nova looked up at the woman as they passed and was met by sapphire eyes a few shades darker than the startling silvery-blue hair hanging board-straight to her shoulders. She wondered if the Delphian felt as cold as she looked.

They found themselves in a bare-bones laboratory peopled by three more Delphians hunched over their benches. Like all Delphian males, the men wore their hair considerably longer than the females, held back in tidy braids. They looked up from their work but seemed content to let the woman deal with the visitors.

"You are Celessa?" Nova asked. "My name is Nova Whiteside and that is Sethran Kada. Your catalyst has been problematic for us."

The Delphian motioned them into an alcove away from the work benches where they sat on inflatable loungers covered by thin blankets. There were few pieces of furniture here; mostly lightweight folding equipment used on remote outposts where shipping any piece of luxury was an expensive venture. Despite the frugal accommodations, everything was spotless and tidy.

"We assumed it lost," Celessa said. "The ship was said to have been destroyed. How did you come into possession of the catalyst?"

"I was aboard the
Dyona
," Nova explained. "As part of the escort. I’m sorry that I was unable to protect the tank. It was broken during the attack."

"So where is the catalyst, then?"

"In there," Seth jerked his chin into Nova’s direction. "Your Myrid stung her and transferred the agent."

The Delphian’s pale lips actually shifted into a smile as she considered the possibility. She raised her hands toward Nova and then dropped them again. "But that’s... that’s just wonderful news! Please, may I check for the presence of the agent?"

"We’ve already tested it. It turns water ash into so much junk."

"Please, indulge me. This is very exciting for us."

Nova sighed and started to roll up her sleeve. Seth noticed that she was once again wearing one of his shirts. "Kind of tired of being poked with sharp things, but go ahead," she said with a smile.

The Delphian rushed back into the main lab to confer with her colleagues.

"I’ve never seen a Delphian quite so animated," Seth said. “Let’s hope they have a way of getting rid of this thing for you."

Celessa returned a few moments later. "Please, Elder Sister, this way."

Nova turned back to Seth as they followed the Delphian into a narrow hallway. "Elder sister?" she hissed.

"You ought to be pleased. They don’t call outsiders that very often."

They were led into a separate lab which contained a transparent tank connected to some tanks by a tangle of hoses. The door sealed behind them. Another Delphian was busy with the box into which he now carefully placed a small, covered bowl.

"All right," Seth said. "Why does
he
get to wear a respirator?"

The Delphian smiled, for the second time. "Just a precaution. His name is Kiely. If you don’t mind, Shan Whiteside, I need you to bleed into that bowl after we seal the container. It’s the closest we can get to simulating an in situ experiment."

Nova followed her direction to insert her arm into a tight valve on the side of the box and hold her hand just above the bowl. Celessa did the same from the other side and picked up a scalpel that her colleague had placed in the box. A fan whirred alive somewhere nearby to draw the air out of the container. "Not to worry, we’re just replacing oxygen with a neutral gas similar to what is found on Naiya."

"What’s Naiya?"

"A planet in the Outlands. Where we had intended the box to go. Ready?" Celessa removed the lid from the bowl of water ash in the tank.

"I guess," Nova grumbled, her eyes on the scalpel.

"Want me to hold your hand?" Seth whispered.

Nova playfully kicked his leg just as Celessa sliced her blade across the pad of one of Nova’s fingers. “Put that finger right into the water ash."

"What?"

Celessa took Nova’s hand and pushed it into the bowl. They all leaned forward to watch as the amber powder absorbed the liquid from Nova’s hand and a discoloration expanded from the insignificant wound. They heard a hissing, crackling sound from inside the tank. The process lasted only a few seconds.

"Now what?"

Celessa nodded to the other Delphian. "Now we think it’s inert. If the catalyst you carry is actually viable."

Kiely crouched beside the box to reach into the cabinet below the tank. The floor of the box opened and the bowl dropped out of sight. Celessa picked up a bottle and rinsed the powder and blood from Nova’s fingers. They heard another hiss when Kiely replaced the gas inside the chamber with air. "No ash remains in the container," he said after checking his display. He spoke Delphian, a language both Seth and Nova understood. "I require some moments to analyze the sample."

Celessa released the tight valves around her own and Nova’s arms.

"You can imagine that we’re very curious as to why you want to neutralize water ash," Nova said. "Especially since it’s such a convoluted process."

Celessa nodded and beckoned them to leave the lab with her. "You ought to know. Let me introduce you to the Naiyad."

They returned to the hall and entered another room, this one so dimly lit that they had to take a moment to accustom themselves after the bright light outside. The most prominent object in the room was a large tank filled with the amber fluid that was not quite water and not quite powder. Even as they approached it they could see movements inside.