“Not at all,” I assured him, sitting down in the third chair as Bayta took the fourth. “We were simply taking a few minutes to discuss what this change of plans was going to do to our travel schedule.”
“We shall do our best to minimize any disagreeable effects,” JhanKla promised. “The Spiders have placed a shifter engine into position and will be moving us from the service building as soon as our Quadrail arrives. In the meantime, may I offer you a beverage?”
“Thank you,” I said. “Sweet iced tea, if you have it.”
“I do.” He shifted his attention to Bayta. “And you?”
“Lemonade, please,” she said, her voice a little stiff.
JhanKla nodded and half turned in his chair toward the servitor, giving a short fingertip gesture that sounded a brief oboe note from hiss double-reed claw sheaths. “I have been thinking about the unnamed resort you spoke of earlier,” he said, turning back to us. “As I stated earlier, there are many possibilities. But it occurs to me that there is one in particular that might have caught the special attention of thieves.”
“Really,” I said. In point of fact, my description of the place had been deliberately designed to be as vague as possible. This should be interesting. “Please, continue.”
“It is called Modhra,” he said. “It is a world located in the Sistarrko system, a minor colony near the end of the Grakla Spur, three stops past the edge of Cimman space.”
“Sistarrko,” I repeated, trying to visualize that part of the Quadrail map. The Grakla Spur started at the Jurian home system of Jurskala, cut across the edge of the Cimmal Republic at Grakla and connected with two more of their systems, then pushed past their border again into Halkan space. Unlike the Bellis Loop, which linked the Terran Confederation with the Juriani on one side and the Bellidosh Estates-General on the other, the Grakla Spur didn’t connect to anything at the far end, requiring travelers to backtrack if they wanted to go anywhere else. That wasn’t a terrifically big deal when you could travel a light-year per minute, but it was enough of an inconvenience that worlds served only by spurs tended to be neglected by the main flow of interstellar travel and commerce.
“You have not heard of it, of course,” JhanKla said, not sounding offended. “Most of the system is industrial and agricultural, of little interest except to its inhabitants. But Modhra is unique. It is a moon—a pair of moons, actually—circling the gas giant planet Cassp. Both moons are composed of small rocky cores completely covered by water.”
“Frozen water, undoubtedly, that far out from the sun,” I commented.
JhanKla’s flat face creased in a smile. “Indeed. The outer surfaces of the moons are quite solid, the thickness of ice ranging from a few meters to nearly three kilometers. But
“Interesting,” I said, nodding my thanks as the servitor set my tea and Bayta’s lemonade on the table in front of us. “Sounds a little like Europa, one of the moons in our own home system.”
“So I have heard,” JhanKla said. “But unlike Europa, Modhra I has been extensively developed as a vacation resort. There is surface hiking and cliff-climbing, ranging from the simplest to the most challenging of slopes. There are several ski runs, of an equally diverse range of difficulty. There are also three tubular tunnels that have been bored through the thickest parts of the ice for toboggans and lugeboards, with two more under construction. Atop the ice is a lodge of quiet luxury; beneath it lies a hotel that offers access to the galaxy’s largest indoor pool.”
“With the ice dome above, and the coral formations beneath,” I said, nodding as the name suddenly clicked. Modhran coral had been one of the big decorating fads across the galaxy when humanity first stumbled on the Tube thirty years ago. The stuff had been fantastically expensive, accessible only to the fabulously rich and spoiled.
Unfortunately for Earth’s own pampered few, by the time we learned about it pressure from the environmental lobby had caused the UN Directorate to slap a complete embargo on the importation of all coral and corallike formations. One of the more arrogant of the rich and famous had tried it anyway. Unfortunately for him, he’d had the misfortune of tangling with an honest customs agent, and his subsequent bribe attempt had raised the incident into Class-B felony territory. When the dust finally settled, the would-be smuggler was doing three to six, a quarter of his fortune had been confiscated, and the rest of the upper crust had suddenly decided Belldic marble was just as decorative as Modhran coral and a lot safer to deal with.
“Yes, there are many beautiful coral formations within submarine range, as well as excellent and intriguing rock formations,” JhanKla said- “For those who don’t wish to climb or ski or explore the depths, the surface holds spectacular views of the glory of Cassp itself, with its roiling and ever-changing ring pattern, plus the sight of the companion moon Modhra II as it speeds across the sky.”
“Sounds intriguing,” I said. “And you say you’ve just opened it to tourism?”
“Within the past year,” JhanKla said. “At the moment it is quite expensive, of course, catering to only the richest Halkas and outworlders.”
“That would certainly put it near the top of any thief’s list of happy hunting grounds,” I said thoughtfully.
“It is certainly one possibility,” JhanKla said, peering out the window. “Ah—we are moving.” We were, too, though so gently that there was no particular sense of motion. Heavy-duty shock absorbers, indeed. “We shall soon be connected to the Quadrail and on our way,” he went on. “Are the tea and lemonade to your liking?”
I took a sip from my glass. “Very much so,” I assured him. I had suggested to Bayta that the purpose of this exercise had merely been to hustle us out of Kerfsis system. Now I was starting to wonder if the actual purpose had been to point us to Modhra and the Sistarrko system.
Maybe there was a way to find out. “Modhra sounds exactly like the sort of place I’m looking for,” I commented. “Too bad we can’t swing by and check it out.”
“What prevents you?” JhanKla asked.
“I’m sort of in protective custody,” I said, gesturing at Rastra. “As a result of the trouble at the transfer station,
JhanKla made a sound that was half snort, half bark. “Ridiculous, he said firmly. ”Here in the Tube, you
“Your pardon, High Commissioner, but that’s not the way the protocol is written,” Rastra said, a hint of stiffness in his tone. “Mr. Compton was involved in an incident that drew blood, and has been ordered to leave Jurian space.”
“An order he will fulfill if he travels to Modhra,” JhanKla countered.
“But the intent of the order—”
“The intent is irrelevant, as you have so frequently pointed out on this journey,” JhanKla cut him off. “It is the letter of the law that matters. In this case, that letter has been fulfilled.” He shrugged, a full rippling of his skin. “At any rate, how did you expect him to return to his home again after his journey? All Quadrails to the Human worlds travel through Jurian space.”
“He has a point,” I agreed. “You can certainly escort me out of Jurian space now, but I’ll still need to get back in at some point.”
“True,” Rastra said. “Yet… perhaps.”
“No perhaps about it,” I said, looking back at JhanKla. So with a single one-two punch the High Commissioner had pointed me toward Modhra and then cut me loose from the fiction that had brought me into his presence in the first place. Was that all he wanted?
Again, there was one way to find out. “Of course, in that event, there’s no need for Bayta and me to impose on your hospitality any further,” I said. “We can find accommodations elsewhere in the Quadrail.”
“I can’t let you do that,” Rastra insisted. “Not until I have clarified the protocol.”
“And I would not permit it in any case,” JhanKla said, just as firmly. “Those who attacked you were shamed Halkas. It is my duty and my pleasure to offer my hospitality in recompense.” He looked at Rastra. “So let us compromise,” he went on. “You will remain my guests until
“It is to me,” I said. “
“Yes,” Rastra said, clearly unhappy with the situation. “If the High Commissioner is correct, when we reach Jurskala in three days you’ll be free to travel wherever you wish, provided you don’t leave the Tube while in Jurian space.” He inclined his head to JhanKla. “You may even travel to Modhra, if you so choose.”
“That would be wonderful,” I said, smiling with thanks and professional admiration. Very nicely, very neatly done.
“Then all is settled.” JhanKla said in satisfaction as he gestured again to the servitor. “Let us bring out an
