the windscreen, watching the robot move across the field. At some point in the morning, the sky had clouded over, but the change had been so gradual she had not noticed. Now, however, the wind was picking up, tossing little swirls of dust across the turnaround. To either side, the neocale dipped and rose with the breeze. Heikki frowned slightly, and glanced to her left, toward the southeast. Sure enough, a bank of clouds was rising there, not as heavy as the previous day’s storm, but still impressive. I hadn’t realized it was afternoon already, she thought, and in the same moment realized belatedly that she was hungry. After a moment’s thought, she searched her belt pockets until she found a crumpled ration bar, and ate it without really considering the too-sweet taste. The robot was moving in short arcs now, and she glanced at the sky again, hoping Alexieva would finish before the storm broke.
The first of the storm clouds were almost directly overhead when Alexieva recalled her robot and lifted a hand to wave the others in. She paused at the edge of the field to give some last-minute instruction to her people, then pushed through the hedge and came to stand at the fastcat’s side. Heikki looked down at her, seeing the other woman’s fine dark hair stir in the wind.
Alexieva pushed the loose strands out of her eyes, frowning slightly. “Dam’ Heikki. I’m glad you were able to see me now.”
“No problem,” Heikki answered absently. Alexieva was a small, sun-weathered woman, dressed despite that in trousers and a worn shirt that left her back and wiry arms mostly exposed. There was nothing at all remarkable about her, except her lightless eyes. They were brown, Heikki thought, but darkly intense, and marked at the corners with fine wrinkles: not the eyes of someone who compromised easily.
“Shall we talk here?” Alexieva went on briskly, seemingly unaware of the scrutiny, and Heikki brought herself back to the matter at hand. “Or if you could give me a ride back toward Lowlands, we could save some time.”
I’d forgotten Precinct manners, Heikki thought, with an inward grin. “No problem,” she said aloud. “We might as well talk on the way.”
Alexieva nodded dispassionately. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Heikki nodded in return, and reached into the cab to pop the passenger door. Alexieva swung herself inside, glancing up at the sky as she did so.
“Better close up soon.”
Heikki felt a stab of annoyance, but had to admit that the clouds were closing fast. She slid back into the cab, and manipulated the controls to close the roof, then almost in the same movement switched on the engine and the map computer. “Coordinates?”
“I can put them in, if you’d like.” Alexieva’s voice made her preference clear.
Heikki’s eyebrows rose. “Go ahead,” she said, with a mildness that would have warned her friends. Even Alexieva seemed to sense something, and she looked up from the miniature keyboard.
“I have an appointment at 0300. I can set shortcuts easier than tell you about them.”
It made sense, Heikki thought, but I don’t have to like your interfering. Nevertheless, she nodded, and touched the controls, easing the ‘cat back out of the turnaround. “You got my message, then,” she said aloud.
Alexieva nodded. “You got my name from Ser Ciceron, and you’re looking for a guide to travel in the Massif, probably along the upper Asilas. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Is this the Lo-Moth latac?”
“I’ve been hired to find the wreck, and salvage anything I can,” Heikki answered, and darted a quick glance at the other woman. Alexieva was frowning, but whether it was answer or merely concentration was impossible to tell.
“You won’t find anything,” Alexieva said, after a moment.
“Why not?”
There was a fractional hesitation before the surveyor answered. “There’s a native hominid, called an orc that lives up on the Massif. If there were human remains, the orcs found them already—maybe ate them, if it was a breeding group that hasn’t had contact with us before. Regardless, they’ll have disturbed the wreck site. You’ll have a hell of a time proving causes.”
“My contract is primarily to find the crash site,” Heikki said.
“Oh.” Alexieva looked at her hands, folded too tightly in her lap, then looked up again as though she’d come to a decision. “Yes, I’d be interested in the job.”
But why go on about the orcs? Heikki wondered. “The orcs didn’t use to disturb machine remains,” she said aloud, experimentally, and there was another little silence.
Heikki risked a sideways glance, to see Alexieva frowning warily at the blank communications console.
“Things’ve changed,” the surveyor said at last, and Heikki frowned.
“How changed? And why?”
“Who knows why?” Alexieva shrugged. “Probably human intervention.”
A good catchall explanation, Heikki thought, except that human beings don’t go into the Massif on that large a scale. “Changed how?” she said again.
Again there was that slight hesitation, before Alexieva said, a fraction too loudly, “Nesting habits—they’re moving into new areas.”
“The orcs rear their young in caves,” Heikki said calmly. “Of which there are a limited number on the Massif, giving the orcs a set of reasonably well-defined breeding grounds, each one of which is occupied by a single breeding troupe. Nesting habits outside the limited breeding area have always been widely varied, depending on the available terrain. Orcs will cheerfully attack human beings who become separated from their vehicles, but have always shown a distinct aversion even to non-functional machinery, until and unless provoked into a killing frenzy.” She looked sideways as she spoke, and saw dull color rising under Alexieva’s tan.
“They’ve become less shy of machines lately,” Alexieva said.
And I think that’s a lie, Heikki thought. It’s a statement I’ll look into, at any rate. “Then I take it you’re not interested in the job, after all.”
“I didn’t say that.” Alexieva looked up sharply, frowning. Her cheeks were still red under the weathered tan.
“You surprise me,” Heikki said, and waited.
“I simply wanted to be sure you were aware of the variables,” Alexieva answered. “No, I would be interested in the work—at standard Guild rates, you were offering?”
But would I be interested in hiring you? Heikki wondered. An interesting question. “Guild rates are a little steep, especially on a world where—forgive me if I’m blunt—you’re unlikely to have the latest equipment.”
There was a little intake of breath from the woman beside her, but when Alexieva answered, her voice was unexpectedly mild. “That’s true, I might be able to arrange a rebate.”
Startled, Heikki glanced sideways again. Alexieva’s expression was determinedly neutral, only her dark eyes and a tightness about her lips betraying any anger. And she should be angry, Heikki thought. I’ve insulted her professionalism where a Precincter’s usually most sensitive, the technology gap between the Loop and the Precincts. She must want this job damn badly.
“My intent was to offer half the Guild rate,” she said aloud—which was only half true, in any case, but should give some room for negotiation. “Plus a percentage of any success bonuses, of course.”
“You’ll accept a formal bid?” Alexieva asked.
“Of course.”
“I’ll have one for you tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll be glad to look at it,” Heikki said. Somehow, she was not sure how or why, the balance of the interview had changed; Alexieva seemed suddenly to want the job far more than was reasonable. And maybe I’m being unreasonable, she told herself. Maybe she needs the money badly—it wouldn’t be the first time competent people have been beaten down to cut rates out here. If all she’s been doing is boundary surveys, then she probably does need the money. Still, I think I’ll ask at Lo-Moth if there’s anyone else, since Ciceron didn’t want to name anyone, and see if Sten can turn up anything.
“Ah.” Alexieva leaned forward in her seat, pointed toward a low-roofed, nondescript building. “This is the place, here.”
Obediently, Heikki pulled the ‘cat to a stop by the unmetalled side of the road, and manipulated the door controls. “It’s been a pleasure talking to you,” she said automatically, and saw Alexieva scowl as though she’d
