“And then you blew up the fucking ship?”
“No, sir! Not at all! I escaped, that’s all.”
She stared at me. She pointed a thin finger at the repeating explosion on the wall behind her. “How did you get out of that inferno?”
“I… I used their bootleg casting device. I got into the beam, and I ported out. Just like the gear they were stealing. I was sent out across the cosmos to their secret warehouses.”
Galina’s mouth was hanging open now. Not as far as Gary’s had been, mind you, but it was happening.
“Where did you go?”
“To Green World.”
“What?”
I reminded her about Green World. She had forgotten about the place, as it had been years since we’d sent anyone out there, and we didn’t have the direct coordinates to go there on our own. The last few times I’d been there, well, events had turned messy.
“Here, let’s have another glass of wine,” I told her, pressing a fresh glass into her hand. “My trip to Green World was just the beginning. This is kind of a longish story.”
She took the glass sourly and sipped it. She still had that pissed-cat look going on, but there was a hint of curiosity as well. “There’s more to this cock-and-bull tale of yours, hmm?”
“Yes, sir, there sure is. Now, some of these details might sound a little sketchy, but I assure you they’re as true as the Gospel on a Sunday morning.”
Galina released a bitter laugh. “I wouldn’t believe a word of this if I hadn’t seen footage of you entering that ship, and now arriving back here without a scratch on you. Teleportation is a valid excuse, but every microsecond of your story is highly suspect. For example, how is it these scruffy crewmen managed to have a casting device? The mere existence of the technology is top secret.”
“That’s truth, sir. But they had the device, all the same.”
“To perform relatively petty thefts? Why? If you have a casting device, you have the cash to just buy whatever you need.”
“Maybe, or maybe not. I saw a lot of interesting stuff. Most of it was military hardware, supplies, ammo, etc. Even survival gear and spacer suits.”
She frowned at me and stopped the video of the big explosion that was playing on a loop behind her. That was a sheer relief, as I was getting kind of tired of it.
She paged through various documents until she came to some of the original reports from Station Chief Dross and her agents. It was a compilation of missing items. She stared at the list, flicked through it with her fingers, and frowned while she studied the missing items.
“This does seem like an interesting collection. What would you do with all this stuff? Supply an expedition into the Arctic? Go on a hunt for big-game aliens?”
“Something like that. I think the gear is meant to be used in reconnaissance missions, maybe.”
“Recon? By whom, and for what purpose?”
I shrugged. “That part isn’t clear yet. I do have a witness, however, who might be able to shed some light on the topic.”
She stared at me for a moment. “Is that why you and Floramel brought back that freak lizard pet of hers?”
“Uh…” I said, surprised she already knew about Raash.
“What is it with that girl? Why can’t she ever have a human boyfriend?”
“I don’t rightly know. But anyways, that guy isn’t the one I was talking about. I have another companion.”
Galina paused her paging through the reports again. “Another person? I don’t believe it. I looked through all your records, McGill. Those generated since your mystical return show no one other than Floramel and her pet.”
“That’s right. The other guy—well, he’s kind of dead, see.”
“What?”
I lifted my tapper arm and woke it up with my finger. “That’s right. He didn’t make it, so I copied his engrams and a body scan… here it is.”
She ignored my uplifted arm.
“What is this? Another revival scam? Who is it this time—your uncle from the swamp who died of sheer stupidity?”
“Huh? Oh… no, no, sir. This is an important person. Someone you probably will want to revive and talk to.”
“Who?” she demanded.
I smiled, knowing I had this fish on the hook.
“It’s none-other than Tribune Maurice Armel.”
For the second time in the span of a few minutes, Galina imitated my patented look of dropped-jaw astonishment.
-19-
“How did you get Armel’s scan?” she demanded.
I shrugged. “He gave it to me, see. Out at Rigel.”
“When?”
“Uh… three or four days ago... I think. Time is kind of blurry when you switch planets a bunch.”
She stared, then she blinked. “I’m not getting something here, McGill. You claim you were teleported out to Green World where you found a massive warehouse of stolen goods. Right?”
“Several warehouses, actually.”
“Great, whatever. How did you end up going from there to Rigel? According to our best estimates, the two planets aren’t even close.”
“No sir, they aren’t. Judging by dead-reckoning, I’d say they are somewhere between five hundred and a thousand lightyears apart.”
“Okay, so how did you make that trip?”
I squirmed a little. This part of the story had elements I didn’t want to reveal. For example, the part where Abigail had found me on Green World and shot me dead. That would both make Galina want to kill Abigail, and it might reveal the fact that I’d known all along the Clavers were involved in this fiasco. Galina might take a dim view of everything I’d already said if she knew that part.
“Someone shot me on Green World. Shot me dead.”
“Who?”
