Ana-Zhi motioned at my father’s body. “We need to hide him. Or at least cover him up or something.”
That was easier said than done, but eventually we managed to get the cargo netting around his body and secure it under the seats and behind some gear. If anyone searched the shuttle, they would find him, but it was the best we could do.
It wasn’t long before a small, sleek launch emerged from the Vostok and headed our way. It was a newer model Estree orbital yacht and it was probably faster than the Freya had been. It certainly looked nicer.
With a clang, the launch’s boarding tube latched on to our hatch. I checked my weapons. It would be insane to use a blaster in such close quarters, but my judder knife might be useful.
Chiraine turned to me. Even though I couldn’t see her expression behind her visor, I knew she was worried.
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “We’re almost through this—one way or another.”
The shuttle’s controller module alerted us that someone had entered the airlock. Thankfully, there only appeared to be one person—although there could be more on the launch.
“Everyone stay calm and let me do the talking.” Ana-Zhi floated from the cockpit to the main cabin and then looked into the airlock.
“It’s Qualt,” she said. “And he doesn’t seem to be armed.”
She released the interior hatch.
“Knock, knock. Anyone home?” Qualt called, as he stuck his head into the cabin. He was suited up in an armored exosuit emblazoned with the Mayir sigil.
“Well, well, well. Nice to see everyone. Is that you under there, Ana-Zhi?”
“It is.”
Qualt glanced in our direction. “And who do we have here, A.Z.? I was under the impression that the rest of your crew perished and you were all alone at this juncture.”
“I might have exaggerated a bit.”
“I see. Fair enough, fair enough. I’m guessing that the tall one is none other than Jannigan Beck, and the short one is Ms. Chiraine Portelle.”
“It’s Dr. Portelle,” Chiraine said.
“Well, excuse me, doctor. But, A.Z., isn’t she supposed to be the Shima spy?”
“Again, a bit of an exaggeration. I felt I owe her something for helping me find the Kryrk, so here she is.” Ana-Zhi held up the artifact for Qualt to see. “Speaking of which…”
He whistled. “Indeedy. This doesn’t look anything like what Yates brought me. May I?”
Ana-Zhi handed the Kryrk to Qualt.
“Would you look at that,” he said. “All those little swirly things inside.”
“Yeah,” Ana-Zhi said. “Definitely not an engine part.”
Qualt continued to study the artifact. Definitely taking his time about it.
“Well?” Ana-Zhi said finally.
“Well, what?”
“Aren’t you going to do your geochron scan?”
“No need, darling. I can tell from looking at it that this thing is old. Real old.”
“Well, good. Let’s get on with it. The clock’s ticking. Jannigan can go with you and make sure that Yates and Obarral—”
Qualt cut her off. “About that…”
Uh oh. I didn’t like the tone of his voice. Neither did Ana-Zhi.
“Qualt!”
He moved a bit more into the cabin. “So I might as well be straight with you, sweet cheeks. I know Yates and Obarral are conniving assholes of the first degree. Hell, I am one hundred percent in agreement about that. And, despite my rhetoric about being a man of my word and all, I would have little-to-no hesitation about booting their asses through an airlock into the great beyond.”
“Qualt!”
But he just kept going. “The sad fact is, it’s not my call.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I—like you—am but a hireling. Just a man on the job. The Mayir are the ones calling the shots. Don’t get me wrong. I ain’t complaining, but I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of what you call latitude in this situation.”
I felt a flush of anger. This asshole was jerking us around.
“Listen, Qualt,” Ana-Zhi said. “If you want this thing, we’re going to do it my way. Yates and Obarral on Bandala. We contact the Rhya—”
“Let me stop you right there, darling. The whole Rhya thing? That could be a problem.”
“How so?”
“Well, truth be told, the wrigglies are no longer in the picture.”
“What do you mean ‘no longer in the picture’? Spit it out, Qualt.”
“Surely you noticed that for the past, oh, fifty or sixty hours, there hasn’t been any sign of the Rhya. No ships. No transmissions. Nothing.”
I definitely had noticed that. I remember thinking that it was strange that there were no Rhya wardships up on Taullae.
“What happened to them?” Ana-Zhi asked.
Qualt shrugged. “Taken out.”
“Taken out? How the hell do you take out an advanced civilization?”
“Above my pay grade, sweet cheeks. I just pushed the button. But I’d suspect it was some sort of scidatium or another kind of virus. Probably tuned to their particular wrigglie bio-technology. At least that’s the way I’d do it.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You expect me to believe that you took out all the Rhya in the system?” Ana-Zhi scoffed.
“And the Fountain.”
Several moments passed in silence. Ana-Zhi must have been as stunned as me. What Qualt was saying was inconceivable. He must have been lying.
Finally, Ana-Zhi said, “I don’t believe a word of this. Even if you could, why would you take out the Fountain? You’d be trapped here—same as us.”
“Not exactly. Listen, darling, I know this is a lot to take in. But suffice it to say that the original terms of agreement you and I had are impossible to fulfill. So what I’d like to do is make you a very generous counter offer.”
“Go on.”
“You hand over the Kryrk with a minimum of fuss and I put in a good word for you when the Mayir arrive.” Qualt looked over at me and Chiraine. “That goes for you two as well. Field Marshal Molda Prundt could use people with your ingenuity. You found the Kryrk, after all. And handled the Faiurae. That’s some impressive shit.”
“Back up a second, Qualt. You’re not making any sense. What the hell
