Eternity's Mind (23 page)

Garrison and Orli folded around him, and Seth held on to them. Jess and Cesca both touched the ice walls now, and the wentals surged even brighter. Elisa couldn't fight them.

Silently vowing to return, stronger next time, she bolted out of the classroom before the wental energy could strike her again. Leaving turmoil behind her, she ran up the tunnels brandishing the ineffective stunner at anyone who tried to block her way.

All around her, bright wental light continued to intensify through the cometary ice, driving her away.

Elisa cursed all the forces arrayed against her. She had to escape. Regroup. Form new plans.

Hating that the capricious wentals could lash out at any time, hating Garrison, and hating everyone in this Roamer complex, she reached her stolen ship and activated the engines as fast as she could. Newstation security would surely be coming after her now. Alarms had been sent through the complex, but evading them wouldn't be a problem.

Elisa knew she would be back. They couldn't stop her so easily.

 

CHAPTER

36

XANDER BRINDLE

The souped-up
Verne
made quite an impression when it arrived at Newstation. Showing off, Xander arranged for a VIP docking berth with all the amenities. His partner was not comfortable with the extravagance, calling it unnecessary, but Xander knew it was the best way to get the Roamers to pay attention.

“We don't need to be treated as special,” Terry said.

“It's not for our egos,” Xander reassured him. “It's to make them take us seriously. This way they'll really listen when we present our plan.”

Although the two men looked far too young to be captains of industry, Xander had a respected Roamer clan name, and they had the weight of Kett Shipping behind them—not to mention Maria Ulio's money. With that, he and Terry would receive an open-minded hearing when they presented their crazy yet ambitious idea at the next clan convocation. The very thought of their proposed trading complex made Xander grin. It struck right to the heart of what made Roamers great.

OK filed all the appropriate online forms and dealt with the tedious admin details while Xander and Terry went out to enjoy a fine meal in the most expensive eating establishment on Newstation. “There were thirteen restaurants on Ulio that I never got to try,” Terry said. “I always thought there'd be time.”

“We'll just have to make up for it.” Xander lounged back. “We can commission a bunch of new restaurants at our station. That'll be a priority for us.”

“No,
gathering and repairing ships
will be our priority. New restaurants will be a pleasant bonus.”

Xander requested a slot on the agenda of the regular clan meeting the following day, and dropped numerous hints that he and Terry were going to have a grand announcement. Right now, Newstation was disorganized with Roamers rushing about to get in on the new ekti-extraction boom, but most of them didn't have the equipment or the funds to do what they wanted. There weren't enough ships available for sale.

Their new outpost might take care of that problem—in the long term.

Terry was not much of a public speaker, nor was he a Roamer, but Xander told him not to worry. “I'll make the speech. I'll convince them. Let's face it, I'm better at it than you are.”

“You are indeed a far superior bullshitter.”

Though Xander pretended to be calm, he spent a lot of time contemplating what he would say. The next day, as they headed toward the convocation hall, he felt excitement building within him. The chambers were crowded with clan members curious to hear their big news. Most of them were discussing the tragic reports that the Shana Rei and the black robots had completely destroyed Relleker, a prominent Confederation colony. The CDF battle group had barely escaped with their lives.

Xander was outraged. “That's just what they did at Ulio!”

“This makes our proposal more necessary than ever,” Terry said.

On the way to the convocation chamber, Xander spotted Orli Covitz along with Garrison Reeves and Garrison's son Seth. As Xander thought of clan Reeves and the famously stubborn Olaf Reeves, the last piece fell into place in his mind. It was the perfect solution.

Sending Terry ahead with OK, Xander grabbed Garrison's arm. “I've got an idea to run by you! If nothing else, I'd like your blessing … just because.”

In a rush, he described his proposal. At first Garrison was pensive; then his face lit up. “That's a fine idea. In fact, I'll be the first to sign up.” He glanced at Orli. “Are you interested? For safety's sake, it might be best to take Seth away from here anyway.”

She smiled. “I am if you are. Sounds like something we'd like to do.”

Feeling lighter on his feet, Xander hurried in to meet Terry, who looked overwhelmed by the crowds of curious Roamers. Not long ago, in front of a similar convocation, Xander's parents and Orli had revealed that bloaters were the source of ekti-X, which was triggering a sudden shift in clan dynamics and Roamer business.

Xander and Terry's announcement was going to be just as important.

“You don't need to talk, unless you want to,” he reassured Terry as they approached the main podium. “Just stand next to me.” He couldn't stop grinning about the surprise he was about to add.

When Speaker Ricks introduced them, the man didn't seem overly interested in what they had to say, but Xander quickly grabbed the attention of the audience. “Ulio Station is destroyed—Terry and I barely got away with our lives.” He let that hang for a moment. “Right now, the clans are in turmoil because everyone used Ulio as a trading nexus. Roamer trade is scattered and suffering. So what are we going to do?”

He ran his gaze across the rows of faces. “We need a place just like Ulio Station—an independent center where we can salvage or repair ships and where traders and other businesspeople can meet.” He clapped a hand on his partner's shoulder, making him flinch. “And Terry and I are going to build it.”

He heard mutters mixed with chuckles and sighs of disbelief. Disappointed expressions appeared in the audience; they had come expecting a grand announcement, only to hear an unlikely pie-in-the-sky scheme.

Xander knew he would make them come around quickly enough. “We already have the funds. Everything. Paid in full. Our new trading and repair hub will be open for business before you know it. Right now I'm asking the clans to support us.”

Terry seemed embarrassed, but he confirmed. “It's true. We have all the resources we need. I inherited Maria Ulio's fortune. We can begin work. We can pay you. All we need is people who want to join us—oh, and some wrecked ships to start with.” His voice grew somber. “I guess there'll be a lot of damaged vessels at Relleker. We can salvage them.”

After Terry's grim reminder, Xander quickly brought the conversation back to excited optimism. “And by the Guiding Star, Handon Station will grow from there.”

Embarrassed, Terry leaned forward to the voice pickup. “We haven't actually decided what to call it.”

Xander talked over him, emphasizing the name. “
Handon Station
will be a place where Roamer dreams can thrive. And we're ready to get started.”

“But where will you put this new complex of yours?” called out an older woman, the head of clan Gupta.

“We have just the place,” Xander said. Terry looked at him in surprise, but he continued, “Ulio Station was out in the middle of nowhere, and that proved a great advantage for ships of all types. Our location is even better, and it's got history.” He paused, unable to hide his grin. He glanced over at Garrison Reeves. “We intend to open our operations at Rendezvous.”

Mutters—mostly of pleasant surprise—rippled through the gathered clan members.

Garrison spoke up from the audience. “Clan Reeves spent years trying to stabilize the damaged asteroids and make them habitable again, but my father's mistake was that he tried to re-create Rendezvous
exactly
as it was as the Roamer capital. This is a better idea, and I think the place will be perfect. I wholeheartedly support the plan—in fact, I've already signed on to help build Handon Station.”

Terry looked exasperated, but Xander knew the name had caught on now, and they would never be able to change it. He saw the mood shift take hold among the Roamers, and their chatter became excited rather than disappointed.

“I'll be taking signups, and then we can send salvage crews to Relleker. We'll start moving ships to the old Rendezvous cluster and build from there. In time, we expect Handon Station to be even bigger than Ulio!”

OK stepped forward to take applications, while Xander and Terry were ready to shake hands and answer questions. Before long, they had far more signups than they ever expected.

 

CHAPTER

37

KOTTO OKIAH

The survey craft was ready at Fireheart Station, so no more excuses. Every conceivable sensor package had been installed and tested, additional hull shielding mounted, double backups included in the life-support systems and engines. Six weeks' worth of food, water, and oxygen supplies loaded aboard, just in case he got lost in that incomprehensible void, although Kotto expected the trip to last no more than a few days.

No one knew what to expect when Kotto flew the ship into that rift in space, but he was confident he had taken every possibility into account. At least he
appeared
to be confident, as far as everyone else was concerned. “I follow my Guiding Star,” he muttered, “even if it takes me into a deep, dark hole.”

For so many years Roamers had turned to Kotto for answers, and he didn't want to disappoint them by hinting that he was baffled. He'd gotten quite good at using technical jargon and obtuse mathematic derivations to confuse people who pressed him for answers. He didn't like to explain too much.

He'd always possessed such an instinctive grasp of science and engineering that his intuitive leaps usually turned out to be right. Even when they didn't, he had the safety net of his reputation. But in recent years his leaps had been more like blindly jumping off a cliff—especially the Big Ring project.

And now Kotto had something to prove.

A recognized genius didn't just decide to stop having ideas. That was why the Big Ring had meant so much to him, and even after the catastrophic results of the full-power test, he still wanted to yank some breakthrough out of the experiment. He had suggested that the Ring might be used to form a gateway out in space, like a Klikiss transportal large enough to take whole cargo ships from point to point, but he had never expected the gigantic structure to collapse into another dimension.

Now he had to forge ahead and investigate, and maybe even prove that he had been correct in the first place.

KR and GU had triple-checked the survey craft's systems and backups, but Shareen and Howard remained uneasy. The teens had already proved to be adept at spotting subtle flaws in his calculations, and now they wanted to verify the systems themselves. Finally, even they were satisfied. Shareen frowned as she finished checking inside the survey craft's cockpit, closed the access hatches, and nodded. “It looks good, as far as I can tell.”

“You really shouldn't go into the void, sir,” Howard repeated. “It's not necessary.”

“Of course it's necessary,” Kotto said, starting to feel harassed. “We need to understand, and somebody has to take a look. It has always been necessary for someone to take the first leap in exploration. That should fall on the shoulders of the inventor. I made that hole, so it should be me.”

“Why not send the compies alone?” Shareen said. “At least the first time.”

“We will volunteer,” KR and GU said in perfect unison.

“You're coming along with me as a backup,” Kotto said, making his voice more strident. He didn't want to talk about this any more. “This isn't just an esoteric laboratory experiment. We don't have time to dip in one little toe. That gap could be dangerous.”

“Exactly,” Shareen said. “That's why—”

Kotto blew a long exasperated sigh through his lips. “Enough! We've been over this—it's time for me to go.”

“We are ready, Kotto Okiah,” said GU. The compies seemed eager to jump aboard the survey craft right at that instant.

Secretly, Kotto had hoped to find excuses to delay, but that would have been too apparent. He had stalled too much near the end of the Big Ring construction, dithering due to his own uncertainties even after the project was complete. He could not do that now.

No more excuses. He'd already informed Fireheart that he was ready to launch, and the Roamer workers were watching him. From their greenhouse, where construction on the expanded dome had begun, Celli and Solimar had sent out an announcement through telink. All eyes were on him.

If Kotto came back as a triumphant hero, that would certainly make up for the recent debacle. He was nervous, but he also felt a longing. He wanted to
understand.
He wanted to see with his own eyes a mystery that no other human being had ever beheld.

Ever since his youth, the universe had been one gigantic puzzle box to him, a treasure chest of questions and answers. All his life he had pondered insights and revelations, and he wanted more. Right now, he was so desperate that he could taste it. Straightening, he blocked out all other concerns.

Station Chief Alu hurried into the launching bay. “We hope you can decide how to fix that big pothole you created, Kotto, or at least make it do something useful.”

He gave an upbeat smile. “Like every explorer, I do this for the sense of discovery. The practical utility of big discoveries isn't always apparent right away.”

Alu sniffed. “What's apparent to me is that big hole in the middle of the nebula, and a lot of us are worried that you might have created a back door to where the Shana Rei live. You do have the sun bombs with you?”