Transformation Space - Marianne de Pierres [107]
‘We’re thinkin’ they might come for you soon,’ she whispered. ‘We’re thinkin’ that Lasper weren’t out looking for his son near Mintaka; he was wantin’ to find that Lostol fella.’
‘Ra?’ whispered back Balbao.
Hob took up the thread. ‘Yeah. See, Tekkie stole his future predictin’ device. We thinkin’ mebbe he wants Ra to build him another one. That’s why we’re here.’
Balbao let Hob’s theory sink in. ‘Lasper wants to recreate the device here?’
‘Well, somethin’. Scolar station’s got an information node. Probably the only one left, now everyone else’s closed their spheres or been wiped out,’ said Sammy. ‘Lasper’s no fool. He wouldn’t be riskin’ comin’ here for no good reason.’
Balbao waited, still not sure what they wanted.
‘We’re thinkin’ scientists like you might be thin on the ground on Scolar. We’re thinkin’ Lasper might need you, so you gettin’ out of here might be our only chance.’
‘Only chance to do what?’
‘To get rid of Lasper Farr. Consilience needs a new leader, someone who ain’t crazy. And she’s here, aboard this ship. Name’s Bethany Ionil – Lasper’s sister. We want you to get a message to an ’esque named Petalu Mau. Tell him Sammy said, “Now’s the time.” That’s all you gotta do.’
‘“Now’s the time”? What does that mean?’
‘That means Bethany’s supporters take over the ship; we get outta here and away from Scolar. You and the others go where you want. That’s gotta be better than sitting in this cell waiting for the Extros to come.’
Balbao’s frill stiffened. A mutiny.
He’d been an academic for his entire adult life, but at the mention of a revolt his carefully constructed civility began to peel away. He would die here soon if he didn’t grasp the opportunity. Though he had no way of knowing the full implications of Sammy’s plan, or even if what she sought would be better or worse for them all, he did know he had no wish to remain Lasper Farr’s prisoner.
‘How will I find this Petalu Mau?’
‘He’ll be with Lasper, bein’ his bodyguard. Big, wide teranu who likes to eat. Can’t mistake him. No one else looks like him.’
‘Farr’s bodyguard?’
‘Bethany’s as well. Beth treats him a lot better.’
‘But what about Farr’s soldiers?’
‘We been laying the groundwork for years. Won’t take more than a word and a show of strength; most of them will come over. They ain’t loyal to Lasper. They just get paid.’
The idea of treachery made Balbao’s thick skin sting. Farr would be betrayed by his personal bodyguard and his own soldiers. What did that say for these two old fiends? Should he trust them at all? ‘You think they’ll come for me?’
‘Mebbe. Mebbe not,’ said Hob. ‘Sure as hell they won’t come for us, ’cept to spit us into the black.’
‘What about the others? They all have their expertise. It might be one of them. Labile is a geneer.’
‘You said you was chief scientist?’
Balbao nodded.
Sammy gave a quiet, satisfied grunt. ‘He’ll need you.’
TRIN
Trin watched the mercenary closely. Two, nearly three days had passed since one of the arrivals had stolen the AiV in which they’d come. Randall had been fit to murder when she’d seen Rasterovich go, swearing all kinds of revenge.
Trin told Juno and Tivi to watch her too. He sensed her volatility and suspected that only the solemnity of the burial they gave Cass Mulravey’s child kept her anger from spilling out. Respect for the dead. And the mother.
Mulravey herself seemed broken. Though she still fed and tended to Vito, the child Mira Fedor had left behind, her manner was reflexive. Her physical body had become a shell that housed no spirit.
Trin almost missed the antagonist he’d become accustomed to fending off. Despite her disruptive manner, Mulravey had been a clear and quick thinker, a person worthy of notice. Trin felt the need for good opinions.
Innis had disappeared again. His woman, Liesl, was feeding him, slipping extra food in her robe and stealing away in the darkness to meet him. Trin thought to send Tivi and Juno after