Chapter 9

We made our way across the Mojave spaceport terminal after our shuttle had made a smooth and routine landing. Despite my best efforts, Colette did not appear to know when she'd worn out her welcome. I had finally given up on trying to get rid of her. And I admit her distress over the condition of her daughter had reached the far and remote underbelly of my heart. I didn't have children, and I had never wanted them. But how can you not feel bad for an innocent child? Or three thousand of them, if Colette was to be believed?

I did wonder why she was out cavorting around the galaxy, wasting time on a financial reject like me, instead of being back home taking care of her daughter. But as rough and unsophisticated as Colette might be, I could see that she wasn't the kind to sit around and do nothing. I guess she felt she was out here doing everything in her power to make a difference, a difference that her daughter's life may very well be depending on. I admired Colette, even if I didn't understand her. And maybe I was starting to like her too. It's hard to like annoying people, but admiration can turn the tables over time.

"We Gaians have a much better relationship with the Sirian government than Earth does," she was saying. "You Earthlings are so xenophobic. Anyway, we have access to Sirian databases on Gaia...part of an ongoing cultural exchange initiative. We can plug into them from there; we can get a great deal of information on Sirius IV without even having to spend weeks getting there."

I checked a spaceport map passing above me to make sure we were headed the right way. "Can you get me a commlink to Marff Rindilosk?" I asked sarcastically.

"I don't know. We could certainly check some of the public Sirian records, at least confirm or deny his existence."

"You can confirm it. You can't deny it. It could be an alias; he could be unlisted. Just because you don't find him in your database doesn't mean he's not there."

Her response was slow in coming. "I'm fine. Look, I need you to check the Sirian databases right away."

"What?" I looked over at her. I could see a little "busy signal" in the corner of my vision when I focused my attention on her. She was talking to somebody else.

"I need you to find a guy named Marff Rindilosk, a Sirian lawyer," she said to outer space as she walked beside me. "Find out if he exists. And make it fast.” She looked over at me. “He's about to go there himself. We cannot let that happen." She returned her attention forward. "Have you found anything on this Geelan character?" A pause. "Keep at it," she urged. "We're running out of time."

"Who's that?" I asked when she switched off.

She didn’t answer at first. "My assistant."

"Secret agents have assistants?"

She smiled at me, but didn't answer.

We had time to get something to eat, and we got to know each other a little better. She didn't tell me much about herself -- she seemed to skillfully evade those questions -- but my affection and respect for her were growing nevertheless. She was a strong, feisty woman, if a little out of touch, and I appreciated her spunk.

She learned more about me than I did her, and her edge toward me seemed to be softening a bit. Still, she was hell-bent on getting me to Gaia, and while her mission as a mother made more sense to me than her poorly cast role as an intelligence officer for a backwards naturalist society, the most ground I could agree to give her was a promise to come to Gaia after I'd settled my own affairs. She was adamant that she didn't have that luxury of time, but I insisted that that was my problem as well.

I asked her why she was so fixated on me, when it was clear that I was not going to play ball. She explained that Gaian intelligence agents had been dispatched to recruit all the insider knowledge there was to be had to rid them of their nightmare on the homeworld. Military action was not an option for Gaia, as they knew the Earth forces would crush them without difficulty. She had been assigned with the single mission of recruiting me, and she added that there was a shopping spree for the winner who brought back the first Atlas executive recruited to the cause. The joke was made without humor, however.

Things really started to heat up when she answered an urgent hail from her "assistant." She took in the information he gave her blandly, but I could tell she was hiding her hope and excitement. She switched off with a feigned air of indifference, then zeroed her attention on me. "It looks like things might go my way after all."

“Oh?”

"Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?"

"Just spill it." I wasn't in the mood for games. She was up to something.

"The good news is that my people found your Sirian lawyer." My interest piqued immediately. "There is most definitely a business lawyer on Sirius IV named Marff Rindilosk."

"Really?"

"No mention of Geelan was found, but according to the public records we were able to access, Rindilosk specialized in drawing up business agreements. And trying cases in the Sirian court that involved his clients, either as plaintiffs or defendants."

"Excellent. Let's get to the orbiter." I stood up and put on my light jacket. "That freighter will be leaving soon."

"Not so fast, cowboy. You haven't heard the bad news." My hands held the back of my chair as I listened to her. "He's deceased."

"What?"

"Been so for some time, I'm afraid. Natural causes."

I looked away and cursed. I thought about it. I wasn’t sure what it meant.

"Courts and legal stuff are by nature a public endeavor, and Sirius IV is no exception. We have a great deal of access to that kind of information from Gaia. You can pursue this easily enough from there, and save yourself a boatload of time. Not to mention money. I don't know anybody that would pay the kind of money you’re paying for a very long and uncomfortable ride on a rickety old freighter."

Something didn’t feel right. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but it was strong. My eyes hardened. "I don't believe you."

The expression on her face shifted noticeably. She looked hurt.

"You had me hook, line and sinker when you told me you found him on Sirius IV," I continued. "But dead? Just recently? No."

Her indignant voice snapped at the air between us. "I didn't say recently, I said it happened a while ago. Goddamn you, Sean, I'm trying to help you! I’m really going out of my way here."

"You have one objective on your mind, Colette, and that is to get me to Gaia by hook or by crook. Fine dining companion that you may be, I didn't get through my life believing everything a pretty girl tells me."

"Well, you're going to have to. I have access to the Sirian databases and you don't. And may I remind you, there’s a lot more of it where I come from."

"Show it to me."

"Show what to you?"

"Whatever information you got about Rindilosk. I want to see it for myself."

"No."

I threw my hand up in disgust. "This is ridiculous. I'm leaving." I spun on my heels and set off for the orbiter that would launch me into space, and dock me with the freighter headed for Sirius IV.

"Sean, wait!" I could hear her running behind me. I kept moving. "Sean!" She finally caught up beside me. "Alright, you win," she said, trying to keep pace with my determined gait. "I'll give you the data."

I kept walking, my eyes focused ahead.

"Dammit, Sean, I said ok!"

"I'm waiting," I said calmly, my stride catapulting me steadily forward.

I heard her make a sound of disgust, then an icon popped up in my vision. I acknowledged it and my HUD popped open. On my desktop was an article, which looked to be pulled from some Sirian news source. I scanned through the English translation as I walked, then stopped dead in my tracks. "He died two weeks ago." I bored my eyes into Colette's.

"Two weeks ago is a while ago."

"Under mysterious circumstances, it says. Not natural causes."

"Whatever. I didn’t read the whole thing. In any case, it’s something you can investigate further on Gaia. The Sirian authorities don’t even know what happened." Her expression took a definite turn to ridicule. "You don't really think that you -- a foreign alien -- are going to land on their planet and find answers to questions that are a mystery to the professional, local investigators?"

I started walking again. This conversation might be delaying me, but it wasn't holding up the orbiter. "It's very clear to me now that Sirius IV is where I need to go. The guy's there, he died an unanswered death...RECENTLY," I emphasized to her.

"Let the locals do the hard work. Let them get their hands dirty. Sean, we have resources on Gaia you don’t even know about. I can get you a direct line to the law enforcement people involved there. Save yourself time, money, and use our databases in the meantime. Don't be stupid about this, Sean!"

“You should come with me. I could use your resources there.”

I think she would have slapped me again if our positions weren’t so awkward, walking side by side as we were.

We got to the gate. I was instantly identified and waved through for boarding. I stepped down the jetway. A funny old name. I wonder where it came from.

A buzzer sounded as Colette tried to board, and a gate officer stopped her. "I'm getting on that flight," I heard her snarl at him. I didn't hear his pacifying response, but I heard her scream out at me, even as I stepped beyond sight. "My daughter is dying, Sean Brennan! At the hands of a company you can stop! Remember, you walked away from a dying nine year-old!"

I stormed forward. I hate that guilt shit. Blaming me like Atlas' crimes are my fault. Blaming me for some other world's problems. It's very fucking disrespectful.

I sighed. And to think we had been making such progress together…