Part 21 (1/2)
CHAPTER 19.
Kosta read the printout twice, a cold knot settling into his stomach. ”I don't understand,” he said.
”I don't understand either,” Director Podolak confessed. ”All I can suggest is that someone on Uhuru scrambled up somewhere. Confused you with someone else, perhaps.”
Kosta grimaced. Or else they hadn't confused him with someone else. Perhaps someone on Uhuru had unraveled the fragile paper credit line reaching back to the Pax computer setup on Lorelei.
Calm down, he ordered himself firmly. If Empyreal security had gotten that far, they'd hardly tip their hand by simply shutting off his funding. ”That must be it,” he agreed aloud with Podolak. ”So what do we do while we wait for them to unscramble it?”
Podolak pursed her lips. ”That's the problem,” she said. ”Not only has your personal credit line been frozen, but there's also an attached order forbidding any use of Empyreal funds in your behalf. And since all the credit lines I have available to me are government funds...”
The knot in Kosta's stomach, which had slowly been loosening, began to tighten again. ”Are you saying,” he said carefully, ”that I'm effectively bankrupt?”
”It's not quite as bad as that,” Podolak a.s.sured him. ”Your room and board here at the Inst.i.tute have already been covered for the next two and a half weeks, so at least you won't have to worry about starving. And as long as we don't need the s.p.a.ce for anyone else, I don't see why you can't continue to use your office.”
”But no computer time, I suppose.”
”I'm afraid not,” Podolak shook her head. ”Or access to any of the labs, either.”
Kosta looked down at the paper in his hand, steeling himself. ”Or the Inst.i.tute s.h.i.+p?”
”Or the Inst.i.tute s.h.i.+p,” she agreed. ”I'm sorry; I know you were scheduled to go up tomorrow.”
”It wasn't going to be a joyride,” he told her, the words coming out harsher than he'd intended. It was a blatant breach of manners, but Podolak didn't seem to notice. ”I have an experiment aboard. A very important experiment.”
”It's going to have to come off,” Podolak said quietly. Her eyes, Kosta could see, were hurting; but her voice was firm. ”s.p.a.ce aboard the s.h.i.+p is paid for out of your credit line.”
Kosta squeezed the paper hard between thumb and fingers, trying hard to choke down his frustration. It had taken him over a month to design and build a detector to sample these particular segments of Angelma.s.s's emission spectrum, segments carefully chosen to give him some sort of handle on what was happening out there. There had to be a way to get it aboard. ”What if I can get someone else to pay for the s.p.a.ce?” he asked Podolak. ”I've been consulting with Dr. Qhahenlo-maybe she can put the thing on her credit line, and get Gyasi or someone to operate it. Would that be acceptable?”
”Under some circ.u.mstances, yes,” Podolak nodded. ”Unfortunately, in this case Dr. Qhahenlo's own credit line comes from Sadhai, and she would need special permission in advance to run your experiment for you. She told me her backers will almost certainly grant it; but since it would take a minimum of twenty-four hours to get the request there and back by skeeter, you'd still wind up missing this flight.”
”You already talked to her about it?”
”Her, and a few others. I hoped I could have a solution for you before I told you about the problem. I'm sorry.”
Kosta exhaled silently. ”Thanks for trying.”
”Part of my job.” She gave him half a smile. ”I know it's frustrating, but try to remember that it's not the end of the world. I've already got a message on the next skeeter to Uhuru asking for a clarification. Chances are all you're looking at here is a three- or four-day vacation.”
”But no matter what, I'll still miss the flight out to Angelma.s.s.”
”I know,” Podolak agreed sympathetically. ”And I know how much of a disappointment it'll be to have to wait another month for the next trip. But it's only a month, after all. In the universal scheme of things, that's not so much.”
Standing there, looking at the sympathy and sincerity in her face, Kosta's mouth suddenly went dry. ”I appreciate your time and effort, Director Podolak,” he managed, folding the paper and slipping it into his pocket. ”Thank you. I'll-I guess I'll figure out something to do.”
”I'm sure you will,” Podolak said as he turned toward the door. ”And if you need any help or advice, feel free to come to me.”
It probably hadn't been a very polite exit, Kosta realized as he headed down the stairway. But to stand there and hear her say that a month, more or less, shouldn't really matter...
Unbidden, that first close-up look he'd had of the Komitadji rose before his eyes. If Podolak only knew how much difference the next month could make.
It was a beautiful day outside; brilliant suns.h.i.+ne in a clear blue sky, with wispy easterly breezes bringing hints of something spicy. Some exotic native plant, most likely. The laughing fates, making counterpoint for his internal frustration. Jamming his hands into his pockets, Kosta picked a direction at random and started across the delicately landscaped Inst.i.tute grounds.
And tried to think.
There were, at the bottom, really only two options. He could stay here and wait for the bureaucrats to unsnarl the mess they'd gotten him into. Or he could leave, going into hiding on Seraph or else buying pa.s.sage back to Lorelei and waiting there for Commodore Lles.h.i.+ to make his move. The latter option would stretch his emergency cash supply to the breaking point, but once back in contact with the Pax setup on Lorelei he might be able to get more.
But to run now would be to admit that he'd failed.
He glared at the ground at his feet. No; that was not an option. Period. He would rather be caught now by the Empyreals than go back and face that I-knew-it smirk of Telthorst's. And that left him only one option: to stay here, cultivate patience, and wait for next month's Angelma.s.s trip.
a.s.suming, of course, that Lles.h.i.+ didn't make his move before then.
He swore under his breath. Everywhere he turned, it seemed, he was running face first into no-win situations. One way or another, the laughing fates were determined to make him a loser on this one.
A glint in the sky caught his eye. A hunters.h.i.+p, gliding in for a landing on the huge field to the north. Squinting against the sunlight, he could pick out half a dozen other points of light on similar approach paths.
Hunters.h.i.+ps...
For a long moment he thought about it. It was a ridiculously long shot... but on the other hand, he
had absolutely nothing to lose.
And maybe-just maybe-the laughing fates had missed one.
”Now this,” Hanan said, pulling a lumpy metal stick out of his toolbox, ”is what's known as a universal wrench. It can fit any bolt or nut you're likely to find outside an engine room, bend in seven different ways to get back into cubbyholes impossible for the human hand, and apply the kind of torque that had hitherto only been available if you knew a gorilla with a mechanic's certificate.” He turned it over, sending glints of sunlight into Chandris's eyes. ”You can also stir paint with it, and it holds up remarkably well against being thrown across a room in frustration.”
Chandris nodded, squinting against the reflections. Having learned everything there was to know about the inside of the Gazelle, at least according to Ornina, she'd been promoted to learning about the outside with Hanan. It was, in her opinion, a dubious honor at best. ”How come they put stuff in places where people's hands won't go?” she asked.
”Because the designers don't have to work on the things themselves,” Hanan grunted, bending the wrench at three of its joints and lifting it to the open access hatch above them. ”Allow me to demonstrate.”
”Excuse me?” a voice called from the direction of the service yard gate. Chandris craned her neck to look over Hanan's shoulder- And froze. ”Oh, nurk,” she hissed.
”What?” Hanan asked, turning around to look. ”h.e.l.lo,” he called to the visitor before she could answer. ”Come on in.”
”Thank you,” the other called. He opened the gate, somewhat gingerly, and started toward them.
Chandris found her voice. ”Get rid of him,” she murmured to Hanan. ”I mean it. He's trouble.”