Part 15 (2/2)

'Don't know what you mean,' Forrester retorted. They were close enough to the edge of the s.p.a.ceport segment that she could see the straight line separating it from the dusty red desert of whatever environment was next door.

Judging by the swirling atmosphere, it was fit only for bromine breathers.95.

Offhand, she couldn't actually think of any races that breathed bromine, but she was sure that there must be some. Why train Landsknechte in a bromine environment otherwise?

A wry smile crossed her face. The Landsknechte didn't need reasons for anything. If it was uncomfortable and unnecessary, that was reason enough.

Cwej had been speaking while she mused.

'Sorry?' she said.

'I was just pointing out that you refused to talk to any of the Falardi on the s.h.i.+p. You let me do all the communicating.'

'You're so much better at it than me.'

He smiled in surprise. 'Am I? Thanks!'

Rookies were so easy to please.

A formation of fighters roared high above their heads. Cwej turned to watch them pa.s.s, admiration s.h.i.+ning in his eyes. With his golden fur, clear blue eyes and n.o.ble stance, he reminded Forrester of some of the Landsknechte recruit-ing posters from the war, although the moist black nose and erect, triangular ears spoiled the comparison somewhat. He'd have been too young to fight, of course, but she was sure that he wished he had. Unfulfilled dreams of glory: always a bad thing for a young man to have.

The fighters only reminded Forrester of the terror and the tedium of the occasional offworld raids on Earth during the Wars of Acquisition. She was still slightly claustrophobic as a result of too many nights in the deep shelters, and sometimes she woke up soaked in sweat, remembering the terror, and the people who had died.

The deep shelters. Her first taste of the real world that her family's riches had managed to s.h.i.+eld her from for all those years. Their money was old money, based on patents and stocks in the various corporations that had existed for centuries. Proud of their pure-bred African Xhosa heritage, they had refused to mix with 'inferior' humans those whose genetic make-up was a melange of all the races of Earth. They had held themselves aloof, like G.o.ds.

Until the Wars came to Earth. Until they were forced to take refuge in the deep shelters. It was there that Forrester had made friends with other chil-dren, and learned by contrast with them how barren her own life had been.

Later, as she grew further apart from the lifestyle that her parents had chosen for her, Forrester had considered signing up for the Imperial Landsknechte.

Either that or the Order of Adjudicators. Anything to get away from home.

She had read the brochures, visited the Landsknecht information centre on Earth, even attended a week-long induction course on Purgatory itself. In the end, she had been put off by the calibre of the people she had met. Brainless morons in love with their weapons, the lot of them. The Adjudicators were a much more impressive bunch: intelligent people who cared about justice as 96an abstract concept. That she liked. After two years training on Ponten IV, and another five acting as squire to a roving offworld Adjudicator, she had been recalled to Earth and paired with Martle. And that's where it had all started to go wrong.

'Nice here, isn't it?' she muttered, just for something to say.

A hovercar sped towards them, kicking up a plume of dust. It stopped close to the bottom of the ramp, and a man got out: a major, judging by the discreet insignia on his battle armour. He was big in all directions, and he had been beppled to resemble a four-armed blue elephant standing on its hind legs. As he approached, Forrester tried to work out what place he held in the Landsknechte. He didn't harbour the usual uncaring, seen-it-all att.i.tude that she had seen in Landsknechte personnel before. Instead, his expression was calm, benign and lazy. How had somebody so obviously an individual made it to the rank of colonel?

As he came to a stop before them, she re-evaluated him. Those eyes weren't calm, benign and lazy. They were shrewd. Dangerous, even.

'I am Provost-Major Beltempest,' he said, 'local security officer. Welcome to Purgatory.'

'Adjudicators Forrester and Cwej,' she said. 'And we haven't actually arrived yet.'

He smiled, and gestured them off the ramp.

'Forgive me. My underlings can sometimes be slightly too literal in their interpretation of regulations. Now, all I was told was that you are here on official business. What can we do for you?'

Forrester took a sheet of plastic from her pocket and handed it to him. He glanced at the two faces upon it. It was impossible to tell from his expression whether he recognized them or not.

'We are in pursuit of two suspects in connection with a murder on Earth,'

she said, and paused, hoping that he would say something. He just handed the plastic sheet back. 'We have traced them to a craft which left Earth, bound for Purgatory,' she continued.

He didn't react. She tried again. 'There is no evidence that they left this planet.'

Still nothing. His eyes twinkled merrily, his mouth went through all the motions of smiling, but it was all faked for her benefit.

She waited. Eventually, he spoke. 'You realize,' he said, 'that the Order of Adjudicators has no jurisdiction over Landsknecht territory or property. We make and enforce our own laws.'

'We are here,' she said carefully, 'in a spirit of cooperation and mutual regard.'97.

'Ah,' he said. 'Of course. Two very important-sounding and completely meaningless phrases.'

'Protocol . . . ' Forrester said, smiling slightly.

He smiled back. 'Might I ask what you intend doing with these suspects, should they have actually arrived?' he asked.

Forrester's heart quickened slightly at the implication that they had indeed landed on the planet. Beltempest caught her slight change of expression, and nodded slightly. There was a subtext to this conversation that would need careful monitoring.

'They will be returned to Earth for mind probing,' she said. 'If, as a result of the information retrieved, centcomp finds them guilty, they will be sentenced accordingly.'

He nodded. 'But if they have already been sentenced in accordance with Imperial Landsknechte law, then they have already been punished. Does that not satisfy your need for justice?'

'That,' Forrester said cautiously, 'would depend upon the punishment.'

He smiled. 'Rest a.s.sured,' he said, 'that it would be . . . apt.'

Cwej frowned. He was completely missing the words beneath the words.

'Look,' he said impatiently, 'are they here or not?'

Beltempest's face took on a slightly pained expression. 'If they were here,'

he said, 'then I would quite happily hand them over to you so long as the Imperial Landsknechte did not have a prior claim. If I don't hand them over, it is either because they aren't here., or because we do have a prior claim.'

Cwej frowned. 'Was that a yes or a no?' he said, baffled.

Time to put on a bit of pressure.

'You mentioned jurisdiction,' Forrester said.

'Yes?'

'According to interstellar fastline records, a call was placed to you from Earth while the Arachnae Arachnae was still in flight, following which you placed a fastline call to s.p.a.ceport Five on Earth.' was still in flight, following which you placed a fastline call to s.p.a.ceport Five on Earth.'

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