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Interlude 6

Time: CY 9888 AD 4965
Location: The Hephaistos solar system

As the battles ground to a halt, scattered planets attempted to maintain the light of civilization. The plagues that followed the fighting threatened to extinguish those lights. The starship's medical facilities were extensive, and could have kept many of the lights burning; unfortunately they were not available and the lights began to go dark.

Chapter 6 Chapter 8

Alternity Chapter 7

To Dine With the Devil

Time: CY 10088 AD Aug 5165
Location: the planet Roanoak

chapter illustrationBeka looked around the office appreciatively, the room reeked of money and power. She was no expert on wood, but she suspected that the money used to buy the wood panels lining the walls could have paid off a substantial portion of the debt that she had inherited from her father. The carpet that covered the floor was another matter, as a girl she had helped her father smuggle a load of them from Makrai VII. If sold on the open market its purchase price could have paid of her debts several times over. The desk that dominated the room was made of a red wood that had been polished until it nearly glowed, while the man sitting behind it was wearing a suit that probably cost more than what most of the inhabitants of Roanoak made in a year.

Before the Nietzschean rebellion, Roanoak had been one of the leading manufacturers of pharmaceuticals in the Commonwealth. After the war it continued to be a major manufacturer, with numerous pharmaceutical manufacturing and research companies maintaining their headquarters and production facilities on the planet. As a result it was a place where pharmaceuticals could be purchased relatively cheaply, which was why Beka and the Maru were there. They had come to pick up a shipment of medical supplies to be delivered to the Wayist hospital on Kingfisher, and to replenish Harper's supply of Vyandol, the antiviral drug that was keeping his MVLS in check. The medical supplies had been loaded aboard, and she had been contemplating spending a few more days in port so Harper could do some repair work on the Maru, when a message arrived requesting that Captain Rebecca Valentine meet with Dr. Rodolfo Marentez, vice president of production for GalMed Pharmaceuticals, in his office.

After surrendering her gauss pistol at the entrance of the headquarters, passing through three layers of security guards, and who knew how many layers of electronic security, she had been allowed into the vice president's office. From prior experience she knew that when a male from this level of society wanted to meet with her in person it was for one of two reasons. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the reason in question involved her piloting skills.

After the usual exchange of pleasantries the vice president got down to business. "Captain Valentine, what do you know of the drug Regenatrol HGH?"

"Not much, it's used to postpone the effects of aging. It's very expensive, hard to make, and tightly controlled. It's not exactly the Fountain of Youth, but it can double the normal human lifespan."

"That's the common knowledge of the drug. What isn't so widely known is that GalMed is one of the few manufacturers of the drug. Also, as you might imagine, the demand for it far outstrips the supply. By sheer chance I've managed to personally acquire a quantity of the drug."

"Why am I not surprised? Let me guess, now that you've stolen from your own company you want me to help you sell the stuff." She waved her hand about the room gesturing to the luxurious surroundings. "Why? Isn't this enough for you?"

"Stealing is such a harsh word, don't you think? I prefer to think of it as taking advantage of an inventory oversight. As for these surroundings, they belong to GalMed. I won't be working for GalMed forever, but when I do leave I would like to retain the level of comfort I've become accustomed to."

"So you need me and the Maru to deliver your drug somewhere. OK, supposing I was to agree to your plan? What's in it for me and my crew?"

"I need you to insure that the cargo makes it past Lykos customs. If it was brought in openly, a number of senior members of the Lykos parliament would undoubtedly be staying in office much longer than expected, and my clients heirs would be inheriting sooner than my clients would like. As for what's in it for you, if you deliver the cargo, I can ensure that your engineer is admitted to our medical facility on Glitterdust."

"What makes you think he needs to be admitted to your facility on Glitterdust?" She wanted to know just how much Marentez knew about the situation on the Maru.

"Your engineer has myeloitic viral leukaemic syndrome and our facility on Glitterdust can cure him" He gave a depreciating smile. "It wasn't hard to figure out he has the disease. We do produce pharmaceuticals you know. Once a month for the past six months you've been picking up large mounts of medical supplies including Vyandol. The majority of the supplies have been purchased by funds from the Wayists, but the Vyandol has been purchased from your ship's operating fund. Vyandol is rarely used except to treat MVLS. I did some investigating, researching the medical files of the doctor who requested the original prescription. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Well there's a little matter of an empty cargo hold. If I show up on Lykos with an empty hold questions might be asked."

"Your hold isn't empty. It's filled with medical supplies manufactured by GalMed. There's a GalMed medical facility on Lykos. You simply need to change your itinerary. I'll handle the records transferring the supplies from Roanoak to Lykos. You simply need to insure that the special cargo is picked up by the right people."

"I'm under contract to deliver those supplies to Kingfisher. I made a promise and I keep my promises. "

Marentez shrugged his shoulders. "Which promise is more important, delivering supplies. or the promise that all good captains make to their crew to look after them?"

Beka was starting to feel like a trapped animal, Marentez had the upper hand and he knew it. The best she could do was cut her losses. If she went to Lykos Rev and the hospital on Kingfisher would not get the supplies they needed. She knew Rev, he would understand and probably even forgive her, but he would also cancel the contract. On the other hand if she delivered the supplies to Kingfisher the contract would stay in effect bringing in much needed money, but she would be signing Harper's death warrant. In the end there really was no choice, if she had to choose between saving strangers or saving Harper she would save Harper.

"When do we leave?" she asked tiredly. Then another thought occurred to her. "If there's an audit, and the drugs are found missing, people are going to start wondering about a transfer of GalMed supplies to a ship that has a questionable reputation. If they start looking at me, the finger is going to start pointing at you as well since it's no secret that we're having this conference."

"Of course there's no secret about our meeting. I made sure that quite a few people know about it. I also insured that they think that our business is of a, shall we say, more personal nature. I've arranged for a transfer of five hundred thrones from my personal account to your craft's operating account. It is listed as 'for personal services rendered.' It shouldn't be a problem; if questioned just admit to being what you really are. Now, I really think you should leave, our hour is up and my cargo will be arriving on your ship soon."

It's always one of two things when dealing with these types, thought Beka. In this case she was going to be doing the first while being branded for the second. She was going to want to take a shower when she got back to the Maru to get the slime off of her. Harper had once told her an old Earth proverb 'He who dines with the Devil needs a long spoon.' She wondered if her spoon was long enough.

Chapter 6 Chapter 8