Yana wasn't surprised that Torkel was confident in the amount of weight he swung as a mere captain. The fact was, as she and a few others had reason to know, his rank had little to do with his true degree of power. His family had developed the terraforming process used by the company to create colony worlds such as Petaybee, and his father currently sat on Intergal's board of directors. Torkel was a very competent officer, but he had been a captain longer than it took most to make general. Generals had a lot hidden from them, whereas captains tended to end up in the thick of things. No one had told Yana this, but she had figured it out, from shipboard conversation and a few remarks Torkel had made in jest.
It was a joy to sit across from him over steaming cups and energy bars in the dingy little canteen. They had removed hats, hoods, and mufflers but still wore their coats unfastened and peeled back, for the canteen was not well heated. Torkel studied her face as if he was memorizing her.
"It really is you. I can't tell you how I felt when I heard about
Bremport, and then heard that you were there that day. I wanted to execute the terrorists personally."
"I know the feeling," she said dryly.
"You're looking wonderful. Better, really, than the last time I saw you."
"Really? It's amazing what a little toxic gas can do for a girl's complexion. I did lose quite a lot of weight and I haven't gained much back, trying to-" She started to say, "trying to figure out how not to burn my food," but he was already interrupting, leaning forward and looking deeply into her eyes.
"No, it's not that. You're more relaxed-less locked up inside yourself. I guess it must have been that we met each other so soon after your husband's death…"
"Or so soon after your divorce," she reminded him. He had been going through the female crew members at an astonishing rate by the time she had left for another unit. He had never come on to her before, though, but always treated her as a senior officer, with respect and what friendliness she had been able to allow. Still, if he thought she was less locked-up now, she had either become much better at hiding her feelings or she must have been more of a mess than she realized back then. "What brings you here, Tor-kel?" she asked, to get the conversation back on firmer ground.
"Oh, I'm sort of troubleshooting," he said. "Nobody's sure exactly what's going on. Minerals we can spot from space but can't locate on the surface, teams disappearing, unauthorized life-forms cropping up. The company asked me to evaluate the situation. I thought maybe you might be on the same mission, and we'd be working together again?"
"Well, I am in a way, but more covertly," she said. "I'm living in the village."
"Among the locals? That's pretty rough. How badly were you injured at Bremport?"
"I got a discharge, but I'm recovering," she said, and realized that it was the truth. The pains in her chest no longer plagued her and the cough was much less frequent, thanks to Clodagh's syrup. "Anyway, Torkel, I'm glad I ran into you. Giancarlo is a little unreasonable."
"I've noticed he was pretty heavy-handed dealing with that native woman."
"How's she doing, by the way?"
"She and the others are probably going to be sent offworld to be interrogated further. Nothing anybody says really adds up, Yana. Fifty teams have been sent down here in the past ten years, and this is only the second time that we've had any survivors at all."
"How is the boy?" Yana asked quickly.
"He's scared. Alone on a hostile world…"
"Torkel, I think Giancarlo's been filling you full of shit about the natives here. They're nice people, and they know a few things the company could learn to its benefit."
"Sure they do. That's what this is all about," he said with a wry lift of one side of his mouth. "And I'm not surprised to hear you have a high opinion of them. I'm sure you bring out the best in them. Even the ips know a good thing when they see it." He held her hand in both of his and kissed it, which both pleased and slightly alarmed her. If Intergal had a Prince Charming equivalent, it was Torkel Fiske, but she had never expected him to come after her, even in passing.
She patted his hands with her spare one, pressing her advantage. "No, they're very caring people. They're not only worried about Petaybeans who are being held, they're also very concerned about the boy. His father, too, of course. Has anyone gotten ahold of his father's partner?"
"Partner?"
"Yes, it's on the computer. A Steven Margolies, Metaxos's assistant."
"Yana, you're brilliant as ever. I didn't know anything about this. I'll have the man sent for at once. Metaxos is no good in the condition he's in now. The boy, now, he might help us if we keep him on-site and with Margolies, a man intimately familiar with Metaxos's work. That's a good rationale for relocating the whole family unit to Petaybee."
"Won't Metaxos need better care than the infirmary here can provide?" she asked. "I heard his condition was pretty bad."
"Oh, care here's going to improve shortly. We're bringing in more troops and support teams to try to crack this case. Between the two of us, there's even some talk of evacuating the planet and doing some serious mining until it pays back."
"I thought it was a high-recruitment area."
"It is. Has been very good. But lately there have been fewer new recruits despite the austere conditions. Seems like the natives just don't want to leave." He smiled at her again, his eyes, even in this light, clear and a beautiful light brown, the color of Clodagh's tea. "If you're going to be here, I won't want to leave either."
"Good," Yana said, softening her briskness by smiling warmly at him. "I can't imagine anyone handier to run into right now. Giancarlo, as I mentioned, is being difficult. Now then, Torkel, repeat after me: 'Is there anything you need, Yana?' "
He leaned closer, and she could feel his breath as he said, stroking her palm with his thumb, "Is-there-any-thing- you-need-Yana?"
"I have a list," she said.
What sorta hold you got on the captain?" Bunny asked as she helped Yana load the snocle. "He tol' me to come back and get you."
"It's called the 'old buddy network/ " Yana said, trying not to feel smug over the haul she had just made. "By the way, a burst went out to Steve Margolies. Diego'll have company here real soon."
Bunny paused in hefting the pack of "clothing, winter wear, one of each" Yana had freed up. "That's great, Yana. Only how?" She gave Yana a searching look.
"I suggested that maybe the dad would come round faster if he had the support of his family unit." Yana hesitated then, not sure if she should confide in Bunny some of the plans for Petaybee that Torkel had mentioned. "You may be busier than ever soon," she heard herself adding.
"How so?"
"They're bringing in more troops and some support teams."
Bunny snorted. "What good'll those do 'em if they don't believe what they been told!"
"Intergal is trying damned hard to find those minerals they can see from up there."
"Yeah, they do keep trying, don't they?" That amused Bunny. "There. All your gear stowed safe and tight. Let's get home. I got dogs to feed." When they had reached the main road out of SpaceBase, she had other questions. "Who's this captain dude, anyway? The colonel really snapped to when he arrived, like he wasn't expected and not all that welcome, either."
Yana chuckled. "His name's Fiske, Torkel Fiske. Son of the family that developed the terraforming process used here."
"They did Petaybee?" Bunny turned very wide eyes on Yana. "How come you know him?"
"Served on the same ship a coupla times. That's all."
"That's "//?"
"That's all, Bunny," Yana said in a tone to discourage further queries. And yet, it started her to thinking. Torkel had sure acted glad to see her. Now, when a guy like Torkel Fiske could bed practically any female he wanted, why had he been so attentive to her, Yanaba Maddock? Mad he actually known, all along, that she was on a covert mission in the village? He had sounded genuinely surprised. Or was he just surprised to have run into her at Space-Base? Had he meant what he said, about the possibility of evacuating everyone from Petaybee so they could blast the planet apart to find the minerals they had been after for so many years? "Ever wanted to get off Petaybee, Bunny? Get to see other worlds, where the living's a bit easier?"