"Calm down, Captain." It was Bran's turn to soothe his captain's flaring temper. "What does he want us to do? We're none of us spies. We don't know anything about it."
Jirik, regaining control of his temper, sighed deeply. "He says that all he wants us to do is to keep our ears, as well as our mouths, open. He just wants us to record anything that anyone says that might be useful to him. I gather," He continued wryly "That the groundhogs have been friendly."
Bran snorted. "That's an understatement of epic proportions. I've been pretty busy keeping those fool work crews from destroying the whole damned ship, but when I get out into town, it's like I'm some sort of celebrity. It's flattering as hell, Captain, but I haven't been able to have one quiet liberty. I've never seen groundhogs so interested in spacers. Usually, they want no part of us, or just want our money.
"What about Valt and the Jankys kid?" Jirik asked, "Have you talked to them at all?"
Bran shrugged. "Same thing. The kid's as excited as a pup at all the attention. I think he's been retelling every spacer yarn he ever heard. He's having a ball. It isn't often that a kid his age becomes a celebrity, and Tor's eating it up. Hell, Captain," He continued, amusement creeping into his voice, "We may have to shanghai him to get him back aboard when we leave!"
"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Jirik. "A teenager would find this hero treatment hard to resist. What about Valt?"
Amusement vied with contempt in Bran's voice as he replied. "Valt isn't quite so happy. You know that he doesn't seem to care about anything except sex and booze. Talking bores him. But we'd better get back to the spy stuff. We don't want to get caught in a crossfire between Alliance agents and hostile fanatics!"
Jirik's face clouded up again. "Yeah. I guess I was avoiding the subject. All right," he continued briskly, "This spook says that all he wants us to do is keep our ears open when we're talking to these Boondockers, and pass along anything that might interest him. The trouble is, I know he's holding something back. There's a kicker in here somewhere, and I'd rather not wait for it to come up and bite us! Do you have any suggestions for ways to placate the guy without getting our asses in a sling? I can't depend on Valt and Tor not to spill the beans if I tell them about the spook, but we'll need their help to get the information. Obviously, I'm not worried about you; you know when and how to keep your mouth shut. As for me, I'll just have to make time to get into town. I thought maybe we could wear bugs, and let that damned spy sort out the tapes. but, that won't work with Valt or the kid." He slammed the edge of the miniscule desk again, precipitating another cascade of papers onto the deck. "I hate this. I can't tell Valt or the kid; but it grates on me to hold out on my own crew!"
"Calmly, Captain," Bran put in quietly. "Anger won't help. You're right, though. We can't confide in Tor; and I wouldn't recommend confiding in Valt, either. I think that we'd better keep the details between us. They've already been asked to keep their ears open for cargo information; How about telling them that we want to compile information in anticipation of perhaps making a return voyage? We could say that we have a lead on a very high-profit cargo. We could tell them to gather any information that we might be able to use to decide whether a return trip would be worth it. It would also be a reason for learning all we could about the people. We could have crew meetings every night to compare notes, and we could record the meetings. Between that and our tapes, maybe we can keep that agent off our backs without endangering ourselves."
Jirik had grown increasingly excited as he listened to Bran. When Bran finished, Jirik interjected, "Yes! Not only could it work, but when I was talking to that damned spook, he even suggested that if we wanted to make some big money, we should go to the Empire and bring back a load of bookchips. I didn't pay a lot of attention, because he was trying to make a point about these peoples' hunger for learning. But now, we may have something we can use!"
If he was expecting Bran to share his excitement, Jirik was disappointed. Bran was looking thoughtful, riot excited. "The agent suggested it, eh?" He remarked, "Doesn't that seem an interesting coincidence, Captain?"
Jirik's excitement evaporated. "Damn! I hadn't thought of that." He looked puzzled. "But, what the hell does it mean? I mean, was he trying to push us into something? And if so, what? Aaaah, hell. Now you see why I hate spooks? Nothing ever means what it seems to with those creeps!"
"I don't know, Captain," Bran replied, "Maybe it was just a passing remark. Maybe we're just being paranoid. Or maybe he was indirectly suggesting it as a cover story." Bran shrugged. "At any rate, it seems to me to be our best way to get Valt and Tor's cooperation."
"You're probably right," Jirik admitted reluctantly, "But I hate the thought that we might be doing just what that damned spook wants us to do!"
"We'll just have to be careful, Captain," replied Bran. "As long as we keep in mind that we may be playing the agent's game we can watch our backs. And who knows? Just because that agent suggested it doesn't mean that it isn't true. We may really end up wanting to come back with a load of bookchips."
"Yeah, well, I guess we don't have a lot of choices." Jirik's face was clouding up again. "I hate this! I hate lying to my own crew, I hate being backed into a corner, and I hate being manipulated. Oh, you're right, I don't have any better ideas; I guess we'll have to go along for now. But we'd better keep a close eye on each other's backs."
Jirik assembled his crew on the mess deck, and broached the bookchip idea. He explained the idea about the bookchips, and the need for market information. He also mentioned that he wanted Tor to make an appointment with the head of the Library department of the University for himself and Jirik. Tor was excited about the idea, but Valt seemed bored by the whole thing, and doubtful that useful information could be gained. Jirik imposed a curfew of local midnight on all hands, after which a crew meeting would permit them to compare notes, and supposedly facilitate a decision: Jirik hoped that the recorded meetings would give Tomys the information that he wanted, and that he'd leave the Lass' crew alone thereafter.
Jirik took Bran with him on his first trip into Boondock City. The "City" had a population of about 20,000, making it the largest population center on Boondock. To Jirik, accustomed to the densely populated inner worlds, it seemed more a village than a city. Boondockers tended to build strong but low. The tallest building in town was the University's Library, only two stories high. All the buildings were marked by thick walls and small windows. Jirik had heard of Boondock's violent weather, but hadn't yet experienced it. The sturdy architecture showed that the violence was not simply guidebook rumor. The sturdiness was offset a bit by the cheerful colors the Boondockers chose for their dwellings. On nearly every street corner, a shop offering books and holovids stood. Jirik was amazed that a town of that size could support so many book-and-vid stores. Interspersed among the book stores were the usual sights of a port city: Ship's Chandlers, Shipping agents, hotels, restaurants, and bars. Lots of bars. Now, that was more like it, Jirik thought. He and Bran turned into one from which music was blaring, stopping inside the door to get the feel of the place. Judging by the clientele, this particular bar served working-class Boondockers. Bran nudged Jirik, indicating that they should try another. Jirik resisted. "Let's stay here," he yelled over the loud music, "What better place to get a feel for this planet?"