Armstrong Station by D.M. Pruden

Author:D.M. Pruden
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780995301399
Publisher: Fuzzy Slipper Publishing

Chapter Seventeen

One quick call reduces my potential sources for the nano-research equipment to one, and she is the one person I am the most reluctant to approach.

If it weren’t for the severity of Chloe’s dependence, I would say fuck it and wait until we land on Terra. There, I know several researchers with whom I am still on speaking terms who will be amenable to the prospect of augmenting their meagre salaries by helping me out.

But our present schedule has us arriving there on the return, and I am not sure I can keep Chloe alive for the six months that will take. The blue pills Vostok supplied me to feed the ravenous nanites rampaging through her system will run out long before then. I need to synthesize an alternate formulation, a problem in biochemical research I am neither prepared nor adequately qualified to undertake.

The only other solution is to procure another supply of the drug. Unfortunately, the unique source for it is the Jovian Collective, so that isn’t going to work.

So, with no other choice, I endure the three-hour commercial flight to the capital city, Artemis. A cab ride later, I stand before the sparkling white edifice that houses the Lunar Technical Institute. While the Terran Medical Academy is still the gold standard for research in medicine, the LTI is a close second. That is entirely due to the largesse and influence of Luna’s de facto ruler, Regis Mundi.

Wealthier than Croesus, he inspired and financially supported Luna’s rebellion against Terra. Now, he is spending untold billions of credits rebuilding the newly liberated colony into a first-class corporate and scientific centre to rival anything Earth has. It is a lofty dream, and he has accomplished much. I heard rumours that he is a bit of an eccentric, but as I admire the architecture of the entrance to the brand-new research building, it is apparent none of that matters. Most people have some freaky inside. If the stories about him are true, Mundi just chooses to put his on display.

When I present my credentials to the security guard, he studies me skeptically until the computer clears me as an expected guest. His manner becomes all charm as he escorts me to the top floor waiting room and offers me my choice of fancy coffee.

It isn’t too long before the one person on Luna I’d hoped to avoid walks into the room, a welcoming smile on her face.

Tessa Beaumont is almost fifty years old but would pass for a fashion model half that age. The Moon’s gravity and an expensive regimen of anti-aging drugs will likely preserve her in such a state for another thirty years or more. She wears a black tight-fitting but fashionable business skirt, white blouse, and jacket ensemble that does nothing to conceal her figure. Tessa revels in her femininity, and I know from experience how intoxicating and dangerous that can be for those who fall under her spell. Seeing her, I feel like I’ve arrived wearing a burlap sack.

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