Splintegrate by Deborah Teramis Christian

Author:Deborah Teramis Christian [Christian, Deborah Teramis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

THE IMPERIALS FINALLY left with a bottle of nashak as a gift, and the Savia cleared for further travels.

Janus was lost in thought as he made his way back to his office suite, chasing a germ of inspiration hatched during his conversation with the gunboat officers. He spoke into the air as his door closed behind him. “Ship. Give me the bridge.”

A chime was the response, followed by his captain’s voice. “Sir?”

“Don’t break orbit yet,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir.” Confusion was evident in his voice.

“How current is our LIS?” Janus asked, referring to the ship-board library information system.

“Synced before we left Lyndir. Last updated in Morrow before we entered Triskelan space.”

“Connect us to the planetary datasphere, then,” Janus ordered. “I want the LIS fully synced with the Amh resource base.”

“Sir?” Unspoken questions hung in the air.

“I’m doing some research before we leave this area,” Janus said. “Flag me on the ship net when we’re synced.”

“Yes, sir. It’ll be a few moments.”

A chime signaled the closed connection.

Janus strode purposefully to his desk, took a seat, and jacked in. Within the minute, he cross-linked to Ahm’s datasphere, and from there to subsector-wide information resources.

Vensavik’s war stories had been just that: tales of exaggerated derring-do against the backdrop of devastating fleet actions. But it was the subtext of those larger actions that galvanized Janus and set him now on a cram course of local subsector research.

He spent only an hour in the net: enough time to confirm his initial thoughts. Finally he stabbed the com tab and summoned Karuu to him.

Janus was standing when the Dorleoni entered. Before his short lieutenant could quiz him about the Imps, Janus pointed him to a seat and leaned forward with his hands flat on the desktop. He was still jacked into the system, the lead running derevin-style from his temple to the dataport in the desk. Karuu looked questioningly up at his boss.

“What are we going to do with all that money, you asked.” With a thought, Janus displayed the data model above the desk again, an upward-spiking finance graph prominent in its holographic surroundings.

He pointed one slender finger at the model. “Not only does it take money to make money,” he said, as the finance track took a sharp plunge, “but it also takes money and leverage to secure power.” A red delta-shaped symbol swelled into prominence in the foreground. “Finally, Karuu, I will have the money—and, I think, the leverage—to be as secure in power as I want to be.” He shot a knowing look at the Dorleoni. “And you, too.”

The old smuggler had always claimed he was interested only in profit, but Janus knew him too well to buy that line. His interests had always extended beyond mere credits, driving force though they might be. Karuu used information, people, blackmail, and any kind of leverage he could get his flippered hands on to make himself secure. Secure in his power, secure in his position.

It was a trait Janus was counting on. The

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