Crimson Climb by Crimson Climb (epub)

Author:Crimson Climb (epub)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2023-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

Elesa Norre was a wealthy grain buyer from Galara, a distant but reasonably wealthy planet in the Mid Rim. Her shoulder-length brown hair was always done up in some kind of braid, and her makeup was always immaculate, even in the jungle. She dressed with an effortless sort of style and dared anyone to question her about it. She made up for her lack of height by being absolutely unmovable when it came to negotiation. She didn’t even travel with guards, preferring her own delicate blaster and the strength of her reputation.

Qi’ra had never felt more intimidating in her life. It was almost magical, stepping into Elesa’s skin. She was entirely a construct, invented by the Mizi and made real by a slicer, but Qi’ra felt strangely powerful in the role.

She exuded power, too, if the reaction of the Hammer secretary was anything to go by. When she arrived at the office—unannounced, of course—she was shown immediately to the nicest sitting room and given some of the local iced fruit to drink. The poor girl apologized profusely for the time it was taking her employers to arrive, but Qi’ra didn’t even look at her.

The head of the Hammers had been in lumber before he was head of a gang, and it showed in his muscles. The trees on Thorum were mostly felled and hauled by droids, but a common cost-cutting method was to use living labor, and that was clearly how Dennet Clyde had made his name. As gang leader, he was intimidating—or he would have been if Qi’ra hadn’t known that Thallia had already pinned down his whole schedule.

“My lady, I apologize for my tardiness,” Clyde said. “Our appointment must have been erased somehow.”

The secretary turned white as a sheet, and Qi’ra felt a surge of anger toward this man who would so easily turn the blame to someone who couldn’t possibly fight back.

“I like to be a surprise,” Qi’ra told him, her accent as polished as it had ever been. “I don’t make appointments.”

“Well, then,” Clyde stumbled, clearly having expected the conversation to go differently. “May I ask what you’ve come to talk about?”

“I want the delweed crop,” Qi’ra said, naming a minor grain on Thorum that was popular off-world. “All of it.”

“All of—” Clyde’s surprise got away from him before he checked himself. “I see. Unfortunately, we have had some issues with our transports. I’m not sure we can guarantee a delivery.”

“I don’t want a delivery,” Qi’ra scoffed. “I have ships of my own. I want the delweed, and I don’t want to have to buy it through a broker.”

“Of course, now,” Clyde said. “That’s the very foundation of our business. Direct sales. None of those payoffs. We’re happy to work with you.”

“Charmed,” said Qi’ra, her tone dropping the temperature in the room by at least four degrees. “Have the sale drawn up. Do not bother trying to cheat me. I am well aware of the market price, both here and off-planet.”

“Right away.” Clyde turned to his secretary, but Qi’ra interrupted.

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