[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Clambering down the ladder while his extensive household was still climbing up
out of its basement retreat, Hafiz made his way to his office and reactivated
his contact with the receivers implanted in one of Laboue's little moons.
Messages came flooding in to his receiver. Those from Rafik went from queries
to near-hysterical demands for reply. Some of the later ones from his
associates also ranged from moderate concern to the hysteria that
characterized Rafik's.
"It's nice to know that I've been missed," Hafiz said, until he realized that
he had also missed out on a fine coup and a large profit. He got more and more
upset as he began to tote up just how much money the isolation had cost him in
terms of deals unanswered and missed opportunities. When he got his hands
around the necks of those . . . those . . . what had they called themselves? .
. . Linyaari, he would show them not to deceive the Head of House Harakamian
with such dramatic hoaxes.
Yelling for his servants to ready his spacecraft and telling his chief steward
to report to Quiabriel, Hafiz almost ran to the hangar in his anxiety to be
airborne and back in the midst of the world from which he had temporarily
excluded himself. He must show himself in person at the trading centers of his
personal empire, and at once. Who knew how long it would take him to repair
the damage done? Who knew what negotiating it would take to prove that the
Head of House Harakamian was not a coward, diving underground at the first
sign of danger? What had made him panic so badly at those obviously
manufactured scenes shown by the Linyaari?
Page 101
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
He was already demanding a nav plan for Twi Osiam when he calmed down enough
to wonder, again, whether the scenes broadcast to Laboue might not have been
real and not a hoax. After all, the people who had broadcast their warning
were Acorna's folk. He'd never known her to lie ... but of course, his beloved
nephew had raised the girl so she would value truth. A pity, that. . . with
better training, she might have been most useful to him in the business
dealings of House Harakamian. But she was so incurably candid that he
suspected her species could not be other than straightforward. And why would
they have shown their own species being tortured if there were not some
substance to their outrageous claim that this part of the galaxy was in
danger? That those .. . those .. . barbaric savages were on the loose in the
immediate vicinity?
He sent a lucid message to Rafik on the Uhuru, mentioning that he was again in
circulation and asking what Rafik had been able to save of their current deals
without his authorization, which, in some cases, Rafik still must present to
seal a contract.
He got back the signal, which meant the Uhuru was recording the message. Now
where was Rafik? If not on board his ship, he had better be doing business for
House Harakamian. He received back the somewhat reassuring report that the
Uhuru was currently docked at Maganos.
What but a threat to Acorna could have taken Rafik from his assigned business
deals to Maganos? And should she not be apprised of the arrival of others like
her? Worry and concern and a kindly desire to give Acorna this news in person
inspired Hafiz to do something he had not considered in all his adult life: he
put aside his business plans for a purely personal trip to Maganos Moon Base.
"At least the time of travel need not be a total loss," Hafiz told himself.
Some at least of his complex business dealings could be rescued by
long-distance communication, and he spent the time of the journey doing just
that. He was requesting landing permission from Maganos Moon Base when a final
message in the long line he had been receiving was from Rafik.
"Uncle, having no way of communicating with you, I have asked Delsaki Li to
make arrangements on Acorna's behalf. I trust they will meet with your
approval. I will report as soon as we reach Rushima."
"Rushima? Grushima?" Hafiz was totally outraged. He'd never heard of the place
and tapped in a request'for information, trying to control his temper. After
all, he had authorized Rafik to operate on his own, finely tuned instincts. .
. . "An agri planet?" he bellowed when the information came up. "Sponsored by
the Shenjemi?"
Hafiz's dealings with the Shenjemi Federation had not been all that
remunerative, and Hafiz made his value judgments on profits made. He'd had few
enough from the Federation.
"Why has Rafik gone off to Rushima anyway? It almost sounds as if he is
following Acorna. What possessed the girl to take off just when her people
appear in our space? Provola had better know exactly what's happening, or I
may have to wait until Rafik s firstborn son shows what promise he might
have," Hafiz said to the ship in general and no one, certainly not his crew,
in particular.
When his ship docked at Maganos Moon Base Hafiz went straight to Delszaki Li's
private offices, only to find them deserted. Not even the secretary who
usually guarded the inner sanctum was at his post. As a consequence, Hafiz had
no way of finding out that Mr. Li had briefly collapsed after the strain of
the past few days and had been ordered to bed in Maganos s small hospital
facility. The secretary who should have been receiving visitors and directing
inquiries was instead hovering outside the closed doors of the hospital unit,
waiting to hear of the recovery of an old man he had come to love like . . .
well, not a father . . . more like a great-grandfather.
To be fair, Li had no reason to expect any need for his services; since the
triumph of the Child Liberation League had obviated the need for secrecy, Mr.
Page 102
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Li had more and more left the day-to-day management of his financial and
business affairs in the hands of trusted subordinates. Furthermore, when he
visited Maganos he considered himself "on holiday" and expected- and
received-no visitors except those in his immediate circle of beloved
friends-the three miners, the Kendoro siblings, and, of course, Acorna-all of
whom were gone now. Not expecting Hafiz to lower the shield, let alone journey
to Maganos, none of them had thought to leave him any explanations for their
sudden departure. And the secretary, who, like most of the rest of Maganos,
was not privy to the tale brought by the Linyaari envoys, had little to offer
when Hafiz finally located him.
"Acorna and Calum left first, in the AcaSeckl- " Hafiz began. "You know about
that?" The secretary was stunned. "I should," Hafiz said, "she's my ship.
Continue, please." "Well. Everybody was worried about that. The ship wasn't
fitted up properly, you see. ..." The secretary started off in some detail
about the remodeling and improved defense plans for the Acadecki, which he did
know something about, until Hafiz interrupted and very politely suggested that
the man go on with his story about what had happened to cause a mass desertion
of Maganos and Delszaki Li's collapse.
"Well, um, they arrested this . . . person," the secretary went on doubtfully,
and wondered why his own tongue seemed to be fighting him. Of course it had
been a person, a young man, he'd seen him, what else would you call him? But
something else was diverting his attention from the story. . . .
"It's hard to talk with my collar twisted so tightly," the secretary said, "if
you could ..."
"A thousand apologies." Hafiz released his grip on the mans tunic, but not the
steely-eyed glare that somehow brought to mind much worse things than simple
assault... archaic words like bastinado and strappado floated through the
secretary's jangling brain. Once released, he told Hafiz everything he could;
unfortunately, that wasn't enough to allow any reconstruction of what had been
going on in Li's private rooms. Other ... "people" .. . had come... " For some [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
Clambering down the ladder while his extensive household was still climbing up
out of its basement retreat, Hafiz made his way to his office and reactivated
his contact with the receivers implanted in one of Laboue's little moons.
Messages came flooding in to his receiver. Those from Rafik went from queries
to near-hysterical demands for reply. Some of the later ones from his
associates also ranged from moderate concern to the hysteria that
characterized Rafik's.
"It's nice to know that I've been missed," Hafiz said, until he realized that
he had also missed out on a fine coup and a large profit. He got more and more
upset as he began to tote up just how much money the isolation had cost him in
terms of deals unanswered and missed opportunities. When he got his hands
around the necks of those . . . those . . . what had they called themselves? .
. . Linyaari, he would show them not to deceive the Head of House Harakamian
with such dramatic hoaxes.
Yelling for his servants to ready his spacecraft and telling his chief steward
to report to Quiabriel, Hafiz almost ran to the hangar in his anxiety to be
airborne and back in the midst of the world from which he had temporarily
excluded himself. He must show himself in person at the trading centers of his
personal empire, and at once. Who knew how long it would take him to repair
the damage done? Who knew what negotiating it would take to prove that the
Head of House Harakamian was not a coward, diving underground at the first
sign of danger? What had made him panic so badly at those obviously
manufactured scenes shown by the Linyaari?
Page 101
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
He was already demanding a nav plan for Twi Osiam when he calmed down enough
to wonder, again, whether the scenes broadcast to Laboue might not have been
real and not a hoax. After all, the people who had broadcast their warning
were Acorna's folk. He'd never known her to lie ... but of course, his beloved
nephew had raised the girl so she would value truth. A pity, that. . . with
better training, she might have been most useful to him in the business
dealings of House Harakamian. But she was so incurably candid that he
suspected her species could not be other than straightforward. And why would
they have shown their own species being tortured if there were not some
substance to their outrageous claim that this part of the galaxy was in
danger? That those .. . those .. . barbaric savages were on the loose in the
immediate vicinity?
He sent a lucid message to Rafik on the Uhuru, mentioning that he was again in
circulation and asking what Rafik had been able to save of their current deals
without his authorization, which, in some cases, Rafik still must present to
seal a contract.
He got back the signal, which meant the Uhuru was recording the message. Now
where was Rafik? If not on board his ship, he had better be doing business for
House Harakamian. He received back the somewhat reassuring report that the
Uhuru was currently docked at Maganos.
What but a threat to Acorna could have taken Rafik from his assigned business
deals to Maganos? And should she not be apprised of the arrival of others like
her? Worry and concern and a kindly desire to give Acorna this news in person
inspired Hafiz to do something he had not considered in all his adult life: he
put aside his business plans for a purely personal trip to Maganos Moon Base.
"At least the time of travel need not be a total loss," Hafiz told himself.
Some at least of his complex business dealings could be rescued by
long-distance communication, and he spent the time of the journey doing just
that. He was requesting landing permission from Maganos Moon Base when a final
message in the long line he had been receiving was from Rafik.
"Uncle, having no way of communicating with you, I have asked Delsaki Li to
make arrangements on Acorna's behalf. I trust they will meet with your
approval. I will report as soon as we reach Rushima."
"Rushima? Grushima?" Hafiz was totally outraged. He'd never heard of the place
and tapped in a request'for information, trying to control his temper. After
all, he had authorized Rafik to operate on his own, finely tuned instincts. .
. . "An agri planet?" he bellowed when the information came up. "Sponsored by
the Shenjemi?"
Hafiz's dealings with the Shenjemi Federation had not been all that
remunerative, and Hafiz made his value judgments on profits made. He'd had few
enough from the Federation.
"Why has Rafik gone off to Rushima anyway? It almost sounds as if he is
following Acorna. What possessed the girl to take off just when her people
appear in our space? Provola had better know exactly what's happening, or I
may have to wait until Rafik s firstborn son shows what promise he might
have," Hafiz said to the ship in general and no one, certainly not his crew,
in particular.
When his ship docked at Maganos Moon Base Hafiz went straight to Delszaki Li's
private offices, only to find them deserted. Not even the secretary who
usually guarded the inner sanctum was at his post. As a consequence, Hafiz had
no way of finding out that Mr. Li had briefly collapsed after the strain of
the past few days and had been ordered to bed in Maganos s small hospital
facility. The secretary who should have been receiving visitors and directing
inquiries was instead hovering outside the closed doors of the hospital unit,
waiting to hear of the recovery of an old man he had come to love like . . .
well, not a father . . . more like a great-grandfather.
To be fair, Li had no reason to expect any need for his services; since the
triumph of the Child Liberation League had obviated the need for secrecy, Mr.
Page 102
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Li had more and more left the day-to-day management of his financial and
business affairs in the hands of trusted subordinates. Furthermore, when he
visited Maganos he considered himself "on holiday" and expected- and
received-no visitors except those in his immediate circle of beloved
friends-the three miners, the Kendoro siblings, and, of course, Acorna-all of
whom were gone now. Not expecting Hafiz to lower the shield, let alone journey
to Maganos, none of them had thought to leave him any explanations for their
sudden departure. And the secretary, who, like most of the rest of Maganos,
was not privy to the tale brought by the Linyaari envoys, had little to offer
when Hafiz finally located him.
"Acorna and Calum left first, in the AcaSeckl- " Hafiz began. "You know about
that?" The secretary was stunned. "I should," Hafiz said, "she's my ship.
Continue, please." "Well. Everybody was worried about that. The ship wasn't
fitted up properly, you see. ..." The secretary started off in some detail
about the remodeling and improved defense plans for the Acadecki, which he did
know something about, until Hafiz interrupted and very politely suggested that
the man go on with his story about what had happened to cause a mass desertion
of Maganos and Delszaki Li's collapse.
"Well, um, they arrested this . . . person," the secretary went on doubtfully,
and wondered why his own tongue seemed to be fighting him. Of course it had
been a person, a young man, he'd seen him, what else would you call him? But
something else was diverting his attention from the story. . . .
"It's hard to talk with my collar twisted so tightly," the secretary said, "if
you could ..."
"A thousand apologies." Hafiz released his grip on the mans tunic, but not the
steely-eyed glare that somehow brought to mind much worse things than simple
assault... archaic words like bastinado and strappado floated through the
secretary's jangling brain. Once released, he told Hafiz everything he could;
unfortunately, that wasn't enough to allow any reconstruction of what had been
going on in Li's private rooms. Other ... "people" .. . had come... " For some [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]