Alien Cradle, Jeff Inlo [graded readers .txt] 📗

things he told him. He considered how the middleman might react if Rath revealed what else he learned about the Fenrites, not that he even considered such a discussion. Lar wouldn't want to hear it. Fenrir was a forbidden topic. No, he would leave Lar alone, at least for now.

He expelled a heavy breath from his lips. Another dangling loose end, but one he just wasn't going to worry about.

But what did that mean for Rath? Forgetting about Lar meant finding a new middleman. That wasn't going to be easy, not here. He could try another planet, but that was the same as starting over.

He slouched as he stepped into a magnorail car. He nearly spit at the brightly colored lottery terminal.

"Not with my luck."

He didn't get off at the warehouse district. He let the magnorail bring him to the central province. He stepped into the local Exploratory office and decided to test the deal set by Angelo. It was a risk, especially this soon. Word might not have spread, or the coordinator might not have notified all the parties involved. But Rath was tired of waiting, tired of running.

He moved directly to the main desk and offered his wristband for a scan. His personal information, including his history with the Authority, and probably with the coordinator as well, would be available for inspection. He was either going to be arrested on the spot, or ignored and treated like just another scout. Whichever, he wanted to know now. No more waiting.

The Exploratory rep acknowledged Rath with a nod as he scanned the information coming to his screen.

So far so good. No alarms went off and the rep didn't make any sudden calls to the local jurisdiction. Either this clerk was one good actor or nothing out of the ordinary flashed across his terminal.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Scampion?" the rep asked as if talking to a neighbor he didn't see all that often.

"I want to make a quick run, but I haven't had a chance to put together a bid. You got anything on the expired list without any takers."

The rep nodded. They always liked to reduce the expired bid list. Normally, it included scout runs in systems without planets, orbital scans of gaseous giants where a scout couldn't land, or small errands to drop off space buoys. Most scouts avoided these runs since they couldn't supplement their income with a scavenge hunt. The only thing to be gained on this was the Regency scout money, and once a bid request hit the expired list, the fee was determined by a set of strict calculations. No bargaining, no perks. It was the kind of run a scout made when he needed to pay off a small debt in a hurry.

"I got a couple of simple runs for systems not too far from here," the rep offered with a hopeful expression. "Scanners have already established that there aren't any planets in either system. Regency wants a navigation buoy set in one and a communication booster in the other. I see from the information on the screen that you're bonded, so you can do either or both, if you want. Small pay, though, it's a short trip in both cases."

"That'll be fine," Rath agreed as he looked at the proposed schedule of payments to his account. It really was nothing but chump change, but it'd keep him occupied for a few days. "I'll take them both."

The rep transmitted an acceptance to the two requests and happily watched them disappear from the open list. "I can have both the buoy and the booster ready for pick up in an orbital dock in one hour Janus time. Docking station NM-Green. Is your scout large enough to hold both?"

"Yeah, I've got an expanded hold."

"Good for you. It'll save you some fuel money not having to come back to make a second pickup. The pay's the same whether you make one trip or two."

"Thanks." Rath downloaded the job instructions to his portable. He took his time, almost dragging out the wait. He even executed a comparison to make sure the linked files matched, something he never took the time to do before. He afforded a quick glance about the office, but none of the other clerks and administrators seemed to care about his existence. No one from local jurisdiction showed up at the door, and no one tried to stop him when he finally moved to leave. Certainly if there were standing orders for his arrest, he would have seen some kind of activity, but he walked out the door like any other scout.

When returning to the magnorail station, he looked about for anyone following him, but he was alone.

He released a tired sigh. "I guess they are going to just let me be." He took a seat at the station and for the first moment in a very long time, he felt as if the Fenrite burden had finally been removed from his shoulders. A few worries still nibbled at his innards - what he would do, where he would go - but the overall strain finally began to abate. He thought of Angelo and the deal that brought him this peace.

"More power to the pirates of the world. Let them steal the money and let them deal with the stress."

Subcommander Skysdale didn't appear very happy, and that fact in itself brightened Dr. Sinclair's day.

"I take it you have seen the report?" She didn't even try to hide the smile. She wanted her glowing countenance transmitted with her words, wanted the subcommander to see her satisfaction. "Have you also heard the Authority and Regency Govern have agreed completely to my proposal?"

"Yeah, I heard," Skysdale fumed. "I also know that Authority command is pissed about your secret council."

"But they did agree to my plan, even though it came from the very same council."

"They agreed because it takes the heat off of them. The whole thing'll just look like a mass epidemic or a result of the nuclear radiation which the public thinks the Fenrites caused themselves."

Dr. Sinclair enjoyed the moment of triumph. "That was the idea. The Fenrites will be gone, the Authority won't have to worry about another attack, the public won't become outraged at possible genocide, and we still get to investigate the planet without sifting through ashes."

Skysdale couldn't let his anger grow anymore if he wanted.

"And you think that's it? There's still a big mess to clean up. Regency and Authority are no where near harmonious. It was pompous and arrogant of you to reveal the council's existence to Command. They didn't have to know. You could have passed your proposal to me or directly to Govern. You just wanted to show up the generals, didn't you? The Authority is still looking for some heads to roll."

Sinclair raised an eyebrow. "Well, why not yours? You were part of this council. I don't remember you refusing or even abdicating your position."

"That's another thing," the subcommander shrieked with obvious resentment. "Why'd you have to name me as the council liaison? That was just plain wrong and you know it."

"Not at all. I had to explain the council's knowledge of the situation. Authority Command would have wanted to know how my council received its information. I was duty-bound to tell them."

"Bullshit! You put me in a wringer and you enjoyed doing it. My future with Authority is finished because of that little stunt."

"Ah yes, your future." Sinclair paused to review a prepared electronic message. "I'm forwarding this message to the offices of Regency Govern and Authority Command. As the Fenrite situation is now well in hand, my council is no longer in need of your services. You are dismissed. Good day, subcommander."

Fleet General Hollins wasn't thrilled at the prospect. As much as he hated the Fenrites and what they represented, this action was no less abhorrent.

It wasn't that he resented wiping out the Fenrites - they were a creation that never should have been - but it was how they were going to do it. Biological weapons held no honor. Yes, he despised the Fenrites, but this foul creation had earned at least a small amount of respect, far more than the egg-heads and council members that created them. They had accomplished more than any other enemy of the Authority. Out of that simple fact, the Fenrites deserved a chance to die with respect, a chance to fight for their survival. They would not have it.

The Authority wasn't even going to risk sending ships into the atmosphere. Even now, Artillery Rovers took to a high orbit and prepared to launch canister charges that would detonate in the lower atmosphere. The virus would spread planet wide before Fenrir could complete one full rotation.

The general gave one last look to the drifting hulk of the destroyed Planning Station. Not one survivor had been recovered. He tried to focus on his memories of the soldiers he knew, the ones that had died at the hands of the Fenrites. It was a hollow sensation.

"Order the Rovers to launch all canisters. Let's get this over with as soon as possible. This isn't a job for the Authority, but let's do it right."

The creations on Fenrir died just as those upon the moon base. Their hearts slowed, circulation failed to bring oxygen to their brains, and they lost consciousness. They made no attempt to escape in their space crafts. They didn't know where to go. The idea that other planets existed beyond their own was only a faint whisper in their collective memories. They truly only knew their home, and they would die here.

The Fenrite experiment ended.

Changing Power

The pistol rested within the coordinator's reach, but completely out of the doctor's sight. They sat alone, in Sinclair's office. She rattled off the achievements of the Fenrite Discover Council as she browsed through the notes of her own portable. He sat quiet with his hands folded before him.

He already knew everything she was spouting, knew that she was simply crowing like some beauty contestant that had just won first prize. He let her continue. If she wanted to give her own eulogy, he wouldn't spoil it.

"A research ship is now in orbit at Fenrir." she said. "We have landing teams moving back and forth from the surface to orbital labs in successive rotations. There is no apparent risk from the virus. It was designed to attack cold-blooded creatures and it remains in its original form, no mutations. Techs and researchers are going through all of the Fenrite labs even as we speak. Some of the findings are quite remarkable.

"We've found out everything we could from the moon biosphere. I have researchers sifting through the details, but there was no need to keep the remnants of the colony intact. We've shut it down and removed all traces. The only thing left is the data at EMOF. That will remain as the center for further study, but no one else will ever now just how close a Fenrite colony was to earth.

"Even the Authority has become slightly more accessible lately. I think they now understand that the proper elimination of the Fenrites saved them from many unnecessary headaches. They're helping to keep the Fenrir system secure just in case any of these media nuts try to get curious. I doubt there'll be a problem."

She clicked off her portable with a satisfied thump of her right