"Money," Segal replies just as bluntly. "I'm here with thrice his group, since before dinner, and we'll be here enjoying ourselves long after his expenses run dry and he has to leave. Or go ahead, work for Keji! I give you freedom, like you asked. Work for us both, I care not." Segal motions to Tor, the mottled henchman. "Keji tried to bribe several months ago. He couldn't meet Tor's price." The weathered goon nods in assent.
"And that's good enough for me," Swao says. "You understand why I have to ask. I'm simply looking for the best deal. Looks like you're it."
He looks to his little squad of turai and pockets the lats already on the table. "I'm not for politics. I prefer things to be...straightforward."
He looks back to Segal.
"We need to leave now, lead Utari around a bit more so everybody can get a good look at the champ. But I have an isolated vox connection that Haralin doesn't know about. Feel free to contact me if you want to set up something."
Zaef walks by the table and reaches for a drink to go. As he bends over, he whispers quietly to Segal. "The answer is yes, by the way. Call Haralin and ask for me. We'll work out details later."
Segal nods in assent and lifts his glass as Zaef and his minders leave the main floor of Khalkiota. His teeth glint at a private smile as the newcomers head out. It was no secret among his inner circle that he was running out of resources. Perhaps this mini-Arena and Zaef Utari would be the meal ticket he'd been looking for, and if he could confound his brothers while he was at it, so much the better.
Upstairs, Haralin, Zakest, and Tanakta watch Gorlan Kesh and his strange Cyllan benefactor leave. You don't know enough about the Cyllans' place in the Imperium to know if their meeting hid anything but legitimate business; all you know is that the "Shapers" are the Cyllan artisans and engineers. Coming from aquatic roots, the Cyllan species twisted and bred their civilization rather than build it on a forge's flames. The rampant genemods you've seen on Hedion might even have ancestry in Cyllan Shaper methods. More than likely Gorlan Kesh's in with the Cyllan meshes with either his direct position at Faxom-Io or indirectly, through the Kesh family pharmaceutical business that accounted for enough profit to maintain their wealth.
Angel assumes a casual stance while he watches the sun set. The spook wanted him out here for...something. Fishing. Question of course was whether he was the hook or the worm?
Haralin stares in the direction of Gorlan Kesh as he leaves with a bored look on his face, sniffing periodically from his bowl. His vox flashes with various messages and propositions, some business, most personal. He ignores them. This visit has achieved its purpose, and now he wants to simply relax and enjoy himself. There's going to be plenty of time to think and scheme later, not to mention clear his head of the stim buzz that's making it hard to focus on any one thing for more than a second or two.
"Zakest," Haralin says, "any luck on finding a suitable manufacturer for your new eyes and equipment?"
"Zakest," Haralin says, "any luck on finding a suitable manufacturer for your new eyes and equipment?"
"What with just getting here and all the relaxing, Chief, I haven't had time to check any leads," Zakest says. There's just a hint of challenge in it. "If I may be excused from it for a moment?"
Haralin waves his hand. "Fine, Tanakta and I will be here."
Zakest nods, then takes a couple steps to disengage from the conversation and goes to work with his vox, tracking down someplace to make an appointment with an cyberoptometrist.
Zakest skims the Cortex network, looking for reputable surgeons affiliated with Faxom-Io. He could easily go tonight for the consultation - such physicians do a lot of work for Akis' nobility and they know it's in their interest to keep to their clientele's odd schedules - but Zakest needs to allow time for the ripple they made tonight to flutter through high society and draw their marks closer. He sets up a consultation for mid-morning the next day, at a Faxom-Io genemod-and-cybergraft shop only a few levels down from the affluent neighborhoods around Khalkiota.
Zakest's signing out when he notices the faint telltale signature of a minor security breach in the team's vox records. He peers closer and sees that someone's already made an attempt on Haralin's data. Just like you all expected, the unknown intruder hit the upper level of barely-encrypted data and made off with the "SOOPAR SEKRAT" plans ('bait' might be a better word) for the solar farm.
Admiral Duck Sauce
