The tiny
L'rak
was barely large enough for a cramped bridge, two tiny "staterooms" consisting of a foldout bed and desk and a small closet. The so-called "staterooms" were so small that one had to step outside the door to climb into the open bunk, and then close the door after himself. One of these was presently filled with Cale's provisions, since the miniscule "hold" consisted of less than a cubic meter of space. The rest of the passenger spaces were limited to a single cramped 'fresher and a coffin-like med cabinet.
L'rak
did not run to an AI, of course. Her simple-minded astrogation comp seemed crude compared to Tess's abilities. Cale was forced to use studied-but-never-used astrogation techniques and cross his fingers a lot.
But she
was
fast. It had taken
Scorpion
44 hours to reach Torlon from the jump point.
L'rak
made the return trip in 32. Tess had computed that the two jumps to New Chin would take 92 hours, followed by a recal stop requiring 39 hours, a jump of 87 hours, and 42 hours to reach New Chin from the jump point, for a total of 304 hours, or almost 13 standard days.
L'rak
shaved that time to just under ten. If she could maintain that pace, Cale should be able to meet his one-month goal for the complete trip.
An Old Empire destroyer picketed new Chin's jump point. In less than an hour, a customs official had been dispatched,
L'rak
's papers had been examined, and she had been given a cursory search. Cale held down his speed inward. There was no sense advertising
L'rak
's capabilities.
Once the communications lag was down to five seconds, he was hailed by a large orbital station, demanding to know his business. Cale's terse "Gem trading" seemed to satisfy them, and he was directed to a berth on the landing field near the planet's capital city.
Even before he landed, jewelers and gem dealers were calling, inquiring about his merchandise. Cale claimed to be unwilling to discuss deals over open comm circuits, but actually, he queried the station's library directory to locate the largest jeweler and the largest gem dealer on the planet. He wanted to sell two sunstones here, but he wanted to do only one deal for both. He wanted to be on his way out of the system before tongues started wagging. Only the largest dealer or jeweler would be able to handle the purchase of two eight-millimeter sunstones.
As soon as he had grounded and taken care of the port formalities, he walked two blocks from the port before grabbing a hovercab to the headquarters of Peng Gems.
An attractive young woman operated the reception desk. When he asked about meeting with a gem buyer, she seemed unimpressed, until he mentioned sunstones. Suddenly she became very attentive, and began pressing buttons on her console. In only moments, a small, middle-aged man hurried to the reception desk with a large, if insincere smile.
"A very good day to you, sire . . . uh . . ."
"Averano," Cale supplied, using the name of a long-dead pirate.
"Of course, sire, of course," the little man ushered him down a short, deeply carpeted hall and into a small, but tastefully decorated office. The large real-wood desk supported a small sculpture John Smith would have estimated at fifty thousand Alliance credits.
The small man ushered him to a comfortable-looking chair facing the desk. "I'm Ricardo Fong," the man said as he hurried around the desk. "I understand you have a, uh, high-value gem to show me." The smile never wavered but the man's eyes gleamed with avarice.
Cale smiled. "Two, actually," he replied casually, "both about eight millimeters in size."
The smile slipped. "
Two
?" Fong rose again. "Sire Averano, am I to understand that you can offer
two
sunstones?"
Cale's smile faded. "Yes. But can Peng Gems afford to purchase two eight-millimeter sunstones? I am prepared to sell them one at a time, if necessary, but I would prefer a single transaction."
Fong looked shaken. "If I may see the . . . uh . . . merchandise?"
Cale reached into his shirt pocket and removed a small packet. Feng hurried to place a piece of black velvet on the desk. Cale unwrapped the packet and the two sunstones rolled out onto the velvet, seeming to glow in the room light. Fong hurried back around the desk, snatching a well-used jeweler's scanner from the center drawer. With it, he hovered over each of the stones. After a moment, Fong released the scanner and dropped backward into his chair with a thump. He looked dazed.
After a moment, he roused and began frantically pressing buttons on his console. "I'm sure Peng Gems would be willing to make an offer," Fong said weakly, "but of course such a large transaction would require the personal attention of sire Peng himself."
Fong carefully folded the velvet over the stones, and watched helplessly as Cale returned the gems to his pocket. Fong's eyes followed them hungrily. Then, seemingly rousing himself, he ushered Cale down the hall to a lift shaft. Fong looked briefly into a sensor, and then urged Cale into the shaft. They rose some thirty stories before the shaft disgorged them into a small empty area facing a single large real wood door. The door was heavily carved with fanciful creatures. The walls of the small reception area were also covered in real wood. Cale suspected the intricate carvings concealed several weapons.
Another retinal scan and the large door swung silently open. The large room it revealed contained only a large real wood desk and three heavily padded chairs. The carpet's pattern identified it as from Songhast, and was the deepest Cale had ever seen. Since Songhast was hundreds of light years from New Chin, and a carpet this size would take years to complete, Cale knew he was looking at an artistic treasure. He began to believe that Peng Gems actually could complete the deal.
The man behind the desk was almost obscenely fat, and was firmly ensconced in a float chair, which seemed to be struggling to maintain its flotation.
"Well," the man said impatiently, "Let's see them! Let's see them!" his voice was high-pitched and irritating.
Cale smiled slightly, but made no move. "Sire Peng, I presume?"
Fong looked shocked, but the fat man merely frowned. "Of course, of course! Let's see them.
Two
sunstones, y'say?"
"Yes," Cale replied, "both eight millimeters in size."
The fat man nodded impatiently. "Well, let's see them!"
Cale placed the black velvet on the huge expanse of real wood, and uncovered the stones. Peng gasped at the beauty spread before him. An expression of avarice crossed his face briefly before he regained his normal impassivity.
He reached for them, but Cale interposed his hand. "There is still the question of whether Peng Gems can afford both stones," he said pleasantly.
Peng scowled. "It might be done. It may take a day or so to obtain sufficient currency . . ."
Cale interrupted him with a wave. "I'm not interested in currency. I would prefer to deal in diamonds."
Peng's scowl faded. "Diamonds, eh? Excellent. Yes, I'm certain we maintain sufficient stock to conclude the purchase." His eyes narrowed." Assuming we can make a deal, of course."
Cale nodded. "Of course. My price is twenty-five thousand carats. Pure white, no flaws, no single stone larger than five carats or smaller than two."
A flash of triumph appeared on Peng's face before he could impose its normal impassivity. "Twenty-five thousand is quite a large sum. Perhaps fifteen?"
Cale sighed and rose. He reached for the stones. "Really, sire Peng, if you weren't serious, you shouldn't have wasted both our time."
A fat arm rose to interpose itself between Cale and the stones. "Twenty thousand, then. Pure white, with no flaws."
Cale reached over the arm for the stones. Sausage-like fingers swept them up. "Very well, then. Twenty-five thousand carats, pure white, flawless, no single stone larger than five carats or smaller than two. Agreed?"
Cale smiled. "Of course, sire Peng. If you'll hand me the stones, I'll wait until the diamonds can be selected, valued, and inspected by me."
"NO!" Peng almost shouted. He struggled to regain his composure. "Uh . . . We will wait here. I'm sure Mr. Fong can gather the diamonds. He is our most experienced diamond broker." Fong nodded and hurried out. "And now," Peng continued, his impassivity once more in place. "I'll have tea brought in, and we will discuss diamonds. I assume you are a . . . uh . . . wholesaler, sire Averano?"
The fact that Peng knew his name despite his mentioning it only to Fong did not escape Cale's notice. He smiled broadly. "One might say that, sire Peng. Actually, I deal in many different products. One might say I'm an intermediary. In the present case, I've been retained by a client to dispose of the stones he . . . uh . . . inherited from a wealthy relative."
A knowing smile spread over the fat face. "I understand, sire Averano. Such inheritances are a major source of gems for Peng Gems."
The conversation continued for half an hour, with insincere smiles on both sides. Cale reflected that not all pirates raid ships and planets. Some, like this fat spider, sit in the middle of their web and wait for other pirates to bring them their loot.
Finally, Fong returned with a bulging cloth bag. "Please, sire Averano," Peng said expansively, "use my desk and scanner to inspect your diamonds. The House of Peng is well known for the quality of its gems."
The size of the bag and the number of diamonds it held surprised even Cale. The bag massed more than a kilo. Nevertheless, he used Peng's scanner to closely examine each stone for flaws in the stone or the cut, and verify the weight. He was no jeweler, of course, but he trusted himself to notice any irregularities. Peng and Fong simply waited until Cale began gathering the stones back into the bag. Fong stepped forward as though to help, but Cale waved him off with a smile.
Relief tinged Peng's smile. He touched a control on his desk. "Perhaps something a bit less, er, conspicuous to transport your stones?" He offered. A moment later, a young woman entered carrying a small businessman's attaché case.
Cale nodded, while examining the case closely. "I thank you for your consideration," he replied. Finding no visible signs that the case was rigged, he placed the bag in the open case, shifting the stones until the case could close.
He shook hands with both men. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. I will certainly keep the House of Peng in mind for future gem transactions. I assume I may rely upon your discretion in this matter?"
A huge smile wreathed Peng's fat face. "Of course, of course," he assured Cale. "If our discretion were not absolute, we would be out of business in a month."
Cale allowed himself to be ushered out of the building. The receptionist had called him a hovercab, but Cale walked two blocks before hailing one off the street. As soon as he was out of sight of the building, he removed his belt and buckled it around the case. By now, Peng should be burning up the phone lines getting people to find out all about "sire Averano," and checking recent arrivals and departures. His picture was no doubt even now being circulated. He had no time to waste. He left the cab three blocks from the landing field, and strode quickly for the port.
A gate guard gave him a puzzled look, but did not stop Cale. He nearly ran for
L'rak
and scrambled aboard. In seconds, he was requesting departure clearance, and in less than five minutes was cleared to lift. As
L'rak
lifted, he thought he saw a large ground sedan full of men approach the gate, but he could not be sure.
Cale risked running
L'rak
at a higher rate of acceleration than he had used on the trip inward. He could not fight an Old Empire destroyer. If Peng had the power to have him stopped, there would be little Cale could do. He slowed as he approached the jump point some thirty-four hours later. It would be best not to attract unnecessary attention. He requested jump clearance, and held his breath. He expelled the breath in a huge gust when a routine-sounding voice cleared him to jump
Once safely in jump, Cale turned to the case. He loosened the belt he'd wrapped around the case. The bottom of the case sprang open, pulling the belt from his hand. With a sour grin, Cale took the bag of diamonds from the case, closing the spring-loaded bottom and latching it.
Very clever, he thought. Once Cale was safely away from the building, Peng triggered a signal, and the bottom of the case would have dropped out, spilling the bag of diamonds into the undoubtedly rigged hovercab or the street. No doubt Peng employees were conveniently on hand to grab the bag and run. He took the now-empty case and put it in the med cabinet, then activated the cabinet's stasis field. He would dispose of the case at the first recal point, but in the meantime, he wouldn't have to worry about timed explosives. Cynical suspicions garnered from hard experience on Jurgen and Mina's death had stood him in good stead on New Chin. There is a fine line, he thought, between an aggressive businessman and a corrupt thief. No, all the pirates
weren't
raiding ships.
Ararat was only one jump from New Chin, which pleased Cale. There would be less time for word to spread.
Ararat was a regional banking center. Ararat letters of credit were accepted without question throughout the sector, and the secrecy of their transactions legendary. While Ararat was not the gem-trading center that New Chin was, it was an open secret that the larger gem traders were backed by the large banking houses. Cale was hoping to dispose of his largest sunstone, a 15-millimeter monster. According to the latest valuations he had seen, a 15-millimeter sunstone would be worth well over fifty thousand carats of diamonds. There were few places a sunstone that large could be traded, due to its immense value. Ararat was one of those few places, but Cale wanted a quick in-and-out deal. He didn't want to wait around while the wheeler-dealers dithered. He expected to ask 30,000 carats; a comparative bargain.