Cha pter 1: Assets
The prisoner wouldn't shut his yap. Yaps. Whatever, Pern thought. Cryndian scum, always coming onto decent human outposts like Khor-Wa, causing trouble. Greasy and pungent amphibianoids, Cryndians were known for decorating their long, arched necks with gaudy gold chains. They clipped medallions to the lips of their gills like earrings, so that they bounced and jingled when they spoke. The Cryndian mouth was good for little more than mute puckering and it annoyed Sergeant Pern to have to bend his ear to their gills to make out whatever deceitful nonsense was being spewed out of them.
Maybe somewhere there are good Cryndians who have jobs and contribute to society. Shame the only ones I've ever met seem only intent on smuggling and freeloading. Aliens, he thought bitterly. He'd even heard of Unification allowing some of them into their military academy. Talk about letting the fox into the hen house.
Finally, the racket became too much and he slammed his news screen down on the desk. "What the hell do you want, fish?"
The Cryndian hissed at Pern and pressed his webbed fingers against the cell door's electricity field. "How long are you keeping me? Your officer took my hydrator. I need it."
"There's a sink right there. Behind you."
The Cryndian smiled condescendingly, "I'm sure it's a perfectly good sink, sir, but you see, I require hypersaline or else I will literally fall apart in this dry heat."
"Well I guess you should have thought about that before trying to smuggle narcotics onto my outpost."
Another smile, "I'm not a smuggler, sir. I'm on an assignment for Unification."
"Sure you are."
"I work for Captain Victor Cojo. He sent me here on a covert mission to locate a man of particular interest. That's what I was doing when your man arrested me. I understand this is a serious misunderstanding, but if you don't let me out, you will all lose your jobs, and possibly your lives."
Sergeant Pern leaned against the cell door, "Let me get this straight. You were sent here to find a bad guy, so you brought drugs?"
"Of course," the Cryndian said. "To give the proper appearance of being connected to the underworld so the man would take me more seriously."
"And this Captain Cojo saw fit to send you to my outpost without the courtesy of letting me know?"
The Cryndian held up his hands, "Forgive me for saying so, sir, but the… ah… uniformed ranks, have never been much known for their subtlety. I believe that is why it is called a covert mission."
Pern smiled at the slight insult. "Tell you what. I'll put your name out on the network as well as this Captain of yours and we'll see what happens."
"No! Do not do that, I entreat you, Sergeant. You'll blow my cover and risk years of hard work, the lives of a dozen agents. Please, just let me out and I'll make contact with Captain Cojo and have him notify you directly."
Pern nodded slowly and said, "Do I really look that stupid, fish?"
The Cryndian hissed in protest and slapped his hands against the field, leaving a slimy, wet smear across the electrostatic surface as Pern turned the cell's volume all the way down. He walked back to his desk and picked up his newsscreen in relaxed silence. He scanned through the articles about the Khor-wa's baseball team's pathetic performance in the East Quadrant Series and the Regent Governor's attempts to bring gambling to the outpost, sighing with boredom. As an afterthought, just for laughs really, he leaned over the keyboard of his network terminal and typed a message that read: Cryndian male in custody, claims to be operative for Unification Captain Victor Cojo. Direct all requests for further information to Sergeant Pern, Khor-Wa Outpost.
Six hours later, Pern was sleeping soundly at his desk. The lights were dimmed and softly buzzing. He'd locked the front door and activated the perimeter alarm so that anyone approaching the station would
The prisoner wouldn't shut his yap. Yaps. Whatever, Pern thought. Cryndian scum, always coming onto decent human outposts like Khor-Wa, causing trouble. Greasy and pungent amphibianoids, Cryndians were known for decorating their long, arched necks with gaudy gold chains. They clipped medallions to the lips of their gills like earrings, so that they bounced and jingled when they spoke. The Cryndian mouth was good for little more than mute puckering and it annoyed Sergeant Pern to have to bend his ear to their gills to make out whatever deceitful nonsense was being spewed out of them.
Maybe somewhere there are good Cryndians who have jobs and contribute to society. Shame the only ones I've ever met seem only intent on smuggling and freeloading. Aliens, he thought bitterly. He'd even heard of Unification allowing some of them into their military academy. Talk about letting the fox into the hen house.
Finally, the racket became too much and he slammed his news screen down on the desk. "What the hell do you want, fish?"
The Cryndian hissed at Pern and pressed his webbed fingers against the cell door's electricity field. "How long are you keeping me? Your officer took my hydrator. I need it."
"There's a sink right there. Behind you."
The Cryndian smiled condescendingly, "I'm sure it's a perfectly good sink, sir, but you see, I require hypersaline or else I will literally fall apart in this dry heat."
"Well I guess you should have thought about that before trying to smuggle narcotics onto my outpost."
Another smile, "I'm not a smuggler, sir. I'm on an assignment for Unification."
"Sure you are."
"I work for Captain Victor Cojo. He sent me here on a covert mission to locate a man of particular interest. That's what I was doing when your man arrested me. I understand this is a serious misunderstanding, but if you don't let me out, you will all lose your jobs, and possibly your lives."
Sergeant Pern leaned against the cell door, "Let me get this straight. You were sent here to find a bad guy, so you brought drugs?"
"Of course," the Cryndian said. "To give the proper appearance of being connected to the underworld so the man would take me more seriously."
"And this Captain Cojo saw fit to send you to my outpost without the courtesy of letting me know?"
The Cryndian held up his hands, "Forgive me for saying so, sir, but the… ah… uniformed ranks, have never been much known for their subtlety. I believe that is why it is called a covert mission."
Pern smiled at the slight insult. "Tell you what. I'll put your name out on the network as well as this Captain of yours and we'll see what happens."
"No! Do not do that, I entreat you, Sergeant. You'll blow my cover and risk years of hard work, the lives of a dozen agents. Please, just let me out and I'll make contact with Captain Cojo and have him notify you directly."
Pern nodded slowly and said, "Do I really look that stupid, fish?"
The Cryndian hissed in protest and slapped his hands against the field, leaving a slimy, wet smear across the electrostatic surface as Pern turned the cell's volume all the way down. He walked back to his desk and picked up his newsscreen in relaxed silence. He scanned through the articles about the Khor-wa's baseball team's pathetic performance in the East Quadrant Series and the Regent Governor's attempts to bring gambling to the outpost, sighing with boredom. As an afterthought, just for laughs really, he leaned over the keyboard of his network terminal and typed a message that read: Cryndian male in custody, claims to be operative for Unification Captain Victor Cojo. Direct all requests for further information to Sergeant Pern, Khor-Wa Outpost.
Six hours later, Pern was sleeping soundly at his desk. The lights were dimmed and softly buzzing. He'd locked the front door and activated the perimeter alarm so that anyone approaching the station would
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