Freedom's Ransom Read Free Page B

man blithely promised the return of looted material—and Zainal hadspecifically mentioned what had been transported to Barevi, since he already knew how many captured goods were on display in that marketplace—Zainal had been dubious, even then, about the possibility of an easy repossession. Kamiton was obviously not enjoying as much support as he had anticipated or Zainal had hoped for. So Kamiton had dumped the problem back in Zainal’s lap.
    Zainal could bluster and threaten but, as he had no retaliatory power or armed forces, his threats were empty. Zainal had no effective way to force Kamiton to comply. His priority had been to secure Botany’s autonomy and that of the other Terran forced-colony worlds. The martial arm of Catteni was still intact even if the Eosi had been destroyed, and Botany was in no position to succeed against the formidable Catteni fleet—especially now that the Farmers’ remarkable and impervious bubble had been removed from the space around Botany. Kamiton would not have permitted an armed and defensible Botany nor had Zainal suggested it. He had aimed instead for restoring all the forced immigrants to their home world—if they wished to go—and independence from Catteni interference if they elected to stay. Botany was the most tenable and developed of the enforced colonies, so this had been quite a concession on Kamiton’s part. Possibly it had come under review and criticism from the conservative Catteni, who were now in charge of their home world.
    â€œBut we have nothing more than food stores to ransom the goods we need,” Dorothy said, adding, “that is, if I have properly understood what you said. A quid pro quo. Something for something.”
    â€œâ€˜Ransom’ is the right word, Dorothy,” Zainal replied, nodding graciously at her.
    â€œAnd we can’t in conscience use the Farmers’ stores,” Kris replied. She and Zainal had been leading opposition to that. “At least not for such a purpose. Feeding the hungry on our own world is one thing.”
    â€œFeeding the greedy on Barevi is not,” Peter said firmly. “Have we nothing else with which to barter?” Peter was fascinated by Paxel’s dental work, Kris noticed. He caught Kris’s eye. “See what Mike Miller has in.”
    She nodded, understanding what he meant.
    â€œAn ounce for what quantity of goods?” Zainal asked in quick comprehension. “Kris, if you would be good enough to contact Mike?” He jerked his head toward the main communications bank in the hangar. “First we have to know what we have. And perhaps, Paxel, you would be good enough to suggest commodities.”
    Kris smiled at Paxel and rose gracefully. “Be right back.” She couldn’t help lapsing into a provocative stroll since Paxel was obviously watching her. She was by no means vain about her tall, lithe figure or her long, blond, attractively arranged hair. She didn’t consider herself beautiful even if Zainal often told her that he thought she was but she knew that she wasn’t unattractive.
    She made her way into the main hangar where Jerry Short was sitting, looking extremely nervous.
    â€œIt’s all right, Jerry, we aren’t killing the messenger,” she said with a grin.
    â€œI heard tell the Eosi did allatime,” he replied, not completely reassured.
    â€œThe Catteni is a nephew of Zainal’s.”
    â€œI don’t think that would have bothered the Eosi.”
    â€œNeither do I, but Zainal is not Eosian. Would you please see if you can get Mike on the comm?”
    â€œMike Miller?”
    Kris took what looked to be the most comfortable of the three battered chairs facing the comm unit.
    â€œThe very one.”
    â€œWhy? Do we need more gold for teeth?” Jerry asked over his shoulder as he looked up Miller’s comm-unit number and tapped it in.
    â€œNow, you know, that’s a very good