Only blood and feathers remained.
Kev toed aside what was left of the sea bird and glanced around at the deserted beach, wondering if the predator that had killed it lived in the water or on the land. Keeping one eye on his shuttle he pulled his data assistant from his pocket and checked the time. It wasn't unusual to meet other traders in such odd places but it probably would have been a good idea to have a partner on this little bargaining venture. Unfortunately Tans had left him a season ago to open a restaurant on Miena and Indi hadn't been in space since she'd birthed their son. Since then circumstances like this one called for a different kind of partner -- namely the sleek Veltsidian laser on his belt.
He tucked the assistant back into his pocket and stared uneasily at the water. The sea was unusually calm and the reflection of the setting sun stretched across it like a fiery orange road leading from the horizon to the water's edge. A gentle wind ruffled his hair and his white shirt billowed at his waist. The trip to the Ceves trader hub had been a profitable one and he'd probably be on the way back home now if it hadn't been for the Bianandrin woman he'd met in the bar the night before.
She'd been asking around for information on a peculiar type of mineral -- one that he was familiar with. Voorians called it 'palazite' though in his travels he'd heard it called other things as well. He kept a piece of it on his ship -- contained in a protective covering of lead crystal. Chas had found it on the beach during one of their early morning excursions. The little tike had a penchant for picking up bright shiny shells and his collection was threatening to take over his sleep square.
Indi had been fascinated by the milky green stone with the 'fire' inside it, but once Kev had explained the dangers of the hazardous material she'd wanted to get rid of it immediately. Even after he'd had it sealed for the boy, she'd insisted it not stay in their home.
She should be happy then, he thought, that he'd traded it. And for such a foolishly high price, too -- a cargo cube of bio-clay and six unicaps of Zerstan glass beads in several different colors. He absently fingered the bracelet on his wrist, tracing the beaded cord that twisted across the back of his hand and looped around his middle finger. Unlike his own, the talisman that his son wore only had four white beads -- one for his birthing year and three to mark the time he'd lived since then. He would get his first 'learning' bead sometime in the coming year. Kev planned on giving him one of the green Zerstan beads though he knew Indi would object. It would be foolish, she'd say, to entrust a young child with such wealth.
Indi had grown up on a poor world and even after being wedded as they had these past seven years, it was hard for her to come to terms with the fact that on Voori -- there was nothing that she nor Chas could ever ask for that he could not give them.
He felt a sudden sharp longing for them both, wishing they were here now, or that he had headed home already, knowing deep inside that not even Indi's love nor the joy he found in spending time with his son could keep him from heading back to the trade route for long.
A splash in the water brought his meandering thoughts back to the present and he saw that Kened Denek had arrived for their meeting. She came directly from the water and though he was surprised, his features did not show it. Neither did he appear affected by her naked body though it was hard not to openly admire her long, midnight blue hair or her wet and glistening skin. Water drained from the small gills on the side of her neck and the larger ones at her waist pulsed in a rhythmic beat to the water lapping her naval.
Kev's eyes lingered on the intricate design marking her skin in the space between her breasts before rising again to her face. He found her smiling.
"The buyer I represent was very pleased with our trade." She spoke in the common language, tossing her hair and swirling the water around her hips with her hands as she continued to smile at him.
"It was a fair trade," he answered carefully, half wishing she would get out of the water -- or retreat to the depths again.
Her smile broadened. "The water on Ceves is always warm." She scooped a handful onto her arm, tripping her fingers up and down her skin. "Won't you join me?"
Kev smiled back at her. "I did not come to Ceves to swim," he answered, wondering how he could have mistaken her request for a second meeting for this.
"On Ceves," Kened said, "we always put pleasure before business. She made a small gesture behind her. "My ship awaits us."
Kev sighed. If he went in the water, he'd have to leave his weapon behind. As well as his translator -- though in this situation that, at least, would not be a problem.
"We are prepared to make you a very wealthy man."
He was startled by her change in tone. She was no longer smiling. The alluring, seductive body language was gone as well. She was the epitome of business now and the need to point out that there had been no 'pleasure' involved with the deal that had gone down last night -- unless he could count his amusement in getting such a good price for a dangerous piece of rock -- faded.
"Who is we?" he asked instead.
"The buyer that I represent."
So she wasn't going to provide a name. Not that it mattered -- at the moment anyway. While small alarms were going off in his head, he had made numerous trades with nameless entities in the past -- most having perfectly good reasons for remaining anonymous.
Kev didn't tell her that he was already a wealthy man; that he had become a trader for the thrill and the adventure that came with the profession, not for what he could make from it. "I told you last night -- I have no more of the stone."
Kened shrugged. She began backing into the waves. "You may choose to leave then -- and never learn what could have been. . . ."
He ran his fingers through his hair. If anything could change his mind, it would be those words. Because now that she'd said them, he'd be annoyed with himself for leaving, wondering for months, what price the anonymous buyer would have paid for . . . information? "You want to know where the palazite came from," he said, speaking his thoughts aloud.
She was almost fully submerged now. "My ship."
Shaking his head, Kev began to strip off his clothes.
The Bianandrin's vessel was neither deep nor far but it was extremely large and of a design that Kev had never seen before. They both pulled themselves out of the water and onto the deck at the same time. The atmosphere inside was unusually warm and he was grateful because Kened did not offer him a robe like the one she slipped into as soon as she had pulled back her hair and twisted it into a coil on top of her head.
"Come," she commanded, fastening the belt at her waist.
He followed in her wet footprints, his dripping under shorts clinging to his skin as he walked. After turning into a different hallway, she stopped in front of an arched doorway and pushed her hand onto a gel pad set into the wall. Kev watched the material mold itself around her fingers and palm and heard the soft hiss as, an instant later, the locking mechanisms around the door were released.
He blinked in the sudden light that brightened both their faces and his mouth nearly fell open when he realized the source -- the cargo hold was full of cut and polished Boolean crystals. He stepped inside, his feet crunching painfully over the precious material. Dropping to one knee, he scooped up a handful and let them fall through his fingers. "There's enough here to purchase an entire planet," he murmured.
"I told you the buyer was capable of making you a very wealthy man."
The dazzling display of opulence was suddenly replaced by an image of beach littered with blood and feathers. Kev rose to his feet, pushing the grisly memory aside as several questions raced through his mind. "What do they want?" he asked.
"Palazite," the Bianandrin said from just behind him.
"But why?" Kev demanded, dropping all pretenses as he whirled on her, knowing as he did so that this trade would not follow standard protocol. "It's an extremely hazardous item."
"That is no concern of yours."
"Of course it is. If they're willing to deal, arrangements will have to be made. Protective equipment will be necessary to retrieve it and transport it. It will take time to--"
"The buyer has already taken these measures into consideration."
Kev examined the Bianandrin closely. Her stance had become stiff again, her words a dull monotone. He inched closer, searching for signs of a com-implant but finding none. If she had an internal device, then the buyer could be communing directly with her -- telling her what to say -- giving reason for her sudden changes in behavior.
Her head turned slowly, tracking his movements, and her eyes met his gaze. They were the same color as the ocean water and something in them raised the hair on the back of his neck. Before he could move away, Kened gave a small, animated laugh.
"What I mean," she said, "is the buyer is fully prepared to remove the palazite. Perhaps you would be more comfortable with the trade if arrangements for this to be done were made through the League?" Her sultry tone was back and she tilted her head and ran her fingertips along the bare skin of his forearm as she waited for an answer.
"This planet has no league ties," Kev said with some difficulty. "Tell me, what will be done with the palazite once it's removed from the ocean floor?"
"I am not at liberty to say." Her hand had strayed to his waist. The other pulled apart the tie to her robe.
Kev grabbed both her wrists and held them tightly. She was trying to distract him -- and there was a strong possibility that she might be succeeding. He dropped her hands and backed away. Part of him wanted to leave immediately but another part -- the part that had been dazzled by the sight of the cargo hold full of Boolean -- wanted to stay.
If only there weren't so many unanswered questions.
"I need assurance that removal of the palazite will not harm the environment of my planet," he said, taking a deep breath. "And care must be taken with its containment. If my people are exposed, they could suffer serious injury."
"The removal of the material will be accomplished with the utmost care," Kened said. "No one on your world will even know the buyer is there."
Kev nodded. "All right. The palazite came from Voori. I have the coords in my ship. There is one continent. It lies on the equator. My people are swimmers too -- not as well adapted as the Bianandrin -- but we spend a good amount of time in the water just the same. There is a large deposit of palazite just off the southern coast."
Kened smiled. "We will begin immediate transport of the crystals to your vessel."
Now that the deal was done Kev felt an impending sense of alarm beginning to settle over him. Why had he been so quick to give in? He should have contacted his father first -- and through him, the Council.
The memory of the Boolean sparked in his mind again. There was enough crystal to provide every Voorian on the planet with sound financial security. The government could use the rest to apply for League membership. And that was the one thought that settled him. Thousands of people would benefit from this deal. As the first Trader from his planet his name would go down in the history books. Now they would remember him for something far more important.
He quickly took leave of Kened and hurried through the water to the small beach where his shuttle waited. Remembering Chas, he collected what shells he could from the sandy shore, noticing that the tide had washed away all remains of the blood and feathers. He was confident now that the lingering apprehension over the making of this deal would soon be gone as well.
Smiling at the small camera mounted over the video screen, Kev continued with the message. "Chas would love Ceves' beaches. It's a lot like Voori there -- only the sands are as blue as the water and you can barely take a step without finding a shell. I've got an entire sack for him! And the people -- have you ever seen a Bianandrin, Indi?"
His grin broadened, wishing that she'd been there with him for the trade, knowing that the moment she saw his cargo hold, that wish would become irrelevant. Indi had been a trader when he was just a teenager staring longingly at the stars. Sometimes he tended to forget that, especially when he was excited. Still, he knew that nothing in her experience could ever prepare her for what she was about to see.
He leaned back in the chair, lacing his fingers behind his head as he stretched. "I've made a trade that's going to make your wildest dreams look like a black and white informavid." He paused, knowing he'd said too much, knowing she'd probably knock him over now in her eagerness to loot the hold. He couldn't help but grin at his plans of holding her in his arms and insisting on just 'one more kiss' before he'd open the door.
The autopilot kicked off and Kev resumed control of his ship, breaking through the Voorian atmosphere and setting a course for the equator. He'd spent too long on his way home from Ceves, stopping on Miena to talk to the Dex dealer there about a new ship and then on to Prada to purchase gifts for all his family and friends. Remembering the message, he leaned closer to the video screen. "I love you, Indi. And I'll see you in a few ticks." He pressed the send button and glanced out the window.
"That's odd," he murmured. By now the small continent he called home should be rimming the horizon.
Impossibly -- it refused to appear.
He flew on in worried silence, checking his charts and the global positioning system and then checking them again and again. But no matter how long or how high he flew, there was no land to be seen, anywhere. The sound of his racing hearts beat in his ears like hammers against thin metal. He dropped his ship closer to the planet's water-covered surface and as he saw the blood and feathers bobbing on the ocean waves, he knew with dread certainty that the trade he'd made on Ceves had not been a good one after all.
