Omega Games by S. L. Viehl Read Free Book Online Page B

go talk to the colonists on Trellus and confirm this rumor,” I said to Reever. When Davidov shook his head, I said, “We will be discreet, of course.”
    “They won’t let you land on the surface,” the Terran said. “That’s the other part of the nutty situation down there. Right after the Odnallak landed on Trellus, the colony went into complete and total isolation.”
    “Define isolation,” my husband said.
    “No one lands, and no one leaves,” Davidov replied. “If any ships approach the colonial docks, they’re fired on by the colony’s battle drones until they leave or they’re destroyed.”
    “How can they live like that?” I asked. “The surface is inhospitable. There is no land on which to grow crops or raise livestock. Even with the best synthesizers and recyclers, they must need some food, water, and other supplies.”
    “That’s where I come in,” Davidov said. “My friend recommended me to the Trellusan colonial council before they went into quarantine, and they hired me to make a monthly supply drop. They signal me with what they need, and I send a launch down to deliver the shipment. They have me dump it outside the domes, at a drop point near the old mines.”
    “Why have the Trellusans isolated the colony?” Reever asked.
    “When a medical quarantine is initiated, an alert is sent out through the quadrant,” I pointed out. “We would have heard something.”
    “I don’t think it’s official. You know how paranoid colonists are—always afraid the League will come along and bomb an infected planet from orbit.” He gave me a speculative look. “Reever told me you stopped the plague on K-2. You can help these people. If you’re willing, I can smuggle you down there in an airtight cargo container.”
    “It’s too dangerous,” my husband said before I could utter a word. “At the very least, they may imprison Jarn for violating their isolation.”
    “But if they are fighting a contagion,” I said, “they may also be very grateful for the intervention. ” I turned to Davidov. “Have they requested any medical supplies?”
    He nodded. “Quite a few, considering that they have no doctor or medical facilities on the colony.”
    I started to ask another question, but saw Reever’s expression. He only looked that way when he wished to do the talking, and I lapsed into silence.
    “Have you confirmed the reason for the quarantine with the colonial authorities?” my husband asked.
    “I can’t ask them anything,” Davidov said with some annoyance in his tone. “They’ve shut down their communications array. The only time they send a signal is once each month, to my ship, with a list of the supplies they need. I’ve tried to return the signal dozens of times, but all they do is jam my relays.”
    Reever gave his friend a skeptical look. “There are many reasons for refusing to have contact with offworlders. They may be using it as a form of population control, or to follow the dictates of faith. The Skartesh recently founded a colony on one of K-2’s moons, to minimize contact with other species.”
    Davidov laughed. “I can’t actually see Trellus becoming a xenophobic religious outpost, can you?”
    Each time Davidov smiled or made a sound of mirth, he seemed genuinely amused. Until I looked into his eyes, which were as flat and unemotional as my husband’s expression. He also sat very still, as if he controlled every muscle in his body. Had I not seen the man’s chest move in and out, I would have thought him dead.
    Unnatural, for a man in such an apparent good humor to be so cold-eyed, motionless, and alert.
    “No,” my husband said. “It’s been a haven for every rogue, fugitive, and malcontent since the Hsktsktraided and destroyed the first colony.” Reever regarded his friend for a moment. “What puzzles me is your interest in their welfare.”
    The Terran held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Duncan. If you want to