Rlinda looked at her, unable to hide her obvious skepticism. "You mean the Hansa Chairman couldn't find somebody on his own?"

"Oh, he could have. But I saved him the trouble and scored a few small points in the process. Are you happy for the chance to earn a valid commission, or would you rather keep running up your tab at the lunar docks?"

Rlinda smiled warmly, but her heart was pounding. Finally, some legitimate work! "As long as the man supplies me with ekti and doesn't expect some sort of government discount, I'm sure we can work out equitable terms."

Inside the HQ pyramid, Sarein introduced Rlinda to Basil Wenceslas. The young woman hovered by the doorway as if hoping the Chairman would invite her to stay, but the dapper man made it clear. "Ms. Kett and I need to chat face-to-face without anyone looking over our shoulders."

When they were alone in his luxurious office, Rlinda settled herself onto a wide sofa. Basil did not offer her refreshments; in fact, the Chairman observed none of the usual niceties that generated rapport between two parties. Instead, he sat down at the clean, organized desk, folded his hands in front of him, and got right down to business.

"One of our new colony worlds, Crenna, is in desperate need of supplies. The Ildirans abandoned the world in the first place because a plague wiped out their population, and now a completely different fever is affecting our human settlers. Only one case has proven fatal, but a full thirty percent of the population is either bedridden or still recovering and not well enough to work."

Rlinda tried to remain impassive, but she drew a quick breath when he named the planet. Leave it to her favorite ex-husband to choose a plague-infested world. Was BeBob one of the casualties? He might have been better off simply flying more EDF missions.

"And you need someone to... what? Evacuate the colonists, enforce a quarantine? Mother them? I'm not much of a Florence Nightingale, Mr. Chairman."

"Nothing so extravagant, Ms. Kett. It turns out the Orange Spot is not difficult to treat. The Crenna settlers have basic medical care, but no pharmaceutical capabilities to manufacture the antiamoebic they need. The Hansa can do that easily, and I'd like you to deliver the medicine."

Wenceslas finally poured each of them a glass of iced tea from a glistening pitcher. She sipped the drink and said with her best maternal expression, "Now, that's very kind of you, Mr. Chairman." She wiped her lips before setting the glass of tea aside. "But I don't believe it for a minute. Crenna is not that important to the Hansa. The population is too small and the resources just too insignificant to grab your interest-fever or no fever. Tell me why you really need me to go there."

He was surprised at her perceptive response, but did not make excuses. "And how do you know so much about Crenna, Ms. Kett?"