Shig lifted his wine, studied the light through the red liquid. “That was not just Talina, you know. She gave you an out, one that you were smart enough to take. A more obtuse personality might have failed to recognize and seize such a solution. Such a person might have made it a point of honor, no matter what the cost.”

Kalico sipped her whiskey, let it run over her tongue. Alcohol wasn’t allowed at Corporate Mine. Her rule. One she chafed over but wouldn’t change. It made her visits to PA more enjoyable. “You once said that if I could put my cultural baggage aside, I would be capable of great things. Seems that I also remember you saying that lunacy was catching.”

Through a placid smile, Shig told her: “That woman who arrived on Turalon knew nothing but the rage and anger of tamas. You now have a leavening of sattva gained through suffering, responsibility, and self-examination.”

“I don’t want to hear all that Buddhist crap.”

“Hindu. You’re as bad as Talina.”

“Speaking of which, where is she? I would have expected her to be here given the hour and all.” Kalico indicated the empty barstool next to hers. The one everyone in Port Authority reserved for the nominal head of security and local legend.

“She’s out in the bush. Apparently Dek Taglioni got himself in some sort of trouble. Tal took her aircar and headed out that way a little after noon.”

“What kind of trouble?” Kalico felt every nerve stand on end. Mention of Taglioni did that. She still wasn’t sure what to make of the guy. Back in Solar System, he’d been a foul-mouthed bit of walking human flotsam. Make that ultra-privileged walking human flotsam. A scion of the politically powerful Taglioni family, he’d been first cousin to Miko Taglioni, the Boardmember to whom Kalico Aguila had bound herself. Her encounters with Derek had been anything but pleasant.

Shig was watching her closely. “He called in on the radio, said he’d had a bit of a scare. That a pack of mobbers had flown over. Story is that he’d dived to the ground. Covered his head. Problem was that his left leg was within range of a gotcha vine. By the time the mobbers had passed over and he could take his knife to the gotcha vine, it had eaten through his boot and into his calf. Apparently the plant was pretty adamant about not letting him go. It kept grabbing hold of him as he cut his leg free.”

“Shit.” Kalico slapped the bar. “I’d better get to the shuttle, get out there. Cancel the trip to the Maritime Unit tomorrow, and—”