The rise and fall of voices in Inga’s actually had a calming effect on Talina as she settled in her chair. Inga must have seen her coming, for no sooner had Talina seated herself than the woman thunked Talina’s old glass mug onto the bar. The stout was blacker than the hubs of Hell, and an inch of rich foam floated on the top.
“Heard you’ve had quite a time down south,” Inga greeted, waving off Reuben Miranda’s demands for service down the bar. She told him, “Just sit there and hold your balls for a second. Willy will get to you as soon as he can.”
Inga turned her attention back to Tal. “You wouldn’t believe the rumors floating around since you landed with that bunch. Is it true? The little girl ran off to live with the quetzals?”
“It’s true.” Talina tasted the stout. “Damn, I’ve missed this.”
“So, Mundo’s abandoned?”
“No way they could have held it.” Talina wiped the foam from her upper lip. “So, yeah. The quetzals have taken it back. Made their point by killing a woman and little girl. Think of it as a sort of exclamation point.”
“Hofer was in last night. Said the place was on the verge of disaster anyway.”
“Yep.”
“Any way we can take it back? I heard they had blueberries, raspberries, plums, cherries, a whole lot of things.”
“I don’t know, Inga.” Talina set her mug down. “We don’t have the materials to build the kind of fence they’d need. And it’s deep forest. Not bush like we have here. Security would be a full-time job.”
“Ain’t it a pisser? Didn’t know we had it, and as soon as we got it, we lost it.” The big blonde woman sighed, slapped the towel she kept on her shoulder down, and polished the bar.
“That’s it in a nutshell. Oh, yeah. Speaking of which, they had walnuts, too.”
“Shit.” Inga glanced up. “Don’t look now, but here comes the Supervisor.”
Talina didn’t look. Wished the woman would leave her alone, but unwelcome as the plague, Kalico Aguila placed herself on the stool next to Talina, calling, “Wine if you would, please.”
“Coming up,” Inga called back.
“Haven’t seen you around.” Kalico stared thoughtfully at the back bar. The healing scars on her face wove an interesting pattern, and she absently ran a finger along the one lining her jaw. “The story is that Mundo’s a disaster. That you had to pull everyone out.”
“That’s pretty much it. Hofer figures the dome is coming down with the next big storm. But Spiro killing Rocket was the end of everything. Not that anyone knew, but he was the reason the quetzals left Mundo alone. With him dead, all bets are off.”
“Spiro.” Kalico said it with such distaste.
“She’s your problem.”
“Not anymore.” Kalico received her wine with a smile, tossing an SDR coin onto the bar. “Where are Dya, Talbot, and her people?”
“One of the domes down in the residential section. Spent most of yesterday moving Dya and Rebecca’s lab equipment into the back of the hospital. Raya and Cheng made a room available. They have already adopted Dya. On top of her research, she’s manufacturing her salves and medicines. Shig grabbed up Su in a heartbeat, has her collating data in the admin dome when she’s not working to recreate Rebecca’s research for Iji. It’s like cross-fertilization.”
“And Talbot?”
Talina chuckled. “Mostly taking care of the kids. Says he’d like to talk to you. Says he’s willing to run survival classes for you and your people.” Tal lifted a finger. “Here’s the thing: He says if he’s going to be an instructor, he wants to be paid like one. That he has a family to provide for.”
Kalico shook her thick black hair back. “Maybe I’ll talk to the women, too. See if they’d be—”
“I wouldn’t if I were you. They blame you. Not for pulling the trigger. That they lay to Spiro. But you were the one who sent her. You were going to take their husband away. As they see it, you were the cause of their calamities.”
“Damn Spiro!”
“It’s trees.”
“What is?” Kalico shot her a mystified look.
“The answer to your problem. Specifically, pine trees. Something about the pine resins. Southern pitch pine and loblolly pines planted alternately in a row. And behind them you plant black walnuts, oaks, and other southern temperate species. Then a belt of fruit trees followed by berry bushes.”
“And that’s it? That’s the secret to Mundo Base?”
“That and Rocket. The trees kept the forest from advancing. Something in the fallen needles and the defenses terrestrial trees have developed. And as long as Rocket was alive, the quetzals weren’t going to bother them.”
Kalico took a deep breath. “I’ll send a shuttle down first thing. Dig up enough trees to—”
“Whoa there, it’s their property.”
Kalico gave Talina a “you’ve got to be kidding” look. “The place is abandoned.”
“They still hold title. Those trees belong to Dya, Su, and Talbot.”
“You already said that they blame me. I need those damn trees, Perez.”
Talina extended a soothing hand. “My advice? Talk to Talbot. He’s really a reasonable guy when you’re not threatening his family in one way or another.”
“Think that would work?” Kalico was staring thoughtfully at the back bar, her brow furrowed.
“And another thing. Offer to buy the damn trees. Same with the berry bushes and other crops you want to take for Corporate Mine.”
“Buy?”
“Yeah, radical term, huh? Sort of like charging a half-SDR for breakfast down at Corporate Mine. So I think you get the idea.”
“Perez, give me one good reason why I should pay for a fucking thing down there. That was Corporate property after all. They wouldn’t have been there, wouldn’t have had those trees in the first place, if it hadn’t have been for—”
“And you’d have jack shit if they hadn’t stuck it out, bled, and died to keep it. Kalico, you’re making progress, but there’s still that stubborn Corporate streak inside you. Let me drop another, even more radical term on you: cooperation. It might actually get you better results than that other word you like so much: coercion.”
Kalico shot Talina a hard look over the rim of her wine glass. “Say I’m dense. Give me another reason.”
“All right.” Talina cocked an eyebrow. “Dya Simonov is doing a lot of Felicity’s work at the hospital. Raya’s training her to be a nurse. Says the woman has an aptitude given her background in biology. This being Donovan and all, the day may come when you’re hurt again, lying on that table bleeding. Now, knowing Dya like I do, I suspect she’d take just as good care of you as anyone else. Still, wouldn’t you want her feeling kindly disposed toward you while you’re in such a vulnerable position?”
“I see.”
“Yeah. I know firsthand how someone’s ill will can work out in the hospital. Someone didn’t feel kindly toward Cap while he was lying in one of those beds.”
Kalico’s mouth had pursed. “You’re right. I’ll buy the damn trees and crops.”
“Talk to Talbot. I think they said they had a patch of pine seedlings somewhere along the west side. I never got over there to see.” She paused. “And be damned careful. Those quetzals were serious when they said to stay away.”
“What if I see Kylee?”
“If you can get her back, Dya would probably forgive you everything.”
“Makes you wonder how many other research bases are out there, doesn’t it?” Kalico fingered her glass.
“Now that we have shuttles, it might be worth doing a survey, don’t you think?”
“Might indeed. If you think about the strides Mundo made, there could be a wealth of knowledge out there. Perhaps enough to make a difference in our survival. Especially if we never see a Corporate ship again.”
“After all these years, don’t expect the Wild Ones to welcome you with open arms. And if you pull that Corporate Supervisor shit—”
“Don’t push your luck, Perez.” Then Kalico shot her a wry smile. “I only learn one word a day. I’m still working my way around ‘cooperation,’ but after Mundo, I may be getting the idea.”
“Miracles do happen, don’t they?”