LEE ISWANDER
As he flew back from Newstation after leaving Arden at the Roamer school, Iswander felt disappointed at how aloof and closed-minded the clans were toward him. He didn’t deserve to be treated that way. But when he saw the industrial lights of the bloater-extraction complex, he knew he had achieved great success. He knew it, whether or not the other Roamers gave him credit for what he’d accomplished. Here, he was the uncontested boss, the king of this small but valuable domain.
Lee Iswander had changed, and the Roamers refused to change. He had grown so distant from the clans that he wasn’t sure if there was any common ground anymore. Maybe it had been a mistake to leave his son at Academ. Even though he respected Jess Tamblyn and Cesca Peroni, he wondered if a Roamer education was relevant anymore.…
He wanted to earn respect and power for his son, not just himself. “We are Iswanders!” he had said to Arden again and again. They weren’t just any other Roamer clan.
As he flew in, he noticed that the large ekti tank array was gone—Elisa must have departed already—and a new array was being filled, canister by canister. He was glad to see the well-organized industrial complex that produced and produced and produced. Exactly the way he liked it.
After he docked in the admin hub, Alec Pannebaker met him to provide a quick briefing. The deputy was casual, good-natured, and friendly with everyone. He had worked for Lee Iswander for many years and had remained loyal to him even after Sheol. And Iswander did not treat loyalty lightly.
Elisa Enturi was more intense, more cutthroat, and willing to do anything to further Iswander Industries. The oil-and-water combination of Pannebaker and Elisa made a good enough management team when he himself was gone.
Pannebaker grinned as he handed over the summaries. “Nothing much to look at, boss. Production at peak capacity, just as when you left. Elisa departed for Ulio three days ago with our largest load yet. We’re going to need to broaden our distribution—it’s a bottleneck. We might need to deal with more than just Kett Shipping.”
Iswander scanned the numbers. “I’m being cautious, and I prefer the single point of contact. Kett Shipping has other vessels they can use—it’s their problem to handle our output. But if someone discovered what we do here, our whole business would fall apart.”
If Elisa detected anyone unauthorized in the vicinity—any spycraft, any surveillance ship, or even some lost traveler who stumbled upon the extraction operations—he was confident she would know how to handle it.
The two men walked directly to the control center, bypassing his own quarters. His wife would be waiting for him, full of questions about Arden, about his trip, what the boy had said, and whether he seemed happy to go back to school. Iswander would see Londa later, after he finished his important business here.
He took a moment to drink in all the activity at workstations in the admin hub as well as the movement of equipment out in the bloater cluster. Space travel throughout the Spiral Arm depended on what they did here. With more and more ekti-X available, colonization efforts could increase, shipping routes could be expanded. Twenty years after the Elemental War, the Confederation could become twice as powerful as it had been before—all because of Iswander Industries and what was produced here.
And yet the Roamers brushed him aside. Damn them! Their Guiding Star was a delusion, while his own was laser bright. He was willing to partner with anyone who was just as ambitious, just as willing to risk and work and use their imagination. Roamers were supposed to be visionary, not timid, and he had expected to find many such people among the clans. Not so!
After the recent reaction at Newstation, he realized that pandering to the clans might not be the best way to return to prominence. In fact, if the Roamers were afraid of new ideas, challenges, or risks, Iswander wasn’t sure he should be associated with them at all.
Focusing on the activity around him in the control center, he asked Pannebaker, “When do we expect Elisa back from Ulio?”
“Five days or so.” Pannebaker looked out at the bloaters, the machinery draining the nodules dry and storing stardrive fuel. He hesitated. “There’s one thing, boss. It’s troubling, and I don’t know what to make of it.”
Iswander was instantly on his guard. Such comments usually led to news he didn’t want to hear.
“The green priest has gone missing.” Pannebaker’s brow furrowed. “He escaped one night, probably during a shift change.”
Iswander fought back a groan, tired of defending the eccentric and damaged green priest. Yes, Iswander felt responsible for Aelin, but compassion only extended so far. “How did he escape? Where would he go?” He knew what the man had done before, and he had a good idea what he had done now.
Pannebaker shrugged. “Not a clue, boss. No one saw him, but … my environment suit is missing—the one I use for gap jumping. I think he might’ve taken it and just … stepped outside.”
Iswander let his eyes fall closed. Not long ago Aelin had been caught trying to steal an inspection pod so he could float out and “commune with the bloaters.” No doubt he had seen Pannebaker’s risky free-fall activity and decided to go out among the nodules again. “Have you completed a thorough search? How long has he been gone?”
Pannebaker shook his head. “Best guess—three days. He could never have survived this long.”
Iswander’s heart felt heavy. Aelin would have drifted out there unseen. Maybe he had reached one of the big green bloaters, and worked his way through the membrane, where he would have drowned in the fluid. Or maybe he had gone astray and just drifted until his life support ran out. Three days …
Iswander shook his head. “We can’t save those who are intent on destroying themselves.” He knew Arden would be disappointed, since he had liked the green priest as a tutor.
Pannebaker remained awkwardly silent, as if the loss of Aelin were his fault. Few people would mourn the green priest, who had caused numerous problems.
Iswander sighed. “Nothing to be done about it. He’s gone. In a way, we lost the green priest a long time ago. Continue business as usual.”