Tenacious

61

They made orbit and, as promised, the Wasp-Hornet went directly into Benson’s yard. The Royal-Connie was assigned to the Musashi docks, the Intrepid-Bulwark was directed to the Yamato yard, and the Congress-Endeavor barely made it into the Portsmouth yard.

They only wanted one ship to a yard until they figured out if it was one ship or two they had.

Kris had signaled that she would move her flag to the Princess Royal and was on her way there when Pipra intercepted her.

“We’ve got to talk.”

“You’re talking,” Kris said. “I’m listening.”

“We’ve found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

“I take it that’s a metaphor. What are you really telling me?”

“When we got here, you pointed out, and you were quite right at the time, that there is nothing here that we could ship back to human space and make a dime off of.”

“The transportation costs alone would eat up any profit,” Kris said.

“Well, we’ve found something light enough and worth enough that we can make all our fortunes shipping it back there. Assuming that they don’t synthesize it or start growing it as soon as they get a good look at our first cargo.”

Kris slowly came to a halt. This could be a game changer. Assuming she could ever get Pipra to spill what it was.

“Okay, what is in this pot of yours?”

“It’s a plant,” Pipra said. “We found it on their south continent in a river. Can you believe it, it can uproot itself and move! Really move, like scoot out of the way of some hungry fish.”

“A plant,” Kris said incredulously, “that can move?”

“And has sensors. At least it can sense a fish moving toward it and run away.”

“That sounds like an animal.”

“No, it’s a plant. It does that photosynthesis thing. Boy does it ever. It can store up energy like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and when its mitochondria start burning that energy, it can pull its roots up and take off upstream or wherever it wants to go with the kind of speed that leaves most fish behind.”

“Does it have a brain?”

“We don’t think so. It seems to react more than act,” Pipra said, but not confidently. “Any scientists who can get their hands on some of this are in it up to their ears. This is going to be worth megatrillions.”

Kris closed her eyes. She kept hearing this was a game changer and worth money, but she wasn’t hearing a whole lot of why.

“How does it work?” Kris demanded.

Pipra made a face. “We’re working on that. There are flying fish and a batlike thing that can move fast enough to catch this plant and also have the stomach enzymes necessary to use it.”

“So it’s complex.”

“Complex as hell.”

“And people are going to want to pay money for this because . . .?” Kris said, waving her arms vaguely.

Pipra looked at Kris like she was a particularly dumb three-year-old. She started to open her mouth, then seemed to think better of it. A moment later, she finally said, “You use nanos, don’t you?”

“Lots of them.”

“I’ve never met a Soldier that didn’t like their nano scouts,” Pipra said.

“It can save your butt.”

“But they don’t have much endurance. Not enough power.”

“Right,” Kris agreed.

“And you want to recover them, right?”

“Right.”

“But if a wind comes up, they might not have enough power to fly back to you.”

“Yes, then you lose them, and commanders and budget folks get very cranky. Speaking of which, I’m getting very cranky.”

“Yes. Okay. Now, assume that your nano has one of these mitochondria powering it.”

A light went off inside Kris’s head.

Pipra went on. “Marines gobble down candy bars before a fight. It gives them energy. Now, what if we could give them a candy bar with this stuff inside?”

“Would it work?”

Again, Pipra made a face. “If we can figure out what the flying fish and bats have in their bellies that allow them to access the full power of this stuff, yes. Maybe.”

“How close are we to making this work?”

Pipra shrugged. “Six months. Six years. Very likely not six weeks or sixteen years.”

Kris made a face. “So we’re talking raw science with lots of unknowns.”

“And we’re dealing with people on one end.”

“But nanos don’t have civil rights,” Kris said.

“But there are a lot of people that wouldn’t want weeds or spiders running around with this kind of strength. This could be the invasive species from hell,” Pipra said. “I suspect that a lot of people won’t want this anywhere near them.”

“Ouch,” Kris said, seeing the downside for the first time.

“Most of our research is taking place on a new lab on the moon.”

“Who paid for it?”

“We all did.”

“And how much will it take away from the defense effort?” Kris demanded.

“Not a lot,” Pipra answered vaguely. “Listen, you said the first day we were here that no one cared if we lived or died, so long as we died hard and the aliens figured we belonged here. Well, some of the scientists have pointed out that our DNA won’t pass the smell test if the aliens do any checking.”

“That thought has crossed my mind,” Kris admitted.

“Now we have something on this planet that humanity needs, really needs. And we really don’t want the aliens to get their hands on this stuff, assuming they’d look before they raped this planet down to the bare rock.”

“Yes,” Kris said, feeling like the word hardly carried enough meaning for the job.

“So, I invested your money in this.”

Kris nodded, thinking hard and fast. “I think you did good.” Then she changed the subject to her own concerns. “By the way, have you hired a lot of Alwans?”

“Lots of them. Kris, our consumer products are catching on like a house afire. They love our microwave ovens. Down south, our solar-powered riverboats are selling just as fast as we can deliver them. That’s what they’re using to troll up this plant.”

“Everything is changing.”

“Damn right it is.”

“Some Alwans don’t like it,” Kris reminded Pipra.

“They can disagree with it all they want, but they better get out of the road. We’re coming through.”

“No doubt,” Kris said. “Are we done?”

“Pretty much. I hear your ships got shot up pretty bad. We’ve got a decent supply of Smart Metal that should be good for repairs. We’re also building our own reactors and lasers.”

“Twenty-two inchers, I understand.”

Pipra grinned. “You bet they are.”

The businesswoman left, to get about her business.

Kris turned back to her walk to the Princess Royal.

For Pipra, business was business.

For Kris, it was complicated.

She had two cultures she needed to bring together in harmony. No, make that three. She couldn’t forget the felines.

She might have a good job for them.

She was lost in thought, and almost to the P Royal when an ensign ran up to her.

“Admiral Kitano sends her respects and requests your presence on the flag bridge immediately, ma’am.”

“Nelly?” Kris said.

“I’m in the dark about this as much as you.”

Kris began walking briskly.