Music of the Spheres Read Online Free PDF

hadn’t heard any news about this. She wondered
what the kidnappers thought to accomplish. At last report, translating the
document was a bust. That was one of the reasons for mothballing the Quanta experiments.
    Director Mathers nodded. “That’s not all. The Honduran
Cooperative passed some intelligence on to the CIA. There’s a growing movement
within the Departmentals in that country. Many of them consider that, because
the aliens”—he made air-quotes—“picked the Mayan people to visit half a millennia
ago, they are the ‘chosen ones’ and should be in the forefront of any
interstellar commerce. They’ve been grumbling for years about being sidelined. The
governments, though, now think this group might be behind the kidnappings and
theft.”
    Justine pursed her lips. “I’ve heard something about them.
What do they call themselves?”
    “Cruzados,” the director said. “But now NASA feels keeping
their supply of Kinemet here in Houston is a security risk. They’ve suffered
enough bad press, and don’t want to see themselves in any more headlines.
They’re not doing anything with the Kinemet currently, and so they want to
transport it to Luna Station. They feel the rebels don’t have the resources to attempt
any extra-planetary action.”
    “How much Kinemet are we talking about?” Justine asked.
    “About a thousand kilos.”
    She whistled. “That’s a lot!” They had used about a hundred
kilograms of the kinetic metal on Alex’s flight, and they’d overestimated how
much they would need.
    “We’ve got the room,” he said with a shrug.
    Then Justine cocked her head. “So, what does this have to do
with me?”
    “Understandably, NASA wants to keep this shipment hush-hush
until it has arrived safely on the Moon. An army squad is providing protection.”
He pointed at Justine. “But NASA wants a liaison to go with them. Someone who
has security clearance, and apparently yours has never been revoked, right?”
    “That’s right.”
    “You were attached to NASA from the Air Force,” he said. “Best
of both worlds. So they’ve requested you accompany the security detail.”
    Justine didn’t want to get her hopes up. She swallowed, then
said, “Accompany? What does that mean? What do they want me to do?”
    “Same thing you always do. Only this time you’ll be attending
the soldiers they’ve assigned to the cargo.”
    “Oh,” Justine said, trying valiantly to keep the sharp disappointment
out of her voice.
    “You’re to report to hangar twelve for a briefing with
Colonel Niles Gagne before the other flight crew or passengers embark.”
    Justine got to her feet and sighed.
    The director said, “This is not a crap assignment.”
    “Yes it is,” she told him.
    “It came from up top, Justine,” he said by way of apology.
The expression on his face showed his sincerity. “Look, just do this one boring
flight—”
    “A week in a cargo hold babysitting a squad of soldiers is
more than just a little boring,” Justine said and headed for the door. She
would never be recalled to active duty. No one needed a blind pilot. “It’s
demeaning. If you recall, my actual position with Lunar Lines is in public
relations. Now you want me to serve coffee to soldiers?”
    “I’ll make it up to you,” Director Mathers said.
    Justine opened the door, but paused before leaving. “Well, I
can think of one thing that would make this worth it for me.”
    “What?” he asked.
    “I have a friend on CS3,” she said.
    “You mean Alex Manez, don’t you?”
    Justine nodded. “Yeah.”
    “What about him?”
    “He’s not doing so well.” Justine pulled at her lower lip. “On
the return trip, I’d like to take some shore leave up there; spend a little
time with him and see what I can do.”
    “That can be arranged.” The director smiled. “Consider it a
bonus. We’ll arrange some rooms in the Starwatch Resort. I’ll even write it up
as a training expense.”
    Justine smiled. “Thanks,