The Recollection Read Online Free PDF Page A

since her early twenties, jumping from star system to star system, on one trading vessel or another; and while a jump through hyperspace felt instantaneous to the crew of the ship making it, in reality it lasted the same length of time it took light to cross the intervening distance. This, when dealing with distances measured in tens or dozens of light years, meant Kat was objectively quite a lot older than she looked, and certainly a hell of lot older than the young man on the other side of the desk.
    “If you were still an employee, we could file an official complaint on your behalf,” he said.
    Ezra’s invite had arrived less than an hour after the brawl at the bar. A few blows had been exchanged. It hadn’t been a real fight, but Kat’s lip was swollen and she knew she’d have a black eye in the morning.
    “There’s no need,” she said.
    Ezra opened a drawer and produced a half-empty bottle of whiskey, and two tin mugs. He poured a measure into each and slid one across the desk to her.
    “On the contrary, I think you should file a personal complaint with the port authority, and the sooner the better,” he said. “Anything to keep Luciano tied up here for as long as possible.”
    Kat sniffed the mug he’d given her.
    “And why would you want me to do that?”
    Ezra appraised her with a look. Then he drained his mug, coughed, and dabbed his lips with a handkerchief. He blinked rapidly and despite his bravado, Kat got the impression he rarely drank.
    “We have a bit of a problem, Katherine. The family, I mean. And we need your help.”
    Kat put her mug back on the desk without sampling its contents.
    “I should have known.”
    Ezra gave an apologetic shrug.
    “I know you were excluded from the family because of your, ah, association with Victor Luciano. I also know that association ended acrimoniously, some years ago.”
    Kat folded her arms across her chest. Victor captained for a rival trading firm, and her relationship with him had been viewed with distaste by both sides. To the rest of the galaxy, it was ancient history. But to her, travelling between the stars, only a matter of months had passed, and the feelings were still raw.
    “The thing is,” Ezra continued, “we know Luciano’s heading to Djatt for the Pep harvest.”
    Kat shrugged. “Don’t you have a ship going?”
    Ezra pursed his lips. “We had the Kilimanjaro , but it’s been delayed. We can’t get a replacement here in time to beat him. It’s a logistical thing.”
    Kat raised an eyebrow. Prized by aficionados and epicures, and produced from a plant flowering only once every hundred years, Pep was a mildly addictive stimulant with a peppery, metallic taste. A single crate of it could fetch enough to buy a brand new starship.
    “Delayed?”
    “There was an explosion of some sort. Reports are patchy but, unofficially, we suspect sabotage.”
    Kat sat forward. The Abdulov family had enjoyed a near-total monopoly on supplies of the drug for centuries. To lose it now would be a serious blow to their reputation and prestige.
    “Why not send a ship from Strauli?”
    Ezra shook his head. “They’re seven light years away. The first they’ll hear about this is when Victor passes through the system, seven years from now. By the time they can ready a ship, assuming they have one in port, he’ll already be well on his way. No, if we want to beat him, then our only option’s to send the Ameline .”
    Kat brushed a speck of lint from the knee of her ship fatigues. “But I don’t work for you anymore,” she reminded him.
    Ezra spread his hands on the desk. “If you do this for us, we’re willing to let bygones be bygones. We’ll refit and refuel your ship, and we’ll reinstate you as an employee and family member, giving you full refuelling privileges at all family facilities.”
    Kat blinked in surprise. “You’re serious?”
    “I absolutely am. And to show you how serious, I’m prepared to authorise an advance on your first