Earth Afire (The First Formic War 2)

"It's worth a shot," said Imala. "But I still don't think it will be enough."

"Let me conference with everyone," said Yanyu.

She hopped to the holofield and began a chat with her coworkers. Several of them pledged money, but most of them were skeptical and politely refused. They had the same issue that Imala did. Once you reach the Formic ship, then what? What good is it to invest in a shuttle if you can't do anything once you get there? Imala spent the time looking on the nets at shuttles for sale, becoming increasingly more convinced that they couldn't afford to buy one.

After the conference, Yanyu and Imala shared notes. They were still far short. They didn't even have enough to buy the shell of a shuttle someone was selling. No engine. No flight controls. Just the body of the ship.

"We need a benefactor," said Imala. "Someone with resources. Someone who could give us a shuttle and a weapon."

"If you're going to say Ukko Jukes," said Victor, "I'll politely remind you that he wants us off the grid. He practically threw us out to the Belt."

"Not Ukko," said Imala. "Lem."

"Absolutely not," said Victor. "He's a murderer, Imala. He crippled my family's ship. He tried to kill me."

"He helped your family later, Vico."

"He abandoned them. He left them to die."

"He has what we need, Vico. And he wants to get rid of the Formics as much as we do."

"We don't even know if he's on Luna. He was still at Last Chance when we left."

"I already checked while Yanyu was on the holo," said Imala. "He arrived several days ago. It was all over the news."

"He can't be trusted, Imala."

"He came clean about your family, Vico. He didn't have to. He told the truth."

"His version of the truth. And that doesn't make him an ally."

"Anyone who wants to destroy the Formics is an ally, Vico. I don't like it any more than you do. I find the man as repulsive as his father, but he can get us what we need if we can convince him to cooperate."

"He'll only take the idea and do it himself."

"All the better," said Imala. "Let him take the risks if he wants to. It doesn't matter how the Formics go down. It only matters that they do."

Victor was quiet a moment. "If

he refuses I want permission to punch him in the face."

"If he refuses," said Imala, "you'll have to get in line."

*

Lem agreed to meet them at a botanical garden in the Old City an hour after the facility closed. Imala suggested that Yanyu stay behind and continue the search for a reasonable shuttle.

Victor and Imala arrived at the appointed hour, and the man at the gate escorted them through the azalea garden to a bench beneath a crabapple tree and then left them there. Lem had not yet arrived, so they settled onto the bench and waited.

Imala pointed out all the flowers she knew. Azaleas and rhododendrons lined the path all around them. White, pink, coral, magenta. Huge lilac plants swayed gently in the artificial breeze, their purple blossoms giving off a sweet scent. It mixed with the smells of damp earth and grass and other flowers, and was so powerful and so foreign to Victor that it made him a little sick to his stomach.

Lem showed up ten minutes later with a retinue of security guards who hung back at a distance. He took the bench opposite them and settled back languidly.

"Why meet us here?" said Imala. "Why not somewhere more public?"

"Because he doesn't want to be seen with a filthy rock sucker," said Victor.

Imala put a hand on Victor's leg to calm him.