The ground car was resting outside; although they had no crew weight problem any longer, Chief Engineer Liu had decided it would be prudent to leave it behind anyway. Snow was beginning to drift around its fat tires already, a prelude to the moon's eventual claim on all that they would leave behind.
Potter brushed snow away from the door to get it open, looking forward to getting inside the cab and away from the roar of the shuttle's lift-jets.
The cold vinyl seats were blocks of ice, leaching the heat from his buttocks and the backs of his thighs. Behind the driver's seat, Potter found the right box, inserted the key and opened it.
Inside was a fist-sized lump of cloudy crystal bearing several marks in Indel-ink; numbers, angles, three-letter abbreviations. Survey marks. Well, it was ore, clearly, but as to what sort, he had no idea. He slid backwards out of the cab, still holding the rock up before him, and turned to look into the muzzle of a very large revolver.
Chief Engineer Liu's other hand was open and extended.
"I'll take that, please, Emmett."
Potter handed him the crystal without a word.
"What is it, Liu? What is that crystal?"
"Hafnium-rich zirconium ore."
Potter thought a moment, suddenly remembering what he knew of hafnium: Mixed with tantalum carbide, hafnium was one of the most refractory substances known, immune to temperatures below 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The alloy was used in nuclear reactor control rods throughout the CoDominium. More importantly, it comprised the ablative heat shields and armor for hundreds of CoDo exploration and military vessels.
"But," Potter voiced his thoughts, "why? It's common as dirt; literally. You can get this stuff from beach sand."
Liu nodded. "Yes. On Earth. But Earth is run by the CoDominium Senate, and you know how; no scientific research, nothing that might allow the Soviets or the Americans to gain any advantage over one another." Liu turned the rock in his hands. "And of course, there are all those political undesirables, and all those new colony worlds that are going to have to start showing a profit somehow." His eyes met Potter's. "That will mean forced relocation, or 'CoDo-sponsored colonization,' if you prefer. All those colonies will need power, and the CoDo isn't going to spend money on solar arrays or hydroelectric structures when it can just dump a pre-fab reactor station and move on. That means an awful lot of reactors, Emmett, and the ships which carry them have reactors of their own, and ablative shielding. And this," Liu held the stone up between them, "this is where it will come from."
Can I keep him talking? Potter thought. Will the others see, realize what's going on? "Did Miller know? Would he have killed Ike to keep it a secret?"
"Miller knew," Liu said. "Else why didn't he bring anything else back? As for killing Ike; well by the ounce, even by the pound in a one-planet economy, hafnium's not so valuable. But Miller's analysis markings say this stuff has twenty times the hafnium of terrestrial zirconium, and at an already higher purity."
"How is that possible?" Potter asked, trying to sound interested in anything but Liu's weapon.
Liu shrugged. "Higher vulcanism on this moon, probably, along with the godawful tidal pressures from the gas giant's gravity. Who knows? Xeno-Geology was Miller's field, not mine. Step back, please, Emmett. You can see it just fine from where you are."
Potter nodded, then looked up at the Chief Engineer. "So. Which Company are you working for?"
Liu smiled ruefully. "The one that's going to make me a Vice President."
"You're going to kill me, then?"
"Jesus, Emmett, I'm not a barbarian. Let's just go home and collect the Survey bonus." Liu smiled warmly. "If I get the kind of deal I think I will, you can even have my share."
Potter ignored him, concentrating instead on the fact that, despite his chatty tone, Liu had not lowered his weapon. "Did you kill Miller?"
After a moment, Liu nodded. "Mm-hmm."
"And Connolly?"
"No. No need." Liu caught himself. "I mean there wasn't any reason for me to.
"And if there had been?"
Liu sighed. "Don't be difficult, Emmett. I can fly the Fast Eddie home without you, if need be."
"Six months is a long time to be alone."
"I'll pass the time calculating my interest-income statements on the ship's computer. He caught himself again. "Besides, Mike and Farrow will be along too."
He's going to kill us all. Potter finally had to admit it to himself. Liu's aim had not strayed a particle from the center of Potter's chest. Company board member or sole Survey bonus recipient; or both. Why share any of it?
With nothing to lose, Potter sighed and reached for the pistol.
Mike came running at the sound of the gunshots. He could see nothing, but he knew the difference between the reports of an accelerator rifle and a firearm; there weren't supposed to be any of the latter in the Fast Eddie's stores. Farrow raced down the ramp of the shuttle after him.
They passed under the craft to see Chief Engineer Liu and Captain Potter grappling in the snow, leaving a thin smear of reddened ice in their wake. Mike ran toward them, but his foot came down on something and his ankle twisted, throwing him off his feet. He hit the frozen ground hard and heard the gun go off again.
Mike looked to see that he had tripped on some white rock, and having no weapons he grabbed the stone and scrambled toward the men.
Chief Engineer Liu was pressing a gun against Captain Potter's stomach. Potter was already bleeding from two wounds, when Mike heard a third shot, this one muffled by the Captain's parka. Mike brought the rock down on Liu's skull, and the Engineer rolled off Potter's chest, stunned.
Liu hadn't dropped the gun, and seemed to be trying to regain his bearings, so Mike swung the rock with all his might against the Engineer's temple. The left side of Liu's forehead collapsed, his eyes rolled completely back, and he fell to the ground dead. Mike dropped the rock and went to Potter, lifting the Captain just as Farrow arrived.
"Emmett," Farrow whispered hoarsely. "Emmett, can you make it to the ship?"
Potter didn't answer; he was beginning to feel the cold through his parka, and tried to fumble for the coat's heat controls, but his hands wouldn't obey. "Rock," he said.
Mike and Farrow shared a look, and the Basque engineer gestured with a nod toward the stone he had used to kill Liu. The Fast Eddie's master quickly brought the rock to Potter.
Potter tried to push it away. "Liu was Company man. Precious ore. Mountains filled with it." He wanted to tell them to bury it, to throw it out the airlock from orbit; never to let the Companies or the CoDominium know it existed, but he was so tired; the fight with Liu had worn him out, and he was so cold. He needed to sleep, just for a little while.
Mike seemed to understand, though. Passing Potter's bulk to Farrow, Mike stood and put the zirconium ore on the ground, where the frozen marsh that comprised the landing zone had been softened by the morning's test-firing of the shuttle engines.
Mike put his boot over the bloody rock and pushed it beneath the gluey, crunching surface. After a moment, there was no sign it had ever been there.
Potter looked at the mountains in the distance, at the dark, fierce storm clouds, the first snowflakes beginning to fall.
No two alike, he thought. He closed his eyes.
"He was a good man," Mi'huelo said to Farrow.
Farrow nodded. "He was my friend, Eminence," Farrow said.
Mi'huelo looked back over his shoulder. "I wonder what that stone was?" The Basque spoke idly, but his tone was cultured, educated.
"I don't know, Eminence."
Mi'huelo shrugged. "No matter. If this-Company man-was interested in it, than all the more reason to deny his masters the chance to despoil another world."