“Derek is silly,” she said. “Be patient. Good things happen to those who wait.”
Those words had followed him into his manhood. Her assessment of Derek was correct, but the rest seemed to be pure rubbish. His experience had not borne out the idea that good things happened to those who waited. He had waited and he had been royally screwed up the arse, swearing fealty to the adopted brother he despised in order to return to his rightful place. His last chance might now be slipping away. He already was too old to wait.
Dan found Fabio Bianco waiting for him in the command module. The old scientist looked as shriveled as a dried pepper as he hung in a micro-gee crouch outside the door to Dan’s office. He smoothed his hairnet over his wispy tonsure.
“May I have a word with you, Commander?”
“I was hoping for the same with you.”
“I suppose we have an even exchange,” said Bianco.
Dan anchored himself in front of the communications console, realizing even as his feet slipped into the loops that the desire to attach himself to something solid was becoming a habit. He wondered what the psych-types on the ground would think.
“Okay, Professor, who should begin?” he said.
“I defer to you,” said Bianco. “In this realm, you outrank me.”
Dan grunted in cautious agreement. “You probably gathered that I am holding Hugh O’Donnell under suspicion of murdering Aaron Weiss.”
“I had assumed as much.”
“I also suspect that O’Donnell’s work was the reason. That is, Weiss wanted to investigate it and O’Donnell wouldn’t let him.” Dan paused to gauge Bianco’s reaction to his words. He saw nothing. The old man was as blank-faced as a Mafia don in front of a Senate investigating committee.
Tighe continued, “No one seems to know exactly what he’s doing here: not me, not Dr. Renoir, not the American scientists, not the ground. Do you know?”
“I regret that I do not.”
“You’re the Trikon CEO and you don’t know what O’Donnell’s doing here?”
“I am CEO, not Il Duce,” said Bianco. “There are things that pass under even this nose.”
“I suspect he is working on an experiment to test how people in orbit react to certain drugs.”
“Trikon is conducting no such work,” said Bianco. “That I can say with confidence.”
“I didn’t say Trikon, Professor.”
Bianco shrugged. “I am very saddened about Mr. Weiss. He was a good man. Had you ever seen him on television?”
“A long time ago,” said Dan, sensing that Bianco had dug in his heels.
“He struck me as someone who could be very diligent in his pursuit of the truth, though not always well advised in his actions. He was learning something up here. I could see it in his eyes when we spoke. They started out as laughing eyes, as if nothing we did here could impress him. But he was impressed, Commander. He was in awe of our work.”
Dan mumbled noncommittally.
“You do not seem overly concerned with our work here, Commander Tighe.”
“I didn’t sign on to conduct experiments, Professor.”
“What did you sign on for?”
“Uh-uh, Professor. You’re not going to get me to say that this is the last frontier. The last perfect environment where man still can dream and all that crap.”
“Isn’t it?”
“It is and it isn’t.”
“I agree with you, Commander. Our work is what it is and Aaron Weiss’s untimely end is what it isn’t.” Bianco smiled. “I did not come here to trade philosophies with you. There is concern among our coordinating scientists. I told them I would request a meeting with you.”
“Is that why you wanted to see me?”
Bianco nodded.
“No need to be so formal, Professor. I’m at your disposal.”
The meeting took place in the area outside Dan’s office and included the three coordinating scientists, Bianco, and Kurt Jaeckle. There was some discussion among the scientists about whether Jaeckle should be allowed to participate since he technically was not a Trikon employee. Bianco pointed out that Jaeckle’s presence could be helpful because he had been on the station longer than any of the other scientists. So Jaeckle remained.
As the meeting was about to begin, Freddy Aviles poked out of the utilities section. Dan motioned for him to stick around. Thora Skillen was the first to speak.
“We have requests and recommendations regarding this newest development.” She had been the most strident in her dislike of O’Donnell, and she fairly quivered as she fought to contain her I-told-you-so grin. “We had to rearrange The Bakery to accommodate O’Donnell’s lab. And as you know, space is at a premium.”
“His lab is not to be disturbed in any way until the investigators arrive on Constellation.” Dan nodded toward Freddy. “My crew will enforce that order. Anyone violating it will be sent down on Constellation. I don’t care who it is.”
Dan looked to Bianco for support. Bianco picked up on the cue and nodded.
“And after that, I assume O’Donnell’s lab may be dismantled,” said Skillen.
“Lab space is an issue for Trikon, not me,” Dan replied.
Hisashi Oyamo raised his hand. “What about O’Donnell’s data?”
“The data would be ours,” said Skillen.
“With all due respect, I disagree,” said Oyamo. “First, O’Donnell has been treated as an outcast the entire time he has been on Trikon Station. Second, this project is a cooperative effort, which indicates that whatever data he has obtained should be shared.”
Everyone’s eyes instinctively turned toward Bianco.
“I am not sure who would be entitled to O’Donnell’s files,” said the old scientist. “It should be subject to prior review.”
“Do we hear you correctly?” asked Oyamo, plainly astonished. “Fabio Bianco, the champion of international cooperation, siding with the Americans?”
“I have not sided with anyone,” Bianco said. “I simply expressed doubts pending a further determination.”
Oyamo turned toward Chakra Ramsanjawi. The Indian had been completely silent since the meeting began. His kurta was belted and his clasped hands rose and fell with each breath that passed through his nostrils.
“What do you think?” asked Oyamo.
Ramsanjawi looked for a long moment at each of his Trikon colleagues. He deliberately ignored Jaeckle, Dan, and Freddy.
“I defer to the wisdom of Professor Bianco,” he finally said.
Skillen and Oyamo started to protest, but Dan cut them off.
“Is there anything else that concerns me or the crew?” he said.
“There is,” said Jaeckle. “What precautions have you taken to protect us from O’Donnell?”
“He is bound and tethered to the aft bulkhead of the rumpus room. That’s where he’ll stay. He also has a full-time guard.”
“You had Russell Cramer bound and tethered and guarded,” said Jaeckle. “And you saw fit to have him drugged, too. And he hadn’t even killed anyone.”
“Different situations,” said Dan. “At the time, we thought Cramer was suffering from Orbital Dementia, and the medical officer sedated him to prevent any injury to himself and others. O’Donnell ingested a huge amount of fentanyl. Lorraine believes sedation at this point could be harmful.”
“What do you mean that you thought at the time Russell Cramer was suffering from Orbital Dementia? Was there another cause for his behavior?”
“I meant exactly what I said.”
“You mean you don’t think so now?” Jaeckle pressed.