company channels for any patents on medicines. As Intergal had first terraformed and settled Petaybee, it had prior claim to any economic windfalls the planet might generate. Any credits, that is, left over from what Intergal might decide to charge the planet for what had already been done to “improve” it up to Intergal standards, whatever they were. The religious cult and the so-called relatives required different handling.
“There are Monaghans living over at Shannonmouth,” Sean told the lady who had asked. “I can send word to them that you’re here, and maybe they’ll come to see you in a couple of weeks.”
“Two weeks! But I only have two weeks!” she said. “I’ve already taken a week of my vacation getting here.”
Sean just told her he’d do what he could, and privately decided to have a word with Whit about having Johnny Greene stop off to leave word with the Monaghans the next time he was over Shannonmouth. But with the other relative-seekers listening, he didn’t want to make a promise aloud.
“Just show us the way to the hotel and we’ll find our own transportation tomorrow,” said the man who was looking for the Valdez family.
“There’s no hotel,” Sean said.
“Well, then, where are we supposed to
stay
?” the drug representative, Portia Porter-Pendergrass, demanded.
He took two deep breaths before answering. “Don’t you think you should have taken that up with the people who provided you transportation to the surface?”
She shrugged off what he considered a very pertinent question and answered with what he recognized as a bald-faced lie of convenience. “They indicated there should be no problem. It’s not as if we can’t
pay
.”
“That’s not the issue,” he told her, and gestured grandly around the paper-engulfed cabin. “This,” he said, “is the governor’s mansion, if you will. The other houses are no bigger. SpaceBase is still out of commission from the quake, or I’d send you there. I’m afraid no house in Kilcoole can accommodate more than two of you at a time, and even that’s going to crowd folks. It’s not too cold yet, though, so there’re probably extra blankets enough to go round and floor space by the fire.”
“Very well,” Portia said. “I’ll stay with Clodagh.”
“Not so fast,” said Bill Guthrie, from the rival drug company. “If you stay with her, so do I.”
“You will
both
stay where I tell you to,” Sean said severely. “My niece, Buneka, isn’t using her shack right now. You, Mr. Guthrie, and you, Mr. Valdez, can stay there. Seamus, if you wouldn’t mind staying over at the Maloneys’, I’ll bunk Miss Porter-Pendergrass in with Moira and the kids.”
The male Rourke cousins looked very cheered at that.
“You gentlemen,” he nodded to the five men who claimed to be looking for relatives named Tsering, Romancita, Menendez, Furey, and O’Dare, “can stay with Steve Margolies and Frank Metaxos. There’s only the two of them with Diego gone, and they’ve got more floor space than most because they haven’t been here long enough to fill it up yet. As for you ladies . . .” He looked rather hopelessly into the apprehensive faces of the women who introduced themselves as Una Monaghan, Ilyana Salvatore, Dolma Chang, Susan Tsering, and Furey’s wife, Wild Star. “I’ll have to see.”
“Excuse me, Governor Shongili.” Una Monaghan stuck up her hand like a schoolchild.
“Dama?”
“Well, it seems to me we’re causing you a lot of trouble. I never meant to, actually. It was just when that man suggested that I might find some of my people . . . well, I’m an orphan, you see, and my family line on TerraD died out and, well, what I mean to say is, it looks like you could use help here and I
am
a file clerk and if it’s going to be an awfully long wait, well—”
“Me, too,” Susan Tsering said. “I can file, too. You look like you need help with this office.”
“I don’t suppose any of you
“There are Monaghans living over at Shannonmouth,” Sean told the lady who had asked. “I can send word to them that you’re here, and maybe they’ll come to see you in a couple of weeks.”
“Two weeks! But I only have two weeks!” she said. “I’ve already taken a week of my vacation getting here.”
Sean just told her he’d do what he could, and privately decided to have a word with Whit about having Johnny Greene stop off to leave word with the Monaghans the next time he was over Shannonmouth. But with the other relative-seekers listening, he didn’t want to make a promise aloud.
“Just show us the way to the hotel and we’ll find our own transportation tomorrow,” said the man who was looking for the Valdez family.
“There’s no hotel,” Sean said.
“Well, then, where are we supposed to
stay
?” the drug representative, Portia Porter-Pendergrass, demanded.
He took two deep breaths before answering. “Don’t you think you should have taken that up with the people who provided you transportation to the surface?”
She shrugged off what he considered a very pertinent question and answered with what he recognized as a bald-faced lie of convenience. “They indicated there should be no problem. It’s not as if we can’t
pay
.”
“That’s not the issue,” he told her, and gestured grandly around the paper-engulfed cabin. “This,” he said, “is the governor’s mansion, if you will. The other houses are no bigger. SpaceBase is still out of commission from the quake, or I’d send you there. I’m afraid no house in Kilcoole can accommodate more than two of you at a time, and even that’s going to crowd folks. It’s not too cold yet, though, so there’re probably extra blankets enough to go round and floor space by the fire.”
“Very well,” Portia said. “I’ll stay with Clodagh.”
“Not so fast,” said Bill Guthrie, from the rival drug company. “If you stay with her, so do I.”
“You will
both
stay where I tell you to,” Sean said severely. “My niece, Buneka, isn’t using her shack right now. You, Mr. Guthrie, and you, Mr. Valdez, can stay there. Seamus, if you wouldn’t mind staying over at the Maloneys’, I’ll bunk Miss Porter-Pendergrass in with Moira and the kids.”
The male Rourke cousins looked very cheered at that.
“You gentlemen,” he nodded to the five men who claimed to be looking for relatives named Tsering, Romancita, Menendez, Furey, and O’Dare, “can stay with Steve Margolies and Frank Metaxos. There’s only the two of them with Diego gone, and they’ve got more floor space than most because they haven’t been here long enough to fill it up yet. As for you ladies . . .” He looked rather hopelessly into the apprehensive faces of the women who introduced themselves as Una Monaghan, Ilyana Salvatore, Dolma Chang, Susan Tsering, and Furey’s wife, Wild Star. “I’ll have to see.”
“Excuse me, Governor Shongili.” Una Monaghan stuck up her hand like a schoolchild.
“Dama?”
“Well, it seems to me we’re causing you a lot of trouble. I never meant to, actually. It was just when that man suggested that I might find some of my people . . . well, I’m an orphan, you see, and my family line on TerraD died out and, well, what I mean to say is, it looks like you could use help here and I
am
a file clerk and if it’s going to be an awfully long wait, well—”
“Me, too,” Susan Tsering said. “I can file, too. You look like you need help with this office.”
“I don’t suppose any of you
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