Mark Tiedemann - Chimera

"That's how it stands today."

"Yes, Ariel."

"Stolen shipments…any kind of manifest on what those shipments contained, or who they were stolen from?"

"That is a protected file. It will take some time to open it. "

"Do it. What about Solaria? What did they say when all this happened?"

"They have made no official statement to date, content, apparently, to follow Aurora's lead."

"Are those Auroran ships with the Terran squadron?"

"No, they are Theian ships. Aurora is remaining militarily aloof. "

As usual, Ariel thought wryly. "And no one has brought up Solaria's past ownership?"

"No, Ariel," Thales replied.

"Not even Aurora…but Solarian ships are still entering and leaving the system. How is that possible? As I understand it, a blockade like this is enforced at the port of origin as well. Solarian ships heading for Nova Levis would be stopped or at least noted and identified as blockade runners. "

"That is how the law reads. I will look into it. "

Something else teased at Ariel. "You said there were three Solarian firms that initially had title to the system. Who?"

"Strychos, Incorporated, M39-Viavel Corporation, and the Kysler Solar Industries."

"Kysler…that sounds familiar. "

"Kysler Diversified Industries, Ariel. They are a Terran firm based on Titan, though no longer Terran-owned. The three Solarian firms I mentioned have all been subsequently purchased by the Hunter Group. Only Strychos remains as a semi-independent corporation, dealing in agricultural products."

"Hunter owns Kysler?"

"They own a controlling interest."

"What did they do? The Terran firm, I mean. "

"Primarily a holding company. Pharmaceuticals, raw material development, shipping, finance-"

"Stop. Any other correlations through their dependent companies?"

"No. However, Kysler purchased the physical plant in which Nova Levis was housed."

"Really. What became of the rest?"

"After it closed down it was split up and sold. The REtD division went to Imbitek, which folded it into a subsidiary: Captras Biomed. Various pieces of hardware went to a number of small firms."

"Imbitek owns the research and Kysler owns the shell… what did they do with it?" Ariel asked.

"Unknown. Current data suggests that the structure is sealed and unused. A retrofitting company was hired to convert it into a raw materials distribution plant a few years ago. After that I find no records."

"Thales, I want a list of shareholders for each of those three companies: Kysler Diversified, Hunter Group, and Nova Levis. Prepare a hard copy for me. Let's return to the colony. You said that a Settler cooperative took it over?"

"That is correct. Through private endowment."

"Through a church, though. What was its name?"

"The Church of Organic Sapiens. "

She thought for a moment. "That's Rega Looms' church."

"It is currently the church with which Rega Looms is affiliated. However, he has stepped down from its directorship for the duration of his senate campaign. He was not its director at the time the colony was established. "

"Did he belong to it?"

"I do not have access to those records. Would you like me to try to obtain them?"

"Maybe. Hold off for now." Ariel drummed her fingers on the edge of the console. She could not shake the feeling that she was missing something. "Rega Looms despises the whole idea of offworld colonization. So does the COS-now. I suppose it didn't then. "

"The Church of Organic Sapiens has undergone a number of fundamental changes in purpose in the sixty-eight years of its existence. The current one has been in place since Rega Looms became its director. "

"How long ago was that?"

"Eighteen years ago. "

"Display the exact dates. "

Numbers scrolled across one of Thales' screens. The settler colony of Nova Levis was established eleven years before Rega Looms took directorship of the Church of Organic Sapiens. Ariel could see nothing significant about that, but she felt certain she should.

"When was Nova Levis-the lab-incorporated?"

The date appeared between the first two displayed. Nova Levis Incorporated opened forty-two months after the colony.

"Closing date."

Fourteen months before Looms took charge of his church.

"There is a correlation," Thales said. "Rega Looms was one of the initial shareholders in Nova Levis Incorporated. Not in Kysler Diversified."

"All right…he couldn't possibly have maintained it and represented a church that condemns prostheses. When did he divest?"

"Four years after its incorporation."

"Did he start a panic?"

"Apparently not. Only three other shareholders divested in his wake: Kyas Vol, Tenebra Patis, and Gale Chassik. "

Ariel started. "Ambassador Chassik?"

"Yes, Ariel."

"Was he ambassador then?"

"No, Ariel, he was Chief Attachй to Ambassador Masmo Pedesor."

Ariel frowned. "Do you have those lists of shareholders?"

"Yes, Ariel. "

Another screen filled with names in three columns. The one for Nova Levis, Inc. was the shortest, the one for Kysler Diversified the longest. Names were highlighted in bright blue.

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. Some people just turn up everywhere, don't they?"

Glowing brightly in all three columns were the names of Alda Mikels, Gale Chassik, and former senator Clar Eliton.

"Thales, get Coren Lanra for me, would you? I think we need to talk before this goes much further."

Coren knocked on the office door labeled KELVY TORANS, ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE. When the woman behind the large desk looked up, he smiled and waggled his fingers at her.

"Coren!" Her grin dazzled. "Come in! You actually caught me with time on my hands. "

"I couldn't be that lucky, could I?" He sat down across from her.

She touched a button, closing her door. "Yes, you could." She gazed with mock seductiveness at him until they both laughed. "What can I do for you, Coren?"

"A little inside information."

"Nothing that will get me in trouble."

"I don't think so. What do you know about Myler Towne?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Chairman protem of Imbitek?"

"The very same. "

She closed her eyes for a few seconds. Her face, still and framed by a close-cut helmet of black hair, seemed almost childlike. When she opened her eyes, she drew a deep breath. " Joined Imbitek eleven years ago, New Accounts, and worked his way into Mergers and Acquisitions. Three years ago, he was on the Logistics and Projections board. The assassinations last year opened a position on the board of directors. He was nominated and elected within two weeks. After Alda Mikels received his sentence, Towne campaigned for the position of chairman, but it was given by the board reluctantly, and with the proviso that it was temporary, ending upon Mikels' release."

"How good is he?"

"Not bad, considering that he's spent most of the past year fending off lawsuits and dealing with TBI investigations into the company. He's actually turned Imbitek around in the last few months, so I'm beginning to recommend it again as a primary investment. They're not as robust as they once were, but given this I can't wait to see what they do when Mikels is back at the helm."

"I knew Imbitek had taken a tumble-"

Kelvy grunted eloquently. "They very nearly dropped out of the Primary Three Hundred. Within three weeks after Mikels was sentenced to prison, Imbitek stock fell eighty points. Towne has it back up forty-eight points."

"How?"

She shrugged. "Wish I knew. They've gone through a big restructuring, a lot of positions terminated, and he's trimmed off some of the fat Mikels kept on as pet projects. But a big part is that Imbitek is buying back its own stock."