Annika frowned, struggling with denial. “You mean to say theyknowI’m alive? How? How would they know? Why haven’t they contacted me? Tried to rescue me?”
Ragnor shrugged. “I no know. Dey know.”
Annika didn’t know how they would’ve found out either, or why they wouldn’t have tried to pick her up.
The reward had to be nonsense! It was certainly nonsensical to her! If they’d wanted her dead they could’ve just pretended to be rescuing her and killed her! And there was no sane reason to want her dead. She was a nobody! What could she possibly ...?
They’d done something. They thought she knew what or could know and they were trying to cover it up. Nothing else made any sense at all. The question was, what? What did she know? What had she found out?
That these people weren’t the primitives—barely more than animals—they’d been led to believe occupied this planet. The huge deposits of ore and minerals were no secret! That waswhythe planet was targeted.
But that would mean the company was behind it—or at least somebody high up in the company that expected to profit.
It was simple when one followed the money.
She glanced from Ragnor to Zhor. “If you’re right—well I don’t think it’s really about me. It’s about me being a witness to a crime—a monstrous one.”
She frowned thoughtfully, ignoring the startled looks they gave her. “Unfortunately, I can’t think of any way to find out, or get proof—or even blow the lid off of what I think is going on and demand an investigation—that wouldn’t get me killed.
“I thought I might find the evidence I needed in the city ... but I didn’t find anything they couldn’t explain away or dismiss.”
“Esplain,” Zhor said grimly.
Oh yeah! Explain to the victims that they were victims and it washerpeople that were determined to make them victims? Two victims that barely grasped her language? She shook her head.
“It’s politics and I’ve never really understood that myself—mostly it’s about lies and backstabbing.
“I do know that ground rules for dealing with aliens were established years and years ago at the Andromeda Convention. Something about—if there’s a species of higher intellect already occupying the target world, it has to be determined that they aren’t ... well just basically smart animals who can’t be considered ‘owners’. In that case, all a company has to do is to agree not to disturb the animals’ habitat in a way that could lead to extinction of the species—and/or agree that they’ll clean up their mess—depending upon what they’re after and what it takes to get it. They can claim the world, though, all of the land and they’re in control of the disposition of the land. Then it’s just a matter of laying claim to it and registering it with the convention as theirs.
“If the world is occupied by a well established, intelligent species—that has reached a point in development where they’ve even begun an actual civilization—then they are considered the ‘owners’ of their world. They’re considered intelligent enough to negotiate and to enter into a contract or treaty. If that is the case, then the company that’s interested has to arrange to compensate the owners—they have to buy it—and they can’t own anything the natives aren’t willing to allow them to own.
“It doesn’t matter if the company is the first to get there—if it’s already occupied.
“Honestly, though, that by itself sounds like ... total fiction! I mean, they couldn’t possibly expect to cover up something like this! There’s evidence all over the place, from what I can see—the ancient city along the cliff and the modern city we went to. There must be cities of all sizes left—and that doesn’t even begin to cover the villages that have sprung up since the disaster!”
“Dey destroy cities. Clean away. Bury.”
“What?”Annika demanded in shock. “Who?”
“Your people,” Ragnor responded grimly.
