was just four complexes away from controlling the entire sector. “We’ve got alliances with two of the sectors, and the other two are probably going to surrender instead of face us. It’s made us the target of more attacks, but Westerly sector has never been better,” Quentin said.
“We have a little business we need to see to as well,” Mark said. The look in his eyes made Quentin sit-up a bit.
“What kind of business?” Quentin asked.
Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of seeds, as Quentin’s eyes went round.
“How the hell did you smuggle those off of the planet?” Quentin asked, looking at the seeds in Mark’s hand.
“They were with me in an emergency cryo pod,” Tyler said.
Alexis looked at him in alarm. He might have forgotten to tell her how close he came to not getting past Growing City.
“We’ve also got the planet’s library on growing stuff,” Mark said.
Quentin sat back, taking a slow sip of his drink to buy himself time to think.
“Damn,” Quentin said after a slow minute.
He leaned forward, his brow pinched together in thought.
“Well, we’re going to have to do this one under the radar. I can get my people to bring us a number of gardeners. We’re going to have to spread this knowledge further than just westerly complex. This is going to take a while to set up.”
His serious expression turned into one of pride.
“It does look like you’re building one hell of a backup plan though.”
“It’s not even the biggest part,” Mark said. He glanced to Jerome, giving him a reassuring look before he started to divulge his plans of opening a hauling company.
After some time, Quentin seemed to remember that Tyler and Alexis were in the room.
“I say that we let these two go and do as they wish, as we talk business,” Quentin said, looking to the bottle of amber liquid which had gone down considerably. “And get another bottle of this,” he added in a murmur.
“Suits me just fine,” Tyler said, standing. Alexis joined him.
“My people will watch out for you, so don’t worry about a thing. Have a good time, and don’t stay out too late!” Quentin warned, giving them a wink.
“Real subtle, boss,” Tyler said, seeing the alcohol was having an effect on the older man who let out a rumbling belly laugh. Tyler and Alexis clasped hands.
“They need more booze, might be an idea to get them some food as well,” Tyler said to Silva as he grabbed Alexis’ hand, and pulled her through the tower. She slapped his arm playfully but he held on, flashing her a smile. He had way too few moments like this, and he was going to enjoy taking her on a real date.
Chapter 2
Tower
Earth, Sol system
3/3206
Nivad Selvra looked over the reports from the carrier Reclaimer . His lips twisted in annoyance, as the people around the table waited in pure silence while he went through the report at his own leisure.
He had olive skin, with what might have been called sharp Asian features in another time. But in this day and age, it was called Eastern features. His hair was styled in an appealing way, but without the eccentricities that most CEO’s did to show their wealth. His suit was simple. Unless someone knew fabrics and tailoring, they would have thought it