to do something else."
"Displacement activity?" Apfel asked.
"Yeah. I don't give a fuck about what's happening here on Eighty-Six."
"But now, what? You've had a rethink?"
"God, no," said Falk. "I still don't give a fuck. But I do give a fuck about being treated like an idiot. I don't want to know the story, but now I want to get it, just so I can ram it up the SO's backside. There's something you should never give a tired old hack like me."
"A third drink?"
Falk grinned.
"Yeah, that. I was going to say a challenge."
"I know you were," said Apfel.
"The SO's sheer mindless attitude just engaged me in a way a thousand decent stories never could. Not any more."
"You going to stick it to the man, Falk?"
"I'm going to find something," said Falk. "I'm going to work some angle. If the SO had thrown me a bone, I'd have been gone inside a month. Now I'm going to stay on, and worry at this until I get something, however small, that I can slap in their faces."
"How far are you prepared to go?" asked Apfel.
"I'm not familiar with the concept of too far ," said Falk.
"Man, are you pissed off tonight."
Falk nodded and took a drink.
"I think that's what it's all about, by the way, if you're interested."
Falk looked where Apfel was pointing.
"The moon?"
"Yeah," said Apfel. "God knows, you won't care what some corporate consultant whore thinks–"
"Say it anyway."
"Fred," said Apfel. "The second moon."
"Notable in-system resource 86/b, locally known as 'Fred'. Third highest concentration of extro-transition elements in settled territory."
"Exactly."
"Fine. You're suggesting… this isn't a land-grab fight about Eighty-Six. It's a fight to secure Eighty-Six because of its moon?"
Apfel smiled, lifted his glass off the tray and sipped.
"It makes a certain amount of sense," he said. "Since settlement began, we haven't seen fit to actually, properly go to war with anybody over land, because there's always plenty of it, worlds of it, at a time. It's got to be something pretty big to make us do it here."
"If that's what's happening," said Falk. "I just got shown some holes in a wall."
"Oh, it's happening."
'How do you know?"
"I've been here eight months. You hear stuff. Nothing you could use, but stuff that's still got substance to it. The Central Bloc is involved."
"You subscribe to that theory?"
"I think so. The rumour's just too persistent. If EightySix is going to US dominion, that'll shut off the Bloc's development access to Fred. If you look over the SO reports, the last nine big extro-transition element sources all ended up in United Status ownership. The Bloc's got territory, but it's getting hungry for a slice of the more lucrative pies."
Falk thought about it.
"I never did find out why it was called Fred," he said.
"Named after Frederick Shaver, captain of the first pioneer mission," Apfel said. "The first moon's called Ginger, after his wife. That's the story I heard anyway."
"I should not be talking to you," said Tedders.
"You look nice," said Falk. "Out of uniform. Not out like naked. I mean not in uniform."
"Smooth," she said. "I have a weekend pass. I'm wasting one dinnertime of that with you, even though it's not a date, and an understanding of that condition was a strict requirement for me saying yes."
"I know. Plus, I asked nicely."
"But you don't assume this is some kind of date arranged via a reverse 'not a date' code?"
"No. This is just a correspondent buying an SOMD officer dinner so they can have a nice, informal chat."
Tedders looked at their surroundings dubiously. Falk had chosen a small, family-run restaurant just off Equestrian.
"Why here?" Tedders asked.
"I heard the chicken-effect parmigiana was better than the Hyatt's."
"It's chicken-effect parmigiana," said Tedders. "Define 'better'."
"It
"Displacement activity?" Apfel asked.
"Yeah. I don't give a fuck about what's happening here on Eighty-Six."
"But now, what? You've had a rethink?"
"God, no," said Falk. "I still don't give a fuck. But I do give a fuck about being treated like an idiot. I don't want to know the story, but now I want to get it, just so I can ram it up the SO's backside. There's something you should never give a tired old hack like me."
"A third drink?"
Falk grinned.
"Yeah, that. I was going to say a challenge."
"I know you were," said Apfel.
"The SO's sheer mindless attitude just engaged me in a way a thousand decent stories never could. Not any more."
"You going to stick it to the man, Falk?"
"I'm going to find something," said Falk. "I'm going to work some angle. If the SO had thrown me a bone, I'd have been gone inside a month. Now I'm going to stay on, and worry at this until I get something, however small, that I can slap in their faces."
"How far are you prepared to go?" asked Apfel.
"I'm not familiar with the concept of too far ," said Falk.
"Man, are you pissed off tonight."
Falk nodded and took a drink.
"I think that's what it's all about, by the way, if you're interested."
Falk looked where Apfel was pointing.
"The moon?"
"Yeah," said Apfel. "God knows, you won't care what some corporate consultant whore thinks–"
"Say it anyway."
"Fred," said Apfel. "The second moon."
"Notable in-system resource 86/b, locally known as 'Fred'. Third highest concentration of extro-transition elements in settled territory."
"Exactly."
"Fine. You're suggesting… this isn't a land-grab fight about Eighty-Six. It's a fight to secure Eighty-Six because of its moon?"
Apfel smiled, lifted his glass off the tray and sipped.
"It makes a certain amount of sense," he said. "Since settlement began, we haven't seen fit to actually, properly go to war with anybody over land, because there's always plenty of it, worlds of it, at a time. It's got to be something pretty big to make us do it here."
"If that's what's happening," said Falk. "I just got shown some holes in a wall."
"Oh, it's happening."
'How do you know?"
"I've been here eight months. You hear stuff. Nothing you could use, but stuff that's still got substance to it. The Central Bloc is involved."
"You subscribe to that theory?"
"I think so. The rumour's just too persistent. If EightySix is going to US dominion, that'll shut off the Bloc's development access to Fred. If you look over the SO reports, the last nine big extro-transition element sources all ended up in United Status ownership. The Bloc's got territory, but it's getting hungry for a slice of the more lucrative pies."
Falk thought about it.
"I never did find out why it was called Fred," he said.
"Named after Frederick Shaver, captain of the first pioneer mission," Apfel said. "The first moon's called Ginger, after his wife. That's the story I heard anyway."
"I should not be talking to you," said Tedders.
"You look nice," said Falk. "Out of uniform. Not out like naked. I mean not in uniform."
"Smooth," she said. "I have a weekend pass. I'm wasting one dinnertime of that with you, even though it's not a date, and an understanding of that condition was a strict requirement for me saying yes."
"I know. Plus, I asked nicely."
"But you don't assume this is some kind of date arranged via a reverse 'not a date' code?"
"No. This is just a correspondent buying an SOMD officer dinner so they can have a nice, informal chat."
Tedders looked at their surroundings dubiously. Falk had chosen a small, family-run restaurant just off Equestrian.
"Why here?" Tedders asked.
"I heard the chicken-effect parmigiana was better than the Hyatt's."
"It's chicken-effect parmigiana," said Tedders. "Define 'better'."
"It
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