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provide a portable access to reference data from the Imperial Codex. His duties will be to assist navigation and offer alternatives during a crisis."
    "What sort of crisis?" Jamie asked.
    "Any sort of crisis."
    Aura said, "Like if we should happen to encounter an Edorrian warship?"
    "What?" Kleg asked. "Who said anything about meeting Blue Meanys? Turner, I want to re-negotiate my contract. Now. "
    The businessman raised his palms and nodded. "All right, I'll pay a thirty percent bonus should you have a run in with any reps from that militaristic empire. Their home world is somewhere out in FZ10 through 15, we think. But your chances of encountering them are extremely slim. Are there any other questions? No? Then, I advise you to get as much rest as possible. Karr's ship will be ready to leave in the morning. Good luck."
    Jamie rose with the others and moved toward the exit. He felt he had some of the answers to his many questions, but he was still uncomfortable about the command structure within the mission. He doubted that he could take orders from Karr, or even Devor.
    "Mr. Clamber," Werch called from behind him. "Can we talk for a moment?"
    Turner and Zaxt were heading through another door to a private vator. Jamie walked over and the businessman ushered him aboard. They dropped to Werch's office, where the stacks of plastexts were piled even higher than the last time Jamie had been here.
    Werch went straight to the bar as soon as they entered the room. "Can I offer you a drink, Mr. Clamber?"
    Zaxt walked to the cluttered desk and waited a word.
    "No thanks," Jamie answered. "I've enough addictions, already."
    The businessman paused for a second and then poured himself a generous helping of amber liquid. "You're a very private man, Mr. Clamber. And not as much of a team player as I would have liked." Werch sighed and reclined into the chair behind his desk, while Jamie chose to stand. "While you're out there in FZ13, I won't be able to help you."
    "Help me?"
    "You'll be on your own, without a friend. Unless you make one."
    "I'm afraid I don't understand, Mr. Werch."
    "I looked over your profile and the results of your shared training session. As I said, you're not a team player."
    Jamie felt his blood rising. What was this guy getting at?
    "Nor are you performing at your peak. What are you holding back? Don't you have any sense of comradeship?"
    "I had plenty of comradeship with Cast Janssen before he...
    "You were going to say 'died,' weren't you? But now you're not so sure that he's dead."
    Jamie swallowed, thickly. "Mr. Werch, I'll be honest with you. I don't care for the way you're setting up this expedition. Why employ a known smuggler and rabble-rouser like Aura Devor and a notorious raider like Kleg Karr? Yes, I've been doing a little research while waiting in room. Those two are like matter/anti-matter. If I'd known who they were before sharing that HAVENset with them, I'd never have gone along with it."
    Turner Werch smiled. "Exactly."
    "Now who's not being a team player?"
    "I'm one of the five heads of business on Hyperion XI," Werch explained dryly. "Some people call me a kingpin. I've gotten where I am balancing risk against opportunity."
    "What sort of team is this?"
    "I share your concern about the hostile natures of your team members, but feel it is necessary under the circumstances. Karr is an untrustworthy ass, but he's also perhaps the luckiest man alive and a damn good pilot. Devor is an idealist and a spoiled leader of a rebel group that is rapidly falling apart, but she's a semi-telepath and a skilled criminologist who can still inspire her Qestan followers. One provides the ship you will travel and work in, the other provides the crew. Each of these contributions and skills will be valuable should you encounter trouble during your mission. Matrix management, Mr. Clamber; that is how I balance the forces of risk to create an opportunity."
    "And what about me?" Jamie asked. "What am I balanced