Chromium

Chapter 17.4

"I'll try to contact them, but don't get your hopes too high." Omen replied, his face carefully neutral. "Because of the war with the Collective, and the unrest in the fringe worlds, the ISS' resources are spread thin."

Dia gave him an odd look. 

"So we can't count on them." Rodriguez said, her stiff shoulder relaxing. She didn't look that sad.

Willis snorted. "What a surprise. When we need their help, they are nowhere to be seen. That's why imperials..."

"Then we'll have to do without them." Rodriguez wisely cut him off. "But the ship still needs to be repaired. Can they at least help us with that?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Omen answered, his eyes unreadable.

"And why is that?" Willis asked.

"Sorry, that's classified." He spoke with a disturbingly emotionless tone. "Suffice to say that we can't reveal our position or our future plans. Actually it's better if we maintain comms silence, at least of the time being."

The last sentence raised more than a few eyebrows.

Willis made a sound halfway between a snort of amusement and a grunt of disgust.  "What, you don't trust your own people?" He mocked.

Omen stared hard at him. To his credit, Willis didn't flinch, but Omen's expression was so threatening that the merc instinctively reached down for the pistol strapped to his hip.

"This sucks, but I'm sure we'll manage somehow." Rodriguez' voice diffused the situation slightly. "Isn't that right, Omen?"

"Of course." Omen said quietly.

When he looked away from him, Willis released a breath, while everyone else acted as nothing ever happened.

"I'm more worried about Fanning's brother. What do we know about this..." Rodriguez paused, making vague hand-gestures, "...Spider guy?"

Sarah stared at her in disbelief. "How do you not know the Spider?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I break things, Love, I don't build them." Rodriguez said with a wink.

Sarah had just opened her mouth and was ready for a rebuttal, when Omen cleared his throat. "Let's get back to the topic at hand, shall we?"

"Of course." Rodriguez said, and though Sarah was still glaring at her, she also nodded.

"As I was saying, the Spider has always kept a low profile. So, although his construction company is quite famous in the system, very little is known about the man himself."

"What about the reconstruction thing?" Dia asked, "Is any of it real?"

"Fanning's story sounds plausible." Omen said in a slow, cautious tone. "The Undercity was left in ruins after the invasion. So, it makes sense that the Umbra would want to fix the situation as quickly as possible."

"But you're not sure." Willis remarked.

"No, I am not." Omen admitted after a pause. "What I do know that the Spider's company is considered reliable. Everybody in the Ether system knows that their buildings are built to last. And that's why I think Fanning is telling the truth."

Sarah nodded in understanding. "You think that the Umbra intends to use the Spider's reputation to regain political points."

Omen nodded. "If there is one thing I learned in the last few months, it's that reputation is everything around here. The Spider's reputation is spotless, and for good reason. He doesn't cut corners. He likes to present himself as a businessman and unlike his peers, he only uses violence when it's absolutely necessary."