"Yes, I could use some of it...", he said vaguely, as he was trying to move the discussion forward. He was in a hurry to finish the deal, as it was dangerous to keep the item with him. The Admiral of the Fleet could order an inspection of his fleet at any time. He was also very uninformed about its powers, and didn't like sleeping in the same room. He couldn't, of course, indicate that, as knowing that he didn't need it would lower the price he intended to sell it for. "But here, I have something that is, perhaps, much more potent than cardamine. Would you like to have a look at it?"
"Sure, don't be so worried, as long as you cooperating, everything will go in smooth way. " Loyola was in no hurry, since she remembered that Admiral said that they have a lot of time. Admiral was rather on alert, but he didn't look like he was up to something unwise.
"It's here, or shall we go somehwere?" Loyola have asked after finally finishing the freaking cup of tea. "Also one more thing about the Cardamine, I won't be able to contact people that you need for a few days, so you better have some in your storage." Outcast sighed and even looked bored. Furnishings of Bretonian rooms always had some soporific effect on her.
"One moment", he lifted his index finger as he got up. He walked straight to a specific, imposingly wide book standing between all the others on the shelf, and took it. He sat back on the harpsichord seat, and rested the book onto his thigh. He turned it towards Loyola and opened it very carefully.
It was hollow. Its cavity was hiding a smooth orb the size of a ping pong ball. The orb was silently emitting a pleasant, even hypnotizing, fluorescent, pale light. Hall wanted to pretend looking at it in awe, but he didn't. He really was in awe, and he even had to hide some of it.
The Outcast have closed her eyes and slowly moved her hand to touch the orb. After a holding of two fingers on it for a few moments, Enma looked at the Admiral. "This thing is definitely worthing my time, admiral Hall... and my money too. May I ask one question in before I set my price?"
Content, Hall grinned within. He managed to detach his expressionless gaze off of the artifact, and reluctantly directed it at Loyola. "Yes?", he said as if he expected something major.
Loyola made a short smile and asked rather slowly with a calm tone. She did not look at the artifact anymore and tried to read the emotions on admiral's face. "The question is simple. I would like to know from where did you get it?"
Hall expected the question to be a bit more arcane. "Oh... It was given to an anonymous agent of mine in Kappa, by a freelancer whose identity I cannot expose." The artefact stole a glance of his. "I'm afraid I don't know where he had found it... I hope the artefact itself is more important than these tiny details?"
"I see, it's not that critically. I bet we both want to keep a good productive relations." Enma paused and sighed. "Now I can offer you forty million credits, I think it's the balanced price. "
Although successful powertraders like boasting about how many billion credits they have, that is not what the situation really is like. They are only captains of their companies' ships -- the money is divided among the crew, the workers that load and unload the cargo, the engineers that maintain the ship, spent on ship maintenance itself, but it largely ends up in the slimy hands of the people who run the company. The captain gets the highest wage on his ship, of course, but that is certainly very far from billions. An admiral's salary was a few or a few dozen thousand credits a month. Corruption was more profitable for Hall, but it was never forty five million. He could buy an island for that, he thought. It came a bit as a surprise, as checking what it could actually be sold for could expose him. But, if Loyola could offer forty million for it, he thought, she needed it direly. Thus, she could certainly offer more. Hall's plan was to let Loyola name the price first, so he could then adjust it. He rose another layer of artificial emotion.
"This little object was freighted all the way from Kappa, through Nomads, Corsairs and Hessians. I had to withdraw some patrols so it would not be seen, and even fake a radar malfunction on the Norfolk so it could be unloaded. I was aiming at something closer to fifty five -- such a perfect arrangement of digits -- but I will renounce scrupulousness for your sake. Let's meet at fifty?"
"Forty five and the guarantees of my good favor towards you." Enma said confidently and rather categorically. It was hard to price something like this with credits. The price was rather throwish and Loyola was glad that it was more or less acceptable. It wasn't problem to pay additional ten million, she have managed to ern some money during her political leadership of Malta. She just didn't want to show an absolute complaisance and wanted to end it with fake compromise.
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