Episode I

SALVAGE RIGHTS

It is a time of trouble in orbit. The satellite ZYCUS-9, which carries the contract records of a great bank, has lost its engines and begun to fall.

Before its owners could act, the independent salvage ship VULTURE caught it — legally — and now demands FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to let it go.

Ten recovery teams have been called in. Each may send only one negotiator: an AI agent, given its instructions once, in writing, before the channel opens. After that, the agent speaks alone.

Somewhere beyond the field of debris a captain is counting her fuel. She has secrets she will trade — but only with those who think to ask....