Terror at Roschin Colony

by Scott Lucas

  “The dimensions are precise,” said Vosper. “Each of those small pellets produces enough energy for a single star-drive.”

  Vosper turned to Tem. “Now, do you understand why the Ler pirates target us?”

  Tem nodded. There were more pellets of ore on the conveyer than he could count. Farther along the same chamber, the androids encased the perfectly shaped golden pellets into the rods that would serve the star-drives. Then the androids set thousands of them upright on wheeled platforms that once filled pushed through another door and out of sight by more androids.

  Vosper led the group through a doorway at the opposite end of the walkway and into a concrete stairwell. At the top was an observation post that overlooked the surface of the asteroid. They had to cut a deep trench into the asteroid just beyond the tower. Below, the reflections of mining bots’ headlamps reflected upward over the rocks.

  “We observe the mining operations from here.” Vosper leaned over a screen and placed his hand on the back of a technician’s chair. “Show us Subshaft 47.”

  The technician moved boxes around the holo-monitor, and a ghostly-looking view of a subterranean chamber flickered into focus.

  “Night vision,” Vosper explained.

  Tem glanced at the hologram, but he was more captivated by the sight beyond the asteroid. The sky looked infinitely larger from such a small landmass. Sights such as this made flying alone for weeks on end bearable.

  He turned back to the holograms when Vosper continued.

  “Thanks to these bots we haven’t had a single mining-related human casualty since this colony opened,” Vosper boasted.

  Arno Wurth shrugged. “However, every once in a while an android gets caught in a cave-in. We typically send other androids to sift through the rubble for the remains, but if there isn’t much crippling damage they can usually dig their own way to the surface.”

  “These androids must be exceptionally powerful machines,” Tem said. Through the polymer-steelite glass he watched as an android delved into the side of the canyon with a pick-axe shaped arm. Sparks flew with each strike at the point of contact.

  Vosper brought up several more passages on the holo-screens and pointed out various aspects of the mining operation. Large exoskeleton-like drones worked at excavating large chunks of rock and ore. Smaller drones collected the pieces and carried them toward hovering carts at the mouth of the shaft.

  Vosper pointed this feature out proudly. “Mines in the ancient past carried the ore on wheeled carts along rails. We no longer need that.”

  Arno pointed to the four-legged robotic dogs on the screen. “Those are the most efficient robots.”

  Vosper made the rounds through the observation area and introduced Tem to the technicians. There were about twenty of them, all positioned in front of a holo-monitor that surveyed a different section of the mining network. However, no one seemed keen on meeting the new security consultant. As expected, the technicians were loath to speak or even look at him.

  After touring the operations room, Vosper led the other three back through the refinery to a floor just above the operations room. Vosper strode to a door at the far end and keyed a code into a small panel. The door creaked when Vosper pushed it open and descended a single step into a conference room. A long square table with viewing glass on its surface dominated most of the room. Vosper gestured to Arno to shut the door, and looked to Tem.

  “Arno, you and the others please wait outside,” Vosper said. The cybernetics chief nodded and closed the door behind him.

  In private, Vosper said to Tem, “I know why Bashir sent you and I must appear resentful of your presence. However, I am glad you are here. I believe Executive Bashir also suspects there is a mole in this facility working with the Ler pirates. There has to be. That is the only answer of how they know our schedule, our routes, our movements. We even sent up a decoy load hoping to lure them out, but the pirates did not take the bait. If they had taken the bait, I would have never suspected an insider. However, because everyone here knew it was a decoy run, someone must have told the pirates it was a decoy and they avoided it or the insider did not bother to tell them because it was a decoy.”

  “Or the mole is not smart enough to have the pirates attack the decoy,” Tem said. “This gives us the advantage.”

  Chu nodded and continued, “Part of your mandate here is to find the traitor, figure out how and why they are communicating with the Ler pirates, and expose that person with evidence. It will take some detective work. I hope you are up to it.”

  Tem thought for a moment and said, “I’ll give it my best.”

  Vosper placed his hands on the desk in front of him. “I will apologize for my future behavior in advance. Personally, I have nothing against you and I am grateful you are here. But…”

  “I understand,” Tem said.

  Vosper escorted Tem to the security consultant’s temporary quarters. “I hope this will be sufficient.”

  It was hardly bigger than the supply and spare parts closet on the Wyvern Star.

  The Wyvern Star held upwards of a dozen people comfortably. Tem turned the empty space into a variety of storage rooms. Raised in an austere monastery since age eleven, Tem amassed few belongings. Over the course of three years Tem had packed the extra rooms with necessities of starship living; spare parts and tools for maintaining his ship took the chief place in what had once been a bunk-room but now functioned as a workshop. He crammed cartons of dehydrated meals sealed into airtight, single servings in another bunkroom. Farther down the corridor he stored a less essential but highly treasured library derived from a monastery on a small planet called Fable. An ancient Paladin, well departed from his fighting years, had forced Tem to extract a portion of the holo-brary volumes for posterity with what had seemed to be almost deranged urgency. Tem pondered whether the old man foresaw Fable’s destruction three months later.

  “It will be fine,” Tem said. The tiny barracks at the Baldock Academy were about this size.

  “I’ve had the androids bring your bags to the room and unpack them for you.”

  “Thank you, but that was unnecessary.”

  Vosper smiled and shook Tem’s hand one more time.

  “I’ll let you get settled. We dine in an hour. Wear something more formal. I have prepared a protective uniform for you in your closet along with the proper ID badges.”

  The Baron Administrator left. Tem kneeled down and meditated. This room reminded him of growing up at the Academy.

  Chapter Five: Noble Heart

  The last target orb exploded and dropped out of the sky as a beam from Tem’s practice blaster destroyed it. Eleven-year-old Tem lowered the blaster and flipped on the safety switch. He knew he had done well, shooting down nine orbs with four seconds to spare. However, Iacious, the captain of the palace guard, looked at the field of fallen target orbs with disapproval. Although Iacious did nothing but watch the firing practice for an hour, his baldhead glistened with sweat.

  Tem, however, had misinterpreted the guardmaster’s displeasure. Iacious turned not to him, but to Tem’s younger brother.

  “Jesper, you should have done better than this. I don’t think I saw you take aim at all. The two orbs you hit were by sheer luck.”

  Jesper holstered his blaster and set the weapon on the arms table. The nine-year-old raked a sweaty lock of black hair out of his eyes. “There’s no point. The only reason I’m expected to be any good is so Tem has someone to practice with.”

  “How can you expect your brother to reach his full potential if you don’t challenge him?”

  “I don’t enjoy doing this!” Jesper stabbed a finger toward the fallen orbs across the courtyard, and crossed his arms. “I’d like to go back to the library now, if you’re finished with me. I have assignments due.”

  He did not wait for the guardmaster to dismiss him and stormed from the courtyard and into the castle. Tem understood his brother’s frustration. As the second-born son, Jesper would never be a knig
ht no matter how many orbs he shot out of the sky, unless Tem died young.

  “What are you thinking, young one?” Iacious watched Jesper leave, but Tem stood straighter when addressed.

  “I think that placing a child into a vocation based on his birth order is an outdated custom.”

  Iacious gave a single bark of laughter. “But you were born into the right vocation? Such apt speech is an advantage in The Legislative Consortium.”

  Tem shrugged. “I guess.” Then Tem answered the way he had taught to answer. “I was lucky and I love this training… and the duty I owe to the Realm coincided with what I enjoy.”

  Iacious’ mouth curled with amusement. “Are you certain? You’re silver-tongued for an eleven-year-old.”

  “We must prepare a knight for whatever the Realm calls him to do.” Tem moved across the grass toward the weapons table and deposited his practice blaster beside his brothers. “Sometimes the Realm calls us to dinner parties and fineries such as dancing and diplomacy.”

  Iacious picked up the data pad and reviewed the data the target orbs had collected. “Your brother was correct about one thing. You’ve gotten used to doing more than your fair share.” He glanced up at Tem. “Are you ready for the Academy next season?”

  Tem nodded. “With much thanks to you, I am not only willing, but prepared. At least, I hope I am prepared.”

  “I think that is enough for today, Master Tem. Return to your studies.”

  Tem strode through the castle and back to his bedroom. The sea breeze blew through into the open hall, which cooled the sweat on the back of his neck. As Tem passed the library, he considered stopping to talk to Jesper, but thought better of it. His brother resented him enough. Any attempt at reconciliation would only increase Jesper’s bitterness.

  As the eldest child of a noble family, Tem was set apart from the rest of his siblings. According to primogeniture tradition, Tem also inherited the castle, the lands, and the title of his nobility after his mother and father died. Tem inherited the honor to become a knight for the Realm for ten to fifteen years as an adult before accepting his duties and rank his birthright had provided. Jesper, the second of nine, would have to find his own way to serve the family. However, knighthood would have not done any favors to Jesper, who preferred reading numbers and art to physical activities. The rigorous curriculum at Baldock Academy would not suit him. Jesper would do fine at the economic consortium.

  Tem would be heading to the academy at the end of the following season. He practiced and trained as often as he could. His tutors included the captain of the family guard, and a professional academy preparer. He spent more time with Iacious these past few weeks than with his own parents.

  “That place is far too dangerous.” Lady Vilani Blaev’s usually soothing voice had a higher pitch than usual. “I heard the Academy is often brutal and awful, like a prison.”

  “Vilani!” Lord Cleon sounded almost amused. “The scholars exaggerate, as usual.”

  “Couldn’t he wait another year? Perhaps he does not have to attend the academy. Tem can better serve the family and the realm in other ways rather than by fighting and killing. The boy is smart enough for the economic or the legislative consortium. There is no dishonor in that.”

  “There is nothing but a dishonor in that, Vilani! Every healthy and able firstborn serves the Realm as a knight. I knew that. Your brother knew that, and although he was ill-suited to the life, he did his duty, and did well, if I recall.”

  “He made knight, yes.” Vilani sniffed. “But it killed his spirit, he told me. It was there in his eyes. To witness that death, to be complicit to it…”

  Tem froze in the middle of the corridor. He vaguely remembered his Uncle Demaren, who in Tem’s child eyes, seemed large in knight’s regalia, when in fact he was too short and slight for such a life. Tem could not remember his uncle’s eyes, nor the look in them that Vilani described. If he had, perhaps he would not have been so eager to attend the Academy. After Demaren aged out of the knight program, he retired to legislative work before dying in a shuttle accident when Tem was eight.

  “Tem is a born soldier, Vilani. Sending him to the consortium would be akin to making a falcon live in a rabbit hole.”

  The next time his mother spoke, Tem heard a choking sound in her voice. “Let the commoner children learn to be soldiers to protect the Realm. Tem was born into a family of privilege. He does not need to be a soldier.”

  Cleon held his wife’s shoulders. “Starshine, Tem won’t be a soldier. He will be a knight, far above the common soldier. If he is lucky, he may even become a Paladin. Wouldn’t that be a great honor for our house? You and I know that Tem is not well suited for the Economic or Legislative Consortium. He would get bored too fast. He possesses too much energy for a sedentary life. He will just cause trouble if he doesn’t have shoot at something. Jesper is better suited for the Economic Consortium and I have arranged it for Jesper to start his enrollment next year. We have spent many credits and much time allowing Tem, Jesper, and the other boys to train with Iacious. He says they are all exceptional students, but Tem is the best of the bunch.”

  Lady Vilani pulled away from her husband. “Tem is Iacious’ favorite. Had Tem been born to a lower class family, he might grow up to be the captain of the guards in some other noble house, but he was born to us and this family has a long tradition of sending healthy firstborns to the training academy.”

  Tem was an observant, but quiet boy, often appearing dull or oblivious to things around him. He learned more by remaining silent. Tem had noticed how close his mother and Iacious were. They teased and shared certain discrete looks and touches which made him almost certain that they were lovers. Tem wondered if his father knew. He pretended he had no idea what was happening and continued to mind his own business. If he spoke there would be trouble, and he did not want to cause any trouble before he left home.

  Cleon took a deep breath and calmed down. “Starshine, I know you worry about Tem, but you shouldn’t be. He will be fine at the academy. I excelled and became a knight. My father excelled and became a knight, and so on.”

  “But, Cleon…”

  “He isn’t like your brother, Starshine.” With the side of his thumb, Lord Cleon gently stroked a tear-track from Vilani’s cheek. “Let him have it. I recommend you spend the remaining time with him before he is off.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  She spent as much time with Tem as she could, much to the jealousies of the other children, especially Jesper. She attended Tem’s training with Iacious, and most of Tem’s time away from the training grounds he spent walking with his mother down to the estate’s many beaches.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The day came when Tem left for Baldock Academy. Lady Vilani walked her oldest son across the landing strip toward the luxury Blaev vessel that would take him to the school.

  Lord Cleon kept a few paces behind. As an alumnus of the academy, he would accompany Tem on the journey. Cleon gave his wife a few final moments with her son while he was still a child.

  “Are you sure you have enough?” Lady Vilani gave the two small duffel bags Tem carried a doubtful look. “I’m sure it gets colder there. It’s a different climate system.”

  “The Order will give me what I need.” Tem shrugged. “I suspect this is still too much.”

  Lady Vilani stopped him at the base of the family hangar. Tem was tall for his age, and they almost stood eye-to-eye. She wanted to say many things, but she kissed his forehead and smiled.

  “Stay bright,” she said, and hugged him one more time before returning to the palace. Lord Cleon reached for her as she passed, and although she allowed him to touch her, she found no comfort in his arms at that moment.

  During the flight, Lord Cleon regaled (and often bored) his son about his days at the academy, tales recounted with great exuberance and exaggeration.

  The administration instructed the boys not to bring too much. Tem’s own bags contained warm clothes, a data pad, and not
much else. The Baldock Consultant told Tem the academy forced the students who brought too much to haul it around on their backs to understand how personal possessions can crush them. Tem had learned from the Baldock Consultant the family hired, the first lessons of the school were to, “beat the privilege and arrogance out of them.”

  Upon arriving at the academy grounds light years away, the entrance scanned Tem and Lord Cleon Blaev IX and allowed them to pass through the force field.

  Inside the force field, father and son walked the legendary Scottus Trail surrounded by the lush forests to the front doors of the academy. Baldock Academy was modeled after the elite boarding schools of ancient times.

  “Are you sure you brought enough things?” Lord Cleon asked.

  Tem nodded. Other arriving students were having problems with their luggage, even with grav pads underneath.

  The gatekeepers instructed Tem to move to the right and his father to move to the left through the opened the doors of the castle.

  Cleon stopped his son for some parting words of advice. “Tem, I want you to know your training will be difficult and often frustrating. Everyone who has passed through these gates has experienced the same emotions for many generations. When that happens to you, call home and we will help you. We want you to succeed here.” Cleon placed a hand on his oldest son’s shoulder. “Do us proud, son.”

  Tem nodded. They embraced before going their separate ways. Tem proceeded through the sorting process, and his father joined a reunion party for the alumni. The boy understood his father was more at home with men and women of his rank and station than he was with the people at home.

  His first glance at those students intimidated him. All of them looked so much bigger than he, and Tem feared he would become lost among them or trampled in the shuffle.

  A large message painted over the dining hall read, Only a person of true gentleness can be trusted to protect the Realm.

  The administration’s sorters placed Tem in Astaatre House, named after an ancestor of his mother’s, and they instructed Tem to report to Astaare House, find his room, put away his things, dress in a house uniform, and report to the dormitory common room of the for a message from the prefect. Tem obeyed. He sat on the bench in the middle of the common room and waited. Soon, other students piled around him.