by Eric Warren
“You do know that you just paid off a crime lord, don’t you? All that money will go to people who build themselves up on the backs of others. Who make others suffer…” he paused, ensuring he wouldn’t throw up. “…needlessly.”
“I was told whatever it takes,” Evie reiterated. “And yes, that included paying off a few criminals.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Cas replied.
They reached the hangar bay as Cas’s headache kicked in. Veena’s workers swarmed the ship, replacing panels and wiring parts together. Off to the left of the ship was a pile of worn and damaged components. Box sat in front of the ship in a fold-out chair, his metal legs resting on a transportation crate while the holovid in front of him showed that stupid show he’d been watching.
“Box,” Cas said as they approached.
“Huh?”
“Box look at me.”
Box reached over and turned the holo off, turning to face them. “Oh Kor!” he yelled. “You look terrible! Why’d you want me to look at that? I was enjoying my show.”
Evie stifled a chuckle while Cas approached him. “Are they almost done?” he asked, indicating the ship.
“Hm? Oh.” Box turned to watch the workers. “They’re ninety-two percent done. Boss,” he said suddenly serious. “They pulled a lot of stuff out of the holds. I watched them carry it away.”
“I know.”
“We could have been rich off that stuff.”
“I know, Box.”
“Could have traveled the stars for years! Made it out to Omicron Terminus and back again.” He was staring up at the ceiling twenty meters above them.
“Yes. Had either of us thought to look we could have done that.” Cas held his stomach a moment. “As it is we’re going back to the Coalition.”
“But you said—”
Cas put his hands up. “I don’t care what I said. We’re going. For two days. Then we’re out. Got it?”
“Got it, boss.” His yellow eyes dimmed, indicating disappointment. Cas doubted Evie even noticed. It was something you only picked up if you were around ‘bots a while.
Cas turned to Evie. “This is Lieutenant Commander Diazal,” he said. “Evie, this is my…traveling companion Box.”
To her credit, Evie held out her hand. Box examined it a minute then took it, giving it one shake. “That’s rare,” he said.
“What’s that?” Evie asked.
“Not many people are willing to shake a robot’s hand. Most think I’ll crush it with my mammoth strength! Others are just assholes,” he said.
“I’ve worked with artificial life forms in the past,” Evie said. “You’re no different to me than Mr. Robeaux here.”
“I hope I’m a little different!” Box exclaimed. “He smells like Moogar excrement!”
Cas rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll go shower. I assume the water pressure is working.”
Box activated the holo again except this time a manifest showed up. “The pressure is…yes, you’re clear to clean your balls, boss.”
Cas turned to Evie. “Ignore him. He has an unhealthy obsession with genitals.” Cas began walking toward the ship.
“No more unhealthy than humans!” Box called after him.
Evie caught up beside him. “Maybe you could show me where I’m staying. That way I can stay out of your way until we’re ready to leave.”
Cas reached the ramp to the ship, placing his hand on one of the struts. He took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He turned to Evie. “Follow me.” Leading her up the ramp he took a right when they were past the second lock to the ship, down the primary corridor. “It’ll take at least five days to get to Coalition space from here,” Cas said, passing the hab suites. When he reached the last one he pressed his thumb to the pad beside the door which slid open. “So make yourself comfortable.”
“I know how far it is. I flew here,” she said, stepping into the room. It wasn’t the nicest suite on the ship because he wasn’t about to give a Coalition officer his best accommodation. She was lucky he didn’t put her in an escape pod and tow her behind them.
The room was sparse, but functional. Not unlike Cas’s room. Except the window was on the other side. “This will be fine, thank you,” Evie said, removing her sword and laying it on the bed.
“We have limited food supplies, but it will be enough to get us there. Use the kitchen if you need it. I’ll stay out of your way if you agree to stay out of mine,” he added.
“Agreed. I’ll be fine in here.”
“Great,” Cas said sarcastically. “Just great. I’m so glad we’re doing this.” He left her at the entryway, heading back to his own suite. All he wanted to do was lie down. He didn’t want to shower. He didn’t want to clean up. He didn’t even want to think. He just wanted to try not to think about the mistake he was in the process of making. Not thinking about it was the best thing he could do for himself at the moment.
As the door opened the pungent smell of day-old vomit hit him and he doubled over, retching in the hallway.
“Is everything alright?” Evie asked from her doorway down the hall.
“Fine, fine.” He waved a hand behind him as he was still bent over. “Just stay over there. I’ve got it.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, under control.” When he didn’t hear anything else he assumed she’d returned to her suite. Cas tapped his comm. “Box get up here and help me clean up this mess.”
“What mess, boss?”
“The one in my room. And now the hallway,” he said, his throat burning.
“Drank too much again, huh?” Box asked.
Cas didn’t respond. Instead, he cut the comm and ventured into his room, pulling the soiled sheets off the bed and balling them up. He took them down the corridor to the lock, down the ramp and out into the garage, tossing them on top of the rest of the discarded equipment. Box came up behind him.
“I need you to print me a new set of sheets,” Cas said. “Before we leave. Use the station’s power.”
Box leaned down, putting his hand on Cas’s shoulder. “Are you sure we should do this?” he asked. “Why not just leave?”
Cas turned back to the ship as if he could see right through it. Right through to where Evie was probably sitting on the bed, wondering how she’d gotten herself into this situation. “Because I can’t run forever,” Cas replied.
11
Cas approached the door to Evie’s room, pressing the button beside the door causing a chime to ring inside the room.
“Just a minute,” she called.
He waited, wondering why he’d made the effort to come all the way down here when he could have sent a message through the comm. The door slid open to reveal her in her full Coalition uniform. He hadn’t seen her bring it aboard but it made sense. She’d probably returned to the shuttle again before they’d left Devil’s Gate while Cas was sleeping off his hangover on his sheet-less bed smelling of vomit.
“We’re half an hour out,” he said. “Just wanted to make sure you knew.”
“I knew,” she said.
Cas looked past her to see she’d hung the sword on one of the small hooks on the wall. “You going to take that thing back into Coalition space?”
She paused a moment, her eyes flickering back and forth over his face. “Not that it’s any of your business but yes. It will go back into my personal storage.”
“Not exactly Coalition-issue,” he said. “I expect most citizens don’t appreciate an officer walking around with a tool that slices off heads.”
She chuckled. “No. It’s just for infiltration. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have a family heirloom at my side. Helps keep me grounded.” She stared at him as if waiting for him to say something else. Why had he come down here?
“Anything I should know before we arrive? I don’t want to be shot down once we get in the Starbase perimeter.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You know about that? Don’t worry, I’ve already transmitt
ed our description. They know we’re coming.”
“Did you get that agreement in writing yet?” he asked.
Evie tapped the back of her hand twice and Cas’s comm unit beeped. He grabbed it, glancing at the document it’d just downloaded. “Official Coalition letterhead and all.” He closed the document and replaced the comm back in his pocket. “I’m not stupid. I know once I’m on that base you can keep me there. But I’m trusting you’ll keep your word. Don’t make me regret that decision.”
She watched him, her eyes scanning his face. “You’re not the only one going out on a limb here. How do I know you don’t have some plan devised once you get on the station to sabotage it? You clearly know what you’re doing in that department. For all I know you could completely disable our closest defense to Sargan space.”
Cas almost laughed. He hadn’t considered sabotaging the station until she’d brought it up. But stations like that were different than a simple shuttle. Not that he couldn’t do it, but it would be a much more complex and lengthy procedure. “I have a feeling that’s going to be pretty hard with guards watching my back every minute.”
“You know an awful lot about Coalition procedure,” she said, staring at him under lowered lids. Somehow with her uniform on she looked taller. Cleaner. Cas supposed that’s what the Coalition did to people. Polished them up and spat them out.
Cas shrugged it off. “I know a lot about a lot of things,” he said, turning to head down the hallway. “Oh.” He turned back. “When we get there, make sure they don’t mess with my ship or my robot. I’m fond of both.”
She nodded. “You have my word.”
Cas continued down the hall. “It had better be worth something,” he muttered under his breath. He returned to the cockpit where Box was monitoring the undercurrent. “How’s she looking?”
“I think we’ll get through with a clean run. No trenches detected so far. And we’ve only got another four minutes in undercurrent space.” For once Box was paying attention to what he was doing instead of watching some program.
“How far from the station will we be when we exit the current?”
Half a second later, Box answered, “Eight-hundred thousand kilometers. Another fifteen, twenty minutes to the station itself.”
Out in the distance Cas could see the Station, hanging in the blackness of space like a child’s mobile, held up by an invisible string. It was like a giant white hourglass. At least from this angle. A wide, flat cone at the very top, thinning in the middle then expanding again down at the bottom. In the middle of the spire various pods and instruments were attached, each was specifically there for a purpose and could be removed or changed out as necessary.
A deep loathing welled up in the depths of his core. This was crazy. He should have just left Evie back with the Sargans and fled to an uncharted sector of space. Get out of the local area. Maybe he would have died in the blackness of the void. But at least he wouldn’t have to live with this fear permeating his system.
“You must have impressed Veena,” Box said, pulling Cas from his thoughts.
“What?”
“This new equipment, she set you up with some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen. Brand new thrust controllers, top-of-the-line undercurrent emitter, platinum coated actuators. The ship has probably never run so well. Not since you’ve owned it anyway.”
Cas furrowed his brow. “Did you happen to talk to any of the installation crew while they were working?”
Box fell silent a moment. “No. I felt it was much better to just let them work and stay out of their way.”
“You mean you’d rather watch vid programs than do your job.” Cas took a deep breath. “Why would she go to the trouble? She wasn’t happy about my leaving. At least, not until the end.”
Box’s shoulders jumped up. “Maybe your new owner paid her good money for you.”
Cas exhaled through his nose, willing himself not to take the bait. “Whatever the reason, stay on guard. I don’t want to be caught by surprise out here.”
“Always, boss,” Box replied.
***
Cas found he couldn’t return to the sanctuary of his room. Every day they’d been in underspace the room had felt smaller, more closed-in. What had once been a place he could take refuge now felt like a flying cage. He’d spent more time in the kitchen and cockpit than normal, taking time to enjoy it while he could. There was no telling what would happen once they reached the station, but with any luck he and Box leave in a few days. Unless this had all been a giant setup.
He paced the hallways while Box initiated docking procedures. They’d come into the station’s perimeter without issue and had been granted clearance. It should have made him feel better Evie had been truthful about that part but somehow it didn’t. Piloting the ship into the docking bay had felt like just another set of bars closing down on him.
He’d managed to find some clean clothes for once. It was nothing more than a cotton shirt and his pocket trousers. He’d even rummaged in the back of his closet and retrieved his jacket, the one he’d gotten from his brief time with Liss. If he thought about it hard enough, he could even still catch her scent on the fabric.
Evie stepped out of her room carrying a small bag and the sword in one hand. “Have we landed?” she asked.
“Box is finishing the procedures now. Tell your friends if they plan on searching my ship to not break anything. I have some valuable artifacts in here and I don’t need Coalition fingerprints all over them.”
She flashed him a side-eye. “I’ll see what I can do.”
The ship shuddered and Cas recognized the sound of the exhaust systems purging their excess thrust. They had landed. “Box?” he called.
“Yeah, boss?”
“You’re coming with us, let’s go.”
There was a loud thump and Box came trotting down the hall. “A field trip!” His eyes flashed in excitement. Cas pressed the button to lower the main ramp from the primary lock. Evie took a step for the door but he took her arm, stopping her.
“Don’t make me regret this,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice from shaking.
“You can trust me,” she replied.
He nodded and let go, following her down the ramp and out the second lock into the vast space, Box close behind him.
When they exited, he couldn’t help but be impressed by it all. After five years of seeing nothing but barely-maintained Sargan ports of call, the pristine station of the Coalition was a breath of fresh air. Unlike the landing pad at Devils’ Gate, ships weren’t crammed in the bay like sardines. The closest shuttle was a good thirty meters away and everything was clearly marked and easy to follow. They had landed on pad Charlie Sigma seventeen. A crew of four started their external check of the ship, as was standard procedure when a non-Coalition vessel docked. They checked for anything hazardous or any potential problems with the ship itself, which they would then present to the pilot upon their departure.
Smug bastards.
Evie handed her bag and sword off to an enlisted crew member in a gray jumpsuit and gray hat. He saluted her before taking her goods then trotted off in a different direction. “Let’s go,” she said. “We’ll head through the civilian sector. It’s the quickest way to the admiral’s office.”
“Perfect!” Box exclaimed, following along. “I was planning on going there anyway. Do you know how many drama programs I can download while we’re here?” he asked. “And they’re all free! My processors are gonna be full!”
“Yes,” Cas said, “Free.” He glanced up to the ceiling of the shuttlebay; a good twenty meters above them. He couldn’t detect a bit of, dirt, dust, or exhaust anywhere. Just like it was supposed to be. Sterile. He turned to Evie. “I’m surprised we didn’t have an escort waiting for us at the bottom of the ramp.” Though it was standard procedure with potentially hostile vessels.
“I told them I could handle it. Think of it as a peace offering,” she said, maintaining her focus forward as they walked
to the closest hypervator.
“That’s very generous,” Cas said.
She didn’t reply, only stopped at the door to the hypervator, pressing a button beside the door. Cas took a last glance back at his ship, hoping it wasn’t the last time he’d see her. He couldn’t help but stare past her at the starfield beyond the protective force field. Cas sighed, turning back to the hyper that had just arrived.
“Main concourse,” Evie announced as soon as the three of them were inside. She glanced at Cas. “Here we go.”
12
As the doors opened again Cas steeled himself for what lay ahead. The reality of the situation sank in. He was on a Coalition station. By choice. Being escorted by a Coalition officer. This was insane. He’d lost his mind.
Before him was a long, wide corridor with shops on both sides. The corridor curved out of sight, following the natural curve of the station. In some ways it was like Devil’s Gate, and in other ways it was the complete opposite. For one, the concourse was much wider, about fifty meters, giving people plenty of space. No one was in any danger of running into anyone else here. Fountains of different liquids lined the center of the concourse, each demonstrating a different show. Above them a glass atrium curved over the entire concourse and beyond was nothing but stars. The concourse only had one level but above the shops on both sides were massive planters filled with flora from at least thirty different worlds.
It felt like a dungeon to Cas.
“There it is!” Box squealed. It came out as a garbled yowl. He took off toward one of the shops and Evie and Cas had to run to keep up with him.
“What is he doing?” Evie yelled.
“He found the entertainment store,” Cas replied.
Box was already inside at the counter. He’d dropped an uplink cord on the counter with a thud. “Fill it up,” he said.
The attendant peered around him at Cas and Evie entering the store. “Ma’am?” he asked.
Evie nodded. “It’s fine.”
“What, you have to get permission to download entertainment now?” Cas asked.