by Kate Kyle
"You said you've got some useful info?" she asked.
"Not sure if it's useful, but I do have information about your target. She's heading to the Close-Range port."
"Here?" Rutger asked.
"No, this is the main Space Port," Jax replied. "I've no idea-"
"On the other side of the station," SingMa explained. "It's a much smaller port where they oversee local shuttles."
"Local shuttles? So where is she heading? For a picnic on Neptune?" Jax asked.
"I've no idea where she may be heading, but she's asked for clearance to leave the station."
"What do you mean 'clearance?'" Jax asked. "As in to fly off?"
"Yes. She'll be leaving in a shuttle. I've managed to …" SingMa said and paused, clearly for effect. "… see a message giving her the clearance. But I don't think she can leave."
Jax stared at SingMa. People could be so tiring…
"I'm not really good at reading minds," Jax said simply. "Could you just tell me why she can't leave even if she's been cleared? Do you realize she's here on special terms?"
SingMa's dropped mouth indicated that she might have not been fully aware of Lulu's status in RR, but his voice was still excited.
"She might be allowed to leave the station, but the port she's heading for has been closed since they brought the researchers from Vindolanda back. The RR authorities have to quarantine the whole section."
"I wouldn't be surprised if she's heading to Vindolanda," Rutger joined in. "That's exactly where I'd be going if I was her."
SingMa shifted his baffled gaze from Rutger to Jax.
"You seem to know at least as much as I do," SingMa said. "You told me you were looking for her because she stole your tablet. Did you lie to me?"
Was there a hint of threat in his voice, or only disappointment?
"I didn't lie to you."
"Yes, that's true. Lulu Zhou does have Jax' tablet with all her valuables," Rutger offered. "And it's true that we may know more than you suspect. If the Rebels are allowing Lulu to use the quarantined shuttle, we need to follow her to Vindolanda."
"But she can't fly a shuttle," SingMa said, loudly. "I know Quinshan, I mean Lulu Zhou. She can't fly a shuttle by herself. She has no piloting credentials or experience, and she was involved in a piloting accident that claimed the life of her husband. It left her traumatized. And she's heading there alone, since she declined an escort. How is she going to reach Vindolanda?"
Jax wheezed in a breath.
"I believe that I, for a change, can shed some light on this one," Jax said. That particular piece of the puzzle had finally dropped into place. "Ignoring the trauma, which can be overcome with drug therapy, no doubt, she can fly the shuttle by herself with the credentials and info stored on my device."
Darn it! There goes my tablet!
15
Jax
Jax hesitated before stepping onto the flight deck. She should probably get into her full piloting gear, including the suit. The ship's comms were still powered down, as was the main computer. Besides, she was in the RR controlled space and they didn't care if she was pregnant or not.
Oh, gosh… she wasn't pregnant anymore, although her blood still contained a heightened level of hormones typical for pregnancy, and it would continue to do so for a while, she was most definitely not pregnant anymore.
She smiled with relief.
"Hey, Captain," Rutger's voice brought her back to the present. "Back to the station."
"Sorry," she said and paused. She had no valid excuse, so she gave none. "Can we reach her before she flies off the station?"
"If we hurry," SingMa said. "Do you, guys have your own transpo, besides the ship, of course?"
"Why not this ship?" Rutger asked.
"Because it's too big to fly to Vindolanda station. We need a smaller craft. A shuttle should be perfect," SingMa explained.
"Why don't we just grab one?" Jax joined in, turning on her heels to head back to the elevator.
"All shuttles are docked in the Close-Range port," SingMa said. "And quarantined," he added.
"Why?" Jax asked, stopping by her pilot seat.
Couldn't he just explain all at once. How many more probing questions did she need to ask in order to understand the situation?
"They might be unsafe to fly," SingMa replied.
"So why is Lulu flying one of them?" Rutger asked.
"One would assume that she thinks it is safe enough to fly. Or, alternatively, the potential benefits from using the shuttle outweigh the costs of doing so."
Jax blew out her cheeks.
"Stop faffing, for goodness' sake," she snapped. "She's under way. We've already lost enough time. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, as the ancient saying goes. Let's go." She headed towards the elevator. "I need to get my gear from the cabin. You get prepared, too. Meet you at the lock in five."
SingMa shouted something in reply, but Jax didn't catch it. The door to the elevator closed smoothly behind her.
She didn't care what he said. She was ready for action, and they'd already wasted far too much time.
Two and a half minutes later she was by the lock, and they were both waiting for her.
"How are we getting there?" Jax asked, checking for the umpteenth time the teaser on her hip. She'd never forget that she'd had to use it on Lulu only a standard seven earth days ago. Which was her first use on a real, live person without the person's consent.
She hoped that Rutger, her only witness to the event, hadn't realized.
"Not by the train, I hope," she added.
"I've got a minicar," SingMa explained. "Just outside the gate."
"Which is a magical FTL unicorn, I hope," she said, pushing the button to open the lock door. "Otherwise, we'll never catch up the time we've wasted talking about going after her." Her hands itched, and her legs were getting jerky - no doubt signs of adrenaline buzzing through her system.
Action. Let's do something!
She pushed through the gap in the door while it was still opening. Ordinarily, the ship would have beeped a warning, but not with the computer system down.
"We need a plan," SingMa protested.
"Agreed," Rutger chipped in.
Jax picked up the pace.
"Let's talk about it in the car," she said. "By the gate, you said?"
She didn't hear SingMa's reply, but it only took the two men a few seconds to catch up with her.
"So, what's the plan, Captain?" Rutger asked, emerging by her left side. He wasn't even short of breath. It seemed like he had, indeed, prepared well for his mission.
"Point one: find Lulu Zhou. Point two: catch her. Point three: gain the upper hand over her. Point four: get my device from her. Point five: leave promptly," she fired off. "You?"
She could hear Rutger wheezing in a breath. Maybe from shock, but maybe form the fast pace.
"I'd like to add a point four-and-a-half: Force her to disclose what she knows about the red balloon," Rutger said.
"As long as it doesn't interfere with point four," Jax said.
Was that good enough teamwork?
"What about me?" a voice from the back piped in. "Reminder: the current vehicle is at my disposal, and I know how to get to the port."
"I bet it's self-driving and the port is on the menu," Jax snapped back.
"But only I have the user code," SingMa replied. "These vehicles are not available to visitors."
Jax stopped a step away from the gate. The said vehicle: a bullet-shaped capsule with four comfy-looking seats and a translucent upper section was indeed waiting.
SingMa had a point.
"Okay, state your price," she said, glancing over her shoulders.
SingMa, clearly unused to so much physical exercise trotted up to Jax and Rutger. His face was reddish.
"I want to go with Professor Zhou," he said, puffing.
"To that condemned station?" Rutger stared at him.
"How do you know it's condemned
?" Jax cut in.
"It was in the notes she's got," Rutger replied.
"How long has it been condemned for?" She must have missed that.
"Since the researchers were brought back in," Rutger replied. "Are we climbing in?"
"Yes," SingMa finally managed to gasp an answer. "To both."
He opened the minicar and they piled in.
Since the vehicle was assigned to SingMa, he sat at the control panel and tapped in the destination.
Jax took one of the back seats and pointed Rutger to the other front seat, but he already climbed into the back alongside her.
Bummer.
She was stuck with company.
"Why do you want to go with her?" Rutger asked as soon as the car started moving.
"I've got my reasons," SingMa replied.
"So have we. I suppose you want to fly with her in the same shuttle?" Rutger carried on.
SingMa shifted in his seat to look at Rutger. His dark face seemed two shades paler than earlier. No doubt, his cardio-vascular system had returned to its normal function.
"Fly?" he said, his voice hoarse. "I can't fly a shuttle."
"You can program an autopilot on," Jax explained. "Besides, isn't she flying the shuttle using my credentials?"
"Aren't you taking that away from her?" Rutger cut in.
Shoot! The meaning of the conversation had just dawned on her.
"Yes, I'm taking that tablet away from her, if I can. Assuming we get there on time." Hopefully this was clear enough. "But why do you want to go with Lulu to the research station?"
"I want to see the station," SingMa explained, "but I can't fly a shuttle. Can you lend me your tablet once we've wrestled it away from Professor Zhou? I'd like to emphasize the word 'we' in that sentence. I'll help get it back, then you give me the tablet."
Jax glared at him, as words failed her.
Rutger glanced at her. The shadow of a smile appeared on his long face.
"I want to go, too," he said.
"You're very welcome," Jax said.
Rutger cleared his throat. He was looking at her… expectantly.
"What?" Jax snapped. "You're a grown-up. Don't tell me you can't fly shuttles either-"
"Actually, I could probably manage something simple, although I'm obviously not a pilot with credentials. But that's not the point," Rutger replied. "You owe me a favor. I need your help for this mission, and this is the moment to pay the favor back."
Ah, here we go again…
"Same here," SingMa chipped in. "This mission is all about teamwork."
Bummer…
She should never have offered her skills or her time.
"What's gotten into you?" She turned to Rutger. "The station is condemned for a reason. Why do you want to risk going there?"
That was obviously a side issue, but it bought her time to consider her options.
"I think that Vindolanda is relevant to my investigation, and I want to see the station, too." Rutger replied.
"Simple," Jax shrugged. "You two go."
"You seem to be missing a very important, logical point, DuneCat," SingMa said quietly.
"Call me Jax, we're not in the game," she interrupted. She could see the wave coming. She'd already lost the battle.
"Jax," SingMa corrected himself. "You're smart enough to know that you're the only one with the flying credentials and skills."
Jax crossed her arms over her chest. She'd been pushed into a corner.
"Okay. Fine. We get the tablet off her and you can borrow it," she said. That was the last exchanged favor deal she'd ever make, without knowing exactly what the said favor included.
The car filled with silence and darkness as the vehicle entered a long, unlit hallway.
"You've missed the fact that we cannot fly," SingMa said.
"And that the deal includes your presence," added Rutger.
Jax's heart accelerated. Blood hummed in her head. Did they conspire to zoom in on her? She closed her eyes. Thank goodness for the darkness – her travel companions couldn't see her face, or could hear her thoughts. She wanted to scream swearwords she'd never ever uttered before and slam her fists on the plastic covering the car. But that would be too dramatic, and Jax hated dramatics. So, she took a deep breath instead.
"Assuming we get the tablet back at all," she said. "She could be already gone."
"Light on," SingMa said, and the vehicle filled with dim light. He then tapped on his forearm, blinked and rolled his eyes back.
Jax tensed, confused.
"You've got those fancy lenses, right?" Rutger asked.
Oh, these annoying Europeans. Always showing off their knowledge.
But why wasn't as much information about the new technologies filtering through to the PanAm sphere?
In PanAm, few people knew how much more advanced the other parts of the world had become while PanAm Confederation sat in their little corner, licking their, mostly self-inflicted, wounds, trying to build a better world for themselves.
"Yeah, CorneaVis," SingMa replied. "It takes some time getting used to. I preferred the glasses, but you've got to move with the progress."
"Do you still use glasses?" Rutger asked. "Actually, I'm surprised to see you still need external interfaces. The rumor is that Segedunians have their brain implants with everything built-in."
"You probably mean Gen 2.0, with a truly internal input and output," SingMa replied, looking away, likely busy with whatever he was using his implants for. "That's not yet the case. Gen 2.0 implants are still being developed but we all have Gen 1.3."
"Still a step ahead of Earthians. We're stuck on Gen 1.2, with glasses and other external interfaces,” Rutger said.
"Do you get this stuff, too, in Europe?" Jax asked.
"Sadly, no," Rutger replied.
"Not even the richy-rich-riches?"
"No. It's not compatible with the 1.2 implants. Rebels are keeping the best stuff to themselves," Rutger pointed at SingMa, who blinked again. "And keeping their cards close to their chests, just like with the fusion engines."
"Got her," SingMa said, breaking a tense silence that followed Rutger's comment. "She's tracking along one of the Service Lanes. A couple of minutes ahead of us."
"Can you speed this thing up?" Rutger asked.
"No. The controls are all built-in," the man replied.
"Even you can't hack it?" Jax snapped.
"Even me. Safety reasons. But she'll be slowed down with the boarding procedure anyway. We may still reach her on time. But returning to the question I haven't got the answer to – are you flying me to Vindolanda?"
"Flying us," Rutger cut in. "I'm in, too, don't forget."
Jax braced herself. Hadn't she been clear enough? Did they really have to rub it all in?
"I did promise you something, didn't I?" she said.
Simply saying 'yes' to the joint quest was beyond her. Suffice to agree, right?
"Great. Welcome on board, Jax," Rutger said. "You'll kill two birds with one stone."
"Two insects would be a more appropriate metaphor," Jax said grumpily.
"Two insects?" Rutger winked. "I thought it was an entire swarm."
SingMa's face drained of blood.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"About what?" Rutger asked.
"The swarms?"
Rutger pursed his lips.
"I have my sources," he said. "Supposedly secret, but obviously you know about it, too."
SingMa's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
"It is top-secret. At least, it was the last time I checked."
Jax stared at Rutger and then at SingMa.
"What the heck are you getting us into? What's so top-secret?" she demanded.
"The RR's research. No, the swarms… Or maybe just the sickness…" SingMa rambled.
"I thought this was Si-Carb's research, the swarm-like alien entity," Rutger said slowly.
"No," SingMa said quietly. His dark face paled, and his high f
orehead glistened. "I've no idea how you've arrived at your conclusions, but obviously you know enough already. This is not public knowledge-"
"Yes, we do," Rutger interrupted. "Cut to the chase."
SingMa wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"It started at Vindolanda," he said slowly, his voice trembled lightly. "Vindolanda's a government sponsored research station. The scientists realized they were dealing with something they had never seen before, and they asked the government for help. But by the time the government could come up with some ideas, it was too late."
"Which is when the scientists had to be evacuated?" Rutger asked.
SingMa nodded.
"They're still in Si-Carb clinic. The whole thing got hushed-hushed. Even when I tried to raise some concerns, I was told to mind my own business," SingMa said quietly.
"Sounds like the good 'ol PanAmConf," Jax commented. "I thought RR was supposed to be transparent."
"We are. But somehow… I'm not sure," SingMa replied. "I felt this whole thing was covered up. And…" His voice broke off. His eyes filled with moisture. "One of the scientists was… is a good friend of mine… She's been … I…" he stopped a swallowed hard.
The minicar filled with silence.
"I see," Jax was the first to break it. "So, you're doing this for a friend."
"Yes, and for all the other scientists, and my fellow Rebels, but maybe even anyone else. Who knows what this entity is."
"And you're doing it for humanity, right?" Jax addressed Rutger.
"Whoa, Captain. That's a big word you've just used."
"Okay, so who for?" she backed off.
"Fine, for humanity, if you like," he snapped back. "Is that good enough?"
"Sure, as long as it's genuine," she replied. "Any purpose is good if it's genuine and helps at least one person without harming anyone."
Rutger watched her carefully.
She shifted in her seat. She didn't need his piercing glance to know, how her motivation for the entire escapade paled in comparison. But the stupid tablet was her entire life.
Her entire, empty, drifting life, so deprived of goals bigger than meeting her immediate needs.