Red Star Sheriff

by Timothy Purvis

  “Ta hell wit’ that cowardly sumbitch!” her mother scowled as they walked down the hospital corridor. “Ya jus’ come home wit’ us’n we’ll take care o’ya!”

  Amelia paused and looked up to her mom with a smile. “Mom, I can’t go tearing off back to the Wastelands. I have a life here.”

  Her mother frowned. “Some life. Playin’ filly ta some smarmy senator who was gonna fire ya fer protectin’ his ass. Ah say ta hell wit’ all these huuks! Ain’ nothin’ but a waste o’breath! Shoot ever’ last one o’em given half a chance!”

  “Mom, please listen. This is my home. Curt’s home too. I know I love it here.” Amelia sighed. “It might be grimy and a little bit seedy, but by serving in the Senatorial Chambers, I can work my way up to a position where maybe I can even get a place on Earth.”

  Her mother guffawed. “Who in their gawddamn right mind would want ta live on Earth!?”

  “Are you suggesting I’m not in my right mind?”

  The grin on her mother’s face was almost feral. “Well, ya did leap outtuva window on the ninety-seventh floor, sweetie.”

  Amelia waved her off and started walking again. “Yeah, yeah.”

  A chuckle issued forth from her father and brother lagging behind the two of them. Curtis grinned. “I think mom has you there, sis.”

  “I don’t want to hear it from you too.”

  “I agree with you, though,” Curtis said. “I have a lot going on in Tulley’s Peak and around the domains. My job takes me all over. I may even be able to serve on a colonial cruiser someday. All sorts of risks they face!”

  Their father nodded. “Kent fault ya there. Neither o’ya. What say we git these kids back home? Pretty sure the threat is dead now.”

  Their mother chuckled. “Very dead. Probably safe now, ah reckon.”

  “Well, don’t go rushing off just yet,” Amelia paused again and looked from her father to mother. “Why don’t we go out and get something to eat? We hardly see each other anymore.”

  “Ah don’ know, sweetie,” her mother said. “We’re not exactly dressed fer big city eatin’. They’d probably frown’n kick us out second they saw us.”

  Amelia laughed. “I know this rustic little restaurant on the bay that specializes in Wastelander cuisine. Bet they wouldn’t even notice.”

  “What d’ya think?” Her mother looked to their father and saw he was looking past her. He lowered his eyes and jutted his chin beyond.

  Amelia turned to look with her mother too. At the end of the corridor they saw the young Chuhukon woman from before, still wearing her red duster and holding her Grey Lance between both hands. She was standing silently, waiting. For a brief moment, Amelia thought she might be there to check up on her. Then her mother raised a hand to them.

  “Wait here fer a sec.” Then she walked towards the woman.

  The two spoke for several long moments and Amelia saw her mother wearing one of those looks that suggested business was yet concluded and more needed to be done.

  “Damn…” Amelia shook her head fighting the choked sensation in her throat. “Really wish we had just a normal family that didn’t have to run off and get into gunfights all the time.”

  Her father rubbed her back, but said nothing. Her mother soon turned towards them and returned. The Chuhukon woman left. Amelia frowned wondering what was going on and suspecting her parents were leaving them once more. Well, maybe Curt will want to grab some grubbage then.

  Her mother came back. “Looks like we’re gonna hafta postpone that dinner, after all.”

  “What’s going on?” her father inquired.

  “Aidele wants ta powwow ‘bout a certain general,” her mother crossed her arms and forced a smile as she spoke. “We’re gonna take ya two home. An’, ah promise, once we’re done wit’ this business, we’ll come back’n git all dolled up so’s ya ken take us out on the town.”

  “How long will this business take?”

  “Kent say fer sure, Amelia. But hopefully not as long as it sounded.” Her mother exhaled and uncrossed her arms. “Awright, let’s git ya two home. We ken drop ya off first, sweetie. Then take ya back ta Tulley’s, Curt.”

  “If it’s all the same to you guys,” Curtis smiled, “I think I’ll keep an eye on Ami until you two get back. So, we can go straight to her apartment.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter, Curt.”

  Curtis shook his head. “We’ve already been through a lot today. And knowing I had someone looking to kill me… Well, the company would be nice.”

  Amelia smiled and nodded. She understood exactly what he meant. It had been a trying day and maybe having someone to pass the time with until she knew their parents were safe wasn’t such a bad idea. “Okay. Maybe I could use some company too.”

  Their mother chuckled. “Show us where yer apartment is then.”

  Amelia grinned and led the way.

  AIDELE ANSWERED THE door and found Asta and Drevan waiting. The time display on the back wall said it was half past five. They were early, but that was fine. After getting back, Durante had insisted she sleep some. At first, she resisted. However, as soon as she laid down for maybe a short nap (so she told herself), she’d fallen into a deep sleep. That was probably just after ten. And she’d only been up for the last fifteen minutes, demonstrating how much she’d needed that sleep. Still, she was exhausted. They still didn’t have a plan of attack and Aidele hoped Asta and Drevan had some ideas because that feeling of being out of time was stronger than ever. There was a sense that, if they didn’t put Berricks down soon, they’d all be Union folk by the weekend and expected to swear fealty to their president.

  “Hey, welcome to my humble abode,” Aidele said gesturing for them to enter. They stepped inside still wearing their Wastelander gear making her feel out of place in a pair of dress pants and a scrunchy blouse she’d found in her father’s closet. Apparently, her mother had a stash of every article of clothing wherever she’d went.

  “Awright,” Asta started coming to a stop just inside. Drevan looked around the apartment common room like he’d never seen anything so fancy in his life. “We’re here. What’s the plan? Storm the ship, kill the fuck?”

  “Well, that’s mah plan. But Grandfather thinks we need something a little more substantial than that,” Aidele grinned at Grandfather where he sat on the couch.

  He flipped through her father’s journal and looked up to raise a brow. “One should never run headlong into a conflict with no idea how to get out of it in one piece.”

  Asta crossed her arms and walked into the center of the room taking in a lay of the place, Drevan right behind her. He stopped upon seeing an easy chair recliner. He walked over to it and there was an audible sigh from him as he sat down with a broad smile and triggered the reclining footrest.

  “This’s a nice chair. Ah need one o’these.” He nodded to himself.

  “Pretty high end, Aidele. How’d ya git it?” Asta’s eyes darted all around the room before settling on Aidele.

  “It was mah father’s. An’ since ah ain’ got nowhere else ta go, ah figure ah ken use it fer a spell. Besides, the Holdings Bureau said it had been bequeathed to me. So, I took it.”

  Asta nodded sagely as Durante entered the room to greet their visitors. He went to shake hands.

  “Hi! I’m Durante! A pleasure to meet you two!”

  Asta gave a slight smile. “Good ta finally meet face ta face. Though, we know who ya are, obviously. What with that whole huntin’ business’n all.”

  “Don’ take us huntin’ ya personal, though,” Drevan said taking the proffered hand into a firm grip. “First, it was only fer the money. Then, well, din’t exactly git a choice in the matter.”

  “Hey, hey, no. I get it. I do. Just glad you guys are on our side now!”

  “Ah’m jus’ doin’ this cuz ah owe…” Asta glanced at Aidele and bit her lower lip. “Ah owe Aidele’s family fer the wrongs ah brought ‘em.”

  “Well, for right now, we’re just discus
sing what our options are. Not looking to take you away from your family and wrong them in the process,” Aidele responded.

  Asta shook her head. “We got yer back, Aidele. Our children gonna be fine, no matter what we decide here. They got good heads on their shoulders’n more smarts’n us at their age. Sides, we owe the general our personal attention after the hospitality he done already showed us.”

  “Ayup,” Drevan leaned forward and retracted the footrest. “Yer gonna need extra guns, ‘sides. Both Asta’n ah are as eager as you ta settle the score. Jus’ tell us what the plan is’n we’ll ride right ‘long side ya.”

  “That’s something we’re still trying to work out,” Aidele frowned walking around the couch. “What we know is that the Council won’t acknowledge the activities of the Union… Berricks…” She glanced at Durante briefly. “Which leaves us with no help officially. However, they’ve made it known they’re not going to stand in the way of Wasteland Justice.”

  “Well, that’s right kind o’em,” Asta grimaced.

  “Yeah. And that little fracas last night? Didn’t phase ‘em one bit. Said it was obviously a case o’self-defense and left it at that.”

  A hissing gasp escaped Drevan’s lips. “Yer shittin’ me? Gunfight in their own halls’n they ain’ concerned?”

  “Not in the least. Said it was our business,” Aidele shook her head.

  “We’re getting sidetracked by the Council’s complacency,” Grandfather put in. “We need to address Berricks soon, or cry off and let it be.”

  “So, what’re ya sayin’?” Asta asked perplexed.

  “We basically got tonight ta figure this out or it ain’ happenin’,” Aidele responded solemnly.

  Drevan cursed and Asta growled. “There ain’ no way we gonna come up wit’ sumtin’ over night! Uh uhn. Ya got our help, Aidele. But… ah mean, are ya hopin’ we’s got ideas? Cuz, ah ken tells ya, we’re more the ‘shoot-first, ask-questions-later’ sorta people. Yer momma was the idear plotter.”

  “Our hunts were usually almost always straight forward affairs,” Drevan nodded. “Mirra always made things so much easier when it came ta bringin’ in our quarry. …Ah miss those days.”

  Aidele frowned and glanced at Grandfather. “We were hopin’ ya might know where we ken get a hold o’a Union shuttle. It’s the only thing that can penetrate the force field around the Invicta.”

  “Bad news, darlin’,” Asta gave a sympathetic look, “both shuttles we came to the labs in were destroyed when the labs went down. Not sure if’n they gots anymore anywhere else. If’n so, ah reckon none o’us gonna find it in time.”

  Drevan leaned back and rubbed his cleanshaven chin. “Mirra always was fond o’lurin’ prey out. Maybe there’s sumtin’ we ken convince ole Mr. General Berricks ta come on down’n sit fer a spell wit’. Course, not sure how that gits us on the Invicta. ‘Less we jus’ surrender ta ‘im. Dangerous that one, though.”

  “Ah thought about it,” Aidele mumbled. “Only thing I can think of offerin’ up is the waverider. But that’s a huge gamble to be playing, too.”

  “The journal,” Durante added. Everyone turned to look at him including Grandfather, who didn’t seem surprised it was being brought up.

  Aidele cocked her chin towards him. “Go on then. Whatchou thinkin’?”

  “Well, while you were sleeping, Garret and I were talking our options over. We figure, if we offer up the journal, the first thing Berricks was after, maybe we can lure him down to the surface.”

  “Still leaves how we git on board the Invicta,” Drevan said.

  “Well, I’ve been thinking that over, too. So, if you’ll bear with me, I’ll lay out what I think we can do.” Everyone nodded. Aidele and Asta stood near one another, neither sitting down. Grandfather leaned back waiting to hear Durante’s big plan. And Drevan leaned forward once more in anticipation. “Okay, then. Here’s what we should expect compiled with what we already know. Berricks is aware of the fact we found the gravitic core. Has to be since his soldiers were sent after us at the labs. You don’t send an entire regiment for just a book. You have to know what you’re after is there. So, the journal alone might not be enough, but it’ll make him curious. Cautious as well. He won’t know if we’re alive or not, providing he’s been informed that the labs were destroyed.

  “What we also know is that Nielson is dead. What we don’t know is if the general’s aware of that yet or not. It happened just last night, after all. We also don’t know if Nielson spilled the beans that we’re in town. We have to conclude that he didn’t given his final conflict with you and Ms. Lynch. Therefore, we have a wild card in play. He knows Nielson’s dead. He doesn’t know Nielson’s dead. Either way, it’s an in.”

  “How d’ya figure?” Asta asked, her face showing how intently she was listening.

  “Well, let’s make a supposition here. The labs were destroyed while Nielson was sent to kill Senator Sonoros. That means two loose ends are potentially tied off. He doesn’t know we escaped and he doesn’t know Nielson failed in his mission. We’re going to use that to play a very close game of poker. Based on the variables I’ve been analyzing, I can draw the conclusion he’s only superficially aware of surface details. Therefore, let’s say that you, Asta, were part of the forward invasion of the labs. Which you were. Things go south fast because Aidele’s fighting back. His regiment is killed when the labs collapse. But, before you escaped, you found me cowering,” he grinned at Asta.

  Asta smirked. “He’ll definitely believe that.”

  Slight chuckles from everyone and Durante blushed trying to keep things on track. “Yeah, heh, okay. Pick on me once I get this all out. Anyway, you discover I have the journal but you figure the waverider and Aidele are lost to the destruction of the labs. Well, I could always have told you that, I suppose. You flee with me.”

  “Flee?” Asta’s brow shot up.

  “Fine, you take me to Aquila Mons,” Durante started pacing, hands gesticulating as he spoke. “Your plan, contact Berricks to make a deal. Me and the journal for him to leave you and yours alone because you don’t want to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. You’re racing against time because Nielson is still holding your family hostage and if you can make a deal with Berricks, he’ll call Nielson off. You don’t know where your children are and you’re scared for their lives. During that final conflict at the labs, you heard some of the soldiers talking about how the general returned to the Invicta. It’s not an impossible story to believe.

  “While you’re in Aquila Mons, you run into Nielson quite by happenstance. He sees me, makes the assumption I must have the journal on me or know where to find the core. You’d come to the Praetorium seeking asylum and a way to contact Berricks. However, Nielson’s there trying to kill Sonoros. There’s a gunfight. Nielson winds up dead and you’re more panicked than ever and forced to leave. This story is easy enough to verify because Nielson got gunned down in the Praetorium and will now be part of the public record.”

  “That’s a real good tale,” Drevan said looking impressed. “But how do we know how to contact Berricks on the Invicta? Nielson wouldn’t exactly be handing over that information to us, would he?”

  “But didn’t he?” Durante smiled. “He told Aidele right where Berricks took off to. Suppose he taunted Ms. Lynch with this information in his dying breaths? She searches Nielson’s body… finds this…”

  Durante produced a small rectangular object.

  Aidele looked at it closely, her eyes widening with recognition. “Looks like one of those proxy swaths.”

  “Very close, Aidele. Uses similar technology only via a holoprojection. It’s an ID chit. It can be used at a solnet terminal to make intersolar communications. Maybe Asta doesn’t know what it is at first, but any operations manager at a holo-café would be able to inform her exactly how it works. Hell, it would be easy enough to say I told her. Interfaced with the right terminal and it’ll cast an image of yourself for the contactee to view. You
’ll also get a live feedback of them, as well. There’s a holobar downtown. We can go there, make a call to Berricks, well, Asta can. Because it’s her prey she’s going to entice him with.”

  “How in the hell did you get ahold of that?” Aidele asked. “When we were in the Praetorium foyer you were vomiting all over the damn place and never even got close to Nielson’s corpse.”

  “Amazing the things the local authority will let you ask for when they just don’t give a damn.”

  “An’ what makes ya think Berricks will even go fer this gamble?” Asta frowned. “He ain’ gonna be too happy ta see me.”

  “You’re right. He won’t be. But you’ll have me and the journal to barter with.” Durante paused a moment. “And… he’ll have you.”

  Drevan guffawed as Asta unfolded her arms and waved her hands towards him. “What!? Me? Ah thought this was makin’ him believe ah want him to leave us alone! A reprieve sorta thing! Save mah family, etcetera, etcetera.”

  “It is. But he’s not letting you go. After all, you killed Nielson, ran off during the fight with Aidele, and a real pain in his ass. He’ll bring us all up to his ship just to make it clear we’re his prisoners.” Durante chuckled. “I can almost guarantee he’ll take us to the brigs.”

  “Why not jus’ kill us outright?” Asta shook her head, the sell just not quite there yet.

  “A trophy to take back to the Union president. Proof Hinonites are just an aggressive people deserving conquest. Or, just for personal edification. Whatever it takes to demonstrate his righteous fury towards Hinon.” Durante placed a hand on his chin. “Or, imprison us long enough to verify our tale and ensure the labs were really destroyed. Then have us executed. Regardless of his idea for the final outcome, what’s not in doubt is that he’ll bring us onto the Invicta.”

  “Only, we’re not going to give him any time to see those machinations through,” Grandfather said. “This is busy work either way for him. Enough time to see to it you three are set free. Which begs the question, then. If this is how you three get onboard, what about Aidele and myself?”