Kodon

by Chris Mills

  “You can go join them,” Jared said. “It’ll be a while. I’ll show you my holo-table later. There are some games. You can shut off the news. I wanted to see what the fuss was last night with that bombing.”

  “What have they said?” Stephen asked.

  “Always terrorism,” Jared said. “The galaxy is told to fear, and that’s how those jerks get their views. They haven’t said much. I’m sure some diplomat must have been staying there. Someone somewhere is always targeted.”

  “Things never change.”

  Xhando consisted of a blue cube made of many smaller cubes, whose numbers increased with great difficultly, and an object within. Players tried to uncover it to pull out. Stephen sat in a chair, spinning the cube. It could go any point he wanted. Each turn, he had to choose three cubes to remove and confirm it. Andy had wanted only three, so it lasted longer.

  Andy tapped another cube. The yellow object changed each time in shape. Stephen flicked the cube lightly. It had an odd feel to it which he couldn’t describe. Holograms could be very real or something like this which clearly wasn’t. The idea of a holo-chamber excited Stephen, and he hoped to experience what one had. Herald said they could be rented in places for days to have a small vacation. Holograms did not supply real food. Feel could fool, along with the people it could make.

  Stephen tapped once more, taking another piece out. He tapped the object within and slightly pulled. Out came the odd cylindric piece with a flat tip. It spun around the cube. Another point added to player two’s total. Each of them had a shot at it since Jared showed them.

  What remained of the tray of food rested on an end table. Jared popped small pellets in what Stephen thought was a microwave. In not much time, snack food came to be; corn dogs, fries, and chicken nuggets - an escape to the past. The fried taste had been preserved somehow. ‘Foodmatic’ read the device in the compartment. Jared warned not to make too much if they wanted more, which none had bothered.

  “We’re coming close,” Jared called back. “We’ll have two hours.”

  “Two hours?” Herald questioned.

  “You’ll get to Galat II. Nelespinster is easy enough to get in and out of. You can get a new handheld.”

  Stephen got up, trying not to look at the new mess Herald had made of his handheld on a floating table. Could it be put back together at this point? Stephen leaned against the hall to the bridge. Jared had out what looked more like a smartphone from Stephen’s days. Its screen did not move above it and seemed basic.

  “What do you have to do at Nelespinster?” Stephen questioned.

  “I have a package to pick up for the ship,” Jared said. “I needed some parts. I hope to see old friends. You should come with me. We’ll still have time to eat.”

  “Me?”

  “Why not? Make the most of your time there.”

  “Sure,” Stephen said.

  “Good,” Jared said with a firm nod. “Here we are.”

  Stars slowed upon the window. The jump everything did when coming out of warp had Stephen gulping. All of a sudden, a station popped out at them with a lot of traffic in the area. He stared out at a smaller cruiser patrolling close by. Many ships made their way into the massive space station that Jared made sound like a simple place to get around.

  Three rings made up the Nelespinster Space station. A large cylindrical structure ran down the middle of it all with many points connecting to the ring. The place had a great deal of beauty to it and light. Jared took them down to the bottom ring where ships kept leaving and others joined them. This place made Stephen shrink the closer they got. How did they make such a massive place?

  A green light flashed near an open bay. A large blue field revealed another ship that shared it. It had a nice shine to it, was in excellent shape, and had a blue glow along its top. Its wing sections rose straight up in the air. It reminded Stephen of a craft from Star Wars. Slowly, they set down over a glowing ring. Someone stood outside already with a tablet in hand.

  “Here we are,” Jared said. The others were already up and near the back. Hiss. Down the ramp extended. Jared motioned them back. His hands came to his jacket, and he tugged lightly, straightening it on him.

  A dock worker stared up from the bottom of the ramp. She wore a blue vest with green stripes. ‘Helenis,’ her name tag read in glowing yellow letters. A set of eyes stared at the tablet, the other at them. She dabbed one of her six fingers at it, and soon all her eyes stared at Jared.

  “Good day, Mr. Galantine,” Helenis said. “I trust you won’t be trouble. If you have two more marks, we will ground your ship.”

  “Don’t those ever go away?” Jared question with a cheesy grin.

  “In time,” Helenis said. “Behave. The docking fee is sixty geks for -”

  “I know, I know. Put me in for three hours. Here.”

  Helenis stuck the red chip into the side of her tablet and soon nodded. “Very good,” she said. “Your ship will be grounded if you stay longer. We have a daily fee.”

  “I know. I’m on business.”

  “I can see. This isn’t your normal clientele. Enjoy your stay. We’re watching you, Mr. Galantine.”

  “Come on, Helenis,” Jared said. “When will you let that go?”

  Helenis continued to walk away, all eyes not glancing back. It was odd to see two eyes on each side of her face, and the others on two extremities near her forehead that could move. She brought a whole new level to ‘all eyes on me.’

  “There are many places to eat,” Jared said. “There should be a station to check. There’s a good food court with dishes from Earth and past Seran.”

  “That sounds good to me,” Gabe said.

  “Stephen has agreed to keep me company. We’ll head there once we are done.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” Jared said. “Don’t worry. He won’t get lost. If we don’t see you, be here by six-thirty.”

  “If Stephen’s okay with it,” Herald said. Stephen nodded. “Six-thirty it is.”

  Lifts went everywhere in this station, besides those specific to the upper ring. Identification would be required to go there. People did live here. There were schools and families. The middle ring had come to be the interest of Jared. He led Stephen on, traffic thinning the farther they went. These large rings made the curve in the hall minimal.

  The area had many shops in it. Some had barred windows on the front, a couple with glowing signs for leasing. A girl sat on the steps ahead. Someone’s voice rose loud within. A roll of the eyes and in she went.

  “This is a pretty nice station,” Stephen said.

  “They try to keep it up,” Jared said. “They got rid of a gang last year.”

  “There was a gang here?”

  “In a space station of this size, whaddya expect?”

  “Wow,” Stephen said.

  “I’ve been to places with plenty of gangs and crappy artificial air. It’s nothing new. Keep yourself out of their way. I’ve never had an issue here.”

  “Except with that woman.”

  “Oh that?” Jared laughed. “A misunderstanding.”

  “What happened?”

  “A Geletoid with a bad attitude and a girl who caught the end of some slime.”

  “Oh,” Stephen said.

  Jared pointed to a shop. Bars ran along the large window. Colors cycled on a sign about a sale. An odd assortment of items were in the window from a handheld, some sort of light, and to what may be a part to a ship. Music came within of a funky pop and what may be a flute. A very heavy-set Salzmenian read a tablet behind the counter. Someone sat on the counter. Her skin was of dark orange, head adorned with two small horns. Her sharp red eyes spotted them.

  The woman hopped from the counter and raced to Jared. The two hugged. She gave a kiss to each cheek. “I knew you’d come soon,” she said.

  “Yes,” Jared said. “I got the message my parts were in.”

  “What have you done to the Harbinger?”

 
“She’s fine,” Jared assured. “She’s getting old.”

  “And who is this?”

  “Stephen Jones,” Jared said. Her grip was strong. “Stephen, meet Fudi Mol. She owns the place.” A snort rose from the Salzmenian. His attention kept to his tablet. “And her gracious partner, Nuru.”

  “Better,” Nuru muttered. He ran his finger along his tablet and eyes once more began to speed along.

  “I trust Jared has been kind,” Fudi said.

  “Yes,” Stephen said.

  “This kid can really kick,” Jared said. “He about knocked out my teeth.”

  “You,” Nuru snorted. He laughed and smacked the table. “He doesn’t look that tough.”

  “Don’t question it,” Jared said. “I shouldn’t have. We sparred at Fluge’s last night.”

  “How is the old man?” Fudi asked.

  “Good,” Jared said. “Grumpy as always.” Fudi laughed. She hopped back on the counter and crossed her legs. She had some youth still left in her face. Her clothes matched that of her partner; dark vest over a shirt with their store’s strange logo.

  “Nuru, be a dear and inform that his packages can be delivered to his shuttle now.”

  “Already done,” Nuru said. “Don’t call me dear.”

  “You are my husband, last I checked.”

  “Remind me again, why I said yes?”

  Fudi giggled. Stephen kept glancing between the two. “Ah, so you think we are having fun with you?” she questioned. “No. He can be very sweet when he wants to.”

  “They’ve been married for eight years,” Jared added. “For some reason I never got the wedding invite.”

  “You know we didn’t have a wedding,” Fudi said. A smile rose as she stared at her husband. “We were happy with your gift.”

  The idea of who could be a couple went out the door in the future. People fell in love, regardless of race and even if they weren’t compatible. These two most likely couldn’t have a child naturally. Nothing stopped the heart.

  “You should have your package in an hour,” Fudi assured. “They are good at it.”

  “I know,” Jared said. “It’s been great to see you two. Anything new that isn’t on the shelf yet?”

  “The new Verba handheld,” Fudi said. She hopped behind the counter and came to a knee. She whistled lightly. Nuru glanced her way before he swiped along his tablet. “Here it is.”

  The box had its seal on it still. The handheld’s physical body in the picture looked similar to Herald’s old one. The darker glass make had a claim to be the most durable on the market. The screen could get up to a good size from the brief ad that played on the very box upon a tap. It slid with ease from the box, and she revealed the beauty to them. Fudi used some clever words to make it seem like she held a brick of gold in hand.

  “It’s pricey,” Nuru said. “We have four in. They turn a nice profit if we sell them. Fudi, you need to stop your obsession with small tech. We should sell parts.”

  “But, look,” Fudi said, holding the device up. “It can do more than mine.”

  “I’ll do two for one of them.”

  “Two thousand?” Jared questioned. “Damn.”

  “It has a five-year warranty,” Fudi said. “You should buy one, Jared. It would be our first sale for the line.”

  “Nah,” Jared said. “Mine isn’t broken yet. I know a guy who may want one.” For that much, Stephen could get four smartphones back in his day. “I’ll let him know.”

  “What about you?” Fudi said. She pushed an opened box across the counter and placed the handheld upon it.

  “I don’t have any geks on me,” Stephen said. “I really like the look of it.”

  “Why don’t you have one?” Jared questioned.

  “A long story,” Stephen said.

  “Everyone has a story,” Nuru muttered. “I told yeh, Fudi. They won’t sell.”

  “I’ll bet you a week of vacation, I’ll sell one within a week.”

  Nuru’s tablet rattled on the counter. His smile almost made Stephen laugh. “When have you ever gotten vacation?” Nuru questioned.

  “If I sell it, we go to Jurna Prime for a week,” Fudi said.

  “If you sell it in three days,” Nuru said. “Then I take you.”

  “It’s a lover’s quarrel, Stephen,” Jared joked. “Let’s go before it gets heated.”

  “Humorous, Galantine,” Nuru said.

  Stephen stepped back into the hall. The two went on with their wager, Fudi claiming two weeks now for that. Stephen snickered. “So,” he spoke, as they got a bit from the store. “I thought you said you had to pick it up.”

  “I did,” Jared said.

  “But they delivered it to your ship.”

  “I prefer to meet with places I do business with a lot,” Jared said. “In my mind, I picked it up right. Those two have always been good with business. Their shop used to be on a different level and smaller. Fudi has managed to push into the right areas to get new business.”

  “How did these two meet?”

  “It’s the perfect love story,” Jared said. He brought his hands to the side of his head. “Orphan falls in love and two make a future of riches.”

  “She was an orphan?”

  “No,” Jared laughed. “Nuru. That’s a bit racist, Stephen.” The two laughed. “She’s about nine years younger than him, I think. I laughed myself silly when I heard the two were getting married. I thought they were only good business partners.”

  “Do you know a lot of shop owners?”

  “The ones I want. It pays off to talk to the people with product.”

  **

  Andy kept glancing up from his spaghetti. The food court stretched far with many tables, most filling up. Stands were around the walls of the room with food from all of Earth he knew. Italian had sounded good, and he joined Kim in line while Herald and Gabe went off to get burgers. They managed to find a table near where they came in hoping they’d catch Jared and Stephen, but later spotted the two across the room. Somehow, they had arrived before them thanks to Herald.

  Herald picked up the new toy again. The shop the four had found had a lot of devices to pick from. There wasn’t an Android or Apple OS in the marketplace. People bought what worked. Different sections of the wall related to interface and most from what a woman said, could be switched. The handheld was hardware, the operating system only used it.

  The handheld had a similar projected screen and rested in the mid-low range. Herald spent six hundred geks on it. He kept rolling his eyes at times, like now. Had he made it out of the setup process yet?

  Andy cut his last meatball apart. A gooey, red sauce leaked from it. It blew Ma’s out of the water, and she’d chase him with a wooden spoon if he dared to tell her some food court joint beat hers in taste. It didn’t cost a lot, and he got a drink and what they called garlic bread with it. The very bread was infused with garlic. Herald’s lasagna hadn’t seen action yet.

  “Do they know we are here?” Gabe finally asked.

  “Yes,” Kim said. “Stephen waved at me.”

  Stephen and Jared were laughing once more. Their table had filled with others, and it didn’t stop their energy. Jared turned out to be a pretty nice guy after all. Something still told Andy it would be best not to piss him off or they might regret it.

  “What do you think they are talking about?” Gabe asked. “Stephen kicked his ass last night. How can someone get over that?”

  “I don’t know,” Kim said. “Things are going good right now. I like the Harbinger.”

  “Me too,” Andy agreed. “It’s cozy. Don’t you agree, Herald? Herald. Hey, Herald.” Herald shook lightly at the push. Down that new toy finally went. A green circle kept rotating on it. A blue bar slowly filled within.

  “Ah, yes,” Herald said. “His ship is a lot nicer on this inside.” Cheese hung all the way to his mouth. He rolled it around and stuffed the goodness in his mouth. “I’m glad this trip only cost eight hundred. It should be m
ore.”

  “Jared’s offer?”

  “Heck no,” Herald said. “I’d not gone over eighteen hundred.”

  “I do appreciate what you have spent,” Kim said. She sipped lightly on her straw with a kind smile.

  “You’re welcome,” Herald said. “I know it hasn’t been easy. The empire will do better on Galat II. I’ll be sure to keep us close to the Galatian Empire sector. I’m sure they will reimburse us.”

  “I want to rack my head around this again,” Gabe said. He tapped the table. “Galat II has a trillion people on it.”

  “No,” Herald said. “In the solar system it is average to have a trillion at a time.”

  “How? You said Earth only peaked at a hundred billion.”

  “You’ll understand when we arrive,” Herald said. “It’s not Earth and unlike any planet out there. Remember, try not to be overwhelmed.”

  “With a trillion people? Fat chance.”

  A trillion. Andy looked about. All the people here were figures new to his eyes. Not much bugged him in appearance. It only excited him at seeing something new. He couldn’t wait to see what Galat II had to offer. His little surgery did wonders. While he most likely would be here permanently, he wanted to see what his home looked like and his mother.

  “We’ll be leaving soon,” Kim said. “They’re up.”

  “I see that,” Herald said. He picked up his handheld. That small pan of his had only bits of cheese and sauce left. “Thirty minutes. Finish up. We won’t have another good meal like this till we arrive.”

  “When will we meet the councilman?” Gabe asked.

  “Once he knows we are there,” Herald said. “Jared let me send a message out to him this morning. He’ll be waiting for our arrival.”

  “Herald,” Gabe began. His eyes met Kim for a second. “Um, I don’t want to poke it again, but how did Hanash find us?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Someone could be keeping tabs on us within.”

  “I’m aware,” Herald said. “There could be many things that led to it to happen. I’ve learned in my life, if I throw assumptions out like wildfire in hard times, I’m burning myself. I trust Councilman Wallace. I trust the good in the empire. Until I see facts, I will not assume.”