by Andy Kasch
“Not if he cares about Torian security,” Olut6 said in a stern voice.
Hol4 looked back and forth between Olut6 and Jumper several times before smiling and extending his hand to Jumper.
“It’s okay. You came through for me. The space station job—your connections got it for me, like you said. I expect to have to demonstrate some skills to land a position like that. I can’t thank you enough.”
“My pleasure,” Jumper said as he shook his hand. “Nothing to it.”
“Good,” Olut6 said. “We need to get going.” He put his hand on Hol4’s neck and steered him towards the ships. “Time to go to work. Hope you’re not planning on getting much sleep tonight.” They departed towards Olut6’s battalion. Jumper noticed the soldiers at the standoff were no longer pointing guns at each other. Some members of Belle-ub’s new C3 Guard were even socializing with Olut6’s troops. That was nice to see.
Jumper, Kayla, and Brandon hurried to catch up with Alan.
“What did you mean about the old ways?” Jumper asked Brandon as they walked. “You remember something from 25 years ago, something your Sheen friend said that might help Alan now?”
“No.” Brandon looked upward. “Much more recently.” He smiled warmly and turned to Jumper. “Remember, the other night, when you said you wanted to go to Landen with me?”
*
“I knew it!” Kayla said. “As soon as I saw them unveil that monstrosity, I knew you wouldn’t be able to forfeit the match!”
Jumper furled his brow. “It’s not that I’m unable…”
“Oh? Then what? You’re going to stay behind in this awful place, alone, and leave your best friend when he’s sick, just so you can play that extat game! What’s your rationale? Tell me, please. I’ve got to hear this one.” She looked behind to make sure Brandon was paying attention. He was, but he was also studying Alan, who was leaning on the shuttle next to the open cabin door.
Jumper looked down and kicked at the ground. “I know you won’t understand. It just seems to be the way I can do the most good right now.”
“Do the most good?” Kayla threw her hands in the air and spun in a circle. “Good? That game has warped your mind! You actually think playing it is doing something good now! Listen to me, Jumper. You need to quit playing it. Permanently. Can’t you see what it’s starting to do to you? The same thing it’s done to everyone else on this planet. You’ll end up like those mountain dwellers who were still trying to play in their sleep!”
“The prize,” Jumper said. “If I win, I can do some good with the prize. You saw how thankful Hol4 was to be rescued from the tents.”
His explanation failed to decelerate Kayla.
“You’re not going to beat all those aliens, Jumper. Even if you somehow do win, what is it you think you can accomplish? Let all the food workers go? Go where? They can’t all have space station jobs. And then there would be no agricultural production! How would we all eat? Belle-ub’s not going to let you start a famine as your prize. Wake up!”
Jumper perked up some at her accusations. “Hol4 said there were others who want to be set free. Slavery isn’t right. Belle-ub assured me I can have that as my prize if I win—to offer all the forced laborers freedom.”
“Oh Belle-ub said, Belle-ub said. Is he your king now, just because he sits up on a throne? What about what I say, what Brandon says, and what Alan says, for Erob’s sake?”
“Play, Jumper!” Alan yelled half-heartedly from the shuttle door. “You should play. Kick their asses. I’ll be okay.”
“Oh sure,” Kayla said. “He’s out of his mind sick, listen to him. You guys drive me so …insane sometimes. Here I thought you were maturing on this trip. To think I even started feeling…” Kayla walked in tight circles shaking her head, and seemed to break herself out of a thought before continuing.
“I know what this is really about. Your new best friend Belle-ub offered you that council seat and you’re letting it go to your head. You think you’re a big shot now. Well, you’re not. I saw you sitting at that table, all smug, pretending to be a governor or something. You’re going to play because you’re worried if you forfeit the match, he might not let you be the Earthling representative in his stupid meetings. Right?”
“I was going to ask you about that myself,” Brandon interjected. “On the flight, or at Landen, I was looking forward to an explanation. Since you now seem to be of a mind to stay here, I guess I’ll ask you now. Is it like Kayla is saying?”
No,” Jumper answered. “Not like she’s saying. But she’s a little …emotional at the moment.”
Kayla crossed her arms, stood in place, and gave Jumper a look that might be able to destroy a fighter squadron.
“But Belle-ub did offer you a seat in his new council,” Brandon said.
Jumper felt his sheepish look return. “Yes, he did. I haven’t decided yet whether to accept it.”
Brandon came over to Kayla’s side and said, “It sure looked like you accepted it today when he asked you to ‘sit in your proper seat’ and you accommodated him.”
“I wanted to tell you about it, Uncle Brandon, and get your opinion before giving him an answer. I only told him I would think about it. I sat down there today because I was curious, that’s all.”
Brandon nodded. “It’s wise to gather information and seek counsel before making important life-decisions. But what about your dad? Aren’t you going to ask him for his input?”
“Pretty sure I know what he’ll say.”
“You don’t know that. Your dad can be surprising at times. He’s the one you need to talk to about this, not me.”
“But Uncle Brandon—”
“Listen, Jumper. Last time I tried to give your dad parenting advice he didn’t talk to me for three years. I got the message, and I’m not interfering. You’re an adult now, and capable of making your own decisions, particularly when properly guided by parental input. I wisely suggest you seek your parents’ thoughts over anyone else’s on the weightier matters in life, for as long as you have parents.”
Brandon then turned to Kayla.
“But you should understand, Kayla, that this council Belle-ub’s putting together is, in all likelihood, a legitimate beginning of a unified Amulen government, despite his questionable charisma. Especially if he has the C4 industry captains involved as he claims. When you control the agriculture and industry of an entire world, you have all the important pieces in place and the rest will probably fall in out of necessity. So it’s not just some ‘stupid meeting.’ Whether or not the Amulen Earthling population should be involved, that’s another matter. My feelings are strong that all humans should abandon Amulen. While some remain, though, it might not be such a bad idea to have one of us getting firsthand knowledge of all that is happening politically. You do have a valid point in that these types of positions are more appropriately elected, not appointed.”
“What about the game?” Kayla said.
Brandon looked at Jumper and frowned. “You all know how I feel about that. I believe polwar is truly an infection from an evil force. There’s plenty of evidence to support that notion. I’ve seen what it’s done to alien cultures firsthand, in addition to our own. Where this game goes, lives are ruined and societies collapse. It appeals to something in the nature of all intelligent beings, our tendency to become compulsively distracted by certain emotional impulses. I’m glad it’s banned on Banor, and would like nothing better than to see it completely destroyed throughout the Erobian Sphere.”
“See?” Kayla said to Jumper. “He doesn’t think you should play.”
“Nor do I think you should play it,” Brandon said to Kayla. She cocked her head.
“That said,” Brandon continued, “the decision of whether or not to play in the tournament is Jumper’s to make. I will add that if his only motivation is to try and help others, others who may be in bondage, it is an admirable cause.”
Jumper nodded enthusiastically. “That is my motivation, Uncle Brando
n.”
“I believe you, Jumper, as I know you have a charitable heart. But we both know it’s not your only motivation. When conflicting motivations exist, it has been my experience that the magnanimous one has usually been deceived.”
“What are you going to do?” Kayla said to Jumper. Her arms were still crossed and she was tapping her foot.
Jumper looked to Brandon, but Brandon turned and went back over to check on Alan. He appeared to be done giving advice.
“Play,” Alan repeated. “I’m going to be fine. The new big game. Play on that new big game.”
Alan was communicating a little more intelligibly again. Whatever was wrong with him seemed to come and go. Jumper knew darn well he wasn’t right yet, but he was with Brandon now and in the best possible hands.
Landen—now that was an adventure Jumper would relish. Humans weren’t allowed to go there. This would probably be his only chance to see Continent-5, ever. Uncle Brandon taking Alan to Landen for healing was something he didn’t want to miss out on. Could he pass on that opportunity? Could he part ways with Alan at Alan’s time of greatest need?
But there was the tournament. He was scheduled to play the Latian champion tomorrow morning. And if he won, he might get a chance to play in the finals on that huge, special game set. Was there anything more appealing than that? And the prize. All those poor forced-laborers in the agritents who wanted to be freed. Jumper could help them. And Alan wanted him to play, after all.
“You’ll come back and get me?” Jumper asked Brandon. It wasn’t the most confident-sounding tone he’d ever voiced. Kayla threw her arms down and shook her head.
“I can’t promise that,” Brandon said. He was entering something on his lightpad now. “If the Sheen can help him, I don’t know how long it will take. I’m needed back at RL-71 to help Professor Yob3 complete the revival process on the five Earthlings we saved. We may have to go straight there. I’ll keep in touch via lightpad messages, but understand now that if you choose to remain here there’s a good chance you’ll end up having to find your own ride home, and won’t be able to help us finish the project.”
Jumper felt a knot form in his stomach. “Uncle Brandon, I can’t …I can’t …I—”
“I know you can’t, Jumper.” Brandon came back over and patted him on the back. “I know. Learn to make peace with your decisions. We’ve got to get going now. It’s already getting to be late night on C5.”
Alan gave Jumper the peace sign. It was something they learned from Jumper’s dad. They were the only ones who used it at the colony. He then climbed on board.
“Goodbye Jumper!” Kayla said. There was finality in her voice. She said it to him that way only once before. Until she actually entered the shuttle cabin and shut the door behind her, Jumper was holding out some hope she would stay with him.
Brandon entered the cockpit from the driver’s side, closed the door, and fired up the shuttle. A few minutes later, it was in the air and growing small in the late afternoon sky.
Jumper was alone.
*
Hol4’s expectations of a sleepless night were only partially met. He travelled with the High General directly to a small military base on Banor that was close to the central government complex. The High General was happy this particular base had not sustained any damage, although the nearby government buildings were partially destroyed. Most of the high officials had gotten out when the attack first began, including the Chancellor—whom the High General immediately left to go see as soon as they landed. Hol4 was assigned to a barracks, escorted by soldiers to the mess hall, and then told to get as much sleep as he could.
Despite being in a foreign environment, Hol4 had no trouble falling asleep. The food in the mess hall was good, the kind of meal they fantasized over back at the agritents. They even served him a glass of argim with dinner. And he was tired. Dead tired. It had been a long day, mentally and emotionally draining. He found that to be more exhausting than a day full of manual labor, which he was used to.
He was awakened four hours later and brought to a conference room where two Banorian scientists were waiting, along with several military commanders and two special weapons technicians. The High General was not present.
The scientists and technicians drilled Hol4 with questions. He was slow in answering them, partially from being groggy after not enough sleep, and partially from having to recall technical details he hadn’t thought about in almost twenty years. He must have still remembered enough to impress his hosts, as they responded to his answers with zeal. Hol4 was assigned the official position of lead consultant for the project they were about to undertake.
“About” as in a matter of minutes. They left the conference room, boarded a cruiser, and travelled to a local airfield where they witnessed two cylindrical rockets launch. It was the middle of the night here. In the distance, Hol4 could see additional rocket launchings taking place.
They were then taken to a large shuttle-style cargo ship. Its freight was being loaded by beam crane through the open cargo doors on top of the shuttle as they arrived.
Hol4 was led into the cargo bay to get a closer look at the freight, a large elliptical metal object—a control satellite. Special instruments were given to Hol4, some of which he was familiar with and others the scientists had to explain the functions of. Hol4 and the technicians then worked on the satellite for two hours, rebuilding some parts and recalibrating others.
When they were finished, they boarded the small cabin at the front of the shuttle and launched into the night sky. After they had established orbit over Amulen, the cargo bay doors opened and the satellite was deployed.
Hol4 and the two other technicians then put on space suits, connected tethers, and were deployed through the same cargo bay doors to work on the satellite from the outside for another two hours. This was a new experience for Hol4. He didn’t particularly enjoy the feeling of zero-gravity and wondered if he made a mistake in pursuing the space station career. Hopefully, his assignment would keep him on the inside there.
When the work was complete, and the scientists on board finished testing their remote controls to their satisfaction, the shuttle moved a short distance to another nearby satellite. This was a smaller, round unit that had been placed in orbit from one of the rockets launched earlier. The procedure repeated. It was quicker work here, but there were additional newly-deployed satellites that needed fine-tuning afterwards. Lots of them. Hol4 and the technicians spent the next seven hours hopping from satellite to satellite performing their task.
When they were finally finished with the last one, Hol4 was as tired as he had ever felt and wanted nothing more than to get back to the barracks and sleep for a day. He was pleased with himself, though, for remembering so much of his training, and having been able to put it into action when called upon. Also, he had gotten used to space walking and no longer considered it uncomfortable. If that would be part of his new job requirements at Cardinal-4, he could live with it.
Mission control no sooner gave clearance for their shuttle to return when the High General’s voice came on the speaker system. It was frantic-sounding, which couldn’t be good. He asked if the new satellite network was operational from ground control yet.
“It should be, General,” one of the scientists replied. “Mostly, anyway. We can make the final adjustments when we arrive.”
“But you can fully control it from the shuttle now?”
“Affirmative, General. It’s all been tested and should work, assuming the theory is valid.”
“Stay up there!” the High General said. “I repeat, stay where you are and stand by to engage the system!”
Something in the general’s voice unsettled Hol4. But what Hol4 saw next, through the cockpit forward window, sent him into a near-panic.
A circle of fiery light appeared in the distance in front of the shuttle. It then vanished, but left three dark objects inside of where it had been. One was a larger than the others, with dim lights. The t
wo on the outside of it were smaller, and broke away from larger one.
Then another circle of light appeared, a short ways off, and the scene repeated. Then another, a ways off from that. And another.
“Engage the system!” the High General’s voice screamed. “Repeat, engage the system!”
The scientist in the copilot’s seat fumbled with the small instruments in his hand. He finally managed to get his lightpad linked to a cockpit video screen. A series of waves showed on a schematic grid. Hol4 instantly recognized the wave patterns. They represented readings from the technology he had just helped to install.
The numerous oblong objects that were now in orbit over Banor began firing long segments of red light upon the planet surface.
A laser then shot across the space directly above the shuttle. Hol4 could barely make out the dark ship it was coming from.
They were being attacked. Hol4 realized he was about to die in space. The laser above them missed, but adjusted and fired again much closer. This time it stayed on and moved towards the shuttle. In a few seconds it would connect.
“Engaged, General,” the scientist in the copilot seat said. The wave patterns on the cockpit screen turned red and squeezed together into tight loops. The shuttle vibrated, as if being shook by an outside force.
But the enemy ship’s laser went out, after veering off course slightly. And the weapons being fired from the enemy satellites all stopped as well.
“Great job, boys,” the High General’s voice said. “It’s working! Talk about coming through in the nick of time. Now get back here and finish your job on the ground!”
Chapter Fifteen
“Why’d we have to park so far away?” Kayla asked as she felt Alan’s forehead. “And why did we have to spend the night in the shuttle?”
“Do you know what you’re feeling for?” Brandon asked Kayla.