by J. F. Holmes
“Makes sense. What were you doing there, anyway?”
“Salvage. The Karan haven’t had spaceflight in over a thousand years. I did my homework, paid the right people, and took the risk to recover what I could from a lost technology. They’re so different from us. Can you imagine humans turning their backs on our computers and fold drives? Never.”
“So why do you think the UNCS was after your dad?” Rhys said as he placed a plateful of food before Raiden.
She took several bites before answering. “Greed. They want it all, and if they think there’s something of value, they take it. Even though I did all the work and have all the proper permits.”
“I’m sure they’d say it was for your own protection.” Rhys forced a grin.
“Bastards, the lot of them,” Raiden said. “What’s your cargo?”
“Right now, it’s you, me, and what you see here.”
“Your hold is empty? Now that’s lucky.”
“What are you thinking?”
“My ship is dead, but I’m not leaving her behind. I think she’d fit in your hold. If you can help me get her back to civilization, I’ll pay you well with my profits.”
“Sounds like a fair deal. I’m in,” Rhys said, as he forked a pile of powdered eggs. Images of him and Raiden, living outside of UN control flashed through his mind. A thousand years ago, perhaps we could just set sail for an independent port. But today, that’s impossible.
***
Rhys realized he had to clean out his EVA suit in order to retrieve Raiden’s ship, the Charlemagne. In a moment of inspiration, he decided to pressurize the suit, tether it in the airlock, and use the ship’s robotic loading arm to release the central seal. His nasty clothes were expelled into space, and he didn’t have to do the scraping. Score one point for ingenuity.
It took a lot of hands-on work to release the Charlemagne’s lock. Dozens of manual locking bolts had to be backed off, a few turns at a time in a crisscross pattern, to avoid putting it in a bind. But after several hours of work, they were ready to release the final bolts. Raiden gathered everything she thought was salvageable from the Karan ship and loaded it inside hers. Rhys returned to the Belvedere and used the robotic arm to clasp ahold of the Charlemagne’s tow hook. He eased the smaller ship into his cargo hold, where they tied it down in with heavy, woven straps. When they were done, they closed the cargo doors and reentered the pressurized cabin of Rhys’ ship.
They’d barely gotten out of their EVA suits before they were pawing at each other with a hunger that needed quenching immediately. This time they got as far as Rhys’ quarters before they were completely naked, arms and legs wrapped around one another. Their bodies were as one, in tune with each other, and for the moment nothing else mattered in the universe.
I’d be fine if this lasted forever. Just as he thought that, the ship’s proximity sirens wailed. “What the hell?” Rhys wrapped a sheet around himself and ran toward the cockpit. “We’ve got company!” he shouted as Raiden jumped into a robe and followed him, just a few seconds behind. “Were you expecting anybody?”
“No. I was surprised when you showed up, much less a second ship. Can you get an identification on it?”
“Hot crap on a cracker. They’re blasting full UNCS clearance protocol. It’s a Corsair-class, call sign of Vanquisher, loaded to the brim with tachyon missiles. If I don’t comply, they’ll cut a hole right through us,” Rhys said.
“I know these UNCS types. Let him on board, answer his questions, and nothing more. I have all the permits for salvage. Perhaps it won’t be so bad?”
“We’re about to find out. The ship is requesting docking access, and my ship is auto-complying. What do you think? Should we grab weapons? I’ve got an old ballistic rifle I’ve kept for emergencies.”
Raiden shook her head side to side. “We have to assume this is some kind of citizen or retriever. Either way, greeting them while armed will end up with both of us dead.”
“You’re probably right. Besides, I doubt ballistics would dent a UNCS suit. Let’s get dressed, then greet our visitor.”
The Belvedere shook at the slight impact of the other ship’s docking. Rhys and Raiden watched as the lights confirmed a solid seal. The door opened, and a variety of new smells met their noses. A military man entered, his skin glimmering in the light. He had a regulation haircut, deep brown eyes, and a scowl across his face.
“Welcome aboard the Belvedere. I’m Captain Rhys Butler.” He held a hand out to shake the man’s hand.
The man simply looked at Rhys’ hand and ignored it, sniffing the air as he entered. “UNCS Citizen Davis Vincent. I’m assuming your lover here is Raiden Christian.”
Rhys glanced at Raiden; she gave him a slight wave of her hand and mouthed, “Let it go.”
Rhys cleared his throat. “As I said, welcome aboard. We offer full compliance. Is there anything we can assist you with? Are you hungry, or would you like a drink?”
Davis squinted his eyes, his hand reaching down to touch the handle of a laser pistol. “Let’s cut the crap, Butler. I doubt you have any food or drink on this heap that even compares to what I have on my ship. I’m here for one reason. I’m claiming the relic Karan vessel and all its technology as the strategic property of the UNCS, to be handed over immediately. I require every piece of tech you’ve found. Also, you are expected to provide detailed descriptions of how you found it, what you’ve learned about it, and any other information that may provide assistance to the UNCS in understanding the usage of said technology. I am fully authorized to use any amount of force, including lethal. Am I making myself clear?”
“Transparent,” Rhys said.
Raiden took a half-step forward. “I’ll have you know, I have full salvage permits, signed in triplicate that allows me to claim any derelict vessels I come across.”
Her objection was responded to with a backhand across the mouth. “You will speak when spoken to, Ms. Christian. By the way, those permits do not include alien technology. Check for yourself.”
Rhys felt his fists clench, his pulse race, and his breathing became quick. He fought the urge to beat the hell out of this invader.
“Control your temper, Mr. Butler, or I will end the both of you,” Davis said, drawing his pistol.
“Just like you did my father?” Raiden said. Her comment was met with another slap.
“How about we start over?” Rhys said. “We’re both law-abiding members of society. If there’s a misunderstanding, we’ll work to rectify it. Let’s discuss this without getting violent.”
“I’m willing to talk,” Davis said. “Let’s start by you telling me where Ms. Christian’s ship is.”
I’d better tell the truth. He’d likely kill us both over a lie. “It was disabled, so we moved it into my cargo hold.”
“I appreciate your honesty, Mr. Butler.”
“Captain Butler. I’ve worked hard to make the payments on this ship…”
“I’m sure you have, and your mom is very proud, Mister Butler,” Davis said. “In my world, the rank of captain is earned, not purchased.”
Yeah, well, fuck you and the ship you rode in on. “In my world…” Rhys’ words were cut short by a smack to the jaw with the butt-end of a pistol.
“You were saying?” Davis interrupted.
“Guests are always welcome,” Rhys said as blood dripped from his lip.
“Where did you stow the Karan tech?” Davis demanded.
“It’s on my ship,” Raiden said. “It’s all stored there.”
“Then that makes my job a little easier. I’ll impound your vessel, Ms. Christian. You’ll face charges of withholding strategic material from the UNCS, and Mr. Butler here will face charges of assisting a criminal.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong,” Rhys said.
“Tell that to the adjudicator,” Davis said as he aimed his laser pistol at Rhys first, then at Raiden’s head. “You two will walk aboard my ship, and once inside, you’ll enter the second
doorway on the left. There, you will take a seat on the bench. That room is a holding cell, biolocked and completely segregated from the rest of the ship, triple-secured to my control. You will wait until I return from the Charlemagne, with whatever Karan tech you have stolen.”
Rhys’ eyes met Raiden’s. Do we try to take him? Her eyes turned downward with no sign of rebellion. Then we remain calm. Rhys tried to let Raiden go first so the weapon would be pointed at him instead, but Davis shoved him forward first. Rhys followed the instructions and sat on a flat bench in a small room with nothing adorning the walls except a swing-out toilet and sink combination. Davis remained outside, and the door slammed closed. They stared at each other in silence until they were sure he’d left.
“If he thinks he’s taking my ship and the salvage I’ve earned, he’s got another think coming!” Raiden said, her face turning red in anger.
“Raiden, this is the UNCS we’re talking about. They do what they want, take what they want, and we’re expected to smile and say, ‘Thank you Sir, may I have another?’ If we so much as act like we’re resisting him, he’ll space us both. Or worse.” Rhys’ face paled.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been looking after myself for some time.”
“I’m certain you can take care of yourself. I’d just hate to think of what he might do.”
“That train of thought won’t get us anywhere,” Raiden said.
“You’re right, Raiden. Tell me, what happened when you docked with the Karan ship? Don’t leave anything out.”
She thought for a moment, then said, “Well, it was a relatively normal procedure. The Karan port wasn’t regulation shape or size, but my ship is equipped with an oversized junction seal. I tried to open the Karan port, but it was locked from the inside. That’s when I connected the persuader.”
“What’s the persuader? I’ve never heard of that,” Rhys said.
“It’s a tool us salvagers use if a ship is locked-down; it can connect to the main computer through an adaptable terminal system. It finds a way to access the controls in order to open the latch.”
“How adaptive is it?”
“It’s not a registered AI, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s simply a smart system that tries everything possible to convince the other ship to allow access. It’s not intelligent, just powerful. It can usually bust a lock within a few seconds. Even the toughest ones give in after a minute or so.”
“I wasn’t concerned about it being an AI, but honestly that would be kinda cool. I’ve never encountered a true AI. In any case, then what happened?”
“The door opened, and in the process, everything on my ship fritzed out.”
“What do you mean? Was it a power surge?”
“We have circuit breakers and redundant systems. If my ship were hit with a million gigawatts of power, it wouldn’t get past the first control panel. This was…something different, it was like it waited until it connected to everything, then shut it all down.”
“Well, what do we know about the Karan tech? Perhaps they had their own persuader?” Rhys said, then added, “Or is that a crazy idea?”
“Who knows? The Karan gave up their technology a thousand years ago. The only clues we have about it are a few tracking modules…”
“Like this one?” Rhys produced the cube from his pocket.
“You still have that thing? Why did you keep it, even after you found me?”
“It’s still unique, and valuable to someone. That, and it led me to you, so it means something to me.”
“Aww. That’s sweet.” Raiden leaned her head on his shoulder. “Do you think he’ll actually impound our ships and file charges against us?”
“He doesn’t seem like the type to exaggerate.” Rhys turned the cube over in his hand, looking at each side. “How do you think this thing works?”
“From what I saw on the Karan ship, those cubes were found at doors and control panels. There were dozens of them stacked together behind a panel, in what I have to think was their cockpit.”
“Did they look like this one?”
“Yes, as far as the size and shape goes. Each one was unique in its details. I also found a supply of what looked like blanks within a cabinet. They had none of the marks on them. They were transparent.”
“Let’s suppose these cubes are something like your persuader. Perhaps they have some form of a crystal matrix in them, and they automatically connect to each other, or whatever technology they encounter,” Rhys said.
“I think I know where you’re going with this,” Raiden said, “and what was it he said about this room being segregated?”
“That’s what he said.”
“We could test that theory if we could connect that cube to something in here.” Raiden stood and approached the swing-out toilet. “Rhys, on your ship, is the waste control system automated?”
“Yes. Anything that can be reused is collected and recycled. What little isn’t usable is stored and compressed until it can be safely jettisoned.”
“Controlled by your computer system.”
“Of course,” Rhys said. “Let’s try this.” Rhys held the cube up to the control panel. He sighed when nothing happened. “Well, it was worth a try…wait, this thing is starting to get warm.” He released the cube and shook his hand. The cube remained in place, lines like lightning glowing briefly within the cube, flashing throughout it. The room’s lights shut off, the only light coming from the flashes of the cube.
“Try the door!” Raiden said. Rhys rushed to the door, pushing it sideways.
“It budged. Help me.” Together they forced the door open. They ran down the hall to find the rest of the ship operating normally. They went through the airlock into the Belvedere, then into the cockpit. He called up a camera within his ship’s cargo hold. “He’s still on your ship. See the tether line?”
“Yes,” Raiden replied.
“So we have to make a decision. How far are we willing to take this?”
“What do you mean?” Raiden asked, sitting at the controls.
“Are we willing to space him? Leave him to die? Or do you have another idea? I’ll admit, I’ve got a problem with killing him.”
“He’ll kill us if he finds we’ve escaped.”
“True, Raiden. Fuck, what are we going to do? I’ve never killed a person before.
The door opened behind Rhys. Davis entered, his pistol drawn, pointed at Rhys’ head. “I’m truly surprised you were able to escape my cell. Perhaps I should have simply killed you when we first met.” He sighted down the barrel of the weapon. “I’ll kill you first, Mr. Butler. Then, after I tire of Ms. Christian here, I’ll find an enjoyable way to finish her off. I just hope she provides a little more resistance than Bek did.”
***
Raiden stared in silent horror as the scene unfolded before her, her mind racing to think of something to do. She jabbed at the retro thrust control handle, jamming it forward at full power. The Belvedere lurched backward with four Gs of acceleration. Davis and Rhys were both flung forward toward the dash. Rhys struck the captain’s chair, while Davis hit the tungsten control panel.
***
Rhys saw a reflection from the side pocket of his captain’s chair – the spanner wrench. A wave of venomous rage surged through his body, flowing through his muscles with murderous desire. He swung the wrench with bone-crushing velocity, striking Davis’ skull with a loud crack, followed by a spray of blood and gray ooze, shouting, “That’s for Bek!” He struck again, twice, even after the man stopped moving. As the UNCS citizen fell dead to the floor, Rhys fought back the urge to vomit. His shaking hand dropped the wrench.
Raiden paled at the vision, her body trembling. She wrapped her arms around Rhys. Together they sobbed in shock for some time.
***
After several hours of debate, they agreed on a plan. Using Davis’ DNA and secondary identification systems, they were able to take command of Davis’ Corsair. They moved all the Karan tech aboard it, d
eciding to set a course to Independence, where both the UNCS and alien tech would make them rich, assuming they weren’t shot down first.
They left Davis’ body on the bridge of the Belvedere. Rhys and Raiden made a final pass of both of their ships to retrieve anything they wanted to keep, then climbed aboard the Vanquisher. They detached the airlock, rocketed away from the Belvedere and the Karan ship to a safe firing distance, then lit up space with a volley of tachyon missiles that vaporized everything within a radius of a dozen kilometers.
Rhys and Raiden shared a moment of silence over the death of the lives they used to have. They found the Vanquisher’s pantry loaded with the finest of foods and wine. The set course and toasted it with clinking glasses, leaving the UN behind them, sailing to Independence.
_____________________
James Peters fell in love with Science Fiction at a young age, becoming hooked on the works of Asimov, Anderson, and Pohl (among many others), as well as the mixed bag of anything labeled Science Fiction on television or at the movies while growing up. While in grade school, he was given an assignment to write a journal about anything he wanted. He quickly filled the pages with a Buck Roger's type adventure of robots, spaceships, and pew-pewing lasers, discovering his inner passion to write. He writes with a gritty blend of character-driven action, wry humor, and social commentary that transports the reader through wild worlds of speculative fiction and fantasy.
Above My Paygrade
by Jamie Ibson
_______________________
Present Day
Chapter 1
Straite System, UNOPE Fillion, Command Hub
“Forward that to my office,” Citizen Pratt ordered over his shoulder as he stalked off the command hub. The comms officer was a young lieutenant (junior grade) and glanced to the watch commander for a moment, receiving a curt nod. “Citizen” was a misnomer – Pratt held more authority than anyone in this room, being outside of and entirely above the UN Exploration Service’s chain of command. He was a member of the UN’s Community Services, which literally gave him the authority to go anywhere, and do anything, in the name of crime prevention and community safety. Over a hundred seventy years or so, that had grown to encompass…a lot. Pratt made the entirety of Port Fillion’s command staff very nervous as citizens from Community Services had made virtually everything their business, while answering to no one. Even seeking his commander’s permission to obey the “request” could get LT(JG) Rooker in deep shit.