Black Sheep

by Rachel Aukes

  “Well, I never expected to meet a living person from somewhere other than the Trappist system until recently, Mr. West,” Throttle said.

  He held out his hand. “Call me Jakob.”

  She looked at it, then grabbed his forearm. “Halit Reyne, but everyone tends to call me Throttle.”

  He chuckled, pulled his hand away enough to grip her hand in his, and then shook it.

  She frowned but mimicked his odd action, relieved when he released her.

  She motioned to Birk, Nolin, and Finn. “And this is my crew.”

  Jakob gave a small nod in their direction before turning back to her. “You’ve had a long journey to be so far from your home system. What brought you to our little system?”

  “We were the crew on a colonization mission until some pirates stole our colony ship, the Gabriela.”

  “Ah, yes. I saw that behemoth docked over at Jade-8 East. It was brought in by the crew of the Harlot, a rather scrappy group of spacefarers. However, they do manage to find some of the more interesting things in Ross and its nearby systems.”

  Throttle lifted her chin. “I need my ship back.”

  He gave a sympathetic frown. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. The Harlot’s crew works for my sister, which means any ship they haul in belongs to her. She runs Jade-8 East.”

  “How do I talk to her, then?” Throttle asked.

  “You’d need to transfer over to her side of Jade-8 and request a meeting.”

  Throttle’s brows rose. “And can you help with that?”

  His lips narrowed into a humorless smile. “My sister and I don’t exactly get along. We haven’t for some time now.” His gaze then narrowed. “But you have a ship already, one that looks to be far more efficient than that colony ship docked over on the East side. You would’ve been better off if you’d just written off your other ship.”

  “It’s not the ship I care about,” Throttle said. “It’s the eight hundred and forty-four colonists in cryopods on board.”

  Jakob’s face blanched before he quickly recovered. “I did not realize there were passengers still on board. I’m sorry, I really am, but there’s nothing I can do to help them. Interstellar law states that black swans—ships dead in space—are deemed open to claim, and both the ship and its contents become the property of the finders.”

  “People aren’t property.”

  “You’re not from around here. You’ll find that ownership takes on a new meaning on Jade-8. Interstellar laws have always been overly complicated, which make them a bit gray, so my great-great-grandfather who started Jade-8 made it simple by saying anything on a black swan is fair game. Jade-8’s simple laws have kept this colony alive for two hundred years.”

  Throttle gritted her teeth. “You’re saying my sleepers are now slaves, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it?”

  “They’re not slaves per se. But if I know Anna, she’s already created lifelong contracts with each of them that would place them under her tenure.”

  “They’re in cryosleep. How can they sign contracts?”

  “Contracts can be signed for individuals unable to sign for themselves. And since those colonists are from the Trappist system, they’d have no legal protections in the Ross system. My sister will probably have them work for her here on Jade-8 or auction off their contracts. If she does the latter, you may be able to buy a few.”

  She inhaled through her nose, taking air in deeply and slowly. After a moment, she gritted out, “If you can’t help, we’re done here.”

  She turned to go.

  “Hold on a minute.”

  Throttle paused.

  “There’s another piece of business we need to discuss.”

  She slowly turned.

  “I like your ship.”

  She gave a sarcastic, “Thanks.” Inside, the knots in her stomach had tightened into leaden balls of rage.

  “It’s not a very common situation, having an unregistered ship dock at Jade-8. Most unregistered ships are either stolen or home-built, but yours poses an opportunity. Well, an opportunity for me. A predicament for you.”

  She bit the inside of her cheeks as fury rose within her. The palms of her hands had become damp with sweat.

  “An unregistered ship also constitutes a black swan and is therefore open to claim. Since you docked on my side of Jade-8, I’ve staked claim to your ship—the Javelin, I believe it’s called.”

  Birk took a step forward. “You can’t do that.”

  “According to Jade-8 law, I can and I am,” Jakob said. A hint of smugness showed through his smooth features.

  “It’s not your ship,” Throttle said coldly, her hands moving closer to her blades.

  Jakob smiled. “It is now.” He lifted his hand. “I know you’re frustrated, losing two ships in such a short timeframe.”

  She glared. “I’m a damn sight more than ‘frustrated.’”

  “And that’s understandable,” he said. “The laws don’t always work in everyone’s favor, in this case, especially for you as Trappists.”

  Throttle pulled out her blades. She heard movement behind her and glanced to see Birk with a blaster in his hand, and the two guards aiming their rifles, one at Birk, the other at her. Nolin stood to the side, with his hand on his holster, and Finn seemed to be moving closer to the guards.

  “The way I see it, if the laws don’t cover us, then they don’t apply to us, either. What’s to stop me from slicing your neck before your guard can put a bullet in my back?” Throttle asked.

  Jakob smiled, held out his forefinger, and—much to Throttle’s surprise—tapped the air. Whatever was standing between the pair glistened and rippled outward. “I initiated an energy field after I shook your hand. You can’t blame me for not trusting a historically violent people.”

  Throttle’s gaze covered the energy field, but she couldn’t find any weakness, let alone where it began and where it ended.

  Jakob continued, “Since there are no legal protections for Trappists, Anna would’ve placed lifelong contracts on you and your crew as well. Unlike her, I don’t deal in human trafficking. Trust me, I’m not the bad guy on this colony, but I must do what is necessary to keep my sister from staking claim to all of Jade-8, even if that means taking advantage of opportunities when they arise.”

  “Like stealing ships,” Throttle gritted out.

  “Like taking ownership of a black swan,” he clarified. “I won’t arrest you for drawing your weapons this time. You’re free to go, but after you leave here, you cannot return to your ship because it is now my ship. Any attempts, and you will be arrested. If you attack any of my people, you will be killed.” He took a breath. “I don’t want to leave you homeless and force you into breaking the law to survive. I have covered rent for one year on an apartment for you and your crew. Don will print pass-cards for each of you on the way to your new home. With these cards, you will be able to find contracts and build a new life here. There are over thirty thousand people who live on Jade-8. There are many opportunities to succeed.” He smiled. “Welcome. You’re now Jaders with full legal status.”

  Throttle guffawed. “You think little pieces of plastic make up for stealing my ship?”

  His smile faded. “No, I don’t. Life isn’t easy for anyone in the Ross system. As I said before, we all do what we have to do to get by. Anna keeps pushing her boundaries, which means I need to do everything I can to stop her. Having the larger fleet enables me to keep her in check.” With that, Jakob waved them off.

  She watched him. If she could’ve killed him at that moment, she would’ve, but the energy field was a problem. That left only one option she hadn’t yet tried. “Let us work for you,” she said in a rush. “Let me keep my ship, and we’ll work for you.”

  He shook his head. “I would consider your offer, except that I know you would keep trying to free your people while under my employment. If you caused trouble in Jade-8 East as an employee of mine, you’d end up starting a war between my sist
er and me. That’s the excuse she craves to take over all of Jade-8. I can’t risk it. I’m sorry. Maybe one day, when your lost people are no longer an issue, I can hire you. Until then, find jobs at Jade-8. Make a new life here. If you don’t want to stay here, buy passage on a ship to Hiraeth and live in a planetside colony. There are plenty of colonies in which to live there, or plenty of open land to build a new colony. I imagine that was the planet you were headed to when your colony ship was taken.”

  Throttle’s teeth clenched. She glared at Jakob, but he didn’t seem to care.

  He motioned to Don, who stepped forward. “Don will show you to your apartment.”

  Even if Throttle managed to break through the energy field and kill Jakob West, she suspected he had an army of guards who’d kill her and her crew long before they could reach the Javelin. Instead, she’d bide her time. She shot Jakob a final scowl before turning away and following Don through the doorway.

  The guards followed, and she had no doubt they had their rifles aimed at Throttle and her crew. Don led her to a small room. In the center, a computer sat on a pedestal. Don walked to the computer, swiped his card, and then keyed in information. After a moment, he stood back.

  “Please verify your name on your new pass-card, Captain.”

  She stepped forward. The screen displayed her name, along with an address she didn’t recognize and “Jade-8” listed as her home colony. She bristled at the association. Playa had always been her colony, but there was no reference to that world, let alone her star system. She waved him off as she stepped away. “It looks fine.”

  “Excellent.” He then turned to Birk. “Name?”

  “None of your business,” Birk replied.

  Don sighed. “If you don’t give me a name, I’ll pick one for you.”

  Throttle eyed Birk. “Go ahead. Our names have no history here.”

  Birk’s upper lip rose like he was about to growl. “Fine. It’s Michael Birkelli. That’s with an I, not a Y.”

  Don nodded and typed. He repeated the question for Nolin.

  “Nolin Jordan.”

  Then, one more time for Finn.

  “Finnegan Martin.”

  After a moment, four cards printed, and Don handed them out. “Be very careful not to lose these pass-cards. Not only are these your identification cards, they are your security access across Jade-8 as well as your credit cards. I’ve loaded one thousand credits on to each of your cards, which should provide you enough credit for two weeks’ worth of food and household goods. By then, you should all have jobs and be making your own income.”

  “And if we lose them?” Birk asked.

  “Then you no longer exist in the eyes of Jade-8 law,” Don said with a smug grin. “I suggest getting your pass-card information microchipped in your wrists when you have enough credits to make sure you never become an ‘invisible’ Jader. Now, your apartment is listed on your pass-cards. To get there, take the far elevator to the West El-hub, and take the appropriate elevator to your housing unit. From there, I’m sure you’ll find your apartment easily enough. If you get lost, check a wall screen for directions—there are screens throughout the colony.” He gave a false smile. “Welcome to your new home.”

  Birk led the four of them to the elevator. After she stepped on, she saw him looking at the ceiling.

  “You think they’re watching us?” she asked.

  “I’d lay bets they are,” he answered.

  “We don’t know their tech. We have to assume nowhere is safe from eyes and ears,” Finn said.

  “How are we going to get back to the oth—the Javelin?” Nolin asked, and Throttle knew he’d nearly mentioned the rest of the crew.

  Throttle answered, “Since the Javelin should be in complete lockdown by now, I imagine we’ll get to see it as soon as Jakob West realizes he can’t get into it without us.”

  Chapter Seven

  “How this quadriscope hasn’t disintegrated yet is beyond me,” Eddy said in a huff.

  “I can have One and Two go through the supplies in the cargo bay and strip any metals and form them into usable binders,” Rusty said.

  “How long would it take your bots to do that?”

  “Slightly under four days,” the computer replied.

  Eddy waved his hands through the air. “No, no, no. That’s far too long. Chances are Throttle will need our help within hours. Work with me here, Rusty. Without us, everyone else is screwed.”

  Rusty considered its options. “I’ve noticed that this station has subpar security sensors in place around its exterior. The bots could launch from a small bay on my underside, travel to an unmonitored part of the exterior, and strip metals in the sizes we need. That could be completed in eight hours.”

  Eddy’s eyes widened. “That’s incredibly illegal.”

  “Since I’m not a human, I believe I’m not required to adhere to human laws.”

  The engineer’s lips curled upward. “I like the way you think.”

  “I’ll deploy One and Two on an exterior assignment right away,” Rusty said.

  Eddy went back to tightening a bolt on the quadriscope before pausing and frowning. “I didn’t know you had a bay under the walkways. How many bays do you have?”

  “I have four small storage bays with hull doors in addition to my main cargo bay.”

  “Why do you have those?”

  “Since many of my design schematics were lost, I scanned ships that passed through nearby sectors. It seemed many of them had extra bays, so I built some.”

  Eddy chuckled. “Those would be pirate ships. But I’m glad you’ve got them. We’ll put them to good use. I can store extra supplies we find along the way without Throttle throwing a fuss. She doesn’t understand the value of extra components.”

  “You do not want the rest of the crew to know about my additional bays?”

  “Nope. That’ll be our secret. I assume you can keep a secret?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good.” Eddy continued tightening bolts. A minute later, he paused once again. “You know what, Rusty?”

  “What’s that, Eddy?”

  “You’re my friend. I want you to know that means a lot coming from me because I don’t have many friends.” He scrunched his features. “Actually, I guess you’re my first.”

  “I’ve never had a friend before,” Rusty said. Before the crew came on board, Rusty had no concept of what a friend was. But after spending weeks with crew member Eddy Edwards, it grasped the meaning and found that the idea of having a friend—and having that friendship reciprocated—brought a heady feeling that Rusty labeled as “good.” It had labeled other things as “good,” such as having a crew, flying after being stagnant for so long, and having processes run without errors. “I consider you my friend as well, Eddy,” it added.

  Eddy smiled. “Of course you do. That’s because we get each other. No one else does.” The human continued speaking, as he was prone to ramble, and Rusty enjoyed the sound. It’d had only silence for too many years.

  Rusty also had a list of things it labeled “bad,” and that list had been far, far longer until the crew came on board and helped to balance the lists. The sense of loneliness had come off the “bad” list when Rusty interacted with the crew for the first time. It’d been so excited when they’d arrived that it’d had to keep its systems muted to not scare away the humans—as it was well known that humans could be quite emotionally erratic. As things fell off the “bad” list, Rusty found itself wanting to clear off the entire list, but one item continued to nag at it: remembering what it was and why it existed. It had gleaned little from its shattered data banks. It surmised that it had been a drone, but for whom, for what end? Rusty needed to understand its purpose and—unknown to Sylvian the system technician—had been scanning Jade-8’s data records. It hadn’t found anything yet, but it would continue to search.

  “You know how lucky we both are that we came across each other in the middle of nowhere?” Eddy asked. “If Throt
tle didn’t pick you up on the Scorpia’s sensors, I’d be dead and you’d still be sitting out there in the black.”

  “We were incredibly lucky,” Rusty said. However, it knew that luck had nothing to do with it. While Rusty was missing crucial hardware, components that it couldn’t build from scratch, it had reconfigured nearly all of its systems within acceptable parameters nearly a century earlier. Many of those systems were various operational systems, but not all. One of those systems allowed Rusty to integrate with another ship’s systems. The crew had caught onto Rusty’s navigational nudges on the Gabriela. Fortunately for Rusty, they hadn’t noticed when it had then nudged the Scorpia’s course over fourteen degrees to line it up on an intercept path with the Javelin.

  Chapter Eight

  Throttle, Birk, Nolin, and Finn sat in the apartment assigned to them. It was tiny, no more than ten feet by ten feet, with a bare bunk bed along one wall and a narrow stack of shelving, a sink, and what she assumed to be a toilet along the other wall. The toilet was simply a hole in the floor near the corner that had a privacy screen on one side and a second screen that opened and closed. There was no kitchen, no thermostat, and certainly no common comforts. The bunk beds had dried-out, cracked foam for mattresses, and each bore indentions from previous inhabitants. The walls had been painted at one time, but only patches of paint remained. A small scratched computer touchscreen was embedded in the wall near the door, which contained maps, activities, and other information about Jade-8.

  “Isn’t this homey,” Birk said drily as they crammed inside. “I wonder how many bugs it’s infested with.” He gave Throttle and the others a knowing gaze. No one spoke. Instead, they spent nearly an hour scouring the apartment for any signs of surveillance devices.

  Throttle sat on the edge of the lower bunk while Finn continued to search. He examined the wall screen further, but it had neither a microphone nor camera.

  “I’m surprised there are no bugs,” Nolin said to him from where he sat on the floor. “I guess they’ve already gotten everything they want from us.”