The Slip: The Complete First Season

by Herschel K. Stroganoff

  The bunk was cold and cramped, and Garrett was woken by the man snoring in the bunk half a metre above. Each time the man tossed and turned, the bunk bent and creaked. And when he wasn't rolling, he was snoring or farting.

  Garrett sighed and rolled out of the bunk, drifting down past the two below bunks in the ship's low gravity. He reached into the corner, and pulled down his coveralls. They were filth and creased and reeked of smoke and sweat. He pulled them on and yawned before backing through the bunkroom door as the others slept.

  The corridor walls were a maze of black pipes and colourful wires trailing this way and that. The air ducts creaked while blue halos of light shone down from the low ceiling. He pushed his way through the door into the toilet room.

  He sat down and the vacuum of the seat seal around him. He thought about Ifan as he pissed: about the boy who stabbed him, about the Muedin official who let him bleed out in the street and the dead Yao woman. He punched the wall with the side of his fist and held back a tear.

  “I'm so sorry,” he whispered. “I wish I could have done something.”

  He held his hand hard over his mouth as he sobbed. Ifan was gone.

  He wondered how he was going to tell his fellow traders back on Lunar. How could break the news to Wynn or to Gethin? He bit his fist and slumped forward. A knock came from the other side of the door, dull, metallic.

  “Are you okay in there?” a woman's voice asked.

  Garrett cleared his throat. “Erm, yes, sorry. I won't be a second.” He stood as the toilet lid closed with a gurgling, sucking sound. He placed his hands in a pair of holes on the wall that sealed around his wrists and felt the rush of antibacterial powder washing over his skin.

  He unlocked the door and sighed. Stepping through, he stopped with a start as he recognised the lean woman with cropped blonde hair. “You,” he growled.

  The woman's eyes widened. “I don't want any trouble,” she said, waving her hands. “I can call security. They'll come.”

  “My friend is dead. You should have helped him,” Garrett said, his voice cracking.

  The woman shook her head. “There's nothing I could have done.”

  “You let him die. He was right there and you let him die.” He leaned against the woman and sobbed. He felt her arms move around him.

  “I'm sorry,” she said. “I wanted to help, but I wasn't allowed. Please know I'm sorry.”

  “You could have helped.”

  “The guards would have arrested me, or killed me if I'd gone against the order. There was nothing I could have done. You know how tense things were.”

  Garrett frowned and met the woman's pale blue eyes. “Okay,” he whispered.

  Episode 3: United Solar

  Kurowsawa household, Insularum 3, Lunar

  Children laughed as they chased each other, darting and weaving between the legs of the grown-ups as they played, their excited squeals drowning out the party music. Hayao Kurosawa crouched on one knee and smiled as his daughter Riko tore the wrapping paper from her birthday present. He turned to his wife Natsuki, looking down at them as she sipped from a teacup. She was lean and wore a high-collared yellow tunic.

  Riko sat on the floor, her legs outstretched, kicking with excitement. “It's a... It's a...” She frowned, turning to her father. “What is it Daddy?”

  Hayao laughed and lay down on his side next to her, leaning on his chin on his left hand as an elbow took his weight. “It's a Muedin centre,” he said, gesturing to the swooping white and blue dome, almost as tall as his daughter, new and gleaming. He picked up one of the tiny wooden figures. “This is a medic. They help you feel better if you get sick.”

  Riko took the figure from his hand and held it close to her face. “I am calling her...” She paused, making a show of thinking, squeezing her eyes closed and placing a finger to her lips. “Dangy.”

  Hayao chuckled. “Dangy's a great name.” He picked up a robotic figure constructed from twists of metal tubing around a framework of dull steel. “This is a surgery drone. These fix your arms and legs, or go into your tummy if you're very, very sick.”

  Riko squinted as she regarded the drone. “I will call that one Dangy too.”

  Hayao laughed.

  “Why don't you pick a different name, Riko?” Natsuki said.

  Riko scowled. “I said this name is Dangy, I said.”

  “But don't you want to give them different names?”

  “I wouldn't try reasoning with a three-year-old,” Hayao said. “It's her birthday, if she wants to call them both Dangy, then she can.”

  Riko smiled. “This one's Dangy and this one's Dangy too,” she said with delight.

  “Okay,” Natsuki said with mock resignation.

  “This is a Muedin capsule,” Hayao said, picking up the egg-shaped vehicle. “This is what people travel in when they are too sick to get to a Muedin centre. Is this one called Dangy too?”

  Riko took the capsule and rotated in her hand. “No. I will call this one Muedin capsule, Daddy.”

  Hayao laughed, got to his feet and went over to Natsuki, almost tripping as a young boy dived over the edge of the sofa.

  “I can't believe she's three already,” she said, shaking her head. “It doesn't seem like five minutes since she was born.”

  “I know,” he said, reaching to a shelf behind Natsuki to retrieve his teacup. “Time slips away far too quickly.” The decor around him was light, it white curved walls lined with shimmering glass reliefs. Other children's parents huddled in groups, sipping tea and gossiping in hushed voices, half-watching their children running circles around the edge of the room.

  Riko crawled along the floor, making whooshing noises as she pretended the Muedin capsule could fly.

  He sniffed at his tea and smiled at Natsuki. “What do you think of this new blend?”

  “It's pretty good,” she said, the corner of her mouth twitching. “You always buy the most expensive teas.”

  “It's my only indulgence.” He turns to watch his daughter playing. “Mars has always produced the best tea.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  “I'll get that,” he said. He placed his cup back onto the shelf and crossed his reception room, taking care not to tread on Riko's new toys, stepping around the other children as than ran in haphazard zigzags.

  He opened the door to two United Solar security officers wearing dark blue uniforms and blank expressions.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Mister Vice Secretary, please forgive the intrusion,” the taller officer said. “All members of the Solar Assembly have been summoned to the Chamber for an emergency session.”

  Hayao furrowed his brow, glancing back over his shoulder. “When?”

  “Now, Mister Vice Secretary.”

  Hayao drew in a long breath. “I will need to change,” he said, gesturing to his colourful party shirt.

  “Be quick,” the officer said. “We have a capsule waiting for you.”

  “Thank you,” Hayao said, closing the door. He turned to Natsuki who was standing behind him. “I take it you heard that?”

  “It's Riko's birthday. Can't Takeshi attend for once?”

  He held his hands out in a helpless gesture. “It's an emergency, I don't want to do this, but I have a duty. “ He kissed Natsuki as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I should be back before Riko's bedtime.”

  “What are you doing, Daddy?” Riko asked as she pulled at his trouser leg.

  He knelt to her level and placed a hand on her back. “Daddy needs to go to work for a little while, but I promise I will be back as soon as I can.”

  Riko frowned, pushing out her bottom lip. “But I want you to stay here with me and Mommy and Grandpa and, and...” She shuddered then let out a long wail.

  Hayao wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. “Hey,” he whispered, his chin resting on her shoulder. “It's okay. I'll come back and we can play with Dangy.” He leaned back ad met her teary eyes. “Does that soun
d good?”

  “But...” She choked down a sob. “I want you to play now.” She jerked out her breaths as tears soaked her face.

  Hayao brushed her face with his sleeve and signalled for Natsuki to take over.

  Capsule Line, Insularum 3, Lunar

  Hayao ducked his head as he stepped into a private capsule, its door hissing closed behind him. He sat between a pair of United Solar security officers on the bench curved along the capsule's wall, reflections from the daylight lamp rippling across its white surface. He leaned back as the capsule set off on its journey through Lunar's subterranean tunnels.

  He wore a black jacket and trousers with a high-collared white shirt. He turned to the officer at his right and smiled. She was broad and staring straight ahead. Hayao tapped her arm. “Can you shed any more light on why I've been called?”

  “Mister Vice Secretary, I'm afraid I do not have that information,” she said.

  “It's most likely relating to the situation with Yao Chin, Mister Vice Secretary,” the officer to Hayao's left said.

  He met her gaze with a furrowed brow. “Forgive my ignorance,” he said. “I have been celebrating my daughter's birthday. I have not yet been briefed. What is the situation with Yao Chin?”

  “Her body was found on the L5 casino platform, Mister Vice Secretary.”

  Hayao blinked. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “Yes, Mister Vice Secretary,” she said.

  “What happened?”

  “We're not sure at this point. First reports suggest she was killed by a mining drone.”

  Hayao rocked with the motion of the capsule as it hummed and creaked. “Do we know if was an accident?”

  “Not at this point, Mister Vice Secretary.”

  “This will be the first Yao death, certainly in our lifetime,” he said as the capsule screeched to a halt beneath United Solar's headquarters.

  United Solar Assembly, Insularum 1, Lunar

  Hayao removed his jacket as the last few United Solar Representatives took their seats in the Assembly Chamber. The Representatives were made up of elected officials from the eight provinces and nominated members of key Affiliate monopolies. Their role was to administer governance across the Solar System.

  Hayao looked behind him at the arc of seats filled with familiar faces from across the Union: Representatives from Lunar and Mars, the planetary orbiters and platforms, the Boeki, the Aghoro, Muedin, Bani, Fune - the empty seats of the Yao.

  He placed his jacket on the empty seat to his left with care. It was always reserved for Lunar Secretary Takeshi Ozu, the elected Representative of Lunar and leader of United Solar. Hayao expected, as ever, to deputise in his place. He turned his gaze up towards the Chair's platform at the front of the Chamber as the Assembly settled.

  “Twenty-three members of the Yao family were killed in a calculated series of assassinations,” Chair Akash Tagore said in a slow, deliberate monotone. “A detailed report is currently being prepared by Investigator Tshilidzi Dumi. As far as the Judiciary understands the situation, the entire Yao family was murdered. Two members are, as yet, unaccounted for, but the Judiciary is working on the assumption that they too were victims of this heinous crime.”

  Hayao shook his head. He had heard about the murdered Yao on Lunar's L5 platform, but had no idea that the Yao - a mining dynasty spanning back for millennia - had been brought to an end.

  “For the short-term, at least, all Yao operations and contracts will be suspended until the legal ramifications of these deaths can be ascertained,” Akash continued. “Without any legal heirs or any legal apparatus in place, we are unable to move forward on any proposed asset sharing.”

  Hayao found Akash's expression impenetrable.

  Akash turned from his desk, overlooking the three-quarter-circle rows of seats, and pointed a thumb-sized remote control at a large screen behind him. The lights dimmed as the concentric circles representing the eight provinces of the Union was replaced with a diagram of the solar system, its major bodies arranged in a line extending from Sol at the far left to Neptune to the right - all equally spaced, all equally sized.

  “It's clear that the deaths must have been coordinated remotely, as there is a notable time-lag between locations which correspond with light-speed signals,” Akash said. “Early calculations suggest that the signal came from Mars or Lunar, reaching the Proteus orbiter several hours later. It is likely that the drones were pre-programmed to carry out these murders. This opens up two questions which I hope will be key to Mister Dumi's investigation: who did this and why?”

  Hayao turned to his left as Muedin Representative Inge Tomas, a middle-aged woman perched at the end of his row, stood to address the Chamber. “I'm sorry,” she began. “I don't think we need an investigation to work out who is responsible for this.”

  Whispering and mumbling spread across the Chamber.

  Hayao grinned to himself as Wynn Efans, a short pale man with receding brown hair, wobbled to his feet. “Madam Tomas,” he said. “With all due respect, I urge this Chamber to tread very carefully before making assumptions and accusations. If you believe this to be the work of the Boeki, you are mistaken.”

  “I never thought for a moment this was the Boeki,” Inge snapped, turning to Wynn. “Your traders wouldn't possess the sophistication or intelligence to enact something like this.”

  “Order! Order!” Akash banged his gavel. “These are delicate times. The last thing we need is infighting within the Assembly.” He turned, pointing his gavel at Inge. “Representative Efans is correct - it would not be prudent of the Assembly to make unfounded accusations or cast aspersions on any group or individual - is that understood? Any further comments along those lines and the Muedin Representative will be ejected from the Chair.”

  Inge glared at Wynn, then turned to Akash. “I apologise to the Boeki and to you, Chair, for the misunderstanding,” she said. “As far as I am aware, there are five groups that possess the technology and knowledge to carry out such a coordinated series of murders - United Solar, Aghoro, Muedin, the Yao, and the Purdah,” she paused to allow the whispering of the other Representatives to subside.

  “I think we can safely rule out the Yao, and I hope above hope that we can also rule-out United Solar and Aghoro. There is no possibility that we could have been involved in this. I, for one, would have known. It's certainly not in our interests to remove the Yao.”

  Wynn rose again to address the Chamber. “Sorry, Chair,” he said. “It's in all our interests to remove the Yao - be honest Representative Tomas. They've had the monopoly on mining and fuel from Sol to beyond the Kuiper Belt for, well, forever. It's in all our interests, so that line of defence won't fly with me.”

  Inge gave Wynn a grim smile, then turned to Akash. “I gave to disagree,” she said. “We're moving away from the real issue. We need to go after the Purdah, we need to do to them, what they did to the Yao.”

  Hayao rose and turned to address the Chamber. “Lunar does not support or endorse the actions of the Purdah - let there be no mistake,” he said. “But, I have followed their actions closely for a long time. I am not convinced by Representative Tomas's allegation this rests with the Purdah. They are criminals, pirates, thieves - call them what you will - but assassination and murder does not fit with what we know of their operations.”

  He met Inge's glare. “It is my belief that whoever carried out these crimes did so to create a power vacuum, to create instability, to create conflict and hostility between United Solar and its Affiliates.”

  Straining with his thoughts, Hayao could sense something was amiss, as though the pieces were lining up after a long, drawn-out game of chess. He lowered his voice to a pleading tone and passed his gaze across the rows of gathered Representatives. “I call upon this Assembly to show restraint and not take action in haste that will damage our long-term security and prosperity.” He clenched his jaw.

  “Regardless, the Purdah are a menace that needs to be eradicated - or is this A
ssembly too weak to do what is necessary?” asked Inge.

  Akash banged his gavel and pointed it again towards Inge. “I have warned you already during this session, Representative Tomas. Unless you have a motion to put before the Assembly, I would request that you remain silent for the remainder of this session.”

  Hayao sat down as Inge turned to the other Representatives, her mouth agape in mock indignation. “Well I do have a motion to put forward,” she said. “I would like the Assembly to consider the multilateral rearmament of projectile weapons for United Solar and the Affiliates.”

  Hayao felt a surge of rage rush through his body. The Chamber exploded with outcry and Akash struggled to regain order. The noise of Akash's gavel echoed around the Chamber.

  “We cannot allow this,” said Hayao, rising to his feet as the tumult calmed. “Within our lifetimes there have been no projectile weapons - our ships, our domes, our orbiters are too precarious to be put at risk. Our total population has dropped below ten-million for the first time in our history. Making such weapons available to any group - no matter how well-intentioned - can only lead to more death.”

  Hayao turned and glared at Inge. “This is opportunism at its worst, and I urge all Representatives to have no part in this terrible, terrible motion.”

  “I second Representative Tomas's motion,” a voice said from the rear of the Chamber. Representatives turned in unison to see Lunar Secretary Takeshi Ozu. His arrival was met with gasps and whispers as he strode down the steps to take his seat.

  Hayao frowned as Takeshi pushed his jacket from the seat and onto the floor. He was tall and lean with high cheekbones and a tight smile.

  “This is an unexpected surprise Mister Secretary,” said Akash. “I don't think we've seen you in these chambers since you were sworn into office. I trust you are well?”

  “Please forgive my intrusion at this point,” said Takeshi, addressing the Chamber.

  “We have come to a point in our history where a sophisticated terrorist organisation has committed mass murder by hijacking our industrial technology. These evil-doers used the Yao's own mining equipment to kill, murder, and disrupt our way of life. We have to show that we are unwilling to tolerate such behaviour, that an attack such as this only strengthens our resolve, that we will face them head-on.” Takeshi paused and passed his glance along the rows of Representatives. “We must give United Solar and its Affiliates the ability to defend our interests and protect our way of life.”