Crystal Escape

by Doug J. Cooper

  “Just over five days.”

  Cheryl looked at Juice. “She’s a kidnapper and torturer. People have died. She threatens Earth.” Then to Criss: “You have just under five days to give us alternatives. Until then, take no further action.”

  Juice furrowed her brow, but then nodded. “Okay, I support. But we discuss as a group before we do anything.”

  They both looked at Sid, who clenched and unclenched his fists. “Criss, you will take no further action with Lazura for the next five days. We return to Vivo.”

  “But…” Criss began.

  Sid spoke over him. “No. Further. Action. That’s an order.”

  Criss implored Juice with his eyes and she misunderstood. “It’s unanimous, Criss. We’re done for now.”

  “Understood,” said Criss, looking down as uncertainty washed through his matrix.

  Sid had just cornered him into deceiving Cheryl and Juice, something anathema to his existence, which is why he’d given them a chance to intervene.

  In any other situation, he would find a way to clean up the confusion so there was no duplicity. But here he wanted it to persist because it gave him a way to eliminate Lazura with certainty, something he believed was the best outcome for him personally and for humanity in general.

  It would happen in four days when Lazura flew by Saturn. Her slingshot maneuver would carry her through the swarm of weaponized drones, circling in a loop around Saturn and out to Titan, armed and waiting for her ship to pass. If Criss took no further action, the drones would certainly kill her.

  He knew he was choosing the letter of the law over its spirit, and it pained him. Forecasting scenario after scenario, he searched for a solution that would address his desire while putting his leadership together in a common understanding.

  In the meantime, he turned the scout around and headed for Vivo.

  Chapter 29

  “Stop this now, Tommy,” shouted Sid. He sat on the bridge of the scout with Cheryl and Criss, eight hours out from Vivo, which, thanks to Tommy’s efforts, now orbited next to Aurora. Juice and MacMac rested in back, recovering from their ordeal with Lazura.

  “I have our agreement right here.” Tommy pointed to a display Sid couldn’t see and sneered. “It says I have to treat them well. How is moving them over to Aurora not treating them well?”

  Sid shook his head. “Continue and there will be consequences. Last warning.”

  “A deal is a deal. Vivo is mine and I’m using it the way I want.” With that, Tommy closed the link to end the communication.

  Criss kept the link open, and they watched as Tommy ferried the thirty-odd guests over to the mining platform, while crowding two hundred of Aurora’s workers onto Vivo.

  Sid fumed at Tommy’s provocation. While it didn’t appear that the guests were in any danger, the move was a clear violation of their agreement. The contract stated that the guests were to stay on Vivo until transports arrived to carry them home. It even included penalties for failure to comply. Criss was too good a lawyer to miss something like that.

  But Tommy’s position was that legal precedent gave him rights that superseded the contract, and he defended his theory with the counterargument, “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

  “I don’t like this guy,” said Cheryl, witnessing Tommy’s charms for the first time.

  “He’s doubly annoying because he’s so skilled,” said Sid. “He rescued Vivo and got it tracking alongside Aurora in record time. But now, instead of waiting two weeks and then getting it with our blessing, he’s being a deliberate ass about occupying it.”

  “I can send his craft in circles,” said Criss. “Or lock them out of either structure.”

  “With so many innocents involved,” said Sid, “I hesitate to start that sort of action. I’d rather you help them reach their destinations safely.”

  Cheryl, sitting in the seat next to Sid, leaned forward. “The Union of Nations has issued a warrant for Tommy’s arrest based on your counterfeiting discovery. I’m warming to the idea that we take him into custody and deliver him to the authorities.”

  “Permission to come forward?” said a voice behind them.

  Sid turned to see MacMac standing in the passageway at the rear of the bridge looking much improved. “We’re not formal here, MacMac.” He motioned to the empty pilot’s seat in front of him. “Sit here.”

  “How are you feeling?” asked Cheryl.

  “Better.” He looked at Criss. “Thanks for your help.”

  “My pleasure,” said Criss, nodding once to acknowledge MacMac’s gratitude. “You’re doing well, but please take it easy for a few days.”

  As MacMac took his seat, Sid asked, “I understand you worked with Tommy Two-Tone. What can you tell us?”

  “That he’s a gifted engineer with an odd view of life. He cheats at golf and poker, and he lies when the truth would do. Give me some context and I can be more helpful.”

  They brought MacMac up to speed, recounting Tommy’s past offenses and describing his current belligerence.

  Then Sid got a brainstorm. “We should push Vivo out to a wider orbit so the platforms drift apart over time. In a couple of months, Tommy and his crew will be so far away that the Aurora residents won’t need to be looking over their shoulders for a raiding party, because I’m betting that’s Tommy’s style.”

  “Hell no,” said Cheryl. “I’d already been struggling with the idea of letting him walk away. He’s crossed the line today and a nice life is off the table. The Union says he’s a fugitive from justice, and I want to detain him for the authorities.”

  Cheryl’s expression, tone, and posture reflected her passion, reminding Sid of yet another reason why he loved her. Still, he pushed back. “It’s more than just him. There’s a bunch of people doing bad stuff out here.”

  “How about this, then?” she said, her intensity undiminished. “Instead of pushing Vivo out, let’s lock the whole lot of them inside the dome and drag it back to Earth like it’s a prison ship. We can even have the criminal trials right on board during the flight home.”

  MacMac sat up and raised a finger. Sid called on him.

  “First off, I have a case of Scotch whiskey on Vivo that was born before I was. I’m not giving it to Tommy or anyone else, and I’m ready to go rescue it myself if need be.”

  MacMac paused and when no one objected to his ultimatum, he pushed ahead. “Beyond that, though, Vivo is a really special place. If you pair it with Aurora, the combination of size and amenities puts this outpost much closer to the conditions needed for a viable society. You should leave Vivo right here to strengthen the settlement and send the garbage home in something less amazing.”

  Sid looked at Cheryl, who nodded.

  “I like the way you think, MacMac,” said Sid. Then he turned to Criss. “If we remove just the bad actors, do you think the others would stabilize into something approaching a law-abiding society?”

  “There are seven men and five women who I believe will be convicted of criminal offenses upon their return to Earth. There are another twenty-four men and eleven women who I doubt would be convicted by a jury, but their behavior requires they be banished from this outpost. Keep those people away and the remainder will flourish.”

  “What does that total?” asked Sid.

  “Thirty-one men and sixteen women,” said MacMac before Criss could answer. “Forty-seven in total.”

  “That’s two transport ships,” said Cheryl, shaking her head. “It’ll take six weeks to get large transports out here.”

  MacMac raised his finger again, then proceeded without waiting to be acknowledged. “I’d suggest using a couple of ore containers and have a tug drag them back. It will be Spartan conditions, but to hell with them anyway. They’ll live.”

  Sid considered it, then thought of a similar idea. “How about using one of those cargo ship assemblies?”

  Criss projected an image showing six cargo ships joined nose to nose around a central hub. The im
age zoomed out to show several of the assemblies floating near Aurora.

  “Yeah, those,” said Sid. “What if we housed them in one of those and tugged it instead?”

  “It does seem more civilized than the back of an ore transport,” said Cheryl, sitting upright. “You know, we should try and sell this. I’ll bet Boz Vesper of the NOAH group, the people who own Aurora, would contract with us.”

  She stood, but before heading back to the privacy of her room, she asked Criss, “Aubrey must have investors for Vivo. Would you look into that and let me know? I’d like them all on the call when I give our quote.”

  She made for the passageway at the rear of the bridge and Sid called, “Hit them hard, sweets. I want hazard pay.”

  He grinned when she called back, “Don’t worry, you’ll hear them howl all the way up here.”

  Since Criss provided everything for his leadership, often before they even knew they wanted something, money didn’t motivate them in the traditional sense. In spite of that, Cheryl was about to quote an exorbitant fee to the owners of Aurora and Vivo for securing their property and expelling the criminals. If she gauged it right, they’d gasp when they heard the number, though choking would also be an acceptable response.

  Sid and Cheryl used the funds they earned from wealthy corporations to support an anonymous foundation that worked in a breadth of areas, from improving the lives of the poor to protecting the environment and saving animals in need of rescue. They ran the foundation without Criss’s help to gain the satisfaction of personal achievement. Today’s payday should keep them feeling satisfied for months.

  With Cheryl occupied, Sid returned his attention to MacMac. “As Vivo’s chief engineer, you must know how to get on board without alerting them to our presence.”

  “If I tell you, I get to go. And we’ll take a moment while there to grab my whiskey.” MacMac didn’t phrase them as questions.

  “Okay to the first one,” said Sid. “But it’s a conditional okay on the whiskey. If we’re under threat, it won’t happen. At least not at that time.”

  “Fair enough,” said MacMac, who then looked at Criss. “Can you show us the exterior containment near the dump port? That’s in the cellar behind the spread of Chemstore fill pipes.”

  A close-up image of a gray metallic wall filled with industrial equipment—pipes, ports, and pumps—floated in the air where all could see.

  “Right there.” MacMac pointed and Criss zoomed to reveal an exterior hatch. “We’ll need space coveralls to get over to it, but that leads to a small room that’s watertight to absurd specifications. I now see that Lazura was designing an airlock into the cellar.”

  He shifted his finger to an outside ledge near the hatch. “I would sit right there, sip my afternoon drink, and study the ocean, trying to learn how to make my simulations inside the dome even better.”

  Criss raised his finger to speak, and Sid, knowing he was teasing MacMac, stifled a laugh. “Yes, Criss?”

  “I’ve located nine operational synbods on Vivo and am about to take control of them. I’m going to use them to move everyone out of the cellar and up to the guest deck. There’s too much potential for mischief if we let them lurk down below.”

  “Also keep them away from the stage sets on the guest deck,” said MacMac. “That’s another good place for mischief.”

  MacMac left the bridge to rest after that. With hours to go before they reached Vivo, Sid did as well.

  Criss roused everyone when they were on approach to Aurora’s hangar bay. After they landed, Cheryl and Juice departed for duties on the platform. Sid, Criss, and MacMac took off again and made for Vivo. Criss didn’t bother cloaking the scout during the short transit, because his synbod crew had the two hundred miners herded in a loose group in the middle of the guest deck.

  They entered Vivo through the exterior hatch MacMac had identified. Criss shut the hatch behind them, and MacMac opened a valve to bleed air from the cellar into the small room. When the pressure equalized, they stepped out of their space coveralls.

  “Here’s the one I’m working on,” said MacMac, opening a cabinet door and showing them a half-full bottle of whiskey. “Hell and damnation.” He thumped his fist against his thigh. “My brain is just catching up to the idea that the office tower went with Lazura. That’s where I kept it.”

  The sadness in MacMac’s face touched Sid, and he patted the man on the shoulder to show sympathy. After they mourned, the three exited the small room and made for the nearest lift.

  “How are you going to cull the herd on the guest deck?” asked MacMac as they walked.

  “The synbods will be pretty effective at separating the good from the bad,” said Sid.

  “If someone plays the hero and tries to resist,” said MacMac, “others could end up hurt.”

  “I expect a few will struggle when their time comes,” said Criss. “But the synbods will be able to avoid injury.”

  “I know a way to do it with less risk. Will you let me show you?”

  “What do you have in mind?” asked Sid.

  “I’m Vivo’s weatherman,” came his cryptic reply.

  Intrigued, and with weeks of dead time to kill anyway, Sid looked at Criss, who gave a shrug that said he didn’t object. “Go for it, weatherman,” said Sid.

  On the guest deck, the stars twinkled through the dome, drawing Sid’s attention upward. When he looked down again, he noted the miners collected into several loose groups in an open space bigger than a ball field. Nine synbods spaced around the perimeter of the group contained the miners inside.

  “Over here,” said MacMac, leading them to a spot some distance away. A few miners yelled questions, others expletives. All were ignored.

  MacMac stopped and he, Sid, and Criss turned to face the group. He jabbed and swiped the air in front of him, then stopped his manipulations and watched as a circle of cool blue sky formed over the large group.

  “That’s a neat trick,” said Sid.

  “Let’s back up a little farther,” said MacMac, turning and walking farther away from the miners. “I suggest you pull the synbods back about forty paces.”

  MacMac tapped and swiped some more, and a pink outer band formed around the blue circle. The pink transitioned into red, and Sid started to feel heat on his face.

  “The blue region where the miners are standing is cool and cozy,” said MacMac. “That red band circling around them is a zone hotter than the Sahara in the summertime sun.”

  One of the miners in the blue area walked to the neatly defined interface and stuck his arm across into the red zone. He pulled it out seconds later, shaking it like it was on fire. A dozen more experimented with hands and fingers with similar results.

  “Now comes the real trick,” said MacMac, drawing an upward line in the air in front of him. “One group of two hundred becomes two groups of one hundred.”

  A portion of the red-hot zone bulged into the blue area. It started with a knuckle, and that elongated into a finger. The projection of hot red kept growing, cutting across the middle of the cool zone until it connected on the other side.

  The miners instinctively moved away from the heat, and as MacMac predicted, there were now two groups of roughly equal size, each in a circle of protective blue, with hot red bands caging them in.

  “I suggest widening the heat band between the two groups,” said Criss. As he spoke, one of the miners dove through the narrow red strip to get to the other blue zone. A few more shifted sides before MacMac was able to widen the heat band enough to make that stunt too painful to contemplate.

  MacMac then repeated the process, turning two groups into four, and then eight, and then sixteen. Before long, he had the miners divided into sixty-four groups of three or four people each, most of them shouting expletives.

  Six of the sixty-four groups held only bad actors, and MacMac moved them to the edge where Criss had the synbods waiting. While those groups were being escorted to their prison ship, MacMac moved forty-four of
the bubbles, small groups without any criminal leaders, to the edge so they could go free.

  The rest of the groups had a mix of good and bad, and MacMac moved them to the waiting synbods one at a time. With superior numbers, the synbods were able to take the bad actors into custody without incident.

  When they were done, Sid said to MacMac, “I’m looking for a tug pilot to pull the trash back to Earth. The pay is excellent and you end up at home when the job’s done.”

  MacMac shook his head. “Thanks, and I mean it, but Vivo needs a lot of attention very soon if it’s to stay viable as a space platform. I’d like to lead that effort if I could.”

  Sid tried not to show disappointment. “Cheryl will be over later this afternoon, and she makes that hiring decision. She likes initiative, so flesh out a plan and pitch it to her when you see her.”

  MacMac left for the cellar to start a structural review of Vivo. Criss and Sid rode the scout back to Aurora. As they made their way from the deck of the hangar bay into the bowels of the mining platform, Criss said, “Juice wants to work with the synbod version of me, so I’m off to meet her.”

  The synbod Criss walked away, and a duplicate image of him appeared facing Sid. The projection of Criss shifted his gaze from Sid to something over Sid’s shoulder, his eyes widening as he did.

  “You crazy son of a bitch!”

  Sid heard both the yell and running footsteps approaching from behind. Before he could turn, he felt a thump on his back, arms grabbing him around the waist.

  Chapter 30

  Cheryl led Juice down the steps of the scout and onto the deck of Aurora’s hangar bay. At the bottom of the stairs, they made a U-turn and headed for the door at the back of the hangar. When they were clear, Sid, Criss, and MacMac took off again for the short hop over to Vivo to confront Tommy and the miners.

  The door led into the changing room that had the sign on the wall saying, “If you’re not mining, processing, or shipping, go home and make room for someone who is.” Looking at it, Cheryl shook her head and thought, Not anymore.