Torian Reclamation 3: Test of Fortitude

by Andy Kasch

  “What, like airborne divisions, jumping out of rotorcraft?”

  “Right. That and scaling down rock faces in mountainous terrain. It’s invigorating training, and not without the occasional injury. But the suits work well, once you get the hang of them.”

  Brandon finished his argim and set the empty glass down. “I’ll never know. It’d be a tough sell on me even if I was clueless to their origin. But knowing Derek made them—well, that completely kills any chance of me ever putting one on.”

  Perry smiled. “Another round?”

  “No,” Brandon said. “Not right now.”

  Perry crossed his arms and cocked his head slightly. “You’re going to flight simulator 3, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I want to …get that out of the way. You heard the High General. He told me to get some training.”

  Perry stayed in the same position for a minute, staring, making Brandon uncomfortable. Finally he spoke.

  “He also said not to let it rob you of sleep. And you do want to get a lot of sleep on this flight, remember?”

  “Of course,” Brandon said. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not as obsessive-compulsive as when I was young.”

  *

  “I told you not to let this game rob you of sleep,” Trodenmark said. “Maybe I should have come and turned it off. Too late now, I guess. We’ll be arriving shortly.”

  “We slept.” Jumper sounded defensive. “I mean, we haven’t spent the whole flight here. We’ve been in our rooms, and eating meals, and in the lounge—”

  “But mostly playing,” Alan said laughingly despite Jumper’s ensuing glare. “It sure made the flight go by fast. And since even when I was sleeping I was dreaming about playing it, we’ve pretty much been at this nonstop as far as my brain is concerned. Let’s shut it down and go join Kayla in the lounge, Jumper. I need to detox.”

  “As soon as we finish this game,” Jumper said.

  Alan looked at the situation. It was tempting to continue. The game was about even. His ship had nineteen supply contracts and a dozen active customers, plus he was on the verge of closing what looked like a highly profitable agricultural contract. Jumper had fewer contracts, but bigger customers who were buying higher-end goods. It would be a close finish. Unfortunately, Alan’s eyes were beginning to hurt and he felt a physical need to tear himself away.

  Getting Jumper to agree to quit wasn’t going to happen. And it would be less than sporting to simply shut down and quit. Alan never did that to Jumper. For some reason, he could never bring himself to disappoint him.

  Alan had an idea. Since Trodenmark was now back and observing them, maybe he could get him to shut the game off. Alan pointed his navigation controls at a planet near the edge of his territory. Instantly he was there, but he lost some points on the scoreboard for the long travel time it would have taken.

  Jumper glanced at Alan’s end of the virtual game field and saw the holographic image of the planet his ship was next to.

  “Isn’t that the place that drove you off earlier?”

  Alan ignored him. Sure enough, several squadrons of small holographic fighters, along with two larger warships, appeared and began firing at Alan’s merchant ship. He activated the defenses and soon had a battle on his hands. The big guns that came out of his hull returned fire at the approaching warships, and his own fighters scrambled and engaged the attackers.

  “What are you doing, man?” But the tone of Jumper’s voice, plus the fact he couldn’t look away from the simulated battle, told Alan he was secretly longing to do the same thing.

  The dying sound of a large computer shutting down filled the room. The holographic images above the large game set flickered and vanished. The control panel screens and scoreboards went out. Alan and Jumper both looked to the side. Trodenmark had his hand on the main power switch and was shaking his head.

  “I told you this isn’t a war game,” he said. “And I think you two have had enough of this. Why don’t you get a beverage and relax for the remainder of the trip?”

  “Don’t think I don’t know what you did there,” Jumper said to Alan as they walked the corridor to the lounge. But again, his tone betrayed amusement so Alan knew he wasn’t too upset.

  “Sorry, Jumper. Couldn’t resist. I’ll buy the drinks.”

  “How nice of you, since they’re free.”

  When they arrived at the lounge, Trodenjo was sitting and talking to Kayla. She had set Jumper’s lightpad down on the table between them and was slumping in her chair.

  Jumper followed Alan to the bar. When the bitter argim-like drinks arrived, Jumper chugged down half of his.

  “Whoa, easy there,” Alan said.

  Jumper shook his head. “I can tell she’s upset. Whatever this is about, I have a feeling I’ll need a drink first.”

  They cautiously approached Kayla and Trodenjo. Jumper consumed most of the rest of his drink by the time they got there. Kayla saw them and looked back and forth between their two drinks disapprovingly. Alan’s was still almost full.

  “Do you want to tell them, or should I?” Trodenjo said.

  “Tell us what?” Jumper asked. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  A moment of silence passed while Kayla and Trodenjo stared at each other. The look of concern on Jumper’s face grew.

  “I brought him,” Kayla finally said.

  “What?” Jumper looked at Trodenjo in desperation before turning back at Kayla. “What are you talking about?”

  “Yeah,” Alan said. “Brought who, where?”

  “Him,” Kayla said. “Casanova. I brought him with us.”

  The look of confusion on Jumper’s face was unprecedented. Alan suddenly felt his chest itch and grabbed ahold of the rock mounted on the necklace under his shirt.

  “The crate,” Alan blurted.

  Kayla looked at him and nodded.

  “Oh, Erob no,” Jumper said. He dropped into an empty chair, put both hands around his glass, and stared into it. “Why? Why did you do this to us?”

  “I didn’t want to leave him for so long, Jumper. And you know he’s not dangerous.”

  Alan took a sip of his drink and then had to spit it out as he involuntarily laughed. Everyone looked at him.

  “Sorry. But this is kind of classic. Guess we’ll have to burden our guests with one more mouth to feed. A big one. Hope he doesn’t scare the Mparians half to death. Maybe they have a kennel or zoo or someplace where we can lodge him?”

  “He can’t come down,” Trodenjo said. “We have strict laws against the importation of foreign animals. And we have no facility on this ship which can accommodate such a creature. He must stay in the crate, which means we can’t accept delivery of your patch of goliagrass. And I have a bit of a job ahead of me in assuring our cargo handlers the other crates aren’t going to growl at them.”

  That would have also been funny if Jumper didn’t look like he had turned to stone. He hadn’t moved, continuing to sit in the same position, peering at the last inch of his argim, expressionless.

  “Can I go down and see him?” Kayla asked.

  “You’ll have to wait until we’ve disembarked,” Trodenjo said. “We’ll be coming out of distorted space and establishing orbit at Mpar shortly. The cargo handlers are busy now. I might be able to arrange to keep that crate on the same shuttle, and swap it out for another for port proceedings. Meanwhile, I’ll round up some food that you can bring him. I assume he likes raw meat and water?”

  “Yes,” Kayla said. “He’ll be getting hungry. I put a water dispenser in the crate with him, but it probably needs refilling by now.”

  Jumper finally moved. He stood, drank the last swallow of his argim and poised as if to return to the bar.

  “Well Alan, looks like we get to take that camping trip with just the two of us after all. Kayla obviously can’t bear to be without her cat for a few days, so she’ll have to stay on board with him.”

  Kayla immediately responded. “Jumper, do you seriously think you’re
going to leave me alone on an alien spacecraft?” Her completely new voice startled Alan. He had no idea she could talk so low, so coldly, and so bone-cuttingly direct. It sent chills up his spine. Jumper seemed surprised as well. He froze in his tracks.

  Trodenjo stood up. “I’ll let you three work it out. I need to get back to the bridge. After we’ve disembarked the cargo and our first shift of shore leave, I’ll meet you back here and we can discuss options.”

  “You know what?” Alan said. “I’m going to my room to take a nap. If I come back in a couple of hours, will that be okay?”

  “That should be about perfect,” Trodenjo said. “See you then.”

  They left Kayla and Jumper alone to have a much-needed private discussion. Trodenjo walked Alan partway to his room before getting on a lift.

  Alan finished his drink in his cabin and fell on his bed. His dreams of the trading game returned, but were frequently interrupted by images of Casanova trapped in a grassy crate and the distant sounds of Jumper and Kayla arguing.

  Chapter Five

  Alan overslept. He and Jumper might have spent too much time at the game after all. It was nearly four hours later by the ship’s clock when he left his room again. He couldn’t have been running too far behind, though, or someone would have come knocking for him—wouldn’t they?

  The ship seemed empty now. He didn’t come across anyone else in the hallways. The only activity in the dining room was being done by cleaning bots. Those were interesting devices. Alan would have to see about arranging some kind of trade so he and Derek could get one for the float suit factory.

  Kayla and Jumper were the only ones in the lounge, sitting next to each other. There was no bartender on duty. Kayla was reading on the lightpad. Jumper’s chin was buried in his hand as he stared at the floor.

  “I take it we’re in orbit?” Alan asked.

  Jumper pointed at the video screen on the far wall without moving his head.

  “Oh wow,” Alan said when he saw it. He went over to get a closer view.

  A planet of purple, yellow, and deep blue hues was slowly spinning beneath them. Several space stations and a fleet of smaller transport ships were in orbit nearby. The space stations were small by Cardinal-5 standards, but still much bigger than The Measure. Off in the distance, two additional objects could be seen that looked like the same type of spacecraft as The Measure. Shuttles moved between the planet surface, the space stations, and the other ships.

  Alan then noticed a shuttle come into view from directly below the screen. It was large enough to fill it before gradually growing smaller as it sped to Mpar’s atmosphere. That one must have come from The Measure.

  “What do you think?” A voice said.

  Alan turned around. Trodenjo and Trodenmark were both standing behind him, along with a third Mparian Alan hadn’t met. The corner teeth in their mouths were all fully exposed. That kind of smile could only come from someone who had just arrived home after having been away for a while.

  “Breathtaking,” Alan said. “What a beautiful world you come from. With such flourishing space ports.”

  “This is a proud occasion for us,” Trodenmark said. “Two of our sister ships are also in port, first time back as well. I’ve confirmed that our catalog is larger than either of theirs by a considerable margin. Not that it matters. Interstellar commerce is no game, and we’re not in a competition.” The three of them smirked at each other.

  Trodenmark motioned back towards the screen. “Do you see them, in the distance there?”

  Alan nodded and pointed to the other two ships. That’s when he detected an odd smell. As he turned back around, he noticed a hover cart behind the three Mparians.

  “That’s for your pet,” Trodenjo said, stepping out of the way. There were large chunks of meat on the cart. Alan chuckled. He had almost forgotten the current predicament Kayla put them in.

  “Let’s go over to your friends and talk about what you want to do.”

  Alan followed them. Jumper and Kayla stood when they saw everyone coming. Jumper didn’t have much spring in his legs. He probably should have gotten more sleep. When they were all in a circle, Trodenjo introduced the third crewmember.

  “This is Shaldan, our merchant communications officer. Shaldan makes a hobby of studying exotic animals. He’ll take you down to feed your …felidor now, Kayla.”

  “Great. Thank you so much.” Kayla’s words were spoken in a less-than-enthusiastic fashion as she eyed the strange meat on the cart. She finally shrugged and smiled. “Whatever it is, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

  “I hope so,” Shaldan said. “If he doesn’t want it, I will. It’s one of my favorites. Come along with me, please.”

  “Don’t take that,” Trodenmark said. He grabbed a metal cylinder off the cart as Shaldan started wheeling it away. Kayla then followed Shaldan out of the lounge.

  Trodenmark walked to the bar and retrieved two glasses. He came back and filled them three-quarters full with the contents of the cylinder. It was a clear liquid that looked like water.

  “Here,” he said. “This should help with your space lag.” He handed Jumper and Alan the drinks.

  Alan examined the glass in his hand. The liquid had no odor. There were a few large bubbles in it, but other than that it appeared to me nothing more than a glass of water.

  “Drink it,” Trodenmark said.

  “Is it water?” Alan asked.

  “Yes. Unique water.”

  Jumper tilted his head and emptied his glass in one go. Alan took a sip first. It was water. Good, fresh tasting water. Come to think of it, he was thirsty. He drank his down as well.

  “A lot of effort goes into harvesting what you just drank. I hope you find it refreshing.”

  Alan suddenly felt wide awake and aware. He heard noises around him that he didn’t notice a moment ago, and found he could separate and identify them. The whirring noises were the cleaning bots off in the dining room. He could hear footsteps in the distance and the subtle sound of a lift door opening. Then the noise of a hover cart moving into the lift and the door closing behind it. He knew he had heard Shaldan and Kayla getting into the lift in the nearby corridor.

  “Wow,” Jumper said. His voice was suddenly full of life. “What’s in this stuff?”

  “Magnas.pz,” Trodenmark answered.

  Trodenjo laughed and added, “That’s the name of the mineral in the water.”

  Jumper looked around the room wide-eyed.

  “I feel like I’ve had three cups of coffee—which I was about to ask you for, by the way. No need now.”

  “The mineral is an organic stimulant.” Trodenjo took the cylinder from his brother as he spoke. “A healthy one, when consumed in its natural form in the water. Most species find it to have exceptional restorative powers.” He walked to the bar, found himself a short glass, poured a small amount, drank it, and returned. “I can use a pick-me-up myself. What do you think of it, Alan?”

  “It’s marvelous.” Alan had begun answering before the question fully left Trodenjo’s lips. “And perfectly quenching. I’m finding all my senses heightened, though. I can hear things far away, and I’m making fast deductions. To be honest, it’s kind of scary. Not sure I want to be this aware.”

  “Interesting,” Trodenjo said. “The mineral seems to have a strong effect on Earthlings. We should have given you a smaller sample. But, now that you’re fully awake, let’s discuss your options.”

  “I’m not staying on the ship for a week,” Alan said. “I want to see another planet on my vacation.” He looked at Jumper.

  “I can’t go, Alan. I’m sorry. Kayla’s picked this battle to make a stand. She won’t leave Casanova up here, and if I try to leave her alone she’ll consider it her life’s mission to make me miserable. It’s just not worth it to me.” Jumper’s response was fast, to the point, and void of excuses. That was uncharacteristic.

  “Something else has come up,” Trodenjo said before Alan could chide Jumper. �
�The Measure isn’t staying in port. That’s what we need to talk to you about.”

  Alan and Jumper both cocked their heads.

  “We had a video conference with our investors as soon as we established orbit. They’re quite adamant that we see to the delivery of our first significant trade contract. We’ve agreed to go attend to that business, immediately. So, we’re leaving with a sparse crew after some quick maintenance work, in a matter of hours. And we don’t have time to drop you off at home first.”

  Alan felt his heart racing. He wasn’t sure if it was from the news or the magnas.pz. He went to feel his chest, but ended up clutching the necklace under his shirt instead. When he did, his eyes instantly unfocused.

  “Does this trade have to do with the mineral water?” Alan asked.

  Trodenjo shot his brother a stern glance. Trodenmark reacted by shaking his head and holding his palms up.

  “How did you arrive at that assumption?” Trodenjo asked.

  Alan let go of his necklace and focused again on Trodenjo.

  “Lucky guess, I suppose.”

  Trodenjo’s large eyes narrowed and he looked at the cylinder in his hand before continuing with his explanation.

  “The water is drawn from natural cisterns in deep caverns on a dwarf world. The natives there have agreed to provide a generous supply in exchange for modern excavation equipment, which we’ve procured from a nearby system. We get a large cut of the water. It’s easy to find markets for, as you might imagine. We have customers lined up for our share of the water at several different worlds already. We need to go confirm delivery of the first shipment of borers.”

  “What are our options?” Alan asked.

  “We can move you to one of our sister ships, and they can take you home. Their port stay is nearly completed. Whether you want to disembark for a while or stay on board with your pet will be up to you. Only…”

  “Only what?”

  The two brothers looked at each other.

  “We’ve come to like you,” Trodenjo said, “and we’re fond of your star system. We’d rather not have one of the other operations put your home on their route. Especially after everything you’ve …seen.”