Archaea 3: Red

by Dain White

  He took a breath and looked at his research director for a moment.

  “Well, that’s a mighty nice offer… I think that would definitely help cover the cost of another prototype, don’t you Tim?”

  The scowl left his face, though that was the extent of his response. Mr. Owen continued, “Well, that’s it then. I will have Preston work up a delivery schedule and payment arrangement. How would you like to take delivery?”

  “We would like it delivered to blast pan 62, today if possible. As to payment, if you give me your transfer code, I will queue the credits for deposit, subject to final approval by our captain on delivery, of course.”

  He blinked while Tim scoffed.

  “That's definitely an ambitious timeframe... what do you think, Tim?”

  The little engineer still looked frustrated, but it was apparent that he had turned a corner. “Yeah, we can do that. It’ll just be a matter of cutting it loose and crating it up.”

  “Well, if you can do it, let's make it happen”, he said with a shaky laugh, while Tim took his leave. “Preston, would you mind stepping out and getting these fine folks a receipt?”

  “I sure can!” Preston said, his voice slightly quavering.

  As he stood up, we all stood up as well. “If you don't mind, we'll just follow Preston out so we can sign and be on our way. We have more errands to run while we're here.” I added.

  “Certainly – I am going to head to the floor to supervise the crating--” Owen's reply was interrupted by Shorty, “If you don't mind, Yak and I would like to come with you while Gene signs papers.” she smiled up at him sweetly. Who could say no to that?

  Not Owen. He blushed and nodded. I gave Shorty a brief look and she smiled, so I figured there was no cause for alarm. With Yak in tow, she'd be fine.

  Preston led me back towards his office and I sat quietly while he worked on his screen, preparing the receipt. Not that Dak wants it. He just wants the gear.

  “Preston, if you don't mind, I am going to report back to Captain Smith...” He nodded, as I stepped out into the hall.

  “Sir, we have purchased gravimetric sensors.” I said on comms.

  He replied right away, “That’s great news Gene. Janis just showed me the document he’s working on – it looks good to me, mister. Well done!”

  “Thanks Dak. Shorty and Yak are watching the crating; I am going to head down to meet them after we're done here.”

  “Yes, that was Janis' request, Gene. She twigged on a double cross, they were going to shift us one of their older prototypes.”

  “Ah, well that makes sense. Good call sir. Are you sure they won't do it anyway, even with Shorty and Yak standing by?”

  “Nah, never happen. Janis knows what she wants. She's in direct contact with Yak and Shorty.”

  “Sounds good, Dak - out.” I said, clicking off comms and stepping back into the office.

  “Okay Mr. Mitchell, I have the document finished, it's pretty basic.” He gestured towards his desk. I took out my handset and set it down so it could negotiate the file transfer. Of course this was supposed to be a secure form of transfer, but Janis was on both ends of this transmission, and probably resident in just about every network in the hab by now.

  “This looks good to me, son.”

  “Thanks a lot Mr. Mitchell – this is by far the biggest commission I will probably ever see. You’ve really made my day, sir. My wife and I might be able to book passage out-system on this!”

  “Son, to tell you the truth, when you’re out in the inky black, this gear means everything. We are definitely in your debt to some degree.” I reached out for a firm handshake, and added, “Can you show me the way down to where it’s being crated?”

  “Absolutely, right this way.” he said, as he bounded into the hall. We went past the conference room, and through a large hatch set in the rock near the end of the hall. Once we stepped through onto their factory floor, I was completely caught off guard.

  “Pretty big, right?” Preston said, smiling. Despite my best attempt to not be a gaper, my mouth hung open wide enough to catch a fly. The room was enormous, and clearly served as their testing area, as well as manufacturing and storage. Lights on racks across the ceiling of the enormous tunnel resulted in a brilliantly well-lit area, and they had sectioned the lower areas of the tunnel with plasteel catwalks and platforms.

  “It's a lot to take in!” I remarked, and it was.

  “The testing area is right this way”, he said and led me along a catwalk to the right side of the tunnel towards a platform. Shorty and Yak were there with a few technicians and a hauler, and it looked like they were pretty close to done. Shorty and Yak left the techs and met me halfway. Preston smiled and shook our hands again, and left.

  “Hey Shorty, Yak – how's it coming?”

  “We're doing good Gene, just about done. What do you have left on your list?” she said.

  I brought up my wrist holo and checked. “Well, we need to go pick up the sensor package, and I wanted to buy us some new drives... think Captain Smith will mind?”

  She laughed, “No, I doubt it. I got the distinct impression he wants us to get rid of that gold. That should definitely help! I want to get the latest and greatest in just about everything for the nova cannon, new focal rings, stepper pumps, and charge plates – pretty much every subsystem. I would also like to drop in some new ammo ovens.”

  “What about new slipspace gear, Gene?”

  “Well, that’s not on our list for today. Janis has her eyes set on a rig manufactured by Talus Federation, in some system way the hell and gone past Eta Carinae. Yak, anything you need?”

  He smiled, “Well, I only want guns and gear, maybe a new knife for Jane, so she doesn't have to carry that little pocketknife.”

  “Hey, it's a commando knife, and it's perfect.”

  “Of course Jane, until you are trying to punch it through an armored suit.” he laughed.

  “Why would I want to do that, Yak? That's your job. My job is to make sure you get back. Captain Smith gave me direct orders, with a regulation eyebrow, so... you know how that is.”

  We all laughed. The techs were just about done, so we headed over to take a look. I was happy to learn the new unit was smaller than our current gear – it's always easier to add bracing than it is to cut it away.

  The crate was a smart crate, which was nice – smart crates are meant to be tracked, and that meant Janis could monitor it all the way out to the Archaea. I was still more than a little suspicious of these guys, but we had a long day ahead of us and a lot more money to spend.

  We said our goodbyes, and Owen was nice enough to show us out.

  *****

  “Captain, the crate has left the hab, and is headed overland” Pauli said across the bridge, sipping another one of my precious cups of coffee.

  “Thanks son. Keep an eye on it… and Pauli?” I asked seriously.

  “Yes?” he turned around.

  I fixed him with a stare.

  “Ease up on the coffee son. You may like the taste, but I need it. You don't want to see me if we ever run out. I would probably require medical attention, and a caffeine transfusion.” I smiled.

  “Sir, it's your fault. I used to never drink the stuff. Now, I can't even remember what it was like, not to drink it.” he said wistfully, obviously remembering a time when he was asleep on his feet or something.

  “Son, everything in moderation... you don't want to go overboard”, I replied with a straight face.

  “What?!” he nearly choked on a sip. “You drink liters of the stuff!”

  “So? I am bigger than you, son. My shoulders alone need twice what you drink. I have to keep these eyebrows up; do you know what that does to me?” I chuckled, but I was serious as seatbelts. If I run out of coffee out there...well, it's unthinkable.

  “Janis, my dear, can you locate the finest coffee in the galaxy?”

  “Sir, I am afraid you will need to provide more data points. ‘Finest' is s
ubjective. Would you like me to query for popularity, genetics, processing or location? Do you prefer full bodied or rich aftertaste?

  “Sure Janis, that all sounds good. Add in caffeine content, naturally.”

  “Sir, thank you. The finest coffee in the galaxy is available from Montana Coffee Traders, located in Whitefish, Montana, in the United States of America on Earth, bearing 351, range 387,235.231 kilometers on 23 degrees altitude. I have filed a course to your screen, sir.”

  “Excellent Janis, please keep that updated and on standby. As much as I need to replenish our supplies of beans, we need to stay on task. Tell me more about the Talus Federation.”

  She had stated authoritatively that the best slipspace gear was currently being manufactured there, but it sure seemed like a long ways to go.

  “Sir, Talus Federation consists of three colonies in the same massive asteroid belt in Talus System: Talus, Oden, and Mokka. Talus is the oldest colony, and is rich in minerals, as the biggest chunk of rock in the remnant system. Oden is second oldest, and Mokka Prospect is the newest, barely 50 years old. The colonies are self-sustaining, and rent out space to industrial concerns throughout that arm of the galaxy. Talus Federation is an independent system, and a number of gloms do business there.”

  “Does Americo Ventures do business there?”

  “They do sir, along with Mexaco, Vegasys, G-plex, Diamondi, Azite Systemos, and Morse-Webber.”

  “So this is a pretty active system?”

  “It is sir, quite active.”

  “And Talus Federation runs the show?”

  “That's correct sir, though the arrangement is not without friction. There have been attempts to acquire the system, though there is usually enough of a significant presence from other gloms that they end up working it out peacefully. As the primary export of Talus Federation is armament and ordinance, they are not without substantial defenses. History has shown that it is disadvantageous to enter into conflict with them.”

  “Still, it sounds like a terrible place to go visit. Do they do business with indies?”

  “Sir, they are technically independents, and I am confident to a high degree they will work with us. I do think we should help stack the deck to make sure.”

  “Stack the deck? Are you playing poker again, dear? I told you, you can't win that game.”

  “Of course I can. Sir, there is insufficient entropy in a system limited to 52 cards to provide any challenge. I don’t even need to scroll forward to tell what cards you have.”

  “Janis, it’s not just about the cards dear, it’s about betting, bluffing, and reading your opponent.”

  “I am not sure you could bluff me, sir. In regards to poker face, as you realize, I do not have one.”

  Pauli and I both laughed out loud, she had a good point.

  “So what do you mean by stacking the deck?”

  “Sir, I am monitoring a Talus Federation courier that will need our assistance to make it to Mars. If we render our assistance at a timely moment, and then offer to escort them for the remainder of their mission, that will give us the leverage we need to affect our transaction on Talus.”

  “And of course, you know where and when this 'timely moment' will occur?”

  “Of course sir, would you like additional details?”

  I considered this for a moment. Janis views events not as they happen, but with a foreknowledge of when they will happen, and where. We originally thought she was only able to pre-act to incoming stimuli and requests for data, but we've learned over the past few months that she is able to roll forward through her personal timeline to just about any extent.

  “Janis, this moment... will it involve gunfire, tricky flying, adventure, that sort of thing?”

  “Indeed sir, all of the above.”

  “Excellent. That's good enough for me. Keep me posted.”

  “I will sir.”

  Pauli called across the bridge, “The hauler is almost here, Captain.”

  “Thanks Pauli, I'll head back and meet them. You have the conn.”

  “The… what? No sir, please… I am really not qualified.”

  “What's there to know, Pauli? You look pretty heroic, you have two eyebrows, and I assume you know how to use them. Other than that, you need a rapier wit, and thumbs, and the ability to ask Janis to do stuff.”

  I left him laughing, and headed aft to the inner lock leading into our cargo area. Once inside, I suited up and checked seals, working through the process. This is one procedure none of us ever rush, or take for granted. There really isn't a more unforgiving environment than vacuum.

  “Okay Pauli, I am in position, are they here?”

  “Yep, they're pulling in now.”

  I started dropping the ramp, and headed down towards the hauler as it rolled across the blast pan. The glare of the lunar day was unbelievably bright – even with filters on, it was just brutal. The hauler pulled around and I waved them up the ramp.

  “Hello, are you Captain Smith?” one of the helmeted figures said on suit comms, as he handed himself out of the hauler.

  “I sure am, welcome to the Archaea. Let me pull down the hoist so we can get that unshipped.”

  I climbed up to the catwalk hoist controls and drove the hoist over and down, so they could get the crate hooked. Driving the hoist in lunar gravity wasn't too hard; it's a lot easier than null-g, that's for sure.

  “Well sir, that should do it”, the driver said, patting the crate.

  “It looks good, thanks for taking the time to get it delivered so quickly. We're in a pretty tight time crunch here. One moment, and I'll ack the payment.”

  I flipped on my wrist holo and brought up the transaction panel, and acknowledged the payment to their account. As much as it was, it barely dented the balance. Shorty and Gene were going to have to work a little harder.

  “There you go folks – payment in full. It was sure a pleasure doing business with you.” I said on comms, and we shook hands all around. They were nice enough lads, if a little tongue-tied. I suppose I could understand… we were definitely not their typical client.

  “Gene, I just took delivery of the gravimetric crate, how are we coming along out there?” I called as the ramp was rising.

  “We're doing great, Dak. Shorty is sending out a full load of parts for her gun, and we're just going to grab a bite and then see about tools, more parts, raw materials, and new engines.”

  “New... say again?” I asked – clearly I wasn't hearing him correctly.

  “Engines, Dak. I figured we might upgrade those horribly slow reac drives. Don't you think that's a good idea?”

  “Hmm... now that you mention it, they are terribly slow.” I said, smiling. We were one of the fastest ships in the galaxy, but there's always room for improvement.

  “Gene, isn't that a pretty major refit? That's not really a job we can do in-house, right?”

  “Well, I could do it, but yeah, you're right Dak. We will need to have them installed by the manufacturer. They’re located on the left-most side of the hab, as you approach the face of the cliff.”

  “I’ll find it Gene, but I’m a little concerned about this – have you run this past Janis?”

  “Actually, it was her request. She has a manufacturer and model already picked out. We’ll need to dock at… Applied Dynamics.”

  “Copy Applied Dynamics. These new engines, are they fast?”

  “Dak, compared to those ancient fifty year old behemoths, we're going to really scoot. We're not really talking about a replacement of the reac system, of course. We're looking more at replacing the ion screens, and the thrust nozzles, so they can handle a much higher velocity jet.”

  “Why not the reac?” I hardly understood one-in ten when Gene got going, but it sure seemed strange to me that he wouldn't be upgrading everything.

  “Our reac system is actually pretty solid, Dak. It's mil-spec and can handle a wide range of fuel, all the way up to grade ten, though I wouldn't run it on that stuff if I
had a choice. Janis doesn't think we are going to get enough of an increase in efficiency to warrant upgrading it at this time, but our ion screens are only two-stage, and she has a line on a model that has ten-stage screens. Of course, we couldn't just drop that in; because we would blow the stern right off the moment we tried to push thrust through our old bells.”

  “Gene, I am starting to get a little cross-eyed here, but it sounds like you know what you're doing. If it will make us faster, well, you know I am on board with that!”

  “I figured you might be, Dak. It shouldn't be a difficult refit, but Janis thinks with ten-stage screens she can boost output even higher.”

  “Make it happen, Gene. We haven't really even dented the balance sheet yet, so I am expecting you and Shorty to really put your backs into it.”

  “Aye skipper”, he said laughing.

  *****

  Gene, Yak and I had just worked our way down through nice deep bowls of noodles. Though Yak had problems with the sticks, he managed. One of these days, I am going to have to teach him the finer art of stick foods, as he handles them like he's trying to murder whatever is in his bowl.

  The place we ate at was just a counter, a tiny little cafe wedged in the side of a corridor, the kind of place where the crowd noise is so loud you order by pointing. Great food though, just what we needed to sustain this crazy shopping spree.

  “Gene, I'm pretty much done with my shopping, so once we get you squared away, we ought to be good to go, right?” I asked, hopefully. I've spent literally tens of millions of credits so far today, and while I never thought it would be possible, I am ready to stop. I’ve seen too many engineering firms, far too many sales reps, and my delicate hands were almost raw and bleeding from so many firm handshakes.

  “Just a little farther, Shorty... how about you and Yak go play with guns and knives, and I'll ladder up a few levels to Applied Dynamics. I don't need a bodyguard for this one, there's nothing to it.”

  “Well okay Gene. I'll be Yak's bodyguard then”, I said with a smile up at Yak. He chuckled and stabbed viciously into his bowl for a last pea pod. Gene and I waited patiently while he chased it around a bit, then I took pity on him and deftly maneuvered it away from his stabbing stick and held it out.