Unknown Earth Volume 2

by Frank Wallace

  “Because we need a ship. We’re close enough to independent space to get somewhere safe, but we can’t just go and buy travel tickets. You might not have noticed, but we don’t even have Straps” he says, tapping his distinctly bare forearms.

  “I’m not sure we can just lift you, uh, all of you out of here,” Nemmy says. Before anyone can answer, a wail is heard from the door. Everyone whips round to see a shocked Douglas recoiling into the arms of Santiago and Choi.

  “No! Kenrick, you disgusting criminal! How could you! No wonder numbers are down, you freak!” he screams. He thrashes about, but Santiago bodily restrains him.

  “I’m sorry! It just got out of hand!” Door side Kenrick replies. Douglas wrenches himself free but Lynsey steps forward, waving her rifle with a menacing glare. He gets the message, stomping out of the room, all the while uttering a variety of foul epithets. Lynsey activates her Strap.

  “This is Lieutenant Taylor. Send two squads of security personnel out here immediately” she says.

  “Do you think that is necessary?” Nemmy asks.

  “Yes, I do. He won’t let this go. And why would he? What the hell were you thinking Kenrick? Why would you clone yourself?” Lynsey says. Nemmy is just as curious as to what the answer is.

  “I don’t know! The first time I, or we, just wanted to see if it would work. I don’t have a lot of people to talk to, and I never agreed with the law in the first place. Nobody asked me. I’m not hurting anyone. If anything, I’m able to get more work done, and I have some friends now” one of the Kenricks replies and several of the others nod in agreement.

  “You can’t just say ‘I don’t like the law’. It’s the law!” Lynsey says, but there is no anger in her voice. A soft pinging sound is heard throughout the room. One of the Kenricks moans.

  “The centre PA system!” he says. Instantly, Douglas’s voice is heard.

  “Attention all staff, residents, and customers, this is Douglas Carey speaking. One of our Facility Processing Members, a Kenrick Robell, has committed a serious crime. He has used our equipment, and your resources, to create clones of himself. I wish to make it clear that no-one, not myself or anyone else with the Company, has approved this illegal behaviour and gross misuse of Company property” he announces, in a professional voice a world away from his outburst barely moments before.

  “Why would he announce this to the entire planet?” Nemmy asks. Various Kenricks gesticulate angrily.

  “Because he’s a pointless jobsworth! He knows people will try to lynch me now” one groans. The security officers Lynsey requested arrive, bustling into the room with Santiago and Choi not far behind.

  “Lieutenant!” The lead security officer says. Whilst technically Lynsey oversaw the commando detachment and Amira ran the ship security team, in practice both groups intermingled and both commanding officers regularly swapped roles as required. Lynsey and Amira worked incredibly well together, something that impressed Nemmy greatly. They both dovetailed their work without any kind of ego or problem. Lynsey returns the officer’s salute before speaking.

  “Listen up, minions. We don’t want to start shooting up the place. As some of you can clearly see, there are clones here. Yes, it’s confusing and weird, but the situation might become dangerous. You can vomit when you’re back on board. Squad one, I want you to watch the entrances in case anyone tries something. Stun tubes only for now. Two, stay with us and cover the group” she commands, and several of the security officers instantly depart the room. Lynsey turns to Nemmy.

  “Captain, I really think we should get everyone here back on the Tub for now”

  “The Tub? Oh, right, the ship. Sorry. If we take clones on board, are we not committing a crime?” Nemmy asks, genuinely unsure of their legal standing. Recent events also ring alarm bells in her mind.

  “Possibly. But you know how people react to news like this. These…uh…people are probably going to be dragged outside and killed, and angry mobs aren’t fond of reasoned discussion. They see us in here, we’ll all get a rock to the head” Lynsey says. She’s probably right, Nemmy realises. The legal ramifications can wait.

  “What about the food we ordered?” Choi interjects. She seems to have quickly overcome the shock of seeing clones.

  “If you ordered it before coming in here, the auto delivery system will already be transferring it onto your ship” one of the clones pipes up. Choi seems happy enough with the answer, nudging a non-plussed Santiago.

  “Okay, Santiago, Choi, go back to the ship and make sure everything is on board and stored away. We’ll follow you shortly” Nemmy says.

  “You better not have ordered too much fruit,” Santiago says to Choi as they both turn to leave. She just giggles in response. Lynsey motions the remaining officers to fan out in the main area, as Nemmy looks back at the Kenricks.

  “You should probably think about packing some stuff. Even if things don’t go bad, you might not be able to stay here anyway” she says. They silently shuffle off through the door to where ever they live. Nemmy watches them for a bit wondering what it would be like to have more versions of herself. Cloning humans has been illegal for decades, but it isn’t considered a massive social issue. She knows it bothers a lot of people, but she also knows that the legal status is more a practical issue than a moral one. The Imperium is concerned with maintaining a healthy, vibrant and, above all, controllable population. Cloning would upset that process in several ways. Most Imperial citizens accept this basic idea without question, but Kenrick had dismissed it completely even though he knew that, at best, he would face a lengthy prison sentence. Why would he do that? Up until very recently, Nemmy had never really considered the idea that her views and the Imperium’s views would differ. Or even that they could.

  Now though…

  “Captain,” her Strap interjects with Ravaan’s impatient voice, “a Police Force cruiser has arrived in orbit. A landing craft is already on the way to the centre” he informs her.

  “Thanks, Ravaan” she replies. She checks the time. There’s no way the clones will be ready before they arrive. She goes over to Lynsey and tugs her arm.

  “The IPF is here. We’ll need to stall them for a while so everyone can get on board” she says. Lynsey’s eyebrows jut up.

  “Causing trouble for the law-man? Do you hate me, is that it?” she says with a wry smile. Using the nearest terminal, they locate the designated landing area and break into a sprint to meet the IPF lander. Nemmy knows they have to distract the police from Kenrick’s activities, as well as their own. How they might actually do that eludes her as they trot through another corridor towards the large opening of the landing area. They find that the ship has already landed. An ungainly bulk of slate grey with green lining. The landing platform lowers from the bottom and a couple of IPF officers come down the ramp. A man and a woman approach them, both in uniforms matching exactly the colour scheme of their ship. They arrive and give formal salutes. They wait silently for Nemmy to return the salute before the woman speaks.

  “Officers, I am Second Constable Sahko, this is Third Constable Villar. We were informed of a disturbance on this planet” she states firmly.

  “I’m Captain Le Beau. This is Lieutenant Taylor” Nemmy replies. The IPF officers both bow.

  “Is there a military issue here?” Sahko asks, straight to the point. Nemmy isn’t sure what to say. Perhaps the police felt, as the Ground Force often do, that the ISF step on their toes too often. Or maybe she is annoyed that they were beaten to the punch. Importantly, they obviously don’t know about the clones yet.

  “We thought there was. We were told something had happened. Bad Intel, I guess.” she bluffs, trying to sound confident. She looks at Lynsey with pleading eyes.

  “Uh, yeah. Aliens. We were informed that aliens had been spotted here” Lynsey interjects in the calmest voice imaginable.

  “Aliens? Here?” Villa
r says. Nemmy wisely says nothing, letting Lynsey carry on.

  “Oh yeah, an infestation or something. That’s what we were told. So we came out to check. But we didn’t find anything at all. Thankfully of course” she jokes. Sahko and Villar share a bemused glance. They aren’t buying it. But Nemmy knows they can’t do anything but accept their story. Inter-branch politics were too tedious to care about, but even she knew that constables of any rank aren’t going to go after ship Captains without mountains of evidence.

  A shout from behind draws their attention and they turn to see Douglas running towards them. The mountain of evidence just arrived, Nemmy thought grimly.

  “Emperor bless you! He is stealing my property, you must do something!” he bellows at the constables.

  “Settle down, Sir. What is being stolen?” Sahko asks. Douglas gesticulates aggressively back towards the doorway.

  “That criminal has cloned himself! That’s Company resources and Company property now!” he eventually says, evidently trying to explain the situation without incriminating himself. Sahko’s pleasant neutral demeanour changes instantly, anger clouding her face.

  “Cloning? This is the true nature of the disturbance I presume. Did you know about this?” she snaps at Nemmy, jabbing a finger at her.

  “Of course she knows! Their soldiers are all over the place” Douglas immediately interrupts. Sahko’s eyes narrow as she glares at Nemmy. After several uncomfortably silent moments, Nemmy realises she isn’t going to speak.

  “Okay, yes, we knew about it. We were trying to prevent an outbreak of violence since Mr Carey decided to inform the entire planet” Nemmy explains, hoping the constables will see sense. Douglas barges into the centre of the group, still furiously waving his arms around.

  “This cannot be allowed to stand! Those clones belong to ME” he rages. Lynsey grabs him and propels him several feet away.

  “Shut your mouth, or I’ll shut it for you” she barks, slapping her gun for effect. He cowers on his knees, saying nothing but whining loudly.

  “Captain, this is most irregular. Cloning is highly illegal, we must investigate this thoroughly” Villar says.

  “More importantly,” Sahko joins in, “we must discover if you have deliberately concealed illegal activity”

  “We haven’t done anything like that. We were simply hoping to control a potentially dangerous situation” Nemmy responds.

  “Nonetheless, we’ll still need to examine the situation” Sahko instantly says, pushing aside Nemmy’s answers. She turns back to the ship, activating her Strap.

  “Full deployment requested. Cloning has been discovered in the centre. Transmit planet-wide lockdown messages.”

  She continues to speak to crew on her ship, but Lynsey quietly pulls Nemmy a few feet away by the arm.

  “I’ve been informed, everything is on board. Everything” she whispers, raising her eyebrows. Time to take their leave of this situation. Nemmy motions for Lynsey to head back.

  “Now that our food order is complete, we’ll be leaving” she announces. The two constables stop talking instantly and glare at her.

  “Captain, if there is a crime scene here, our regulations demand statements from all parties, not to mention Strap scans and biometric data,” Villar says. His tone makes it clear that it’s not a request. But they must know that in a jurisdictional conflict, the ISF will always have priority. Nemmy certainly does, having the concept frequently drilled into her head by her mother. A distinctly unsettling rumble thunders around her stomach. She knows she has not only lied but technically broken the law. She also knows that with a possible spy on the ship she can’t really get herself or her crew into more trouble. Let alone recent visits to secret installations. The realisation makes her feel nauseous. There’s only one thing she can do.

  Pull rank.

  “I’m truly sorry Constable Villar, but I won’t be staying for that. We are required elsewhere” she lies through her teeth. Villar’s eyes nearly pop out of his head.

  “What?! Captain, this is outrageous, if cloning has been-” his rant is gently cut off by Sahko placing her hand on his shoulder. He goes silent, instead grinding his teeth and clenching his fists to restrain his obvious anger.

  “We will, of course, accept the choice of a respected Captain. I’m certain that nothing that happened here could ever be traced back to such a fine officer. Or her lovely parents” Sakho says politely. She smiles a grin that positively drips with sinister intent. Nemmy’s discomfort overcomes her and she turns away, before briskly leaving without another word.

  Her mind races the entire trip back to the Boomslang. How much evidence of cloning could be found? Did Kenrick cover his tracks enough? What if Sahko constantly chases them for information? It must be obvious what had happened. Even if they had managed to suppress enough cameras and scanners, even if they had destroyed all known data regarding the cloning, it would almost certainly be confirmed eventually that Kenrick had cloned himself and the clones were leaving the planet on an ISF ship. As she enters the area leading back to the ship, she could see a couple of individuals loitering near the doorway Kenrick had originally stood near. One of them is brandishing a large pipe or metal bar. Both men looked agitated, looking around the room and muttering to each other. The security personnel had retreated towards the ship to conceal the clones departing, she guesses. A turn towards her destination confirms her hypothesis, as a clump of the security officers stand guarding the way to the landing dome.

  “Lieutenant Taylor ordered us to stay here to wait for you, Captain,” one of the officers says.

  “She’s so thoughtful. Tanaka, right?” she asks the young security officer, who smiles and nods.

  “Yes, Captain”

  “Let’s get out of here before that man with the bar attacks us, yes?” Nemmy jokes and they head back to the landing dome. Thankfully, no-one seems to have found their way to the Boomslang. Ravaan and Lynsey are standing at the shuttle bay door waiting for them. As they approach, it’s obvious that Ravaan is not happy. Lynsey is practically squirming on the spot. Nemmy lets the security team get back on board.

  “Captain, do you mind explaining why there are cloned humans on my ship?” Ravaan demands loudly. Nemmy is taken aback by the outburst.

  “It was decided to hide them here in case the locals rioted,” Nemmy says.

  “We don’t know which one is the real Kenrick” Lynsey offers. Ravaan juts a hand up.

  “Lieutenant, you have involved this ship and her crew in an illegal activity” he replies sternly.

  “Commander, we couldn’t just leave him there, if things got out of hand-“

  “Lieutenant, if you wish to keep your rank, remain silent. The only reason you are not being punished is that the Captain made the same choice you did. Dismissed” he snaps. Lynsey throttles back her response and marches off with a tense nod. Soon Nemmy and Ravaan are both alone outside. Ravaan seems angrier than she’s ever seen him. His eyes bulge almost out of his head, and his jaw twitches.

  “Captain, you cannot possibly think this was an acceptable course of action?” he growls. His voice is quiet, but the anger remains strong.

  “Clearly, I did, or it wouldn’t have happened. Lynsey was right, we don’t know which one is the real Kenrick so we had to take them all to protect the real one” She tells him. It appeared to be the most obvious thing in the world to her. His view is clearly different.

  “We have only just learned that there could be a spy amongst the crew. That alone is reason enough not to engage ourselves in such activities as this” he states. He just about manages to retain his composure. Nemmy considers that perhaps he is worried about his job, rather than being angry at the situation. He is correct that the truth will almost certainly be revealed. If they were breaking the law at the same time as leaking confidential information, their careers would be the least of their concerns. But Nemmy c
ouldn’t put aside human lives on a technicality. Regardless of what people felt about clones, to her, they were all people that needed help. The uncomfortable feeling in her stomach returns. Ravaan is a man of routine and regulation. Therefore, there is one straightforward way to deal with him. Sighing heavily, she straightens herself up.

  “I understand your concerns, I do. But I’m the Captain of this ship. I make the decisions. No-one else. Go back to your duties, Commander” she says, mustering as much strength as she can. Ravaan remains quiet for a few moments as if he is mulling over a response. Instead, to her mild surprise, he salutes.

  “Yes, Captain” he answers, before doing as ordered. Barely as soon as he is out of sight she slumps over against the hull of the ship. Twice she’s used her rank to override someone’s concerns and get her own way. In both cases, she knows the other person’s view is completely legitimate. She would possibly have held the same views herself, she pondered. Making tough decisions is what commanding ships and crews is all about; her mother never stops reminding her of that. But this was yet another reminder of something else. That perhaps she’ll never be cut out for this job.

  But while she has it, she is going to help these people. She runs to the nearest console and rapidly fires instructions into the controls. After a minute of frantically glancing around, the comm link is established.

  “Hello. It’s Captain Le Beau. I’m sorry, but I need your help” she says furtively.

  “I knew you would be interesting, Captain” Callendra responds.

  All in a Day’s Work

  Samuel enters the canteen looking forward to a cold drink. It had been an unusually busy shift today. A disturbing amount of nausea cases and complaints about humming and ringing sounds. He also had one particular shuttle pilot who insisted, to the hilarity of the whole medical team, that her injuries aren’t related to energetic sexual activity. Samuel did appreciate having things to do other than study medical manuals and train juniors on the surgical machines. Still, this rest period can’t come quick enough. The canteen is quite busy for once. Several crew members sit around the room chugging back various drinks. Choi appears in her element, whizzing from table to table, serving drinks from a huge hovering tray. She nearly spills a drink with excitement when she sees Samuel.