Kerena followed Martin as Dester and Jim joined Jamus in the lounge.
Jamus was shaking his head. "How'd that all go so wrong?"
"We're slaves," replied Dester. "We have little value because there are millions of us waiting to take that job. Prior to this, I would have welcomed a baton strike a couple times a day for a cushy job like that."
Jim nodded. "We all would have."
Jamus sighed. "All over a failed clasp. First Daniel gets his spine snapped, and now this."
Bersa returned to the group. "Unfortunate accidents, ones that cannot be planned for. We are playing a dangerous game, Mr. Turnbull. We do our best to avoid them, but casualties should be expected."
An indicator on a wall display told of the shuttle lifting off.
Dester said, "That the pilot? At least someone gets his freedom."
Bersa took a seat. "Cromath was released from duty, but not with his freedom. He chose to negotiate, and as such was terminated. His body is on that shuttle and the shuttle is headed directly into that sun. Both were liabilities and both have now been taken care of."
Jamus turned. "You just killed him?"
"Yes. He was terminated—with cause I might add. His transfer to the Danton District was in his hand. Instead of joining us here until such time as a new shuttle arrived, he decided that shuttle should be given to him instead of being destroyed. The decision to terminate was immediate. Had he been allowed to leave after attempting to change the terms of our deal, he would have attempted to blackmail us with what he knew at a later date. It was inevitable, as was his termination."
"Life doesn't have much value to you people, does it?"
"The value of another's life is subject to the threat it brings to your own, is it not? We must keep a tight organization here. Prior to this event, Cromath knew nothing of what we do or who we are. He was merely a shuttle pilot on a transport. When that body was grabbed and brought aboard, that all changed. When he made a deal with Master Hallik, a deal that would eventually clear his debt, the terms and conditions of any disclosure were clearly spelled out to him. He made his choice. We made ours."
Martin returned a short time later. "I'm done. I'm out. Take me back to the farm."
Kerena followed. "Me too. We want to bury Greta on Caloran."
Bersa slowly shook her head. "You both know we cannot allow that. While I fully believe you would both remain silent, we cannot risk your discovery for being aware. Should that happen, the security authorities have methods of making you talk. I'm afraid I will have to deny your request."
Hallik's shuttle landed in the bay. The rotund Brekan waddled into the lounge several minutes later.
"Bersa, what has happened?"
"We lost an associate today, Master. Gordia had an equipment failure. Our agent was blamed. The situation quickly spiraled out of control. Fortunately, we were able to contain the damage to the loss of our agent, and to the loss of a shuttle and its pilot."
"A shuttle?"
"Cromath decided to renegotiate his contract given the new developments. I thought the risk to the program to be too great."
"Where is Cromath now?"
"He and the shuttle entered the local sun only minutes ago."
"No loose ends. Excellent work, Bersa."
Hallik looked around the room. "Hmm. We're missing Greta Bachran. Unfortunate. She was an excellent agent. Mr. Gecka and Ms. Bachran, I am particularly sorry for your losses. Please take as much time as needed to mourn. The loss of family can be... disheartening."
Bersa said, "As to the mission, sir. We were unable to gather any useful information before this incident. I'm afraid we'll have to approach Master Poch from a different angle."
Jim raised a hand. "That may not be entirely true. I was only there for a handful of hours, but I did overhear personnel talking about a deal between Master Poch and Master Pilor. Something about Poch hiring Pilor for a new mine project. And there was talk of Master Pilor bringing half his crew from the Gatemon mines."
Hallik rubbed his chin in thought for most of a minute. "Pilor is attempting to rebuild. And Poch is attempting to take advantage of his cheap labor. Interesting. With the mining profits at Gatemon under my control, and with the unseen automation of the mines, Pilor has workers to spare. Excellent news, Mr. Wazny. I shall get to work on a plan to capitalize on this development."
Dester said, "And the Waz comes through."
Hallik waddled back toward the door, before stopping and turning. "I truly am saddened by our losses today. But we cannot allow this to set us back. Your freedom, freedom for all Humans, is still at stake. Let's see what we can do to honor Ms. Bachran's sacrifice."
Hallik departed for other business. Bersa moved to another room to have a private discussion about the purchase of a new shuttle. The others remained in the lounge.
Jamus sat in front with Kerena and Martin. "Maybe we can get Hallik to transport her back to Caloran for burial like you want. I don't see her being taken to the farm we left, but maybe to our facility there?"
Kerena sighed. "I don't think she would actually care. The farm wasn't our home because we were smudgers most of the time there. That facility? Maybe. But only because it was the first time we really experienced any freedom. That could be said about here as well. She was happiest here I think. With Martin. Would you have anything to add?"
Martin Gecka stood and paced in silence for several minutes. "I think Caloran. She would want to be on a planet and not in some space station. And I don't know that I could function knowing her body was here with us. She believed in our quest for freedom. We should take her to Caloran."
Jamus stood, placing his hand on Martin's shoulder. "I don't see Bersa denying that. And not to be morbid, but she may not be the last of us to perish. Maybe we make that site into a sort of memorial for Humans who are lost in this effort. A place like that could become the foundation of our determination. A place to honor our fallen."
Bersa joined the conversation from behind them. "An admirable solution. I shall make this happen. We will have a new shuttle and pilot here tomorrow. Greta Bachran will be transported to the surface for a Human burial."
"You are taking us, right?"
"I would have it no other way. We are a team here. We celebrate our victories and mourn our losses, together."
"What do the Girda do when you lose a family member?"
"Their assets are divided, sometimes under protest, and their body is sent away to be incinerated. The Girda way is one of honoring the living. The dead have had their time here and that time is over. I've always been fascinated as to why Humans mourn their dead, even though they lived as slaves their entire lives. Until here, now, on this station, I never understood why."
"It's because we care about each other. Sad that something like that has to be a Human thing. Please tell me the Girda are alone in that heartless treatment of the dead."
"The Brekan have a short somber ceremony before the body is ground into fertilizer and spread on fields. The Leuchen throw a grand feast, but those who have passed on are not mentioned or memorialized in any way. The Talion do not care in any way. Assets are taken by a court and distributed as that court sees fit. Then we have the Sevada. If possible, the blood is drained and mixed into a sausage that is then consumed by all who knew the person. The brain is removed, charred on a grill, and left for the birds to eat."
Jim shook his head. "You people are strange. Too much focus on self and not others."
Bersa nodded. "You are correct in more ways than you know. I will add this about our peoples though: we may not value life as much as you, but we don't take it either, excluding the rare criminal behavior or the lives of slaves of course. Humans, on the other hand, you had large police forces. There was always someone scamming or stealing or abusing others. Crime was rampant at times. Crackdowns would come, problems would stabilize, and then creep back over time.
"I studied what I could of your history while I had access to state records. Whil
e most of your citizens were honest and hard working and law abiding, there was always an undercurrent of miscreants who would want what they hadn't earned. I've often wondered if it wasn't that constant churn of learning and growing and losing and gaining and taking, and even giving, that was responsible for much of your success. I will admit to your people being much more lively than most citizens of the empire. We have turned into a content and uncaring empire, interested only in maintaining things as they are."
The remainder of the day was spent in mourning. The following day a new shuttle arrived. The team and their fallen member were taken back to the compound on Caloran. A site was selected, and as was custom with Humans, the body of Greta Bachran was buried.
Martin stood for an hour staring down at the mound of earth in front of him. The others had boarded the shuttle. Kerena stood in the open hatch as Jamus made his way to his friend.
"Come on. We have work to do. She would want us to continue."
Martin let out a sigh and turned toward the ship. "We've been at this for months, Jamus. When do I get my turn at the yoke?"
"I don't think right now is the best time. But soon. I'll push Hallik to see what can be done. There are billions of Human slaves out there doing work. Some of those tasks have to be well suited to a person such as you."
The shuttle made its run back to Beta Station. The team moved to the lounge, where Bersa again took command.
"I've been given a new mission. Our next target will be Masterette Montat. Number six on the power list for all of Betuaon. We'll again be targeting a personal transport shuttle crew."
"Masterette?" Jim asked.
Bersa nodded. "Yes, it is the designation given to our female masters. I believe it was at one time ‘mistress,’ but a female emperor felt it to be offensive and the term was changed."
The lesson was continued. "Masterette Montat is a Talion. Talions are obsessed with order. They have strict procedures outlined for almost every task. You either follow those procedures precisely or you are replaced. Martin, this would have been your first assignment. The Masterette likes big strong Humans for her chamber... maids. Or in this case servants."
Martin replied, "You said, ‘Would have been?’"
"I'm not certain you are yet mentally ready for an assignment. Show me you are mentally fit over the next two days and I will reevaluate your standing. At the moment we will be placing Jamus in that position."
"I can do it. Please. I need this."
"As I said, I'll be evaluating your performance over the coming days of instruction."
The team moved to the classrooms, where Martin Gecka was put through the paces. The learning collar saw little use as the big Human answered every recall question with precise accuracy.
Jamus cornered Bersa during a lull of instruction. "I know what you did there. And thank you. He needs this."
"You think too highly of me, Mr. Turnbull. The assignment was made by Hallik and it went against my judgment. I'm troubled about sending someone out who may be emotionally unstable at the moment. I advised against it. Master Hallik insisted."
"Sometimes Humans are at their best when kept busy. You want to take our minds off something that is troubling us? Give us work."
"Understood, and noted for future reference. Do you believe Mr. Gecka to be ready for this assignment?"
"He's determined to be ready. He has the training that says he will do well. Do we have a date assigned for this mission?"
"Tomorrow. Mr. Wazny will again go in as a custodian. Mr. Gecka as a chamber servant. We are working on openings for Ms. Bachran and Mr. Marr."
"And me?"
"We don't have a position identified that we believe to be suitable."
"How about another chamber servant?"
"Unnecessary. Not worth the risk. Your job during this mission will be to observe and to analyze the information we collect. How do we best exploit that which we find."
Jamus nodded with a frown. "I guess I can do that. I do have an unrelated question though. Are you seeking out a replacement for Greta?"
"One of four candidates are being considered."
"Four? You have that many females that are aware?"
"It seems the black-colon virus shows up in groups of two to three at a time now. We have more than a dozen aware Humans in our custody at the moment."
"A dozen? What are the plans for them?"
Bersa returned a stern look. "At the moment that determination has not been made. We don't have the means to support a large number of aware Humans."
"We have the room here."
"Master Hallik does not want to interfere with our progress. In time perhaps, but not immediately."
"So what happens to these aware Humans?"
Bersa stared for several seconds. "As I said, their fate has yet to be determined."
"Termination?"
"While possible, that determination has not been made."
"I don't really like where this conversation is going."
"Our options are limited, Mr. Turnbull. We are not prepared to bring that many individuals into this program. And we don't have means for continuous care for every Human that becomes aware."
"There's no talk of turning them over for dissection is there?"
"Goodness no. That would only bring attention to the fact that our colonies are having issue with this virus. Our competitors would move swiftly to quarantine all of Master Hallik's businesses, sending his entire empire crashing to the ground."
"The virus, is it only being seen in our colonies?"
"So far as we know, yes. Caloran and Haraku have each seen close to a dozen cases."
Jamus counted in his head. "We have had seven. You say you currently have a dozen in custody. What about the others? You just said two dozen, right?"
"Five individuals were terminated by their managers for being unruly. Those cases happened before we sent word that all such incidents should be immediately reported. Please understand, this is all new for us. Master Hallik is uncertain of how any of this should be handled. We are attempting to learn as we go."
Chapter 11
* * *
The following day saw a major staff change on the personal shuttle of Masterette Montat. Jim immediately got to work on the floors, Kerena was sent to the kitchen, Dester Marr moved to serve the bridge crew, and Martin Gecka was escorted to the masterette' chambers.
Jamus sat staring at the split monitors with a scowl on his face. "Where is this masterette?"
"Attending a business meeting. She is expected back within the hour."
"Do I want to know what happened that opened up these positions all at once?"
"Since you asked, we attempted something different this time. Masterette Montat was sold on a professional crew. A crew that was highly trained to perform tasks according to precise methods and with exact standards. She was promised that her old crew would be sent through the same training, and should she not care for the new crew, the old crew would be returned. It was pitched as a new business venture where professional crews would eventually be made available for all personal shuttles in the empire."
"Who came up with that?"
"It was a suggestion by our own Mr. Wazny. Ingenious really. If successful here, it may very well offer us an avenue onto each of the personal shuttles of our competitors. The corporation is owned by an individual named Cromath, who resides in the Danton District."
"The dead shuttle pilot?"
"Indeed. There is no record of his death. And there will be no body found. As far as the realm is concerned, Cromath is alive and well and doing business in Danton. As his former employer through a difficult-to-trace string of shell companies, we had access to his complete record database. And best of all, he had no relatives. His transgressions gave us a clean slate to work with."
Jamus turned his focus back to the monitors. "Never would have imagined any of this, Bersa. Not in a million aware lifetimes."
The reporting from the Montat shuttle
was quick to pay dividends. The masterette's unhappiness with several wealthy individuals from another state were exploited, wrecking several tenuous trade deals and sending the business to a ready and willing Hallik. In a little over a month, the Brekan overseer had managed to solidify his position as number seven on the Betuaon wealth list, while moving himself within striking distance of Masterette Montat.
Her new shuttle-slaves had worked tirelessly and had been a delight to the process-obsessed Talion. She had been overheard recommending the professional crew business to others, wondering how she had ever lived without them. As hoped, word was beginning to spread that a professionally trained slave-crew was the new status symbol to be coveted by the wealthy elite.
Jamus and Bersa watched on a monitor as Martin assisted in dressing his masterette. "Bersa, I never thought I'd see Martin doing something like this. He's good actually. And his size hasn't been a hindrance in any way."
"He appears to be driven to play this part to the best of his ability. I will have to apologize for doubting your suggestion that keeping busy would also be good therapy for him. He has shown no indication of mental weakness."
"Any idea of how long they'll be on there?"
"Another week. The training of her prior crew is almost complete. Their attention to detail is not as clean as ours, but the result of their training should offer her a superior crew. As a bonus, we will be returning her old crew with cameras. Each of her servants wears a lapel pin. We've replicated that pin with a camera. The broadcasts should continue for several months before the power source requires replacement."
"So we lose our video after two months?"
"Not at all. The company will be offering a free crew refresher to clients at six-week intervals. And best of all, once a master or masterette has been surpassed in wealth, the cameras can be removed."
Jamus nodded. "Keeping our bases covered. Nice work."
"Nice work indeed."
Jamus scratched his head. "Tell me how the cameras work. How is it we broadcast from a personal shuttle all the way to out here?"
FREEDOM Legends Page 10