Fragments sf-6

by Randolph Lalonde

  “Kerisite actually, and yes, atmosphere friendly thrusters and gravity control.”

  “Kerisite? You mean that was built before the third fall?”

  “Over a century before the Omni virus. This was one of the biggest outer colonies, and if you can believe it, Tamber is where a lot of people settled while they built that structure. If the Confederation knows more than that, they're not sharing, sadly.”

  “Too bad, the secret of making Kerisite has been lost for a couple hundred years. It would solve a lot of problems.” A ship was moving into place, getting ready to traverse the passage to the planet surface and large docking facility below. “That's either very close or very large,” she said.

  “That's a United Core World Confederation aid vessel. About five kilometres long, three across. Not the first, and probably not the last. The Confederation is leaving, and they’re taking as much raw material, equipment and as many citizens as they can before their time is up”

  Ayan soaked in the engineering wonder above her for another moment, watching as the massive aid ship passed the even grander elongated western station ring. Light flashed up one side of the station wing as stabilizing thrusters fired in sequence, righting a misalignment of the gravity ladder that she couldn't hope to perceive. She tore her eyes away and regarded the man beside her. “Again, sorry, I've just never seen anything so outstanding, in an engineering sense.”

  “No worries, I've been here so long I forget about it sometimes.”

  “So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why aren’t the Confederation sending more ships to continue fighting for this system? There must be dozens of mining operations, and we read about several colonized worlds.”

  “I'll tell you, but only as part of a trade.”

  “I didn't know your order were traders,” Ayan teased with an upraised eyebrow.

  “We adapt, and here everything is traded. In this case, I'm looking for information. I'm curious about your arrival, the nature of your people. Some of the people you rescued at Enreega have already reached Drifton and they had stories that lead me to more questions.”

  “I'll answer what I can.” Ayan started walking away from the Clever Dream at a leisurely pace, observing the settling camp all around. The Clever Dream was at the centre of their relatively small section of the shanty port. The air was pleasantly cool, and it carried a faint, burnt scent that wasn't overpowering but persistent.

  “Is it true that you are led by Jacob Valance?”

  Ayan's eye reflexively looked to where he stood in the distance, getting ready to move supports under the rear section of the Samson so they could move it into the hangar. His armoured hood and darkened faceplate were up. There was no way of telling who it was, especially since he’d removed all identifying markings from his vacsuit. “I’m the voice of my people, and he’s one of them,” she answered, deciding that hiding the fact that he was somewhere on or near Tamber was pointless.

  “Ah, I was just curious. Anyone who saves that many souls so shortly after an Eden Fleet attack might be able to help here.”

  “You're not concerned with Regent Galactic's allegations that he's responsible for the Holocaust Virus?”

  Ugo shrugged. “What motivation would he have? Regent Galactic's allegations make little sense, especially when they are the only party to benefit from this disaster. I'm not going to ask you to inform my opinion of the situation, in fact, I'd rather you didn't. From what I heard in Drifton, he's done more good than harm recently.”

  “I hope that knowledge spreads.”

  “It may, but not if you keep him hidden from sight too long. The longer he shies from the light of day, the more people will suspect him of having something to hide.”

  “You have a point.” Ayan thought before asking the next question on her mind. If there was any doubt in their guest's mind that Jake was somewhere in their encampment she would be dismissing it. She watched as a group of crewmen walked under one of their ships with hand lights, visually inspecting the outer hull for damage. Her companion was patient, and looked around the landing site in silence. “What do you think would happen if he came out into the open?”

  “You might have a few more visitors. The Carthans would most likely want to speak to him, but not about Regent Galactic's allegations.”

  “What about bounty hunters, or under cover Confederate agents?”

  “That’s the problem with being new here, you haven’t gotten the whole picture yet. Before long there will be just as many warrants out for Confederate agents, known patriots, well known criminals and the price for prisoners of war will be written into law by the Carthan government. From what I hear it would be easier to capture a Regent Galactic Officer and hand him over to the Carthans for a reward than it would be to hunt down Valance and transport him across enemy lines. His value as a bounty will wane as other opportunities come up.”

  “He’ll always be at some risk.”

  “Not if he’s the first hero of this new war. I have seen the footage of him urging people to sign privateering agreements, he is a fantastic speaker, and his reputation as a bounty hunter gives him great credibility with the right people. To see that go to waste at a time like this would be a shame. We need warriors now more than ever, and he’s the kind that can bring fighters together, give them the right focus.”

  “I’m sure the Carthans can find their own poster boy. He’s content to work in the shadows, that’s how he survived so long as a bounty hunter, by moving on before most people even knew what he was up to.”

  “Funny that you mention poster boys. They're only hiring human mercenaries. Out here the purists have the power, and as I understand it, Valance doesn't discriminate.” Ugo made a mild gesture towards Alaka, who was casually carrying a crate of supplies that must have weighed half a ton. He folded his hands into his sleeves and continued. “But I don't think the Carthans are worth as much attention as you might think. As the new masters of this star, and the ones who will most likely draw the first line in the sand, they have greater concerns.”

  “So you’re trying to tell me that Jacob could attract the other races. I think you give his name too much credit.”

  “Oh? Didn’t he save an entire cargo ship filled with nafalli and issyrians not long ago? I have met three of them, they are here, and they are going to offer their services very, very soon. They don’t come because they expect him to protect them like some shield. No, they will enter your camp seeking him out like a battle standard.”

  “You're just trying to convince me to arrange a meeting,” Ayan retorted with a smirk.

  “To what end? I believe that you would be much more convincing than I could ever be if I show you why Valance coming out into the open could work to your advantage, to everyone’s advantage. He's probably listening in on our conversation right now.” Ugo replied simply. His tone was mildly dismissive, but light. “I do have a few more questions about you and your people before I bring up the central matter behind my visit.”

  “Ask away.”

  “Is it true that Triton is a stolen Earth ship?”

  “There are no easy questions with you, are there?” Ayan retorted with a chuckle.

  He nodded and smiled back. “People come to me for help and information. If I have the answers they keep coming, and those that have something to trade keep trading.”

  “ Triton was stolen by Lucious Wheeler then captured by Jacob Valance, as far as I know. The Aucharians recognized his claim on the ship as a war time capture.”

  “Fair enough. Your turn, what else would you like to know?”

  “Do the Carthans have allies? What kind of chance do they stand in this war?”

  “Carthan territory spans across sixty solar systems, most of them are only days or weeks away, and yes, they have many allies in the core worlds. Over the next few weeks I’d be surprised if you didn’t see representatives from several worlds located near the Eden solar system on the Stellarnet announcing their support. As it stands
they have hundreds of military capital ships here, and I think Tamber is taking a deep breath before the soldiers from those ships start visiting.”

  “Visiting?”

  “For leave, of course. There are over a million pilots, soldiers, and officers up there, and what’s more inviting than a busy port and hundreds of kilometres of sparkling quartz beaches. This,” Ugo raised his arms in a grand gesture, “is Port Rush on a quiet week. The Confederation just finished moving out.”

  Ayan looked skyward at the never ceasing traffic above and shook her head. “Well, that’s a thought.”

  “If there’s anything you should take away from this meeting, it’s the knowledge that this moon is about to become a hub of activity, and not only because of the soldiers. The call has gone out for freelancers across the galaxy. Criminals have the opportunity to get full pardons, to become war heroes, and crusaders with too much money and too little sense will buy the best fighting tools to engage in this war so they can say they were there. Someone like Valance, and someone like you can take advantage of that, make them all your allies and show them how it’s done. I think that is why Patrizia Salustri has taken an interest in you, because she’d rather stand beside you instead of find herself in your shadow.”

  “Do you know much about her?”

  “I hear she’s ruthless when faced with an enemy, generous with friends, and I can tell you first hand that she doesn’t believe in charity. I only ever asked her once for help with my little mission in Drifton. Several of her crew like to stop in though. If you want to pick up some inside information about her operation, you’ll do well to sit several of your more discrete people in a pub corner while they’re in attendance.”

  “Thank you for the tip, I appreciate it. I’m wondering, do you know much about how the rest of the galaxy is getting on? I haven’t had a lot of time to catch up on news since the Holocaust Virus.”

  Ugo nodded and spoke more solemnly. “You can see the pulse of the universe in her people. They're lost, angry, and feel that there's nowhere to go, no help coming. Tamber is a fair example of how most old colonies are faring. The collective consciousness of man misses his cold minded partner, artificial intelligence. Chaos hasn’t gripped people by the throat, its hopelessness, helplessness. Several fringe banks crashed for good, a few core world ones, and the value of the common credit is down tremendously. Even the Carthans are looking to the Commerce Board to mint a bullion coin of their own. That's why I'm here, why Drifton exists, so I can offer a place for people who don't have anything left. A place where they can heal and find hope again.”

  “What about the city? I saw a lot of activity there.”

  “The landlords with power and people took over as soon as law left. The Carthans stay in Greydock, where they have enough room for them to make themselves at home, especially since anyone with a Confederate passport took advantage of free transportation out of the system as soon as it became available.”

  “I could imagine. I’m still having difficulty believing that there's no law outside of Greydock?”

  “There are a couple cities controlled by privately owned security agencies in the southern hemisphere, but the people who pay them are in control. New tyrants are making their own kind of law. That's happening on a lot of worlds, from what I've heard. You must have seen it in your travels since the holocaust virus started appearing.”

  “We've been too busy running from one disaster to the next.”

  “Well, every highly automated city from here to New Earth at the centre of the core systems has been set back to the early colony days. People invested so much trust and depended on artificial intelligences to manage things that society has been torn apart. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this port and others like them are bright spots in the galaxy now. We're starting over. This world barely survived the holocaust virus and we saw it coming. You'll notice I only keep the most basic ident comm.” He pulled an old black cross on a silver chain out from under his robes. “Very basic, an AI would suffocate if it tried to move in.”

  Ayan's heart sank. She remembered Pandem vividly, what the holocaust virus did there and how rare it was to find survivors. The thought that there were many worlds like it was terrifying. “Then it's true. We're living through the fourth fall.”

  “That depends on who you ask. Those who signed with the Order of Eden believe it is nothing more than a cleansing, some kind of natural culling. For us it's a terrible turn away from progress. For them it's a garden of opportunity.”

  “If I hadn't seen Pandem myself, I wouldn't believe it.”

  The colour drained from Ugo's face. “You've been to Pandem?” He asked, his voice hushed and alarmed.

  Ayan nodded solemnly. “I was there shortly after the holocaust virus struck. A few of us barely escaped.”

  “So few survived. I've never met anyone who was there during the destruction. The last transmissions from that world,” He shook his head as if to clear it of the memory. “I can't imagine what you saw while you were there.”

  “If that's what most heavily populated worlds are like now, then I'm not surprised we found trouble on our next stop.”

  “Well, many core worlds managed to clear most of the artificial intelligences before they were infected, but that also disabled transportation, whole sectors of the economy, communications, most of the infrastructure. Transportation is unsafe, with Eden Fleet mounting random attacks along well known routes, and there are parts of this holocaust no one understands yet.”

  “Like why it coincided with the return of the Eden Fleet.”

  “Exactly. I wouldn't tell too many people you survived Pandem, though. They call it New Eden now. Millions of initiates are working to rebuild, millions more are making the pilgrimage there. If there's a dark heart to everything that's happened in the last few months, that's where it lies. Some believe that Pandem is where it all started, that Valance really had nothing to do with it. If word gets around that you were there, his first in command, then I can't say what people might start thinking.”

  “Thank you for the warning. I can't picture how they can call Pandem New Eden though. It was a ruin, even as I was leaving.”

  “Not according to the propaganda I've seen. The Child Prophet has brought countless numbers into the fold, telling them that fear will come to an end on Pandem.”

  “Considering the terms, I've been tempted to send him a hundred thousand credits myself. The guarantee that you won't be killed by a rogue machine is pretty valuable.”

  “It's already gone past that. I've encountered dozens of true believers who stop here to trade for provisions. They believe a new age is dawning, and the Child Prophet is at its centre. I think it is all rubbish, but then I've had faith in my own higher power all my life.”

  “What does Earth think of all this?”

  “I haven't been able to make contact since the virus first struck.”

  “I hope they're not facing the same problems we are.”

  “Doubtful. The types of artificial intelligences they use have different seed code, and wouldn't be at risk of infection. We also don't trust our artificial intelligences to administer over critical infrastructure." Ugo sighed and smiled wearily at Ayan. “But none of that matters here, now. I suppose I should get to the important questions; will you be staying long and what do you need? I hear you've already done some purchasing with Ruby Sima.”

  “You really do hear everything.”

  “Her first mate, Lombardo, is a regular at the Slim Chance.”

  “What's the Slim Chance?”

  “Ah, it's the pub and greatest source of information. Talking and trading are really the only things to do if you're not a gambler, doser or drinker.”

  “I think I get the picture,” she said, regardless of the fact that she'd never been inside a place that accommodated all those things in combination. Her imagination was filled with visions of darkened tap rooms and drug dens she'd seen in holomovies. “We saw Ruby Sigma's listin
gs on the Mackey exchange and we struck a bargain.”

  “What was the asking price for this sliver of land?”

  The question was surprising, somehow it was unexpected coming from the Samaritan.

  He didn't let the silence grow stale. “No need to answer, I suppose it involves your fire power. I imagine you're going to assist her in a number of future captures.”

  “I was able to strike a deal we’re all content with,” she offered as an answer.

  “Well, watch Patrizia, she’s not wealthy because she makes good investments in the stock market. People like that will turn on you if it suits them.”

  “Are you sure there’s nothing specific you can tell me about her? Maybe about her officers?”

  “Well, she's even wealthier than she looks, and has been here for years. Most people come here because it's the first relatively safe place they've found. She stays here because she operates from a position of strength. Any more information will cost you.”

  “It sounds like you have more to offer than we do.”

  “Information wise? Probably, but Drifton is always running short on everything but residents.”

  “Well, we haven't finished an inventory yet, but I know we'll need parts for repairs, a heavy lifter or two so we can get under one of our ships, and extra shelters if we have to stay here for any length of time.”

  “You expect to be moving on?”

  “I hope we get the option.” Ayan was momentarily distracted by the descent of one of their Uriel starfighters. The blue light of its thruster pods shifted to bright yellow as they switched to repulser mode and the ship made its final descent. The struts between the engine pods had expanded into wings, giving the fighter the look of a long, double winged firefly without a tail. It set down between two other fighters, leaving just enough room for someone to walk along side. Jake, accompanied by two other similarly armoured crewmen were already on their way to greet Minh and his copilot. Ayan was suddenly very conscious that Ugo Dallego was watching her. “What can we offer you?”