13 Degrees of Separation

by Hechtl, Chris

  He'd made a hash of things, he acknowledged his obvious mistakes. He'd taken too much of a fist approach, now bridges were burnt, now the enemy was aware someone was stalking them. Yan Fu had said repeatedly that the best offense was to turn one's opponent against them, thus undoing them. Yan was a master of the subtle approach, taking years to sometimes achieve a goal. Kennet however freely admitted he didn't have that level of patience even after centuries of trying to achieve it.

  Without that guiding force, that covering persona Kennet was becoming more and more aware of just how far out on a limb he was. He had to break the rules, break the law in order to stop the dogs though! What else was he supposed to do? Besides, he was a station councilor! Some things could be overlooked, he was after all looking out for the benefit of all not a bunch of would be barbarian misfits!

  He turned, writhing in the code stream as he tried to figure out what move to try next.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  The team worked on the planned base and yard, starting with their basic slip. It was the same design as the one the admiral had had built a year ago. An octagonal cylinder, 900 meters in diameter, and over 3 kilometers long. It was designed to handle ships of small or medium class. Bulk freighters like the Kiev could fit in her, but they'd be a tight squeeze indeed.

  Each octagon would be 900 meters away from the others. Each octagon would be made up of truss segments that were also octagons cylinders, these were 4 meters in diameter. The cylinders were 685 meters long and set on a 22.5 degree angle from each other to form the octagon. Within each truss segment wiring, duct work, sensors, communication links, tractors, lights, and data lines were set up.

  Since they were new and only Petunia had experience the project was slow going, but as the others picked up experience and began to move and act like veteran spacers the project started to start to come together. She'd had 2 all hands on deck shifts to make sure they knew what to do and then reluctantly she'd had Olaf the only other person with space experience stand down with Yuri the Veraxin, and Reggie. They'd come on shift when Petunia's 3 man crew finished their 12 hour shift. They still had a little way to go so she was going to try to make the most of it.

  They were starting to get a sort of competition going, who could get the most done in a shift. It was a friendly competition, fun, more for bragging rights than for anything else. Still, she had no intention of coming in second.

  The stationers and corporations were still a problem, they seemed perpetually pissed about the Yard Dog's new plan. That was tough cookies for them. They were finally getting their act together and hopefully some people would take notice.

  Their first ring was a pain in the ass to get together, but when they were finished they had an octagon ring 900 meters in diameter. Now that they had the skills and the truss factory had a steady supply of processed material they were shooting for one ring a shift, maybe more. “One down, a dozen or so to go,” Petunia said, smiling. She gave her crew a thumbs up as they groaned. “Hey, cheer up, now that we know how to do it the next one should go easier.”

  “What the hell is this for anyway?” Brock asked, shaking his head.

  “It's the Slip. It's a scaffold that goes around a ship. Big ass cylinder. We'll hang all sorts of stuff like lights and stuff on the inside, all to help us see. Same deal as that platform Kiara's on,” she pointed to the white platform Kaira was standing on. She was the smallest of their triumvirate and also a rigger. She was finishing up the wiring of the truss. Not that it needed to be done now, but it was all plug and play. She just spliced a cable end with the appropriate attachment and then plugged it in to a socket and then covered it in insulation. We've got to watch it though, right now it's delicate, vulnerably to torsional stress. Too much and she'll snap somewhere and we'll have to fix it.”

  “Oh.”

  “So... don't get cute about moving it around or bumping into it. At least not until we've got at least a couple of them linked together,” Petunia explained. She turned to the truss factory. It was already making the next piece. She smiled once more as her brown eyes checked her HUD. They had about twenty minutes before that segment was finished. Once they had the scaffolding up they planned to use the wire maker to make guy wires for additional strength.

  At least, that was the plan she thought as she turned to watch Brock and Kiara floating there doing nothing. Apparently Kiara was finished. That simply wouldn't do. “What are you two doing sitting there? Go check the input, make sure there aren't any problems. Then when you're done that tank up and recharge, we've got more work to do! I don't want Olaf to have bragging rights! Chop chop!”

  “Roger,” Brock said, sighing fatalistically as he turned. His maneuvering pack fired and he moved off to the factory assembly.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Savo saw what the double shifts and 7 day week did to Mairi and the space workers after the second week. Mistakes were being made, common ones that was pissing some of the crews off. Petunia and some of the other space hands were burning the candle at both ends, working on the Yard Dog projects on their off time and they were growing increasingly testing and klutzy.

  Over their objections he insisted on a single day off for rest and recovery. Petunia was a bit put out by the order but stopped objecting after Savo leered. She turned away, chuffing a laugh. “should have known,” she kept saying.

  At odds and not sure what to do with her free time Mairi stuffed her hands in her pockets and hung around the berth until Harif confronted her. They talked small talk for a bit before he enticed her off to lunch.

  Mairi struck up a slow but deepening relationship with Harif. The flutter he induced in her, the flush and glow... she recognized the signs of love, or at least lust. She was scared though, she'd never ever trusted anyone close to her other than her mother.

  He's a nice guy though, a bit of an ass on first impression, but her first. He's surprised by her admission. She was shy about it, he however was smug at having her on his belt, whatever that meant. He introduced her to dating and eventually love making. She was in heaven, now understanding a bit about her mother and the hormonal forces that drove her to do what she did.

  Occasionally Harif would ambush her while they repaired the Bitch. It was one of his favorite games but the first time she had reacted in fright, nearly breaking his skull with a wrench. He was scared off until she explained why. That made him sit with her and talk for a while. She eventually leaned against him and he put his arm around her.

  Later that evening he took her to a club to dance. She was surprised by the lights and people but after a couple of drinks and his encouragement they got into it. They stumbled back to his apartment drunk hours later and made love. It took time for her to learn how to react, to learn about role playing. Soft sensual caresses were explored. It was a night she would never forget.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Alice had their first inquiry for product sales. It was unusual, they didn't advertise making products, though they were quite capable of it. Normally however they went to a potential client with a proposal or bid on an open proposal. Still she took the call. She set up a meeting, planning it for a week in the future or whenever the client was on station and it was convenient for them. However she was surprised and a bit taken aback when the woman a miss Chelsea Star told her that she and her partner were on station now and would like an immediate presentation.

  Shocked but willing to go forward with it, Alice rushed home to change and then asked Clio to rent a conference room from the station to do the dog and pony show.

  Miss Star presented her companion Mr. Smythe when they made introductions. Mr. Smythe told Alice that they represented a start up interested in breaking into the space market. Alice nodded politely, cataloging the information as they shook hands. They politely made small talk before they settled down across the table from one another. Alice was nervous, but kept to her script. She had them sign a basic NDA. Mr. Smythe seemed put out by that, but he signed the agree
ment and provided his thumb print with only minimum hesitation. The couple was quiet, just listening to her presentation about the company. She used a holo projector to show their plan of the first slip.

  Mr. Smythe nodded and then murmured a question, leaning over to his companion. Miss Stars echoed it. “What else can you do? We're interested in product manufacturing,” she said. Alice was afraid she was losing their interest.

  “We can do product manufacturing,” Alice admitted. “Our charter limits us to manufactured products or equipment for vehicles, vessels, and space stations or platforms, but it can be extended to space colonies.”

  “Really?” Miss Star asked, now showing new interest.

  Alice talked with them. She admitted to some project ideas, she was so jazzed she started listing them. Some were things they were doing already, such as robots and station support. But others were more complex and in some ways radical, simple space structures like space stations, platforms, and moon bases.

  When she finished the man and woman thanked her, they shook hands and told her they would get back to her. “Mr. Smythe, now where have I heard that name before?” Alice murmured, gathering her things together. Clio had sat in for the conference but hadn't interacted with the organics, preferring to stay out of it to let Alice get some seasoning with the job. After Mr. Smythe and Miss Star left Clio became suspicious and checked the station net. She identified the woman right off as a social climber from her social media website. Her name was Jenifer Roberts, not Star. The male it turned out worked for a rival industrial corporation, Rinwerks. A cross reference search of the woman's public profile turned up an electronic post about how she was so excited to get a job for Rinwerks.

  Gently, the AI broke the news to the board at their next meeting. Alice was pissed when she heard the news. After that they vetted each person before talking to them, and didn't give them any ideas, just listened to what they wanted.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  On one of their mandatory days off Harif took Mairi out to the water park. It was an incredible experience for her, something she both dreaded and was excited about. She'd never seen such water, and the deep parts looked downright scary. The slides looked fun though. The one where people slid down almost vertical had her quivering in fright. She had to be fitted for a bathing suit, but once she picked out a red poke-dot bikini and changed she became shy and self conscious. She'd never shown this much skin before and she was self conscious, she felt like she was in her underwear. Something Harif enjoyed teasing her about unmercifully.

  She finally retaliated by splashing him. He guffawed and splashed back, which turned into a water fight in the shallows. She ended up laughing in his arms when they were through.

  She fell in love with the water slides, though swimming wasn't her thing. Water was okay as long as it wasn't beyond her knees. Harif showed off in the surfing area before he came over carrying towels. He dried her off with a soft towel, making her smile... and then blush a deep red as some of his caressing got entirely too personal.

  “Down boy,” she said, smiling but feeling her ear tips burn. “Save it for later,” she growled. He chuckled.

  They rented a cabana and lazed under it while picking at a lunch. To Mairi's amusement the Taurens were in the next cabana over. Gwen came over and knelt next to her. “Something I can help you with?” Mairi finally asked, annoyed at the interruption but curious about the Tauren. She had met only a handful of surviving aliens in Senka, the damn pirates hunted them down even more ruthlessly than other humans.

  “Yes, I was wondering, how did you become pilot of the tug?”

  “The Bitch?” Mairi asked amused. “You can say the name you know,” she said smiling and picking up a fake grape. She masticated it, glancing at Harif. He too seemed amused. “The answer,” she swallowed. “The answer is my granddad. He was the pilot before me, and he'd take me in the Bitch in his lap and show me all the controls, how they worked and stuff like that. He showed me how to do maintenance on her and stuff.”

  “Oh.”

  “Pretty neat?” Harif asked.

  “You could say that. I'm smart, very smart. I have an edict memory and a high IQ he said. I'm also good with my depth perception and spacial recognition. Navigation,” she smiled and then shrugged.

  “Quit bragging,” Harif teased. She snorted.

  “Granddad was a great guy. But he got into a stupid bar fight and got a shiv in his stomach. Mom was useless,” she said in disgust, remembering how her mother moaned and cried about what to do but did absolutely nothing. “Granddad was dying, he was bleeding out and mom's debtors were knocking on the door. I took the Bitch out and did a run solo.”

  “When was this again?” Gwen asked, genuinely curious. Her ears flicked along with her scut tail. They really did look like mythological minotaurs, Mairi thought.

  “Eleven and a half years ago. When I was six and a half,” Mairi finally answered. She shrugged at the Tauren. “I'm a fast learner. Graddad said good genes. I could read and write when I was 2. I had to do a lot for myself when graddad was way.”

  “What about your mother?” Harif asked, sounding subdued. She glanced his way.

  “What about her? She carried me. She was a kid, not much older than me. Graddad raised me until...” she sighed.

  “He didn't make it?” Gwen rumbled softly.

  Mairi shook her head, and dashed a tear from her eye. She'd be damned for crying over the past. There was nothing she could do to change it. She felt Harif rub her shoulders. She patted his hand. “Yeah,” she finally said, voice gruff. “I got the load in too late. He died before we could arrange to have him transported to the only medic in the system,” she said roughly. “They said he bled out internally,” she said, voice rough.

  “I'm sorry to hear that,” Gwen said, voice modulating into a soft rumble. Harif clenched her shoulders briefly.

  “Mom sold the body before it was even cold. I turned my load in to uncle Edgar, he took it and gave me a cut. I found out later he gypped me. I was steamed for a long time until he told me that's how the universe worked. He was 'teaching me a lesson'.” she said, using air quotes for the last bit.

  “Ouch,” Harif said, wincing.

  “Yeah well, I made him pay double on the next load,” she said, grinning.

  “You went out again?” Gwen asked, massive eyebrows raising in surprise. “Your mother let you?”

  “She didn't have a choice. She couldn't do it, and she'd blown through the creds for graddad's body as well as the creds my load brought in. She said it was the grief,” she snorted. She knew better now. “She packed me off as soon as she realized there was no alternative. But she 'worried about me' … so much she ran up a fracken dept I barely paid off when I got back.”

  “Ouch,” Harif said softly.

  “Yeah well, the world and how it works. But I soaked uncle Edgar double for my trouble. And I only told mom about the first part, I kept the other part for food and to pay for our air and space and fuel. She'd of blown through it if I hadn't,” she sighed.

  “Ah,” Gwen nodded.

  “Granddad left me the Bitch, not mom. When he found out I was out there he cursed her and then changed the will. Said I deserved it, a fighting chance. I've been using it ever since.” She didn't mention that her mother had tried to take the little tug from her on numerous occasions, even selling it behind her back. She'd had a hell of a time keeping it in her hands, keying it to her ident code only was one way.

  “Good for you, and us,” Gwen said nodding. “Enjoy your day. I will see you tomorrow,” she said, nodding to each of them.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Interest in their manufacturing ability started to pick up. With the station's industry saturated with orders but also strangled with a lack of shipping to move freight and raw materials... along with the high cost of materials a few of the other small startup companies who wanted equipment and were tired of being on a waiting list came to Alice to barter over the next mont
h.

  She talked with them but never agreed to anything. Many didn't have the credit to burn, or had a high interest loan they were reluctant to tap. In a feat of brilliance Clio worked out low interest loans for them from the Yard Dogs to finance their purchases. Her bank was at first reluctant to become involved, but when she showed them a profit projection the director allowed a pilot project to go forward. It would be approved for 90 days and then face a stiff review. Clio wasn't afraid of it, as soon as the loan program was announced the Yard Dogs started getting hammered with interest.

  “Build a better mouse trap and they'll beat a path to your door,” Ralph grunted. Alice looked harried and just rolled her eyes at her husband's whimsy.

  “I'm dog tired,” she sighed, getting off her feet to rub at her feet. “We need someone with sales experience. Someone other than me. I can't be everywhere you know, and I don't know half the shit they are asking.”

  “I'm gathering that,” Clio responded diplomatically.

  “Gee thanks,” Alice growled.

  “Sorry, being honest. I'll... I'll put out an ad,” Clio sighed. “Sales reps wanted...”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  It was incredible how the civilization on the planet was changing and evolving, how they and their brothers and sisters on the station were rapidly rising beyond steam technology. Some things like the great Leonardo Vinnitelli designs were brought forth. The families threatened to sue anyone who abridged or used the patents without their consent. Some had been patented, but since most of it had been reinvented a judicial overhaul of the patent system was requested.