by Clay Moore
"Well, my mother told me that I should make friends and visit them."
CHAPTER FOUR REVISITING FARAWAY
Daniel drove his grav-car around to where John waited with his two suitcases, briefcase, and an unusual case that he called an ocular device. John came back from the trunk with that small case. Daniel was having a tough time keeping his eyes off of that case. He wondered what it did. Perhaps it was some sort of wonder spy thing. All John had to do was push a button and whammo everything would be all right.
Daniel took a little bit more time than normal to get to the Vibrant Chord. When John got there, he stopped in front of the main entrance. John got out of the grav-car and went to the trunk. He had just managed to get the trunk open when a man in the livery of the hotel brought his luggage cart. The man seemed somewhat familiar to John. He looked one more time at the embroidered logo on the left breast of the shirt, and it said, Jeff.
John finished helping Jeff get his luggage on the cart. Then John started to talk casually. "The last time I was here I think I blew up a battle cruiser." Jeff took a moment to realize what John had just said. Jeff was never someone who was a high intelligence person. He was just a good person who loved his wife and apparently found his niche in owning and operating hotels.
"John, John Hardesty?"
"Guilty as charged." "This is a great day. John Hardesty is staying in my Hotel. Of course, your stay is comped." He moved like he was one of the young. Jeff got John's two suitcases and his briefcase onto his cart. Then he led John into the vibrant chord.
The hotel had to floor primarily designed to not propagate sound. When a carpet was needed an area carpet was used. The furniture was high quality and high fashion. It was evident that Elaine was the one who did the decorating. The smells that came from the kitchen indicated that a third party was doing the kitchen. The service and the maintenance had to be Jeff's contribution. Maintenance got to wear the Knit shirts. That was because they were the ones getting into and out of nooks and crannies to fix the infrastructure of the hotel. The bellboys were the traditional bellboy jacket with a pair of slacks. They were trying very hard to make this hotel the number one hotel at least on the planet.
* * * John followed Jeff into the hotel. Jeff brought the baggage cart to the front desk. Then he did something unusual. He went around to the back of the bureau. Jeff handed over a slate to John. John took the offered stylus and filled out the check and form on the slate. He then gave the slate back to Jeff along with the stylus. Jeff was processing the information from the slate onto his computer screen when he reached over to a drawer and pulled it out inside of that drawer were individually packaged styluses with the name of the hotel. Jeff handed John a Vibrant chord stylus. He was pulling out all the marketing stops. John hoped that he had complementary any of the items on his bill. John had no idea how well the hotel was doing.
"Everything in your stay is paid for by Radamite Fuels. There is no expiration term. You are to stay until your mission is completed."
John could hear A giving those instructions to the secretary, and it would be sent on to the hotel. The Eridani Secret Service is very good at putting people into places that are very comfortable. There should be no threat of vermin in the area. In this case, they may have wanted to put me with a group of people who I know. That's what makes this a different kind of mission. In his first mission, he was not aware anybody. Here he was mindful of the fact that quite a few of at least those in power. In this case, he was also trying to so obliterate a technology as to its removal from the planet forever. Hopefully, whoever brings this back saw what went on in Faraway, and now they keep away from that.
Jeff came back to the check-in desk. He had a key card with him, and he started pushing the luggage cart towards the one wing of the hotel. They walked down to about the halfway point. Jeff called for the elevator. It opened, and Jeff entered the elevator car with his luggage cart. John came in afterward. He turned around and pushed the two button.
"How did you know to choose the two button?"
"That's right you’re a groundling from Alphacent."
“Yeah, what of it..” "Jeff, I think you've done the best of us all. You have that gorgeous woman for your wife, and as a bonus, she has a voice that would make the Angels weep. All I am remarking on is the fact that you are used to seeing almost an entire planet covered with a mega city. On Eridani, we are just starting to get up first five mega cities. There is even a bill in the parliament asking for another mega city. I thought it was quite that you did not know that I would understand that this is a twofloor establishment. The first floor down there and the second floor out this open door.”
"Could you kind of stand in its way so that we can get out." John nodded indicating that he would indeed step in the way of the door so that they can get the baggage cart out. When Jeff had completed that task. John stepped out of the way of the door and let it close.
"When we told that Mr. A that we had a suite of rooms for him if he should desire it. Mr. A said that would be perfect. So the end rooms on both sides of the hall are our suites."
"That means for sweets on this floor alone." "Actually it's on this floor alone. There are no other suites in the hotel. When we add the third floor sometime, next year, we might have a total of 12 suites between the two floors."
“Is there that much business?" "We've actually noticed a 10% rise of business over 1/4. That's just for the staying in the rooms. We always did an excellent business with Elaine's singing at the Moody Water Inn. Nobody gets to listen to her anymore unless they come to the Moody water Inn. Our day-to-day sales in beverages and snacks are approximately 5% per day. That's just this year.”
"And what about the kitchen. How well does that do for your business?" "We had someone in to be the chef, but he wasn't doing things the way I wanted them done. He wanted to do shortcuts, use frozen when there were fresh available. So among the many hats, I wear I do lunch and dinner."
* * *
"I think I heard one of your squad mates indicating that you cooked for them." “Who would you want leading you. The person feeding you? Or the person who was yelling at you morning noon and night?"
“Is this my suite?": asked John. “Yes, it is yours. It was so good talking to you. Me and the guys when we saw that you had taken a shot we were pulling for you. Then your woman actually did pull you all the way into the cargo bay of your ship."
"It has been almost 14 months to the day then when she was killed. Last month I managed to get some justice for her. The sniper that killed her and almost trying to kill me has been very on Eridani."
“I pray to God that he would give you that justice when I heard that she was murdered. That is not what you want to remember today. Please ask at the desk if there's anything we can do to make your stay more relaxing."
"Do you guys rent black Grav-rods."
"I may know of someone that has Grav-rods for sale, but to rent it…"
"What does a basic Grav-rod run here on Faraway?”
"When will you need this?" * * * "The earliest is going to be the evening tomorrow. Minna needed to be somewhat capable. I'm going to violate trespassing laws. I need to be able to get in do what I want to do and then get the hell out."
Jeff waved the hand towards the suite of rooms. He waved his key card in front of the door, and it opened. Normally he would have beckoned the person in first. By having John ask him for a Grav-rod, made Jeff a coconspirator if there were any lawsuits. Just did not think that he was going to have to do anything to defend himself. He heard what the news offered a couple days ago, those two same young women buried in the trash.
The door shut with a whisper of noise. Jeff handed John his key card. John took the key card and put it in his wallet. Jeff ran his right hand through the stubble of his hair.
"You may not have known this, but we do provide gravcar's for you to rent. A Grav-rod is something that is insurance company would not like us to take on."
“I understand that.
Then what I do look for is to purchase a Grav-rod. I'm not looking for ultra swank. I am looking for good acceleration and speed."
"Grav-rods are not in good odor nowadays. A couple of idiots took some Grav-rods out and got themselves killed. On a small population world like this, even the removal of 10 men is noticed. I think the guy that I'm looking at is one that would have what you want. It will have to be a purchase, and I'll have to put it on your bill. Should I give Mr. A a heads-up about this expenditure."
“How much would this Grav-rod cost?"
"About 6000 Eridani credits."
"I hope this includes your fee for handling this for me." “The person that I'm getting this information from is a wholesaler. I will get his wholesale price, and I will sell it to you at 6000."
“I have nearly that much in gold coins. If Tthe dealer would prefer to be paid by gold."
“If it is a deal paid by gold I think he might give you quite a bit off." "Well I have some more business to conduct today, and that means getting ready for my meeting with the planetary director."
"Will you invite him to the inn where his daughter is singing?" “You might want to leave that alone. The Director is mourning for the daughter he used to have. He is still not gotten used to the woman he now sees before him. I doubt seriously that he will ever like you. – Just the way fathers of daughters treat their daughter's husband."
* * *
"Looks like I'm going to have to invite him and make it public."
"That could end your business."
“I think I better think it out again."
John turned on Jeff."Now, Jeff, I need to freshen up for this meeting coming up."
"Oh! What a good hotel man I am. Called the front desk if there's anything else that I can do for you." John watched him leave. When he had gone completely, John shut the door behind him. John began to unpack. The two suitcases contained his suits and the clothes that he in which used to play golf. There was a pair of leather shoes with hook and eye fasteners. Everything went into the closet, Including the shoes. He took off his clothes. He went into the impressively designed bathroom. There was a rather large bathtub if you wanted to soak in hot water. The thing that he rather liked was the shower. This shower had nozzles that hit you everywhere. He liked those.
John took a shower and shaved for the second time that day. He was going to see the planetary director, and he rather doubted that that planetary leader would remember who he was. It was something close to 15 months since John and Vivana were here. The planetary director might want him to call him by title.
* * *
John came out of the bathroom and got out a new suit. He put it on and put on his socks and shoes. Then John looked at the remaining clothing in his suitcase. This was the blackout gear that he had asked A .the armory did not know what sizes to give him, so they gave him five that would fit him.
The more they begin to think about it the more they realize that he was not going to use any volunteers. If the new genetic concepts building contains any of the super soldiers at all, then it would be dangerous in the extreme. No matter what he did not want to make widows of any man's wife. He would take support help, but nobody's coming with him into the fray carrying just a blaster pistol.
He wondered about himself what was he bringing to a possible confrontation. He was bringing some cobbled together time bombs. He also was carrying a blaster pistol. This was the weapon that he had spent almost the whole week at the range learning. As far as the genetic concepts building was concerned he thought that he might be able to carry that one off. It would be easy to carry it off if there were no super soldiers. John decided that he would have to wait on any further planning until he had a good reconnoiter. Once that was done he would have a better idea as to how to carry off what was the wish of Eridani and Faraway.
John put his pistol into his belt holster. He just did not like the feel of the shoulder sling with the 9 mm. About half the time that John had spent firing the weapon John also learned to put the gun up and get it under duress. It now was a matter of routine for him to holster his weapon after he had put on the suit. John did not know what the low temperature was going to be as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon. John included his long coat. He was aware that his look would be just like the planetary director. This was intentional. John did not get to know the planetary director very well. The room communicator rang. He picked it up, and said, "this is John Hardesty. How can I help you?"
"Yeah, John, this is Jeff. Daniel is outside and is gravcar. Did you know about this?" “I am sorry. I completely forgot. I will be down shortly to meet Daniel. So far as I knew he was the only one with a grav-car. How are you coming with the Grav-rod?”
"I'll have it in front of the hotel tomorrow morning."
"When you say that you can't get anything, you are not lying."
“Thank you very much for that. Could you tell other people about us.” John could tell that Jeff was little concern for the future. It sounded like Jeff was running the hotel with a relatively decent profit. Perhaps it was the planetary is director’s mood at the last family meeting.
“I thought things were going very well for you." * * *
"It works like this for hotel people. Yesterday is money in the bank. Today is not guaranteed." “I don't remember you with this kind of philosophical bent. Then again we were being shot at and when we reached the Rose Vivana, and I got into our respective battle suits. When I have the time, I will spend some time with you. There are some questions I would like to have answered, and I think you can answer them."
"I would like that. You might want to get down here and get into the grav-car that Daniel has provided." “Okay, him on the way." John set the communicator back on the separate desk. Then he filled his interior coat pockets with some sheets of paper that all had the topsecret symbol of the Eridani Secret Service.
He left the room. Shut the door. He checked the door to see if it locked. Then he walked to the elevator and wrote it down. He then walked towards the check-in desk. John gave Jeff big sign that John learned from the Marines, and subsequently, he learned every ground pounder has something very similar to greet people.
They continued to the front door. John went through the front door and found that Daniel had not bought a new grav-car. It sure felt like everybody on faraway was not spending any kind of money. What they spent was money that they needed to expense for food and clothing. Extravagance is like a new grav-car. The problem with the car was not that it was broken down. If anything Daniel's car was very lovingly maintained on the mechanical part. The part that deals with sitting down and being comfortable might not be so well-maintained. John walked to the passenger side of the grav-car. He opened the door, sat down, and closed the door. Together John and Daniel drove to the planetary government house.
CHAPTER FIVE STATUS IS GREEN FOR GO
The Planetary administration building was probably the only building that had any kind of architectural details. The building was a round building. Emanating from the roof was a ferracrete sculpture of a torch. In some regions of the sculpture was gold leaf. On those days in which it was somewhat clear that gold-leaf would reflect the sun. John had not seen the result of that happy coincidence. He could hear some of the people talk about it, but they usually shut up before he got near them. It was the club members versus those that were outside of the club. He knew that idea very well. He was a member of the Eridani High Guard, and that made him very unlikely to socialize with non-Eridani High Guard members.
Daniel maneuvered the grav-car to an empty space in the parking lot. They both got out of the car. The tarmac was covered over with a silvery sheet of water. This was the morning dew, so high was the relative humidity that it actually looks like it had rained. Then suddenly the goldleaf on the statue of a torch came alive with light. The beauty of it struck John numb. There may not be many sites to see you on Faraway. The sites to see are pretty spectacular.
Daniel wondered why he was keepi
ng a step behind John. Daniel stopped and turned and saw John looking in rapt attention at the statue. Daniel walked back to John. He stood side-by-side with John hoping that he can gather the feeling that it was like to see this thing in operation. It never did come back, but sometimes being able to see what another saw is worth the trip. John shook himself. It's not very often that you are stunned into freezing. Maybe that is why he likes the planetary director. The planetary director of Faraway had a sense of art. It was not the statue on the building that exhibited his art. It was what he brought in, the people. Every person seems to have some sort of art or craft that they perform. Right now that was not the kind of person that they needed. They needed somebody that had training in the starship technologies. Those émigrés to Faraway that worked on other starships even showed a modicum of artistic sense. This sense of Faraway seemed obvious to John. The first time he was here there was Vivana who delighted in keeping his attention. Now he was looking at Faraway with new eyes, but old friends.
John led the way to the of fice building. Just like most round buildings, it looked like there were more rooms than could be contained within the building. John opened the main entrance, and he walked into the lobby. Daniel followed him but kept quiet. John walked up to the receptionist's desk and asked him: "I am looking for the planetary director. I have an appointment at 1:30 PM.
The receptionist operated his computer using exactly 2 fingers one on each hand. The receptionist was the only position that could be filled by someone who could not do any typing or data entry. In some government offices, the receptionist was reserved for either a charity case or some kind of nepotism. John came down on the side of a charity case. He finally found the entry for the appointment. He looked up at John and said: "Are you John Hardesty ?"