by Scott Rhine
“In what way?” Roz said, puzzled on all fronts.
“I explained that I’m a lesbian, but I could teach him how to pick up attractive, young women. I demonstrated with you.”
Officers bodily lifted a protesting blue scarf and carried him away.
“I think I need to go back to my room,” Roz said.
Todd asked if she’d like some company. Squashing his excitement, Roz turned to Ivy and said, “That’s a great idea. Could you go with me? I’m new here and might get lost.”
Roz didn’t let go of Ivy’s arm the whole way back, going with the theory that no one paid attention to couples.
“That was hilarious,” Ivy said. “I’ll bet he still hasn’t closed his slack jaw.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
When they were in the ship’s cargo bay, Ivy asked, “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Roz said, sounding unconvincing even to her own ears.
Ivy grilled her first and then Max did. In the end, she had to repeat her research story to the collected partners.
“Assume that the local police have a sample of Roz’s voice from surveillance. We can’t let her speak in public until this blows over or we have a credible excuse,” Max said to the group in the crew common area. “I conclude that even the number of people shipped to prison is considered a state secret.”
Roz said, “So we find out who worked with Lasandar. Be circumspect. We might find allies at Civil Rights for All, the charity who funded his work.”
“Now that the authorities have been tipped off, how do you recommend we do that?” Max asked.
Sometimes, Roz wanted to smack him. “You wear your patented dolphin medal. I get my humanitarian award from Aviar, and we waltz into the charity’s main office.”
Max wiped his face. “When faced with a superior opponent, you need study him carefully. This is going to take political maneuvering and acumen that neither of us has.”
Roz considered for a moment. “You’re saying we need a swindler. We can just ask my mom.”
The others exchanged glances. Max said, “That’s actually a brilliant idea.”
Once informed of the intelligence-gathering challenge, Alyssa had a plan within moments. “We’ll start close to the truth. I’ll shop around for film makers for my daughter’s engagement celebration. With the couple’s prestige and my money, I’ll need the best. We’ll make the rounds, inviting several prominent charities to the event, and I’ll mention liking Lasandar’s style. His crew will come to us.”
“Engagement party?” Max asked.
Alyssa put a hand on his arm. “It’ll be easy. Just hold her hand and sneak adoring gazes at her like you usually do. Everyone will believe it.”
Roz blushed at her mother’s forward nature, but Max didn’t deny it.
****
Deke and Alyssa went to the surface with Roz to grill every video-industry professional related to Lasandar. Deke wore a prosthetic, but his limp was noticeable in the gravity.
One editor had a copy of Lasandar’s final project, which he parted with when the con woman fed him a story about being part of an undercover task force investigating sentient-rights abuses. The Magi reputation for random acts of kindness helped her case.
The editor warned, “Forget my name and link address. You didn’t get this cube from me. The government only arrested Las because he did the voice-overs. He refused to identify the rest of us.”
Roz accepted the holo cube. The clip showed the initial plans for the colony, followed by examples of extreme crowding and something completely unexpected—dirty-faced children hiding in the background. She froze the playback. “Where did you get this footage?”
“Bought it bootleg from one of the Saurian ships,” explained the film editor. “The little girl is probably one of the military-guard brats, though the prisoners aren’t neutered either. The mortality rate is just so much higher for the workers. The guardian class makes certain the prisoners don’t kill each other, confiscates weapons, and doles out food based on hours of labor.”
Alyssa said, “Our captain is a Saurian. We’ll have him invent the provenance for the film and use still shots where possible.”
“How many people are trapped in the prison system?” Roz asked.
The editor glanced nervously out his office windows, as if checking for government agents. “Maybe five thousand, guards and prisoners combined.”
Roz coughed in surprise, twenty times the designed load for the colony. “There are that many traitors to the crown each year?”
“The royal family uses the prison to get rid of rivals and keep secrets. I remember one poor sap whose only crime was winning too many horticulture competitions against the dowager.”
“Doesn’t public outcry keep the royals in line?” asked Roz.
“That’s why they won’t let us report on the subject. As the war depleted radioactives from Cardiam, we needed to expand operations at Niisham to compensate. Suddenly, a bunch of mining engineers and construction specialists were indicted in a bomb plot.”
Roz said, “Could you back that up with names?”
“A few. Look, I can’t afford to be linked to any of this. I have a family of my own.”
Roz collected what background information she could off the public sites. The specialists mentioned seemed to be middle-aged and rich, but she couldn’t find anything about their previous jobs or residences.
In the cab on the way back to the hotel, Deke raised the partition and spoke in English so the driver wouldn’t overhear. “There’s something you need to know about Bat social interaction.”
“How are the language lessons going with Jeeves?”
The copilot shrugged. “He may need a speech therapist.”
Roz put a hand to her chest. “Is he cognitively delayed, or has his mouth been deformed by malnutrition and living in a closet?”
“I—I’m not that kind of specialist. He speaks better than a Human, for what that’s worth.”
“Is there any way we could hire a therapist for the next leg?” Roz asked her mother. “I’d want the best. I’ll pay out of my share.”
Deke said, “What I need to tell you is that some of translation is implied culturally, and AIs will never fill in the gaps. Remember how vague the editor was? Whenever something doesn’t seem to have a cause, the cause is neutronium.” The power behind the throne.
“So these engineers wanted to retire from the neutronium plant but knew too much?” Alyssa guessed. “Reminds me of the tomb builders being buried with the pharaohs.”
Deke shrugged. “Perhaps they merely failed to make their quota or spilled secrets. Either way, investigating these men would be seen as an attempt to find the source of the neutronium. That could never be allowed.”
“We also can’t attack the overcrowding or the unfairness without criticizing the royals.” Alyssa took the cube from Roz and pointed at the face of the child. “This is what we concentrate on—the children who don’t belong in prison. People could get behind a cause like saving them, and removing them would solve a problem for the establishment. You’re a convincing advocate for disadvantaged little ones. Your passion will come through on camera.”
“So we go in as humanitarian aid for the children—blankets, water filtration, and food?” Roz suggested. Her eyes were glued to the window as they sped through a traffic circle with several rings and two distinct levels.
Alyssa said, “Plus birth control for the inmates and emergency evacuation in stasis for any children with severe medical needs. You’d have an excuse for hiring that speech therapist or nutrition expert.”
Roz did some quick math in her head. “We could haul three or four times as many kids in the same space as the engineers.”
“How do we get permits and funding for all that?” asked Deke. “Let alone for this party. The guest list is over five hundred already.”
“Ah,” Alyssa said with a smile. “The public and politicians will give us the finances when they see the a
ds for our cause. What I’m curious about is how you plan to get your ship out of that one-way system again.”
Roz pulled up charts for the lie that she and Echo had prepared. She didn’t want to deceive her mother, but Roz couldn’t tell anyone else about the subbasement drive, especially not off the ship. “We found a loophole, a gravity thread that passes through the very edge of the Niisham system every 271 years.”
“Bull,” Alyssa replied. “The Bats would know about that.”
“The Magi didn’t put it on the star charts they shared. Some astronomical phenomena they kept to themselves, especially when the Bats started using the one-way jump to dispose of trash,” Roz explained. The thread in question passed a quarter parsec away from the alleged target, but politicians weren’t rocket scientists. Her stomach roiled from the high speeds and traffic weaving.
Her mother asked, “Why are the Magi so zealous about exploring all the systems, even the unreachable ones?” Everyone else had enough trouble managing the 80 percent of Union space that the Turtles and Magi had explored for them.
“Every new species they find gives them another piece of the puzzle of life and a new outlook.” Maybe they were hoping for another hint from the Forerunners. Roz steered away from topics she couldn’t discuss with Humans. “We have to be careful who we tell about the loophole. The aid mission should get us past the military base. We still need to acquire the jump vector and optimum velocity for Niisham, but Kesh is convinced he can buy that information at the shipyards.”
Alyssa said, “True. Whoever does the retrofit for the extra life-support modules and bunk beds will probably throw that in under the table to win the contract. We’d have to show convincing plans to segregate the crew from the children and a process to ensure no adults escape the prison.”
As the cab pulled into the hotel driveway, Roz shut off her star display. “But we want at least one of them to escape.”
“Then we should find Bats willing to stay behind with loved ones or terminally-ill folks who we can pay ahead of time to switch places.” Alyssa tipped the driver. When they were alone in the hotel elevator, she decided, “I like that model. It adds an air of wonderful tragedy to the opera. We should start recruiting tonight.”
“What does all this have to do with the engagement party?” asked Deke.
“We’ll play up how soft-hearted our famous humanitarian Roz is. Hero Max will announce the rescue mission to the prison system in an effort to prove his love to her. However, the enchanting Shiraz has vowed not to wed until the children she’s seen in those photos are healthy and well-fed.”
Following the ladies to their room, Deke asked, “Why would she care?”
“Because she suffered in similar circumstances in Napa,” said Alyssa. “We add just enough truth to set the hook and enable her to speak convincingly. We’ll paint her as timid heiress with an unexpected inheritance who wants to use her fortune for good. She’ll need more dresses, of course.”
“You can’t make things up on a whim,” Deke said.
“Oh, but I can and do,” Alyssa said. “It’s all metaphorically true. When I’m finished, this identity will be more real than her old life. Even people who met her before will swear they knew these secrets all along.”
Roz was already on the network. “I’ll start by searching for child specialists on medical leave.”
Chapter 28 – Outpouring
Roz scratched at the front door of a local pediatrician, a technique Bats used instead of knocking. “Dr. Lisheen’s house is nice. The gardens show a lot of care.” The rest of the urban neighborhood looked drab and smoke-stained by comparison.
Nervous, Deke put a finger to his lips. In Banker, he said, “You disturb the harmony.”
A small, coal-black female opened the door a crack. “My harmony will never be restored.” The Bat wore a housecoat and slippers. Tears stained the fur around her muzzle. Roz couldn’t judge age, but her eyes were definitely intelligent.
Deke bowed. “Forgive us. I told her we shouldn’t have intruded.”
“A bell cannot be unrung. What brings a Human to my door when my own people shy away for fear of my disease?”
“Children need your help.”
Dr. Lisheen held out a hand so Roz could see her tremor. “The hospital wishes to avoid malpractice, and the children fear contamination. I have given all I can.”
“No. Your expertise is still valuable, and we’re not afraid of you.” Roz wiped away the makeup over her scar and had Deke lift a pant leg. “On our crew, we have volunteers from every species, and we’re all outcasts. But we’re the best.”
“You have my attention.” The door swung open wide. “Step into my parlor. I’ll find some treats.”
“We don’t need—”
Deke elbowed Roz. “She is capable, and this is a host’s duty. Allow her this.”
The dark-furred woman smiled wanly at the copilot. “I like his manners.”
Inside, over tea, Roz showed her a photo album of Bat children at Niisham. “Our charity wishes to help these unfortunates and many others.”
As she flipped the pages, horrified, Lisheen asked, “Were these Bats prisoners of war?”
The crew members glanced at one another. Deke said, “Pardon, honored specialist. These images were taken at one of our own prisons.”
“What could these innocents possibly have done?”
“Nothing. They were born into captivity in the Niisham colony,” Deke said.
While the doctor was still reeling, Roz said, “Could you listen to this recording and see if you can detect any effects of malnutrition?”
She played a sample of Jeeves speaking rudimentary Bat. “No more work. Please food eat.”
The doctor gasped, lapsing into her native tongue, translated by Roz’s earbud. “This is unspeakable.”
Roz continued in Banker. “We need to know what sorts of doctors to recruit. Can you tell if there has been any mental retardation?”
“Calcium deficiency,” said the doctor, holding in emotion.
“You can tell that much from such a short clip? You’re amazing,” Deke said.
The doctor’s ears tipped back slightly.
Roz asked, “Could we interest you in a trip to our ship to see our facilities?”
“I did work with a children’s hospital founded by … a famous actor. Any of them would be fascinated by this collection of photos. Do you have any more audio?”
Roz said, “Our ship is a Magi courier. If you’d agree to a tour, Far Travel Unlimited could tell you so much more.”
The doctor said, “I’ll set up an appointment for after the end of shift today. You’ll have no lack of volunteers, but I’m not the most qualified for travel.”
Roz asked, “How long do you have left?”
“Perhaps eight to ten years.”
“Do you want to spend that time hiding in your hole, or would you rather visit every corner of this realm before you go? I got to watch a Turtle pin a medal on my boyfriend, and Saurians threw him a beach party. I’ve seen more exotic places since I met him than I had since birth.”
“Please,” Deke said. “You have much still to give.”
His plea influenced her more than Roz’s. The doctor excused herself to dress and make calls.
****
One of the staff recorded Roz’s pitch to the hospital staff, photos and Jeeves’s plea included. By the next morning, hordes of health-care providers had submitted resumes, including Lisheen. Over an elaborate breakfast buffet on the penthouse balcony, Roz sorted though them. She ate twice what her mother and Deke did but failed to make a dent in the ostentatious spread. “We only need four volunteers, and the Church of the Void wants to help us. How ironic is that? These applications are from nuns who minister to plague victims.”
Deke explained, “Fear brought on by the war brought unprecedented strength for the church. We suspect they disappeared about half the prison’s population.”
“The church would
add to our air of respectability.” Alyssa mused. “Donations are pouring in already: entertainment cubes, educational computer pads, stuffed animals, money, and a ton of frozen peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches.
“I’ve had a dozen interview requests so far. I’ve deferred them all to the engagement party. We’ve scheduled a photo session for the couple afterward and five minutes per journalist.”
Someone knocked at the door, and Deke peeked through the peephole. “Guys, this is one interview you’ll have to take now. Federal police from their outfits.”
Roz’s eyes grew large, and she estimated how far the drop would be to the balcony below. “I’m busted.”
“Relax,” Alyssa said. “I asked them to come. I petitioned the governor for Niisham maps under the allied freedom of information treaty.”
“Governor?” Roz squeaked.
“Let me do the talking, querida. The bigger they are, the larger their appetites. This will work out to everyone’s advantage.”
Roz remained mute while her mother ignored a small army of armed men in order to schmooze the governor. Everyone enjoyed the delicacies at the buffet. The crew members each posed for photos, shaking hands with the man. When the dust settled, the governor agreed to provide prison aerial views as well as military advisors on the journey. “This makes the humanitarian mission a joint venture with my administration. You will, however, need to sign a non-disclosure agreement that forbids you to discuss anything you see in the Niisham system, including any photos yet to be released from your Blue Claw sources.”
“I couldn’t agree more. The security of your people is foremost, Your Honor. We only want to help the children.”
****
The snowball kept growing. By the day of the party for a thousand dignitaries, the coffers for the charity held millions of credits. Posters made from the photos were plastered in public places. The cameras outside the ballroom terrified Roz. Fire jugglers were practicing in the side hall while she peered into the crowded dining area. The small pediatrician sat at the head table next to Deke.
Roz whispered to Herb, “Maybe giving mother free rein was a mistake.”