“I’m going off-world,” she said, firmly. She passed him the sheet of paper. “This is everything I can remember. I hope you can use it.”
Uncle Muhammad nodded. “My wife will help you dress,” he said, as he turned to walk out of the library. “And then we’ll be on our way.”
Away from her husband, Uncle Muhammad’s wife seemed to warm up slightly as she helped Sameena to wash and then dress in a new set of male clothes. Sameena glanced at herself in the mirror, wondering if she shouldn't hack her hair off while she had the chance. Her hairless chin was far too revealing, but if someone pulled off her turban they’d see long hair and know that she was female. Then again, if someone came that close to her she was in deep trouble anyway.
“The cargo pods are unloaded outside the spaceport,” Uncle Muhammad explained, as she joined him in the car. “One of them is being sealed in an hour or so; I want to get you inside before then, along with your supplies. After that, you’re on your own.”
He passed her a small vial. “This is a sleeping drug,” he added. The car roared to life and bounced out of the driveway, heading towards the spaceport. “Once you're inside, I suggest you take it. You don’t want to make any sound before you reach orbit, or they’ll hand you over to the Guardians.”
Sameena took the vial and studied it, thoughtfully. It was utterly unmarked. She scowled, realising that it could easily be poison; Uncle Muhammad was unlikely to forgive her for her blackmail threat, no matter her reasons for threatening him. Her dead body wouldn't be discovered until she was hundreds of light years from the Guardians or anyone else who might care to identify her. Maybe she shouldn't take it ...
... But he was right. There was no choice.
She sat back and forced herself to relax as the car entered the loading compound and braked to a halt. Uncle Muhammad climbed out of the car and beckoned for her to follow him into the warehouse, where a large metal crate sat in the centre of the room. It was open ... and completely empty. The men surrounding it were sealing it up, piece by piece.”
“I’m going to call the men away,” Uncle Muhammad said, very quietly. “When they go, you get inside and hide in the shadows. And good luck.”
Sameena gave him a surprised look, then watched as he walked away to speak to his men. As soon as they followed him out of the warehouse, she ran forward and slipped into the cargo pod. Inside, it was as dark and silent as the grave. She held her breath, not daring to make a sound, as she heard the men returning and slamming the final seals closed. Darkness surrounded her like a living thing.
Bracing herself, she opened the vial through touch and swallowed its contents. It tasted foul.
Moments later, she fell asleep.
Chapter Three
This should not be surprising. The number of variables involved in any sophisticated economy can be staggering to contemplate. Game theory admits of too many separate variables to allow accurate predictions – and, of course, each difference from theory and reality only serves to render theory even more useless. In order to explore economics, we must go back to the very start of human civilisation.
- Professor Leo Caesius. The Science That Isn’t: Economics and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.
Awareness came back to her slowly, in fits and starts. She was lying on a hard metal surface, in absolute darkness. It was so cold that her clothes were completely inadequate. For a long chilling moment she thought that she had died and gone to Hell, before her memory returned and reminded her that she had stowed away in a cargo pod. Where was she now?
A dull thrumming noise seemed to be everywhere, pervading through the cargo pod and echoing through her ears. It was growing louder, sending tiny vibrations echoing through the metal hull; she realised, dully, that the ship was actually accelerating. Or so she assumed. In truth, she knew almost nothing about starships. It wasn't a field of study that the Guardians encouraged. Jannah had no starships and liked it that way.
Should have brought a flashlight, she told herself, as she fumbled through the knapsack she’d been given by Uncle Muhammad. He’d packed a small supply of food for her; carefully, she pulled out a piece of bread and chewed on it, feeling her stomach threatening to rebel. There was something about being on the ship that was making her feel queasy, almost unwell. And then the vibration simply seemed to stop.
The next thing she heard was something scrabbling at the outside of the cargo pod. Sameena tensed, remembering the rats that had once found their way into her mother’s stockpile of rice and flour, before realising that someone was trying to get into the pods? Were the pods opened in transit or ... it struck her, suddenly, that they’d realised that she was there. A moment later, the pod cracked open and blinding light blazed inside. Sameena gasped in pain and covered her eyes, unable to resist as strong hands grabbed her shoulder and hauled her out of the pod.
“It’s a girl,” an accented voice said, in Imperial Standard. “What the fuck?”
Sameena blinked in surprise. How had they seen through her disguise so quickly? There was no time to think about it, though; her captor grabbed her arms, pulled them behind her back and wrapped sticky tape around her wrists. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free. She was trapped.
“Language,” a second voice said, reprovingly. “And you ought to know that the female of the species can be more deadly than the male.”
They were both male, Sameena realised, as her eyesight returned to normal. One of them was young, with a pale face and blonde hair, wearing a tight-fitting uniform that moulded itself to fit his body. The other was older, his face so badly scarred that she couldn’t tell his age, wearing a pair of grubby overalls decorated with hundreds of patches. He should have scared Sameena, yet there was something about him that put her at ease. But he was still holding her down.
“A stowaway,” the second man said. He looked down at Sameena, thoughtfully. “You’ll have to face the Captain.”
Sameena winced as he frisked her, removing everything from her pockets and piling them up beside her head. He didn't seem to understand what the berries were either, or why she didn't have a weapon. Eventually, he helped her to her feet and marched her through a metal door, his younger companion bringing up the rear.
She couldn't help looking around as they made their way through the giant ship. The walls – bulkheads, she reminded herself – were all metal, but decorated with children’s drawings and a handful of certificates written in Imperial Standard. There was no time for a proper look as they kept pushing her onwards, towards what she assumed was the starship’s bridge. They passed through a solid metal door and into a large compartment, crammed with consoles and computers. The sight was so alien to her experience that she felt her legs buckle. She would have collapsed if her captor hadn't been holding her upright.
“Captain,” her captor said, addressing an older man who reminded Sameena of her father, “we found one incredibly stupid stowaway.”
“Or ignorant,” a woman said, as Sameena flushed. “Tom?”
The Captain leaned forward. “I am Captain Hamilton, majority shareholder and commander of the Logan,” he said, briskly. He looked very much like an older version of the younger man who’d helped catch her. “What are you doing on my ship?”
Sameena hesitated, unsure of what to say.
“She is incredibly lucky, sir,” her captor said. “She brought food, but no air or toilet supplies. If we hadn't detected the faint consumption of oxygen, she would have suffocated to death when we sealed the cargo holds and pumped out the air. And she had no weapon.”
The woman stepped forward. “You need to tell us what happened,” she said, seriously. “Or we will have no choice, but to turn about and return you to the planet.”
“No,” Sameena said, desperately. “I won’t go back.”
“I don’t blame you,” the Captain said, “but we really need to know what happened to you – and why.”
Sameena nodded and started to recount the entir
e story, starting with her brother mouthing off to a religious tutor and ending with the drug she’d taken, once she was safely in the cargo pod. It was hard to read the Captain’s reactions – he was as skilled at controlling himself as some of her father’s more formidable friends - but the others seemed alternatively shocked or amused.
“Your uncle might have set you up to die in space,” her captor said, when she had finished. “Or perhaps he was just too ignorant to realise that we would pump the air out of the cargo bay when we left orbit.”
“That’s not our concern,” the Captain said, firmly. He looked down at Sameena. “Does your homeworld still want to arrest you?”
“Come on, Tom,” the older woman interrupted. “You can’t send her back to that ...”
“Ethne,” the Captain said, “you know what is at stake ...”
“Bugger all,” Ethne snapped. “You really want to go back? Because I don’t.”
“They might come after us, if they thought we were harbouring a fugitive,” the younger one of her captors said. “We’re not armed to stand off a warship.”
The older captor snorted, rudely. “Come after us with what?”
Captain Hamilton looked over at him. “Paddy,” he said, “what did she have on her?”
“An Imperial Credit Coin, which should suffice to pay her way, and some ... berries,” the older captor – Paddy – said. He looked towards Sameena. “Care to explain what they are?”
“Sunflower Berries,” Sameena said, and explained. “I think they’re very popular off-world.”
The Captain scowled. “I cannot imagine why your uncle might have thought that,” he said, when she had finished. “We’ll have them analysed before we do anything with them.”
Sameena watched as the crew continued to argue. Some of them seemed willing to take her with them, others wanted to turn around and dump her back on Jannah. It was difficult to follow their argument; every time she thought she knew who held what position, they seemed to change. The only person who remained quiet, merely listening to the discussion, was the Captain.
“I don't want to go home,” she confessed, miserably. There was nothing left for her on Jannah, but death. Or a fate worse than death. “If ...”
She swallowed and pushed onwards. “If you let me stay, I will marry your son.”
“That settles it,” Ethne snapped. “We are not returning her to her homeworld.”
“And she won’t have to marry me either,” the younger one of her captors said. “I’m sure we can take her to Madagascar and drop her off there.”
“Except she has little to attract people apart from her looks,” the Captain mused, as if Sameena wasn’t in the compartment. He picked up her Credit Coin and looked down at it, thoughtfully. “And even if we give her the lowest possible rate, she won’t have enough to live on afterwards.”
“Then she can stay onboard,” Ethne said, firmly. “I’ve always wanted another daughter.”
Captain Hamilton smiled and looked over at Sameena. “You are utterly unprepared for life outside a planetary gravity well,” he said, simply. “And you are incredibly lucky that we noticed your presence before you died. How long were you intending to spend inside the cargo pod anyway? You would have been in there for a month before we unloaded the pod.”
He scowled. “You would have starved if you had not suffocated,” he added. “That gives us a problem.”
“But one we can overcome,” Ethne said. “She would hardly be the first groundhog to come into space with us.”
The Captain nodded. “You have two choices,” he said. “It will take us a month to reach Madagascar, our next port of call. In that time, you can study and learn enough to become part of the crew. We might as well start with basic safety precautions; space is a harsh environment and a single mistake can kill. Or we can put you in the stasis pod and offload you when we reach Madagascar. You’d be on your own from then onwards.”
Sameena hesitated, cursing her own ignorance. It had honestly never occurred to her – and she had no way of knowing if it had occurred to Uncle Muhammad – that they might pump the atmosphere out of the cargo hold. How many other dangers were lurking for her, hiding in plain sight ... and shielded by her own ignorance. Perhaps Madagascar would be better for her.
But I know nothing of the greater universe, she thought. All she really knew was composed of vague generalities that her father had told her, when she’d been younger. I need to know more.
“I’ll stay with you,” she said, making up her mind. They’d refused her suggestion that she should marry their son, thankfully. It spoke well of them. “And I will do my best to learn.”
“See that you do,” the Captain growled. “We do have the two kids onboard. They’ll be happy to help you – or I’ll know the reason why.”
He nodded towards his wife. “If Jannah tries to hail us, ignore them,” he ordered. “It isn't as if they can come after us anyway. If we weren't so desperate for credits, we would never have come here in the first place.”
“Understood,” Ethne said.
Sameena frowned as she tried to understand their relationship. On Jannah, no wife would argue with her husband in public. The man was the head of the family and arguing and pleading had to be done in private, if it was done at all. Sameena knew a few families where the wife had been beaten into mute compliance soon after marriage. But Ethne seemed more than willing to argue with her husband in front of the rest of the crew.
The Captain smiled at Sameena. “Welcome aboard,” he said. “Can I have your name for the ship’s log?”
“Sameena,” Sameena said. “I think I want to discard my family name.”
“Good idea,” Ethne agreed, bluntly. She nodded towards her son. “Brad Hamilton; my oldest ...”
“And best,” Brad put in quickly.
“I did better the second and third time around,” Ethne said. “Steve and James are busy working on the drive; you’ll meet them later. Jayne should be in the medical compartment right now.” She waved a hand at the scarred man. “Paddy, my son-in-law; Jayne’s husband.”
“And the kids are at their schooling,” Paddy said.
Sameena found her voice. “You’re all related?”
“Most of us are,” the Captain confirmed. “The kids, on the other hand, are here to gain experience from someone who isn’t related to them. When they grow up, they will probably marry into another ship’s crew or try to buy their own ship.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ethne added. “You’re part of the family now.”
She looked over at Paddy. “Speaking of which,” she added, “take her to see Jayne and tell my daughter that I want a full medical workup on Sameena before we start teaching her how to survive in space.”
“And tell her to take a look at those berries,” the Captain added. “I want to know what they are and if they are of any real value.”
He held out his hand to Sameena, then scowled. “Cut her hands free,” he ordered. “She needs to be welcomed into the family properly.”
Sameena held herself very still as Paddy cut her bonds. Once her hands were free, she took the Captain’s hand, even though she knew that it would have been considered indecent on Jannah. Shaking an unrelated man’s hand, no matter how innocently, could call her chastity into question. But somehow it was no longer even remotely important.
“Welcome to the crew,” the Captain said, shaking her hand firmly. “I hope that the Great Traders will smile on you.”
Paddy offered his hand next, followed by Brad, who gave her a wink and a smile. Ethne gave her a hug, then gently pointed her towards the hatch. Paddy stepped past her and opened the hatch, then led her out of the bridge and down another metallic corridor. The gravity seemed to be fluctuating slightly – one moment, she felt heavier; the next, she felt lighter – making her feel dizzy as Paddy stopped in front of a hatch in the deck. He opened it up, revealing a ladder leading downwards into the bowels of the ship.
“There are
three decks in all,” Paddy explained, as he climbed down the ladder. “Our living quarters are on decks one and two, along with the exercise room, the school and a few other compartments. Deck three is almost entirely cargo space; both decks one and two have their own holds too. You’ll get used to it. I suggest that you stay in your cabin unless you’re escorted, at least until you know what you’re doing. Space is a very unforgiving mistress.”
Sameena said nothing as he stopped in front of a hatch and keyed a switch. There was a long pause, then he stepped forward and pushed against the metal, forcing it to open up. Inside, there was a small compartment, with a woman seated in front of a tiny desk. Jayne, Sameena assumed. The woman’s eyes went wide when she saw Sameena.
“I thought Brad was pulling my leg,” she said. She stared at Sameena as if she expected her to vanish the moment she looked away. “A real live stowaway!”
Sameena stared back. She had never seen such an immodest girl in her entire life. Jayne was tall and blonde, just like her older brother, but she wore a very tight uniform with a cut in it that exposed the top of her breasts. The suit followed the curves of her body, revealing almost everything she had. How could she show off so much in front of her family, let alone a complete stranger? Sameena had never been so immodest even when it had just been her mother in the room.
“A real live stowaway,” Paddy confirmed, gruffly. “The XO wants you to perform a complete medical scan, then analyse these berries and see what they are.”
He put the berries down on Jayne’s tiny desk and stepped backwards. “I have to get back to duty,” he admitted. “The XO should have designated a cabin for our guest after you’ve checked her out, so please take her there. And I’ll see you tonight.”
Jayne smiled at her husband. “I look forward to it,” she said. “And thank you.”
Sameena felt herself flushing as Paddy stepped out of the compartment and closed the hatch. Paddy had to be at least two decades older than Jayne, perhaps more. The Judge – whatever had happened to him – had been older than Paddy, but that had been different. Paddy and Jayne seemed to really love each other.
The Empire's Corps: Book 05 - The Outcast Page 3