by Power, P. S.
"One bit then? I need to call this in..."
They waited then, the man turning his back, and making gestures at the tiny screen as he spoke. Ten minutes later he turned and then put the thing away. His face wasn't happy looking.
He figured that meant the man was about to move to violence. Dare activated his shield, to get ready, and so did Karina, both of them tapping their chests. Tenet didn't, but he was a builder, so it was possible that he didn't have to move to activate that kind of thing.
The fellow moved forward, and looked even more dour as he did.
"The network says..." Everyone went quiet then, getting that things were a bit tense. Most of them were in the shadow of the ship, off to the side. The little clutch of people there with him were in the sun however. That meant he and Karina were slightly dim looking, and the aggressive fellow was squinting. "That we need to share the story. I'm not happy about that. I'm Grant Bugler! I can't believe they folded like this. We won the bid!"
He still seemed ready to fight, but everyone just stood there, as if it made sense.
"All right. Let's load up, and get rooms? Then everyone can meet on the bridge for the trip."
Tenet smiled, which meant his face looked a bit more pleasant than normal. He didn't often frown it seemed.
"Are we going to Harmony first to pick up the crew?"
Dareg had totally forgotten about that part, but nodded, like it just made sense.
"The Moon, then Mars, and finally Saturn. We won't be putting in at Mars this time, but we can get pictures?"
Instead of being angry at the stops on the way to the destination, the scientists all seemed happy. Like it was a great gift. The older man, who'd backed him in not being a slave, carried three bags of stuff. It was enough of an effort that Dare moved to help him with the largest one. It was heavy, but not more than he could carry.
"Thank you, um, Captain?" The man put a hand out, to shake. That was strange, but not a thing that was totally unknown to him. Country people did that from time to time. "Doctor Henry Grainger. Astronomy."
The whole thing was slightly awkward, but Dare managed to bring the whole thing together smoothly enough that the man didn't wince or seem like anything was wrong with it. The shaking was done firmly, but not with enough pressure to hurt.
"Dareg Canton. Um, Captain as you said. I haven't given the ship a name, maybe you and your people can help me come up with something?"
That got a laugh, with a nod as his hand was released. He felt odd having touched the other fellow like that. It was hard not to wipe his hand, even though there was nothing at all wrong with the man. He was slightly chubby, but not more than a wealthy man in Noram might be. A few of the people there were truly heavy, which was different. That probably meant those others came from great privilege, since only the important people could get that much to eat over the last years.
With a wave the Doctor cleared his throat, and pulled at the front of his red one piece jumpsuit.
"I'm not in charge. I don't think anyone has been assigned to that. We're basically lottery winners. You did have to be in the sciences to get in, but it was done in a bit of a rush. I'm certain we're going to be raked across the coals for not getting enough data, but who could pass up a chance to go on such an adventure?"
Looking at the slowly moving people, many of them needing help to get all their gear inside, the whole thing being put on the system so the entire land could see it. Really, both of the news teams were doing it, so Dareg waved them over, moving a bit closer to Doctor Grainger.
When they got there, stuck up man and Tomas, cameras on them, he waved at the scientist.
"This is Doctor Henry Grainger, who's in charge of the science side for this trip. I'm on the ship duties, and Tenet Baker is on artistic things. That means he's in charge of you media types. The first thing we need done is for everyone to have a shield. Don't worry, it's just a loan. While you're on board, you will wear one at all times, day and night. Including in the shower. It won't have to be activated, since it will do that automatically, in case of an emergency."
Tenet held up the small bag, and opened it, making certain everyone had at least one of the things inside two minutes. At least of those who were going. The rest of the people actually stayed back fairly well for Austrans. They were pretty good at crowding in from what he'd seen, but no one going even tried that this time.
"When we get underway, do not go on a space flight without permission. I don't want to leave anyone behind, or lose too much air. If you do dump our air at any point, please be aware of our policy of sending the evil doer out to collect it back up." He made the words dry, trying to copy Alice Orange, but everyone laughed. Even if they did seem to get the idea. They weren't supposed to waste things up there. "We have enough food and water on board to last..." On that one he had to check with Karina, since she'd done long space voyages before.
She smiled at him, standing not all that far away.
"About three years, for fifty people. More with just this many."
"Right, the point is we don't have to ration a lot. We have the fortune to have two media groups with us, and special equipment so that everyone will know what's happening back here in Austra. Probably on Harmony as well. Which is our first stop, to pick up the crew that has volunteered. Hopefully they'll meet us at the docks. We'll put in there for four hours, so everyone can have a look around before we do a few orbits of Mars, then head to our final destination, where I plan a stay of six days. Are there any questions?"
All of the hands went up. Including several people in the crowd. On a lark Dareg pointed at a girl, who was dressed in a pink one piece garment, and had matching hair. She looked to be a few years younger than he was.
"Miss?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?" The words got a reaction from the crowd, which was rude in that they snickered and laughed at her question.
Karina took a few steps forward, smiling hugely. As soon as words came from her lips, the whole crowd suddenly went silent.
"I don't think he does. I'm his betrothed, but that leaves room in his schedule. Are you considering him as an option?" She spoke pleasantly, and a lot less meanly than some of the other people seem to have been reacting. The girl wasn't great looking, but she was colorful, and had a nice, upright, carriage about her. Certainly she was worthy of being taken seriously.
She demurred however, clearly being shamed by the people around them. It was enough that Dare nearly slipped into a combat rage over it. That was probably a bit oversensitive of him, and of everyone there only Mike and Karina seemed to get what his flushing really meant. The rest probably figured it as simply blushing.
It was a little embarrassing, but these people had no right to needle an innocent girl like they were.
Moving forward and turning to them, Mike did something slightly odd.
"We need to get those bags going to some rooms. Prince Dareg, why don't you and the Revered One of Mars answer some questions while we do that?" Then the man left them there while he and Tenet tried to get the gaggle of scientists on board the now incredibly huge craft behind them. It was nearly a quarter mile long and at least that tall, though it wasn't all that wide. It would still take people a while to get their things in their rooms, and then find the bridge.
They'd need breadcrumbs or some kind of sign that everyone would be able to understand. Pointers on the walls, perhaps.
Before he could speak, Karina pointed with her whole hand at another member of the crowd. The whole thing was being taken for the cameras as well, and several small black orbs floated around him. The media teams had headed inside however, not wanting to risk being left behind.
"You sir?" The man looked normal enough, wearing all brown like he was.
Dareg kind of suspected he was about to ask how he'd managed to convince poor Tor that he was his real son, but those words didn't come out. Instead, speaking in a slightly high pitched voice for a man, he cleared his throat.
"I, uh...
Do you have any positions opening up, on your craft? Jobs? I can sweep floors, or carry luggage. Pretty much anything." There was a seedy, run down aspect to him, now that Dareg bothered to really look. Desperate too, if he just went around asking strangers for jobs.
The last person that had done that... Well, she'd turned out to be a machine. Not an evil being or anything, but that reminded him not to simply accept everyone that came along blindly.
"Not at the moment, but I'm starting a shipping concern. Goods, and sundries. It will cover almost everywhere, so there will be travel involved, and you get paid for the work. It won't be ready to do much for several weeks, but if you have a strong back, and are willing to do it, that might serve." The man seemed excited, and gave his name, so that Dare could call on him directly on the handheld. Except he didn't have the same kind, being on the Austran old style system.
So he shrugged.
"Come back here in a week when we bring the scientists back? I'll try to have things ready by then, if I can. The whole thing might fall through. It's partially out of my hands, so I can only promise so much."
The next question, again selected by Karina, was the one he'd figured would come first.
An older woman glared from the crowd, sniffed and looked away from him, and spoke in a haughty voice.
"How can you claim to be related to The Tor? You look nothing like him."
The only interesting part there was that about five thousand people jeered her, like it was a players show instead of him being abused in public. When they quieted down, Dareg simply shrugged.
"Really, I hear I look an awful lot like him. Not that it matters. We'll come back sometime and do a live test to prove who I am?"
Now, his expectation was pretty simple. The woman would demand he do it right then, or be proved a liar for all time, and then he'd refuse, having given a schedule already. That would lead to an argument at least, and him fleeing into the ship, so that he wouldn't kill anyone in his rage.
Instead the woman just stared for a bit, and finally answered.
"I suppose that will do. That kind of thing isn't done overnight. Fine then. I won't forget though."
He bowed her way, then ignored her on standing, figuring that the next bit would be all about his life of bastard-hood. Instead it was just about goods shipping, and then true excitement when people realized that free transport to everywhere in the world, and off of it, was coming in no more than a few weeks. On that news, Karina pulled him away, waving to everyone.
"Great time to get out of here, I think?"
He had to agree, since he probably wasn't going to pull out of her grasp anyway, even if he tried. She was much stronger than she looked.
In a way she reminded him a little of Karen Derring. Not as pretty, but they moved the same way. It was a fluid thing. Like what a fighter might do. Attractive ones. It should have hurt to think of the dead woman, but it didn't this time. It was a loss, but not his really. A little, but it was different losing someone important to you. That hurt so much more.
Karina had taken his hand, and waved over her shoulder as they walked away at a good clip. Once they got into the ship, he started toward the bridge, where the controls and the main viewing window would be. There was a second open space for working and observation above that, with a stairway between the two. Not that he wanted all the people to know where he was all the time, but if there was an emergency he kind of had to be there. That was what being in charge meant.
The walk to the bridge was actually not that bad. It was up two floors, but the closest staircase took them to the door of the correct space directly. That meant he wasn't all that exhausted by the time they got there. The room was a bit plain, but overlooked the docks, which still had a few thousand people on it, watching them.
Constantly, and with ten thousand special glass lenses to record their movements.
There were enough soft chairs for everyone to sit in, at least once he added a few for the crew coming in. It was a bit of extra work, but everyone would have a soft place to lounge while they traveled. Not that it was going to take very long.
It actually took longer to work out how to make the walls show moving arrows that would direct anyone with half a brain to their location. It was tempting to just seal the doors and leave, but he waited a bit, since there was no reason not to. Except that he was going to get sleepy soon. It was already trying to catch him at the edges. Dare felt his body go heavy, the energy slowly exiting his limbs first, leaving him shaking a little bit.
His head really hurt, too. It was a thick feeling that made it feel a bit like his eyes were going to push out of his skull. That sensation was all down to having been angry so many times in the last hours. Even holding himself together and managing it all had left the after effects of the rage on him.
Normally he could have either slept it off, like he used to when he was younger and no one cared about what happened in his life, or used a healing amulet. That was tempting, but the fact of the matter was that he was healthy. Just in pain. Using up extra energy to feel slightly better at the moment could be a poor plan, for all he knew. That idea felt right, so he went with it, forcing a smile as the scientists slowly came in.
As soon as most of the people were there, and bodies stopped trickling in, he stood and faced them all.
"All right, I'm going to take us out, toward the ocean, then lift into orbit. From there we'll go to the Moon directly. Any questions?"
It was Tomas that raised his hand, like kids did in school classes back home.
Dare nodded at him.
"Yes?"
"Can we get a pass of the Earth first? An orbit? People might want to see that back home."
It would take extra time, but not that long. About twenty minutes.
"Sure. Let's get on that then? Everyone hold on. This feels like..." He tried to seem charming then, and shrugged. "Nothing at all. Here we go!"
The lift off took longer to get the requisite ten or so miles out to sea than it did to lift into orbit. As he started the pass, the ship was carefully tilted, so that everyone could see what was going on. It really didn't feel like anything. It also got everyone to go silent for nearly twenty minutes. It was impressive enough. Kind of awe inspiring really. There was a feeling of being very small suddenly, that filled even the people that had seen it all before.
They rested there, floating smoothly, in an ocean of nothing.
After a while, they came around, so Dare slipped his hand under the control module, and focused, setting up the pathway to Lunar orbit in his mind. They'd come in directly over Harmony, even if the Moon wasn't visible from where they were at the moment. It made sense to him, anyway, but everyone, including Karina, gasped when they were suddenly there.
Well, a few people screamed a bit, but then chuckled about it when they realized they weren't going to slam into the second world below them. Then he took them around once, which only required about half the time that doing the same thing on Earth did. That was with him going slower, to show off the orb below. It didn't have a lot of interest really. Except being new to these people.
Once around, he started to take them down, moving slowly through the landing protocols. He talked through it, to explain it all.
"You land slowly. Really, if you have time, you take off the same way. That's to prevent collisions and damage. While the ships are very strong, ramming two of them together at high speed probably wouldn't end well for anyone inside. Once we get on the ground, you'll all have four hours to look around. If you don't make it back in time, then you'll be stuck here for a week until I come back for you. If that happens, then you're expected to work the whole time." Not turning he could just see a camera floating in his peripheral vision on the right, between him and Karina.
One of the kind Timon had provided for them to use, so people could see it all live. There was a smaller orb in all black too, that whirred just a tiny bit as it floated around.
"The rules here are the basic ones in
space. If you let air escape, you have to replace it. No violence is allowed. If you break something you have to replace or fix it. This is probably one of the safest places in the solar system however, since everyone is required by law to wear a good shield all the time. They don't use coin here, which means everything is free." He glanced at the greedy Austrans, then back to his slow moving task. "You have to work for it though, so don't think you can just load up on magic or goods you don't need if you aren't going to pay them back that way. Remember the important part. We leave in four hours. Unless I over-sleep on my nap. In that case you still have to be back here, you just get to cool your heels waiting for me. That's one of the privileges of being the Captain."
Again they laughed, as if he were an entertainer there for their amusement. Not that he didn't get the idea. No one would set a schedule like that and then just change things. He winked while still looking forward, so that only the tall woman to his right and the camera might see him doing it.
There was no reason for the people back home to think he was a horribly mean person after all.
"My room is handily just outside the doors here. I meant it about that nap."
Karina smiled then, as if that was a euphemism for more than sleep. As far as he knew that actually wasn't the case. True, nearly everything else was, but not that one.
"I'll set an alarm. I could use a few hours myself, soon. Do I just tuck in with you?"
"Of course. Otherwise it would seem weird, right? Besides, you're pretty much the only person I know here. I need to keep you around to protect me." Most of the rest of the people were foreign, after all. Not Tenet, but even there, he had that whole strange family thing going on.
They didn't really have more than a passing relationship, but one was built in, and supposed to already be there. Karina was just some tall girl he was supposed to get to know. Yes, she had a lot of things riding with her too, but someday being married to her was the actual important part. Dareg thought that was the case anyway.
Her exuberant nod said much the same to him in return.