Sandra shrugged.
On a basic level, he knew all this. He had been reading about people with Links all his life. Many of his mom’s strange responses made more sense now. He had a better understanding of how difficult it must be for her to stay present with them and to maintain her patience with his dad, who could only use the information and memories he was able to keep in his own head.
The holographic nurse nodded.
Andy grinned.
She tilted her head.
Andy sat up, interested.
He thought about asking more questions but felt a wave of fatigue roll over him. He yawned and shook his head.
Sandra nodded.
Chapter Thirteen
STELLAR DATE: 08.24.2981 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Sunny Skies
REGION: Port Authority, Cruithne Station, Terran Hegemony
“AI?” Andy sputtered. “Are you crazy?” He pointed at the bay doors. “Get your cargo together, get your helmets back on, and get off my ship. I’m not some skin mule with a hole in my stomach for your bio-waste.”
“That’s not how it works at all,” Jickson said anxiously, looking offended. “This is a symbiosis. It’s a completely revolutionary technology.”
Starl shot Jickson an irritated look. “Doctor,” he growled.
“I don’t care what you’re doing,” Andy said. “I don’t want to know. I just want you out of here. Pack up your crates and disappear.” He waved at the pulse scars on the walls and overhead. “After all this, those guys are certainly coming back. I need to figure out how to deal with that. I’d prefer they know you’re not here anymore and follow you out of my life.”
“I can help you with that, Captain Sykes,” Starl said.
Andy shot him an angry look. “You’re going to help me solve the problem you created for me. Thanks.”
Starl nodded thoughtfully. “So, your ship was doing just fine before my cargo made its way aboard. Your drive wasn’t about to fail.” He raised a hand at Andy’s hard expression. “We ran scans before coming aboard. I know your ship status. You’re not getting away from Cruithne without help.” He shrugged. “If I were you, I’d be trying to figure out how to sell this relic for scrap. With that, I’d have a nice fund to last me until I found work on another outbound freighter. But you’re from Earth originally…I can see it in your chest. Why not scrap this thing and go home? Never going to get another chance with this ship slung around your neck like an albatross.”
Starl obviously enjoyed listening to himself talk. Andy kept his peripheral vision on Karcher. The guard was still focused on the portable surgery alongside Jickson, who had given up all pretense of listening to them.
“But that would be giving up your freedom,” Starl continued, as if explaining something to himself.
Andy flicked his gaze back to Starl’s face and found the man’s eyes boring into him. He wanted to look away again but couldn’t. Starl was right.
A hiss from the wall behind him made Andy turn. The interior access door was sliding to the side and, before he could say anything, Cara kicked into the room with a portable arc welder held shakily in both hands. She was wearing one of Brit’s suits, its legs and sleeves bunched up awkwardly. Behind, her, Tim peeked around the edge of the door, helmet set back on his head so the face shield was nearly pointed at the ceiling. He had a crowbar in his free hand.
“Cara!” Andy shouted.
The arc welder snapped, plasma flashing blue between its pincers.
A wave of fear went through Andy like nothing he’d felt since the first time he’d been in combat. He simultaneously watched the arc welder snapping and knew Karcher was drawing down on Cara from behind him. He pushed off the floor to put himself between the soldier and Cara, hoping she wouldn’t change her path as she saw him move. Cara was an acrobat in zero-g. He waited for Karcher’s rounds to hit his spine.
“Calm down!” Starl shouted. “Everyone calm down now. Mr. Karcher, please.”
Andy activated his magboots and stopped himself when he was standing in front of Cara. Her arms were trembling as she tried to hold the arc welder steady. She dropped the tool as she collided with Andy’s chest and he wrapped her in his arms.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he breathed. “I told you to hide. You have to listen to me when I tell you that.” He couldn’t tell if she’d heard him or not.
“Who are these little people, Captain Sykes?” The humor had come back into Starl’s voice. “Your crew? Didn’t you tell me you were alone on the ship?”
“Cara,” Andy said, pushing her away slightly. “Give me the welder.”
“Are you all right?” she demanded. “Who are these men? Why was there shooting?” Her voice was tinny through the helmet’s speaker.
He watched her gaze flick across the room behind him and land on what he knew was Stansil’s body.
“Is that man dead?”
“Sweetheart, give me the welder. You need to take your brother and go back where I told you to stay. Do you understand me?”
“She can stay, Captain Sykes. Are these your children?” The gangster laughed. “This is great. I’d love to meet them. What’s your name, love?”
Cara’s gaze shifted to Starl, uncertainty plain on her face.
“Everything is all right,” Andy said slowly. “We’re going to be fine but I need you to take your brother and go back.”
“Why was he talking about selling Sunny Skies? Why would we have to do that?”
“He’s not talking about us,” Andy said. “We’re just having a conversation. They’re checking their cargo and then they’ll be leaving. It’s no different than anyplace we’ve been. You know better than to come down here.”
Cara’s face fell. He didn’t like having to chastise her but he didn’t see how else to get Cara to leave. “Now, take your brother and do as I tell you.” He raised his voice, “Tim, you go with your sister.”
“Why was there fighting, Dad?”
“There were some pirates. They tried to take the cargo. These men helped me and now they’re leaving too.”
“Are they leaving? They took their helmets off. You told us never to do that in the cargo hold. What if the door fails like you said it could?”
“You’re right, Tim. That’s exactly what I said. Do as I tell you, now.”
“You’re worried about your cargo doors failing, Captain Sykes,” Starl said from behind him, his deep voice resonating in the room’s confines. “You know I can help you with that.”
Andy turned to face him. “Tell me how you’re going to keep my family safe during the ten days we’ll need in drydock? And then how am I going to keep them safe once I’ve got your…
cargo on board.”
Starl spread his hands. “My name is Ngoba Starl, Captain Sykes. I run the Lowspin Crew on Cruithne.” He tapped his chest with a fist. “They call me the Brutal Dandy and I love them for it because they’re right. You’re safer here than anywhere in Sol. I didn’t expect Zanda to move like he did, which is probably why he showed his hand like that. He’ll pay. As for your ship, Captain Sykes, like I said, we’ll dry dock her and fix your engines. And I’ll pay you on top of that. This is really an offer you can’t refuse.” He made a point of looking at Cara, and then at Tim. “Unless you want a different life for your family. An uncertain life.”
Andy fought the urge to put a pulse bolt between the gangster’s eyes. Karcher had turned his attention back to the cargo. Andy could have taken both of them and been on Jickson before he had time to squeak.
But the kids were watching. The kids were the only reason he was even considering Starl’s offer, which he knew had a hidden trap. It had to be a trap that was going to be worse than letting go of Sunny Skies.
“Where would I be taking your cargo?” he asked.
Starl gave him a slight smile, looking pleased that he had found his wedge into Andy’s resolve. “It’s a trip, Captain Sykes. I won’t lie to you about that. We need our package delivered to a station in the vicinity of Neptune. You’ll be dropping a few things off here and there, Mars, back to Jupiter, the Jovian Combine. You’re a small specialty freighter and that’s what you’ll be doing.”
“What’s the delivery window?”
“Delivery is the window. The sooner the better.” Starl shrugged. “It’s not like we won’t be talking along the way, Captain Sykes. You and I would be good friends. Lowspin has resources off-station if you find yourself needing help.”
Tim made a clanking sound as he smacked his crowbar against the edge of the door.
“Stop that,” Andy called. “You’ll dent it and it won’t seal right.”
Tim let his arm fall to his side. He adjusted his helmet with his free hand. “Sorry, Dad.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t do it.” He looked at Cara. “Will you take your brother like I told you?”
“Wait,” Jickson said. The doctor’s boots clicked as he walked toward Tim. “I didn’t see you there.”
Tim’s oversized helmet tipped as he looked at the doctor. “How couldn’t you have seen me? I was right here.”
Before Andy could get in his way, the doctor was kneeling in front of Tim. He had taken his gloves off while working on the portable surgery and the hand he held up looked like it was trembling.
“What’s your name?” Jickson asked.
Tim’s helmet turned toward Andy as if asking permission.
Jickson turned to look back at Andy. “It’s all right, Captain Sykes. I’m sorry. I simply haven’t seen a child for so long. My work. I used to work with children. I quite enjoy them. How old is your son?”
“I’m ten,” Tim said, proud of his age.
“Ten,” Jickson said. He dropped the trembling hand to his knee. “That’s an excellent age. Just getting a real sense of the world at ten.”
“It hasn’t been that long since you saw a kid, doctor,” Starl chided.
“Do you heal sick people?” Tim said.
“I do research,” Jickson said. “That’s how I worked with kids like you. We worked together on…projects. What things do you like?”
“I’m going to be a pilot like my dad,” Tim announced, voice still small through his helmet speaker but filled with purpose. “He and my mom were in the TSF. He fought pirates every day. They fought at the Fortress 8221.”
Andy nearly winced to hear the name 8221 come out of Tim’s mouth.
“Now that’s very interesting,” Jickson said. “I didn’t know that. Do you like history?”
“I guess,” Tim said. “Maybe you can tell me. Did Mars have dinosaurs?”
Jickson pulled his head back, seemingly amazed by the question. “Of course not,” he said. “Where did you hear that?”
“Just because we haven’t found fossils doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” Tim said.
For the first time, Andy heard Karcher laughing. The man’s laughs were like a big dog barking.
Jickson looked back at him, disgusted. “What’s so amusing?”
“This kid is great. The look on your face was priceless.” Karcher composed himself, adding, “Your machine’s ready, doc.”
“So,” Starl interjected. “Captain Sykes, I think we can reach an agreement. What do you think? I’ll fix your ship. I’ll give you a cover and pay you for transport. You agree to carry our cargo.”
Andy looked at Starl, then at Cara and Tim. He felt like he was holding open the jaws of a giant steel trap that would snap on all of them the moment he lost focus. The thought of being cast adrift without the ship was worse. It was so much worse. Without Sunny Skies, there was no chance of Brit ever coming home. How had he even considered scrapping the ship?
There had been no choice. He had a choice now.
“I want half payment up front,” Andy said. “How is this going to work?”
Starl glanced at Jickson. “Doctor?”
“I need time to prepare.” Jikson rubbed his hands, thinking. “I need time to get her ready for the transition.” He smiled suddenly, looking almost like an expectant parent. “She’s going to be so surprised, Captain Sykes. I wish I could do it. I envy you, truly.”
“Who’s she?” Cara said.
“A person we’re going to transport,” Andy said quickly.
“We’re start the repairs while Dr. Jickson prepares for what he needs to do,” Starl said. “Let’s say ten days. We’ll want to make sure everything is correct before you leave Cruithne. Sound like a plan?”
“I guess,” Andy said.
Ngoba Starl gave him a wide smile and held out his hand. “Excellent, Captain Sykes.”
Andy looked from Cara to Starl’s extended hand, feeling the weight of everything—the kids, the ship, the debt—pressing on his shoulders. Ten days was enough time to ease the kids into the new job, to try to explain what he was agreeing to.
He nodded and shook Starl’s hand.
Chapter Fourteen
STELLAR DATE: 08.25.2981 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Cantil Park Housing Project
REGION: Cruithne Station, Terran Hegemony
Starl arranged for a tug to pull the Sunny Skies to a dock on the inner edge of Cruithne’s jumbled ring. He offered an apartment in a housing block near the dock with an open-air playground in the center of its cylindrical structure. During most hours of the day, the place crawled with kids whose parents worked the repair docks.
Once he had net access on Cruithne, Andy could find little information in the Link databases about Ngoba Starl, leader of the Lowspin Crew, aside from a few stories about gang wars and low-level freight piracy. The apartment was a touch that should have made Andy more distrustful, but it also seemed to suggest a humanity he hadn’t expected, as if Starl had a family too, somewhere.
Within hours of getting Cara and Tim comfortable at the apartment, Andy had to leave for the initial walkthrough with the repair crewchief, a woman named Fran Urtal. She appeared at the door in an oil-stained coverall, dirty blond hair pulled back and held in place on top of her head by a pair of scarred welding goggles. Her green eyes glinted with what were most likely retinal overlays. He wouldn’t have been surprised if someone in her line of work had completely artificial eyes.
“You’re Andy Sykes?” she asked. She looked him up and down and then gave him a crooked smile as if she somewhat approved of what she saw.
“That’s me,” Andy said, still holding a towel after drying Tim’s hair after a bath. The kids hadn’t had real baths in a year, at least.
“Who are you?” Cara demanded from the hallway behind him. She stalked up beside Andy and peered at the woman.
“I’m Fran. I’ll be leading the crew working on your ship.”
Cara squinted slightly. “You keep your hands off my dad.”
Andy choked, staring at Cara in surprise. “Cara! Where did that come from.”
Now Fran had a full grin. “Wolf pup’s looking out for the pack. I like that.” She held out a calloused hand toward Cara. “I’m going to take good care of your Sunny Skies. I won’t have much time to chase your dad.”
Still stony-faced, Cara took the offered hand.
“Good grip,” Fran said. “I heard you know your way around an arc welder.”
“Dad’s taught me to weld,” Cara said. “What are you going to do to the ship?”
“Replace your engines, for starters. I don’t know what deal you’ve got with Ngoba Starl but he’s spending a fortune on you and your relic of a ship. I told him he should just buy something newer, it’d be cheaper in the long run. He said no, so I do what I’m paid to do.” She shrugged. “Did you think of that? Just trading in Sunny Skies for something built in this century?”
“Sunny Skies works for us,” Andy said. He turned to Cara. “You get your brother ready for bed and don’t open the door while I’m gone. I’ll put my security token on the panel so no one can get in but me. You understand?”
He expected her to roll her eyes but she nodded seriously. “When are you going to sleep?”
“Later,” Andy said. “Give me a hug.”
He knelt to pull her in for a hug, then called for Tim—who came running out in his underwear—to join them. Andy threw the towel over his son’s head and Tim immediately held out his arms and started making ghost sounds.
Once he had finally disentangled himself from his children, and the door had closed behind him, Andy entered his security token in the panel.
“Cute family,” Fran said.
“You have kids?”
“They’d get in the way of my drinking. I don’t even have plants.”
She led him out of the housing block through a ramshackle market of vendors stalls practically stacked on top of each other, until they passed into the warehouse district, which marked the outer edge of the repair docks. Cruithne Station hadn’t been built with any sort of plan. The station’s ring had grown like a fungus feeding on itself, stretching out from the original asteroid, first in scaffolds and tubular arms that typically served as private docking points, followed by construction interconnecting the arms. Some areas had been retrofitted so the decks were even and the bulkheads matched, while other sections looked like whole ships had been cut apart and welded into the growing ring.
Lyssa's Dream - A Hard Science Fiction AI Adventure (The Sentience Wars - Origins Book 1) Page 9