Rebels of Jupiter

by Russell Beideman

  “It’s not even one in the afternoon, Darvin.”

  “Did I ever say when I cared? Just give me a damn beer.”

  “You seriously want to get drunk with what’s happening outside?”

  “Why not? Would be fitting,” Darvin said smugly, mimicking Daniel.

  The antique telescreens, situated in the upper corners of the room, had all the looks of tube televisions from the classic twentieth century, yet with all of the inner workings of modern tele-projectors. It was right after Darvin stopped talking that the emergency screen turned off. Everyone’s head whipped towards any one of the screens, looking towards it as if it contained all the answers they wanted but refused to give to them until now. It wasn’t until everyone saw the Ring News System emblem that they breathed a sigh of relief. A collective thought went through everyone’s minds that they were finally going to get some answers.

  A man in his mid-thirties came on the screen after the emblem disappeared. “Hello, this is Nash Richards from Ring News. Government officials have finally been restoring some systems that have gone down in the past few hours. We have also received reports of why everything went down. But first, we have an update from Ring Two.”

  A series of gasps ran through the audience in the pub as they saw footage from a drone looking at Ring Two. The drone was only a few miles away from Ring Two and yet it was able to capture the scene of half an elevator sticking out of the Ring. The other half of the elevator was floating away, twisting harmlessly but its gyrations threw its contents out into naked space. People watching could barely make out figures drifting out of the ruined half.

  “An explosion of unknown origin was triggered inside one of the eight elevators. Because of momentum, the elevator crashed into the Ring with sufficient force to crack the superstructure of the Ring itself. The hole was sealed from the inside by the Emergency Nanobot System. Promptly after we received the report of what happened at Ring Two we were given notice of other explosions. The Jupiter Ring Three Police Stations were destroyed by several explosions that seemed to have come from the inside of those buildings. From Ring One we have received reports of a fusion line erupting.”

  The image of the screen shifted to another drone, this one looking at Jupiter Ring One. A stream of white hot plasma was flowing steadily out from one section of the Ring. The stream looked small compared to the ten mile wide structure, but everyone knew what a plasma leak meant. Power would have to be rationed due to one of the two plasma lines for the fusion reactors shutting down. Only a few people knew the inner workings of the Rings enough to know where to place an antimatter bomb. A few of those lived in the Rings, supervising the titanic fusion systems, while most lived back on Earth and the Lunar Bases.

  “From Ring Four, we have received reports of a wildfire in the regional park there. Ring Five, still under construction and not under habitation status, has lost all power. Control of the construction droids operating on Ring Five have also gone wild. Reports have stated that the Restrictive Intelligence has been hacked and the locks released. However, we have not been able to verify this. Other reports state that a sophisticated software program is taking precedence over the controlling RI and causing the damage. This is reminiscent of the Droid Rebellion of 2187. In the midst of all of these reports, we have received word that the Jupiter Ring Government has prepared a press briefing. We bring you live to Jupiter Station One.”

  The view switched over to the standard podium that has always been in a political press briefing ever since the late twentieth century. People representing the few news stations out in Jupiter sat in the chairs before the podium. Everyone sat quietly in their chairs, but everyone watching could sense the newscasters’ anxiety.

  Meanwhile Darvin got up from his seat, unnoticed by the crowd now that their attention was on the television. Slipping his hand behind the counter he picked up a beer and he made his way towards the entrance of the bar. It was here that Darvin picked up the medical kit, containing a series of nanobot-laced injector pads and various pills. He swallowed a few of the pills, replacing the chemicals his Biocomp now was low on, and slapped on two of the pads on his right arm near his wrecked shoulder. The pads went to work quickly, partially restoring the levels of his organic based nanobots that were used in reconstructing the tissue. But he noticed they wouldn’t be enough to fully heal the wound without the use of a Medidrone. At least he would be able to move the arm a bit now. He came back over to his seat, using the bar’s countertop as a bottle opener for the beer.

  “Jesus Darvin, you’re going to chip the damn counter. Where the hell did you get that beer?” Daniel said angrily.

  “Big man’s on the tele Daniel.”

  “There must be something wrong with you.”

  “I call it calm paranoia.”

  Daniel shook his head and turned to watch the television along with the others near him, joining the rest of the crowd in the pub. A straight backed man dressed in an expensive black suit walked in and went behind the podium. Anyone living on the Rings could recognize him. The man was Vice Governor Al Chipman.

  “To the people of the Jupiter Habitats, I regret to inform you that Governor Frederick Reis was assassinated not too long ago during the recent attacks on our industrial stations and Rings.” The newscasters inside the room exploded into action, demanding answers to their questions as shock rolled through the audience in the pub. Al Chipman brought his hands up, trying to calm everyone down while he tried to continue.

  “We have also received news that approximately five hours ago new rounds of terrorist bombings have occurred on Earth, including one that has destroyed the fusion generator chambers near Fargo, North America. The resulting explosion at the Fargo generator has spread mild short-lived radiation through the east central section of North America. The terrorist faction held responsible for this attack is the Silver Hearts, who have reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack about fifteen minutes ago.”

  Eyes all around Darvin glanced towards him, but people were trying not to make it obvious that they were looking for his reaction. Darvin kept watching the television, pretending not to hear the name of the group his dead father used to head. Inside Darvin felt the tearing emotional void that his father left behind. He still knew the people that formed his father’s old political party, the same one his father helped formed and lead when he was a detective himself. They have been blamed for these types of actions in the past, so it was not a stretch for most people to believe what was just said. However, it was almost the total opposite of what they supported. They couldn’t have done this, Darvin thought. Couldn’t they?

  “The recent attacks on the Rings, however, have been linked to sleeper cells supported by the government of the Earth Commonwealth. In retaliation for the series of terrorist attacks that have been occurring during the past four years, the Commonwealth has taken action. While these masked predators have attacked our citizenry, they also issued an ultimatum to our government. I will release this notice as soon as the Central Net is fully restored so that all may see what they demand of us. Have patience as we restore sovereignty back to our streets. Have patience while we restore normality. These are trying times, but they are times that show our strength as we pull together. Thank you all and I will answer no questions.”

  Everyone erupted into conversation in the pub, discussing the latest news that they all just saw. Some though, crowded around Darvin and Daniel. “So Darvin, where you going to go from here?” Daniel asked.

  “Not sure.”

  “Not sure? Aren’t you supposed to be a cop?”

  “Detective.”

  “Same thing.”

  “No it’s not,” Darvin grumbled.

  “Anyways, what are you going to do now then?” Daniel asked only half hopefully.

  “Have another beer.”

  “Did anyone ever tell you you’re a gigantic jerk?”

  “Plenty,” Darvin said.

  ***

  Governor Al Chipma
n, no longer Vice Governor now that the former Governor had met a fateful end, stepped off of the stage and into the back room where he was immediately swamped by his advisors and department heads. “So where are we?” Al asked his aids as they traveled deeper into the complex of Callisto Base, the sticky floor keeping them from launching themselves by just walking in the extremely low gravity.

  The base, situated on the geologically stable moon called Callisto near the Asgard Crater, was part mining facility, part government seat, part industrial facility, and much more. The ever expanding base first started out as a mining base for water, drilled out from underneath the stable and unmoving lithosphere, and oxygen for rocket fuel. Callisto’s gravity made a two hundred pound human feel as if they weighed forty pounds. It was perfect for easy handling of heavy metals such as magnetite found within the rocky ice crust. Casings of supplies were launched via rail systems onto predetermined orbital tracks where they were captured by crews working on the Rings, which they themselves grew initially from asteroids. This whole system led to an efficient mining operation that allowed the Rings to multiply and grow, while sending most of the expensive metals and precious processed helium-3 fuel back to Earth via immense drone cargo transports. It was this precious fuel that fed the modern fusion reactors and powered the solar system.

  The advent of fusion propulsion systems changed that, leaving much of the oxygen producing facility empty as the market was driven towards helium-3 mined in the clouds of Jupiter. The rooms were taken over to provide a stable base for the emerging government of the Jupiter Rings. The government was still technically under control and a part of the Earth Commonwealth, consisting of most of Earth, the Lunar Bases, Mars, the Jupiter Rings, the Asteroid Habitats, and a variety of other habitats and mining stations. The Vice Governor was an elected democratically among the citizens of the Rings, orbital and ground based mining facilities, and other habitats, but the Governor himself was appointed by the Senate of the Earth Commonwealth. This made for Earth-friendly policies to be enforced while keep the populace under control. All petitions for voting for secession were denied quickly by the Senate, with the time lag between transmissions being between half an hour to an hour one way depending on orbital positions. Starliners typically took about an average of six months one way travel while droid operated cargo transports took up to a year even with an orbital slingshot.

  Nowadays, however, all of the old rooms used for the government were only a façade, with many of the government officials now situated in underground caverns miles from the facility. Stepping into the underground rail line, Al and his aids went into a discussion over the recent events occurring on the Rings.

  “Our operations in the field have netted us many of our top hundred, but there are still some left out there,” one bald headed man said.

  “What about what happened at Ring Two?” Al asked.

  “We don’t know,” one aid replied nervously.

  “What do you mean we don’t know?”

  “That one wasn’t us. That attack killed almost four thousand people out of the two hundred thousand living there. The debris and hole will take months to fix and clean up. The nanobots currently plugging the hole aren't thick enough a layer to even stop the radiation outside. The security video we have of the elevator before it exploded is a bit disturbing.”

  “Show me.”

  Al received a notice in his Exovision that he received a video message. He sat down in the rail car and viewed the video a few times during the half hour trip to the primary government headquarters. He replayed it over the spot where the boy pressed down on the pen, which was obviously the bomb. The fact that it wasn’t his team orchestrating it was what worried him. And the woman’s expression on her face when she couldn’t find her partner and then how her face looked when she saw the pen in the child’s hand was disturbing. She was set up.

  “Who is the woman?” Al asked.

  The bald headed aid flipped through a couple of papers. “Alexia Thores. She had a working contract with Common Engineering. Went to Earth a year ago for training in fusion power systems, since they don’t allow it here. Just came back. No connections with any known group. Left one child.”

  “The guy sitting next to her, do we know him?”

  “No,” a few of the people around him responded.

  “New guy on the block,” a form in the back said.

  “Didn’t see you there Trev,” Al said without looking back, realizing the scratchy voice could belong to only one person.

  “You pay me not to be seen.”

  “True, why are you here?”

  “Payment.”

  “Charlie, give him the chip.”

  Trev took the chip and inserted it into a slot in his forearm. His Exovision told him the download was complete, and that a million energy credits, called Energens, was downloaded into his bank account. His thumb had an implant where he could pay for anything he wanted with his bank account by just doing a print scan and a simultaneous electronic signature lock. “Anything else?” Trev asked.

  “His body won’t be traced to you?”

  “Anything else?” Trev asked a little impatiently this time.

  “I’ll let you know through the usual methods.”

  Al waited until Trev moved into the next car over, and continued talking with his aids. “Find out who this guy is, and who he is working for.”

  The department heads all nodded or grunted their assent, but each of them all had watched the security video multiple times, and each of them remembered the look of horror on the woman’s face before she died.

  Chapter 3

  The first colonies out of the Earth and Moon system were not constructed on Mars but instead in the Asteroid Belt. This was because of the huge potential for pure metals found commonly in most h-type chondrites. Construction of the first colonies was slow, due to the constraint of fusion reactant fuel shipments from the Moon to the Asteroid Belt colonies. The development of semi-intelligent computer controlled frigates and the development of gravitational sensors changed this. No longer needing life support systems, transport frigates were able to accurately maneuver from the mining facilities on the Moon to the mining facilities to the Asteroid Belt. In turn, shipments of precious metals and basic metals were sent back to Earth and fostered the development of the Earth Ring from the many habitats in orbit there.

  -The History of the Earth Commonwealth

  Eventually regaining his sense of direction, Exsid walked around from street to street. At least I know where I am, Exsid thought, probably would be easier to take the rail cars near the side walls of the Ring. As he carried the little girl, he noticed how there was a lack of those black clad soldier like guys. Instead he caught sight of a police cruiser coming down the road. While holding the little girl with one hand, her blood drying on his arms, he pulled out his badge and waved it as high above his head as possible.

  The cruiser slowed down, but police officers didn’t step out of the car. Instead, two soldiers in white clad armor and with short rifles connected to their forearms stepped out. Exsid froze, the color draining from his face as he felt coldness drift over his body. But the white clad soldiers did not pull out their guns, but rushed over to Exsid with a medical kit. Exsid gently laid the girl onto the floor.

  “Sir, what’s wrong with her?” One of the soldiers asked.

  “She was hit by a car by those black guys.”

  “Back up a bit, I need to stabilize her neck and arm,” the first soldier said as he examined her. “And leg too.”

  “Who are you guys?” Exsid asked warily, standing back a little bit from the soldiers.

  “Commonwealth Marines,” the second marine said pointing to the engraved patches on their shoulders that showed exactly that.

  “What? Where did you guys come from?”

  “There’s an orbital military base that we have in orbit. It’s public knowledge, sir.”

  “Oh,” Exsid said dumbly. He was never really inter
ested in anything other then his coming retirement in the next twenty years when he turned a hundred and Grav games. His black hair was only just starting to gray after all. “Why are you guys using a police cruiser?”

  “We got no vehicles out here,” the second marine said curtly.

  “I got her stabilized,” the first marine said.

  “Let’s get her to the hospital,” the second marine said. “You’re coming with us sir.”

  “Alright,” Exsid said uncertainly, seeing no other course of action at the moment. He could resist, but they would just take him forcibly. Their combat armor would overpower him in seconds. Exsid got into the back of the cruiser, resting the little girl’s head on his lap as she laid sedated and sleeping, and thought of the irony that he was in the back of a Jupiter Ring Three Police Force cruiser.

  ***

  Deep inside Callisto, where the underground metal mines extracted the precious metals nearly two hundred kilometers under the cratered surface, the manufacturing facility was running at full speed. A metal container, itself the metal ingots that would later be shaped into specific components through the use to laser induced three dimensional imagers, was loaded onto another dolly. On this rail car, its velocity increased until it achieved an appreciable orbital velocity.

  Every hour, another series of metal container shipments was released towards orbital factories, shipyards, depots, and the Rings. Except this time, the rail at the end bent ever so slightly, hydraulic cylinders pushing the rails and the new containers onto a new orbital track aimed at a very specific target.

  ***

  The car ride to the hospital was one of the most boring Exsid ever had, despite the sight of a ruined city along the way. Spending time with the marines while he was in the back of a patrol cruiser was anything but entertaining, as the little girl laid motionless across his lap and the marines refused to answer any questions. Exsid was forced to look outside the window, watching deserted streets become populated as people came out of hiding, even though they all still appeared shell shocked. Every here and there were bodies left on the ground, either unconscious or dead, but there were also white armored Commonwealth Marines among them picking up the ones still alive to be transported to the single large hospital complex on Ring Three.