Running With Argentine

by William Lee Gordon

  The lieutenant had strongly objected to the idea.

  Argentine knew that their security officer wasn’t the most talkative person, but he was truly surprised at the earful he received from him on the subject.

  “Are you insane?” he asked. “Our two most valuable possessions are the ship and that astrogator. And you want to parade her around in all the back alleys, fringe businesses, and seedy joints around the spaceport? And you plan on being her only protector? Please tell me you’re insane, because I don’t want to think you’re just stupid…”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” Argentine managed to respond. “What do you suggest?”

  “We don’t have enough personnel to do everything at once, so let’s take it step-by-step. The first thing I’ll do is drop off my security team on a different hemisphere from Anvil City.

  “The next step will be to shuttle the crew down to the city. I suggest we use them to help us with our goals.”

  “How so?”

  “Let’s offer them a reward. Any individual that can put us in touch with a bona fide astrogator will get a double stake. They can start their new life very comfortably. It can’t hurt to have an extra dozen people making inquiries for us.”

  Argentine fought the urge to reject a good idea simply because he hadn’t thought of it first. Their situation was too dire to be playing tiny ego games. Still, he had to admit that it bugged him. And the fact that it bugged him, really bugged him. Oh well…

  “And we need to start looking for crew members,” he continued. “We can probably combine those last two and offer a much smaller bonus for any good crew referrals, but I recommend we be very selective about who we bring on board. I’d rather be undermanned than have to sleep with one eye open.

  “Once we’ve done all that we can worry about approaching any astrogator we turn up,” he concluded.

  ΔΔΔ

  Argentine had tried to catch Janet alone before she’d departed with the rest of the crew, but she’d seemed to be avoiding him.

  Lieutenant Stark had taken the shuttle and departed the ship with his team and one crate of unprocessed asteroid ore. He’d returned with an empty shuttle.

  Argentine had overheard him explaining to the chief, “They’re full of self-importance and waiting for a secret rendezvous.”

  The crew departure took several shuttle trips but also went smoothly.

  They didn’t have to wait long for one of them to signal that they had a lead on an astrogator.

  “My name is Marley,” said the voice from the comm link. “I understand your astrogator wants to talk business with another astrogator.”

  Argentine grimaced, that wasn’t exactly the message he’d wanted to put out.

  “Yes, we’d like to talk to an astrogator. Would that be you?”

  “No, but I can put you in touch with him – for a price.”

  “As long as it’s not too big a price,” Argentine responded. “It’s really not that big a deal, we’d just like to confirm some data.”

  “That’s not what your former crew is saying,” Marley sneered. He then named a price.

  “That’s absurd. I wouldn’t give a third of that.”

  “Make it half and I’ll set up the meeting,” he replied.

  “Done,” Argentine said. “But the meeting will be in a public place.”

  “Fine, I’ll send you the time and place. Just be sure you bring the money and your astrogator.”

  The conversation had been conducted over the bridge’s speaker so the chief, Sami, and the lieutenant had been listening.

  “Thoughts?” Argentine asked.

  “I don’t trust him,” said the chief.

  “Of course not, but how do you think we should proceed?”

  They all found themselves looking at the lieutenant, waiting for his answer.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Can I Buy You A Drink?

  In A Bar On Praxis III

  The three of them walked into the dimly lit tavern and paused just inside the door to let their eyes adjust.

  Argentine used the moment to reflect upon their decisions, hoping they’d made the right choices.

  Before they’d left the ship he’d had a conversation with Rory.

  “Look, I’d take you with us but somebody has to stay behind with the ship.”

  “Sure, if you say so. But there’s not much here to guard,” Rory responded.

  “Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Argentine. “But I’m going to have Lieutenant Stark walk you through how the ship’s weapons work just in case. Eh, have you ever worked a ship’s weapons before?”

  “No, but it’ll be a piece of cake. We’re in orbit and everything is going to be moving relatively slowly and besides, I’ve never met a ship’s system that didn’t like me.”

  “Well I’m not sure the weapons are going to feel one way or another about you Rory, but you need to be ready to use them just in case. If somebody does try to board the ship your best chance, maybe your only chance to stop them, is before they dock.”

  “Okay, but they do.”

  “Who does what?”

  “The weapons, First. They definitely have feelings. All the ship’s systems talk to me. You’ll see.”

  Deciding not to dig into that any further Argentine went ahead and discussed other contingencies and protocols with him. He couldn’t say that he was totally confident leaving Rory alone and in charge, but what choice did he have?

  They didn’t dare bring Sami into the bar with them so they’d left her behind the locked hatches of the shuttle at the spaceport.

  The first stop had been a local bank to convert some metals into the local currency. They’d gotten in just before the bank had closed its doors for the day.

  Now Argentine, the chief, and the lieutenant were going to check out Marley.

  They walked into the dark room, let their eyes adjust, and made their way to the bar.

  “I’m here to meet someone called Marley,” said Argentine to the bartender.

  With a frown the barkeep said, “Turn around.”

  When he did he realized that four men had walked up behind them. They were all rugged looking and one of them stunk – not that this is what commanded his attention…

  Another of them was as huge as a mountain. Half of his face and a good part of his neck were covered in scars, but he was actually the best dressed among the four. His jacket looked like it’d once been part of some kind of uniform.

  Marley was, naturally, the smallest man in the group.

  “Which one of you is the astrogator?” he demanded.

  “None of us,” said the lieutenant. “Do you really think would be stupid enough to bring him in here?”

  Marley shifted his gaze to him.

  “What are you trying to pull? That was the deal. You were to bring the money and your astrogator. Do you even have any money?”

  “We need to know that you can put us in touch with an actual astrogator before anything happens,” Argentine spoke up. “And so far, you’re not giving me a lot of confidence.”

  “It’s just as I thought boys,” Marley said. “These guys are full of shit and this is a waste of time.”

  Marley pushed past them and walked to the door with his men close behind.

  Once they’d left Argentine turned around and ordered three of whatever the house normally served. The bartender poured them three shots and he asked him…

  “So where will they jump us?”

  The barkeep held his gaze until Argentine pulled out some credits and set them on the bar.

  “There are several possibilities but I’d guess they’ll be at the first alley you pass on the left.”

  “Much appreciated. I won’t let your friends know that you tipped us off.”

  “Friends? They’re no friends of mine, just customers.”

  The three of them held their shot glasses up to each other and downed their drinks. It wasn’t good but Argentine had swallowed worse.

/>   “First? Are you sure you’re ready for this?” the lieutenant asked. “I could use your help but this is how I earn my keep – I can handle them if you need me to.”

  Argentine looked at him with an ever-increasing respect.

  “You could really handle those guys all by yourself?” he asked.

  The lieutenant just shrugged.

  “I’d say we’re all in this together, so let’s get it over with.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  An obvious Forgery

  Earth 2027 A.D.

  Professor Garfield picked up the impossible artifact from the table in front of him.

  In reality, his mind was only now coming to grips with the fantastical story that their employee had told them… What was his name? Cris?

  The professor had fired him, of course. To try and play such an obvious prank on a reputable archaeological team like the professor's was not just illegal; it was insulting.

  Still, he'd been so insistent… Actually coming to tears in proclaiming his innocence. He actually thought the boy might have a future in the theater if he could get his act together long enough to pursue it.

  Still…

  He looked again at the piece before him. It was remarkable.

  There was still a large amount of clay fused to it; the original figurine must've actually been kilned with the object already inside. Which was the whole point, really…

  The professor admitted to himself, though, that he'd never seen this type of crystal before. Was it actually acrylic? It seemed too hard for that and was totally devoid of any scratches – and it was crystal clear.

  And of course the rectangular dimensions seemed to be perfectly cut.

  He was almost regretting that the forgery was such an amateurish attempt. If it hadn't been for the tremendous amount of almost microscopic laser writing engraved inside the crystal he might've at least been tempted to believe it.

  As it was, though, it was written in English.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Real Life Is So Much More Fun Than School

  In Her Shuttle at the Spaceport

  Astrogator Sami Parker was excited. She didn’t even mind waiting in the shuttle by herself.

  They were embarked upon a real life adventure. She hadn’t had many of those in her life.

  She’d grown up the daughter of a single father who’d worked hard to put her through school. She hadn’t known that he’d been suffering from the wasting disease until after she’d graduated. By then there was nothing to be done. He’d died a happy man knowing that his daughter would have a better life than he’d had.

  She’d always been good at mathematics but she hadn’t realized she had a talent for astrogation until the People’s Republic evaluation exams had flagged her name.

  So instead of being assigned as some midshipmen grunt, they had sent her to one of their elite schools for another couple of years of training.

  She’d almost flunked out.

  It wasn’t because she didn’t excel at astrogation; it was because the coursework bored her. Her instructors constantly thought she was cheating because she could arrive at complex solutions without following all the steps. She had also never quite learned the importance of being discrete; she saw nothing wrong with correcting her professors if they made a mistake in their equations… Which they’d done often enough.

  Even astrogators with average marks, however, were given access to the greatest toys and technology the Republic could provide. All in all it had been a happy time in her life.

  The Pelican was actually her first assignment. She’d been so happy to actually be living the life… Manipulating space-time and gliding the curves that so many people couldn’t see… She was so in her element that she hadn’t even realized the captain had discontinued her training.

  They’d probably never know why he’d ordered it discontinued, but it was standard practice for all astrogators to continue learning and developing their skills via the plethora of simulations stored in the ship’s computer.

  Once the new First Officer had realized that she wasn’t being given the training, he’d quietly corrected the situation.

  And she had bloomed.

  Her skills were good before she’d come on board, but now… Now she was so much more. She owed Argentine big time – and she’d never forget it.

  That’s why she didn’t mind waiting in the shuttle, even if she didn’t have access to her simulations. She’d do just about anything he asked her to.

  ΔΔΔ

  One thing she was able to do was stay in touch with the Pelican orbiting above.

  She remotely monitored its sensors, making sure that no ship of the Republic was following them.

  The only real activity in the system, however, was that crazy speed demon who was still careening around out of control… Or was he?

  She realized that he’d somehow managed to slingshot himself around the system’s outer gas giant and was now heading deeper in-system. Curiously the slingshot hadn’t given him any acceleration; his relative velocity was actually slower than it had been on approach.

  She theorized that he must’ve used an atmosphere skimming breaking maneuver – a really gutsy move in an already damaged ship.

  The best she could tell, his velocity was still much too high to rendezvous with the only inhabited planet in the system.

  What was he up to?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Crew Recruitment Made Easy

  The Streets of Praxis III

  Sure enough, just as they approached the alley, four men stepped out in front of them.

  It was starting to get dark and the street was empty. Exactly why Marley had chosen this time a day for their meet.

  “Let me guess,” the chief spoke up. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way…”

  Marley grinned. “Well now, maybe you’re not as stupid as I thought you were. Hand over your money and then let’s talk about where your astrogator is.”

  “You don’t want to mess with us Marley,” Argentine said. We’re from the People’s Republic of Chezden and the Republic won’t take kindly to you messing with her officers.”

  “Well now, you see, that’s not the way your former crew tells the story. The way I understand it you guys are on the run and the Republic probably doesn’t even exist anymore. So let’s just cut the crap and get down to business.”

  He made a motion and two of his men pulled out sidearms and pointed them at the group. The big one stood behind them with his head slightly cocked to one side.

  “Okay, no games. But our astrogator is up in orbit and you’ll never get to her. We also weren’t stupid enough to bring any money with us. See? Your little scheme is all for not. Why don’t we just go our separate ways and nobody gets hurt?”

  Marley shook his head and said, “I guess we’ll just take the money off your dead bodies.” He made a subtle gesture with his hand.

  In a blur of motion Lieutenant Stark drew a gun from somewhere. But before he could fire the big man had placed his hands on either side of his two armed colleagues’ heads. He violently cracked them together with a loud crunch of bone.

  It was almost in slow motion that they crumpled to the ground.

  A surprised Marley took it all in and then was off like a shot. The lieutenant stepped forward to go after him but Argentine shook his head.

  “We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

  Turning to the big man Argentine asked, “Why did you do that?”

  He held his hands slightly away from his sides, palms forward and shrugged.

  Argentine frowned. “Well, thank you but now we have things to do.”

  They had only taken a few steps when they realized he was following them. They stopped again.

  “You want to come with us?” the lieutenant asked.

  The big man nodded once.

  “You know who we are; that we’re shorthanded and on the run?”