Running With Argentine

by William Lee Gordon

  Argentine nodded and mumbled something about having her for a long time. The agent seemed talkative and no one wanted to interrupt him…

  “It’s amazing, really,” he continued. “No matter how many outsider ships I’ve run across in my career they all have one thing in common… ninety-nine percent of them started out life as a warship. Once all the weapons and defensive shields become outdated, though, they’re just a bunch of junk to most navies. The only thing they’re good for is hauling freight.

  “Just out of curiosity, did the original weapon’s systems degrade over time or were they already removed before your family acquired the ship?”

  “How do you know our weapons don’t work?” Argentine couldn’t help but ask.

  The customs agent chuckled.

  “Don’t worry Captain. We know you’re clean because we ran a scan and your ship isn’t capable of any weapons caliber energy generation. But no other non-Asperian ship in our inner system is either. We wouldn’t permit that.”

  “The weapons systems were removed before our family took possession of the ship,” the lieutenant interjected.

  “Ah, I thought as much…

  "Okay, Captain. We won't hold you up any longer… With a ship like this you might want to try hooking up with some of the long haul shipping companies. You might have to start off small, but that would probably be the fastest way to earn a living.

  “I’ll request a docking berth for you on Platform 12. That’s where you’re most likely to make the kind of shipping contacts you’re looking for.”

  "I… appreciate the help and the advice," said Argentine. "I'll keep it in mind."

  "Advice is worth what you pay for it, but all the same I like to be welcoming to new folk. I hope you'll consider it friendly, though, if I give you a warning…

  "Study your informational packets about our system and our laws. As long as you color within the lines I think you'll like what we've built here.

  "But if you can't play nice, this isn't where you want to be. Do we understand each other, Captain?"

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  All About Asperia

  Docking at Platform 12

  “Ornitholian Empire?” the chief demanded. “Where in the darkest corners of your black heart did you come up with that?”

  "Well, I didn't hear any of you coming up with anything better!" Barry defended himself. "Besides, it helps explain the name of our ship."

  "And why would we need to explain away the name, Pelican?" insisted the chief.

  "Because it's a stupid name for a ship! And everyone but you backwater turds knows it…" Barry fumed.

  "Okay children, recess is over," Argentine interceded. “Why didn’t they know our ship is armed?”

  “Armed?” Mandi exclaimed. “You call a few railguns armament? Sheesh!”

  “Those railguns will throw sabots with enough velocity to release several megatons of kinetic energy - each,” he said defensively. “And we can throw 30 shots a minute! I hardly think that’s something to scoff at!”

  Everyone was staring at her, so she made a show of responding…

  “Captain, I didn’t mean to belittle the size of your gun, and maybe where you come from you’re used to getting nice and close to each other to make your kills more personal, but in this sector of space kinetic weapons are almost useless.

  “Battles are fought with energy cannons from long distances. If you used a railgun, your target would simply move out of the way before the sabot could get there.

  “Since this is a mining ship I’m sure they mistook your mighty railguns as nothing more than a way to pulverize asteroids to make ore extraction easier.”

  Her small speech had started out snarky, but by the time she finished it wasn’t without compassion. It was one of the most infuriating things about her; just when you were sure she was laughing at you she made you think…

  Changing the subject Argentine said, "Barry? What do you know about Asperia?"

  "I can tell you anything you want to know," said Mandi.

  "If you don't mind, I think we'd all rather hear it from Barry," said the chief, feeling the need to defend his friend.

  Mandi cocked her head in a go screw yourself manner.

  "Asperia is probably one of the better-known systems in this section of the spiral arm. There are, of course, rumors of much larger and more advanced systems further up spiral, but I've never met anyone that's actually been to any of them.

  "It has a rather complex and cocked up social structure…

  "They remain steadfastly neutral to the conflicts of all the independent star systems in their range of trade and travel. They've gotten rich by being a safe port of trade for all factions."

  "So they’re friends to everyone?" Sami asked.

  Mandi murmured, "Humph."

  "You saw the customs agent," he replied. "He's pretty typical; it's a polite society. But just remember that being friendly doesn't mean they’re on your side and it doesn’t mean they won't shoot you down in cold blood if you violate their rules."

  "You said their social structure was complex?" prodded Argentine.

  "That's right, First. Everyone's your mate until things go argy-bargy. The government itself is pretty loose; they don't have a lot of laws. There are things that are legal here that you won't find any place else.

  "On the other hand, everyone has an allegiance to something...

  "The Trade Guilds are powerful and that's who writes most of the laws. Interstellar shipping, for example, has its own Guild and if you want to ship anything you'd best abide by their rules.

  "Judging from our customs agent, I'm guessing Platform Twelve is where they're based.

  "Above the guilds are the Open Societies. These are groups of like-minded people that have nothing better to do than get together and tell everyone else how to live their lives. They’re dull as dishwater if you ask me."

  "Dear God," Mandi declared. "Let me off the ship before he gets us all killed."

  Barry sent her a hateful look and Argentine asked, "What's wrong now?"

  "He doesn't have any idea what he's talking about," said Mandi. "I mean, what he said about the trade guilds is fine, but… The Open Societies are a lot more important than what he’s saying."

  Argentine sighed.

  "Okay Mandi… Explain."

  "The Open Societies only sound innocuous. They have names like The Society for Feline Preservation, or The Society of the Living Woman, but that's not what they're really about...

  "The Trade Guilds make up most of the laws but they don't have a vote in the planetary government; the Open Societies do. There are a lot of them, and they don't often agree on anything, but when a bunch of them do they are a powerful voting bloc."

  "You make it sound like they’re political parties," Barry said.

  "That's right," Mandi conceded. "On a lot of planets that's exactly what you'd call them."

  "Something's not adding up," Argentine decided. "A system like that would lead to straight anarchy; there wouldn't be any planetary laws."

  "I told you the setup was bonkers," Barry said.

  "It's not crazy, you just obviously don't know the whole of it…" she retorted.

  "You're leaving the Secret Societies out of the picture."

  When Barry remained silent, she continued…

  "Above the Open Societies are the Secret Societies. Nobody knows exactly how many of them there are because they’re, well… Secret. Likewise, nobody knows exactly who's a member or not."

  Argentine was frowning so Mandi quickly moved on…

  "The Secret Societies have veto power over anything the Open Societies want to do. It would take a two-thirds majority vote of the Open Societies to overrule a Secret Society veto. I don't even know that it's ever happened…"

  "So what you're saying is…" the chief tried to summarize. "That the guilds make almost all the rules and we damn well better follow them, but the planetary laws are made up by bunches of people som
e of which we’ll never even know who they are?"

  Mandi nodded and Barry said, "See? I told you… They're all mad as a bag of ferrets."

  "Why do the guilds put up with it?" asked the chief.

  Barry looked confused. Mandi asked, "Put up with what?"

  "Why do the guilds put up with all this nonsense about open and closed societies? They're the ones that make all the rules and keep everything running… Why would they put up with any interference in their operations?"

  As if speaking to a child Mandi said, "Because the Open Societies control Police Enforcement and the Secret Societies control the military."

  The chief nodded his head rapidly a few times, as if it's the answer he'd expected all along.

  ΔΔΔ

  If most of the crew had been impressed by the infrastructure surrounding Tiffany's planet, they were in awe at what they saw surrounding Asperia.

  Orbital Platform 12 was one of several dozen such platforms visible. As large as it was, it paled in comparison to the size of the… floating cities.

  Argentine didn't know what else to call them. Huge constructions that had to house thousands, they were spaced equidistantly in what appeared to be geostationary orbits.

  By sheer numbers, however, the vast majority of equatorial orbit space was taken up by industry. Factories, laboratories, manufactories, shipyards… There even looked to be a large number of medical facilities.

  Interspersed over land masses were space elevators. These giant orbital constructions anchored one end of a fine, almost invisible thread that dropped down through the atmosphere and were secured by elevator terminal stations on the ground.

  All of this infrastructure was nowhere close to being a complete ring around Asperia, but it was easy to imagine it turning into one a hundred years from now.

  Ships like the Pelican didn't really have windows, but that didn't keep everyone from gathering on the bridge and turning on every view screen to ogle as much of this technological marvel as possible.

  Argentine smiled.

  Ever since they'd left the People's Republic he'd felt the weight of responsibility for those that were following him.

  Watching everyone now, excited as little kids, gave him hope. Maybe he could lead them to a good future after all…

  ΔΔΔ

  "So that's the plan. Does anyone have any questions?"

  They had just finished docking with platform 12 and were awaiting the final clearances to debark.

  It was hard for everyone to hide their excitement and Argentine had to admit, he felt it too. But they had things to accomplish and they couldn't lose sight of them...

  "So, one more time…

  "Chief, you're going to cash in the rest of our processed ore and make sure docking fees are paid up, consumables replenished, yada yada yada… Right?"

  The chief nodded once.

  "I want you to take Rory with you, just to be safe."

  The chief said, "Sure." Rory just shrugged.

  "Sami, you and Barry are going to feel out the locals and try to get an idea of what our best prospects might be. We need to figure out a strategy to gain some reputation and acceptance around here… If you could figure out what guilds we need to cozy up to, which companies might be more likely to contract with us it could be a big help.

  "Take Gossip with you and all three of you be careful! Remember, until we figure out the ropes we're the outsiders here.

  "While you're getting an unofficial feel for the lay of the land, Lieutenant Stark and I will check in with the Port Authority and make an official call on the Interstellar Shipping Guild.

  "We’ll all meet back here in six hours and compare notes. Do not be late."

  Lastly, he turned to Mandi…

  "Well, I guess this is it…"

  "I guess it is," she replied.

  "We did our part, we got you here. As a good faith gesture, I'd like your word that you won't mess us up or get us involved with the authorities or the cartels…"

  Did Argentine detect a little bit of sadness in her? Her goodbye was surprisingly made up of few words… "You have my word," was all she softly said.

  "Okay everyone," he said with enthusiasm. "Let's be about it!"

  ΔΔΔ

  Orbital platform 12 was set up for cargo to be unloaded on one level while passengers and crew could debark on the level just below.

  They entered a crowded terminal area.

  Their senses were immediately overpowered with the sights and smells of an unfettered and uncontrolled economic system. Holographic advertisements clamored for their attention over here while olfactory enhanced ads also vied for their interest.

  Clothing styles were… different. The cuts and styles were all within acceptable norms, but the fabrics and colors were obviously set to different tastes.

  Of his crew, even Barry was a little in awe of the spectacle around them.

  Mandi was… Mandi was nowhere to be seen.

  They made their way from their specific gate and plunged into the mostly one-way foot traffic heading towards what appeared to be a security station.

  A flashing screen caught Argentine's attention...

  Some kind of security emblem appeared at the same time loudspeakers called, "Attention! Attention! We have a biometric alert! This woman is wanted by planetary enforcement. If you see her, contact any authority immediately. Repeat, this woman…"

  The security camera image on the screen was Mandi…

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Shut Down and Shot Down

  Platform 12

  They had briefly considered returning to the ship but then realized it would be the most suspicious thing they could do.

  The photo image of Mandi had been taken from a slightly elevated position looking down into the crowd, obviously from a security camera. The good news was that none of the rest of them were in the frame. She apparently hadn't tripped any security scans until after they'd separated.

  After a brief consultation they agreed to carry on with their tasks. Before that, however, Argentine stopped at a local kiosk and bought them each a localized communicator.

  "Check in every hour until we decide different," he'd said.

  Damn that woman, he thought to himself after everyone had dispersed.

  He'd done everything right. He and his crew were trying to get a fresh start and play by the rules. All of this mess had been foisted upon him and he had no stellar idea why…

  At this rate, they were going to need a ship's doctor sooner rather than later. He had a feeling his blood pressure was going through the roof.

  Planetary Enforcement… a Cartel… everything he'd tried to avoid.

  Damn that woman.

  ΔΔΔ

  Argentine and Lieutenant Stark were sitting in front of the desk of the man that had been introduced to them as Guildsman Darian Martin.

  "That's quite a story," Guildsman Martin said.

  "It is pretty incredible isn't it?" Argentine quipped while feigned pride.

  He was doing his best not to show his shock at the semi-elaborate story that the lieutenant had just spewed out concerning their background. Instead of being deserters and abandoning their empire, they were now heroes and had been bequeathed a ship by the Emperor himself as gratitude for their good works… Or some such rot.

  After smiling noncommittally, Guildsman Martin said, "According to your papers you’re a prospecting ship. Why are you applying for a long-haul freight run?"

  This time Argentine handled the question…

  "We've already been to the Miner's Guild. We have the equipment but we don't have a geologist or trained personnel. From what they tell us, they won't endorse us until we can prove that we make a habit of bringing our crews back alive and profitable.

  "And as I'm sure you know, without their endorsement no crew will hire on with us.

  "We may be designated a prospecting ship and we may be a little bit undermanned, but our ship is strong enough and we have enough carg
o space to earn some credits and build some credibility.