"Now, there's a first. I must have squared you up wrong. I had you as officer material, but you're clearly too smart for that," she said.
"Just looking to let my hair down."
I followed her into her garage where five grav-bikes of different sizes and shapes were lined up against the outside wall, another resting in the center of the work area. A shop rag lay across its padded seat.
Maggie tossed the rag aside and threw her leg over the seat, grabbing the handle bars.
"Hop on behind me. There's plenty of room," she said.
I sighed. Getting my leg to swing over the seat without overdoing it would be a challenge. My first attempt worked, but I ended up kicking her leg as I had too much force and not enough control. To her credit, she just grunted, but didn't respond otherwise.
"Put your hands on my waist and I'll give you the five minute tutorial," she said.
As soon as my hands touched her waist, the machine lurched, lifted off the surface of the garage, and rocketed forward. Once outside, she pulled back and we sailed upward at a thirty degree inclination, accelerating rapidly. I was exhilarated by the wind in my hair and the close connection to the world around me.
I couldn't contain the thrill and whooped with excitement.
"Yeah, everyone does that the first time," she explained. "I'm Maggie, by the way. So the 850 has two riding positions. The first is forward or leaned in. The second is where you're at, leaning against the back rest. Throttle is on the right and brake on the left. Try to keep your altitude under five hundred meters. I recommend taking the insurance option. Otherwise, if you break it, you buy it."
She'd made a neat loop back and set down in front of the shop. I jumped off, swinging my leg too hard, causing me to stumble and sit down hard on my butt.
Maggie offered her hand, pulling me up.
"How are we doing for fuel?" I asked.
"She's fully loaded. You're good for twenty-five hundred kilometers, give or take. So, do you want the insurance?"
"How much?" I asked.
"Two hundred credits for the week," she said.
"Sure, sounds like a good idea," I said.
"Good luck." Maggie walked back into the station.
Interface with grav-bike.
My AI reached out and connected with the machine and an unfamiliar HUD popped up.
Locate personal storage and open it.
The long, padded seat popped up exposing a generous storage compartment. I dropped my pack in and closed the seat.
I threw my leg over and grabbed the handlebars. A translucent map popped up on the armor-glass windshield. I wasn't about sitting around, so I twisted the throttle handle like I'd seen Maggie do and the bike lurched forward. I skimmed across the ground until I pulled back on the handle bars slightly and sailed up into the air.
By the time I thought to look, I was already doing sixty meters per second. The wind rushed around the glass wind-screen and pulled at my hair. I'd pay later with knots and tangles, but for now it was exhilarating.
The ground rushing beneath me was a Martian desert. Land holder's claims dotted the landscape with brilliant green circles of irrigated crops. The further from Puskar Stellar I got, the further apart those claims became. The red landscape was rough; rolling hills giving way to jagged mountains in the distance. Somewhere the grand-daddy of all mountains lay ahead.
A hundred kilometers from my destination, I realized I'd totally missed the approaching mountain called Olympus Mons. At twenty-five kilometers, it was three times higher than Earth's Mount Everest and spread out over half a million square kilometers. It was so large that it disappeared into the thin clouds. Several of the taller mountains nearby did the same and I'd missed it. Upon inspection, I couldn't imagine how that was possible.
Shri's family farm was to the west of the mountain in the ancient lava flows, where elevation was low enough to support life and the fertile soil was ideal for fruit trees.
Outline Ganguly farm on HUD.
A box appeared around a ten kilometer square region. A carpet of dark green covered the western two thirds of the farm. The eastern side of the farm was the familiar Martian red I'd been flying over for the last hour and a half.
At twenty kilometers out, I slowed and dropped to three hundred meters. I'd enjoyed the ride, but there was relief in the lessening of the wind. The constant sensation was both comforting and foreign.
Open comm with Shri.
"Shri Ganguly is not available," my AI replied.
I was sure Shri knew I was coming, so it was surprising that she hadn't answered. It was getting late, so perhaps she'd fallen asleep. Once I was over the Ganguly's orchards, I located their residence. There were several barns grouped together and then, set apart from the more industrial looking buildings, a beautiful red-stone home was perched on top of a bluff overlooking the property from the eastern side.
I set the grav-bike down in front of a single out-building that was joined to the home by a white, crushed gravel walk. Before I was able to extract my pack from storage, I heard the crunch of someone approaching. Whoever it was must have heard my grav-bike.
"You can't park that here. This is private property," a man's voice said.
I finished pulling the pack out, slung it onto my back and closed the seat. I turned to see a man, who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, holding a blaster rifle.
TWICE IN A DAY
Shri had warned me about her younger brother Berant, who was apparently into all things testosterone. I recognized him from the vids she'd shared. If anything, he was a little shorter than I remembered, but that was probably because Shri always appeared bigger than life in those same vids and I was comparing their relative size.
"You must be Berant," I said, ignoring his weapon.
"Yeah. And you're who?" he asked.
"Tabitha Masters, here to see Petty Officer Ganguly," I said.
"Who?"
Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. Shri had been in the Navy for eight years and had been a Petty Officer for at least four of those.
"Shri … your sister … the war hero?" I tried to keep the disdain out of my voice.
"Oh, Ri-ri. No one refers to her as a hero out here," he said, smiling condescendingly.
I decided I wasn't getting anywhere in the conversation, so I trudged up the path toward the house. When I came even with him, he grabbed my left arm with his free hand.
"Where are you going, sister?" he asked.
"You need to let go of my arm," I said. He was squeezing and it was starting to hurt.
"No call for being huffy. Maybe you could be more polite," he said, pulling closer to me. His breath stunk of a protein rich diet.
"Berant, let go," I said. "I won't ask again. I'm just headed up to the house to find Shri."
He let go and raised his hand to show he meant no harm.
"Fine, be that way. She's sleeping anyway," he said.
I shrugged the pack into place on my shoulder and continued up the path to a stone stairway which deposited me on a well maintained porch. Berant followed several paces behind - I assumed so he could shoot me should I turn out to be a sales person.
An older, plumper version of Shri opened the door when I knocked.
"Tabitha Masters, how pleasant it is to see you," she said and pulled me into an embrace. I'd met Shri’s mom a few times at the Veteran's Hospital during Shri's rehabilitation. She hadn't been overly talkative and I'd always felt a distance between her and Shri.
"Hi, Mrs. Ganguly. It's good to see you too," I said.
"What brings you out to our humble home?"
"Shri asked if I'd visit. It sounds like she's having a rough go of things. I'm surprised she didn't mention it," I said.
"Oh. Where are my manners? Come in, dear. Are you hungry?" she asked. Before I could answer, however, she reprimanded her son. "Berant. Put that weapon away and finish your chores. You'll need to do Shri's as well. She isn't feeling well tonight."
"You ca
n't be serious. She never feels well," he said.
The look in Mrs. Ganguly's eyes was enough to melt cold steel. "Do not embarrass me in front of our guest. Now, get along." She shut the door while Berant stared unbelieving, back at her.
"Would it be okay if I just saw Shri?" I asked.
"She is sleeping just now, but I think she would enjoy seeing you. Top of the stairs, first door on the left," she said.
"Thanks," I said over my shoulder as I ran up the stairs. About halfway up, my toe caught on one of the treads and I fell hard, slid downward and eventually grabbed one of the stair rails before I landed on the floor. Mrs. Ganguly's breath caught and just as she was about to speak, I popped back up and continued my less than elegant journey.
I knocked softly on the white, six-panel door. There was no response so I twisted the handle and pushed the door open. Shri lay on a large bed with a pink ruffled cover. She was propped up on a few of the dozens of pillows that obscured the headboard. I dropped my pack on the floor and expected her to stir at the sound, but she didn't move.
"Shri?" I asked softly, not wanting to startle her. She still didn't move.
I crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her. When we'd been in the hospital, she'd often sat next to me, holding my hand. Sometimes we didn't even talk, we just shared the moment.
Back then, Shri had felt like the lucky one, having only lost both legs just beneath the knees. My loss of limbs seemed much more devastating than her own. And while she'd survived horrible burns over most of her body, synthetic skin had repaired all of that.
It was a simple bond we shared. Two people, having survived a horrific event, just holding on to each other, providing comfort.
I lay back on the pillows next to her and picked up her left hand, grasping it with my right. It was something I hadn't been able to accomplish before.
"There you are," she said groggily. Her hand felt clammy.
"Your mom said you aren't feeling well," I said.
"I'm so cold." Her words were slurring together.
I brushed her straight black hair out of her face and held my hand against her forehead. She didn't feel right and she was breathing shallowly.
Medical diagnostic on Shri, I instructed my AI. I pulled my earwig out and placed it into her ear. She squirmed away at the intrusion. It was icky, but also the most effective way for the AI to gather biometric information. I waited for a minute for it to gather data and then pulled it back out and returned it to my ear.
"Shri Ganguly has acute septicemia, commonly called blood poisoning. Immediate, corrective treatment is strongly advised," my AI informed me.
Locate appropriate treatment, I said. My AI would reach out to the house and locate its medical supplies cache.
A map of the house popped up on my HUD with a blinking blue outline around the bedroom door I'd just entered through. I jumped up and raced out of the room, turning down the stairs as indicated. My legs got ahead of me and I stumbled, but this time I caught myself with the railing on one side and my hand braced against the wall on the other.
I burst into the living room, Mrs. Ganguly looking up at me in alarm.
"Tabitha, what is it?" she asked, alarmed by my pell-mell race through her house.
"Shri. Blood poisoning," I said.
I grabbed at my HUD and flicked the diagnosis to her, realizing too late that she wore no intelligent clothing. I had to decide on being polite or quick and I chose the latter. I pushed around her and out the front door. My HUD illuminated the path back to my grav-bike.
"What are you doing?" Mrs. Ganguly asked following along in my wake.
I raced down the path and popped the storage unit open on the bike. A small pack of medical supplies glowed in front of me. What kind of house doesn't have nano-medical supplies, I thought furiously.
I ran back up the path, where Mrs. Ganguly stopped me. "Tabitha, please slow down. Tell me what's happening," she said.
I had no idea how quickly I needed to react and I was having trouble multi-tasking. I grunted out, "Shri's sick and needs medicine."
Mrs. Ganguly looked at me questioningly. "I'll get our kit," she said.
Having located the medicine, I felt like I could take a moment to give her an explanation. I hoped she wouldn't try to further delay me, however.
"Shri has a poison in her blood. When I found her in her room, she didn't look right, so I had my AI run a diagnostic. She needs this medicine," I said.
"I'll call my Neeja. She will come over and help. You should not inject my Shri with your technology," she said.
"How long will it take for Neeja to get here?" I asked.
"If I am able to reach her, no more than thirty minutes," she said.
I dropped my arms to the side and tried not to look menacing. "I don't think we have that much time. Please, don't stop me. The AI program for medical treatment is extremely accurate."
She lowered her eyes and I took it as a sign of acceptance. She could blame me later if necessary, but Shri wasn't going to die if I had anything to say about it. I slid around her and thought I was home free when her cold hand grabbed my arm.
"Do not poison my girl. I just got her back," she whispered.
"I won't," I said and broke free from her grasp.
With medicine in hand, I took the stairs more slowly on the way up, not wanting to break the packaging. When I entered the room, Shri was rocking back and forth uncomfortably.
"Shri?" I asked, trying to get her attention as I approached the bed.
"Tabby? When did you get here?" Shri asked, squinting at me through mostly closed eyes.
"Hey there, Petty Officer, how are you feeling?" I asked, stroking her hair as I sat down.
She mumbled something and looked away, closing her eyes. I loaded the injector and allowed my AI a moment to calibrate the nano-bots in the solution so they could both deliver the medication as well as provide a detailed diagnostic.
Mrs. Ganguly arrived at the top of the stairs and walked into Shri's room behind me.
I received a green light indicating the bots were loaded with instructions and medication and pressed it against Shri's neck where my HUD indicated.
"Neeja is on her way," Mrs. Ganguly said as she sat on the other side of the bed and put her hand on Shri's forehead.
"What's going on here? This is the second time today Shri's life has been threatened," I asked.
"I don't know what you're asking." She furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Someone shot at her in the orchard earlier today," I said.
"I don't believe that, the Sheriff found nothing"
That doesn't mean it didn't happen," I said.
LIKE A HOUSE AFIRE
"What is going on and who is this?" A woman a few years older than Shri, but physically very similar, entered Shri's room thirty minutes later carrying a diagnostic medical scanner.
"Neeja, this is Tabitha Masters, a shipmate of Shri's. She is visiting," Mrs. Ganguly said.
"You have a lot of nerve, frightening an old woman and injecting my sister without permission," the younger woman said.
I wanted to make a good impression on Shri's family, so I didn't say what was on the tip of my tongue. I'd been in enough stressful situations that I could understand her concern.
"I did what was necessary," I said.
"We'll see about that," she huffed and pushed her way around me.
She laid the hand-sized medical scanner on Shri's chest six centimeters above her solar plexus. A sharp intake of air was all I needed to validate my AI’s diagnosis. Neeja was learning what I already knew.
"What did you give her?" she asked. Her tone was professional, no longer hostile.
I flicked the dosage and nano-bot instructions to her, which of course found no smart clothing to land on. I pulled a reading pad from the medical kit and showed it to her.
"What is it, Neeja?" Mrs. Ganguly asked.
"Shri has septicemia. There is nothing more to do other than to let her r
est. The nano-medicine that has been applied is correct, although not what I'd have done," she said and then turned to me. "What was your name again?"
"Tabitha Masters," I said.
"I'm sorry that you've come so far, but under the circumstances it would be best if you left," Neeja said.
"Nooo …" Shri groaned quietly.
"She doesn't know what she's saying. This is a family matter," Neeja pressed.
"Stay," Shri said with obvious effort.
"Quiet,” I soothed. “It'll be okay. I'm not going anywhere. You need to rest," I said, patting her arm and sitting back on the bed. I looked back to Neeja and her mom. "Let's not upset Shri. I plan to stay until she asks me to leave."
"It is not your decision," Neeja said angrily, looking to her mother for support.
Mrs. Ganguly stood, but said nothing.
"Look. If not for me, Shri would have died tonight. I'm not going anywhere, unless Mrs. Ganguly throws me out," I said.
"Mother?"
Mrs. Ganguly turned toward the door and walked out without acknowledging either of us. Neeja gave me a sour look, spun on her heels and stalked away following her mother. Needless to say, I'd made an enemy. I already had a chip on my shoulder about Neeja, since she'd never once visited her sister in the hospital, so I didn't count it as a big loss.
I wasn’t about to be distracted by whatever petty power struggle had just played out. Shri needed me and I wouldn't abandon her. I linked my AI to the medical scanner, peeled off my t-shirt and jeans and slid in next to Shri. The comfortable bed reminded me that I was exhausted. Tired as I was, I spent a few minutes setting up alerts to warn me of changes to her condition before allowing myself to lie back on the comfortable pillows.
***
"Masters, wake up," a voice cut through the fog of sleep.
I was being roughly shaken and then realized my nose was filled with an acrid smoke. I shook my head, trying to wake up quickly.
"Unsafe levels of carbon monoxide and other gasses have been detected. Move to a well ventilated area," my AI warned calmly.
If that wasn't enough to wake the dead, nothing would. Adrenaline cleared my head and I looked around to identify the source of the smoke.
Out of the Tank (Privateer Tales Book 7) Page 3