by Dave Lemel
The gel-like barrier protecting the interior of the ship formed over the inside of the exterior garage doors. The gaping mouth at the back of the Henrietta opened wide. Todd fired up the cruiser and hovered it a couple of feet off the deck. “Do me a favor,” Todd said as he looked over at Simon.
“Depends on what it is,” Simon responded.
“Lighten up a little. Forget the last O.E.A. crap, and let’s have a little fun as we work.”
Simon closed his eyes, took a deep breath in through his nose, and let it out slowly. “You’re absolutely right,” he said as he opened his eyes and looked at Todd. “What are you waiting for man? Get us down there!” he shouted as he smacked Todd on the shoulder a few times.
Todd’s eyes widened, and he let out a primal scream, “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Simon joined in, “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Todd flew the cruiser through the protective gel layer, out of the Henrietta , and rocketed down toward the surface of Callisto below.
“So, that was a bit anti-climactic,” said Simon.
“What was?” asked Todd.
“The scream on the way out of the ship,” replied Simon. “I mean, it’s not like we were flying out into some epic battle. We’re on our way to a moon to check into a hotel and do some shopping.”
Todd looked over at Simon and blinked twice. After a few seconds, he responded. “Right…well…when we head over to Io, we can scream again. ”
Simon nodded in approval. “That would be far more appropriate. I’d like that,” he said.
Callisto’s location, combined with its non-existent geologic activity, had made it a logical hub as colonization of the solar system took off. By 2074, it had a population of nearly ten thousand. The majority of residents at all times were human with a thousand or so non-human drifters and workers that had found their way there from all over the galaxy. Stable and heavily cratered, it had natural locations for structures to be built. The bottoms of craters would be flattened out for a surface to build on, and domes were fitted over the top. The domes were completely clear with no visible support, which gave them the appearance of bubbles.
Todd aimed the cruiser at the largest cluster of bubbles near the top pole of the moon. On the surface, next to the massive dome at the center of the cluster, was a flat open rectangle. In the opening was the same gel-like protective layer from the garage on the Henrietta . Todd lowered the cruiser through the gel, selected an open spot from among the few left scattered between the many different ships already parked there, and settled it down into place.
Todd and Simon opened the doors of the cruiser and stepped out into the garage. “Where to first?” Simon asked as he looked around.
“I’m starving,” replied Todd as he rubbed his stomach. “What do you say we get a bite to eat first and then take it from there? ”
“Works for me,” Simon responded.
The two marshals headed for the large opening on the other side of the garage. The floor of the garage was at the same depth as the bottom of the crater. A wide tunnel connected the two together. As they emerged from the tunnel and into the domed crater, Simon looked all around. “Is it just me, or does this place get a little grittier every time we come?”
“It’s not you,” replied Todd. “Life support systems and structural maintenance take precedence over cleanliness and paint touchups out here, buddy.”
“I know, I know, and this is the nicest dome by far. Can’t wait to see how rundown the others are looking since my last visit.”
The main dome was about two square miles in size. A couple dozen structures were housed within, and most were matte black in color. Cracked walkways led outward like spokes from the largest structure at the middle. It rose six stories high at the center and had four hidden stories below ground as well. Todd and Simon made their way to the end of the path they were on and through a carousel door leading inside the center structure. The carousel spit them out into a lobby on the other side.
The first two above ground levels were a shopping mall with three arms heading out from this lobby. It was open to both floors down the middle with open railed halls above. Most things a resident or traveler could want or need were available here. “Tindell’s?” Todd asked as he sidestepped a group of two-foot-tall creatures covered in brown, yellow and green feathers that vaguely resembled the offspring of a turkey and a mole.
“Of course,” replied Simon, looking down at the seven beings deep in discussion about what to do next on their vacation and wondering what the planet they hailed from was like.
At the end of the arm the two marshals selected was a sort of food court. The design was a bit like a hand at the end of a person’s arm. There was a circular center area with five protrusions jutting out from it on both floors. Each protrusion was a different restaurant. Todd and Simon ducked into the first doorway on their right.
Once inside and away from the activity of the mall, Tindell’s felt very isolated. There were booths lining the three exterior walls. In the center was an open kitchen surrounded by counter seating that wrapped all the way around it. Todd and Simon chose a booth on the back wall under a window with a view of Jupiter dominating the horizon over the edge of the crater outside.
As Simon slid into his side of the booth, he asked, “So, where do we start?”
Todd turned back toward Simon from the view out the window. “Well, I think finding the group of peddlers is priority number one. We need to know when they’re heading over next and negotiate a price to let us tag along no questions asked.”
“Right,” said Simon, nodding in agreement before adding, “we should probably consider finding some kind of disguises before attempting to infiltrate the facility as well. I know the Vikards aren’t great at distinguishing one human from the next, but these uniforms are kind of a dead giveaway.”
A skinny, five-foot-tall being, humanoid in appearance but with gray skin and large black eyes, walked up to the booth. She was wearing a filthy apron and slid two glasses of cloudy water onto the table. She pulled two menus out of the front pocket on her apron and reached one out toward Todd. He waved her off and said, “No need for menus. I’ll have the number fifteen.” He looked at Simon, indicating it was his turn to order, “And I’ll take a nine, please.” “Sounds good, fellas,” the waitress responded. “Be back in a jiff.”
Simon glanced around the restaurant with a smile on his face. “Remember the first time we came here?”
Todd chuckled then groaned. “How could I ever forget? That was what, like our third assignment? Followed that ugly slimbird for weeks from moon to moon and finally caught up with him in the mall here.”
Simon nodded. “Right, and then instead of sneaking up on him to get into position for a nice easy capture, you decided to shout down from the upper level…” Simon puffed his chest out and continued, “You there! Stop in the name of the star marshals!” Todd laughed as Simon went on. “To which, of course, his reaction was to bolt down the hall as fast as his legs could carry him.”
“And right into here!” interrupted Todd. “See, if I hadn’t shouted, we may never have found this place.”
“That’s true,” said Simon. “I just remember when we finally stunned him and had him securely podded, we couldn’t get back here fast enough to try whatever it was that smelled so good.”
“Speaking of…”
The waitress appeared from behind Simon with two large, steaming bowls. Inside was a liquid broth that was an odd color for food. Almost a fluorescent shade of green. It covered some kind of black noodle-like strands with chunks of different shapes, sizes, and bright fluorescent pinks, purples and yellows sprinkled throughout. “One number nine,” she said, carelessly dropping a bowl in front of Simon with more chunks of purple and yellow in it. “And a fifteen,” as she slid the other, more heavily dotted by pink chunks, under Todd’s excited face. “You boys let me know if you need anything else. Enjoy.”
As they dug in and began slurping up the broth, Simon asked,
“Since this may be our last time here, you think I should finally ask what’s in this?”
“NO!” Todd shouted through a mouthful of noodles before swallowing and saying, “I don’t know and I don’t wanna know.”
Chapter 14
Walking out of Tindell’s, Todd turned to Simon. “What do you say we grab the bags, check into the hotel, and then call headquarters to touch base there?”
“Sounds good,” replied Simon. “After that, I should probably check in with home-quarters too.”
After a quick run back to the cruiser to grab their luggage, the pair of marshals returned to the mall lobby. This time they made their way to a bank of elevators and chose an open one that took them to the third floor. When the elevator doors opened, they were in the reception area of the hotel that occupied the upper four stories of the central tower. This particular hotel was part of the inter-planetary division of a very successful chain of hotels from Earth. Most of the staff were human, including the young man whose nametag identified him as Wade, who asked if he could help them when they got to the counter.
“Checking in,” said Todd.
Without looking up from his screen, Wade asked, “Names?”
“Todd Jordan and Simon Cain.” A few seconds passed as Wade gestured towards his screen, scrolling it down. “Here we are. Room six-oh-seven.” Wade grabbed two bracelets from a drawer, slid them through a small, grey, heavily scratched machine on the counter, and then handed one each to Todd and Simon.
“The doors are magnetically sealed. Those bracelets are now keyed to your room. Wear them, keep them in your pocket, doesn’t matter, up to you. To unlock the door, simply touch it anywhere with the bracelet itself. It will then unlock for ten seconds. To get to your room, take the elevators to your left. They will not operate unless you have an active bracelet with you. If you have any questions or there is anything we can do to make your stay more pleasurable, do not hesitate to ask.”
Todd and Simon nodded, grabbed the bags, and headed to the elevators Wade had indicated. Into the next available elevator they went with their bags in tow. “Once we get to the room, you set up for the call to headquarters. I need to use the facilities,” said Todd.
Simon laughed. “Every time you eat there,” he said, shaking his head.
“Don’t care. It’s totally worth it,” replied Todd. The elevator doors opened, and they made their way down the hall.
Simon swung open the door to their room, revealing the suite they would be calling home while on Callisto. Todd quickly made his way to the bed nearest the door, threw his bags on it, and reversed course back to the bathroom. Simon threw one of his on the other bed and made his way to the large sitting area with the other. The sixth floor, being the uppermost of the building, had glass over the sitting area to maximize the view of Jupiter.
Simon opened the bag and began setting up the communication relay they would be using for this call. To have a secure, real-time conversation with Earth, they would relay through star marshal satellites and then the hol-call room aboard the Henrietta as she orbited above them. Todd exited the bathroom, tapped his link, and said, “Call Ben.”
A few seconds later, the scruffy face of their engineer popped onto the screen wrapped around Todd’s forearm. “It’s My Job” blared in the background as Ben said, “What can I do ya for, boss?”
“Well, first, would you mind turning the music down just a touch?” asked Todd.
“Right, right, hang on…FOGGEN! Cut the tunes!” Ben looked back at Todd. “Better?”
“Much,” replied Todd. “Need you to set up in hol-call for a real time back to H.Q.”
“No problem,” replied Ben. “I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”
A few minutes later, Simon turned on the screen that he had set up on the table in the sitting area. It remained black other than for a small star marshal crest slowly blinking on and off in the corner, indicating it was ready to receive. He sat down in the chair opposite it and tilted his head back to take in the sights overhead. As he watched the great red spot rotate into view from the horizon, Simon dreamt of the day he would take Sasha and Penny on a trip to see all of his favorite sights from his travels as a star marshal.
Todd sat down in the chair next to him, and the screen came to life .
“Surprise!”
Simon’s head snapped back down to see if he had in fact heard what he thought he had. “Sasha!” Simon exclaimed with wide eyes. “What are you… why… what?”
Sasha laughed and replied, “I came in a few days ago to talk to Lombargnor about easing my way back into work. He told me that he was running lead on your assignment. Brought me up to speed on why and what all was going on, including the possibility of a mole. As we talked, we both came to the conclusion that it would make the most sense if I could come back now and take over as mission commander for your assignment.”
“Make the most sense?” repeated a still quite visibly surprised Simon. “He’s never allowed us to work together for obvious reasons. And who’s watching Penny? We talked about this. Neither one of us is comfortable with putting her in daycare.”
“Well, these are unusual circumstances, aren’t they? So—”
“I don’t care!” Simon cut her off. “I really don’t want her in daycare! Those places…”
“Simon! Calm down!” said Sasha sternly. “I know this is a bit of a surprise, but take a deep breath and let me finish.”
Simon leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “Fine. Finish,” he said.
Todd tried with all his might not to appear too amused by the back and forth as Sasha continued. “As I was saying, these are unusual circumstances. We were discussing who may be trustworthy enough to take over as commander for your assignment. The more we talked, the more obvious it became there was only one choice that made us both feel safe. Furthermore, I am intimately familiar with the two moons this assignment involves. My last few assignments all involved Callisto, and two involved Io. A fact that is already paying dividends, which I will explain in a minute.”
“That’s great, hun,” said Simon. “But you still haven’t told me who’s watching our daughter.”
“So, as you know,” continued Sasha while shooting a look at Simon that made it quite clear interrupting her again would be a very bad idea. “My parents were already coming to stay for a few weeks. I also called your folks to see if they could come as well. Of course, they said yes. They arrived yesterday. Between the four of them, Penny will be very well taken care of when I am away.”
Simon’s expression had not changed through the whole explanation. Now he struggled to contain a small smile as he asked, “So, my folks and your folks are all staying together at our house?”
“Yep,” replied Sasha. “Yours said they are getting a room at a hotel soon, but for now, yes.”
Simon gave up trying to contain his smile. “How is that going so far?”
“As far as I can tell, my father and your mother are in an epic power struggle for lead dog when I’m not around. Your dad seems convinced that all baby-related knowledge peaked in the years you and your brothers were born, and that any knowledge attained since then is nonsense. My mother pretty much sits around drinking wine all day and hanging with Buddy. I will say that I think all the attention from different people is probably good for Penny, though.”
“How’s she sleeping?”
“Still not sleeping through the night, and most nights wakes up twice.”
Simon ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “So, we should probably get this assignment in gear so I can get home, huh?”
“That is affirmative, Marshal Cain,” replied Sasha before continuing. “There is a man named Jack Vaughn who lives on Callisto. He travels over to Io with the group of peddlers on many of their trips. Two good things about Jack. One, he has a ship large enough to hide your cruiser inside for the flight over. Two, he owes me big time.”
Todd raised an eyebrow. “Sounds perfect. Where
do we find him?”
“I have already reached out to him, and he has agreed to help us. He lives in a residential crater on the outskirts. He is expecting you two to stop by his apartment in thirty minutes, so you should probably get going.”
Todd glanced down at his link. “I assume the message I just received is the location of said apartment?”
“That is correct, marshal,” replied Sasha. “Now you two be careful and report back to me after your meeting with Jack. ”
“Love you, honey,” said Simon.
“Love you, too, Marshall Cain,” said a grinning Sasha as she ended transmission.
Chapter 15
Callisto had a subway system connecting the clusters of domed craters together. Todd and Simon exited their room, made their way to the elevator, and took it down to the bottommost floor of the building. This being the largest habited crater on the moon, the subway station here was a sort of Grand Central Station. Certainly cleaner than the other stations on the moon, it also had a few shops, a bar, and a surprisingly good seafood restaurant off the ramped walkway leading down to it from the mall.
The marshals stepped out of the elevator and into the main lobby of the station. They entered a hall indicating it led to platform three. They emerged just as a train arrived and opened its doors. They stepped into an empty car, and a few moments later, the doors closed and the mag-lev train hummed as it moved forward and out of the station.
“How many stops?” Simon asked as he sat down and looked up at the glowing subway map across from his seat.
Todd checked his link. “We ride till the end of the line, stop five.”
As the train hummed along and the tunnel walls whizzed by, Todd’s mind drifted to a place he often fought it from going to. Io was where Jay Gibson had turned on his father. Nobody knew the exact circumstances of the betrayal. For weeks they had pursued a suspect accused of stealing a Bopecan port key. The trail had led to the abandoned mines of Io .