Nearspace Trilogy

by Sherry D. Ramsey

  I went the rounds of the crew and told them about our invitation. When I stopped off in Engineering, I asked Viss, “How soon will Cargo Pod One be cleared out? I don't want those crates in there a minute longer than they have to be.”

  He grinned. “Already scheduled, Captain. They'll be gone within an hour. Do you want to know the details?”

  I stopped him with a wave of my hand. “No, thanks. Just let me know when it's gone and I'll be happy.”

  “Aye, aye,” he said with a mock salute, and I continued my mission.

  Everyone else was delighted by the idea of a party, but I hit a snag when I told Maja about the evening's plans.

  She shook her head. “I don't think I'll go.”

  “Why not? It might do us all some good to actually have some fun for an evening.”

  She turned to look out the viewport above the dresser. “I don't have anything to wear.”

  I knew that wasn't it. “I'm sure you could borrow something from Rei or Yuskeya.” I tried to joke with her. “I'd loan you something myself, but my closet's not exactly overflowing with dresses.”

  She smiled briefly and shrugged. “Maybe I just don't feel like a party.”

  My gut reaction was to let the issue drop, as usual, but this time I didn't. I'd seen a glimpse of a Maja I didn't know when she'd jumped down onto the catwalk beside me, and I wanted to see more of that person. I was never going to do that by walking away from her.

  I leaned my back against the door for support and said, “You don't have to come, Maja, but I'd like it if you did.”

  “Is that an order, Captain?” she asked, but there wasn't any bite in the words. I felt like they were an automatic response, the way mine had almost been.

  “No, it's just a request. Honestly, I don't know what or who we're going to find there. If it's your grandmother, I'd like you there with me. And if it's anything else—like a PrimeCorp trap—I'd be happy to have another Warrior Chi graduate watching my back.” I chanced another smile.

  She looked at me thoughtfully. “You're not quite the way I remember you, Mother,” she said. “Sometimes I don't know . . .” her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “I don't know what to expect.”

  I nodded. “I'm finding the same thing. You're surprising me.” I grinned. “I like it.”

  “I guess I have a couple of things that might be suitable for tonight,” she said finally.

  I smiled. I felt like I was dealing with a skittish animal, this new Maja, and I didn't want to scare her off. Happiness welled up in my chest, but I kept my tone light. “Great.” I opened the door. “Thanks, Maja.”

  She smiled. “No problem.”

  With a lighter heart than I'd expected, I went off to face the daunting depths of my own closet.

  The crew was as good as my word. When we gathered in the cargo pod I had to blink at how absolutely stunning we all looked. Rei was resplendent in a dress of artfully arranged amber and gold scarves that seemed dangerously close to falling down around her ankles whenever she moved, and a gold chain that looked like something from ancient Egypt.

  When I asked her about it and she said, “Oh, it's a souvenir from one time on Xaqual . . . there was this exec from IndioCorp—”

  I held up a hand. “Never mind. You can tell me sometime over a bottle of jarlees wine.”

  “It's a good story,” she said, grinning evilly. “It might even take two bottles.”

  Baden wore a pale grey biosuit interwoven with nano-optic fibres that subtly illuminated the planes of his body. Yuskeya looked quite regal in a swirling, multicoloured robe that molded itself to her curves and swept upward to meet the dark fall of her hair, and even Viss had traded his blue shipsuit for a dark synthsilk sherwani jacket and pants. I hadn't even known he owned such a thing.

  Maja was radiant in a layered cornflower-blue and silver tunic and nodded to me with the hint of a twinkle in her eyes. I wondered whether her good mood had more to do with our tentative peace or the effusive compliments Baden paid her. She seemed anxious below the surface, however, shooting covert looks at me when she thought I wasn't looking. Was it something to do with Baden? Or Hirin? Our conversation? Or the prospect of meeting her grandmother? There was no opportunity to ask her, though.

  I had been worried about what Hirin would wear—I knew he hadn't brought much on board with him and nothing, I was sure, that could be considered formal. He'd told me not to concern myself over it, however, and appeared now in a jacket that took my breath away. I knew it—from the crimson silk embroidered with two rampant ebony dragons, to the elegant wide, white cuffs, to the small yin/yang symbol placed just above his heart—he'd worn it when we were married. My eyes filled with tears and I turned so that Dr. Ndasa wouldn't see.

  Viss had offered to drive, and I went to the furthest back seat in the groundcar. As I'd hoped, Hirin clambered back to sit with me, and Dr. Ndasa sat up with Viss. Hirin leaned over and whispered to me.

  “I brought it to wear when you jettisoned me,” he said wryly. “I didn't know I'd be going to any parties.”

  “It looks wonderful,” I whispered back. “I couldn't believe it.”

  “And you look absolutely bela,” he said. “Where did you get that?”

  “That” was a dress I'd bought on Quma a couple of years ago, and I have to admit that I loved it. It was an intermixed fabric of bio-synthetic fibre and velvet in deep purple, the skirt studded with tiny optics that twinkled like stars. It clung close and rose in a high neckline, while the sleeves shifted to an open braidwork of velvet and silver. Whatever the Chairman thought of us all, I was certain he couldn't find fault with our dress.

  The spaceport lay on the outskirts of Ando City, Kiando's capital, and while the streets were not in bad shape, the neighbourhoods we passed through held a general air of shabbiness, as though there wasn't quite enough money to keep everything up to standard so it all just slipped a little. The city was busy, even at this hour when the sidewalks began to shimmer with a nighttime guideglow and some of the shops and businesses had closed.

  The atmosphere changed perceptibly as we drew closer to the Chairman's palace, however. Duntmindi Corporation, the mining conglomerate that owned the heavy metal mines riddling much of this part of Kiando, ran the planet with the Nearspace Authority's blessing. Chairman Buig had been at the top of the corporation for thirty years, and rumour had it that he wanted to retain that top spot indefinitely. Hence his interest in anti-aging technology, I supposed. He reportedly ran the corporation like a well-maintained skip drive, engendered loyalty among his workers, and kept the shareholders happy. His only enemy, it seemed, was time, and he was doing his best to eliminate the effects of that.

  It was apparent that money clustered around the palace of the Chairman like moons clung to their planet. As we approached, the homes grew larger, the streets broader, and the people obviously wealthier. Some stared at us with open curiosity. I'm certain a groundcar from a far trader was something of an oddity on these streets.

  The palace itself, when we reached it, was what I would call a mansion, although if it pleased the Chairman to call it his palace then who was I to argue? Whatever one called it, it was magnificent, an architecture stolen straight from late twenty-first century Earth, with its juxtapositions of styles in chrome and brick, greenspaces and ultraplas. I noted with interest that security was minimal and we passed through into the parking area after Dr. Ndasa gave his name to the single guard who appeared to be on duty.

  I say “appeared,” because the Chairman was obviously a perceptive man and doubtless liked to give the impression of open gates while maintaining a reality that was rather more secure.

  Luxury groundcars and flitters sat around the parking area in small groups, as if holding their own salon. Viss settled ours near a group of flitters, and I wondered fancifully if it would have some interesting tales to add to the conversation.

  Inside the palace, a notebug recorded our names and likenesses, and a multi-armed 'bot arrived to
relieve us of outerwear and offer a variety of refreshments. When we had made our selections, another guidebot led us down the green-marble-floored hallway to an ornate set of gilded double doors, muffling but not quite muting the sounds of conversation within. The doors slid open silently when the guidebot reached their sensor range, and we had a sudden panoramic view of the gathering beyond.

  The room was enormous. Vaulted ceilings arched gracefully overhead, painted a dark midnight blue and dotted with “stars”—tiny lights that sparked and twinkled, but did little to illuminate the room below. In contrast, the floor glowed with squares of pale, multicoloured light, and wall sconces arrayed around the room completed the lighting. Small groupings of chairs and tables invited people to sit, talk, and eat from several bountiful sideboards, which numerous attendees were doing. An open area in the middle of the room might have been for dancing, had the music been right for it, but it was mostly occupied by small knots of people holding drinks and chatting. A few heads turned when the doors opened, but most of the crowd seemed too engrossed in their discussions to pay attention to newcomers. Some of those who had turned to look stared at us with surprising rudeness, especially for Kiandon society. The five colonies on Kiando had a reputation for their strict social rituals and concern with etiquette.

  One man did more than turn and look when we entered. He was tall, with greying hair and a confident bearing, and he turned and crossed toward us immediately. His two-piece biosilk suit was almost unrelieved black, but for a white Duntmindi Corporation logo over the left breast and a neat row of four white circles below it. The asymmetrical hemline of his jacket fell to his knee on one side, and to his ankle on the other. This, then, must be Chairman Buig himself, and Dr. Ndasa stepped forward to greet him.

  “You must be Dr. Ndasa! Come in, come in! And your guests as well.” His smile took us all in, although I had the strange impression that it faltered when his gaze fell on me. He stopped far enough away from the doors so that we could enter easily and allow them to close behind us. He clasped his hands over his heart and bent forward twice from the waist, in the classic Kiandon greeting. “Welcome, guests.”

  “I am Dr. Ndasa, and I'm very pleased to meet you, Chairman.” Dr. Ndasa returned the ritual bow smoothly, and added the Vilisian gesture of greeting, the touch of a palm to eyes, lips and heart. Then he turned to the rest of us. “Allow me to present my friends from the far trader Tane Ikai,” he said, “starting with the incomparable Captain Luta Paixon.”

  I made the Kiandon greeting for an uninvited guest, the same but with only one bow. Buig's eyebrows had lifted slightly at the name of my ship, and I knew he'd made the connection. He obviously took his anti-aging research very seriously indeed to catch such an obscure reference. I wondered what he'd think if I told him my age.

  “Thank you so much for your generous invitation, Chairman,” I said. “Your home is quite magnificent.”

  When I lifted my head from the bow I caught a glimpse of an unabashed stare from his pale, ice-blue eyes, before he rearranged his face into a gracious smile. He looked gratified and perhaps relieved that I'd known the custom and responded properly. “Please promise that you'll tell me more about your ship later, Captain Paixon,” he said, and Dr. Ndasa continued with the introductions. Buig shot me another glance when Dr. Ndasa introduced Hirin, too polite to ask about the relationship. His gaze lingered long and appreciatively on Rei, Yuskeya, and Maja, and I wondered if womanizing was one of the Chairman's techniques for a longer life. It didn't seem to be the same kind of stare he'd treated me to, though. I wondered if I should be insulted.

  The Chairman gestured for us to mingle and afford ourselves the pleasures of the various refreshment tables, and with a final sidelong glance at me, moved off to chat with Dr. Ndasa first, as was only proper.

  Hirin leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I'm getting something to eat. We've had to leave enough parties early and I haven't forgotten my old rule of getting fed first.”

  I suppressed a giggle and watched him stroll over to the nearest buffet table and help himself to a plate. He piled it high with a reddish salad, slabs of spiced meat, and a selection of intriguing-looking appetizers. If his appetite were any indication, his recovery was going well. Maja followed him and asked him something I couldn't hear, then glanced over her shoulder at me.

  Viss, Rei, Yuskeya and Baden were still huddled in a little knot, sipping their drinks and sending covert looks around the room. I strolled over to them.

  “Relax, you people,” I hissed. “It looks like you're casing the place to come back later and loot it.”

  “Did you notice this floor?” Rei asked. “This much lumistone probably cost as much as the Tane Ikai!”

  I had to admit it was beautiful, perfectly cut and matched blocks of multicoloured stone that emitted its own soft light when stepped on. The floor seemed like a living thing, breathing colour as it interacted with the other creatures in the room. The light was never harsh, just a glow that limned the lower half of the room in a wash of blue, pink and mauve.

  “Well, don't just stand here gaping,” I ordered. “Walk, talk, and find out who everybody is. I've never known any of you to be exactly shy or retiring!”

  They laughed and moved off, breaking into pairs to go in search of conversation. Standing alone for the moment, I had the eerie feeling that half the people in the room were looking at me out of the corners of their eyes. While the purple dress was not intended to deflect attention, it certainly wasn't the most noteworthy in the room and had never caused this much of a stir before.

  I felt a touch at my elbow. Chairman Buig had circled back to me.

  “Thank you so much for bringing Dr. Ndasa all the way here from Earth,” he said. “It's a long run, I know.”

  His pale blue gaze was earnest and intense. I felt myself withdraw a little from it. “We were pleased to have the opportunity, and a new wormhole has cut a considerable amount of time off the journey.”

  “I'd heard about that. It could be we'll have more visitors in the near future.” I couldn't tell if he thought that was a good thing or not.

  “But tell me about your excellent ship,” he continued. “I recognize her name. One of the longest-lived Japanese women on Earth in the twentieth century.”

  I nodded. “That's right. Of course the ship herself is not nearly that old.”

  He laughed politely. “Did you name her? Or did she come to you with her personality already set?”

  “No, I named her myself. I've always had an interest in longevity research.” He would take all night to get around to actually asking me, I could tell. Not a man to speak before thinking.

  “Personally, I do not understand why more people are not fascinated by it,” he said, nodding approvingly. “Aging, death, they are the only things that bind us all, are they not?”

  Well, most of us. “Dr. Ndasa mentioned that he'd be joining other colleagues in the anti-aging field here. I'm impressed that you're throwing so much support behind the work. No scientific research comes cheap.”

  “No,” he said seriously, “it is an expensive endeavour. I have sixteen top researchers here now, and Dr. Ndasa makes seventeen. It is one of the largest groups working on the problem in tandem anywhere in Nearspace. Although some people continue to think it's just a silly hobby on my part, they are wrong. Only Earth's PrimeCorp and the Schulyer Group on Mars are larger.”

  “Really? Are the researchers here tonight? I would love to meet some of them, if I might.”

  He nodded, looking around almost agitatedly. “Yes, there's someone I'm particularly interested in having you meet. Some of them are here already . . . I see Dr. Admelison over there, speaking with Sinjoro Paixon. You and he are related? It is an unusual name.”

  “Distant relatives,” I lied easily. “He's no stranger to aging himself, but had a yearning to return to space one more time. I was glad to be able to offer him a berth on the Tane Ikai.”

  “Most commendable,” he said. “
Now, where are the others? I had thought they would all be present tonight. Perhaps, if you will excuse me, I'll round them all up, especially . . . well. Enjoy yourself in my absence.”

  He moved off, but I saw him pull out a small datapad and input something. Was he calling someone? Or making notes about me like a good corporate executive, so he could “remember” me later?

  I strolled over to Baden and Rei, who each held a plate piled high with brightly-coloured exotic fruits covered with a sweet-smelling sauce. “Does anything seem kind of strange here, to you?”

  Rei grinned as she delicately licked her fingers. “Here's the big one, there are more people staring at you than there are at me. That's definitely a first, although you know I think you're beautiful, Luta.”

  “I know, there's nothing catty about you, Rei.” The room hummed with an undercurrent of conversations kept deliberately muted as guests cast covert glances my way. “That's what I've noticed, too. It feels bizara.”

  “I take it you haven't seen her,” Baden whispered.

  “No, even taking into account how she might have changed, I don't see anyone who could be her. But Chairman Buig said he thought all the researchers would be here tonight, and he's gone to hunt them up. I should know soon if she's here or not.”

  Hirin came up to us then and unobtrusively gave my hand a little squeeze. “Nothing yet?”

  I shook my head. “No. Soon, though, I think.”

  He hesitated a moment. “That man I was talking to—Dr. Admelison—he said none of the researchers was over seventy.”

  “She might not look seventy.”

  “I know,” he said. “I just hate to see you have another disappointment.”

  Maja stepped up behind me and said in a low voice, “Mother, I was thinking about what you said earlier—that this could be a trap. If you don't see her, maybe we should leave. I have a bad feeling—”

  A hush fell over the hall, as suddenly as if someone had damped the volume with the flick of a switch. Another doorway stood open, one that led from somewhere inside the palace, and a woman stepped through it. Even Chairman Buig stopped speaking to someone at the other side of the room and turned to look. It was as if the entire room had been waiting for her to arrive, and now held its breath.