The Space Mavericks

by Michael Kring

  “What’s with this place, anyway?” I asked. “What did you mean that Strip wasn’t a Strip? What was it?”

  “It was Hell,” Kohn said flatly. He sat down in his chair, and motioned for me to sit in mine. It was going to be a long talk. “This is a religious Runner World, only it’s very different,” he began. “The reason we’ve got the Medicals is because we were the ship to set down here and the cargo is due out now. They don’t care who carries their cargo; it’s a first-come, first-serve planet. But you can imagine how the Union feels about that. If we had gotten that load of FUNN, the Union would have been furious, and would have blockaded the planet. So, the Administrators of Shadow give the FUNN to Union, but demand their point of view for the rest of the cargo.”

  “Some exchange,” I commented. “But what’s that got to do with the Strip being Hell?”

  “It’s Hell in the sense it has all the vices the planet has to offer. There are whores, drugs, alcohol, games, all that stuff. It’s a temptation they have to succumb to, every now and then, so they can be redeemed by their Priests.”

  “You mean to say they have to sin, now and then, and do it with a vengeance, or they won’t go to heaven?” Kohn nodded. “That’s sick,” I said. I thought about the little man who’d given us the directions, and then, later, had been trying to act mean. It tied together. “Well, the sooner we leave, the better I’ll like it. Renate’s getting to be a problem.” I explained the incident with the FreeBorn.

  “It’s just the drug wearing off,” Kohn said. “You know how cranky you were after it wore off when we left Jester.”

  “I guess so,” I mumbled. “Well, have you plotted the coordinates yet?”

  “No,” Kohn admitted. “Not yet. But I’ll get to it. The cargo is already loaded, and the permits are . .. Oh no!”

  I jerked my head up and stared at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “That stupid Colonel is coming on board to check the permits and give us official clearance. And we’ve got Renate ...”

  “Tied up in the chair!” I finished for him. I cursed under my breath.

  We would have to release her, or the Colonel would definitely think something was wrong with us. We could possibly wind up in prison for kidnapping. Who knew how far Central was pushing the matter? And perhaps Heuser had already tipped the Central Representative to our extra passenger. I was more than a little worried as we walked into the other room.

  Renate glare at us when we came into the room. She shook some of her blonde hair out of her face and she was definitely not in a festive mood. The bruise on her face was touched with a tinge of crimson as her blood pressure soared.

  “Just who do you think you are?! she demanded of us. “You can’t do this to me! I’m no criminal!”

  “Have you calmed down yet?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” she yelled at me. “You tie me up in this stupid chair and ask if I’m calm! Of course,

  I’m not calm! Get me out of here, and right now!” “Look,” Kohn tried to explain as we undid the straps. “I had to talk with Fripp on something very important about the cargo. Colonel Breeker is coming back on board to give us our clearance papers. And to check up on you, I imagine.”

  “What?” Renate asked, confused.

  “He’s coming back on board to give us a piece of paper that lets us take off,” I said. “We take off and go to Steel. If you say anything about not wanting to go to Steel, we’ll more than likely wind up in jail for a very long time, that is if we’re not executed.”

  “They wouldn’t do that,” she said loudly. She then paused, and asked softly, “Would they?”

  “This is a Runner World,” Kohn said. “They could do anything they wished, and we would have a hard time finding out just what law we’d violated.”

  “I’ll keep quiet,” she promised.

  I just hoped she would.

  Colonel Breeker was in full dress uniform, which made me very nervous. He had a row of medals on his chest that looked like he had been involved in a major war, all by himself. It was very intimidating. I assumed the ribbons were for various administrative duties, but still... he was very imposing. I shut up and let Kohn do all the talking. He’s better at that than I’ll ever be.

  “And here are your papers, sirs and Lady,” he said, smiling heavily in Renate’s direction. He literally beamed at her. His charm was on full force. “Are you Renate Nicos, Good Lady?”

  “Yes,” she blurted.

  He continued to smile, but when he turned his eyes to Kohn and I, they were as hard as diamonds. “You know, sirs, we have received various messages from persons in Free Space, who claim you have kidnapped this young, and I must say beautiful, lady. Do you have an explanation?”

  Kohn cleared his throat, and then, with a meek look at me, shrugged. “We didn’t kidnap her, but it’s a rather complicated problem.”

  “You would not mind risking the TruthSeeker?” Colonel Breeker asked, staring straight into my eyes. I could tell he’d gotten a good deal of information from Heuser. I had been hoping that Shadow would have no contact with those idiots, but no such luck.

  I had heard about TruthSeekers. They were generally infallible, but, sometimes, they didn’t work, and that was why Central had gone to Truthers, who never failed. I wondered if Breeker would trust the machine, or try to gauge my facial expressions as I took the test, whatever it would be.

  “I don’t mind,” I said. “But, just remember, this is very complicated.”

  “I am not concerned with small details,” Colonel Breeker said as he drew the TruthSeeker from his pocket and put it in my hand. It looked like a smooth, gray river stone. “I want to know: did you kidnap this lady?”

  “No,” I said. The TruthSeeker was silent. “You can ask her, if you want.”

  “That will not be necessary,” he said as he took the machine back. “We have no concern for differences of opinion, but only the safety of all who visit here. We are a Free World, and wish to have no part in any illegalities of a Universal nature.”

  “Very commendable,” I muttered under my breath, very sarcastically. Renate heard me, and stifled a laugh, then quickly sobered.

  “You are free to leave,” he said, and then he turned to go.

  “Colonel,” I said. “I have a question.”

  “Yes?” he asked as he turned. His eyes were bland and no longer alert and dangerous. His body even looked less tense.

  “Why are there so few ships here?” I asked. “And why do mavericks not like to come here?”

  “Fripp!” Kohn cried, aghast at my bad manners.

  “No need,” the Colonel said. “I will answer. We are so isolated because we choose who comes to our lands. We have little to offer to independents, such as yourselves, but we try to be fair with the cargo and the prices. Our agents serve us well. The Union demands the White Powder, but we are in control of all else. Therefore, we do not have much need for many ships, since the White Powder pays for all our needs.”

  “Makes sense,” I said. The White Powder was, of course, FUNN. “Thank you.”

  “You have manners, after all,” the Colonel said, with a slight smile.

  “When I’m well treated,” I countered. I smiled back. He no longer made me itch. In fact, he struck me as being a fairly decent sort of person, just a little too straight for my tastes. But then, I’m a Spacer and he’s a groundhog. We didn’t have much in common.

  The window was clean. We slipped as fast as we could into Free Space so we could Warp. I didn’t like the thought of those Cruisers just sitting out there, waiting for us. The image of the torpedo was still too fresh in my mind, even though I was convinced that had been a stupid blunder they wouldn’t repeat.

  “There they are,” Kohn said.

  “How close?” I asked. We were at top speed.

  “Not that close, really,” he said. “But close enough. They must have been making sure they didn’t slide into Shadow’s Space. I think they’ll find out where we’re head
ed soon enough.”

  “Great,” I said. “If they do, they’ve got position on us.” I glanced at the screen and the cruiser’s position. If they went into Warp now, they would get to Steel first, and perhaps set up a blockade for us.

  There wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. They had more speed than us, too. I just hoped my superior skills would be of some use.

  9

  “Ten seconds,” Kohn called out.

  I wet my lips with a rather dry tongue. I was dreading going into Warp for the first time in my life. I could still recall, quite vividly, the pain I’d felt when we’d left Green. I didn’t want anything like that to happen again, but I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t. The sense of peace I’d always felt in Warp was still awaiting me, but the tinge of the agony I’d felt made me apprehensive.

  “Warp!” Kohn called.

  I blinked. Nothing. No pain. I smiled. I closed my eyes and felt out with my mind. It was calm and soothing as always, but even more so. I was grateful I wouldn’t be feeling that agony each time we went into Warp. I tested Warp, and found the path of least resistance. I gently nudged the ship in that direction, and began to input the series of numbers that would give me the angle of attack on the tangent of the Spheres. We had decided that would be the best approach. We would slip along the interface of the Spheres, directly to the Fourth Sphere. It would be tricky, and it would be dangerous, but it would be the quickest way to Steel. I didn’t think we could keep ahead of the cruisers as it was. We hadn’t had a head start, like when we’d left Firelight and Green. Plus, the Warp engines were running a little hot. I didn’t want to push them too hard. I didn’t dare. There was really nothing between the Second Sphere and the Fourth Sphere, especially along the interface.

  “They’ve Warped,” Kohn said calmly.

  It was now a race, and I knew we wouldn’t, and couldn’t, win. I could only out-maneuver them, if they fired at us again. I doubted they would. In theory, it was possible for them to come alongside us and board, exactly like in Free Space, but there was no way to equip a suit with a Warp Engine. If a person lost his grip and slipped free of the ships, even for an instant, they would be lost forever in Warp. There would be no way to ever pick them up. I didn’t think Heuser could force his men to do that. They had been spooked enough by the weirdness of Green.

  “I don’t believe it,” Kohn said.

  “What don’t you believe?” I asked as I turned from the comp screen.

  “Those idiots are warning us to stop,” he answered. “Or they say they’ll fire a torpedo in front of us.”

  “Great,” I said. “I don’t believe it. They’re bluffing.”

  “I just hope you’re right,” Kohn said.

  We went back to our work. Renate was sitting in the main room, strapped in. I’d told her not to bother getting out of the chair because we were going to have a rough ride when we got near the interface of the Spheres.

  Slipping through the interface of the Spheres is very tricky. The ship has to be at a precise angle to penetrate the skin of the Spheres, and pull up quickly enough so as not to merely glide into another Sphere, but ricochet along the points of contact, then angle precisely again, to slip into the Sphere desired. I’d done the trick two or three times before, but that never made it any easier. The ride would be rough, quick, and wild. The comp gave me the figures to follow, and if I did everything correctly, we’d slip out of Warp just outside of Steel’s solar system. It’s not a maneuver recommended to any but the most experienced pilots. Central has declared it an illegal maneuver, but there is no way for them to tell when a ship does it. Warp is Warp in the Spheres, and after riding the interface, or the “tangential pathway” as Central calls it, the ship merely drops into a Sphere’s Warp, or Free Space, whichever the pilot desires.

  The perimeter alarm went off. I nearly jumped out of my chair. I had never heard of the alarm going off. It was a special alarm to warn a ship that another ship was getting within the Warp field. I noticed a funny feel to the Warp engines, and I slapped the alarm off. I lay back, took a deep breath, and felt out for the cruisers. I knew they had to be there.

  It was a stinging sensation on my left cheek, and I could tell it was only one of them. I assumed they were going to try and make a boarding maneuver. How had Heuser done it? How much had he promised those poor men? I gritted my teeth and gripped the controls. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought of what I’d have to do. When the men started coming toward us, I’d move us as fast as I could. I was killing those men as surely as if I had blasted them with a laze cannon.

  I had never considered myself a murderer before. It was a sickening feeling. The men launched, and they were a cinnamon smell to me as they traveled slowly across the distance. I automatically moved my hands on the controls, and as the Warp Field spread thin around them, I felt something hit me in the back of the neck. Hard. A scream spiked into my ears like an ice-cold needle, and I let go of the controls as I gripped my head. There were several more heavy hits on my neck, and then I noticed I was laying face down on the instrument panel in front of me.

  “Are you all right? Fripp! Are you all right?” Kohn was asking me.

  I slowly pulled my head off the console and rubbed the back of my neck. I felt around, but there weren’t even bruises. I had felt the hits, though. My brain felt as if it were a bruised plum in my skull. I looked up at Kohn.

  “How long?” I asked.

  “About ten minutes,” he answered. “Damn! You should have heard those screams. I’ll dream about that for months!” He paused. “The cruiser pulled out of distance.”

  “Something hit me,” I said. “I felt their screams. I felt their deaths.”

  I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I felt the sharp tang of the cruisers on either side of us, but just out of range of the Warp field. They wouldn’t try another boarding party. I imagined the horror the men were feeling wasn’t enough for Heuser to overcome with any sort or bribe.

  I swallowed and tasted bile on my tongue. I was badly shaken by the experience. I could also feel the terror and the blanking out of the men’s minds as they slid free into warp. They had no chance there. If there was anything living in Warp, it would eat them, or ignore them. I was certain of that.

  I gradually maneuvered the ship to the correct angle for the interface maneuver. I noticed the cruisers had to move farther away to get their angles correct. They had a different hull pattern, and were larger, so their attack angle would be different from ours by quite a number of degrees. They didn’t want to get mixed up with my maneuver, and I imagined they would wait until the last moment, making sure I wouldn’t back out.

  When we hit, the controls rocked under my hands, and I shoved hard to the right. There was a feeling of sliding into a mud pit, and everything seemed to be moving slightly slower than normal. I knew the feeling was just an effect of slithering along the edges of the Spheres. The ship bucked and shuddered as we careened along the tangetal pathway. It didn’t matter what we did in that place, because there just wasn’t enough of the stuff of Warp to get that skewed, like in the middle of a Sphere. The cruisers could, if they wished, fire a torpedo and kill us. The chances of the torpedo’s comp being able to latch onto us and catch up were astronomically high, however. It would be buffeted by the motion of the aether, also.

  I waited as my nerves stretched tighter and tighter. I wanted to scream, but I merely gritted my teeth and waited. I had to. There was no other way of maneuvering in that narrow corridor of skewed space and Warp. The comp gave me the countdown, and as I let my mind be absorbed by the count, making sure my hands were on the controls in case the comp didn’t throw us out on time, I could hear Kohn counting down, also. The entire ship was vibrating, and when we landed, we’d have to completely go over the ship before we dared take it into Warp again. The Warp engines were still slightly overheating. I didn’t like that, but there was nothing I could do.

  The comp hit zero, and I shoved over the controls. I do
n’t know if the comp took us out of the corridor, or I did, but I wasn’t about to let something like that rest on a mere machine. Kohn would say that was stupid, since I was using the comp to count down. I have my own funny little quirks, and intend to keep them.

  Kohn immediately radioed ahead for landing clearance. When we told the Port Comp we were bringing in a load of Medicals, it gave us a priority three landing clearance. I whistled. We’d never had anything higher than a priority sixteen since we’d been partners. It would be nice to be able to land quickly. I just hoped the Cruisers would be given a lower priority.

  “Should I tell them?” Kohn asked me as we let the comp take us in toward Steel.

  I shrugged. “Sure, why not? If Renate’s father is wealthy enough, he can get us some protection.”

  Kohn called down again, and informed the Port Comp we would like to speak to the father of Renate Nicos. I was listening with my left ear, shunting all the comp numbers to my right ear. The helmet is fairly versatile. The Port Comp went off and we were suddenly talking to a human being. We told her the same thing, and she asked who we were. We informed her, and then a gruff, male voice came on.

  “I’m Var DeMann, Renate’s father,” he said.

  “Mr. DeMann,” Kohn began, “we have your daughter aboard our ship because ...” Kohn paused. He looked at me, frowned, and then said, “We rescued her from the police in Firelight. We’re bringing her in with us.”

  “How do I know you have her?” he asked.

  “Can you recognize her voice?” Kohn asked.

  “My Comp will,” he said.

  Kohn pressed the button and it put him in touch with Renate. Renate was excited to talk with her father, and he was convinced it was her. He told us we would have a priority one landing clearance and we would be met at the pad. I was glad. We would finally have her out of our hair.

  It wasn’t that I disliked her, but she had been a pain in the nose on Shadow. If it hadn’t been for the ring, I would have had a broken nose and black eyes to show for her little lapse of thinking. Plus, since the drugs had worn off, she had shown a streak of petty-mindedness and irresponsibility.