by Robert Boren
“I don’t like it when he laughs like that,” Tim said.
“We’re in better shape than we were,” I said. “The situation is different, though, and we’ll need to speak freely, so I cleared this with the Chairman.”
Deacon arrived on the bridge. “What’s up, Cappy?”
“Time to fess up about a few things. You can share this with your crew.”
I went through the story in a few minutes, both Nolan and JJ reminding me of things I left out.
“Wow,” Izzy said. “We’re allied with Simone? That’s a change.”
“It is,” Tim said, “but they’re right. I’m more confident now than I was before. We’ve got a fighting chance. We’re no longer alone.”
“Don’t like the fact that the Central Authority is turning out Razor ships, though,” Deacon said. “Wish we could accidently destroy their plants while we’re in the Clan Zone.”
Nolan chuckled. “That would start some shit.”
“Cussing, Nolan?” JJ asked, grinning. “I’m shocked.”
“How about the AIs?” Nolan asked. “Can we have them on speaker while we’re on the bridge?”
“Everybody on this ship is trained and has an AI except for Barney, so I see no reason to restrict their comments. Unless they bicker too much, of course.”
JJ burst out laughing.
“And this is what will get you guys silenced,” I said.
Deacon shook his head. “Maybe I ought to get Curley involved, but not now. I’ll go tell the rest of the crew about this.”
“Thank you,” I said.
We settled into the jump, silent for a while. JJ got my attention after a few minutes.
“What?” I asked.
“Shouldn’t we try out the new communicator?” she asked, nodding to it, sitting next to the other observer’s chairs.
“We should.” I sat in the communicator and fired it up, paging the Chairman. His face appeared in the frame after a moment.
“Nothing wrong I hope?” Vermillion asked.
“No sir, but we needed to try this new communicator out, just to make sure it’s working correctly. Looks great on this end.”
“Looks fine here too,” Vermillion said.
“Great. I won’t keep you.”
Vermillion smiled. “Talk to you soon, Trey.”
I shut down the communicator.
“It’s rare that he calls you Trey,” JJ said.
“He does it sometimes, when we’re alone. Especially when we’re having some of his top-shelf whiskey.”
Tim snickered. “Now we’re talking.”
“Hey, did we remember to offload the bodies of those prisoners?” JJ asked.
Nolan turned toward her. “Yes, they were taken to the New Jersey before we left. Good thing, too. We needed every inch of cold storage for food.”
“They were in the food locker?” Izzy asked, looking sick.
“Don’t worry, they were well contained,” Nolan said. “Speaking of that, we never caught any transmissions, did we?”
“Reading my mind again,” I quipped.
“How about the news?” Nolan asked. “The download was done as planned, before we jumped away.”
“Might as well take a look,” I said.
Nolan dictated for a moment, the main screen showing the first document.
“Ah yes, the propaganda,” Tim said, reading the Central Authority news report.
The main story today is a good one. The salvage ship that was feared lost near Valla Cappos has been located by the second group of salvage ships and several Centurion-class battleships. There was a communications malfunction, which is now repaired. Central Authority Security has decided to leave the second set of ships in place, and the investigation is ongoing. Certain irresponsible news outlets have been publishing false stories about the Magellan III disaster, some claiming there was no debris field and the ship is still operating. Here is proof of the debris field.
A picture was inserted below the text, showing pieces of spacecraft in orbit.
“Horsepucky,” Tim said, bringing a chuckle from Nolan.
“Very colorful, Tim.”
“Nobody believes still pictures anymore,” Izzy said, “and many don’t even believe video.”
Prime Minister Aeon spoke to a packed HDPR and Senate Joint Session today. The main subject was the new PA law, which requires all citizens to wear the devices and use them for all financial transactions. A large crowd demonstrated outside, Devonia Axxiom security forces taking them on with teargas, arresting hundreds. Prime Minister Aeon made the case that the new law will sharply reduce crime on all worlds, and urged local planetary governments to enforce the law. He also mentioned there would be consequences for those worlds who refuse to comply, but he did not specify what the consequences could be. The chamber was somewhat unruly during the speech, the opposition shouting support for Overlords elected officials who nobody has seen or heard from since the roundup. At one point Prime Minister Aeon threatened to bring the Security Forces inside the chamber to bring order. Things settled down after that.
Finally, there has been no word on the status of Chairman Vermillion and several other attendees of the summit held day before yesterday. Devonia Axxiom is denying conspiracy theories that they were kidnapped by the Central Authority security forces. When we have more information, we will report it immediately.
“Okay, this has gone from horsepucky to pure bullshit,” Tim said.
I nodded in agreement. “These creeps have a lot of nerve. Can’t wait to expose them.”
“Hopefully we live through that,” Izzy said.
Nolan smiled. “Okay, ready for the next one?”
I nodded, and he put it up.
Howdy, all. It’s your old pal Hamilton Zenos again, still coming from places unknown. I’m laughing my ass off right now. How anybody can digest the garbage flowing out of the Central Authority’s propaganda mill today is beyond me. That debris field picture was hilarious. They can’t even pull off a good fake. Here’s the original picture. Note the ship in the background?
The picture displayed under the first block of text. Tim saw it and burst out laughing. “That’s the Caprice Excelsior. This was taken three years ago, after that real science vessel disaster. The Caprice Excelsior was doing rescue and salvage work.”
“Whoa, he’s right,” JJ said, glancing at me with a smile on her face.
“Aeon’s supporters will just say that’s a manipulation of the image,” Nolan said, “which would be easy to do, but why be so careless?”
I’m still not convinced that the Magellan III has been destroyed. It sure would be nice to know where they are. Did they do something Aeon doesn’t like? Are the “salvage ships” which are really Centurion class battleships being left there to continue the hunt for the innocents on that science vessel? We might never know, sadly, at the rate this administration lies.
I’ve been looking into the number of worlds who have rejected the new PA law. By my calculation, it’s about ninety percent. That’s what I said. Ninety percent. I’d like to know what kind of consequences our little tin-horn dictator Aeon thinks he’ll be able to pull off. Samson Corporation, maybe you should just blow up the capitol buildings on Devonia Axxiom and be done with it. These folks aren’t fit to serve. Aeon is a crook, and the honest public servants in the HDPR and Senate are cowards. At least they were speaking out in the Joint Session until Aeon threatened to bring in his jack-booted
thugs to make them shut up. They should’ve rushed the podium and torn Aeon limb from limb. Do I sound pissed? Good. Come get me if you can, Prime Minister. See what happens.
Here’s the most important story of the day. You’ve all heard the rumors that we have Clan operatives in our zone, and are in danger of invasion. We’ve heard a rumor that Clan operatives were found at the scene of that rooftop battle, where the video appeared to show Chairman Vermillion being loaded into some kind of transport device. The Central Authority still denies any such exchange happened, and of course they ridicule any suggestion that Aeon is working with the Clan. Pucker up, Prime Minister. Your time is coming. You will be exposed. Count on it.
That’s enough for today.
Ta ta.
Hamilton Zenos
“Wow,” JJ said. “Notice how much more aggressive this report was? Tear him limb from limb?”
My heartrate was up, my face flushing. Have we made a big mistake?
“Are you all right, Captain?” Nolan asked.
“Fine, but I don’t like the increased aggression of this piece.”
“I think it was perfect,” Tim said. Izzy shot him a nervous glance.
Nolan’s brow was furrowed. “Given the comments made by the leader of the Magellan III mission about the Clan, I think there’s something going on that Prime Minister Aeon is trying to keep a lid on.”
{ 9 }
Biologicals
T he rest of the day was uneventful, even boring. JJ and I turned in early.
“I miss the food on the New Jersey,” JJ said.
“Me too, but there’s something cozy about this little ship.”
“It’s probably less of a worry for you, since there’s so few people on board.”
I chuckled. “Well, yes and no. The people on this ship are very dear to me, and I’m not just talking about you.”
“Deacon?”
“Yes, and Izzy and Tim as well. They were my bridge crew on the New Jersey, remember. I brought them along. Not sure if that made them happy or not.”
“Your people care about you very much,” JJ said. “You’re a beloved individual. You know that, right?”
“I guess. Don’t really understand it.”
She chuckled. “That’s my man. You look exhausted.”
“I am, but that’s good in a way. I know I’ll sleep well tonight.”
We both hit the sack, falling asleep in minutes. My PA woke me early.
“What time is it?” JJ asked.
“Just after six. We’re probably coming out of the jump. Butch, wake up please.”
JJ sat up. “Well isn’t he chipper? I could use more sleep.”
“Stay here if you want. Not much you can do while we come out of the jump.”
“Not on your life,” she said, getting out of bed. “Wake up, Emerald.”
“I’m going to be nervous until we see that nobody’s been back to this site,” JJ said.
“That makes two of us.” We put on our Nano suits and dressed, out of the stateroom in less than ten minutes.
“Breakfast?” JJ asked.
“Something from the kitchen,” I said. “Maybe a Danish or something. I’ll eat better later.”
“I’m game.” JJ and I stopped there, wolfed down pastries, washed them down with coffee, and went onto the bridge. Nolan, Tim, and Izzy were already there.
“Good, you’re here,” Izzy said. “We’re getting close.”
“Yep. I want a full detailed scan of the surface before we go down there.”
“Yes, I’m preparing to do that now,” Nolan said. “Half expect somebody to be here.”
“Here we go,” JJ said.
I shook my head, trying to clear it of their banter as I reviewed the jump log. “Damn, Nolan, our fuel consumption continues to drop.”
“Dojo keeps finding issues to tune,” Nolan said. “I’m very impressed.”
“If we weren’t about to come out of a jump I’d silence the lot of you,” I said. “Knock it off. You’re on my last nerve, and I just got up.”
“We’re here,” Tim said, just as we felt the static electricity hit us.
“Scans?” I asked.
“No ships around, and no humanoids on the surface,” Nolan said. “Can’t get a good visual yet, though. We got over the site right in the middle of one of those stupid dust storms.”
“We’ll wait till it clears then,” I said.
“Uh oh,” Nolan said.
“I hate when he says that,” Izzy quipped.
“What, Nolan?” I asked.
“Remember when we weren’t getting Boron readings from orbit when we were here before?”
“Yeah. So?”
Nolan looked over at me. “Now I’m getting a strong reading. We didn’t leave the top of that loader open, did we?”
“Nope, I double checked that before we left,” I said, my heart racing. “Everybody stay sharp. Scan for ships again.”
Izzy looked over after a moment. “Nothing, sir, and that dust storm appears to be slowing down.”
“I want a visual scan before we go down.”
“If somebody opened that mine, the area might be contaminated with the biologicals,” JJ said. “We don’t have antidotes. We can’t go down there.”
“Don’t worry, I got us some vaccine,” Nolan said. “It’s in sick bay. Sorry, forgot to mention it. Doctor Hazelton suggested it.”
“Thank you, Nolan,” I said. “Still, nobody goes down there without vacuum suits on, even with a vaccine, and they have to shower down in the decontamination room before entering the ship. That’s an order.”
“Prudent,” Nolan said.
“It’s clearing,” Izzy said. “I’ll put the video on screen.”
We watched as the picture went from cloudy beige to a sharp image of the surface.
“The loader is open,” Tim said. “Looks like it’s still got the ore inside, though. That’s the amount I remember from before, or at least close.”
“Somebody breached the doors on the mine,” Nolan said. “Look at all the bodies on the ground.”
“Geez,” JJ said as the cameras focused in. “There’s dead animals too, look.”
“Probably came to feed on the bodies and got a nasty surprise,” Tim said. “What would it take to clean this area?”
“Equipment we don’t have on this ship,” Nolan said. “We have it on the New Jersey.”
“Is it safe for us to bring that ore here?” I asked. “Or is it so contaminated from the biological that we won’t be able to bring it on board?”
“What?” I asked.
“I see it,” Izzy said.
“Why didn’t that show on the scan?” JJ asked.
“It appears to be dead in space,” Izzy said. “Evasive maneuver.” She moved us with impulse power, then put the cameras on screen in a grid, picking the one that had the best picture to expand.
“That’s a freighter,” Nolan said. “Built in the Clan Zone, but it might belong to somebody in our zone. The Clan builds that model for us as well as themselves.”
“Armed?” I asked.
“Minimal armaments,” Nolan said,
looking at his screen.
“Oh, Geez, I’ll bet somebody went up there from the surface and spread the germs,” JJ said. “It’s probably full of dead spacers.”
I nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking.”
“If we could depressurize that ship, the vacuum would kill the biologicals,” Nolan said.
“We’d have to board to do that,” I said. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?”
“We hope,” JJ said.
“There’s the call number of the ship, see it?” Tim asked.
“Perfect,” Nolan said, looking at the number. “Dojo, see if you can determine ownership of that vessel.”
Nolan chuckled. “Level five, still completely under the thumb of the Central Authority.”
“Can we connect to that ship?” I asked.
Tim’s eyes got wide. “This is a trap. Jump away now.”
“We’re cloaked,” I said, “but we’re not going down there. That they would see.”
“I’ve got a suggestion,” Nolan said. “Let’s blast the freighter and jump away, staying close enough to see who shows up.”
“How far away is the freighter?”
“Not far enough, Captain,” Izzy said.
“Scan that freighter for life forms,” JJ said.
“We’d have to active scan, and that’ll give away our position,” Nolan said.
“Set up a short jump, then do the scan and jump away,” I said. “JJ’s right, that freighter might be full of people. Somebody turned everything off. The biologicals had nothing to do with it.”
Nolan looked up from his station. “Solution for the jump calculated, Captain. Within scan range, outside of weapons range.”
“Scan,” I said.
Nolan nodded. “Scanning. Data received. Jump activated.”
We felt the dizziness, then a moment later the static charge as we stopped.