Space Station Acheron

by F Stephan

“I guess your job is finished, Observer. You were here for this drug plant, I suppose?”

  “Yes. This medical plant was stolen half a century ago and reprogrammed for nanite drug generation. I have been tracking it since then. Observer Althal nearly got it six years ago on Adheek, but it escaped. There weren’t many places where it could be transported to.”

  “What’s the next step?”

  “You grab it and we carry it to the outer reaches. You have a transport to meet anyway. We will use it to transfer it out of here and back toward Volpre. Now, you’ve learned the basics of the trade. You’ll be able to continue on your own.”

  Noul bowed to him and turned back toward the door. “But before that, we’ve got to catch our bird. I’m out. By the way, it stays outside Acheron and no one touches it. Boris, Igor, you will guard it with your lives. Your first task in your new role.”

  No Federation official or Observer could order Federation Marines around, as far as Wilfried knew. Unless…

  Susanna

  United Organization Penal Facility, Saint Helena, May 20, 2141

  Susanna walked confidently into the common room for detainees. Her lawyer had at last gotten her out of solitary confinement, and within the next twenty-four hours the United Organization would release her. She would fly back to New Amsterdam and airing her latest show: ‘How I was falsely imprisoned.’ She already saw its success in her mind, her freedom from this annoying situation.

  She took a bench on a remote table where she could watch the other prisoners. What could she make out of this place? Surely there was something to shoot in here.

  A cough. She turned her head. Mama Thai sat at her side. She was a lanky, delicate woman in her fifties, a surrogate mother for a time. “Welcome child. Isn’t it strange how the wheel is turning?”

  Susanna had betrayed her to launch her own career on her path for vengeance.

  “It was nothing personal, you know?” said the journalist in a thin voice.

  “This was business. I understand business. And revenge.”

  A commotion started on the other side of the room – two women fighting in the middle of a gathering crowd.

  In a sweet, reassuring voice, Mama Thai said, “You understand that this is personal for me.”

  Susanna felt a jab in her side.

  “Our bosses will free me for this. On grounds of good behavior and reintegration in the modern society. Aren’t they sweet? You should have stayed in solitary confinement, child. Or out of trouble. You had it all, but you wanted more. I won’t make the same mistake.”

  Mama Thai patted her on her shoulder. Then, as guards rushed into the room to break up the fight, she rose and called, “A seizure! Help. She’s having a seizure.”

  Susanna, unable to speak through her fits, watched it all until darkness overwhelmed her.

  Tasha

  Space station Acheron, May 31, 2141

  “Welcome, Mother.”

  This was the first time Elena Podorovski had left Russia since the birth of her eldest daughter. Today, accompanied by Nikolai, her son, she crossed the threshold into the Acheron’s main airlock. Tasha glanced at her brother’s prosthetic hand. He seemed comfortable with it, the dark glove masking its artificial origin.

  “Thank you, Pilot, daughter of mine.” She bowed formally, as if entering the house of an opposite clan.

  “To what do I owe this honor?” Tasha had been surprised when Angelo, flying this time out of Baikonur, had announced his guests. She had had no forewarning before then.

  “We have committed a lot of resources to support you in this endeavor. I’d like to see it before I die. And if Jeanne can live here, so can I.”

  In an apparent coincidence, the lunar station master had announced she would visit the station the next afternoon. Mother had told me they knew each other. The situation on Earth had settled and Reborn Russia had federated around the Podorovski’s conglomerate. They could leave their home, if only for a limited time.

  Tasha beamed. “Mother, brother, I’ll be proud to show you around.”

  She called Leopold through her bracelet, asking him to hold the bridge for her, and began the tour. Crew members bowed to them as they passed, and murmurs travelled around the station in minutes. The queen mother on a tour? If the first modules were in slight disarray, by the time they reached the third, the whole station was as clean and orderly as could be imagined. Her mother was interested in everything, her brother one step behind, asking questions of Reiner, who accompanied them. Then Jeanne joined them for the tour, and it became a celebration the likes of which the station had never known, a second rebirth after all the hard times. This was a day Tasha had waited all her life, the day in which leaving her clan for this dream of space at last took real value in the eyes of her family.

  Much later, they reconvened in the private dining room Tasha had set up. Jeanne had brought vegetables and fruits from the lunar greenhouse. With fresh meat brought from Earth and water purified from a small asteroid, it made for a rare meal aboard the space station, the first of this quality since Tasha had arrived. Their conversation lasted long into the night until only Tasha and her mother remained in the room. An awkward silence settled in.

  “Nikolai seems to have adapted well to his new hand,” Tasha began tentatively.

  “Yes, better than the medics expected. They did excellent work. No one will see anything. The pain will remain, reminding him of this lesson.”

  “I’m sorry, Mother,” answered Tasha, bitten by the harsh words.

  “You shouldn’t be. This is part of our life. So you fled to the stars, all those years ago.” This was a simple statement of fact, but it felt like a new sting to Tasha. “You didn’t want to play that game, my daughter. Why are you looking so dumb? I raised you all those years.” Then, abruptly, she laughed, a crystal sound strangely at odds with her previous statements. “And then you took on a bigger game, didn’t you? You’re so much like your father. You left us only to build a trade conglomerate among the stars. And it looks like you’re succeeding. I’m proud of you, daughter mine.”

  Tasha gasped, blushing at the sudden change in her mother’s mood.

  “Mind you, there are things I won’t forgive. But I can see plainly the woman you have become, and you are an honor to your family, to me and to your father.”

  Tasha remained unable to speak for a while, tears in her eyes. Her mother moved to sit beside her, cradling her in her arms. “I wouldn’t have made your choices, but I will always support you in them.”

  A long time later, Tasha looked up. “Thank you, Mother.” She straightened. “But we still have a lot of work before our trade clan will begin its existence. Not to mention the inspection from the Federation.”

  “Nonsense, my daughter. Those are mere details. You’ve done the work that needed doing. You have secured this station, and the Federation will see that, the minute they reach the system. Now, we have two other, smaller items to talk about.”

  “Mother?” inquired Tasha, again unsettled by the turn in the conversation.

  “First, you sent some of our people to travel among the stars. People who will forsake any relation to Earth.” How can she know about Sacha and her family? “Compatriots should keep some link to our planet.” She withdrew from her bag a heavy printed book. “This is a classic compilation of plays and writings. Shakespeare, Chekov, Garcia Marquez, many texts from our planet. My dad gave it to me when I turned eighteen, as a key to our world. I couldn’t give it to you, but I think it should be passed on. I would ask you to send it to the girl if you can.”

  She handed her the book and Tasha opened it. The vellum was fine yet robust. It was an obsolete piece of antiquity, yet strangely fitting. Tasha accepted it. Sacha would be delighted, and sending it to her at the Academy wouldn’t be that difficult.

  “And now, you’ve been dating Wilfried for a while. You presented him to us at the Complex and your brother likes him. He seems an interesting person to me.”

&nbs
p; Tasha blushed. “He doesn’t come from a clan nor has any power of his own.” Alliances among the powerful of Earth were still a matter of politics more than personal choice.

  “Nonsense. He is a Pilot and an Observer which makes him powerful here. And his brother is powerful himself, as you discovered. Now, a wedding is in order, don’t you think?”

  Boris

  Adheek, outer orbit, July 19, 2141,

  The door slid silently open to reveal a scrawny, pale-faced and sick-looking Irishman, reading on his bed. He raised his head to look Boris in the eyes.

  “Ah, the Russian. Come in. Your friend is welcome.”

  Boris entered, followed by the Marine guard, who stationed himself by the door. “I had wondered if you would pass by before we reached Adheek. I’ve sent a lot of mercs to kill you in your northern retreat. You’re a tough bastard to kill.”

  “I had to, Micks. I wanted my daughter to survive.”

  Josh laughed, a harsh sound. “I only wanted to survive myself.”

  They looked at each other for a long while in silence.

  “I heard you saved your daughter.”

  “Seems so. I must serve in their Marines for a long while, though. Berlin will need a lot of atonement... Do you know what will happen to you?”

  Josh grinned. “I’ve done far worse than that. For now, I’ll live. And see Adheek, another planet, man. Isn’t it beautiful? I may end up condemned to serve in their Reclaim project until the end of my life.”

  “From what I understand, this place is pure hell.”

  Josh sobered. “I’ve seen Nicaragua and survived. I’ve been in the worst cesspools we could create on Earth. As long as I see a new sunrise, I’ll take what is thrown at me and make it through. Farewell, Russian. Continue protecting your family.”

  “Farewell, Micks. I hope you survive.” I am not sure you deserve it, given the thousands you killed. But am I any better?

  Boris turned and left the small cabin, returning to his family. A new life would start the next day.

  Tasha

  Space station Acheron, July 26, 2141

  “Pilot, Charon is reporting rendez-vous completed with Ilovestars. Ambassador Don Mariano is on board with a cargo delivery for you. Guild Master Namek is also on board for the inspection. They are jumping back toward Earth.” Andrew turned from his console.

  Two interstellars in a month. That was unheard of. Tasha liked the former construction worker. He was level headed. She looked around her. Many had now joined the group of people they trusted, the spearhead of Earth’s presence in space.

  “Send our greetings to jump three area.”

  With faster than light jumps, a return message to the original location would arrive too late. But another one could reach Charon on its way. Tasha had worked it out, to continue talking with Wilfried when they were traveling. She opened a channel to the whole station, including the moon and Kalgoorlie. They would receive it after a lag, but it was better than nothing.

  “Fellow crewmembers, we have visitors from Adheek, due to arrive within a day. Guild Master Namek has been announced. They come for the inspection I warned you about. We’ve got twenty-four hours to make our station shine. Report any incident or dysfunctional equipment to Reiner in Engineering.”

  On the bridge’s screen, cheers erupted in the different modules of Acheron.

  She engaged another call.

  “Killian?”

  A drowsy newly-confirmed President answered her on voice only, without opening any video channel. “Don Mariano is coming back from Dupner with the bees. Seems there were some issues in getting them. But he’s got them.”

  Immediately, the voice became sharper. “When will he arrive?”

  “In a day or so. We just received the message they sent upon emergence. He is accompanied by Guild Master Namek for the inspection. Nashiz should have received a side message.”

  “He’s calling me now. Tasha, we’ll join you up here as soon as we can.”

  She finished informing everyone. Jeanne and Sara also needed to prepare, in case Namek wanted to see how they fared. Tasha asked also Jeanne to come and help run the station during the inspection.

  A day later, numb with exhaustion, she finally settled in a chair in the smaller cafeteria she had booked for her guests. Wilfried poured her a cup of steaming tea and she relaxed, sitting among people she knew so well. Fresh croissants baked on the moon, unimaginable a year before, were presented on a plate in the center of the table. In this small office, she recounted the story of the past months.

  “Congratulations, Pilots, President, Envoy,” began Kilet. “The real congratulations, not the one for the networks, both Federation and local. You won over the opposition. In my experience, the first years are the most critical and you are beyond that stage. Your station is fit and working. She needs to be improved, but my report will confirm it’s now part of the trade network of the Federation, fit to receive interstellar trade if needed.”

  This was not the highest status they could reach, but close enough to leave Tasha speechless.

  “I also received a report from Observer Noul before we leave. His praise of you all will be noted by the Federation’s Council.”

  Leopold and Wilfried beamed. The Envoy smirked as if to say, “This is what we were here to do.”

  Doubts resurfaced in Tasha’s mind, in this place where, for once, she could say them aloud. “Thank you, Guild Master. I fear the future is still uncertain. We didn’t find the real puppeteers. With Susanna and Lord Burroughs dead, we cannot reach further into their organization, beyond finding simple goons. The information provided by Josh and Boris is indirect at best. Our supply chain is too tight for my taste, and popular support limited.”

  The Envoy laughed, surprising them all. “Dear Tasha, you rarely find the puppeteers. They have sunk a fortune into this endeavor, and it will cripple their attacks for a while. The purpose is not to defeat them but to make their next attack more difficult. Improve your supply chain and let Killian do the politics.”

  “Can we switch seats? I’d love to play space trading,” asked Killian demurely. “And you shouldn’t say we didn’t catch puppeteers. Two powers fell. It covered the tracks of all others who had been involved, but it will make many among them cautious. Too many have died in recent times. Elisabeth Cattlin will find it harder to recruit them from now on.”

  “Emily’s foster mother? What trouble is that family making now?” asked Don Mariano.

  Killian replied, “Ambassador, we have no direct proof, nothing explicit. But I suspect she was behind a lot of this. We will monitor her. She will be busy hiding from us for a while.”

  “We received a strange message, sir,” intervened Wilfried. “Her uncle sends word that he supports Emily in all her endeavors and she still has friends to come back to, the day she needs them . I don’t know what this means.”

  “You talked to her uncle, boy? Do you owe him more than delivering this message?” Tasha felt a sudden tension grip her before Wilfried gave a denial and Don Mariano smiled. “Well, you’ve been meeting interesting people. Yet we’ve all a job to do. And you did it well. I will relay this message to her. With the course she is taking now, she will need it eventually. This is fortunate indeed.”

  “So, what’s next?” Kilet asked the assembly.

  “We continue cleaning our planet, build support lines for our space activities, and share knowledge with the other planets. We now have to venture abroad. We need to know more about our neighbors. I don’t want another crisis like the bees,” answered Don Mariano. “Killian, it is your turn to travel while I handle the day-to-day job. Don’t spend too much time on your trip.”

  “Secure us new opportunities and a network of supporters?” Killian replied. “Tasha would be better than me for this. But yes, I’ll do it. We need more people to know the surrounding stars.”

  All rose to leave, except Kilet.

  “You wanted to talk to me, Guild Master?” Tasha said. “Y
ou could have said so directly.”

  “I have met young Sacha.”

  Tasha had been confident in her own station for the inspection. This was the only part she had dreaded.

  “She will be a bright Pilot for the Guild. I am sure she will make it to interstellar Pilot. You did well. A station and a new Pilot. Now, let’s get to the real business.”