The Criminal Streak

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  But it hadn’t worked that way. Davi had bought Curt and he had arrested Georg and his group and they were now on their way to a new planet. A new planet! The idea was hard to grasp. Growing up, he’d always thought he’d like to do some space travel. But to be part of the colonization of a new planet….

  What would they do there? What would keep them alive? Would they just be dropped off to fend for themselves or would someone help them get organized? Where was this planet? Who had found it? There were so many questions to ask and no answers. But maybe it wasn’t true. What if it was just a way for the guards to torment the prisoners? He smiled grimly. If so, then he had years of that type of treatment ahead of him.

  Georg had been half listening to a commotion in the cell next door. Although these were separate apartments, the walls between were made of thin metal and most of what was happening in one cell could be heard in the next.

  “Everyone up,” a guard yelled into the room.

  “Why?” Georg asked.

  “Just do as you are told.” He watched through the bars while Georg and the other three men in the cell climbed off their bunks. “Gather your clothes and blanket and stand in the middle of the room.”

  “What’s happening?” Georg looked at the others. Was this part of daily life here?

  They shrugged and pulled their blankets off the bunks. Those with extra clothes picked them up. When they were in the centre, the guard opened the door.

  He pointed at Georg. “You. Come here.”

  Georg stepped out into the hallway where the prisoners from the cell next door stood in line. Another guard slipped the metal ring on Georg’s head again. He knew what the ring meant from his admittance to the prison. The first guard returned to the cell and beckoned another man out.

  One by one they were placed in the line and fitted with the metal ring. They marched a few steps and waited while the prisoners from the next cell were lined up.

  “Where are we going?” one of the prisoners asked.

  “You’ll soon find out,” a guard answered.

  “Are we going to that planet?” There was fear in his voice.

  “You’ll soon find out.”

  At each cell, the same questions were asked and the same answer given. After that, there was silence except for the trudging of the prisoners. When all the prisoners from their hallway were in line, they were led along the maze of corridors, up a flight of stairs and through more corridors of the ship. This was a slow drawn out process as most of them had spent many years just sitting on their bunks or standing in their cells. Their muscles had shrunk and they weren’t used to walking in their bare feet. They passed the cages of the murderers who hollered at them and reached through the bars. As they neared the end of one hallway they heard clamouring ahead of them. There was screeching, bellowing, crying, and banging.

  When they rounded the corner they found a large chamber with a crowd of both male and female prisoners fighting amongst themselves and with the guards. Some were trying to rid themselves of the metal ring while others were trying to attack the guards for the keys; some had fallen to their knees and were crying, begging anyone to kill them. Even the jolts of electricity to their brains didn’t stop the desperation that pushed them.

  “You can’t make us go!”

  “I won’t go!”

  “Let us stay!”

  “I’m going to die anyway. Why not kill me now.”

  The guards from Georg’s group ran to assist their fellow jailers. They drew their stun guns and soon many of the prisoners were thrashing on the floor. The others reluctantly quit their fighting and stood, again, in their line.

  “Get up,” one of the guards yelled. “Get up.”

  When none of them responded the guards kicked at them.

  “You others,” another guard gestured. “Help them up.”

  The ones nearest the fallen prisoners placed their hands under arms and lifted awkwardly. The stunned prisoners had little sensation in their limbs and could barely stand.

  While he was waiting, Georg looked around him. The corridor they had come down was one of three that met in the large chamber. Along the wall of the chamber was a huge door. Above it were windows with blackness behind.

  He had felt anger, frustration, and fear since arriving on the ship and those feelings had doubled when he heard the news of the flight to a new planet. But now, the realization that it was really happening, that they were actually being sent now, increased those emotions tenfold and his legs threatened to collapse under him. He had to grab onto the prisoner ahead of him to keep from falling.

  As soon as the prisoners were in line again one of the guards hit a switch on the wall and the huge door slid sideways. On the other side, a temporary passageway had been hooked to the outside wall of the ship. There were no lights and the other end could not be seen.

  The first prisoners in line peered down the hall while those behind strained to see over the ones ahead of them. There were gasps and frightened whispers.

  “Where does it end?”

  “How far is it?”

  “I don’t think I can make it.”

  “Can they really make us go?”

  One of the guards stepped to the front. He held a flashlight in the air.

  “All the guards have these,” he hollered. “There will be enough light for you to see where you are going, so stay in an orderly line and follow me.”

  He turned and began walking into the darkness. The first in the line of prisoners refused to go forward and no one pushed from behind. They knew that on the outside of the wall was black, empty space.

  “Get moving!” The guards yelled and shoved the prisoners closest to them. These bumped against the ones ahead and the effect was a slow advance into the passageway. The stunned prisoners were dragged along until they recovered enough to walk themselves.

  Georg’s row fell in behind the first line. Shadows on the walls changed from large and looming to small and pinched as the flashlights were swung back and forth by the guards. There was full light near the guards but halfway between them was a dim section where prisoners banged into each other or tripped over feet.

  The long procession arrived at a door. The guard in front pushed a button and the door opened. The chamber inside was bright and the prisoners pushed eagerly towards it. They were almost at a run as they hurried into it glad to be out of the passageway. Once inside, though, they had second thoughts as the door closed behind them.

  “What is this?”

  “Where are we?”

  “I want to go back.”

  They huddled inside the chamber. The first guard pulled a lever and one wall raised to reveal a line of keepers. They were standing on a ledge slightly higher than the floor. The room behind them was full of monitors, one of which showed the passageway. The rest displayed various corridors and rooms of the ship. Each keeper had a gun and while their uniforms were different from the guards on the prisons, the expression on their faces was the same: make one mistake and I’ll use this.

  “Those are trance guns,” the guard said. “A hit from one of them and you will almost lose consciousness. You will know what is going on around you but you won’t be able to control your movements. A second hit and you will die.”

  A woman stood apart from the keepers. She was dressed in a space flight uniform. She looked over the group. “You have both males and females here.”

  “Yes,” the lead guard answered.

  “I requested that they be brought separately.”

  “This is the way we were told to bring them.”

  “But having them together will cause nothing but problems.”

  “I’m only following orders,” the prison guard said.

  “Well, I’m going to separate them. You may remove the rings.”

  The guard turned to the prisoners. “You will stand still while we undo the rings.”

  The keepers watched while the rings were removed. Georg noticed a few of the prisoners glancing
sideways as if wondering about their chances of escape, but no one moved. He’d already decided there was no chance right now, but he would keep looking.

  The guards gathered up their rings and returned to the passageway closing the door behind them. The prisoners looked at the line of keepers. Although some of the jailers from the prisons were accompanying the fleet, these keepers were in charge now.

  The prisoners had come straight from their cells and the odour that permeated the prison ships had come with them. The keepers, unable to let down their vigilance, could only wrinkle their noses at the smell.

  “You are now on the Spaceship Wenelyn,” the woman in the flight uniform said. “I am Space Captain Ires and I am in charge of this ship. You will be led to a room where you will be assigned a sleeping place. That room is where you will stay until the end of the voyage. You can walk around in it but you cannot leave it. You will each be given a plate but due to the danger of some of you making weapons, there will be no eating utensils. The plate is expected to last the journey. Your food will be brought to you in large containers and you will serve yourselves from them. Each day there will be a bucket of water provided for you to wash your plate and hands after every meal.”

  She pointed to a small door at one end of the chamber. “When that door opens you will file through quietly and peacefully. Guards on the other side will lead you to your rooms.”

  Again, as on the Ceriem, they were led along corridors and up steps. At one point the women prisoners were sent down a different hallway. Georg was relieved to be able to walk without the ring on his head. He watched where they went, noting each turn and each set of stairs. If he could break out of that room and find his way back to the passageway, he’d be able to return to the Ceriem. Once there, he might eventually be able to stow away on a shuttle heading to Megalopolis One.

  But even as he thought about it he knew it wouldn’t work. The monitors would pick him up as soon as he stepped out of the room. And what would he do if he did manage to get back to the megalopolis? He couldn’t live there so he’d have to return to the Fringe. And what was there for him? Nothing. Davi now operated the tobacco business and it was unlikely that he would hire Georg. And he certainly wouldn’t let him into the Tech Dump to get his money. Without the money from the tobacco sales, he couldn’t buy the bar. He’d be one of those people who wandered the streets looking for someone to rob and then heading to the dole train for rotten food and worn clothes.

  And there was Jawn. He was just a college kid. How would he look after himself? He had no experience dealing with convicts or their way of life. He’d be dead within a week. Since it was his fault that Jawn was on his way to the colony planet, Georg gave up any more thought about escape. He owed Jawn that much.

  The room they entered was large with beds bolted in rows on the floor. Hanging in two tiers above the beds were hammocks. On each bed and hammock was a plate. The first prisoners in the door didn’t wait to be assigned a sleeping place. They rushed for the beds and sprawled on them. The guards turned their backs. It mattered little to them where the prisoners slept. And it saved a lot of fighting now. That would happen when the next group arrived and also wanted the beds.

  Georg took a bed near the door. He would save the hammock above in case Jawn was assigned to this ship.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The animals and farmers were settled on the transport Bodilyn. A shuttle was heading to the transport Condoren with the scientists, and craftspeople. A second one carried the governor, the judge, and the police officers. The atmosphere on this one was somber.

  Leader One sat with her lips compressed and her arms rigidly entwined across her stomach. She was now Governor Lind and was totally livid; had been since yesterday noon. Once the planet had been chosen and the arrangements started for the flight she’d been on stand by to go as governor unless someone else came forward for the job.

  She’d immediately came up with the plan to approach Leader Three about his wife’s death since she really did believe his wife hadn’t committed suicide. She decided she would only use the plan if necessary and it had proven necessary. She’d been elated when Leader Two said he thought Leader Three would volunteer to go as governor rather than risk being accused of his wife’s death. She’d been so confident that she hadn’t packed or made any arrangements to leave.

  But, apparently he hadn’t believed she and Leader Two had the proof and he hadn’t applied for the job as governor. She’d only found out when she’d received a message to be packed and ready to board the shuttle to the Condoren in 24 hours. At first she thought Leader Two was playing a joke on her and she’d called him to have a laugh.

  “I never sent you a metal note,” Leader Two said.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, her heart sinking.

  “I’m sure.”

  Her hands shook as she phoned Leader Nine. He confirmed she was going.

  “How long will I be there?” she managed to ask.

  “Until we find a replacement or three years.”

  “Three years?” She was horrified.

  “Yes, if the settlement is self-sufficient in three years then you can return home.”

  “Will you be looking for a replacement in the mean time?”

  “We’ll keep circulating the posting.”

  After hanging up she’d headed to Leader Three’s apartment, but he wasn’t home. She waited outside as long as she could then hurried back to her place. She had no choice but to go to the planet, and she had to contact her sister to watch her plant while she was gone. She would be on regular wages and she was going to keep her apartment.

  Now, sitting on the shuttle, she could hardly contain her anger. It was so unfair, so very unfair. She was being forced into this job and she didn’t even know for how long. She’d been told, though, that there would be weekly contact with their home planet through the computer on the spaceship that was staying with the colony and she planned to keep the Leaders updated on her progress and remind them that she was only a temporary governor.

  * * *

  The mood of the scientists and craftspeople on the other shuttle to the transport Condoren was one of excitement. Everyone had volunteered for the job because of the adventure and the satisfaction of helping establish their civilization on a new planet.

  At the Condoren Beti and Tyl were among the last to leave the shuttle. The line was slow as everyone had to stop at the notification board to see which apartment they’d been assigned to. Once they knew the number and deck it was on, they went to a desk where they were given a pass card to their room and a map with directions on how to get there. No one was in a hurry. After all, they would be on the transport for weeks.

  The door closed behind them and once their shuttle was unhooked from the short passageway, the second shuttle flew up. They were still in line when the door opened again and the police officers began to unload. They were in their uniforms and grumbled loudly at having to wait.

  “What’s the matter with them?” Beti asked.

  “I heard rumours that they’ve been forced to take this assignment,” Sandi, a woman they’d met on the shuttle, said.

  “How could anyone be forced to go to another planet?”

  “I heard that they were taking bribes and blackmailing people and committing other crimes.”

  “Are you sure they’re the police?” Tyl asked.

  “Sounds like the only difference between them and the convicts are the uniforms,” Beti grinned.

  Beti and Tyl found their names and apartment numbers and picked up their maps. The crowd in the corridors was thinning as everyone headed to their rooms. Beti and Ty were in apartments across from each other on the second deck. They climbed the stairs and passed open doors where they could see people unpacking their luggage that had been sent ahead. In some rooms two or three people were sitting on the beds chatting.

  They looked at each other and grinned. “I still can’t believe this is happening,” Beti said.

&n
bsp; “Yeah. Who would have thought a year ago that we would be heading to another planet to help start a colony?”

  They had to stand aside as three police officers pushed past them and hurried down the hall.

  “They sure aren’t very polite, are they?” Beti said.

  “I wonder if we are going to be regulated by them when we’re on the planet,” Tyl said thoughtfully.

  “I sure hope not.”

  At their apartments, they put in the pass cards and opened their doors. On each of their beds were their cases of luggage. Lying beside them was a metal note advising them of when and where their meals would be served.

  “Looks like we will have six other people at our table,” Tyl said, eyeing the seating arrangements.

  “I’m keeping my fingers crossed that none of them are police officers,” Beti said.

  “Well, our first meal is in two hours,” Tyl said. “That will give us time to unpack and find the dining room.”

  “Okay, knock when you are ready,” Beti said.

  Beti closed her door. She liked her privacy and the idea of the police officers or anyone else being able to look in as they passed was distasteful. She looked around her room. It was small with just enough room for a single bed, a closet, and a tiny bathroom with a cleansing compartment and a vacupotty.

  She unpacked the clothes and other essentials she’d brought for the journey; the rest, for while she was on the planet, were in a trunk in the storage section of the transport. When her apartment was in order, Beti looked at her watch. There was time. She locked her door then went to her closet. She’d pushed her smallest bag into the back corner without opening it. Now she pulled it out again and reached inside, bringing out her pipe, some tobacco, and her lighter.

  She tamped the tobacco into the pipe, lit it, and drew deeply. There was an immediate feeling of relaxation and relief. She hadn’t had a smoke since this morning. She looked down at the case, which was full of tobacco. It was all that she’d been able to buy in the short time since they’d been given notice they were going. She knew it would not last her the year and she’d seriously thought about not making the trip. But she’d hated the idea of missing out on this adventure so she decided she would take her chances. She’d also decided to ration herself to one or two smokes a day, so when she ran out, hopefully the withdrawal that she’d heard so much about wouldn’t be too bad.