The Battle of Hollow Jimmy

by Becky Black

  "Keep my seat," Chervaz said to Jaff and slipped out of the row of folding chairs, to chase down the officer in charge. A short, but intense woman, smartly dressed, very clean. Military police to the core, he could see.

  "Can I speak to you a moment?"

  She gave him a look that suggested she was committing his face to memory. "Yes?"

  "I'm the editor of the Chronicle, perhaps you've--"

  "I know who you are, Mr Chervaz."

  "Ah. And your name?"

  She tapped the badge she wore, which carried a number. "That's all you need." Her gaze went to the notebook he carried and became a scowl. His pen remained poised.

  "A name is better for the paper."

  "That's your problem."

  In shorthand, he wrote ‘officer in charge refused to give her name' and noted the number on her badge. Seeing the odd characters, she frowned again.

  "Is that some kind of code?"

  "Oh, no. It's a quick method of note taking, called shorthand. Actually, your people could find it useful for making notes quickly after incidents…"

  "Did you come over here to offer me a class in shorthand or do you have a question?"

  "I just wanted to know why there are so many members of the Watch here. Are you expecting trouble?"

  "We heard there'd be a high attendance tonight and decided it would be wise to take precautions. Crowds can be dangerous." She didn't look him in the eye as she spoke. She watched his notebook. "It's a matter of public safety."

  "How did you know there'd be a high attendance?"

  "It's our business to know."

  "So, you're saying you gather intelligence as well as carry out patrols?"

  "Intelligence!" She sneered. "It's hardly a secret. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to do."

  So do I, Chervaz thought scribbling the last of the notes and then hurrying back to his chair.

  "Well?" Jaff asked. Chervaz just shrugged and Jaff clicked his tongue. "Oh well, never mind. We'll see what happens. I like a bit of cabaret anyway."

  Chervaz rolled his eyes and they sat waiting for the meeting to start.

  "You okay?" Jaff said after a moment, glancing down. Chervaz realised he was nervously tapping his pen on his notebook and made himself stop. Jaff went on. "Look, if there is trouble, just keep your head down. And don't try for the door at the back. Go for one of those two fire exits." He nodded at them.

  "Oh, it's not that," Chervaz said. "Um, the Friss is overdue back. Not by long, but…" He shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine, just delayed or something. But you know it can be dangerous out there for humans."

  "Maybe they're held up with customs or something," Jaff suggested.

  "Yes. Or engine trouble."

  Jaff scowled at once. "Not with my work, thank you so very much."

  His outraged tone made Chervaz smile. Probably worrying for nothing. Maiga could take care of herself. He had nothing to worry about.

  ~o~

  Maiga came out of the bathroom after her shower to find Max still sleeping. He lay on the bunk, the sheet pulled up only to his waist. For a moment she stood looking down at him and the question came into her mind about how many children he might have had.

  Good genetic material. That's what women were encouraged to look out for, and he qualified. Good looking, healthy, intelligent. He hadn't mentioned any children when they talked earlier, but it was quite possible he didn't even know. If he had any, none of them would have been old enough to go into service yet. Which meant they'd all have been on Earth. They'd all be… She shivered, the air cold on her naked skin. Silent, trying not to disturb him, she dressed and left the room.

  The door sighed closed behind her and she found Wixa sitting in the living area, sipping tea in a marked manner. Glancing at the time, Maiga realised she'd slept for about six hours.

  "Sorry, I should have relieved you earlier."

  "Oh don't mind me, if you're busy."

  Maiga stiffened at the cold and sarcastic tone. "I don't think that's any of your business."

  "It's my business when I see a friend messing up a good thing when it's barely even off the ground." Wixa slammed her cup down and stood up. "Chervaz is one in a thousand, and you're going to throw that away."

  "That's not your business either," Maiga said, folding her arms. She flushed and scowled, but knew her anger was directed at much at herself as at Wixa. Why had she given in to a momentary impulse like that? Max had his charms, but she already regretted it. And though she and Chervaz had made no promises to each other yet, she didn't want him to know about this. Not because she thought he expected fidelity of her, but that he expected better of her. Was she trying to sabotage things with Chervaz? The thought struck her suddenly. Why would she do that? So she never had to face telling him her real identity?

  Wixa had started slamming about in the food prep area, and as Maiga watched, she felt her anger at Wixa's interference ebb away. Wixa wasn't just a business partner any more. She just said it herself, she's a friend. And one day, Maiga would have to tell her the truth too.

  Would she though? Did she have to tell either of them? Was it even a lie? She used her real name, she just didn't tell anyone exactly which Maiga she was. Was an omission a lie?

  The door to the sleeping quarters slid open and Max stood there, showered and dressed. Wixa looked over her shoulder at him. Max didn't look at her though, just at Maiga. He smiled.

  Wixa broke a cup.

  ~o~

  The Business Guild council, occupying a long table at the far end of the room, seemed rather stunned by the size of the crowd. Their meetings were open to all residents, but this was the most open it had ever been. People still crammed into the back of the room, forced to stand, all the chairs taken long ago. Jaff leaned across to Chervaz as the chairwoman banged a paperweight on the table and called for order.

  "Just remember what I said about the fire exits, if it kicks off."

  Chervaz shook his head. He didn't like being in the middle of a brawl any more than Jaff, but he wouldn't leave before the fight, the story, ended. The room settled down and the meeting started. As dull as usual, at first. Minutes of the last meeting agreed, reporting back on the last meeting they'd had with the station management and the Klaff's response to the points raised.

  People fidgeted and murmured. A couple of guys in the chairs in front of Chervaz played cards. At one point someone in the standees at the back yelled out a suggestion that the chairwoman could liven up proceedings by taking her top off. There was a lot of scuffling in response to this, a couple of shouts and the sound of the door opening and closing.

  Looking back there, Chervaz saw the Watch officer in charge emerge from the crowd and nod at the council to continue. He made a note that the Watch quelled a small disturbance and a reminder to see if he could find out the identity of the comedian. He'd like to know how the Watch dealt with the man after those doors closed.

  After that the meeting slipped back into torpor. Jaff sat with his long legs stretched out under the seat in front of him, arms folded and eyes closed. But he opened them when Chullan's voice sounded, as soon as the chairwoman announced they would now discuss matters arising.

  "I have an important matter to raise." Chullan stood up quickly as he spoke, not allowing anyone else to get in first. The tension in the room rose at once.

  "Go ahead, Mr Chullan," the chairwoman said. "You have the floor."

  "I want to raise the serious situation that is developing with Captain Bara and the goods she has been giving away."

  Voices, not loud yet, some murmurs of agreement but also of protest came from all around the room. The chair banged her paperweight again, calling for silence. Chullan continued.

  "Her actions are threatening the established businesses on the station."

  "Threatening your profits, you mean!" Someone shouted it from the back of the room.

  "Yeah, reduce your prices!" Another anonymous voice yelled, provoking more calls for order from th
e chair.

  "I object to being accused of profiteering," Chullan said, raising his voice. "Myself and my fellow honest business owners charge fair prices. If Captain Bara sold her goods to us…"

  Some people rose in their seats, shouting him down.

  "So you can sell them on for a big profit?"

  "We charge fair prices!" Chullan yelled above the noise, turning around, facing the crowd. "If she drives us out of business where will you buy your food then? You want us all dependent on her handouts?" He turned back to the council. "Madam Chairwoman, it's not only businesses under threat, Dr Sheni's clinic is affected." He looked around. "Is she here?"

  "It's past the old girl's bedtime!"

  That shout caused some laughter, a tiny decrease in the tension. Chervaz was glad for it, almost breathless as he tried to keep up with his shorthand. The guild recorded the meetings, but a recording couldn't give you the atmosphere of tension, anger and fear in the room.

  "And how do you know so much about my bedtime, young man?" Sheni was here and her response caused more laughter, from all parts of the room. Taking advantage of the slight lull in the noise of the crowd, Chullan turned back to the council and dropped his bomb.

  "I want to make an official request, as a member in good standing of the Business Guild, that you ask the station management to ban the Trebuchet and her crew from the station."

  "Oh, that's it," Jaff said. "Two minutes, no more, before the first punch." Chervaz nodded, but impatiently, no time to listen to Jaff right now. The chairwoman banged and banged with the paperweight, shouting for order. Despite the yells of abuse directed his way, Chullan stood firm, jaw set, face defiant.

  "Mr Chullan," the chair said once she could make herself heard as the crowd calmed enough. "We will present your request, but you realise it's very unlikely the management will agree. They rarely do anything to restrict legitimate trade."

  "Legitimate trade?" Chullan shouted. "The woman is a damn pirate and everyone here knows it!"

  There is was. The P word. Protests came from around the room, most from drifties. Lifers tried to shout them down. Now someone had said it suddenly everyone seemed to be yelling it.

  Pirate. Pirate. Pirate.

  "Captain Bara is registered with the station as a trader in salvage," the chair pointed out.

  "What she's registered as is neither here nor there," Chullan said. "She is a pirate and she has to be stopped."

  It was Chullan who got stopped. A man sitting near him jumped up and pasted him across the jaw. Chullan, too long out of the military to react quickly enough, came nowhere close to blocking the punch. He went down and the rest of the room rose up.

  The chairwoman made a last desperate effort to restore order, slamming her paperweight down so hard it broke. She tossed it away looking disgusted, and then ducked as a chair flew across the room.

  "Time to go." Jaff grabbed Chervaz's arm, pulled him from his seat, and tried to push him towards the fire exit.

  The room descended into chaos. Some people fled for the exits, but many fought among the scattered chairs. The council, with too many fighters between them and any of the doors, tipped up their table to use as cover.

  "Jaff." Chervaz pulled his arm away and pointed. "Help Dr Sheni."

  "Shit," Jaff muttered and headed out. Near the front of the hall, but cut off from the exits, Sheni and Mrs Jasini were against the wall, Jasini protecting the older woman. Nobody actually attacked them, but Chervaz saw one man stray too close. Jasini put a hand out and seemed to just push him away. But after a few steps, he tottered, fell over and started crawling away. Maybe Jasini didn't need Jaff's help after all.

  But Jaff had already reached them. He picked the tiny Sheni up bodily and, with Jasini following, edged his way along the wall, until he could deposit the doctor behind the cover of the council's upturned table,

  Suddenly people were coming into the room, not leaving, pushing their way in. They wore the Watch badges. So many of them, Chervaz thought, as they started breaking up the fights. He hadn't realised there were so many, and just how had they got here so--

  He didn't have the chance to finish that thought. He was crouched down by the wall, trying to observe while being invisible, but his invisibility didn't avail him anything against the chair that hit him in the head.

  Chapter 21

  Maiga stopped at the door of rented quarters on level two and tapped in the code the agency had given them.

  "You'll want to change that code," she said to Max as the door slid open.

  "But then how will you sneak in to surprise me in the night?"

  Maiga laughed, but stopped quickly. She couldn't encourage that. He liked to flirt; he'd even been charming Wixa on the way home, despite her hostility. But Maiga didn't intend a repeat of what had happened on the Friss.

  She called for the lights and they illuminated a set of single quarters, with basic furnishings.

  "Nothing fancy," she said, "But clean, and… Well, they're fine, really. I have no complaints with mine."

  He dropped his bags and jacket. "Thanks for organising them for me."

  "No problem. Your rent is paid up for six weeks. That should give you time to get yourself sorted out."

  He nodded. He had some savings he'd told her on the journey back, and they might still be accessible. Once he got at them, he'd pay her back he promised. But he couldn't live on his savings forever.

  "There's work available on the station, or off it," she said. "An officer like you should have no trouble finding something. The factories and industrial facilities are always looking for people for supervisory jobs. Or transport and cargo ships." He grimaced, unimpressed. Well he'd have to get used to it, like everyone else. Back to civilisation. "You should register with the job placement agency. It's in the marketplace."

  Max winced. They'd only skirted the marketplace after they left the ship and headed to the living areas, but for a moment she thought he was going to have a panic attack at the crowds. He'd have to get used to them too. This place grew more crowded all the time.

  "Will you give me a tour?" Max said. "I mean, I have no idea where to find anything around here. Where do I buy food or get a haircut?"

  Maiga walked over and tapped on the computer panel to bring up the station's information directory.

  "You should be able to find everything you need here." Pointing her snapper at the panel, she went on. "That's my contact details. Call me if you need any help."

  "Maiga…" He moved close to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're talking as if you're just dropping me off and leaving."

  "I am off the station a lot."

  "That's not quite what I meant." His hand moved down her arm. Under her jacket she felt the skin thrill with goosebumps. But despite that, she moved away from him, breaking the contact.

  "Max, I'm involved with someone here on the station. I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that before."

  "Oh. I see." He shook his head, and then raked a hand through his hair. "Right, well, I don't want to interfere with that of course."

  "I've enjoyed spending time with you and I… ah, I hope I helped you through this difficult time. But we can only be friends."

  "Okay." He didn't seem too unhappy about it, which ticked Maiga off. Not that she wanted him to be broken hearted. But… Oh what the hell, he was too young for her anyway. And he'd have his pick of the women on the station.

  "I should go." She felt awkward now. Where did you go after that conversation? "I'll let you settle in."

  He nodded and looked around again at his new home. A troubled expression crossed his face and he hugged his arms across his chest.

  "Are you okay?" Maiga asked. "Are the quarters okay?"

  "Yes, I, they're fine. Just a little claustrophobic."

  After what he'd been used to on the planet, that wasn't surprising.

  "You'll get used to it."

  She had to get out of here. He had a little boy lost look, which made her want to go a
nd hug him to make him feel safe. And that would lead only one place. She hardened her heart. He's a big boy. He'll be fine.

  "I'll see you later, Max."

  ~o~

  If she hadn't had to drop Max off in his quarters her next stop would have been the first. As the Friss approached the station, she'd sent Chervaz a quick message to say they were arriving. A reply came only a minute or two later, to say that by the time she got in, he'd be in his quarters.

  So she hurried there, eager to see him, realising how much she'd missed him, despite the… distractions on the trip. She had no intention of "confessing" anything about the most distracting part of it. Not from shame, even if she did wish that she hadn't given in to the temptation. But because she felt no obligation to. She didn't owe him a confession. Not yet. Perhaps one day in the future, if she gave him certain promises. But not now.

  "Maiga!"

  His smile and exclamation when he opened the door wiped away any final feelings of doubt she had. Every time she went away she should come and see him as soon as she returned. Because that smile must be the best welcome home anyone could get. She stepped inside, into his arms and kissed him, leaning in against his broad chest, broad as a wall.

  Only after she pulled back from the kiss and looked up at him, did she notice the faded bruising around his eye.

  "What happened to your face?"

  "There was some trouble, at a Business Guild meeting, I'll tell you in a minute. But are you okay? And Wixa? What delayed you?"

  "Oh, we had an adventure." He looked intrigued at once. "Come on," she said, taking his arm and moving away from the door. "We both have tales to tell. Let's not do it standing up."

  "Of course, sorry. Would you like some tea?"

  He made them tea while she sat on the couch. In a moment he joined her and she moved close and let him put an arm around her shoulders. That felt good. She told him about the "adventure" of finding Max, and he hung on her words, like a man who loved a good story naturally would.

  "You have to introduce me to him," he said, when she finished the story. "This would make a wonderful story for the paper."