by PP Corcoran
“Young lady, if you’re dressed for a night out at the club instead of a school trip to the Calley Redlazore mines, then so help me you’ll be grounded until your eighteenth birthday.” The matter of fact delivery left no room for uncertainty.
It might only have been a couple of months until her birthday, but the thought of being grounded horrified Jodee. To be cut off from the outside world and the circle of friends that she had worked so hard to cultivate since the family had arrived on Agate the year before? Things went from bad to worse for the stricken teenager as her twin brother Chris entered the kitchen dressed in sturdy walking boots, cargo pants and his favorite hunting jacket. Chris couldn’t resist the opportunity to add to his sister’s misery. He might have inherited his love of the outdoors from his father, but he had undoubtedly inherited his mother’s wicked sense of humor.
“That would of course mean that she couldn’t come with us to dinner with Kyle tonight at Beneto’s.” The smirk on his face widened as his sister let out a high-pitched shriek and, with a clatter of heels, fled the room in search of more appropriate clothing.
Now that he could swallow again, Dave managed to pass a comment of his own. “Isn’t it amazing that threatening to cut her off from the twenty-four hours contact she seems to have with all her friends has such an effect on her?”
The strange look that Sue gave him and the shaking of her head as she returned to her cereal caused Dave to think that he was missing something. Chris lifted an apple and crunched into it as he said, “Yeah, Dad. That’s exactly what it is.”
Dave was missing something, but the buzzing of Sue’s wrist comm stopped him from pursuing it further. Sue glanced at the caller ID and let out an exasperated sigh as she put down her spoon, mouthing, “It’s the school,” before heading off for the quiet of the living room to take the call. The clumping of heavy boots was the sign that Jodee was returning. With a final swallow, Dave ensured that his mouth was empty this time before his daughter entered the room; however, he need not have worried, for his daughter was now dressed virtually identically to her brother. Boots, cargo pants, warm jacket, and this time her hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail. With a face that shouted out ‘leave me alone,’ she grabbed a fork and plonked herself down beside her father and casually helped herself to his last pancake. Dave still marveled that she could eat like a horse and never get fat. That reminded him, he’d better grab his gym gear before Sue got on his case again. The thought of the delicious steaks that were Beneto’s specialty made his mouth salivate. It might cost an arm and a leg, but what the hell, Kyle was picking up the tab and he wasn’t short a penny or two.
Sue appeared in the kitchen doorway, and the dark scowl on her face could only mean that the call from the school had not been good news. Time I was out of here, thought Dave as he picked up his plate and headed for the dishwasher in a vain attempt to avoid eye contact with Sue. He only managed a couple of steps before Sue shared the contents of the call with the entire kitchen.
“The principal has just informed me that, very conveniently considering it’s Friday and perfect weather for golf, that Mr. Haig has called in sick and therefore he will be unable to act as escort for the grade twelve visit to the Calley mines…”
Jodee let out a whoop of delight while a look of disappointment clouded Chris’ face. The boy liked nothing more than getting dirty, while over the last couple of years, Jodee had mostly lost her tomboy characteristics and begun dressing and acting like the young lady she was fast becoming. Jodee was all set to head back to her room to get changed for the second time that morning when a raised hand from her mother stopped her dead in her tracks. Dave winced internally. This isn’t going to be good.
“The principal, in his wisdom, has therefore decided that my meeting with the finance board can be postponed to next Friday and I can fill Mr. Haig’s spot as escort.”
Her statement was immediately followed by three very different reactions. Jodee’s head dropped with a whispered, “No”. Chris gave a fist pump as a satisfied smile creased his face, more for the fact that his sister was going to hate the trip than the fact he was looking forward to it. Dave, on the other hand, could read the disappointment in his wife’s eyes. He knew how much preparation she had put into the meeting with the finance board, the hours of trawling the data nets to build up the most suitable educational routes for the students to attain their goals.
Before her arrival at the school as a guidance counselor, her department had been mostly sidelined. Kids on Agate only ever became one of two things, a miner or a farmer. That had all changed with the discovery of the huge reserves of Redlazore and the explosive economic expansion that had brought. The multi-planet conglomerates were pouring money into the local economy hand over fist as they raced to exploit the untapped veins of the rich ore, and to do that they had begun a massive building program not only on the planet’s surface, but also in orbit as they built up ore processing plants and heavy lift capability to get the refined ore to the waiting cargo ships, which in turn required orbital docking and handling facilities. In what was considered an unbelievably smart move by the Governor Argos Vandenberg, he had insisted that although Agate might not have all the necessary technicians, construction workers, port controllers and the like, it became a part of the mining licensees that the conglomerates must employ registered Agate citizens at all levels, evenly with those the conglomerates brought in from external sources. If an Agate citizen didn’t have the necessary qualifications, then it was the conglomerate’s responsibility to offer suitable training, even if that meant that the conglomerate had to fork out the cost of an off-world college or university residential degree. This simple act had opened the way to a very bright, and well paid, future for the current crop of school and college kids as the conglomerates invested heavily in bringing the Agate educational system up to a standard that could provide them with locally sourced qualified personnel, rather than going to the expense of sending them to one of the more developed worlds. Sue was determined to give her students the best guidance she could in their suddenly expanded world. That was the purpose of the meeting, and Dave hated to see her so frustrated. Saying that, he had known her long enough to avoid any unnecessary platitudes. Nothing he could say was going to change the fact that the meeting was delayed. Instead, he placed his utensils in the dishwasher and gave her a small hug. Sue shrugged her shoulders before pushing Dave away with both arms, a semi-smile playing on her lips. “Get off me, you big softy.”
“Yes ma’am,” said Dave in his best serious voice. Moment past, Dave slipped on his jacket before lifting his data pad, slipping it into an inside pocket. He had almost made it to the door before he remembered his gym bag. Turning on his heel, he was confronted by Sue standing directly behind him, his gym bag hanging from one hand.
“Forget something?”
“Only my goodbye kiss.” And with that he pulled her close and locked his lips on hers.
The sound of loud retching came from the kitchen doorway, the sight of Chris bent at the waist, two fingers in his mouth while his sister looked on in disgust.
“Aren’t you two too old for that sort of thing now?” Jodee’s voice was full of disapproval.
Dave played to his audience by wrapping his arms around Sue and bending her at the waist as he continued to kiss her until they were both forced to come up for air.
“You better go now or I won’t be responsible for my actions,” Sue said in a low, husky voice.
Dave flicked a glance at Jodee and Chris still standing in the doorway. “What about them?”
Sue tilted her head back and looked at the kids before turning to press her mouth next to his ear, ensuring that her next words were said loud enough that they could hear. “I know how to make them disappear. Permanently.”
Jodee let out a disgusted sigh. “OK, I’ve seen enough. I’m scarred for life.” She headed back into the kitchen to find more food. Chris followed along, no doubt wondering what he could do
next to annoy his sister.
The two Carter adults each let out a very childish laugh as they stood upright again, Dave lifting his gym bag and threw it over a shoulder. Sue checked surreptitiously, ensuring the kids had in fact gone into the kitchen, before her finger tracked little circles on his arm.
“Perhaps, Mr. Carter, we could visit the cabin this weekend.”
Dave couldn’t fail to see the playfulness in her hazelnut eyes. “Mrs. Carter, what about the kids?”
“Who mentioned the kids?” said Sue, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
“You, Mrs. Carter, are a bad woman.”
Sue flung her head back as she let out a wicked laugh. “I know. And you wouldn’t have me any other way.”
Now it was Dave’s turn to laugh. “Ain't that the truth. What say we head up to the cabin early Saturday morning and stay overnight? Not even that pair can cause too much trouble in one day on their own. Can they?”
Sue frowned before answering. “I’ll ask Lucy next door to keep an eye on things.”
“Then you, Mrs. Carter, have a date.” Dave released her and headed out the front door of the house, which obediently opened as he approached and closed behind him. There was a spring in his step as Dave made his way down the path, past his neatly mowed lawn, and joined the sidewalk. The local sun was just cresting the high trees, behind which Dave could just make out the shadowy shapes which marked the growing financial center of Gemini City. A glint of sunlight caught his attention as it reflected off the towering edifice that had to be the local offices of Henderson Shipping. If I concentrate hard enough, I wonder if I can make out my office? wondered Dave as he walked the few hundred meters to the pusher-train station from where he could catch a train which would deposit him in the very basement of his office block. Not for the first time he wondered at how much his life--no, forget that, his entire family’s lives had changed since that fateful meeting with Maddix Henderson only a year and a half before. He had a lot to be grateful for and a little babysitting wasn’t too much to ask. Was it? Besides, Kyle was nearly twenty and if old man Maddix thought that his grandson was old enough to learn the ropes of the family business on the fastest growing office in the entire League spanning Henderson Shipping, then he didn’t have much need of someone like Dave looking over his shoulder. Maybe Maddix just liked the idea of having Dave and Sue, people who had known Kyle since he was a baby and, when Jodee and Chris had come along, spent virtually every summer with them in the Carters’ old cabin in the middle of the seemingly endless woods on Eriti Prime where Dave and Sue had treated him like one of their own. Dave had taught Kyle how to hunt and shoot while still respecting the forest alongside Jodee and Chris. Perhaps having Kyle around had distracted him from all the times that Sue had had to miss family moments because of pressure from work. Pressure that Dave had managed to mostly avoid by changing his job as he and his wife had realized that parenthood was not just something that they could do part time. Dave’s employers at the time had jumped at the chance to have him on Eriti Prime full time, and what he had seen as a small sacrifice had allowed Sue to pursue her career. That had all been fine until the day that Sue had returned home one day and the strong, cool-headed woman that Dave had always known had taken one look at her nearly grown children and had fled to the bedroom. When Dave had summoned up the courage to enter, he had found her curled up on the bed sobbing.
“I’ve missed so much of their lives, Dave,” she said with a voice wracked by tears and emotion. Dave had wrapped his arms around his wife and vowed there and then that he would do whatever needed to be done to bring his wife back into the lives of the children she had mothered. The following morning, once Jodee and Chris had been packed off to school, the Carters had stood side by side in their boss’ office as they handed in their resignation letters. No matter how much their boss had tried to persuade, goad or threaten them, the Carters had stood firm. They were leaving.
It was only a short distance to their home from their previous employer’s office, but by the time they got there Dave’s wrist comm informed him that he had a personal message from Henderson Shipping Head Office. The message was simple. ‘Heard you are now available. Expect Margaret soon.’
The journey from Gideon, fourth planet of the Yalan system and home of the largest shipping carrier in the entire League, must have been done at record-breaking speed, for only nine days later the admittance chime had rung out and when Sue opened the door, she was confronted by the sight of the slightly matronly form of Margaret Finlay, personal secretary to Maddix Henderson, sole owner and chief executive of Henderson Shipping. Margaret had carried the job proposal that had brought the Carter family all the way from the Core Worlds to the border world of Agate. And, thought Dave, I will be forever grateful that she did. A chance for a new life where they could leave the past behind and start afresh.
By now Dave had reached the entrance steps that descended to the pusher-train terminal. Pausing, he craned his neck to look high up into the cloudless Agate sky. Stuff it, it’s a nice day and I’m in no hurry. I think I’ll just walk to work and enjoy the sunshine. With that, a smiling Dave Carter set off on the five kilometers walk into the heart of Gemini City, whistling as he went, thoughts wandering to Saturday night. Damn, he was a lucky man.
CHAPTER FOUR
Another Day at the Office
H HOUR MINUS THREE HOURS
The almost silent whooshing sound of the elevator doors opening went unnoticed in the already bustling offices of Henderson Shipping on the twenty-eighth floor of the glass-edifice office building in the heart of Gemini City. Dave Carter stepped into the reception area, just another mid-level executive employed by the huge multi-planet shipping line that carried the majority of the reason for the human colonization of Agate, the mineral Redlazore: key ingredient in the Cazmir Engine, off the planet and across the light years that separated it from the distant industrial heart of the League.
Agate was a typical mining colony that had started off life as simply a few thousand gruff miners searching out the rare Redlazore, but as the veins of the mineral proved to be more extensive than anyone could ever have imagined, the numbers of colonists had exploded. The few thousand had soon become the tens of thousands, which in turn had become the hundreds of thousands as people were drawn to the promise of wealth offered by the Redlazore and the chance to get away from the overcrowded planets at the heart of the League of Planets. The miners had become the minority as settlers and their families had arrived to exploit the fertile soil of Agate and its bountiful oceans. From the initial discovery of Redlazore five years before, Agate had grown to a mid-sized colony of nearly eight million inhabitants, spread out over a planet one and a half times the size of Earth. With people had come the need for law and order. Agate might have started out as a simple mining world, but most of the now sizable population had come from within the League, a political and military alliance of over 100 human colonized worlds, ranging from the heavily industrialized Core Worlds to the sparser populated mining and agricultural worlds such as Agate. A governor had been appointed who answered directly to the League Permanent Secretariat, the administrative branch of the League, and if the population growth continued at its current rate, most agreed that in another two decades Agate would be in line for its own seats in the General Assembly and the Planetary Council, allowing it to dispense with the governor that currently controlled the planet.
None of this seemed to matter to Dave as he made his way past the female receptionist with the seemingly permanent smile on her face, who bid him good morning the same way she had done since the first day he had started twelve months before. Dave graced her with his most charming smile and headed for his small office halfway down the plush carpeted corridor. On the short walk, he passed more staff members intently going about their business. It never occurred to Dave that he tended to meet more female staff members than male.
The intuitive door control noted Dave’s approach and silently slid ope
n, revealing a sparse office which consisted of a desk and a chair. The walls were bare, with no pleasant images of family or friends, no pieces of paper mounted in gaudy frames declaring to the world how well Dave had done at university or which club or society he was a member of. It wasn’t that these things were unimportant to Dave; it was simply that he didn’t feel the need to attempt to impress people. Not that many people came to his office anyway, well, not unless they had to.
When Dave had first arrived at the plush office complex a year ago, he had been greeted by the same fixed-smile receptionist as today, and she’d welcomed him in the same fashion that she did any visitor to the offices, politely asking his name and purpose of his visit that day. Dave had replied in the same manner as he had handed over his coded identification and a small data chip containing his corporate assignment instructions. It was the latter that had caused a momentary wrinkling of her otherwise perfectly smooth face. Dave’s corporate post was designated as ‘consultant’; a consultant of what was not listed, just a note designating him a specific office number and granting him access to every room in the building, every file and personnel record of every employee or supplier associated with the company and, perhaps of most interest, instructions for the finance department to establish an off-the-books account in a dummy corporation’s name with unlimited funds and only one named director. Dave. The receptionist had been one of many staff that had joined the company since it set up offices here on Agate, and like many, she had emigrated from the Core Worlds where rivalry between corporations was intense, so intense that it was not unheard of, indeed it was standard practice in many multi-system corporations, to employ ‘consultants’ whose real job was corporate espionage. The receptionist looked up at Dave with fresh eyes: tall, stocky frame, short neat jet-black hair, and wearing a suit that he didn’t look comfortable in, but it was his eyes more than anything that held her, eyes of the brightest blue that seemed to fix her in place. It took her a moment to compose herself before she reverted once more to the smiling receptionist. A single keystroke, and Dave’s details and instructions were sent on their way to the building’s central computer core. Seconds later a small beep came from Dave’s wrist comm, announcing that the computer core acknowledged Dave’s right to be in the building and that the instructions contained on the data chip had been complied with. Her task complete, the receptionist gave Dave her most blinding of smiles as she said, “Welcome to Henderson Shipping, Mr. Carter.”
