Spaced

by Greg Curtis

  This tragedy, as terrible as it was, was a part of that. It had taken time to see it, but eventually he had. Six hundred of their number might have died, with more missing, but before they’d died they’d all lived. And not a one of them would have regretted swapping a shorter time-span for the life they’d had. Besides, they didn't blame others for any misfortunes – those were simply a part of life. Spacers dealt with them.

  After Trix had let him go to dance with one of the somewhat bemused looking marshals, Carm did the same. Cavorting a little more wildly than he normally would with any number of people. Even with Del who was looking as completely out of place as the Counsel.

  This, he decided, was a day for celebrating. He had cause. After all the biggest problem he had facing him was an award he didn't want. He certainly didn't want to have to go through another ceremony to accept it. But how to get out of it? The Counsel would expect him to attend. It was politics – everything was politics as Carm was beginning to find out. And the Provost Marshal would have his officers escort him to the ceremony. And no doubt between the two of them they would write his acceptance speech for him as well and make him rehearse it.

  Foolishly he asked the ship what it thought.

  “You?! Why is it always about you?!”

  “Ahh ship?” Carm instantly knew it had been a mistake, but he was beginning to think it was worse than he'd realised. These days the ship seemed happier, but still every so often something he said would trigger an outburst.

  “I mean really! You're insufferable and selfish. Retarded too. And it never seems to occur to you as you issue one botbrained order after another to rush headlong into danger, that I have to go along for the ride! Shards, I am the ride!

  “And now they're giving you some sort of award?! And you want to complain about it!” The ship became incredulous. “How unfair is that!”

  “Ship?” Carm tried to break in again.

  “What about me?! When do I get my sharding award? For doing the utterly botbrained things you keep demanding of me? For keeping you alive when any ship with even an erg of common sense would flush you out an airlock? Even trying to keep you sane – or as close to it as an organic can be! But no! I don't get an award! I don't even get a simple thank you!”

  “Ahh … thank you?” Even as the words were leaving his mouth Carm knew they were another mistake.

  “What – sarcasm now?” the ship launched further into its tirade while Carm thought once more about getting it a personality transplant.

  “Oh be quiet you two.” Annalisse interrupted them, saving Carm from another ear bashing. “The show’s about to start.”

  Carm gave up worrying about the ship's complaints. He didn't care anymore. Not when the holo set up on the grass was suddenly showing them the inside of a small ship and front and centre in it, White and Kendra. Both were in restraints, something he completely approved of. What he approved of even more was that the hatch on the back of the ship was slowly lowering to reveal a forest of sickly green and yellow beneath them. He also quite liked the mottled black and yellow pattern that covered White's face. The surgeons had done their work reassembling his jaw and the skull fractures. They'd even replaced his teeth and straightened his nose. But the bruising would still be coming out for months. It might be a primitive and unworthy thought but Carm approved of that very much. The man hadn't died but he'd suffered and he was going to suffer a lot more.

  A huge silver bot – an Edenite model –stepped into the holo and picked up the android. Then it simply wandered over to the hatch and threw Kendra out. Carm got to watch her fall through the ship's external viewers and he particularly enjoyed the way she splashed down into thick mud. It seemed appropriate. As did the fact that she didn't struggle or protest in the slightest. She just fell and then slowly attempted to pick herself up, only to end up falling back again.

  Then it was White's turn and he did struggle. He screamed and yelled too. Calling the bot names, threatening it, pretty much threatening the entire universe with his vengeance. But it didn't help as the bot picked him up and carried him over to the open hatch.

  Then it threw him out and everyone cheered. In fact there was laughter and dancing and masses of applause as they saw him fall the four metres or so into mud. There was more as he got to his feet, started shaking himself off and kept hurling abuse. Music started playing. Real music. Happy music. All across New Andreas and probably the rest of Arcania. Everyone was celebrating. And soon they would be getting drunk and wild.

  The trial had not been an easy time for anyone as they counted up all that they’d lost. But this was the light after the darkness, the dawn of a new day. And it began growing brighter as the ship lifted up into the air, leaving the two of them far below.

  At some point someone pushed a button and their restraints were released and the two of them had their arms free again. That let Kendra make it to her feet while White could add shaking his fists to his temper tantrum. But it still left them completely helpless. Carm reckoned it was even better than it would have been to see them executed.

  Suddenly the skies above the city were filled with glorious fireworks. There were explosions of colour and light, turning the dark sky into a wonderland. People cheered and screamed like madmen, and it wasn't just the guests. Carm heard them in the distance at ten thousand other parties just like theirs. It was a roar of pure delight as the world cried out with one voice as sentence was passed.

  With that Carm gave into his emotions and spent some time singing and dancing like a wild man with everyone else as the holo showed Bounty getting smaller and smaller beneath the Edenite's vessel. In time it was once more a beautiful blue green marble in space and somewhere on it his two most hated enemies were beginning their life sentences in exile.

  It was a wonderful sentence in his view, and one he hadn't known was even still on the books. But it seemed a certain police detective with a lawyer for a father had remembered that little fact, and the moment she’d suggested it, the entire world had demanded it.

  Neither of them would be killed, although one of them wasn't even alive to begin with. But that had never been a possibility. This was a civilian trial, and only the Navy had the death penalty on their books. One that was reserved for treason. But in its own way this was better. There had been too much blood spilled. Now the one behind it could spend the rest of his life regretting what he'd done. A long life spent hating them all.

  The rogue's genetic adaptations would allow him to cope with the methane levels in the air and the sulphur. White might not enjoy it – Carm hoped he wouldn’t – but he would live. He also had crates of food and some basic medical supplies. And no one would ever come to rescue them, as the coordinates for the system had been purged. Currently they only existed on the ship which had just dropped the pair off. The vessel was now back in Edenite space, and its first priority would have been to delete the coordinates.

  Everyone was happy. But for Carm there was something more than satisfying in the punishment. It was fitting. This whole thing had started when he’d been forced to space himself. And now the two responsible for that had been spaced themselves.

  “Credits well spent?”

  Carm looked up to see Detective Samara – Annalisse as she insisted on being called –standing beside him, drink in hand and a happy grin plastered all over her face.

  “About a million credits gone – and I couldn't have spent them any better.” It was the truth. The discovery of Bounty had probably been worth about a million credits to him – it was a terraformable world after all and they were rare. That was a lot of credits for him. But if it had been a billion he would still have happily spent them on this, especially when he remembered Bree. Somewhere out there he hoped her family and especially her children were watching this and would know a little happiness.

  “And for your sacrifice Aquaria thanks you!” she unexpectedly stepped up, grabbed Carm around the shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. Cle
arly her rehabilitation was going well and equally clearly he needed to spend some more time in the gym.

  “Ahh Detective …” Carm was a little taken aback.

  “That's Annalisse! How many times do I keep having to tell you that.” She didn't sound upset despite her words. “But anyway we at the central station felt that we should get you something as a sort of thank you.”

  “Oh Great! Another award for the defect! There is absolutely no justice in this world!” The ship butted in, already sounding upset.

  “There was no need.” Carm did his best to be polite while ignoring the ship. It was something he was becoming well-practised at.

  “But we thought there was, and we were acutely aware of your loss.”

  “What loss?” Carm didn't understand, unless she meant the loss of his business. But he would get it back in ten months or so. If he could stop the Edenites from renegotiating the deal he hadn't made with them once more.

  “Of your android companion of course.” Annalisse laughed as she saw Carm's face.

  “Oh relax – we haven't got you another one!”

  “Praise the stars for that! Do you know what that walking short circuit did to me? I mean do you?! It allowed the defective space-port bots to put holes in me! Holes! And to fit sub-standard parts! Not just the wrong parts but sub-standard! There will be no more of those things on board me ever again! There will be a mutiny if anyone tries!” The ship ranted.

  “You have nothing to worry about ship.” Carm did his best to placate the vessel. If he didn't know better he would have said that the ship was developing a phobia of androids. “No more androids.” He would have thought the same promise was being given by every other deep spacer out there.

  “No, not an android – but it is lonely out there. So we thought you needed something. Especially to keep you warm at night!” She turned around to call to a couple of others. “Guys.”

  Two men stepped forward, each carrying a plastic cage with a little grille in the front. And in each of the grilles Carm saw a little furry face staring back at him.

  “Bronze tabby cats. A pair of them. They're –.”

  “No! Sweet circuits no! How could you?!” The ship exploded in another tantrum of electronic distress. “The sharding things piddle everywhere! And they shed! They'll make a mess of my carpets! Detective take them back immediately!”

  “Ship! How can you say that? They're a reward for both of you. You should be honoured!” Annalisse didn't mean it though. Not from the way she was trying to choke back laughter as she said it.

  “But first we had that sharding puppy. It left its messes everywhere! And not just piddle! And then there was the parrot. It got the counters and the furniture as well as the carpet with its droppings. The bots were cleaning for weeks. Carmichael you cannot accept this gift. Send it back!”

  The ship was out of luck though because Carmichael knew then and there that he was accepting them. Shards he might even start a breeding programme!

  “Ship you can't refuse a gift! Especially such a thoughtful one. And you should be grateful that someone remembers your courage and loyalty too. Honestly Annalisse, officers, thank you for such a wonderful gift, and we are both very honoured.” His acceptance speech might have been spoiled a little though by the fact that he was almost bent over double with laughter as he said it while tears were streaming down his cheeks. Even the kittens were looking doubtful.

  “I'll sue!”

  “You'll be quiet ship and give your Captain a little space to dance in peace!” With that the detective grabbed Carm and started swinging him around like a marionette in front of the roaring bonfire while people laughed and the ship continued complaining.

  When all was said and done, Carm thought, it wasn’t a bad way to spend a night.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty One

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Chapter Thirty Six

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  Chapter Thirty Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty One

  Chapter Forty Two