Tawn had a nervous look on her face. “How many trips in atmosphere have you made in her?”
Harris replied as he pulled back and pushed forward on the joystick. “One, if you count the trip up from Domicile. I just picked her up last month.”
“So this will be your first time landing her?”
Harris pushed several buttons on the console in front of him as he continued with seemingly violent adjustments of the joystick. “You might want to stop distracting me with talk until I have this barge on the ground. I’m having a bit of a tough time managing her.”
Tawn closed her mouth as she looked out the viewport to take in the scenery of the area surrounding Rumidon. High, snow capped mountains were dotted with the occasional green valley. A lack of tilt and an almost perfect circle orbit left the planet seasonless. After a quick glance over the console in front of her, Tawn pressed the autopilot button. The violent ride ended as the Bangor quickly stabilized.
Harris looked up in anger. “Now what’d you do that for?”
Tawn shook her head. “So we don’t die?”
“We weren’t gonna die, and I need practice flying this thing manually. What if we get attacked? What good is autopilot gonna do us?”
Tawn took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “Look. I’m not opposed to practice. And when we get on the ground, you’re welcome to take her up for all the practice you want. I might even do the same.
“But we don’t have to do it with a full load of cargo banging around back there. Those containers are rugged enough, but I wouldn’t necessarily put my faith in whoever packed them. I’m sure they weren’t intending for them to be going for a ride like this.”
Harris held up his hands before crossing his arms. “Fine. We’ll be on the ground in ten minutes. Never new a slug to be so scared.”
Tawn returned a dirty look. “Just don’t like taking a beating when it’s not necessary, that’s all.”
Tawn returned her gaze to looking out the viewport. “So the Geldons. Miners and sportsman? That what you said? Doesn’t seem like a good mix. One works hard all day while the other plays hard. And I’m thinking not having credits versus having too many.”
Harris said, “The miners like protection. Protecting their families and their property. I’ve been told to expect the occasional offer of a gemstone instead of credits. I expect them to be after the Foxes.
“The sportsmen… they love to shoot. They’ll want to shoot anything and everything. I expect them to jump on the repeaters. You can’t shoot those back home. Out here… nobody cares.”
A yellow diamond appeared just over the horizon on the nav display. “Here we go. Two minutes.”
A voice came over the general comm. “Approaching craft. Please identify yourself so customs registration work can begin.”
Harris accepted the comm. “This is the trader ship Bangor out of Chicago Port Station. We have miscellaneous items for trade and sale.”
The voice replied, “Welcome, Bangor. Your visit has been logged. See the detailer at slip fourteen when you arrive. You’ll find fourteen at the north end of the field. Be advised we’re expecting storms within the standard hour. And please adjust your clocks as necessary for Geldon time. We hope you enjoy your stay.”
Tawn nodded. “That was easy.”
Harris replied, “I’m told some of the colonies aren’t so friendly.”
Tawn leaned back in her chair. “So my partner has yet to visit any of these places. This is his first time dropping down through the atmosphere in this ship. And his first time selling arms. You have sales experience before this?”
Harris shrugged. “It’s arms. I know arms. How hard could it be?”
Tawn smacked herself on the forehead. “Doing sales is like this whole world unto itself. You know the merchandise, which is great, but you have to know how to convince the buyers this is something they are in desperate need of. They can’t live without one, or five. They aren’t safe just walking down the street unless they have a Fox-40 strapped to their hip.”
Harris smiled. “Sounds like I have my salesman right here.”
Tawn pointed to herself. “Me? If you’re relying on this face to bring in the buyers, you’re pushing your luck.”
Tawn shook her head. “A stump and a slug are the face of our business. This should be good.”
Harris said, “If this was all bugging you, why didn’t you bring it up before? We could have grabbed some slick-mouthed kid out of a retailer back there at the promenade to be our face.”
Tawn mumbled in a low voice. “Didn’t think about it.”
Harris asked, “What? What’d you say?”
Tawn sighed. “I said I didn’t think about it, OK?”
Harris nodded. “That’s what I thought. Look, we’ve been in combat. We’re genetically stronger and faster than these people. We can handle this.”
The Bangor landed with a short skid on the concrete in the space marked with the number fourteen. Twenty minutes later, they were through customs and walking into the terminal. They walked out through the terminal door and were left looking down a road toward the town a half a mile away.
Tawn said, “What do we do now?”
Harris replied, “We walk.”
Chapter 5
_______________________
The Rumidon colony came with a main drag and two parallel side streets. It covered a two scant square kilometers. Wheeled vehicles appeared to be the primary mode of transportation locally. Personal flyers dotted the side streets as the bulk of the population on Geldon lived well outside of town.
As the first building was come to, Tawn and Harris received odd looks from two old men sitting in front of an assayer’s office. Harris walked up to the men. “Is there a meeting hall or trading post here in town?”
One of the men pointed. “Other end.”
Tawn asked, “What about transportation?”
The other man laughed. “If ya didn’t bring your own you’re hoofing it.”
Tawn nodded thanks. “I love small towns. The folks are honest and friendly.”
A vehicle came zipping up the street, pulling to a stop beside the travelers. “Need a ride?”
Harris asked, “How much to the other end of town?”
The driver replied, “Two credits.”
Harris laughed. “Now that’s funny. We can walk that in a few minutes.”
The driver looked up toward the nearby mountain and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
The wheels of the vehicle chirped as the driver pulled away. The two old men stood and hurried into the assayer’s office.
Harris looked at Tawn. “Honest and friendly, are they?”
Tawn pointed at the horizon over his shoulder. “The guy at the terminal mentioned a storm. You think that’s it?”
A white swirling cloud obscured the view of the mountain the vehicle driver had been looking at.
Tawn grabbed Harris by the shoulder. “From the looks of that wind I’d say we better get our asses off the street!”
An attempt was made to enter the assayers office. The door was locked and two old men sat grinning, shaking their heads, just on the other side of the thick tempered glass.
Harris glanced back at the port terminal. “We aren’t making that.”
The pair sprinted down the street, trying the handle of every door they came to. The winds began to pick up, an extreme gust nearly knocking Harris from his sturdy feet. The old men in the assayers office had their faces planted against the glass as they attempted to watch the two visiting fools caught out in the vicious storm that was now turning the street white with blowing snow.
The temperature dropped forty degrees in two minutes’ time as Harris and Tawn continued their sprint. A second violent gust blew Harris over forward. Several tumbles had him back on his feet and running. Tawn opened the door to the town’s only restaurant, nearly tearing it from its hinges as she held it open, yelling at her partner.
“In here!
Come on!”
The bartender-owner raced to the door, attempting to pull it shut as the winds forced Harris further away. “Close that door you dang fool!”
Tawn gestured toward Harris with her head. “What about him?”
The bartender pulled the door shut just as a third heavy gust swept down the street. “If he survives the next five minutes he’s welcome back. Until then, this stays shut!”
The door was locked.
Tawn’s face was pressed against the glass window as the wind and snow howled by. Harris, attempting to force his way back, continued to be bowled over by fierce gusts, again tumbling before coming back upright on his feet. The storm then ended as suddenly as it had begun, the winds dying down within seconds.
The bartender unlocked the door. “You can go fetch him now.”
Tawn raced out into the foot deep snow, calling out for her friend and partner. “Stump? Where you at?”
Fifty meters down the road, a snowdrift began to move. Harris emerged with a handful of scrapes on his shoulders and elbows. After shaking off the snow like a dog, he walked to a waiting Tawn.
“That was something.”
Harris replied, “You made it inside. Way to leave your partner stranded.”
Tawn laughed. “You’re a big boy. Can’t handle a little breeze?”
“Never seen anything like it. Now I know why there are no signs or benches up and down this street.”
Doors opened and people walked out, returning to their lives. Hundreds filled the streets as they made their way back to their vehicles or the business they were tending to. The restaurant owner stood looking over his strained door with a scowl.
Tawn walked past the stump who was still attempting to get his wit together. “Come on. We have business to do.”
At the end of town both the meeting hall and trading post were closed. A young boy, curious about the two oversize visitors, rode up on a scooter.
Harris said, “What are you looking at?”
The kid replied, “You’re big, mister. What you doing here? Store is closed.”
“Why?”
The kid shrugged. “Probably all up at the mine from the cave-in. The Duke, store owner, he went to help.”
Tawn asked, “Where’s this mine?”
The kid pointed. “Straight out, two kilometers, up on a hill to your left. They said Mr. Tombo found a vein of silver in his mine. At least that’s the rumor. He tried some blasting and went back in after. That’s when the main shaft collapsed. Hey, you’re shoulders and elbows are bleeding. What happened?”
Harris replied, “None of your business, Kid. Now scram.”
The electric scooter’s engine whirred as the kid rode off toward the other end of town.
Tawn said, “We could use a couple of those scooters.”
Harris chuckled. “Yeah, like that thing would have enough power to move your big ass.”
Tawn glanced back and then looked at Harris. “It ain’t no bigger than yours.”
Harris gestured toward the location of the mine. “It’s two kilometers, let’s just run it. We could use the exercise.”
A fast paced jog had the two standing at the mine entrance a few minutes later. A small crowd was gathered outside.
Tawn stepped forward. “Any way we can help?”
One of the townsfolk replied, “Not unless you can dig. We’re waiting on the equipment to get here.”
Tawn said, “Can I take a look?”
The towny stepped back. “Have at it.”
Tawn stopped, picking up a large pair of gloves from a fold-out table sitting to the side of the crowd. “I’ll return these when I’m done.”
Harris asked, “What are you doing?”
Tawn replied, “I’m gonna move rock, if I can. Grab a pair. Make yourself useful.”
Harris entered the shaft behind her as he pulled on a pair of workgloves. They stood for most of a minute looking over the rubble that blocked the passage about twenty meters in.
Tawn inspected the ceiling just above their heads. “Seems solid enough here. I say we start moving rock.”
Harris replied, “You think you’re gonna dig through that by hand?”
Tawn stopped and stared. “There’s people trapped in there. You don’t want to help, then go back and hang out with the locals.”
Tawn picked up the first of hundreds of small boulders to be moved. “Either carry or get out of my way.”
Harris shook his head. “We’re arms dealers… not rescuers.”
Tawn stopped beside him with a ninety kilogram piece of rock in her grasp. “Rumor was they found silver. Silver buys guns. We manage to free these people and goodwill will get us an audience. Now grab a rock and get moving.”
Harris picked up the nearest loose rock, a much smaller rock.
After dumping hers outside, Tawn returned for another. “Oh, big man… don’t strain yourself.”
Harris glanced at his shoulder. “I’m bleeding. This won’t help it heal.”
Once outside, the kid with the scooter was standing there. “That’s it? The one the lady had was like four times that size.”
Harris scowled. “Beat it, kid. You’re not helping.”
An hour later a third of the rock blocking the passage had been moved. A personal workcraft, the flying equivalent of a wheeled truck, settled next to the mine entrance. Three miners hopped out, pulling equipment from the bed in back.
A pair of laser cutters were soon at work breaking the larger of the boulders down to size. Two hours after the effort had begun, a breakthrough was made. Another ten minutes of digging had a passage large enough for one of the miners to slip through.
The miner returned several minutes later. “Nope. Didn’t make it.”
The trading post owner, Duke Fizel, stood with a dejected look on his face.
Tawn removed her gloves and patted his back. “We did what we could. I’m sorry.”
Duke shook his head. “It was brand new. Took two months to get and they’re now on backorder.”
Duke turned. “Tombo, you’re paying for this!”
The miner named Tombo held up his hands. “Sorry, Duke. That was an act of God. I followed your instructions to the tee.”
Tawn turned. “Wait… you’re Tombo? I thought you were trapped in there?”
Tombo replied, “Who told you that?”
“Well, what were we digging for?”
Duke replied, “My ground penetrating radar equipment. It let’s you see about eight meters back into the walls of your mine. Twenty-six hundred credits and it took two months to order and get shipped here. That’s five hundred credits a month of rentals down the crapper.”
Duke looked at the miner who had slipped through to get status. “Any chance of a repair?”
The miner slowly shook his head. “Not unless you’re a miracle worker. Smashed flat.”
Duke scowled at Tombo. “If I had a blaster I’d blow your head off right now.”
Harris stepped forward. “You need weapons? We have some for trade.”
Duke stared at the genetically engineered human standing beside him. “I was speaking figuratively. Tombo is my brother. Who are you?”
Tawn nudged her way in with a hand outstretched. “Sorry for my partner’s suggestion. We’re traders, we just arrived. We were looking for you in town.”
Duke looked Tawn up and down. “You a slug?”
Tawn nodded. “I am. Just out here trying to make a living.”
“What is it you have for sale or trade?”
Harris replied, “Personal firearms. Repeating plasma rifles, Fox-40s, shock sticks and a variety of other gear.”
Duke scowled. “You’ll be having to take your contraband elsewhere. We don’t need any weapons here.”
Harris replied, “No wild animals around? I thought there were sportsman adventurers coming out here.”
Tombo stepped forward. “The animals here are docile. They might as well have been hunting cows. The hunters wer
e nothing but trouble, even mistakenly took a shot at one of our miners.”
Duke said, “We ran the last of them off about three weeks ago.”
Harris frowned. “No need of personal protection, then, I suppose.”
Duke shook his head. “We take care of our own.”
Tawn placed her hand on an unscraped portion of Harris’ shoulder. “Come on. Let’s see if we can hit the diner for some grub before heading out.”
After a fifteen minute walk, service was refused at the restaurant. Another five minutes had the pair stepping back aboard the Bangor.
Tawn plopped down in the copilot’s chair. “Well that was a bust. Sounds like we should be in the ground penetrating radar business instead.”
Harris replied, “We’ll do better. We have Grendig, Farmingdale and Bella III still to go.”
Tawn tapped her fingers on the console in front of her. “We visit a mining colony we should be pushing mining gear. I wonder if the weapons trade is gonna dry up following that truce.”
Harris reached for his lap belt to strap himself in. “Domicile has enough crime to support a healthy gun trade. People want to protect themselves.”
Tawn asked, “You aren’t planning on flying us out of here manually are you?”
“I was.”
Tawn scowled. “Maybe I’ll just grab one of those repeaters for myself and stay here. Ever thought about mining?”
Harris laughed. “With a repeater? No.”
Tawn smirked at the thought. “Hey… wait a second. Give me fifteen minutes?”
“What’s on your mind?”
Tawn smiled. “Just sit. I’ll be right back.”
A repeating plasma rifle and a charge were extracted from the cargo hold. Tawn Freely hopped out onto the tarmac and hustled across the concrete to a rocky outcropping several hundred meters away before disappearing behind it. The rumbles of plasma fire could be felt for several minutes. Tawn returned, stepping up into the cabin with a grin.
“What?”
“I just blasted a two meter hole in the bare rock out there. These plasma rifles, they’re designed so that any explosive effect doesn’t come directly back at you. I used it to drill a passage I could stand upright in. You could cut twenty meters into solid rock with a single charge. That’s twenty credits worth of resource to go twenty meters. Leaves a fine gravel on the floor too, something easily removed by these miners.”
ARMS War for Eden Page 5
