As the Gravity Flipped

by Herschel K. Stroganoff

  Garrett sat down, while Ifan remained standing. "My name is Ifan Walbeoff," he said, extending a hand. "This is my apprentice Garrett Priddy. We're Boeki traders--."

  "Yes, yes, we're aware of who you are," Olivor said, interrupting.

  "We're all friends here," Ifan said, pulling back his hand and returning to his seat. "How can we help?"

  Both agents scraped their chairs out from under the table. Olivor sat across the table from Ifan while Peedor sat opposite Garrett.

  "We understand you were the first ones at the scene," said Peedor. "Please tell us as much as you can about where you were and what you saw."

  Ifan rubbed the back of his neck. "We arrived this morning on the Boeki sloop, Carys. All seemed in order. Just our usual run."

  "And what's your usual run? Please enlighten us, Mister Walbeoff," Olivor said.

  "We tend to do Mars, Lunar, Venus, then back to Lunar," Ifan said. "It should all be in our documents."

  Olivor met Ifan with a hostile glare. "And why are you on V5?" he asked.

  "V5 was our first stop from Lunar," Ifan said, keeping his voice calm. "As you'll be able to see from our documents, we have a selection of Martian teas, beef cuts, leather goods and cheeses for the V5 market."

  "And what about you?" Olivor asked, turning to Garrett.

  "What about me, what?" Garrett said, confused.

  "Why were you on V5? What were you selling?"

  "I--."

  "Is this necessary?" Ifan said, his voice growing agitated. "Garrett is my apprentice, fully registered with the Boeki, which as you know is an Affiliate of United Solar. I don't see how these questions are relevant."

  "Please don't be obstructive Mister Walbeoff," Olivor said. "Mister Priddy," he said, turning back to Garrett. "In your own words, please tell me why you are on V5."

  "I'm his apprentice. I just help out, learn things," Garrett said, turning to Ifan. "I'm not really sure what you want me to say."

  "That's fine," Peedor said. She smiled at Garrett as she signalled with her hand for Olivor to stop. "I'm sure all your documentation is in order. Please tell us about what you saw at the scene."

  Ifan forced a smile. "Some of your agents were unloading our goods when I saw a body between a couple of shipping crates. We went over to look and it was a right mess - blood everywhere. I saw a mining drone was covered in blood, so figure it must have been the drone that killed her. I had a look around and realised it was Yao Huizhong. That's when I sent Garrett to find a customs agent. And, well, you know where we've been since then."

  "And how did you know it was Yao Huizhong?" said Olivor. "It strikes me as a bit odd that you'd be able to recognise a corpse on a platform that isn't even your home."

  Ifan laughed. "Is that a serious question? It's Yao Huizhong. I'd find it more striking if there was someone who didn't recognise her."

  Olivor frowned. "Okay, so what else?"

  Ifan shook his head. "I don't know."

  "The drone was burnt out," Garrett said, turning to Ifan. "You looked at the motor and said it must have burnt out after it'd killed the Yao."

  "You're right," Ifan said. "It looked to me like some kind of remote self-destruct programme. It's the only way it could have been done."

  "And you're an expert at programming drones?" Olivor asked.

  Ifan glowered at Olivor. "I just found the body. It's nothing to do with either of us, I can give you my word on that."

  "Is there anything else if you need to add?" Peedor asked.

  Garrett shook his head.

  "If there is, we'll let you," said Ifan. "Is that everything?"

  "You've been really helpful, thank you," said Peedor. "We'll send your statement to the Judiciary now, and we'll see where we go from there."

  "Excellent," said Ifan rising to his feet.

  "Please stay seated Mister Walbeoff," said Olivor.

  Ifan slunk back to his seat. "I thought you were done?"

  "We are, but until we hear back from the Judiciary, you'll have to remain here," Olivor said.

  "You can't keep us prisoner like this," Ifan said. "We're Affiliates."

  "We can and--," Olivor began before Peedor cut him off with a flick of her hand.

  "You're not being imprisoned, we're holding you until we get word from the Judiciary," she said. "Don't worry. We're sure you didn't do anything wrong. This is just a formality: procedure."

  "And where are we going to go if you do release us? Until we get some fuel, we can't leave the platform. I give you my word that we won't leave until you've heard from the Judiciary."

  Olivor reached to the stunner on his belt. "Please don't make demands Mister Walbeoff. We have our processes to follow."

  The agents turned and left, locking the door behind them.

  "Now what?" Garrett asked.

  Ifan gave a wary glance. "We wait."

  # # #

  Janis: Capsule Line, Titan Orbiter, Saturn

  07/06/6,544, 19:37 (IST)

  "It's not fair," Janis said as the lights of the capsule flickered above. She shuffled in the hard seat as the gravity dropped.

  "I can't believe they held back on pay," Mataes said as he tapped his fingers on the dull metal armrest. He was sitting opposite Janis, strapped down and hunched forward as he breathed a deep, long sigh.

  They wore matching grey coveralls and black rubber shoes. Janis was small and pale with lank black hair and small, dark eyes. Their knees touched.

  Janis leaned back in the seat and she held her elbows in tight. Her stomach rumbled over the low hum of the capsule. She smelled Mataes's sweat, thick and musky, as it mingled with the odour of cleaning chemicals. A flutter of attraction seeped into her anger.

  "The work has been done, and we get nothing." Mataes said as dust motes drifted loose from his hair.

  "I hate this journey," Janis said. Her hair floated upward as the capsule approached the mid-point of the line. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the armrests. "I don't get why we move into weightlessness between platforms," she said. "You'd think they'd be able to fix that."

  "The platforms have gravity because they spin around each other," Mataes said. "Arfo told me when you feel weightless is when you're in the middle of the capsule line."

  "How would Arfo know?" Janis said. "I should have tied my hair up, I always forget these things."

  Mataes rubbed his hand over his shaved head, his dark skin reflecting the glaring light above.

  "Why have they stopped our work?" asked Janis.

  Mataes shrugged his thick shoulders. "Arfo says the Yaos are dead."

  Janis furrowed her brow. "Dead?"

  "Arfo reckons one was killed on here by a mining drone."

  Janis covered her mouth with a dirt-encrusted hand. "That's awful. I was cleaning some today."

  "Not many people know, and I'm not sure I believe--."

  "You don't think the drone did it on purpose?" Janis asked, interrupting.

  Mataes stroked his chin. "All I know is what Arfo told me. We're not being paid and the work has stopped - that's what's important."

  "I don't want to go near them again," she said. "You don't think they'd go after us?"

  "I don't see why," he said, shaking his head. "They must have been commanded by someone."

  The capsule hummed as the pull of gravity increased.

  "What if they don't start work soon?"

  "If we don't get paid, we'll have to take over," he whispered.

  Janis's eyes widened as the capsule slowed. "You can't," she said.

  # # #

  Garrett: Customs House, V5 Orbiter, Venus

  07/06/6,544, 15:56 (IST)

  The holding cell door clicked open as Olivor and Peedor returned.

  Garrett was sitting on the floor leaning with his back against the wall while Ifan sat on a chair with his legs crossed and feet resting on the table. Stiff-legged, Garrett rose to his feet.

  "The situation has developed," Peedor began as she closed the door. "Pleas
e sit," she said, gesturing to Garrett.

  Olivor glared at Ifan, who kept his feet on the table. "Get your feet off there," he said with a raised voice.

  Ifan eyed him, then turned to Garrett. "One thing you need to remember is to talk to people with respect. You never know where and when you'll run into them again."

  "Is that a threat Mister Walbeoff? Are you threatening a customs agent?" Olivor said, leaning across the table.

  "Not at all," Ifan said, uncrossing his legs, placing his feet to the floor. "Garrett's my apprentice. Practical lessons are important." Ifan leaned back on his chair and stretched his arms above his head.

  Garrett pulled out a chair as Olivor continued to glare at Ifan.

  "We've heard word back from the Judiciary that this was not the only incident of this kind," Peedor said, taking her seat across from Garrett. "According to the Judiciary, the entire Yao family has been killed."

  Garrett's eyes-widened. Ifan sat straight, mouth agape.

  "All of them?" Ifan said after several seconds. He stared down at his hands and shook his head. "That's madness."

  "We're really sorry, but we're going to have to keep you in holding until we get word back from the Judiciary," she said.

  "I thought you'd already got word?" Ifan said.

  " United Solar are going to announce an investigator - they'll say when you can leave. I really am very sorry." Peedor held out her hands.

  Ifan rubbed his eyes. "Okay," he said with a deep sigh. "Any idea how long this is going to take? Can we get moved to somewhere with bunks, and can we get some food. We're both getting a bit tired and grumpy to be honest."

  "That's fine," said Peedor. "We'll sort out some cots."

  The agents got to their feet and left.

  "This could be really bad," Ifan said.

  "Bad how?"

  "It's too early to say, but I'm inclined think fuel's going to be hit if the Yaos are gone. There are going to be some bad times ahead."

  # # #

  Hayao: United Solar Assembly, Insularum 1, Lunar

  07/06/6,544, 14:43 (IST)

  Hayao removed his jacket as the last few United Solar Representatives took their seats in the Assembly Chamber. The Representatives were made up of elected officials from the eight provinces and nominated members of key Affiliates and Monopoly holders. It was their role to administer governance across the Solar System.

  Hayao looked behind him at the arc of seats filled with familiar faces from across the Union: Representatives from Lunar and Mars, the planetary orbiters and platforms, the Boeki, the Aghoro, Muedin, Bani, Fune - the empty seats of the Yao.

  He placed his jacket on the empty seat to his left with care. It was always reserved for Lunar Secretary Takeshi Ozu, the elected Representative of Lunar and de facto Executive of United Solar. Hayao expected, as ever, to deputise in Takeshi's place. He turned his gaze up to the Chair's platform at the front of the Chamber as Assembly Chair Akash Tagore took his seat.

  "Twenty-three members of the Yao family were killed in a calculated series of assassinations," Akash said in a slow, deliberate monotone.

  Gasps and shocked whispers resonated around the Chamber while Akash glared at the Representatives until they fell silent.

  "A detailed report is currently being prepared by Investigator Tshilidzi Dumi. As far as the Judiciary understands the situation, the entire Yao family was murdered. Two members are, as yet, unaccounted for, but the Judiciary is working on the assumption they are dead."

  Hayao shook his head. He had heard about the murdered Yao on Lunar's L5 platform, but had no idea that the Yao - a mining dynasty spanning back for millennia - had been brought to an end.

  "All Yao operations, licenses, monopolies and contracts will be suspended until the legal ramifications can be ascertained," Akash continued. "Without any legal heirs or any legal apparatus in place, we are unable to move forward on any proposed asset sharing."

  Akash turned from his desk, overlooking the three-quarter-circle rows of seats, and pointed a thumb-sized remote control at a large screen behind him. The lights dimmed as the concentric circles representing the eight provinces of the Union were replaced with a diagram of the solar system, its major bodies arranged in a line extending from Sol at the far left to Neptune to the right - all equally spaced, all equally sized.

  "It's clear the deaths must have been coordinated remotely, as there is a notable time-lag between locations which correspond with light-speed signals," Akash said. "Early calculations suggest that the signal came from Mars or Lunar, reaching the Proteus orbiter several hours later. It is likely that the drones were pre-programmed to carry out these murders. This opens up two questions which I hope will be key to Mister Dumi's investigation: who did this and why?"

  Hayao turned to his left as Muedin Representative Inge Tomas, a middle-aged woman perched at the end of his row, stood to address the Chamber. "I'm sorry," she began. "I don't think we need an investigation to work out who is responsible for this."

  Whispering and mumbling spread across the Chamber.

  Hayao grinned to himself as Wynn Efans, a short pale man with receding brown hair, wobbled to his feet. "Madam Tomas," he said. "I urge this Chamber to tread very carefully before making assumptions and accusations. If you believe this to be the work of the Boeki, you are mistaken."

  "I never thought for a moment this was the Boeki," Inge snapped, turning to Wynn. "Your traders wouldn't possess the sophistication or intelligence to enact something like this."

  "Order! Order!" Akash banged his gavel. "These are delicate times. The last thing we need is infighting within the Assembly." He turned, pointing his gavel at Inge. "Representative Efans is correct - it would not be prudent of the Assembly to cast aspersions on any group or individual - is that understood? Any further comments along those lines and the Muedin Representative will be ejected from the Chamber."

  Inge glared at Wynn, then turned to Akash. "I apologise to the Boeki Representative and to you, Chair," she said. "As far as I am aware, there are five groups that possess the technology and knowledge to carry out such a coordinated series of murders - United Solar, Aghoro, Muedin, the Yao, and the Purdah," she paused to allow the mutterings of the other Representatives to subside.

  "I think we can safely rule out the Yao, and I hope above hope that we can also rule-out United Solar and Aghoro. There is no possibility we could have been involved in this. I, for one, would have known. It's certainly not in our interests to remove the Yao."

  Wynn got to his feet again. "Sorry, Chair," he said. "It's in all our interests to remove the Yao. They've had the monopoly on mining and fuel for, well, forever. It's in all our interests, so that line of defence won't fly with me."

  Inge gave Wynn a grim smile, then turned to Akash. "I have to disagree," she said. "We're moving away from the real issue. We need to go after the Purdah, we need to do to them, what they did to the Yao."

  Hayao rose and turned to address the Chamber. "Lunar does not support or endorse the actions of the Purdah," he said. "I have followed their actions closely for a long time. I am not convinced by Representative Tomas's allegation this rests with them. They are criminals, pirates, thieves - call them what you will - but assassination and murder does not fit with what we know of their operations."

  Hayao met Inge's glare. "It is my belief that whoever carried out these crimes did so to create a power vacuum, to create instability, to create conflict with United Solar and its Affiliates."

  Straining with his thoughts, Hayao sensed something was amiss, as though the pieces were lining up after a long, drawn-out game of chess. He lowered his voice to a pleading tone and passed his gaze across the rows of gathered Representatives. "I call upon the members of this Assembly to show restraint and avoid actions that will damage our long-term security and prosperity." He clenched his jaw.

  Inge shook her head. "Regardless, the Purdah are a menace that needs to be eradicated - or is this Assembly too weak to do what is necessary?"


  Akash banged his gavel and pointed at Inge. "I have warned you already, Representative Tomas. Unless you have a motion to put before the Assembly, I would request that you remain silent for the remainder of this session."

  Hayao sat down as Inge turned to the other Representatives, her mouth open with indignation. "Well I do have a motion to put forward," she said. "I would like the Assembly to consider the multilateral rearmament of projectile weapons for United Solar and the Affiliates."

  The Chamber exploded with outcry and Akash struggled to regain order. The noise of Akash's gavel echoed around the Chamber.

  Hayao felt a surge of rage rush through his body. "We cannot allow this," he said, rising to his feet as the tumult calmed. "Within our lifetimes there have been no projectile weapons - our ships, our domes, our orbiters are too precarious to be put at risk. Our total population has dropped below ten million for the first time in our history. Making such weapons available to any group - no matter how well-intentioned - can only lead to more deaths."

  Hayao turned and glared at Inge. "This is opportunism at its worst, and I urge all Representatives to have no part in this terrible, terrible proposal."

  "I second Representative Tomas's motion," a voice said from the rear of the Chamber. Representatives turned to see Lunar Secretary Takeshi Ozu. His arrival was met with gasps and whispers as he strode down the steps to take his seat.

  Hayao frowned as Takeshi pushed his jacket from the seat and onto the floor. He was tall and lean with high cheekbones and a tight smile.

  "This is an unexpected surprise Mister Secretary," said Akash. "I don't think we've seen you in these chambers since you were sworn into office. I trust you are well?"

  "Please forgive my intrusion at this point," said Takeshi, addressing the Chamber.

  "We have come to a point in our history where a sophisticated terrorist organisation has committed mass murder by hijacking our industrial infrastructure. These evil-doers used the Yao's own mining equipment to kill, murder, and disrupt our way of life. We have to show we are unwilling to tolerate such behaviour, that an attack such as this only strengthens our resolve, that we will face them head-on." Takeshi paused. "We must give United Solar and its Affiliates the ability to defend our interests and protect our way of life."