Log 1 Matter | Antimatter

by Selina Brown

  Galactic System: Sarato (Spiral Galaxy)

  Planetary System: N/A to Saratoga

  Perza Space Hub to Jamie’s Cabin

  Four months later—in a tent on his land as he built his cabin—Jamie was to pick up his new ranger from Perza Space Hub. The hub was populated by people from all over Perza Universe. He sat on the steps, outside his cabin, drinking a steaming mug of coffee. The air was crisp with birds tweeting loudly high in the trees around him. Jamie read his itinerary for his return trip balancing his EBrain on one leg. Once he left the hub, which was situated on one of the spiral tips of the Sarato Galaxy, he then just needed to range home to Saratoga’s solar system. Thankfully, this meant a shorter HaV trip. It would be one intra-galactic HaV of nine days plus the intra-system HaV of nine hours to reach Saratoga Orbital Station.

  Next to Jamie sat his new personal transportal pack containing a flexible dovetail mat with four box-like nodes smaller than his palm. Deciding not to open the pack he lifted his technical controller, most just called it a techcon, a piece of technology only Pure-Gens and First-Gens used. It looked like a standard slim remote control for his entertainment unit but had a white screen instead of a black one. While he’d seen Simon use one, he was a little nervous. Jamie was accustomed to accessing the public transportals at stringently maintained terminus locations. He finished his coffee eyeing off the techcon. “Suck it up, idiot.”

  After his chores were complete he used his Voice and contacted the space hub for clearance. They gave him coordinates that he pressed into the techcon pad; a portal formed swirling in front of him and taking a deep breath he stepped through. Nine seconds later he deactivated his device after being greeted, staring around at the busy space station hub that looked more like a market. Voices babbled around him and he was asked to move from the dovetail pad. Feeling only mildly queasy from the HaV journey he nodded in apology, moved out and checked where his ranger was docked. He stopped at the main port office and entered the quiet room. He came in the off peak hours but a voice called out to him.

  “Jamie?”

  He nodded and followed a trim woman into a cubicle. He sat down. He was going to be pleasant but she started talking.

  “You’ve been briefed but I have your special instructions ready”—she slid over a bound folder with two seals, Queen Silvia’s seal and King Cyrus’s—“along with keys to enter the Security Net at specific coordinates. You are unique because I don’t have those coordinates. They aren’t registered.” Her voice became a bit steely and her eyes hard. “But orders are orders. Once you reach the security barrier you use this”—she slid across a round, flat disk—“and it will connect, trigger, and deactivate the shield. You must always use the same coordinates.”

  Jamie opened his mouth but then closed it because she might not have been aware but anger flashed across her face and she held up her narrow hand and pointed a finger with red nails at him.

  “However, apparently you can repeat this action to keep your coming and goings random. But you must only do this in an emergency. You are cleared to enter Saratoga space and then land at your designated space pad. After this, if not an emergency, you must use the Space Lift.”

  He nodded occasionally as she continued her spiel, ended it abruptly, and flounced out, disapproval showing in her every step. Jamie couldn’t care less.

  Excitement filled his every step as he left.

  He had a license for this ranger and he’d studied the specifications again over breakfast. “Definitely a male.” What to call him? He was a Kulindros shape, so long oval. Cigar? Cig? Bullet?

  Jamie reached the docking bays and walked along for a good half hour thinking he should jump on one of the buggies that trundled by before finally finding ‘EG6’ in big letters arching over a closed hatch. He found a control panel on a pedestal, labeled “EG6”, and laid a hand on the GELpad, which also took an SNA sample. The hatch opened revealing a tube. The sound his shoes had made was now muffled by the spongy grate. Good for sneaking up on people. He palmed the dark colored hatch on the ranger, hearing the hatch behind close. After he walked through the connecting tube he checked the cabins, ran checks that included inspecting the two sable engines, environmental systems, filtration and sewer units; there was even a tiny hydroponics bay, empty. The main cabin was of decent size, with another tiny cabin containing bunks and not much else. Jamie went to the new, shiny bridge and sat in the pilot’s chair. Set around him in a horseshoe shape, consoles waited to be activated. Pre-ranger checks checked, with a flick he started the engines eying off the data now showing on his main monitor. Engine output looked good.

  “Perza Station Control, this is ranger KE2JR preparing to initiate undock procedures. Am I cleared?”

  “Ranger KE2JR, you are cleared to begin undocking procedures. Slight adjustment please, gentle thrust two par, drift for five minutes before full forward thrust.”

  “Affirm, two par thrust, five-minute drift then burn at the arse.”

  There was a laugh. “Affirmative.”

  Nine days later he was cleared for entry to Saratoga’s space. Nine hours after that he chose his so-called random entry point through the security net into space below the net, he set course to enter the upper atmosphere. Finally, a friendly air traffic controller cleared him to land. He patted the front console. “There you are, Bullet.”

  After the post-ranger checks, with double checks for the sable engines since they were new, Jamie opened the main cargo hatch, breathing in the fumed-filled air as the steps slid out and settled on the ground. His own ranger-pad sat in a clearing, just below his home. With every step closer to settling down, excitement increased.

  Jamie strode up to his wood cabin where he had a view of the homestead to the east. Further, and closer to the equatorial line, the cable to the orbital space station—that sat below the meteorite acting as a counterweight—broke the view like a line. He thought he could see a lift going up. “I should get some binoculars.” Jamie turned around the room, pleased with himself. His new home was a simple affair with open space kitchen, lounge with no furnishings yet, and dining with large central fire. The long logs that interlaced were also double thick with insulation. Winters were below zero with long rises and falls before and after and summers that were hot but short. Three rooms were beyond one wall to the left after entry to the cabin, the bedroom first, the bathroom, and the storage room that gave way to a network of caves. He had an appointment with the queen but had some time to unpack. Jamie was feeling strangely odd knowing this would be home for many years now. And yet it was the first place, since leaving his mother and father, that felt like a permanent home. Going home to Lyon 3 wouldn’t have been good for him, not with all Leanne’s relatives there.

  There was even a stable butting up against the cabin so he could get a horse. Jamie stood in the tiny barn and saw wood stacked high next to fresh hay and feed; he frowned. Where had that all come from? He heard the clip clop of horses on the main trail. Stepping out, he saw three riders, what looked like two males and a female heavily cloaked against the drizzle and cold. There was a massive, dark stallion and a smaller, lighter mare trailing.

  The three stopped and dismounted.

  The smaller figure moved up to him and pushed back her hood. He took in the dark auburn hair, the heart shaped face, the lovely brown eyes and knelt. “My Queen!”

  There was soft laughter and Jamie looked up in confusion and he saw one male push back his hood.

  “My … Kings.”

  King Cyrus moved forward. “Stand up, man. We’re here unofficially. Do you have any mead?”

  “Um … no … I…” Good grief, was that Delario?

  “We brought some. Come, come,” a familiar, deep voice said.

  They drew their own horses into the barn. Cyrus pointed to the stallion and mare. “A gift for you, Jamie. Welcome to Saratoga.”

  Sub-Log VI

  If Jamie could blab he was sure no one would believe him anyway that the queen and
two kings sat, on crates and boxes, around his central fireplace drinking mead and telling tall tales. Silvia was the Eighth Regional Queen, while Cyrus was the Eleventh Province King. The other visiting king was not Delario of the Third Province, but Max, the Seventeenth Province King, friend of Cyrus and several warlords. Jamie had met Max once before.

  Silvia was what Jamie would call an elegant beauty. She was a good administrator, political player, and gentle soul. She was wearing a dark blue top with tailored trousers, and sturdy riding boots. Her cloak was black and thick.

  Cyrus had sandy hair and blue eyes, offset by olive skin. He was of medium build and looked unthreatening but Jamie knew better. Max, however, looked the part of a fighter with black hair, blue eyes, and a lean, tall build. The two males were wearing standard winter riding clothes. The two had been friends for a long time, and Jamie could see Silvia fit in well.

  “We did invite Delario, Jamie. But he was busy.” Cyrus had a blunt way of speaking and his words held more than pleasantries judging by the tone.

  As Max replied, Jamie heard Silvia’s voice in his mind.

  “Jamie, please forgive my mental intrusion but is your cabin secure?”

  Jamie flushed. Rarely did those of the Eighth Race connect mind to mind. Silvia’s mental voice was music to his mind.

  “I will secure it now, my Queen.”

  He stood, almost laughing at how formal he sounded, moved to his corner table that he’d made himself, and triggered his Bulwark Net. The new security device came from the company with the name Sentinel Prime and not one to be taken lightly. A low, thrumming broadcast until he couldn’t hear it at all. Turning, he saw Cyrus and Max pouring more mead and Silvia holding out her pewter mug. He refused another, still drinking his first.

  Silvia said, “We want to let you know we are ready to support you. Just let us know directly what you need”—that explained the visit. They wanted him to get to know them without the pomp—“and we’ll see to it. How are you with staff? We can work the administration if you like.”

  Jamie bowed his head and outlined his fake strategies.

  Max studied him. “What of planetary security? Will you be requiring any more than what is here?”

  Jamie scratched his head, thinking he had a solution to get through planetary security just not solar system security. “I’ve just finished reading all the procedures and studying the schematics and specifications but it looks sound. I want … would like a way in and out though, without triggering every toscin in space.”

  “Cyrus will see to that side. Those beacons can be tricky as they are set up in a special pattern. Are you clear on how we operate, Jamie?”

  He nodded, not taking offence at her gentle tones. “You will deal with planet side administration and lower atmospheric traffic control while Cyrus and Delario—”

  Max and Cyrus snorted with amusement.

  “—handle upper atmosphere and space around Saratoga and the Toga system.”

  “Good. There is a clear delineation. It was a good idea to make entry and exits random—”

  “Thank you, Silvia,” Cyrus said with exaggerated tones and hand waving, cutting her off.

  The queen laughed gaily, sounding like, and glancing as, a young girl would at Jamie. “I can’t resist sometimes. Now, what I can talk about is that you need to meet Terance and Pen. Those are the babe’s new parents who are leaving shortly for Perza Space Station to pick up the Pure-Gen. They are returning via ranger, which needs to be checked, to the Saratoga Orbital Station and taking a lift down. You’ll need to check that too—”

  Cyrus sighed and she paused for only a moment.

  “Just visit the homestead by nine. We’ve already taken care of security protocols and intel for that trip there and back. We’ll hand over after that if that’s acceptable?”

  Jamie nodded but knew already he’d be stretching. He wanted the very best, not just adequate. “My Queen, may I have a bit more help until mid-week?”

  She smiled. “Of course. And unless you tell me otherwise, where will your offices be?”

  Jamie shook his head. “I confess; I’m still operating like a follower.”

  Cyrus nodded but Jamie detected a smirk. “Easy to do. We have an office set up and it is fully equipped for you in Saratoga City, and there’s a division in Sunset Village on the coast of Cape Thalen, just ten minutes from the homestead, and another in Toga City on the northern end of this continent. King Slavian managed to move to this continent but you’ll find him even less helpful than Delario.”

  Jamie nodded but remained silent. He already had portfolios on those two kings and thought it best to keep out of the politics of the royal families. He had one job; protect the Pure-Gen. “Will you be requiring time with the babe, my Queen?”

  “No, Jamie. I believe we are to keep away and allow the babe to grow without interference. We’ve had several downloads and data bursts from Maya. Here, I would like you to read this.”

  Jamie accepted the EBrain and studied the log.

  Inside S|W Lacuna

  Sub-Maya Unit 9 via CARDINAL Unit (CU) and Logs for Iota Test Site

  354048

  Adult BIOSUIT mapped as Aryan Pure-Gen, memories blocked

  ACCESS ID log in: Chaos Unit 3

  REJECT

  Systems OVERRIDE CU3TS

  RESOLVE required

  Trigger for Chaos Being 4 Baby BIOSUIT mapped as Aryan Pure-Gen, memories blocked

  ACCEPT

  Trigger for Mobile Unit 1 Baby BIOSUIT re-mapped as Aryan Pure-Gen, anomaly added, memories blocked

  ACCEPT

  Upload scan data to Oracle Unit

  End upload

  Download data from Oracle Unit

  UPDATE CU sandbox

  Prepare Mobile Unit

  End download

  INITIALIZE new programs

  QUERY for Fabrication or Reconstruction, Fabrication and Reconstruction unresolved

  ENCYRPTION initialized to secured CU server

  ALIEN ACHORAGE initialized

  ACCESS ID log out: Chaos Unit 3

  End

  Only Pure-Gens received direct transmissions to their mind implants from Maya. Many preferred to transfer the data to Ebrains; however, Silvia may have just done that for his benefit. Jamie wondered what that was like even as the thought made his skin crawl. It triggered off memories of Leanne. He gripped the tablet tightly, willing himself to concentrate, and with a start he remembered Marc saying something about four Chaos Beings. The log had Chaos Units, were they the same thing? “Looks like someone has messed with the biosuit—made it a baby rather than an adult—but the fact that they are interfering with the Cardinal Unit and overriding Maya somehow is a little concerning.” Jamie handed the EBrain back and studied Cyrus. His mind was awhirl with his new mission and he saw the worry in all their eyes. “And it seems to be saying we are in a test site.”

  Cyrus nodded and then smiled. “I like how you understate the issue.”

  Jamie decided to be blunt while hiding his own shock. “Do you know what’s going on?”

  Max glanced down at the tablet in Cyrus’s hands and shrugged, saying simply, “This is beyond us. We’ll be watching you, Jamie, and ready to support you.”

  Cyrus drew Jamie’s attention next. “Saratoga is closed to most tourist visitations and activities while Ara is on planet. People can move away but any arrivals will be heavily vetted and then monitored.”

  Jamie tried not to appear too amazed over that. Closing off a planet to visitors was almost unprecedented, only the Planet of Law and some military planets had such tight security. Enthusiasm swelled at the thought of what that might mean.

  They spoke a little more and then left but not before admiring the cabin.

  “I say, Jamie. Who built this?”

  “Jamie did.” Silvia drew up her hood to avoid the drizzle wetting her hair. “I am in charge of such things you know.”

  Max smiled. “Of course. But just remember the space
above it is all ours.”

  She laughed and moved to her horse after Jamie brought the mare out for her. They talked about the cabin and woodworking until Silvia mounted, complaining it was getting dark. “Had I known we’d be talking of sticks I would have come in an over lander, with headlights and heating and not on a nag.”

  The “nag” snorted in the cool air and Jamie ran his hand down the head, reveling in the texture. The horse was worth more than his ranger.

  Cyrus and Max obediently mounted, waving as they left.

  Jamie moved his two horses to the empty stalls and ran his hands over them both. Even to his untrained eye they looked to be of good stock. Now he just had to learn how to ride. With a smile he went inside to the overly warm cabin. He opened an internal door to the stable to allow the heat to escape, and let the fire burn down. “Don’t get used to it,” he called out to the horses, feeling a little silly afterwards. He finished making his bed and then went into the storage room, cycled through his security hatches and entered another hatch to his right. Equipment whirled away; five heads glanced up from their tasks while two came out from the small kitchen set into a smaller cave.

  “We get offices as well?” Brett said with a grin.

  Jamie nodded. “We’ll need more staff.”

  “Let’s make ’em diversionary.”

  “Good idea, Kyle. We'll create layers upon layers.”

  The lanky male nodded. “Will do. Got the perfect teams already.”

  Kyle was one of the first Jamie recruited. He was a networker who graduated the same year as Jamie in the cadets. A female stood up and stretched. Diane was the second he recruited, but was also his second in command, Ryama’s twin.

  “I’m off for a break then some sleep. Scott’s already in the command center; we completed the handover.”

  “Good job. Are your quarters alright?”

  “No complaints.” She flashed him a smile that said they were awesome.

  Jamie had contracted a tourist resort with cabins dotted around canyons. They still ran it like a resort, but half now housed his staff. Others were sleeping in the cave networks with days off in seaside homes. Brett had a boat he lived on mostly when not at work. Jamie had forty-three staff in place already. No one but his inner team could know how he operated. If others did know, he was failing in his job.