The Stars Came Back

by Rolf Nelson

  Lag looks at his com unit for a moment in surprise, then the rest of them.

  Lag: How did you hear that?

  Ship AI: (OC, through com unit) I monitor the environment. All sounds picked up by communications devices are broadcast.

  They look at one another in surprise and concern.

  Lag: But they only broadcast when we send. And what about encryption?

  Ship AI: (OC, though com unit) They broadcast on a frequency I can detect, if they are properly asked to do so. All forms of encryption observed so far have been primitive and of negligible effect.

  Lag and Stenson look at each another in dismay. Lag points to his wrist com with a question on his face.

  Ship AI: (OC) Two point four seconds when you first came aboard. Information is only utilized for the efficient operation of the ship. It is likely secure from outside. An upgrade is recommended for security and encryption protocols.

  Stenson: (Dryly) Um, yes, that would seem to be called for. Thank you for the advice. And that explains Nerona’s broadcast.

  Ship AI: (OC, through ALL their com units) Affirmative.

  Helton: So, can you tell us what anyone here is saying?

  Ship AI: (OC, only through Helton’s com unit) Negative.

  Lag: But you just said-

  Ship AI: (OC, though just Lag’s com unit) That would violate their privacy.

  Helton: But you can hear them?

  Silence. They look at one another, at their com units, and the massive open hatches, as they digest what the silence implies.

  Helton: Guess I didn’t ask exactly the right question after Nerona left.

  Quinn: Can we get some tanks?

  Helton chuckles and grins at him, ruffling his hair.

  Helton: Not right now. A hundred tons apiece, plus the ammo, would be a very heavy load. Maybe later, if we find some on sale.

  DISSOLVE TO

  EXT - DUSK - Alvarez ranch veranda

  The crew of Tajemnica sit in the fading red light of sunset, relaxing after a long day.

  Kaminski: You should have been there. She just barely lost to the guy who came in third. But still, 9th in a field of almost a hundred on her very first pin shoot is outstanding.

  Victor Alvarez: Yes, I heard about it. She made quite an impression on a lot of folks, especially the young men. She’s got a home here for sure if she wanted to move. Even managed to make friends with some of the younger ladies, who are normally a bit, ah, defensive, around competition.

  Mrs. Alvarez: I heard nothing but good things about her. About any of you.

  Allonia: I just followed Kat’s three rules, and didn’t have any problems. Just being myself, really. I had an excellent teacher, and the Saint Browning is really easy to shoot.

  Helton: Well, keep being yourself, please!

  Harbin: Lots of good recruit material here, and interest, too. Smart, fit, confident, eager to learn. Also discovered the heavy grav tank attachments. A very useful stop to make.

  Bipasha: Supplies for onboard, profitable goods we can easily move, contacts for future supplies and possible cargo. (Teasing) And some very handsome young men.

  Kaushik gives her a sidelong look with a raise eyebrow of disapproval.

  Mr. Alvarez: Word will spread. If you come back expect to be swamped with even more volunteers than you have now, and more suppliers. Seeing Jorge from time to time would be good.

  Helton: We might just do that… We might just.

  He tips back in his chair, takes a sip, and stares off into the brilliant colors of the sunset with the rest of them, enjoying the silence, the companionship, and view.

  FADE TO BLACK

  Quiritis

  FADE IN

  INT - DAY - Ship’s garden

  Allonia and Helton chat in the hydroponics garden. The light panels are bright, there are many racks of trays full of lush deep green plants; some obviously lettuce, melons, and tomatoes, a few compact blueberry bushes, a lot of less obvious greenery. Some trays are hydroponics, some trays are filled with dirt. Quinn is playing in some of the dirt, putting it into small pots.

  Allonia: I don’t know what that one is. The container only had a picture, but no other label. Seems to grow very fast, so I assume it is mostly for scrubbing carbon dioxide.

  Helton: And that?

  Allonia: Here, have a smell.

  Helton: Ah, mint. Where are all these from?

  Allonia: Big cabinet over in the corner full of trays full of seed. Most aren’t labeled. Some are obvious, others I don’t have a clue what they are… It was locked when I moved in last year, and then it clicked open three months ago.

  Helton: More fresh herbs to go with all that thin-sliced fresh meat, Kwon will be in heaven! I better start working out more with Harbin.

  Allonia gives him a puzzled look.

  Helton: Turns out a side of beef or a hog is a perfect training aid to get the young men to really understand the value of a razor sharp, highly polished blade, and precision placement.

  Allonia: He’s having the recruits carve it up?

  Helton: Sort of. They kept wanting to try to muscle their swings and thrusts. He had an inspired idea.

  Allonia: (Skeptical) A platoon of recruits swinging swords in the galley doesn’t sound very inspired, unless he’s helping train medics.

  Sar: (OC, though PA system) Helton, there’s someone here to see you about the pilot position.

  Helton: (To ship mic) Tell ‘em it’s been filled.

  Sar: (OC, though PA system) I did, but she’s quite insistent.

  Helton: We have a pilot.

  Sar: (OC, though PA system) I told her. She says she didn’t come this far to be turned away at the ramp.

  Helton looks at Allonia, shrugs. She clips a few sprigs.

  Allonia: (Noncommittal) Can’t hurt to talk to her.

  Sar: (OC, though PA system) Says she learned to fly on Taj.

  Helton: That can’t be right. Unless there is something else we don’t know.

  Allonia: Talk to her, see if her story checks out. I’ll drop in on you, let you know what sort of vibe I get.

  Helton nods agreement and goes to meet the stranger.

  DISSOLVE TO

  EXT - DAY - Bow cargo bay ramp

  Sar chats with a lady, Quiritis Rudel (tall, slender, angular, early 30s, wearing a simple tailored blue uniform with gold, silver, and red accents). Her blond hair is cut in a short low-maintenance style. By her side is a small travel bag. She watches the recruits in the cargo bay. Helton walks down the loading ramp, and she shifts her eyes to him, sticks her hand out in greeting.

  Quiritis: Quiritis Rudel, Pilot.

  Helton: Helton Strom, owner and captain of Tajemnica.

  Quiritis: I can’t believe someone finally got her flying! She looks beautiful!

  Helton: (Politely apologetic) Thanks. We think so. Sorry to tell you, but like Sar said, we have a pilot.

  Quiritis: I saw your advert for a pilot when I got back from a long survey flight, and got here as soon as I could. I had to come. I learned to fly on her.

  Helton looks at her intently. She’s back to running her eyes over the ship, happily smiling.

  Helton: Tajemnica hadn’t flown in more than a century before we got her off the ground.

  Quiritis: Oh, and I’m so glad that you did. I never thought I’d see her move!

  Helton looks at her skeptically. Quiritis’ eyes get back to Helton’s face, and reads it correctly.

  Quiritis: My parents owned her for four years nearly twenty years ago, trying to fix her up. Went bust like everyone else who tried. They had big plans but not enough money, connections, or skill. I used to sit in the pilot seat for hours in simulator mode. Taj taught me, starting with the basics and running though everything she could throw at me. Stellar navigation, transitions, ground attack, ship to ship, damage control. We went everywhere together, visiting every known terraformed system on last known data, even ones she made up with Planet Movers. Made going through p
ilot training at the academy almost boring. You can control everything on this ship if you want, and she always demanded I did, as soon as I could. She was very particular about her checklists. All the newer ships are dummy-proofed to the point of being barely usable, and not much fun. Flying landing shuttles and survey ships pays the bills, but…

  Helton: Sounds like a heck of a childhood.

  Quiritis: It was… interesting. You don’t really know what you have until you lose it.

  Helton: I could show you around; or should you show me?

  Quiritis: I’d love to see how she’s cleaned up, but I have got to ask: What are they doing?

  Camera view pans from Quiritis to four lines of recruits and a side of beef or dressed hog hanging from chain hoists at the head of each line, with a plastic tarp underneath each with a pile of meat pieces. Different pieces of steel armor are strapped onto each carcass in various places: some plates, some squares of scale armor, some mail. Each recruit has a gleaming, polished sword or spear, and they are practicing spearing, thrusting, or slicing as thin a hunk of meat off as they can, under Harbin’s and Kaminski’s direction and critique. A recruit with a pole hooked onto each side of meat moves it, jerking it around and spinning it trying to trap the blades. The “attackers” are trying to land a bow and clear their weapon as fast as possible. Sometimes it works well, other times a twisting side of meat gets a badly used weapon jammed up, and then the recruit has a heck of a time trying to get it withdrawn. After a clean attack or two and a strip of meat is shaved off into the pile below, the recruit would go to the back of the line. Harbin coaches as they go, and the other recruits in line are watching techniques and mistakes, laughing, grimacing, or nodding as needed.

  Harbin: In and out FAST! Clear for another thrust instantly, or you are as good as unarmed. GOOD! Good! NO, a thousand times NO! Don’t muscle it! Precision, gentlemen, fast and clean, in and BACK OUT! Don’t just stand there looking at that great cut; riposte and do it AGAIN!

  Kaminski: THAT’S right, next to the armor! Not into it! Shiny things STOP your point, meat doesn’t! PULL BACK! PULL! Engage and disengage as fast as you can, don’t give your opponent an opening by leaving a hand out there to get cut!

  A recruit takes a particularly ineffective poke at a hog, gets his spear jammed between armor and bone. He’s pushed around by the pole-man moving the target. The spear falls from his hands as he tries to readjust.

  Harbin: THAT’S about as useless as beanbags in a firefight! You CANNOT lose your weapon! Draw your secondary and GET THAT SPEAR BACK!

  The recruit draws his sword and takes a hack with it. The lost spear falls free and clatters to the deck. He picks it up and shamefacedly walks toward the back of the line as the rest of the recruits laugh good-naturedly.

  Camera pans back to Helton and Quiritis.

  Helton: (To Quiritis) An inspired training idea. Kwon and Sar didn’t like the idea of butchering a hundred sides themselves, and Harbin was looking for a better way to teach the kids to use speed and accuracy to get around the armor. They’re competing to make the biggest pile with the thinnest strips and smallest pieces in a set time, squad against squad.

  Quiritis: (Skeptical) OK. Weird, but OK. So, why on a starship?

  Helton: Long story, but the rent it pays is good, and they provide us no end of entertainment. Care to see a fully functional bridge?

  Quiritis: (Another big smile) Yes, very much, please.

  DISSOLVE TO

  INT - DAY - Tajemnica’s bridge

  Helton leads the way into the bridge, stepping into the command station, but she stops at the hatchway, looking around, entranced.

  Quiritis: (Quietly) Just how I remember her.

  She walks slowly toward the pilot position, running her hands over the well-worn curves of the command console as she goes, looking at them, reliving old memories. She stands at the pilot station a moment, checking the reach of controls.

  Quiritis: (Softly, dreamily) I used to have to stand on a crate to reach these. I didn’t want to use the seat. Top row of controls was frustrating because I had to really stretch.

  She reaches out reverently, and runs her hand along one side of the console, then across the top.

  Helton stands, watching her closely.

  Allonia steps in through the door and walks silently up beside Helton, eyes on Quiritis. Allonia raises a questioning eyebrow at Helton. He has a noncommittal expression. Quiritis takes a breath, closes her eyes, and reaches out her hands to various controls, hitting them directly with her eyes closed, her smile growing with each contact. She turns abruptly to say something, sees Allonia and startles slightly as she comes back into reality. Both women’s eyes narrow with a glimmer of recognition, then talk at the same time.

  Quiritis: Alli? [pronounced “alley”]

  Allonia: Quiri? [pronounced “query”]

  Their faces light up in surprised delight, and they come together and embrace.

  Allonia: It’s been so LONG and just LOOK at you and WHAT have you been DOING and CAN you believe we got her FLYING and she’s a GREAT ship and I’m SURE he’ll want to hire you and-

  Quiritis: OhMyGOD you’re all grown UP and you’re HERE and just LOOK at you and what are YOU doing here and HOW is just EVERYTHING and I came looking for a piloting job and just WOW.

  They both pause for a breath and another hug with tears of joy.

  Helton: I take it you two have met?

  Allonia: (Very excited) She used to watch me when I was Quinn’s age! We used to play here together!

  Quiritis: Our parents knew each other. For part of the time I was living aboard, I made a little money babysitting Alli!

  Allonia: So, you are going to hire her, right, Helton?

  Helton: (Cautious) Well, uh, we do have a pilot, and I thought a medic was next on the list?

  Allonia: But we need a second good pilot! I mean, at the rate we keep taking ships-

  Quiritis: You got her rearmed!?

  Helton: Well… not exactly, and that’s another long story, but, sort’a, yeah, we could use a spare pilot. Might simplify some things.

  Quiritis: (Skeptical) You’re not armed, but you’re taking ships? (Suspicious) You aren’t pirates, are you?

  Allonia and Helton burst out laughing.

  Allonia: Oh, God no! Mostly we take… well, like Helton said, it’s complicated. But no, we are not doing anything illegal… Well, not immoral, anyway… Mostly.

  Quiritis looks at them askance, now taking her turn to make sense of their answers, demeanor, and the things she’s seen.

  Allonia: Besides, do you think Tajemnica would let bad people fly her?

  Quiritis: Taj?

  Ship AI: (OC, gentle male voice) Hello, Quiri. Your training has not been wasted?

  Quiritis: Very well used, thank you. A master teacher, you are. Are they telling the truth?

  Ship AI: (OC) Yes. Their path here is complicated, but ethical.

  Her face brightens.

  Quiritis: It’s so good to hear you again! I have so much to tell you!

  Ship AI: (OC) I would be happy to listen, Quiri, but first you and the Captain have much to talk about.

  FADE TO BLACK

  Transportation Job

  FADE IN

  INT - DAY - Officers’ Mess

  Allonia, Helton, Quiritis, Cooper sit at the table with a water carafe and glasses.

  Helton: Proper parts have been a royal pain to get. A lot of stuff is very nonstandard.

  Allonia: But mostly in a good way.

  Helton: We’re running at less than half power, even though we have six drive cores more or less functional-

  Quiritis: All six?

  Cooper: I’d be happy to show you around the three Harmon and three Sokolov, show you how they work.

  The others look askance at his obvious ploy.

  Helton: And both main power systems nominally up. Made good money on our last job, hauling ammo delivered a week ago, but it’s almost spent already. Mostly on
parts. Colonel Lag-

  Cooper: -a Plataean we work with-

  Helton: -still hasn’t gotten paid for a, um, large piece of hardware we picked up for him, so income’s a little uncertain right now. When he does get paid, it’ll likely be worth a couple million to us, but Stenson has about fifty million in parts he wants ordered lined up.

  Quiritis: That’s still a lot more than my parents ever got running. They just didn’t have the money or skills, and the local port authority was not exactly helpful. Kept her on shore power, worked on what they could. But you still need another fifty mil worth?

  Helton: Just in parts. Highly specialized parts to replace the make-do things installed now. Labor’s free, sort of.

  Quiritis raises her eyebrows.

  Allonia: You saw some of them on the cargo deck. We almost got sunk, too, but the stars came together. We have a Plataean military unit paying some of the bills. It’s worked out very well. And they’re not nearly as scary as I was lead to believe.

  Cooper: Especially one in particular?

  Allonia blushes.

  Allonia: We’re just good friends!

  Quiritis: (Laughing) So, you have a special friend. A soldier, no less.

  Allonia: He’s really nice.

  Cooper: At least, if he’s not trying to kill you, which he seems to be good at.

  Quiritis looks slightly dismayed.

  Helton: He means, he’s good at killing the bad guys, not Allonia. Proved a problem for the one who tried the wrong approach with her. You’d like Kaminski.

  Bipasha comes in looking excited.

  Bipasha: Guess WHAT?

  Helton: Harbin’s favorite niece found a job at Seymore’s?

  Quiritis frowns and looks intently at Helton at the mention of the name.

  Bipasha: (Exasperated at first) No, you… I found a quick contract job that I think we can do, doesn’t involve corrupt warehouse managers or interceptors, and will make money!

  Helton: Great! What’s the catch?

  Bipasha: Hmm? No catch. Should be easy. Just got posted a little while ago. Some antiwar organization is looking to contract freelancers to fly over some cities just inside the militarized zone and pick up any remaining refugees and transport them to one of the camps being set up over near New Joysie. It’s a designated war zone so there shouldn’t be anyone left, and there’s been no action in that area. We should move fast in case there’s someone more desperate than we are.