by Greg Chase
Luther pushed the hood back from his face, caressed the scraggly beard that lined his jaw, and handed back the card. “Done. Meet me where Spike dropped you off tomorrow morning.”
Luther left without another word.
Jess turned to Sam. “What was the offer?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but this was one of the conditions.” He bent the ID card in two. It shattered into such fine particles Sam had trouble identifying the remnants from the dust that covered the floor.
Jess pulled hers out and shot Sam a questioning glance. He shook his head. “They didn’t say anything about yours. For now, I think we’re better having some means of spending Earth money.”
The ship that sat out on the dusty plain couldn’t have been more than half the size of Rampike. Sam thought it looked way too close to a shuttle than a craft capable of space travel. Luther gunned the engines as Sam and Jess hopped on board.
As they entered the bridge, Luther yelled above the drone of the engines. “Strap in tight.”
On a planet with very little gravity, Luther made the most of the g-force by pointing the craft ninety degrees to the surface and blasting the engines. Dust flew up around the ship, obscuring the view screen. As the craft left the thin atmosphere, it dodged right and left to avoid the larger ships that floated in orbit. More than one craft directed a lazily aimed warning shot at the impertinent liftoff.
Sam looked around, wondering why the onboard Tobe hadn’t done something with the gravitational dampeners. All he saw were random controls, some of which clearly hadn’t been used in some time. More than one looked to have been hit with a blaster and not from outside the ship.
Jess touched Luther on the arm. “Excuse me, who is the Tobe on your ship?”
Luther’s maniacal laugh did little to settle Sam’s nerves. “There’s no Tobe on this ship. He died a long time ago—and good riddance. I run my own ships and don’t need any technological being looking over my shoulder. They’ve got no sense when it comes to working through an asteroid belt or evading patrols, just no sense at all. Hell, I had one talk to the ship that was pursuing us.”
Luther banked the craft into an arc meant to find Jupiter. And though the planet appeared the size of a beach ball on the view screen, Sam wondered if this human captain could actually arrive at the monster planet on his own.
The captain’s stance against the controls reminded Sam of pictures he’d seen long ago of early racing shuttles. The men in the photos were determined to win or die trying—too many had managed the latter without ever experiencing the former.
Luther nodded toward the back of the bridge. “That’s about the most comfortable area of the ship. It’ll take a few hours to reach Carpo.”
The captain spoke little during the trip, and seldom in complete sentences, often resorting to his deathly laugh as a way of finishing his thought.
As the largest planet in the solar system completely filled the view screens, Luther grew serious, a mood Sam didn’t like at all, and pushed the controls to their limits. “This is where I earn my pay, folks. Clever bastards started putting remote cannons on these rocks.”
The ship swung violently to the left as the asteroid in front of the ship pitched ninety degrees to display the muzzle of a gun aimed straight at Luther’s bridge. A shot of pure energy disintegrated the rock behind where the ship had just been.
Another violent change of direction put the craft on a collision course with a small but fast-moving asteroid. Luther spun the controls at the last second to let the rock pass off to his right, but that merely lined him up for another impact.
Instead of dodging this one as he had the last, Luther pushed a button on his controls to fire a bolt of lightning at the rock. The remaining pebbles made a staccato tapping on the sides of the ship.
Another gun lined up on the left, forcing Luther into a spin. In spite of the lack of gravitational pull corresponding to the violent maneuvers, Sam felt sure he was about to be sick.
Luther’s teeth stood out sharp and clear as he laughed at the guns’ continual misses. “They don’t like us pirates sneaking in here. Good news for us is they use Tobes to remotely man the weapons. Had there been humans at the triggers, I’d be dead a dozen times by now.”
The nose of the ship snapped hard down to avoid another large rock. As Sam suspected, a bolt of energy fired harmlessly past the back of Luther’s engines.
The next rock, however, slammed fully into the side of the small craft. Sam never saw it but only felt the hard slam that knocked him to his knees.
Luther shook his head. “Told you to buckle in. Bound to hit a few of those bastards. Good thing you’re paying me enough for a new ship. This one will be toast by the time we land.”
Another rock skidded off the top of the craft as Luther again banked hard left. It took forty-five minutes of rocks, cannons, blasts, and maniacal laughter for Luther to work the ship through the protective belt meant to keep him and his kind out.
Jess attempted to smooth her hair back in place. “Was that really necessary? Isn’t there a safer way to Jupiter’s moons?”
Luther had returned to his taciturn ways. “If you want to get caught, sure. If you want to be a successful smuggler, no. The Moons know this is the only unguarded approach. They used to think the asteroids themselves would keep us out. And they do, for the bigger ships. But us little guys are sneaky, so they put in those guns. They don’t know what they’re seeing, though, so the sensors just pick up movement and fire at it. Any other entrance, we’d have had to submit who we are, what we’re doing, on and on. Who has time for all that nonsense?” The captain turned to give Sam a knowing wink.
4
Luther swung the ship back up into the asteroid field for one last pass around a particularly large rock. Coming out from behind it, he aimed the craft at a moon only slightly larger than some of the asteroids they’d been dodging.
“Carpo’s one of the few moons around Jupiter with a technology base too small for Tobe life. That makes it perfect for pirates as there’s no busybody computers to tell on us. We try to be as secretive in our landings as possible to keep the bigger Moons from catching on. It can make for some circuitous approaches.”
Luther made a sharp, hard descent then pulled the nose up for a soft landing on the barren desert. A large rock outcropping jutted up next to the flat plateau.
The pirate captain unbelted his harness. “We have to keep changing our landing sites. It’s getting to be a challenge.”
He stepped out of the small craft with Jess and Sam. “You’ll have to climb that rock face. There’s a path between those two ridges. Once you’re up top, you’ll see the village below. That’s about all there is to Carpo. When you get to town, find a restaurant called Mabel’s. I wouldn’t recommend talking to many people here. Just go to the restaurant and grab something to eat. I’d guess the person you’re meeting will find you.”
Sam stood next to the captain in shock—that’d been more words than he’d used since they’d met him. “Thanks for the advice.”
“Thanks nothing. I only get paid once you make contact. And I’ve got a vested interest in seeing you two make it off these rocks and back to Earth. But you’ll be better off alone out here. I tend to draw attention.”
Luther fished around in his long jacket and pulled out some flimsy pieces of synthetic cloth. “It’s a little old school, but it works on most of the smaller moons. There should be enough there to keep you in food and shelter for about a month if you’re careful. Just don’t go flashing it around.”
Sam looked at the odd markings on the fabric. “That’s more than I asked for.”
Luther nodded. “I know. Call it an investment.”
The captain turned and boarded his ship. A cloud of dust and rocks accompanied the pirate’s blastoff from the small moon. Sam hugged Jess tight. Out here with so little in the way of support, he’d never needed her more.
“Adventure was never meant to be easy or safe,” sh
e said. “Even with the low gravity, that still looks like a good hike. If we want to get to the town by dark, we’d better get moving.”
The minimal gravity, combined with his thick boots, helped Sam deal with the rocky terrain. But just getting to the rock escarpment took a toll on his legs. Between his time spent on Earth, in spaceships, and on small planets, Sam’s body had trouble knowing how much force to exert.
They started their assent single file as the narrow, winding path only allowed for one person at a time. Jess’s butt, still thin and muscular, flexed in front of him as she pulled herself up the rock surface.
The climb hurt his hands. More than once, a rock he gripped bit through the thick gloves. He caught a glimpse of the desert floor ominously far below. He returned his attention to his wife’s behind, hoping to distract himself from thoughts of falling.
It took three hours to reach the top of the ridge. Jess put her hands to her back and stretched. “Well, that’s not a sight you see every day.”
Sam looked toward the two bright moon-suns—not as bright as the sun but more intense than a solar-array satellite. He couldn’t look directly at them. Beyond the miniature suns, the monster of a planet, Jupiter, dominated the horizon.
Jess pointed to a large complex of buildings. “That must be the manufacturing facility. I never did catch what they made here.”
Sam shook his head. “Me neither. But if that’s one of the smaller corporations, I wonder how big some of the major Moon operations get.”
“I hardly see any plant life. It’s like they go out of their way to make it look like a dead planet.”
Sam scanned the terrain from arched horizon to the bottom of the rocky ridge. Other than a few patches of well-organized greenery, the moon barely looked terraformed. The corporation had given it heat and an atmosphere capable of sustaining life—but only life that would prove beneficial to the bottom line.
Sam caught site of a small village off to the left of the manufacturing plant. “Looks like that’s where we’re headed.”
Jess nodded and pulled the hood back up over her face.
The descent proved less taxing than the climb. With the fear of falling no longer a factor, Sam’s stomach let him know it’d been some time since his last real meal. He began fantasizing about the culinary skills of Mabel but kept his expectations in check.
By the time they reached the bottom of Carpo’s mountain, a third moon-sun had crept out from behind Jupiter. Small hovercrafts holding two or three people each whizzed by across the rocky field between manufacturing plant and village. No one gave the couple a second look.
Jess grasped his hand and pointed toward the small groups of people on foot. “Maybe we can just mix in with the locals.”
Sam nodded and headed off to join the others. He and Jess might have looked a little dustier, but they fit in well enough with the workers heading home.
All the buildings had a very similar style, but at least they weren’t prefabricated duplicates of one another. After the pirate outpost with structures made out of whatever someone could find, these dwellings looked downright inviting. Some things didn’t change no matter how far you flung humanity. No matter how much or how little they had, people always needed food and shelter.
Jess pointed to a building halfway down the street. The embellished tin sign with calligraphy lettering spelling out Mabel’s hung proudly above the entrance.
They entered the half-full restaurant. A family who’d entered with them took a table toward the back. Sam directed Jess to a small booth with a window view.
An older woman with kind eyes and a full figure came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Nice to see you. I’m Mabel. I just serve one dish, and tonight, it’s a vegetable medley with synth-ham and gravy. I also have a lovely apple pie for dessert.”
Jess smiled at the restaurant owner, waitress, and cook. “That sounds wonderful.”
Mabel smiled as she gave them both an appraising look. With an almost imperceptible nod and wink, she moved off to take the family’s order.
Sam squinted his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“What’s wrong?”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I think it’s that thing that happens in my head sometimes.”
She gave him a half nod. “Any thoughts on the subject?”
He tried to relax the muscles that connected his head to his neck. “Just tortured ones.”
She gave him a worried frown then whispered, “They’re being tortured?”
“More like the contact is being manipulated. Only some information is getting through. Instead of a multitude of pathways, it’s like there are only a couple and they’re tightly controlled.”
Jess settled back in her chair. More people were entering the restaurant—an evening rush of workers coming home and not wanting to cook.
The food was decent, a welcome relief from what Sam had feared. He could feel the nutritious items invigorate his sore muscles. The bill made enough sense that Sam could figure out what he was supposed to pay. Another welcome relief—the amount of money Luther had given them did appear to be as described. At least a pirate hadn’t yet taken advantage of them.
Mabel brought back the receipt with a small drawing scribbled on the back. “Street map. He should be home now.”
Back outside, Sam unfolded the drawing. There weren’t any street names on it, just a series of interconnected lines. He did his best to look inconspicuous as they worked their way down to one crossroad, then the next. The triangle Mabel had drawn as the ending point of their journey corresponded to the shape the eaves made above a front door, something of an oddity among the more traditional rounded rooflines in the neighborhood.
The door opened as Sam stepped up onto the front porch.
Jess grasped his hand. “I guess that means we’re expected.”
He nodded, feeling as if he were entering a haunted mansion during Halloween as he stepped through the substantial door frame. The front parlor contrasted with the utilitarian impression of the rest of the town: a patterned rug covered the floor, a full-sized mirror reflected back the dust-stained travelers, and lighting was adjusted to what would be expected on Earth. It all helped put him at ease, or at least as at ease as Sam ever expected to be on a Moon of Jupiter.
A door stood open off to the left of the hallway. Cautiously, they crept toward it and looked into the room. A man of approximately Sam’s age sat smoking a pipe on the couch while a view screen ran through the day’s events. He smiled casually at the intruders. “Make yourselves comfortable in the room across the hall. I suspect you’ll want a few minutes to relax and gather your thoughts.” He gave Sam a sly wink as he turned back to the view screen.
The clean, well-lit office had a reading chair and large couch. Sam chose to lie on the couch to help quiet his thoughts.
Jess, however, still had questions. “Do you think he knows about—our friends?”
Sam rubbed his forehead. “I would suspect so, but for now, it’s better if we don’t reach for answers. Best to let him talk first. Let’s have him tell us what he knows rather than give up too much information. I’m not even one-hundred-percent sure this is the guy we’re supposed to be meeting.”
Jess nodded. “Rest your head. I’m going to see what books he has on the shelves.”
A red glow permeated Sam’s mind. Intersecting pathways stretched out before him, but they all converged at the same point. He relaxed further, seeking out the paths within the paths, then the intersections and minor branches.
Unlike during his meditations on Earth—or even in places connected to the technology highway that existed alongside the solar transfer array—no Tobe reached out to him.
Jess’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, bringing him out of his contemplation. “It’s been an hour.”
Sam opened his eyes to see her at his side.
In the doorway stood their host. “They’re a secretive bunch—don’t take it personally.” H
e returned the pipe to his mouth as he took the reading chair.
Jess sat next to Sam, who was still trying to come fully awake. “How does this work?”
The man smiled. “First, we have introductions. My name is Rodrigo Cruz. I may be the only person on Carpo who has contact with our mutual friends. For everyone’s safety, it’d be best to not use the title you use for them on Earth.”
Jess leaned forward. “I’m Jessica, and this is my husband, Samuel Adamson. Do you know who we are?”
Rodrigo’s smile touched only the corner of his mouth. “I know enough. Welcome to hell.”
5
Jess’s skin itched. Weeks in the space leathers had left her wanting nothing more than to cut the garments off and soak in a hot bath. Their portly host, with his clean-shaven face and slicked-back hair, only made her feel grimier by comparison. She dared not let down her guard, not yet. “Thank you for meeting with us.”
The man spoke with a heavily laden accent that spoke of a heritage spent far from Earth. “Luther said you’d have some questions.”
“We’re here to see about our mutual friends,” Jess said. “But we know little about their situation.”
Rodrigo took a pull at his pipe. The resulting plume of smoke smelled more chemical than biological. “You’re on your own. Only a handful who aren’t on a Moons’ board of directors even know of their existence. There’s no drive for change among our friends, no matter how desperate their position. They were, after all, created to serve.”
It’d taken her and Sam years of helping the Tobes on Earth to evolve into independent beings. Without a god to lead them, the technological beings’ enslavement to corporations that owned the network necessary for their existence wasn’t unexpected. Jess couldn’t even use the word Tobe but had to refer to them as some unknown secretive friends. “What about the people? Our understanding is many of them don’t fare much better than our friends.”
Rodrigo gave her a hard stare. “People out here keep their secrets. But some of my personal history may prove instructive. My father worked for the Europa Corporation. I grew up there. You might be interested to know Leviathan’s help in the original terraforming is still taught in school.”
