Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10

by Randolph Lalonde

  “I think you two can move on,” she said. “The Rangers are finished with the live combat course, so we’ll get that over with this afternoon. Follow me.”

  Iruuk burped as she turned to lead them to the bunker behind the bleachers. “Sorry, I’m nervous, Ma’am,” he said.

  “That’s all right, you two will be the first applicants to take this test. We’ve already used the randomizer to decide which one of you will be first,” she said. The heavy metal doors leading down into the fortified bunker underground slid open with a screech. They were twice as thick as Alice was wide, and she couldn’t help but shudder at the sound of them screaming closed behind her, it was the sound of tons of metal dragging across their tracks. “This was put up hastily, there are still some adjustments to be made. This course is new, you’re going to face androids made to behave as sentients. You will only have one opportunity to make it through the floor we’ve laid out.”

  They walked down the stairs for several levels until they arrived at a door marked with a large number 5. “I am not going to tell you your secondary objectives, part of the test is to see what you do when confronted by various challenges. There are no safety mechanisms. There is an entrance and an exit, make your way from one to the other in whatever fashion you like. The armour you’re wearing right now is what you will use. You can choose one weapon, and will be carrying no other equipment other than a standard infantry grade Command and Control Unit. If you lose consciousness at any time during the exercise for any reason, are overpowered, or immobilized you will fail this qualifier. You may use whatever you find inside to help you reach your goal.”

  They entered a well-lit room with three lift doors against one wall and crude controls scattered against the right side of the space.

  There were four Rangers at the control panels, one was just closing the maintenance panel on hers, she smiled as several indicator lights started blinking. “Booted up and ready when you are, Captain,” she said. A stack of hologram projectors were still in their packages in the corner along with a few more modern interface systems. The live simulation was still dependant on buttons, temporary two dimensional projections to see what was going on, and levers that did who knew what.

  To the right were racks filled with dozens of different projectile and melee weapons. Alice knew that’s where some of her past expertise would come in handy. “So this is a solo exercise?” she asked.

  “It is,” said a tall male Ranger as he dragged a padded seat from a storage closet and carried it into the middle of the room. “The Captain has given you all the instructions you’re going to get, so I hope you were listening.”

  “Okay,” Alice said tentatively, stepping towards the weapon racks.

  “Hold on a sec, he goes first,” the Ranger said. “I’m Supervisor Crow, there’s only one thing the Captain here won’t tell you, and that’s how to opt out. If you lose your shit in there, or just want to leave, just call my name. ‘Crow! Crow! Come get me!’” he said in a mock panicked tone before continuing normally. “I’ll shut the test down and the droids will walk you out. You can go pick fruit or fly transports or whatever civilians do then.”

  Iruuk walked towards the weapon rack and started looking at the largest rifles there. His blue eyes flashed up to Alice, and she discreetly pointed her thumb downward so the Rangers nor the Captain could see her. He moved on, selecting a long pistol with an enlarged grip. It was an Electro Pulse Suppressor, a good choice that carried a clip of high calibre slugs as a backup to a variable charge energy blaster. He would be able to stun or burn whoever he came across, and charge the slugs with an electronic countermeasure. He half looked up to her and Alice glanced around the room to make sure no one was looking before nodding. The weapon would serve him well, and it was too big for her anyway.

  “All right, if you’ve got your gun, then head in through one of the lift doors there,” Ranger Crow said.

  “Does it matter which one?” Iruuk asked as he looked at the three doors.

  “Sure it does, but I can’t tell you why.”

  Iruuk sighed then chose the door on the left. It slid open, he stepped inside and the sound of small weapon’s fire filled the room before they could finish closing.

  “Pick your weapon, Alice,” Ranger Crow said. “You’re up in one minute.”

  Alice knew which weapon she wanted right away. The twenty-one-centimetre-long automatic hybrid weapon felt right in her hand as soon as she picked it up, it was the TS-133 Law Keeper. It had needle projectiles that could be electronically charged to interfere with technology, and it had one of the best focused particle pulse emitters ever made. She had been saving her luxury credits up to buy one, since it was an approved sidearm for Officers, and it could melt holes in armoured walls on its highest setting. It took her a minute to check all the settings and make sure the weapon was functional. “This only has half a charge,” she said as she saw the energy cell reading.

  “Weapons are provided as-is,” Ranger Crow replied.

  A check of the rounds remaining counter for the stun setting told her there were three hundred and five shots left, the particle pulse mode reported one hundred and five, while the needle launcher setting would give her ninety-one highly charged rounds. She nodded at herself, deciding that recharging the weapon and finding a backup cell would be a priority. “Ready,” she announced, walking to the middle door. If I had known I was taking this now, I would have worn a better vacsuit. I feel naked in this thing. Maybe there’s something better inside. She thought to herself.

  “Alice, some advice,” Captain Elson said. “Forget that this is a test, don’t think about what we might want to see. React naturally, use your instincts. The people you know haven’t had to pull any strings to get you this far, but your experience has given you an advantage. Trust that.”

  “Why didn’t you offer Iruuk advice?”

  “Because he feels he has even more to prove than you do.”

  The doors in front of Alice parted, and she stepped inside.

  Chapter 17

  Founder

  “I don’t know where we are anymore,” Dotty said as she walked along Liara’s left side.

  “Founder Borough,” Remmy said from her right.

  They were escorted by five heavily armed Freeground guards in the front, and another five that blocked them from the rear. Even so, it was impossible to ignore the white and navy blue metal hall they were in. The air pressure was off in the space just enough to keep air blowing from whatever awaited them to the transit tunnel they left behind. It carried a fragrance that she had difficulty placing for a moment, then Dotty placed it. “I smell wet earth and ripe fruit. That had better not be some aromatic they pump into this section.”

  “It isn’t,” Remmy said. “This section has an open air garden.” He seemed sullen, especially suspicious and watchful.

  They were marched up a slanted hallway then into what Remmy described. There were paths of clean white metal deck that led through arches only wide enough for three people abreast that led through a forest of organized fruit bearing trees. Bright light shone down on them, the air was thickly humid and hot. “This is amazing,” Liara said as she looked to her right where workers picked fresh pears.

  “It’s the lowest level of the high end living area for Freeground Station. The first one, anyway,” Remmy said. “There were a few rings with tens of thousands of people living in them that were a lot like this, only they built the forested section in the middle, not every other floor. This design was observed, but never really used again, there was too much wasted space.”

  They arrived at a lift door and were guided inside with five of their ten guards. “When were you ever here, exile?” one of them asked Remmy.

  “I never said I visited this section,” Remmy replied. “You should work on those listening skills, law man.”

  “How do you know so much about it, then? The Parliamentary housing is restricted.”

  “Haven’t you heard?” Remmy
asked with a crooked smile. “I’m the dangerous information broker who can poison your mind with a few pictures and a video. Speaking of which, what do you think of a place that’s even more beautiful than this? A place where you can stand on a real beach, visit a real jungle and disappear for a few days to explore, or to pick real food for a city that experiences three seasons every month? It’s called Haven Shore. Here, let me show you this short –” the guard flinched away as Remmy raised his comm unit.

  “Not interested,” he said.

  “Once you see what a sunny day looks like on that beach, it’s all you’ll be interested in. The swimming, the sun, the food, the ladies,” Remmy pressed quietly. “I swear, you give someone a reason to celebrate life outside of a space suit, and you’ll be shocked at how much comes off, and at how much fun people have down there.”

  “I don’t think we’re here to sell people on Haven Shore using the bikini strategy,” Dotty said with a chuckle.

  “Hey, there are a lot of sunny sides to Haven Shore,” Remmy said. “Just focusing in on a small one.”

  Liara wouldn’t tell Remmy that she found his efforts to scandalize or entice the guards boyish but hilarious, but she did realize that three of the guards were paying very close attention. The small lift car changed direction, they were moving sideways. They moved into a transparent metal tube, emerging above the forest they’d just passed through. There were apartments suspended part way between and above the trees – large white bulbous structures suspended by transparent walkways and transit tubes – bathed in artificial sunlight. “So this is where the parliament members live?”

  “This is where they used to live, in the first hundred or so years of the station,” Remmy replied. “Now it’s just known for having some of the most amazing apartments on the station. Even the high class guest quarters didn’t live up to this, or so I heard.”

  The transit car stopped at a pair of white doors that slid open soundlessly. “Out. This is your stop.”

  Liara, Remmy and Dotty left the car. The doors closed behind them and through a transparent section of the wall they saw the tube car that dropped them off accelerate back towards the curved white and blue wall. Remmy tried the door and the transit car call button but only managed to get sounds out of the system that definitely indicated that he wasn’t allowed access. “Does that brain bud of yours see any new access points?” he asked her.

  Liara had been gingerly checking for a crack in the privacy wall that surrounded Freeground’s network for hours, and she still couldn’t find any. “No, their security is perfect.”

  “No, it isn’t,” Remmy said. “This is a gilded cage. If you want out, I’ll find a way.”

  “You won’t get far,” Maggie Obun said as she stepped into the foyer. The Tourism Minister smiled a little and gestured an invitation to come inside. “Everyone on the station knows that you’re not allowed to wander. If you leave this apartment, you’ll cause a lot of trouble, I’m sorry.”

  “Good to see you again, Minister,” Liara said as she followed her into the apartment’s main room. There was a finely crafted table with a transparent top built on curled white metal, the chairs were made to match. A semicircle of navy blue sofas were placed to take advantage of the green expanse of trees below as well as a transparent section of hull in the distance. There was enough seating space for at least a dozen people, and behind the sofa was a kitchen set up like a bar.

  “I know everything looks new here, but it’s actually refurbished. Only two years ago all of these apartments were redone, restored to their original condition and aesthetic. I remember it was a move to remind important people of the station’s early days,” Maggie said, sitting down in one of the thickly padded seats beside the transparent wall opposite the sofa. She straightened her long, simple dress, the stretchy fabric reached her ankles. “Most of our highest ranking politicians moved in after we escaped our home territory. They were killed in the bombing, so many of these homes are empty. That’s why you’re here instead of in a jail cell.”

  “A jail cell?” Liara said, only half surprised. She took a seat on the edge of the sofa nearest to the Minister. “Their reaction to us going off the planned tour of the station is that strong?”

  “You’re collaborators now. The political majority see Eagleton as a tainted settlement aboard the station. I saw this coming when I agreed to deliver you there, but I didn’t have a choice. The tour that was planned kept you away from dissenters, except for Eagleton. There was no way to get you anywhere on the station without passing by that station, so we made sure you landed there.”

  “So you’re being jailed with us?” Liara asked.

  Maggie smiled a little. “They know better. My rollback is finished, but I’m pretty sure most of the people aboard would still recognize the great granddaughter of Gregory Ladden if I pointed it out to them. I’ve done this before, rolled back from my nineties to my twenties.”

  “You’re that Maggie? Magda Ladden?” Remmy asked, stopping half way to sitting on the sofa and straightening back up. “You look fantastic.”

  “Rollbacks will do that. People don’t age these days unless they want to, and I wanted to, but times being what they are, I want to be vital enough to see what happens to my family legacy.”

  “Does anyone know? I mean, you should be able to take the leadership by the ear and show them what they’re supposed to do,” Remmy pressed. “I mean that with all due respect.”

  “That’s not our way,” Magda said. “I’ve had generations to disappear into obscurity, to become someone else more than once, so almost no one suspects that I’m a Ladden, a member of the Freeground founding families. Especially now that the old leadership has been killed. I saw that unfortunate event as my opportunity to slip into the political centre, and now I’m the Tourism Minister. I have a voice in our government, and that’s all I’m supposed to have.”

  “But your voice could be so much louder,” Remmy countered gently. “You could have the gravitas of someone who knew the founders.”

  “I could, but again, that’s not how our political system is supposed to work. That, and I wasn’t entirely sure that the way we’re proceeding isn’t the best way for the station. The food problems are definitely wrong, and I’ll be working on that quickly along with the maintenance issues, but the bigger picture is more important to me. Where will the people of Freeground go? How will we survive our exodus? What compromise will both sides accept and how can we find one that will improve life for everyone?”

  “Those are the same questions I’m looking for answers for,” Liara said. “Tell me how I can help.”

  Magda smiled and stood, straightening her slim, long dress again. “I will, and soon. For now I have to appear at a meeting where I’m sure someone will publicly reprimand me for letting you out of my sight. It won’t be someone with a lot of power, I have too much dirt on those people for them to even try.”

  “Now, why don’t you use that to influence them?” Remmy asked, visibly frustrated but restraining himself out of respect.

  “Just because the previous Tourism Minister kept a collection of footage from all the questionable encounters that people had with visitors to the station doesn’t mean I should actually use them to influence decisions. I only use them to insulate myself. Like I said, Freeground politics are dirty enough without direct blackmail, it wasn’t the way this democracy was meant to run. Please, make yourselves comfortable, I’ll try to keep you up to date on what’s happening.”

  “I’d like to meet with someone from your senior government,” Liara said as she watched Magda leave.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said as she passed into the foyer.

  Liara, Remmy and Dotty were speechless for a moment after the woman left. Dotty peeked into the foyer and shrugged. “She just left, and it sounds like she has all the keys, like she can make whatever she wants happen here.”

  “It’s not the Freeground way,” Remmy said through his teeth. “I wish
I didn’t think that was the right way to do things – one representative for an equal number of constituents providing only one opinion, one vote for that section – but it worked for centuries. Blackmail, secret collusion, and fraud were punished brutally, but now people have private networks, and the evidence that blackmail happens is common. All that stuff was forbidden so one politician couldn’t become more powerful than intended. It makes sense that she’d still believe in it, but it’s so frustrating!”

  “Who was she? I missed something,” Dotty said.

  “She’s the last person to have a real family connection to the Founders of Freeground. She was underselling the fact that this isn’t her first rollback, it’s probably her fourth or fifth. I see the resemblance now,” he brought up a hologram of a woman in a long dinner gown who was in her mid-twenties and put an image of Magda beside it. “She’s blonde instead of brunette, a little shorter which is a known side effect of repeated rollbacks, and a little slimmer now, but tell me if that’s not the same woman.”

  “Yeah, that’s her. How did she hide in a place like this?” Dotty asked.

  “I don’t think you get how big Freeground was before. We’re talking hundreds of millions of people with cultures, subcultures, counter-cultures, and the founders had it rough in the end. Some left, there was a bombing that took out two of the Ladden family when they were in their senior years, wait,” Remmy said. He brought up a news report from that event featuring images of twisted metal and a hull that was open to space. “Here, it says she went missing, they never found her body or evidence that she was killed in the blast. The assumption was that she was pushed out into space, they spent months looking but never found her. She was ninety one. That must be when she had her first rollback.”

  “Did she cause the bombing so she could disappear?” Dotty asked.

  Remmy shot her an injured look and shook his head. “No, it was a mentally ill guy named Harry Trot. There was no question. That might have something to do with why she’s decided to get involved again though, the bombing may have brought back some bad memories.”