by Jeff Taylor
Consciousness evaded her, for how long she didn’t know. She lay on the plush carpeting in a dreamless sleep until she became aware of light filtering in through the curtains and a distant voice calling her name. Her eyes forced themselves open to see a blurred image of a man, kneeling over her.
“Eve,” the man called softly.
“Is she alive?” another voice asked, not as concerned as the first.
Large fingers pressed against her wrist and neck. “Yes,” came the reply.
Her eyelids fluttered open. Nelsonn’s concerned face stared intently at her as she blinked back to consciousness. Relief warmed her weary body. He was cradling her head, stroking her cheeks. His gentle touch soothed her, driving all the tension from her. She was about to surrender to the bliss of being in his care when a perfect recollection of the last few days jolted her memory and she felt nothing but loathing for the man. She pushed his fingers away and forced herself to sit up, using the gritty wallpaper to steady her. She brushed a strand of unwashed, red hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears. “I’m fine,” she said groggily.
“Check the case,” yet another voice said which she recognized this time as Kim’s.
A soft hiss and then a flood of frigid air wafted toward her hand.
“Did she get them?” Mbenago asked.
“Yes!” Nelsonn trumpeted triumphantly.
Nelsonn reached out and took her sweat-dried face between his hands and drew her to him, planting an enthusiastically grateful kiss on her forehead. “Well done, Eve!”
His smile was enchanting and for a moment she was reminded of how much she had loved him; how happy he’d made her those first few weeks after his escape. She wanted to give in to his charm, but dared not. As she stared at his exuberant expression, she could think of the suggestions Zyn had made about Nelsonn’s relationship with Regina, and the absolutely insane reward for his death. She steeled her expression, masking any emotion. Placidly, she rose to her feet then pushed the door to the hallway open.
“Where are you going?” a confused Nelsonn asked.
Her legs wobbled beneath her but supported her as she stepped into the hall and replied, “To buy some new shoes.”
CHAPTER 23
ANNOUNCEMENT
“I hate sports. This was not why I came to the moon,” Brill grumbled to himself.
No one in the luxury box overlooking the vast green field paid him any attention. They were too occupied with the spectacle of the fledgling sport, Moonball, ferociously playing out below them.
“They couldn’t come up with a better name for it? I mean, Moonball? It sounds like some sort of fraternity prank,” he griped.
He hadn’t enjoyed athletic events on Earth and even here with only minimal gravity to impede the players’ abilities, he still found no excitement in them. The best he could tell, the sport was a hybrid of American football and basketball. The objective was to reach the other team’s goal, which looked like a small soccer goal on a pole, either by passing or running a weighted ball across the field in four tries. The field was enclosed by a transparent barrier which separated the audience from the action. Elaborate plays were called where half of each team was on the field and the other high above it. The reduced gravity, along with strategically placed metal strips and disks embedded in the barrier wall, allowed the players to use their magnetic suits off and on, bouncing around the arena in every direction like flies in a glass jar. The whole thing was absurd to Brill.
He turned his focus instead to the other members of his party. The entire Kratin family, bodyguards included, Ahkman and his wife, Josephina, Brahlim, Friedman and several other administrators they had met the last few days, were all present in the box. The group was a curious combination of enthused observers and uninterested hostages like himself only in attendance because they had to be. Nathaniel had insisted they all be there for the game.
Brill watched each of them. Some sat lazily in the plush seats sipping some clear, blue beverage, while others stood near the large window, breathless at what play would happen next. He loathed all of them for making him come and they knew it. But he did not care. Perhaps that was why he sat isolated in the far, right corner of the box away from everyone. His dark eyes scanned their faces. The majority did seem to be enjoying themselves (except for Josephina who never seemed to enjoy anything), but none so much as Jonu Vim, the chief administrator.
Brill’s granite stare pierced through the crowd and locked onto the rotund, red-faced man. How he despised him! Everything the man had done since their arrival Brill interpreted as a personal attack. He was an embarrassment to everything Carsus Corp stood for and Brill increasingly regretted not having fired him years ago.
A slender, young woman wearing a white shirt with matching black tie, vest and slacks approached Vim and asked if he wanted another drink. Vim gleefully accepted the libation and proceeded to speak with the woman in a very boisterous, playful tone.
“Look at him,” Brill thought aloud, “shamelessly flirting with that serving girl. What a disgrace. But, wait …”
He leaned forward, squinting his eyes to see more clearly. There was something familiar about that girl. Her back was to him so he couldn’t see her face, but there was definitely something about her that touched his memory. It was her figure. He hadn’t paid attention to a woman’s shape in the fifteen years since his wife’s passing, but this waitress held his gaze. She had few curves to her yet she wasn’t sickly thin either. Her torso was athletic, and thick from years of exercise. A chill raced down his spine as he stared at her. His mind could not tell him why, but his body knew this woman was someone he should fear. He strained his eyes harder to perhaps catch a glimpse of her face when a friendly voice suddenly sounded behind him.
“Not having a good time, Naitus?”
Nathaniel Kratin’s voice startled him. He looked up at his protégé, and grumbled. “Not so much,” he replied, sourly.
The elder Kratin took the plush seat beside him. His long legs stretched out before him like a pair of stilts.
Brill waived his silver-handled cane about the room. “I admit the accommodations are adequate, the food decent, but who chose puce and florescent green for the interior colors? I feel like I’m in a giant jelly bean at Mardi Gras.”
Nathaniel laughed heartily at Brill’s criticism.
“I am quite taken with the spectacle of your daughters, though,” Brill commented, raising his cane to indicate Augustina and Julia. The Kratin women pressed against the glass enclosure as if the world would end if they stopped watching the contest. Surprisingly, Augustina was the most vocal, crying out against badly executed plays or calls blown by the officials. Brill had been aware of her competitive nature before but to see it firsthand was enlightening.
Nathaniel chuckled in agreement. “I know what you mean. You should have seen Tina at the Harvard and Yale games! Several times we had to restrain her from jumping out onto the field. She certainly has a fire in her that I’ve never understood. Her mother, and to some degree myself, are pretty spirited at times, but we’re nothing compared to her. Although, I think that’s made her such a great athlete herself; all-conference sprinter her junior and senior years.”
The old man grinned. “Maybe that’s why I like her so much,” Brill said. “She has passion and that is something this company has lacked for a long time.”
Nathaniel leaned against the back of his chair and looked thoughtfully at his daughter. “I don’t know about that,” he said finally. “Our dinner a couple of nights back was fairly dramatic. Mr. Ahkman displayed quite a bit of passion.”
Brill scoffed. “The man’s a pompous mule. He has no more sense of what’s good for the company than does that ball being tossed around out there.”
Nathaniel’s gaze followed Brill’s gesture out the large window pane to the action on and above the field, where he let it linger a moment before he finally spoke.
“Yet, I got the sense that you agreed with him,” he
ventured, bringing his attention back to the elder Brill.
“Hmph. The day I agree with Pilan Ahkman is the day I eat a bullet. That being said, he isn’t always wrong.” He looked hard at Nathaniel. “But he is a very dangerous man, Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel started at the comment. “Dangerous? Why do you say that?”
The old man leaned forward on his cane, his cold, sunken eyes bore deep into Nathaniel. “Greed is an insatiable force in our world, one that few have ever withstood. It’s a monster that cannot be slain. It is a thirst that can never be quenched. Those of us who pursue power and wealth are its willing slaves and it our undying master. Once we taste the sweet nectar of success we succumb to its will. I have known many people over the years who thought themselves strong enough to overcome it, but in the end they fell just as surely as the setting of the evening sun. I was not immune to it and Ahkman surrendered to this beast long ago. He is its willing disciple.” His eyes narrowed and his cane pointed in Ahkman’s direction. “Beware that man, Nathaniel. He is lean yet insatiably hungry. The day you underestimate him is the day he will consume you.”
An uneasy silence hung between them as Brill reclined once more in his seat, glaring stoically at Kratin. His words hung in the air like a knife suspended over them by a frayed cord. Neither spoke again for some time, seeing but not watching the match unfold out the large window.
The gold Titans and the burgundy Olympians battled one another viciously, but the Titans were obviously the better team. In one incredible play, the Titan center defenseman leaped over the line of blockers, intercepted a forward pass and bounced his way to the goal, avoiding would-be-tacklers by ascending the walls and ceiling, then sailing downward to slam the ball through the hoop with thunderous power. The feat was quite amazing, even Brill had to admit as much. As play resumed, the tension between he and Nathaniel eased slightly.
“Naitus,” Nathaniel asked soberly, finally breaking the silence, “what do you really think of the idea of independence for the stations?”
“It’s absurd,” Brill hissed. “These people don’t remember that this ‘colony’ is a science experiment. An experiment conducted by this company with the cooperation of dozens of foreign governments, who all have an interest in what goes on here. To sever ties with those nations, both in funding and cooperation would be tantamount to financial suicide, for them and us. These people won’t last up here on their own. I don’t care what fancy procedures or gimmicks they’ve developed to make their food and materials. Without support from us and our resources they will wither and die within a few years, if China and other countries don’t nuke them first.”
For days, he had wanted to say this to Nathaniel. Since Vim’s plea for independence, he knew Nathaniel was giving the matter a lot of thought. No one had any idea where the man stood on the issue. Brill had tried to gauge his attitude on the subject through discussions with Tina, but those failed to shed any light on the decision. Now that he was finally alone with him this was his chance to convince Nathaniel of the folly of the ridiculous request and avoid the destruction the company surely would face. Under no conditions would he let Carsus’ two greatest assets, Selene I and II, break from his control.
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” Nathaniel said evenly, no trace of emotion in his voice. “I can definitely see how you would feel that way. The birth of this nation would potentially be a death sentence for the company. The time and effort invested in them have been substantial.”
“Not just time and effort,” Brill corrected. “The capital other organizations, other countries, have invested has been substantial as well. We could not have even gotten off the ground were it not for that.”
Nathaniel nodded his agreement. “Oh, absolutely.” He paused. “But someone has suggested to me that perhaps the company and the colony could still maintain a mutually beneficial agreement through some sort of financial relationship for goods and services to keep both us and the city going strong.”
“Financial relationship?” Brill growled. “With what finances could they pay for our ‘goods and services’? They have no economy to speak of, few factories, and no prospects for industrial growth without crippling our production. The most popular business is a women’s shoe store, for heaven’s sake! I simply don’t see how they could account for anything that would be advantageous to us. They would need us so much more than we would need them and that imbalanced relationship could not work.”
Nathaniel shifted his weight in his seat, placing his forearm on the armrest separating them. “What if our foreign allies were to agree to continue sending researchers and funding their experiments after a nation was formed?”
“They would be fools,” Brill said abruptly. “What good would that do? Any funds they provided would go toward their clients’ experiments, not to spur the economy of a rival nation, let alone sending their brightest minds to a situation outside their control.”
“What about the platinum and basalt mines? They were the sole source of our funding at one time.”
He’s fishing, Brill thought. He’s trying to get me to bite. “What of them?” he queried. “They’re run by the Hecate Mining Company. We have no say in how they operate. Our agreement has always been to supply their crews with food and lodging as well as the technology to do their jobs. In return, they gave us exclusive rights to market the platinum they find. If Carsus had no further presence here that operation would be seriously compromised, likely ending in legal action against us.”
His answers clearly frustrated Nathaniel. Brill watched anxiously while his protégé leaned back in his seat and stared into the dark void of space, visible through the holographic projection on the stadium dome. Brill watched him carefully. He tried to analyze the man while he sat in silence. The laced fingers on his lap, half-opened eyes focused on some distant point. Nathaniel was searching for something; an elusive argument, any kind of detail that would sway the discussion his way. Brill knew exactly what Nathaniel was contemplating and felt no sense in wasting time waiting for him to say it.
“You’re actually considering this, aren’t you?” he asked gravely.
After what seemed like an eternity, the CEO merely nodded, keeping his eyes fixated on the crowd before him.
Brill’s chest tightened. He had handpicked this man to lead his company, to carry on his legacy. Would he instead lead it to its doom?
“Why?” he asked incredulously.
Nathaniel drew closer to his mentor, keeping his voice low. “The things we’ve seen the last several days . . . they are just incredible. Never would I have dreamed that humanity could accomplish, let alone imagine, such wonderful things. And the people here are so cooperative with one another. There is such a feeling of comradery and unity already that would only flourish if they had a genuine sense of community. As for their economy, there is little doubt in my mind that they would thrive financially if freed from the restrictions corporate regulations place on them. The currency from tourism alone could fund thousands of residents. The first American colonies were established as economic arms of one nation or trading company. Why should this country be any different?”
The clarity of his voice, and the fervor in Nathaniel’s eyes frightened Brill. In them he saw the same passion and drive that they had both noticed in Tina only moments before.
“This could be the biggest leap forward for mankind in history! The first autonomous, independent nation outside the confines of Earth! Wouldn’t you want to be a part of that? See a new age of humanity born right before your eyes? I think we have the opportunity and the responsibility to at least explore the possibility!”
Fire engulfed Brill’s heart. “I find little use for history,” he snarled. “It bogs us down in what was at the expense of what could be. This company could be the beacon of human progress in space, but not as an accomplice,” he said, his voice rising. “You want to talk about history? What about the years of development, research, and sacrifice the men and women of Ca
rsus Corp have expended to carve this place from lifeless rock? What about the trillions of dollars we’ve spent in creating new technologies, allocating resources to establish an environment for these people to live and work in? Should that all be for naught? Would it be unreasonable to ask for some loyalty from them, some gratitude? I say, absolutely not! These people would not be here were it not for us and I find the idea of their ‘nation’ to be an affront to everything we have done!”
Their eyes were locked, but neither flinched. Brill’s jaw was a steel trap, ready to snap. Nathaniel’s normally warm expression grew cold.
“Loyalty,” Nathaniel said calmly, letting the word hang for a moment. “Is this the same loyalty we showed them six months ago when we tried to sell them to our competitors?”
The comment infuriated Brill and his eyes spread wide. His spotted hand clutched his rosewood cane and raised it up threateningly toward Nathaniel. “This facility and its companion in orbit are assets of Carsus Corporation and nothing more! It is our decision when and how they shall be used!” His eyes narrowed as his long finger pointed accusingly to Nathaniel. “These people have no right, authority, permission, or cause to even mention a split from our stewardship. Their propaganda of ‘nationhood’ should be squashed and everyone who proclaims it removed from the premises once and forever!”
The volume of their conversation silenced everyone in the box. The other occupants now turned their attention from the contest on the field to the one playing out in the corner. Neither Nathaniel nor Brill paid them any heed. Nathaniel was stoic, his face as hard as a Roman legion. When he finally did speak, his voice was barely audible.
“I was afraid you were going to say something like that,” he said, his eyes then cast downward in resignation as he rose from his chair.
Brill maintained a hard stare at his champion, as if the force in his eyes could penetrate Nathaniel’s skull and make him see reason. He concentrated so intensely that he failed to see Vim approach them until he tapped Nathaniel on the shoulder.
