by R J Murray
She held up her hands to show the dirt. “I got my canes in today so everything is great. Want something to drink?”
“No thanks. I just wanted to ask if you ever made wine before?”
“No, I haven’t. Why?”
“They want to make a few things to bribe people with back on Earth and wine was on the list. You have those berries and apples so I thought I would ask.”
“I heard that my great-great granddad made applejack brandy. I think I even have his recipe in my books. I could do that if they wanted me to. I would need a few things though for distilling.”
“The village would make the distilling equipment for any who want them and help with winemaking. Do you have a press for the juice?”
“I asked for one and it’s on the list of things to make by fall. I hate to waste the pulp though, since my animals can only eat so much.”
“I have pigs so I can feed them with any pulp you have. No waste there and I’ll get you a ham and some bacon for your trouble.” Franklin grinned.
“Deal.” Syble held out her hand and they shook on it.
~~~~~~
“What are you looking at?” Lee asked Jason, his quartermaster.
“The cargo boxes. See how they’re laid out?”
“Yeah.”
“What if we stacked them?” Jason asked.
“Why? We have plenty of room even with four or five ships on the pads.”
“Not here, on the freighters.”
Lee looked at him quizzically.
“Look.” Jason picked up a stick and started drawing in the dirt that was already starting to cover the landing zone.
“We need to keep this cleaner.”
“Yeah, now look. We line these things up on the freighters and get twelve containers per ship. What if we made them stackable? Redo the freighters, bigger engines more contra gravity and a different system for the cargo but the same containers. We could attach thirty-six containers per ship and send back more goods with fewer ships. We could send out ships two at a time and have more trips with less down time between trips and have a chance for the crews to get a little dirt side R & R, something they are sorely lacking in right now.
“Sooner or later we are going to need freight shipped between worlds of our own and if all the ships are going back and forth to Earth then we will be in trouble. Even with the nanobots, those ships are old and in bad shape. Nano’s can only fix what they are programmed to fix. If something happens to those ships outside of the nanobots experience, we are screwed.”
“Nice work and a good idea. Spring it on our administrator and I will back you.” Lee said, looking over the sketch.
“Who, that Juan guy?”
“Yup. He is in charge of making sure we expand as fast as possible. His head is in the noose if word gets back to Earth so it is in his best interest to work hard here.”
“Well, I have a few other ideas to. Want to hear them?”
“Matter of fact, I do.”
~~~~~~
“Dropping out of FTL. Stand by to contact control.”
The colors disappeared and stars filled the screen as the Astangii entered normal space once again. “Two hundred thousand kilometers to Luna.” Ash announced.
“Contact control and let them know who we are.” Eric asked.
“Control, this is the Astangii, Eric Maddwell commanding. Please respond.”
“Launch! Nuke at seventeen seconds. On the plotter!” Chuck cried out.
“Shields up. Take it out Chuck. Deaths Head and Avenger, we are taking fire. Spread out in pattern Delta two and stand by.”
“Affirmative.” was the reply from both ships.
A fireball blossomed on the screen as the rail guns sent a four second burst at the missile.
“Any idea where it came from?” Eric asked.
“Negative. No ships on screen or visible on the scanners.” Reed answered.
“Anything smaller than a ship? A shuttlecraft, a mule anything?” Eric asked.
“Scanning. Shuttlecraft at two thousand kilometers. Another at five thousand. More further into the system in different orbits around Earth and Luna. They all show active nukes aboard.”
“Patch me through to control. Control, this is Eric Maddwell. What’s the big idea? We have nine freighters full of goods. If you fire again, we will turn around and NEVER come back. You can all starve for all I care.”
“Warship just lifted from Luna base. She is heading here and nukes are ready.”
Eric nodded at the com officer. “I guess you just need to see for yourself. We will do this the hard way. We have kept our side of the deal, colonize and ship resources back to Earth. Why you chose to fire on us I don’t understand but you have. If that ship gets here and fires, we will return fire at that ship and at Luna base. When they are both destroyed, we will take out the capitol on Earth. We have a few alien weapons called Hell Bombs and Planet Killers aboard. If you fail to cease fire after the capitol is gone then I will launch two of each and Earth will be sterilized so, go ahead and send out your tiny little ships and then die.”
The crew glanced at each other but didn’t flinch. They never knew when Eric was bluffing anyway.
“Control to Maddwell. Do not fire. We have recalled the ships.”
“Did they?” he asked Reed.
“Maybe. The warship is slowing down and the shuttles are heading back to Luna. I don’t see anything else on scan that is big enough to have a nuke aboard. When did we get Hell Bombs?”
“You ever play poker?” Eric asked.
Reed made a rude noise before he answered. “Not with you, that’s for sure.”
Eric tried to keep a straight face. He wanted his face to be as hard as his voice when control called back.
“Control to Maddwell. Enter standard lunar orbit and wait for the mules.”
“I have a private message, eyes only, for Committeeman Rudolph Hazer. I request he respond immediately, before I get any closer to your weapon systems.”
“We do not bother Committeemen . . .”
“Nuke primed and targeted. We launch in ten seconds. Nine. Eight.” Eric counted down slowly.
“Shit. Wait, wait, wait! Give me a few seconds!”
It was fifteen minutes before the Committeeman answered.
“Well? I am a busy man and have little time to waste.”
“Really? Why did you attack us? We are returning with grains, metals and other resources and you launch a nuke at us? What’s going on?”
Hazer looked surprised. He turned his head and spoke to someone outside of Eric’s view. “It seems you are not in a ship we built. The local defense forces fired without orders. What ship is that?”
“This is the alien vessel I found floating around Kepler five. We have sent regular reports to you people about our progress. Did they get lost in channels?” Eric asked angrily.
“Apparently. We were not aware you were using it. Since you are here, transfer your crew to one of the other ships and we will take control of this vessel. It should make a splendid addition to our defenses.” Hazer said.
“No. Without this ship most of us would already be dead and the colony never started. I can’t afford to lose the firepower.” Eric answered.
Hazer looked at Eric for several minutes before speaking again. “When did you stop the drugs?”
Eric realized he had screwed up big time. Still, there was no way he would turn the Astangii over to Earth. “Long time ago, three months into my mission. I had a leak from an impact. I lost a lot so I stopped and made the repairs then flushed and refilled all tanks. I did it every few star systems until it was clean. Then the director ordered my ship to cut off my oxygen and dump my body into space. My poor computer had not been programmed for that so she asked me how to do it.”
Hazer laughed. “Maker help us all. That was Bergeson, poor sot. He is on Mars now and probably dead. I was quite angry when I heard he had given that order. Perhaps we should have found a way to carry it out anyway. Too la
te now, I suppose. So you are here in your big alien ship with nasty new weapons. What does the renegade spaceman want from us? Talk fast because my patience is limited as is my time.”
Eric decided it was too late to back down now. He leaned back in his command chair and smiled. “Well, I have plenty of time, decades if needed. I can wait until Earth is a desert or covered by ice and still be happy as a clam. Therefore, since you decided to shoot at us, here is the new deal. You need everything to keep Earth alive. We need a few things to keep the independent planet Acadia running smoothly and efficiently. You have excess population and we have wide-open spaces on at least twenty planets to fill. We have planet killers and you have tiny little baby nukes. We have a fleet of alien star ships three times the size of Earths biggest and ten times better than your best. We have and you need. You have what we need and you can spare it because you don’t really even want what we are asking for. So to me, it sounds like we should be doing business together.”
Hazer was quiet, his eyes angry enough to spit fiery blades across the distance. “So, you think to trade, to have us recognize your planet as independent? It is our colony and we have a right to expect a return on our investment.”
“No problem. It was never your colony, not from the first landing on the surface. It is our world and you will never see another thing from it. I will release the cargo and leave. Enjoy your returns. End transmission!”
Reed cut the com link on signal and waited with the rest of the crews.
Eric lit his last cigar and nodded to the crew. “Smoking lamp is lit. Keep an eye out for nukes or ships though.”
It took five minutes for Earth to call the ship.
Hazer appeared on screen. “Perhaps I was hasty. I have conferred with a few of my colleagues and we feel we may be able to work out some support for our colony worlds.”
“Like you did for Mars? Anyone still alive there?”
“You seem to be in possession of a great deal of classified information. I can only assume that our idiot colonial administrator has been busy buttering up to you. I can also assume you threatened him.”
“We were going to toss him out the airlock around Pluto but he saw reason. That is where we started dumping all your drugs too, by the way.” Eric answered. “The colony did not feel any need for domestication.”
“Damn You!”
“If it makes you feel any better, please feel free. I don’t mind a bit, not after all the nasty things I had to say about you.” Eric smiled once again and it made Hazer fume even more.
“Look,” Eric said in a more conciliatory tone. “You know I am right about Earth being in trouble. We have hearts after all and we do not want to be responsible for the deaths of millions of our people if we can avoid it. Why else would we not only return but bring millions of cubic meters of needed supplies back on each trip? If it comes to war between us, I’ll push the button myself and let the others off the hook. At least my way will be quick and relatively painless.
“Trade with us, and recognize us, at least privately, as an independent world. Look over the list of goods we are asking for. Reed, send him the list please.”
Reed took a moment to find the list Juan had drawn up and sent it.
“Look it over. See how painless this can be. As a gesture of good faith, the freighters will go into orbit and drop the cargo. Thousands of tons of grains and metals for Earth. Call me back later and let me know if this is workable. If not, we leave. No hard feelings from our side at least.”
“I will look over the documents. End transmission.”
“You even let him hang up this time. How nice.” Reed said. “I assume we will hang back and keep our Hell Bombs targeted?”
“You assume correctly. Tell the freighters to assume orbit and drop their cargo. Anybody want coffee?”
~~~~~~
Hazer was almost polite when he finally called back. “No one on Earth must know that we have lost control. That is first and foremost. Second, we will fill your requests as long as we can, as long as you supply foods and resources to Earth. Third, none of your personnel are allowed to return to Earth or Luna ever. Orbit yes, but never set foot on this planet again. Last, privately we acknowledge that the planet Acadia is independent and self governed and is not ruled or controlled by any Earth government.”
“Sounds like everything we asked for. I will have to ask the people of Acadia to confirm this but I believe that this is acceptable to all parties. We will continue to ship resources to Earth on a regular schedule, not to exceed one year apart and less if possible. Do the Martian colonies still exist?”
“After a fashion. There were many deaths after the crops began to fail but they were able to keep enough food growing to survive. We abandoned them several years ago. We can barely keep Earth alive, much less two other worlds. Luna is in the same condition. They handle shipping and support themselves to an extent but they are close enough for us to send them some assistance.” Hazer seemed reconciled to Eric being in charge and dropped all pretense of superiority.
“Do you have people ready to leave for Acadia? We can take a full load back if you do.”
“It will take a few days to gather the materials and load them onto the containers. Those persons who are being deported will be ready at that time. Less than two weeks perhaps for all plus time to orbit and locking onto the freighters.”
“How many people left on Mars?”
“Less than a thousand. If you want them, you are welcome to them all. We will never return to Mars.”
Chapter 13 Welcome to Paradise
The Astangii was in low orbit around Mars, looking over the colonies and calling the people still remaining. Deaths Head and Avenger were watching over the cargo ships around Luna. The surface colonies looked rough on Mars.
Most of the domes were shattered and open to the Martian atmosphere. The red dust covered the buildings and looked depressing. The only two domes left were in the southern hemisphere and they weren’t talking. Eric finally got on the com himself in desperation.
“Now listen up. We are not an Earth ship, we are the vessel Astangii out of Acadia, a former colony world. We are independent of Earth. I am Eric Maddwell, Captain of the Pathfinder. We want to see if you would like to go to Acadia, a very nice planet where you can breathe the air and drink the water. Hell, you can go swimming if you want, since we have two really nice oceans. No suits, masks or survival gear needed to take a walk outside and lots of ground available for farms or business if that’s what you want. Please, at least talk to us.”
“Eric? This is someone you spoke to on your mission. Can you identify me?”
“You sound like Derrick. Is that you?”
“Yes it is. You are alive after all. I figured they dumped you out and let the computer continue the mission.”
“That’s what you were trying to warn me about the last time we spoke, wasn’t it?” Eric answered.
“That and a few other nasty tricks. That is why I ended up on Mars. Your place sounds very nice though. What is the catch?”
“Well, you have to leave Mars.”
Laughter came over the com for several minutes.
“No, really, what’s the bad news?”
~~~~~~
“I can’t believe so many wanted to stay on Mars.” Eric said.
“Well, some of them were born there, third and fourth generation. It’s the only home they knew and leaving for an alien world with free water is a bit much to handle. They have never set foot outside without a suit or a mask on. Still a few hundred people are not a very large gene pool and they may not make it.” Derrick said sadly.
“We can keep an eye on them. Start dropping a few tons of grain when we come back and a few other things. They still have water don’t they?” Eric said.
“Yeah, and that is one of the good things. Lots of water a few meters down around the south poles especially. They keep moving the farms too. Just because the domes are down on the cities doesn’t mean the farms
are out of reach. If they could get some nutrients in the soil they could bounce back yet.”
“You want a job? We have a landing port but we could use someone with experience in running it as a space port.”
“Sure. Sounds like a good thing for me. Any chance of getting some organics for the Martian farms?”
“We get back to Acadia we can check with the farmers and see what we have. Might get something on our return trip. Right now, we need to get back to lunar orbit and pick up the freighters for the trip out.”
“Micro jump laid in.”Ash said.
Eric nodded and gave the order. “Jump.”
The ship did the little twist now familiar to the crew and the screen lit up with the colors and swirls of FTL travel. It only lasted a few seconds before normal space was back and Luna filled the screen.
“Creepy Crawler to Astangii. We saved a space for the container forward port side. We still need room for two thousand more bodies on that one when you drop it.”
“Roger that. Releasing payload. Stand by.” Reed switched channels. “Attention in the Mars colonist container. We are about to release the container. Please strap in and wait for the signal to unstrap. You have two minutes so don’t waste time.” He gave them the two minutes and a few seconds more. “Dropping container. Stand by for zero g.” Reed nodded to Ash who released the locks.
“Astangii to mule. Container dropped and we are moving off.”
“Roger Astangii. We have visual on container with live cargo. Pickup in thirty seconds.”
“Affirmative. Astangii out.”
After a few hours the Creepy Crawler was on the com again.
“That is the last of it. Nine of us and three more really old freighters ready to go on your command. Remember to stop at the ice belt for the new people, Okay?”
“Roger that. Coordinates set for ice belt passage. You should see them in your com screen now.”
“Affirmative.”
“All ships, FTL in five. Four. Three. Two. One. Go.” The fleet jumped within a few seconds of each other, mostly, with the Astangii waiting to make sure they all left.
“Pork Rind, what’s the problem?” Reed asked.
