The Empire's Corps: Book 05 - The Outcast

by Christopher Nuttall

  “Steve might be willing to help you,” Captain Hamilton added. “He’d be fascinated by the challenge. Brad, on the other hand, wants his own ship. What do you want?”

  “To find other opportunities to make money,” Sameena said, firmly. Spare parts would just be the start. There were plenty of other pieces of abandoned equipment out there – and, once the children were trained up, a cadre of engineers to help restore them. Who knew what else she could find and put to use? “It won't do any good just sitting on my credit coin.”

  “And it will lose its value quickly,” Captain Hamilton added. “We’ve been looking at ways to spend half of our percentage quickly.”

  “You’d be welcome to invest,” Sameena said, giving him a cheeky grin. “I owe you everything.”

  “What do you want to do?” Ethne asked. “I mean with yourself, personally. Do you want to stay onboard?”

  “Yes,” Sameena said, quickly. She'd grown to love the crew. They were her family now. “If you’ll have me, I’d like to stay.”

  “You’re our lucky charm,” Captain Hamilton teased.

  “Besides, you have an education to finish,” Ethne added, firmly. “We can't get rid of you yet.”

  Sameena spent the next two days outlining her plans to Steve, then working with him to sort out the practicalities. The colonist-carrier would require some minor refitting, but it was apparently intact, just waiting for a buyer. Steve professed himself unsurprised that it hadn't been sold, even for spare parts. It was simply too outdated even by the standards of the Empire, where technology seemed to have frozen for hundreds of years.

  “They did take the stasis pods,” he commented, after receiving an updated statement from the merchant who owned the junkyard. “Without them, the ship seems valueless.”

  “Because it can't carry colonists?” Sameena asked. “Or because no one thought of turning it into a mobile factory?”

  “There was an emergency program, hundreds of years ago, to use such ships to evacuate small colonies, if there was a need,” Steve explained. “A star flared once, catching the new colonists by surprise and destroying much of their equipment. Most of them died before the Imperial Navy could ship in emergency supplies. If it had been an older colony the death toll would have been in the millions.”

  He scowled. “If every starship in the empire was sent to Earth, it would still take years to evacuate the entire planet,” he added. “And, as time wore on, precautions like having a ship on permanent standby were allowed to fade away.”

  Sameena frowned. “Could someone deliberately cause a supernova?”

  “Not as far as I know,” Steve admitted. “But it isn't as if there aren't thousands of other ways to wipe out vast populations with the touch of a button.”

  He finished skimming through the document, then looked up at her. “It shouldn't be too hard to refit it,” he said. “You’ll have to hit the engineering crew with some pretty tough secrecy contracts, I'm afraid. Someone talking out of turn would be ... inconvenient.”

  Sameena looked at him. “Would you be interested in the job?”

  “Brad wants a ship, not me,” Steve said. He looked back down at the datapad. “But you will need someone like me to handle the refitting. And not everyone will take you seriously.”

  Sameena nodded. On Jannah, being a woman automatically made her opinions irrelevant; on Madagascar, her limited experience counted against her. But she could gain experience ... irritatingly, providing a new source of Firewater Mead would have made her a hero, if she hadn't known that advertising her success would also attract trouble. Steve, on the other hand, was a qualified engineer and Captain Hamilton’s biological son. People would listen to him.

  “I don’t know who else to ask,” she admitted. “Are you interested?”

  “You might have to marry another engineer,” Steve teased. “I’ve repaid Dad’s investment in me, but he might be mad if I leave without much warning.”

  Sameena swallowed, hard.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Steve advised. “There should be one or two qualified engineers on the asteroid. James was dating one a while back ... maybe he'd be interested.”

  “He?” Sameena repeated. “A man?”

  “James likes men,” Steve said. “I used to twit him that meant more women for me.”

  Sameena shook her head. Homosexuality was rare on Jannah, probably because the Guardians killed men who showed interest in other men. She had no idea what, if anything, they did to lesbians, but she doubted that it would be anything pleasant. The whole idea would have shocked her, months ago. Now ... she found it hard to really care.

  “I’ll take on the job,” Steve said. “Of course, we will have to discuss salary ...”

  Steve drove a hard bargain, Sameena decided, thirty minutes later. He would have a share of the profits as well as limited discretion in picking the refit crew and crewmen for the modified colonist-carrier. He’d also get to look for other pieces of industrial equipment that might come in useful, including a set of mining equipment for obtaining HE3 from moons and even asteroids. It would be inefficient compared to using a cloudscoop – or even a skimmer – but it would allow them to set up operations in an otherwise worthless star system.

  “You could go back to your homeworld,” he suggested, mischievously. “There aren't any starships there to prevent you from mining their moon and building factories.”

  Sameena considered it for a long moment, then dismissed the thought. Jannah might not have any starships, but the cartel presumably sent ships to and from the system regularly, where they might be able to do something about illegal installations. If nothing else, they wouldn't want potential spies in the system. Besides, tempting as it was to return and rub her success in her homeworld’s collective nose, she didn't want to do it until she was far wealthier. And wealth equalled power.

  “Maybe somewhere more isolated,” she said, finally. “I’ll leave that in your capable hands.”

  “I’d better go tell dad,” Steve said, once they’d written out the contract. “And if he gets mad, just hide behind me.”

  Sameena gulped.

  There was a shouting match going on when they returned to the schoolroom, Sameena was alarmed to discover. Ethne was giving Richard a loud lecture on something, while Regina was watching with a sly half-smile on her face. Steve strode in, caught Regina’s arm and pulled her out. Ethne glanced sharply at her son, then nodded. Steve shut the hatch firmly, muffling her voice.

  “That sounded bad,” Steve said. “What happened?”

  “Richard ran into Osco,” Regina said. “They started exchanging insults, then they graduated to throwing punches. And then Auntie Ethne and Uncle Hobe separated them by force.”

  “Brilliant,” Steve said, sarcastically. “And you weren't involved?”

  “I was just watching,” Regina said. “I ...”

  “Go back to your cabin and stay there,” Steve ordered. He smacked Regina’s rear when she hesitated, jerking her into motion. “Now.”

  He looked over at Sameena, apologetically. “Herding the clans is like herding cats,” he admitted, as they resumed their path towards the bridge. “Fights and feuds can get in the way of serious business.”

  Sameena nodded. “What happened between Richard and Osco?”

  “Their families are rivals,” Steve explained. “No doubt the moment they saw each other they just started throwing insults and punches. It never fails. Mum is going to be really annoyed with them.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it,” he added. “Luckily, they didn’t pull this shit during a Meet. Mum would have murdered the pair of them if they’d embarrassed us in front of the rest of the clan.”

  Sameena nodded as she followed him onto the bridge. Captain Hamilton was sitting at one of the consoles, working his way through several contracts offered by the Imperial Navy. Two of them promised a low, but steady income; the other three were apparently one-offs.

  “Dad,” Steve said.
He gave his father his best grin. “I’ve been offered a job.”

  “I thought you might have been,” the Captain said. He gave Sameena an unreadable expression, then looked back at his son. “I think you’d better go over the ship and equipment in cynical detail before you purchase it.”

  “I will,” Steve promised. “But it has been verified.”

  The Captain snorted. “Have you forgotten what happened the last time you didn't verify something for yourself?”

  Steve turned red. “Yes, sir,” he said. “But I’m still trying.”

  “We have been offered several different contracts,” Captain Hamilton said. “This one calls for us to depart within nine days. If you want to take up this new job” – he threw Sameena another unreadable glance – “you have until then to help me find a replacement. I would prefer not to leave without a qualified engineer.”

  “Understood, dad,” Steve said.

  “And get your mother to start setting up a limited corporation for you,” the Captain added. “You might as well shield yourself as much as possible. It can handle the educational programs for the refugee kids too.”

  “Mum is currently raging,” Steve admitted. He didn't sound pleased about having to explain. “Richard ran into some trouble on the asteroid.”

  “I see,” his father said, once he'd finished explaining. “Talk to her later, once she’s calmed down. And tell Richard that I will want a few words with him before he goes back onto the asteroid. It will not be a pleasant discussion.”

  He dismissed Steve, then looked over at Sameena. “You’ve done well,” he admitted, “very well. I’m pleased I made the decision to let you stay on my ship.”

  “Thank you,” Sameena said. She would have loved to hear those words from her own father, but that was impossible. “I ...”

  “You’re going to have to work harder over the next few months,” Captain Hamilton warned her. “We can't have a corporation controlled by someone without qualifications.”

  He grinned, then sobered. “And I am proud of you,” he added. “But you have a long way to go. You have to master quite a few skills if you want to take control of your destiny.”

  “Yes,” Sameena said. “I know.”

  Interlude One

  When he was a child, growing up in the corporate hell of Asteroid ETU828348 – the corporation had never bothered to give it a name – Marcus Vespasian had sworn a simple oath to himself. He would never be poor or hungry again – or another corporate slave. The alternative was an endless life of drudgework, drunkenness and an early death, just like his father and grandfather. By the time he was sixteen, he had taken control of the asteroid’s flourishing criminal underground and used it to escape the corporation once and for all.

  Legality meant nothing to him. His parents and grandparents had been nothing more than legal slaves, their servitude enforced by contracts signed by their ancestors when they’d believed the corporate lies and moved to the asteroid. If the Grand Senate couldn't be bothered enforcing laws that banned indentured slavery – indeed, if they profited from it – he refused to take any account of their other laws. At thirty, he ruled a criminal empire that stretched across thirty star systems, with a finger in just about every pie. He would ship anything anywhere, as long as there was money in it.

  And some clients were prepared to pay so much that he actually met them in person.

  “This is quite an interesting request,” he said, as he studied the datapad. The client had agreed to meet him in a legitimate business Marcus controlled, walking into the building as if he hadn't a care in the world. “You want as many military or combat-capable starships as possible, right?”

  “Correct,” the client said. He’d given his name as Mr. Black, but Marcus would have bet most of his fortune that was a false name. It was easy to pick up a fake identity in the Lumpur Cluster. “I was informed that you buy and sell starships for those who wish them.”

  “It’s a buyer’s market,” Marcus agreed. The Imperial Navy was going through yet another round of cost-cutting, decommissioning hundreds of starships and sending them to the breakers. It was quite simple to redirect a few of them to less than savoury interests. “But this really is quite a large request.”

  He studied Mr. Black, but came up with nothing. The man was ... bland, his features no doubt sculptured by someone with a dab hand at cosmetic surgery. An hour on the table and Mr. Black would be completely unrecognisable. There was nothing to say who he was, or who he represented, merely an expense account – Marcus had checked – that a Grand Senator’s son would envy. Buying an entire fleet would be ... possible.

  But who was he working for?

  Marcus shrugged, dismissing the thought. It wasn't his concern. The Imperial Navy might make a fuss about pirates, but the real pirates were on Earth, draining the life out of the Empire. Besides, Mr. Black was probably working for a planetary defence force rather than pirates, or he wouldn't have wanted so many large ships. Having a contact with such a government might come in handy when the Empire finally collapsed. Marcus had seen enough to be sure that the crash would come within his lifetime.

  He felt no regrets. What had the Empire ever done to earn his loyalty?

  “I can start shipping you the ships within the month,” he said. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alternatively, as the economy constricted, workers would be laid off by their employers. As they were no longer earning money, they could not afford to buy products ... which had a negative impact on the companies producing those products. They, in turn, were forced to lay off their own workers, prolonging the economic depression.

  - Professor Leo Caesius. The Science That Isn’t: Economics and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.

  “It’s beautiful,” Sameena breathed.

  Brad patted her shoulder, never taking his eyes off the viewport. The shuttle was hanging in space, watching from thousands of kilometres away as two blue worlds converged on each other. Their combined gravity created, for a brief few hours, a funnel of water that stretched between them. It was the most remarkable sight Sameena had ever seen.

  “Forward’s Dream,” Brad said, softly. “One of the nine hundred wonders of the universe.”

  Sameena smiled. The two moons had developed an extraordinary ecosystem of their own, one that might produce intelligent life in a few million years. Or it would have, if humanity had not foreclosed the possibility by settling on both water worlds. Even so, she'd been told that the two worlds were biological treasure troves, worthy homes for the genetically-engineered humans who lived there. But the Empire’s research station had been abandoned years ago.

  “You should show this to everyone,” she said. “If the groundhogs saw it ...”

  “They wouldn't understand,” Brad told her. “How could they?”

  He was right, Sameena suspected. Groundhogs had no real comprehension of the size and wonder of the universe. Even a single star system was unimaginably vast by their standards, their worlds little more than grains of sand on an infinite beach. The freedom to travel enjoyed by the vast majority of the Empire’s citizens was hardly ever exercised – and when it was, they mostly travelled in stasis pods, where the trip seemed to take almost no time. They never saw the wonders of the universe.

  “You deserve to see it,” Brad said. “After how hard you worked ...”

  Sameena gave him a sidelong look. The exams she’d taken for Professor Sorrel had been hard, but the ones she’d taken for the clan over the last two weeks had been much harder, even if they had been largely practical. It wasn't easy to earn papers from the trader clans that certified that one could work in space, certainly not if one wanted to work up to starship command. There were times when buying a starship outright had seemed the better option.

  She looked down at the display. There were nearly a hundred starships orbiting the gas giant, each one a trader starship belonging to the clans. Meets – whe
re the vast extended network of families actually met in person – were rare. Even though she’d been a trader for two years - and Captain Hamilton’s adopted daughter - Sameena had never been to a Meet before. There simply hadn’t been one taking place that she could attend.

  It had been a fascinating experience, even though it had also been a rigorous one as the certified examiners tested her thoroughly. She’d met countless people who were related to her adopted family – and others who seemed to be feuding with them, although feuds weren't allowed at the Meet. And it had confirmed for her that she belonged in space. The trader clans had welcomed her without hesitation. No family on Jannah would be so welcoming.

  “Thank you,” she said, finally.

  She hadn't been quite sure what to make of it when Brad had invited her to join him on the shuttle, after she’d finished the final set of exams. Part of her knew that he was attracted to her – and therefore being alone with him might not be a good idea – but the rest of her knew and trusted him as a brother. He and Abdul, she suspected, would have gotten along, if they’d ever met. They were really quite similar in many ways.

  But Brad has little to rebel against, she thought. Abdul had far too much.

  It was an odd thought, one that bothered her even though she no longer had nightmares about her homeworld. By Jannah’s standards, Captain Hamilton and Ethne were ridiculously permissive parents – but what rules they did have were taken seriously by the kids. Brad was too sensible to rebel against rules that were intended to protect him and the rest of his siblings, if only because he understood the reasoning behind them. Abdul had never truly comprehended the reasoning behind Jannah’s endless series of laws.

  “You passed your first set of exams,” Brad said. “And I know that you will pass the rest of them, once they finish marking you.”

  Sameena blinked in surprise. “How do you know?”

  Brad grinned. “If they’d failed you, everyone would know by now,” he said. “They’d want to make sure that no one tried to hire you until you had actually completed the exams.”