Rae and Essa’s Space Adventure

by Donna Maree Hanson

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  Rae swung around, her hands clasping and unclasping. ‘He didn’t turn up. His ship didn’t land.’

  Rolling over, I sighed. ‘He’ll show eventually.’

  ‘No he won’t. He’s missing and so is Opi.’

  I sat up and tossed off my bed covers. My designer tracks had a crease and I glowered at my legs. I’d be getting my money back.

  ‘What makes you say that?’ I asked as I set my flask for a refill of mild stim.

  ‘This,’ she tossed me her handheld. ‘That’s the security feed from AllEarth Corp.’

  I lifted an eyebrow and assessed my sister with new respect. Miss goodie-two-shoes she was not. Her eyes were puppy dog sad.

  ‘How did you get access?’ I said, tossing my head back.

  ‘I stole Al’s password so I could keep an eye on things, you know, control my anxiety. It says there is a Level One alert on Mother. Al was with her.’

  Scrolling through the message, I saw that Mother had not checked in for four days. Mother was never out of comms range with the Corp. I flicked the feed. Alwin Anton had also not checked in. My stomach did a flip-flop. I feigned disinterestedness. ‘So? The company has the best security ever. They’ll be found.’

  Rae sat on the bed, burying her face in her hands. Muffled sounds escaped through her fingers.

  ‘Are you crying?’ I wasn’t sure how to deal with tears. Rae had never cried in front of me. She wouldn’t dare. Would she?

  ‘Maybe,’ she replied, though her words were faint.

  The sight of her crying fed my guilt meter. I knew I should be doing something, like offering comfort, but I didn’t know where to start. ‘They will be fine. It’s Mother. Nothing bad happens to her.’

  Rae flung herself down on the bed and rubbed her face into Del Divlan’s right breast. It was serious. Rae would never disrespect her idol in such a way.

  ‘Okay. Here is what we’ll do. We’ll go downtown and break into the comms centre and send a private, encoded message to Mother. No going through relay channels.’

  Rae sat up and wiped snot with the back of her hand. My stomach knotted at the sight. Eww.

  ‘You’d do that?’ Her mouth flopped open like a guppy.

  Why did she have to be so incredulous? I cared for our mother too.

  ‘Sure I would and I can. You have the coordinates of that last message and I have mother’s ship security key. If she’s on her ship, she’ll answer.’

  ‘Let’s go then.’ Rae stood by the door waiting.

  There was no way I was leaving wearing creased tracks. ‘Give me a minute.’

  After pawing through my wardrobe, I decided on a stealth onesie. It had arrived that morning, along with a few others I’d ordered after seeing Rae looking so good in them. The silver-grey fabric deflected light and sensors. It looked pretty hot, too, as the suit hugged me and held me tight.

  After opening the door, Rae ran down the corridor.

  ‘You’ll have to ditch, Gris,’ I said right before we left the dorm building.

  ‘No we won’t. I already sent him home. I told him I was staying in.’

  Smart girl, I thought to myself.

  ***

  At the comms centre, I opened the doors. Hovering on the threshold, I waited to see if the delayed alarms went off. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a redundancy in the security system.

  Rae kept pacing and muttering until I could no longer tune her out. ‘Will you keep still, I’m concentrating.’

  Rae blew air, setting her bangs askew as the room’s hidden sensors came into view. I loved my break-in app. It told me there was an independently operating security system in place and where it was hidden in the wall opposite.

  ‘What’s the problem?’ Rae squatted beside me, interested despite her reservations about my activities.

  ‘One more minute. There! Alarms silenced.’ The comms panel stood on the other side of the room. ‘It’s clear.’

  Rae seemed to forget her nervousness about breaking in. She raced over to the huge comms panel with its whistles and whirs and bright flashing lights, before I’d even shut the door behind us. I watched her and chewed my lip. She just stared at the console until I twigged what the problem was. She was clueless. I nudged her away with my hip.

  ‘For heaven’s sake, you key in the coordinates here.’ I tapped the numbers in. ‘The transmission will be monitored. We won’t have much time before they come to investigate.’

  Rae shrugged as she initiated contact. ‘It’s an emergency.’

  ‘I know it is, but it’s not through channels.’

  I lowered my eyelids as I read the display. The transmission was received by the ship but no one was answering. That wasn’t good.

  ‘They’re in trouble,’ Rae exclaimed as she slowly comprehended the readout. ‘I have to find them.’

  ‘They could be too busy to answer.’

  Rae faced me and narrowed her eyes. ‘You said she’d answer if she was there.’

  ‘I did,’ I replied, but my cheeks started to burn. ‘But I could be wrong.’

  Rae shook her head. ‘You aren’t wrong. Al would never leave me hanging for so long, not when I was expecting him. He booked the hotel and you know he wouldn’t waste money by doing that and not showing.’

  Instinctively, I nodded. He was an auditor after all and he was good with money.

  Rae backed away from the console, her gaze focused on the machine but her mind clearly elsewhere.

  ‘You can’t seriously be thinking of going off-planet to look for Mother and Alwin.’

  Her gaze flicked to me. ‘I can. How can you think otherwise?’

  ‘Easily. Mother is quite capable of looking after herself and I don’t want her grounding me because we did something stupid. You do know she has the best security money can buy. As for Alwin, he’s none of my business.’

  ‘Okay then,’ she said, half-listening as she headed for the door.

  ‘Rae?’

  She swung around. ‘Come with me.’

  Backing away, I shook my head. ‘No. I hate space travel. Besides, you shouldn’t go off-planet. It will play havoc with your grades. Come back to the dorm with me and we’ll think of something else…’

  Rae turned her face to me. ‘But I can’t think of an alternative.’

  I squeezed her hand, doing the caring sister thing. ‘Let’s get out of here and back to the dorm first.’

  She hovered by the door as I began to disengage my software, then we scooted out of the building.

  The auto-response was initiated after I removed my jam on the alarms, and sirens blazed. A detective routine had begun as I backed my app out of the security system. I chewed my lip. Silly mistake to make, I should have been faster. I usually made sure I didn’t leave evidence of my methods behind. Maybe I was more perturbed by this business than I thought.

  Robo Guards came whizzing around the front of the building. Others were flying overhead and there were probably some in the back too, forming a perimeter.

  ‘Problem. Let’s move.’ Rae held my hand and we bolted.

  Robo Guards were pretty easy to confound, being logical and working to a grid. They hadn’t even registered us when we zigzagged our way out of it. These were cheaply made Robo Guards, probably imports from New China. I’d bet they were configured to scanning and tracking heavy weapons, of which we had none.

  The darkness enveloped us and sirens screamed in our wake. We slipped into Humphrey Mall and sat down to drink a mild stim. Rae had hers with ice-cream. I couldn’t get her to talk to me so we sat in silence and kicked our feet as a Robo Guard skimmed through the building, dodging shoppers. It didn’t even scan in our direction.

  I downed the last of my stim and let out a huge sigh. Luckily the comms centre didn’t use the new-fangled DNA scanners or we’d be in trouble. Leaving the kiosk, I urged Rae to act calmly and shop with me. When the surveillance cameras were reviewed, they would find it hard to see an
ything unusual in our activity.

  In one of the boutiques, there was an array of pantsuits. After selecting a few, I directed them to be delivered in the morning. Rae paced the whole time, which made me grind my teeth. What was the point of appearing calm, relaxed and going about my business when she was jittery and anxious? Perhaps I should have recommended a nil stim drink.

  ‘Stop that. You will stand out,’ I said, while pretending to show her dance boots. ‘You’re shopping remember.’

  She nodded. ‘Those are really ugly and clunky.’

  ‘Yes, they are.’ I put them back and lifted my nose as we walked out.

  Rae ducked into a sweet shop. I tapped my foot while she made her selection. How she got away with eating chocolate and sugar and still remained slim, I don’t know. By the time she came out with an oversized bag of sweets, I was conscious of the late hour.

  ‘Come on, we have enough time to get back before the gates engage.’

  ‘Sure, let’s go.’

  Rae didn’t settle when we returned to the dorm right on curfew. She’d had way too much excitement, and possibly sugar, for one day.

  ‘I’m worried,’ Rae said. ‘I have to go after them. I can’t think of anything else to do.’

  ‘You don’t have to go yourself. You can send someone else.’

  Rae shook her head. ‘Are you so insensible to other people? If it was me, Alwin would come after me. He did it before and now it’s my turn.’

  ‘Yes, but this is different. What about a security firm?’

  Rae frowned at me. ‘You said Opi had the best security money can buy. So finding another firm won’t wash either.’

  ‘Well…’ I had run out of arguments.

  ‘I’ve just found Opi. I don’t want to lose her. Come with me.’

  ‘I might be able to thwart security when it’s a paid assignment. I may be able to get us into the secure comms downtown, but I can’t fool the school. If we break out of here, there will be a big security scare. It will affect the school, the other pupils, and it will clang like a gong right up the corporate chain to Mother.’

  ‘But what if she is in trouble?’

  ‘If I thought she was really in trouble I’d be off like a shot. Right now, I don’t know if she is or not.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll try her again in the morning.’

  Satisfied that Rae had seen reason, I decided to download a book. The mind-to-mind zap gave me a bit of a thrill that soon wore off. I could understand why my literature teacher preferred reading old style — the slow unfolding of the story, the play of the words across the page, the ah ha moment. Too bad I was too lazy to try old-style reading.

  I drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  The next morning, I jerked awake. I knew something was wrong before I looked across the room and saw Rae’s bed was empty.

  How did she manage that? She didn’t wake me, nor did she set off a security alert. It hit me suddenly that she was on weekend leave. The alert wouldn’t activate for her until curfew Sunday night. She had ample time to make a break for it.

  ‘Damn it.’ Throwing off the bed covers allowed me to vent. I stomped around the room, all the while knowing I’d have to go after her. She was such a child. The possibility of her securing a charter ship was small. She was probably moping around the spaceport unable to engage a ship, too stubborn to come back.

  ‘I’ll show her who the mature one is,’ I said as I slid into my stealth onesie and matching boots. In my carryall, I tossed in supplies and clothes in case Rae gave me the slip and I had to go after her. Her wardrobe was emptier than usual. Dirty karate gear was scrunched into a ball and shoved in the bottom of the cupboard. She must have left as soon as I crashed.

  Grinding my teeth, I slammed out of the room. I was meant to be the scheming, sneaky one. It really smarted that Rae tricked me.

  Chapter Three

  Captain Hunk

  The narrow corridors of the spaceport looked greasy and grey. I felt dirty just being there. It was like a bar than let anyone in. Drunken humans, equally tranquilised aliens and disreputable enforcement officers lurked in dark niches or stumbled over when I walked by.

  I lucked out. A hand landed on my forearm. ‘Identification, Miss.’

  Spaceport security had hold of my elbow. He looked like an old, out-of-date rock star and was wearing a dirty uniform that reeked of stim smoke.

  Disguising my revulsion was difficult and I didn’t try to smile. ‘And you are?’

  He flashed his ID, the hologram sharp and accurate. The logo imprint looked legit. Passersby were taking an interest in our little interplay. Not good. I flashed my fake ID at him. He looked me over.

  ‘You expect me to buy this ID? If you’re 21, I’m a newborn baby. Come along to the holding cell, my lovely. We’ll call your folks.’

  ‘Wait.’ I drew out my handheld and activated a preset button. ‘Maybe you can overlook me being here.’

  He glanced at the figures on the screen, licked his lips and let his jaded gaze slide over me. After a few moments, he nodded. He touched his handheld to mine to transfer the bribe and then strolled away, shaking out his shoulders as he turned a corner. Watching him leave made me curse myself. In my clean, expensive clothes, I stood out. I should have at least tried to blend in, particularly in this part of the port, away from the mainstream carriers and luxury liners. With a shrug, I figured it was too late now. Rae was here somewhere and I had to find her before she did something stupid.

  The departure hall for regular supply routes was teeming with activity. I was tempted to check it out, but a regular transport ship wouldn’t have been what Rae would have gone for. None were flexible enough to get her to a set of coordinates in the Nova sector, far from one of the orbital space stations or major traffic routes. She’d try for a smaller, independent charter. At least, that’s what I would do and she was nearly as smart as me.

  The pricing lists of the small charter vessels were a bit dodgy. Some were way too cheap, which set off all kinds of alarm bells. You never know where you’d end up on a charter like that — a girl like me or Rae travelling on our own would likely end up in a slave market on Centauri, or worse, on an alien world with no embassy to assist us. Rae had told me of her experience in that slave market. I couldn’t believe she was still sane.

  Shaking my head, I realised that Rae had to be sensible enough not to have taken one of those. I wasn’t prone to praying, but right then I was tempted to call on God and maybe a few of his friends to watch out for Rae. While I gazed down the list of charters, I noticed a tall, broad-shouldered blond guy leaning against the wall. His hair was down to his shoulders, shorter bits curled around his neck and his pecs rippled as he moved. Our eyes met. I stopped in spite of myself because he was gorgeous.

  Distracted, I found myself smiling, admiring the view as much as he was. His mouth lifted in an inviting smile, making his sky blue eyes flash. His skin was tanned, which made his white straight teeth stand out when he smiled. Excellent.

  I sashayed over, exaggerating my gait so he’d notice the light playing on my stealth suit and how my breasts were high and firm and how my waistline slid gracefully into the curve of my hip. My mother taught me to know my assets. I just had a broader definition of what they were.

  ‘You do charters?’ I asked, toning down my smile so I’d appear cool and collected, but interested.

  He lowered his eyelids. ‘Yes, I do.’

  His voice was warm, with a pleasant timbre that made my spine tingle. I held on to my sigh. Looks good and sounds good. No way.

  ‘Thorn Hanover, captain of the Mighty Star, at your service. You need a ride to your next picnic, little girl?’

  My teeth clicked as I shut my mouth. Little girl? There was nothing little girl about me. How dare he? He couldn’t be that much older than me.

  My chin rose. ‘I’m going deep space, old man. Your crate go that far?’

  His eyebrow lifted. ‘It’s not a crate. She’s Zero Class �
�� top of the range and specially configured to work with the new accelgates to reach maximum speed and distance.

  This was good news. An accelgate opened a ship to the network of wormholes which sped up access to key sectors of the galaxy. Just what I needed. I smiled and sidled closer. ‘I can pay well. I need to get to Nova sector, near the Hornet’s Nest and fast. No questions.’

  He stood up straight and crossed his arms. ‘I don’t take minors off-world illegally. Although your slutty routine is a surprise. A bit young for that, I’d say.’

  ‘Slutty routine?’ I lost control. My hand came up, aimed at his cheek, but he blocked me gently and narrowed his gaze.

  ‘Don’t try it. Or I’ll flip you onto my knee and paddle your backside.’

  ‘You wouldn’t dare. That’s assault.’

  He nodded. ‘My father never thought so.’

  I calmed down a bit, but no way was I backing off.

  ‘Look,’ he said, unfolding his arms. ‘I don’t know why you’ve come back. I told you to go somewhere else.’

  ‘Me, but I… You’ve seen Rae?’

  His eyebrows arrowed under his furrowed brow. ‘You’re not her?’

  ‘No, I’m her twin, Essa. I’ve got to find her.’

  ‘I’m not falling for that.’ He shook his head and walked away.

  My fists curled. How dare he turn his back on me? I followed, then pulled up short when he began talking to a skinny teenager with greasy hair hanging limply to his shoulders.

  ‘Slick. Didn’t that young girl we spoke to last night score a charter with Milson?’

  The young man detached himself from the comms panel he was sitting at. His legs were too long for his body and his face too thin to be attractive. ‘Yeah, Thorn. You asked me to follow her and I did. They left hours ago.’

  Thorn turned around and tilted his head when he looked at me. ‘Your twin?’

  With folded arms, I leaned my shoulder against the wall, flicking my gaze over Slick and then over to Thorn. ‘I’m not lying. She’s too young to be in outer space on her own.’