Among The Stars (Heinlein's Finches Book 2)

by Robin Banks

  “You keep saying that. No, I don’t. I don’t know what to say, though. It all seems a bit intense.”

  “Yeah. So I got into my ATR and tracked down this damn show, because I knew they were always hiring, because Jameson was awful to work for.”

  “But manageable.”

  “But manageable.” Her mouth twitches. “I started out shoveling shit. 50 credits per week for a 50 hour week. Within a month I was doing all the admin, route planning, and so on. Basically running the show. Then I left.”

  “Eh? What?”

  “Jameson was becoming an asshole, one tiny imposition at a time. He’d started to interfere with my breaks, my meals, my time off, my sleep. He’d wake me in the middle of the night because he couldn’t sleep and wanted his coms, send me on pointless errands so I’d miss my meals, that kind of thing. I could see where it was going. I’d seen it before. Then he put his cock in the wrong place.”

  “He what?” I squeal.

  She beams. “Ha. Works every time. He parked me right next to the stables, with a hen-house right across the wall. I couldn’t sleep all night because of the cock crowing.”

  “You gave me a fucking heart attack.”

  “And I liked it. Anyway, I couldn’t sleep, I told him, and he laughed. So I gave him a warning. I gave him three days to put things right. He didn’t, so on the third day I drove off in my ATR while he was off-site.”

  “Gods. What did he do?”

  “He spent a month trying to get me on the com, sending me abusive messages, insults, threats, all sorts. I just ignored them, so eventually he cut that out. Then two months later he got somebody else to get in touch with me and offered me my job back, half the hours at twice the wage.”

  “What?”

  “I’m very good at what I do. I fixed problems he didn’t even know existed. I made him and saved him a ton of credit. Nobody could pick up what I’d dropped. He needed me more than I needed him and that made him behave himself. He knew that if he played up too much, I’d be off again. The power in a relationship sits with the person who’s least invested in it. That’s one of my favorite quotes. It’s also painfully true.”

  “Everything is a power struggle with you. Is nothing just about people?”

  She frowns. “Not when my air depends on it, and not when people try to dick me around. Which is why I don’t like our situation. We’ve got an asshole I don’t know very well informed by an asshole who knows me all too well and has it in for me. I have no idea if I can navigate this.”

  “They still need you. Who’s going to deal with the animals otherwise?”

  “Nikolai can. He’s better than me.”

  “If they tried to get rid of you, he’d be out the door.”

  “I’m not sure about that. He cares about the animals. They need him more than I do. But they can’t turn me against him, or him against me, that’s true. Maybe they’ll just carry on leaving us alone.”

  “What about us? Tom and I?”

  “What about you?”

  “Where do we fit in?”

  “I’ll look after you as well as I can, and hope you don’t stab me in the back.”

  “Tom too?”

  “Of course.”

  “So you think it’s all going to suck, but we’re going for it anyway?”

  “Yup.”

  “Sounds brilliant.”

  “We’re giving it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, we bail out.”

  Megaera

  Year 2378

  Terran Standard

  1.

  The trip takes us so long that by the time we reach Megaera the show’s already nearly back to normal. A new normal, that is. The new boys have built up and are now busy redecorating all available surfaces with the new show’s logo. New artists have been hired to fill all the gaps in the show. As we’re busying ourselves with our build-up, the place is crawling with activity. I’ve never seen this much action outside of move days.

  Alya catches me staring. “You alright, kid? If you need a break, you’re out of luck.”

  “Nah. It’s just… Everything feels so alien. It’s like being on a whole different show.”

  “Wait a few days. You’ll probably feel better. For me, what makes the feel of a show is the people. New people, new show. I’ve never been able to get used to it. You’ve still got some people you know, though.”

  “I don’t even know who’s left.”

  “Kelly’s still here. Most of the older artists. The clowns. The jugglers. The ringmaster and his lot. Ava.”

  I scoff. “Ava? I’ll take my chances with new people, thank you.”

  “She might like you better now that you’re a familiar face.”

  “Were I a kinder person, I might give a fuck about that. But I’m not.”

  We’re just about finished settling down the animals when Noah turns up, as twitchy as usual, and stammers at Alya.

  “Mr. Parker would like a meeting with you and your crew.”

  She smiles sweetly at him. “Hi, Noah, so nice to see you. Yes, thank you, we’re doing well here, even though the animals are still fractious after their long confinement. Every bit of kit we have is caked in mud, but we’re dealing with that. Oh, and the shit tank really needs emptying before it blows up. How you doin’?”

  Noah gets so flustered that Alya takes pity upon him. “I’m sorry. I’m just picking on you because I can. We normally take our breaks during our break times, but in the spirit of mutual co-operation and avoiding you getting an earache from your boss, I will accede to his request. Now?”

  “Yes. Yes, please.”

  “Tell him we’ll be there in ten minutes.” That stumps him. “Noah, we’re still covered in shit. Literally. And I’m not about to teach your boss that if he whistles I’ll come running. That’s a dangerous precedent to set.”

  Noah looks like he’s considering smiling. “Yeah. I get it.”

  “Off you pop, then. Will we be joining him in the office?”

  “Yes. Ok.” And he stumbles off.

  Alya turns to us. “Ok, gentlemen. Time to shine. They’ve had the best part of two weeks to think about how to fuck us about, so we must be on the ball.”

  Tom cringes. “Any chance that this is just a nice friendly get-together to tell us how wonderful things are?”

  “I doubt it. People like Parker don’t waste time complimenting the peasants. Anything we do well was our duty anyway. Anything we do badly we’ll get it in the neck for.”

  “Delightful.”

  “Standard procedure. The only reason you’ve not seen it already is that I never pass that kind of shit on, because I despise it. Plus we don’t do anything badly, because we’re so damn wonderful.”

  She sounds chirpy. Shit may be coming our way, but at least she seems back to her normal self. That makes me almost optimistic, until she goes weird again. As we’re starting to set off walking, Kolya calls her name and sticks his hand out. She scowls at him, but she puts her hand in his. They walk all the way there hand-in-hand. I have no idea what the hell that means. It’s creepy, though.

  When we get to the office, Parker and that Sean guy are already sitting down. That’s no surprise. What’s weird is that Isabella is there, too. We hadn’t seen her since the take-over day. I’d have bet my left nut that she had gone off with her darling daddy to wherever rich backstabbing assholes go to enjoy the fruits of other people’s labor. I wonder what the hell she’s doing here. It can’t be that she stayed on for the credit, or because she’s so attached to the animals, so what the hell does she want? She looks unpleasantly smug, too. I don’t like this one bit.

  Parker leans back in his chair, swells up, and booms at us as if we weren’t all crammed in a tiny space. “I’ve called this meeting to discuss the animal acts within the new choreography of the show.”

  Alya replies at her normal volume. Instead of making her sound small or weak, it makes her sound like she’s in charge. “Great. I’m sure Isabella will have already made yo
u aware of our requirements?”

  “Requirements?”

  “Change-over times during the show, breaks, and so on. So we can get the animals to the show on time.”

  Parker’s eyes narrow. “Not as such. Maybe you could write down those details for our reference.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “The main point of this meeting, however, is to discuss the introduction of tigers into the show.”

  “The what?”

  “A tiger act. How long it would take to create, the necessary props and logistics, and so on.”

  “A tiger act.”

  “Yes.”

  “With our tigers?”

  “Yes. We need you to tell us the requirements and timeframes.”

  “Requirements. For a tiger act. With our tigers.”

  “Yes.” He’s still smiling, after a fashion, but he’s starting to go puce.

  “The main requirement would be a time machine.”

  “What?”

  “Time machine. To go back in time and train the tigers from when they were cubs. They’re adult tigers. Adult, untrained tigers.”

  “So train them!”

  “Can’t be done. It’s just not an option. You don’t train adult tigers. You start them young.”

  “You won’t even consider it?”

  “I don’t see how I can. Kolya is the only one here who would stand a chance being in a cage with them. And that’s a maybe, and it’s without him trying to tell them what to do.”

  “I’m sure that with an animal presenter as experienced as Isabella…”

  Alya cuts him off. Judging by his expression, he’s not used to that. “If you want to put Bella in a cage with our tigers, and she’s willing, I’m all for it. Better sell a lot of tickets to the first show, though, because there wouldn’t be a second one.”

  Isabella snaps. “What the hell do you mean?”

  “That you’ll probably get eaten. Our tigers don’t know you. They have no reason to respect you. You’re made of meat. You’re what they eat.”

  “They’ve never hurt anyone in their lives!”

  “We never gave them the opportunity. We don’t let anyone near them who doesn’t follow an exceptionally strict safety protocol. Getting into a cage with them is definitely not part of it. Kolya is the only one who may get away with it, and he wouldn’t try it.” He grunts his assent.

  Bella just gets shriller. “I knew them as cubs!”

  “You played with them a couple of times so you could take holos. That didn’t create a relationship between you. I doubt they’d even recognize you now. You’re nothing to them but food.”

  Parker cuts them both off. “So you’re telling me that I spent a fucking fortune on four worthless animals?”

  “Worthless? Last I checked, there were eighteen registered live tigers left. The DNA is in storage, obviously, but what kind of animal you would get by raising a tiger in a lab, without it being exposed to other tigers… I don’t know. There may be some unregistered ones around, but I seriously doubt it. They’re not really the kind of animals you stash under your bed. You could argue that they’re priceless.”

  “Priceless and worthless, if they can’t work.”

  “They do, in a way. We’re the only circus with tigers. There’s no knowing how many punters only come to the show because of them.”

  “We’re also the only circus visiting our sites.”

  “Oh. No, we’re not. Not always. Our contracts are not all exclusive.”

  “What?”

  “Exclusive contracts are expensive. Way more expensive than tigers. Mr. Jameson wasn’t for spending credit when he could save it.” She looks uncertain. “I’m not entirely sure what you’ve been told you bought. I wasn’t privy to the negotiations.”

  Parker looks about ready to blow up. I’m not surprised, really. He speaks through gritted teeth. “The important thing here is that I did buy the show. You seem to be forgetting that. What I say goes.”

  “Absolutely. It’s your show. They’re your tigers. But if anyone walks into a cage with them, that person is most likely going to die. If you have someone with a blaster nearby, maybe they’d manage to shoot the tigers before they cause too much damage. That’s the only way I see that situation playing out. But it’s your call. I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just trying to make sure that you realize the call you’d be making.”

  “So these animals aren’t trained? Aren’t tame?”

  “The tigers haven’t been handled because Jameson saw no point in that. The rest of them are as tamed and trained as we could make them. That doesn’t make them safe, unless you know what you’re doing. One of our grooms lost a nut a couple of years ago. Literally. Horse caught him a good kick in a bad place. He was lucky not to lose both; at least he can still have kids. It was his fault, though. He was pushing the animals around. That’s alright, until the animals remember that they outweigh you by half a ton.”

  Parker leans back in his chair. He’s clearly not happy, but at least he seems to have heard what Alya is saying and to actually be thinking about it. That’d be a good thing, except that it gives Sean a chance to speak.

  “That brings us to the point I wanted to raise. Our boys have no experience of animal handling. We will require one of your guys to be assisting them in the ring.”

  “Beg pardon?”

  “As you’ve said, working with animals is a specialist field.”

  Alya’s eyes narrow. “You can’t just take one of my workers away. They’re needed where they are.”

  “Oh. Can’t I? I thought your contract stipulated the range of services you provide. Animal handling, oddly enough, is included.”

  “The grooms have never been in the ring.”

  “Times change.” He turns around and smiles at me and Tom. It’s the weirdest thing: his face genuinely changes so much that if I’d not met him before, if I’d not seen how he looked at Alya or heard the stories, I could buy into that smile.

  “What about you guys? What do you think?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t.”

  “You what?”

  “I don’t think. I shovel shit. I do what I’m told.”

  Tom looks at me out of the corner of his eye, then his face goes blank. “If it needs doing, I’ll do it.”

  Alya wheels around. “Tom, you don’t have to.”

  Sean chortles. “You’re still missing the point. Somebody does. And if he’s happy to do it, who are you to stop him?”

  “I’m his boss. He already has a job.”

  “This would only be during shows. I’m sure you’ll be able to work something out. Let me know if there is a shortfall. I’ll send one of my guys to help you until you can manage. I’m always happy to help, you know. Well, I’m glad this is settled. We’ll be looking to start the rehearsals tomorrow morning.” He beams at Tom. “We’ll see you at the big top bright and early, ok?”

  Alya snaps. “You just said it would only be during shows.”

  He laughs. “Don’t be silly. We have to have rehearsals, don’t we? He gets it.”

  Tom has the decency to stare at the floor while he nods. So much for keeping a united front.

  Sean claps his hands. “Ok then. I don’t think we need to take up any more of Mr. Parker’s time.” He gets up and herds us out the door. He tries to put a hand on Alya’s back, but I accidentally walk between them. I’m klutzy like that, as well as being slow. It’s unfortunate. He claps me on the back instead.

  “How about you, young man? How do you see your future in circus?”

  “Haven’t thought about it.”

  He claps me on the back again. “You don’t think much, do you?”

  “Try not to.”

  He turns to Tom. “If you come with me now, I will issue you your uniform. We can’t have you in the ring looking like that.” Tom nods. He’s keeping his expression so blank that anyone would think he’s just going through the motions, but I know him too well. I know he’s p
leased. They walk off towards the big top as we carry on towards the stables. Kolya grabs Alya’s hand again. It doesn’t get any less creepy this time round.

  Alya’s voice is perfectly cordial as she chirps “Well, fuck that kid.”

  That’s the end of their truce, I guess. “Don’t be like that.”

  “How am I supposed to be? I’m trying to stop them and he volunteers? We’ll never get him back now. Around here, you take on a duty once and it’s your duty forever. We’re gonna have to cover for him. Are you happy about that? If you are, you don’t understand the issue.”

  “I’m not happy. But if it was going to happen anyway…”

  “It might not have. That jackass just talked us all into a heap of work. Though it’ll be worse for him. We’ll never get him back for the afternoons and he will still have to work the mornings and evenings with us. For a while, anyway, until they find a reason to claw away at that.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I’ve been here long enough to know how the game is played. You’ll see. And another thing: If you think Tom did that to help us, to help you, then you’re a fool.”

  I don’t know what to say. I know that there was more than that to Tom’s decision. He’s wanted to be involved in the show since he got here. But I know that he knows how much I would have hated it, too. I wish I could defend him, but I can’t, and that sucks.

  Tom rolls in around dinner time. He’s got a brand new jacket, trousers, and shoes. No way it took that long for Sean to hand him some clothes, but I don’t ask him what else they’ve been up to. I don’t want to know. He lobs his stuff into his bunks, then comes over to mine. He looks happy.

  “You alright? You wanna hit the bubble?”

  “Nah. Been a long day. Tomorrow’s probably gonna suck, too.”

  “You’re not being bitter about this? You could have volunteered.”

  “I know. I didn’t want to.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He throws himself on my bed and sprawls there sideways. “As long as one of us is in there, we’ll be ok. Probably better if it’s me. No offence.”

  “Wait. What am I supposed to be offended by?”