by Jucha, S. H.
That an organization would actively seek to create structures that isolated individuals was as foreign and sinister a concept as the Harakens could imagine.
-16-
Captain Timmion settled her president’s traveler on the deck of the Rêveur’s bay. Once the interior was pressurized, President Drake and Minister Jaya descended the steps of the fighter-shuttle and were met by a Haraken honor guard presided over by Tatia. Alex, Renée, and Julien waited to greet them.
Before the presidents could say a word, Darryl Jaya shouted, “Julien,” and hurried to give the SADE a hug.
“So much for protocol and decorum,” Drake said, but he was smiling as he shook Alex’s hand. Turning to Renée, he said, “Mesmerizing as always, Ser de Guirnon,” and exchanged the de Guirnon tradition of bussing both cheeks.
“I see your political skills have continued to develop, President Drake,” Renée replied.
“Some things are truth no matter how you say them,” Drake replied.
Renée laughed at the flattery, linked her arm in Drake’s, and started for the airlock with Julien and Jaya following in their wake and chatting.
Watching the foursome walk away, Alex thought back to the early days of the Rêveur.
“Did you get left behind, Mr. President?” Tatia asked, coming up beside Alex. “It’s tough to compete with Renée’s beauty or Julien’s mystical technological aura. But, never fear, I’ll keep you company,” she teased, patting his shoulder, linking arms, and hurrying Alex along to catch up with the others.
Étienne and Alain brought up the rear.
Comfortably settled in the owner’s suite, Alex came right to the point. “I apologize, President Drake, for the subterfuge on our part that enticed you out here.”
“First, Alex, I believe we can dispense with titles in this group, and, second, don’t you dare say we aren’t going to tour your new starship. I think Darryl might have a heart attack.”
Alex glanced at Darryl, who was wearing a stricken expression and laughed. “No, the tour is real. I can’t say whether we’ll be able to sell you these sting-class ships. Our assemblies would have to approve any agreement you and I discuss.”
Darryl relaxed into his chair, and Julien patted his hand in commiseration.
“Apparently, subterfuge was the wrong word, Will,” Alex said. “What I should have said is that the tour is a secondary consideration. The primary reason I wanted you out here is because I couldn’t risk having anyone know the real reason we’re here.”
“I might be extremely worried for the welfare of my people, aliens, battleships, and such, if I didn’t have an inkling of where this is headed. It has something to do with drugs, doesn’t it?” Drake said.
“Yes, it does,” Alex replied. “Two of your criminal organizations attempted to set up distribution in Espero. One group was selling stimulants, and the other was introducing a hallucinogenic and not just any hallucinogen, but a powerfully addictive one.”
“Do you know who these people are?”
“We believe we’ve arrested all the suspects who remained in Espero. Others exited the system and ran back here. Then there was the group who was killed.”
“You killed them?” Will asked.
“Please, Will,” Renée said, annoyed that the president would assume that. “It was a New Terran gang leader, who killed her own people once their operation was uncovered by Étienne and Alain.”
“Apologies, Renée,” Will said. “Do you know who employs these people?”
“Most certainly, Ser,” Étienne replied. “We have learned of three New Terrans … Roz O’Brien, Peto Toyo, and Azul Kadmir.”
“Ser Toyo’s people were apprehended,” Alain added. “It was O’Brien’s people who were killed by their contact, a woman code-named Cherry.”
“I’m confused, Alex,” Jaya interrupted, “Why not a direct and open approach to us? This strikes me as a problem for our governments to solve together.”
“They took Christie and her two friends,” Tatia said.
“What? No! Are you sure?” Drake uttered. Then he realized who he was talking to, and added, “Yes, of course you are.”
“The girls were investigating an illegal club, which was distributing the hallucinogenic drug. We have a trail of evidence that points to a freighter, the Bountiful, which took the girls here to the moons of Ganymede. Presently, it’s above Jolares.”
“Toyo,” Drake uttered with disgust.
“How long have you known, Will?” Renée asked.
“I didn’t know about any of this, Renée … the gangs exporting their drugs to Haraken or abducting your people,” Drake objected.
“My question was meant to ask how long you’ve known about these people setting up their domes and their criminal organizations in plain sight of you and the TSF,” Renée challenged.
Both Drake and Jaya had the humility to duck their heads in embarrassment. Finally, Drake spread his hands in supplication and said, “Their companies are legally set up under the law, registered as mining companies on moon bases. They are hands off to the TSF, unless there is evidence to the contrary.”
“TSF tried to slip agents undercover into the domes to gather proof of any illegal activities,” Jaya said, “and they’ve some good people, without gaining a single piece of evidence.”
“Would you accept our people’s proof as evidence?” Alex asked.
“Implants, SADEs … we would, wouldn’t we, Will?” Jaya said excitedly.
“It would be up to the Assembly and the courts to accept the Haraken’s evidence. If the Assembly did, they could be persuaded to revoke the standing of these false mining companies or maybe even the mining charter itself and allow the TSF to intervene. If memory serves me right, the Assembly has always accepted Méridien technological evidence,” said Will, smiling at Alex and Renée.
Cordelia used Miranda’s uploads to piece together thousands of partial recordings of the Harakens in Toyo’s domes. By examining their location data and mapping them to the building plans that Miranda discovered, Cordelia stitched the vids together to present a unified view of the three-dome structure.
When Cordelia entered the owner’s suite, Jaya let loose a soft, “Ooh,” recognizing the distinctive avatar-shape that the SADEs had chosen.
“Will and Jaya, allow me to introduce Cordelia,” Renée said.
“A pleasure, Mr. President, Minister Jaya,” Cordelia said.
After the introductions, Cordelia activated the holo-vid and prepared her vid for spooling. “Apologies, Sers, for the patchwork presentation. What you will be examining is a compilation of many views by our people, who are presently in Toyo’s domes.”
“You have people inside Toyo’s establishment,” Drake said incredulously. “How many did you sneak inside?”
“Sneak inside, Will?” Tatia said, while the group chuckled. “They’re just a bunch of rowdy miners from Kephron, on vacation to have some fun and spend their credits.”
“You walked them in the front door?” Jaya asked. “But you would need transport.”
“Miranda, a wealthy woman from the Confederation and two of her Méridien companions gave them a lift. They’re touring the system in their own traveler.”
When Drake and Jaya sat there with confused looks on their faces, Julien said, “Miranda is an alternate persona for Z, and her companions are Haraken commanders.”
“And they fell for it?” Drake asked.
“Everyone falls for Miranda,” Renée said. “And I believe my partner kept a visual of the two commanders. I did.” On the holo-vid appeared Svetlana and Deirdre, wearing their sheer wraps, their bodies intertwined.
“Commanders Valenko and Canaan?” Jaya repeated dubiously, leaning closer to the holo-vid for a better view.
/> “Careful, Darryl. You don’t want to get too close. You might get burned,” Renée said, grinning at the minister.
“Yes, well, it would be hard to say no to them,” Drake remarked, trying not to stare at the women in the holo-vid.
“The evidence, Sers,” Cordelia said, playing her composite vid. Snippets from the main dome ran to give the group a sense of Toyo’s offerings to his guests. In most cases, the entertainment was fairly innocuous for New Terra. Then the view from Lisbon allowed them to hear the offer from the two women, who had insinuated their way into his company.
“This is crewman Lisbon, being offered an opportunity to visit an ancillary dome, which is the first time our people have heard of secondary domes,” Cordelia said.
“If I remember correctly, Toyo’s domes are approved for three structures,” Jaya said.
Since the images were the first that anyone aboard the Rêveur had seen of Toyo’s establishment, Cordelia had their undivided attention. “Apparently, Ser Lisbon didn’t have access privileges to the ancillary dome so alternate accommodations were made for him.”
The group watched Lisbon and the women enter a room, mix some drinks, and suddenly Lisbon’s view blurred, tilted toward the overhead, and blanked out.
“This is how Lisbon’s roommates found him,” Cordelia said. She showed the images of Lisbon’s two roommates hauling the tech off the floor onto a bed and checking his eyes.
Next, the group watched the commanders entice their way into the foreboding dungeon room and dispatch their patron with a drug-laden kiss.
“Commanders Valenko and Canaan searched their dome to the extent they were able before security intervened. They managed to explore three of the levels before they were escorted back to the main dome. The patron’s ID card was confiscated.”
The next vid section contained Miranda’s view of her patron and the water-sports room they visited. At one point, Miranda’s view took in a floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall, reflecting the patron and herself.
“That’s Z’s persona avatar?” Jaya asked, dumbfounded. “Who wouldn’t let her into their club?” he said with a sigh, which had more than one Haraken chuckling. A moment later, Jaya’s expression sobered as the patron dropped to the floor.
“It was just before this vid that Miranda realized the difficulty they faced locating the girls,” Cordelia said. “It appears the rooms in the secondary domes are comm isolated.”
“Black space,” Alex declared angrily, jumping up.
When Will looked at Jaya in confusion, Darryl said, “I would surmise the Harakens’ plan was to infiltrate the domes and ping for the girls’ implants, but if they’re being held in a comm-isolated room, the Harakens won’t be able to detect them. They would have to physically open every door.”
“There may be other options,” Julien said, trying to give his friend some hope. His comment halted Alex in his tracks, and the president’s eyes implored the SADE.
“Miranda can test human cellular components in the air, as she walks through the corridors,” Julien said. “If the girls are moving about, they will leave traces behind. The process is slow, but it has possibilities.”
“But how will Miranda recognize the girls’ bio-identities?” Tatia asked. “Terese has indicated that there are negligible differences in the DNA and subcellular components of New Terrans and Méridiens.”
Julien and Cordelia didn’t look at each other, but communication flew between them.
“What?” Alex asked, before a thought occurred to him. “Ah, yes … Miranda might or might not know the biomarkers of our Méridien girls, but she knows Christie’s.”
“How?” Renée asked.
“Because Miranda has my biomarkers with her, doesn’t she?” Alex said, looking at Julien.
“That would be correct, Mr. President,” Julien said, reverting to formality.
“Anyone else?” Tatia asked.
“The SADEs have been collecting biomarkers for nearly a decade,” Cordelia replied. “We have cataloged every original Haraken colonist.”
“Oh, wow,” Jaya commented softly, mesmerized by the drama unfolding.
“However, due to the massive size of that data, each SADE carries only a few hundred markers of key individuals with them. These would include the extended Racine family, of course,” Julien said, nodding to Renée.
“There is one more significant observation to be made, Sers,” Cordelia remarked. “Miranda believes there is a structure beneath the two ancillary domes, possibly a fourth and more extensive dome.”
Will looked at Darryl, who said, “I would not have thought that possible, but then I wouldn’t want to contradict a SADE.”
“A wise choice, Ser,” Julien remarked.
“Julien, please access my ministerial servers, the buildings and constructions approval department,” Darryl requested. “Search for PT Mining Concern. Please pull the architectural plans for me.”
Within moments, Julien was displaying the plans on the holo-vid. Clearly, only three domes were displayed, two ancillary domes, side by side, beneath the main dome.
“Here are the plans Miranda discovered on the establishment’s servers,” Cordelia said, changing the holo-vid’s view.
Cordelia’s term of “discovered” had Will arching an eyebrow at Alex, who maintained a neutral expression.
Darryl glanced at Julien, who switched the view to the original plans. Reaching into the holo-vid, Darryl enlarged the architectural plans, detailing a section of the lowest floor of one of the ancillary domes. He glanced at Cordelia, who switched to the newly obtained plans and manipulated the view to show the exact same section, which caused Darryl to smile warmly at her.
Darryl rolled a finger in the air and Julien obliged by switching the view. He repeated his nonverbal request several more times. The SADEs had already discovered the differences, but thought it best that the announcement came from Darryl.
“These aren’t the same,” the minister finally said. “Look at the approved plans. As expected, the utilities terminate at the lower floor, including the lift, which has its power relays installed on the lowest floor. But on Miranda’s plans …” he said, which is when Cordelia switched the view for him, “the utilities branch to service the lowest floor and continue on as if they supply something below this last floor. And notice the lift power relays are gone. There is definitely something located below these three domes. If the plans Miranda discovered are the true construction plans, then I can tell you that whatever is down there has not been approved!”
“Will, tell me what you think so far,” Alex requested.
“We have enough for Darryl’s ministry to call Toyo into a hearing to discuss the possibility of unapproved construction and not much more. We can’t use what Miranda discovered, since it was obtained illegally. And, while most representatives might find the entertainment in those secondary domes distasteful, we certainly don’t have sufficient reason to request the TSF raid Toyo’s establishment.”
Alex growled under his breath as he paced.
Drake hurried to add, “Not what you wanted to hear, Alex, I understand, but I have to uphold the law. I can’t operate like …”
Drake’s partial statement hung in the air, and every Haraken stared at him, daring him to continue.
“Like what, President Drake?” Tatia challenged. “Like Harakens, who take the law into their own hands? Or is it that Harakens simply apply justice where the law is undefined, such as when foreign battleships raid their allies’ system?”
“Sers, I believe the focus should be on the missing girls,” Renée said diplomatically into the silence that followed Tatia’s words.
“What are you going to do, Alex?” Drake asked.
“For starters, Will, I’m going to give you a tour of our new ship. I imagine we’re being watched, and we need to keep up the charade. But time is running out fo
r my sister and her friends. These criminal leaders must have figured out by now that Haraken ships parked near their moons is no coincidence.”
“I was asking about what you might do concerning your girls and Toyo’s domes,” Will said.
“Whatever I have to, President Drake,” Alex said.
Drake and Jaya glanced around the room. Stern expressions stared back at them. A convenient loophole in New Terran commercial law, taken advantage of by criminal enterprises, would not stop the Harakens from rescuing their people.
* * *
The tour of the Tanaka was to take place following midday meal, and Drake and Jaya were offered a suite in order to freshen up.
“Did you know that Julien and Cordelia are partners?” Jaya said, stepping from the sleeping quarters and fastening his shirt.
“In what enterprise?” asked Drake, his thoughts elsewhere.
“Will, listen to me, they’re partners, as in a couple. They live together and have adopted ten orphans from Sol.”
Drake stared at Jaya, shifting mental gears from his concerns to what his friend was saying. Finally, Drake shook his head. “I don’t know how Alex does it. The world of the Harakens gets stranger every day. I, for one, am happy to stay right here on backward New Terra.”
“Maybe, it’s what suits Alex. Being born in a place doesn’t mean you fit in there,” Jaya replied. “I was thinking, Will. It’s too bad that we can’t let the Harakens take care of some of these problems for us. Let them locate and deal with this rogue biochemist. Maybe even let them expose what’s going on in the domes.”
“But then what would our people think of the Harakens afterwards?” Drake replied. “We can’t afford a backlash of sentiment against the Harakens. We need their technology. The events of the past decade and a half have proven that. Besides, what would our people think of the government, specifically me, if we aren’t able to solve our own problems?”
