by Richard Dee
Nancy took an age to answer; maybe some of her sensors were off-line. “Hi, Dave, sorry about the wait, we are halfway between Bellox and Raster, the nearest habitation is around thirteen days at maximum speed by shuttle.”
“Stand by to raise them, Nance,” said Rixon. “We may have to see if they have any spare parts we can buy.”
“Will do,” she replied. We stood in silence for a moment or two.
“Dave,” said Rixon. Here it comes, I thought. In a flash I remembered what Stu had told me, how protective Rixon was. It was all very well me hiding Myra for him, we would be out of sight but he might not be too happy about the idea now he could see what was going on.
“Look after her for me,” he said in a voice I had not heard before, a soft wistful voice unlike his normal sarcastic drawl. “I promised our mother I’d look after her and I nearly lost her just then, I would have without you. You can do a better job than me, she likes you a lot, keep her safe.”
I didn’t know what to say, this was a side of Rixon I had never seen, a fragile side away from the hard competence.
“Of course I will,” I assured him. “I don’t want to lose her either.”
There was a cough; neither of us had heard the door. Myra was stood behind us. Covered in grease she still managed to look amazing. “That’s enough sentiment from both of you or I might need to vomit. While you’ve been emotional with each other I’ve fixed things up.”
She pulled a self-satisfied expression. “The Inverter wasn’t totally broken, when it cooled down and I could have a proper look it was just one of the contacts that had worked loose. I’ve hard-welded it in; it’ll hold till Wishart. I’ve restarted everything and handed control over; if you’d been paying attention you’d have heard.”
Nancy piped up, “I spotted that, Myra; I have control, well done.”
“Okay, Nancy, cancel the call; let’s resume our journey,” said Rixon. “Then we can all go back to our own cabins to sleep.” He emphasised the words our own and sleep.
“Nancy,” I started but there was a whine and smooth acceleration.
“Already there, Dave,” she said. The ports took on a red tinge as we passed the light barrier.
We all left the wheelhouse, Rixon last. I took the alarm box and Rixon watched carefully as Myra and I went into our own cabins.
For an hour at least. He should be asleep by then.
Chapter Thirty Four
We were on Wishart. Rixon and I were in a shuttle heading to meet the owner of the Sprite. Griff had taken the Orca to a shipyard near Brethren’s Host where they could repair the Inverter and fix a few other things that needed looking at. A hull survey was due as well so that gave us a couple of days to do our business. Griff had called up and arranged a meeting.
Rixon filled me in on the farmer during the flight. We were headed for Sakkho; one of the islands in the Wishart Archipelago. It was about as far from Brethren’s Host as you could get in either direction, isolated and remote. We followed the river from Brethren’s Host to the sea, past small towns and wide open fields, filled with crops and animals. As we crossed the sea towards the islands it started to rain, it splashed against our hull and lightning flashed.
“His name’s Evan Constable,” said Rixon. “He grows corn and beans for sale, with a few fruit trees and his own hives for pollination. The farmers’ co-op collects his produce twice a year but apart from that he’s not disturbed.”
The islands appeared; they were flat and featureless except for the huge barns that marked each settlement. Crops grew in ordered ranks and the occasional grove of trees flashed underneath us. The shuttle banked towards a set of barns with a small wooden house by the side, indistinguishable from the others we had passed. The rain had stopped as we landed and an old man came toward us.
I had imagined a lonely old timer; grumpy and distrustful of strangers, and I was about right. He was living in a rundown wooden shack, filled with old furniture and older memories. Framed pictures showed him in various younger days, in uniform, around the farm and with a woman and a small girl. He was smiling in most of them. He wasn’t smiling now, his body bent from years of hard physical labour; he spoke only the minimum needed to be civil. After introductions he called out, “Ria, come and meet the visitors.” We were surprised when he said that Ria was his daughter and that she was still living with him. When she emerged from the other room she proved to be a strikingly attractive young woman.
She was tall and shapely; my immediate thought was ‘wow’, for some reason her long hair was bright green, matching her eyes and clothes. She said ‘Hi’ to us and languidly waved her hand. “I’ll get tea,” she said and departed the room. When she returned her hair was red, her eyes dark brown. I don’t know how it was done, but no doubt Myra would ask her, assuming they got along.
We sat in saggy armchairs covered in patterned throws while Evan retreated to a rocking chair that creaked as he moved it. Ria fussed around her father; helping him with his tea and we realised that he only had one hand. Maybe that was why she had stayed.
“I don’t know how you found out that I wanted to sell the Seeker,” he said after tea had been poured and biscuits taken.
There was an anguished gasp from Ria. “Sell the Seeker? You said that I could have her. I was going to explore in her, I’ve been fixing her up myself.”
“Evan smiled. “I’m sorry, my dear, that was years ago when I still had my health and the farm was doing well. Now I can’t afford to pay for the repairs she needs.” Clearly shocked, Ria got up and marched out of the room, the door slammed.
“She longs for the bright lights she’s seen on the video,” said Evan. “I’ve seen them and I know that if she saw them, they would only disappoint her.”
I thought, there’s more to it than that, he has cheap labour here and has probably strung her along, keeping her with promises. It seemed unfair; after all it was her future not his. I said nothing as we finished our tea in an awkward silence. Evan seemed not to notice; maybe this conversation was a regular occurrence. We drank in silence, the only sound the rocking of his chair.
“Come on down then,” said Evan eventually, “and I’ll show you the ship.”
There was no sign of Ria as Rixon and I walked across the damp fields with Evan towards the barns, scattering a small flock of bedraggled chickens that scratched in the mud. The barns dominated the flat landscape. It wasn’t raining, but the grey skies were full of the promise of more. The lack of a background and the featureless plain made the barns look even more imposing, the nearest one was open and we could see farm machinery inside its cavernous interior, but the largest one was closed.
Evan kept talking, around the stem of his pipe, “Near the end of the war, she landed near here and then crew made a run for it. I guess that they were all conscripts, and when I got on board I found out that they had mutinied and killed the officers.” It was a familiar tale, on the Moth and in the academy we had heard of the collapse of discipline on the Government side in the closing days of the Holy Wars. The destruction of Brethren’s Host had accelerated the process and eventually helped to bring about the peace.
Seeing my expression, Evan laughed. “Don’t worry, I cleaned it all up. Until about a year or so ago I had been flying her every so often, just to keep the systems working, and the barn roof has solar panels charging the auxiliaries. Of course all the certification is out of date.”
“That won’t be a problem,” said Rixon. “It sounds like you know what you’re about.”
He nodded. “I was an engineer, before…” He waved the stump. “And when my daughter was old enough, she helped me keep it space-worthy. As you heard, she always thought we were going to leave one day, but we never got round to it.”
We reached the barn, and Evan jabbed at the door control with his stump. With a whine of hydraulics the main doors parted, and I got a glimpse of my new home.
The Sprite class were a tried and trusted utility ship of about seventy-five me
tres, a flat ovoid hull with a tricycle undercarriage and stern ramp. Each side of the stern were rotating engine pods, it had no thruster but was still a very manoeuvrable ship. It had the raised bumps of an EM shield on the hull, and light cannon for defence.
Although it was a warship it was a scout and run-around; not designed to stand and fight. It carried a crew of up to ten, depending on its role. It had a moderate sized hold, and would be ideal for trading.
Evan showed us around the Sprite, which was in good condition throughout. There was no evidence of the previous occupants, all the cabins and public spaces were spotless and overall it looked like the ship has just come from the yard. The stores were well stocked with spares and the workshops had all the tools you could need.
Sure enough all the documentation was years out of date, but as long as we could get everything working that shouldn’t be a problem. Evan had taken advantage of the amnesty for all combatant craft at the end of the Holy Wars, and had all the legal papers showing him as the owner. The papers noted that several items of Navy equipment had been removed, the cannon and the EM shield among them.
“It looks good to me,” said Rixon after we had crawled around a few of the more inaccessible spaces. “Nothing that can’t be sorted. What do you think, Dave?”
“The hull’s sound and all the stuff seems to be there,” I replied, cautious of expressing too much in Evan’s earshot. It would be a poor negotiating ploy to tell him just how much I liked and wanted, no needed, this ship. A ship of my own. What would my father think of that? “Myra can take a look at the engines and services but on the face of it–” I said no more as Evan drew closer.
I had looked at a few sites on the web so had a rough idea of prices, I had plenty of cash courtesy of the Chenkos and the original Dave, still I didn’t want to waste it from a weak position. Evan might not know what he had; anything around 200,000 would be a reasonable price.
“I reckon it’ll take two of us about three months to get the Seeker working and certified for flight,” I said and Evan nodded.
“We did what we could,” he said. “So what do you think, Mr Rixon, do we have a deal?”
“I think so,” replied Rixon, “although it’s Dave’s money, I’m just the chauffeur this time.” Of course he was keen to see me buy the ship, he was thinking of Myra’s safety, certainly no one would find us here, or even think of looking.
“I reckon she’ll do,” I nodded. “You’ve done a good job in the upkeep, I’ll offer you 150,000 as she is.”
Evan looked hurt. “How much?” he gasped. “I’d say nearer 250,000. There’s all the tools and some spares as well.” Obviously he knew what he had and was used to negotiating.
“But there are a few systems to fix,” I protested, “and the certification to do, 175,000.”
“No, no, no.” Evan shook his head. “It won’t cost that much and Ria will help you; 240,000.”
“Ria’s run off, she might not be back, and if the Seeker means that much to her she might not want to help.”
“She’ll do as she’s told,” Evan said defiantly.
Ria must have been lurking somewhere in earshot, although we hadn’t noticed her. At Evan’s words she came into view, her face was as red as her hair.
“No I will not do as I’m told, Father,” she shouted. “I’ve done that for years, just one more crop, just one more planting season, and then we’ll fly away. Well it ends now.”
He didn’t look particularly shocked; clearly this argument had been festering for a while. She turned away again and went back to wherever it was she had come from.
“Ria,” he called, “come back, let’s talk.” There was no reply. I saw his shoulders drop.
“Very well, 175,000 then,” he said with a resigned sigh. “Just promise me that you’ll get it off my land as quickly as you can, leave me in peace.” We shook on the deal but it left a sour taste in my mouth.
“We’ll be back to start work in a few days,” I told him. “Just two of us; me and Myra the engineer, we’ll bring our own stuff and live on board; out of your way. If Ria wants to help that will be appreciated but she doesn’t have to.” Evan said nothing more.
We flew back to the Orca in a subdued mood. “Rather you than me,” said Rixon and I agreed with him. “Living on board means you’ll be out of the way I guess; at least you won’t be watching happy families.”
“I got a bargain,” I said, “but it felt wrong.”
“I know what you mean,” Rixon agreed. “But as it wasn’t your money at the start I reckon it was a good deal.”
What would Ria do? I wondered; would she even be there when we returned?
Chapter Thirty Five
Myra listened in silence as I told her what had happened. “Poor girl,” she said. “How awful to think you’re going away then finding it was all a lie.” We were sorting out the stuff we would need to get started, just a few specialised tools and diagnostic programmes to start with. And some food stores as well. Then there was Myra’s wardrobe.
In the end it was quite a pile of stuff. We fixed it all on a pallet. Rixon was dropping us off and heading for New Devon. Griff’s agent buddy had a few prospective people lined up.
I landed the Orca by the big barn, Evan had seen us coming in and had bought a lifter to help carry our gear, there was no sign of Ria. I made the most of it, it would be the last time I manoeuvred the Orca for a while and I was getting to like the job. It was far better than doing it with Dror standing over me, ready to criticise. The money had all been transferred to Evan so apart from the formalities, the Seeker was mine. And I fancied changing the name, as soon as I could.
I felt awkward after our last meeting, because of the tension between Evan and Ria. “Day all,” Evan said, quite a speech for him. He shook my hand, nodded to Rixon, and I introduced him to Myra.
“Hello, Myra,” he said, and there was a pause. He was obviously deciding what to say so we let him think for a minute. Finally he cleared his throat, “I guess I should say, Ria and I, well after you left and we both calmed down a little; well we’ve had a good old chat, it’s cleared the air between us.”
That was a relief to me; I hated the idea of being in the middle of an argument between the two of them, and having to involve Myra in it. Ria would probably have tried to use her to advance her position and Myra would be stuck, forced to take sides.
“I’m pleased to hear it,” I said. “The last thing I wanted was to cause trouble.”
“I understand that,” he continued, “and I’ve realised that I should have done things differently. Anyway, we’ve agreed, I’m using some of the money from selling the Seeker to hire a man from a place up near Brethren’s Host. He wants a change of scene and he’s agreed to help me on the farm. When he’s learnt the routine Ria will be off to the city, but she wants to help you first if that’s okay.”
“Of course it is,” said Myra. “I’d be grateful for any help, she must know just about everything about the ship.”
“She does at that,” said Evan and there was pride in his voice. And a little regret.
Evan drove the lifter into Orca’s hold and picked up the loaded pallet. He reversed it down the ramp and headed for the barn.
Rixon and Myra embraced. “Keep in touch,” he said. “Griff will bring your stuff over as and when he can; try to order full loads though.”
“You look after my engines,” she said. “Don’t hire anyone who’ll cut corners.”
He nodded and turned to me, one eyebrow raised. “Good luck, Dave, remember what I told you,” he said. We shook hands and he went back up the ramp without another glance. Griff hadn’t put in an appearance; he was probably doing my job.
We followed Evan into the barn; he had driven the lifter up to the Seeker’s ramp. We heard Orca take off, we were alone. Ria’s voice came from inside the hold, “Who’s there, is that you, Father?”
“Yes it’s me,” he replied, “with the Seeker’s new owners.”
“Are
they here to start work?”
“Yes, Ria,” said Evan, gently, “and they’d be grateful if you’ll help out.”
We walked up the ramp, to the port side was a small workshop; Ria was inside, she stood as we approached. Her hair was a dull brown with russet streaks today; it complemented the colour of her overalls. She looked sad as she saw us.
“I’ve been trying to fix it for Father,” she said, pointing to a prosthetic hand on the bench. Its plasto-skin cover was peeled back, exposing circuit boards and wiring. “But I need smaller drivers for the hydraulic valves.”
“I have a set in my gear,” said Myra. “I can get them in a bit.”
And with that gesture the ice was broken. “You must be Myra,” she said, smiling broadly, “I’ll be glad to show you around tomorrow. Come over to the house later,” she added, “there’ll be steak and some beer.”
“Yes, come over,” agreed Evan, who had joined us. “There’s more than enough and it’s all home grown.”
They left deep in conversation, perhaps our arrival had done some good; at least they weren’t at each other’s throats.
Chapter Thirty Six
We moved in, unloading the pallet of equipment and stowing the packs of food in the mess room. It was getting late in the day to start work, but Myra got her drivers out and after a few minutes’ work had fixed Evan’s hand.
“Ria had most of it done,” she told me, “just the articulated joints to torque up.” I didn’t know what she meant but I made appreciative noises. After a shower, we wandered over to Evan’s porch, following the smell of a barbeque.
Evan and Ria were sat gazing out into the night; the sky was thick with stars in the moonless sky. With no background lights and the flat land it seemed like the whole of the Galaxy was on display.
Myra passed Evan’s hand over to Ria. “Here you are, it’s done,” she said. Evan’s face lit up.
