The Lanillan looked over Ormond’s shoulder at Meriam, who stood a head taller than the Englishman. “Of course, we could probably also negotiate a deal to provide you some Marks to pay your way on your own choice of vessel. If you prefer?”
Ormond kept his face passive, but there was an edge to his voice when he asked, “And what would be your idea of a fair exchange for either of these services. Friend?”
Meriam didn’t think the alien would get human sarcasm, or the warning in Ormond’s voice and posture, but she appreciated it.
“The Galactic Citizenry has taught us many things, good being.” The Lanillan tried to appear friendly, but it came off all wrong.
“One of these is that females of most mammalian species tend to be the same, biologically speaking, in most respects. I pride myself on having explored the various sensations possible with every known species, and you are new to me, hence one I have yet to add to my list.”
“Hang on a mo there, mate. So, you’re saying you think I’m going to pimp myself or my friend here out to you for the price of a seat on a ship leaving this place?”
Meriam almost laughed out loud at how undiplomatic Ormond was.
She would have handled the conversation differently, but she had always liked a man who stuck up for women.
“Well, come now, friend. As we say on my world, the one in need has little choice what the universe has on offer. You want a way off this doomed space station, and we have an answer for you. Why not take it up?”
“What do you mean doomed?” Ormond was surprised by that statement.
So was Meriam.
“Do you honestly not know? All the refugees’ talk of nothing else, and everyone who arrives quickly learns of the oncoming storm. The Tempest are coming, good being, and they are chasing this rabble before them like some kind of tide of woe and despair.”
The Lanillans all seemed horribly amused by what their leader was describing. “We, of course, fear nothing of the sort, and with our own vessel are well prepared to leave here before such an event could be a danger to us.”
Again, the evil grin came out. “So, what do you say? Take a berth on our ship, let me have the pleasure of your female’s company for the trip, and we’ll deliver you safely to the next world of your choice.”
“No, mate, I don’t think so.” Ormond had his fists clenched now, facing the Lanillan leader full on. “How about you just let us be and go mind your own business instead?”
“Hah, well, yes, I do have other business to attend to. If you feel that you may be willing to share your female at a later stage, you can probably find me. Good travels, however far you manage to make it.”
The Lanillan smiled widely at Ormond and then leered at Meriam, peeling back her singlesuit with his eyes before turning to walk away with his lackeys following.
Meriam stepped up beside Ormond while he watched the Lanillans move along the interior corridor space and move down the row of shops, away from them.
“What was that all about, do you think?” Meriam asked.
“I’ve seen creatures like him before. On the streets, you get the same kind of self-entitled assholes trying to prey on the desperate. What bothers me is that he thinks there are so many desperate people in the Puzzle Box that we would automatically be included.”
“You mean the talk of refugees and the danger coming that we have been hearing would be more than just this market, or living quarters or hub or whatever?” Meriam looked around uncertainly.
“Yeah, something like that. For a man like him, alien or no, to be convinced that he could try lines like that, he must be feeling pretty certain that desperation is all over the Puzzle Box. It’s a vast place. If everywhere is getting as full as this…” Ormond let the sentence taper off.
“Whoever or whatever this ‘Tempest’ is, can’t be good. And if we are here at the same time, let’s just say it doesn’t seem like a coincidence, hey?”
Ormond glanced at Meriam, and she could see he was concerned. “Let’s meet up with the others. Maybe they have something, but they need to know about this too.”
Meriam agreed, and they quickly made their way around the concourse.
* *
Connor was used to assessing the union reps and other fighters in the matches he was set up in, so he had developed an eye for determining the nature of people. Now that he had spent a little bit of time with Lekiso, he was quite impressed with her levelheadedness and drive.
On the walk into the apartment area, which had taken them through a large doorway that the information in his display said could be sealed tight in case of a loss of pressure, he had told Lekiso that he admired her approach and leadership in this tough scenario.
She gave him a short acknowledgment and continued her own assessment of the corridor, which had moved inwards from the market concourse and now had doors spaced regularly on both sides.
Marc, on the other hand, was still lost in browsing information, and he followed Connor like a shadow.
Now, that is a man who is well at home with computers, Connor thought.
In fact, his house was probably all about his computer and his online life, whatever that had been for him and whatever he did for a living. But Connor was reasonably sure that the small man was quite bright and that whatever he had done that had kept him out of the sun had kept him going. It was weird, though.
He didn’t seem the type to just dead-end himself as a stay-at-home geek for no reason. There was probably some kind of tragedy there.
They had seen a few of the refugees in this corridor of the Puzzle Box. Some had put down blankets, and it looked like the women and the young in most cases. Connor figured that their husbands or mates or whatever were trying to sell things in the crowded flea market on the concourse.
It didn’t take long before the three of them saw Ormond and Meriam come along the other way, proving that the maps were accurate. Marc hadn’t lost the tracking on them, so there wasn’t some kind of nefarious scheme to split them up at play either.
Connor was relieved by that. If this setup was meant to be harmful it could be done in so many ways.
Meriam seemed to Connor to be some sort of socialite. Her manner and bearing were those of someone used to being an extrovert and among people of higher class. He could see that, being one of the members of a lower class himself.
Not that she was a haughty and arrogant woman, mind you. She had her kindness, but also a core of steel. He could see that.
She was a survivor, that one.
Then, so was Ormond, although on a whole different level.
Connor couldn’t get a good eye on the man; he seemed to live, eat, and breath deception. That he was some kind of bum or homeless person seemed about right the way he told it, the right amount of truth in what was probably hiding why he was on the streets in the first place.
He behaved a lot like Lekiso, but he still let her lead, despite the sarcasm and passive aggressiveness he put on.
Connor’s thoughts were interrupted when Lekiso spoke to the other two as the five closed in together.
“Hey, did you two learn anything interesting?”
“Yes and no. We got a lot of talk about, all these refugees and how a whole bang load of ’em are running scared back here to the Puzzle Box. But nothing really saying why or what from except for this shifty lot who mentioned something called ‘The Tempest,’ whatever they are,” Ormond said.
“That tracks with what we heard as well. I managed to overhear a short conversation about how many refugees have been arriving.” Lekiso shook her head from side to side. “I have no idea what this is all about, but something serious is happening around here, and it seems to be close to an emergency.”
Connor happened to agree, but a quick look out one of the windows in the side of the passage at a passing ship reminded him of his headache.
“Listen, do you think we could find a place out of the way to avoid seeing new things for a while. My whole head hurts, and I
could do without running into new thoughts while we try to figure this out.”
“Um, that is a good idea,” Marc said quietly from where he had been staring into space, surprising everyone.
“Uh, these implanted memories or information, whatever they are and however they got there, will take some time to settle. What sticks in our heads and how much we can use will probably have a lot to do with our individual neurological makeup. Until our brains finish processing it all, we’ll keep having the headaches, and it will help a lot to stop having new bursts.”
“Err, that’s cool and all, mate, but where do we go?” Ormond waved his hands about to indicate the passage and all the doors.
“Okay, check the maps I’ve sent to each of you.” Marc pushed the images onto the private channel they shared.
“Um, the Enone Hub we are on originally served as the primary mining port for part of a small moon. Once the mining stopped, it was turned into a park. From the pictures, it should be peaceful enough and closed in enough that we won’t have too many new objects to trigger memories.”
“That sounds good. Let’s go to one of these lifts.” Lekiso started off, and the other four followed her down the metal-lined passageway.
“Marc, that bit about the implanted memories, what do you mean it affects us differently?” Connor asked while they walked.
“Uh, well, we are all from different backgrounds and have different skills. Our brains are wired to remember things essential to us, as we each developed and grew up, we had favorite things and things we dislike. That makeup of the structure in our brains means each of us will tend to remember some things better than others. And of course, the way we learn and what we are interested in learning is different.”
“Oh, right. Okay, so, like you have a mind for computers and maybe science-type things, so you remember that, and it comes more easily to you?”
“Uh, yeah, just like that. And Lekiso would adapt quickly to the tactical information and uses of the interface we all now have since she is a soldier and all that would be the easiest for her to absorb.”
“If that’s true, then it makes you think, doesn’t it?”
“Um, about what?”
“Well, we are all from different walks of life, aren’t we? So, were we abducted or chosen or whatever for our specific diversity of skills?”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Yeah, some of these things are only occurring to me now too.” Connor contemplated what exactly was going on as the five of them left the apartment area and went looking for a lift.
**
A few minutes later, the five humans had gone down several levels and around the curvature of another concourse to the bridge joining the Enone Hub to the metal grid and transparent dome attached to the side of the moonlet.
The metal floor plating extended along what seemed like a suspended bridge that connected with a variety of walkways, which spread out in dozens of branches across the inside of the dome.
Marc was right, Connor mused. They really did make this into a beautiful park.
The inside surface of the mined-out moon, at least within the dome, was covered in a kind of light-green grass, and various plants had been groomed to fill space all over. And it was big: the park clearly covered a few square miles and then some, spreading out in metal-floored paths and greenery.
They had tried stepping off the path to find that the gravity dropped off considerably. The physics behind it and the reminder of the technology of artificial gravity had given everyone but Marc another stabbing headache.
So, they stuck to the metal flooring and moved away to a secluded spot. Refugees had staked their claim to various parts of the parkland, and miles of the space was already tightly packed with towns made from tents and whatever other materials they could find.
With a bit of walking, the humans managed to find a small clearing nestled in among an upwelling of rock that, combined with the large bushes of alien plant life, effectively hid them from view.
The five spread out in a loose grouping, and aside from generally considering each other, they were content to spend a few minutes blinking or with their eyes closed as they took a breather.
Connor had his eyes closed, and he could feel the ache in his head alleviating when the first to speak up was, of course, Lekiso.
“I think we are meant to do something here or learn something.”
“What makes you say that, then?” Ormond made it a serious question this time.
“I don’t know, a feeling, I guess.” Lekiso shrugged.
“But you can see that something is going on in this Puzzle Box, and it can’t just be a matter of chance that we have been brought here, now, right when there are so many refugees and a threat of some kind they just call the Tempest.”
“Um, maybe we’re here to steal their technology?” Marc’s eyes were glazed. He just threw the comment out offhandedly.
“You can’t be serious?” Connor turned to look down at the smaller man.
“With everything we have going on for us, you think whoever brought us here needs to consider spying?”
“Uh, oh, sorry. Well, I am kinda serious. I mean, this Domum power system is some seriously impressive stuff. And power is the first de facto requirement for a highly advanced culture. These guys outstrip anything humans have come up with in the last hundred years.”
Marc’s eyes unglazed as he brought his vision out to focus on the other four. “Er, but the power aside, they also have high computer processing that manages all the gravity and some atmospheric systems. Like, for us, the gravity is earth normal, see, and for others, as they walk around, the floor plates adapt to their standard homeworld gravity.
“Of course, it helps that most of the aliens seem to be carbon based and of the mammalian genus and so on, so we all survive within fair margins of each other. So, the other aliens who need, like, special atmosphere or have problems with the visible spectrum or sound or whatever just use technology to overcome it. The living quarters can adapt to a wide variety of requirements.”
Lekiso had to break in. “Marc! Stop babbling.”
Connor had been about to stall Marc himself. The man could go on!
“Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to. But seriously, guys, a time like this where everyone is busy focusing on an outside threat would be perfect for sneaking something in to conduct sabotage or steal something important, right?”
Meriam and Connor both looked to Lekiso.
Ormond gave Marc a considering glance, while Meriam answered with a problem-solving look in her eyes. Connor wondered again at her background; it wasn’t as apparent as it appeared.
“Yeah, Marc’s right. It is a possibility. Think about what we have so far, though. I’m not sure the technology we have seen is up to the same standard as what we have. Although perhaps we just don’t know, I’ve seen physical computers and not our kind of virtual interface. Perhaps only the upper class can afford them. Would that put us at a similar or better technology level? But I don’t think—”
“Heh he heh, I follow one attractive creature and find that she has friends and one of them another exotic all to herself.”
The voice broke into Lekiso’s sentence from the direction of the path they had followed.
The humans turned at the sound to see the three Lanillans that Ormond and Meriam had met on the concourse coming towards them, this time with objects that looked wholly familiar in their hands and that were aimed at the group.
“Hey, my display is warning me that those devices they have are basically guns,” Ormond surreptitious warned over their private channel.
Connor’s display didn’t give a lot of detail, but the weapons were identified as high-end ion blasters in general terms; the second description was scientific, and he ignored it.
“Ah, I see you recognize these weapons. Good. Then I will not need to explain how bad things could go for you if you do not cooperate.”
The leader of the Lanillans took
a few steps closer, bringing him up to Meriam, who had been at the back of the group when they had arrived.
“You see, I do prefer to get the things that I want, and once I saw you meet up with another pristine example of your species’ females, I couldn’t help myself.”
“I didn’t notice anyone following us,” Lekiso murmured over the silent channel.
Before Ormond could agree that he hadn’t either, Marc interjected. “Uh, crap. Sorry, guys. They somehow hacked into the station nodes and used them to track us as we moved around. I wasn’t even looking for it. And they’ve cut off the scanners in this area, and they are blocking access to the rest of the station so that we can’t call for help.”
“It’s ok, Marc. See if there’s anything you can do. Our stuff is pretty sophisticated, you said so yourself. See if you can break through whatever they’ve done.” Connor held his hands out to his side and watched the Lanillan move right up to Meriam.
“Urgh, this asshole, who does he think he is?” Meriam was angry, and the channel passed her tone across to the other four humans quite clearly.
“Now, if you and the dark-skinned one come with us peacefully, we’ll leave your menfolk alive to acquire yourselves some new females. Or do we have to dispose of you so that you won’t do something honorable, stupid, or both?” His smirk was disgusting to all of the humans, and not just for the yellow tones it mixed up in the expression.
“He is an ugly shit.” Connor considered how he’d look without his teeth.
“Just stay calm, Meriam. We can probably stay in contact and get the authorities involved as soon as they aren’t pointing lethal weapons at us.” Connor tried to sound soothing on the private channel.
“This guy is seriously annoying. It’s one thing to put up with human creeps, but after getting dragged who knows where and who knows how far, now I have a yellow alien creep?” Meriam was already quite worked up.
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