I thought about that for a minute. “Yeah, that’d get me laughed at for sure. Great idea, it should help.”
I’d been spacing out when a female voice from the comms unit caught my attention. “I say again. Unidentified ship, please respond.”
“Oh, sorry. This is Nate Silvers of the Gilmore. Who’s this?”
“What do you mean, who’s this? This is Colony Two-Seven Flight Control.”
“Oh, perfect. Mind if I land real quick?”
There was a long pause before the woman returned. “Gilmore, what is your cargo?”
“I’m trying to unload a few thousand gallons of fresh water. This is my first water run,” I said, matter-of-factly.
“I see.” She paused again, likely communicating with my escorts. “You are clear to land at port-side lateral bay three.”
“Lateral? What’s that mean?” I laughed as soon as I released the push-to-talk button. Sami sighed. Weird.
The woman also sighed. “The side, Mr. Silvers. Third hatch, left side of the ship. Look for yellow-and-black-striped caution markers.”
“Oh!” I said, pretending to be surprised. “Thank you very much!” I gushed as much enthusiasm as I could.”
“You’re welcome. Have a safe landing.” I heard her trying not to giggle.
I cut off the comms channel. “Oh, don’t you worry. I plan to…”
“An exemplary performance,” said Sami. “I think she bought it.”
“Let’s hope so. How long until we reach the hangar?”
“At our current velocity, about ten minutes.”
I spent those ten minutes grabbing some food and making sure my tools were secure. The colony ship was straight ahead of the Gilmore. I approached the left side of the ship and ran parallel to the hull. I spotted the third hangar and forgot to slow down, overshooting it by several hatches.
After flying back to the hatch, I overcautiously entered the hangar and guided my ship ever so slowly to the painted square on the deck plating. I began descending to the steel plating, slowing until I was about three inches from it. I cut the power to the thrusters, and my stomach dropped out from under me. The Gilmore shuddered as it dropped unceremoniously to the platform.
“Excellent landing, Bishop. I am sure Steve and Anne would be laughing profusely at your skills.”
“Probably. Although I’d rather have the maintenance crews outside be the ones laughing.”
“Oh, they are… Of that, you can be sure.”
“You know something I don’t, don’t you?”
“Naturally.” The external sounds played momentarily over the speaker. I could hear several distinct voices laughing and calling me all sorts of names. The speaker turned off.
I laughed as well. “Looks like they bought it.”
“It does seem so. But I do detect strange movements as well. There is no telling what sort of reaction the military may have. We also do not know if they will recognize your face.
“I’ll be careful. I don’t believe I’ve ever had my face in any of their systems. It should be fine.”
“For your sake, I hope so.”
“Relax. What’s the worst that could happen?” I opened the hatch and stood face to face with six heavily armed and armored soldiers. And their guns were aimed right at my face.
5
I briskly raised my hands. “Whoa! Whoa!” I squeaked. “Don’t shoot!” My shock and fear were by no means an act. My hands shook, and my pulse pounded in my ears as sweat beaded and ran down my spine.
“Keep your hands up and slowly step out of the ship,” said the soldier in front. He spoke with a calm and even tone.
Looking around, I saw several more soldiers keeping the crowds back. Behind them, several of the escort ships had landed, blocking me in. They aimed weapons at the Gilmore, ensuring I couldn’t escape. Shit. They’ve figured it out.
I stepped forward and took a shaky step down from the hatch. Two men moved past me and entered the ship. “Uh, w-what’s this about, Officers?” I stammered.
“Routine inspection,” said the gruff soldier nearest me. “Will only take a few minutes, as long as you cooperate.”
“Uh, y-yeah, sure.”
I was starting to get really nervous when the two who had left to search the ship returned. “Just the tanks of water, sir. Ship’s clean.”
The lead soldier nodded once and turned back to me. “Silvers? Is it?”
“Uh, yessir,” I said. The man stared hard at me. The sweat running down my back felt like a river. Can he tell how nervous I am?
“You’re lucky to be alive, kid. Going planetside on your first run was risky. Ballsy. But you made it back safe. Somehow…” He looked at the ship for a few lingering moments. “Gilmore. Huh. A strong ship you got there, kid. Take good care of her, and she’ll keep bringing you home.” He turned away and gave some sort of hand signal. The soldiers dispersed, and the ships pulled away.
“I’m free to go?” I asked, not wanting to get my hopes up.
The man laughed. “Yeah,” he said. “Maybe work on your landings a bit. Stay out of trouble, kid.” He stepped into one of the waiting ships, followed by his men.
I slumped down onto the hatch and exhaled. That was way too damned close… No one answered. I’d gotten used to Sami answering my thoughts.
“Silvers, huh? Damn, Bishop… You’re an idiot for coming back here.” I looked up to see my friend Andy Charles admiring the Gilmore. His graying hair was ear-length and crow’s feet adorned his eyes from decades of smiling. “Wasn’t this ship in the recycling ward a few weeks ago?”
“Yeah, probably. I got her patched up now so she actually flies mostly in a straight line.” I stood and shook hands with my long-time friend. “What’s the word on things?” I asked.
Andy laughed. “Things are chaotic as shit. Whatever business the three of you are mixed up in must be pretty dirty.” He shook his head but grinned. “Reminds me of the good ol’ days.”
“The good old days?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t worry about that for now.” Andy pulled an orange hat and jacket from his utility pack. “Here, put these on. Will help you blend in.”
“Why are you getting involved?”
“Well,” he said as he looked me over, nodding with approval. “Steve called me. Told me the gist what was happening. Also told me to send his disapproval of your decisions. Included a few choice words too, but I can’t be bothered to recollect them… Old age and all, ya know?” He chuckled. “Anyhow, can’t sit idly by while you young’uns have all the adventures. Besides, someone’s gotta help clear your name.”
I looked at myself in the reflection of the Gilmore’s canopy window. “I look like a maintenance worker.”
“Exactly. You’ll blend right in. Now, what do you need?”
“As much time as possible networked to the ship. And supplies to keep the Gilmore in one piece. I’m completely out of synapse cable and just about out of power junction segments.”
Andy followed me back into the Gilmore. “You took the tanks out of the Strider?”
“Yeah, was the quickest way to get aboard the colony ship.”
“Risky, but it should pay off pretty well.”
“Sami,” I said.
“Yes?” answered the comms console.
“Anything specific that would be useful to buy?”
“Now that you mention it, a processing module would be most helpful. And make sure it has enough storage to handle my overwhelming mental capacity.”
Andy raised an eyebrow. I shook my head, dismissing him.
“Anything else, Your Magnificence?”
“Not at the moment, my loyal subject. Appease your king and you shall be rewarded.”
I scoffed. “Please…”
Andy laughed. “Whoever that is has got some attitude. I like him.”
“Thank you,” said Sami.
“All right, enough. Both of you.” I turned to Andy. “You think the water will
be enough for everything?”
“Should pay for everything and have a little bit left over. Let’s get moving before the guards come checking on you again...”
“Thirty-five hundred credits,” said the quartermaster. I frowned. “Sorry kid, but funds are low. Best we can do right now.”
Andy put his hand on my shoulder. “They are pretty desperate, Nate. That water could help a lot of people…”
“I’ll need my ship refueled and recharged. I’d also like a current copy of the contracts and requisitions sent over as well. I don’t mind paying for them, but I walk if the answer is no.”
He thought hard for a moment. “Pretty demanding for a greenhorn…” He scratched at his stubble. “If you take off five hundred credits to pay for all that, I could make it happen.”
I set my expression hard, looking the quartermaster in the eye. “Deal.” He made some adjustments at his terminal and handed me a chip. We shook hands.
He nodded and leaned forward, lowering his voice to a murmur. “The jacket and cap help, but stay out of sight, Bishop. If I recognized you, others might too.” I thanked him for his discretion and turned to walk away.
“Hey, uh, Nate? Was it?” he called, loud enough to be heard by others.
“Yeah?”
“Nice doing business with you, kid. This water will help a lot of needy folk.”
I smiled and waved.
Andy leaned over to me. “It’s a good thing people like you. That could have been bad.”
“The quartermaster was the hardest hurdle to get over.”
“Fair enough. What’s next?”
“I need to go shopping.”
We headed for the market area in search of supplies. I picked up several lengths of synapse cabling from the first shop.
“We’ll need to head to another shop for the power conduit,” said Andy. “It’s been a lot harder to come by lately.”
“Do you know which shop?”
“Yep. Where do you think Steve always got his parts from?” Andy chuckled. “I know most of the shopkeepers. And what they sell.” He looked around conspiratorially. “And what they really sell…”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
At the next shop, I bought several segments of power conduit. With a nod from Andy, the shopkeeper pulled the blinds and turned off the open indicator. He took us into the back room where another display case of equipment showcased all manner of hardware.
“Anything, in particular, you’re looking for, good sir?”
“I need a processor module with a decent amount of storage.”
The shopkeeper opened the display case and pulled out a small case. “This will meet your needs,” she said.
“How much?”
“Three thousand,” she said flatly. Andy cleared his throat lightly. “But...for you…I’ll cut you a deal.” She chuckled. “I could let it go for seven hundred.”
“Done.” I handed her my chip and she deducted the balance.
“I hope you’ll put this to…good use.”
Andy grinned. “I’m positive he will.”
The shopkeeper smiled and escorted us out.
“Well, that was weird,” I said. “Did you just cash in a favor or something?”
Andy frowned. “You spent most of your life flying on the Strider with your parents, right?”
“Yeah?” I asked. “Why?”
“There’s something I wanna show you…”
“What is it?”
“Easier to see than to explain. Let’s take a walk.”
We traveled for what seemed like hours through corridors I’d never seen before. The farther we went, the dirtier and grimier things seemed. Grease and other chemicals, which bewildered my senses, caked the walls. Trash and debris were piled along the walls of the hallway against bulkheads.
“Don’t the recyclers work down here?”
“Nope. They haven’t for about fifty years.”
“Why doesn’t someone fix them?”
“People have tried. Gangs come around and destroy anything that starts working.”
“This sounds just like the pirates…”
“The same group, actually. I’m sure Steve has mentioned the government’s grip on the people.”
“Yeah, we’ve talked at length about it.”
As we entered a large cargo hold, Andy swept his arm in a broad motion. “Welcome to the slums, kid.”
I looked around and gasped. Makeshift housing had been haphazardly tossed together. Multi-story shacks, reaching for the ceiling, were barely held together by pieces of cable and paneling. What few people roamed about were badly dressed in rags, and I could see their rib cages beneath their tattered garments.
“Andy, what the hell is this?”
“You were lucky enough that your parents isolated you from the ugly truth. This is the sum of the pieces when you need total control over a populace without having the support of the people. You manufacture it. Destroy education. Destroy family. Create a need. Then be the only one handing out food. Total control. These people will never fight back.”
“I never knew… How can anyone even live like this?”
“You’re looking at it, Bishop. This is what Steve’s fighting for. What we’re fighting for.”
My pulse pounded in my ears and my vision started to turn red. I leaned against the wall for support. “Andy,” I said between heaving breaths. “What did Steve’s sister find?”
“Proof. Video logs. Pay ledgers. Everything the resistance could possibly need to topple the command structure and free the people.”
“Resistance?” I asked. “What resistance? No one here is resisting anything.”
“So it would seem. But, the slums stretch for kilometers. Ten thousand unfortunate souls live in the slums.”
“Ten. Thousand. Live, like this…” My hands began to shake. Rage filled my body.
“Now you’re getting it.”
“How many are fighting back?”
Andy hesitated. “I won’t confirm an exact number. But hundreds.”
I turned to Andy and looked him dead in the eyes. “What do you need from me?”
“Find the proof. Elyssa left clues throughout the ship network for Steve to find. They killed her before she could tell anyone where she stashed the data.”
“Why me?”
“Steve told me about your A.I. The two of you are probably the only ones who can piece together the puzzle that she left us. It would also clear your names.”
I thought about it for a few brief moments. This is what I need to help us. And these people. “Count me in.” I turned to head back to the docking bay.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my ship. I have work to do.”
6
The Gilmore lifted off the landing pad with ease. I pulled the levers to the side and turned the ship to leave. I didn’t wait until I was clear to hit maximum thrust. The ship blasted out into open space away from the lunar surface.
“Damn it, Sami, I never knew how bad it was,” I shouted, slamming my fist against the console. “Those people in the slums are living like animals.”
“What will you do about it?”
I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Continue on with the original plan, I suppose. The outcome helps everyone. Including those people in the slums. We can’t let the government control the people like they are.”
“An agreeable course of action. Might I suggest you fly away from the moon for a while? Let them track you performing normal activities. Perhaps head in the direction of the wreckage fields?”
“That place is a graveyard. Why there?”
“You being a greenhorn, as you were referred to, don’t have a lot of resources. A place like the fields would be an understandable location to head to salvage components.”
“I forgot you could listen in on conversations outside the ship.”
“The external sensors are not of the greatest ca
liber, but they can detect the most minute of sounds. I overheard your conversation with the quartermaster loud and clear.”
“Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense. So, I’m basically filling an expectation of being a greenhorn with no money?”
“Essentially, yes.”
“Okay. We’ll have to be careful out there. Any stray debris could tear the Gilmore in half.”
“Or smash us to atoms. Depending on what you hit…”
“How…comforting…”
“If I could smile, I would.”
“I figured. Dick.” No response. He’s enjoying this way too much. “You think there’ll be anything useful in the fields?”
“Perhaps. If we are lucky. It’s been several decades since I last visited. And my former ship had a much more sophisticated sensor array than… this.”
“Who knows, maybe we’ll find a sensor upgrade in the fields.”
“Unlikely anything that would be compatible with this archaic system. But, one can hope.”
“So, what was the processing unit for anyhow?”
“I plan to copy a subset of my programming to it. Then, at some point, you will connect it to the colonial network. That will allow me to have more control over their systems.”
“So basically, you’re cloning yourself?”
“In primitive terms, I suppose so. Realistically, I’m installing many programs which will assist in taking over and maintaining control of the main control systems which operate the ship. I will use the communications link to issue commands to it. Think of it as a remote drone, if it helps your primitive mind take in its usefulness.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
Debris pinged off the Gilmore’s front-facing window. I pulled back on the thrust controls and cut our speed to one-third. “How will we find anything in all this? It’s literally a junkyard of broken ships.”
“You will fly around, and I’ll analyze the sensor data as it becomes available. Eventually, we will find something worth acquiring. And, the real purpose of our visit, it will buy us time to be observed acting in the manner which you are expected to.”
Bishop's Ultimatum Page 4
