Version Innocent

by Pete Molina

Chapter 43

  “It’s good to see you again. You look younger than last time. Have you been restored recently?” the man with the sign asked, winking at Sam.

  “I’m Quig,” he added, seeing Sam’s confusion. “And I’ve been expecting you. Why don’t you and your friends follow me to some place we can chat.”

  “All right,” Sam managed to get out. Ralphie confirmed for Sam that this was indeed the man they had been looking for. “But how did you know?”

  “We’ll get to that. Don’t worry. I’ve been expecting you ever since the News vids of your friend there on Mars were broadcast,” Quig said, winking at Terra who still was looking a little uneasy.

  “Come on, don’t want to stand out here all day for everyone to see. You’re not that well disguised not transmitting your ID like that. Actually, you rather stick out because of it. I’d hoped you’d be a little more discreet, but it won’t matter much. Let’s go.” Quig turned and looked back, expecting them to follow.

  Sam just shrugged and started following him. Terra and Jeff fell into step behind. Quig walked like a natural in the environment, getting his bounds just right for maximum efficiency. Sam studied his movements and began to imitate him. He soon found that it was much easier moving Quig’s way. He looked back and saw Terra and Jeff doing the same thing. He gave a quick snicker, thinking about how funny they would look from the side, glide-hopping like rabbits or frogs or something.

  They followed Quig into the main dome of the city, which looked exactly like the domes on the Moon, probably the same design.

  The city was full of tourist shops, restaurants, and entertainment facilities. They passed by them without comment, and Sam tried to look around while making sure he wasn’t going to run into Quig who just bounded on. They crossed the entire city dome that way and found another small transport tube that whisked them away to a smaller dome that was only a few hundred meters away. Inside the small dome were a few buildings, and out side Sam could see a few small transports attached to their docking tubes. Then Quig stopped suddenly, and Sam had to watch out not to run into him.

  “We’re here. These are the offices of Trans Jovian Receiving. If you’ll follow me, please.” he instructed, heading for the door.

  The building wasn’t large and couldn’t have had more than a few offices. Once through the door they realized that it really was small and messy. There was stuff strewn about all over the place.

  “Sorry about the mess, but I’m the only one who uses this office. The rest of our offices are near the hoppers you can see over there,” Quig said, pointing.

  “I thought those were transports,” Sam said.

  “Same shell, but not designed for orbital flights…although I’ve almost gotten one to escape velocity a few times by accident. But that’s not why you’re here,” Quig said with a smile.

  Quig walked over to Terra. “Terra, it’s good to finally have you here in person. I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.” Quig took her hand. “I rather liked your show on Mars from last week, very entertaining. Ever since then I’ve been waiting for you all to show up here.”

  “Thanks, uh, Quig,” Terra stammered. She was definitely unprepared for the meeting. “Is it safe to talk here?”

  “Won’t find any place safer on Europa, except for in one of the hoppers maybe,” Quig returned.

  “And you must be Jeff Hughes,” Quig said, taking Jeff’s hand. “It’s always good to see a fellow Newbie out here. Sorry about your recent troubles. I have to tell you that I never did like your politics working at the center, but considering the circumstances, now I understand why you worked there.”

  “Thank,” Jeff said, keeping his cool. This was exactly why he was mad at Sam, everyone assumed that he had helped with the virus regardless of what he said. It seemed to be coming in handy now, however, Jeff admitted, wondering how Quig’s reaction would have gone if he knew Jeff’s true feelings. “And what do you know about my troubles?” he asked, wondering exactly what information was available out here.

  “Just what’s been on the vids, and I’ve only been expecting you because they said you’d disappeared on Earth and Sam told me to expect you too.”

  “Great,” Jeff said sarcastically.

  “Oh don’t be like that,” Quig said, slapping Jeff on the shoulder. Then he turned to Sam. “And you’re the spitting image of your other self, but quite a bit younger, I’ll admit. Still, I’d recognize that face anywhere.”

  “I hope others can’t see through me quite so easily. It could be awkward,” Sam said.

  “Well, your fake identity holds up quite nicely. You’ll have to tell me how you got it some day if there’s time. I’ve been expecting you too.”

  “You’ve obviously been expecting us, so you know why we’re here then, right?” Terra asked, still somewhat perplexed by Quig’s warm reception.

  “Looking for that cargo that’s been sent my way by solar sail, I assume,” Quig ventured, obviously not wishing to name the stuff.

  “Yeah, that and we’re trying to find Sam 6.7,” Sam said.

  “Isn’t every one these days,” Quig said. It was a statement not a question.

  “Has someone else been here looking for him?” Jeff asked, concerned. If they weren’t the first here then, who was?

  “No, no one knows about the operation yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long. That’s why we have to act quickly,” Quig replied emphasizing the words “yet” and “act” to make his point.

  “So where is he?” Jeff asked.

  “I have no idea,” Quig responded with a shrug. “Wish I did, but Sam’s one for secrets and his people keep them well. I haven’t been informed of his location. I only know what to do when you show up.”

  “And what’s that?” Terra probed.

  “Time for that later,” Quig said, looking suddenly tired. “It’s been a long decade working on this, as you can well imagine. I’m just ready for the next phase.”

  “So how did you know when we’d arrived?” Sam asked.

  “Oh, that. Well, I put a passive sentry program into the space port systems. When it spotted you it sent word to me and stopped the local SS system from noticing you and calling attention to your presence. Then I just high tailed it over to wait for you to emerge from the tube to the spaceport.”

  “That easy,” Terra said suspiciously.

  “Well, I’ve been waiting for you. Once I saw your broadcast from Mars, I knew you’d be here shortly.”

  “So where’s the stuff?” Sam asked.

  “Don’t know that either. Probably wherever Sam is,” Quig replied. “All I did was get it off the sail cargo container and bring it to the surface. I left it at prearranged locations on the surface, and it disappeared. I usually talked with Sam by email and he set everything up.”

  “So what next?” Jeff asked.

  “Well, I’ve got to make a quick stop back in the city. It’ll take about forty-five minutes. Then I’ll take you where you need to be. There’s food in the refrigerator over there if you’re hungry. That couch folds out into a bed if you’re tired. Will you wait here while I run my errand?” Quig asked.

  “How do we know we can trust you?” Jeff asked.

  “You don’t, but I’m in worse trouble if we’re caught than you, considering my activities. You, on the other hand, haven’t even done anything,” Quig said. “I’ll be back in an hour…please be here or you’ll never find him.”

  “One other thing,” Terra interupted him as Quig started for the door.

  “Yeah?”

  “Is it possible we were followed by a Fleet ship called the Powel. We need to know when it shows up, if it does.”

  Quig zombified while using his implants, then an instant later looked back at her. “It’s not here now, and I don’t see it on any schedules, but I’ve alerted my sentry software to monitor for its arrival. If it shows up, the program will send me an alarm
and I’ll let you know. Don’t worry. Everything will work out fine.”

  “Sure,” Terra said. “Thanks, Quig.”

  “Not a problem,” Quig replied and walked out, leaving the three alone in the messy office.

  “So what are we supposed to do while Quig is off running errands?” Sam asked.

  “Hurry up and wait, of course,” Jeff quipped with a grin. “After all, with everything going on you wouldn’t want to forget to pick up your dry cleaning.”

  Terra laughed at the comment, and Sam just gave a soft “hurmph” and sat down on the couch which didn’t feel right at all in the low gravity.

  “You know, I kind of miss the simulated gravity. This just doesn’t feel right,” Sam commented. He could barely tell the couch was there.