A Gulf in Time

by Chris Kennedy

  “Okay,” Sheppard said. “I’ll bite. What are we a cover for?”

  “I don’t…know, and I’m having a hard time coming up with a financially viable reason for putting all this together, which makes the first choice—as crazy as it seems—the more likely choice. I did not get to be the head of the Mining Division without having a pretty good handle on what the competition—and our enemies—are doing. It does not make sense to spend all the time and money building your ship, without a good financial reason, especially since your ship is—at its very roots—illegal.”

  “Illegal? What do you mean?”

  “I take it you are asking why it is illegal, rather than asking for a definition of what illegal is?”

  “Yes. Why is our ship illegal?”

  “Your ship is armed, and it is not sporting the logo of any of the cartels or the Empire Security Force. At least, not that any of our automated systems have been able to find. You also do not identify yourself as a member of any of the cartels or the ESF, which makes you look like a pirate. There are, of course, strict laws against piracy, which even the cartels are allowed to enforce with our security departments. Additionally, your ship appears to be armed with weapons that are more than what our cartel security forces are allowed, making the ship—if not part of the ESF—totally illegal.”

  The proprietor smiled. “So, Captain Sheppard, you are one of two things. Either you are a time traveler, as you say you are, or you are a pirate looking to get inside my security. I do not know what you did for Administrator Yorch to get him to put in a good word for you, but he did not indicate that he thought you were pirates in any of his previous communications.”

  “When did he communicate with you?”

  “When you went to do a task for him. While you were gone, we traded several communications, which allowed me to prepare for your arrival. He seemed to think it was likely you would be coming this way.”

  Calvin scoffed. “Considering we told him what we wanted and where we needed to go to get it, that wasn’t a big mental leap for him.”

  “Mental leaps are not Administrator Yorch’s forte; grinding out profits is. Sometimes, however, he makes poor decisions. He did not mention what it was, but I imagine the task he set for you was to clean up one of his errors in judgement.”

  “That’s correct,” Captain Sheppard said.

  “He is predictable and serves a purpose, which is why he was placed where he is. He will never rise above his current position, however; at least not while I am in charge. I know him too well.” The proprietor’s sentence trailed off, and he appeared to lose focus for a moment, but then he looked at Captain Sheppard and smiled. “So what do we do with you?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean, exactly, but I’m hoping your answer is going to be, ‘We send them on their way with a nicely worded letter that gets them where they want to go.’”

  “I am sure you do, but of course you have to know that cannot be my answer.”

  “And why’s that?”

  “For a number of reasons, of course. One, you destroyed cartel property when you trashed the mining facility in the Klahr System.”

  “That’s hardly fair,” Calvin said. “Your administrator was going to throw me from the platform; my guys deployed to stop him from doing that.”

  “But then they shot up a bunch of things and killed a bunch of our security people. Have you seen what death benefits cost these days?” The proprietor chuckled. “No, of course you haven’t, not if you are who you say you are.” He shrugged. “Let me tell you, though, they are considerable.

  “Second, there is also the matter of usage fees going forward. While Administrator Yorch paid for your stargate fees to get you here, nothing has been paid for the ones you’ll need to get to Trrgos System. That is where you are going, after all, is it not?”

  “We need to go to wherever the knowledge of computer systems is the highest.”

  “That would be Trrgos System; that is where the Academy of Science is. It is said the Information Cartel is developing actual artificial intelligence there.”

  “Is developing?” Captain Sheppard asked. “You don’t have it yet?”

  “I do not know what secrets the Info Cartel are holding. It is possible they already have it and have not advertised that fact yet. It would make sense, though; they could use it to strip our information databases wide open and lay bare our secrets. I will have to—” A thoughtful look crossed the proprietor’s face.

  “What?” Captain Sheppard asked.

  “The way you asked your question. You already have artificial intelligence where you are from.”

  Captain Sheppard glanced at Calvin, who shrugged. “It’s too late now,” he said. “Apparently we arrived at the wrong time for this.”

  “Yes,” the CO confirmed, “we do have AI where we come from. Unfortunately our Enemy has better systems than we do and is able to crack ours. Our main goal here was to upgrade our computer systems so they would be impervious to the Enemy’s assaults on them. If your systems aren’t currently any better than what we have, though…”

  “Then this trip was a waste,” Calvin finished.

  “Well, maybe not a complete waste,” the proprietor said. “You mentioned you came too far back in time. Can’t you just go forward again a little to get to where you need?”

  “We know how to go back,” Calvin said. “We haven’t figured out how to go forward yet. We were hoping your tech folks could help us with that, too.”

  The proprietor began laughing uproariously. He laughed so hard tears sprang from his eyes, and he began pounding on the table. He laughed, and he laughed, then he laughed some more.

  “What’s so funny?” Captain Sheppard asked when he finally began to wear down.

  “You came all this way back in time? Hundreds of years?”

  “Thousands,” Calvin said.

  “Thousands of years?” the proprietor asked. “And you have no way home? That is not very much of a plan.” He finally stopped laughing. “Hey, I know. How would you like to run a mining platform? Since you are not going anywhere, I can at least put your type of mental leaps to good use.”

  “We did the best we could at the time,” Calvin said with a note of annoyance in his voice, “considering we’d never tried anything like this before, and we really had no idea how far we were trying to go or what the power setting was to get us here at the right time. Also, there was the fact that we were operating under a deadline when our Enemy showed up and was going to kill us all. With all that in mind, I think we did pretty well. Did we miss our target by a few hundred years? Maybe…but that’s still a fraction of a percent, and a pretty damn good effort.”

  “Getting back to the original point…” Captain Sheppard interjected.

  “I am sorry,” the proprietor said. “What was the original point?”

  “You were telling us why we weren’t going to get the nicely worded letter to speed us on our way.”

  “Oh, yes. Because you owe us for the damage to the mining facility, you cannot pay your fees to go on from here or to get the supplies you have asked for, and I do not want to pay them for you, since your ship is illegal and it would be sticking my neck way out. I mean, take a look at yourselves…which is more believable, that you are pirates, or that you are time travelers?”

  “I thought we’d already convinced you that we’re time travelers,” Calvin said.

  The proprietor shrugged. “I find it more likely that you are time travelers than pirates, but I really do not know for sure. Maybe if you let me see one of the AIs you say you have, I would be convinced.”

  “Fine,” the CO said, frustrated. He stood. “Come along with us. We’ll take you to our ship.”

  “Uh, sir,” Calvin said, “what about Trixie?”

  “Just don’t land in the shuttle bay. Land at one of the docking collars, and we’ll go from there.”

  “So you are going to invite me aboard your ship?” the proprietor asked with a gleam
in his eye.

  “I am,” the CO replied.

  “Marvelous.”

  * * *

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Jangeth System

  “And this is the bridge,” Captain Sheppard said as he led the proprietor and Calvin into the space. They’d flown over in the shuttle, docked at one of the collars, and walked to the bridge. During their tour, they’d seen humans, Lieutenant Rrower, Arsalan, and both of the races from Domus. The proprietor had kept his distance from the Kuji, who did, after all, take a little bit of getting used to.

  “So where is your AI?” the proprietor asked.

  “I am right here, all around you,” Solomon said, “as I have been ever since you entered the ship.”

  “How do I know you are an AI and not someone with a microphone who is standing somewhere else talking to me?”

  “Well, I guess you cannot know for sure. However, I can tell you where you placed the two listening devices and that you still have three more within your pockets that you haven’t placed yet.”

  “I do not!” the proprietor exclaimed. “Bugging your ship would be corporate espionage!”

  “And yet, if Solomon says you did it, I suspect you did,” Captain Sheppard said. “Now, do you want to come clean about that, or would you like my men to search you?”

  The two bridge security personnel took a step forward, but the proprietor waved them off. “Okay, let us not be hasty,” he said. “If anything fell out of my pockets, accidentally, it could not be corporate espionage because you are not members of any of the cartels. At least, that is what you keep telling me.”

  “And it’s true,” Calvin said. “We are who we say we are.”

  “Okay, I am almost ready to believe you. I just have one more request.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Show me Trixie.”

  Calvin’s eyes whipped over to the CO, who shrugged. “If he wants to see Trixie, let him. Honestly, I’m getting tired of his shenanigans.”

  “You know what?” Calvin asked. “Fine. Come with me.”

  He led the proprietor through the passageways of the ship back to the shuttle bay, then opened the hatch for him. “There you go,” he said, waving him through.

  The proprietor went through the hatchway, took two steps, and drew up short. “That’s…that’s…” he shook his head. “I have no idea what that is.”

  “We call them dragons,” Calvin said. “Her name is Axlyptrix, but she goes by Trixie. Trixie, this is Proprietor Zelph.”

  “Hello, Proprietor Zelph. Can you get a little closer so I can taste you?”

  The proprietor spun on his heels and ran back through the hatch.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Trixie asked. “I thought you brought him here because you wanted me to do a reading for him.”

  “No, he’s just trying to be a smartass, heard your name, and thought he could get some secret info from us.”

  “So you don’t want a reading?”

  “I’d love a reading of him, but I’ll have to get him back. He’s probably halfway to the bridge by now.”

  The dragon nodded slowly. “Maybe more.”

  * * *

  Shuttle Bay, TSS Vella Gulf, Jangeth System

  Calvin returned five minutes later with the proprietor.

  “She’s not going to eat me?” he asked for the 47th time. “You’re sure about that?”

  “Positive.” He smiled at Trixie. “We feed her well.”

  “Hello again, Proprietor,” Trixie said. “I’m sorry I startled you earlier. When I said I wanted to taste you, that was just a lick—”

  “So you could read my future,” the proprietor said. “Yes, Mr. Calvin here explained all about it. At the moment, though, I don’t think I want my future foretold. I did, however, want to come and apologize for running off so quickly.”

  “I understand,” Trixie said. “I seem to have that effect on people.”

  The proprietor turned to Calvin. “I would like it if you could take me back to my station now.”

  “I’d be happy to,” Calvin said. He started walking toward the hatch. “If you—”

  “Lieutenant Commander Hobbs?” Trixie called. “Can I have a word with you in private a second?”

  “Sure,” Calvin said. He shut the door behind the proprietor and walked closer to the dragon. “What’s up?”

  “Don’t trust him,” Trixie said in as soft of a voice as she could. “I caught enough of his taste when he came back to know this—he intends to trick you. I do not like him.”

  “Thanks,” Calvin said. “I think we’d already figured that out. Got anything else on him?”

  “No, I’m sorry; I don’t. But I had to warn you…”

  “Thanks,” Calvin said. “I’ll be careful.”

  * * *

  Proprietor’s Office, Mineral Cartel Station, Jangeth System

  “Okay, you have convinced me. You are time travelers.”

  “So you’re going to give us authorization to go to the Trrgos System?” Captain Sheppard asked.

  “I am sorry, but I cannot do that.”

  “Why not? What was the purpose of going and looking at our ship? I thought it was to see if you should help us.”

  “Well, it was, somewhat,” the proprietor said. “I wanted to see if what you were saying was true.”

  “And you believe us now?”

  “I do not think you could come up with such a random group of…I’m not even sure what to call your crew, but I do not think anything that random could be staged. I mean, you have that…thing in your shuttle bay.”

  “The dragon?” Calvin asked. “Yeah, Trixie takes up a lot of space, but she thinks she’ll be necessary at some point.”

  “But she does not do anything now?”

  “No, unfortunately. She just eats a lot.”

  “That is what I mean—why would you bring her if you did not have to? She has to be going through your stores faster than 10 people would.”

  “Yeah, it’s more like 14 or 15,” the CO said. “That’s according to our logistician, anyway.”

  “And yet she is aboard of her own free will. A pirate might have her onboard…but she would be in chains awaiting transfer to a zoo, or someone’s personal collection or something. You could make a fortune from her. In fact, if you wanted—”

  “No,” Captain Sheppard said. “She’s a living, thinking being. We aren’t going to sell her or put her into someone’s collection.”

  “Pity,” the proprietor said. “What if…what if I paid your stargate fees all the way until Trrgos System? How would that be?”

  “No deal,” Calvin said. “That would be too much like slavery.”

  “What is wrong with that?”

  “Slavery’s allowed here?”

  “Of course! Not for everything, naturally, but there are valid times when people can be made to work off their debts…like the ones you will owe for going through all those stargates…”

  “Like Lieutenant Commander Hobbs said, no deal.” Captain Sheppard stood. “Come on, Calvin, I think it’s obvious we don’t have anything left to talk about here.”

  The proprietor looked up with a half-smile on his face. “And how do you think you are going to make it through the gate…or get any supplies for your dragon, who is eating through your stores so quickly?”

  “I’ve changed my mind,” the CO said. “I don’t think I want to go on any further. I think we’ll just stay here and be a nuisance. Maybe extort money from every ship that passes through. Heck, I don’t know; maybe we’ll just blockade the system.”

  “I’ve already sent a message calling for the fleet,” the proprietor said. “They will be here soon, and anything you have done in the meantime will be used against you.”

  “Have you now?” The CO smiled back at the man, but it was the smile of a predator. “Well, let’s look at this then, shall we?” He sat back down and put his feet up on the table, crossed at the ankles. The proprietor frowned but didn’t say any
thing.

  “Where was I?” the CO asked. “Oh yeah. I was about to explain why you’re full of shit. First, you said the fleet would be here soon. I don’t think so. Administrator Yorch led us to believe—and you’ve confirmed it—that the Trrgos system is a long way from here. Even if it’s only two days transit from gate to gate, and Trrgos is only five jumps away, that’s still 10 days, one way. The best you’re going to do, round trip, is three weeks, and that’s if the fleet is ready to go on arrival and doesn’t take any time to prepare, and that assumes the emperor (1) gives a shit, and (2) thinks it’s worthwhile to send a fleet.

  “You have an awful lot of ifs stacked up there, Zelph, and your best-case scenario is it’s going to be at least three weeks until help shows up. I can cause a whole lot of trouble in three weeks. At some point we’re probably going to run out of food, too, and at that point, we’re going to come to your station, and I’m going to start feeding people to Trixie, starting with you.”

  Captain Sheppard put his feet on the deck and sat up in his chair. “So now that we’ve cleared up all that, why don’t we just get right down to it, shall we? You were very clear that people work off their debts, just like the ones we’re going to amass for going through the gates. What is it you want us to do?”

  The proprietor sighed, and he looked like a beaten man. “Well, now that you mention it, we’ve come into conflict with the Resource Cartel over the mining of diamonds in the Togath System, which is two stargate jumps from here. They believe diamonds are a resource, as it is a method of currency, whereas we believe—rightly—that diamonds are a mineral to be mined and produced by the Mineral Cartel. They have plenty of industrial uses, after all, like their use in heat sinks. Because diamonds have the highest thermal conductivity of any material, they can be used to conduct heat away from the heat-sensitive parts of high-performance microelectronics. Do you not agree?