Renegades, page 11
Canda sat back in her chair and picked up her tea. “So, Rhodes-1, then. Couldn’t get much further away from here.” She sipped her tea and stared into the distance.
“Not without leaving Orris all together. There is one other point to remember, dear. When we speak of the word ‘oldest’, we would do well to remember that there is no part of Orris today that is original. Every bolt, every rivet, steel panel, bundle of wires, pipe, fitting, plate of glass, plastic trim, concrete block… everything has been replaced thousands of times during Orris’s…” the professor trailed off, staring into thin air. “That might be it, that might be our answer,” he refocused and looked directly at Canda again. “Maintenance.”
Chapter 6
Courtship
1
Reggie walked through the halls of his apartment building after concluding the meeting with the kids from Lance 5. He placed his hand on the pad fixed to his apartment door and it clicked once. He pushed it open. Standing in front of him was Petra, standing inches from the door.
“Oh!” Reggie said. “Are you leaving me?”
Petra looked down at the floor. “Um, I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. You’ve been so sweet to me. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Reggie dropped his bag and swung the door shut behind him. “You are not taking advantage of me. It is a joy to have you here. I’ve lived alone for my entire adult life. It’s lonely. Please stay, unless you’re uncomfortable here?”
Genuine surprise bloomed on Petra’s face, and she shook her head. “No! No, I love it here. I’m just afraid you’re going to resent me. I don’t have a job or any money. I’m like a parasite.”
Reggie walked over to the kitchen counter where they had shared coffee the night before and pulled out the stools. “Would you sit with me for a moment? Before you decide?”
Petra smiled at him and nodded. She sat on her former stool and he on his.
“I have more money than I could spend in ten lifetimes. I understand that most people would see that as a wonderful position to be in, but not me. The problem is that I’ve had a lot of money and fame since I was thirteen years old. When I invented the helio-rectifier, I was so excited to get my invention out into the world, I never once thought of money. I never had to; I still lived with my parents. Money was the farthest thing from my mind, but not my father’s. He is a physicist himself, and although he can’t do what I can, he understood what I had come up with. He only allowed me to submit a summary of the function of my invention and my design for the plasma induction port, just one of hundreds of parts that went into the machine. As Command showered us with more and more money, he allowed me to release more and more of my designs. By the time I was fourteen, I was the seventh wealthiest person on Orris, and trillions of people knew who I was and what I did. Do you see why this is a problem?”
Petra shifted in her seat uncomfortably and shrugged. “I’m not sure, Dr. Clairbaugh. We have lived drastically different lives.”
“Please, call me Reggie. Let everyone else call me Dr. Clairbaugh.” He offered her a smile, and relaxed the rate and intensity of his speech, sensing that she was becoming uncomfortable.
“The problem is simple. Once I had the money and fame, I couldn’t trust anyone, and I was still young. I’m thirty years old now, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve had thousands of beautiful women throw themselves at me. As sick as it is, that started when I was fourteen. But they’re all tricksters, gold diggers, vapid idiots looking to use their very temporary looks to secure their desires for fortune and status, having contributed nothing to achieve either. I was never interested, not when I was fourteen and my father first warned me about it, and not now. And it’s left me with an empty, lonely existence.”
Petra looked down at her knees, a sad look on her face. Reggie reached out and gently took her right hand.
“I said all of that to say this: Forget about the parasite comment. You are welcome to all that I can give you. I will not resent you for your presence. I’ve been happier today knowing that someone was waiting for me in my home than I can remember ever being in my adult life. You are welcome here, so if you like it, please stay.”
Petra smiled but shrugged. “It’s so much to process. We don’t have a lot in common, but our lack of trust in others is one thing that we do. The only one I trust completely is myself. I think it will always be that way.”
Reggie’s shoulders slumped. “I hope that’s not true.” He slid off his stool and stood up straight. “I have an idea. Will you wait for me here for a few minutes?”
“Of course.”
Reggie disappeared into his bedroom for several minutes. When he reappeared in the doorway, he was holding a duffel bag. He walked back into the kitchen and placed it on the counter.
“This might make your decision easier, or harder, I don’t really know, but I know that either way, you will be better off, and I will have helped you.” Reggie unzipped the bag to expose rubber banded blocks of cash. The paper currency on Orris was of a lower denomination than the coins, but it was much lighter. He pawed through it so she could see the bag was full. “Even if Keystone falls apart, you could live the rest of your life on the money in this bag alone. For me, it’s almost nothing. If you want to leave, take the bag. I won’t follow you. It’s yours to keep. You don’t have to decide now. If you want to leave in a few days, take the bag and go. It’s yours.”
He zipped the bag up and sat back down on the stool.
“Or stay with me. I need someone who needs me, not someone who just wants my stuff. You came here because you thought you could help our effort and you knew you couldn’t do it alone, but you stayed because you needed help. Let me help you. Let’s help each other.”
Petra clasped her hands together tightly and looked up at Reggie with big eyes and an even bigger smile. “I want to stay. I don’t want the money. You can put it back.”
2
When the four graduates from Lance 5 had seen the room reserved for them on the Command cylinder, they were all in awe of the luxury. There were twelve rooms in total, complete with a sitting room that featured an enormous fireplace, a lounge with a wet bar, and an entertainment center housing an oversized display. The best attraction, though, was the starlight room, and that is where all four of them spent their entire evening when they arrived.
The evening after the meeting had taken place was a bitter one for Becca. Thomas had already left, as had Ross, and she spent the night with Jane silently in the starlight room. She did not find Jane unpleasant, but very distant. It took effort to get Jane’s attention, and even then, it was fleeting.
The image through the glass made her nervous. There was no way to see into open space on the Lance unless you were on the flight deck, and the general population had not been allowed there. Becca had to redefine the word big in her imagination. The Lance used to be big, but no longer. Orris was big, but even Orris was tiny when compared to the vast reaches of the stars. Through the glass, she could see Orris, not just the thousands of blinking lights, but the actual machine itself. The system they were orbiting had an exceptionally bright star, and it bathed the lower left edge of every surface with natural light. She could see the crescent edge of Rhodes-1, which looked like a bicycle wheel but with the massive flat spokes, spinning a direction opposite to her cylinder’s, and Burkman-1 just above and behind it, which matched Command’s rotation. She could see hundreds of crescent cylinders, interleaved and spiraling down the three axles of Link 2, each a bit smaller than the last, each one a bit fainter. They seemed to go on forever, and it was only the first link. Behind it, a faint thread of light curved to the left and then disappeared completely against the black backdrop of open space. It was the next several links in the far distance as the chain of Orris orbited their current resident star, impossibly far away.
“Good night,” Jane said as she stood and exited the starlight room.
“Good night, Jane,” Becca said without breaking her gaze on the first cylinder body of Link 2. She stared as the Command cylinder rotated and Rhodes-1 fell out of view. Her perspective changed to that of the ancillary storage tanks, where they stored the antimatter that powered both Orris and the gargantuan flex-drive systems with which each link was equipped.
When she blinked so heavily that she caught herself dozing off, she decided to go to bed. She walked through the massive apartment, turning off lights as she went, and had just turned toward her bedroom when she heard a noise at the door. It was not a loud knock, but a deliberate tapping. She approached the door and touched the panel next to it, which illuminated with the face of the Ambassador. She relaxed and opened the door.
“Good evening, Becca. I haven’t disturbed you, have I? I know it is a bit late,” Ander said, bowing gently as he spoke.
“I was about to go to sleep, but no, I’m still awake. Would you like to come in?”
“No, no, I will only impose for a moment. I know how traumatizing it must be for you and the other gifted individuals we brought in today to have such a life-changing event happen. You landed on Orris, and then you were immediately torn from your families to work for us. I want to make it easier, but there is still important work to be done,” Ander smiled. “Tomorrow is a scheduled day off for most of Orris, but Dr. Clairbaugh and I have projects we want to work on. The two of us will be working from my apartment tomorrow, all day. He has requested that I bring you in on the session, but I want to get you home to your family. So, I propose that you do attend tomorrow with us, get a feel for the type of work you will be doing, and then, the following day, return to Rhodes-1 and your family. You can take three full days off before returning to Command. Does that satisfy?”
Becca did not know how long it would be before she would be able to return to her parents, but she had prepared herself for the worst. The Ambassador’s plan was suspicious at best, if not devious and concerning, but having a day’s work under her belt before returning to her father would give them interesting topics for conversation.
“Yes, Ambassador. That sounds wonderful.”
Ander smiled. “Excellent. I look forward to seeing you. My address is listed. The receptionist here can tell you how to get there. Please arrive no later than 09:00. We have much to accomplish tomorrow. Good night.” Ander turned and disappeared.
3
Jerrick and Volo walked down the corridor leading to Ander’s apartment. Both were larger than average men, in height and girth alike, but when they rounded the corner, they came face to face with two giants standing on either side of Ander’s door.
The man on the left had to be a full foot taller than Volo, who edged out Jerrick slightly, and possibly one hundred pounds heavier. His skin was such a dark brown that it would have been black were it any darker, and his head was cleanly shaven. He wore a small set of spectacles that almost disappeared on his face and seemed useless as his gaze looked out above the lenses. The man on the right was of a similar height and weight, but his skin seemed almost comically pale by comparison, and he sported a full head of bright orange hair that spilled down over his shoulders. Neither Jerrick nor Volo dared to laugh at the contrast. Both men were clearly there to guard the entrance to Ander’s quarters, wearing black suits with glossy black shoes.
“Stop there,” the man with the spectacles said, holding up one of his hands. “Badges.”
Jerrick and Volo produced their badges and handed them to the man. He studied each badge and each man for several seconds before handing them back. Without turning around, he reached back and touched the lock panel on the Ambassador’s door.
“What is it?” A voice said through a speaker.
“Volo Ayott and Jerrick Yumis are here to see you,” spectacles said.
“Yunis,” Jerrick corrected, but spectacles just shrugged.
The door opened at that moment, the Ambassador holding it open for the two arrivals. “Come in, gentlemen. Colvin, a young blonde woman will be here shortly. Don’t ask her for her badge; don’t even talk to her. That goes for both of you. When she arrives, notify me.”
“Yes, Ambassador,” Colvin said, and pushed the spectacles up the bridge of his nose.
Jerrick and Volo stepped into Ander’s kitchen and stood uncomfortably, waiting for instructions.
Ander entered the kitchen and smiled at the visible apprehensiveness of the two young men. “Relax, gentlemen. Have a seat.”
On the far end of the kitchen, beneath a cluster of three shelves bolted to the wall and loaded with liquor bottles, was a small table and chairs, enough to seat four. The duo made for the table and sat.
“Reggie!” Ander yelled, and placed four cups and a carafe of coffee on the table. Dr. Clairbaugh emerged from Ander’s home office and joined the others.
Ander sipped his coffee and looked up at Volo. “Volo, your plates are being inspected and your tanks re-pressed. If any plate falls below fifty percent, they will replace it. This, of course, will not be of any cost to you. Each time you visit the Command cylinder, this will happen. Now, does this alleviate your fuel concerns?”
Volo smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”
Ander nodded. “On to business. Reggie?”
Reggie had been pouring his coffee, but now he stopped and sat up straighter in his chair. “Yes, indeed. First, I want to review our communication method. I’d like for one of you to explain it to me, so I know we were clear about it the other night.”
“Sure, I will,” Jerrick said. “Each of us has a point of contact with two others. Information is distributed only in person and only verbally. Any time there is a large amount of information, we schedule a meeting at one of the designated meeting halls. You will hold the meetings in the front, and Volo and I will run the ones in the back. New inductees will not be allowed to attend and must rely on their sponsor for information. And again, all information dispensed will be verbal.” Volo nodded throughout the explanation.
“Very good. Ander, are you satisfied?” Reggie asked.
“Yes, but I have one question. Gentlemen, you will be our proxy on the rear of the machine. In the event of a deviation from the rules, are you prepared to correct it?”
Jerrick digested the question and prepared to answer, but he was surprised when Volo spoke first.
“Yes, we will not put the project at risk. We will not put you at risk, Ambassador.”
“Excellent. If you have to burn off one of your members, do it quietly and clean up your mess. No need for the fanfare I displayed. That was only to make a point, and I believe I made it.” Ander looked at Reggie and nodded.
“Yes, so, we will not be staying in Andromeda. Orris can easily and quickly move to any part of this galaxy and intercept us. We will go to the Milky Way. I hardly believe that Len Bellinger would use the fuel to pursue us there, especially since he will only have lost a few scrap ships and a handful of defectors.”
“What ships?” Volo asked.
“Lances, two of them. We have the means to acquire as many as three, but Ander and I both believe it will be hard enough trying to manage two.”
Jerrick shook his head. “No, if we use the Lances, it will take us a hundred years to get to the Milky Way. Lance technology is millions of years old.”
Reggie smiled. “It is now, but seriously, my friend, who are you talking to?”
Jerrick sat back hard in his seat, still shaking his head. “Won’t it take months, or years to retrofit them? How can we stay under cover that long? I just don’t understand.”
“The apparatus itself is very large, as you know, and it must be to create a large enough envelope for the entire vessel,” Reggie said. “But the control center, the machine that drives all the steps to create the warp, is the size of a refrigerator. When it’s time to go, I will board one Lance to perform the upgrade, and Becca will board the other to do the same. I don’t know the exact timeframe now, but I expect it will take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. While we’re working, the ships can move around Orris, collecting our cargo and passengers. We’ll just use the conventional fuel for that.”
“Who’s…” Volo began, and was interrupted by Colvin on the loudspeaker announcing that she had arrived. “… Becca?”
Ander stood and walked to the door of his apartment to receive the girl he so pined after. Reggie hiked a thumb over his shoulder.
