13 Degrees of Separation (66 page)

“This
way folks,” Alice said, indicating the boarding ramp. “Ever flown before?” she
asked kindly.

“No,
but I heard it's scary,” Loni murmured.

“It's
exciting,” Alice said with a smile. “I'll help you get settled and strapped in
before I go to my station, okay?” she asked, looking from the mom to the girl.
Loni nodded.

“Lead
the way ma'am,” she said with a smile.

*****

After
the shuttle docked Alice went back to check on their passengers. Loni was a bit
green, but the little girl was all smiles, looking around with interest. The
husband was snoring. She nodded to Loni who poked her husband. “Eh? What is it
woman?” he growled. Loni silently pointed to Alice who was standing by the
hatch. “Oh, we there?” he asked.

“Sure
thing,” Alice said with a smile, carefully breathing through her mouth. She
watched as the family unbuckled the straps and got up. The mother seemed to
have some difficulty with hers, her husband helped her out. She seemed to smile
slightly, some sort of silent byplay was going on, Alice judged.

Behind
her the crew finished and passed her. She looked over her shoulder to see them
go and then grimaced. She was left with the hicks. She kept her mask up,
smiling and waving for them to follow her through the umbilical and into the
ship proper.

“When
we get to the end of this tunnel ask for permission to board,” Alice told them.

“Why?”
Jarod asked, wrinkling his nose. “We're already on board right?”

“It's
tradition,” she said.

“Oh,”
he said quietly and then shrugged. “Can't fault you for that I suppose,” he
said. He had an air of arrogance around him, Alice was curious how long it
would last. You didn't come onto a ship acting like you owned the place unless
you actually did. Space was dangerous, the wrong attitude would get you killed,
she thought.

In more
ways than one, she thought as she got to the line and stopped behind it. She
held her left arm out to stop the Gronix family from crossing it. “Permission
to come aboard?” she asked, straightening and looking at the officer of the
deck.

“Granted,”
the OOD said with a curt nod. He looked at her and then to her charges.

“Family
of three, the Gronix from Hazard,” Alice offered. She turned to Jarod. He was
slouching but Loni was standing straight and holding her daughter's small hand.

“Permission
to come aboard?” the woman asked quietly. Marcus nodded curtly. He looked at
the little girl who put her finger in her mouth and then twisted back and
forth. He snorted. His eyes turned to the male.

“Um,
er, permission to come aboard?” Jarod ground out under that intent blue eyed
icicle gaze.

“Granted,”
Marcus growled, wrinkling his nose. “You'll show them to their quarters?” he
asked, looking at Alice.

Her
shoulders slumped ever so slightly but she nodded. “Sure,” she said glancing at
the OOD. “Come on folks, this way,” she said turning to them.

“What
about our things?” Jarod asked. He had left his wife with the bags, he didn't
lift a finger. Alice's eyes flickered slightly.

“Your
things will either be delivered to you or stored if there isn't enough space.
Cabin space is tiny folks, it's like living in a closet. Space on a starship is
at a premium,” she said.

Loni
put her hand on her husband's arm. He shook it off gruffly. She seemed to sigh
and look at him in raw unspoken appeal. Finally, almost grudgingly he nodded
slightly. “Fine then. Show us the way,” he said waving airily.

The OOD
glared as they left, tapping at the console in front of him. When they were
gone he reported in.

Alice
led them through the tight passageways to a small dark cabin door. “Here we
are,” she said, thumbing the door open. Jarod entered and scowled. There was
barely enough room for one person to stand in the center of the room. “This is
a cabin?”

“As I
said, space is a premium,” Alice ground out. Loni nodded. She put her bags in.

“Well,
the little woman can help in your kitchen. She's a good cook, it's why I
married her,” he said slapping Loni's flank. Both women winced. “I certainly
didn't for her looks!” he laughed and then belched.

Alice's
jaw tightened. She didn't say anything, just nodded. “I'll pass that along, but
for now you all have to stay in the cabin in the bunks. We'll be breaking orbit
soon so you'll hear someone say something over the overhead,” she said pointing
to the speaker embedded in the ceiling. The family looked up at it and then to
her. “Just follow the directions folks,” she said.

“Okay,”
Loni replied softly.

“Stay
put. I'll, um, someone will come get you in a bit to eat. Head is down the hall
here on the right if you need it,” Alice said pointing. “Don't leave this
area.”

“Okay,”
Loni said.

Alice
nodded tightly and then pushed the close button. The door shushed closed. She
sighed and shook her head and then waved a hand in front of her. “Gah, I need a
shower now,” she sighed walking off. “Let them be someone else's problem,” she
grumbled.

*****

The
Captain watched as the helmsman expertly guided the ship out of orbit and on
course for the Gaston jump point. They'd be there in 4 standard days. “Our
passengers?” he asked to the side.

The
exec looked up. “Settled in Captain.”

“Assessment
I meant,” the Captain asked.

The
exec grimaced. “Not worth the air they breathe according to Alice, no useful
skills.”

“Very
well,” the Captain said getting up from his chair. He turned to the navigator.
“Lieutenant, you have the bridge,” he said to the small man.

The
navigator looked up and then nodded curtly. “I have the bridge, aye Captain,”
he said without missing a beat.

“I'd
like a piece of that apple pie Serius managed to acquire before it's all gone.
I'll be in the galley,” the Captain said. He turned to the exec who was getting
up. The exec nodded. “Carry on,” the Captain said and exited with the exec on
his heels.

*****

"And
that's how we deal with a planet that we can't bomb from orbit," the
Captain said with a self satisfied smirk as he pushed the sticky plate away.
The pie had been good, but a little too sweet for his taste. He preferred a
tart pie. Eating the pie was his reward for a job well done. Well, the pie and
a double scoop of vanilla ice cream, probably the last that mudball would ever
produce.

He had
sweated bullets over that cargo and it's handling. He was gratified it was out
of his hands... if not at its' original intended destination. Epsilon Triangula
would do, after all, it was on their beta list. And the intel about a factory
station in Antigua made it too interesting a target now anyway.

"I
thought we were going to do that with Antigua?" The exec asked.

The
Captain shrugged as he sat back and enjoyed his coffee. "We are. We might,
but we've got to get another package, and with our latest intel I'm not sure if
control will want us to follow through. Or we should be but we only had the one
package on hand... and when I got word when we were coming in that Epsilon
recently had an upgrade I switched. That damn fleet tender Io something or
other did it for them," he said and grimaced.

The
exec nodded, clearly troubled by the ship. She was worth catching, a prize of
the first order. And what she was doing was helping them in some ways, but it
might cause them grief later on when things picked up. "Cap, something's
got to be done about that ship. Can we catch her?"

The
Captain idly toyed with his spoon before he took a sip, not meeting his exec's
eyes. "You know how hard it is to generate an intercept even on the best
of circumstances. We know where she's headed, we'll pass it on. It's not our
job to do that sort of thing."

The
exec grimaced. "Yes sir."

 "That
little ship, the Phoenix. A courier, from her lines she was a yacht, but she
looks upgraded.”

“Most
likely yes. The corporations were lending or turning over ships during the Xeno
war. She was probably someone's tax write off and also incentive to buy a newer
model ship.”

“Heh,
with the war on?”

“I
didn't say it happened. Though it could have. You know your history.”

“Aye
Captain,” the exec replied bobbing a nod. The chief engineer grunted but didn't
say anything as he ate his sandwich. “She looks like a sweet little ship. Damn
near new! Should we inquire? You know call em up and see if the crew is ground
side?"

"Hell
no! You want to give us away!" the Captain asked before the chief could
put his unwanted two credits worth in. That was all they needed!

The
exec shook his head. "No sir..."

The
Captain's eyes narrowed. Mr. Dillinger was right, but he had to drive the point
home. It wasn't their job to do that sort of thing. "Then drop it. If the
ship is still there when we check back we might be able to do something about
it. But do you want to run double shifts shorthanded as a prize crew?"

"Ummm..."
Slowly the exec sank into his chair and finally shook his head in defeat. They
were already shorthanded as it was. The navigator and helmsman were doing
double shifts, and he had to stand a shift at the helm one day a week. That
wasn't pleasant. Doing double duty?

"Yeah,
that's what I thought," the Captain snorted. He did make a mental note to
pass that tip on to higher. And also a request for more crew in case that
contingency ever did come up.

"What's
going on?" Mr. Gronix asked. His daughter was hiding behind his legs, his
wife behind her. They'd come in for a snack and weren't sure what was going on.
Cold eyes looked at the family. Suddenly food was forgotten.

Thoughts
of how much the passengers had heard, and how much they would hear over the
coming weeks to their next destination flashed through the Captain and exec's
head simultaneously. Of course there was a remedy to that, one they'd used
before. They were good cover, but they'd just outlived their usefulness. Pity
how things like that happened, he thought looking at the little girl and then
away.

"They
are no good to us. Grounders," the exec murmured. "Should we do the
usual Captain? The lock?" the exec asked, nodding his head slightly to the
passengers. He knew the drill now. It no longer bothered him. He knew as long
as he didn't look he wouldn't have a nightmare about the brat.

"Yeah,"
the Captain sighed. "Quickly and quietly," he murmured.

"No
problem sir, part of the job," the exec said with a slightly theatrical
sigh. He spread his hands apart as he moved to the hatch where the family was
standing there frozen. "Come on folks, let me show you around..."

The end.

Premise: The adventures of Adam Prince, Teela and crew on
Antigua on Eternia island just prior to events in Jethro 2.

Cast:

John “Pope Skeletor” Keldor: Wears a skull face mask
sometimes. Purple cape with hood, Bandoliers, necklace of Veraxin n T'clock
fingers.

Beast/ape man: Ape man servant of Pope. Real name Biff

Lynn Evil: Main love interest to Pope. He keeps her at bay
and jealous to keep her loyal and off balance. Drug addict.

Kringer: Green Neotiger 2 year old Orange stripes

Kittrina: Neocat young love interest to Kringer

Randor Prince: Father to Adam. Natural leader. Engineer.
System manager.

Marlena Glenn Prince: Wife to Randor, mother of Adam.
Shuttle pilot Red head

Duncan Na: Adopted father to Teela. Security adviser.
Experienced soldier and Armorer. Also known as Man at arms

Teela Na: adopted daughter of Duncan.

Jane Vinatelli: Teenage cousin to Leo. Incredibly smart,
but shy. Hides her work. Has a robot bird.

Shortly after the ancient freighter Kiev 221 arrived and
found Antigua Prime, the Prince family settled on Antigua in an ancient island
city called Eternia. Located just south of the equator, Eternia island had been
a resort city before the Xeno war. Cosplay fans had come from the core worlds
to play or see the sights.

The company that had set up  the island resort had been
thorough, they had set up oversized fusion reactors to export power to the
surrounding region when power demand was low. The off season was a problem,
they added a modern hospital and other things to export to the rest of the
planet and the sector.

When word of the Xeno's attacks had reached the corporation
their shareholders had demanded action. The corporation had worked with the
Navy and army to set up a network of planetary defense installations on
mountains in strategic locations around the planet. Of course Eternia island
was one such location.

When the Xeno's rampaged through the sector the city's high
energy footprint had driven the people living there to abandon the city. The
owners of the resort set up an automated security system to protect their
interests before they left. The system prevented anyone from using the island
until the fusion reactors failed in a storm and went into safe mode.

By that time centuries had past and the island city had
been forgotten. The island city had been largely abandoned for centuries, the
city core had been overgrown by thick jungle vegetation from the surrounding
forest. The once glittering gold spires had been covered in vines and dangling
moss.  The area was magnificently beautiful, with waterfalls and beautifully
colored flowers and animals. Parts of the gold in the city could still be seen,
glittering here and there.

About two hundred and seventy years ago a ship was blown
off course and forced into the island's dilapidated harbor for repairs. Low on
fresh food and water, and interested in booty, the crew of the ship explored
part of the island before the wild life drove them back to their ship. They
returned to Antiguan civilization with tales of a hidden golden city.

Explorers and treasure seekers sought out the golden city
over the years, so much so that the island became a stopping place for ships.
Families set up shop in the small wharf fishing town to supply ships and
explorers. Many bits of technology were stripped from the outskirts of the
city, but much more remained.

The reactors were found to be restorable, a small crew
managed to cut the power to the security system and then run power to the rest
of the grid. Restoring twenty percent power to the surrounding region had a
Major impact to their economies. Still, the city itself was largely ignored.

Thirty years ago the Antiguan's had put an end to the
senseless looting. The explorers and treasure hunters had stripped the most
accessible parts of the city of anything they could carry while doing
tremendous damage. Most of the materials had either ended up in the hands of
collectors on the planet or sold to passing ships, both situations doing little
to help the people of Antigua many realized. The export of such rare material
was stopped, but not without forcing the mayors to place a large guard force to
protect the city from additional looters.

The guard force brought their families and joined the
people there in first restoring the wharf town, and then finally mapping and
restoring more of the island. When legendary inventor Leonardo Vinatelli took
an interest and moved to the island, many of his supporters followed in his
wake. The outskirts of the city had been mapped and some of the buildings
occupied once more under his guidance. When the inventor was seduced away by
his off world bride, the project of restoring the city and it's fusion reactors
went on life support. Over time the plants took back the buildings.

With parts from Antigua Prime, the mayors of regions around
the island were keenly interested in restoring the city. Not just for what they
may find in its ruins, but also to restore her aged but still functional fusion
reactors and the single surviving planetary defense weapon nearby. Some were
keenly interested in such a project, their towns and cities were vulnerable to
anything from space.

Admiral Irons had also taken a brief interest in such a
project, lending some of his time to draw up a series of plans on restoring the
reactors to functional status. His AI sent information downloads to all those
concerned in the project.

Parts from Antigua Prime made restoring the city a
fascinating project. One that was now possible with the right skill set and
determination. Even more so when the local fusion reactor was partially
repaired. The reactor had been on a trickle power, slowly dropping its yearly
power output over the centuries. It had powered much of the southern sector
with some electrical power. Now with it being restored, they needed people to
do the repairs, fix the city and maintain it all.

Eternia was quickly becoming a boom town. Randor Prince was
hired on as an interim city manager. With his education he quickly showed up
the native Antiguans and began a plan to fully restore the city. When word got
out on the radio ships and aircraft filled with people wishing for a fresh
start and a taste of the golden age flocked to the city. Within two weeks they
had more manpower than food and housing allowed for.

Randor wasn't dismayed, he put the people to work, handing
out machetes and having them hack into the city to restore carefully selected
sections of the city. Those that could handle the work did so. Those that
turned their noses up to the job either found other tasks to perform or
returned to wherever they came from.

When the utilities had cut off the plants had grown into
the plumbing, sucking up the water. They devised an acid cleaner that broke
down the cellulose and flushed it out with water. Getting the water was a
problem for another day.

<=={----------

Adam didn't know why he had come, mostly, out of loyalty to
his parents and Duncan. Teela had been a part of it too, she'd blackmailed him
into coming. She'd made it clear, she was going, like it or not. She'd even
threatened him, swore not that they'd break up, but that she'd drug him or zip
tie him in a duffel and stick him in baggage. He had a pretty picture of that,
and it hadn't been pretty.

He'd tried to hold out, but she was a kinky witch, she'd
worked her magic on him. He'd tried to hold out, but she'd been relentless. It
had been fun, but he'd been sore after giving in, sore for days. Her wicked
smiles had helped the healing process along though. He'd wanted a fresh start
away from their parents shadow, but apparently that wasn't to be, or at least
not yet. His dad was right, they needed someone they could trust for now. He'd
held out for a leave of absence to help them get their feet off the ground.

He'd had another reason for going, both he and Teela hadn't
liked the direction Prime was going. They didn't like the politics that were
coming up. The admiral was a straight arrow, what he said and did made sense.
The pacifists in charge were idiots though. The whole Dilgarth thing alone told
him that. Who hired and genetically altered Dilgarth as security? How stupid
was that?

No, he was now glad he was out of that mess. But being
planetside was a problem, he was a spacer, born and bred. Sure he was muscle
bound, his father had passed along heavyworlder genes, but still. He preferred
technology, he had no intention of digging in the dirt, playing farmer for the
rest of his days.

Two weeks, that's what he'd set out as a goal, two weeks
and he'd return to the station. But then an e-mail had come in, his position
had been filled by someone else. Now he had no place to go, he was here to
stay, like it or not. Teela had thought he'd resent her for it, his parents
too, but he'd merely crumpled the paper up and buckled down to work.

While exploring and running a training exercise, Adam
Prince saw something, movement. Something large, about fifty kilograms, green,
with a tail darted through the bush and up a tree. Wary he looked at it,
keeping an eye on where the green thing had gone. “What's this?” he asked
softly. He heard a chuff. He looked in the tree and saw golden eyes looking
back. “Are you dinner?” He asked, raising his rifle. Duncan wanted them to live
off the land as much as possible.

“Don't shoot!” a child's voice yowled, the eyes went from
slits to wide in a second. He put the gun down and stared in shock. “Please!”
the voice begged.

“Why don't you come down and we'll talk,” Adam said. He
stepped away from the tree.

“Promise you won't shoot?”

“I'm not going to shoot a kid,” Adam said in disgust,
slinging his weapon behind him.

“You promise?”

“I'm going to go kid,” Adam said. “Come on,” he encouraged.
When that didn't work he pulled out his emergency ration and ripped it open. He
took a bite then put it on a rock between him and the tree then stepped back.
“I'm guessing you may be hungry?” he asked.

Slowly the leaves began to dance, then a body climbed down
the trunk. Adam was surprised, the fur was green and orange, almost but not
quite blending into the tree trunk. The cat shimmied down then stopped to look
at him. “Well?” Adam asked. The cat, definitely a Neocat, dropped to all fours
and then padded warily over to the rock with the ration on it. He sniffed it,
wrinkling his nose, then shook. He picked it up and wolfed it down, wrapper and
all.

“Not the wrapper too!” Adam said, reaching and moving forward.
The cat looked at him terrified, then bolted half up the tree. Adam corrected
himself. Stepping back and then crouching down. “Look, hey, here,” he said. The
cat turned to him. He could see it quivering.

“I know you're scared. You're a little guy,” he said
softly. “You shouldn't be out here on your own,” he said, keeping his voice
low. The cat dropped down slowly. Adam took his canteen out. “Want a drink?” he
asked, sloshing it. The cat looked at the container. “I know ration packs make
me dry. I bet you're dry after wolfing it down.”

The cat eyed the container. Adam took the cap off and
dribbled some water in his hand. He took a sip, then let it dribble out of his
hand. The cat came forward, licking his lips. He was hesitant. Adam cupped his
hand, filling it with water.

The cat got to him, ears back, then reached out, and
surprised Adam by taking the canteen. Adam sat back on his haunches as he
watched the cat drink from the canteen.

“Better?” he asked wryly. The cat was sticking his long
tongue in the upside down container, trying to get every drop out. “Thirsty
huh?” he asked. The cat nodded.

“Look, I've got to go. I've got to report in. Are you
lost?”

The cat mewed. He shivered, then reached out and set the
canteen down. He looked away.

“Look, I'd ask you to come back with me...”

The cat turned. “Um...”

“Want to come?”

Suddenly the cat moved, fast into his arms. Adam laughed as
the cat nuzzled him. He stroked the matted green fur, trying hard to breathe
through his nose. The kit was rank. He patted him, feeling the cat rumble and
settle down, relaxing. “You've been alone a while huh little fellow?” he asked
softly.

“Please don't leave me!” the cat said.

“I won't. You can come with me,” Adam said. He gathered the
cat in his arms and lifted him up. He oofed as the cat settled into his arms
and popped a hand thumb into his mouth. Grunting Adam carried the cat out of
the swamp with him.

<=={----------

The Neotiger was green, some from the swamp, some from his
native heritage. The medic on duty had a quick check up, but the tiger didn't
want to talk. He bonded to Adam, he rarely left his side. When they got back to
Eternia, Adam tried to find out which family the cat belonged too. He was
unusual, most of the Neocats on the island were domestics, not a full on large
cat.

Teela had laughed at the sight of the cat clinging to him.
She'd at first been amused and sympathetic, that had ended when she'd gotten
wind of the tiger. He'd been so scared several times in their journey he'd wet
and shit himself.