Coffee Cup Dreams (A Redpoint One Romance) (4 page)

Tish glanced out the window, thinking of her
new heart valve. She hadn't read any restrictions from hyperspace
travel in her discharge information. She squeaked, "We've been
soaked with radiation?"

"A bit, but nothing like the early days of
inter-system travel. That's when the space station was named
"Redpoint One" as this is the point most ships would hit the
redpoint danger in hyperspace radiation exposure," Mr. Samson
said.

"There are no suitable stars nearby to stop at
on the way to the Outlier Worlds, but the station shows up in
hyperspace despite not having a strong gravity-well. It's how it
was initially found." Captain Jarvid gestured towards the station.
"It was, and in a way still is, a valuable way-station. A place of
rest to detox a ship from the hyperspace radiation
build-up."

"A process sped up by the station itself.
Stand by, we have clearance to pass," Mr. Samson said, turning
fully back to his console.

The freighter swung fully towards one end of
the station. With each passing moment it grew larger and the
surface more detailed. Wide landing bays, and then large windows
and portals became visible. The inner part of the nearest ring came
into view, showing arching semi-transparent material covering the
open living spaces underneath.

She'd read that the rings were filled with
garden areas, and some people even had the privilege of living
along the edges, able to enjoy the view both inside the ring and
the space outside. She didn't imagine she would have the luck of
such nice living accommodations, but she intended to explore as
much as possible as soon as she could.

What she'd read hadn't prepared her for the
reality.

The freighter went past the last of the rings,
past the spindles holding the rings to the body of the station, and
moved across the end of the main long tubular body itself. Making a
turn, the starfield complete with the nebula returning on her side,
the space station filling only in the front windows.

Only, it wasn't solid.

The end of the main body opened up, allowing
her to see completely through the long axis of the space station
main body and out the other end. An opening in which she could see
several ships ahead of them, all passing through with immense space
with room to spare.

Good grief, the entire main body was
hollow!

The Golden Oriander turned towards the
opening, slowing down to take its place in the center of the tube.
Directly in front of them a large luxury spaceliner slowly moved
forward at the same pace.

Regularly spaced internal rings illuminated
the interior and the ships passing inside. Light danced along the
metal around the portal next to Tish. She sat back, snatching her
hands away.

Captain Jarvid chuckled. "At most it will
tingle. The field only affects the radiation."

The only reason his laughter didn't bother her
was Captain Jarvid's good humor, something she'd come to appreciate
over three weeks of travel. She asked, recalling what he'd said
before, "The detox?"

"By the time we're through the other end we'll
be ready for another jump, if we were to continue traveling. All
hyperspace radiation dissipated."

A passage that seemed to take forever. A
glance down at the computer around her wrist told her it wasn't her
imagination. After the first few rings she didn't see much that was
new other than large open bays off from the main tube.

Maybe if they were outside she would have seen
more. There weren't even any ships passing the other direction to
help with the boredom creeping in. Only the spaceliner in front of
them.

A trip to the kitchen to help with a quick
snack, and still their progress continued. A rear view showed
several ships lined up behind them of all different sizes and
shapes.

She sighed, looking out the portal. "And how
long does this take?"

"Another hour or so," Captain Jarvid said. "Be
thankful Redpoint One has this capability. For normal long jumps we
would be waiting days."

"This is nothing compared to what the pioneers
had to do," Mr. Samson said. "Of course, in the early days it was
one-way trips only."

"Today too, if a person gets hit with too
much," Tish muttered, having been disturbed by that little
fine-print on the travel documents.

"Again, not a problem with Redpoint One. It's
too bad other routes don't have the option." Captain Jarvid
motioned to one of the rings. "No scientist has figured out how the
space station can neutralize the radiation to such a degree. One of
many mysteries."

Tish swallowed hard. "And I'm supposed to help
repair it?"

She received a grin from Mr. Samson. "Is that
what you've come here for? Good luck with that."

The comment didn't help at all with her
nerves.

The end of the inner hollow of Redpoint One
slowly came into view from around the hulking shape of the
spaceliner. When the spaceliner moved out of the way as it exited
she could see a series of closely-spaced rings with energy arcing
back and forth from one side to the other.

She sat down in the chair and folded her hands
in her lap, wondering if it would affect the ship even more than
the diminishing light dancing across the portal edges and the
exterior of the ship. And the interior. She'd had a bit of a tingle
when helping the cook fetch things out of the pantry.

An alarm sounded from the direction of the
pilot console. Her head jerked up, not liking the sound at all. Not
when she was so close to disembarking.

"Mr. Samson, report," Captain Jarvid demanded.
His tone of voice, changing from the laid-back deep tones of normal
to a sharp and even deeper octave did nothing to reassure
her.

"Hyperspace exit, sir. Very close."

Tish leaned forward to study the starfield
outside the front of the ship, but she couldn't see much through
the arcing energy of the rings.

Another crew-member rushed into the cockpit
and took control of one of the other consoles. "What's the
situation?"

Captain Jarvid reached out and touched his
console. The speakers came alive.

"All ships alert for unauthorized approach to
Redpoint One," a female voice said.

"Watch it, it's heading for the transit tube!"
someone else said over the same frequency.

"Inter-Planetary Patrol craft exiting
hyperspace. All ships maintain present course and speed," the
female voice said again, still sounding cool and calm.

Tish didn't know how the woman remained so
calm. The small ship appeared through the energy arcs, heading
straight at them. She grabbed the arms of the chair, squeezing
tight, her body tensing as it drew near.

Another flick at his console and an alarm
sounded through the ship. Captain Jarvid said, "Mr. Samson, prepare
for evasive maneuvers."

"Sir, I think it will miss us."

"I don't want guesses. I want
absolutes."

"The Golden Oriander, this is Redpoint One
control. Please remain on course and speed. Do not deviate," the
female voice said.

"Easy for her to say," the Captain said as two
more crew-members rushed into the cockpit.

In a flash the other ship was by them, leaving
Tish with only a vague impression of dark colors and long engines.
A moment later a lighter colored vessel of sleek lines and flaring
engines passed by.

Mr. Samson switched one of the screens to a
rear view. The Patrol ship closed the distance, but not before the
other ship attempted to use the wide freighter behind them as a
cover.

A cover blown when the pilot of the fleeing
ship misjudged and clipped the corner of a cargo pod. With a cloud
of sparks it barreled off at a sharp angle and straight into one of
the slots in the side of the transit tube of Redpoint
One.

The Patrol ship veered out of the way of the
freighter as the other ship exploded, the ball of fire and smoke
emerging from the slot. Parts flew into the transit tube, into the
side of the station, and flew towards the ships still in the
transit tube.

The alarms in the cockpit ceased. The woman
over the speakers said, "Threat neutralized. All ships continue on
current course and speed."

"See the marking on the side?" one of the
crew-members asked.

"Neptune Krakens?" Captain Jarvid
asked.

The man nodded. "They've been getting braver
lately."

"They're up to something big," Mr. Samson
muttered.

"Aren't pirates always?" Someone else
commented.

Tish's eyes flew back to the monitor
displaying the widening bubble of debris. Pirates? She was going to
work on a station that might be attacked by pirates?

With The Golden Oriander out of the transit
tube the location of the battle quickly disappeared. Mr. Samson
brought the ship back around towards Redpoint One in preparation to
dock at one of the many docks along the side.

She didn't hear what dock they were headed
for. It didn't matter. It was time to face her future.

She returned to her room and packed the last
few things not already in her luggage. She stacked the few boxes
onto a hover-sled and lay the two suitcases on top of them. She
headed towards the main airlock as Mr. Samson announced their
arrival over the internal comm-system.

Tish nervously waited for the main airlock to
open. So much waiting, so much travel, and the time had finally
come. The start of a new life with a job she didn't know if she
could do, in a new place among people she didn't know.

She must be crazy.

A gentle mental reminder told her to recall
the bottles of pills still at the bottom of her luggage. She could
start taking them and head back to Earth.

No way.

She straightened up her shoulders and took a
deep breath. When Captain Jarvid opened up the airlock she followed
him with sure steps, all her belongings trailing behind her on the
hoversled.

And stepped out into the middle of controlled
chaos.

First, it wasn't a standard dock with airlocks
and enclosed lengths that could be sealed off in case of
depressurization. Instead, it was a long multi-tiered dock with
ships lined up along the edges, as if it were a multi-story
warf. Nothing was closed in, not even the entry and exit out
of the area. The large openings stayed open to space.

She shivered. It just didn't feel
right.

"Force fields," Captain Jarvid said, having
taken note of her shiver.

Tish shook her head, now wishing she hadn't
researched so much about space stations and the things that could
go wrong on board them. "Those don't work yet for wide areas.
Everything here is open."

"They do here."

She mentally thumped her forehead. Of course.
Alien space station, alien technology. She needed to get used to
such things.

The Dock Officer talked quietly to Captain
Jarvid with many gestures towards the main cargo airlock of The
Golden Oriander. A blip in the overhead lighting had everyone
looking up.

"Power problems?" Captain Jarvid
asked.

"Maintenance has been short of people." The
Deck Officer looked down at his pad and glanced at Tish. "Tish
Douglas?"

Oh great, here it came.

She nodded. "Yes, that's me."

The Officer smiled. "Good. We need more
people. And I see your new Supervisor now."

Her stomach knotted. No more waiting. Time to
face her future. She turned her head in the direction he
pointed.

And sucked in her breath.

Mr. Getty's brother shared the same dark sandy
hair and height, but Arthur Getty sported the wide shoulders and
muscled arms of someone physically active in life. The tight dark
blue tank top accented his physical attributes even
more.

Long strides, a compact belt with multiple
pouches around his waist, and a brush of dirt on one cheek
completed the image of a man in charge and not afraid to dive in to
fix things. Of one not afraid to get his hands dirty. He was also
completely and devastatingly handsome.

And furious, and it was all aimed at
her.

CHAPTER FOUR