Rebel Lexis (4 page)

“Impact harnesses, they use them for farming…” The inflection in Learner’s voice, gave him away.

“And…?”

Learner raised his drink to his lips, and under the slow gulp of his malt, he mumbled, “NEPRs.”

Excitedly, Jason grabbed Learner’s mug away from his mouth and asked again in a loud whisper, “What did you say?”

“NEPRs,” repeated Learner.

“Nuclear Enriched Power Rods. This raises the stakes quite drastically…and here, I thought I was doing you a favor, all while you were trying to low ball me.”

Learner implored with shifting eyes. “Come on, you can’t blame a guy for trying to make a buck…” Learner now gazed into Jason’s dead cold stare, and begged, “Don’t be offended, it’s just business.”

Jason quietly sat in his seat contemplating the huckster’s offer, and thought,
“You’re nothing but a weasel, trying to fuck me over,”
and before speaking, he calculated all the pieces.

“I want twelve million credits.”

“Are you fucking crazy? I can’t pay that much, Jason.”

“Now you listen… Yes, you can… And yes you will…! Because we both know I have the only, On World Rig Programming to cloak Nonentity Cargo… And, I know, the Vril’s going to pay you at least double the amount I’m asking. This deal will break you free of this shithole, and I want a piece of that pie, Learner.”

Wavering, Learner released the notion of keeping the majority of the shady deal’s compensation, and he now realized, he had gained a partner.

“Hum, you got me by the short hairs, Jason… OK, I agree to such a covenant but I can’t emolument all in credits.”

“Do you vacuously think me an idiot? I won’t do the deal unless I see half in my account.”

“I don’t have enough credits but I will…put three million credits in your account, and pay you the rest in Plutonium C3.”

“What? Where did you get all this Plutonium?”

Speaking uneasily in his own existence, Learner whispered, “The PC3 will be on your return load.”

“What are the terms on the Plutonium, Learner?”

“Yes, I will give you the remuneration valuation in Polaris terms, and not on the Devonian Enclave’s trade value.”

“I agree to the Plutonium deal but I want five million in credits, up front.”

Learner breathed heavily, and sighed. “Alright, I’ll shift a few things around… Do we have terms?”

“We have terms.” Jason shook hands with the dirty looking man and smiled. With all the money, he could create new beginnings, and thought,
“The sky’s the limit! I can upgrade my DNA. Quit my day job. And move into a large house on Level Seven, two levels from the elite ruling party.”

“You need to move the cargo in the next hour, it’s way too hot to be sitting in the dock anymore.”

“I’ll call Sofia, and have the ship ready by the time I get there.”

“Sofia… Do you have a new partner I don’t know about?”

“Simulated Onboard Female In-Cab Authority; Sofia. She’s an upgrade I purchased from a private firm, drives me fucking crazy sometimes but a big improvement over my last onboard system the Polaris Corporation had installed.”

“Good, had me worried there…less players the better, Jason.”

“Right, and Learner, don’t fuck me over or it will be the last thing you ever do.”

“Don’t worry, you hold all the cards.” Learner handed him a memory rod listing the Cargo’s Manifest, and continued saying, “Once you’ve uploaded the data, a request ping will request your ETA to be sent to my Contact. On arrival, the Contact will give you his manifest, and it will ping me the same.”

“Yes, I know how it works…” Jason replied.

“I know you do but I’m real nervous about this deal.”

“No fear, I have my level Five Clearance, and my State Hood all in good order.”

“Do this right, and we’ll be rich, Jason.” Learner turned off the anti-eavesdropping device, and watched Jason walk towards the exit.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night, girls,” Jason said as he walked by the bar.

“Really, but you just got here…”

“I have to take care of some urgent business but I’ll be back in the morning.” Not only was Jason smiling about the fortune he was about to make, but he was just as happy to walk out of Dronski’s Café alone, and he thought,
“At least, I’m saved from sleeping with those uni-brow twins.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Jason,” said the Dronski
girls in near unison.

The girls were much prettier eleven years ago, when they were in their mid twenties. Now, the harsh reality of Colony living set upon them, and aged them beyond their years. Jason always felt it was in the poor water quality the council rationed off to their citizens. Fissure Point struggled to meet the most basic of demands of living.

Jason knew he would out live Marge and the girls, due to his DNA rating and he tried real hard not to get too attached to most people but sometimes it was real tough for him not to. Marge Dronski was almost the only family he had left. She was a distant cousin and he tried to get her a Polari Citizenship based on this relation but her DNA was too insipid.

The DNA probability test came back negative, indicating she was a thirteenth cousin. According to Polari Medical Colonization Rules: The DNA should be of a high quality, no lesser than ninety-five percent indication of being twice removed from the Sponsor; and a ninety-two percent indication of four times removed can be considered waiver-able under special circumstances. 

“Sofia…” Jason spoke loudly into his communicator.

“Yes, Jason.”

“Do a fast charge on the fuel cells… have all systems ready in ten minutes. I’m on my way back to the ship now.”

“That was quick…bored of the twins already?”

“Not now, Sofia.”

“Well, can I at least ask if we are in an alert status?”

“Not just yet, Sofia.”

“What is our destination?”

“I’ll up load the Manifest on my arrival. Just have all systems ready for departure.”

“Will do…see you in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

“Sofia, what in the hell’s a lamb?”

“According to my software, a lamb is an extinct mammal.”

“Why would you say, ‘See you in two shakes of a lamb’s tail?’”

“‘See you in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,’ was a widely used expression during the Third Renaissance.”

“What?”

“The expression can be found in literature of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century.”

“Sofia, just keep it professional… Copy.”

“Boy, you’re a grumpy man.”

“Sofia!”

“Copy that, Jason…Sofia out.”

              The impregnable appearing door automatically eased open into the large loading dock. Cool moisture followed Jason from inside the Colony, and quickly evaporated in the dry but ominous space. He nervously walked past the formidable Custom’s Control Agents Station. And for the first time, he noticed the Guard Stations crenelated structure, and the several swiveling rail guns mounted above.

The rows of vehicles backed into the payload doors, were mostly of late Twenty-First Century electrical propulsion systems technology. On average, they could only reach top speeds of up to two hundred and fifty miles per hour in the Pipe. Old technology was no match, compared to the six hundred miles per hour the Chameleon could achieve during MAGLEV.

Magnetic Levitation technology was the basis of most transportation, and it was absolutely illegal to use fossil fuels or nuclear power, unless sanctioned by the Corporation. The irony of Jason Bjorn’s situation was the delivery of NEPRs or Nuclear Enriched Power Rods to a Nonentity group, was strictly prohibited, and outlawed by his employer.
“Renegades, and scumbags. Nonentities make me nervous,”
thought Jason as he walked toward the Chameleon.

He could not miss the vehicle’s distinctiveness. Sitting in zero acceleration, the Chameleon’s smart Skin gave the impression that it was still in motion. In the Safe Operations Mode, the vehicle’s animated smart Skin scrolled a regiment of flashing lights, alternating iridescent colors of Solar Flare Orange, and Creamy Arylide Yellow. And as Jason Bjorn neared the stationary vehicle, the Chameleon’s Skin began to breathe passionately; a display a cuttlefish might show during mating season. The Chameleon’s Skin was now displaying a state of excitation in anticipation of his arrival; the closer Jason got, the faster the patterns pulsated and throbbed in a heavy orgy of color and lights. The vehicle was alive, and more self-aware ever since he upgraded the onboard computer, and it seemed, Sofia’s emotions were more human than human.

Necessary to operate, the craft’s Skin could automatically adapt to any change in environment. It could easily camouflage itself, allowing it to blend perfectly into any surroundings, or go into the Cloak Mode, and completely disappear. However, the Safe Operations Mode was the preferred mode of travel, so other piloted crafts would not crash into her.

              “Sofia, open hatch.”

              “My pleasure, Jason.”

Unsealing the airtight gasket, the Chameleon’s exterior entrance unlocked, and the mechanical pivoting arms forced the thick hatch to open, exposing the interior’s controlled environment to the dry dusty world. Concealed metal stairs slid outward, making an easy egress for Jason as he stepped inside on to the finely carpeted floor; the interior lights brightened.

              “Welcome back, Jason.”

              “Thank you, Sofia.”

              “Please remove your contaminated footwear.”

              “Not just yet,” responded Jason as he pushed the polished metallic tube, containing the Manifest, into a consul’s hub. He then continued saying, “Here’s the Manifest…”

Instantly, the cockpit’s one hundred and eighty-degree visual heads-up display burst to life displaying the Manifest’s information. Just like the Colony Membrane, the vehicle’s interior surface was interactive. Not only did the ship’s systems information populate the Skin but satellite imagery, weather forecasts, route and traffic information broadcast there too.

Jason continued, “…Unlock the door to the IER…”

To the rear of the large cabin, a wall-flush mounted door opened automatically. Jason then squeezed through the tight entrance that led into the (I.E.R.), Integrated Equipment Room where the brightly lit space, echoed Jason’s image in a near endless kaleidoscope of reflections off the mirrored equipment’s surface and walls.

“Sofia, I need you to disconnect the Off World Tracking Device but please, don’t disable the equipment.”

              “Why is that?” questioned Sofia.

“Because I don’t want the Corporation to know where I am going…” Then Jason thought to himself,
“I’ll place the device in our cargo container…they’ll never know we have left this shithole.”

“Done.” Sofia complied, and the flush mounted rectangular shaped tube, eased out of its port.

“Thank you, Sofia.”

“You are welcome, Jason.”

Jason Bjorn gently pulled the semi-cylindrical device out, and exited the Integrated Equipment Room.

“Sofia, shut the I.E.R.…”

Compliantly, Sofia shut the door behind him, and then he asked, “Have you seen the slave cables anywhere?”             

“Jason, the Manifest is not Corporate Sanctioned,” Sofia stated as she opened a low flush mounted drawer containing the slave cables.

Ignoring Sofia, Jason grabbed the slave cables and withdrew from the vehicle. He then walked to the rear of the empty cargo container, and loudly commanded, “Sofia, open the utility port on the cargo container.”

The utility port glided open, and Jason then attached the slave cables to the cargo containers’ power supply with the Off World Tracking Device, and thought,
“The Corporation can get fucked.”

“Sofia, disengage the Chameleon from Cargo Container, 1205, and slowly maneuver us to our pick up,” Jason commanded after re-entering the Chameleon.

The Chameleon silently unlatched from the Cargo Container, and smoothly hovered out into the Conveyance Passage.

“Jason, we will be in violation of Polaris law, 318.9 section 52b, which states, ‘Transference of any illegal power source to a non-sanctioned Entity, can be punishable by death.’ I cannot ignore the illegal actions you are asking me to undertake.”

“Override Polaris Law, 318.9 section 52b, Sofia,” said Jason while climbing into the pilot’s chair.

“Override accepted and stored in Ship’s Log. However, I beg you to change your mind,” Sofia implored.

“Sofia, erase last entry in Ship’s Log and turn off the S.L.E. and turn off Records Storage.”