The Arrival (3 page)

Jake pointed at Evaran. “If you really want deep information, you need to look up the information broker.”

Jells shook his head as he glanced at Jake. “You shouldn’t get mixed up in that.” He looked at Evaran. “Nor should you.”

Evaran placed a hand on his chin. “An information broker. Interesting. I will look it up when I leave. While I am downloading this information, I have a few questions if you do not mind.”

Jake peered at the console the UIC was hovering over. The screen was an unreadable mess as information appeared then disappeared at a rapid pace. He knew of devices that could copy information, but usually they had to be plugged in to the system. This just did it with a device over the screen.

“Go ahead. I can answer a few, but there’s a lot of work to be done around here,” said Jells.

Evaran perused his ARI. “Excellent. What do you call your species?”

“Crustican.”

“I noticed the signature of an advanced planet roughly two light-years away from here on my way in. Is that your home world?”

“Correction. It was two point seven three light-years away,” said U4.

Jells’s eyes blinked slower as he looked at U4. “Yeah … that’s Octoris. We were absorbed into the Seceltor Empire about sixty years ago. Integration has been rough.” He pointed around the room. “It’s why I’m out here.”

“I am sorry to hear that. Is slavery legal in the Seceltor Empire?”

“Yeah, and there are a few species on the list. Human is one of them. Our race isn’t on that list … yet. I suspect it’ll be a matter of time,” said Jells with a sigh. He pointed at the console. “More on that in there.”

“I am curious to hear
your
perspective on these events.”

Jells shook his head. “You’re one curious being, you know that? Well, as much as I’d love to continue our discussion, we have a lot of work to do here.”

Evaran looked around the room. “What type of work? Perhaps I can help.”

“Mostly maintenance stuff. With our service robots needing nonstop repair, and some even breaking down, we’ve had to pick up the slack.”

Evaran rubbed his chin, and after a moment of silence, he said, “I can stay a few days and fix anything you need while I am here. In exchange, I would like to hear your thoughts on the various topics I mentioned earlier. Would that be acceptable?”

“You know how to fix these models?” asked Jake.

“Not at the moment. However, I will once I begin.”

Jells cast a sidelong glance at Jake. “These robots are complex.” He eyed Evaran. “You’re new to this area. Doubt you would have the knowledge or expertise. You’re welcome to try, though. Won’t turn down an offer of help.”

Evaran homed in on the broken cleaning robot. He motioned at U4, who walked over to it.

U4 shot a beam out of her hand and scanned the robot.

Evaran scanned his ARI and narrowed his eyes. “The power core is damaged on your robot, as is the containment unit for the main processor.” He swiped his hand across his ARI, causing U4 to walk out of the room. “U4 is getting the pieces I will need. I will begin with your cleaning robot.”

“I gotta see this,” said Jake, shaking his head. He had procured all the service robots on the station, and they were heavily specialized. They had custom programming and parts, and in his opinion, planned obsolescence, although the manufacturer said otherwise. How could Evaran know how to fix it from a simple scan?

After a few moments, U4 returned pushing a hover table with three levels. Half the surface of the top level was covered in a rubber-like material. The other half had various devices on it. The second level had a cylindrical power core and a custom-fitted neural net cage.

Jells tapped Jake’s arm as U4 passed them. “Quit ogling her.”

Jake’s face turned red as he looked down. He was not used to seeing an anatomically correct human female form, at least physically, and U4’s form was attractive, even for a robot. There were pleasure robots in the various worlds around, but often they had unusual designs and, as Jake knew from personal experience, could be quite painful.

U4 paused and looked at Jake. “Statement. It is quite okay. You may scan me.” She continued on toward the cleaning robot.

Jake licked his lips and looked away.

Evaran stood up with a half grin and tapped Jake on the arm. Jells and Jake followed Evaran over to the robot. Evaran knelt beside the inactive cleaning robot, and after a few moments, he had replaced the power core and containment unit and activated the robot.

The robot whirred to life.
“Systems rebooting.”

“Whoa, that was fast,” said Jake.

“The design is not complex. I suspect the others will be similar.”

Jake scrunched his face. “Not complex? These were top-of-the-line when we got them.”

“Perhaps for this region and time.”

Something seemed off to Jake in the way Evaran spoke. It was like Evaran had a lot more knowledge than he was letting on. Jake shook his head and exhaled. “Well, if you’re fixing things for Dad, I might have something for you to look at.”

Jells smiled and placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Yes, you want him to look at your ship. Well, my ship, but I guess as much time as you spend in it, it may as well be yours.” He looked at Evaran. “I’ll get together a list. Make yourself at home.”

Evaran nodded. “It is appreciated. You will not be disappointed.”

Jells pointed off toward one of the entrances to the room. “Jake, get him settled in.”

“On it,” said Jake. He was surprised at Evaran’s ability to fix the cleaning robot so fast, but more surprised that Evaran offered to do it. It seemed like an unusual trade to him: Jells’s personal view on information for repair services. Still, in just an hour, Evaran had made an impact. If all the service robots could be repaired, that would cut the maintenance load significantly. Evaran’s confidence was infectious. It seemed to Jake that Evaran was someone who got what he wanted, by any means necessary, even if it involved fixing a cleaning robot dumber than a box of rocks.

02

Jake smiled as Evaran walked into the shipping bay. It had only been a day, but in that time, Evaran had fixed almost all the service robots. Jake watched as U4 pushed the same hover table that was used on the cleaning robot. The only other human females he had seen were slaves, and communication was forbidden.

Interaction with Crustican and Seceltor females did not do much for Jake. Although Seceltor were humanoids, they were not human, at least not proportionally. Their heads were larger, with plates on the side that merged at the top into a ridge, and their bodies were more muscular. On top of that, they seemed to have a smell that repulsed him. He had a hard time keeping his eyes off U4.

With one motion, Evaran pointed at U4 and then to the medium-sized cargo ship. “A decent ship.”

U4 walked over to it and began scanning.

Jake pointed at the hilt-like object he had seen earlier on Evaran’s belt. “You got some decent stuff too. What’s that?”

Evaran pulled off the device and held it up. “It is my utility handle. It serves a variety of purposes.”

“Like what? You can’t just say that and not show me something.”

“Are you sure?”

Jake perked up. “Yeah!”

“Very well,” said Evaran. He tapped at the utility handle’s buttons, causing a baton to assemble out of one of the ends. The end glowed yellow. He pointed straight up and pressed a button. A yellow beam shot to the ceiling, and after a moment, Evaran was pulled up. He then descended.

“Whoa! That’s pretty cool,” said Jake. The liquid-like metal that formed the baton intrigued him. “What else can it do?”

Evaran walked over to a small container and kicked it out into an open area. He interacted with his utility handle. The baton end glowed white. He aimed at the container and pressed a button.
Boom!
White concentric circles emanated from the baton and knocked the container back.

“Wow.”

“It has been helpful at times.”

“Yeah … I can see why.”

Evaran walked over to one of the shipping containers and leaned against it after holstering his utility handle. “While U4 is scanning your ship, I have some questions if you do not mind.”

“You and your questions,” said Jake, chuckling. “After all you’ve done so far, no problem. Not used to people helping out, and to be honest, I know you’re not human, but it still feels good to talk to someone who actually looks like one.”

Evaran nodded. “I understand. I am curious as to what you know of Earth.”

Jake walked over to a crate nearby and sat down. He leaned forward with his hands clasped in front of him. “Well, quite a bit. I studied it in the Seceltor central data network. They got a lot of information there. Usually gets updated after a slaver run. Covers culture, politics, religion, and the like.”

“I see. Do you recall any experiences from Earth?”

“Not many. I remember leaving the house with Mom to go to school. I liked playing in the tree in our backyard, and also the pool. Loved the smell of the grass. It was so green,” said Jake as he looked down. “Also remember my birthday parties. Mom would go all out, invite over friends.”

“You miss her.”

“Yeah …”

“I have been meaning to ask how you got here. I understand you were enslaved, but that is all I know. If it is a sensitive subject, you do not need to answer.”

Jake cleared his throat. “It’s okay. Grew up with my mom and dad until I came here when I was six. Me and Mom were abducted by a human slaver named Greecho. He works for the Seceltor Empire. Him and his crew would stop in here on their slaving runs to and from Earth.”

“Why did he not take your father?”

“Greecho had a quota system,” said Jake. “One man for every four women. Normally didn’t take children, but guess I was a special case, and his quota for men was already filled. Greecho said he took me as an investment, since if I survive to twenty-one and go to the breeding camp, he gets a large bonus, especially since I have the traits they want. It’s risky for him, since he had to find someone to care for me. Jells was my caretaker, and I’m thankful for that.”

“Jells seems to care a lot about you.”

“Yeah, he’s been great. Just wish circumstances were different.”

“What happened to your mother then?”

Jake pulled his lips flat. “Mom initially went to a breeding camp, but she was more trouble than they expected. So they sent her to Karakuus, home of the Ogeerians. Vicious feline race that stands about ten feet tall.” He clenched his jaw, then unclenched it. “They used her as food. Served her up at a prestigious dinner.” He shook his head and exhaled slowly. “It’s not right.”

“I am sorry to hear that. You have been through a lot.”

“It’s in the past. All I can do is look to the future, which isn’t too bright for me. Speaking of which, you still going to Earth after this?”

Evaran nodded. “I am planning on it. I do want to check out the Kreagan Star Empire I read about, so I may make a stop there first.”

Jake cleared his throat. “You planning on swinging back by this way?” He wondered if Evaran would let him come with him. Maybe he would have time to visit Earth before going into slavery. He knew he would have to come back, or Greecho would take it out on Jells.

“There is a good chance of that happening.”

Jake licked his lips, then looked down. “Cool.”

U4 walked over to Evaran. “Analysis. Scan complete. Seven system enhancements proposed.”

“Seven? Like what?” asked Jake as he jerked his head back.

“Propulsion. Navigation. Power generation. Shielding. Weapon systems. Tractor beam. Long-range sensors.”

“Okay … wow. I’d like to see what you came up with, but I need to get Greecho’s shipments in order. He’ll be here in a few hours.”

“Affirmative.”

“What does Greecho have in his shipments?” asked Evaran.

Jake shook his head. “He sends me a list of things he wants, which usually means cargo runs. Most of the time, it’s the usual stuff, like food, water, and general supplies. This time, though, he wanted some drugs, so I had to hit up the Randians. The supplies have to last at least three months for the trip to Earth.”

“You mentioned that Earth is in Kreagan space. Do they approve of Greecho’s slave runs?”

“Uh-uh. Greecho is actually running late right now, but he has to dock his ship on a Kreagan transport. From what I heard, there’s an outpost that allows that transport through. Most likely bribed. Takes about two weeks. Once across, it’s then about two and a half months to Earth.”

“He will be in a hurry when he arrives then if he is running late.”

“Yeah. Just means I have some extra time to make sure all his stuff is ready.”

“You do not have a choice in this?”

“Nah. If I didn’t get them to him, who knows what he would do to me,” said Jake. He glanced at Evaran. “Or Dad.”

Evaran narrowed his eyes. “I see. Very well. U4 will relay the ship proposals to you. After Greecho has left, we can begin on them if you wish.”

Jake nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back.” He exited the room and cursed himself for not at least trying to ask about going to Earth, but that was him in a nutshell. There were rumors of some humans having escaped the system, but he did not know how they did it. They probably had no problems asking for help. He sighed and continued down the hallway.