Twin Stars 1: Ascension (3 page)

While Ping An and Justin had been doing their best to get information from some local security officers at an outdoor beer garden, Leederman had found himself the target of a local girl’s interest. It was harmless flirting by someone who seemed bored, and Ping An had been inclined to let it slide. Leederman was the least skilled at what they were doing after all, and it kept him busy. The problem was that this local girl also happened to be waiting for her local boyfriend and his buddies, and when they’d arrived the boyfriend had begun berating the girl for her unfaithfulness. Again, not a big problem- until Leederman decided to go all White Knight.

One brawl later, the very station security officers Ping An had sought out were trying to arrest Leederman for starting a fight, and all three of them had been forced to flee into the festival with two security officers in hot pursuit.

They were just lucky the station hadn’t decided to deploy the security bots in such a crowded and chaotic environment- yet.

“Geez Ping-An, I’m sorry!”

As they dashed around a corner Ping An thought quickly. She could avoid their pursuers easily enough, but the two others couldn’t. That made the choice clear.

"Idiot! Quick, give me your mask."

"My mask?" Leederman always was a little slow on the uptake.

"Yeah, I’ll take your cat mask and you take my...whatever this thing is. Quick! Do it!" She passed him the birdlike mask she’d been wearing, and took his. It smelled of sweat, blood and beer, but she put it on anyway.

"Now, everyone split up!" She commanded. "I’ll lead them away, and I want you to find other masks and blend into the crowd. Disappear! I’ll call when I think things are okay."

"But, what about you, Squadron Leader?" Justin asked, feelings of concern leaking into his mental “voice”.

"I’ll be fine, I’ve done this before. Just go!" She ordered.

The black and white clad station security men had come back into view behind them, and Ping An slowed down slightly to let them see her while the other two dashed ahead. Then, when she was sure they were onto her, she ducked into a side alley and away, with them in pursuit.

"Thanks, Ping An!" Leederman’s link echoed in her head. "You’re a life saver!"

"Don’t thank me yet, numbnuts." She sent back. "I’m still going to tell Camus about this later!"

That’s when she saw the buzzing security bots overhead, and suddenly she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to tell Camus about anything after all.

* * *

And what do you say?”

Both men bowed deeply to the shopkeeper and his wife.

“We’re sorry for the trouble we’ve caused.” They said in unison.

The aging shopkeeper’s wife looked down at the two men in contempt, pulling back to hit them with the stick she carried, but her husband held her in check. He looked at Tysen, and Tysen nodded.

“You men will each receive a reprimand in your records, and the cost of the window you have broken will be deducted from your pay. Is this understood?”

Both agreed that they did, although Tysen could detect that the larger of the two was barely holding his tongue- likely a comment about the idea that there was any pay to deduct.

Tysen had found the two drunken crewmen from his ship threatening the owner of a local convenience store and arguing with his wife, having already broken a window as an intimidating gesture. Tysen’s appearance had put a quick end to the argument, and brought about the current resolution. Drunk as they were, neither had any illusions that Tysen would spare them the harsh punishments of Imperial military law if they fought back.

After sending the two crewmen on their way, Tysen apologized again to the shopkeeper, whose wife had already stormed off, and then looked up at the dome far above. The lighting system was showing signs of growing dimmer, a convenience to the many planet born inhabitants of the station to help them adjust to station time. A side effect of this was that it made the space beyond the clear dome easier to see, and if he squinted Tysen could just make out the fuzzy image of the
Crystal Leaf
among the other ships attached to the docking ring.

For a moment, Tysen considered returning to the peace of the ship, but he quickly dispelled the thought. He had to keep an eye on the crew here, and also he’d promised Kip to join him later for some “fun”.

He didn’t like parties- they were pointless affairs, and he was poor at small talk. However, after his recent talk with Kip he recognized that with the growing tensions aboard ship, making himself seem more companionable to the crew might bring some benefits. Besides, he honestly liked Kip, and enjoyed the man’s company. They had served as junior officers aboard the
Crystal Leaf
for over an Imperial Standard Year now, and Kip was one of the few people aboard who he felt a kinship with, despite the differences in background. They had worked hard together, and formed a bond he didn’t take lightly.

With this in mind, Tysen pulled his mask back on, turned, and began walking towards the area where he’d last left his fellow lieutenant. He didn’t plan to make his way there directly, but to slowly work his way back, checking in on more crewmen- just in case. He had a little AR window up on the edge of his vision that showed him the locations of all the crew members in the area.

Making his way down the road, Tysen found himself at the entrance to a park, and he began to follow the winding stone path. Even at this time of day, the park was still filled with children and parents, enjoying the shows of a few buskers and eating the sweets sold at stands scattered throughout the park. A type of sweet rainbow ice seemed to be the treat of choice, and Tysen even briefly considered buying one before pushing such a childish thought away. He was in civilian clothes, but it would still seem too unbecoming to be seen by someone eating such a thing.

At last the forested path led him out into an open square filled with stone tables and benches. He could see the blue and red glows from the holographic chess pieces which sat atop the tables. Emitters built into the stone generated the pieces so anyone could play, and many old and young had taken the opportunity to do so.

Tysen nodded to himself. It was good to see so many people playing the old game. He had learned much as a child from playing chess, lessons which still stayed with him until this day, and he revered the game for the mental discipline it taught. Watching the older people teach the young girls and boys to play reminded him of his own days in the town square when he was like these children, at least, until the old men had grown tired of being beaten and refused to play him. At the time he had resented it, but now he smiled at the memory, understanding what had really happened.

Perhaps…He could spend a little time here before moving on, he decided as he moved among the players. It would be relaxing to watch them play, and he might be able to impart a few tips. With this in mind, he focused on the children’s games, wandering from game to game and looking for one which might need his help.

He found what looked like a likely candidate pretty quickly. A small sandy-haired boy of ten or so standard years was playing a slightly older and larger boy with darker hair. The sandy-haired boy was losing quite badly, and clearly a very weak player. The game was just in the early moves, and he was quite hesitant while his opponent was pushing him to react.

“So, you gonna move or what?” Pressed the older boy impatiently.

As Tysen watched the younger boy, he felt a pang of sympathy for him. He was quite clearly outmatched, and was on the verge of quitting in frustration.

Well, thought Tysen, perhaps if he gave him a small bit of assistance it might bolster his confidence and speed the game along to the point where Tysen could take a teaching role. Yes, he decided as he moved around behind the older boy, he would take a hand in this game.

Once he was standing behind the older boy, Tysen began to move his hands to grab the attention of the sandy-haired youngster. That took a moment, and at first the boy seemed a bit confused, but with a few motions of his hands Tysen made it clear that he wanted to offer a bit of advice with the game. Once the boy nodded in acceptance, Tysen indicated a pawn and motioned for the boy to move it forward.

“Y-your move.” Said the younger boy, having made the move Tysen suggested.

* * *

Ping An let herself drop to land among the recycling bins in an alley.

The arrival of the police bots had made escaping a near thing for her, with the small aerial trackers dogging her every move as she tried to keep the station security men’s attention away from her men. Finally, when she’d felt the time was right, she’d broken away from the human pursuers and escaped up onto the rooftops of the buildings as the aerial trackers tried to corner her. A few tricks had lost them as well, but it had taken time and now she was quite a distance away from where she’d started.

Leaving Leederman’s mask in a recycle bin, Ping An emerged from an alleyway and purchased a new one at a roadside stall before slipping into the crowd and letting it carry her away from the alley and into anonymity. She also stopped along the way to purchase a red skirt and switched her vest for a blue jacket, hoping the change in dress would throw off any attempts to match her profile or clothes.

Confident she was now safe, Ping An checked her chronometer. Her real mission here was over- the security people had been most forthcoming before things turned sour. She had a few hours to go before the meeting, and her time was her own, but what to do with it?

She enjoyed the sights while she considered. Miraposa Three’s OTS reminded her of the asteroid colony where she’d grown up. Orbital colonies all had the same smell from the recycled air, and the genetically adapted plants that filled almost every bit of extra space. This one even had a fair amount of dedicated public greenspace, which she admired as she walked through a local park.

Finally, her wandering took her to something that made her feel really nostalgic- a square in the park filled with places to sit and stone chess boards. Now
that
brought back memories! As she watched the children play she almost felt like she’d find her best friend Sophie waiting for her at one of the chess boards for their near-daily matches.

You never beat me, did you Sophie?
She reminisced.
You never beat me but you never gave up…

Then she saw something that made her stop short.

Two boys, a thin one with brown hair and a stouter, darker one, were playing chess at one of the tables, but behind the larger of the two a man in a harlequin mask stood making quiet gestures to the smaller boy. As Ping An watched in disgust, the man, who she presumed to be a father or older sibling, directed the boy in his moves, helping him to cheat his opponent.

What? Don’t any of the parents see this?
She looked around for someone who might take a hand, but there didn’t seem to be anyone connected with this boy, or who noticed what was taking place. Finding no help, and feeling a rising sense of indignation, Ping An made a decision.

* * *

Tysen was starting to regret doing this.

He’d started to coach the boy on a lark, mostly because the older boy seemed to be treating him so poorly, but now he felt like he’d made a mistake. They were now a dozen moves in, and the larger boy was only another move from losing quite badly, while the younger one was getting a bit cocky with his attitude thanks to Tysen’s help.

Yes, it was definitely getting time to call an end to this. Once the older boy made his next move, and fell into Tysen’s trap, he’d slip away and hope none of the parents noticed or got angry with him. After all, this really wasn’t his business. Again, he cursed himself for getting sentimental.

When the woman in the blue jacket and red skirt came up behind his protégé, Tysen at first wondered whether it was his mother or elder sister. If that was the case, Tysen would definitely have to bring this to an end, perhaps just stop things and apologize. He could explain himself by…

And then, just as the boy in front of Tysen was about to put down the fateful piece and walk into a final trap, the woman across the table attracted the boy’s attention and stopped him with a motion of her hand. With another gesture, she had him move the piece back and drop it into another square, carefully breaking the web Tysen had been weaving.

Then the dark haired woman in the half mask looked up at him and smiled- her eyes filled with defiance and challenge.

At first Tysen was surprised, but then inwardly he laughed.
Oh that’s how it’s going to be, is it?
He thought, his ego rising.
Well, this might be fun after all.

Tysen gestured to the expectant boy and told him his next move…

* * *

He’s a spacer, he’s got calluses on the insides of his hands from holding zero-gee rings.
Thought Ping-An as she motioned for another move.
A station worker? No…He’s too smart. Maybe an administrator?

Whoever he was, he was good.

Ping An had expected him to be competent, but he was far beyond that. There were few people who could beat her in a game of chess, but so far he was easily her equal based on the moves he was making. The game was twice as difficult as it was being done through proxies, and if they pushed the kids too much the young boys would probably quit. But, the kids seemed as into it as she was, enjoying the challenge of this odd game.