The Bright Black Sea (27 page)

'What are you planning to do, instead?' asked
Vynnia.

'To begin with, I've discovered the joy of discovery.
There are thousands of different crater communities here, Unity
Standard and dissenting. And unlike most moons, many of the
dissenting communities are linked by levatrains, so they're easily
accessible.'

'Isn't that rather dangerous? I didn't think
dissenting societies were very open and welcoming to casual
visitors,' I asked. People who for one reason or another, rejected
life under Unity Standard standards, lived in self-exile in
isolated multi-crater communities on every sizable moon in the
Nebula.

'Most, at least here on Lontria, aren't all that
different than Unity Standard. There are, of course, some very
dissenting ones, some of which are indeed located in isolated
crater complexes that don't welcome tourists. But I gather Lontria
has always been much more cosmopolitan than your average moon with
Unity Standard and dissenting societies freely intermingling.
You'll see dissenters everywhere you go, and you can find hundreds
of dissenting communities that welcome visitors and vacationeers.
Whenever you get off a levatrain, the laws and customs of that
community are automatically downloaded to your com link so that you
can decide if you care to conform to the laws and customs or not.
You're not subject to it's customs and laws until you exit the
station.

'Anyway, I've had so much fun exploring these little
crater complex societies – each a colorful little world, differing
from the rest in colors, shapes, smells and even sounds. I've been
bitten by the wanderlust bug. I've enough credits to travel, boxed
of course, to the eight systems, and I want to see so much more
than ports and spaceer dives glimpsed between loading and unloading
boxes... So, well, that's what I'm going to do. Travel. Be a
tourist. Live.'

Vynnia glanced at me and waited for my response. But
mindful of my owner's wishes, I said nothing. I'd leave the arguing
to Vynnia and Tenry.

'Alone?' asked Vynnia, when I didn't. 'According to
Tat we're not likely to drag you away from here anytime soon.
You're certainly owed a holiday, but traveling by yourself might
soon become a very lonely experience. Why not explore the worlds in
the company of your friends and shipmates? After all, being the
owner, there'd be no one to drag you away from any world until
you're ready to go.'

'I know it'll be hard for you to accept, but, you
see, I've grown up,' said Min with a smile. 'And yes, I realize it
might be lonely at times, but I intend to give it a try. I can
always find a ship to pilot if I get too lonely. But,' she said,
and forestalling Vynnia's reply, added, 'Right now all I want to do
is travel... Having freed myself of the day to day responsibility
of Min & Co, I intend to go all the way and free myself of the
day to day responsibility of the
Lost Star
as well. Not
forever, but for now... Maybe after I've had my spree... but not
now.' And she took a sip of cha to avoid meeting our gazes.

She wasn't an accomplished liar, but there was enough
truth in what she said to give it a facsimile of the whole truth,
at least in the dim shadows of the NeuNova Terrace.

'I was young once. And I did tell you not to let your
tragic losses rob you of youth, so I can't now tell you to give up
your plans, though I hope you'll reconsider them. I think you'd be
happy aboard the
Lost Star
, and as Vyn said, we can mix some
tourism in with business. Why not give it a try first and if it
doesn't work out, you can always strike out on your own? It'll save
you a ton of credits in boxed passages.'

I could see that Vynnia wasn't pleased with my rather
tepid objection and I'd a feeling I was going to hear about it
later.

Best to push ahead, I decided. 'Anyway, we'll have
more time to discuss your future plans. We'll also need to discuss
the ship's plans as well. Vyn and Ten have suggested some
alterations with drift work in mind that'll need your approval and
perhaps credits, so you can't give us a miss entirely.'

'Oh, I'm not abandoning you, Captain. I'm here to
launch the
Lost Star
on its new course, so I'll be glad to
go over any plans with you. And I haven't neglected my ship's
business while wandering either. I've been collecting data on trade
prospects in the Aticor and Amdia systems, and I've arranged to cut
the ship's financial strings to Min & Co as well, so that
you'll be able to carry your credits with you where ever your
cargoes take you.'

'Great. And I assure you that Vyn, the gang and I are
committed to making the
Lost Star
a resource, not a burden,'
I said, whistling in the starless night. Min would certainly have
her work cut out keeping Vynnia and Tenry aboard
if she wasn't going to be.

'Thank you, Captain. I realize that neither you nor
Vyn are happy with my decision, but I hope you'll come around to
understand it is for the best.'

'Well, my dear,' said Vynnia, 'I'll admit that I'm
far from happy and will try to talk you out of them... But not
tonight. We'll have time to talk later, I hope.'

'Oh, we'll have plenty of time and I'm always willing
to listen to your advice, Vyn. I know enough to respect whatever
you have to say, though I make no promises. I reserve my right to
be young and foolish.'

Vynnia just nodded and put a hand on Min's.

Having put that conversation behind her, Min sipped
her cha and talked gaily of her travels through the various
communities if Lontria and questioned us on our passage to
Tiladore. I did, however, refuse to go into great detail about the
Last Striker Affair
, telling her, 'Ask Ten, he makes a far
more entertaining yarn of it. I've yet to learn the art of spinning
a humorous yarn out of being chased by homicidal robots.'

'Oh, I insist on hearing your version, Captain, but
I'm certain that the crew is eagerly a'waiting their mail, so we'll
postpone it for now. Vyn, would you mind if Litang and I have a
captain and owner discussion?'

'Not at all,' Vynnia said, loyally. 'I'll run the
mail back to the ship and, I hope, will see you shortly.'

'As soon as Captain Litang can get by without you,'
Min assured her and turned to me, 'I hope I'm not presuming. I got
some sleep before I came, but I've lost track of Primecentra time,
so if you're too tired, Captain, we can postpone our talk.'

'I grabbed a nap on arrival, so I'm fresh. You've a
lot to consider and I'd like to at least brief you on what we've in
mind. I haven't hard credit figures, but I suspect they'll be
substantial. However your uncle always refitted with “& Kin”
ship yard here, so we can get any work done with a company we can
trust,' I said as I handed the data drive over to Vynnia.

Min nodded, adding, 'Oh, Vyn, I hope you and the crew
will keep my presence here to yourselves. As long as I'm associated
with Min & Co I'd prefer to keep my ownership of the ship and
my presence here secret, if only to make life easier for
Phylea.'

'Of course, I'll pass that along to the crew,' she
said, rising. And with a nod to me, 'Captain,' she dodged through
the scattered empty tables and disappeared into the shadows of the
garden.

Min turned to me, 'Let's find a more out of the way
place to talk, Captain. I've found a nice quiet Unity Standard
community with a park where we can walk and talk.'

'Lead on, my Owner,' I said, pushing back my chair
and rising.

We took a lift down to the transport level and
boarded a levatrain. It stopped at half a dozen crater stations and
skipped as many more – blurs of light as we slowed, shot out of the
transport tube's air lock, streaked past the platforms and
accelerating again to four hundred kilometers an hour once back in
the airless tube.

We talked of inconsequential things – mostly her
travels on Lontria, usually day trips to a crater complex, Unity
standard or mildly dissenting communities, each offering a slightly
different take on how life should be lived. Under orders, I told
her about our adventures aboard the Mountain King and she laughed
at the parts I hadn't found funny at the time, so I may be getting
the hang of spinning that yarn.

'We'll get off at the next station,' she said as we
plunged once more into the darkness of the tunnel. 'Bramble Vale
has a lovely park around its upper edge. It'll be midmorning there
and I'll treat you to lunch afterwards.'

It was quiet, even sleepy as we emerged from the
station. Azminn, a bright smudge in the golden domed sky was warm
and bright on my skin and the air, mild and fragrant with sweet
flowers. Bramble Vale was a fresh, green basket-like crater some
ten kilometers across under its fabric dome. Its gently sloping
sides are chiseled into diamond shapes by tree-lined streets
criss-crossing their way up the slope at an angle, widening when
they crossed to allow vehicles to switch lanes to follow the street
up or down. Flowers, vines and trees grew everywhere – along
streets, in yards, on walls, on the flat tops of the houses, all
keeping the residential community of the shipyard and heavy
factories located in the surrounding craters, fresh and lushly
beautiful. The mild air was still fresh from the brief early
morning shower that washes Bramble Vale clean each day when the air
temperature under the dome drops just enough to form clouds and
rain. It'd be hot and humid later.

We took a light monorail to the top of the crater
wall where a road circles the rim and parkland slopes down from the
rim wall amongst rocky outcrops, the dome arching overhead.

'Let's get down to business, Captain,' she said, as
we set out along one of the twisting paths amongst the outcrops
leading to flower gardens in rocky grottos, open meadows and woods,
dotted with park seats and sleepy cafes. 'First off we need to talk
about security. I told you of my surmises in the radio-packet. How
seriously do you take them?'

'You're in danger, whether or not the Azure Night was
involved. You need to take precautions as a matter of course. I
trust you are.'

'As for the Azure Night and the so called system
pilots? Do you think I'm way off orbit with them?'

I shrugged. 'Best to take the possibility seriously.
I don't see what we can do about him, or them, but make sure they
can't find you. Hopefully, they've already run for the drifts.
Still, I'd like you aboard the ship...'

'Not a possibility. I am, however, constantly on my
guard. I've make it a point to be aware of everyone around me these
days. Whenever I travel, I do so very indirectly – random stops and
jogs – so that if anyone is following me I'd notice. I have no
intention of telling you where I'm residing so you can't give that
information away, and I'll keep meetings like this – and those with
Vyn and Ten – as rare as I can, and at random meeting places, like
here. I'm taking the threat very seriously.'

The Unity provides a very stable, safe and secure
society. Unity planets are finely sectored by security interfaces,
places like transit points, buildings, major intersections all have
security interfaces that automatically identify people as they
cross them. It's one of those things that drive people to the
drifts. Anyway, this data, who passes and when is recorded and can
be almost instantly accessed, so that as soon as a crime is
discovered, every security interface surrounding the scene is
searched and everyone crossing those interfaces, large and small
can be identified and if need be, interrogated using a mind-probe.
While it's no harder to commit a crime in the Unity, than it is in
the drifts, it's almost impossible, at least for capital crimes, to
get away with it without being apprehended, mind-probed, convicted
and sent to Felon's Rift. Almost impossible. Petty criminals like
the wharf rats are familiar enough with their local security
interfaces – warehouses security and such, that they can, with
care, avoid them. In fiction, skillful criminals can, with very
elaborate planning commit capital crimes and avoid detection. And
based on personal experience, it can be done in real life too –
though we didn't alert the Guard, which may have made all the
difference. In any event, pulling off a second attempt on Lontria,
with it's tightly packed security interfaces would be a very
daunting challenge, assuming the assassins were professional enough
to want to avoid Felon's Rift.

'Good,' I said. 'Hopefully that'll be enough. Still,
we don't know what sort of organization we're up against here, do
we? Who's to say they don't have access to security interface
data?' In fiction, once more, having your own people in the
security service was an almost essential step in operating a
criminal guild. Criminal guilds are rumored to exist, with little
evidence they do. Still, that might just be evidence that Unity
security is doing its job – keeping us feeling safe and secure.

'I'd think that unlikely, but even so, it's a chance
I must run,' she said grimly.

'And what about all the dissenting craters where
Unity law doesn't apply?'

'There are hard security interfaces with mind probes
at the entrance of the isolated craters to prevent criminals from
taking shelter in them. Besides, the Guard can pursue capital crime
criminals anywhere in the Nebula. The dissenting societies offer no
guaranteed sanctuary. I don't see them as increasing the threat to
me.'

I shrugged. 'Well, if you're comfortable...' I wasn't
but that wouldn't lift with her.

'You'll need to take precautions as well,' she went
on. 'Unlike me, you can't avoid CraterCity. Ship's business will
take you down on a fairly regular basis. At a minimum you need to
vary when and how you arrive. Don't fall into patterns. Don't
become predictable in your business and pleasure. And don't spend a
lot of time in any one place.'