Sol System Chapter 14

Oliver inspected the crates, checked the inventory on his tablet, and then moved to the next pallet. Typically this type of thing would be done to ensure no agency had shortchanged the expedition on their supplies, but in this context, it was to make sure none of the illegally obtained resources were misplaced. He checked off the last of it, then moved to the region of the warehouse with the heavy equipment, these things would have to be either sold off world, or striped for parts and melted down for raw materials. Oliver checked the numbers on the heavy tractor, the hover cranes, and the tunneling drill.

“Is everything here?” Oliver rolled his eyes at the sound of Xiao Ling’s voice. “Because it would be terrible if the government tried to cheat us out of our rightfully acquired colony aide.” He laughed at his own joke as he made his way between the large machinery.

“It’s all in order, I don’t have any connections to get this stuff laundered or whatever the term is, so that’s on you guys, now for the part of the plan where I finish school and lay low for-“

“About that…” Xiao had a playful grin and adjusted to his authoritative mannerism. “It’s been decided that with how much heat will be on over this, it’s best if you take your laying low off planet.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal, I don’t have anywhere to go-“

“Oh don’t worry Oli, we have it all worked out for you.” Xiao addressed him like a younger sibling worried about how he would eat since mom wasn’t cooking dinner. “We have a place for you to stay, even a job to keep you busy.” Oliver squinted at Xiao, he knew the Triad would try something to sweeten the deal for themselves.

“I made this deal because I needed protection but there’s only so far I’m willing to go-“

“Oli Oli Oli, you act like I just asked you to kill somebody, I would never do that.” Xiao put his hands on the sides of Oliver’s shoulders, and then lowered his voice slightly. “You can obviously take care of that kind of stuff on your own.” Xiao laughed again at his own humor while Oliver brushed off his grip. “C’mon this works out for anyone, you get some time away, and no one can accidently see you walking the streets of Chinatown, you know how that place is, and those tattoos can only protect you so far.”

Oliver scratched at the brand on his arm, it had already healed, but for some reason that was the place that would itch sometimes. He obviously wasn’t getting out of this. He wanted to convince himself that this really would be a vacation, that they’d have him running part of some illegal casino on Venus or something. Oliver had made some mistakes, but he was smarter than that.

Sol System Chapter 13

Vanessa was sweating, she didn’t like to sweat, it reminded her of a bad memory. However, Happy hour made this place get busier then the strippers that needed “a little extra for rent”. She was filling drink orders as fast as she could take them, and yet still somehow she was being treated like she was falling behind. She heard the fourth broken glass of the night land behind the bar, she had at this point forgone sweeping and proceeded to drop a towel on the ground and kick the mess out of the way as she took another order. She turned quickly as an unfriendly hand gripped her arm.

“Heyive been waitn iwonmy drin…” The rest was a garbled mesh of drunken incoherency, this valued patron had obviously received his fill for the night, and Vanessa politely removed his hand, and then motioned the club’s bouncer towards him. This club could get wild, but it had lines, the first line being touching. She had almost forgotten about the scruffy man by the time she heard his drunken ramblings once again, this time shouting at the bouncer. It had only taken a few seconds for the bouncer Earl to get to the overindulged drunk, but her mind was moving so fast to keep up that her shift in attention drew out the time. Normally the 6’6” Earl had little trouble removing anyone from the premises, and while this man had the slightly stout build of someone who did manual labor but didn’t take care of themselves; it was his rowdiness that made him difficult. As Early began to drag him out, the drunk’s kicks and flays began to hit the bar and the other patrons, the people trying their best to give space, but the crowded area gave little, and a tension began to grow.

Vanessa still barley noticed the commotion as she walked by behind the bar, unfortunate enough to time her passing with a violent kick from the drunk; he hit a heavy glass stein on the bar and sent it flying, clipping Vanessa and still having enough force to shatter against the opposing wall. Vanessa fell into the shards of glass. Good portions of the club now focus on the events of the bar, even over the loud music. Earl threw the drunk against the bar for a moment, and then leaned over to check on Vanessa, asking loudly about her status.

Vanessa heard none of it though, the deafening noises had become a background static to the sound of her beating heart, her eyes saw blood red as the gash in her head bled into her eye, she looked at her hands, one had glass stuck in it, she pulled it out, and once again had blood on her hands. For the slightest moment she didn’t know where she was, her eyes saw a bar In ganamyde city, but her mind saw a monster’s apartment in New York, a body in front of her, its white robe separated from the white carpet by blood. She looked upward in a panic, trying to lose the vision, but the drunk leaned over the bar, mouthing that she should have just given him what he wanted, but in her mind she saw John States, telling her how he got everything he wanted. Telling her about he would get away with everything because of the deal he made, and brushing off the fact that he had tricked her into helping him do it.

But the moment could not be changed, the events could not be rewritten, and so like on she did on Earth, Vanessa picked up the first thing next to her, this time not a heavy trophy like she now remembered, this time a handful of glass. She pounced the drunk in frenzy, the crowd parted like splash. Vanessa didn’t just punch with the glass that cut her hand as much as his face, she choked him with her free hand, she used the leverage on his neck to bash his head into the floor, she screamed about events and names that only made sense to her. It was only a moment to the crowd, but a lifetime to her that she once again took out her revenge against a man dead two planets away. Earl had grabbed her as soon as he could, trying to keep the glass hand still and hold her back, as scarred for her as he was of her. It wasn’t until Amber had leapt off the stage and ran to her that anyone got through to Vanessa. Amber held her face between gentle hands, ignoring the kicks and flails; she told her it was ok, that whatever she was thinking of was over. Vanessa stopped shouting as her tear soaked eyes locked with Amber’s, she stopped fighting Earl’s grip, she went limp, and Amber kept eye contact as Earl carried her into the back and set her on the tile floor of the kitchen. Amber said nothing; she sat with her friend curling against her, holding Vanessa until she was ready to stop crying.

Sol System Chapter 12

The most amazing thing about Europa city was the waterfalls. They came out of every structure. Two types of buildings formed the metropolis, sturdy structures built into the thick ice, and giant skyscrapers like icebergs, towering above the ice with over half of their size beneath the water. Rheed had read somewhere that many homes had waterfalls for doorways; mechanisms would part the water for people to enter and exit, then freeze it over as a lock. He also heard that the water falls were part of a system to keep buoyancy for the floating building. One thing he knew for sure as the shuttle brought him between the buildings like a bird, the view was amazing. Rheed wasn’t sure if this was the standard flight path or if the officials were showing off a bit, but either way he didn’t mind the 20 minutes it took for him to get to the capitol building.

“You got everything you need Danica?” Rheed spoke through his earpiece to his orbiting partner.

“Oh yes, yes, yes I do. Did you know this ship is a mega yacht, a mega SPACE yacht? I think I saw this ship online once.”

“Yeah Greg said it was a seized from a drug dealer a while back, he thought it would be comfortable.”

“Oh yes, yes I am. Did you know this is the master suite? It’s bigger then my whole apartment, why did you let me have it again?”

“You’re going to be there more running support, so do you have everything you need to do that, the “your job” part?”

“Huh? Oh right, I’m connected to the planets internet, just waiting for all the official red tape for you to clear up so I can access all their law enforcement databases, or yaknow, I could just…”

“No, just play something on your new super computer.”

“Everything’s so pretty……..”

“Not like this…” Rheed watched the cityscape vanish as his shuttle entered the dock in the capitol building. He turned his attention to the shuttle’s door, straightened his tie and collar, and removed his badge from his vest, placing it in the outer pocket of his heavy coat. One he bought when he realized he would be traveling to the cold depths of the solar system. It had an internal microfiber system that allowed it to be much warmer and stronger then it looked, and it had a brown earthy tone that unexpected to Rheeds intentions let everyone know where he was from.

“Marcus Rheed!” The European official said the words like an excited old friend; Marcus didn’t recognize his face or name. His entourage of security and aides suggested status, but no one seemed thrilled with being there, they all looked like they were at work. “Welcome to the crowning jewel of the Galian moons!” His open arms didn’t close until he was within a yard of Marcus and dropped them for a far too excited handshake. “I am Senator Jonas Fortune” That explains it. “Come, I’ve arranged a whole day of tours around our great city, we will start at the north eastern-“

“Thank you but that won’t be necessary at the moment.” Marcus felt a part of himself die as he spoke the words, but he was here to work, at least this time…

“Of Course of course, you’re reputation precedes you, I’ve had the police chief standing by to greet you personally, and my staff has been told to take all your calls and ensure you are seen to, do you have arrangements for a place to stay? I have rooms on reserve at several of the finest-“

“Again, thank you, but that won’t be necessary; I don’t know how long I’ll be staying. I will however need the appropriate credentials assigned to my partner on board my ship so she access all the law enforcement databases to look for our target.”

“Ah yes your ship, The Rain, such a beautiful name,” Actually it was The Reign, the drug lord who owned it liked the play on words it achieved while he would float above regions he controlled. “The only such rain on Europa comes from our great waterfalls; I’ve heard natural rain like on Earth and Venus is quiet spectacular, yes?”

“…………..uhm, yeah, it’s awesome.”

“You know I hope to one day stay on earth for a while, maybe as, oh an ambassador or something.” He tried a bit too hard to make it sound like a casual achievement.

“You don’t say.” Marcus dropped any attempts to disguise his lack of interest in the brown nosed senator.

“Well I’ll let you get to work, no rest for the wicked, yes?” The senator smiled largely and patted Marcus arms, Rheed thought the Senator might not actually understand that phrase. “I have designated my lovely assistant here to take you wherever you need, and grant you every service you require.” Did he just say… “It was good to meet you Marcus!”

Rheed was unable to help watching the Senator’s entourage leave the docking bay, turning around just in time to notice the attractive yet nerdy looking aide pulling her skirt slightly higher, then quickly unbuttoning one more button down her blouse before looking straight at him through her thick black glasses, smiling and striking a pose. Marcus starred for a second as he considered the amount of paperwork required in accusing a Senator of prostitution, and then dismissed it as a lower priority due to the redundant nature of the accusation.

“Uhm, so, the central police station?” The girl straightened immediately and nodded, eagerly running ahead in heels that were obviously a bit taller than she was used to, making more noise then necessary due to the many short steps the tighter then she was used to skirt cause her to take. Rheed followed at a casual pace.

Sol System Chapter 11

“Nature of your visit to station Oasis 6?” The excessively apathetic looking customs official barely made eye contact to Driftwave from behind the glass of her booth, just as she did for the last dozen or so people she had sent into the upper levels of the station, the legitimate levels.

“I’m here to pick up some power converters.” The official stopped her typing, slowly pulling her hands back from the keyboard as her large black eyelashes exaggerated the path of her eyes, rising from the display to look over the man in front of her.

“Name?” Her voice was softer than before

“Does it matter?” Was much more rude then Driftwave had intended, despite being told many times that a friendly demeanor was a key element in running the cons he did, like getting free hotel rooms, he had never quite mastered it.

“Ok then Mister John Smith.” The official typed in into the display, saying that the person before her had not entered the station and had in fact stayed in the space dock until his lay-over ended a few minutes later and he boarded a ship away from the Oasis space station. She then smiled and pushed a button underneath her console. “Welcome to the Toshi station.” She smiled politely and spoke quietly, then attempted to return to her apathetic stance as the next person approached her window.

Driftwave followed the painted line on the ground that lead around the customs section to the entrances into the station. At the end of the line were 4 doorways with lit scanning devices in their archways, meant to check that weapons and contraband did not enter the station. Driftwave thought to himself how much cleaner it would be up there as he tried to see the top of the large escalating staircase beyond the scanners. Then he turned his head left, the flickering lights around a service elevator causing an annoying buzzing. Drift checked that his bag was secure as he walked toward.

The door opened manually by sliding the metal cage door up, the flickering lights stopping once he closed the door again. The right side of the large elevator had a dozen or so buttons on it, all polished stainless steel, save one near the button, rusted and covered in grease. It lit perfectly when drift pressed it with the sleeve of his jacket. He had stolen a change of clothes from some teenager on the ship, figuring a change of style from his typical plain look might make him feel more hidden. He had no idea what the vaguely graphitic looking symbol printed on the jacket represented, but he assumed it was some sort of band. The elevator sped downward for about a minute, then began slowing as it entered the lowest storage bay, a room roughly the size of a coliseum, shops set up all around, Driftwave saw how the shops and shacks formed makeshift streets in their little negative space, some towering over others, welded together smaller units forming tall buildings, still not reaching anywhere near the top of the expansive space.

Driftwave zipped the jacket up the last few inches, covered his head with the hood, and stepped off the elevator. He started moving forward, looking for shops selling the kind of tech he needed, he was used to working with the best, but he might have to settle. He wasn’t all that good with haggling or people in general, but the more he hacked the more he risked getting caught, he would need to change how he did everything, the programs he used, the hardware, much of both custom made himself. The streets where crowded like a megacity, he kept checking the ties on his bag every time someone bumped into him, which was often. Drift found a booth that was pawning display systems, the most easily replaceable part of his rig, he traded it for as much as he could get, which as far as he could tell was enough for some food and a couple nights stay. So by then, he needed a better plan.

Sol System Chapter 10

Oliver signed the last page in this set of documents. He moved the stylus around in his hand, he could feel the tempiture differences from where he had been gripping it for the last hour or two. He noticed that he wasn’t looking behind him constantaly anymore. It wasn’t that he’d finaly convinced himself that nobody who even happened to look over his shoulder wouldn’t know how many acts of purgery he was commiting on that set of documents alone, it was that after the 10^th or 20^th one, he’d stopped carring. Oliver disliked the amount of time he had to think as the next set of documents loaded. The colony development building was so far uptown he suspected many of the people he had passed by in the lobby where diplomats and ammbassodors, the streets of embassys being only a block over. He saw people in the application room checking tablets and phones, verifing information, possibly putting together their life’s work in this large room lined with chairs and computers. The database finaly loaded the last set of paperwork Oliver would need to fill out with false names, imaginary places and real bank accounts.

As he began to work through the lies he’d be telling on this sheet, he heard a sigh of releaf a few stations over. Oliver looked over as a partialy balding man gathered his things, a confident look of satisfaction on his face. He smilled as he left, giving Oliver a polite nod, his friendly mannor clearly more to do with still patting himself on the back. Oliver wished him the best in his head, hoping he did well on whatever planet or moon the man would be building a habbital world on for the next decade. Oliver would likely still be hear on earth, though according to these documents he had sighned, he’de be on a planet 70 light years away, with nearly three quarters of a million in supplies and currency from government aide to build a colonly, in a system no one would know didn’t exist for a good 5 years when the standered development check-in tried to find it, by then the money and supllies long ago laundered and in the pockets of the Triad.

Oliver rose and began to walk to the opposite side of thecircular room from the exit. The room was lined with a dozen statues of god like figures holding worlds abouve their heads, between the statues were computer stations, flat tables backlit with the touchscreens emulating a desk full of documents to fill out to request the government aide to build a home on a far away world. Directly across from the door however, was a small room with glass doors that sealed to prevent sound from leaking to prying ears. He called Xiao Ling’s number as he entered the privacy room.

“Its me.” Oliver pressed a button on the wall as he sealed the door, the glass slowly fogged to prevent prying eyes from reading lips. “Its done.”

“Any trouble?”

“No, the references you gave me held up, and as long as your bribes with the primary inspectors work then as far as anybody knows those supplies left the planet once you pick them up.”

“Why don’t people do this all time?” Xiao laughed.

“A lot of reasons, since New Antica They’ve gotten really strict about this kind of thing, if it wasn’t for the conection the triads had there no way this would have worked, not mention the penalties are-“

“Not as bad as murder?” Xiao chuckled, Oliver held his face in his hand, trying to block out the image of his mother and the look she would give him as a child when she was disapointed.