Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades (34 page)

“You’re right, and
a genius,” Ayan replied.

“I’ve just finished
a few more orbits than you have,” Carl replied. “Let go of your
vision for a couple hours at a time so you’re sure people are being
treated properly, but get back to big picture thinking, that’s what
people need from you.”

“You don’t even
know exactly what I’m planning,” Ayan said. “No one really
does.”

“The fact that you
won’t say it aloud tells me that I’ll be amazed when you’re
ready to tell me. I’ll wait.”

The sound of the lift
rumbling up the centre of the tower drew both their attention to the
double doors at the centre of the large room. “We have this to get
through first, and I have a feeling it’s going to be interesting.”

The doors opened and
Lacey was the first to emerge from the large elevator car. She had
taken to wearing the same outfit as Ayan, a white medium armour
vacsuit and a sidearm. It wasn’t how Ayan was used to seeing her,
but the simple uniform suited Lacey better than it suited her. Lacey
was taller and more well proportioned, so she made the unforgiving
white suit look good in comparison to how Ayan saw herself wearing
it. The Triton emblem was placed on the upper left side of her chest,
right shoulder and the middle of her back. The rank insignia matched
Ayans’ Commander markings, only there was a green border drawn
around it to mark her as Ayan’s official handler. Instead of the
rare Violator handgun, Lacey carried a triple mode weapon called a
Ziffer by its users that could stun, fire energy, or launch tiny
superheated corrosive slugs.

Behind her was a man
who was dressed in tattered ground dweller’s clothing – a loose
shirt that might have been blue once, and heavy protective trousers.
His boots were sealed to the knee, and Ayan could see the collar of a
protective suit peeking up from under this planet side clothing. Two
empty holsters made it plain that he was normally armed, and they had
to take his weapons when he entered the base. He set a determined
gaze on her the moment he emerged from the elevator. She had the
distinct feeling that he had every intention to make the meeting as
difficult as possible.

There were four Triton
guards with him, two behind and two flanking. They had her safety
taken care of, it was her responsibility to take care of the rest.
Ayan took a second to recall the last moment she remembered being
happy, and was surprised to discover that it was when Jake invited
her to join the crew of the Warlord. It was a trick she learned from
Liam, which only diminished its value slightly. She let herself live
in the feeling of that moment, and Ayan could feel her expression
softening, a smile appeared on her lips as she regarded Clyde
Dominic.

His expression eased
from confrontational to curious. “Your Highness,” he addressed
with a hint of disdain.

She immediately felt
her attitude begin to sink at the sound of the royal honorific.
“Please, I’m a land owner, not a queen. You’re Mister Dominic?”

“Yeah, and that’s
not what most of the people out there think,” he said, thumbing
towards the distant lights of Port Rush. “Especially the people who
think you’re saving them. They’re so desperate that they don’t
even see the pattern here.”

“The pattern?” Ayan
asked. It had been a long day, and she was fighting to remain patient
and pleasant.

“They don’t notice
how you separate yourself from them up here while you spy on them and
give everyone assignments through the cheap communicators you’ve
been handing out. You probably eat better than everyone, you
definitely have more space than everyone. Just like a monarch
dictator, you spend as much resources on protecting yourself from the
people you say you’re saving with energy shields and security.
Yeah, you’re a queen.”

Ayan instantly
recognized that Clyde was reciting a speech he’d probably practiced
over and over. What he said was infuriating, but the fact that he had
probably built up a very specific set of expectations was
encouraging. A glance at Lacey revealed that her second in command
was already near the end of her patience.

“You’re not
considering a whole number of factors-“ her father started.

Ayan raised a hand and
stopped him. It was time to break Clyde Dominic’s expectations down
and start communicating, if he was willing. “You’re right,”
Ayan replied, relishing the surprise registering on the man’s
expression. “All this probably looks like I’m taking control like
a lot of monarchs did in the early days of the private colonies. When
you really look at it, I am.” She found herself smiling again, but
this time it was almost smug. “But appearances are deceiving,”
she chided lightly as she walked over to a short staircase leading up
to the window walkway and sat down. “I’m here to create a
recruitment centre for people who want to help us fight the Order of
Eden, create a logistical and social support system for our ships,
and eventually build a new town in Port Rush. I’m the military
leader for this project, so I direct its progress. When you consider
my cause, and the fact that I have several equals in the Triton
Fleet, then your monarchy analogy falls apart. Dictatorships are run
by a solitary leader, and I’m not alone, I’m not even the highest
ranking officer in Triton Fleet.”

“That’s not my
point,” Clyde said, raising his voice for the first time. “These
people have no choice. They have to join you, and you take their
freedom away while you dangle food in front of them.”

The turn in
conversation was a little unexpected. Ayan thought she was facing
someone who believed they were protesting a monarchy, judging by his
approach, but that was only his first point of contention. He had
accusations, which were already half right. “We have to track
everyone who signs up with us. I’m sorry a few people have turned
away after finding that out. Most people turn away early, because we
sit all new recruits down to a meal while we tell them what’s
involved with joining Triton Fleet. If they accept our conditions and
sign up, they log into our system and we track them for safety,
health and to assist with placement.” He seemed more at ease as she
replied, probably because of her shift in tone, from confident to
defensive.

“About that food
you’re bribing people with,” he replied. “You captured or stole
everything you have from an enemy who has wronged everyone, Regent or
the Order, so none of this is really yours. Why don’t you give it
over to the people you say you’re trying to help, see what they
think about you being in charge.”

Ayan fixed him with a
quizzical expression. Her instinct was to ask him exactly what he
meant outright, but she let her pause speak for itself instead. His
proposal didn’t deserve a response, and she wanted to make him
uneasy.

“I mean, this is all
stolen. Even this base was launched from an enemy ship and the
Carthans let you have it because you got here first. I bet most of
your supplies weren’t bought honestly, so you’re just hoarding,
using it all to enforce your tyrannical control.”

“Nutter,” Lacey
said, shaking her head.

Ayan cleared her
throat. “You almost have a point, Mister Donovan. If we didn’t
have to use our resources and sacrifice lives to take this bunker,
stopping dangerous Order of Eden operatives from spreading, then I’d
almost agree with you. I can’t imagine you expected me to agree
that we should just leave what we’ve built here and let whoever
comes along take what they want, but I have to ask, was that a
genuine request?” The time to play gently with the encounter was
over. Ayan stood and looked across the room at him from the top of
the stairs.

“No, I’m just
making a point.”

“Which is?” Ayan
asked.

“Nothing here is
actually yours! The first group of armed people who got here could
have taken all this instead of you.”

“Wrong,” Ayan said.
“You are dead wrong.”

“About what?”

“About it being
easy!” Ayan barked. “It took months to find this bunker even
though it was on Port Rush’s doorstep. Three people died taking it,
and I keep their sacrifices in mind as I decide how it will be used.
I’ve listened to your entitled opinion, and it’s time I stripped
this conversation down to bare bolts. You and your people feel you
should have free access to what we have, that’s not going to
happen. We earned it, we’ll decide how it’ll be used. You think
our safety and security measures take things too far, and I have to
wonder, do you actually know how it works? Have you listened to any
of our support staff explain it to you while you sit down at our
table for a free meal?”

“No, but-“

“Then let me
explain,” Ayan said, stepping down the staircase as she did so.
“You sit down, we feed you. A tired, but friendly intake staffer
sits down with you and explains the basics, which are: you have to
link with our communications system either by installing our software
or using one of our communication units. That software, we call it
the Crewcast system, tells us where you are at all times, what your
medical status is, tells us what you are doing, records everything
you say, and tries to assist you as you enter our service. The
Crewcast system also helps you be social with anyone on the network,
helps you find training, collects data about your existing skills,
and provides a qualifying system so you can get in line for jobs and
promotions.”

“That’s exactly
what I’m talking about, no one has any freedom with your
organization,” Clyde said. “Log in once, and you’re part of the
system for life. No rights, no privacy.”

“I’m not finished,”
Ayan said, stopping to stand in the middle of the large empty space.
“Our system also polices and tracks people who try to get access to
information that is considered private. My comm unit actually judges
whether or not I get access to data by determining the reason why I’m
accessing it. Since I’m of a high rank, I can access most
information, but if I were to try to access a conversation Lacey had
with someone just because I’m being nosey, Crewcast will recognize
that, and I would not be able to hear it without using a peer
override system, where someone of my rank or higher allows me to
access the recording. While we have a lot of data on everyone in our
system, we also have safeguards and controls.”

“What if your system
is hacked?”

“Crewcast knows when
its being hacked, all senior officers are notified the instant that
starts, and we have the experts to take care of that kind of
situation. In trade for being in this system, people are clothed,
given the freedom to apply for any job they’re qualified for and
meaningful work in the meantime if there’s a wait for that
position. We feed our people, and we try to provide the best possible
residence we can. In this base, that’s a small bunk or cabin. That
gets better on the Triton, Haven Shore, and it’ll get even better
when I’m finished building here.”

“I still don’t see
freedom in your system,” Clyde replied. “What if someone just
doesn’t want your system watching them?”

“Then they’ll be
escorted out. Let me clarify the purpose of Crewcast. It finds lost
children even if they have taken their comm unit off. Other comm
units passively track them and alert their parents and nearby
security. Our security officers, our soldiers are watched even more
closely, and their suits petrify as soon as the system recognizes an
abuse of authority, and the entire security network is notified.
Medical conditions are caught early and treated, people are reunited
with loved ones through Crewcast recognizing DNA and personal
matches.”

“Personal matches?”

“Yes, you tell the
system who you’re looking for and where you last saw them and
Crewcast won’t only search its own network, but the Stellarnet as
well,” Ayan replied. “We’ve broken good news to over a thousand
people about friends and relatives who are still alive and looking
for them. I’m not going to go into other details, since I’m
pretty sure you are here to size me up, to question me, and not much
I say will matter, but I’ll tell you that it’s true that even
Crewcast can be misused, any data or system can be. In the end, we
need your trust if you expect us to help you, and that first meal is
provided so we can start earning that.”

“Cults operate the
same way,” Clyde countered.

Ayan squeezed her eyes
shut, as if to stop the stormy retort that threatened to burst
through her composure. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. He
was standing there, smirking at her. “Your turn. What did you hope
to accomplish by coming here?”

“I just don’t
believe in a military establishment taking over Port Rush.” He
replied. It was a practiced response.

“We’re barely on
the shore, not encroaching at all,” Ayan replied. “No, you stand
to lose something if we help too many people.”

“I’m here on
principle, representing-“

“What trade are you
in?” Ayan pressed. “Are we cutting into your business somehow?”

“I don’t know what
you’re talking about,” Clyde replied.

“What is that
business? Selling food? Shelter? How do people who don’t have money
pay you? Slavery? Prostitution?”

Lacey regarded the man
smugly, crossing her arms.

“Prostitution?”
Clyde protested indignantly. “I trade in goods, not services,
lady.”

“There,” Ayan said.
“So people have stopped paying ridiculous prices for whatever
you’re selling and you’ve gotten a group of people together to
see what I’m all about.” She looked to the security officer
standing beside him. “How many people did he check in with?”

“There was a crowd,
Ma’am. Thirteen altogether.”

“We have a full scan
profile on them?” Ayan asked.

“Yes,” replied the
armoured security guard.

“Good, make sure
they’re tracked. I want to know what they do while they’re in
Port Rush.”