Broken Episode One (3 page)

She pushed herself up from the couch and once again
checked on Klutzo. When she was satisfied he was recharging
correctly, she made herself some food and sat down to the important
task of keeping astride of the news. She read articles from every
single news outlet, no matter how far afield. She took notes, she
interacted with holographic visuals, and she tried to squirrel away
every fact she learnt. Because who knew when the current taxation
climate in the Hagar province would come in handy?

It was when she was trawling through the massive
galactic news database that she received a message from her father.
As she accepted the call, her computer projected a hologram onto
the table before her. It was her father’s always smiling face.

“What’s news, kid?”

“Hagar province is now taxing its citizens at 300%
of their annual income,” Mimi pointed out.

“That’s what happens when you pull your tax laws out
of a hat,” her father pointed out.

Citizens of the Hagar province practiced random
living. All key decisions in their existence were decided by random
number generators. To the Hagars, that made life all the more
exciting.

“What about you, dad? How are you?”

Her father smiled. It was important to note that
Theodore Francis Chester the Third had many kinds of smiles. When
her dad’s lips pulled in, it was a veiled threat. When one lip
kinked to the left, he was curious. When one lip kinked to the
right, he was ignoring you.

Right now, he had the kind of smile that told Mimi
he was planning something.

Her lips pressed in and her nose crinkled. “Dad,
what is it? What are you planning?”

“What, me? Nothing. I’m just running one of the
Milky Way’s largest corporations, as usual.”

“Nice try. Now tell me, what are you up to?”

“Well, funny you should mention it, but this morning
I had an invigorating game of pulse squash with Yop J’k, head of
Galactic News.”

Though Mimi had been slouching, suddenly she
stiffened. “Dad, no,” she said quickly.

“You haven’t even heard what I’m about to
offer.”

“I told you, you can’t interfere. If I do this, I
have to do it on my own.”

“Nobody ever got anywhere without a helping hand.
Show me an Admiral who hasn’t had a mentor. Show me a successful
business person who hasn’t struck it lucky. Show me a famous
scientist who wasn’t fortunate enough to grow up with the combined
knowledge of the Coalition. As the old humans used to say, Mimi, no
man is an island, and no achievement is truly down to the
individual.”

“That’s not the saying,” she tried.

Her father ignored her. “It doesn’t matter. A true
businessman knows when to co-opt old and outdated material and
modernize it. Now, just listen to me. I have a very interesting
offer.”

She stood suddenly, her chair clattering out from
underneath her and striking the smooth floorboards with a thump.
“Dad, I have to do this on my own. I can’t keep leaning on you when
I need something. I have to be self-sufficient.”

“You are self-sufficient. I only pay for half of
your apartment.”

“About that, I’ve been thinking of trying to pay my
own way. I know it will be hard, but if I am lucky enough to get
work,” she began.

“Listen to me, kid, the only way you are ever going
to break into galactic news, is if you have friends. That
journalist you’re always idolizing, Poy Verity, do you know how she
made it big? She was the daughter of the editor-in-chief.”

“She made it big because of cutting-edge journalism
and her willingness to track down stories, no matter how
dangerous.”

Her father snorted. “I love you, kid, and I always
will, but one of these days you’re going to have to wake up to the
real galaxy.”

Mimi’s cheeks started to turn red. She took several
steps away from her father, ready to storm off.

“Now hold on, that came out wrong. Mimi, you’re the
smartest most capable kid I have, and I believe you’re capable of
anything.”

“I’m your only child,” she pointed out dryly.

“A scarce resource is the best resource to have,” he
quipped. Then the hologram of his face shifted to the side as his
smile almost threatened to drop from his mouth. “But seriously,
listen to me. I taught you to always bounce back, and by god you
learnt that lesson. But there’s another lesson you need to learn,
Mimi, and that is you can’t do everything on your own. And that’s
okay. Accepting this job with the galactic news is okay. It doesn’t
matter how you get your foot in the door, it’s what you do once
you’re there. Now you’ve got the morals and guts to be a great
journalist. Better than Verity. But, kid, you’ll never get there
alone.”

“I can’t accept your help, dad,” she said. “I have
to do this on my own.”

“Why? Why don't you want my help, Mimi? Is it
because of those fools at the Academy you once called friends? Is
it because you want to prove to them you don’t need me? Well wake
up, kid, because they aren't doing it on their own. Carinthia has
been schooled since she was born on how to become an Academy
officer. Her success isn't due to her will and stamina; she's just
had more opportunities than others. Now maybe she doesn’t realize
that, maybe she thinks she got to where she did on her own. But
she's a fool if she thinks that. Nobody gets to where they are on
their own.”

“I … I just need to do this, okay, dad?”

“You’re not going to give in, are you? Even if I go
ahead and set this job up, you’re never going to do it, right?”

She nodded.

Her dad closed his eyes and shook his head. “Mimi
Chester, you’re a hard one to bargain with. I’m glad you’re not my
competition.”

Biting her lips, she smiled.

“I'm giving up for now, but not forever. And neither
am I going to let you pay for your apartment all on your own. You
won’t be able to afford a place so close to the Academy, and we all
know that’s where the real stories happen. So call this an
investment, I’ll help pay your way as long as you keep trying, kid.
I want you to find a story that will blow them all out of the
water. That will make your doubters rue the day they thought you,
Mimi Chester, were anything but brilliant.”

Her smile blossomed into a full-blown grin. “Thanks.
But really, I think I should start paying my own way with the
apartment. I looked into it, and I can get a place out in
Australia.”

“Australia?” Her dad’s voice went up like a kazoo.
“That’s on the other side of the world from the Academy’s main
campus. Plus, full of snakes, right? And sharks, heaps of
sharks.”

“I can take the super-fast transport to the various
Academy campuses whenever I need to. It won’t be that much
trouble.”

“No. Stay where you are. Like I said, call it an
investment. I want to see you come up with a story that will rattle
this galaxy. Find some secret, uncover some conspiracy. But keep
safe,” her dad warned quickly.

“What, seriously? You don’t want me to hop a
transport into Barbarian space?”

Her father’s face visibly paled.

“Relax, I’ve always been a careful person, and I’m
not about to stop.”

“Right. Seriously, though, when I said I want to see
you uncover some grand secret, just ensure it’s a safe one. Maybe
you can find out what Admiral Forest’s favorite color is, or
something.”

It was her turn to snort. “That isn’t exactly going
to earn me journalistic fame.”

“Right, right. Just be safe, Mimi.”

“Don’t worry, I will be.”

“And if you have time, give the GNS a call. I kind
of promised Yop that he would have first dibs on any stories you
come across.”

“Really?”

“Yep. So if you do come across something worthy,
give him a call.”

“…
Okay,” she conceded, figuring
she had to honor her dad’s deal.

“Alright then, you have a good one. Get to work. Now
is there anything you need? How about a new recording ball? I
reckon it’s finally time you replace that old piece of junk.”

“Don’t call him that,” her voice became
piercing.

“It’s a recording ball, Mimi, it’s not alive.”

“It’s my friend,” she said bluntly.

Her dad opened his mouth, but whatever he wanted to
say quickly died on his lips as he shook his head instead.

Though Mimi wasn’t a mind reader, she could guess
what her dad wanted to point out. It was time for her to get some
real friends. So what if everyone at the Academy had turned against
her, there were still other sentient beings in this galaxy. It was
time to give up the safety net that was Klutzo and find some real
people to spend her time with.

Thankfully her dad held his tongue. She didn’t want
to face those facts right now, because despite the fact she always
put on a smile, she wasn’t completely over the accident and never
would be.

“Alright then, Mimi Chester, you get back to work. I
need to get onto our finance department to tell them to cease all
imports to the Hagar province.”

She smiled. Her dad would already know what was
happening on Hagar, as would his finance department. He was clearly
trying to make her feel useful. He always did that. And it kept her
going. So she offered him another warm smile and ended the
recording.

Though she resisted it, she was kind of excited
about what he’d told her. Even though she categorically couldn’t
accept a job her father had found for her, just the possibility the
galactic service would want first dibs on any proper story she
found was a cause for hope. It made her turn around, head over to
Klutzo, and grab him up.

It was time to get back to work.

...

Even though Mimi was just a buzz kill, and hadn’t
technically sold one of her stories yet, she still had the right to
attend any official Academy press event. Sometimes they were crisis
updates, and sometimes they were thinly veiled attempts at
propaganda. Okay, not propaganda. Mimi knew the Academy did an
incredible job of training the forces that kept the Coalition safe.
But she had learnt a lot of business principles from her dad, and
she recognized a great PR machine when she saw one. The Academy’s
press wing was just that. When there wasn’t any real news to
report, they would fill the wires with back rubs instead. And what
were back rubs? A bit of good old-fashioned hero worship.

The Academy was big on heroes. From the up and
coming in the E club, to their favorite captains and admirals, the
Academy was never shy of praising its best and brightest.

And who was its new golden boy?

Special Commander Joshua Cook.

Unlike previous heroes, however, Cook wasn’t your
classic goody two shoes. The information on his past was sketchy,
but by all accounts he’d taken an unusual route into the Academy.
One that included profiteering, smuggling, and being a gun for
hire.

Nobody talked about this though, and to be fair, the
information Mimi had on Joshua wasn’t solid. It was enough,
however, to suggest that the man had a past. One that seemed at
odds with his label as a hero.

Well right now as Mimi made her way into the press
wing in the Academy command building, she mulled over those facts.
Because this briefing would be about him. Apparently he’d just
returned from some super-secret super-important mission that had
saved innumerable Coalition lives. While the Academy couldn’t
expand on the exact details of his mission, they weren’t gonna miss
another opportunity for some positive PR. They were going to parade
him in front of reporters, tell them he was a bona fide hero, and
make him pose for photos.

Despite the fact Mimi didn’t work for a registered
news agency, she still knew how these things went down.

After her conversation with her father, she realized
that if she honestly wanted to make something of herself, she
wouldn’t be able to stand for the status quo anymore. She wanted to
find the story of a lifetime, and she wasn’t going to get it by
standing around taking holo footage with the Academy’s new golden
boy, even if technically he was a little tarnished.

As Mimi walked across Academy grounds towards the
main building, she ignored the stares. The comments too. She locked
her gaze forward and she smiled.

She was used to it by now. From Bradley Marshal to
Carinthia herself, Mimi had put up with her fair share of vitriol,
and then a little more. Even though she kept getting pushed down,
she kept getting up too. And she would keep getting up until she
was knocked down for good.

He
always got edgy before an official press release. Rebuilders he
could manage, journos he couldn’t. Every time he stood up on the
podium, his hands would clam up, his heart would race, and he’d
turn into a meathead. Not, of course, that his mannerisms and
vocabulary were ever that sophisticated
– no matter how much he changed, you wouldn’t be able
to strip the pirate from his bones completely.

“This should be an easy one,” Kathleen, head of the
Academy’s press wing, assured him as she fussed about ensuring his
collar and hair sat just right. “We’ll let them know that you
narrowly averted a major disaster, and they’ll lap it up.”

“Right.”

“We’ve already handed most of the news agencies a
list of preferred questions, so you shouldn’t get anything left of
field. If you do, just repeat that you can’t comment about the
mission.”

“Got it.”

“Of course you do. If you can fight the Rebuilders,”
she lowered her voice, even though no one was in ear shot, “you can
knock a couple of journalists dead, right?”

“... Yeah.”

“Alright then, happy hunting.” With that, Kathleen
took a step back, inclined her head as she assessed him one last
time, and pointed towards the doors.

Josh wanted to run. Instead he walked forward, step
after goddamn step, until the doors opened.