DusktoDust_Final3 (2 page)

I should have lied
, thought David,
it would have been safer
.
“
I wouldn
’
t say desperate. They made me an offer that I couldn
’
t refuse.
”

Carl looked at him skeptically.
“
What business are you in?
”

He hesitated a second before answering.
“
Shipping.
”

For the next couple minutes David managed to steer the conversation away from himself and his travels. Good thing Carl enjoyed talking about nothing in particular. He was in the middle of filling David in on the latest from Australian Football when the hyperspace alarm went off.

“
Alright, here we go.
”
He placed one hand on the inertial dampener controls and used the other to pick up the intercom.

“
Attention, all hands. Thirty seconds to real space drop. Repeat. Thirty seconds to real space drop. Ensure you are secured in your restraining chairs. Stand by for countdown.
”
They waited as the seconds ticked by.
“
Real space drop in five
…
four
…
three
…
two
…
one
…
DROP!
”

Carl
’
s hands flew deftly over the helm controls. He activated the dampeners and the
Gold Rush
began to slow. David felt his body strain against the netting. Inside it felt as if all his organs were crushing against his ribcage. He had been through this process countless times and it never got any less uncomfortable. But better this than spending years of his life traveling through the void of space at sublight speeds.

It took about thirty seconds for the
Rush
to decelerate from forty times the speed of light to just a few thousand kilometers per hour. Outside the bridge
’
s viewport the black and gray swirl of hyperspace gave way to streaking stars which gave way to the vacant star scape of real space. David had seen the transition hundreds of times, but the majesty of the view never ceased to amaze him.

Carl maneuvered the
Gold Rush
about. As he did, their destination came into view, an orange and gray spec among the stars.

Prospect.

A hundred and sixty years ago the planet had held so much promise for the future of human space exploration. Astronomers had found it in their galactic telescopes. It was the answer to mankind
’
s problems- the Tango solar system. A single planet about the same size and orbital pattern as Earth, orbiting a star very similar to the sun. And from the looks of it there was water and an oxygen atmosphere. With overpopulation on Earth becoming a major concern, the United Nations Exploration Council dispatched the star cruiser
UNV Brasilia
to investigate

Back in those days hyperspace was not possible so it took the
Brasilia
seventeen years to complete the voyage. In 2173, the first humans set foot on the planet. It was almost everything mankind could hope for. The planet had an atmosphere richer with oxygen than Earth
’
s. There was water and plant life but few animals. The planet was much younger in the course of evolution than Earth. And best of all, geological scans revealed it was rich with ores and minerals. There was plenty of iron and silver, along with many heavy ores never seen before. And they were all found relatively close to the planet’s surface, easy to mine, and in unprecedented amounts. It was the new frontier, a colonist
’
s wet dream, except for its fatal flaw.

Prospect was unique. Its rotation matched its orbit around the star perfectly. Because of this, the same face of Prospect faced Tango at all times. This created very interesting environmental conditions. From his perspective, Prospect appeared to David as half tan and half gray. Both sides, the light and the dark sides, looked desolate and mountainous through the viewports, but each was equally different. The dark side, facing away from the sun, consisted of frozen lakes and rivers and snowcapped peaks. The temperatures were frigid enough to terrify even the best of Earth
’
s Antarctic explorers. The light side was the complete opposite. It was covered with mountains and canyons and saw temperatures that would instantly boil water, if water were ever there.

In between the light and the dark side ran a greenish brown line. This was the Dusk Zone, the only habitable place on Prospect. Running around the circumference of the planet, through the poles, the Dusk Zone was the median between the two extremes, staying in a constant twilight. Back in the twenty second century the zone had been lush and green, but after decades of human colonization it had become polluted. Now, nearly two thirds of Prospect
’
s forests had been destroyed, replaced by mining and refining facilities, as well as other, less talked about industries. The Dusk Zone was the center of all human colonization on Prospect, and in David
’
s experience was possibly the most diverse, downtrodden, and scum ridden place in the galaxy.

“
Crazy, isn
’
t she.
”
David looked up. Carl was out of his seat and moving about the helm, checking sensors and preparing for the
Rush
to make port.

“
Yeah,
”
David said as he unhooked himself from the restraint netting. He cracked a grin.
“
It
’
s good to be back.
”

“
Welcome to United Nations Exploration Command
’
s Skylift Station. Please keep your belongings with you at all times. Any unattended baggage will be confiscated and incinerated. All arriving passengers and crew please report to customs before you proceed planetside.
”

David laughed at the sound of the clearly synthesized female voice. UNEC went to such lengths to try to keep Prospect a respectable colony. But in reality they didn
’
t care what was brought onto Prospect- they just wanted to vet the products leaving the planet.

Alana and David were making their way through Skylift Station. The station was a big change from the seedy atmosphere of the
Rush
. The facilities were kept immaculate by minimum- wage UNEC employees. The floors gleamed. The viewports glistened. David almost felt like he was back one of the grid stations above Earth.

Skylift Station was Prospect
’
s only orbital station. It was tethered to the planet by the Skylift, a combination of turbolifts running up through the atmosphere from the Dusk Zone. The Skylift and Skylift Station were both under the jurisdiction of UNEC. All cargo going to and from Prospect went through the Skylift. The reasoning was simple. UNEC only needed to regulate the one port of entry on Prospect to prevent contraband from being shipped off planet, instead of having to worry about all of the many industrial complexes on the surface. UNEC kept a garrison of Peacekeepers in orbit around the planet to intercept any smugglers who tried to bypass the station. Many tried to. Few prevailed. The best interceptor pilots in the Peacekeepers were sent to Prospect.

The corridors of the freight terminal were not crowded. Most of the traffic was in the form of giant cargo containers and not passengers, and these all passed through the facilities under the terminal. Even after Prospect
’
s golden age had past, millions upon millions of tons of ore were shipped off planet daily. Iron was by far the largest export, and had been the first ore that colonists had discovered when they first reached the planet. Klyston was the next most important export. Human civilization now relied on it for energy, from hyperspace travel to planetary power networks. Then there were the lesser ores and minerals; masstrium, cronin, trivisium, the list went on.

Each year the amount of ore exported from Prospect declined. As ore pockets dried up, miners had to delve deeper and deeper into the planet, which was costly and more time consuming. Because of this, new mining planets like Baoshi were starting to take a strangle hold on the ore industry. Prospect
’
s days were numbered, and now only the most desperate people ended up on the rock seeking work.

Alana and David tried to blend in as they made their way through the terminal. David was sure there were surveillance cameras everywhere. While his and Alana
’
s faces shouldn
’
t raise any flags in the UNEC databases, there were other ways to identify them. The less noticeable the two of them could be the better.

They rounded a corner and David could sense Alana tense up next to him. The corridor ahead became increasingly crowded and at the far end David saw men with assault rifles. UNEC Customs.

“
Just act natural,
”
he said to Alana, trying to calm her nerves.
“
We
’
ve got nothing to hide.
”

“
Right.
”
She didn
’
t sound optimistic.

They kept walking and joined the shortest line they could find. After a minute of being there they could tell this wasn
’
t going to be quick. The line was hardly moving. UNEC was doing a great job of keeping up its reputation. Just an organization of red tape preventing citizens from living their lives.

“
What the hell is taking so long?
”
Next to David, Alana was getting more anxious.

“
Calm down. We aren
’
t in a rush.
”
David hated when she got like this. In combat, Sergeant Ramirez was cold as ice. If she had ever felt fear in the face of gunfire David had never seen her show it. But their new profession didn
’
t come quite as naturally to her. He didn
’
t think she would ever get used to the acting skills she had to use during their clandestine activities.

“
But what if we get stopped?
”
she asked as they slowly inched forward..

He turned to look at her.
“
Then you tell them the truth. Who we are and where we are going.
”
He paused.
“
So what are you going to say?
”

She took a deep breath.
“
We
’
re Mike and Shannon Dominguez, heading to Gaalto Base, looking for work.
”

David reached out and took her hand.
“
Yes we are. And I
’
m so excited to start a new life with my bride.
”
He gave her a cocky grin. She responded with her best stink eye. But she didn
’
t pull away. This charade had not been her idea, but she wasn
’
t about to blow their cover because it made her feel uncomfortable. She was not a great actor, but she did try.
“
And where are we from?
”

“
Buffalo, but we got laid off from the factory we worked in. We saved up all our money to come out here and have a new start.
”
She knew the story. Now could she sell it?

“
Perfect, we
’
ll be fine.
”

She turned back and faced front. In a voice that could be heard by no one except for David, she asked,
“
Why couldn
’
t Windcorp get us planetside the old fashioned way? We
’
ve never done it this way before.
”

David understood her concern. In all the other times they had been to Prospect they had never come through Skylift Station. They always took the more direct route with the
Katana
. On the hot side of the planet there were plenty of places to hide a ship
Katana’s
size where UNEC
’
s sensors could never find her. The trick was to get past the Peacekeeper aerial patrols, which David was rather skilled at. But this time Windcorp had insisted they must fly a company ship. And that meant they had to get to Prospect commercially.

He kept his voice low.
“
It
’
s different. But the notes they
’
re paying us will make this headache well worth it.
”
The two of them would be set for at least a year with the small fortune they would receive for this job.

There were now only about five people ahead of them in line. David had done all he could to prep Alana. Now it was up to her. He nodded to her and she faced forward and put on her best calm face.
You can do this
, he thought to her. Maybe she was telepathic.

He kept his face neutral as they got closer to the security checkpoint. Now he could see there were two echelons of Peacekeeper security. First, there were the PKs with the assault rifles. They were focused on the crowd and were looking for anyone out of the ordinary in line. Second were the PKs who were doing the actual customs searches. These were the guys Alana and David- or Shannon and Mike- had to worry about. They were focused on the individual passengers going through the security gates. While one PK looked at the body scanner and went through all of the passenger
’
s baggage, another did the interrogation. It appeared to be a game of twenty questions using the passenger
’
s identification documents. UNEC wasn
’
t joking around.

The man in front of David stepped forward. This was it. They were next. David reached into his pocket and took out their documents. He handed Alana her passport and boarding pass, while he kept his, as well as the fake Gaalto Base job advertisement. He had to sell it.

“
Next.
”

The PK, in his black and grey body armor and tinted helmet, waved them forward. He took their passports and boarding passes.
“
Anything to declare?
”

David put his right hand out while reaching around the back of his jacket with his left.
“
We have two firearms, corporal.
”
He pulled out his HK semi with his thumb and forefinger. Alana was doing the same with hers.
“
They
’
re registered and there
’
s also ammo in our bags.
”

The PK extended a tray and they placed the pistols on it. He barely batted an eye. Prospect was not Earth. Weapons were a way of life out here. At first UNEC had tried to make them illegal in the Skylift Sector, but the large number of registered and unregister weapons in the corporate sectors made the effort futile. They settled on allowing only registered weapons on planet. At least that was the goal.

Alana and David placed their duffels on the conveyer belt and then stepped up to the body scanner. David went through first. It was a seamless process and he didn
’
t stop. The scanner checked every inch of his body for contraband. He wasn
’
t worried; he had nothing to hide in that aspect.

Once through the other PK was waiting, documents in hand.
“
Welcome to Prospect, Mr. Dominguez.
”
He said it with such inflection that David felt anything but welcome.
“
What
’
s your business?
”

“
My wife and I are here in search of work, sergeant.
”
He handed over the job ad. Alana joined him after passing through the body scanner. David slid his hand around her waist.

The sergeant looked through their passports.
“
You came in on the
…
Gold Rush
? That
’
s a freighter, right.
”

“
Yes, sir.
”
Alana cut in before David could say anything.
“
To be honest we couldn
’
t afford passage on a
‘
liner. This was the only way.
”

The sergeant didn
’
t look convinced.
“
So you
’
re telling me you spent all your savings and took a decrepit freighter halfway across the galaxy to start a new life all based on a distro ad?
”

Goddamnit, of all the Peaks, I had to get the most inquisitive one.
“
Buffalo is a hell of a place to live.
”

The sergeant stared David down. He didn
’
t look amused. He then looked back at their documents, scrutinizing the passports. He was on a mission to find something, anything, to keep these two passengers from getting through. No wonder the line had moved so slowly.
Well, let him try.
David didn
’
t know who Windcorp had gotten to make the fake passports, but he was sure they were the best available.
I hope.

“
Please.
”
The PK looked up, and so did David. Alana had found her voice.
“
I know that this life isn
’
t gonna be easy. But you have to understand, there was nothing left for us back there. Life was terrible. This is going to be our fresh start.
”
She was doing it.
“
Please, don
’
t make us go back.
”

David watched the sergeant. Slowly, his face turned from a look of skepticism to a look of pity. Alana had done it. They were going to make it through. The PK looked over at the corporal who had gone through their bags and got a thumbs up.

“
Ok,
”
he said.
“
Go grab your bags.
”
He leaned down at his desk to scan their passports.

David turned to the conveyer. He gave Alana a nod. That had been quite a performance. Now, to just grab their bags, get off this station, and-

“
FREEZE.
”

David looked up. The sergeant and corporal had their pistols leveled at his head. Beyond them, the perimeter PKs were moving in, assault rifles raised. David and Alana put their hands up.

What the hell?!
David thought.
We were through!
He looked around for something, a clue as to where they went wrong. Everything had been perfect.

Then he saw it. On the sergeant
’
s desk. It was the passport scanner, blinking red.
Goddamnit Windcorp!

“
Shit.
”