Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework (59 page)

“Listen,” Stephanie whispered, taking one of
Ashley’s hands. “You haven’t visited a port like this. The visi
actually support human slavery, they don’t care about what happens
to you. If someone snatches you, law enforcement will be on their
side, especially since you still have a listed price in the live
goods exchange. Every human you see here is fair game and there are
people here who are as good at snagging slaves as Captain is at
bounty hunting. If you don’t like what someone’s doing near you,
plug them in the face with whatever’s loaded in that cannon, and
we’ll back you.”

Ashley’s mind was changed about carrying a
sidearm, and she adjusted the belt so it hung better, bouncing on
her hip as she walked. She suddenly felt less confident about her
chosen role for the trip.

Stephanie must have been able to tell.
“Would you rather skip this trip? You could stay aboard, or just
stay with the group, no one would blame you.”

“I know.” Ashley looked around for a moment
at all the people nearby. Most of them looked like normal spacers.
A little mud spattered around the ankles, but she didn’t see any of
the anxiety she would expect to see in such a dangerous place. If
they could move about without much of a care, why couldn’t she?
“No, I’ve got some coin burning a hole in my pocket and I don’t
think we’ll see another port before New Years. I have shopping to
do.”

“You have pockets somewhere in that outfit?”
asked one of Stephanie’s marines. She was a taller woman with a
broad chin who was quick to smile, but Ashley hadn’t gotten a
chance to know her.

Ashley flipped the short sleeve of her
mini-dress up to reveal a strap holding several slips of GC that
glittered their denominations of red for 25GC, green for 50GC, and
purple for 100GC. “I have smaller GC bits and other denominations
on the other arm,” she told her. “You learn how to hide stuff when
you live in a slave compound and have to wear whatever the masters
tell you to.”

“I could imagine,” the marine said, mildly
surprised. “I’m Megan.”

“Ashley, most people call me Ash,” she
replied after adjusting her sleeve so it hid her currency.

“I think everyone knows who you are,
Lieutenant,” Megan replied conspiratorially.

Several crewmen joined them, including the
rest of one of Stephanie’s squads. They were a group of
twenty-eight. “We’re all here,” Stephanie called out. “All right,
here are the rules for this short leave: keep up with the group.
Barter lightly with the shopkeepers, that means counter-offer once
or twice, don’t argue or piss them off. Once you buy it, it is
yours
, we will
not
be going back if you’re not happy,
and I doubt anyone will take returns. Do not buy anything that is
too big to fit in your locker or bunk drawers. Our excursion will
last two hours or until the Warlord recalls us, whichever comes
first. Never go anywhere that will take you out of a direct line of
sight of two of your crewmates. Even if you know you can take care
of yourself here, it is in your best interest to assume you are
wrong. Now let’s go see the sights.”

Ashley had never told Stephanie that she
enjoyed watching her do her job, but it was true. It was always
interesting to watch her friend do what she was best at. The group
moved away from the Warlord with Stephanie and another marine in
the lead.

At first she didn’t see why the combination
of lower gravity and sticky streets was such a big deal, then she
took her first steps off the Warlord’s ramp and nearly lost her
balance. The ground had a tackiness that sometimes made pulling her
foot off the ground to take the next step interesting. She’d
already seen someone pull too hard and fall face first. The
witnesses were happy to applaud their clumsy performance for a
moment before going on with their business.

“So, you grew up on a planet?” asked Minh as
he surprised her from behind.

As a reflex she gave him a hug, and smiled
with relief when he returned the gesture. She released him and
continued to walk with the group at his side. “Yup, my master
bought me young. I was lucky he shopped local, got to know my home
world that way. You’re from Freeground, the same place as
Captain?”

Minh hesitated a moment then nodded.
“Technically he’s from somewhere else, but as far as I’m concerned,
he’s my old friend from Freeground.”

Ashley decided to sidestep the complicated
explanation of Jacob Valent’s origin; she already knew enough as
far as she was concerned. It still gave her pause.

“Why do you call him that?” Minh asked. “I
know he’s the captain, but you use it like it’s his name.”

“You know, I have no idea,” Ashley replied.
“Steph? Why do we-“

“Tradition,” she answered.

“So you don’t know either?” Ashley
teased.

“Nope. When I joined up most of the crew
just called him Captain like it was his name. I think a lot of
crews do that on mercenary ships, though. In all the time I’ve been
aboard, he’s never complained about it.”

Megan smiled down at the group, from her
height it was impossible to share the same eye level and added,
“Before my time there were captains that had prices on their heads
that were so big that they’d hide their name. They’d go by ‘Captain
of’ and add whatever their ship name was. Maybe that’s where it
comes from?”

“Guess that’s a good answer,” Ashley said
with a shrug. “Thanks.” She returned her attention to Minh-Chu.
“What was Freeground like?”

She could see Minh-Chu looking over the
large pedestrian crowd, the ships, the crystal-like trees that hung
over them filtering the golden light, and finally back to the
shouting hawkers.

“Raw forma! What you see is a single percent
of our stock in orbit!”

“Small machine parts! Selling bulk
only!”

“Buy any item here for five GC!”

“General store! We got hygiene worms! Sims
from thirty systems! QECS!”

When he returned his attention to her he had
a slightly overwhelmed expression. “It’s called Freeground, but
it’s nowhere near as free as this. I mean, our ports are these
organized, secure sections where you can’t sneeze without a DNA
sniffer running a full background check on you. Admin doesn’t even
like people getting off their ships, they prefer to pre-arrange all
their business before they dock. I used to hear about it from Jo-“
Minh started then corrected himself, “from Jacob.”

“What was it like growing up on a station?”
Ashley asked. “I couldn’t imagine being cooped up in space like
that.”

“Well,” Minh said, visibly pondering the
question. “Freeground is huge, you could probably fit everyone on
this world in four of the main segments. Our living spaces were
small, but everyone’s were, so I didn’t really notice. I grew up in
pods that were mostly Asian, and our section was big enough to have
its own tropical forest.”

“You had a forest indoors?” asked Joyboy
from behind. “Man, I have to see this station.”

“It’s way out of the way, but yeah, we had a
forest. It was a great place to grow up. Safe, lots of kids,
everyone knew each other. School was important though, so I stayed
in right up until I joined the Fleet Academy. I wanted to see what
was out there, and that was the only way.”

“Couldn’t you sign up with a starliner
company or a freighter or something?” Ashley asked.

Minh laughed. “My mother would have hunted
me down and brought me back. My role was to get an education, a
good job, and find a nice Asian girl to make grandchildren with. It
seemed like every fifth person had the last name Buu, but my
parents still made it clear that I had to carry on the family
name.”

“So you signed up,” Finger, a tall,
gangly-limbed pilot behind Minh, concluded.

“Yup,” Minh confirmed. “What is it they say?
‘Join the military, they said. See the galaxy, they said.’” By the
time he reached the word ‘military’ most of the people near them
joined in. The rest of the expression was recited by a chorus. Minh
chuckled and nodded before going on. “A month after I entered the
academy, the All-Con conflict began and everyone was rushed through
basic. I qualified for officer candidacy, which would have normally
put me through an extra twenty months of school, but in wartime it
was compressed into two. After final testing, they set me up with a
squad and put me on a ship that looked like Freeground on the
inside, only a lot smaller.” Minh looked at her for a moment and
shook his head. “But most of that is very boring. Just like living
on Freeground. I’m happier here.”

“So your whole family is back there?” Ashley
asked, genuinely interested. “I’d love to hear about them. I’m half
Asian, but I didn’t learn enough about the culture. Keep a lucky
dragon with me though,” she said as she turned her back to him so
he could see the stylized Chinese dragon crawling up the back of
her dress. The group was turning into the first shop, which was a
hold filled with wide aisles of cheap decorations and generic
supplies.

“I was wondering about that. You have one
whenever you’re not in uniform,” Minh said quietly.

“But he probably didn’t ask because he was
afraid to admit he was looking,” Pisser commented as she
manipulated a pair of cheap pink sunglasses so they looked Ashley
up and down.

Ashley smiled at the pilot, amused at how
Minh’s squad wasn’t afraid to tease him a little. “I used to love
dragons when I was little. I couldn’t read enough about the
dinosaurs on Earth or Noxis. For a while I thought the Chinese of
ancient Earth used to live with dragons. Glad Fred cured me of that
belief.”

“I wouldn’t be the greatest tutor on Asian
culture,” Minh said apologetically. “I know just enough to be aware
of the fact that my call sign doesn’t really go well with the new
name of our fighter wing.”

“How’s that?” asked Ashley.

“A ronin is a samurai without a master, so
it’s sort of weird that a pilot named Ronin would lead Samurai
Squadron,” Minh explained.

“Ah, well, I don’t think anyone really
cares.”

“Anyway, my family tried to teach me about
Asian culture, but I found it a little confusing. I think what they
knew was a mix of history and culture from all parts of old Asia.
My father made sure we knew we were mostly Vietnamese, but beyond
that, nothing was absolutely certain.”

“So your family is still in Freeground?”
Ashley asked.

“My parents retired to Shem Lam, an old
Lorander colony. It looks like my sisters will be going there too.
People are leaving Freeground. Since the All-Con conflict
Freeground has been near the centre of one war after another. What
about your par-“ Minh stopped himself with a look of dismayed
surprise. “I’m so sorry,” he apologized hurriedly.

Ashley didn’t mind at all. She fixed him
with a smile and shook her head. Her pedigree was one of the things
that made her valuable before she was freed, and she was raised to
take pride in it. “It’s all right,” she reassured. Ashley tapped
the wrist of her vacsuit three times. Her necklace responded by
projecting an interface there and she brought up a picture of her
mother, a woman with dark brown eyes and long black hair that
looked a great deal like her. “Her name was Taina Hau. She was a
famous dancer near Umpeur, from what I could find. My dad was
Philip Savin, pure Russian going all the way back to old Earth
days. I still don’t know why they sold me, but I wasn’t the only
one. It might have been the business they were in, tubing
babies.”

“You must have cost a fortune!” said Joyboy
from behind the next aisle. “That’s like a boutique pure-breed mix.
My uncle-“

“Tread lightly, idiot,” interrupted Pisser.
She grabbed him by the ear and started walking out of the makeshift
store. “New rule: no more talking in public, Joyboy. Consider me
your new babysitter.”

“Ow, hey! My uncle had catalogs!” Joyboy
objected, trying to keep up with Pisser, who was half a head taller
and towing him mercilessly.

Ashley watched them with a little laugh and
looked back to Minh, who looked uncertain and embarrassed. “She
shouldn’t be hard on him. It’s just a part of who I am. It’s why my
master bought me when I was a toddler, you save money if you’re
willing to raise your own slaves. There’s no way he could afford me
otherwise.”

“I’m sorry,” Minh started quietly.

Ashley recognized something she hated seeing
in people around her more than anything. “Nope, no pity,” she said,
quietly but sternly. “I’m in a good place right now.” She glanced
around at the hold of the old ship and the racks heavily laden with
what looked like the loot from a hundred robbed gift stores. “Well,
maybe not
right
now, but you know what I mean.”

“When at a loss for words, it’s best to
marry lips,” Minh-Chu said.

“You telling me you wanna snog,” Ashley
whispered, stepping closer to him, “or get married?”

“I’ve never looked at that expression that
way,” Minh-Chu replied.

“Why does my past make you squirm?”

“Slavery’s illegal on Freeground, I didn’t
see it until I was on the First Light, we ran into some nasty
people and almost got taken.”

“Steph! Minh! Ash! Ye comin’ or are ye
shopping?” called Frost through the broad hatch behind Ashley.
“Everything already sold out back at the Warlord and they don’t
need our help repairing small arms so us non-shoppers are headed to
the meet.”

“I’ve gotta go,” Minh-Chu said. “Jake told
me I should bet there when people start arriving.”

Stephanie was at Ashley’s side a moment
later. “We’re going to stay here,” she said. “Need a little more
retail therapy before we join you at the meet.”

“Um, okay,” Ashley said to her. “I don’t see
why, um, okay.” She decided to follow Stephanie’s lead. She was
behaving as though she knew something Ashley didn’t.

“I’ll see you there,” Minh-Chu said.