Ultimate Justice (27 page)

“But doesn't giving into him mean they have won? The wrong has overcome the right? Shouldn't we stand up to him?” asked Kakko strongly.

“A wise person chooses her time and her battlefield,” replied the scientist. “As I said, in this case it is probably a spoiler to try and deflect us. Now is not the time.”

“But the right time will come?”

“Undoubtedly. In their case it might take generations, but it will come. Look how long it took for our ancestors on Planet Earth One.”

“My father is from Planet Earth One.”

“Yes? Interesting. So get him to tell you their history of the emergence of gender equality. What is your name?” she asked trying to read her pass.

“Kakko. Kakko Smith.”

“Count you blessings, Kakko. Imagine,” she smiled, “you could have been born on Planet Earth One and suffered some of their discrimination, or worse still, a Sponron. Pray for their women.”

“I will!” stated Kakko vehemently.

Prof Rob came over. “Sorry,” he said to Kakko. “Where do you work?”

“I'm studying at the Agricultural Institute, in the engineering department.”

“An engineer! I shall send you an invitation to visit us at the university.”

“But I only do agricultural stuff,” said Kakko, not wanting to be misunderstood.

“There's no
only
about that!” said Prof Rob, “we all need to eat. And engineering is engineering. Come and see us.”

“I will,” replied Kakko. Things weren't turning out
so
badly perhaps.

“Now, you two. I have a job for you. I want you to try to talk to the other Sponrons on this ship. Because you are young they might not see you as posing too much of a threat. While we are looking at the technical stuff, why don't you ask them about just how they got hold of that ship. Find out how the command structure works. What plans they might have for the future. You know, just in ‘innocent' conversation. Do you think you could do that?”

“We could try…”

“See if you can get them to give you a tour of the less technical parts of the ship – the living quarters for example.”

“OK. I get it. You want us to, kind of, generally snoop around while you're all looking at the ‘official' stuff.”

“Yes, but do it ‘congenially'. Just be natural. Just show your ordinary enthusiasm.”

“You mean, like unsophisticated, inexperienced, excited young adults?” said Shaun.

“Like, be normal!” laughed Tam.

“Exactly,” smiled Prof Rob. “Don't try and act. Just be circumspect and listen. Don't take notes, that'll put them off talking freely.”

“Shouldn't I take my e-sheet?” asked Shaun.

“No. Let
us
look official. You just be informal.”

“What should we wear?”

“Just come as you are. Be you.”

“Thanks!”

“And, once again, sorry Kakko. I mean that. Many people over many generations of both sexes have fought for gender equality in the universe. That is established beyond question and is not about to change on Joh.”

“Thanks, Prof Rob,” said Kakko. “I think I understand.”

“Be back in two hours,” said Prof Rob. “Give me your passes, I will get them updated.”

After a few minutes a secretary returned the young men's IDs. And as they left Kakko said, “Don't you two get any ideas.”

“Wouldn't dare,” said Shaun.

“I'll miss you,” said Tam.

“Too right you will,” concurred Kakko.

***

Two hours later, after a quick lunch in town and phone calls to Tam's parents and White Gates Cottage, the two young men presented themselves once more at the gate of the spacedrome.

The Johian inspection party were ushered aboard the shuttle-craft and directed to belt themselves in. They were all wearing insulation suits with iridescent strips that reflected brightly both in the visible and ultraviolet spectra. Each suit was fitted with a pencil torch attached to the cuff, which emitted a permanent beam of ultraviolet light. Wavelengths in the infrared range, longer than seven hundred nanometres, were detected through a night-vision devise positioned in the helmet that could be activated when called upon. “Knowing where you are and what is around you is the key to self-defence,” the team leader had explained as they were instructed in the suits' use. Also sewn into the suits was a small flask of oxygen connected to masks if needed. In their left breast pockets was a first-aid kit containing syringes with medication against anaphylaxis and edema.

As they moved through the craft to the seats, it was clear that a cleaning crew had not been aboard the shuttle for some time. There was a background smell of sweat, oil and dust that contrasted starkly with the fresh air of Planet Joh. Cleanliness was not something that seemed to bother these Sponrons.

The shuttle's antimatter impulse engines, however, did not seem to lack the necessary maintenance and they were soon airborne. This was the first time either Tam or Shaun had seen their planet from above; it was an impressive sight. What a beautiful world they had to live on! How privileged they were! This encounter with aliens was helping them to realise just how much they had been taking the wonders of their Planet Joh for granted.

In a very short time the shuttle was approaching its mother ship. It was impressive. It was huge, almost half the size of the spacedrome they had just left. They were soon to learn that most of it was given over to twelve separate holds, each of them like warehouses. The value of these goods must have been staggering. They docked with a gentle jolt and almost immediately were assailed by the stifling “pong” of on-board air. Shaun reached for his emergency mask. However, a Johian brought along specifically to monitor the safety of the team, shouted out that the air was safe to breathe, but that did not prevent Tam and Shaun feeling sick.

“They will have technology on board for keeping the air fresh and avoiding this smell,” said the man next to Shaun, “but they don't seem to want to use it.”

Once on board, the team was addressed by the commander of the ship. He was curt but not unwelcoming. Dressed in a kind of uniform of a different cut and colour to the Sponrons standing to attention behind him, he explained that they were in possession of the vehicle because of a space emergency. The crew of Thenits – people from another planet in the sector – had sent out a distress signal. The intrahelical drive engines had malfunctioned and they were stranded in space with only their low-powered standard, antimatter engines and it would have taken beyond their own lifetimes for them to get anywhere where they could effect repairs. And, even more to the point, they had only a year's supply of antimatter for full-time operation. The antimatter engines were only meant for close-in manoeuvring.

That crew were desperate, explained the commander. “Fortunately we were on hand with a ship equipped with an interhelical drive and were with them within three months.” He explained that the original crew were immediately conveyed to Planet Hegeh in their system and all their needs seen to. They then returned to salvage the vessel. Their engineers had worked for many months and were eventually able to get the engines turning again, but only in ‘safe' mode. They were seriously curtailed in their ability to travel far without over-taxing the repairs. What they needed was, a) to reduce drag on the ship caused by the magnetic silicates they were carrying, and b) to take on more fresh food and water in case the engines failed again and they found themselves stranded for another extended period.

“Gentlemen,” he continued, “you will understand that under galactic law those who salvage vessels have the right to any proceeds from their sale or repair to offset the cost of the rescue etc. You will understand that we have put in many months and used many men in bringing this ship back into some form of use. Your planet was among the nearest to us and we are turning to you to help us reimburse our costs.”

The man next to Shaun whispered, “That sounds overstated. With all the helicates and magnetic silicates on board they wouldn't need to buy fuel. Besides, both inter- and intrahelical engines are ‘chamilophagitic' – that is, they use very low amounts of fuel, and ninety-nine percent of that is collected from dark matter as you pass through it – and that doesn't have to be paid for! I can't see how they can be so very much out of pocket.”

“As you go around the ship,” the commander continued, “ask to see anything you want. I believe you are most interested in the engines and the cargo.”

“We are,” stated Prof Rob. “Five of us will inspect your engines and the repairs you are effecting. Have you any other areas of damage you want to show us?”

“We have nothing that remains to be seen that is damaged. My crew have worked very hard on everything.”

“Except the cleanliness!” muttered Shaun's companion under his breath.

“So the rest of you, please inspect the cargo and anywhere that seems relevant,” ordered Prof Rob.

Tam and Shaun attached themselves to the group and were led off to the right. The five engine experts, including the man who had whispered to Shaun, descended some stairs with the commander.

The two friends hung back a bit and tagged onto the end of the line. They were followed by a crew member clearly instructed to bring up the rear and make sure nobody ‘got lost'.

Shaun asked him if there was a pictorial layout. He looked around and, seeing no other Sponrons, nodded. He seemed young; not much older than Tam. He led them to a panel on the wall and touched it. A schema of the ship was immediately displayed with a red dot indicating where they were.

“These panels are every tenth section,” explained the Sponron, “the ones with the green line above them. Using these you can never get lost. We also wear wrist bands that we can use, but they also tell the bridge where any of us are at any time. They are irremovable and remain on us at all times.”

“Clever,” enthused Tam. “So we are here. The cargo holds here and here and… here. The engines are located…”

“Down here,” said the Sponron as he touched a stairway sign on the plan and a second desk was displayed.

Tam played with the panel, exploring up and down and examining different parts of the ship.

“We must go,” insisted the young Sponron after a minute. “We must catch up with the others.” He propelled them towards the back of the snake of inspectors. When they had reconnected with the line, Tam asked the young Sponron about the crew quarters.

“I saw on the schema that there are extensive living quarters towards the bow. Is that where you all sleep?”

“Most of us. The senior officers and their females have suites aft. They don't show up on the plan. They are restricted areas.”

“Females! I thought females were not permitted on your ship. We had to comprise our team completely of men. The women were forbidden!”

“Come. We will talk… off the record… please. Just wait,” whispered the Sponron.

The party came to the first of the holds and began grouping around a large window. The young Sponron spoke to one of his companions, indicating Tam and Shaun. Then they saw him do something quite unexpected. He slipped his wristband over his hand and passed it to his companion who put it into his pocket. He came quickly over to them and, looking up to see he wasn't being watched, whispered:

“When we move on from here, follow me
quietly
.”

They made sure they showed interest in the piles of blue sacks stacked at one end of the hold. “Definitely helicate,” murmured one of the team. “They are not telling us that of course, but I can read the markings and am familiar with the bags.”

“You need helicate for the engines?” asked Tam.

“Yes. There is enough here to drive this ship for centuries. This is not for consumption. It is a consignment. We're going to ask to see the manifest.”

They moved on but before they could get to the next hold, the young Sponron ushered them down a stairway.

“What I am going to tell you and show you didn't come from me, right?”

“Right. OK,” said Tam and Shaun together.

“Good. My wristband is with my colleague. They will think I am with the party. You did not see me remove it, right?”

“Right. I didn't think it came off?”

“It doesn't. Or shouldn't. I have been working on getting it lose enough to come off for months. Now, first, ignore whatever you have been told, we
stole
this ship, which the Thenits called the Talifinbolindit (which we shorten to ‘Tal' – we don't care for long names). The Thenits owned this ship but got into difficulties because there was a malfunction in one of the engines. It needed a replacement part but their three-dimensional printers both jammed and they did not have the parts and tools to repair them. They radioed for anyone in the vicinity to see if anyone could supply them with a 3D printer. We could. But they were not stranded. They still had one engine working. When our supreme commander on our own ship, the starship Zon, came within range he came aboard the Tal with weapons and we took it over. The Thenits were transferred onto the Zon and taken away and we were sent here to the Tal to replace them and secure the ship. The official tale is that the Thenit crew were conveyed to a planet without communication with the outside, the Planet Hegeh, but my friend saw what really happened because he was watching the shuttle with a telescope as it returned from the planet. They had been there about three days but they must have returned with most, if not all, of the Thenits. He said he didn't realise what was happening at first. He saw tiny bubbles coming from the shuttle and bursting in space behind it. He looked through the telescope he had for star gazing – it's the only good pastime we have, checking out all the beautiful stars – and he guessed they must have been the bodies of the Thenits exploding in the void, their atoms scattered into oblivion. Our officers did not tell us this, but we knew they were capable of it. There are three of them that run this ship. Please don't judge our race by
their
behaviour. Us Sponrons are not like that for the most part.

“None of us elected to come on this voyage. We are all from an orphanage. They came to our school and offered us jobs at our spacedrome when we got to sixteen, but they did not tell us we would be used as crew on a starship. We were excited at first, but we soon learned the score. They torture us if they see any sign of rebellion. One girl was even jettisoned for saying what she thought. They use our sisters as sex slaves. Come, I want to take you to see them. As they are in the restricted section there are no monitors.”

“Thank you…er… what do we call you?”

“Call me… call me One. But I won't tell you my real name in case…”

“Your secret is safe with us, One. We won't quote you publicly. We shall just report what we have picked up ‘from listening as we went',” stated Tam.

“Come, let us go quickly before we are missed.”

One took Tam and Shaun down another narrow flight of steep stairs and then to a door marked with small red letters. “The broom cupboard,” said One. “Keep this secret too.”

“Of course.”

“The main door to the restricted section is kept locked and is only accessible with a pass, which I don't have. Our sisters are kept inside at all times but we have a secret entrance through this cupboard which leads into a wardrobe in my sister's room.”

One opened the cupboard, removed a few items and knocked on the back wall three times, left a pause and knocked again. After a minute, there was a reply of two knocks which One followed up by another rhythmical knock. A low panel was then pulled open from the bottom three feet of the cupboard. One hissed, “I have guests from the planet,” and signalled for them to squeeze through. He then replaced the brooms and closed the door.

Inside Tam and Shaun found themselves in what they described as “feminine space”. After all the rest of the ship, this was immediately different. One introduced them, then said quickly to the girls, “Tell them your story. We only have a short time.”

Shaun and Tam were led around the restricted quarters. They saw the luxury in which the three senior officers lived. The apartments were rich in art treasures – paintings, sculptures, and ceramics. The upholstery was ornate and sumptuous. The women were all young.

“The officers access their captive harem at will,” said one of them. “They come and select one of us for each of them, sometimes more. They are cruel and inflict pain. If we get pregnant we are beaten until our babies leave us.”

“One of our sisters,” said another, “stood up to them and escaped into the main deck where she denounced them and told our brothers all that was happening. They forced her into the airlock and ejected her into space. We were all made to look out and see her die. Her body died, but her spirit lives on in us – and she is with God. She is more than material atoms.”

“After that,” said One, “we cut a way through the cupboard. We know everything, but we pretend we know nothing.”

Tam said that he would report what he knew without the officers being able to guess how he knew until a rescue could be attempted. The girls wept.

“We will not dare believe we can be free until we see the outside of this ship and we are safe!” emphasised the first. The others nodded their agreement. “But we are grateful to you whatever happens. Now go. You must not be caught.”

One squeezed through the wardrobe wall and waited in the cupboard listening. When he felt the way was clear he gingerly opened the door. No-one. Quickly the two from Joh stepped back into the corridor. The door was closed. The girls were safe from being seen to have had visitors. One led them back up the stairs and through a tiny corridor that opened out near the tenth hold. One held up his hand and they held back in the shadows until they could hear the inspection party with their guides pass the end. As soon as they had gone by they emerged and joined back up with the others. One's friend slipped his bracelet back to him and Tam and Shaun strained close to see into the hold being shown to the group.