Eric Olafson, First Journeys (Vol 2)

There was a dimly lit corridor with two big pipes in the middle running into both directions. I could see the feet of someone behind the two pipes on the other side and risked opening the door a little wider. The corridor had been carved into natural rock. The corridor and pipes seemed to go on forever in to one direction, but ended at an elevator door in the other direction, only about fifty meter or so.

Now all I had to do was sneak up to that Elevator door and disappear and take the next possible space bus and leave Twilight as far behind as I possibly could. That was the sensible, logical and right thing to do. That wasn't me however; I could not let this attempted murder on me go unpunished. I wanted to explain to that Roach King that I did not enjoy his kind of hospitality and had the strong urge to repay him with a typical Nilfeheim answer to such things. Calling it an urge was of course way more civilized than I felt.

This overwhelmed my better judgment and I was sure my aunt Freydis was right and following the heart was sometimes better than following the mind.

I was equally sure it wasn't the heart I followed.

Of course it was a pile of Nubhir poop, following my instincts rather than what I should have done was the reason I was down here in the first place.

I wondered how many million passengers passed through Twilight every day and the worst thing ever happening to them was perhaps an overpriced meal or a stolen shopping bag, but I had to slide headlong into trouble on the very first stop on my journey. I wondered what would have happened if I had stopped at Holstein? Or if I would ever make it to Arsenal.

I sneaked out, the soles of the marvelous all terrains adjusted from metal floor to rock floor and I was able to walk silently. I climbed a short ladder and pressed myself as flat as I could against the incredibly dusty and dirty top of the metal pipeline. Then I inched myself forward... I could smell the metal paint in my nose and the smell instantly reminded me of the old steel rafters of Hasvik... There on the other side of this corridor dividing pipeline was a crack in the tunnel wall about forty centimeters wide and I guessed perhaps 100 centimeters tall. Very likely the entrance to the Nest of the Roaches Exa had described to me.

Not the Roach king but one of the older boys stood right next to it. I recognized him being the other guy I had first seen up in the space port lobby after I had grabbed Exa.

Some sort of homemade looking gun leaned next to him against the wall. I figured he was supposed to be a guard or look out, but he was a very bad one. He played with some sort of hand held game that made cartoonish noises.

A good guard would be right here on top of the pipes able to see in both directions on both sides of the pipes, without exposing himself.

Obviously neither strategy nor tactical planning went into choosing guard or guard position. I got into a crouching position and jumped. I landed right on top of that useless guard and slammed the guy hard to the ground He groaned and got my knee deep into his stomach pit. He made no other sound as he went limb, I looked left and right but there was no one. I dragged him under the pipes and stuffed him as far as in the crevice between lower pipe and rock floor and then checked his weapon.

It was some sort of pipe with a plastic stock. A cylindrical pressure canister attached to the top appeared to contain a pressurized gas intended to drive a piston to expel a ten centimeter long steel spike. It was a one shot deal and I had no idea how accurate or how strong it would be. Peeking inside the crack I saw a natural cave of about twenty meters circumference. I could see three roaches and the King. He was sitting on an elevated office swivel chair. The cave was lid by two light elements very rudimentary wired into the lights of the corridor outside.

One of the roach boys shoved Exa towards the King and I heard him say." It was all your fault the things went bad. It was you that could not run fast enough and got yourself caught by that rich boy. And thanks to that drowned friend of yours, my best man Benjamin will be sent to the Dust Mines. I got five of the Roaches left. The others left to go to the Flies and all because you could not do even do a little thing right and use the Lights Out-stinger before he had a chance to use his PDD."

She cried. "Please don't make me do it again."

"Oh but you will. My blue pecker needs cleaning. it will teach you a valuable lesson to obey and do what I tell you to do."

One of the bastards forced her on her knees and the Roach King dropped his pants. I fired the crude weapon and the bolt nailed him through the left shoulder into the back rest of his chair.

As fast as I could I squeezed myself through the crack, rushed up and used the empty weapon like a club, hammered it across the head of the tallest, then I buried the dull end of that dart thrower with all force into the stomach pit of the other.

I kicked and hit them till none of them moved.

I looked around but did not see anyone else. I readied for a swing and said. "Your reign ends today Roach king. I take your filthy head of."

"Stop it right there Citizen." Bright light filled the cave and the edges of the crack in the wall began to glow white hot and a heartbeat later four armored Police men with blasters stomped in and crowed the small cave.

"Citizen drop that Air gun and let me scan your CIT."

I complied.

The tall Roach I had seen when I first regained consciousness, appeared behind the cops." I told you they abducted a Citizen. Do I get my reward now?"

"Run fast and disappear before we decide to arrest you after all, which should do for a reward."

The policeman in front of me wore a bulky looking Ultronit segmented armor with Police stenciled across his chest. Two bright lights mounted to each side of his helmet made my eyes water and I could barely see a thing.

"You are Eric Olafson of Nilfeheim?"

"Yes Officer."

"Please tell us exactly what happened. Be as detail specific as possible."

So I told him pretty much everything that happened since I landed.

One of his colleagues looked at a hand held device

"The Poly Analyzer gives his story a 99. 21 percent truth level. Cyber Legal shows all green. Citizen has acted in clear self defense and self-preservation. No laws have been violated by the Citizen."

I said angrily. "What I said was all true not just ninety nine percent."

He turned off the glaring lights and said. "Mr. Olafson, we would have accepted seventy five percent. This machine can never give one hundred percent due of sampling errors, adjustments and calibration issues. I never have seen anything close to your results. I'd buy Big Ball from you and think it's a good deal. So I assure you we do not question one word you said."

His partner scratched his chin. "You sure cleaned house down here. Three dead, two seriously injured and that after being almost drowned to death."

"Three?"

"The guy in Fresh Water Tank access room suffered a basilar skull fracture. The one you stuffed under the water pipeline has a crushed rib cage, and this guy right here blunt trauma to the temple, that cut his lights for good. The other is about to take the final trip and the Roach King bleeding a good deal.

I wasn't very proud of my sad record. "What do I have to next?"

"Whatever you like you are free to go."

"What will happen with them?"

"The ones alive are old enough and will be charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. I doubt the judge or the Jury will take long to come to a verdict. We got three witness accounts, Poly Verified and physical evidence. I figure they will be hanged in a week or so. The girl, well she is according to my Bio scanner twelve years old and a minor, but there is no family or verifiable place of origin. No worries she will go back to Mother Moore and then be on her way to Slammer Moon. She will be a real good citizen by the time she is eighteen."

Exa starred with a hollow expression on her small face at the floor.

"Officer is there any way to prevent that? I mean her going to the Slammer moon?"

He tapped his PDD."Well she is a Non Cit and technically if she paid her fines for her long string of theft charges, Legal Central could agree to a good will bond. Meaning she can turn herself in. But who would want to pay the 600 credits for something as worthless as her?"

"She is a sentient being and she should be priceless instead of worthless just for that reason. I guess the shiny and good Union has a dark and dirty Underside after all."

"Nothing is perfect Citizen, besides we have places and institutions to deal with such, like Mother Moore and the Social Bureau."

"I am going to pay her fines."

He shrugged. "It's your money Citizen, but she will be out in the Port Concourse tomorrow and steal and beg as soon as you are gone. She never keeps her bail condition."

"Not if I can help it, Officer."

I paid her fines and Legal Central verified that she was free to go, but has to report to Mother Moores within 48 hours.

I put my hand on Exa's shoulder and said. "Let's go girl."

On our way to the elevator she said. "You are not angry with me? Do you want to kill me now that you bought me?"

"The idea had crossed my mind when you sent me to dream land, but you are a child and you did what others told you to do. I didn't buy either."

"Do you want me to clean your pecker?"

I shivered in disgust. "Of course not Exa and I am promising you we find a way so you never have to do that again."

A Police man stood by the Elevator. "Press nine and it gets you to Sub-Level Nine Sir. From there you can find an Inter Port Transport to get you all the way up."

"Thank you Officer."

"Great work, Sir. Word will spread like wild fire and keep the ruts in line for a while. Teaches them to mess with a Viking Pirate"

"They still call us Pirates after all that time?"

He shrugged. "I guess it was the only thing your planet really did to stand out for a while. No worries Citizen a little bad-ass rep goes a long way these days."

I sighed and shrugged and pushed Exa in the Elevator.

Then I said to her. "We still have a deal, right? You show me around and will be my tour guide and in return I pay you to take a bath and then we find you something better to wear as well."

She looked up to me. "I will keep my bargain this time, I promise."

"Good enough for me."

"How did you survive the drowning?"

"It's hard to drown someone who can breathe water."

"Like a fish?"

"Well I was told more like a Sea turtle but basically yes."

The Vertigo Bridge was an amazing sight. About fifty meters wide, about twenty high and according to Exa, exactly 1600 meters long. Except for the Metal frame work and slide ways on each side, the bridge was completely transparent. Rain pelted the roof. I could see the City on the other side.

Children were lying on the floor pretending to fly. Locals walked or used the Slide ways without hesitation, visitors and some tourists clearly stood out as some of them hesitated to take the first step. There was laughter and shrieks.

Exa walked a few steps out and said. "3000 meters below us is Twilight River. The river carved this canyon out of the very hard granite rock. The River fed by the perpetual rain and the canyon are almost 6000 kilometers long, making it one of the longest rivers on any known planet in the Union. It has the longest stretch of white water turbulence and there are 321 waterfalls of which the Skull Mist Veil seventy kilometers up river from here is the widest and the Giant shower 200 klicks downriver the highest with a 1400 meter drop. Twilight River is visited by over 6 million white water sports enthusiasts and we have thousands of river water sports related clubs, associations and equipment manufacturers."

The river ends in the Foggy flats, and from there the water evaporates and ends up in rain again. The steep rock walls glistened wet. Dense green forests lined both sides; the river itself appeared like a small band of green snaking in a crackly line as far as I could see into both directions.

She turned. "Are you coming or are you afraid? We could use one of the Cable cars or the Swing tram. Or if you do not like heights at all we can of course also use the new Trans Planet Mag-tube."

"No I am not afraid. It is the first time I actually see another world and I was taking in the sights."

I followed her and now I could see a big A frame steel construct in the distance connecting the two sides and dozens of capsules attached to the apex of the A frame with thin cables swung back and forth.

She said. "That's the swing tram. It belongs to the Amusement park and connects both sides of the park; there are no absorbers or anything. You feel the full effect of the swing and it is along with the bridge the most popular attraction."

"You really know your stuff and you sound like a real tour guide"

She smiled proudly. "Sometimes I get lucky and visitors look past the dirt, and then they hire me as a tour guide and I can earn some credits in tips.

She pointed through the floor. "The river below teems with fish. None of them are native as there is no local animal life but they were brought in from other planets. Do you want to go fish? It also is very popular."

"No not really. I come from a planet where fishing is a major part of life. I would not mind to find out how they taste, though."

She waved me over to the Slide way and we rode on it and reached the peak of the arched bridge in no time. There the bridge widened. On the left were a dozen shops and restaurants and on the right a Hotel.

The man behind the reception desk was human and he looked me and the girl up and down and then said. "Sorry we do not service Bottoms, even if you received bed vouchers from Social. The community sleep hall is on Port side Level 7."

I first wondered why he treated me like this but then I saw my reflection in a polished glass door. I was smeared with black dust from head to toe.

"I need two rooms with baths. I am not a Bottom and neither is she."

"I am sorry sir but it is peak season and we are booked solid, except for the Crystal Suite but it is for 1500 credits a night. It does have several separate bed rooms however."

I took the credit chip out of the secure chip compartment of the PDD, activated it with my Bio metrics and my code so that he could see the amount displayed. "I did not ask how much the accommodations cost, now did I? I'll gladly put down a deposit or buy the place. I want to have a bath, laundry service and a few hours of peace and quiet."

His chin dropped." Holy mother of god. Sir if you want I call the Super Lux and have them send Butler service. He became all fluttery and asked us to follow him.

The Crystal suite was incredible. Extending like a bay window from the side of the bridge into sheer nothingness. Everything was transparent even walls and floors. At least the floor was partially covered with deep soft carpets, luxurious furniture and the main room even had a transparent fireplace, which I found particular interesting to look at.

He said. "The suite has the latest in GalNet technology Sir, fully Holo Avatar enabled in all rooms. The glass bottom Jacuzzi, and everything else can be turned opaque. The Auto Dresser was just delivered last week and accepts downloads form all major fashion houses. Oh and don't worry about privacy. You can see out, no one can see in, of course."

After he was gone with a nice tip, Exa said. "The bath room walls turn opaque as soon as you close the door from the inside. That is so cool."

"Now get cleaned up girl and use the Auto Dresser and I do the same and then we figure out what we going to do with you.

I had heard of auto dressers but never seen or used one. It was basically a rectangular box with an automatic door. As I stepped in, the door closed and it was completely dark for maybe a second, then a voice said. "Species recognized, human, male. Loading tailor simulation. Suddenly I stood before a three leaf mirror in what looked like an old fashioned clothing store, with wooden shelves. A man in a gray suit said. "Welcome to Crystal Palace Hotels. This is a SII -- Lux IX Auto Dresser and I am James the Standard Human Male Start Sequence Avatar. This is the London Tailor set."

Before me appeared a glowing circle with small representations of other sets. "You may choose any of the 35 standard Sets, design your own or upload your preferred set from your PDD."

I said. "Skip this selection sequence and begin. Casual standard clothing."

I felt something constricting my body, as the assembly arms and nanites started their work, invisible to me inside the simulation. My reflection in the mirror showed me a selection of pants and shirts. I choose black leather pants, all terrain boots and a dark red shirt.

James the Simulation said. "This model is fully stylist and hygiene enabled. Do you wish a shave, hair styling, massage or body hygiene sequences?"

I had a few blonde whiskers and wondered if I should keep wearing my hair in braids, the system offered me a few style suggestions and I opted for a pony tail and a shave.

As I stepped out I wore the clothing I had selected and my hair in the new fashion. Exa was still busy in the bath room so I sat down before the GalNet terminal and asked to be connected to Mr. Silverzweig.

He came on almost immediately and I saw he was in some kind of meeting. "Hello Eric. Nice of you to call. Is there something I can help you with?"

"If you are busy I can always call later, Sir."

"Call me David. I call you Eric after all. This is a boring conference on Tuktian Law. Please tell me what is on your mind."

I told him about my latest adventure, about Exa and the inhumane conditions she had described at Mother Moore. While I talked he actually took notes on a pad pad with a stylus and then said. "Your Grandfather was very much like that. He too could not look away or keep his nose out of trouble. I am glad you called me. I am going to call a friend of mine and have him investigate Mother Moore and if we can proof any wrong doings, we shut them down. As for Exa, you are not old enough to adopt her or become her legal guardian, but your father, your Uncle Hogun or any other adult on I Nilfeheim could. If you can organize an official invitation from Nilfeheim, she can then legally travel there."

"Good Idea. I do that."

"I am glad I could be of service. I agree with you that the Union as whole should do something about that. I will think about it for a while and keep you posted if I have an idea."

After I said good bye I called home and it was Greifen who took the call. "Greetings Lord Eric. The chief, father is down in the basements with the construction crew. We're digging a few more levels out of the rock and expand leather production. Your sister is a whirlwind of ideas. One moment I think Midril is signaling me... ah yes Elena is coming."

Elena appeared, taking off her cold mask and her thick gloves and yelled. "Eric."

After exchanging family and local gossip I told her the story. Exa had silently appeared next to me and stared at Elena. My sister got an angry face and said. "Those bastards. You send that girl on her way. I'll talk to the Ancient and father right away to get that invitation. I will call you back as soon asI know more."

Exa said. "That lady looked like a princess. Who was she?"

"That was Elena, my sister." I turned and stopped talking. Exa had transformed from a filthy underground kid to a beautiful little girl.

The Auto dresser had changed her dusty gray mob of short hair in a shiny brown bob cut. Her skin was of the finest complexion. She wore a nice green dress with white lace around the collar and sleeves. The skirt reached to her knees and she wore white tights and black shoes. She blushed." I always wanted a dress. I never had one. You don't like it, right?"