COMPANY OF ADVENTURERS

Herded by guards, Dita descended the ramp with the other red-suited prisoners. An auditorium about 15 metres b 30 metres opened before them.

She felt a hand sliding down her back and shrugged it off angrily. Gregor, pet guard of Big Pussy and Little Pussy, grinned nastily back at her. “You’re still not free, Aglukak,” he said, his excellent teeth flashing. “I’m still in charge.”

She pushed through the crowd out of his range and found a seat among the throng, well away from the prison guards who had brought them from Hoosegow for this month’s release of those who had completed their sentences.

The prison director, a very fat man in military style uniform adorned with ribbons and medallions, waddled to the podium at the front of thestage. The Federated Worlds flag hung above the stage flanked by the flags of the eight terrformed planets. The director looked over the crowd .

“Citizens.” He paused while the hub bub slowly decreased. “ You are here because you have served out your time for whatever crime sent you here.

“Today is your complete discharge. You are all citizens of the New Worlds once more and you will have the full privileges of citizenship returned with your release.

“The central government of the Federated Worlds will provide transportation to your home planet or to the world of your choice , just as you were brought to Hoosegow from many worlds. You will receive your pay, for such hours as you worked as prisoners, minus the amount you spent in the canteen, if any.

“You will receive a new set of clothing.

“You will receive an updated ident card. You have the choice of being chipped with it or not, like any other citizen.

“Are there any questions?” Ignoring the few hands in the crown, the director waddled off the platform.

Dita looked around.There were over a hundred ex-convicts in the hall, from all over the eight terraformed planets and twenty terraformed moons of the Starbright system. They had been brought here from camps all over Hoosegow and she had never seen most of them before.

And frankly never wanted to see most of them again.

There was one familiar face, or more exactly a pair of bright blue eyes. The lad whose posse had helped her when she was attacked in the camp toilet had taken the seatright behind her.

The lad looked tired and anxious. a month of prison life evidently had been tougher than he had expected. She was annoyed when he leaned forward and whispered to her.

“I reckon I’ll pass on being chipped, eh?” he said. “I don’t want to be on anyone’s lists. I just want to get home to Ciccone. The money will help but the ride will help more. I didn’t make much in a month. These prisons don’t pay worth shit. Beg pardon. But I don’t even want the damned ident card. And I definitely am not bein’ chipped like a steer.”

Dita shrugged. “I dunno where my family ships are. With luck the paper pushers will be allowing us to send comms.”

“Yeah, they told me you was a spacer. It’s Dita Aglukak, right? You should come visit my family on Ciccone, if you have any trouble finding ’em. Or come anyways.My mother would be right delighted to meet you.”

Dita considered the offer. She’d be as happy never seeing this foolish youngster again. Still he had helped her out. And there was something about him that made her want to mother him.

“Will do. And that’s us dismissed. I’m in the A line-– You’re Hudson? the H’s are over there.”

“Now don’t forget,” the blue eyed lad repeated, with a smile that could charm the pants off a nun.

The prison clerks were surprisingly fast at processing the former prisoners. Of course, Dita realized, this would be just another day for them. Many prisoners, having lived outside the law, had no identity they admitted to. New lives and new identities were being formed.

The Release Centre, a satellite hiding behind Unix from the glare of Starbright was set up like a military base, with a civilian population catering to the off duty needs and desires of the uniforms and separate from the prison staff, a bureaucracy made up of social workers and resettlement specialists.

Most released prisoners would stay in barracks until their ships arrived or with luck and money find a hotel room and privacy for the first time in months.

From the standard garments made available to the newly released prisoners, Dita had chosen a white shirt that glowed against her deep brown skin, snug pants, and a thin linen vest with many pockets. The quartermaster assured Dita would keep her warm dirtside, and then made a few other less welcome suggestions about how to stay warm.

The package with her personal effects seemed almost complete, although she thought she was missing a few silver finger rings and her party lingerie seemed a little crusty.

She left the Release Centre , striding with renewed confidence in her old spacer boots. With her few belongings slung over her shoulder in the capacious leather satchel she had been carrying when she last saw her father and brother, disappearing in the landcar as the police tackled her to the ground. At a street stand she used one of her hard earned credits to get her head freshly shaved. The barber informed her that her scalp piercings had healed over during her three years of incarceration. She decided to wait on redoing those and slipped in her ear and nose jewelry.

It was time to find her family.

The Post Office, set into the fabric of the satellite, had a marble facade,with soaring columns and a statue that Dita recognized as Hermes, messenger of the gods. Seeing it, she felt hollow, remembering the bright toothless smile of her mother’s last baby, also Hermes, who had been too young for vaccination against the endemic neohansenitis on Lilliput Moon off Pentangle.

The Aglukak Family Concern had split then, their father, who had insisted on the job that took them to Lilliput, pushed out by her mother, who raged and screamed most of her children away with him. Only little Theseus and Sephie had stayed with her. The older children felt safer with their father.

Which in retrospect, had been a poor decision. The older boys had dropped away world by world, until there were only three left in the Aglukak Family Concern. Then only two.

Now Dita, with only five year old ansible contacts for a few of her elder siblings, some cheap jewelry, a new pilot’s license, less than one hundred credits for her three years of prison labour, a fresh ident chip that blessedly did not reveal her criminal record- not even the unproven charges – and a warm coat, stood beneath the winged sandals of the Old Earth god in the Post Office and looked for the public ansibles.

Only the number for Alcibides, now in sales-- whatever that meant- was still in service. He had no information on the rest of the fmily but reluctantly invited her to visit him on Quattro. He sounded surprised when Dita said she had transportation there, but gave her his coordinates.

She returned to the street, buying a cheap food cart meal of fried carrots and unnamed meat on a stick. She ate watching a newscast on a screen in the window of a store selling personal coms, bookpads, and other devices. When she returned to the Post Office Rand Hudson was just ahead of her in line for an ansible. He spotted her and called out , “Found your ship yet?”

“No response from my mother. My father’s account is closed. I’m trying my brothers.”

“I’m up next. Stay with me. I’d like to introduce you to my mother. “

“You’re really looking forward to goin’ home? There was some trouble on Ciccone I hear. Things will have changed.”

“I been away for near on a year, not counting the month on Hoosegow. But with a farm, nothing changes. Cattle need tendin’, buyers need findin’. Be nice to see a clear horizon and purple skies again.”

“Purple?”

“Yeah, somethin’ to do with protozoa in the oceans. I was surprised the first time I saw a blue sky.”

“You’re up, kid,” said the ex-con leaving the console. “Best of luck with your comm.”

“By your manner, you found your folks?” the boy asked, with genuine interest.

“Yep, off home to Akhbar.” The ex-con departed with a happy smile.

Rand punched in his mother’s code and his own. “Account closed” flashed on the screen.

“Please hold for verification.”

“That’s odd,” said Dita. “There was nothing about verification on my father’s closed account.”

“Please print out this document and bring it to Corone /Ciccone Reparations.”

“Sounds bad.”

“Naw. Just red tape gettin’ in the way. I’ll try it again.”

Same result.

“Corone/Ciccone Reparations”.

The Post Office clerk looked at the printout and asked Rand for his ident . He handed over his card.

“Ah, just released. Well, this kind of message is usually connected to a payment for expropriated property. Give me a moment.”

“Dita, I don’t have any property. Bluebell Farm is my mother’s, free and clear. No mortgage, no husband, no partners.”

“Let’s wait. Probly just red tape, some bureaucratic mixup. ”

The clerk returned. “Looks like this will take a little longer than I thought. I’ve got you an appointment with CCR. Would you be able to return tomorrow at 1400 hours?”

Rand agreed, puzzled.

“There was the… accident.. on Ciccone. Things are complicated. There’s the address.” The clerk shoved some thin ricepaper documents at him, and turned away rapidly.

Dita found another of her brothers near Pentangle, running ‘transport’, smuggling, the family specialty for generations.

“We’ve always run to smugglers and pirates. Kinda traditional for us. All the way back to Cornwall on Old Earth.” she explained to Rand who had attached himself to her, like a lost puppy.

“So you have a job to go to?”

“Guess. Not my favourite brother and he don’t know where mamma is. Not her favourite son come to that.”

“So what now? I’m up for gettin drunk, gettin laid, and having a meal with some food in it. Not

necessarily in that order. Wanna come along?” That smile again.

“Up for food. Up for drunk. But forget sex. At least not us two. ”

“Huh. Okay, fair enough, let’s see if there is a restaurant good enough for us . Then a bar bad enough.” That smile again.

Both were still hungover when they found the Corone /Ciccone Reparations office, a hastily set up area on the second floor of a half empty building. Dita was wondering how she had ended up paying for their toot. And why she was tagging along.

The CCR clerk had a thick file ready for Rand and let them o a private rooom decorated with glossy Corone Enterprise advertising posters.

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“Loss…..?” Rand repeated.

“Your mother’s death. During the accident on Ciccone.”

“Accident? There’s nothing on the ’casts. What happened?” Rand looked younger than ever.

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t have that much information,“ the clerk backtracked. “There is very little known about just what went wrong. The accident on Ciccone was less than 20 days ago. The full extent of the damage is unknown still and little information is being released. To prevent panic on other worlds.

“But basically, any Cicconens who didn’t make it to Summerfair or one of the other Sextet moons, is considered missing, presumed, and I am sorry for this, presumed dead. Because of the total failure of the terraforming, there is no breathable atmosphere. Corone Terraforming is taking full responsibility for the survivors and terms of payment have been worked out.

“Your mother is recorded as one of the fatalities. “

Rand sat stunned. Dita put her hand on his thigh.

“I don’t know if this is worse or better, Mr. Hudson,” continued the clerk. “As Ms. Hudson’s only relation, you are obviously her heir. However, all the livestock of the settlers also perished in the

catastrophe, sorry, accident, and the properties were demolished by earthquakes and volcanic activity. There is no farm any more. The land, at this time, is unusable. Again, it is not clear if this was a rogue error on the part of terraformer crews or if bad orders were given from a higher authority.

“What is clear, is that Corone is making reparations for the collateral damage of the accident.”

The boy just looked at the clerk. Dita had seen that look on long term prisoners who had given up on life. She tightened her grip on his thigh.

“Corone has made funds available to purchase the expropriated lands at their pre-accident value. In addition, the livestock will be paid for under the agreement made by those Ciccone authorities who escaped the accident.”

“The cowards who hightailed it off world,” muttered Rand.

“Well, yes, “ said the clerk, “Would you like a cup of tea?” She smiled nervously. “I’m not allowed anything stronger at my desk.”

“Give us a moment, please.” asked Dita. “This is a lot…”

“Of course. I’ll make that tea and give you a moment to reflect.”

“Bloody fucking shit.” said Rand, quietly.

“She means well. She is tryin’ to be kind.”

“Well, it’s not working.”

“Try to cool down. This is a lot to take in. We could pretend last night life was all moonbeams and star shine, but this is today and this is reality, Rand.”

“Dita. All I want is to go home. I’m done with adventure. I want to take care of my mother, maybe find a girl and make a new family. Now…”

“We can still go to Ciccone, son. There may be something there for you.”

“No. there’s nothing. My mother… No farm… No home.” He slammed a fist into the desk.

“I’ll say it again, Rand, I’m not disagreeing. But let’s see where the path leads before we start hitting people.”

The clerk reentered the room with a tray. She poured for Rand and Dita, then took her own mug. “World’s Best Mom” it said. Rand looked at it bitterly

“Oh. I’m sorry. My girl gave this to me for my…” she extended her hand to Rand, who pulled back swiftly.

“Perhaps we should keep this business-like,” Dita said flatly.

“Yes. Well. The proving of the estate will be expedited. The inspectors who are looking into Ciccone have already approved the funding and all we need is to prove that you are in fact the heir. Your release ident from the prison will be enough for that. “

“Seems sloppy.”

“Well, Ms... ? I’m sorry, we were not introduced.”

“Aphrodite Aglukak. I met Hudson here on Hoosegow. He may have saved my life. Still all htis seems strange, not three weeks ago? I ain’t seen nothing on the ’casts.”

Rand was still staring at the mug.

“As I said, the government is trying to prevent panic. If a moon as big as Ciccone ….I’ll assume you are in his confidence, then. The estate comes to 250 thousand credits. That should be enough to set up a new operation on another world. Frankly, from what I saw in my research yesterday, it will be a long time before Ciccone is inhabitable again.” The clerk was off-scrpt and uncomfortable.

Dita was, if possible, even more expressionless than usual. Rand was inside his own misery, unhearing.

The clerk forged on, “We will set up a bank account that Mr. Hudson can access. We prefer a second signer, because many of the recipients are still a little…

“You think the boy would try to drink that 250 thousand platinum ’thout supervision?”

“Sadly, Ms. Aglukak, it has happened. These times are difficult for survivors.”

“Hudson. C’mon, kid. Are you up to speed yet?”

“Dita?”

“Shall we set up the account? Are you willing for me to be your second signer?”

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. Then what….Let’s get out of this.”

“Could you set up the account for him? If you need time..”

“I will, and if you came back at this time tomorrow, I should have the paperwork processed and ready to sign.”

“Thank you , Ms. Shen. And I apologize for the boy’s less than pleasant and calm demeanor.”

“He didn’t try to stab me, like the guy this morning, so I’m fine. Tomorrow at 1400?”

Dita took Rand back to the hotel room they had shared the previous night.

“If I can make a suggestion?”

“What is it, Dita?”

“Come with me to Quattro. My brother Alcibides expects me. It’s an urban world, mostly. I’ve been there before, as a kid, we based there when the older ones was doing their Federal Twelve prep. Take a look around, some R&R. Maybe get a picture of where you want to go from there.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“Someone to stand with me against my brother. Suspect I’ll need that. A friend, I hope. And maybe I have an idea for a business opportunity….”