HESTIA SYSTEM OUTER MARK RECIEVING & TRANSMISSION STATION 818
The hum of the station’s Particle Wave Receptors grew as the latest transmission filled the Receiving Buffer. Once all the compressed matter was compiled, it would be reconstituted by the Spatial Inductors. The compressed Warp Bubble would reappear in local spacetime and then disengaged releasing the contained Transport. Station Supervisor Ala Illima knew the process with mind-numbing familiarity. This was her tenth ESY aboard the 818 and she was ‘short’ with another six weeks left until eligible to take leave.
Three years on station and six months off with a full ten year commitment was the rotation she’d signed up for. Fortunately, Supervisor Illima had a friend in HESTIA Control Personnel & Contracts Division who gave her the inside info concerning her contract obligations. Though three six month leave periods were authorized, the full period of ten years aboard the station must be completed. Instead of taking the expected work and leave cycles, she took her friend’s advice and opted to forgo her third leave period to ride out the six month period. By doing so it would place her in the ‘hardship loophole’ of the contract. As a System employee, she would be placed on administrative leave for the remaining six months of her obligation and could either take her remaining paid leave or sell it back to HESTIA Control for a sizeable amount.
It was a hell of a gamble because being the only gestated being aboard the 818, her only coworkers were Mech Manu’s. It would be accurate to say being on a station at the edge of the system’s Kuiper Belt with nothing but Mech’s for the last four years and no leave had the Supervisior just a few centimeters from going ‘space crazy’. Illima nearly went broke downloading entertainment streams after her stash of illegal recordings got old a year after she’d returned. If she could afford it, waiting in her compartment would be a finely muscled Bio-Mech Android with a tight behind and a big....
The near completion warning sounded as the Inductors continued to increase power for Spatial Decompression. Unlike with FTL jumps, there was a much longer period to bring a vessel back into real space from Particle Wave Transmission. Supervisor Illima felt a couple of ESH decompressing was worth the wait vice spending dozens if not tens of thousands of light years trying to go one way anywhere! The Supervisor looked to the Hard Light instrument panel and saw seven transports at various buffer levels. The one preparing to reenter real space was the Corporate Transport, DROMEDARY.
Looking at the transmission manifest, Illima could see the DROMEDARY transmitted from OASIS10. “Shit! Talk about being stationed in the ass end of the middle of nowhere....” Bad as 818 was the Supervisor could at least see the system star from the observation port on the station’s common deck. The Transport’s name was familiar to Illima. Her PHUD ran a search for references and came up with a doozy. “By the Core! That’s where the lucky bastard who won the new ZII Android is stationed. Leave it to some corporate flunky to hit the jackpot with a prototype Manu!” The Supervisor put aside her searing envy as she commanded her manufactured crew to the task of reintegrating compressed space.
An incoming transmission alert flashed red on Supervisor Illima’s instrument panel. It was a Priority One Secured Call. Frowning Illima grumbled, “Who the fuck could that be?” Not wanting to ignore a priority call the Supervisor called out to the Station AI. “818!”
“Supervisor Illima, how may I assist you?”
“818, take the control over the reintegration process while I answer this call.”
“Acknowledged Supervisor Illima. I will comply.”
The Supervisor transferred the call from the hard light panel to her PHUD. Her personal communications array was more secure than HESTIA System’s monitored network. Illima accepted the call and then the gold winged logo of HERMES MESSAGING GALACTIC filled the viewing area. It was quickly replaced by a red flashing graphic which said ‘CLASSIFIED’
“What in the core?” exclaimed Illima as she steeled herself for whatever the message was. The graphic winked out and was replaced by an empty black vis feed followed by an audio feed that stated, “The following information is classified level 616 MBB. Authorized recipients of this information are subject to the Personal Disclosure Clause of their contracts. Any divulgement of this information to unauthorized corporate or governmental entities, personnel or manufactured beings will be considered a breach of contract and the offending contractor will be immediately terminated.”
Illima felt her blood drain from her face despite the efforts of her PBM to maintain consistent blood pressure. “Holy shit....” The blank feed was replaced by the face of a hard edged yet attractive human female. Her golden skin was accented by carefully braided black hair and punctuated by dark green eyes.
“Greetings Station Supervisor Ala Illima. I am Director Tacia Graves ZEUS INTERSTELLAR INDUSTRIES Research and Development Division. Do you have two Transports in buffer catalog nomenclature, MWGA WHIPLASH and EPIMETHEUS SUPPLY Co-op DROMEDARY?” With a quick look at the display Illima replied, “Y-yes Director Graves I do.” Those green eyes stared emotionless for a long moment and Illima could see her stress levels spike in her PHUD. When the Director spoke again, the Supervisor flinched.
“Station Supervisor, listen very carefully. You will allow the Corporate Cargo Transport DROMEDARY to enter real space and depart for AIPOTU on schedule. You will detain the MWGA Attack Transport WHIPLASH in the Receiving Buffer for a period of no more or less than ten ESM’s. Once you allow them to complete reentry, use this Hold Authorization to delay WHIPLASH entry into the System for no more or less than six ESH."
Illima opened the transmitted Authorization file and her eyes went wide. It was a legitimate document from the Milky Way Galactic Authority. The Hold was for authorization to allow ‘Exotic Weaponry’ into HESTIA System space. “What in the core is this?” gasped the Supervisor.
The cold voice tens of thousands of light-years away gave the flabbergasted System Employee a stern warning. “Supervisor Illima, it is in your best interest to not ask questions and comply. You will find in your financials a deposit into a new account with your authorization code. You will also find your ‘Hardship’ has been expedited. As of seven hours from now, you will be on fully paid Administrative Leave for one ESY. Lastly, I have forwarded a Travel Authorization for any destination of your choice long as it is out of the HESTIA System.”
Supervisor Illima’s head began to swim! The amount deposited in the new account raised her financials to more than ten times what she could make during her original contract! That and she would be authorized to un-ass this core-be-damned station in seven hours instead of six more months with full pay and benefits? That cold voice now expressed impatience. “I trust all the arrangements meet with your satisfaction Supervisor?” With a nod Illima replied, “Absolutely Director!”
Those green eyes showed the slightest hint of satisfaction and the Director then said, “Very well. Begin immediately at the termination of this feed. I am certain you need not be reminded of the consequences of disclosure?” Illima’s blood suddenly went cold at the Director’s reminder that wasn’t a reminder. Calmly she replied, “I have no idea who you are and I doubt I’ll remember much of anything within the next minute and thirty seconds.” Those green eyes seemed to smile. “Very well Supervisor. It has been a pleasure doing business with you.”
The feed went black and the blue white graphic END TRANSMSSION was left for a moment and then Illima’s PHUD cleared except for open files which she quickly closed. Looking back at her hard light display panel, the Supervisor saw DROMEDARY was instants away from reentry while WHIPLASH was seventy-five percent from completion. Inputting the Reentry Hold Authorization into the display a red warning graphic appeared. The Station’s AI said, “Warning, Exotic Weaponry detected. Reentry Hold initiated. Secondary Security Scan initiated. Estimated time for scan completion is ten Earth Standard Minutes.”
The ten minute scan would result in a twenty hour extension for those in Bubble Time aboard the Attack Transport. Illima was certain the captain would be mad enough to spit nickel-iron micro meteorites, but the legit Hold Authorization would cover her ass and keep them here at the outer marker for an additional five hours and fifty minutes. It was tough for them, but Illima couldn’t give a shit. In seven hours, she would be boarding the next transport never to see 818 again. With financials filled to the brim, all Illima could see was her future home on some sunlit tropical planet with a spanking new musclebound Manu’! It was too bad though. She had really looked forward to going back to AIPOTU....
© 2013 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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