Answers Part 1
01 Dec 2017MMMMMalcolm
HIP 11832127 NOV 3303
I hurried back to the mission office. It was 1630, and I did not have much time left before they closed. I didn’t care if they only offered commodities as payment, if someone wanted to go to Damona, I was going to take them. If I wanted a crowd on the Warm Embrace’s gangway, I would need more than the nine tourists already under contract. I got to the office at 1650, ten minutes before closing. I did not leave until 1800. The clerk was not happy, but I didn’t care. The eighty-nine passengers booked for Damona gave me my crowd and a nice little 10 million credit pay-day to look forward to.
Back on the ship, I started cleaning the Anaconda’s bridge. I intended to just pick up the occasional shirt, put away the stray pair of shoes. But by the time I got done, I had polished all the consoles, mopped the deck, and cleaned the canopy inside and out. It’s been a while since I’ve had company over. System checks complete, I clicked off the lights in the Captain’s Quarters around 0230 hours. I didn’t expect to get much sleep anyway.
Later that morning I was showered, brushed, shaved, and dressed by 0800 hours. The crowd was already lining up outside, jostling for the best cabins. Boy were they disappointed when they saw they were all the same; “Economy”. I needed a crowd; their comfort was not my concern.
I stood at the top of the gangway checking identification, taking tickets, and directing passengers to the cabin decks. A third of the way through, I vowed I would have a crew as soon as I could get one. That’s when an elderly woman bumped into me. She was wearing a long black dress. I could see the bottom of it covered in yellow flowers. The rest was hidden by a steel blue-gray hooded cloak that blended in with her hair. She stood hunched over, leaning on a cane.
“Excuse me baby,” she said as she gave me her identification card. I was just about to ask for her ticket, when that cane landed on my toe.
“Oh no, pardon me ma’am,” I replied through gritted teeth. “Can I help you to your quarters?”
“That would be nice. You know I don’t get around like I used to. Thank you young man.”
I roped off the gangway, explaining to the next passengers, I would be right back. I took her to the Captain’s Quarters. It took a few minutes. One reason was because I made it look like we were going where all the other passengers went. The other reason was because Kay played her part until we were certain no one was watching. Despite the intermission, all the passengers boarded and situated themselves without complaint; at least none they voiced to me. At 0900 the Warm Embrace left Herzog Gateway and headed toward Damona.
“Frame Shift Drive charging. 4…3…2…1…Engage.”
Kay walked onto the bridge like the countdown was announcing her presence. No longer in character, she walked across the bridge with long confident strides. An all-black flight suit replaced the flowered dress. She was in no mood for small talk. She kept the silver hair and added silver nail polish for a bit of contrast.
The trip to Littrow City, from the main star, only takes about twenty minutes. I made sure the Navigation computer would not get us there before ninety minutes passed. Kay quietly sat in the co-pilot’s chair and folded her arms. I turned the captain’s chair to face her. Not one for awkward silences, I went first.
“So where do you want to start?”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning, with a promise of full disclosure?”
“Okay. My real name is Malcolm Goodwin. I was born June 19, 3274 on Earth, in what was once England. I had a feeling the couple raising me, Tom and Nancy Simmons, were not my real parents, since their skin was so much lighter than mine. At age ten they admitted to me that I was their foster child. But, they said, that did not stop them from loving me as their own. I believed them and at age twelve I ran away to find my real parents.
All I found was hard days, fear-filled nights, and trouble. I knew all the local security officers by their first names. After a while they stopped taking me back to Mr. and Mrs. Simmons. Maybe because they knew I wouldn’t stay; maybe because Mr. and Mrs. Simmons got tired of me causing problems and stopped answering the officers’ calls. Maybe Tom and Nancy had a child of their own. I didn’t know, and I didn’t stick around to find out.”
“What are your parents’ names?”
“I don’t know. I was a kid. No one knew of any Mr. or Ms. Goodwin. Hospitals would not talk to me. I didn’t know what it took to make it on my own. My grand plan to get answers became a simple fight for survival. I scurried from place to place; getting by on whatever I could beg or steal; grateful I wasn’t robbed, raped, or murdered. Had I been in Imperial space, I guarantee you I would have been someone’s slave.”
“So how did you make it here?” Kay asked, waving a hand to encompass everything around us.
“I wouldn’t say I made it here. It was more like I was brought here. On my sixteenth birthday I was determined to celebrate. It wasn’t like I was excited about my situation; I just wanted something a little different. I staked out a local bar, watching the hoppers come and go, and late that night I made my move. The girl couldn’t have been older than twenty one and she and her date stumbled out of the bar like they had just certified that fact. When I walked between them to split them up, I bumped into her date hard. He did not notice me take his wallet out of his blazer pocket. The girl tripped and fell. He swung at me because his date fell, but he missed and fell also. I made a hasty retreat.
A block and a half later I surveyed my spoils. The chip in his wallet had a 500 thousand credit balance. I rented a decent hotel suite, took a shower, ordered room service three times, and had the best night’s sleep I think I’ve ever had. Later that day, around noon, after I had dragged myself out of bed, I opened the door to check out and get some new clothes. Only, my exit was blocked by a tall, wide fellow in a tailored suit. He said the credits belonged to an organization that employed the gentleman I stole them from. His calm polite demeanor was unnerving. He said his job was to watch over the employee. He said my little stunt made not only his organization and his charge look bad, but it made him look bad. My options were to work off my debt or the alternative; and he advised me I would not enjoy the alternative.
I looked at the white man closely. His jet black hair was slicked back behind his head, but cut well above his collar. His black suit and white shirt were tailored so they weren’t too tight anywhere. Though I was certain he wasn’t out of shape, I had no idea how strong he was; and I was only sixteen. I had lost more street fights than I had won. I figured I’d agree and get away later.
He treated me to a late breakfast, bought me new clothes, and then drove me to an abandoned building outside of town. The guy I robbed was already there waiting for us. He started towards me, his face beet red with anger. Our guardian stopped him. His back toward me, he addressed us; his focus firmly on the other guy. He said the organization’s assets were more important than anything else. He said if we couldn’t protect those assets we were a liability. I’ll never forget the sound of that .45 going off in that hollow building. My guardian didn’t even wait for him to drop. He turned to leave and suggested I follow. He drove me back to the suite. He said he would be back in a week and I would be wise to be there when he returned. I had that picture taken while he was gone. When he returned, he took me to a holo-lab and changed my appearance. He said my new name was Malcolm Xavier. As far as the galaxy was concerned, Malcolm Goodwin was dead. He then took me to the local Pilot’s Federation building and enrolled me in their training. I’ve been flying for him ever since.”
“What’s his name?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s the organization called?”
“I don’t know.”
“C’mon Malcolm. This does not sound like full disclosure.”
“Honest, I don’t know. He hasn’t told me his name, and after the abandoned building, I haven’t asked. All I have been able to gather these thirteen years is that it doesn’t matter what part of space they are in, they do what they want, when they want, without fear of any consequences from anyone. I overheard once, some ridiculous goal to prepare humanity for some sort of alien attack. But I had no idea what it meant. After the second year I stopped worrying about who they were and concentrated on how to get out of this in one piece.”
“So why are you still with them? You’re a pretty good pilot if you can handle an Anaconda alone. Space is a big place. Why didn’t you just disappear?”
“At first I was terrified. The look on that guy’s face when he got shot has haunted me for years. Then I started paying attention to how my guardian operated. If I was going to disappear I needed to know how to hack Galnet, access holo-labs, and erase all traces of my existence. Even then, I believed it would be difficult for me to get away. It would be impossible without any credits.”
“I saw the credit chip you gave me. There’s more than enough for you to live out your days comfortably on some remote station…”
“It’s not just for me.”
“Who then, some hooker you met in the bubble?”
“No, it’s for my parents. I plan to sink every chip I collect into finding my parents.”
Kay sat quiet for a second. When she leaned forward to ask another question, the navigation computer announced our arrival in Damona. Our time was up.