Emerald Repatriation Society: The Dreamers (Part 26)
24 Feb 2024Vasil Vasilescu
(<--Part 25)With my boots magnetically clamped to the ceiling of the small cargo bay, I watched as a limpet secured the last of six stasis pods aboard the Always Lost. The limpet’s manipulator arms worked with insect-like speed and precision clamping the pod in place and connecting it to ship’s power. Once finished, the limpet returned to its ready position just outside of the ship. A kilometer away, the Plymouth, a Type 7 transport flying parallel to the Always Lost, was a black brick silhouette against the yellow-banded clouds of the gas giant we orbited.
“Cargo Secure,” I said over the com. “Thanks, Bobby. Say hi to Dara for me.”
“Will do, Vas. See you at Bonham’s. Out.” The Plymouth pulled slowly away, rolled and accelerated out of orbit as my cargo hatch began to close.
The main cargo doors sealed shut, silent in the vacuum but sending small vibrations through the hold as the magnetic seals engaged. “Jefferson, release limpet for planet fall and pressurize cargo hold. Maintain orbit.”
The ship’s COVAS acknowledged the commands and sent the limpet at full speed toward the gas giant. I disengaged my boot magnets and with light push floated down to the six stasis pods. Health monitor displays on the pods blinked slowly, strangely reminding me of cheap, multicolored holiday lights.
While waiting for the pressure to normalize, I went down the line of slave pods, verifying each pod’s emergency battery was charged, the pod’s Imperial Slave Association registration number matched that of the occupant, and that each sleeper’s vitals were within acceptable stasis range. I double checked everything on the last pod holding my sister, Elena.
Her destination, like the others, was Bonham’s, an elite resort hotel on Kuyu B1, where she was to be the Executive Concierge. Of the six professional-level slaves, I’d made sure Elena had the top position, which was easy enough given that she had owned her own ski resort before Octavia’s Abdicare had forced her into debt slavery. The other five slaves were also assigned to concierge and VIP guest services, but I did not care about their positions. They were here only to help hide the fact that I was breaking the law by having Elena on board. A family member lending any aid to someone under the edict of an Abdicare made that person subject to the Abdicare as well, meaning I risked being disowned and having my property confiscated if I was caught helping Elena.
Octavia had made her position clear. She would not rescind the Abdicare et Recuperare against our sister even though the information used as justification for it has been proven false. It took too many political favors to get an Imperial seal on the Abdicare, and Octavia would not be made a fool of by having those favors wasted, even if the Abdicare was a mistake. A mistake, Octavia reminded me, based on information I had provided.
I think, too, that Octavia did not want to return property confiscated from Elena. Octavia had gifted Elena’s beach villa to an Imperial advisor to help speed up the Abdicare process, and she would be liable for restitution since the beach villa could not be returned to Elena. As politically determined as Octavia was, she was doubly determined to maintain her wealth. She’d never voluntarily give up any of it unless it benefitted her in some greater way.
The curious thing about wealth is the more you have, the easier it is to hide. Dispersing wealth across shell companies and shadow investments makes a money trail difficult to follow. It allows a person to commit money to actions and manipulate events without appearing to be directly involved. That is how I managed to get Elena.
Jack Vaughn had found that the slave broker, Sherad Services, held Elena’s contract. All it cost me to get the info from the reporter was telling him that ERS might soon be entering negotiations to resettle war refugees in the Cubeo system. Bad Investments Ltd, a shell company I’d set up months ago to hide the source of supply shipments for damaged stations outside of Imperial space, took a contract with Bonham’s to provide high-quality slaves, and then purchased slaves from Sherad. For a 15% cut of the profits, Bobby Jacobs, one of the ERS rescue contractors and an old trading friend, agreed to act as proxy for obtaining and delivering the slaves. In addition to the normal workers, Bonham’s wanted six elite-quality slaves for their concierge services. I told Bobby I wanted to deliver them personally. He had no idea my sister was among the six slaves he brought to me.
I could have had Bobby deliver Elena in order to further insulate myself from being the one helping her, but I felt I owed it to Elena to deliver her myself. Before Bad Investments took over her contract, Elena had been assigned as a galley cook on a mega-transport. She’d languish in slavery for twelve years or more as a cook before the debt cleared. I would not let that happen.
The atmospheric indicators all went green, and I disengaged the helmet visor. Frost had formed on the pod’s viewport, so I brushed it off to get a better look at my sister. My eyes drifted to the pod’s controls. If I brought Elena out of stasis, I could tell her I was going to make things right for her, and maybe find absolution for myself in that kind smile of hers. As tempting as it was, I could not risk someone at Bonham’s reporting the pod being opened prior to delivery.
Logically, I knew Elena could not hear me while suspended in artificial sleep. Guilt, though, is more powerful than logic and it pressed down on me now that I finally saw the consequences of my failure to help her sooner. The words were not for her, but for me, and I poured them out like a penitent renouncing their sins. “I am going to make this right for you, I promise. I hope you understand that the fix cannot be immediate; it would look too suspicious if I paid out the entire debt at once. However, I’ve arranged it so that Bad Investments is covering slave maintenance and upkeep as long as Bonham’s keeps you on staff. That, along with performance credits and bonuses from Bad Investments, means your twelve-year contract could be completed in as little as three."
“Three years," I repeated as if it was a life sentence, but then a smile crept onto my face as a memory came back to me. "Not nearly as long as thirty, which was the last time you were on board. I remember that you came with Alex and that it was about a year before you two got married. You were the only one to come say goodbye when I left for the void."
That day on Mackenzie Station when she came to say goodbye, she was so excited for me. More thrilled than I was, I think. So much, in fact, that I became lost in her exuberance and forgot to tell her the one thing I wanted to say before I left. “When I said I wanted to go exploring the deep void, everyone called it a foolish dream. But not you. You told me that dreams not followed are always lost, and if we never follow our dreams how would we ever know where they might lead. I named this ship Always Lost to remind me to never stop following dreams.
"You've always encouraged others to dream, Elena. I hope all of this has not stopped you from dreaming, and that you dream of Alex and your family, because more than anything I can do, that is what will lead you home."
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