Brooks came onto the bridge without a word.
Logus and Urle were there, and after a moment he realized that Kell was also there, standing and leaning against the wall.
It was strange, considering the dramatic effect of his presence upon them all when he’d arrived. He wondered just how much the Shoggoth could suppress that strange quality it possessed.
Sitting down, Brooks gestured to the two men.
“I’d like to hear your reports before I begin,” he said.
“This colony is in a bad way,” Urle said. “I went out with my kids, and we explored some of the markets. There’s a lot of desperation and poor health. They seem to have an elevated case incidence of cancers and little ability to treat them. I didn’t feel like we were in danger, but we were also in an area clearly intended for outsiders.”
Logus spoke next. “I agree. I took a brief walk and attempted to access what public systems I could – they have very little in the way of education systems. Frankly, it’s bizarre how little there seems to be. For a colony of 30,000, there should be more children. I didn’t see any.”
“Actually, I didn’t either,” Urle noted.
“What do you think is the source of their cancer epidemic?” Brooks asked.
“Radiation,” Urle said without hesitation. “I can’t prove it without looking at the outside of the colony, but I think their radiation shielding must be damaged or inadequate, and they lack the work force to fix it.”
“I think that some people suspect that, at least,” Logus said. “I saw desperation in many, and one man tried to barter his way onto our ship to leave.”
Brooks’s eyes widened in surprise. “What did you tell him?”
“That I would talk to you about it,” Logus said. “What do you want me to tell him?”
Brooks had to consider that. “I’m not against it. But I am concerned that if we take one person then too many will want to go. The Governor is wanting more people to come, not for us to be taking them out.”
“You don’t think he’ll consider an evacuation?” Urle asked. “Having people who want to leave trapped on a colony is a very bad thing. It can lead to unrest and even violence if allowed to fester.”
They all knew the stories – all very real – of colonies that had destroyed themselves with internal strife. Violent terrorists were a whole new level of dangerous when a large enough bomb could end up venting thousands into space – whether it was what the bombers intended or not.
“I think we’re already at that point,” Brooks said. “But I don’t think the Governor is wanting to give up. He wants to barter the CR for our help in making this colony dominate the system.”
Logus frowned, rubbing his chin. “That seems in line with what I saw in the welcoming. How far do you think he’ll go to secure what he wants?”
“I’m not sure,” Brooks replied. “He backed down when I made it clear that I wasn’t going to work around official channels, but I feel certain he’ll bring it up again. I have an appointment to talk with him again in the morning, so I’ll know more at that time.”
Brooks looked to Urle. “After I go to that meeting, I’d like to keep everyone on the ship until I return – just to make sure he can’t get any unofficial leverage against us.”
Urle’s brow furrowed with concern. “You really think this could escalate, Captain?”
“Yes,” Brooks said. “It could. As silly as it all seems, to someone in the Governor’s shoes, this could be his Hail Mary.”
Logus arched an eyebrow. “I’m not familiar with that term.”
“Old Earth phrase,” Brooks said. “It means a desperate last attempt at victory. Something unlikely to work, but you feel you have nothing left to lose, so you gamble.”
Urle exchanged a worried glance with Logus. “I’ll be sure the defense grid is kept on max.”
Brooks nodded. “Good. Also, I’d like to send a message back to the Craton. New Vitriol should have a transmitter.”
“They do,” Logus said. “I saw a sign pertaining to it. However, the fees are astronomical.”
“I imagine we can afford it,” Brooks replied. “Is there some other problem?”
“Yes,” Logus continued. “They monitor all outgoing transmissions. The citizen I spoke to seemed to believe so completely, at least.”
“Our codes should be quite secure,” Urle replied. “But the problem is going to be on the sending end. If they require us to input messages into a terminal there-“
“They do,” Logus said.
“-Then they can just literally observe us punching in a message,” Urle finished. “We could always insist on something more secure, but that will bring questions of its own. And if they insist that all outgoing messages must be screened, well – there’s a legal gray area there and we’d have an uphill battle.”
“Then we won’t bother with secrecy,” Brooks decided. “We can use this to our advantage. Send a message that says that the situation is proceeding well, then ask how many new civilians have joined the ship.”
“What about repair status?” Logus asked. “Shouldn’t the ship be nearly ready? It would be nice to have her come as backup.”
“No, we won’t mention it at all,” Brooks replied. “Just ask about the new arrivals, Urle.”
“Understood, sir.”
Logus glanced between them, slightly puzzled. “You want it to look to the Governor like you’re considering his request – asking how many people we might be able to spare,” he realized.
“I’m giving him nothing but a hope. It should keep him from taking any drastic actions.”
Brooks stood. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to get some rest. Let me know if anything happens.”
“One last thing, Captain,” Urle said. “Everyone has returned to the ship – except for Pirra and Cenz.”
Brooks stopped and checked his system for the local time. It was 2030. “There’s still time for them to return,” he noted.
“All the same, I’m somewhat concerned. I tried raising them on the comm, but there was no answer, and at one point I detected a similar signal to our ship’s own tracker – now, that can be a result of deflected signals off veins of certain minerals, but it could also be that someone was creating it to lure them away.”
Logus looked concerned as well. “Regardless of the cause, that could have drawn them in the wrong direction at the very least.”
Brooks felt his unease increase. “If they haven’t reported back by 2130 we’ll conduct a search in the immediate area. Keep trying to raise them.”
“If they aren’t back by curfew, sir?” Urle asked.
Brooks frowned. “Then I’ll have to speak to the Governor about it.”
Other Terrestrial 