Dadr'Ba (23 page)

With Su’Zi’s last words to him the night before weighing heavy on his mind, P’Ko arrived at the lower-level warehouse of the fuel processing facility, only minutes before the supply shuttle that was to depart. He was thankful that the shuttle didn’t leave early making him miss his first day, with who knows what consequences.

The supply shuttle operates autonomously, typically without passengers, this time, it had two, P’Ko and a D’En wearing an exoskeleton and eSuit (environmental suit).

This D’En that was going down to P’Ko’s camp didn’t possess the bio-mods needed. The D’En wore gear, though bulky, probably exceeded the strength and sustained endurance of the bio-mods of P’Ko and the Mi’Nr’s. The D’En seemed almost like a person trussed up like a wannabe soldier and reminded P’Ko that occasionally soldiers accompanied high-level D’En’s and other high-value assets at certain high visibility events.

The D’En scowled at P’Ko convinced that P’Ko was a slob and disregarded instructions and authority. Letting P’Ko know that he should have arrived properly prepared and on time.

P’Ko’s sloppiness jeopardized his inspection schedule, and he cursed P’Ko for being late, mumbling something about Kr’s being too stupid to follow simple instructions. P’Ko didn’t think he was expected to hear. However, P’Ko had trained himself while working with his ba to listen attentively to machines to help diagnose problems, so P’Ko heard every word.

The D’En finally introduced himself as Sh’P’Po
[82]
, an engineer being sent down to perform an inspection of the Mi’Nr’s operations. Immediately, P’Ko didn’t like the guy, and he didn’t need to use psychic abilities to tell the feeling was mutual. But underneath it all, P’Ko could sense that this D’En was hiding something.

The supply shuttle was already loaded and ready to back into the freight elevator which would take them down to the beginning of Zone Three where they would exit the elevator
[83]
and ride the supply shuttle the rest of the way through tunnel passages to sector three’s T’Bm in operation.

They’ll pass through several airlocks which lay adjacent to circulation control baffles and pass condensers and pumps used to regulate the internal temperature of Dadr’Ba preventing it from overheating and melting.

P’Ko tossed his large duffel into the shuttle’s cargo compartment under the rear deck with ease. It contains the new uniforms and eSuits Su’Zi asked him not to wear and most of the list of personal items that was attached to his reporting instructions. Followed by, and handled carefully because it contains some delicate instruments (including diagnostic equipment and his micro repair station), his tool bag.

P’Ko carried his personal bag over his shoulder, it contained, among other things, an extra reader and data cartridges like the one he fixed up on his side job during his bio-mod wait. It was a match for the one he turned over to Lu’Gs for his un-named D’En client. Both readers are in excellent shape for being over a thousand years old, P’Ko upgraded the power supplies and RF shielding and disabled the wireless functions to eliminate any risk of stray emanations that the CASS might detect, (no sense inviting a visit from the CASS).

P’Ko was proud of the work he’d done on the readers, they possessed the bulk of the technological history of an entire civilization, in a package that you could hold in the palms of your hands. He couldn’t help but keep one.

He had an unspoken agreement with Lu’Gs that he could take parts in partial payment for his labor. Lu’Gs never complained, and P’Ko never took advantage. It worked out well for Lu’Gs as the parts cost him practically nothing.

P’Ko and Sh’P’Po loaded into the shuttle as its D’En accented voice announced that passengers need to secure their gear and that it was going to depart in two minutes. They got to their seats just as the shuttles automatic doors were closing.

Once underway Sh’P’Po began to relax and soon began to make small talk, even apologizing for his earlier outbreak. P’Ko wasn’t interested in conversation but relented after it became apparent that Sh’P’Po wasn’t going to be ignored and persisted in earnest attempting to draw P’Ko into conversation.

Trapped, seated next to Sh’P’Po for the duration the trip P’Ko relented and began to respond. Though P’Ko still didn’t trust him.

P’Ko soon deducted that though Sh’P’Po pretended to have no prior knowledge, Sh’P’Po showed indications that he knew a lot about him.

Based on the sequence and the phrasing of the questions Sh’P’Po asked, P’Ko began to feel like Sh’P’Po was digging for personal information. Sh’P’Po knew P’Ko was a new trainee on its way to his first assignment and asked about his family and how they felt about him becoming a Mi’Nr. Sh’P’Po gave away his advance knowledge when he asked about P’Ko’s brother when P’Ko hadn’t mentioned the gender of his sibling. P’Ko didn’t let on that he noticed the slip.

It raised P’Ko’s suspicion even more that Sh’P’Po seemed bothered that he wasn’t wearing his CA issued work uniform and eSuit, hinting that P’Ko was violating some rule or regulation. The reporting instructions didn’t explicitly state what clothes or uniform he was to report in, but the implication was clear. P’Ko was wearing a clean, pressed, used work coveralls given to him by his Ba, proudly displayed his id badge indicating his status as a sector three apprentice Mi’Nr.

P’Ko began to appreciate the advice he received from Su’Zi about not wearing one of the crisp new uniforms that were given to him by the CA; the more Sh’P’Po talked, the more P’Ko wanted to distance himself from the CA.

Nearly halfway to their destination, Sh’P’Po was still talking constantly, asking questions, acting more and more friendly. Sh’P’Po slowly needled information out of P’Ko, occasionally tipping off that he knew more than he should.

P’Ko found himself suckered into an overtly friendly, but with sharp undertones, verbal sparring match. At first, P’Ko thought he held his own in the verbal battle, but as it continued, P’Ko began to realize that Sh’P’Po was learning more about P’Ko than P’Ko had learned about Sh’P’Po, which was nothing.

Irritated P’Ko began to withdraw, sensing this, Sh’P’Po shifted gears and took on a noticeable change in attitude, bearing and behavior. Sh’P’Po’s voice even changed, now smooth, and softer. Sh’P’Po leaned in towards P’Ko and reintroduced himself, saying that he liked P’Ko and wanted to be friends. Sh’P’Po went on to say that he was in a position to help P’Ko and offered P’Ko his non-D’En nickname, “Lo’Ri.”
[84]

This new name and attitude was friendlier on the surface, but P’Ko’s psychic senses alarmed with deception, and P’Ko had to force the tension in his muscles to relax to prevent them showing on his face or posture and tip off to “Lo’Ri”, Sh’P’Po’s failed deception.

P’Ko realized that Sh’P’Po/Lo’Ri was good at getting information out of people, better than P’Ko was at preventing it. P’Ko tried to divert the conversation and move the topic from P’Ko to Lo’Ri. P’Ko asked if Lo’Ri wasn’t a girl’s name? To which Lo’Ri replied, and patted P’Ko on the thigh, “yeah, but it was given to me a long time ago, and I’ve grown attached to it.” Sending P’Ko a clear signal verbally, physically and psychically, that Lo’Ri was moving his conversational dominance into a whole new realm.

P’Ko did his best to ignore Lo’Ri’s advance, but it didn’t stop Lo’Ri. Lo’Ri went on to talk about how “I” could “really” use a friend among the Mi’Nr’s and how “we” would make a “great” team. Lo’Ri and P’Ko would need to keep their friendship private “just between the two of us” and that Lo’Ri knew of some “ways” to help keep their relationship secret. So that the “others” who wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t find out.

With P’Ko’s help, Lo’Ri could help P’Ko, his family, and even his Mi’Nr friends. Lo’Ri asked what P’Ko wanted out of life? Credits, nice clothes, bio-mods, vacations, perhaps a better apartment for his family in Nu’Tn.

Lo’Ri went on to say that aside from making “good” things happen that a friend with connections to the CA could help prevent “bad” things from happening too. The threat underlying the statement was clear, that if P’Ko didn’t agree that bad things were in store for himself and everyone around him.

All this was too much for P’Ko and P’Ko went silent, he stared out the window. But this didn’t stop Lo’Ri, who seemed to sense that he’d achieved a goal. Putting his hand on P’Ko’s shoulder said very softly “I know it’s difficult, but you don’t have to worry, we can be very discreet.” 

Then after a long pause, watching P’Ko carefully as P’Ko stared out the window, “I understand, you need to let this all soak in, but don’t worry, you’re my friend, and I’m going to look out for you.”

P’Ko could sense the deception oozing out of Lo’Ri and had to practice one of his martial arts mind-clearing meditation techniques to control a sudden feeling of nausea, and to keep from striking out at Lo’Ri.

Lo’Ri must have been successful with his technique, or he wouldn’t be as practiced and confident with it as he projected psychically. Lo’Ri’s method must work most of the time against U’Te’s, which would explain why Lo’Ri used it against P’Ko, but P’Ko couldn’t imagine it working against a Mi’Nr, a Mi’Nr would sense right through the deception. 

P’Ko sensed Lo’Ri setting next to him gloating in self-satisfaction thinking that he had turned or trapped P’Ko into becoming some pawn or instrument to be used at his or the CASS’s bidding.

They descended the mining tunnel to the lower levels, passing through the atmospheric control locks, the gravity increasing substantially and the temperature decreased significantly. P’Ko could feel the growing pressure on his joints and his muscle tension firm up in reaction. He also felt a difference in his breathing and wasn’t sure it was due to the gravity or to the change in the atmosphere.

The environment outside the shuttle was becoming increasingly hostile, the puddles the shuttle was splashing through were ammonia or possibly methane, by the time they arrive at the mining camp the puddles will likely be nitrogen or oxygen.

Even with his bio-mods survival without an eSuit would be measured in minutes. P’Ko began to doubt the wisdom of not wearing the eSuit the CA provided, what would happen if the shuttle broke down and its environmental system failed, how fast could P’Ko get to his duffel and dig out the eSuit and put it on?

The supply shuttles AI (Artificial Intelligence) performed flawlessly, and the machine seemed to run quieter and smoother the deeper they got. There was no hint of the biting cold outside; the shuttles evacuated carbon foam insulation and its unique tri-layer windows, developed, tested and used over hundreds of years, tuned to perfection performed flawlessly.

The driver optional, optionally remotely operated, autonomous shuttle, guided itself smoothly and without hesitation, fed by hundreds of sensors, the system learning the peculiarities of the route from many supply runs over centuries of operation.

P’Ko distracted himself from his fellow passenger by watching the AI deftly negotiate a switchback. He wished that he could drive, it’s got to be very different than driving the VR (virtual reality) vehicles that are available online.

There’s no way to simulate the continuous changes in the environment and those effects on the driver; that vary depending on what zone and level they’re on and its resultant gravity. Track conditions are not constant, or predictable, but vary depending on the length of the tunnel and the location of circulation vents or condensing stations.

Ever since he heard Su’Zi describe what it’s like driving Jm’Pr, he’s been anxious to try. Even though this supply shuttle is a massive brick of a vehicle and the AI running it is optimized a hundred different ways, P’Ko had the urge to reach over and press the manual override, which would bring up the manual controls allowing him full and total control and subjugate the AI to advisory mode only. Then, he would try to better the AI’s performance.

P’Ko’s imaginings were interrupted as the shuttle pulled up to and slowly through the portal airlock to the active portion of sector three’s T’Bm loading bay. They were now inside the far end of the T’Bm, moving slowly down the freshly made tunnel.

A light frost flashed across the shuttle’s windows as moisture of the climate controlled air from inside condensed, froze, then disappeared as the window system adjusted to the new environment. Some frost remained on the edges of the exterior panels of the shuttle as P’Ko and Sh’P’Po exited the cargo laden shuttle now setting significantly lower on its suspension.

P’Ko wobbled a little as he stepped down to the deck. It was his first experience at this G, around twice that of Nu’Tn, he felt a little top-heavy, and he felt like his feet were stuck in mud, it would take some getting used to. Sh’P’Po hopped out with relative ease, his exoskeleton suit automatically compensating, pre-calibrated to Sh’P’Po and the G load. He landed with a noticeable thud, his suit’s systems, an intricate system of sensors, gyro-stabilizers, pumps and contraction panels kept Sh’P’Po upright without the slightest hint of wobble.

P’Ko noted that Sh’P’Po while unable to walk or even crawl without the suit probably couldn’t fall while wearing the suit, even if he tried. P’Ko thought of martial arts, never far from his conscious mind and noted that the exoskeleton and eSuit, inability to fall would be a handicap in a fight.

Although Sh’P’Po seem to move with ease, P’Ko could see and hear that Sh’P’Po’s breathing was labored, his blood pressure and breathing assisted by the exoskeleton and eSuit.