The Girls From Alcyone (34 page)

Selene called them all to the bridge. They were coming up on Gliese fast. Despite its Earth-like appearance, Gliese 581g was more than three times the mass of Earth and much higher in gravity. Its few inhabitants were forced to spend most of their time in the gravity-controlled habitat structures scattered across the surface. Being one of the very first Earth-type planets ever discovered, Gliese had been a curiosity. Pioneers had quickly settled in, but after the discovery of other new planets, all with more forgiving gravities, the planet had largely been abandoned.

"Take us down to the main complex," Sigrid said. "And let's drop a spy-sat, I don't want anyone slipping away without us knowing."

"Aye, ma'am," Selene said, nosing the ship down into the atmosphere; behind them, a tiny satellite, not much bigger than a pea, slipped from the ventral rack mounted on the bottom of the
Morrigan.
The tiny device would monitor all incoming and outgoing traffic from the system, keeping them informed.

Gliese was an ugly, squat-looking world. The trees and vegetation were Earth-like to a degree, but everything seemed stunted, huddled close to the ground. Or so it seemed. As they closed with the surface, Sigrid discovered that the trees she'd thought to be short were massive; like giant mushrooms with stalks ten meters in diameter.

"My God, they're huge!" Karen cried in delight.

Sigrid noticed the huge patches of clear-cut scarring the surface. Her database confirmed, not surprisingly, that logging was Gliese's primary resource and export.

"Just one of those can go for over a million and a half at auction," Hitomi said, pointing at one of the giant trees.

"No doubt," Sigrid gasped. Any type of wood was an extreme rarity on Earth. It was more prized than diamonds.

They descended steadily and landed at the small port using full retro-thrust as a precaution. There was no traffic and there were only three other ships parked on the tarmac. The scene was oddly quiet compared to the few other ports Sigrid had seen.

"At least it shouldn't be hard to find the people we're looking for," Sigrid said as she opened the outer hatch. A strange little vehicle approached from the spaceport and parked next to the ship. A hydraulic lift raised it up to the level of the
Morrigan's
outer hatch where it extended a small gangway. The door opened and a bored-looking man stared out at them.

"Twelve-hundred a head for the lift," he said in greeting, barely acknowledging them.

"Your sales-pitch leaves something to be desired," Hitomi said.

The man shrugged. "You're free to walk—if you don't mind the extra Gs."

"Twelve-hundred!" Sigrid couldn't believe such an outrageous sum. "We're not paying that! It's only 1.4 Gs. We'll walk, thank you very much."

"Speak for yourself," Karen said, and pressed her thumb to the proffered pad. "I'm not as strong as you." She climbed on board. "Come on. It's on me."

Sigrid shot the driver a disapproving look. "Very well."

Selene smiled lightly at the Lady Hitomi. "Begging your pardon, Milady, but it might be best if you remain on board."

"Oh?"

"We might attract less attention without, well…you."

Hitomi considered her words and nodded. "Very well. Young Rodney and I will stay and
g
uard
the ship."

"Call us if you see anyone snooping around," Sigrid said, stepping into the now crowded little vehicle. The man released the locks and the cab lowered itself jerkily back to ground level and lurched off toward the spaceport.

"It's so empty," Sigrid observed as they walked from the port into the gravity-controlled warrens. There was evidence of what used to be a bustling port town, but those days were long gone.

"And quite filthy," Karen said, scraping something dubious from her shoe. "Urghh, what was that?"

Christian negotiated a rental car. It wasn't much more than an electric cart, but the transportation was welcome. The city was small by planetary standards, but the chain of complexes still covered several hectares.

"So, where do we go?" Christian asked, seated at the controls.

Sigrid chewed on her thumbnail. Her plan had been to get here, but after that—she was so desperate, she had to admit she hadn't thought it through. "There must be some kind of registration office—immigration, or something."

Selene barked a laugh. "Not here, sister."

Sigrid slumped.
What then—drive around?

"Why not start at the most obvious spots?" Selene suggested. She eyed the man who'd just rented them the transport. "Hey, buddy. Know where a girl can get a drink?"

Once Sigrid had adequately greased the merchant's pad, he directed them to several establishments. They went from pub to pub, each seeming to outdo the previous in seediness and decrepitness as they moved further away from the port. All the while, Sigrid gently charmed or bribed the clientele for information. Her meager funds were growing short and they'd still found no one with any information on the whereabouts of either Tarsus or the girls, but some of the barflies
had
heard about the girls.

"You! You're one of them," the man Sigrid was currently interviewing said.

"And just how is it that you know about them?" Christian asked; he was losing his patience now. He grabbed the man by the collar.

"Me? I know nothing. I only know what Karl told me." Terror had taken residence in the little man's eyes. He looked at Christian, then at Sigrid. "Please! I'm telling you everything. He was here—but he left weeks ago."

"
Weeks?
" Sigrid couldn't believe it.
They'd been so close…

"Two—maybe three," he wheezed, clutching at Christian's hands.

"Alone?"

"No—there were men. They took him."

"Took him? You mean, he left with them?"

The man gulped. "If by that you mean at gunpoint, then yes."

"What men?" Christian asked. "Where did they go?" He tightened his grip momentarily.

"I—don't know. I never saw them before. They came in on a ship. Please…"

Sigrid put her hand on Christian's. "It's all right. He's telling the truth. He doesn't know." Sigrid cursed silently; she still couldn't believe they'd missed Tarsus by so little time.

Christian frowned. "With all due respect, how can you tell he's not lying?"

Selene chuckled. "Oh—she knows…"

It wasn't much help, but it was their first lead. The frightened little man was also able to direct them to Tarsus' favorite watering hole—a peeler bar out on the farthest edge of the complex. The pink, painted walls of the modular habitat structure stood out like a beacon as they approached, with its gaudy neon postures of women and men in various states of undress glowing above the darkness.

"I should have known," Selene said as they parked.

Sigrid had to give more funds to the doorman. "Welcome to Paradise," he said, handing them over to a bubbly hostess who escorted them to a table.

"Well, at least we know where everyone is," Christian shouted over the din as he looked around the crowded bar. The
Paradise
was packed with patrons, waitresses, dancers female and male. There had to be close to 400 people there.

Sigrid scanned the room, taking stock of the many patrons. None stood out. She was struck by the dull, complacent looks of the men who sat passively as women, and sometimes men, danced for them at their tables and private booths. The mood was markedly subdued and quite in contrast to the driving music that came from the sound system.

Everything Sigrid heard was seemingly performed by a single, lone woman on a small stage. She was seated before what looked like a piano and surrounded by banks of computers. Sigrid couldn't believe such a powerful voice could come from such a small package; her presence pervaded the room as she sang out, resting one of her heels on the edge of the keyboard. She was clad in little more than a transparent plastic bikini and knee-high boots with preposterous heels. Her long, full hair had to be a wig; a bright yellow affair topped with a tall hat in the shape of a—Sigrid zoomed in to make sure—yes, a unicorn.

"Goodness."

The dancers and hostesses mingled freely, their skimpy outfits providing the patrons with a plethora of exposed flesh. Sigrid wondered how many of them were working under indentured contracts like herself, well, as she had been. She wasn't really sure what her status was anymore.

"Oh, my…" Karen gasped as their waiter approached. He wore no shirt, and the thin fabric of his tight pants highlighted his
manly
attributes handsomely.

"Ladies—gentleman," he offered in warm greeting. "What will be your pleasure?"

Karen burbled out their drink orders, making a point of stuffing an actual paper credit note in his trousers.

"Where did you get that?" Sigrid said. She'd never seen paper money.

Karen pointed to a dispenser by the door. "They sell them! Here…" she handed a stack to Sigrid, and more to Selene. "You'll want some. Trust me."

Christian frowned. "I thought we were here for information, not to ogle men."

Selene chuckled and leaned close, rasping into his ear over the noise, "In a place like this, who do you think we'll be talking to? If Tarsus was here, it's the dancers who'll know."

"Good point," Christian conceded, taking a stack of bills from Karen.

They had no trouble soliciting attention from the array of dancers who trawled each and every table. Once word got out they were asking about Tarsus—and paying—they all made a point of stopping by.

Sigrid showed a picture of Tarsus to a young dancer who went by the name of Cherry Bomb. She had dark, wavy hair that fell all the way down to the small of her back. Like all the dancers, she wore the flimsiest of outfits, the gossamer material of her bikini left little to the dullest of imaginations. Sigrid stuffed another bill into her bra.

"I remember Karl," Cherry said.

Sigrid felt her cheeks flush hot as Cherry melted onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. The girl's voice was soft and low, and she kept her lips close to Sigrid's ear, taking care not to shout.

"Karl never came in here with anyone, but there were always people here looking for him."

"These people—would he meet with them?"

Nodding to Sigrid's question, her hair fell forward, brushing against her cheek. "From time to time. I don't think he liked them very much though. He was always…tense afterward."

"And you know the names of these men?"

Cherry's only answer was another sway of her hips and a sweet bat of her long lashes. Sigrid sighed and stuffed another credit note into her bra. "No, but I bet I know someone who does."

Sigrid didn't wait, stuffing more credits into her panties this time.

Cherry gestured toward the stage. "Talk to Honey Dew. Tarsus was always hanging out over there. I think he liked her music."

Christian snorted. "I'll bet."

"No, I mean it. I think he really was a fan.
Everyone
knows Honey. Trust me. Hang out here long enough, and Honey gets to everyone."

The song ended and Cherry extracted herself from Sigrid's lap. "Don't be a stranger," she said, giving her a wink and blowing her a kiss before retreating into the darkened bar.

"Is it wrong that I found that hot?" Christian asked.

Karen swatted him on the shoulder. "Come on," she said, taking Sigrid's hand and leading her through the crowd.

The four of them made their way to the stage just as Honey finished one of her songs. Sigrid waved and called out, "Honey!"

Honey smiled down at them from the stage. "One sec, sweetie." Honey made some quick adjustments to one of her computers, queuing up a particularly raunchy tune. She sat down at the edge of the stage, swinging her legs over the side. "There. That should keep them happy for a while. Now, what can I do for you?"

"We were looking for Karl Tarsus. We heard you knew him."

Honey stiffened at the mention of Tarsus' name; the color drained from her face. She took a quick look around before leaning close. "Karl's gone. You should leave now."

Honey stood up abruptly, but Sigrid reached out and grabbed her hand. "Please. It's very important. We're just trying to find our friends."

"I have to go. My shift is over." Honey pulled at Sigrid's hand, but Sigrid held tight. Seeing the distress on Honey's face, Sigrid suddenly felt a pang of guilt. It wasn't her intention to frighten the girl.

Sigrid felt a meaty hand on her shoulder. She turned to face the large bouncer behind her.

"Don't touch the talent, Miss."

Sigrid let go of Honey and watched her scurry off backstage.

The bouncer folded his thick arms across his chest. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave now, you and your party."

"But—"

Sigrid's protests were greeted by the arrival of two more bouncers.

"We’d better go," Selene cautioned.

Sigrid didn't bother to resist; there was no point in starting a brawl. They had definitely struck a chord with Honey. The question now, was how to get the girl to talk.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Robots

May 17, 2348

Suko and Khepri looked up as the door to their cell rattled open.

"Lei-Fei!" Suko said, scrambling to her feet. She would have given the girl a hug had her hands not still been bound behind her back. Suko sensed something was wrong and stopped cold. Lei-Fei regarded her with a blank stare. There was no warmth in her eyes, no recognition. She was now dressed in a grey coverall and she was
armed
. "Lei-Fei…?"

Lei-Fei pushed her roughly, making Suko stumble backward against the wall.

"Please stay back. I don't want to hurt you."

Suko looked down in confusion at Khepri.

"They did it to her too," Khepri said, tearfully. "Tara, Christi…they did it to all of them."

"Did what?" She had no idea what Khepri meant.

"Freed them," Riku said as he entered the cell; Riku was followed by his guards in their mechanized armor.