Sitrep: So, I've been plugging away at Multiverse 8, yeah, I'm that far ahead on the schedule and finished the 5th story this morning. I thought about it and well, I decided to bump the rest of the stories to the next book.
So, on to the cover. Which I just started to acquire stuff for. :) This is my last book of the year most likely. Just in time for another heat wave to drive us bonkers. Sigh.
Book 6 of Tales of the New Federation (World Builders) is in the hands of Rea as of last week. I guess I should start posting snippets? lol So, here you go.
The following is a story reminiscent of Shawshank Redemption. It takes place in a new corner of the Federation universe and will play a part in things later...
UR13DPG3-71, ‘Le Institution’, Upsilon Sector
The space station known as ‘Le Institution’ was a long spindle that slowly spun in space. Some called it a Babylon style station for unknown reasons.
The station was in a binary cul-de-sac star system. The station itself floated in orbit of the largest Jovian in the G class sub star system. It was 2 kilometers long and housed thousands of people.
Most of those people were the prisoners and slaves.
The station had less than a hundred guards to keep order in the facility. It was in an out of the way corner of the sector but it was visited regularly by passing ships.
The prison station’s habitat areas were divided into cell blocks. General population was for the basic offenders. Minimum was for those who were not a threat and had highly valued skills or were valued by someone on the outside and in need of protection.
High security was for those who had proven a danger to the guards but were too valuable to be killed. The Cathouse was the female wing, a place where many of the men wanted to visit. Beyond the habitat were the industrial areas, and then the modules used for life support, fuel, greenhouses, and so on.
A massive fusion reactor powered the station. Solar panels dotted the outer hull and were on tethered platforms around the station. Radiators and antenna were along her flanks.
Le Institution was a memorable stop for anyone who visited. For some, it was their last stop.
>>><><<<
“Shuttle arriving,” Casey said with a nod to the Fixer and his team at the mess hall.
“How you figure?” Franco ‘The Fixer’ Redding asked as his 2 helpers looked up in surprise. Franco cocked his head to Casey as the other man took a seat next to them.
Sid the Squid blinked owlishly and then puckered his lips.
“Saw it coming up when we were outside,” Casey said mildly. “They are probably sorting any girls out now. I was outside to fix a sticky servo in an antenna. They were having problems keeping in contact with the ship,” he amplified as he picked at his meal.
The Fixer nodded. Casey worked on the outside of the station. He had EVA skills and could hack the black. He was prized by the guards who hated going out to do repairs on the station. He was in gen-pop because he had friends there. He’d made it clear that he didn’t like the lilies in the minimum security wing and he would ice one or more if they didn’t put him back in gen-pop.
The guards had agreed.
Each time Casey went outside he was supposed to get time off his sentence. The Fixer wasn’t certain it was actually happening, though he knew Casey was certainly keeping score. What happened when Casey came close to his time to be pardoned was anyone’s guess. A long term bet was held behind Casey’s back on how it would go down.
Whatever did go down he knew it would either end in a whimper or a big blow up. They didn’t call Casey ‘Space Case’ for nothing.
“Spread the word. Get ready for the bets,” the Fixer ordered his team. They nodded and moved out to spread the word.
The prisoners arrived from a ship on a shuttle once a month or 2. It was an event that everyone on the station looked forward to. In very rare cases someone left, but again, it was extremely rare.
Generally when you got sucked into the station you didn’t escape. Anyone who died on the station ended up in the recycling center.
Sure enough the guards ordered them to their cells right after mess. There was some grumbling but they knew what was coming. Once they were locked down The cell hatches opened up and a line of prisoners shuffled along in chains. The Fixer had one of his people check the roll call. “Twenty,” came the soft reply back before the cat calls from prisoners in their cells began.
Hand signs began to motion to place bets. A few were motioning to others to look for recruits.
“Fresh meat!” was the common yell. That and wolf whistles and howling. More than one prisoner flinched at that.
Bets began on who would break first. The prisoners took as much delight in seeing the misery on their fellow prisoners as the guards did. The sooner they broke the sooner they would accept the situation and realize that they had to remake themselves in order to survive.
Some would not be able to make the transition. One of the fat guys whimpered. That was like throwing meat into a tank of sharks. The cat calls intensified, as did the gloating laughter. The man shivered and began to sob until a guard pummeled him with a night stick.
The calls ended abruptly as the guy whimpered and begged for mercy. Only when he was knocked unconscious and dragged off to the infirmary did they continue the walk.
The Fixer and his 2 helpers took the bets. They were immune from the gangs and everyone knew that the 3 of them were hands off. Too many people needed them and the consequences of hurting one of them was dire.
Franco was one of 3 fixers in the station. They traded for information, services, or goods. He was the best and they all knew it. He could get almost anything in the station. If he couldn’t it ain’t worth getting was his motto. Everything had a price of course, and the harder it was to get the higher the price. You could pay in a variety of ways. You paid up front for goods or services.
Loose a bet and you paid up or else. No one crossed a fixer. They would be disciplined by their own gang brutally if they tried to stiff one of them.
The Fixer shook his head and then checked his notes. It seemed like a nice day for profit.
>>><><<<
