Chapter 9

          Their emergence from Hyperwarp seemed more like taking the on-ramp to a busy interstate than just decelerating from light speed.  Both ships dropped into line with hundreds of others cruising toward the blue globe.  Swingaround was almost identical to Earth, nearly the same mass, with nearly the same gravitational pull and the same temperature zones.  Even its orbital year was similar to Earth's.  To avoid confusion, the Terran calendar was still in use, though the planet was not divided into separate time zones.  It was just a little odd that, with the slightly longer day, about twenty-five hours, it continuously got dark later and later compared to the clock.

          That mattered little in the main surface star-port city.  It operated around the clock, nonstop.  Swingaround boasted a population of five hundred million; with over a quarter of that crammed into the sprawling port city of New Memphis.  They could make the city out from orbit even with it on the dayside.  Tinker told them that Miami was even larger, though not nearly as densely populated.

          Swingaround Station served both as an orbital star port and the main military base.  It looked like a shapeless blob of orbital buildings and docking platforms, all crammed together in a seemingly random pattern.  It had been built, then added to again and again as needs dictated.  They could imagine that one day they would build something from the start to serve the colony, but that would not be any time soon from the looks of things.  The base was very likely too important to do without for any time.  The Starforce base itself, while attached to the floating starport, was clearly defined by the towers bristling with heavy weaponry and hundreds of military looking ships docked at external bays.  They followed the Delilah on a path circling to the back of the base.   As traffic control took over from Jimmy, he could start to make out details of the ships docked there.  One in particular caught his eye.

          She was several times larger than the Delilah.  Her lower hull was shaped just like an ocean going vessel, with a chunky superstructure above.  Numerous small weapons turrets and two larger ones with three cannon apiece completed the image.  The ship looked exactly like a battleship of the World War Two era had been taken out of the water and placed at the docking platform of the huge station.

          "Where have I seen that before?" asked Murky, studying the larger ship.

          "You might just be old enough to have to have seen 'Star Blazers' back in the early eighties.  They took the wreck of the old Japanese battleship, the Yamato and made it into a spaceship.  I used to go to a comic-book store and watch the original Japanese version with subtitles."

          "'Space Cruiser Yamato.'" added Dona.

          Control was guiding in the general direction of the battleship.  As they got closer, another detail caught Jimmy's eye.  "She's got the service number '55,' just like the U.S.S. North Carolina from our time."

          "The name of that ship is U.S.S. North Carolina.” said Tinker.  "She's named and numbered after a whole series of ships that carried the names of some of America’s oldest states.  She’s also the new Flagship of the Third Fleet."

          They marveled at the ship.  She was painted glossy light gray above her "waterline" and bright red below, just like her namesake.  Huge scoops projected from each side of her bow.  Tinker explained they were Ion Lock-in weapons, huge guns taking power directly from the engines.  Delilah was equipped with them as well, but they were much smaller.  The North Carolina was brand new, recently completing her shakedown cruise.  The design, it turned out, was a tradition for the large ship builders, with a practical application as well.  It turned out that the great majority of worlds suitable for habitation had large oceans.  That happened, it seemed, to be necessary for a world to have an atmosphere and weather patterns that would support human life well enough for a colony to thrive.  A starship that could float just like an ocean going ship could then land safely on any part of the surface.

          The fact a ship that size could land was a surprise to them.  They had thought ships that large would be too massive to enter the atmosphere but it turned out the same system that created the artificial gravity could be turned outward, causing a limited gravitational repulsion effect.  Carriers, they were told, were somewhat larger even than a battleship, and they could land, though they almost always did so at sea.

          Control was guiding them to a docking platform right beside the huge battlewagon.   Two large forward landing skids extended from her forward section as she settled gently down onto the pad.  Jimmy already knew how to work the controls and had actually landed the craft in simulation, but it was standard procedure to let computers bring ships in on final approach, mostly to avoid accidents.  Tinker reached past him and lowered the main landing hatch once he made certain the atmosphere field was stable.  As they undid their harnesses, the Delilah entered the field and settled onto the same pad to the starboard of Phantasm.  She came to rest on a huge ventral spine, four skids protruding from the curved portion of her hull to prop her up.

          Tinker made his farewells, and made his way back to the Delilah, climbing a long gangway extending from the upper superstructure.  They gathered just clear of the curving bow of the Phantasm.  A tall man emerged from a hatch at the edge of the pad, flanked by two armed men wearing what looked like black plastic chest protectors.  The tall man was wearing a crisp khaki colored uniform with the gold edged black jacket favored by some officers.  Each of his shoulders was decorated with three stars.  His jet-black hair was graying at the temples, and one streak of white hair was slicked back, just off the middle.  His nose looked unduly large, shaped like a crooked hatchet.  Murky came to attention and saluted, but the three-starred officer just ignored him.  "Henders, show this corporal to the enlisted quarters and confine him there until further notice." One of his men saluted, and then motioned for Murky to join him.   The tall man, identified on his uniform badge as Adams, turned to face the approaching Colonel Morrow.     

          Adams looked like a tall, thin scarecrow.  The nose was totally outsized on his narrow face.  The total effect made him look more like a hawk than a man.  His face was tan, lined with either stress or age, Jimmy didn't know.  His black eyes considered the couple a moment, again turning to Morrow.  "I've read your report, Colonel.  Is this the ship?"

          "Yes sir."

          "Confine your crew to your ship until further notice." Morrow motioned to one of his lieutenants to relay the order. "Accompany me to the command center."  He looked again at the young couple.  "Did your doctor take a look at them?"

          "Yes sir, their medical readouts are in my report."

          "Rokar," he motioned for his other guard, "Take these two to Doctor N'Dhai.  Tell him I want a complete physical and biological make up."

          "Wait a minute," Jimmy interjected, "I thought we just needed to do some paperwork to claim the salvage rights on the Phantasm?"

          Adams scowled, looking at Morrow as if he were upset that they were expecting that.  "The request was already forwarded by Miami Command." he replied.

          Adams continued to look at the Colonel as he addressed Jimmy, "Before we can proceed, your ship has to be inspected.  I'm not letting her down on the surface until I'm convinced about her origin and your story.  Take them to the doctor."  Rokar took Jimmy's arm, leading him and his wife away.

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          The seats in the featureless room were nothing more than shelves running its length on either side.  Dona and Jimmy sat across from each other, each of their legs drawn up to their chests.  They had no idea how long they had been in there.  Jimmy's watch had been taken along with the rest of their clothes.  Dona muttered every now and then that they should have at least provided gowns or something; instead, one of the orderlies had deposited them in the room, completely naked.  Under the circumstances, neither of them thought that the least bit arousing.

          At first they had been separated.  Jimmy was taken into a room and ordered to strip.  They made him stand on a circle in the otherwise empty room, as a light played over his body, apparently scanning him.  The doctor, a very dark skinned black man with shockingly white hair, stepped forward and examined him with a more sophisticated instrument than Doctor Rokowski had used.  Jimmy started to speak, but the doctor shushed him with a gesture.  He circled him, watching his readout, not saying a word or touching him.

          Jimmy tried not to notice the two women who accompanied Doctor N'Dhai to the examination.  Their dispassionate expressions at least helped.  Maybe this wasn't such an abnormal thing in this day and age, but he found it degrading and insulting.  The doctor closed the cover of his device and left without saying a word, taking the two women with him.  He had no idea if the two women were nurses, assistants, or interns.  They each wore white uniforms otherwise cut just like the gray ones worn on the Delilah.  The doctor had been dressed similarly.

          Dona was brought into their cell a short time after Jimmy was brought in.  Not given anything to cover herself with, she settled for crossing her arms over her chest.  Once they were alone, she held him close for a moment, and then curled up on her seat, in an upright fetal position.  She quietly related an experience identical to his.  "You know, Doctor Rokowski gave me a gynecological exam once she found out I was pregnant, and I felt ten times more comfortable with her." Dona rubbed her nose, sniffing.  Her eyes were puffed from crying.

          "She seems like a lot more old-fashioned doctor.  I’m sure the examination she gave us on the Delilah was perfectly sufficient to tell if we’d been hurt during our ordeal.  This kind of scanning seems more like some kind of search or they're deliberately trying to do something to us."

          "That, or they just want to tie us up long enough to steal our ship.  I was hoping we could eventually take her back to Earth."

          "That's what I'm worried about.  I feel like Colonel Morrow was telling me the truth, but I think it might have dawned on that Commander Adams character that we're legally dead.” At first, he referred to Adams as a General, hence the stars.  Rokar quickly corrected him, telling him the stars meant he was called Commander.  He briefly wondered about the change but his mind was on other things.  “Until somebody rules on our legal status, I'll bet he’s going to keep us in some sort of limbo.  They'll use that to hold up registering our ship until they can take her apart to find how she ticks.  I'm willing to bet they know just as well as we do where, or when she came from."

          Dona got up and sat down beside him, putting her head on his shoulder.  "I wonder what they're doing to Murky. Do you think they’re putting him through this as well?”

          “I think if they were, they’d have stuck him in here with us.  As it is, all they have to do to keep him out of the way for the moment if order him to stay in his quarters.”  Jimmy smiled and chuckled lightly.  "Watch what you wish for.  Next thing we know they'll stick him in here with us, naked too."

          "I don't care.  Right now I'd settle for holding both of you tight, clothes or no, and crying all night."  She tightened her hold on his shoulders, and he put his arms around her, returning the embrace.

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          "This isn't legal, and with all due respect, sir, you know that."  Morrow's anger was barely contained.

          Commander Adams just steepled his hands, placing his elbows well apart on his desk.  "What is legal is for me to say.  While they are on this station, they are under my jurisdiction, and until the Board of Eight or a federal court rules otherwise, I'm not letting them go until I have the answers I want."

          "They are both American citizens.  For that matter, so is Bedarest.  I was dead set against them reactivating his enlistment, but command insisted."

          "Yes, they did that to keep at least one of them in control.  If it weren’t for them both being civilians, they would have been conscripted as well.  That is beside the point.  As of right now, at least those two have no real legal status.  They were both declared legally dead a relatively short time after their disappearance."

          "Command has already sent their case to the federal courts.  It will only be a short time until they get their status up-dated, then you'll be legally bound to let them go and return their ship.  This is the very reason we have such strict laws about this."

          "I know that, but until that happens, I own them." he turned a report so Morrow could read it.  "Look, those two are far healthier than anybody from that era has any right to be.  What about the heavy pollution they had then, the rampant disease? Think of all the sexually transmitted diseases that existed then.  Doctor N'Dhai said there was evidence of sexual activity; if they were promiscuous they should have been exposed to something.  The girl's even pregnant, for heavens sake.  Besides that, all he detected were ambient cold viruses."

          "Except I know what that evidence really means.  The boy is the father.  I performed their wedding myself.  I don’t think they’re promiscuous.  Those two are totally in love with each other."

          "Yes, that little ceremony was detailed in your report.  Oh, I believe what happened to them, all right.  The doctor is convinced they're exactly what they say they are.  I just have to be totally certain."

          "I’m willing to bet you could care less about their state of health. This is not about them at all, really, but about that ship of theirs, isn't it?"  Morrow asked.

          Adams produced a package, pouring the contents on the desktop.  There were two metal plates.  One was made of lightly corroded brass; the other was caked in black grime.  Morrow picked up the first and his expression turned to one of total shock.  It was a builder's plate from the Phantasm.

          "She was commissioned the U.S.S. Reynolds in 2475 Morrow.  That ship won't be built for another twenty-three years.  And look at the date on the other plate.  It was mounted over the top of the original. Apparently she was rebuilt in 2480 and renamed the Phantasm.  I'm willing to bet as luxurious as that ship is, somebody spent a goddamned fortune on that ship, meaning she has the state-of-the-art for that era, probably even with experimental parts if the builder had access to really advanced equipment.  If we can get even a schematic from that ship it will kick us years ahead, maybe even enough to get us ahead in this war for a change."

          "Did you even think to ask them?  I don't see why wouldn't help us."

          "Then why did they lock up their system with a palm print key code?  I've got my best people trying to bypass that thing."

          "They probably don’t even realize their ship is locked up like that.  They barely understand the technology involved.  They seem incredibly intelligent, but the were raised long before any of this technology was invented.  My engineer, Lt. Peterson didn't have any trouble with the system.  He repaired the cascade failure in their main computer core and downloaded some basic navigation files into it.  As for the key code, they told me the ship asked them for their palm prints once they took control of the ship.  They would have never been able to operate the ship without it."

          "If your man was able to work on that ship, that means when they were on board, the system assumed he had their permission to work on it."

          "No sir.  I had them confined on my ship while he worked on it. Not to mention, their palm print key access was already in place."

          "Then get your man to that ship on the double.  I want that palm print bypassed."

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          "That computer is doing things it can't possibly do." Tinker reported to Adams.   He had been at work on the ship for several days by then.  He was stripped to his tee shirt and a pair of shipboard shorts.  He tools lay spread out on the floor of Phantasm's engineering deck.  "It's already developed a sort of personality even though, in computer terms, it's still just an infant.  It was completely blank once I repaired the cascade failure.  All we downloaded into her was a basic commercial navigation system and a general-purpose library, certainly not enough for it to be this far along.  The best thing I can figure is that thing is working with the other systems on the ship to re-integrate itself.  However, it should take almost a year with proper guidance for a system like that to develop into a coherent entity."

          "Enough about that, Lieutenant.  What about the drive schematics?" Adams pressed.

          "Right here. " he put the computer cartridge in Adam's open hand. "It will take better engineers than me to figure half of that out."

          "Rest assured, that is exactly what we will do." Adams pocketed the cartridge.  "What have you found out about this ship so far?"

          "Well, it seems like this thing had been through an almost total refit.  She's still got her pentronium armor, but with the exception of the two small turrets and a pair of fixed laser cannons in the bow, she's purely a yacht.  The only thing outside of the computer system that's really unusual is the engines, and not just the engines themselves.  The ion rams are about four times more efficient than the type used on our new battleships.  The power stream conduits have twice the normal capacity.  The engines themselves are something else entirely.  The rams I can figure out, even apply some of the things I've learned to my own ship, but the engines, well, they're better than anything I ever laid my eyes on.  They must be the state of the art, though I don't understand what a yacht refitter is doing with such hardware."

          "Is it Military grade?"

          "I think its even better.  Despite her size, those engines have vector compensators so powerful, she could handle like a single seat fighter.  Have you seen the bridge, sir?  All of her controls are set up like a smaller ship, like a single seater.  Usually, ships this size have a standard helm.

          "Then there is the automation system.  One man alone could operate this ship as long as he wanted.  It's the most fully integrated system I have ever seen.  Just about the only system it isn't tied to are the weapons and they're tied to the main computer.  I have no idea just how accurate the targeting system is, but judging from what I've seen so far, I'll bet it's impressive."

          "Are you satisfied now, John?"  Morrow asked Commander Adams.

          "Almost.  I need to get in touch with some of my people at command." he motioned for one of his attendants. "Once the doctor releases them, get them some presentable clothing from their ship, or even better, get them something that will make them look like a provincial.  And make sure this time not to use Starforce Uniforms.  I do not approve of civilians wearing them, insignia removed or not.”

          Tinker watched them go.  Once he was alone, he turned back to the auxiliary computer access.  With the touch of a few controls, the real schematic returned, showing systems the Commander would have found astounding.  Well, old girl, what else are you hiding, he thought as he gathered his equipment.

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          For the past three days, Jimmy and his young wife had been housed in a small but comfortable room on the base.  It consisted of two small beds on pedestals and a small table with a computer access screen.  Their clothing had been returned to them after sitting in the holding room for what seemed like hours.  Their garments had been cleaned, and seemed none the worse for wear.

          With the exception of a private who brought them bland but hearty meals, they had no contact with the inhabitants of the base.  The Doctor came around one more time, dryly reciting what was really fairly common knowledge about pre-natal care, then disappeared for good.  The private must have had instructions not to speak to them, ignoring their pleas for information, just placing the food on the table and leaving.

          The computer access, it seemed, had been programmed only to play just the most basic of information as well as the available broadcast entertainment.  Lacking a point of reference for most of it, most of it didn't make much sense, especially the comedy.  He gave up after a few attempts to access the planetary government, being totally locked out.  It took some experimentation, but Jimmy was learning just how to search for information on the little screen.  On a lark, he searched for music from their era.  He was rewarded with a quiet, but clear playback of a popular song from his childhood.

          Dona lay on her back on her chosen bed.  The cot was even tinier than the crew bunks back on the Phantasm, and they had determined the first night that it was impossible to sleep together on one of them.  The pedestals were attached to the floor, preventing them from moving them together.  "Someone doesn't want us to have a honeymoon." Jimmy remarked, trying to raise Dona's spirits.  She simply held out her arms, and he went over to her, letting her wrap them around him.

          He knelt at the side of her bed, kissing her tenderly on her cheek, the fingers on his left hand entwining with her right hand.  She wrapped both arms around him again and pulled him in tight. "Oh God.  I'd settle for our tent over this place right about now." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I would really like to make love right now, but I bet they're watching us."

          "I'd just as soon let them watch." she scowled at him a moment, but he continued, "You know what I mean.  It'd be just our luck someone'd come in a just the wrong moment."  She hugged him close again, whispering in his ear.

          “If they do, let’s give them a show.”

          He dimmed the lights and pulled the pad off his bed.  She brought hers and joined him on the floor.  The covers would barely cover them, but they made due as they embraced beneath them. Actually, he though it was really unlikely they would have a visitor as the ever-present chronometer indicated the hour was around ten at night.  Still nervous, they moved against each other quietly, keeping most of their clothing on. 

          "I feel like a teenager again." she said later, her head on his chest. "It feels like we're sneaking around trying to be alone."

          "I know what you mean.  Remember when I snuck you into my room so we could make out and we didn't want to wake my parents up."

          She giggled softly, remembering that his father had walked in on them with Jimmy’s hand down her blouse.  She was never quite sure whether he had gotten a lecture or a terrible tongue lashing from his father as his mother walked her home.  She curled in closer and fell asleep.

          Jimmy held her, just thinking about how in love they were.  He remembered the first time he had seen her.  He was in his favorite hobby shop, buying parts for his model rocket collection.  She had come in out of the rain, wringing out her then shoulder length hair.  He became a firm believer in Love at First Sight that very moment.  They didn't speak then, but their eyes met.  He couldn't believe that anyone could be more beautiful.

          Days later, he came home to find Dona and her mother having coffee with his mother, Aleeta.  They had just rented a house right behind the Arguses, just across the narrow creek dividing the yards.  His father actually owned the house, and his mother had invited them in.  Normally shy, Jimmy couldn't take his eyes off her.  She looked much the same then as she did now, just with shorter hair.  He marveled at her shining black hair, it accentuated her creamy fair complexion.  They shook hands as they were introduced, her hand tiny in his long fingers.

          "Can I have my hand back?" she finally asked him, smiling broadly.

          No, not ever, he thought at first.  He let it go, lost in her brown eyes.  Their parents shuffled them off to the den to watch television and they talked about school for hours, resuming their conversation by phone once her mother took her home.  By the time they were both fourteen, they were a steady couple, though neither had ever asked the other to go steady.  They spent as much time as possible together, holding hands everywhere.  Jimmy’s father showed concern that he was spending too much of his youth on just one girl, but his mother shot him down, perfectly content watching the young lovers.

          It took him three months to save enough money for her ring.  It was gold, with one tiny diamond set in it.  It was funny, he thought, that as romantic as their relationship had been to that point that he proposed to her while driving his car toward downtown Charlotte.  She didn't hesitate to say yes, and they swore to keep it a secret until they were eighteen.

          Dona had never told him, but her mother found the ring in her jewelry box while they were at school, and had forced her to reveal their plans.  Instead of being upset, she blessed her daughter in Spanish, hugging her close.  Her mother truly loved Jimmy and had become best friends with his mother and the union of the two would be the greatest thing in the world to her.  Dona made her swear not to tell his mother, who had elaborate plans for the wedding she assumed would come years later.  It would break her heart to find out they planned to elope as soon as they were of age.

          She woke up, pulling up to kiss him again.  She reached behind his head, running her fingers through his short hair.  Opening her eyes, she noticed the figure standing in the open door.  She made a slight sound as she breathed in sharply.

          Jimmy sat bolt upright, looking straight at the door.  The corridor beyond was darkened, this area on its night cycle.   The man, averagely built, just stood there watching them.  Jimmy pulled on his pants and touched a control on the table, bringing up the lights.

          They had never seen the man before.  He was slightly shorter than Jimmy, but had a bearing that made him tower over them.  He had neatly cropped dark brown hair and a crisply trimmed goatee'.  He was dressed in a trim black suit and black gloves.  Stepping into the room, he let the door close behind him.

          "How long have you been standing there?" Jimmy asked, his anger rising.

          "Only just a moment." the man's voice was soft and deep, somehow oddly calming.  Nothing in his manner was the least bit threatening.  He stepped over to the table, placing a small package there.  "I know it may sound odd, even impossible, but I have a gift from your family.  My name, should it matter, is Arcus Oray."  He turned suddenly, walked out the room and let the door slide shut behind him.  They rushed up to the door, but it had locked again.

          The package contained a single ring box.  He said it was a gift from his family?  What family?  Were his brother's descendants aware of him?  That certainly seemed unlikely.  Perhaps it was actually from Colonel Morrow, a fact that seemed even more likely once they opened the box.

          It contained two rings.  Both were made of gold, the larger one set with a small purple stone.  The smaller one was a simple golden hoop, etched with floral scrollwork.  The bejeweled one was round and thick, just like a man's wedding ring.  It had no markings other than the mount for the stone, which he decided was an amethyst, which was actually his birthstone.  Despite the odd stranger's peculiar arrival and announcement, they decided these were replacements for the make-do stainless steel wedding rings they were wearing.

          "Maybe these are from Tim.,” she ventured.

          "I don't get the impression Tinker has the kind of money needed to buy this sort of thing.  If anything, I’ll bet Colonel Morrow sent them.  Maybe the ‘family’ comment was his idea."  With as much ceremony as they could muster, they repeated the exchange of rings.  It must have been his imagination, but the ring felt warm on his finger, like it was back in its home.  At least both rings fit.

          They embraced, the stranger forgotten for the moment.  Dona turned the lights back off and they returned to their makeshift bed, wrapped in each other's arms as the fell asleep.

Chapter 10

          After five day-cycles, a private entered their room bearing a bundle of clothing.  He explained they were intended to replace the make-do uniforms they had been wearing and said no more.  Jimmy guessed there were considered current, stylish but plain garb.  The bundle contained pants, which looked much like denim jeans, but were made of a softer, more pliable fabric.  Both sets were dyed black.  Each of them agreed they were far more comfortable than cotton demin ever was.  It occurred to Jimmy this was the first time in weeks he hadn't seen Dona's legs.  Their shirts were much lighter gray than the ones commonly worn with Starforce uniforms.  The long sleeves were uncomfortable to him, so he rolled them up above his elbows.

          "You notice these shirts are full length, not those odd split sleeves we've found on the ship?" Dona said, buttoning her cuffs.

          "Probably these're what's in style here in this colony.  I'm still not wearing these little slipper things."  He held up the light shoe that had been provided.  It was little more than a rubber sole with a cloth upper.

          "I think they feel rather good on my feet.  Sure beats those old hiking boots, and my feet were starting to dry out something fierce in those sandals."

          Jimmy sat down at the table, pulling on the standard issue boots and flipping the snaps over, closing the sides.  Despite the fact they worked like off-road motorcycle boots, they were rather cool and comfortable.  They certainly were lighter than moto-cross boots.  “I like a little sturdier footwear.”

          "You know, Jimmy, it looks like they're going out of their way this time to make us look like civilians.  They only gave us those plain military clothes on the Delilah because that's almost all they had then."

          "Well, if they want these back, they can have them."  Still, he decided to pull his pant legs out over the boots, hiding all but the foot.  They were dark brown so they didn’t look out of place.  He went to the small closet sized bathroom and checked the mirror.  They had been provided toiletries but they had a hard time figuring out some of them.   The 'toothbrushes' had been a surprise.  Instead of bristles imbedded in plastic, it was literally a wand you placed on your tongue.  It buzzed briefly, then shut down, leaving their mouths clean.  They decided they worked well, but missed their toothpaste.

          It took several tries for Jimmy to master the depilatory cream.  He had a couple razors left in their gear on the ship, but no one would bring anything from there to them.  At first, he forgot it was a depilatory, rubbing it on his face like it was shaving cream.  To his relief he didn’t get any on his mustache.  Several days of stubble peeled off with only a cool tingling sensation.  The instructions said the effect would last for up to a week, so he wiped the remains on a towel, leaving it in the small sink.  It didn't help him that Dona liked him clean-shaven, he was quite fond of his “cookie duster”.

          Dona was more careful with the cream, using it to shave her legs and pits.  She was delighted with it, swearing off metal razors for life.  "I still want to find me a real razor." He announced, running his fingers up and down her newly smoothed legs.  He whispered something in her ear, pointing at the gel.  Dona nearly hauled off and slapped him.

          "Do you think I need a 'shave'?" he asked her, checking his chin for stubble.  He tilted his head back, trying to see where his beard would grow back.  All there was now was clean smooth skin.

          "I wouldn't bother.  I think they'll probably come for us soon since they're playing dress-up."  Her mind was on other things and missed the reference entirely.

          Dona was correct.  A man and woman arrived, the latter gathering their meager belongings in an open topped crate.  The man simply motioned for them to come with him.  Why didn’t anyone want to speak with them any more than necessary?  That alone was bothering him the most.  They were led down a maze of windowless corridors.  The prevailing color was light gray, with colored lines on the wall, every so often broken by a legend.  It began to occur to him the air was ever so slightly stale.  Perhaps that was a result of less than perfect air scrubbers separating carbon dioxide into oxygen for the denizens of the station to breathe.  Jimmy assumed they were being led along the blue line, which led to command according to the legend they passed every so often.

          They were led through a bustling operation center.  The general hubbub was almost deafening.  Personnel moved about on several levels, some carrying electronic clipboards, other seated at consoles doing things he could only imagine.  Were they all in communication with some ship?  Did they have other duties to attend to?  He was beginning to pick up the difference between officers and enlisted personnel.  Most of the enlisted were wearing olive or gray colored jumpsuits.  The vast majority of officers were wearing either the standard black and gray he had come to know or the less common khaki the more senior officers favored.  He assumed that bars stood for lieutenants and captains respectively and the leaf-like emblem for majors and lieutenant colonels had apparently not changed.  Morrow, he recalled, was a “Full bird colonel” with a stylized eagle on his insignia.  He still wanted to know why the term for a general officer had changed from “General” to “Commander.”  Those he asked had actually been slightly disdainful of the question.  Almost nobody took notice of them as they were hustled through the main room into a large office with a huge two part sliding door.  It opened just enough to admit them before silently rolling shut.   Commander Adams they recognized immediately.  The man standing behind him at the desk they didn't.  He was of average height, and slightly heavy.  His sandy hair was receding, though he only looked about forty.  Colonel's insignia, just like Morrow’s, decorated the tabs on his shoulders.  Colonel Morrow, who had been seated across the room, stood as they entered.

          Adams was trying to smile at them, the effect looking rather forced rather than genuine.  The new Colonel positively beamed at them and Morrow just looked smug.  Adams motioned them to a thinly padded, three cushion couch facing his desk.  "You two have a seat.  This is Colonel Tova from Miami Command."

          So that is Tova, Jimmy thought.  The man was about as non-descript as one could be.  He wore the tan colored uniform favored by senior officers, and his decorations, none of which Jimmy understood, covered most of the area above his breast pocket.  His voice was quiet and his accent was slightly mid-western.

          "I have been in touch with the federal courts on Earth about your status.  At first, they thought they were just ruling on the ownership of the Phantasm, but the harder question became your legal status, as well as your age. 

          "Congratulations, you are no longer officially dead.  Plus, the solution about your age was to apply your relative age to the calendar.  I know it seems like a lie, but for identification purposes, you both are now considered to have been born in the year twenty-four-thirty-five." They glanced at each other, and then back to Tova, who continued. "Fortunately, you'll keep your birthdays, which, considering when you left the twentieth century, makes you officially about four months older."

          Jimmy fixed his eyes on Adams. "Then why have we been held prisoner against our will?"  His voice dripped with venom.

          "That was for your own good.  You were not prisoners and never have been.  There’s absolutely nothing we considered charging you with once we verified your story.  But…you had no identification, no money.  All you have is that ship and the few things you had with you."  That was obviously scripted for him, possibly by Tova.  It was clear that Adams was barely containing his ire, despite an almost Herculean attempt to do so.  Jimmy was getting the impression that Tova was controlling things here, despite his lower rank.  Most likely Tova and those like him controlled a great many things behind the scenes.

          Tova stepped forward, handing each of them a wallet-sized card.  They seemed to be made of plastic, with a holographic picture of each of them on the appropriate card.  "These are standard U.S. IDs." Tova explained.  "They contain biological and physical data about you.  Part of what Doctor N’Dhai was doing was making a record of just such facts from scratch.  Despite the fact there were crude forms of DNA testing used in your time, no records of any such profile could be found for either of you.  The cards also allow you to access funds.  Hard cash is only rarely used any more.  Unfortunately, they're blank right now."

          Jimmy thought about his old bank accounts.  He hadn't really thought about money, since he was used to thinking about the several hundred dollars in his checking account and the ten thousand in an IRA.  He was accustomed to having plenty of money at his disposal.  He couldn’t imagine his funds even existed any more.  Once he was declared dead in the 20^th century the funds would have reverted to his parents.  He looked over at Dona, who was the first beneficiary of his inheritance.  Lacking any further instruction, the state would have certainly turned it all over to them.  The next thing that occurred to him was that he might have to sell the ship. What about the ship?

          "Do we still own the Phantasm, or has it been confiscated by the Starforce?" he asked Tova, not even sparing the fuming Adams a glance.

          Adams spoke for him. "The courts decided, once they agreed who and what you are, that you have clear title to the ship as salvage."

          "Then we're free to go." Dona asked hopefully.

          Adams started to speak again, but Tova cut him off, "You both are United States citizens with no criminal record.  Of course you are.  Here are the documents, which identify you as the owner of that ship.  Count yourselves lucky, only a select few own their own ships, and that one is far nicer than most." He handed them a small plastic chip.  Jimmy had seen a few of these.  They plugged into a computer screen to display their text.  Tova took another from his briefcase, along with a rolled parchment.  "This is your marriage license," he said, holding up the chip, "and this is the decorative copy." He unrolled the parchment, showing them each where to sign.  They repeated their signatures on a small pad attached to the computer to register on their chip.  "This is also recorded in general record, so you don't necessarily have to keep that with you."

          “Your belongings have been returned to your ship.” Adams told them.  He locked eyes with Jimmy, staring at him as if he were daring him to blink.  He returned the commander’s gaze, his small eyes narrowing to slits.  Adams had almost spit out the words ‘your ship’, making him feel again like the commander was being forced to give up custody of them.

          Jimmy stepped forward, placing both hands on the desk.  Nervousness was being replaced with anger and he imagined that the vein he could feel pulsing at his temple was visible to those around him.  He never took his eyes of Adams’.  “You know what?  If you had asked us the second we came on board this station, I would have let you check out that ship all you wanted to.  Hell, I might have even let you have it.  We all would have been spared this goddamned humiliation, you just had to play God, didn’t you.”  Jimmy was almost shouting now.

          It didn’t seem to faze Adams.  Things might have been different if a subordinate had exploded like that.  He slowly, with practiced control said, “Take your ship and do whatever the hell you please.  Just get off my base.”  His eyes never left Jimmy’s.   A hand touched his shoulder and he turned around to face Colonel Morrow.

          “Here, I’ll take you two back to your ship.  Let’s go.”

          Adams watched them until Morrow shut the door behind him.  “Barron,” he addressed Tova by his unusual first name, “I just can’t believe you took sides with that little shit.”

          “John, I just don’t see where we had a choice.  I can’t fault Morrow for registering that ship for them like he did; it’s actually standard operating procedure in a case like this.  He didn’t know then what that ship represents.  Command probably would have reprimanded him if he didn’t.”

          “I would have dressed that over if he didn’t.  I know when to adhere to the regs and I know when you have to ignore them.  He’s cost us a lot.  These schematics,” he held up one of the chips, “will still make a big difference, but to have the whole damned thing…  Well, can you just see to it he’s on the fast track to being drafted.”  Half a smile crept onto his hawkish face.

          “And what do you think that will accomplish beside petty revenge?  No, command already beat you to the punch.  Somebody there must have a heart; they specifically excluded both of them from compulsory service.  Plus, I think you’re missing something.”

          “Like what?”

          “From what I gathered from their existing records, which were surprisingly complete considering their age, those two are hugely talented.  They graduated from their school a year in advance of their peers.  We also have two doctors in agreement the two of them are supremely healthy and in peak physical condition.  Young Mrs. Argus was at the top of her class, and the captain of her school swimming team.  She beat her husband out by just one-one hundredth for the top position.  I think we may have a resource just as valuable as their ship.”

          “You mean those two?”

          “The boy especially.  Look how quickly he adapted to his surroundings.  With the exception of that little outburst just then, he’s exhibited an even keel since we’ve been in contact with him.  He’s emotionally adaptable, and according to your Doctor N’Dhai’s readings, he uses a larger percentage of his brain than average.  His hand-eye potential is phenomenal.  Think about that ship of his.  Even with that automation system on board, most people would have had a hard time getting a ship to do anything useful.  He not only got it under way, he even plotted a course which took him right across our patrol lanes.”

          “I consider that a lucky guess.”

          “Luck counts for a lot if it works.  As far as he’s concerned, he’s here, alive and healthy.  His decision was correct.  Did you see the sensor logs from the Delilah?  He was holding his own against that Deltan scout ship, even though he was unaware of the heavier laser cannons in the nose of his ship.  That wasn’t luck. That was natural talent.  I’ve had hundreds of hours training in ship piloting, and I can’t do that.

          “We can’t draft him, but I think he can be manipulated into entering the Academy.”

          “That little shit talks to me like that, and you want to bestow that kind of honor on him.”

          “Think about it.  He’s just a seventeen-year-old kid.  With what he’s been through the last several weeks, he’s entitled to let off like that.  If I was him, I would have come across that desk and throttled you.”
          “I’d like to have seen him try that.  I would have broken something just to teach him a little respect.”

          Tova smiled at him.  “You didn’t read my report too well, did you?  He’s a third degree black belt in Karate.  You’re just a first degree.”

          “I know more ways to kill little creeps like that than he knows ways to fuck.”

          “I think you’ve underestimated Mr. Argus in many ways, John.”

          Morrow led the two back through the busy Operations Center, pointing to this and that and giving them a basic idea of their functions.  They passed through a heavy armored door and boarded a small tram, which would take them to the docking platforms.

          “Look, Jimmy, Dona, I won’t gloss this over for you.  Tova’s a pit-bull from command sent to smooth things over before they could blow up in our faces.  The civilian government has known about you three since we picked you up.  Adams means well, but what he means to do well is serve his country.  He tends to think in the big picture, and three people, regardless of being from the distant past, don’t figure in that.

          “I won’t lie to you.  He’s had Lt. Peterson; I think you know him as Tinker, going over that ship from nose to tail while he had you locked up.  I don’t know what those medical tests were for, unless he was hoping you had some forgotten disease, which would have given him an excuse to keep you locked up indefinitely.

          “Here, let me see your Ident.”  He took Jimmy’s card, connecting his own to the edge.  The zero figure on his new card suddenly jumped up to two hundred credits, deducted from the amount on Morrow’s card.  “This will help you out a little.  They charge about fifty credits a day to let you keep a ship that size on a public landing pad.  Maybe you have something of value to sell, but you’ll need more money pretty soon.  You can rent a long-term storage pad near the Starport and I guess live in your ship for a time.  They usually cost about a thousand credits a month, so even that will get expensive after a while.”

          “What if we sell our ship to the Starforce?” Jimmy asked him.

          “Its an option you could consider.  I sort of figured you two would return to Earth before too long, and you would be a whole lot more comfortable on your own ship.  Besides, I don’t think you want to give Commander Adams that pleasure.”

          “No, I guess I wouldn’t.” he admitted.

          Dona suddenly started, realizing something.  “My engagement ring!”

          “I thought you left it in your room on Earth.”

          “No, it’s in my wallet, back in our room on the Phantasm.  I’ll bet its worth something.”

          “Well, that would be a start.” Advised Morrow.

          Jimmy wouldn’t hear of it.  He had thought the ring to be lost in the past, but to sell it off like that would be unimaginable.  “We’ll just have to try something else.”  He told her.

          “Just watch what you have.  If all else fails, there are plenty of unclaimed wildernesses a few hundred kilometers from the city.  You could put down close enough to a small town and somehow make a living that way.  I’m not sure, but you could probably even stake a claim on undeveloped land.  Swingaround’s got a lot of people, but they mostly live in the big cities.  The countryside is still pretty open.”

          The tram finally stopped, depositing them at the landing pad.  Two men were manning a hose, washing the remaining grime from the underside of their ship.  Her registry numbers were visible now, with ‘Miami’ stenciled beneath them.  Was that her homeport?  The men shut the hose off long enough for them to climb a gantry leading to the side hatch.

          Morrow shook Jimmy’s hand and Dona embraced him as they said their farewells.  They watched him as he headed for his destroyer.  “Are we finally on our own?” she asked her husband as Morrow disappeared into a lower hatch.

          “Maybe not yet.” A lone figure stepped off another tram.  They recognized Tova as he mounted the gantry ladder, climbing toward them.  What did Morrow call him? A pit bull?  They couldn’t trust his smooth calming manner.  It was obviously a carefully constructed mask.

          “Are you going to the surface now?’ he asked them as he reached them.

          “I think Adams made it abundantly clear he wanted us out of here right away.” Jimmy answered.

          “Well, I need to ask a favor.  I need a lift to the surface base.”

          “Look, we’ll take you to the surface, but I’ll be dipped if I’m going onto another Starforce base.”

          “Fair enough, all thing’s considered.  I’ll catch a public transport to the base.”

          They watched him warily as they made their way to the bridge.  He took a seat at the engineering station, watching Jimmy intently.  “Computer, status report.” Jimmy ordered.

          The schematic scrolled downward, listing the operational capacities of the various systems.  “ALL SYSTEMS OPERATING WITHIN DESIGN PARAMETERS.” Finally flashed up on the screen.  He touched the screen just as Tinker had shown him, calling up a three-dimensional display of their surroundings.  He put on the piloting headset and opened his microphone.  “Computer, patch me through to traffic control.”

          Tova took mental note.  He should have said base control, but the computer responded correctly anyway.  He relaxed just a bit.  Argus had already learned that spacecraft would only be allowed to take off by computer control. He had a bad moment thinking the boy would try to take off with the manual controls.  Of course, control would not let that happen.  He might be a natural pilot, but he wasn’t licensed to fly anything legally yet.

          The ship came to life, lifting slowly off the pad as docking tethers disengaged beneath it.  It backed slowly from the pad, not having enough room to turn on its axis with the destroyer occupying most of the pad.  Once it cleared the atmosphere screen, it did come about.  The engines fired momentarily, moving them forward, clearing the docks and the other ships there.  Jimmy noted there were far fewer ships docked here now.  The only remaining larger ship was the North Carolina herself.

          Base control released them once they were clear, letting them drift into a parking orbit.  He directed the computer to contact ground control, and soon they started to descend.  The base was in a geo-synchronous orbit above New Memphis, and they would have to orbit the planet once on their descent trajectory.  Tova was a little disappointed Jimmy wouldn’t try to fly the ship himself, but letting Memphis Control guide them in was the wisest course of action.

          It took less time than Jimmy and Dona would have imagined, but the city once again came into view once the re-entry friction died away.  The city was made up of tall, thin spires reaching up to the heavens.  The buildings tapered off from the city center, the smaller buildings sprawling for kilometers in every direction.

          The Starport occupied most of the shore in a large circular bay.  Control guided them down to a pad just large enough for their ship.  The engines cycled down, the gravitational generators taking over as they settled onto the pad.  Water lapped a Cliffside a little over a hundred feet below them.

          Tova, looking rather relieved, undid his harness first, standing and putting his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder.  “Real professional job, Argus.  You would make a fine starship pilot if you ever took the notion.” He stuck out his hand, shaking each of theirs in turn before heading down the stairs without any further words.  They followed him to the edge of the boarding ramp, watching him as he climbed into a large public transport once it stopped near the platform.

          “That is a curious man.” Dona finally said.

          “Humph, that’s not the half of it.  He didn’t need to come to the surface for anything.  He wasn’t even carrying that briefcase of his.  I’ll bet he just wanted to get a good look at the ship for himself.  Fortunately Tinker taught me just what to do.  We set down like any other ship would, without revealing anything new about it.”

          They stepped off the extended belly ramp, searching for an attendant to make arraignments for their ship.

Chapter 11

          Jimmy’s first thought when he arrived was the city of New Memphis was named for the familiar city of Memphis Tennessee.  It didn’t dawn on him at first that it had in turn been named after another city.  He nearly smacked his forehead when he was told it was named for the original city of Memphis in Egypt, especially since the second largest city was named Cairo.

          The city looked magnificent, the afternoon light giving the towering spires of the center city a golden glow.  They had somehow expected a vast, dirty gray city.  Instead, they found it very clean, everything looking almost new.  Only the main business district was made up of mile high glass towers.  The rest of the city was made up of sprawling smaller buildings, all connected by airy causeways creating a city built not just upon the ground but into the air.  In very few places could the actual surface be seen.  Plus, it was not all confusion.  The sprawling nature of the construction hid the careful planning from the casual observer.  They city did not spring up overnight, but it had the benefit of careful central planning.   Every section of the city boasted large apartment buildings, serving the businesses located in that section.  Shops and restaurants were everyplace.  People owned ‘flying’ cars, as was obvious by the traffic, but it seemed the largest part of the population got about on foot.  Trees were planted along almost every upper level street, giving them the impression of actually being on the natural surface.  Almost everywhere the roads and causeways were paved with a beige colored concrete, most likely made with native materials.  Large grassy areas were planted just about everywhere possible, giving the city the appearance of being built on a terraced hill instead of on a plateau overlooking a calm ocean.  On the lower levels, bright but comfortable lighting chased away shadows, making it look like daylight even where the sun could not reach.  The lights stayed on all day and all night, as the city was humming twenty-four hours a day.

          Crowds milled on foot just about everywhere.  With a quarter of the planets population calling the city home, the mob was expected.  Public transportation was free of charge, but most people traveled to their destinations on their own.  After a brief foray on foot, they returned to the ship to break out the bicycles.  Everything they could possibly need was within easy walking distance, but they wanted to explore further into the gleaming city.

          Colonel Morrow had overestimated the price of the landing pad.  It was only ten credits a day to rent the small pad, and another ten to hook up to an outside power source.  The attendant had actually assumed they would want the hook up, and rather than arouse any untoward suspicion about the ship, they accepted.  They had no way of knowing if it would be considered normal to rely on the ship’s internal power and there was also the fact they would have to fire up the engines, if for no other reason than topping off the power cells.   That meant they had less that ten days to come up with just over a thousand credits to rent a long-term pad.  Not even that, considering they would need some of that money to live on.  That would secure their ship for a full Terran year, though they really had no plans to stay here that long.  It was the minimum they could buy, so they accepted it and went on.  If they couldn’t begin a journey back to Earth quickly a set base of operations would be a huge plus.

          They briefly discussed heading straight out for Earth, but changed their mind once they consulted the navigational computer.  While they could get there much faster, they didn’t want anyone else picking up their ship going faster than anything currently in use, so it would take them almost six weeks at a more modest speed to reach Earth.  Jimmy was aware the ship had some kind of countermeasures, but he still didn’t have a firm idea of what an enemy, or even friendly forces would be capable of picking up.  There was also the old adage, you can outrun somebody chasing you but you can’t outrun the radio.  There was also a logistical problem.  They estimated their supplies on board would last for about two weeks, nowhere near enough for the journey and then again there was always the possibility of a breakdown.  It was just like trying to drive from North Carolina to California with two hundred dollars in your pocket.  It was foolhardy to say the least.  Not to mention, neither of them were very keen on the idea of spending six weeks without anyone else to talk to.

Speaking of people to talk to, they also wanted to find out what had happened to Murky.  They contacted the base, but no one seemed to know anything about the missing corporal.  That didn’t raise too much suspicion, since his relatively low rank would make him rather innocous, but it did worry Jimmy.  He wouldn’t put it past Adams to take someone like Murky and stuff him in a hole where they couldn’t get in the way.  They probably had him working as a janitor or something like that.  That would make sense, as he had no training to apply to his surroundings.  It would also serve to keep him from talking to others about what had befallen them.  For some reason it seemed the government wanted to cover their origins up.  He overheard Adams’ order to keep everyone onboard the Delilah.  All the better to debrief them and warn them not to discuss anything they knew about the trio, or, more importantly, about their ship.  For that matter, they could have even sent him to a training center to bring him up to date.  It occurred to them they had never asked him just what his job had been in the Airforce.  He certainly never volunteered the information, leading them to believe he might be embarrassed about it.  They ended up leaving a general delivery message in his name, hoping he would try to get in touch with them.

          They explored their immediate surroundings on the bikes.  Jimmy had a moment when he remembered deciding whether to leave them on the ground or wrestle them into the ship.  Knowing there would be a few hikers or hunters about, he’d opted on stowing them, at least until.  Their bikes were different from what the locals were riding, but not by much.  In fact, the variety was even greater than he imagined, so a pair of chain driven mountain bikes would not cause any undue attention.  His 1996 Specialized Ground Control Comp actually commanded more attention back home, where riders would Oooh and Ahhh over his XTR components and carbon fiber braced shock.  The blazing red of the main frame and blinding yellow of the rear swingarm didn’t help matters.  Now his bike was just another in a profusion of designs.

          The landing pads where the Phantasm was parked were lined up along the top of a cliff, with a service road leading to a main road.  Once out one of the many gates to the public landings, they began a long climb to the city proper.  Just like the big airport in their hometown, huge warehouses surrounded the Starport.  They climbed steadily through the warehouse district, emerging in one of the many self contained ‘neighborhoods’.  The tall buildings of the ‘Downtown’ rose in the distance, still miles away.  Once they reached the upper level streets they stopped climbing.  The sun was rapidly setting, but bright lights were coming on overhead.  The crowds didn’t even notice the dimming natural light.  The odd progression of daylight had been circumvented by the bustling city.

          “You know,” Jimmy said, not the least bit winded by their leisurely pace. “It’s almost nine, and it doesn’t feel like night.”

          Dona didn’t have a watch on, relying on his since her own wasn’t suited for their camping trip.  “It feels plenty night to me.  The sky’s getting dark.”

          “Well, I usually start feeling a little sleepy about this time of night.  I guess I’m just a little too eager to explore.  The city’s on Greenwich mean time so I guess I haven’t acclimated to that schedule.  Still we should be turning back.  I’ll bet these people trying to live by Earth’s clock get seasonal effective disorder.  I know the planet’s rotational day is just a little over twenty five hours but these people live by a twenty four hour clock according to what Tinker told us.”  He waited for an opening in the crowd and then coasted off the main road, using a side road to get turned around.  They had come a much shorter way than they had thought.  The main public portion of the Starport rose in the distance, ships constantly coming and going.  It also helped the greater portion of their return trip was downhill.

          As they approached the outer limits of the starport a delta winged transport passed noisily over them, fuel-powered jets carrying its bulk toward the freighter landing area.  They followed its progress until it settled onto a pad not terribly far from theirs.  Dona commented the scene reminded her of the old observation lot near Charlotte’s airport, where many young couples would go to purportedly watch the airplanes come and go.  By the time they reached the Phantasm, it had already begun off-loading its cargo and a few passengers at a pad just down the hill from where they sat.  Curious, they watched for a time, sitting Indian style on the extended belly ramp of their ship, their bikes laying on their sides at their feet.  Flat bed trucks rolled right up to the ship, using built in pallet cranes to off-load the bulbous craft.

They realized one of the passengers was making his way straight toward them. At first they couldn’t make out who the man was, though he was wearing a Starforce uniform.  They quickly realized it was Tinker, walking toward them carrying a satchel.  They could tell it was heavy by the way he was walking.

          “Damn, that was lucky, putting down right next to you.  I thought I was going to have to take a transport cab or something.”
          “What are you doing here?”  Dona finally asked.

          “Colonel Morrow turned me loose to help you finish patching up your ship.  Actually, Commander Adams wants me to spy on you, so Morrow thought it would be best if I came since I already know you.  Adams thinks you will trust me, and Morrow knows you will since I stand a better chance of keeping the real secrets.”

          “What real secrets?” Jimmy asked.

          “Oh, like how fast this ship really can go.  How well it really handles.  How good that computer will be once the ship-mind matures.”

          “You’re talking over my head.”  Jimmy took his bike onto his shoulder climbing upwards.  Dona just pushed hers up, followed closely by Tinker.  “Do you have to report in to Morrow, or to Adams?’

          “My reports will get to Adams, but since Morrow is my commanding officer, they go to him first.”

          Jimmy rolled his bike into the smaller hold.  “Do you think you’ll be able to get into the larger hold?”

          “That’s one of my main projects.  I’m as curious as you what’s in there.  The computer is registering some kind of large mass in there, I just hope it’s not a container of garbage or something.”

          Jimmy let the slightly older man walk just ahead of him.  Friendly or not, Tinker was still a Starforce officer and that meant it was clear where the first allegiances lay.

          The managed to get Tinker’s things stashed in the crew quarters.  Jimmy privately told Dona that he wasn’t sure just how well Tinker could be trusted, but Dona was convinced.  She was seated on one of the stick chairs from the crew quarters, right in front of the dresser mirror, combing out her long black hair.  “We really need to buy some things.  This cheap little comb I had in our stuff just isn’t going to do.”
          “Not to mention clothing.”  Jimmy was carrying his sweaty riding clothing in a bundle, headed for the cleaning machine in the bathroom.  “Give me yours and I’ll wash them up.”  She stripped out of her small tank and shorts, slipping a long, clean tee shirt on in their place.

          “You can’t prance around here naked like that with a house-guest.” She told him, smiling anyway as she watched his backside disappear into the bathroom.

          “I will in my own room, thank you very much.”  He said, starting the shower.

          Dona went back to combing out her hair.  She gathered it into a bunch, simulating a shorter style.  “Do you think I would look good with shorter hair?”  She shouted to him.

          “Absolutely not.  I like your long hair.  Come in here with me.”

          “Not right now, honey.  I’ll take me a bath once you’re done.”  She considered her hair once more.  “When I start getting big, I may just cut it off so it’s easier to take care of.”

          He walked back into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist, still dripping, his hair plastered to his head.  He kissed her neck, getting her wet in the process.  “Quit that.” She playfully slapped him away.

          “Do what you like, I’ll love it like I love you.”
          “Smooth talker.  What do you really think?”

          He held her hair up much like she had done. “Eh, wait until you have to.  I still like it long.”  He suddenly reached under her, picking her up.  The towel dropped to the floor, forgotten.  “I must clean you woman, you are dirty.” He said with a mock accent as he carried her to the bathroom.  He stuck her in the shower, the water still running, soaking her tee shirt.  She kicked him lightly in the shin, stripping out of the shirt and throwing it on the floor.  He started to get in with her, but she pushed him back out.

          “You’ve had your shower, now it’s my turn.  Now dry off and find your good clothes, we’re going out to eat tonight.  Dear lord, this is another reason to cut off my hair.  This’ll take forever to dry, or have you forgotten we don’t have a hair dryer.”  She finished with mock gravity.

          He watched her a moment, but she just looked disgusted and shooed him away.  He scurried back into the bedroom, searching for his towel.  Dona let the water play over her, turning the heat up slightly.  This actually feels better than a bath, she thought as she soaped herself up.  The water alternated between needle jets and heavy pulses.  She adjusted in for pulse, working her back to let it play up and down.  She suddenly regretted not letting Jimmy in with her.         

          Dinner out turned out to be an impromptu picnic.  Despite their impressions earlier there was a curious lack of sit-down restaurants; many seemed to cater more to take-out or as European style sidewalk cafes.  There were a few regular eating establishments but almost all of the ones they could find were priced out of their range.  The discovered an actual hot dog vendor on one of the lower levels, eating in a park like common area lit around the clock with bright lights.  The ground cover was almost like carpet, and the ended up sitting together under a tree, making out.

          “This is more romantic than I would have thought,” she said, snuggling down in his arms.  Despite the hour of the night, several people had taken up similar positions, enjoying the comfort of the little park and the company of their respective lovers.

          “Do you notice something Jimmy?”  She gestured with an open hand.  “Most of these couples here are about our age and some look even younger than us.”

          “So, we used to sneak off to make out since we were fourteen.”

          “That’s not what I mean.  See that couple just over there?  They’re wearing wedding rings and they look our age.  I’ve been seeing young couples everywhere.”

          “I think that might have something to do with the age of consent.  Plus, if you think about it, these colonies can achieve statehood by reaching a certain population level.  This city seems crowded, but it is the only really big one on the planet.  If people marry younger, and have larger families, the population increases faster.  Look how the population exploded since our time.”

          “At least we’ll fit in.  I’ve been thinking about something, honey”

          ‘Um hmm.”

          “Let’s stay here until our baby comes.  I like the city.  It’s cleaner than any place I’ve seen and the people seem genuinely friendly.  Plus, at least here, medical care is free.  I’ve looked it up, it’s not on Earth itself.”

          “We’ll talk about it sometime.  It sounds like a good idea, making a life for ourselves here.  We really aren’t tied down to any place though.  With our ship, we could hop from planet to planet, learning about our new world.”

          “That would have been good if I weren’t pregnant.  I want to raise our child in a stable place, which means finding a real house or apartment.  As nice as the ship is, it’s starting to wear on me.  I told you it feels like we’re living in a trailer park.”

          “Well, once we move the ship to a more permanent place it should be better.  Hey, here’s an idea.  We could take the bikes into the countryside and finish our camping trip.  You know, a little real tent nookie this time.”

          “I thought Murky was the one who couldn’t get sex off his mind.”

          “Hey, I’m still a guy.”

          “I’m done with camping.  I’ll take a real bed to sleeping on the ground with blankets any day.  I can’t believe we actually considered making our first time in a tent.  We got hot and sweaty just kissing in there.”

          She got up, brushing some light debris from the light gray dress she wore so much.  She grabbed Jimmy’s hand, hauling him up.  They walked to the corner, waiting for the ‘bus.’  The large glass lined transport lowered to ground level, picking them up.  They had to change transports once more, before being deposited back near their ship.

          Tinker was sound asleep, his head down on the parlor table.  Dona shook him awake, whispering in his ear.  He looked at them blearily, nodded, and then mounted the stair up to the crew quarters.  She took Jimmy’s hand, leading him into their bedroom.

Chapter 12

          "Hmm, I could give you maybe, five credits." the broker set the ring back down on the velvet pad.  He took his “jeweler’s loupe” scanner from his right eye and placed it in its padded box.  "The gold on the surface is not even ten carat, and the diamond, though surprisingly real, is barely a eighth of a carat."

          Dona was visibly crestfallen.  She had pressed Jimmy into letting her sell the engagement ring, and it turned out it would not even pay for a meal.  She reclaimed the ring, slipping it back onto her finger with her wedding ring.

          “I take it the gold and diamond aren’t that valuable?” Jimmy asked.

          “Not really.  If this were handmade or the gold more pure, it might be worth, oh, fifty tops.  If this is in fact real 20^th century, it is what they call ‘filled’ gold, where they simply plate a less precious metal, in this case silver, with gold.  As it is, it looks like any other cheap mass produced jewelry with nothing, style wise to distinguish it.  Now take her wedding ring.  That scrollwork is magnificent!  The color of the gold is also very good; I would estimate it to be eighteen carat without running a scanner on it.  If you wanted to part with that, I may be able to give you two-hundred, perhaps even more if it can be attributed to a specific artist.”

          “No, thank you.”  She took her ID card back.  The credit meter on it still only registered just over three hundred credits.  Jimmy’s had even less.  They chose this particular broker by recommendation.  He specialized in twenty-first century and earlier artifacts and collectables, mostly jewelry.  The bulk of her meager wealth had come from their cash, and most of that from her three State quarters.  She had the first three of the special issue quarters, and they commanded the best price.  Unfortunately, the broker declared their paper money fakes.  Apparently he used some type of scanner to carbon date it.  Since it had been taken through a time warp, the money was relatively young, the oldest being twenty years old.  He didn’t accuse them of anything; rather explaining that such fakes were rather common, and assumed the two had been swindled in their purchase.   He had no such problem taking their coins, which were authenticated through other means.  Amazing that seventy-five cents would be worth so much and almost three hundred dollars wouldn’t be worth the paper it was printed on.

          They left the shop looking downcast.  This was supposed to be their best bet for getting the money to rent a long-term landing pad.  It was looking more and more like they would be forced to move their ship outside of the city and find someone willing to let them park her on their land.  That was a common practice, and rather cheap as well, but if they were to find some form of gainful employment, they would have to be fairly close to the city, at least close enough to use public transportation.

          “I thought you paid over one hundred dollars for that ring?” she asked him.  She never once considered the relatively low price for the ring.  She always assumed that they would one day have the means to get proper, socially acceptable symbols of their union.  Two months salary would have broken Jimmy back home.

          “I did.  The only thing that would make sense is if there was enough gold available now to drive the price way down.  That might go for diamonds as well.  Think about it, gold and carbon are elements.  That means they can occur naturally almost anywhere and it’s quite possible there could be worlds where they are far more abundant than on Earth.  That’s what made gold so valuable, there really wasn’t that much of it.  I read somewhere once that if you took all the pure gold on Earth and made a cube out of it, it’d be about as tall as the Washington Monument.”

“Sounds like a lot of gold to me.”

“It would, except if you consider the fact that all of that gold is spread all over the world and most of what we see has been alloyed with other metals to make it more useful.”

“Still feels like a slap in the face to us.  You think that guy would have recognized real 20^th century stuff.”

“Unfortunately I agree with him about there being nothing distinctive about the ring.  Special as it is to us, it’s nothing more than a relatively cheap ‘promise’ ring.  Like I told you when I proposed, it’s not even a real engagement ring.”

“Jimmy, you getting down on your knee and asking me to marry you made it an engagement ring, not some silly notion of how big the diamond is supposed to be.”  

He squeezed her hand gently.  “What about these rings that Oray fellow brought us?

Dona stopped suddenly, looking as if he’d slapped her.

“No, absolutely not.  I wouldn’t part with those any more than I would those steel rings Tinker made for us.”

“But you just said we could sell the engagement ring?  You’re not making sense.”         

Dona looked at him as if he had grown a third eye.  Jimmy knew she was every bit as smart as he was but some times he just couldn’t pin her down.

Being an intelligent man he knew when to accept things as they were!

They walked up the tree-lined pathway to a street vendor.  He bought them each a sweet cake with raisins and nuts in the frosting and sat down on a decorative planter to enjoy their snack.  Dona reached for his mouth and rubbed off a small bit of icing from the corner.  Their bikes were chained to a nearby tree.  Here and there he could see other bikes just leaning on a wall or resting on their kickstands.  Maybe they were locked down in some way he couldn’t immediately tell but somehow he knew they had been left there by their owners who had a reasonable expectation they would be there when they returned.  He just wasn’t that trusting – not yet anyway.

          Jimmy was worried sick but he didn’t want to let it show.  He very rarely let others see his emotional state.  His smiles were as rare as his frowns.  It was one of the few traits Dona did not like in him.  He called it being stoic, but she just called it being cold.  With her, he could let his guard down, even though he even did that rarely.  He sat there with very little expression on his face, eating the cake.  Dona turned to him, placing her hand on his knee looking into his eyes.  There she was able to see the distress he wouldn’t otherwise show.

          They heard someone running up behind them.  The man from the collectables shop was slightly out of breath as he reached them.  “Can… I… see… that watch?” he finally blurted out.  They hadn’t walked that far from the shop, but out here in the open they finally noticed  the man seemed somewhat frail, possibly being in poor health.

          Jimmy unwrapped the Velcro band, handing it to the man.  He was totally perplexed; the Timex was only worth about forty dollars brand new.  It had once cost more than that but the model was discontinued so he was able to get it at a discount.  “Goodness, an optical data link, full LCD display.  It even stops the date after twenty fifteen.  You know, that’s the biggest mistake the counterfeiters make with these things.  They build a chip just like the originals but they burn current data into them ” That was true, Jimmy tried to set the year, but it displayed the wrong day of the week since the designers had figured it would last just so long before it wore out so they only programmed it to operate through that date.  He finally settled for ignoring the year once he found one, which would display the correct day of the week.  “If you want to sell this, I could give you as much as ten thousand.”

          Both of their jaws hung open.  Ten thousand?  They didn’t even consider the plastic watch worth much of anything, crippled as it was by its primitive programming.  It didn’t even have the original hard rubber wristband, and the face had been scratched by use.  That didn’t seem to matter to the broker, who acted like a child with his most desired toy.  It occurred to Jimmy to find out how eager he was to get his hands on the watch.

          “I won’t part for it for less that twelve.” He countered, mentally sweating lest he lose their opportunity.

          “Deal.” He seemed genuinely relieved to settle on an amount so quickly.  The broker pulled out his credit ID, immediately transferring the specified amount to Jimmy’s own.  He seemed to float on air as he returned to his shop with his prize.

          _______________________________________________________

          The storekeeper returned to the shop, holding the odd device in his hand.  He couldn’t believe what this new stranger was willing to pay for the watch.  It was indeed valuable, but only worth about five hundred credits, not twelve thousand.  However, that was not his worry.

          The slightly heavyset man with sandy colored hair and a receding hairline inspected his purchase, and once satisfied, produced his own credit ID.  He connected it to the shopkeeper’s own, transferring an extra five thousand.  The proprietor’s eyes lit up as he saw the figure but that was the only outward sign he would allow.  They shook hands, the stranger’s skin soft but the grip firm.  He made a few pleasantries and left, pocketing the watch as he went.

          ____________________________________________________

          “Well I’ll be damned.” Was all Jimmy could say.  “Maybe I should have held out for more.”

          “You didn’t have any idea what that thing was worth.” She comforted him.  “Thank God.  I was worried what we were going to do.  We can’t live off the supplies on board forever.  The first thing I want to do is shop for some real food.  The stuff they gave us on the Delilah really spoiled me after that dehydrated crap.”

          “Yeah, and I need a new watch.  I feel naked without it.”

          “No, we can’t have you going around naked.  I might have to fight off other girls.”

          “Nah. They’d just run away scared.” 

          Dona thought, no, one look at your cute butt and it’s go time, but she kept it to herself.  She followed a step behind him for