Toll and Rusty sat in the interrogation
chamber for several hours. There was no guard in the room and after
twenty minutes it was clear their hosts were in no hurry to speak
with them. After forty five minutes Rusty had reached his limit.
“Fantastic idea! Lets reactivate the
slip ring and see if Earth still exists! Well it does Toll, and I
think they're just as awful as the history books say they are!”
Rusty made no attempt to stay quiet and Toll gestured wildly in an
attempt to quiet him. “I will not be quiet! I don't care if they
hear me!” Toll put his face in his handss shook his head and took a
deep breath.
“Rusty I know this has been a mess
from the get go, but we're here now. This is what we have to work
with and I would really appreciate it if your mouth didn't get us
killed!” He yelled back. Rusty shrunk under the weight of Toll's
anger.
“You didn't have to yell.” He
grumbled as he sat in one of the three chairs in the room. The room
went silent again.
Two hours later the door opened and the
woman in the gray uniform entered the room and sat in a chair on the
far side of the table.
“I do appologise for the delay
gentlemen. It took us longer to process your ship than I expected. It
appears that your colony has made some incredible strides in
crystalline computing.” She pressed a button on her data pad and a
three dimensional image of Rusty and Toll's home planet popped up.
“Is this your home?” She asked. Toll nodded.
“What do you mean by 'processing' our
ship?” Rusty asked, trying not to sound worried. She smiled as she
answered him.
“It has been completely disassembled
and I'm happy to report that we found no weapons or contraband.”
Her response did nothing to calm Rusty down.
“Of course you didn't!” he shouted.
Toll winced and the woman's smile fell off her face.
“This is your own and only reminder.
Do not raise your voice when you speak to me. In fact from here on
out, only speak when spoken to.” Her voice was as cold as her gaze.
Rusty nodded dumbly. “Now then, the corporation is very glad to see
that asset PC 8197163 chose to turn it's ring back on and reestablish
contact.”
“They didn't, I did.” Toll offered.
“They were supposed to be dismantling the ring a few days after we
left. I acted on my own and forced Rusty into helping me.”
“Well then.”The woman was less than
pleased with this information. She typed something into her data pad.
“I am sad to hear that the colony has made that decision.” She
picked her data pad up off the table and stood up. “Thank you for
speaking with me gentlemen. The corporation appreciates your time.”
She turned for the door.
“Is my ship ready to go?” Rusty
asked, hoping against hope. The woman turned to face them again.
“Oh heavens no. Your ship was never
reassembled. We sent the computer systems to Research and Development
and the rest of the craft was recycled.”
“Then how are we getting back through
the tube?” Rusty's voice was edging on panic.
“You won't be. You're being
transferred to Mars to register as corporate assets under a five year
minimum contract. Slip travel is not cheap gentlemen and you have no
accounts on record, you have come from a colony that broke away
without filling the proper independence paperwork. You should be
tried for embezzlement but The Guild denied our motion, so you will
pay back the cost of your journey by completing your labor contract.
Now, if there are no other questions, your shuttle to the employment
facility on Mars leaves in an hour. Good day.” She finished her
speech and quickly exited the room. Rusty was in shock. Toll sighed
heavily.
