“Don’t push me to hurt you,” Jupe warned. “If it’s you or the passengers, I won’t hesitate on you.”
“You wouldn’t do this is Cuth was here.”
“You’re right,” he said as he grabbed her by her arms and forced her to walk through to the passenger section. “Him I’d have to kill.”
Jupe pushed Jenna through to the passenger lounge. She told him over and over that he wouldn’t treat her that way if Cuthbert were there, or even Thax. He agreed with her, but didn’t feel like saying so again. He was still amazed that TC had trusted him enough to leave him alone. Perhaps his father thought so lowly of him that he didn’t think he was capable of taking control. Or perhaps highly of him, in that he was a Beggs and destined to this sort of thing; portraying himself as a hero to the people, when inside he hated the attention and wished he had done nothing to gain any fame. Jupe didn’t have time to think of such things, nor ponder the irony. He knew his hardest task was in front of him, with the unknown prospect of how the passengers would react.
Here was someone that they had never met before, telling them that they were in danger and only he could help. From what he knew of them, they were not exactly the most trusting types, and some of them were probably spineless.
They were standing ready to walk off the ship and into the station. It would be a welcome change of scenery, and they were all impatient that they were made to wait. They assumed that TC was going to come through the doors and give them the good news that they could go into the T. Seeing Jupe forcing Jenna along was a shock that they couldn’t comprehend.
“Jenna, what’s going on?” Sarra demanded, the first to see that the picture wasn’t right.
“He’s gone and decided to change the plans,” she said to her with a tough voice.
Jupe addressed them, not caring about either two women. “I know you don’t know me—”
“Sure we do,” Rebbi said, the calmest of them all. “You’re Jupe, aren’t you? Johnny’s son?”
“Are we getting off the ship now?” asked Rolondo, expecting the door to open.
Morgan stepped forward, not wanting to miss anything that might be important. “There is a rumour that says this is as far as we’re going,” he said. “Is that true?”
“How come we haven’t met you before?” asked Real.
“He’s the other crew member,” Taylor-Marie said to the children.
“I know,” said Dorrington, exasperated that she thought that he didn’t know.
“Ok,” Jupe said as he raised a hand to them, “there’ll be time to answer all your questions—”
Jenna became hysterical. “He’s locked TC out! He’s shut the doors on him and Cuthbert and Thax. Do something, you people!”
“You can’t do that,” Sarra said to Jupe.
“What’s going on here?” Morgan asked, confused.
“If you would just let me speak, I’ll tell you,” said Jupe.
“Ro, do something,” said Rebbi.
“Now you’re talking to me?” he asked her.
“I want to know what’s going on,” said Morgan. “Where’s TC?”
“Who is this guy?” Real asked no one in particular.
“You aren’t going to Ancia,” said Jupe.
“Hell you mean?” Real asked, angry. He had been impassive until the subject of Ancia came up.
“What are you saying?” Rolondo asked Jupe, just as annoyed as Real.
Morgan hushed them like they were unruly members of a business meeting. He then talked to Jupe like he was a child. “Young man, in case you are confused, we are all booked through to Ancia. This is merely a stopover. Can we see TC now?”
“Damn right, we’re going to Ancia,” said Rolondo, looking at Jupe like he was about to fight him.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Jupe explained, annoyed that this wasn’t going anywhere as easy as he had somehow imagined. He saw now that controlling Jenna and getting down to the passenger lounge without her at least kicking him, had been the easy part. Now they were all focused on him, and poised to yell at him if he said something they didn’t want to hear.
“Fact is,” he said, unable to stop his voice from quivering, “you were never going to Ancia. TC brought you to T Station, and that’s all he’s going to do. This is the end of the line, as far as you’re going. Sorry to break the news to you, but there’s nothing I can do to make it sound any better.”
“How can you prove what you say?” Rebbi asked, and while the question annoyed Jupe, he was partly relieved that she had listened to him. “We’ve never seen you before and you come in here all aggressive, it doesn’t look good that we’ll take you seriously.”
“I want to see Beggs,” said Rolondo.
“You can’t see him,” said Jenna, not taking her eyes off Jupe. “He’s locked them all out.”
“What do you mean, locked them out?” he asked.
“They’re planning to kill you,” said Jupe. “If you don’t let them take your cargo, they’ll kill you. They only waited to get you to T Station before they gave you the choice. Leave your cargo or die. They had guns, but I disabled them.”
“Guns?” Taylor-Marie asked, remembering hearing about them.
“We know about the guns,” agreed Rebbi. “But how do you expect us to believe you? We’ve never seen you before.”
“I’ve seen him,” said Dorrington, before Taylor-Marie hushed him.
“You know about the guns, then you know I’m telling you the truth,” Jupe said. “And I can show you the guns, if you don’t believe me.”
“I helped!” Dorrington exclaimed.
“You helped with what?” Taylor-Marie asked him.
“You have to believe me,” said Jupe, “that I’m here to help you. But we haven’t got a lot of time. TC’s sure to be back, and he probably knows how to open the doors, override the system or something. I wouldn’t put it past him. Please, you have to make a decision. Will you believe me or not?”
“Young man,” said Morgan, still talking like he was in charge, “I think you have not adequately explained your action. This ship is going to Ancia, that was the agreement.”
“No it isn’t,” said Jupe. “It never was. TC’s never been there.”
“Yes, of course it is,” said Morgan, not understanding, and refusing to face the prospect of what Jupe was saying. “We have all booked passage. We have contracts.”
“You were lied to,” said Jupe. “This is deep-space. Contracts don’t mean anything.”
“Dawn-Star Beggs,” said Rebbi. “She was the one who booked us on the ship. She is TC’s daughter. Are you saying she knew we’d be threatened? Take us to T Station and take our belongings off us? She knew that?”
“I don’t know anything about what she knew or didn’t know,” said Jupe. “She’s probably involved with TC, as much as the Wilson brothers. I don’t know her that well. But you need to know one thing: If you go out there to T Station, they’ll probably kill you. Least that will happen is they’ll take your cargo and machines, and everything else you have. They’ve gone off looking for help, and I’m telling you, they’ll soon be back.”
“I find this preposterous,” said Real, adding a slight laugh. “Who is this person? We all know Johnny Beggs is a hero. He helps people, like those people he rescued. And now you want us to believe he wants to rob us and kill us? The man’s no murderer, everyone knows that. This is some kind of joke.”
“He’s working for Lars Best,” said Jupe, “if that helps you believe me.”
Morgan was horrified, asking, “Lars is here?”
“The gangster?” asked Real, sharing Morgan’s fear.
“Who said anything about the Bests?” asked Rolondo, looking to Rebbi and Chera, as an automatic act of protection.
“His men are here, at the station,” said Jupe.
“We have to get out of here,” said Morgan, now panicked. “Yes, everyone, we are agreeing with this brave young man. Can you fly the ship?”
“You want to trust him now?” asked Taylor-Marie.
“We cannot risk anything with Lars Best,” said Morgan.
“Your name is Jupe?” asked Real.
“Jupe Beggs.”
“You can fly us out of here?” Real asked as he looked back to the direction of the station. What are you waiting for?”
“That’s what I’m prepared to do,” said Jupe. “Get you all back to Earth, safe.”
“Wait on a minute, here,” said Rolondo. “You don’t look old enough to fly a spaceship. How old are you?”
“Twenty-one,” said Jupe. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow you’re twenty-one? So, you’re twenty, today.”
“If you don’t want to be here, go say hi to the Bests,” said Jupe, hating the subject of his age. He didn’t feel like adding that he could fly the ship when he was ten.
“But you can really fly the ship?’ asked Morgan.
“He sounds like TC,” Jenna said spitefully. “With all his promises, where did it get you? Where did it get any of you? You can’t trust any Beggs.”
“Don’t trust me,” said Jupe. “And go back to the T. Myself, I’m going to Earth. We’re leaving as soon as I get back to the flight deck.”
“No, wait on a moment,” said Real. “We don’t want to return to Earth. We’re going to Ancia. That’s the contract. That’s the agreement. We can’t return to Earth.”
“We’re going to Ancia,” Rolondo said in support, and then looked at Morgan.
“I think it is clear that we all intend to complete our journey,” said Morgan.
“You’re not serious?” asked Jupe. “You’re about to be killed, and you want to argue about completing the flight? To Ancia?”
“I don’t want to go to Ancia,” Chera said, too softly and no one heard her.
“We are going to Ancia, young man,” Morgan said more forcefully to Jupe. “The Calp family and everyone else. We have not come this far to turn back. Our home is Ancia, not Earth, and certainly not T Station. Can you pilot us, or will we need to hire new crew?”
Taylor-Marie turned to Morgan with her hands on her hips. “You have got to be kidding me, Morgan. After this, you still want to go to Ancia? The captain has betrayed us, and this person, who we’ve never seen before—“
“No, I know him!” Dorrington yelled. His brother Westminster punched him on the arm and their sister Maddison, overwhelmed by the tension around her, started crying. Taylor-Marie then struggled to separate the boys.
“Are you people for real?” Jupe asked them in disbelief. “We’re in great danger here. The longer we stay, the sooner TC’ll return with help. I don’t know what kind of guns they’ll have with them, but if he’s found Bests’ guys, they won’t take long getting that door open.”
“Are you certain you can take us to Ancia?” Morgan asked Jupe, no longer thinking himself better than him.
“I can take you to Earth, and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Jupe.
“No, I want to know,” insisted Morgan. “Can you take us to Ancia?”
“I have no need to go there. I mean, do they have surf?”
“Surf?” asked Real, having no idea what he meant, thinking that it was some kind of jargon for the technicalities of space flight.
“What I am asking you,” Morgan said slower, “is are you able to pilot us there? If so, then that is what we want. Some of us, at least, wish that to happen. We are here to go to Ancia, and we really don’t care how, or by whom.”
“I sure want to,” said Rolondo. “Ancia or nothing.”
“Is it possible for you to do that?” Morgan pressed Jupe.
“I guess I can, yes,” Jupe said, annoyed at the thought, but not enough to admit that he was unable to help them. “Piloting isn’t the hard part.”
“Then you can do it?” asked Morgan, nodding his head, hoping for a stronger affirmation than his I guess.
“I suppose I can get you there, if you have to go,” Jupe said, hoping Morgan would get off his back.
“You suppose?” asked Real. “Are you a real pilot or not? You have your licence?”
And there was the question Jupe had been dreading. “Right now,” he said, avoiding the answer, “our main concern is leaving this port. We can’t stay much longer.”
“Can you actually pilot?” asked Real.
“Tell us the truth, please,” said Morgan.
“Yes, I can pilot,” said Jupe, being clear that he did not want to admit it.
“You owe it to us,” said Rolondo. “Our agreement was Ancia. Can you get us there?”
“Of course I can get us there,” Jupe said like it was obvious. “If I can get you home, I can get you there too.”
“Well, you can let me off first,” said Jenna. “Open the doors and put me off. I was never going to Ancia, and I’m not starting now.”
“I’m not going to Ancia either,” said Sarra.
“You’re free to leave, don’t worry,” said Jupe, barely looking at them.
Chera spoke up, this time so everyone could hear, “And me. I want off this crazy ship.”
“I’m going to Ancia,” said Rolondo, and Morgan and Real made it clear that he was speaking for them.
“Me too!” shouted Dorrington.
“Everyone who wants to go into the station,” Jupe announced, “and take your chances there, you’re free to go. I really don’t care what you do. Leave if you have to. Everyone else …,” he started and then paused to take a reluctant breath, “will be going to Ancia.”
“Perhaps first,” Morgan said with a hint of smugness, “we could allow our captive passenger to go free.”
He looked to Real, and the others followed. Real tried to look innocent, but then nodded. Saying he will do it alone, he rushed down to the hold to remove the offending cargo before anyone from the Bests saw him.
* * * *
UDE’s decision to place the Gerald Hughes fuelling depot, known as GH, in a long-range orbit of T Station was entirely due to safety fears. Three times it had caught on fire, but on each occasion it had not reached the point of actually exploding. Local pilots called it “the Russian,” after Russian roulette, and many flew their ships to it by remote control, from the safety of T Station.
Jupe had no idea about either its nickname or history. He was just relieved that he needed to do little to get the ship there. The T Station ship-control simply guided the Burning Star to the Russian depot, and automatically fed in the fuel lines. There was no problem with the payment, since the Burning Star was of legendary status at the station, and as far as anyone was concerned, TC was still the captain.
Jupe took note that TC had neither contacted the station authority, and nor had he sent Bests men out to stop him. While there was a possibility that TC approved of Jupe getting the people away, he also knew that he just may have drunk too much and passed out. Unless the Bests had had him, and the Wilsons, killed.
When they left T Station orbit, Jupe was uncertain what to do next. When he assured the passengers that they were going on to Ancia, he was not being truthful. It was more a case of getting them off his back. But after seeing their excitement, and talk about being so lucky to have Jupe there to help them, he started asking himself if he could actually do it, and take them all that way. He was partly surprised to see that the ship had charts through to Ancia, since TC was always adamant that he had never been there and had no intention of going. Jupe wondered if that declaration by his father might not be entirely true, since he was the type of man who said one thing and then did the exact opposite.
Jupe examined the charts and saw numerous star-swings, three of them rated high in the required technical skill, but nothing that the ship’s own computers could not handle. All that really needed to be done by Jupe was to accept or reject the ship’s flight path suggestions. Any real piloting would be needed if any unforeseen object came across their path, and in deep-space, such objects could be seen hours before they became critical.
/> All right, he decided, if the ship accepts me, the passengers aren’t questioning me, I must be the right man for the job, so let’s see what this deep-space travel is all about. Probably not even as hard as facing big waves.
Jupe went to the main lounge, and found that the people were waiting and looking at him with respect. He tried not to show that no group of people had ever done that to him before, with the exception of a few drunk surfers and party girls.
“Those of you who want to head back to Earth,” Jupe announced to them, “get yourselves out onto this fuelling station. You can get a ride back to the station in the supply pods. From there, if you can keep your heads down, you can hitch a ride back to Earth. Shuttles leave every other day. Those who still want to carry on to Ancia, stay aboard.”
“You know I’m off,” said Jenna. She added bitterly to them all, “Have a nice life at Ancia.” She gave Jupe one last eyeful, and said, “Hate to be you when Cuth catches up.”
“The children are coming with me, and that’s final,” Taylor-Marie said to Morgan.
They had been arguing non-stop about what they were going to do. Morgan tried to keep protesting, and surprised everyone by breaking down in tears. Taylor-Marie refused to change her mind, and told Morgan that he was a bad father for thinking that they should go on to Ancia under such conditions.
“I will go on ahead,” Morgan said to his children, wiping his eyes. “I will establish a camp there, and get word to you that it’s safe. Then you can get another voyage out. I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry. It will all work out, I promise.”
“Take care of it like this one’s turned out?” Taylor-Marie snapped. “Over my dead body you will. This is it for me, this space travel.”
Rolondo looked at Rebbi and saw that she was making an effort to not look in his direction. He then turned to Chera. “You can still come, if you want.”
“I always knew you were crazy,” said Chera. “I should have listened to all that shouting in my head, that you were no good for me. No good for anyone, as it happens.”
At that, Rebbi looked at Rolondo, and mumbled something to herself. Rolondo thought it was something he would not want to hear anyway.
Chera looked at Rebbi. “If you’re saying I’m right, you don’t have to; I know I am.”