Ellie Quin - 04 - Ellie Quin in WonderLand (8 page)

Deacon could order the other hired gun to help him arrest Karl. But what if he too was on someone else's payroll? He decided it was probably prudent to be patient. Wait a few more days. There was a Colonial Marine ship on its way at full speed to this system. Pretty soon he was going to have several hundred heavily armed and highly trained marines at his disposal.

Even then, it might make sense to play dumb. Let Karl think he'd gotten away with it. A little play-acting. Smile at the guy, let him know that he was rather impressed by his zeal and initiative and that he'd recommend a bonus after this job was done. Not that difficult a play-act for him. Right up to this very moment he'd been considering recommending just that. If Deacon hadn't decided to once more review the port's digicam files this evening, he'd still be thinking the man deserved a pay rise.

Yes. Why not play along for now?

Perhaps the man would drop his guard a little. Perhaps Karl might relax, get a touch careless. Might even, unintentionally, point Deacon towards whoever it was wanted Ellie Quin to escape Harpers Reach so badly.

An unsettling thought came to him just then.

What if it's The Awoken?

Those bloodthirsty cultist fanatics were a disturbing enough prospect with their vest bombs and their overwhelming desire to die as martyrs in very public and very crowded places. But if they were involved with Mason and his project somehow?

God help us all if they ever get their hands on something like Ellie Quin
.

OMNIPEDIA:

[Human Universe open source digital encyclopaedia]

Article: The Legend Of Ellie Quin
>
Rebornist Church and The Awoken

Leading up to The Event that would at least for a few decades, make Ellie Quin a household name, The Administration was struggling to keep order in Human Space. It is a matter of record that there were at least seven complete systems that had risen up against them; a total of fifty three worlds. With three of those systems The Administration had simply chosen to lock down their system-link Gateways and bottle them up; with the others, they had sent their colonial marines in to reimpose order. One thing all of these systems had in common was a strong presence of The Rebornist Church.

This faith - some would argue, 'cult' - first began on a planet in the Primary system; a neighbour of Old Earth. A planet called Mars. Theological archivists have argued over whether the Rebornist Church was an offshoot of one of the main Abrahmic religions; Christianity or Islam. It had many things in common with these old faiths, the principle similarity being a belief that a final prophet would return to humankind, steer it away from damnation and towards salvation.

The Rebornist Church, although a faith that preached peace and humility, was also associated with a militant, fanatical sub-sect known as The Awoken. The Awoken, often described as a loose franchise of terrorist cells with no clear hierarchy, did however have a singular goal. To 'prepare the way' for their prophet. What precisely that goal actually meant was never entirely clear and open to interpretation by each individual cell. The most common interpretation of that goal was active resistance to The Administration. Thus…in the years leading up to The Event, with The Rebornist Church attracting more and more followers and the increasing numbers of disenfranchised young men and women joining the ranks of The Awoken, The Administration's military was stretched dangerously thin, fighting a war with terrorists across many systems and across many worlds.

The Event, of course, changed absolutely everything, but it is unclear whether at that point in history, The Administration was beginning to lose control of its 'war on terror'.

User Comment
>
FaithBurger

God's name is used to justify anything. The killing of millions. The glassing of whole worlds.

The burning of witches. Is it God's Will that all this crud happens?

User Comment
>
giggleGirl109

BURGER, U ARE AN IDIOT! IT IS NOT FOR US TO QUESTION HIS WILL! How can you possibly understand why OUR God wants sumthing to happen?!? Nothing is random. It is all GOD's WILL!

User Comment
> 7777
jollyjimm7777

Anyone want to buy a secondhand head-genie? Only one user. Still in pristine condition. Can send via system mail.

CHAPTER 11

'What's he like?'

'Graham?' Shelby shrugged. 'I imagine to females he might be appealing in a low-brow way I suppose. If you like something that's managed to drag itself halfway up the evolutionary ladder between Frasier and me.'

The artificial sun was just setting in the central biome, slowly drifting down the lowest triangular panel behind a distant line of projected mountain peaks. The rest of the sky was a smooth gradient from light salmon pink along the horizon rising up towards a deep night blue at the top of the dome. The air was cozy and full of the chirruping of nocturnal insects.

They were sitting at a round table in a central plaza; a mosaic of different coloured floor tiles still radiating warmth from the day's sun. Frasier emerged from a doorway nearby, shuffling out on bowlegs and tired feet with a tray full of drinks in his hands.

'Your usual,' he said placing a tall tumbler of something pink and frothy with a straw in front of Shelby. 'SoyoCandy protein shake.'

He handed Jez and Ellie a glass of red fizzy liquid each. 'We don't have Spartans here. But this is as close an approximation as I could manage.'

'Thank you,' said Ellie.

'Yeah, thanks monkey,' said Jez.

Frasier sighed, shook his head. 'I'll go and prepare dinner.' He headed back the way he'd come.

'Sounds like you and this Graham don't get on very well,' said Ellie.

'I know he must have an Upper-Dip creditation in genetic scripting. He wouldn't have been employed as a technician here otherwise, hmmm. But…he can be such a tiresome, irritating pleb.'

Jez cocked her head. 'Pleb?'

'Short for
plebian
. Old Earth language called
latin
.' Shelby rolled his eyes in a way that suggested he was preparing himself to explain what latin was.

'Uh-uh,' Jez replied disinterestedly.

'He's a knucklehead. An oik. A chav. A jock. A fratboy to use a few more Old Earth synonyms. Using a more contemporary vernacular; a complete dittohead.'

'Dittohead,' Ellie smiled. 'We use that term on Harper's Reach.'

As soon as she'd said that, Ellie realised she'd been careless telling him where they'd come from. She felt her cheeks warm and wandered if they were blotching. Shelby seemed not to have heard her.

'Honestly,' he continued, 'he has no respect for the science, nor the state-of-the-art laboratory facilities we have at our disposal here.' Shelby shook his head and fluttered his eyelids. 'Its utterly wasted on someone like him!'

Just then they heard the tap of lazy footsteps approaching.

'Speak of the devil,' Shelby sighed.

A raucous piercing whistle echoed around the deserted village. 'Yo! Shelbs! Honey…I'm ho-ome!'

Shelby tutted and rolled his eyes again.

Through a stone archway, throttled by creeping ivy, Graham emerged onto the plaza.

Jez lowered her drink as she lowered her jaw. 'Freg-me,' she whispered. 'He's….'

Ellie nodded slowly.
Gorgeous
. Not just sopa-dram handsome, not just holo billboard gorgeous. He looked implausible. Like one of the computer generated heroes in the games Ted liked to play. He ambled casually towards them wearing sandals that made a
flip-flap
sound as he walked, shorts that frayed just below his knees and a loose pink vest top that hung artfully from his muscular, tanned shoulders.

But that perfect body - already a flashing green go-go-go light for Jez - was just the pedestal on which was perched the most beautifully attractive head Ellie thought she'd ever seen in person. A lean, tanned, sculpted face that could easily be used to launch
any
advertising campaign, split with a bright and welcoming smile. All topped off with a long mop of tousled ash-blonde hair. A perfect blend of pretty boy and masculine demigod.

'Shelbs,
doobie
, there you are, my man!'

God
. Ellie found herself shuffling in her chair, absently straightening her shoulders and arching her spine. Just like Jez had once taught her ('gives you a longer looking neck and pertier jahoobies').

'Sorry I'm late, man…got sidetracked.'

God
,
even the way he speaks is fregging perfect
. Easy, mid-toned; not too high, not too deep, a good-natured drawl that made each word sound like a lyric.

Graham paused a dozen yards short. His smile turned to a wolfish grin and he wagged a chiding finger at Shelby. 'You're a dirty donkey, Shelbs!' He chuckled. 'Good for you! Sheeez, never thought you'd get round to growing yourself a coupla bed babes!'

Shelby stiffened and curled a lip at that. 'Oh, please.'

Graham checked Jez out and nodded tacit approval. He looked at Ellie and pursed his lips thoughtfully. 'Made some real interesting design choices. But, seriously? Mother let you make them this life-like?'

'Oh, good grief! They are not
products
! They're people.
Guests
.'

His eyes rounded. 'Real…
people
…?'

'Oh, I'm definitely for real,' purred Jez. She leant forward in her chair and extended a hand. 'I'm Jez, by the way.'

Inwardly Ellie sighed and gave up trying to look attractive. Jez was already deploying her A Game, which of course rendered any flirting strategy Ellie might come up with rather pointless.

He stepped forward and grasped her hand gently, turned it over in his and studied it for a moment. 'Yeah, you must be for real. Shelbs would have designed far more
practical
hands. Definitely no long nails.'

He grinned at her. 'Hey, Jez. I'm Gray.'

'Pleased to make your acquaintance, Gray.'

Oh, for crud-sake
. Ellie found herself eye-rolling like Shelby.
Jez never speaks like that
.

Gray let her hand go and acknowledged Ellie. He offered her his hand. 'Hi, and who are you?'

She cleared her throat, held his hand lightly. 'Ellie.'

'Good to meet you too, Ellie.' He flashed a bright grin at her, then came round the table, slapped Shelby affectionately on the shoulder and slumped down casually into one of the chairs.

'Sheeez, Shelby, it must be, like, months since we last shared a beer!' He winked at him. 'Or even a milkshake.'

'Seven weeks and six days to be precise. But that's not important. Aren't you curious as to
why
we have visitors?'

Gray nodded. 'Sure man…that was my very next question.'

'We got ditched here,' said Jez. 'We got totally humped by some freight ship jockeys who-'

Ellie stepped in quickly in case Jez blurted out too much. 'We paid for tickets to Gateway, but they cheated us and dropped us here.'

Gray shrugged. 'Gateway? Why? You girls running from something?' Ellie stiffened in her seat.
What? Why did he just say that?
For a moment she wondered whether they had 'fugitives from the law' stamped on their foreheads then she realised he was being flippant.

'Running from total boredom more like,' she replied quickly. 'We just want to see more of Human Space.'

'Well I'm afraid you won't get very far,' said Shelby. 'I presume you've been checking the headlines on the system's NewsNet? The Administration's ordered a lockdown on the Seventh Veil.'

Ellie nodded. 'We heard that. Some kind of quarantine or something?'

'Indeed. Hmmm. They're not saying what kind of virus or pathogen is out there, but the news is that, whatever it is, the outbreak ground zero is on Harpers Reach. The city of New Haven, to be precise.'

'Where've you girls come from?' asked Gray.

'Holstein,' said Jez. Ellie glanced at her and Jez made an 'oops' face. Why the freg did she just come out and say
Holstein
? That planet was populated by religious retro-nuts who all liked to dress old-earth style in straw hats and linen bonnets. Plus they talked funny; a coarse rustic accent that neither of them was going to be able to mimic easily.
Great choice, Jez
.

Of course, that's why. Ellie remembered Jez had been watching something on the ship's toob a couple of days ago; some syrupy roma-dram with a dimwitted, straw-chewing farmer from the planet falling in love with a sophisticated dome- chik from Celestion.

Crud. Talk about say what you see, Jez
.

'Oye,' said Jez trying to ease in a hint of the accent. 'It's a proper dull place. Just fields n' fields n' more fields.' Neither young man queried her bad accent.

'Don't they cultivate modified bovarines there?' asked Gray. 'For, like,
real
meat?'

Ellie had to recall that gloopy dram. Yes. The opening scenes had featured those huge lumbering hairy, dull-eyed creatures grazing on endless fields of stalky things. Just waiting to be slaughtered and rendered into juicy blood-red slabs of meat.

'That's…that's right. Their poo smells awful though. Ughh. Everywhere you go, that horrible, horrible smell.'

Gray laughed at that. 'Well, beats eating that synthetic gloop they serve up everywhere else in this system.'

'Indeed,' added Shelby. 'We have
real
food here. Real food, grown naturally in properly maintained and ph-balanced soil. No FoodSmarts, no protein paste.'

Jez perked up. 'Real food? Like what?'

'We have…oh, look, actually you'll see.'

Frasier had emerged from beneath an awning, pushing a serving trolley before him.

'Yo! Fraze,' called out Gray. 'How's it goin', monkeyman?'

The chimp nodded courteously at him. 'It's going perfectly fine, Graham.' He put out plates and covered serving bowls that leaked tendrils of steam into the air.

'Wow, looks like you really went out of your way for us,' said Ellie.