A Short Story Collection

Despot

Fred sat quietly at the lounge while activity bustled about the station. Other people sat beside him at different tables. The station bustled with activity as Fred drank his coffee. He silently sat, watching the universe stream past him. His eyes scanned the multitude of planets, moons, and stars. The small opaque screens only removed some of the brightness, but his eyes still winced. He could see the other three central stations. They were all surrounding a large spherical metal ball, the ball was separated with plates of metal and asteroid debris. This blocked some of the light. However, slivers of the star still reached his eyes. Inside the plates was the work of centuries. Tim sat beside him, drinking some bright white Ferree.

"It's close to being finished now. They're putting the final touches, and surprisingly there've been no accidents in the last few months. They're going to put some Monel cubes in there to celebrate", His friend said.

Fred choked, "Monel? I thought it was gold?"

"There's no gold anywhere near here, Monel's the rarest thing next to gold."

"Wish we could put some chloride in..."

There was a pause of silence.

"How are we going to put chloride in there?", Tim asked.

"Alright... Alright... So when is it going to be.. done?"

"Probably two days, then we get sent back home."

"Two-hundred years of work... ", Fred sputtered.

"Yeah, but they gave me enough money to buy two planets. I'm going to Vilchis when all of this is over", Tim said.

"I'm probably going to Borosque, go back home, and retire."

"That'll be interesting."

"Yeah."

Fred got up and walked toward the work bay. The marble tiles clacked underneath his teeth as the station spun. The axles protruded through the stone torus and stabbed the metal donut into the dark depths of space. People crowded around the windows watching the construction take place. He continued to walk through the crowded corridors until he reached the architect bay. Tim was already there, drinking some Ferree through a white spouted cup.

"What took you so long?"

"How'd you get here so fast?", Fred asked.

"Not sure."

"How?"

"Not sure."

"Did you take the side route?"

"No."

"Darn."

A group of white-coated government officials from Ilinus sat beside the architects. Tim crept up and sat in a chair beside Tim.

"So, no one should go outside of the station because of the mines", said one of them.

"Nok declared war last week when it sank the merchant ship. Then they tried to bomb our military occupation. And, since the station's in the middle of the mines and the war zone we can't risk moving all of this out. We'll just wait until the war is done."

"We've already packed enough food and water for years to come. Then when the war is finished. Everyone can go back home, safe, and sound."

The architects sat silently.

"What about communication?", Tim asked.

"We can afford a couple of direct packages, and a couple of transmissions. But no large cargo."