Jack and the Beanstalk [SF YA]

CHAPTER SEVEN - And Broke his Crown - Part II

The next hour I spent pacing the ship, before returning to my room. I ordered dinner and a bottle of scotch. Let the water of life carry me away. When it arrived, I started drinking, but to my annoyance I could hardly stomach the stuff. I ate the meal and flopped down on the bed, delighting in the wonderful floating fall and then the long sink into the mattress. Unable to sleep and unwilling to lay awake pondering my situation, I fumbled through the medical kit that had come with the persona of Tony Braun. I found a small container of sleeping pills and took two with another horrible gulp of scotch. Lying back down on the bed I proceeded to run through an isometric exercise regimen until sleep came.

The rest of the time passed with little awareness from me. When the call came to board the moon shuttle, I had finally gotten up and taken a double cycle through the 'fresher. I shoved my, Tony Braun's, meager possessions in the jump bag, and slapped the door pad. Taking a last look at my room, I backed out, and spun into a fist. I fell/flew backward into the wall. Shaking my head to clear it, I tried to focus on my assailant. A black mask covered his face. He moved in grabbing my shirt and pulling me to him.

"We need to talk, kid. You're in over your head." He grabbed the hand rail.

"What's going on here?" The voice came from an older man gliding towards us down the hallway.

"I'll find you later," my assailant growled and flung me spinning down the hallway.

Damnit. Not again. I moved my legs slowly, shifting my direction so I could see where I flew. Straight towards the old man. An older woman rounded the corner after him.

"What's going on?" she asked then she saw me.

"Watch out," I called as I flew towards them. "I can't slow down."

But they made no move to get out of the way. I pulled the jump bag off my shoulder and with both arms threw it with all my strength down the causeway ahead of me, hoping it wouldn't hit them. My rate of travel slowed considerably as the bag continued on, bouncing off the wall near them. But I'd changed my course considerably. The wall came toward me. I covered my head with my arms and tucked into a ball.

(Not again.)

--It's not my fault.

I struck the wall framing with my arms. The pain I had expected didn't materialize. The walls were padded. As I floated away from the wall a strong hand gripped my arm and we swung together towards the wall. The old guy had grabbed me and hung on. We bounced gently off the wall.

"You all right, son?" he asked as he disentangled from me. The woman had hold of his hand. It was she who had grabbed the handrail.

"Thanks to you, I'm fine."

I took a better look at them. He appeared small and frail, but the bicep mostly hidden under the short sleeved white shirt belied his age. His hair, long and gray, was pulled back into a pony tail and his eyes twinkled over the smirk on his face. His moustache twitched and then he broke into a toothy smile.

"Glad to be of assistance."

"You should get something on that eye," the woman suggested. She seemed stronger. Though she looked soft and rounded, I noticed the dancer's grace with which she moved herself as she gathered up their bags in the low gravity.

With only an admonition to be careful, they continued on. I shook my head wondering what kind of people would act like that. They hadn't asked me a thing. Just accepted thanks and went on their way.

I made my way down the hallway to recover my bag, then headed for the docking area to meet the shuttle. I kept a sharp eye out for either assailant, though I had little to go on.

#

The descent began with a long graceful fall toward the Moon with low, almost unnoticeable thrust the whole way. It increased slightly on the final approach, setting us down as gently as a lift groundside. The passenger and baggage portions of the shuttle detached and rolled toward the airlock, while the pilot module and the engines rolled toward the catapult to be joined with a passenger/baggage section from the previous shuttle. Almost immediately after the systems were checked, it would be thrown back into orbit. Economy and conservation of all resources left little room for profit. The companies running the shuttles need to place them into orbit and bring them back to the Moon with a minimum amount of energy expended. Therefore, timing was everything.

Luna Customs worried me. They were rumored to be the stiffest officials on three worlds. As soon as we entered the cordoned-off area a stuffy looking official approached me. I had been preparing my best glowing smile, but had it startled right off my face when he said, "John Petrovich, I have a warrant for your arrest. You face extradition. Would you please accompany me?"

"On what grounds?"

"Murder. Transporting state information."

Arrest? Extradition?

He snapped his fingers and two guards appeared and quickly grabbed an arm each. As they hauled me away I glanced wildly around for Valerie, or the old couple. But no one seemed to notice me.

They ushered me into a small gray room. The official followed the guards in and motioned for them to leave. I felt sure that they weren't going any farther than the outside of the door. When the official turned he no longer looked stuffy. Instead he looked menacing.

"You have information that I require."

"How cliché," I said, trying Valerie's tack to lighten things up.

"You think this is funny?" He pulled something from his pocket and hit me in the arm.

My arm stung and then I noticed the small transdermal in his hand. Drugs?

"You will begin to feel drowsy in a moment."

I tried to swear at him, but my jaw felt like jelly. Drool dribbled over my lips.

"Relax, Jack," he said as he placed a headset with a microphone on my head.

(Does everyone know your name?)

--It seems so.

The patterns floating across my vision mesmerized me even as they faded from light to color and then to black.