Adam looked up at the police officer, and the man looked down at him, confused. “What did you say?” the man said as he kneeled down to look him in the eyes, and Adam repeated the words. “Please save us. They are going to take us to a bad place. I heard them talk about it.” Adam told him.
The police officer scanned him with a pen-like device and looked surprised at the result. He looked at Adam worriedly, then stood up and called it in while he looked down at him, “Hey! I got a kid here who says somebody is going sell him to bad places. He has no bio-ID and is not in the system. Can you send a car and social services for the kid? Wait, I see somebody coming from the block the kid came from.” The police officer said. Adam turned to look back, suddenly feeling wet in his hair. When he turned back to the police officer, he saw his head was gone, and his own hands were covered in blood. He tried to scream.
Adam woke up with a scream; he sat up in the bed, looking at his hands as they were shaking, then he hit the wall again and again until it was bleeding. He screamed again, got out of bed, and showered. He was glad he had made the rooms soundproof; this was not a side of him he wanted them to know.
When he got dressed, he got into the elevator and took it down to the second floor, where the kitchen was. It was still early, so nobody was up. He saw D03 quietly stalking him to make sure he was safe. He had probably spotted his elevated stress. He ignored it and went to make himself some coffee. He took the cup and went up to the control room on the third floor, found his desk, and sat down. Halfway through the coffee, he heard a noise and turned, expecting to see Jork or Vorts. Instead, he saw a Dushin boy about ten years old or older. The boy had bright red skin and short yellow hair, wearing a white t-shirt that was too big, black sweatpants, and no socks or shoes. The boy held a cup of coffee and went to sit down at a desk, copying Adam.
“Are you ready to work?” Adam asked, a little amused, and the boy turned and nodded seriously.
“Yes, I''ve got to earn my keep; my brothers and sister think they can sleep the day away, " he replied, and Adam had to hide his laugh.
“Ahh, those lazy kids. So, since you are ready to work, let''s start. First, open up your screen. Put your hand on that green pad.” He told him, and the kid nodded slowly as if he had learned that everything should be answered with a nod. He put his little hand on the pad, and the screen appeared.
Adam smiled. “Now I need to say your name to the computer,” Adam said, and the boy nodded seriously.
“My name is Kywar Shishan, First son of Miwar Shishan; My mother is Pylla Shishan. I am twelve years old, Slave of, “ He said, and Adam stopped him.
“No! You are not a slave, Kywar! You are a free man! As is your brother and sister. Your parents will be free in a few years. They only work for me!” Adam felt panic rise again, and Kywar looked at him confused, so confused he forgot to nod.
“I''m free? So, I don’t have to work?” He asked, and at that, Adam laughed.
“Yes, you don''t, but you can if you want.” Adam said with a smile, and the boy looked at Adam back at the screen and saw it spring to life. He lost all interest in Adam and grabbed his coffee cup with both hands, took a sip, and immediately put the cup away. Adam accessed the control, started a drone, and gave Kywar control over it. It was a simple observation drone with an anti-collider program installed, and when the control was activated, Kywar quickly started trying to control it as he laughed. Adam watched him for a few minutes and then called Maidy to bring some juice for the boy.
An hour later, Vort and Jork came in and stopped at the door, watching the boy flying the drone around the edges of the northern pole. “Why is he flying a drone?” Virts asked, and Adam grinned.
“He is working. I have him scan all the lakes he can find. Apparently, that is easy work.” He replied.
Kywar suddenly stopped and turned to Adam. “Okay, the lazy people have woken up, so I''m going to find my brothers and sister now. Bye bye!” Then he ran off, and the two others watched him vanish down the hall as they found their place. Maid came to clean up after the boy.
“I thought the students were going to join us?” Vorts asked as he turned his chair to face him, Jork turned his halfway so he could watch the screen simultaneously.
‘Well, we have to go over a few things first. We can’t tell them everything. They are reporting back to the university, and I don’t trust that too many people will know what we are doing here before we have set up a good defense. “ Adam explained as he sipped on his third cup of coffee.
“What do you mean?” Jork asked as the report from the asteroid field came up. Adam looked at it and suddenly whistled, " Wow.”
Jork also turned to look at it, and his eyes went wide. Vorts leaned over. Then his jaw dropped at what he saw.
“I mean like that. If they report that back, what do you think will happen?” Adam said as he remotely closed the door to the room and pulled it up on the big screen. Two asteroids, both around 15 km in length, about 22 km wide, and 17 km deep, with a content of 74% and 81% iridium.
They all just looked at it as the other reports came in. Most of the asteroid field was worthless, but one-quarter was filled with valuable materials. Jork looked at him.
“That’s enough for a large mining operation. We can mine all of that with what you have.” He said, and Adam nodded.
“Yes, and if I buy what we need, then somebody is bound to follow after and find this place. Do you think they will let me have it? “ Adam said as he asked the computer to assess the value quickly. It came up as 126 million credits if all were sold at the current price. Adam stared at the number and looked back at the two. “This does not leave this room. Jork, you have to hide those Asteroids. Move them somewhere they won''t look for them. This find has just made all of us very rich. Yes, I''m not so stupid to think I can keep this from you guys. Just don’t tell anybody. Understand.” He looked between them, and they both nodded seriously.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“I''m not suicidal. They would kill everybody to make sure nobody found out.” Vorts said.
“Good, now clean this up. Let us find a trace of iridium later; we need some to print those speeders and transports. Two metrics should be enough. Don’t overdo it.” Adam looked at Jork, who agreed. They all went to work, and the program was hidden one hour later.
Adam sat silently, staring at the screen, thinking as Roks entered. “What''s up, boss?”
“We need to try to buy more droids from Earth again. I need to get hold of Harold!”
“Harold? Wait, your friend from Earth, right? The one working for Ares?” Roks asked.
“Yeah, remember when we tried to get to droids last time? I completely forgot to call him. It’s a long call. All the way to earth, but I need to make it. It''s going to cost me an arm and a leg. Anyway, do you want to go shopping?” Adam asked.
“Sure, I just need a job for my crew, and if you call him, I want more of that earth whisky,” Roks replied. Adam got up and looked at Jork. “Have the pilots run drills for pirate attacks and do a proper scan of the gas giants; I have a feeling the guys who surveyed this system were sloppy.”
Jork looked at him and grinned. “You don’t trust them? What about the students?”
“Give them the project''s current status and plans, have them review it for flaws, and update the communication system, the security patch, and logs. Now that we are growing, we might attract more unwanted attention.” Adam replied then left with Roks. When they entered the elevator Roks turned to him. “So, you called me partner when we met. How much of a partner are we?”
Adam chuckled.” That is why we are going to the hub. We have to set up a few things and make it official. I’m suggesting 10% of the company, which land when the project is finished.”
“Only 10%? Well, I didn’t invest anything, so I’ll take it. I have a feeling it will make me very rich anyway. Right?” He winked, and Adam chuckled as the elevator door opened, and D03 was ready to escort them.
“Yes, my friend, you are correct as long as that mouth stays closed.” Adam winked, and Roks closed his mouth, showing his fangs. Apparently, it was his people''s way of showing they would not speak.
They spent the week it took to get to the hub discussing what they should do. The more Adam thought about it, the more he knew he was making the right choice. Roks was the right man to have by his side—somebody who would call him an idiot to his face but still be loyal.
Mr Heri-ro-ro looked over the contracts and back at Adam, then at Ms Min-Na, who looked between them. “You do understand what you sign here, right?” she asked Adam, who had taken the contracts and signed the first and then gave it to Roks.
“Yes, I am very aware. Roks is not my second in command. He owns 10 % of the company and 10 square kilometers of his liking of the planet''s dirt. He would have a second choice after me, which basically is Homebase now. And I am now officially “as he signed the second contract. “Founder of Clan Wrangler, with all the rights and duties that entitles in the galactic federation, and if Roks signs, he becomes my second in command.” He gave the second contract to Roks, who quickly signed it.
Min-Na just looked at him with admiration. “You sure you don’t want a wife?” She asked, and Adam laughed this time.
“No, but Roks might want one.” He replied, and Roks winked at Min-Na.
Adam got serious. “Yes, I know this is crazy, but I’m alone here, and this is how I secure myself. I trust him. If he wanted my credits, he would have tried something long ago. He is an honest and honorable man. As for the last contract.“ He looked at it and then at them. Mr Heri-ro-ro took it and signed quickly, handing it to Min-Na, who also signed it. “Good, I should have done this a long time ago. You are now my representative on the hub, and I will contact you directly through our satellite system. It should be up and running by now. Now, if you would excuse us, we have some long-distance communications. We will probably stay a few days this time around.”
They said their goodbyes and left the office for the Shinutza FTL communication office. It was an expensive call, and it took three hours to get to Earth Ares company and then thirty minutes to contact Harold, who seemed excited when he popped up on the screen. He was a few years younger than Adam and beamed as he saw him. “BRO! Where the hell are you?“
“Hey there, Harold. I''m safely located in sector N47, as I told you. How are things at the office? Did you ask that girl from accounting out for a date?” Adam said, and he could not help but smile. It had been a long time since he had seen a human face, and Harold had been the one he had been closest to back then. His roommate at the orphanage was more like a little brother. He had always watched over him and the others but had never been close to any of them. There was only one other he felt close to from back then.
“Dina? Yeah, we’re married. I wish you had been at the wedding, but it was kind of hard to get a hold of you. Man, it''s good to see you. Everybody is asking about you, trying to find out your real name. I haven’t told a soul, Not even Dina.” He replied, and Adam scratched his hair.
“Everybody?” He was confused about who else it could be.
“The whole batch. Come one. You just left, man. I thought you were kidding when you said you were going that far away. Wait if you call from there. Are you in trouble? What do you need?” Harold suddenly got serious, and Adam looked at him.
“Hey, it''s my job to ensure you''re safe, not the other way around. Remember? But yeah, I need a few things,” Adam replied.
“Well, you called the right man. So, what do you need? Name it, man.” Harold replied.
“I need more droids; I might have a pirate problem. Your company said they don’t want to sell to somebody this far out.”
“That is correct; if we sell this fare out, somebody has to follow the gods, so I need to find somebody to deliver it for you. Which won''t actually be a problem.” He replied.
“Oh? Why not. Who wants to take a year to come here?” He asked, and Harold grinned.
“I know somebody who will jump at the opportunity, and it will take this person six months from where she is right now, its you best bet. “He replied.
“Who?” Then he realized who he was talking about. “No. she won’t. She isn’t that crazy.” Adam said, and Harold smiled while rubbing his hands with a grin.
“ Oh Yes she is. So, send me a list, and I will give you a good price, but you have to pay for the transport. Are you okay with that? I can get around that one, but if you pay the transport, I can toss in a hell of a lot of extra goodies.” he said. Adam took a deep breath and then sent the list, and Harold looked at it. “Wow, that’s 1.5 million plus transport. Are you sure? That would be 1.6 in total.”
Adam sent the credits. “Yeah, and see if you can add a few crates of whiskey. Have a friend here who got addicted.”
Harold looked shocked as the credit got through. “Wow! You really stuck gold out there. Damn Bro. You just made me the top seller. I’ll get you that whiskey, and I’ll toss in a few company goods for VIP customers because you just got on that list. Your friend will be very happy. “ Then he got serious as he looked at him.“ Please keep in contact. I miss you, man.”
Adam smiled. “I miss you too, little bro. It is getting expensive here. I promise not to wait another year before I call. Take care now.“
Adam hung up and started to cry. God, Harold was a married man now and not the little boy five-year-old he had comfort when he had nightmares, and here he was still fighting his own.