The Arrival Read online

  A few tense minutes later, the human walked in with the female humanoid robot to his right. The human looked around and, after spotting Jells and Jake, walked over to the bar. He bowed with his left arm across his stomach. “My name is Evaran.” He gestured toward the robot. “This is my friend U4.”

  Jake studied Evaran. Evaran had on a light-gray, lightly armored, advanced-looking suit. Multicolored lines of blue, white, orange, and silver outlined the various armor-padded areas. Gadgets hung off a metallic belt that Jake had never seen before. One of the items was a small cylinder with elaborate designs. He squinted at the reflection from the shiny forearm bands. Evaran’s neck had a guard that seemed to conform to his body. It was obvious that Evaran was not a freed slave. His suit looked like it was geared toward combat or survival. The multiple pieces of Evaran’s suit stood out in contrast to the one-piece suits typically worn by visitors.

  Jells cleared his throat. “Name’s Jells.” He then pointed to Jake. “This is my son, Jake.”

  Evaran eyed Jake. “Your son?”

  “I know, he’s human. Long story.”

  Evaran narrowed his eyes. “I see. Interesting.”

  “You’re human too by the looks of it.”

  Evaran extended out his right hand, palm up. “I am not a human, although I may look like one. I am, however, a traveler. May I borrow some of your time to answer a few questions?”

  Jells nodded and gestured at one of the stools across the bar from them. “As long as you’re not here to cause trouble, take a seat. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

  Evaran tilted his head at Jake. “What do you recommend?”

  “I’ll get you something,” said Jake, nodding at Evaran. “Oh, and good to meet you. I’ll be back in a bit.” He walked to the other end of the bar and accessed a console. As he prepared something to eat, he tapped at a small device in his ear. It was a hearing booster he had picked up on one of his cargo runs. Jells did not know about it, but Jake had found it very useful when negotiating with others.

  Jells laid the laser rifle beside him, where it rested against the bar. He pointed at U4. “You said that was your friend?”

  “Statement. I am a utility artificial intelligence, version four. My shortened name is U4.”

  Jells chuckled as he raised both hands out in front of him. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” He faced Evaran. “If you’re not human, what species are you exactly?”

  “Not one you would be familiar with. I am unique.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, you’re a spitting image of a human. You also speak fluent Oakarish. I’m impressed.”

  “One among many languages I am familiar with.”

  Jake chewed the inside of his lip as he pondered how Evaran could speak Oakarish. It was the native language of the Seceltor Empire and hard to learn. It had taken Jake many years to learn it, and even now, he did not consider himself fluent.

  Jells snorted. “Anyways … what brings you out here?”

  “Information. That is all I seek.”

  “Such as …”

  “Star charts. Histories of any civilizations in the area, your thoughts on current events, and the location of Jake’s home world.”

  Jells drew his lips flat. “What do you want with Jake’s home world location?”

  Evaran extended his hand, and a projection shot up from his ring. It showed a male and a female humanoid. “I am looking for a planet inhabited by these specific humanoid forms. The planet would have … unusual characteristics in the native population. Jake appears to fit this visual profile.”

  Jells crossed his arms. “Uh-huh. So you’re not looking for slaving opportunities then?”

  “No. I do not agree with slavery in any form.”

  Before Jells could respond, Jake returned from the other side of the bar with three plates. He placed one plate of French fries and a burger in front of Evaran, and another where he planned to sit. After handing a plate of purple mush to Jells, he pulled up a stool and sat on the inner side of the bar. He glanced at Evaran. “Not quite the real thing, but popular on Earth from what I’ve studied.”

  Evaran nodded and ate a fry. “Interesting texture.” He tilted his head at Jake. “Earth. Is that what you call your home world?”

  Jake bit into his burger. After swallowing, he gestured at Evaran. “Well, it’s a protected planet in Kreagan space. They call it some weird name, but it’s Earth.”

  “I am not familiar with the Kreagans.”

  “Wow, you really are new out here,” said Jake as he cocked his head. If Evaran did not come through Kreagan space, he must have come through from the Chorignal collective. Even then, everyone knew about the Kreagan Star Empire. Maybe there was more to it. He took another bite out of his burger.

  Jells exhaled slowly and looked at the bar momentarily and then looked back up at Evaran. “The Kreagan Star Empire controls a lot of systems, including the one Earth is in. Earth is about twenty light-years away or so.” He tapped at a screen embedded on the bar and then gestured at it. It lit up with an option menu. “All that general information is here.”

  “Excellent,” said Evaran. He placed a razor-thin rectangular device on the screen. It hovered an inch off the screen while emitting an unstable blue light, and after a few moments, it stabilized.

  Jells stepped back a bit and pointed at the device. “What exactly is that?”

  “Ahh, it is my universal interface card, or UIC, as I call it. It allows me to access this system,” said Evaran. He tapped at the air in front of him.

  “Now what’re you doing?”

  “Accessing the system via my augmented reality interface, or ARI. I am downloading information.”

  “What information are you downloading?”

  “Everything.”

  Jake chuckled as he scrutinized Evaran. Jells’s reaction to Evaran was not unexpected. Jake did not think Evaran was a slaver, criminal, or other type of lowlife. The thought that maybe Evaran was undercover law enforcement did cross his mind. Maybe Evaran was there to check up on him since his birthday was approaching, but he knew of no law enforcement agency that would take in a human-looking agent. He did notice that he felt calmer around Evaran. Meeting travelers was not unusual in itself, but Evaran’s technology was. Although augmented reality was not new, the UIC being able to access everything was unlike anything he had ever seen.

  “If this is a problem, I will stop,” said Evaran.

  “No … go ahead,” said Jells, waving a hand in the air. “I’m just trying to figure you out.”

  “I assure you, I only seek information.”

  Jake pointed at Evaran. “If you really want deep information, you need to look up the information broker.”

  Jells shook his head as he glanced at Jake. “You shouldn’t get mixed up in that.” He looked at Evaran. “Nor should you.”

  Evaran placed a hand on his chin. “An information broker. Interesting. I will look it up when I leave. While I am downloading this information, I have a few questions if you do not mind.”

  Jake peered at the console the UIC was hovering over. The screen was an unreadable mess as information appeared then disappeared at a rapid pace. He knew of devices that could copy information, but usually they had to be plugged in to the system. This just did it with a device over the screen.

  “Go ahead. I can answer a few, but there’s a lot of work to be done around here,” said Jells.

  Evaran perused his ARI. “Excellent. What do you call your species?”

  “Crustican.”

  “I noticed the signature of an advanced planet roughly two light-years away from here on my way in. Is that your home world?”

  “Correction. It was two point seven three light-years away,” said U4.

  Jells’s eyes blinked slower as he looked at U4. “Yeah … that’s Octoris. We were absorbed into the Seceltor Empire about sixty years ago. Integration has been rough.” He pointed around the room. “It’s why I’m out here.”

  �
�I am sorry to hear that. Is slavery legal in the Seceltor Empire?”

  “Yeah, and there are a few species on the list. Human is one of them. Our race isn’t on that list … yet. I suspect it’ll be a matter of time,” said Jells with a sigh. He pointed at the console. “More on that in there.”

  “I am curious to hear your perspective on these events.”

  Jells shook his head. “You’re one curious being, you know that? Well, as much as I’d love to continue our discussion, we have a lot of work to do here.”

  Evaran looked around the room. “What type of work? Perhaps I can help.”

  “Mostly maintenance stuff. With our service robots needing nonstop repair, and some even breaking down, we’ve had to pick up the slack.”

  Evaran rubbed his chin, and after a moment of silence, he said, “I can stay a few days and fix anything you need while I am here. In exchange, I would like to hear your thoughts on the various topics I mentioned earlier. Would that be acceptable?”

  “You know how to fix these models?” asked Jake.

  “Not at the moment. However, I will once I begin.”

  Jells cast a sidelong glance at Jake. “These robots are complex.” He eyed Evaran. “You’re new to this area. Doubt you would have the knowledge or expertise. You’re welcome to try, though. Won’t turn down an offer of help.”

  Evaran homed in on the broken cleaning robot. He motioned at U4, who walked over to it.

  U4 shot a beam out of her hand and scanned the robot.

  Evaran scanned his ARI and narrowed his eyes. “The power core is damaged on your robot, as is the containment unit for the main processor.” He swiped his hand across his ARI, causing U4 to walk out of the room. “U4 is getting the pieces I will need. I will begin with your cleaning robot.”

  “I gotta see this,” said Jake, shaking his head. He had procured all the service robots on the station, and they were heavily specialized. They had custom programming and parts, and in his opinion, planned obsolescence, although the manufacturer said otherwise. How could Evaran know how to fix it from a simple scan?

  After a few moments, U4 returned pushing a hover table with three levels. Half the surface of the top level was covered in a rubber-like material. The other half had various devices on it. The second level had a cylindrical power core and a custom-fitted neural net cage.

  Jells tapped Jake’s arm as U4 passed them. “Quit ogling her.”

  Jake’s face turned red as he looked down. He was not used to seeing an anatomically correct human female form, at least physically, and U4’s form was attractive, even for a robot. There were pleasure robots in the various worlds around, but often they had unusual designs and, as Jake knew from personal experience, could be quite painful.

  U4 paused and looked at Jake. “Statement. It is quite okay. You may scan me.” She continued on toward the cleaning robot.

  Jake licked his lips and looked away.

  Evaran stood up with a half grin and tapped Jake on the arm. Jells and Jake followed Evaran over to the robot. Evaran knelt beside the inactive cleaning robot, and after a few moments, he had replaced the power core and containment unit and activated the robot.

  The robot whirred to life. “Systems rebooting.”

  “Whoa, that was fast,” said Jake.

  “The design is not complex. I suspect the others will be similar.”

  Jake scrunched his face. “Not complex? These were top-of-the-line when we got them.”

  “Perhaps for this region and time.”

  Something seemed off to Jake in the way Evaran spoke. It was like Evaran had a lot more knowledge than he was letting on. Jake shook his head and exhaled. “Well, if you’re fixing things for Dad, I might have something for you to look at.”

  Jells smiled and placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Yes, you want him to look at your ship. Well, my ship, but I guess as much time as you spend in it, it may as well be yours.” He looked at Evaran. “I’ll get together a list. Make yourself at home.”

  Evaran nodded. “It is appreciated. You will not be disappointed.”

  Jells pointed off toward one of the entrances to the room. “Jake, get him settled in.”

  “On it,” said Jake. He was surprised at Evaran’s ability to fix the cleaning robot so fast, but more surprised that Evaran offered to do it. It seemed like an unusual trade to him: Jells’s personal view on information for repair services. Still, in just an hour, Evaran had made an impact. If all the service robots could be repaired, that would cut the maintenance load significantly. Evaran’s confidence was infectious. It seemed to Jake that Evaran was someone who got what he wanted, by any means necessary, even if it involved fixing a cleaning robot dumber than a box of rocks.

  Jake smiled as Evaran walked into the shipping bay. It had only been a day, but in that time, Evaran had fixed almost all the service robots. Jake watched as U4 pushed the same hover table that was used on the cleaning robot. The only other human females he had seen were slaves, and communication was forbidden.

  Interaction with Crustican and Seceltor females did not do much for Jake. Although Seceltor were humanoids, they were not human, at least not proportionally. Their heads were larger, with plates on the side that merged at the top into a ridge, and their bodies were more muscular. On top of that, they seemed to have a smell that repulsed him. He had a hard time keeping his eyes off U4.

  With one motion, Evaran pointed at U4 and then to the medium-sized cargo ship. “A decent ship.”

  U4 walked over to it and began scanning.

  Jake pointed at the hilt-like object he had seen earlier on Evaran’s belt. “You got some decent stuff too. What’s that?”

  Evaran pulled off the device and held it up. “It is my utility handle. It serves a variety of purposes.”

  “Like what? You can’t just say that and not show me something.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Jake perked up. “Yeah!”

  “Very well,” said Evaran. He tapped at the utility handle’s buttons, causing a baton to assemble out of one of the ends. The end glowed yellow. He pointed straight up and pressed a button. A yellow beam shot to the ceiling, and after a moment, Evaran was pulled up. He then descended.

  “Whoa! That’s pretty cool,” said Jake. The liquid-like metal that formed the baton intrigued him. “What else can it do?”

  Evaran walked over to a small container and kicked it out into an open area. He interacted with his utility handle. The baton end glowed white. He aimed at the container and pressed a button. Boom! White concentric circles emanated from the baton and knocked the container back.

  “Wow.”

  “It has been helpful at times.”

  “Yeah … I can see why.”

  Evaran walked over to one of the shipping containers and leaned against it after holstering his utility handle. “While U4 is scanning your ship, I have some questions if you do not mind.”

  “You and your questions,” said Jake, chuckling. “After all you’ve done so far, no problem. Not used to people helping out, and to be honest, I know you’re not human, but it still feels good to talk to someone who actually looks like one.”

  Evaran nodded. “I understand. I am curious as to what you know of Earth.”

  Jake walked over to a crate nearby and sat down. He leaned forward with his hands clasped in front of him. “Well, quite a bit. I studied it in the Seceltor central data network. They got a lot of information there. Usually gets updated after a slaver run. Covers culture, politics, religion, and the like.”

  “I see. Do you recall any experiences from Earth?”

  “Not many. I remember leaving the house with Mom to go to school. I liked playing in the tree in our backyard, and also the pool. Loved the smell of the grass. It was so green,” said Jake as he looked down. “Also remember my birthday parties. Mom would go all out, invite over friends.”

  “You miss her.”

  “Yeah …”

  “I have been meaning to ask how yo
u got here. I understand you were enslaved, but that is all I know. If it is a sensitive subject, you do not need to answer.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “It’s okay. Grew up with my mom and dad until I came here when I was six. Me and Mom were abducted by a human slaver named Greecho. He works for the Seceltor Empire. Him and his crew would stop in here on their slaving runs to and from Earth.”

  “Why did he not take your father?”

  “Greecho had a quota system,” said Jake. “One man for every four women. Normally didn’t take children, but guess I was a special case, and his quota for men was already filled. Greecho said he took me as an investment, since if I survive to twenty-one and go to the breeding camp, he gets a large bonus, especially since I have the traits they want. It’s risky for him, since he had to find someone to care for me. Jells was my caretaker, and I’m thankful for that.”

  “Jells seems to care a lot about you.”

  “Yeah, he’s been great. Just wish circumstances were different.”

  “What happened to your mother then?”

  Jake pulled his lips flat. “Mom initially went to a breeding camp, but she was more trouble than they expected. So they sent her to Karakuus, home of the Ogeerians. Vicious feline race that stands about ten feet tall.” He clenched his jaw, then unclenched it. “They used her as food. Served her up at a prestigious dinner.” He shook his head and exhaled slowly. “It’s not right.”

  “I am sorry to hear that. You have been through a lot.”

  “It’s in the past. All I can do is look to the future, which isn’t too bright for me. Speaking of which, you still going to Earth after this?”

  Evaran nodded. “I am planning on it. I do want to check out the Kreagan Star Empire I read about, so I may make a stop there first.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “You planning on swinging back by this way?” He wondered if Evaran would let him come with him. Maybe he would have time to visit Earth before going into slavery. He knew he would have to come back, or Greecho would take it out on Jells.

  “There is a good chance of that happening.”

  Jake licked his lips, then looked down. “Cool.”