Tranquility

[Joe Manning 0]

"I am sorry, Captain Rede, but as the port authority explained, Tranquility is currently under Guardian blockade by order of the Taurus Brothers. We cannot allow your ship to land at this time."

 

"My associates have made me aware of the situation on Tranquility, Marshall Savoy," the Deltan responded over the audio channel. "My understanding was that the Guardians were attempting to keep a wanted criminal -on- the planet, not trying to keep people -off- the planet."

 

"The Taurus Brothers wish the situation on Tranquility to be kept under tight control, Captain Rede. They want us to be on top of everything going on in the colony right now. They do not want any unknown quantities being introduced. Besides which, we already have twenty four ships on our public landing pads. Space is too scarce to be allowing more ships to land."

 

"Surely there is enough space for my tiny freighter," Rede said. "You will find that I am no unknown quantity -- the Aexean Wave is registered to Simon Graham."

 

"Yes, we noticed that name on your ship's registry. As to whether it is supposed to mean something to me ... "

 

"I would advise you to check into the name, Marshall Savoy," the Deltan cooly replied. "Simon Graham's ships have been given special leave of passage through all of Bull's Head's ports, unimpeded under any circumstance short of the leave's cancellation. I am certain you have the proper security clearance to confirm this."

 

"I will check the name. This arrangement was made with whom, exactly?"

 

"Why ... the Taurus Brothers, of course. Only with their permission would I ever dare to bypass a blockade they have imposed."

 

"I am checking the name. Why is this special agreement not noted in the ship's registry? It would save everyone a great deal of hassle."

 

"Simon Graham prefers that no undue attention be drawn to his business affairs. He prefers that this agreement only be invoked when it is necessary."

 

"... alright, Captain. I have found what you are referring to in our database. For the time being I will allow you to land."

 

"Thank you, Marshall."

 

"You are to free to land on landing pad B on platform L-6. However ... the Taurus Brothers made this arrangement six years ago under much different circumstances. In light of our investigation, I can -not- clear the Aexean Wave to leave the planet until I have contacted the Taurus Brothers to receive their explicit permission."

 

The Deltan let out a light laugh. "Do you worry that I would attempt to smuggle your wanted criminal off the planet, Marshall Savoy?"

 

"I would make no such accusations of a freighter captain I know nothing about. But the most wanted man in Bull's Head somehow finding himself in the Aexean Wave's cargo hold would certainly constitute grounds for your leave of passage being waived."

 

"Fair enough. I must have missed a news reel," one corner of the Deltan's mouth upturned as she activated the freighter's main thrusters. "Have you confirmed that Minos is a man?"

 

"... it was meant as an expression, Captain Rede. My people will be standing by to greet you ... and to make secure your vessel. Marshall Savoy out."

 

Rede reached overhead and flipped the switch opening the forward blast shield, revealing the second planet of the Theta Tauri system and the broad ring of planetary debris circling its equator.

 

Tranquility's ring was almost an extension of the colony, many of the orbitting chunks of rock and ice seeded with an assortment of facilities. The water plants were the most prominent, collecting ice and manufacturing drinkable water for shipment to the fairly arid planet. Mining drones weaved their way into and out of the larger moonlets, harvesting minerals for use in construction on the colony; many of the larger mining facilities were inhabited by live labor, but a good deal of the mining and transportation process was automated. As the freighter passed through the ring, Rede could spot the violet glow of the shield nodes attached to several of the moonlets. Using energy collected from the smaller orange star of the Theta Tauri binary pair, the nodes were capable of maintaining a shield against the radiation emitting from the larger white star. Tranquility was a relatively habitable planet, but life could thrive on its surface only with the aid of this orbital network established by the Federation over half a century ago.

 

As the Aexean Wave cleared the ring, Rede's attention turned to the planet itself. Most of the planet was a dark blue rock, with the poleward regions covered by wind-swept radioactive dust. Why the Federation chose such a planet for a colony fifty years prior was a mystery, but its habitability could not have been high on the list. As one looked closer to the equator, reddish-brown patches became visible -- the results of the Federation's terraforming efforts. The largest patch, directly ahead of Rede's freighter, was the site of the original Federation colony, now Tranquility City.

 

As the freighter descended through the sky, the platforms and high-rises of the city came into clearer focus. The Tranquility topsoil, despite the terraforming, was soft and corrosive to duranium. Thus, the city's structural foundation was supported by shafts of tritanium extending down to the bedrock. The whole city was built upon a series of broad duranium platforms, the largest up to a square mile in size, elevated an average of ten meters above the planetary surface. The larger platforms served as centers for the city's districts; the Freedom District, the Latinum District, the Unspeakable District, and the Entertainment District were the most notable. The city was arranged like most, with blocks of structures separated by common paved streets; foot traffic was the most noticeable, though a few vehicles weaved their way about the streets.

 

Night was just beginning to fall on Tranquility City. It would be a Cerulean Night. Tranquility's rotation provided a standard day-night cycle of just over nineteen hours. Days in Tranquility City were much like those on Earth, albeit with the dimmer and slightly gold-tinged light of Tranquility's parent star. That star revolved around another star, however -- the white giant of the Theta Tauri system. For roughly 125 days, Tranquility's revolution nestled it between the two stars, and Tranquility City faced the white star at night. The light of that distant, but bright body suffused the entire city with a very dim glow -- not unlike the light of a full moon on Earth, but a small degree brighter and with a faint azure hue. The sky above Tranquility City on Cerulean Nights was spectacular to behold. The stars of the Hyades cluster could still be viewed, points and discs of various sizes and colors, where the sky was not obscured by Tranquility's ring. The ice of that ring refracted the light of the white star; it was visible from the city as a cerulean band stretching from east horizon to west horizon. Star, ring, and cluster came together to give Cerulean Nights a breathtaking fey appearance that was largely responsible, many believed, for the colony's name. Rede knew, however, that the surface was by no means a mirror image of that tranquil sky.

 

The Aexean Wave made its final approach toward a vacant landing pad on platform L-6, an extension of the city's Port District. The Port platforms were relatively recent additions, erected after the founding of Bull's Head to accommodate the increased traffic. There were still landing pads in the city's central districts, but those were now reserved for VIP's. Tranquility City had grown enough to give rise to marked class distinction. One needed only observe how much cleaner and more orderly Freedom District was than the rest of the city -- the rich and influential received all the perks. No one approaching the city, however, could see the makeshift camps underneath the platforms, where people too poor even for the Unspeakable District were allowed to scrape out a living. Down there was where criminals on the run sought refuge -- the ones who weren't daring and resourceful enough to hide out in the radioactive wastes beyond the Tranquil Zone.

 

Tranquility -- an illusion. A lure for the unsuspecting. Perhaps things had once been more pleasant in the heart of Bull's Head, in the days when the war was just beginning and the masses had not yet flocked to the outskirts. But as the winds of change blew through Federation space, an assortment of undesirables were swept in the direction of Bull's Head -- rebels cast out of the Federation or on the run after their failed coup, corrupt corporations that would receive no leeway from the new government, predators who found ample opportunity in a population unprotected by Starfleet.

 

The scum of the Federation ... begging for a cleansing rain to sweep them out of the Hyades cluster. Rede narrowed her eyes at the thought of it as she settled the Aexean Wave down on the landing pad.

[rosetto 0]

nice....