Chapter 2: Some Sort of Old Terran Tradition

“Halloween Night the evening before we ship out, First,” the Captain said over coffee with three days to go. “Seems to be a popular thing here, any idea what it’s all about?”

“Some sort of old Terran tradition,” First shrugged. “No idea really, Keagan said you gotta dress up in costumes, scarier the better apparently. Seems weird to me, but Nockatunga’s big on these things.”

“Guess you’ve got plans then?” the Captain asked.

First shrugged. “Keagan asked me, told her I’d check in and let her know. You mind if I take the night off myself? Keagan’s got this party she wants me to go too with her.”

“Don’t get too serious, First,” the Captain said.

“No worries, mate,” First grinned. “But hey, we’ll be coming back through here, want to keep her sweet, she’s a good one ‘n she’ll be as mad as a cut snake if I don’t front up.”

“Jesus, First,” the Captain groaned, “you’re starting to sound like a Nockatungan.”

“I am? That’s just dinky-di, mate.”

The Captain laughed. “You take that last night off, First. I’ll take the ship.” He shrugged. “Usually do, and things ‘re looking good. I’ll take a quiet night and con us out.” He was pleased with way things were looking good for the next leg.

Really good. Full holds for the run to Tuataupere, a full passenger list, those premium cryo-boxes already onboard and paid for. Ritchies had gotten them a four hundred percent markup on that container of bourbon and they’d picked up a couple of containers of Nockatungan Bundaberg Rum that’d sell well in Apia for sure. Maybe even sell in Tuataupere if the bids were good.

“I’m thinking everyone can take the shift off, we’ll be done loading and I hear there’s going to be some good Halloween Parties. I’ll look after the ship.”

“Be good for the crew,” First said. “They’ve been working their asses off this stop.”

“Hey, First, you heard about the Halloween Party at the Tiki Bar?” Wong sat down at the table, poured herself a coffee. “Most of us ‘re planning on going.” She grinned. “If that tyrant gives is the time off, that is. You and Keagan wanna come with us?”

“Nah, can’t do that, Wong. Keagan’s dragging me off with some mates of hers, some party up on Station Crew level. She’ll spew if I don’t show.”

“Ohhhhh, aren’t we picking up the local dialect just fine?” Wong laughed. “Just pulling your leg, First, you have your bit of fun. Bit worried about Zima though, she’s been going off on her own pretty much every off-shift. Doesn’t let off steam enough, that girl.”

“Zima?” Bhatti said, joining them. “Don’t worry ‘bout her, she’s found some dude. Comes back smiling every night. Told me she’s been having a great time.”

First grinned. “Good for her.”

“Time she loosened up a bit,” Wong sipped her coffee.

“Hey, Wong, what’re we gonna wear to the Halloween Party at the Tiki Bar?” Bhatti changed the subject.

“Nothing?” Wong said, then burst into laughter at Bhatti’s expression.

“Got another missing spacer report, boss. Some sheila didn’t report back to her ship for a couple of days.” MacInerney looked up from his consoles. “That’s six sheila’s in the last two days boss. Bit higher than average.”

“Probably jumping ship and heading downside. Can’t blame ‘em, can ya? God’s own planet, ‘n everything. What Sheila wouldn’t wanna head down, find blokes like us, get ‘erself preggers ‘n bring up some happy little vegemites. Beats the crap outa working as a spacer dunnit, mate? I mean, where’d ya rather be if you were a sheila, mate? Up here in the blue or a fucking sight worse, out there in the deep black in a jump ship, or down surfing at Saint Kilda ‘n watching smoking hot dudes likes us in budgie smugglers.” He laughed. “If you’re a fucking Sheila, mate.”

“Yeah, guess so, boss. Watcha want me to do about this one?

“Fuck it, mate, the more sheila’s downside the better, eh. Put a notice out on her but fuck it, lot of these bitches, you hear their stories, the sorta shit planet they got away from, I tell ya, you gotta feel sorry for them. Let her run, that’s my take on it unless she’s a real crim. Downside won’t give a flying fuck.”

“Righto, boss, I’ll list her, low priority. Fuckit, list all the others as low priority to. Give ‘em a chance, eh.”

“Yeah, that’ll do, Mac. No skin of our noses, plenty of spacers on station looking for ships.”

“Not the last few weeks, boss, they musta been shipping out or something. Patrol’s ‘re saying it stands out like a dogs balls. Not picking up any dero’s, the cells’re just about empty. They haven’t been finding anyone bunking down in the docking bays.”

“Well, that’s no fucking problem then, is it?”

“Guess not, boss. Wanna cuppa?”

“Fuck yeah, you go make it, I’ll watch the consoles.”

“Right you are, boss.”

“Last off-shift on station,” the Captain said after he’d called everyone in to the mess. “Good work, everyone. Holds ‘re loaded to capacity, this is going to be a good run. Now, we got forty eight passengers booked for the run to Tuataupere, and that’s gonna be a bitch. They’re all embarking at zero seven hundred station time tomorrow and our departure slot’s at zero ten hundred, customs and immigration ‘re clearing us at zero nine hundred so all of you be back by zero six hundred, got it? No excuses.”

“Got it, captain,” the crew chorused.

“Okay, take off, enjoy yourselves. Plenty of Halloween Parties tonight, so I hear. Anybody needs bailing out, I’m leaving you behind.” The crew moved off down the access tube, chattering, laughing. One last evening to blow off steam before a month of jump space.

“Your girl clearing us out?” the Captain asked First.

“Keagan?” First grinned. “Yeah, as a matter of fact she will be.”

Zima giggled. “Hey, First, can she tuck her feet behind her ears?”

First grinned. “That’d be telling, Zima. How come you’re still here, anyhow?”

Zima shrugged. “My guys don’t get off shift for another hour. Want to come with me and grab a drink while we wait?”

First shrugged. “Sure, see you in the morning, Cap.”

“Going to be you and me again, Scotty,” the Captain said, closing the access hatch.

Scotty shrugged apologetically. “Just you, Cap,” she said, opening it again. “Got me a hot date for a Halloween Party.” And she was gone as well, walking down the tube to the dock where a gaudy toy-boy half her age and smiling stood waiting.

“Coming drinking with us, Wong?” Patel asked. “Going to the Tiki Bar up on Level Six. Bit fancy but they’re doing a Halloween theme party and everything and the drinks’re half price.”

“Naah, met someone on station, going to a Halloween Party with him,” Wong said. Buzz had said it was going to be something different. What the heck would a giant alien bee thing know about Halloween parties, that’s what Wong had wanted to know?

Buzz had, well, he’d buzzed. “You’d be zzzzzurrprizzzzed, Wong.”

“Okay, change your mind, we’re at Burt’s Tiki Bar, in the Richmond Mall on Level Six, okay,” Zima said. “Enjoy yourself, Wong, stay out of trouble.” Like Wong’d get into trouble. Zima grinned. Stretched. Wiggled. Bruce and Trev and Snowy, all three of them. This was gonna be a good night. Those guys could keep it up alright. All night. All three of them at once. That was how she planned to finish up tonight. Oh yeah! Good night, coming up!

Wong waited until they were out of sight before she turned and headed towards’s Buzz’s compartment.

“Meet me there,” he’d said. “I have a costume for you.” His hum had sounded excited to Wong. She kind of liked the thought that Buzz was actually excited about her and this party. Weird to think that way about an alien, especially one that looked as strange as Buzz did, but whatever. She’d miss his massages when they shipped out in the morning.

She was kind of looking forward to the Halloween Party as well. They didn’t do Halloween Parties on nouveau Beijing, she’d had to look it up to figure out what it was all about. Kind of like Buzz and his friends must’ve. Although when you thought about it, going to a Halloween Party with an alien kind of bee insect thing although he did have hands really was a bit weird. Didn’t take her long to get to his compartment either. Hatch was open, she walked right in and as soon as she breathed in that summer scent and heard that faint background buzz, well, it wasn’t weird at all.

“Hey, Buzz.” She smiled, although she doubted smiling meant a thing to him. Just as whatever facial expressions or body language he used was a mystery to her. His humming though, that was something else. Something that seemed able to be shared.

“Wong,” Buzz’s hum was an infectious happiness that even the half dozen other women standing around in the compartment did nothing to inhibit. Buzz did massages, he had clients. Of course he’d invite his other clients. “Come, I have your cozzzztume, change now pleazzzzze and we zzzhall go.”

He held up a red dress with large black circular markings on it, a lot shorter than Zima was accustomed to, a black hood and black stockings. Really, it was only then that Zima, who’d had eyes only for Buzz, noticed that was how all the other women were dressed, the black hoods fastened under their chins but leaving their faces exposed, the short dresses exposing legs clad in black thigh high stockings.

Wong giggled. “We’re all going to look like ladybugs,” she said.

“Ladybugzzzz?” Buzz’s hum sounded puzzled for a second, then morphed into that laughing hum that Wong loved to hear. “Oh Wong, you are zzzzoooo perzzzzeptive. Come ... come ... we muzzzzzt change and be on our way. Ladybuggzzzz, how apt, you do not know how apt, Wong. Yezzzzzz. Definitely Ladybuggzzzz. I muzzzt tell the otherzzzz after we arrive. They will appreciate thizzzzz.”

“Where are we going anyway?” Wong asked as she walked beside Buzz, heading down station, down the ramps, feet echoing of steel plating, stark fluorescent lighting, dark shadows, chipped paint. The dim corners and industrial starkness of the access-way contrasting with the new clothes, bright colors, voices and laughter of the half dozen women walking with Buzz. This part of station really was commercial, the sort of area a girl didn’t wander through by herself when it was downtime. A group, that was okay, but alone, nope.

“Going? Commercial Docking, Level Zero,” Buzz said. “My friendzzzz have a commercial bulk warehouzzzze cloze to the dockzzzz their szzzzhipzzzz uzzzze. Lotzzzz of zzzpace. Empty right now. We are uzzing for thizzz Halloween Party. Thizzz Halloween thing izzz zzzuch a great human cuzzzztom.” His hum contained a laughter within it that had Zima smiling. “Trick or Treat? We enjoy thizzzz trick or treat. We decided to have a big party.”

“Are they all your customers?” Wong asked, gesturing at the others with them.

“Yezzzz,” Buzz replied, “But zzzzum are more special than otherzzzz...” Somehow his tone conveyed to Wong that she, she was that special one, she was the one above all else.

He gestured. “Through thizzzz way, Wong. Almozzzzt there now.” His humming held that excited undertone again, an excitement that not only Wong but the other women all seemed to catch and share. They clustered close to Buzz, talking, giggling excitedly, looking around eagerly as Buzz led them through a commercial loading hatch, the coaming flush to the station floor plating. Another alien, identical to Buzz, greeted them. The two hummed and buzzed, almost doing a little dance before Buzz led them through another large hatch and into a cavernous warehouse space. A cavernous but still crowded warehouse space.

“Wow,” was the first thing Wong said.

“Scary,” was the second thing Wong said.

Her first visual impression was awesome, terrifyingly awesome. If a Halloween Party was supposed to be scary, this was the definitive of scary. The cavernous warehouse space was no longer the rock of the asteroid that had been the basis of Nockatunga Station, rock-carved tunnels covered by sprayed on plasteel and built out with welded steel plating. Now it was a cliff face, ancient rock, a canyon wall honeycombed with shadowed holes that gave an impression of great age. Not just age, but aeon’s of ancientness, century after century of age, age and vague half-lighted gloom illuminated by a pale moonlight glowing balefully from an eldritch sky in which flying things could be seen in the far distance.

The shadows of those ages past crowded in upon Wong, chaotic, horrific, soulless, the vast wings of ancient and unknown alien gods hovering over an alien landscape. The floor on which she trod was no longer thick steel decking plate. It was sand, thick and golden, packed hard. Sand and stretching away across the floor of what had been a standard warehouse compartment but now was not. Now, lines of columns broke the space down into a honeycomb of enclosed spaces through which a hundred aliens like Buzz hummed busily.

The columns themselves were symmetrical without being graceful, sullenly hexagonal, massive and stark, an architecture not of humans but of aliens, conceived and built in what Wong knew instinctively was an age before even the dawn-time of humanity. An age where the ancestors of humans cowered terrified and afraid in the darkness of the night and dreamed of monsters and of monstrous gods.

Here were those monsters out of humanity’s ancestral nightmares, what had been the warehouse walls and ceiling coated with giant cobwebs, huge arthropods with the appearance if giant spider-like monstrosities clinging to the webs. Dangerously large and hungry spiders. Music piped from the speakers, a buzzing hum reverberating within Zima so that her feet begged to dance. A reverberating pulsing hum with an ancient eeriness to it that scared her a little even as her feet began to move of their own accord.

“On our home world,” Buzz hummed, “these are the beings that traditionally prey on us, a beast to be feared.”

“Scary,” Wong murmured.

“Yezzzzzz,” Buzz almost shivered. “We hunt them, but zzzztill, they are dangerouzzzzz. Our ancestorzz and theirzz, we war over hunting territory, we war over breeding groundzz but the hive izzz victoriouzzzz, the hive is alwayzzzz victoriouzzz.” His hum turned happier. “But now, Halloween Party for our hozzztzzzz. You dance with friendzzzzz.”

“Hosts?” Wong laughed. “You’re the hosts, Buzz. We’re the guests.” Translators. Sometimes they got confused.

“Hozzztzzz?” Buzz’s hum had that laugh again. Laughter and excitement, both. An excitement that had Wong’s heart beating faster, the way it did when she walked into Buzz’s compartment of an evening, knowing how he would make her feel. And yes, there was what seemed to be a dance floor, crowded with women, all dressed identically in the short red and black dresses, the black tights and the black hoods, all dancing languidly to that humming music.