Chapter 5

The surveyors arrived in a caravan of rovers and hover vehicles. The Black Guard were already there and had set up an improvised ring of ropes and stakes. Everyone took their places on their respective sides, sitting on whatever they could find. Goldsmith and George came together to set the rules and choose a referee.

"This is to be unarmed combat, Goldsmith," George told the manager. "Your man pulls any stunts and he forfeits, agreed?"

"Sure, that's fair. How do we know who wins?"

"Our standard rules are, that the first person to withdraw, loses. They withdraw by stepping out of the ring or, if they are unable to do so, by putting up their hand. Clearly, if they're unconscious, then..."

"Sure, sure. What about blood?"

"What of it?"

"Should we clean it up?"

"Between rounds. Each round should be three minutes. Would you care to be timekeeper? I assume you are a fair man."

"Thank you," Goldsmith replied, somewhat underwhelmed by the compliment. "Referee?"

"Your man Schecter. I believe we can rely on him to be impartial."

Goldsmith looked over at Schecter, now wearing a black allsuit and hardly distinguishable from the other Arks. "He seems one of you, now," he said.

"We offered him an allsuit. They are more comfortable than the clothes he arrived in."

"And one of your guns?"

"Ah, well, he offered some advice to one of our young recruits. In return, we offered him a gift. It is our way."

Goldsmith scowled, suspicious. "I suppose Schecter would be acceptable. But, I think there ought to be a judge in all this - to ensure fairness."

"One from your side, one from ours. I shall be the casting vote as the quasi local authority in the area."

"Hmm," Goldsmith scratched his jaw. "Let's hope the decision is indisputable. I'm not sure I like the arrangement."

"You suggest a better one?"

Goldsmith couldn't so it was settled.

Out over the inland seas, Armin de la Perriere felt the Normandie come into the wind. The monitor explained the weather was too unstable to attempt the tower of Cityplex. Therefore, the computer decided the best course of action was to hold until the wind dropped. Consequently, the Captain saw the RIMs power readouts drop and the dorsal and ventral motors vector to prevent drifting. The airship was now at a dead stop.

The main computer had a number of preset risk protocols and 'normal' setting was the most cautious. Armin could increase the setting and allow the computer to take a bigger risk, but he required a reason that was acceptable to his bosses back in Euro. If on an increased setting the computer refused to move the Normandie still, he could disengage the protocols altogether and, with the aid of automated flight controls, steer it in himself. Of course, it was possible to manually con without AFC, but, on a ship this size, it was no easy task.

All this was theoretical because, apart from a few complaining passengers, he had absolutely no reason to override any safety setting.

Armin sat in CCC, the 'Command and Control Car, ' high up the nose of the Normandie. He'd invited Heather Sion, the 17 year old girl he'd met yesterday, to see the view. She gazed in awe through the clearview panels at distant Cityplex.

"It looks like Euro city," she declared. "We come all this way to a place that looks the same as home."

"A city's a city," Armin shrugged. "It stretches for 300 klicks or more West. East," he pointed through the panels, "you can make out Cincinnati Sector. Once, they had anonymous names like, 'Sector 10, ' and such, but 6 years ago, they revised some of the old city names. The docking tower is in 'Columbus' sector, not far from the sea front."

"What are those square things below us - in the sea, look!"

"Fish farms. Most folks can't afford that kind of food, of course. Sea food is expensive to produce."

"Oh, we just don't get it at all, back home. It's all processed to the max."

"You must try some salmon. Having tasted the real thing, you wonder why you ever put up with all that artificial stuff."

"Really?" her eyes sparkled. "You have real salmon? How could you afford ... I mean, how did you get it?"

"I have contacts," he smiled. "You and your mother must come to my apartment for dinner tonight. I will prepare a salmon dinner."

"I don't know," she replied. "Mama said that you were, ah, you were..."

"I know what your mother thinks of me," he grinned at her. "Not every male wants to steal her fortune."

"When papa was killed, there were many men, who..." she told him sadly.

"Oh, I'm sure there were, Heather. That doesn't mean every man is cut from the same cloth."

"She was hurt..."

"I regret that. Sometimes, life's lessons are hard to learn. But, one must take a chance, occasionally, to be all that one can be - to seek happiness, fulfillment..."

"Is that what you're doing?" she laughed. "Living all alone on an airship?"

"Yes, hmm. It can be a lonely life, I grant you. Of course, I have passengers..."

"Sure, but don't they only stay, like, a few days? You don't have a girl friend or partner?"

"No. There have been some, but, they don't stay. I guess the novelty wears off after a while. Living on an airship is not the life many people choose."

"That's sad."

"And you? You have a boyfriend?"

"No time," she shrugged. "We lived in the Swiss alps in a secure plex. Most of our neighbours were, like in their sixties. There was no-one near my age, let alone any hot guys."

"Maybe you'd have more success among these Bakhunins? No doubt, there'll be 'hot guys' aplenty."

"You think?" she grinned. "Wouldn't I have to learn to ride a horse?"

"Probably," he shrugged. "That's the preferred mode of transport in those parts, but, they do have cars and such."

"Good, sounds civilised."

"Look, I don't know where you people get the idea the Bakhunins are some wild and untamed race. They're as civilised as you and I. They just prefer to live a different lifestyle."

"I'm sorry, I..."

"No, it's just that for too long we've sneered at people who don't do things exactly the way we do. We call them 'uncivilised' and such, just because..."

"I'm sorry. It was just a slip."

"Nah. I'm sorry, I just get a bit, ah, pontifical sometimes."

"Pontifical? Like a Religionist?" she laughed.

"Maybe not quite," he laughed.

Meanwhile, Sabre strutted, flexed his muscles, punched the air and stretched his limbs. He was bare chested and his body displayed scars and welts from numerous combats. He glared at the assembled Arks, provoking, challenging and intimidating.

"He's amped," Rada whispered.

"Drugged up?" suggested, Rasida.

"Undoubtedly," Schecter said. "He can't function without them."

"Keep Sian out of sight until the last moment. Don't give him time to psych her out," Rasida suggested.

"This is crazy," Schecter shook his head, slowly.

"George? You got her into this..." Rasida started to say.

"I know," he said hastily. "You got a way to back out, honourably?"

"Look at his body, will you?" Rada said in something approaching awe. "I'm mean, the guy's built with a capital B."

"Constructed, more like," Schecter replied. "He's Inkubis. He was put together in a lab."

"What the fuck?" Rada gaped.

"He's a clone. A Mark 5 combat model."

"You kiddin' me?"

"Whatever memories he has of growing up, of parents and siblings, it's all bullshit. It was all programed into him to give him a, er, personality."

"A personality?" Rasida, turned to him. "You mean he has a personality?"

"Some," Schecter smiled, wryly.

"You saying his memories are all made up? That he's nothing more than a living robot? He has no friends, family?" Rada asked Schecter.

"Nope."

"That's sad. I kind of feel sorry for him."

"Compassion is a weakness to his kind," Schecter told them. "I wouldn't waste too much of it on him."

Behind the crowd of Ark spectators, Gina was giving some last minute advice to Sian.

"They say he's all real wired," Gina told her. "Like he's on drugs. Someone heard Schecter say that they all take drugs to..."

"Don't care," sniffed, Sian. "Drugs give you a false sense of confidence. They burn you up quicker. All I have to do is tire him out."

"Y'sure? That may take a long time. I mean, they say he's built like a brick fence."

"Oh, sure, and how many brick fences have you seen?" Sian laughed.

"It's not funny, Sian. They say he's stripped to the waist and all oiled up like some sort of fucking Ninja. They say he's wierding everyone out by..."

"It's all show," Sian scoffed. "He's just trying to unsettle..."

"He's unsettling me," Gina told her. "We need to rethink strategy, sister. We can't compete with the macho act, okay? But, I still think we can put him off with a little sexiness. I think you ought to strip."

"What? Aw, Hell..."

"Just your top, dummy. You can keep your bra on."

"Thanks," she replied, sarcastically. "Only cos you want to see me wrestling around half naked."

"Huh, who doesn't? Sabre'd have to be as bent as a hairpin if he doesn't come over all sweaty."

"If you think..." Sian said, undoing the clasps of her allsuit.

"And oil, honey," Gina laughed. "You have to get all oiled up."

"Now I know where you're coming from," Sian said, eyeing her friend suspiciously.

A kilometre over the inland seas, Heather made her way aft to Armin de la Perriere's apartment, alone.

"She won't come," she told him. "But mum said I, ah, needed to make my own mistakes."

"What?" Armin replied, confused.

"We had this big argument about, well, you. She said I was naive and had a lot to learn about men. I told her I knew what I was doing and I'd be alright. She then said not to come back blubbering cos she didn't want to know."

"Hmm," Armin thought. "Your mother seems to have a, er, rather pessimistic opinion about men. You can be safe with me. I can assure you I'm not into taking advantage of young girls."

"I told her you were really nice."

"Huh?" he turned to her. "How nice?"

"Um," she blushed, briefly. "You have integrity. I mean, you're an airship captain. You have responsibilities, and..."

"Oh," he shrugged. "That nice!" Armin rubbed his chin and smiled, slyly. "Seeing I'm so responsible," he said. "Why don't we eat out?"

"What do you mean?" she laughed.

"I know a place in Cityplex. It's a fair way, but we could be there in half an hour."

"What? How?" she bounced, intrigued.

"The floeg. It has two seats."

"But what about the airship?"

"It does fine without me. Really, I'm just the caretaker. When it's safe to move, it will fly itself to the tower. All I have to do is smile at the passengers as they walk off. Besides, I will have my flatscreen and the computer will tell me if there's any change of status. We can fly back and be on board in a jiffy."

"It's crazy!" she grinned. "Mama will have a fit."

"Don't come back blubbering, then?"

"Oh, God. What should I wear? I've never done ... I mean, not for real. I've been on a holo-date a couple of times..."

"What you're wearing is fine. It's not top class. And, I'm just taking you out for dinner. I wouldn't call it a 'date' if I were you. Leastways, not around your mother."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, a 'date' would be way younger for a start. Then I guess there'd be some dancing, a little cuddling, maybe even..."

"Oh!" she subsided. "You can't really do much on a holo-date, accept, maybe virtual stuff. You don't actually leave home, and..."

"Ah, yes, I know. I guess all you young people have a lot of catching up to do. Anyway, shall we fire up the chariot?"

"Ok." she took a deep breath. "I trust you."

"Pity," Armin mumbled under his breath.

They climbed into the cockpit of the floeg and Armin put his thumbprint into the reader. The panel lit up instantly and the HUD beamed his flight information onto the clearview panel. A map was overlaid onto the holo readout and he entered the co-ordinates with a touch of his finger. Straightaway, the prop began to swish until it settled into an even whine. Overhead, the rotary wing wound up to speed and the little craft lifted off and set course for the vast city.

Below, the sea swept past at what seemed like dizzying speed to Heather. The lights of the city came up fast and they flew over plexes of unbelievable height. Heather looked down with a mixture of fear and excitement. Armin assured her the floeg was perfectly safe, but this was beyond anything she'd ever experienced. The airship was one thing, and it was exciting for someone who'd never flown before, but, the sensations of flying in a heavier than air machine was on a completely different level.