Pax Galactica - A Space Opera

Chapter 33 - En Route

The Angel Baby had made it through the gate, and was still cruising through hyperspace, when they realized they had accidentally kidnapped the two Saturn Starlifting employees that they had... deliberately kidnapped. It was maybe 50/50 an intentional kidnapping. At least the part about taking them off the station.

"Oops," said Helios. She spun around in her chair to get a good look at them the moment she remembered they existed.

"We should probably wake them up," said Aranarth.

"Do you think that's safe?" asked Helios.

"No," replied Aranarth. "I think it's humane."

Helios sighed.

"I suppose you're right," she said. "Squires, you two remove the 'trodes from the... well they're not prisoners. Whoever they are. Our guests."

"You do your twin I've got whazzerface," said Ophelia.

It didn't matter to Decker so he went along with the plan. Both squires removed the 'trodes from their respective targets. Both began to stir immediately, struggling awake after being in an artificial dreamless sleep for so long.

Vega opened his eyes. He was staring straight up at Decker and into his own face. He screamed.

"It's fine, everything's fine," Decker reassured him. "It's just a disguise. I'm the guy from dinner. Remember my voice?"

Decker had already taken off the mental elements of his disguise, so his voice was back to normal, but his face was still a dead ringer for Vega's.

"I don't,"said Vega, his face twisted in fright.

"What did you do to us? What's going on?" asked Wu, sitting up quickly, her voice cracking

"Don't try anything funny," said Helios. "We're inside a wormhole in a lighthugger with analog controls. I'm the only one here who can fly it and all four of us can manifest guns out of hyperspace if we want to. You are in the least advantageous position possible to try and want to overpower us and commandeer the ship."

"You're the space rangers!" announced Vega, also sitting up but more slowly.

"A.R.C. Rangers," Aranarth corrected him.

"Don't let Professor Dictionary over here lead you astray," said Helios, "we're exactly who you think we are."

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Wu.

"We didn't mean to kidnap you. Well, that is to say, we didn't mean to kidnap you this much. We never meant to take you off station with us. We're going to be on the net for a few jumps but then we're meeting up with a hyperspace capable ship at the Ross system. That's close to Alpha Centauri, as a 6d hyperdrive reckons things at least, so we can drop you off there. You'll be able to catch a ride back to Synergy Station from Centauri Ring," said Helios.

"You're taking us to Centauri? Not to a prison or back to the station? By the bleeding wounds of Tellus... we're free?" asked Wu.

"Thank you so much!" said Vega.

"I thought I'd never leave that station. Never see a sky again."

"You were there against your will?" asked Aranarth.

"Not initially, but that's just to lure you in," explained Wu. "It's all a trick. They deliberately cultivate dependence on them until you have no resources of your own and before you know it you lack the means to leave or change your circumstances. You just stagnate there forever. They won't drag you back if you try to escape, but that doesn't help much when you're on a space station in the middle of an uninhabited star system with nothing to trade for passage. It's not like in the Cooperative, nobody there does anything for anyone without something in it for them."