Night Traveller (Gay Romantic Sci-Fi)

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"You're sending me where, sir?" Lieutenant Mike Oliver stared at Captain Foster, the man who held his fate in his short stubby fingers. Foster's hands were soft and pale, matching the rest of him. His round stomach strained against his uniform, his second chin rested uncomfortably on his collar. He didn't look as if he had left his desk in years, let alone ventured out of headquarters on any sort of active service.  

The Lieutenant was certain he could have run rings around him in the field, but Foster was wearing a Captain's uniform which was all that counted at the moment. 

Surely he had misheard. 

"Asra. You're going to Asra for the next twelve months." Captain Foster smiled cosily. "Think of it as an opportunity Lieutenant."  

"But sir, I applied for a ship's position," Oliver protested, only just holding back the word 'again', fighting a gut searing disappointment. He had been so proud when he attained the rank of First Lieutenant a month ago, excited that this time, surely, he would get a ship's position. He had applied with each previous promotion, only to be told each time that there were no current vacancies but that he was really needed on Bast, on Moonta or on Capella. Everywhere apparently, except where he really wanted to be, on a space ship. 

Ever since he was a child, he had dreamt of flying, that's why he had joined the Patrol in the first place. "I know the P112 Pilar has a vacancy ..." his voice trailed off as Foster shook his head. 

"Sorry Lieutenant but that's been filled already." 

Oliver bit his lip, it hadn't been filled an hour ago, let alone a week ago when he had applied.  

"Can I ask sir, is this anything to do with the fact that I'm an om?" he asked stiffly. 

Foster raised an eyebrow. "That would be discrimination, Lieutenant," he reprimanded softly. "As I said, think of this as an opportunity. Do well on this assignment and I'm sure you'll be able to get a ship's position, eventually." He smiled dismissively. "Once you reach Asra, you're to report directly to the new governor, Ser Ryan Callan. Your job will be to establish a Patrol outpost there. You'll liaise with Ser Callan about the most suitable location for the post. You'll have access to a small line of credit when you arrive so you can hire local labour to get the station up and running, make any modifications required to the premises. While you're setting things up, you should also make an assessment of the number of staff required to operate effectively. Until then you'll be the only Patrol officer on Asra." Foster smiled again, but only his lips moved, his eyes remained coldly watchful. "You're booked on the Voyager, it departs in two days. That will be all, Lieutenant." 

XXX 

Two days later, Lieutenant Oliver disembarked from the Voyager's shuttle, unsuccessfully battling his resentment about being there at all. He went through the small Arrivals room, passing quickly through the essential bio screen and registration of intent to reside, and found himself looking up at the pale blue dome which covered the whole town. Most people didn't want to look out at constant storms so the dome had been lined with opaque blue, representing a sky many of them had never seen in person. He surveyed the small group of people hovering outside the Arrivals room and pasted a smile on his face as a well dressed older woman came forward. "Lieutenant Oliver?" she asked in a low pleasant voice. She wore a bright yellow singlesuit, with soft soled boots in a slightly darker shade. There was a small hologram of a rising sun on her left shoulder. Her short hair was dyed silver with gold tips. 

They shook hands as he nodded. "I'm Serra Yoshida," the woman introduced herself. "I own the Rising Sun hotel. You'll be staying there until you find a place of your own. Oh and by the way, the council will pay half of your account while you are at the hotel."  

"Thank you Serra. Have you been on Asra long?" he enquired politely as he fell into step beside her, his back pack slung over one shoulder. 

"This will be my fifth year," she answered. "I was one of the first settlers. There were only about fifty permanents when I built the hotel, but lots of transients of course with the mining." The hotel was only a few blocks away and they walked side by side past a series of identical plasfoam buildings. Serra Yoshida nodded towards them. "Self contained apartments, for those who plan to stay on Asra for more than a couple of days. There are a few family houses on the outskirts, these are really just for singles." 

Lieutenant Oliver stared at them, trying not to feel depressed. Grey and box like as they were, he told himself, they were far bigger than the quarters he would have been allocated on a ship.  

"How many inhabitants do you have at the moment?" he asked. 

"Seven hundred and eighty one permanents, at last count," Serra Yoshida replied. "Asra has now reached the point where we can consider ourselves a town, a colony even, not just an outpost. That's why we've asked the Patrol for assistance with law and order." She looked sideways at him and cleared her throat. "I should probably tell you that not everyone was happy about our decision. We've been looking after ourselves since the dome was constructed and some people can't see the need to change that." 

"Oh?" 

"Yes. Unfortunately Ser Callan is one of the chief culprits. He runs a private security firm and he's been pretty much used to doing things his own way. Still," she smiled briskly, "I'm sure you'll be able to deal with that!" 

Great, thought Oliver. The Governor, the man who was supposed to help him get established, didn't want him there. However, instead of making him feel even more depressed, the fact that he had an adversary to face made him feel slightly better. He squared his shoulders. He was a Patrol Lieutenant and he had a job to do. No-one, not even the governor of this tin pot planet in the middle of nowhere was going to stop him. 

Lost in his own thoughts for a moment, the Lieutenant realised his companion had halted in front of an open space that appeared to be dotted with tables and chairs made out of liquid grey metal. Four people in dark grey singlesuits were seated together, sipping drinks out of large glasses with little coloured umbrellas in them. A human bartender stood under a small hut in the centre, surrounded by waist high refreshment units, four slender poles holding up a roof resembling a mesh of plant fronds.  

Serra Yoshida waved her wristcom and a bright yellow circle just over a metre in diameter appeared in the ground in front of her. "Welcome to the Rising Sun," she announced with a smile, "This is our 'roof' bar." She stepped onto the circle and gestured for him to join her. The circle descended slowly beneath the surface. "Most of the hotel is underground," she explained. "It was one of the first buildings constructed and they weren't too sure how successful the dome would be at that stage. Now of course, new buildings are built on top, but I quite like being underground. It's a novel experience for most of my guests." 

The disc descended gradually to the floor below, and Oliver found himself in a large reception room complete with a human receptionist coming forward to greet them. 

"Welcome to the Rising Sun, Ser," she smiled professionally.  

"This is Lieutenant Oliver, Lisa," Serra Yoshida introduced him. "Would you show him his room please in a minute?"  

She turned back to Oliver. "I've arranged for you to see Serra Tepper and Ser Paolo here in about an hour. They are both members of the council, Serra Tepper owns the building we think might be suitable for your patrol station and Paolo can help with any modifications you need." She glanced at her wristcom and frowned briefly. "Ser Callan was supposed to be here to welcome you too, but he's been called away. Never mind, I'm sure the rest of us will be able to answer any queries you have." 

"Thank you Serra, that's very helpful of you." Oliver hadn't missed the significance of the frown. Was the governor deliberately avoiding him? Hoping that he'd go away if he ignored him? He smiled to himself, he was quite looking forward to going head to head with Callan when they finally met. Politely, of course.