They Said It Would Be Easy (April Book 7) Read online

  "Mr. Donahue," Muños said. He thought that Phil was an idiot, but at least he was a known idiot. Nobody else standing or signaling was a known quality to him. If he said something stupid perhaps it would get rejected for its source. That could defuse others saying it more effectively.

  "I want to have it clarified. I mean, if we let things stand, as folks seem to be saying we should do...We are going to be at war with North America indefinitely. Do we really want to live like that with it hanging over our head every day when we wake up?"

  "Then...this is a question...at large?" Muños asked, reasonably.

  "Yeah, I'm not sure," Phil said. "Isn't there anything can be done?" Phil asked.

  A fellow with very close cropped hair like vacuum workers wore stood slowly. He had on a quilted suit liner with an oversized name tag sewn on the shoulder that said DAVE in block letters. He looked stern and didn't raise a hand, he just looked at Muños.

  "Mr. Michelson, do you care to comment?" Eduardo offered. Dave nodded.

  "Phil, sometimes there are no good choices. We can't control what people say. We can only control what we say or do in response. Surely you've known somebody that was unhappy with you no matter what you said or did?" Dave asked.

  "Yeah, the construction shack had a Russian guy for two tours. Every time I dropped something off he was rude to me. He always acted like I was going to short him on something and made me stand there and wait while he did a count. He complained about stuff like how it was boxed, like I pick the way they bag rivets at the factory. I never did anything to him," Phil remembered. "Well, I couldn't say his name right, to please him. But it was a mouthful."

  "Did you try to talk to him about it?" Dave asked.

  "Just the first time," Phil admitted. "It made it worse. I wish I hadn't said anything. I just started avoiding making a delivery when he was on duty if the stuff didn't have a rush sticker to show they were waiting on it. If I had to take stuff out I'd just say yes or no, and get out of there fast as I could."

  "That's how most of us feel about the Norte Americanos," Dave explained. "Anything we say will probably just make it worse. They're not reasonable about us. You know they make all spacers look bad on their news programs. We really don't want to fight them, like Jon said, and it's probably better not to say anything because it will just get twisted and lied about. So about the safest thing is to just mind our own business and hope they don't actually do something even stupider than the trash talking."

  Phil nodded and scrunched his eyebrows together thinking. "I was really bummed out when the Russian signed up for a second tour. But he finally finished that up and hasn't been back. They seem to change who's running North America so often now...Maybe there'll be somebody different to deal with soon if we can just wait awhile," he concluded.

  That was a remarkable train of logic for Phil. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. If he could be persuaded there was hope nobody else would pipe up and argue for issuing ultimatums or making a show of force with North America, Muños hoped.

  "Are you satisfied to wait and see what they do then?" Dave asked Phil. That was excellent. Muños was so grateful that he wasn't being forced to re-ask that question of everyone in a vote.

  "Yeah," Phil decided. "Better to do nothing than maybe something stupid," he decided. He nodded agreement thoughtfully and sat down. Muños could have kissed him.

  Jeff was standing before Phil was all the way seated.

  "Mr. Singh, you have further comment?" Muños said, ignoring several call-ins on the local net.

  "Not on the North American issue. It seemed well covered to me, but I have another matter that it would be very nice to have settled before a regular Assembly comes around, so a group of investors, including myself, know whether the voters will allow us to go forward with it."

  "It's early," Muños pointed out. Some Assemblies had run late into the night, with people calling friends back from their beds to vote on critical questions. "If there is no formal objection to hear other matters?"

  A glance at the com board didn't indicate any new log-ons, so Muños gave Jeff the nod quickly, before somebody did object.

  "Everybody is aware we have a housing shortage," Jeff said. "Mitsubishi has indicated that given the economic conditions on Earth, they can't see their way free to start an associated habitat. We can't safely build a fourth ring without losing our mobility. Nobody has the funds to start another habitat. I certainly don't. So I've been contemplating creating small free floating housing just far enough from Home to give traffic room for safe maneuvering.

  "I'd be using lunar materials, and there would be a dedicated shuttle bus to transport residents back and forth. The residents would use some Home services like the clinic, so Mitsubishi would assess what expense they represented and charge a fee. They'd have their own life support and probably a mini-cafeteria and other size appropriate support, but pay a full tax share. I'd like a vote from the Assembly that such a project be permitted, and that the people in such a bedroom community can still choose to be tax payers and Home citizens."

  There were already two people standing so Jeff decided to cut it short and sat. The more detail he added the more opportunity for someone to hear something they didn't like.

  "Mr. Alfoncino," Muños acknowledged. Tony Alfoncino was a solid sort, who didn't speak often.

  "I have concerns that such a project might turn into a kind of slum. Also I wonder how large a project we are speaking about? Is there any chance this population will come to outnumber those living in the spun-up habitat?" Tony worried.

  Jeff answered without standing. "We calculated we need to house about two hundred to make it worth doing. The most I envisioned was six hundred. It would take several years of adding modules to reach that number. Past that I think we'd be putting too much of a load on things like the clinic, and since some will undoubtedly commute across to work we might have a sort of rush hour, where the dockage would become congested. I certainly wouldn't object if we placed a limit on un-spun occupancy right at the start."

  "How about setting some sort of standards for the design and upkeep?" Tony asked.

  "We'd use the same engineering standards Mitsubishi does for M3. The design standards are mostly independent of the fact it is spun. We'd use the same criteria for lock construction and environmental margins, yearly inspections and dimensions of corridors and so forth. The things like emergency suits, combustibility standards for interior materials and sensor standards for fire, pressure and noxious vapors would all be virtually the same. They're good standards," Jeff acknowledged.

  "Very well," Alfoncino agreed. "If this request passes I wish it to be formally amended by the inclusion of the standards Mr. Singh mentioned, and just to make sure that occupancy number is conservative, let us hold it to a limit of five hundred, unless a future full vote of the Assembly decides to amend it. That would satisfy me to where I'll vote to approve it."

  "Ms. Olaff?" Muños said tentatively. She'd sat down abruptly after Tony Alfoncino had finished. The young lady worked in IT for Mitsubishi, and Muños considered her very sharp.

  "The same concerns, basically," she said, making a waving away gesture. "And I don't like change, but it is inevitable, so no point in making everyone listen to me chide the universe for not being static."

  That was surprising. She was as genuinely young as she looked, not just from life extension therapy, and Muños thought she'd be the sort to relish change.

  "On the matter of allowing auxiliary residences, within the stated standards and limits. How do you people say?" Muños asked.

  There was a brief surge of no votes that worried Jeff. Then the yea column pulled ahead. It went on longer than the vote about dealing with North America. The final number was nay 853, yea 1,387.

  When Muños read the tally Jeff stood back up.

  "Yes, Mr. Singh. Did you have another proposal? The custom is a two proposal limit," Muños reminded him. He was a bit nervous because he wasn't aware Jeff
might bring another motion.

  "No Sir. I just want to tell people that I expected a much stronger acceptance. I'm dismayed so many have reservations, but I respect that. I want to offer to listen to anyone who wants to tell me why they think the project is bad or needs changes. I'm perfectly willing to make changes to improve it or make it more acceptable to the electorate, and I'll do everything I can to make sure it is a positive for the hab, not a negative. I really do think we need it and it's not going to harm the real estate market or rentals. The demand is far more than this will fill. Also, most of you have noticed I'm not ashamed to make money." –That got a round of laughter Jeff had to wait out.- "I plan on charging what the market will bear. So don't worry that your cubic will suddenly be worth less. Especially as spun cubic will always be at a premium."

  Jon sitting on the platform, was relieved these issues were brought up after the vote instead of before. For everyone reassured by Jeff's little speech, Jon suspected there were potentially those who hadn't thought of those objections on their own. Jeff was brilliant, but a bit strange socially, and perhaps suffered from a bit too much honesty. An analysis he was sure Jeff and his partners would reject as residual Earth Think. Sometimes Jon felt Earth Think could be misapplied to plain old human nature.

  "A gracious statement," Muños allowed. "One hopes you'll get some good ideas and deeper support from such communication."

  "Is there other business?" he invited.

  The fellow who always want them to build a park they couldn't afford stood up, looking hopeful.

  "The park proposal sir?" Muños inquired. Unfortunately the screen behind him was already showing votes to indicate the public didn't wish to discuss this again.

  The man nodded yes, but by that time the number on the board had already cut off debate.

  "We mean no animosity to you, but the people still don't want to take time to discuss this," Muños said waving a hand at the board. There were still negative votes coming in with it already decided.

  The man nodded acceptance, visibly disappointed.

  April stood up.

  "Miss Lewis?" Muños said.

  "If the gentleman would contact me. Conditions at Central on the moon may be more appropriate to his project much earlier than Home or any other constructed habitat. I have the ear of the sovereign, and we can at least discuss it," April offered.

  "We wish you every success," Muños said with real sincerity. If April Lewis deflected him from making the same motion over and over every Assembly they'd nominate her for sainthood.

  Muños gave one more look around and called the Assembly closed gratefully.

  Chapter 24

  "Three more days and we'll rendezvous with the shuttle carrying our relief crew," Deloris said when they did the shift switch. "They informed me it was launched early in my shift. I'll tell Alice when I go off duty. We'll have to drop boost for a couple hours for the changeover, and we will ride back a bit slower than they came out."

  "It hardly seems worth expending the fuel," Barak said, after some thought. "If they waited twelve more days they could match velocity with us with a couple hour flight and spend a single day nudging it into exactly what position they want. I appreciate getting home a little faster, but I wouldn't bother if I were paying for the fuel."

  "They've had a change of heart," Deloris revealed. "When they sent the Yuki-onna out the investors felt we had a safe stable situation with the Earthies. But now that North America has repudiated the treaty our people feel less certain. The shuttle is going to bring a missile battery so the snowball has some teeth while braking into translunar space. That's why the rush to meet us."

  "I listened to the Assembly about that," Barak said. "I thought everybody was sure the North Americans don't have the lift capacity to cause trouble beyond the moon right now. And if they send armed vessels beyond L1 they are inviting general hostilities again."

  "That's what I heard too, but I noticed our bosses said, 'Earthies', a couple times, not just North Americans. There's a real lack of trust. This is a lot of water," Deloris reminded him. "If I had all my money tied up recovering it I might be a bit paranoid too. It doesn't come out of my pay – so they can knock themselves out."

  Deloris got that abstracted look Barak had grown to know.

  "And what else?" he demanded. "I can see you're thinking about something as plain as if you said it out loud."

  "Just that they are sending a four person relief crew. Apparently they feel they need that many for a two week trip. If that's the case our doing it for months with three was downright heroic."

  "One guy is probably the systems operator for the missiles, but yeah, we lucked out," Barak admitted. "We got three sane compatible people who could all do their jobs. I'm sincerely starting to think that the chances of that happening were really slim. At least given the old way of picking crew. And if we hadn't survived and dealt with it nothing would have changed. I'm going to do some research when we get back and I can have better data privacy. I want to know how the crews for early sailing vessels were chosen, and how many ships were known to be lost, not from storm or mechanical failure, but from human factors. Even with the changes in place I'm recommending, I think there is plenty of room for improvement in the process."

  "Just don't make the process so tight you bump us off of the hiring list," Deloris warned.

  "Jeff may make the whole question moot," Barak warned. "He may come up with tech to reduce the flight times, so things aren't so stressed and demanding."

  "I know you're a fan-boy," Deloris said. "But there's no way around the physics of it. It's simply not going to happen."

  * * *

  The com woke April up first. It was loud and the room lights came up automatically, which meant it was not only a priority message but one of five people who could trigger this urgency level. The lights flashed and the blaring alarm sounded again before she could pull a t-shirt on and get to the com console. Jeff sat up, but his face said he wasn't functioning yet. He looked dazed. She checked the camera view to make sure he wasn't in the pickup before she activated it.

  Jon was looking at her out of the screen. She'd seen all sorts of expressions on the man's face but she'd never seen him this angry. His bald head was tilted forward like he was ready to dive into the camera, and his nostrils flared in time to his breathing.

  Jeff stirred behind her and muttered something. She reached back and held a palm up to him to stay out of the camera view. But he said, 'Can't wait.' And walked behind her and disappeared into the bathroom. She was embarrassed he hadn't taken the time to get dressed, but Jon was indifferent.

  "The North Americans snatched Gunny out of the public area on ISSII," he informed her.

  "What? But why? Just him? He said he had a security job, an escort, with Christian Mackay and the partners Brockman and Freidman. How could they let him be snatched away?" April demanded.

  "They had their charge locked down safe in the hotel and Gunny went out to get food for them. Somebody wearing a cam got a face match hit on him and they called a security team from the USNA sector to do an arrest. That's what the stationmaster Jan is telling us."

  "He's not a USNA citizen anymore, he has an honorable discharge and when he took Home citizenship he renounced his North American affiliation," April protested.

  "They're insisting their computer lists him as AWOL from Hawaii several years ago. With sufficient time now that it was automatically upgraded to desertion," Jon added.

  April felt Jeff's hand on her shoulder. She looked back and he'd finally put something on, his spex.

  Jon repeated the information for Jeff, somewhat abbreviated.

  "I just informed Eddie I have priority need of an armed ship, and he is diverting one already in Earth orbit to boost for ISSII at maximum acceleration," Jeff informed them, touching his spex.

  "Don't get in a rush," Jon pleaded, "Jan has persuaded the rest of the security team to hold off shooting their way into the North American Module and is
talking with them."

  "I'm not going to allow him to be removed from the station," Jeff vowed. "Once he's taken off it's out of our control. If I have to blockade them then they can sit buttoned up until I have him or his body."

  "Threaten them," April told Jeff. "Threaten them and mean it." Jon looked alarmed.

  "With what?" Jeff asked. "Are you suddenly willing to kill a city now?" Jeff asked.

  "No, but there has to be something in-between," April insisted.

  Jeff opened his mouth like he was going to speak, and then closed it. A hard smile slowly formed.

  "Jon, inform Jan and the North Americans that if any harm comes to our man I will remove the Colorado River dam system from Hoover dam on downstream. I have some experience at that. If they don't believe it tell them to examine what we did to the Yangtze River basin. We stripped it out clear to the sea. It will render Southern California pretty much uninhabitable for several tens of millions of people. They can have the joy of many more displaced persons on the west coast to deal with in addition to the mess they have in the east."

  "Are you sure you're not speaking in anger and will regret it later?" Jon counseled.

  "We are not expendable like North American citizens," Jeff said. "They can count me merciful if that's all I do for Gunny."

  April was nodding yes. "Jon, I was a party to the call when President Wiggen personally promised to expedited Gunny's honorable discharge from the service. Tell Jan we can provide an affidavit to that effect. I'm sure Wiggen will be happy to give me one."

  "I still have a call open with Jan, I'll tell him. The North Americans have a history of ignoring me. I thought maybe they'd listen to Jan," Jon said, hopefully. "He's been station head for about four tours now. Every time he tries to go home they find a way to foist it off on him again. I think he's officially doing it for the Swiss again this time. He already told them to trot Gunny out and they refused. He was not amused they snatched him in the common area, and even less they won't yield him."