April 5: A Depth of Understanding by Mackey Chandler Read Free Book Online

aboard?"
    "Aboard and strapped in, ready to depart," Gunny assured him.
    "We did not release them to board," one of the agents said, angry.
    "Read the departure screen," April told him. "Where is this vessel going?"
    The man looked at the flat screen on the boom bulkhead. "Oh, shit…He didn't tell us he was going to Home," the agent complained. "He had a NA passport."
    "You don't have a departure schedule at your duty station?"
    "Yeah, but there are four shuttles in count to leave. Only this one is going to Home."
    "Now you know. Is there any further problem?" Gunny asked, not especially friendly.
    "No problem," the fellow agreed. He and his partner had holstered Tasers, April had a weapon in hand and Gunny two visible. That may have helped keep the conversation simple and brief. They turned to go.
    "You have my passport," the fellow objected, holding his hand out.
    He was sullen, but the customs agent put it in his hand.
    "Do you have anything else they held up, any luggage?" April asked.
    "No, I anticipated problems, so we decided not to burden ourselves with anything we couldn't fit in our pockets. Thank you for your help. I owe you. We are the Wilsons, I'm Matt, could I have your names?"
    "I am April Lewis, this is my hired man Mack Tindal, call him Gunny. Strap in and we can talk later, we're past departure time. They know better than this," she complained to Gunny.
    When they came in through the lock the crew woman who had agreed to a hold was braced in the hatch opening to the crew cabin, feet on one side, shoulders against the opposite flange, she had a short barreled twelve gauge nestled in her arms, watching the lock carefully.
    "They say we're clear to boost," Gunny told her. "Don't trust them to mean it."
    "I won't. Would you close and dog the lock, please?" she asked and closed crew access and they could hear it seal shut when the dogs clunked.
    "Lock closed," Gunny reported at the intercom before he was the last to strap in. The crew undoubtedly had sensors on their board, but it didn't hurt to confirm it.
    The little girl, not much younger than the boy, maybe a year, spoke to her dad when he strapped in the seat ahead of her. "Dad, she's the one the teenagers all copycat and upset all the teachers and mall cops!"
    The grapples withdrew with a distant thud and they got a gentle push sideways with no delay. A couple more turns and pushes and the speaker came alive. "Nobody is giving us any trouble. We will ramp to a very modest third G burn in fifteen seconds. Local control approved our altered departure with no comment. Thanks for flying Larkin Lines," she added automatically.
    * * *
    At Home his guards hustled the musician out the door quickly. He was slow, but April's party wasn't in any hurry, patiently following them down the short north mast. 
    Eddie and April's grandfather met them at the bearing portal to spin. It was a huge contrast to the mob that greeted her last return from Earth. It was the middle of main shift and April's parent's would both be working and Heather's mother had a very hands off approach to raising her children, so nobody felt slighted or ignored.
    They all logged on at the security station, touching the ceramic plate of the DNA reader. Nobody was fussy enough to ask a wipe down before using it, but several of them used a sani-wipe before putting on fresh gloves. The plate was silver impregnated and had an ultraviolet lamp flooding it so it should be safe, but people were paranoid. There were some strange new diseases coming out of the African continent recently, so it wasn't entirely a baseless worry.
    Eddie was babbling on to Jeff about getting landing rights for Dionysus' Chariot in Australia and Barack was bending her grandfather's ear about something. The three ahead of them were a little slower in zero G and they were going to catch up before they got to the elevator. The musician pulled a granola bar or a candy bar out of his pocket and opened it. He crumpled the wrapped and