In The Hands Of Time

By Ainy Rainwater

Jason's new crew, Sien, is a visionary with disturbing visions---ill-suited for a small ship, which becomes even smaller when they pick up a family from Earth. Are her visions connected to the murder of a religious fanatic on Zan or to the overbearing McGraths and their enigmatic daughter? What Jason and Sien discover on the not-so-routine mapping assignment must be unraveled before time runs out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ainy Rainwater
• Release date: Sep 8, 2010
• ISBN: 9780982959701

Ainy Rainwater

Ainy Rainwater has been writing and publishing short stories, essays, and novels in various genres for about 30 years. She lives in the greater Houston area with her husband and rescue dogs. She enjoys reading, writing, playing guitar and percussion, gardening, knitting, tea, baking and other kitchen improvisations, daydreaming, and wasting time online.Her novels are available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other bookstores. She is presently working on a chick lit fantasy series as well as a number of side projects, including a sequel to If Wishes Were Spaceships, a science fiction novel published in March 2016.She is also known for the digital pop which she makes under the name Gymshoes. "Everest Sunrise" was featured in the documentary What It Takes. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita she released an EP of songs, A Tropical Depression, the profits of which go to benefit the American Red Cross. Gymshoes albums are available from iTunes, Amazon, and other online stores. For more about Gymshoes music, please see Gymshoesmusic.com, which has liner notes, links to social media, streaming music, and much more.You can find the author on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She occasionally contributes to the group food blog, The Usual Suspects: http://usualsuspects.wordpress.com and posts short miscellaneous things on The Mighty Microblog: http://ainyrainwater.wordpress.com. A Truant Disposition, http://truantdisposition.com is Ainy Rainwater's official author site.

Book preview

In The Hands Of Time

by

Ainy Rainwater

Copyright Idiolith, Idiolith Books, 2010

Smashwords Edition

E-ISBN: 978-0-9829597-0-1

Cover Art: Ainy Rainwater

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and events are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead, real places, or events is coincidental. Names of people, places and things are fictional and wholly imaginary, and should not be construed as having any relationship to people, places or things with similar names that may exist. As this is a work of science fiction, some facts presented are entirely fictional, eg: things exist in this imaginary future that do not exist in real life. The views expressed in this work of fiction serve the purpose of character and story and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the author.

Acknowledgments

In The Hands Of Time was my first novel. This book was written 25 years before being published as an ebook. Though I don't recall which friends read it in manuscript at that time I want to thank anyone who read and caught mistakes in those pre-spell-check early drafts. I really must thank all my voracious bookworm friends. I appreciate their encouragement and their appetite for my books over the years.

Most of all I'd like to thank Robert, my husband and most faithful reader. This book is for him, with love.

Table Of Contents

Copyright

Disclaimer

Acknowledgments

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

About The Author

Idiolith

Idiolith Books by Ainy Rainwater

Albums by Gymshoes (Ainy Rainwater)

Chapter 1

Vapors drifted low to the pavement, glowing red-orange from the slowly dropping sun. As the temperature fell, the vapors would thicken, the blue lights of Zan Central Port would blink on and everything in the docking area would be enshrouded in chill blue. By then Jason would be in the city with its shrill voices, convoluted architecture, warm subdued lights, and soulful music. The city, however, was best known for its hot meals and hard beds.

To ward off the first twinges of hunger, Jason popped a pink crystalline candy in his mouth. As he stood high on the lift just outside his ship watching the sun melting over the mountains, he was reminded of a sticky candy he ate frequently as a child. Each layer was a different flavor and color. He used to take it out of his mouth as he tasted the flavors mixing so that he could see the colors change.

Change upon change...would it ever end? He wondered what the chances were of finding a decent replacement for Paol. Paol Winslow, who was a competent and likeable enough guy, was already in town looking up some connections. With any luck he will have landed an inward bound job by morning, Jason thought resentfully. A big company that worked closer in could offer more opportunities for a guy like Paol. Thanks to Jason, Paol now boasted a little adventure and experience to go with his superior set of papers.

But that left Jason short-handed on Zan. Only two-thirds of Zan's population were more or less permanent residents. Most of the remaining inhabitants tended to leave on the ship they came on, but inevitably there was some swapping around as both contractmen and fickle freelancers searched for better jobs, better destinations, and better pay. It was from this restless contingent that Jason would have to choose a crewman for his two man rig.

No, Jason thought as he watched the lights coming on in the hillside city, the odds are not good. People aren't as stable as they used to be. He thought of Martin.

Tonight Jason was tired and tomorrow promised to be one horrible day. The pink candy he had been sucking on pensively had left his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. He stepped back inside the ship to pour himself a shot of opaque brown liquid from an unmarked container. Then he checked out and caught the next flit into town where he filled himself with a hot meal and some soothing music before stretching out on his stony bed.

***

She was floating in a standing position at the center of a cluttered room. The room turned and twisted slowly around her at odd random angles. Every object was black, white, or shades of gray and remained in a fixed position in relation to the walls. There is nothing here at all, she thought, disappointed. She was alone until her peripheral vision picked up movement among some dark gray canisters. She turned with the room until she was facing them. A small black lizard---no longer than her hand---with gray and white markings moved into view. It turned its head to the side and regarded her for a moment with a bright eye. The wall with the canisters was now drifting toward her feet. The creature moved to face her directly, raising its head slightly. It opened its toothless pink mouth which seemed to grow larger as she stepped inside.

A sudden iciness shook her body; Sien jerked awake in bed, damp and shaking. She looked out the low window to her left at the hazy blue glow in the distance. It was not yet dawn, but the day begins early on Zan; there were things to be done.

***

When Zimmer Astro Nomads Incorporated established its modest outpost on this planet, atmospherics was not yet an exact science. The team of professionals hired by Zan Inc. to make the atmosphere breathable created certain climatic imbalances which resulted in the air frequently being drinkable as well. Since water shortage had been a problem with other colonies, Zan Inc. had proudly announced that its newest port on the very edge of explored space had abundant water. The first employees to arrive were not amused.

But the port flourished despite the short days and the long cool nights which were damp and oppressively endless. Defoggers and an extensive warm-light system eventually were installed in the growing city, making it possible for activities to continue well into the planet's night. Then, after a generous amount of sleep, activities could be resumed long before dawn. In this way the city of Zan retained a normal routine despite the pervading darkness. In contrast, Zan Central Port with its continuous activity was completely enclosed except for the docking area. It let the night come and go as it pleased with no more accommodation than the blue ground lights.

The city was just beginning to turn on its nite lites, as they were commonly called, when Sien left her room. Fog was still waist deep, but would melt away quickly in the lights. She stepped carefully down the short narrow steps from her door, pulling her wraparound tighter as she slid into the fog. Light and movement were reclaiming the city. A passing flit sent the dissolving mist roiling away from the pavement. Across the way, the rotund proprietors of a restaurant were opening up for business; the old man was singing something in a low bass voice as he helped the younger woman hang a big sign which heralded Hot Orange Sweet Rolls as the day's breakfast special. The sign was hand-lettered in a bright orange that made Sien catch her breath. It was an effect of the lights, but the whole area seemed brighter once the sign was up. Sien headed to the station where she caught a flit to the port.

Jason awoke at the tone. His back ached; the first night in port was always the roughest. It was pitch black outside the window and inside his mind. His face, even upon just waking, was creased by lines of irritation and anxiety. He could not remember his dreams, yet they haunted him as he prepared to go out. Trying to remember them did not help him peel back the darkness from his mind, but it kept him from immediately facing the task of the day.

He moved slowly around the room, rubbing his eyes, then stretching. His ribs on the right side---the side he had slept on---ached badly. Various other smaller pains made themselves known as he moved around. In an effort to counteract the general feeling of oldness, he vigorously ran through a series of exercises, spitting out low curses through gritted teeth. Still breathing hard, he rapidly dressed and packed his small case. He felt better in a steely sort of way. It was time to go out, get some breakfast and do a little business.

Going down the steps, Jason lowered himself into the fog like a man easing himself into water of uncertain depth. Disgusting, he thought as he trudged through the thick orange vapors. I should've waited until it burned off. Down the way, lights were coming on in the front windows of the buildings. The vapors dissipated rapidly as he walked briskly to a flat yellow building not quite within sight of where he had stayed. There was a light that glowed dimly through a high rectangular window, but no sign on the door. Jason opened the door and went in with a gleam of anticipation in his otherwise clouded eyes.

The light in the tiny restaurant hit him with an almost visible force. It had the same effect whenever he breakfasted here. The inside of the building was also painted yellow, but the yellow walls alternated with pure white walls so that the odd shaped eight-sided room seemed to be larger than it was. The overall effect of the color bands and the careful lighting was one of palpable warmth and light. Like most establishments on Zan, it had a dehumidifier which kept the air inside absolutely arid.

A cup of something---Jason didn't know what---was served gratis by a bearded man with a large nose. He never spoke, but merely grunted in his usual friendly manner after taking Jason's order. Jason stared into his cup and swirled the thickening liquid thoughtfully. It was neither so good nor so bad as to have made him ever inquire what it was. Over the hot cup, then the hot food, Jason grimly planned the day.

Sien inserted her card into ADLOC 6. Though technically she was no longer a crewman on the Just Whistle, her coded number would remain active for awhile. It was not uncommon if a crewman parted amicably from a ship, for the captain to delay putting a hold on the number so that the crewman could continue to have access to those parts of the port which might prove useful in finding a new job. This courtesy gesture occasionally caused havoc, but on the whole, the system worked well enough. Thus, malcontents and the unjustly accused were kept out of secure areas. Sien went straight to 6-L.

Eric Michaels grinned down at her from the docking platform. He thumped the hull resoundingly. Well, well, I thought I'd see you before we left. Changed your mind? He knew the answer, but had to ask.

No, she shouted up at him with the faintest trace of a smile.

As he pushed the lever forward to lower the lift for her, he found himself wondering what went on in that swift mind of hers. He could never tell. Her plain, often passive, face betrayed nothing. When she reached him, he said, How about some breakfast? Without waiting for a reply, he continued, Jackson's still got the galley all torn up, but he swears he will have it back together before we leave. They were making their way automatically to the common room as he talked. Know where you're going yet? he asked with an enthusiasm he did not feel.

No, Sien spoke for the first time, but I know the ship. As they entered the large room, Sien slid into a booth against the near bulkhead while Eric went toward the galley at the other side. Where is everybody? she asked. I expected at least to find Lucky and Chris here. The ship had an empty feeling about it that she had not noticed when it had been empty before.

"Oh, they heard The Three Toed Bear came in late yesterday and so they scurried over there to kick around some star stuff with Sly, Eric shouted back to her. The padded bulkheads which eliminated the echo seemed to swallow his usual hearty voice from the galley. Oh, and I think Kenna may have found a temp. He stepped back into the common room. He's still in town checking it out from there. Name's Welch or something like that. He returned to the table laden with an assortment of bright containers. And the good Lord only knows where Jackson is."

He's always here when you need him, she said quietly.

Yes, and so were you, he glumly thought. But instead he said, Well, right now I need him to put the galley back together so we can have some hot meals around here. I'm still not convinced that the problem he's trying to fix even exists. Eric was mixing an unappetizing concoction from the containers. So, tell me about this ship. He took his first bite then pushed the container toward her. She shook her head.

Not much to tell, Sien shrugged. She stared past him in silence while he ate. As he looked at her, he wondered why she was leaving. If he would've asked again at this point, she would not have been able to tell him any more than she already had. He remembered her exact words: I must. That was all. He did not press her further. He had seen this look before and heard that peculiar tone of voice with it. Her catchall rationalization rose to mind: Senda. He almost understood.

The few moments of uncomfortable silence lapsed into a familiar silence which was soon filled by the usual pattern of conversation; Eric talked about a little bit of everything and Sien listened, only disagreeing mildly, but firmly, twice. Just before Sien left, Chris and Lucky came in. Uncharacteristically, Chris wore her straight blonde hair down today, one of the side effects of being on-ground. After goodbyes all around, Sien headed for the central terminal directory.

After a light, but tasty breakfast, Jason strolled down to a public access station near the center of town. Zan was now a great warm island of light, throbbing with people. Finding a booth immediately open, Jason closed himself in the soundproof cubicle. From here he could transact business with almost any firm in the known universe. As fortune would have it, he had just finished a detailed topography of a series of small planet/asteroids for Zan Inc.

Although they began as one of many space exploration companies, Jason and a few independents like him were the only link Zan Inc. retained to exploration: even ZCP was under other ownership. With the distances involved, it was easy over time for planets to gradually slip into autonomy, especially when the governing body was turning its attention elsewhere.

Jason punched in the calling codes, then his access number. While he waited to get the go ahead signal, the current motto of Zan Inc. flashed on the screen: Oldest and best...doing business under a million suns. Jason snorted. Here he was, an independent scout, working for the most mammoth corporation in space. Not the sort of thing an independent should be doing, he had grumbled to Martin long ago when Martin had first contracted to do some mapping for them. But it pays well, Martin had replied. Jason's lips mouthed the words as he remembered.

Martin had been a shrewd businessman; he knew what it cost to keep a ship running. That first job for Zan Inc. had been the entré to a higher level of employment for them. Although Jason had complained about spending all that time remapping an area that had been improperly mapped and partially explored, the payment had been very generous. In no time at all Jason had grown used to not worrying about money. Now he was more likely to grumble, Why don't they just put me on the payroll?

Jason fidgeted in the booth. Why the hell is it taking so long? he complained aloud to himself. It didn't take this long to transmit and confirm the data and payment from the ship. He frowned at the console. Look, all I want is... he began. Ah, that's better, he said as the signal came through. He leaned forward. All he needed was to get the next set of co-ordinates and confirm payment amount.

After finishing his business, Jason briefly considered going by The 12th Planet. That place had seen a lot of people come through, but recently he had heard a rumor that spacers were staying away. I'll just head out to ZCP, he decided; if anybody worth having is in town and available, Jeral will know.

The ride from Zan to ZCP was short and dark. Outside of the city, it was as if the flit was soundlessly tearing through folds of soft black fabric. The compartment light was the only thing between him and the night; it was dim and flickered occasionally. He looked at the small useless window to his left. This, he thought, is The Void. As he entered the blue glow that marked the perimeter of the port, he felt slightly relieved.

Jeral wasn't anywhere around when he arrived, so he went to check out the directory to see if he knew any other ships in port. My Secret and The Hungry Dog were in, he noted. But with the exception of Sly on The Three Toed Bear, there was no one he wanted to talk to particularly. Sly hasn't been on-ground long, probably not a good time to catch him, he decided. Maybe I'll see him tonight. Jason checked back at Jeral's cubicle. Still no one had seen him. Jason sighed. It's going to be a long day. Might as well go on down to the ship and get some things done there, he decided at last.

Jason inserted his I.D. card, then entered ADLOC 2. He walked down toward 2-B. There was someone standing out by the ship. As he got closer it appeared to be a young girl. Whatever she wants, she's too damn young, he muttered to himself. Another runaway, he thought, how the hell do they get in here? But as he approached her, it seemed that she was not nearly so young as he had thought. There was something stand-offish about her bearing. Jason stopped. They looked each other over silently from a distance of about seven meters. She had short curly dark hair which framed her oval face pleasingly. If she had smiled, she might have been pretty.

Sien was also sizing up her future employer. She noted his hesitation, as well as his level gaze. He was less than a head taller than she was, of moderate build. His fine brown hair covered most of his ears and fell charmingly across his forehead. He didn't comb it too often, she observed. Not a vain man. Only thirty seconds had passed since Jason stopped in front of her. He made a low noise that might be construed as a greeting as he walked the rest of the way up to her. What's going? Might as well be casual, he figured; despite her stern demeanor she did not appear to be an official of the port authority.

My name is Sien. I'd like to hire on with your ship. She gestured toward the ship. Her arm was lean and strong, but it was the grace of her hand that caught Jason's eye and led it upward to the hull of The Chameleon where the color was flecking off the back of a black lizard. I really ought to get that lasered on properly one of these days, he thought. He dropped his gaze back to her. Her eyes were dark blue; they seemed bottomless. He found himself looking away again.

How did you find out about the opening? Probably a friend of Paol's, he thought. He couldn't tell how old she was, but there was an air of experience about her, perhaps a slight adjustment of posture. The way she stood suggested a real spacer.

I have my sources, she replied, wondering if he would press her.

Hmm... Jason couldn't picture her sitting around The Golden Egg or The 12th Planet shooting the stars and getting splash happy, picking up tips on openings. Probably overheard about it from someone who heard it from Paol. Didn't matter. How much do you know about the job?

Not much.

Tight-lipped, isn't she, he thought, or maybe, yes, maybe it's reserve. An unlikely character trait for a spacer looking for a job. Let's get down to it now. How long ago did you last work, who for and doing what?

"Two days ago I left the Just Whistle, Eric Michael's ship; I did primarily tracer work, but I have worked other jobs on other ships."

Why did you leave?

She shrugged noncommittally. "The Just Whistle is not scheduled to leave until late today if you'd like to check my references."

Oh, great, he thought, sounds like a typical change-ships-every-port type. Just what I need. I'm surprised Michaels hired her. Probably got suckered in by those blue eyes.

Where should I go from here, Jason wondered. This had been about the rockiest interview that he had ever been on either side of. He didn't feel like inviting her in for a friendly chat about background and experience as was usual. She waited, seemingly relaxed but unapproachable, for him to speak. Sure, uh, I'll check with him and get back to you later. I'm probably going to be in port awhile... Looking for someone else, he finished to himself.

Fine, she interrupted with the first spark of enthusiasm. Or was it relief that the interview was concluding, he wondered. You check with Michaels and I'll come back tomorrow. Right now I'm getting hungry. She hesitated. Would you like to get lunch with me? She was almost smiling now.

Huh? Oh, no, I'm not hungry. I've got some things to do around here. Jason was startled by her change in demeanor. She murmured a pleasant goodbye and left with a brisk stride.

He shook his head as he turned to the ship. What an odd one! He'd ask around about her, but he hoped he could turn up someone better in the meantime. They hadn't exactly established an immediate rapport. Damn! he exclaimed as he entered the ship. "She'll be coming around here tomorrow