Betta's Station: Book One of the Betta's Station Series

By Johnnie Ruffin

After living a life of indentured servitude to the feds, Betta Reganta finds new opportunity on a derelict space station. Getting the space station up and running is only one of the many challenges she faces. Partnering with Jadis Ter, a failed genetic experiment and owner of a neighboring power station, takes her life for an even darker turn.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruffin Apps
• Release date: Feb 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781087861784

Johnnie Ruffin

Johnnie Ruffin, M.Sc. is an optimist, a writer, and a Software Engineer. He first published his short story "Khory's Power" with "A Place To Enter" in the early 90's, which introduced his shape-shifting black leopards known as the Caanlin to the world. The second full-length novel about the Caanlin, The Broken Peace, is his most recent addition.

Book preview

Prologue

C

itizens. Friends. Awake from your slumber, from your lazy languish, from your bored and purposeless existence, and look here. Before you all, I present a tale that comes before the great Mortality Cure, a time when Humans could only travel by stasis pods. All was ruled by Pilo, the great Corporation then, though we would see it change later on. There was even the rule of law enforced by the federals and not the rule of civility we know so well.

Perhaps this experience was catalogued, but now I have it recorded through the use of specially selected memory engrams so that all might experience the wonder of where it all began. It is the story of Betta’s Station, of Betta and Jadis, of Joy, and even Teena Maverick, of the Antogin, and Drafers.

And it all begins in the last gasps of Old Earth. By then it was a place of pestilence and decay. Much of our history was lost to the sentient viruses that ravaged what life dared to survive. In this place, pods were used to keep the young alive in the hopes that a cure would be found, that the war on disease and virus would be won. We know now that there was never any hope, but for one.

Chapter One

A New Start

T

here will come a time when everyone you know and love will be gone. Every person you’ve made a brief acquaintance or offered a passing glance will eventually die. All those brief temporary lives exist all around you and they will only exist for that time and no more.

This was the thought that swirled around Betta’s mind each time she woke from the stasis box on Old Earth. It was like she was a child again. Her mother would greet her and then her brothers would kiss her and they would play the day away. Those memories were the clearest, though she’d forgotten the sound of her mother’s voice and the faces of her siblings.

The memories came as the top of her stasis box on Arys-27 slid open. That moment when disorientation was at its worst and the mind was just catching up with the burst of adrenaline that woke her body. It was a dreamy sensation, like being half-asleep and half-awake all at once. Then it was gone, replaced by the blaring alarms of feds that needed her participation.

Operator Betta Reganta, the emotionless voice of a cybernetic agent repeated for what Betta could now reverse in her mind to be the third time. Please sign into your console and begin mission execution.

Betta sat up quickly, her body flushed and her dark skin slick with sweat as she eased herself out of the oval container and to the wall console. A chair rose to her standing position as though molded from the flawless white floor below her. She sat without preamble, immediately reviewing the particulars of this impromptu call-up.

A small smile touched her lips. This was it. Her last mission before she was given field clearance.

As if the agents were monitoring her thoughts, a slot opened near the console and a globular green sphere revealed itself with a straw sticking out.

Betta Reganta, your last scan revealed that you are lacking in important amino acids—

Grabbing the drink quickly, her eyes on the console, she muttered in between sips, I’m drinking, okay? See. Don’t tell me what you put in it. Ruins the romance.

The mechanical listing of ingredients faded away and Betta was finally able to concentrate fully on the work at hand.

Betta was familiar with the information that blurred across her console, her mind and eyes processing it faster than most humans. It was both a skill and a curse. Unlike the cybernetic agents, her eidetic memory was a natural phenomenon that had been with her since she awoke on Arys-27, smuggled in a box all the way from Old Earth. It was why the feds kept her isolated, why she had spent most of her youth in their care, only seeing her father on rare visits.

The report that ran across the screen mentioned possible black-market dealers in the orange district. Being a mining colony, areas in orange district were more unstable than others, besides red, which allowed for an opening where criminals could operate at risk. Still, they needed a means to communicate and the darkNet was their preferred means of doing so. This report focused on a Lyten clan, an alien species that resembled bears, but had equivalent, if not at times superior, intelligence to Humans. Infiltrating the criminal organizations were normally the duty of an operator, but most operators were Human, making infiltration in a Lyten clan difficult.

But according to what she was reading, there were at least two operators that were attempting reconnaissance in the more deserted and unstable areas. Betta sat up straight. They were requesting an immediate analysis of what they were seeing.

Linking into the first operator’s gear, Betta could see through his cybernetic eyes from her wall console. The image that was before her revealed a fully lit room with metallic flooring and walls. At the bottom of the screen the name Agent Lime flickered for a moment.

This is Black Tiger, she offered with an even broader smile. I’m linked.

Acknowledged, Black Tiger. Accessing playback.

The video reversed quickly, giving the impression that she was walking backward through the chamber, back around the two black cubes whose dimensions were immediately included in the video dump. Betta nodded, recognizing the manufacturer immediately. There was only one on Arys-27. The containers were advertised as one of the most secure and advanced in the galaxy.

Our Z Model Security containers can shield a variety of electronic gear whose frequencies will not make it past the container walls. Each container can also be custom fit for your convenience. Any scans, passive or intrusive, will alert the owner of the container. Any tracking material will initiate a static response that will neutralize any technological or biological— Betta cut off her recall of the advertisement.

Agent Lime, she said quickly. You need to find an exit. Now!

Understood. I’m placing a tracker now.

No—

Too late. Her screen went dark. A new agent appeared on the screen. His eye sockets were black, indicating combat mode, and flickering green dots infested the transparent skull dome above his olive forehead. The grey of his lips barely moved when he spoke, much like all the Enhanced Agents. They had no emotion, felt no pain, and existed in a universe that was all logic, algorithms, and carefully strategized violence.

Operator Reganta. An EMP has been detonated in the location of assets Lime and Lemon. Enhanced Agents are en route for extraction within two minutes and thirty-one seconds. Do you have your report complete?

While he had spoken, Betta’s fingers were moving quickly across the console in anticipation of his words. She’d managed to get a schematic of the security box through a darkNet interface. While she couldn’t operate or make contact with any real questionable activity, she could access what the feds considered noise. One of the most rebellious things a society of darkNet citizens could do would be to broadcast proprietary secrets in encrypted algorithms for pure entertainment. In seconds, Betta had enough to recognize and match the frequency of the Z Model Security Container. The report she passed to the agent on the screen with a swipe.

Once you’re close enough to the tracker, modify it to match this frequency and we can see where these containers are headed. I should be able to get a better idea of what they’re smuggling. Is there anything else, agent?

The green lights of the skull increased in ferocity and Betta was suddenly overwhelmed by a memory. The way her mind played and replayed the past was a constant distraction. Unless she kept a constant reign on her control, she would be taken through every detail of every day she had ever lived.

The entryway beeped.

It was too early for the miners to return. Only on holidays, or when there was a problem in production did they arrive early, and usually there was some warning.

Betta wasn’t tall enough to see through the windows at the top of the sealed doors. Instead, she climbed one of the bunks and looked down the corridor to see masked men with pulse rifles scurrying toward her position.

What gripped and froze her to the spot was something close to absolute terror. For a moment, she only shook, watching the men get closer, their movements organized, staring down the long halls before the entryway doors that led to the bunks.

What was the point of accessing the bunks? There was nothing for them to take here. This slowed her racing heart a fraction. Maybe they were looking to rob the other shops and areas that were connected. Who could she call? Daddy wouldn’t be able to reach her from the Red District. The only way she could contact him was through the console, and his responses were always slow. In three cycles, she’d never left the bunks, and she didn’t really know where she could hide in the facility, or who to trust, even if she could leave the sealed doors.

With a tight nod, she knew there was only one way out. Betta ran to the console and placed a call to the local feds on Arys-27. Immediately, a man, his eyes devoid of white, only black, popped up on the console. A transparent cap where his hair and skull should be, flickered with different shades of blue dots.

I read an incursion in your area. Are you contacting us to report the incursion as improper? His emotionless voice startled her.

Betta tried to speak, but the words were trapped. She grunted, clearing her swollen throat. I’m in Bunk Area C, in the Yellow District, she whispered softly. They have rifles--

The final entryway beeped and Betta ran to the other end of the chamber, not bothering to stay near the console or hear the response of the feds. She climbed under one of the far bunks, curled into a ball, and shut her eyes tightly.

The electronic doors slid half-way open before they slammed to a stop. Several figures in black flak suits rushed into the room, green lasers sweeping the room before someone announced, I’ve got something on the far end. Might be a Hyn, no weapons. Come on out or I shoot. You! Under the bunk.

Console’s open. Another announced, Looks like they called the feds.

A third figure slammed the console with the butt of his rifle. Betta rolled out of her hiding spot. She stood slowly.

You…you’d better…r-run! Her tongue got in the way of the words and she drew on some inner fire she’d never felt before. They’ll be here any second. Their response time is crazy!

She’s just a kid. The lead figure chuckled. Some idiot smuggled a kid on this fekjed planet. She’s right, though. Move out!

The figures behind the leader blurred out of her sight. Her mind, that part of her that felt separate since she exited the stasis pod she was smuggled in, identified these men as Enhanced.

Good luck, kid, but I think you just made it worse for yourself, the last man in the flak suit said. He too was gone in a streak of black.

Betta watched, mouth open, as the lines of black converged through the empty corridor, and then vanished. She looked back to the smoking console, then allowed her trembling legs the freedom to give out, falling to her knees. The pain barely registered.

When she looked up again, the chamber was filled with federal agents. The transparent blue caps and black body armor was difficult to focus on. Some form of camouflage, she suspected. Their rifles all pointed at Betta. At least a dozen blackened eyes studied her silently. She knew they communicated through secured frequencies that she could not perceive, so she waited quietly.

No longer afraid, though several rifles pointed at her head, Betta stood again. She studied the intense stare of the federal agents in turn. Their black sockets revealed nothing, but the increased flickering lights of their transparent skull caps hinted that something was happening. The excited dance slowed en-masse and the agents lowered their rifles. They formed lines on either side of her.

There was now an open path between the lines of armored men and women. A man in a dark blue suit with a matching tie and a styled hair-cut, walked slowly toward her. He was of olive-complexion, like most Humans she’d met on Arys-27, but his jaw was cut so precisely she thought it must be some artificial affectation.

The man smiled and his green irises reflected the glints of light that stood to either side.

And what might be your name, little one? he asked.

Betta, she replied.

Hmm. His green eyes moved with some inner light. I see. Daughter of George Perry Reganta. Betta was reported dead on Old Earth over a decade ago, along with George’s wife and two sons. Are there any other members of the Reganta family here?

Betta’s heart lurched at the news. She knew her mother must be dead, but she had held out hope that her brothers were alive, smuggled onto some other planet.

No. I don’t think even George could smuggle a whole family off Old Earth. Back-track the timeline. Look at the inventory on the transport vessel. Let’s see. She could see the pinpricks of greenish dots now moving in a flurry against his pupils. Oh yes. There it is. He laughed. An android stasis crate? Yet there are no registered androids on Arys-27. It’s…I have no words…risky? Your head okay, Betta? A ten-year journey in an android stasis crate. I can’t find any cases where the occupant didn’t go insane. If this is how your father--

My father is a great man! The words came to her mouth regardless of the voice in the back of her mind warning caution. He saved me! Pilo Corporation killed Momma . . . and my brothers. Daddy saved me!

The man blinked, the light vanishing behind his eyes. Pilo Corporation. Hmm. The light returned. Yes. Yes. That looks likely. Given the circumstances, I believe it does give us some room. Liability for their deaths, including your death, little one, is listed under Pilo Pharmaceuticals. Your father never accepted the settlement. This has led to an accrual and interest. Illegal transport, smuggling, and endangering a minor are possible charges we can lay against your father.

No, Betta said quietly.

Hmm. You know, Betta. Old Earth is like the old west these days. No one, and I mean no one, is allowed off-planet. The place is covered in plague. There’s no medication that can halt it. The viruses and bacteria have evolved to the point where a normal Human immune system cannot fight it. You’d most likely be dead or fighting for your life if George had not taken action. So, you are right, he did save you. In fact, he also wiped you clean by putting you in that stasis crate.

Betta felt an in-flux of pride for her father, tinged with guilt. Had she put him at risk by calling the feds? She eyed this man with his clean suit and handsome features. He studied her in turn. If her father was at risk, what was the point of talking to her?

What do you want from me? Betta asked.

In business, what is it that every person wants? he asked in return.

There are two schools of thought on what every person wants in business. Innovation is sometimes the answer, but the truth, and most popular answer, is more. It has always been the goal of business to acquire and gain more. Innovation is only one of the many seeds that can lead to growth. Betta was only partially surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth with a confidence she had never known. They were amongst a million others that whirled about on a constant loop that she suppressed and put to the part of her brain that was still in stasis, waiting.

The man lowered himself in a squat. Now they were eye to eye. And there we have it. Word for word from the Pilo Corporation Handbook. I wonder what other little founts of knowledge are hidden in there?

Taking a slow breath and sighing, the man studied her one last time. How would you like to come work for Pilo Corporation, Betta Reganta?

It was a fraction of second, though her recall brought wetness to her eyes. Betta gritted her teeth and faced the agent on the wall console that had suddenly started speaking. Her mind recalled the words so that she could respond.

You have performed your duty to the Federal Entity for mission fourteen thousand seven hundred and thirteen. Betta Reganta has achieved the rank of Field Operator by completing the prerequisite number of successful assignments. This is recorded in the Official Standard.

The stasis pod behind her closed abruptly and sank into the floor. At another section of the white room a crude bunk was molded. It was made of a pliant material that barely gave when she laid on it. Still, it was better than a box, and she’d had more than enough of boxes.

You have been green-lighted for a field assignment, Betta Reganta. Details will follow, the agent said in his mechanical voice. The screen vanished, replaced by the endless white walls that revealed no exit.

Betta moved to the bunk, laying back with a sigh and replaying the last memory of her mother in her head.

◆◆◆

Jadis Ter felt true freedom when he was swimming in the murky ponds of Sidesa Four. The oxygenated waters were calming and his gills didn’t itch like they did on land. It was harder for him to understand the speech of the reptilians when he was underwater, though he found understanding based on the scents and tastes they released into the water. It was also an easy place to hide his deformities, close his eyes, and pretend he was just like everyone else.

Bobbing up to the surface, he was greeted by the face of Sidesian royalty. Their green scales were slick from the moist air and glinting the purplish hue of the stars in the sky. They wore no clothing, which made Jadis even more of an outcast as he pulled on a robe to hide his misshapen body. He immediately huddled at the corner of the pool.

Several reptilians lay openly across the pond area, their scales drinking in the light radiation that came off the purplish stars. Most of them were children of the royal court, though, to any eyes besides a reptilian, it would be difficult to tell the royalty from the servants. The differences in scaling was subtle. Many of the servants lay at the outer edges, massive legs and arms clutching the cobbled stone, awaiting a call, or a wave, from a royal claw.

His best and only friend, D’yanna, crested the pool, crawled close to him, and collapsed in a heap.

I don’t know how you handle this heavy gravity. I cannot wait to get back aboard the Vesper, she said softly.

I suppose I was built for this,