Hero at Large Read online

  "Any chance of something hot? What time is it anyway?"

  "Afternoon. I'll see what I can find for you."

  "Thanks," I said, as she walked off.

  Lying in a hospital bed proved to be very boring. Especially with no PC. The room had no other entertainment facilities. So I had nothing to do but ponder events, while I waited for some food. After a time, someone came by with a tray, and I ate mechanically without really tasting anything.

  Nature called suddenly, I slowly got out of bed, and began the long trek to the attached bathroom, with slow deliberate steps. Being upright again, I found my left side was still sore, but not so much as would stop me getting about. I limped into the bathroom, and relieved myself. There I made the mistake of looking in the mirror. A stranger reflected back. Well, not so strange, but not what I was used to. The face looking back at me was no longer a kid anymore.

  "Back in bed." The voice of the nurse. "Doctor will be in to see you soon."

  I returned to bed, wincing a bit as I lay back down. Lying in bed was one thing, walking about seemed to be much different. The short excursion had left me feeling weak and sore.

  The doctor turned up about an hour later. He walked up to the bed without a word, and stood there with a blank look on his face. An obvious sign of using a PC. I waited for him to finish.

  "Ah, Mr. Hunter, how do you feel?" he said abruptly, as his eyes suddenly focused on me.

  "Not too bad doc," I said. "Where's my PC?"

  "It had to come out I'm afraid. You sustained a major blow to the head which damaged it. By the time you were admitted, it had almost failed. We were able to access it enough to determine it was an obsolete juvenile model, and removal was the only thing we could do. If it's any consolation, you're well enough now to get the implant done, so you can have a new one very soon."

  "Yes please. As soon as possible isn't soon enough. What happened to all the stuff I had in it?"

  "I believe the techs managed to download everything off it, so once the new one is in, most of it can be uploaded again before you wake up. Before that happens though, the Facility Administrator wishes to speak to you. You have choices to make about what kind of PC you want to have."

  The thought echoed around in my head for a few seconds, and mutated into a 'how will I pay for it' thought, followed by a 'how do I pay for this' thought, which I voiced.

  "Dr. Vincent will talk to you about that. Don't worry about it. There is a lot you need to catch up on, and quite a few people who want to see you."

  He headed for the door, stopped, and turned before going out.

  "You're a Hero. Enjoy this quiet time while it lasts, because you won't have much of it soon."

  He grinned at me, and left.

  I wore a very puzzled look for the next few hours. Hero? Me? What did I do? I'd survived a missile attack, killed someone, and woken up in a hospital. Hero? Why wasn't I in trouble for whoever I killed? None of it made any sense, so I stewed over it all, while I waited for more information.

  Dr. Vincent turned up eventually, with another man in some sort of uniform.

  "Mr. Hunter! Nice to meet you finally, you had us all very worried there for a while. I'm Dr. Vincent, Administrator here, and this is General Harriman, Commander of Sydney station."

  Both were tall thin men with grey hair. Both gave off an air of authority, but while Dr. Vincent wore a smile, General Harriman looked like he hadn't smiled since he was a kid. Pure military by the look of him. We had some of his sort at home, but lacking a real military, they were mainly found in the militia forces which enforced Outback's no access restrictions on all but five days of the year. Gaia didn't need a military as such. We had a very stable society. Outback was our front door, and kept people out. And in, as it happens.

  I nodded at both men, not knowing what to say.

  General Harriman nodded back.

  "You are Jonathon Hunter, resident of Outback Orbital, registered crewman on the freighter Wanderer?"

  I nodded again. This was not strictly true, as I was not a resident of Outback in any way, but Outback existed so everyone would think we were. And given Outback's isolationist policy, those who travelled, were by necessity, resident on the orbital station. He went on.

  "First let me say how sorry everyone is on the death of your Uncle. We only saw him once a year, but he had a good reputation here, and we're very sorry for what happened to him. On that note, it was unfortunate and very timely, that you came through the jump point when you did. Unfortunate that it cost your Uncle his life, but fortunate that you had the guts to take on a very nasty individual who has caused a great deal of death and destruction around here for months now. I will send you details of who it was you took out for us, and you can read all about it after your new PC is installed. A lot of people here want to thank you. For now, we're providing security to see you remain undisturbed until the doctors allow you to leave. Once you're up and about again, make an appointment to come and see me, and we can talk more. For now, I'll leave you with the doctors."

  He held out his hand, and we shook.

  "Thank you Mr. Hunter, get well, and come and see me soon."

  With that, he turned and left.

  Dr. Vincent still had a goofy smile on his face as he watched the General depart. Then suddenly he was all business.

  "You, Mr. Hunter, have been interesting, medically speaking. According to Outback Orbital, you are sixteen years old. Yet by the standard age test, you are eighteen. This does not fit with being a native of Outback. Care to explain this anomaly?"

  This wasn't one of the things we had prepared standard answers to, so I just gave him a blank look, and hoped he would move on. He did.

  "No? Well the standard age test says you're an adult, so we can go ahead with an adult PC implantation. Now as the General alluded to, you will not need to worry about the cost of the PC, its implantation, or in fact your entire stay here. All the medical facilities in this system have suffered loss of equipment and personnel from the attacks of the pirate you killed, and as thanks for your actions, we are jointly covering your medical costs. I see you are relieved, so I must assume you do not have much in the way of medical cover back home, or available funds."

  He had that right. I had the basic cover for ship crews, which did not include replacement of PC's. He grinned at me.

  "I don't think you'll be worrying about credits very much for the foreseeable future, as we're not the only ones wanting to thank you."

  That seemed a bit enigmatic, but I let it pass.

  "So, young sir, your PC? What will you require or prefer?"

  We talked over the various models available, and I chose the top of the line PC most pilots used, which gave the most flexibility for add-ons, including some military ones, if you could get hold of them.

  With the decision made, he put me back to sleep, so the procedure could be carried out immediately.

  Three

  It was morning when I awoke. Apparently they'd let me go into a normal sleep after the PC implantation. I sat up slowly, decided that was a bad idea, and sank back to my pillow.

  Basic PC functions were available, and there was a big "Begin Configuration" question showing. This took me through a series of menus and questions where I confirmed data from my old PC, and added in information. I confirmed 'Planet of Origin' as Outback, and the discrepancy between Outback age and Standard age.

  This is quite common. Standard age is based on Earth time, but very few planets rotate the same as Earth. So ages were normally stored with both the home planet age, and standard age. Two years difference was not normal for someone home planet aged sixteen, but no-one was supposed to know I was not actually born on Outback, and it did happen often enough to be nothing more than a curiosity. It was standard age which mattered out in the real galaxy.

  There were a lot of new features, and I skimmed through them without setting them up, figuring I'd have plenty of time later.

  As I was coming to the end of t
hings, a nurse appeared, and told me I was being released into the charge of a Lieutenant, who was to take me to see the General. She took a last look at the bruising down my left side, advised me to take things easy for the next week or so as I continued to heal, and to come back if I had any problems. The bruising would start to go away after the pain subsided.

  I limped into the bathroom, showered, and changed back into my ship clothes, which had been cleaned. The nurse returned, and led me to administration, where I signed the release forms, and saw a zero in the amount to pay box. Everyone was very polite, and happy I was back on my feet.

  The paperwork complete, a young Lieutenant, only a few years older than me, took charge of me, and led me out of the medical facility, and along the main corridor to the lifts. He stabbed a level number, and I saw his eyes glaze for a moment, presumably pulsing a security code to the elevator control, to override rejection of the level.

  "Military levels must have clearance to gain entry," he said.

  It made sense. No military was noted for allowing civilians to wander around.

  He led me along what seemed a maze of corridors, me limping along a lot slower than my normal stride, he being patient with my lack of speed. Eventually we arrived at the General's office. I took the opportunity to sit down and rest, and really needed it. After a short wait, the receptionist told me to go in.

  The General greeted me in a friendly way, and proceeded to offer me a place in the Australian sector Military Cadet Corp. As unexpected as it was, it was also easy to say no.

  The "Darkness" was coming, and I knew from my dreams, that when it did, I was not wearing a military uniform. At least, not a recognizable one. While I still did not understand my dreams, I'd had them all my life, and there had been some alluding to 'Prophesy' when talking about them. As yet, I had no idea what it meant, but I did know joining the Australian sector military was not my future.

  The recruitment speech over, he went over some details about the pirate I'd killed. Louis "The Pig" Santiago had been a failed military officer for one of the near Earth sector fleets. After being imprisoned, from where he promptly escaped, he formed his own pirate group. Over the years, they'd been pushed further and further out along the spine, until three months ago, they'd started raiding the Australian sector.

  Being both a highly skilled combat pilot, and arrogant, he tended to hunt alone. No-one knew where his base was, or how many were in his group. But they'd been very effective in reducing the sector to almost no fighter forces. I voiced the question why, and the General seemed embarrassed for a moment.

  The answer was a little scary. There hadn't been a major war in over a hundred years, and even so, it hadn't reached the Australian sector. The government routinely underfunded the sector military because they didn't think one was really necessary, which explained why a civilian station was run by a military officer, since funds didn’t rate building a military only station.

  It didn’t explain the attrition of fighters though, until he pointed out the pirates were flying heavy fighters, and the sector had only had medium ones. The Australian ships were outclassed, and obsolete, but cheaper to build, especially so since they were mainly used in a police role, with no expectation of serious combat. Not to mention the lack of funding for pilot training. The good pilots had died first, while the pirates had hunted in squadron strength, and most of the rest had been picked off one or two at a time. By the time I’d met him, Santiago had been hunting alone for a month, and every single pilot who'd taken him on, was now dead. Until he met me.

  The remaining pilots had been formed into a single squadron, and were flying as escort for the single remaining Corvette, which was also obsolete. And they were now on the opposite side of the sector, apparently chasing ghosts. They didn’t have the speed to be everywhere needed, and the pirates were making the most of it.

  And suddenly they were leaderless. Thanks to me.

  It was all very interesting, but I hadn't really met Santiago, so couldn't feel anything for him one way or another. Yes, I had killed him, but as the General put it, he'd died of 'Suicide by kid', with no fault but his own.

  On a darker note though, the General did go on to say there had been some general death threats levelled in my direction, which was worrying, but difficult to take on. I was just a kid who got lucky, why would anyone threaten me? The General was concerned enough to offer me several military upgrades for my PC. Since he had no doubt I would continue flying, he offered me the standard upgrades all pilot cadets were given. I accepted gratefully. We went through the upload process, and a new menu appeared. I'd check it out later.

  With a last warning to be careful, we shook hands, and I exited his office to find the same Lieutenant waiting for me. He escorted me to the lifts, and showed me in, remaining outside as the door closed.

  Once inside the lift, I stopped. Where was I going? As if to answer that, a reminder message popped up, with a reservation at the Sydney station hotel. I hadn't known I had a reservation. It must have been added while the PC was being installed. I accepted the routing offer, and my PC sent a level five request to the lift. When the doors opened, I limped out, and set off towards the hotel. This part of the station was all retail shops, and while I definitely needed to go shopping, I also knew I couldn't afford to. So I made my way as the routing guided me.

  As I passed a side corridor, I was suddenly flung off my feet, to land heavily on my left side.

  Pain lanced through me once again, and a groan escaped before I could help myself. A shadow fell over me, and I looked up. Two men stood over me, both with guns pointed at me.

  "Not much of a hero, is he? Just a kid," said the tall one.

  "Pint sized hero," said the short one.

  "Hero to zero," added the tall one.

  "Hero to some, target practice to others," went on the short one. "What did the boss call him?"

  "Hero at large," said tall. "Small hero if you ask me. Ex-hero. Now kid, you just lie there, and let me put you out of your…"

  Both of them went flying, to land down the passage a way. I turned my head around to look at them in amazement, lying there unmoving. That hurt, so I turned my head back to just looking up. Two figures appeared in my vision. I did a double take, and started wondering if I had brain damage again.

  Standing over me was a girl. She was of average height, short dark hair, piecing blue eyes, dressed all in slinky black, with a gun holster on her right thigh. Next to her was an exact double. I shook my head, and again regretted the movement. Two hands extended towards me. Not knowing which hand was real, and which was the illusion, I raised both hands figuring that one of them would be right. Both of my hands were taken and I was gently hauled upright.

  I looked at them dumbly for a minute, looking back and forth between them.

  "There really are two of you?" I asked

  Both of them smiled identical smiles at me.

  "Of course there is, silly," said the left one. "We're twins. I'm Amanda, this is Aleesha. Sorry for the delay getting them off you, but they had buddies we had to go through to get to you."

  "Buddies?"

  I wished I knew what was going on.

  "We need to get you out of here," said Aleesha. "Station security will be along before these bozos come to, and our responsibility is your safety, not their questions. It's all on station cam anyway, so they don't really need us."

  "You're headed to the hotel?" asked Amanda.

  "Yes," I replied. "I don't know why, but I have a reservation there."

  "Lots for you to find out, so let's get you there before anyone else has a go at you."

  The girls took station in front and behind me, and we headed off as a conga trio, me being the one not able to walk a straight line.

  No one else had a go at me. Not surprising though, given my companions, since while they were not big, they gave off 'tough' vibes the same way the General had given off 'authority' vibes.

  I made a mental note never to get t
hem upset at me.

  Four

  The lobby of the hotel was typical, not that I had any experience of such. I'd seen some photos of prominent chain hotels in some of the junk mail I received, and come to think of it, this was one of those featured. We approached the check-in counter, and the girls changed positions to protect me.

  The clerk at the counter smiled at me.

  "You wish to check in sir?" he asked.

  "I believe I have a reservation," I said. "Jonathon Hunter."

  The clerk's manner changed dramatically.

  "Welcome Mr. Hunter," he purred. "Please come this way to the manager's office, so we can settle you in more comfortably."

  He indicated the way deferentially. I cast a glance at the girls. Amanda nodded to me, and immediately followed the clerk. Aleesha took up a position where she could see all the sight lines. I followed Amanda. 'Cute arse' I thought, momentarily distracted, and pulled my focus back as we entered a plush fitted office. The manager stood behind his desk as we entered, and Amanda took a position against the wall by the door.

  "Mr. Hunter, welcome, welcome. Please sit down." I sat. "Your suite will be ready momentarily." My suite? "We hope you'll remain as our guest for as long as you wish. Please don't concern yourself with the bill, as it will be taken care of by the Hotels Association, in appreciation of your wonderful public service."

  I looked at him.

  "Err," I stammered.

  "Mr. Hunter, no false modesty please. You have rid us of a plague which has cost all hotels in this sector a great deal, and we wish to give this small token of our appreciation."

  There was a quiet knock on the door, and the clerk from before entered, crossed to the manager, and handed him something. He exited immediately. The manager came over to me.

  "Please send a code to this device, so you can enter your suite." I did so, storing the code away in a code slot in the PC. "Thank you. You are in suite 12, and Jason outside will escort you. I do so hope you enjoy your stay, and please let me know if there is anything we can do for you."