Chapter Forty-Four - Callisto Incoming

Callisto was definitely one of the easiest moons in the Jovian sector to grab onto. The moon was quite large, slightly larger than Earth's own Moon, and it had a wide orbit that flung it out far from the planet it was attached to.

This didn't mean that it was the farthest moon from Jupiter. There were some two dozen other piss-poor little rocks that clung onto that title, but none of those were really worthy of notice.

The ugly truth was that Callisto, despite its size and favourable orbit, had suffered from success.

The moon's wide orbit kept it relatively far from Jupiter itself, though the massive gas giant still dominated the sky from the moon's surface. But that just meant that the moon was easy to grab onto, that it was one of the easiest destinations to get to in the Jovian system and that the number of transients there was at an all-time high.

Callisto's government liked to paint it as the port moon of Jupiter, where cargo and passengers and tourists from all across the solar system would first see the glories and beauty of the Jovian system up close.

The other moons of Jupiter called it by similar but far more derogatory names. The Hobo Hub, the Drifter's Drop-Off, the Leechport, the Begger's Dock.

Through no fault of the moon's own, no one from Jupiter wanted to live on Callisto. Its reputation had had three generations to grow and solidify into what it was now, and it was sticking firm. Those who did move there were attracted by the simple manual labour jobs, the low cost of living, and the constant movement of souls through the moon, giving them an incredible edge when it came to remaining anonymous.

A certain subset of the population valued that.

The Sappho and the Held Together approached at a decent clip, both of them flying towards the moon rear-first, with the occasional burst of thrust slowing them down as they went.

They were close enough now that they had to start seriously thinking about landing manoeuvres, that was, if they planned on landing on the moon's surface.

"I'm telling you, it's better to make it to one of the stations," Missy said. "This ship here can land on the moon no problem. I'm sure it's got the thrust to take off again, and it's got decent ventral thrust, but the Held Together? Yeah, no, there's no way she can handle that kind of manoeuvring, not in the state she's in."

"I'm not disagreeing about that," Aurora said. "I'm just saying that if we are going to pick a station, then can we please pick one that's not so... questionable? Truly, the Driftwood Depot?"

"The Driftwood's good," Missy said with a nod.

"It's ancient," Aurora said. "And everything I can pick up about it on the internet suggests that it had a reputation that's far from stellar."

"Why do you want to go there, Missy?" Ivil asked. As soon as she spoke, the bridge went silent. Not that it was overly loud before, but both Missy and Aurora had gifts when it came to filling space, at least, when they were in that kind of mood. Ivil shifted on her captain's seat, then ceased. She didn't need anyone to know how awkward she felt at that moment.

There was a lot of awkwardness going around at the moment. All of the women on the ship were now aware of her goals, and they each took the news differently. Missy was eyeing Ivil whenever she thought she wouldn't be noticed, Aurora was trying to strike up conversations about increasingly esoteric subjects, and Twenty-Six... just blushed a lot and made herself scarce whenever they were alone in a room, otherwise she was pretty normal.

Missy hummed. "Driftwood's kind of a lawless shithole of a station, but it's big. Lots of shady sorts prefer it, which I think makes it perfect for us. It's not the cheapest station either, but for a small tip or two you can have people just not ask questions when you come in."

"That sounds like exactly the kind of place that would be watched the most," Aurora said.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Missy said. "But Driftwood knows that, so they're pretty good about misinformation and shit. Government types always think that they're slick, but most of the time it's pretty damned clear when someone's in their pocket and that makes it easy to feed them all sorts of bullshit."

Aurora frowned, but didn't deny it. "That might actually explain a few things. There are a few... locations of ill-repute on Phobos that we were never able to penetrate with our intelligence apparatus. We always have to rely on locals, and the information we gain is always of questionable veracity."

"I see," Ivil said. "Well, I suppose that it's not the worst location to arrive in. I imagine there will be facilities for both the Sappho and the Held Together?"

"There should be," Missy said.

"Space for what?" came from the entrance into the bridge. Ivil glanced back at where Twenty-Six was slipping into the room. She smiled slightly and gave Ivil a little wave. "What are we talking about?"

"We're stopping at Driftwood," Missy said.

"Oh! I love Driftwood," Twenty-Six said. "You can see so many cool ships there! I mean, you'll see a new one, here and there, but there are so many old ships too. I don't think there are too many other stations around Jupiter where you'll see such a big range! It's fantastic for shipwatching."

"You're a shipwatcher?" Aurora asked.

"Uh-huh!" Twenty-Six said. "My dream is to see each and every ship ever made! Well, no, I guess that's a bit of a silly dream, isn't it?"

Ivil felt her chest constricting. She determined that she would soon buy one of every ship, then gift them to Twenty-Six. And if the Earth Alliance was unhappy about her purchasing one of every warship they made, then she'd just take them.

She was getting ahead of herself, they hadn't even arrived yet, not that she was in any hurry. There was a looming sense that arriving on Callisto would be the end of something. It would likely be the start of something as well, but she wasn't sure of what. The uncertainty displeased her, and yet she found herself comfortable in the current status quo.

Missy and Twenty-Six turned the discussion towards which docking facility to use. Twenty-Six had opinions about the quality of repairs they could find, and was surprisingly more vocal than usual when it came to picking a good team for that kind of work.

Ivil stood from the captain's seat and gently walked to Aurora's side. The young woman was looking at some information on the communication's computer, specifically about Driftwood. "Find anything interesting?" she asked.

Aurora started, then glanced back with a nod. "Yes. Well, somewhat interesting. Driftwood really does have the kind of reputation that Missy alluded to, but I wanted to know more anyway. Have you ever heard of it?"

"I can't say that I have," Ivil said. "I've flown past Jupiter a few times, and I've stayed near it as well, but never in any of the less... reputable stations."

"Right. I've been here too, but always on Ganymede, or one of its stations. That's where most of the local moons have embassies."

"And it's where this big meeting will be taking place?" Ivil asked.

Aurora nodded. "That's right. We still have some time. I expected to arrive early, before most of the other representatives."

"Oh?" Ivil asked.

"To have time to meet with as many of them as possible, and because I imagined that most of the infighting and assassination attempts would happen later on, once the various intelligence agencies start moving. If I came before they had time to prepare, then I could be here, hiring the best guards and preparing myself long before they have time to start plotting anything."

"You truly don't trust the other moons," Ivil said.

"Have I been wrong so far?" Aurora asked, sounding a little haughty. She dropped the act with a slight smile a moment later. "I know politics, Miss Ville. Just as much as I know that this station here is a deathtrap."

Ivil glanced at the screen. It had a history of Driftwood on it. A look was enough to read the entire screen and understand it. Driftwood wasn't one station, it was thirty-four stations, all gathered together in one spot and interlinked together. The name was somewhat poetic for a place that only existed because two stations drifted so close together that their owners decided to merge them.

"It's going to be an interesting place, at the very least," Ivil said. "I don't know if it's the kind of place where I ever dreamed of going on a date, though."

"Well, if you want that date to end with a bit of backstabbing, maybe," Aurora muttered.

***