Chapter 2

El-Dorado in the clouds

El-Dorado. That's the name of that run-down mining city we ended at while chasing after Billy. I'm saying city, but it's really only a few kilometers in diameter, carved out of the surround rock. Not much more than an insignificant cavern. All that surrounding rock is in fact a rocky mass floating within the gas super-giant Auram IV, in the upper layers of the heavy atmosphere. That gives to El-Dorado quite a different feel than the typical asteroid settlement. 

Our ship, the Outlaw Star, however, isn't parked here in El-Dorado but on the planet's first satellite, Rio Grande. Since El-Dorado is located within the dense, high-pressure atmosphere of a gas planet, a spaceship attempting to reach it would end up torn appart and blown away by the fierce winds. Therefore there is no spaceport in El-Dorado, and access to the city is only possible via a ridiculously long space elevator operated from Rio Grande via a tether (a hanging cable) linking the two. 

In fact, a long time ago El-Dorado itself had been lowered from Rio Grande to its current position into the Auram IV atmosphere using that tether, which has been kept and repurposed as a support for the space elevator. The rocky mass making up El-Dorado is an asteroid that got captured at some point by Auram IV's gravitational field. If left as-is, the asteroid would have simply eventually fell into Auram IV and that would have been the end of it. But the boss of some mining corporation noticed that, firstly, its orbit was close to that of the first satellite, Rio Grande. Secondly, that Rio Grande's orbit happened to be almost aligned with Auram IV's equatorial geostationary orbit. So he decided to invest all its capital into building a tether out of super-resistant fiber and link up the two celestial bodies. He then had an array of GCUs installed in order to control El-Dorado's gravity, allowing the adjustment of the twin bodies' orbits, all the while the tether was slowly extended in order to lower El-Dorado into Auram IV's atmosphere. 

Of course, by now, both El-Dorado's and Rio Grande's orbits have stabilized. From the planet's point of view, the linked-up pair must look, from the equator, like a thin elongated stick not affixed to anything, pointing out towards space. El-Dorado and Rio Grande would seem like the two tips of a cheerleader's stick, the stick hanging in equilibrium in Auram IV's gravitational field at the geostationary orbit's position. There's an ancient novel from Earth called 'The Spider's Thread'. The one that has seen countless remakes played on Holo-video. In that novel, there's a really thin spider thread that is being lowered from Heavens to the bottom of Hell. From the point of view of an outside observer, the tether that disappears into Auram IV's raging atmosphere must feel very similar to the thread in that story. In the story, dead people are assembling at the lower end in an attempt to ascend to Heaven, and in El-Dorado's case, it's like a prisoner hanging endlessly from that lower end, inside the hell of Auram IV's atmosphere.

The reason why the mining corporation undertook such crazy construction work is because of the vast mining resources lying in Auram IV (though in this case, 'scooping up' might better describe the operations than 'mining'). Gas giants, with their thick, dense atmosphere and strong gravity, is a treasure trove for materials like deuterium (use to power fusion reactors) and heavy metals (used by all sorts of chemical industries). Their exploitation is dangerous, but the rewards can be great. So despite its high construction cost, El-Dorado should have offered a relatively safe base of operation for accessing all these resources. But in this world, things never go smoothly. In the end, El-Dorado couldn't lead to the discovery of any significant deposit of either rare or heavy metals. They do extract hydrogen and deuterium to sell as burning fuel, so it's not a complete failure, but they didn't really hit jackpot either. The wave of miners that initially made their way here seems to have vanished just like water retracts at low tide. The town in its current desolate state is one step short of becoming a ghost town. Certainly, the only reason it hasn't already happened, is that it's only a 5-day trip via sub-ether drive from the big cities of the Heyfong star system.

El-Dorado. A Spanish name meaning 'City of gold'. It comes from ancient times when Spanish people were relentlessly searching for this mysterious city, dreaming of making a fortune. In the end, no such place existed on earth. Then came the space exploration age, with the development of faster-than-light travel. And as soon as people started to spread past the solar system, many started to chase the same dream all over again. But wait, in my current situation, I'm in no position to lose myself in such sentimentality. 

"But I'm the one who found him first!"

"I don't know about that."

"And I'm the one who knocked him out first!"

"I didn't see that."

"You, on the other hand, all you did was to take down that battle-droid."

"That's irrelevant."

"...!"

Whatever I say, Suzuka just flatly refutes my affirmations, to a point it made me so angry I'm at a loss for words. If I were to look at myself in a mirror right now, I bet I'd see veins popping out on my temples. 

"Big-bro, how about you continue this discussion after he's been handed over to the police? This is getting embarrassing."

Jim said, while dangling Billy's handcuffs' chain. Billy is still sitting on the ground in a confused state. We're all still in the middle of that large, empty street, and I've been arguing with Suzuka about the reward split. 

"Instead, why don't we find a place to calmly discuss all that over a tea? Come on, let's do that."

Melfina suggesting this, while opening up a sun umbrella with a flowery pattern, to shield from the glaring lighting. Not that I care, but from where in the world does this umbrella come from, all of a sudden?! Though now that I think of it, the environment preservation systems are really malfunctioning here... it's so hot! It's so bright! It's so dry! For an artificial biosphere, the environmental conditions are really crap. 

"Come on, let's look for a police station."

Jim keeps insisting, and it makes me lose it.

"Shut up now! I'm really getting fed up with all this. Besides, even if we don't deliver him ourselves, it looks like they're coming to pick him up anyway."

"What?"

We could hear a rumble from down the street, then an old, weathered biked appeared, heading our way. That's not the sound of an electric engine. It sounds battered, but it's definitely the sound of a high-thrust hydrogen engine. The coating on the bike itself is all but gone, you couldn't even tell which color it used to be. The guy riding it, with his open-collar white shirt and his beige bermuda shorts, looks more like a lifeguard than a policeman. Only the silver metallic star pinned on his chest shows what he really is. He stopped his bike just in front of us and turned our way, still sitting on the saddle. His hair is graying, something we can see because, even though he's a policeman, he's not even wearing a helmet. His face, well-tanned and with deep wrinkles, has a general expression of life experience. 

So he's dressed resort-style and even wearing sandals, but does have a holster on his waist holding a raygun, and there's a beam rifle attached to his bike frame. Both are high-caliber weapons, and if you look closely, both are also properly polished. His sloppy appearance is probably just a smokescreen. Despite his relative age he has no belly, and visible muscles on arms and legs. But above all, the fact that he stopped the bike in a place where he can see us all, and is sitting on a idling engine ready to go anytime, shows that he's a pro. 

"So, what's all the fuss here?"

He asked, looking at me, in an even lower and broken voice than I thought. 

"A kid with toy got too exited and caused a bit of destruction, I guess."

I pointed as Billy, keeping my gaze on the new guy. He glimpsed quickly at Billy, and I couldn't overlook a small change in his feigned indifferent expression.

"So you're.. bounty-hunters then?"

The guy said, in a similarly-feigned relaxed tone. 

"And you are?"

I replied, though I hate this kind of poker-faced exchanges. But in this case, I have no choice but to try to find out his intentions. 

"I'm Hawks, this town's sheriff."

After he introduced himself, Suzuka walked to him and said, pointing at Billy:

"I'm handing over Billy McLaglen, accused of serial killing, with criminal ID 10283H25. Please take custody of him and hand over the reward promptly."

"I have to refuse."

"What?!"

I could see the hand Suzuka is holding her sword with getting whiter from tightening its grip. 

"This city isn't part of the FTS union's treaty about extradition of criminals."

Wow, this old guy really doesn't fear for his life. I gently put a hand on Suzuka's shoulder and bring up a warm smile, in an attempt to defuse the situation. At this rate, this will degenerate into another bloody clash. 

"Then will you at least take custody of him of the killings he's done right here? Then we'll try to find a union peace officer and figure out how to proceed about the bounty."

Even if they're not part of the treaty, if we can get some official from the union's army or a union peace officer to shows up, there's no way they won't cooperate.

"Is there any proof of the alleged crimes?"

"I'm an eye-witness."

"That's not really sufficient though.. I need tangible proof."

"All the proofs are lying down under that pile of rubble."

"Now that's quite a scene of destruction.. how am I supposed to get anything out of there?"

"Just use a crane or something. Say, how about doing your job, Mr. police agent?"

Jim intervened. Sounds like he's getting fed up too. 

"Are you the legal guardian of this brat?"

The sheriff said to me, without even giving at a look at Jim.

"What if I am?"

"You should crank the discipline a notch."

"Well sorry then, he's actually my partner, and I don't have a habit of getting involved when my partner has something to say."

The sheriff had one more look at us all, then shrugged. 

"You're just a bunch of kids trying to act tough I guess. If you're that crazy kid's partner, then that's a good match."

"A bunch of kids trying to act tough..? Do you even know about Billy McLaglen there?"

"The fact that you just rushed to this city with the little information you gathered is proof enough of your amateurishness." 

"For future reference, why don't you share some of that knowledge we lack, then?"

Just as I said that, we started to hear frantic screaming:

"Die! Die! All of you just die!"

Billy said in a roaring laughter. Look like he finally came to his senses. 

"Die! Die! I kill anyone getting in my way!"

Maybe he got one or two screws loose after that huge blow on the head. 

"This city isn't a place where outsiders like you can just come in and turn things upside down."

The sheriff said, completely ignoring Billy, then continued:

"In this city, the founding family holds all the power. Every particle of oxygen or water, every joule of energy, belongs to them. Nobody here, me included, would betray them."

"What's your point? Just as you said, we're outsiders, so all this doesn't really concern us."

"Do you know the name of the elder of this founding family, the person who owns the mining corporation that built this city?"

"Who would that be?"

"Oh, I know that name. That would be Howard McLaglen", Jim said.

"Right, and what's his name?", the sheriff asked Jim, pointing at Billy.

"Billy... McLaglen. Are they related or something?"

"The elder Howard has three sons, Billy is the youngest. It may be because he got him at an old age, but he's really doting on Billy."

So enough to cover for him even as Billy went on a killing spree...

"Ouahahah, if my old man gets angry, you're all dead meat. You too, sheriff. I'm in this awful situation and you're there having a chat with these idiots. Do something, right now! If you don't, I'll ask my pops to burn the entire law enforcement office to the ground, you incompetent moron!"

A madman, and with a father complex. Give me a break.

"Ms. Suzuka, I have something to ask of you, if you'll hear me."

"What might it be this time, Mr. Gene?"

"Can you make this idiot shut up?"

"Even if you didn't ask..."

A swing of Suzuka's kendo sword ended on the back of Billy's head with a thud, and he fell face-first to the ground in a cloud of sand dust.

"Wow, that was quite a sound."

"He's not dead, is he?"

Jim and Melfina are looking gingerly at Billy's back. 

"I don't slay people who's hands are tied."

Suzuka replied, in an offended tone, although she, too, looked at Billy's back with a hint of worry on her face. 

"Maybe I overdid it?"

"Don't worry, he got what he deserved. Humanity doesn't produce bigger idiots."

Saying so, I picked up Billy's body and loaded him on my back.

"What do you plan to do?", Suzuka asked.

I'm bringing him back to Heyfong on the Outlaw Star. If this city won't do, there's no choice but to go looking for an FTS peace officer that will take him in."

"Why on the Outlaw Star?"

"Haven't you heard our friend the sheriff? If we just go wait for the next transport from Rio Grande, Uncle Howard's goons will be on our back right away and it could get messy. If we use our ship, we'll be out of here in no time."

Jim stepped in to try to calm down Suzuka's raising anger. Thanks partner, nice backup! I added:

"Suzuka, while I have no doubt some countryside thugs would be no match for you, there's no need to get into trouble that doesn't bring any money right? So instead, how about we split the reward equally?"

"I want 70%."

"You must be joking."

"...60%."

"Jim, maybe we forget about the reward after all and just get out of here?"

"Right... I guess it's a bad thing to try to reap with rewards of someone else's work."

"......gngnn...... alright, we can split equally."

Yes!!

"Oh, so you'll be travelling back with us Ms. Suzuka. The more the merrier. Ms. Suzuka, on our way, will you be able to teach me how to make that Japanese dish from last time?"

Melfina is also happy, although for an entirely different reason. 

"Look, I won't say anything. Leave Billy here and get out of this city. If you leave now you can still make it. Otherwise..."

More ominous announcements from the sheriff. But apparently he seems genuinely concerned for us. He looks quite capable and no coward, I wonder why he's blindly submitting to the McLaglen family bunch and playing sheriff in such a gloomy city. 

"Otherwise.. what? Is Billy's old man some kind of monster or something?"

"Just do as you please."

The sheriff said with a sigh. 

"That's exactly what I'm planning to do!"

Saying so, I started heading for the elevator base in a hurried pace, followed by Jim and Melfina. Suzuka is slowly following suit, keeping her eyes on the sheriff. Even if she's always careful but nature, that's just overdoing it.

"Hey, kid!"

The sheriff hailed me from behind.

"Can I at least get your name?"

"It's Gene. Gene Starwind."

Then I made a broad smile and added:

"They also call me Gene the outlaw star. Remember that!"