Chapter 3: Recruitment

Ryan goes away for a special treatment. Davy finds out about his family's tax.

“What're you doing here?” Cal asked me, clearly annoyed that our paths had crossed again.

I jumped to my feet in surprise, then glared at her. “I was about to ask you the same thing.” She seemed to want to say something, but thought better about it. Instead, she shook her head and crossed to the Intensive Care ward. “You can't go in there,” I warned even as she opened the door. She ignored me and went in anyways.

She came out a few minutes later with the second Head Medic in tow. He was a few years older than me, kind of young to be a doctor but professional nonetheless. “Mrs. Zairian?” the stranger asked, coming over to where we sat, “I'm Doctor Joshua Chase, from Raider Corporation.”

“How is he? How's my boy?” Mrs. Zairian still spoke with authority, but a wavering note had crept into her tone, as though she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

The medic knelt down in front of her, to speak on her level. “Not good, I'm afraid,” he told us, his sky-blue eyes staring directly into her brown hues, “He's still under heavy sedation, but we had to put him on an oxygen tank. He might not last the night.” I was getting sick of them reminding us of that.

Mrs. Zairian gave a shuddering sigh, resigned to her worry. I was still wondering what Cal and the Corps had to do with this, but my query could wait while they gave us the news.

“We understand that he was offered a job with Raider Corporation, to be paid on commission for our Robotic Engineering labs?” Dr. Chase pressed, consulting a clipboard that he'd brought out.

“No,” she replied, “they were still working on the contract. There were issues with his age, but he's really a bright boy, quite able to do anything they want him to...” she trailed off as the doctor waited her out.

When she was done, he told her, “Ryan has been cleared for an experimental procedure for a special section of Raider Corps, known commonly as the Directive. It could not only save his life, but fix his motor damage and vision. It's a risky operation, but if it works he'd be better than new. Being experimental, Raider Corps will cover the cost �" I just need you to sign a waver for us to begin.”

Ryan's mom looked stunned. She didn't reply, so Grandpa Zairian asked the obvious question: “What's the catch?”

Cal answered that one. “He would be under contractual obligation to work for Raider Corps for a period spanning no shorter than five years, starting from the time he turns seventeen. In the meantime, he would be given commission for any other projects asked of him, and would have no obligation for those.”

“The procedure would take three operations, the first one starting tonight and then once yearly for the next two years,” Dr. Chase added. “He'll need to be kept in the Medical Center here for at least a few weeks, but this first operation is the most chancy.”

Jesse looked calculating, even though his face was still drained of color. “What do you mean?” he asked, “About this first one being the most chancy? What about the other two?”

The medic looked him straight in the eye as he answered. “The odds of your brother surviving the night on his own are not in his favor. The chance of him surviving the first procedure is more than fifty-fifty, in his favor. If he does survive, then the following procedures have about as much danger as a tonsillectomy. It's tonight you need to worry about.”

“But why Ryan? What makes him so special?” Jesse asked.

Cal pounced on that question. “This is a unique opportunity that Raider Corps is trying to take advantage of,” she responded, “Ryan, being only fifteen, has a higher chance of survival than an adult with this procedure. There isn't anybody else we can try this with.”

“So you're just using my brother as a guinea pig?”

“I don't care,” Mrs. Zairian spoke up sharply, “I don't care what you do, just save my son!”

Dr. Chase held out his clipboard to her, the waver on the top, and handed her a pen. She hesitated for a second, thinking about what she was doing, but then signed anyways. Without another word Dr. Chase went back into the Intensive Care unit, Cal following close behind.

* * * * * * * *

Not an hour later they moved Ryan out of the med center. They told us that he had to be moved to another facility for the procedure, but only Mrs. and Grandpa Zairian went with him. Kirkland offered to let Jesse and me stay in the med center until morning, and as much as I disliked the place I had to concede. It was well past curfew, and I was getting tired. Jesse wanted to go with his brother, but there wasn't enough room on the transport for him as well. I managed to talk him into staying behind, and we both fell asleep in the hospital beds.

The next morning we still had to go to work. As soon as curfew ended I said goodbye to Jesse and went back to my family's quarters. Adam had sounded concerned over the com the previous night, and I knew we still had to talk about our finances.

Unfortunately, Adam had already left by the time I got back. I washed my face and brushed my teeth really quickly, then headed to the Docks. There was a lot on my mind, so I didn't notice the time passing. The work day flew by, and I was off before I knew it.

As I punched out, my thoughts drifted to what Maddie had said: Way I see it, it's either that or stay in this dump the rest of my life. I hated the station, although I didn't want to admit it. I loved my family (occasionally this even included Adam), but I couldn't see myself staying on Indigo for the rest of my life. It was a refugee station, not meant to be an ancestral home for our descendants, and I didn't want to waste my life away at the docks.

I didn't know exactly when my thoughts on Ryan's condition turned into a bout of self-pity, but by the time I reached the holocourts I was thinking about what my own future held. With my mind a million miles away, I found an empty whiteroom and turned on my solar-boarding program. I pulled on my visor automatically, and then spent another minute wondering where my visor was before realizing it. Kicking my board on and gathering speed, I shouted “Safety off!” and began the canyon maze.

Right on cue, the voice in my head started up again: faster, Davy, faster! It wasn't just talking about my board �" I needed to get away from my life. I kicked the back of my board down and pulled hard on the sail, making it go as high as I could. Faster, faster! As soon as my visor started to fog I kicked my board off and dived. The rush of adrenaline cleared my head, and for a moment I felt nothing but the joy of flying.

No sooner had I brought my board roaring back to life than I head a different voice cutting into my thoughts. It sounded female, and only said, Safety on! Before I could register the significance of this, the program shut off and I had to jump fast if I didn't want to hit the wall again.

“David Watson!” shouted the angry voice from the doorway, and a shudder went down my spine as I realized who it was.

“Hey, Maddie, what's going on?” I asked guiltily, turning to face her as I got to my feet.

Maddie was giving me a furious glare. “'What's going on?'” she mimicked, “I don't know, Davy, what is going on? Because you wouldn't talk to me the other night, and here I come to try and reconcile only to find you back on the board with the safety off again!”

“Why is everyone making a big deal about it?” I snapped back, “I wouldn't fall at all if it wasn't for everyone turning off my program!”

“Oh, like you wouldn't a couple years ago?”

“Yeah,” I snapped sarcastically, “Just like that! Jesus, Mad, I fall once and everybody's holding it over me. Butt out!”

“You broke your neck last time, and you're telling me we're overreacting?!” she cried. I tried to shove past her, but she blocked the doorway. “You aren't going anywhere until we've had this out, Davy,” she growled, “And you're not gonna slam another door in my face, neither.”

She stood fast, so all I could do is step back and say, “Alright, so talk.”

“No, you talk.” She folded her arms and stared me down with piercing green eyes. “What's been eating you, Davy?”

“Nothing's eating me,” I lied, “Everything's A-OK.” My friend wasn't fooled. She stood there in stoic silence, giving me that worried glare until I caved. “Okay, alright, I've had a lot on my mind lately.”

“That's a start.” Maddie uncrossed her arms and sat down, inviting me to do the same. I could never stay annoyed at Maddie. “So what's the matter?”

I sat with my back to the wall next to her, staring out at the blank whiteness of the walls. “It's everything, really,” I confessed. “What happened to Ryan, the tax, the Corps reps...”

“All three of those just happened yesterday,” she pointed out, “What's really bugging you?”

“I need to get away from the station.” There, I'd said it. And with the words came a sense of relief, as though a weight was being taken off of my shoulders. I no longer remembered why I had kept it to myself all that time.

Maddie raised her eyebrows. “No kidding?” she asked incredulously. To my surprise, she started to laugh.

“What?” I asked her, beginning to smile myself. I mentioned before, Maddie's smile was infectious.

“That's what you were brooding about? You just feel cooped up here?”

“Well, it's more than that,” I said defensively, my grin fading, “My family's been living in the same quarters since I was eight. I've been needing to get out of there for years.”

Maddie stopped laughing, too. “You think you're the only one with problems, Davy? I've been living with my uncle for just as long.”

“Yeah, but you don't get it.”

“Get what? So you've been living cooped up with the same people for ten years,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, “So have we all.”

“I've been living with the same four people for ten years,” I said quietly, “Exactly.”

“Yeah, so �" oh.” She caught her breath, realizing what I was referring to. “Your father.”

I turned to look at her, a hardness in my voice that I couldn't shake. “I go to sleep every night in that room. The same room he died in, Maddie. All of us do �" there isn't enough space for us to not use it.” I looked back out at the room. “I know Adam's trying to replace him, but all it does is remind me.”

Maddie was silent during this, waiting for me to finish. She played nervously with a strand of the ginger hair that had fallen from her ponytail as she listened, thinking about how to respond but not knowing how. We sat there for a minute before she finally broke the silence.

“We've all been living here too long.” She let the lock of hair fall back to her shoulder. “I talked with Jesse earlier,” she admitted, “He was talking about joining Raider Corps. I think he wants to be there for his brother, and I think he's right to. I can't pay the tax, in any case, so I'm going in for processing tomorrow. What have I got to lose?” she paused, looking at me with a sigh. “Why don't you come with us?” she asked.

“I can't.” I'd thought about it as well, but Adam's words kept coming back to me: If you died, what do you think would happen to us? To the girls? “I can't leave my family.”

She nodded, turning back to stare at the wall. After another minute of silence, she stood up and opened the door. “Think about it,” she told me as she walked out the door.

* * * * * * * *

I didn't turn the program back on. Soon after Maddie left I got up and went to find my brother. I needed to talk to him about the tax, among other things. I found him back in our quarters, sitting in a chair at the kitchen table with the girls.

“Davy, you're back. Good.” He looked serious, more so than I'd ever seen him before.

I straddled the back of my chair across from him, with Mercy on my right and Christy on my left. Mercy sat with her hands in her lap, her eyes unfocused and staring straight ahead. She had heard about Ryan, then �" that was how she showed worry. Christy's eyes, on the other hand, shifted back and forth from me to Adam, a calculating look on her face.

“What's going on, man?” I asked Adam. I was evidently late for a family meeting, as my siblings looked like they shared a secret. All of them looked slightly wary (except maybe Mercy, who continued to stare), as though they thought I'd be angry at the news.

I asked again, “What's up?”

Adam looked glum, not meeting my eyes as he replied, “It's about the tax...”

He didn't have to say it, his manner told me everything: we didn't make enough. He silently handed me a letter that was addressed to him, bidding me to read it.

Mr. Adam Watson,

This is a notice of tax failure, as defined by law on the proceeding page. The family unit living in the Indigo Station, floor 07 suite 706, is hereby evicted one week from the date of this notice, unless the terms listed below are fulfilled.

Attached is a summons for Adam Watson to report to floor 10 room 1037 for processing on or before 12.07.36. Failure to appear shall result in the family unit living in floor 07 suite 706 to be forcibly removed from residence and placed under arrest for tax evasion. You may bring one bag of personal effects, which will be searched for contraband during the processing stage. You will then be placed, according to your skill level, under service to the government.

“They can't do this,” I cried, “I don't make enough to support the three of us, and these two can't get jobs yet; they might as well arrest us all!” Adam still didn't say anything, but motioned me to continue reading.

Due to your role as primary caregiver of the family unit, any other member of the family unit who is of the age of seventeen or older may bring this summons and proof of identification to floor 10 room 1037 for processing in your place, on or before 12.05.36, five days from the date of this notice.

Sincerely,

.

Ralph T. Emerson

.

Ralph T. Emerson

Head Executive

Department of Service

On the next page was a copy of the law:

Internal Revenue Code section 6321 provides:

Sec. 6321. LIEN FOR TAXES.

If any family unit liable to pay any tax neglects or refuses to pay the same after demand, the amount (including any interest, additional amount, addition to tax, or assessable penalty, together with any costs that may accrue in addition thereto) shall be a lien in favor of the government upon all persons remaining unpaid for. These persons hereby shall lien in favor of the government their person and waive all rights, whether real or personal, belonging to such persons.

Internal Revenue Code section 6322 provides:

Sec. 6322. PERIOD OF LIEN.

Unless another date is specifically fixed by law, the lien imposed by section 6321 shall arise at the time the assessment is made and shall continue until the liability for the amount so assessed (or a judgment against the family unit arising out of such liability) is satisfied or becomes unenforceable by reason of lapse of time.

Behind that was the summons, a sheet of yellow paper with the seal of the United Nations on it, that had a list of exact instructions for processing.

“'Any other member of the family unit who is of the age of seventeen or older...' Well that's just you or me, isn't it?” I asked Adam, who still hadn't said anything.

My older brother looked at me with a strange look. “I know you aren't stupid, Davy,” he began, with an air of not knowing what to say.

I cut him off. “You're right. I'm not.” I folded up the letter and set it down carefully on the table. “I said it before: if they take you, then they're condemning all of us,” I explained to both him and myself, “so it's really just me then. Besides," I shrugged, "Jesse's signing up for the military, and Maddie's going for processing tomorrow,” I told them, putting a brave face on for my sisters. “Besides, I've been wanting to get off the station for a while in any case.”

Mercy just looked at me, accusingly, as if it were my decision to leave. “Merce,” I tried to explain, “I don't exactly have a choice here. Either Adam goes now, and I go next year, or only I go now. Those are the options.”

Adam and I stared at each other for a minute, his blue hues piercing into my green ones. He blinked, and it was over. “Girls, bedtime,” he instructed. My sisters both got up and went into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Adam held me back.

“You're sure?” he asked.

In truth, I wasn't. Despite wanting to get off the station for years, ever since Dad, I'd never been anywhere without my siblings. I may have disagreed, argued, and fought him all the way, but Adam had always been there to look after me. To break away from my family was to leave everything that I knew for an unknown future. I wasn't sure I could do it.

On the other hand, I had no choice. I could see from his face that this was hard enough on Adam without letting him know that it was hard on me, too. I nodded.

“When?”

“I'm at least seeing Maddie off tomorrow, then... maybe a day or two.” I knew that if I waited too long I might chicken out.

My brother gave me a pitying look, as though he was struggling with something. “For what it's worth,” he said, “I'm sorry. About everything.”

“Yeah, well,” I muttered, embarrassed, “I haven't exactly been the best brother, either.”

“No, you don't under... never mind. Just, I'm sorry.”

He didn't say anything for a minute, so I turned to go to bed. As I reached the door to our bedroom, I heard him say behind me, “I have a bag you can use to pack.”

I nodded and went to bed, willing myself to stop shaking. I couldn't even tell if it was from nerves or excitement.

* * * * * * * *

Author's Note

What do you think about the character relationships in this chapter? Were they believable, or am I trying too hard?

Reviews

[550AU]

The relationship between characters is fairly strong and realistic, as is the way they talk to each other. It would make it even better if you showed them interacting with their surroundings. Different characters interacting differently to the same environment show their personality differences.