Tartarus

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1. Jared.

The drop ship shuddered as it entered the atmosphere, causing Jared's body to lurch sideways, pulling hard at the harness and shoving his shoulder against the arm of the man to his left. At the same moment the man to his right slammed into him, the force pushing the air from his lungs. He felt small between the two men, convicts from the system's penal colony on Hades. Most of those who came to work the mines of Tartarus were. Not Jared, though. He was on a mission from God.

The ship shook again, causing Jared's too large helmet to rattle on his head. He mouthed a prayer to himself, the song of welcome from safe travel that he and the other devoted would sing at the arrival of visitors to the Shrine on Aion. The song brought to mind the faces of his Brothers there and it comforted him. He thought of Alec most of all, after all it was for him that he was here on this rattling, ugly ship, pinned with the scum of the system; to find a Brother that was lost.

Alec had always been willful. Or perhaps curious was a better word. He was always first at the gates when word of a visitor spread, finding a spot where he could see them arrive, and he studied them more closely than he ever did his scriptures. He would be there as they departed, too, but at those times his look was of loss and of longing. None who knew him well was surprised when, one morning, they found his cell empty of the little he owned, save for a short note of farewell.

Jared's head jerked back to attention as the cramped cabin suddenly filled with a loud hissing and the ship depressurised its interior to match the atmosphere. There was a chill and tang to this new air, something acrid at the back of the throat, but Jared had been warned of that. It was just part of Tartarus' reputation for foulness. Even the air stank.

He pictured the ship now skimming through the world's thin cloud cover, wishing for a window in the dim cabin. They would be heading for Campe, the main settlement on Tartarus and the only place approaching a city. He had studied maps of the large moon in the library at the Shrine. It was larger than Aion, and drier, its landscape made up of vast swathes of empty desert or tundra, with precious rings of life clinging to the twenty or so large inland seas that punctuated the moon's otherwise featureless faces. Campe was on the shores of the largest of these, known locally as the Big Water, and in its relatively short existence of four centuries had grown to rival any settlement in the system, in reputation if not size. It was a young and restless place, which was why Jared knew that if he was ever to find Alec it would be there.

There was a strangled screech which morphed into a voice.

"Secure all harnesses. Preparing to dock, ETA at Campe 120 seconds. Hold on boys." The voice was human, which was rare. Even Jared knew that almost all piloting was automated in the system, with the only human pilots being hobbyists. Tartarus, though, was different. The moon had a motlen core, producing a strong magnetic field, and its proximity to its parent planet, the giant Chronos, put it within the magnetosphere of that world as well. The cumulative effect was that any technology that relied on complex and delicate electronics to function was unreliable at best. Tartarus had adapted with an almost antiquated approach to technology, with humans taking many of the jobs traditionally done by drones. As the ship went through another series of violent jolts Jared lamented the lack of an AI pilot.

The big guy on the left gripped onto one of the hand rails, Jared was pressed so close he felt the man's hard muscles move against his arm. Following suit he took hold as well, and a moment later the ship rapidly slowed, pressing their bodies even closer together, hot in the ice cold cabin. Jared was glad of it, of him, this stranger and his warmth, and the reassurance of his weight.

"Thirty seconds." The cracked, tinny voice again, half heard over the ruckus of the approach. Jared's grip tightened on the rail as the ship vibrated, sounding as if it might come apart at any moment. He squeezed his eyes shut, and muttered the short song of sacrifice, with which the brothers greet each new day and each new start. With a last great lurch followed by a tremendous thud the ship finally came to a halt.

The cabin lights went up and the men strapped to the walls began to unbuckle themselves and slump unsteadily into the new gravity. Jared felt it immediately. He had been grown in the relatively low gravity of Aion, and his legs almost buckled under him as his boots met the cabin floor. He was about to collapse when he felt a strong grip on his left arm, steadying him. Jared turned to see the gruff, unsmiling, but not unkind face of the man to his left.

"Steady there, kid." He said, and Jared felt himself blush at being called a kid. He was in no place to argue the point, though.

"Thank you." Was all he could stammer out before the man pulled him towards to exit, supporting his weight as they went.

The hanger doors opened out onto a wide docking bay. As he stepped out Jared was struck by how different it was to those he had seen at home on Aion, or even at the system hub on Hermes, where he had negotiated his way onto the transit to Tartarus. Aion Port had been build to match the architectural style of the Shrine itself, with its high arches and domes of coloured glass, and the port on Hermes had been clean and well ordered despite the large numbers of people that passed through there. Campe Port, in contrast, had been built without concern for beauty and order. The floor and walls were bare concrete, adorned with the grime of a century. Men bustled to and fro as they loaded and unloaded the half dozen ships that shared the bay, weaving burdened through the herds of passengers that wandered the space. Jared felt disorientated at the sudden change and might have lost his balance again if not for the hand that still held his arm. It was guiding him towards a gate on the far side of the bay, next to which a line of his shipmates was forming.

Joining the end of the line the hand let go, and Jared slumped with his shoulders against the wall, glad at least to have remained upright. He looked again at the man who had helped him. He could see him more clearly now in the light from the hangar entrance. The man was a head taller than Jared, and twice as wide, his grey overalls stretched tight across his muscled frame. He was dark haired, and tanned as all the men out of Hades were, which made the scars that lined his face stand out white. His eyes stood out as well, bright blue like those inland seas Jared had studied on the maps at the Shrine. They were watching him.

"Thank you." Jared said again, feeling himself begin to calm and adjust to this new environment.

"First time, huh?" His voice was deep and relaxed. "You did OK, kid. Least you didn't puke."

"I still might." Replied Jared, meaning it. The stranger stuck out a huge hand.

"Ben." He announced. Jared took the man's hand.

"Jared."

The line moved on.

"So what you here for, kid?" The straightforward question took Jared unawares.

"I'm looking for someone." He replied without thinking. He had been cautioned to be careful of who he spoke to in Campe, and of what he said, but Ben's easy manner had disarmed him. The big man nodded.

"Figured you didn't come from Hades." He said, looking Jared up and down, taking in his monk's body. Aion was a warm and fertile world, whose vast, drone tended fields helped feed the inhabitants of Chronos' seven populated moons, and those that abided at the Shrine enjoyed that bounty more than most.

"I came here from Aion." Jared said. Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Not a Brother of the Faith?" He smiled for the first time since we had been talking, a grin of gold toothed amusement that altered his face entirely.

"I am." Jared replied with as much dignity as he could bring. He was rankled by the man's playful mocking, but couldn't disagree that Campe was not a place you would usually find one of the devoted. Ben's face straightened, but Jared could still see the amusement beneath the surface.

The line moved on.

"Well, don't go trying to convert me and we'll get on fine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a foil wrapped bar of chocolate. Unwrapping it, he snapped it in half and handed one piece to Jared. "Been in my pocket since Hermes. It might be past its best, but it will help."

Jared took the chocolate. "Thank you. Again."

Ben nodded and bit into his piece. They were quiet for a while as they ate, and by the time Jared swallowed the last of his he was feeling noticeably better, and found that the line had moved on. They were now in front of a scratched perspex window, behind which sat a large, bearded man, stretching out a pale blue shirt. On his head was a peaked hat with the logo of the Tartarus Mining Company. He glanced over them indifferently.

"I.D." He nodded towards a reader set in a hole under the window. Ben placed his right hand into the hole up to the wrist. The machine whirred and the panel above it switched from opaque to green. The bearded man nodded. "Second time out here, huh? Don't get many return visitors."

"What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment." Ben pulled his hand from the hole and rubbed his wrist.

"Or the things that get you that punishment, maybe?" Said the bearded man with a knowing look at Ben.

"Yeah, that too." He replied, sounding rueful.

"Well, least you know the drill." The official turned to Jared. "Don't need a scan to know you ain't been here before. Still, needs doing." And he gestured again to the reader. Jared placed his hand inside as Ben had. The machine whirred. The panel turned orange. The man frowned.

"You're not assigned." He said, and began typing on the keyboard of an ancient looking computer. It even had a physical screen. "You volunteer or something?"

"Yes." Replied Jared. "I came here to...well thats not important, but I could only get transit if I signed up with the Company."

The man sucked through his teeth and tapped away. "Hmmm. Here we are. Looks like they filed you under the Governor's retinue, but no specific job title. Probably just an error or incomplete filing. We don't get many guys volunteering."

"What does that mean?"

"Means you should report to the Governor's office as soon as you can. For now I'll assign you quarters with your buddy here." He looked to Ben. "You okay to show the kid the way?"

Ben nodded. "No problem. I'll get him on his feet." He winked at Jared.

"Alright then." The official reached beneath his desk and produced two wrist-bands. "Wear these over your chips. You need them to get around the city, the parts you're allowed to go anyway." He dropped them into a chute and they appeared in the same hole as the reader. Jared picked them up and handed one to Ben.

"You also need them to access and use your credit account in most of the legit businesses here. Don't ask me about the illicit ones, you have to figure that out for yourselves." The man then nodded a last time to Jared. "Welcome to Campe, kid."

"Cmon, let's go." With a nod to the man, Ben began striding towards the gate and, renewing his determination in his mission, Jared followed.

They had gathered their luggage from a collection point inside the gate. Jared had only his backpack containing his spare clothes, a light-book collection of the scriptures and a few mementos from his Brothers at the Shrine. Ben picked up a similar pack, along with a slim, metallic case. They found a bank of information points on one wall of the foyer and Ben scanned his wristband to locate their accommodation.

"Not bad. 5E, Cobalt Town. Better than my last digs." He glanced around the foyer. "We can get the tram outside. Follow me."

Ben strode ahead through the crowd and Jared was thankful for his new friend"s height or he might have lost him as he squeezed and wove his way through the crowds. The air inside the port was hot and oppressive and Jared longed for the outside, but once through the large doors it was just as thick and acrid. He couldn't help but cough. Noticing, Ben slowed and turned.

"Like breathing through a rank sock, right?" He said, smiling. "You get used to it after a few days. Won't even notice it." He gestured on. "Tram stop is over here. Not far."

They made the short way to the stop, a raised platform next to two sets of metal rails set into the surface of the street. A moment later the tram came into view. It had small wheels positioned in two lines underneath the vehicle, shaped so that they sat neatly onto the rails in the street. Jared marveled at the elegant simplicity of it. The tram rolled to a halt and a set of doors pistoned open in front of them.

"C'mon." Ben stepped into the tram and Jared followed. The interior reminded him of the drop ship cabin he had been in just a short while ago. It had seats set against each wall, with hand rails going floor to ceiling, and more hand holds hanging by straps from the roof. He grabbed one just in time as the tram began to move. Ben had hold of another and was letting himself swing from it, ape-like. The tram rattled on and they didn't speak for a while. Jared looked about him, first at the people on the tram with them, mostly men but for one or two women trying hard not to be noticed. Many of the men wore the same or similar grey TMC overalls that Ben and he wore, in varying states of repair and cleanliness. Jared guessed that the district they were headed to, this Cobalt Town, was something of a dormitory district for the Company. Having lived among men in close quarters for most of his life this somewhat reassured him. It was an environment he had some experience of, or so he hoped.

His gaze wondered to his new friend, who was now staring idly out of one of the windows, watching the city flash by. Despite living his life among men, Ben was something new to him. Jared had never seen a man like this so closely before, so different from his bookish Brothers with their pale, doughy flesh, as different as a mountain is to a meadow. Every hard curve of muscle showed clear through the fabric of his overalls and Jared imagined the body beneath, the soft skin and hard flesh. Perhaps it was the rocking of the tram, or perhaps he was light headed still from the new air, but Jared found himself staring at the big man's chest as it rose and fell with each breath.

"Hey, kid. I said we're here." Jared snapped out of ihis trance and glanced up to Ben, who was looking down with a hint of a smile on his lips. Jared pushed the moment from his mind as best he could as Ben led them from the tram onto a platform similar to the one at the port, except now they were surrounded by rows of near identical, box shaped apartment buildings. They were all of the same height and build, each around ten stories from what Jared could guess. Ben looked around and, after checking a map, pointed them in the right direction.

Their building was three rows down from the stop, and two in. The apartment was on the third floor along with three others and they were happy to find that their wristbands worked to unlock the door. The place was built to house four men, though it seemed that so far only Ben and Jared had been assigned there. It consisted of a combined living and sleeping room, with a small area to prepare food, and a bathroom screened from the rest of the space by a partition that ran across most of one side. The four single beds were lined against another wall and Ben strode over to the furthest, dropping his bag and case down. He sat down and the metal frame creaked under his weight, watching Jared as he cautiously walked to the nearest bed and made to put his own bag down.

"I don't snore, you know." Ben winked, and Jared carried his bag to the second furthest bed. He wasnt sure why he did it, but he was drawn to this man. Ben shifted over on his bed. "Sit down." He said, patting the spot next to him. "Let's get to know each other better."

"Yes." His voice sounding higher than he'd like. "Yes, we should, if I'm to stay here." He took a seat next to Ben and immediately felt that warmth again, the warmth he had felt on the drop ship.

"Tell you what, I'll show you to the Governor's office tomorrow. Find out what you'll be doing." Jared was grateful of the offer, and grateful that fate had handed him this guide.

"I'd like that. Thank you." He paused. "It feels that's all I've said to you. I hope I can repay you some time." Ben smiled and put his arm around Jared's shoulders, reassuringly heavy.

"Dont worry about it, kid. I can't let a Brother of the Faith get in harm's way now can I?" Jared thought he heard more than friendly reassurance in Ben's tone. "I'll look after you, little guy." He held Jared like that a few moments more before releasing him and lying back across the bed, closing his eyes. Jared looked at his face and saw again the scars. Some were straight and thick, others sharp and jagged, others meandered like rivers across his skin. Jared wondered at their causes.

"What did you do? To go to Hades?" The question hung in the air for a moment and Jared regretted asking it, but Ben answered.

"First time was for a robbery. Some buddies and me tried to hold up a shipment of de-aging drugs on route to Aether." He grimaced at the memory. "Turns out one my buddies had sold us out to System Command in return for a citizenship upgrade. I was three cycles on Hades, before coming here for two more."

Jared had researched Tartarus before he left, and knew that it was a path out of a long sentence for those consigned to Hades. The work in the mines was difficult and dangerous and many do not survive the standard two year release term, but the promise of freedom had many men applying for a place, and only the most able were chosen. Once on Tartarus the convicts are allowed much more freedom than on Hades, essentially that of a level one citizen, and after their term is over they are free men once again. He wondered at how a man could put himself through that twice, and what was worth that price.

"And the second time?" Ben became more cautious now, less candid.

"This time I...got involved with the wrong people. Or better say they found me and got me involved and....well. The end of the story is here I am." Jared sensed a sore point and didn't push. Ben changed the subject.

"You say you're here looking for someone?" He had opened his eyes and was looking at Jared. "He a Brother too?"

Jared paused, unsure of how much he should say. "Yes. He was part of my suborder. I have known him since....since I can remember." Jared pictured Alec, smiling in the orange light from Chronos above, looming huge and bright in the sky of Aion. Alec always loved most to watch the sky on those nights when all six of the other world moons were visible. He would name them as Jared followed his finger. Aether, Hades, Hermes, Tartarus, Gaia, Nyx.

"Wait, I'll show you." Jared reached forward to his pack on the other bed and opened it, rummaging to produce a small, black cube. "I hope this works here." He pressed the sides of the cube. A few centimetres above it appeared the three dimensional image of a young man of perhaps twenty five cycles. His hair looked as if it would be blond if it was allowed to grow, but was kept in the close cropped manner of the Brothers. His garments were also that of the devoted, plain black robes but for a coloured trim that signified which of the seven orders to which he belonged. The image blinked and distorted intermittently but the face was clear enough to see that it was handsome, and smiling with an enthusiasm for life. Ben looked intently at the image.

"His name is Alec." Jared placed the cube onto the dresser next to the bed. "He left the shrine nearly a cycle ago and its important that...we need to find him. I need to find him, and I think he could be here on Tartarus."

"Must be a pretty special guy." Ben said, stroking the stubble on his cheeks.

"Yes, he is." Too special, Jared thought. The news had come a little over half a cycle after Alec had left the Shrine. It was always known that he had come from an wealthy family, some old money from Gaia, Jared had thought. There was an older brother so Alec had been placed at the Shrine, as many second sons were. It was like putting the spare somewhere safe, just in case, and few places in the system were safer than Aion. A practical policy, but problems occur if the spare goes missing and is suddenly needed. Alec"s father and brother were killed in a shuttle malfunction en route to the a festival on Aether, though there were mutters that it was not an accident. The Brothers then found, through visits from concerned parties, that Alec's background was far more rarefied than he had ever let on, and that his family owned half of Gaia itself, along with much of Aion's agricultural lands and a substantial interest in the TMC. With the death of his family Alec would become one of the most powerful men in the system, if only someone knew where he was.

Jared could say none of this to Ben, though he wished to. His mission had so often felt like a burden he longed to share, but it was important that he found Alec quietly, before anyone else could.

"Do you have any leads?" Ben sat up, engaged and curious.

"Not really." Jared replied, truthfully. After much searching he had managed to confirm that Alec had been on Hermes for a couple of months. Jared had to venture into some of seedier areas of System City to get that information. It made him worry all the more for his lost Brother. All of those who are raised to serve at the Shrine live a sheltered life but Alec, despite his wanderlust, had always seemed more naive than most. To Jared his Brother was like a lamb that had wandered among wolves. There the trail went cold but for one man who claimed to have seen someone of Alec's description with a group of smugglers who work the routes to Tartarus.

"All I know is that he is in trouble."

"Yeah, won't find much else on this rock." Ben stood. "Just ore and trouble." He looked down at Jared, meeting his eye. "So be careful."

"I will."

"I'm gonna find out if the shower works." Ben walked towards the bathroom, unzipping his overalls as he went and letting the top half fall free. Jared looked in quiet awe at the strength and definition of his body, every muscle of his back rippling as he pulled his arms free. There were intricate tattoos winding around his thick arms and across his shoulders, swirls and patterns twisting like strands of dna. On his back was a half coiled serpent, its fanged head poised to strike from between his shoulders. The artist had used iridescent ink so that the scales and eyes flashed with red, green and blue as he moved under the light. Jared found the effect mesmeric and when he finally looked up he saw that he had been caught again.

"You like it?" Ben flexed his arms and posed with his back to Jared to show the tattoo off to better effect. It looked to Jared as if it was almost alive, the way the shifting light made the scales seem to move.

"I've never seen anything like it." At least that was honest. For the man and the snake.

"I got it on Gaia a long time ago. You ever been?" Gaia was the largest and by far the most populous of the seven home worlds, though not the oldest. As such it was the cultural nexus of the system. Hermes had been chosen as the seat of the system government precisely because Gaia so dominated otherwise. Though nobody said it, the other six home worlds were mere colonies next to Gaia.

"Just once." Jared replied. "Before I came to Hermes I sought Alec in his home city on Gaia. I thought perhaps he might have contacted one of his family."

"And?" Ben leaned against the wall to listen.

"I didn't get past the gates. I was shooed off by servants. I might have been more persistent but I did not want to attract attention." Ben's eyebrows arched.

"From who? Are you in trouble?" He looked so genuinely concerned that Jared couldn't help but confess a little of the truth.

"I....I'm not sure but I know that Alec is, or soon will be if I don't find him." It felt good to relieve himself of his burden a little, and all of his instincts told him he could trust Bem with that much at least. Feeling lighter he smiled, but Ben was frowning.

"Well, don't do anything stupid, least not without talking to me. I don't know what you're tied up in, but I got your back." Jared shifted in his seat. He wanted to trust Ben, have at least one friend on this strange new world. Perhaps he would if the time came.

"OK. Now let me know how the shower is." Ben smiled.

"Will do, kid." As he walked the last few metres to the bathroom he kicked off his boots and let his overalls slip past his legs, stepping out of them. Jared couldn't help but look one last time. He promised himself it was one last time. He marvelled at the size of Ben's thighs, as thick and hard as the trunks of trees. Jared imagined the power in them, imagined touching them and kissing them and....he had to stop. He was a Brother of the Faith on a mission from his order, that is all that should concern him. Still, his eyes couldn't help but flick to Ben's crotch as he dropped his shorts and turned to enter the bathroom. When he looked up there was a flash of something other than amusement in Ben's face. Just for a moment he looked hungry. It passed just as quickly and Ben disappeared into the bathroom without another look. A few moments later Jared heard the sound of running water.

He stood and busied himself with his bag, unpacking his belongings and checking them for damage with more care than was needed so that, when he heard the drier end and Ben come padding out of the bathroom, he would not be tempted to look.

"Shower's great, man. Give it a try." Jared could hear Ben open his own bag and begin pulling out clothes. He willed himself not to imagine the man naked, just a metre away. That brief glimpse of his crotch and that dark, swinging shape flashed in his mind. After half a minute he risked a glance back and saw that Ben had put on shorts and was lying back on his bed, so tall that his feet nearly hung off the end.

Jared grabbed his towel. He was tempted to undress in the bathroom, but thought that it might seem strange given how unselfconscious Ben had been, so he unzipped his overalls and let them fall to his ankles. He kept his back to Ben as he did so, in case he saw the outline of his arousal, and holding the towel in front he hurried to the bathroom.

The warmth of the shower massaging his body reminded Jared of how tired he was. When he returned to the sleeping area Ben was snoring. The gravity was still such a sap on his energy that, when Jared finally made it to his bed he fell quickly into a deep sleep, listening to the faint noise of the city and Ben snoring softly nearby.