“The last time humans came into contact with the edxi we were classified as a viable food source.”
“Everyone knows the story of the solitary shuttle coming out of hyperspace at Daybreak Station with crazy humans inside claiming a bunch of alien lizards took all their shipmates and sent a few of them back with a warning. That's more of an urban legend, no one actually believes it.”
“Well, I'd say if there's anyone in the galaxy you don't want after you, it would be them. Everyone knows ships that go into their space don't come back out. Besides, they're more like leathery skinned half insect people from the one or two blurry images I've seen.”
“Well, there's a collector offering a lot of cash to get his hands on these. He needs the data and the stasis chambers. This one delivery would buy you enough fuel to get you half way across the galaxy in that hotrod you fly and your passengers wouldn't be any trouble.”
“How much is he paying?”
“I can give you one million and he'll fill your tanks.”
“I want the cash in advance.”
Wendy was at the same time shocked and angry. “I can't bank that.”
“You also don't have another trustworthy friend with her very own wormhole drive.”
“But you don't trust me enough to do this and take payment after?”
Alice thought for a moment. Wendy wasn't always what anyone would consider a kind person. The Company liked her as a captain because she got things done on time and on budget, not because she was a caring, nurturing person. At the same time she wasn't a common cutthroat. If she was going to go against someone they knew when and why. “Fine, just top my tanks up. I need to make sure I can make this trip in as few jumps as possible.”
“I've seen how expensive it is to fill your tanks. I can give you fifty thousand before you make the run.”
“Where is this cargo going?”
“Yuelle Varr Moon.”
“Creepy. I've heard of that place. They've used it to make horror holomovies the genuine way. Other than that it's just got a couple harvesting operations and private mansions.”
“See? You know more about the destination than I do.”
“I get a lot of time to read. Besides, I saw the Frankenstein remake they did there.”
“Any good?”
“I like the original Gene Wilder version better.”
“So you'll do it?”
“I doubt I'll find anything here that will pay better. Just tell me when I can pick up my cargo.”
“It'll take me a day or so to get it out of storage,” Wendy said with a smile that could have lit up the room.
Bunk Chatter
The first ten hours after entering hyperspace had been hectic. A lot of damage had been done to the Samson and it took the entire maintenance team to reinforce the supports around the exposed section of the ship. After that was completed several panels had to be temporarily rewired to bypass sections they wouldn't be able to access until they were out of hyperspace and able to repair the areas open to space.
While that was underway Ramirez and Stephanie's teams were doing a sweep of the larger cargo hauler. It was twice the size of the Samson and there was a group of five soldiers left aboard. They had dug in to a supply storage area near engineering and it took both Ramirez's and Stephanie's teams to overtake them. They refused to be taken captive, so the hour long firefight ended with Ramirez losing one man and one of Stephanie's newbies running ahead and stepping into a trap that nearly got her entire team killed.
Everyone was exhausted by the time the Captain ordered everyone but the watch and his First Officer to rest.
Finn laid down in his bunk, stretching his arms and legs out. His muscles were sore and it felt so good to just have a slow, long stretch. The only good thing about his bunk was that it was over two meters long. The space between his mattress and the bunk above was little more than one meter, more than enough room to roll over for him but that's about all. There were six of them in the compartment. He didn't mind so much. Everyone was still winding down from the day. They were tired, but their minds were wide awake.
There were only two new crewmembers in the compartment just then, everyone else had already been on the Samson for some time when he signed up. They had both been working with the repair team, a tall brunette woman named Vera who followed directions well, and a blond girl who had a lot of scholastic training and liked to question every order. She had nearly electrocuted herself at least three times and had proposed an idea that would shut down half the ship's power during its execution.
Finn kept his eye on her, she was a know it all with very little consideration for how things actually worked. She preferred to operate under the assumption that everything was made the way she thought it should have been.
As Finn finished his long stretch Agameg smiled at him from the bunk across the cabin. He was sticking to the bunk above him without using his hands.
“How do you do that?” Finn asked quietly.
“We can form our tendrils into short appendages. It can come in handy when you find yourself wishing you had a third hand. I don't bother with that sort of thing when I'm about to sleep or in a vacsuit though, so I'm using a belt.”
Finn looked closer in the dim light and saw that there was a long strap around his friend's knees, back and waist, attaching him to the upper bunk's support bar. “Ah.”
“I think the real question there is why you do that?” Asked Julie as she leaned out from the bunk above so she could see where Agameg was hanging.
“Oh, my species enjoys sleeping in a hanging position or in zero gravity. As morphic organisms we evolve and adapt very quickly. My family has been in space for fifteen generations now so we've come to prefer low gravity conditions.”
“I would have taken; 'I like it', or 'I'm part bat' or 'my mattress is lumpy'.” Julie said with a grin. “You really like to explain things, don't you?”
Agameg puffed his ultra fine face tendrils, it was how he chuckled when he was in his native form. “I was raised in a tradition of storytelling and I enjoy honesty.”
“We call that long winded.”
“I'm sorry.”
“No, it's okay. I like long winded if it's interesting. There are so many people out here who don't say more than they have to, and the ones who do go on are usually wind bags. You know, nothing but air.”
“I know wind bags, like Burke. He used to go on about the most insignificant things. He never shared his own stories, always borrowed someone else's or falsified them.”
“I know I don't miss him,” Came the voice of Douglas from the bunk above Finn. “The Captain did the right thing, forced the truth out of him and tossed him off the ship.”
“I agree. Burke was never afraid to show his dislike for my race. It had something to do with me being a shape shifter. I'm not even a very good one.”
“Oh! That reminds me. I hear you can do a good imitation of the Captain.” Douglas said, he rolled so he was leaning out into the short aisle between our bunks. His eager grin was infectious. “I've gotta see it.”
“It's not really that good,” Agameg said with a shrug.
“Oh, come on, show us!” Julie goaded. “Have you ever seen it?” she asked Finn.
“This is the first I hear of it,” he thought for a moment. “If everyone promises they'll keep it a secret will you do it? Just for a minute?”
Agameg whistled quietly then nodded. “You have to give me your word. I don't want our Captain to worry about me imitating him.”
“You've got it!” Said Douglas.
“I won't tell a soul,” Julie agreed.
“It won't go past that door,” Swore Vera.
“Sure, I'll keep it a secret.” Said the other recent addition.
“Well, I know I'll keep it to myself,” Finn grinned. He had seen several aliens in his lifetime as they passed through port. Befriending one was new, but Agameg had become his best friend on the ship.
Agameg shrugged,
made a small whistling sound and closed his dark, glossy green eyes. He took three deep breaths and in the space of a second his entire form changed. If they didn't know better, everyone in the cabin would have been convinced that it was Captain Valance.
“That's fast!” Douglas said, nearly losing his balance and falling out of his bunk.
“That's amazing, you look exactly like him!” Commented Julie as she reached down and touched his arm. “Can you do the voice?” She asked with a grin.
To Finn it all happened in slow motion. First, the door just started opening, then Ashley's head just started peeking inside. She was just about to wave at Finn but then she caught sight of Agameg and her jaw dropped. Then Agameg did the voice.
“Frost! Leave Ashley alone! It's not her fault she's an excellent physical specimen and you have unrealistic expectations for a mating partner! Now man the maxjack before I pair you up with a nafalli in heat!”
The cabin was filled with laughter. Ashley stepped inside smiling uneasily, not quite getting the joke and looking at Price quizzically. “Captain?”
Agameg turned his head and spotted her then. The look of utter shock and terror on his face as he exclaimed; “Oh God! I'll be put off at the next port!” It was the Captain's face and voice he said it with, however, which prompted even more laughter from everyone.
He shifted back to his native form and his green eyes were perfectly round as he held his hands out in a pleading gesture to Ashley. “I am so sorry! I'll do anything in trade for your discretion!”
Ashley burst out into laughter, finally realizing what was going on. When she and the rest of the cabin quieted down she sat down on Finn's bunk and considered the trade, pondering exaggeratedly. “Hmmm... there's something really appealing about having the only shape shifter aboard in my pocket.”
“I would be in your debt!” Agameg begged.
“Oh don't worry, I won't tell him. You'll have to show him some day while we're on leave though. I'm sure you'd get a laugh.”
“Yeah, right before he puts a sonic disruptor in your vacsuit,” Douglas scoffed. “No more shape shifting for you.”
“He wouldn't do that. Besides, you might get brought in on an important job. If you play your part right it could mean a big bonus,” Ashley reassured. “I mean, you have a unique skill to offer. I say you show him whenever he has the time.”
“Hey, she's right. I never thought about it,” Julie added.
“Well, I wouldn't do it just now. I ran into the Captain on my way here. He's in a mood,” said Douglas.
Ashley laid down beside Finn and looked at him. “Do you mind if crash here?” She whispered.
Finn was taken completely by surprise. “Um.”
The cabin fell utterly silent, all eyes were on the pair.
Julie cleared her throat. “Psst. The answer you're looking for sounds something like; 'why, be my guest.' or 'not at all!' or even; 'my rack is your rack.'”
Ashley didn't wait for an answer, she just rolled over, crushed her back into Finn's chest and pulled his arm over her shoulder. “It's not like that, Cynthia is snoring so loud the cabin's about to implode. Besides, as you can see I'm still wearing my vacsuit.”
“Suuuure!” Came the jeer from above as Douglas smiled and nodded. “Just keep it down when the lights go out.”
“Anyway, about the Captain's mood; he was about to join Stephanie below. They finished their sweep of the hauler and were just getting ready to check the cargo manifest.”
“Did he say what it was?” Asked Vera.
Ashley hesitated a moment before answering. “It's military, I know that much.”
“What, like munitions for the front kind of thing?” Julie prodded.
“That would have come up on passive scanners,” Finn pointed out. “What I saw was very dense but there were a lot of open spaces between. It didn't have a profile I recognized at a glance, but it wasn't weaponry I don't think. Not exclusively anyway.”
“Well, I shouldn't say more than I have already, but I know for sure that it has something to do with Vindyne tech.”
“Like the stasis pods on the slave train?” Asked Agameg.
“Uh-huh.”
“But there were no biological readings. It must be heavy equipment or something,” Finn added.
“That might explain why it took us eight days in hyperspace and extra time to set up. He's cherry picking,” Douglas said. “It must be a pretty good haul. I smell bonus.”
“I wouldn't assume extra profit,” Agameg replied. He looked much more relaxed. “When we entered the cargo train and saw all those Vindyne stasis pods Captain Valance had a very strong reaction. I would assume he has personal business involving Vindyne. Perhaps they are a subsidiary of Regent Galactic.”
“Well, I've heard a lot about the privateering days from Stephanie. Enough to know that big equipment means a big payday. Either way, we'll find out what's in those containers or we won't. It's not our job to know everything. Besides, I trust Captain's judgement. If we don't need to know, we don't need to know,” Ashley concluded sleepily.
The conversation came to a gentle stop just then. No one was willing to argue that point with her.
Spoils
“How's the Samson Captain?” Stephanie asked as she met Jake in the cargo train management centre. It was more elaborate than the one aboard the Vesuvius. Made for longer trains with more mass and complex systems, there was a control ring with positions for two crewmembers. The ring included several control panels and displayed the general status of the interior and exterior of the cargo train through two large holograms.
As ordered Stephanie had only checked the general status so they knew they wouldn't have any problems hauling the cargo off into hyperspace.
“The Samson will survive, as usual. We got away with three small holes, one really big hole. We lost five crew all told, four of them were new.”
“It could have been worse. Do I know the seasoned crewman we lost?”
“It was Feretti.”
“Ah, I don't think they'll miss him in the berth. I hear he stunk the place up pretty bad.”
“He kept his section in pretty good shape. I'm getting tired of training new people,” Jake said as he stepped into the centre of the control system and turned the main console on.
“Captain, I've got to know, why so tight lipped about this haul?”
“You know it's Vindyne military gear.”
“Yes, but there's a lot more to it. I've never seen you go through so much trouble verifying a capture. We went almost two weeks out of our way.”
“When there was a much easier capture just a day away.”
“An unarmed hauler, right.”
“Well, for one, this hauler doesn't carry supplies,” he said casually as he brought up the holographic display of the cargo. “These are Marauder class Corvettes. This train contains thirty.”
Stephanie looked at the three meter long hologram of the cargo train outside of the command ring. She couldn't believe her eyes. “They were transporting warships? Why not just fly them individually?”
“When Regent Galactic bought parts of Vindyne they didn't arrange for crews on each vessel. That area of space is in chaos, there are power vacuums everywhere. It's worse than war in that area of space, dozens of solar systems are collapsing. Getting a trustworthy crew together is pretty hard.”
“So they crew one armed hauler and hide the corvettes inside. You're right Captain, this is worth a fortune. You're going to be a hero all over again.”
“That's the plan but whoever crews these won't be thanking me. Aside from solid shielding and an easy to clean interior these ships are cheaply made, cramped and slow.”
“You've served on one sir?”
“I don't know, but I remember them somehow. I can't stand the look of them, but they're familiar. The manifest says these ships were sold as is, so I'm hoping Vindyne didn't get a chance to wipe their databases.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Any records referring to the First Light or her Captain. Omar said she met me at Zinger station before I started captaining the Samson. That's right inside Vindyne space. I might have friends out there, allies.”
“Maybe a ship?”
“I'm not getting my hopes up. Whatever happened to me was severe. It might have been so bad that I don't want to remember.”
“But you need to know.”
“Exactly, and if anyone knows how I could find my daughter or what she's running from, it would be other people from my past.”
“And in the meantime this privateering is going to make you so popular that she'll know exactly where to meet you.”
“Right. Those are my plans. As for the crew, I think they have one hell of a bonus coming. Just don't inform them yet. I don't know what our allies can afford to pay for these.”
“Did you ever think of taking one? The Samson's a great ship for her size, but she's ageing and we've been going after some serious targets.”
“I don't know why exactly, but even though I know there's good technology aboard, I don't trust these Marauders. I get this mental image of hull plating that's just a couple centimetres thick under all that energy shielding,” he shuddered and started the computer core activation sequence on the Marauder Corvettes. “One big EMP and you're left with nothing but a flimsy hull.”
“Right, in that case forget I asked. No wonder Vindyne fell apart.”
“That won't stop me from stealing several power amplifiers and materializers. That'll have to wait for tomorrow, it'll take nine hours for the computer cores to finish loading up. They're completely cold.”
Just Visiting
The Blue Skipper was built around a very old fashioned concept. The designers had made the ship so it had as much cargo space as possible within a one hundred fifty meter long frame. The vessel was made to carry relatively small amounts of precious cargo, not to haul a long train of containers even though it did have the standard hook-ups as an afterthought. The hull was shaped as though it was made of large square blocks. The six engines had been retracted so the ship could fit into the landing bay, they were the only round parts to the vessel.
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