by Rolf Nelson
Warehouse Master: Welcome to Emirate! So delighted to see you have come to remove this headache for us!
Helton: Glad to see you are ready; a lot to do. Surprised it’s down here, not in orbit. Loading would be much easier there.
Warehouse Master: (Shrugging) I don’t ask questions, I just put things where they tell me. Shall we get started now? Your contract did stipulate machine loading, did it not?
Lag and Harbin exchange glances. The warehouse master looks around the interior of the ship with a concerned look on his face.
Warehouse Master: Will it all fit in here? And this looks like an old ship. Is it rated to haul this much mass?
Helton: I think it will, if we pack it tight and standard packaging is used. We ran the loading calcs on the run in and it should be fine if we follow the load plan. Mass ratings are OK, too.
Warehouse Master: (Frowning) I don’t know. We were not expecting to be loading on a ship like this. Well, let’s see how the first pallet loads. What would you like first?
Helton: The 120mm canister rounds.
Warehouse Master taps away on his tablet, and he turns and waves to a driver on a forklift. The Filipino-looking driver scoops up a pallet and heads over. As he gets close to the ramp, it becomes obvious that even tipped all the way up, the ramp angle is far too sharp to drive over. They all turn to look into the warehouse. All of the material-moving equipment is similar, just different sizes. Everyone gets an “oh, shit” sort of expression with brows furrowed and pained frowns.
Warehouse Master: (overtly obsequious, but with a devious glint) Oh, I’m very sorry. It looks like we will have to move it by hand. That might take a while. My humblest apologies, handling that much material might be rather expensive.
Helton: Can an empty forklift get up the ramp?
Warehouse Master: We can see.
He steps over next to the forklift driver.
Warehouse Master: Drop the pallet there and just see if you can get on board.
The forklift driver sets the pallet down, raises the forks, and drives up the ramp carefully, then spins easily around with plenty of room.
Warehouse Master: I guess we will only have to hand carry it up the ramp. Again, deepest apologies that this will take so long.
The side hatches above the ramp area open and a pair of the multi-joint mechanical arms unfold, now with simple forklift attachments. One reaches down, delicately scoops up the pallet, and with a slight whine of high-speed hydraulics, gracefully hoists it up and deposits it neatly next to the waiting forklift at the top of the ramp. The forks go back down to a waiting position.
Warehouse Master: (Momentarily annoyed before plastering on a false smile) Oh, very good, most convenient! That will help.
Helton: (Aside to Lag) May be quirky, but damn if the AI doesn’t know when shit’s gotta happen. (Louder, to Warehouse Master) So, if we can get three more forklifts up here the rest can start lining up the pallets in stack order, and we can move this along.
Warehouse Master: That many at once will not be safe. Only one aboard at a time would be better.
Helton: Are you saying your drivers are incompetent?
Warehouse Master: (Indignant) Oh, they are the best!
Helton: (Firmly) Then we have enough room here for four.
Warehouse Master looks indecisive for a moment, then with a few vicious stabs at his tablet, three more forklifts head for the ramp, each carrying a heavily loaded pallet. They get close to the ramp, and Warehouse Master vigorously signals them to stop.
Warehouse Master: Take it BACK!
The forklift driver waves to the screen that flips down from the roll cage on his forklift. He points to the pallet on his forklift and waves at the screen diagram.
Forklift driver1: This says this one goes next.
Warehouse Master: Well I didn’t call for it!
A handheld scanner with a screen on the back drops down next to Helton on a coiled cable. He looks up a little surprised, then grabs it and aims it at the pallet. He glances over at a bulkhead mounted screen, then at the scanner readout.
Helton: Yup, that’s next.
Helton waves to the forklift driver to drop his load and drive up the ramp. Lag, Harbin, Kaushik stand aside, the Warehouse Master fumes, and the drivers start up the ramp. At the top, they spin around, have their pallet immediately placed on their forks, and they head off, back to the stacking point their computer screens show them.
DISSOLVE TO
INT - NIGHT - Cargo bay
Back wall is stacked to the rafters with pallets of ammo. Two pairs of forklifts move back and forth from stacking spot to ramp where the mechanical arms are unloading the line of forklifts coming from the warehouse. Helton takes a break from watching progress and walks to a wall mounted com.
Helton: (Into com unit) Bipasha, any skeletons yet?
Bipasha: (OC) Nothing big. Lots of minor sketchy stuff but nothing to make him stop trying to squeeze you. His older brother is an environmental law judge. Cousin is a mayor. Uncle is captain of a light cruiser, the HMS Hussein. Dad is a low-level admin on the far side. Two wives, but that’s legal here. Not sure who he pissed off to get posted here, but…
Helton: Well, keep me informed of anything new.
Bipasha: (OC) Will do.
Helton: How much cash do we have on hand?
Bipasha: (OC) You are not going to pay him off, are you? I mean, he might get around to asking for more than we have.
Helton: How much?
Bipasha: (OC) Ummm… about eighteen thousand.
Helton: Should be enough. Ask Allonia to count it all out into a bunch of packets of five hundred, and keep looking for dirt or connections. Out.
Helton walks out to the middle of the cargo bay, watching the forklift drivers. They are working carefully and steadily, but not very fast. He sees the Warehouse Master stomp away. When two forklifts drive by side by side, heading for the ramp, Helton waves them to a stop.
Helton: What percentage of his (tips his head slightly towards retreating Warehouse Master) bribes, I mean, personal service and paperwork handling fees, do you get?
The forklift drivers snort, frown disgustedly.
Helton: Hourly?
They shake their heads.
Helton: Salary?
They nod.
Helton: So, fast or slow, your pay is the same?
Another nod.
Helton: Tell you what. As soon as he leaves, you can start to haul ass. Port vs. starboard. The side that gets loaded first gets eight thousand bonus to split, cash. If it all gets loaded in the next six hours with no injuries and everything in its proper place, an extra four thousand to split however you want for both sides. You figure out how many people you really need to get it done, how fast you can move safely. Not done in eight hours, no bonus. Deal?
The forklift drivers look at each other, grins spreading on their faces. They nod, pull out their personal com units, and start whispering rapidly into them.
DISSOLVE TO
INT - NIGHT - Cargo deck
The place is now a beehive of high-speed forklift activity with six forklifts on the cargo deck zipping around, and no wasted movement anywhere. Forks are raising and lowering while driving the length of the bay, and there is massive industry with many forklifts running back and forth between the various places in the warehouse and the loading ramp. The mechanical arms are whizzing back and forth, lifting pallets directly off the forklifts before they stop moving, and placing them the same way on the top. On the wall mounted screens, large countdown clocks show how much time they have left. The cargo deck is nearly half full. Clearly, the proper incentive has been applied.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT - EARLY DAWN - At the base of the cargo ramp
The cargo bay is full enough that the mechanical arms can place the pallets directly into the right stack. The horizon in the background has a pre-dawn light. There is a whole herd of forklifts queued up, and the loading is nearly done, with pallets
stacked nearly to the top all the way to the other end. There is a narrow gap in the stacked pallets on one side to walk to the stairs. The last pallet gets handed off to the mechanical arms, put into place. The one visible bulkhead mounted a screen shows 00:31:22. It stops. The drivers let out a ragged cheer. Drivers not already out of their forklifts hop off and gather around. Helton waves to them to line up in two rows, then walks down the line, handing out envelopes to each one in turn, hurriedly shaking hands and offering thanks.
DISSOLVE TO
INT - DAY - Tajemnica’s Bridge
Helton, Bipasha, Lag, Kaushik, Cooper, Allonia
Helton: Well, that went much more smoothly than I feared it might.
Lag: Until we hit transition, don’t celebrate too much.
Allonia: Must you look at the dark side?
Lag: I’ve worked here before. It’s never this easy.
Helton: Well, I’m not sure if I’d call spending twelve thousand in cash easy.
Lag: To load a hundred million dollars worth of ammo in a place like this it is absolutely a miraculous best case scenario. Usually you are looking at more like 5%-10% percent of the cargo value. Twenty if you piss them off.
Allonia: Twenty? We couldn’t do that!
Bipasha: You let us come here knowing that, and you didn’t say anything?
Lag: The price was very good, and we needed the ammo. I was ready to put in a sizable chunk to make it go through if required. No point in offering it if it’s not needed. I also wanted to see how you operate in a shark pool like this. Pressure makes diamonds, after all.
Helton: Gee, that’s nice of you.
Lag: You did quite well; at the top of expectations. It looks like we don’t have to find that much cash, so the ammo was a very good deal. With no leverage on him, I’d say we leave as soon as we can. I’ve concluded nearly all my business. Everything except finding out some things about a new system interceptor they were supposed to have. (Shrug) Other contracts filled or filed, though, so…
Cooper: We’re buttoned up and ready to lift. Let’s hope we don’t blow anything hauling the extra mass. We came down on the Sokolov’s, shall we take off on them too?
Helton: Sure. Try them, up to 99% of whatever Stenson says their max is, just to see if they can do it. If it looks like they can’t then lift on the Harmon drives.
Cooper: Alrighty, here we go.
Coopers hands work the controls and twist the control yoke. The readouts rise slowly through the green up into orange, getting close to the 100% mark.
FADE TO BLACK
Getaway
FADE IN
INT - DAY - Tajemnica bridge
Helton, Bipasha, Lag, Kaushik, Cooper, Allonia in their normal spots. Kaushik is in a space suit. On the screens the curve of the planet slowly shrinks as they clear the atmosphere.
Allonia: They are calling us. Something about having to return to the facility?
Helton: Don’t answer. On screen.
On a side screen, the Warehouse Manager appears, looking apoplectic.
Warehouse Manager: (Yelling, angry) You MUST return to the warehouse IMMEDIATELY! You do NOT have proper clearance to lift! You are in violation of the hazardous material disposal act, and you MUST return this INSTANT to unload until you have the proper forms filled out! You are NOT cleared to LIFT or UNLOAD or DISPOSE of ANY of that Material until proper procedure has been followed! You MUST come back THIS INSTANT!
Helton motions Allonia to cut the transmission.
Lag: Like I said, way too easy. He didn’t get dumped there. He got set up for life there.
Bipasha: Ah, that explains the brother who is an environmental law judge, pass summary orders against ships hauling stuff to or away from the facility. Make shaking them down easier. The longer they are stuck there, the more they can take. Likely not the first buyer of that “amazingly good deal” on ammo.
Lag: If we go back, he’ll make us unload by hand, inspect everything, charge us twenty percent plus and overtime, and impound the ship until he gets his ego soothed that we managed to load and lift before he finished his night’s sleep. Or just take the payoff and keep the ammo. He expected to have a lot more time.
Bipasha: If they have a judge’s order, even if it’s not really the most legit thing-
Cooper: (Skeptically) We could land, but-
Kaushik: Once in their hands, we lose all control over our lives until they are done messing with us.
Allonia: (A little scared) No, don’t go back. Not if they are going to lock us up.
Helton: Unanimous enough. Seems there is a lot of atmospheric interference with radio signals. Cooper, make a course that’ll clear the system as soon as possible, any direction.
Lag: You also want to avoid any of the Emirate navy, especially the cruiser Hussein. It may not get involved in a local squabble, but-
Bipasha: That’s the one his uncle is the commander of!
Lag: Ah. In that case, I think we can assume it’s one big happy family, and it will get involved. Last known location was near the outside gas giant. That one is supposed to have the new interceptors I was trying to find out about. I’m sure they’d love to get a chance to push an old freighter around.
Helton: Let’s hope we don’t find out too much about them the hard way. Get an exact fix if you can, plot a fast course to-
Cooper: With an extra four thousand tonnes and only two engines, there are no fast courses in this bucket!
Helton: Fastest possible course that avoids the cruiser and any other Emirate Navy ships they might call and gets us out of the system. Let’s just hope they’re not very efficient at passing orders.
CUT TO
EXT - NIGHT - Orbital platform above Emirate II
Tajemnica blows by not far from it, obviously not interested in stopping to say hello, glow of irritated atoms surrounding it as the Sokolov drives grab for extra-dimensional purchase, climbing out of the gravity well of the planet.
CUT TO
INT - DAY - Engineering
Stenson has the guts of a hunk of hardware spread out on a work cradle. Four of his recent hires assist.
Helton: (OC, over PA system) Really? Now?!
Stenson: Efficiency was dropping fast. They needed some major adjustments.
Helton: (OC) How soon?
Stenson: All offline for at least a day before I get the first two up, then another few hours or so each for each of the other two.
Helton: (OC) Shit. Well, at least the Sokolovs are moving us. If there is anything anyone can do to help…
Stenson: Coffee, room service, and any spare induction coils you can find that match the specs on number three coil from the Harmons. I may need your hands if you can be spared in a little while. Oh, and if you plan on running low-profile, you might want to disable the transponder.
CUT TO
INT - DAY - Tajemnica bridge
On the main screen is local a local system diagram, plotting planet and ship locations. On the second planetary orbit ring there are three planets, a gas giant at the 3 o’clock position, a dot labeled Emirate at 1 o’clock, and Geminorum at 5 o’clock. On the third ring at about 9 o’clock is a dot labeled Rings. The fourth ring has another trio of planets at about 11, 2, and 4 o’clock. The fifth ring has one at 6 o’clock. The area to the outside of Tajemnica’s green icon shows a near picket line of red Navy or official ships.
Cooper: Crap! They are scattered all over outside. Anything heading directly out of the system runs right into one of them. We are going to have to cut inside, go out past the ringed planet near where we came in. Anything else… (shakes head)
Helton: Well, if that’s the only path, then that’s the only path, even if it’s deeper into the well. Do it.
CUT TO
INT - DAY - Galley
Kwon and Sar work on lunch prep. Helton comes in and heads for the range. He pops the top of it open, reaches in, and takes out four round, flat disks, pulling them from flip-up sockets. Kwon and Sar look at him li
ke he’s gone nuts. Helton hefts them; eight inches across, an inch thick, plug in the side.
Helton: Stenson needs ‘em in engineering. We’ll get you new ones later.
CUT TO
Engineering
Stenson continues to work in the background. Helton stands at a console, tapping away.
Helton: I think we should be named Inigo Montoya, registered in You Killed My Father. Class Prepare to die. Or should I just turn it off completely?
Stenson: Better to just blank it to default zero so it doesn’t broadcast. If they ping us it tells gives them NO DATA for all fields. Shortest possible burst back. If it’s totally disabled, then it stands out like a light to any other ship we pass, screaming “we are trying to not be identified!” NO DATA looks more like a malfunction.
Helton: We could try to be badass, and put in something like mysterious, or if you can read this, we will have to kill you!
Stenson: Do what you like, but my vote is KISS, ordinary factory default.
Helton: Killjoy.
Stenson: Just busy.
FADE TO BLACK
HMS Hussein
FADE IN
INT - DAY - Bridge of HMS Hussein
Spacious bridge with a raised command dais and a large comfy chair. More than a dozen stations around it with at least a score of personnel, all men. All wear bright and snappy looking uniforms with a lot of decorations on them. The man sitting in the command chair has a high peaked cap with lots of gold braid and medals. Obviously the big cheese wheel in the dairy.
