“Maybe,” Alice said quietly.
“So, can I buy you a drink and hear all about your adventures across the stars? It's gotta be better than our salvage cruises.”
“Sure, but first, how have things been going for you and your crew?”
They walked down one of the long hallways within the section of port under the ownership of Mark and Salvage Company. The inner halls and chambers were simply passages that were dug out of hard black and white speckled stone, reinforced and polished. “It's gotten pretty lean. I'm lucky I've been here longer than most, otherwise we would have been laid off or reduced to hauling ore. The embargo here has colonists wondering if anything will ever be terraformed. Word through the Company is that there will be one planet and two moons ready for seeding within a year. I believe it.”
“They've been at it long enough.”
“You said it. They should have a couple planets and five moons almost ready for all the effort they've put in but supply shortages have caused problems. It's more like the old fashioned terraforming.”
“Old fashioned terraforming?” Alice asked as the mismatched pair walked into the cantina that featured an intermittent view of the main port through transparent portions of the outer wall. There were a couple dozen tables with a small stage at one end and a stone bar at the other.
“When humans were first edging out from the Sol system they couldn't bring much with them so they had to make sure that whatever they terraformed had enough water, minerals, fuels, and everything else they'd need. A lot of colony ships didn't make it. Mars took five tries and the better part of a two centuries. I'm surprised you don't know all this stuff, you're the one with Earth nostalgia.”
“I mostly like what's left of the twentieth to twenty first century histories.”
“Oh, I remember. You used to say how Bruce looked like Joaquin Phoenix. How anyone could sit through a non-interactive two dimensional movie is completely mystifying to me.”
“He does though. You can't tell me you don't see the resemblance, it's like he was reborn.”
“Well, they do look alike. What are you drinking?” Wendy asked.
“Nothing that's supposed to taste like fruit, unless you guys managed to figure out what oranges taste like.” Alice said. “Maybe a cream liqueur.”
“Hey there young fella. Fix this little lady a mint sarsaparilla,” Wendy ordered, leaning up against the bar rendering her best imitation of John Wayne.
Alice couldn't help but laugh as the bartender, a beat up robot with three arms pulled up a bottle of green liquid and a glass. “The closest match we have is Green Creeme Liqueur, I do not know how to make sarsaparilla.” It said flatly. One three centimetre circle adorned its rectangular head and it lit up with every syllable.
“Someone really has to upgrade you. Pour us two.” Wendy said dismissively, turning to Alice. “I miss having you around. You came in, got me hooked on old cowboy movies, converted to hologram, of course, and then took off. I do a good impression of Don Wayne-”
“John Wayne,” Alice corrected, taking the fluted glass from the bartender. It had mixed the Green Creeme with some kind of soda water and added crushed ice dispensed from an appendage that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“A good impression of John Wayne and no one here gets it. I'm ruined, no one else understands me.”
They took a seat a few meters away from the bar and Alice couldn't help but notice that a few of Wendy's crew were trying to look like they didn't notice her. “I'm sorry, I guess I just live the outlaw's life in a modern way,” Alice said with a smile. “Trust me, if I could have stuck around long enough to hook a few more people into mid twentieth century film I would have.”
“How is the outlaw's life treating you?”
“It's better in the movies.”
“Not from what I've seen. Most of those movies end with the sheriff shooting the outlaw and all his friends.”
“Well, I'm here, I don't have enough fuel to get where I'm going and I'm not far off from being flat broke,” Alice said with a shrug. “That, and I keep looking over my shoulder every time the door opens half hoping it's an old flame and half dreading the thought.”
“Well, you don't have to worry about being flat broke for long. I have something for you.”
“You mean the Company has something for me.”
“Nope, I have a job for you.”
Alice took a sip of the green concoction and nodded to herself. “That's not bad. Okay, what kind of job is it?”
“I have to get something from here to a customer who has been waiting for it for a few months.”
“You can't make the delivery on a company ship?”
“This is the kind of delivery the Company generally doesn't like,” Wendy whispered.
“The Company doesn't frown on much.”
“Well, this is something I found during a salvage and the Supervisor was happy to look the other way. They don't want any part of it.”
“Okay, I'm curious, but that doesn't mean I'll do it. You know I could do expedited courier work for a few weeks and move on.”
“You've done smuggling before, this wouldn't be any different,” Wendy coaxed quietly.
Alice had never seen her friend test the water so much in conversation. Wendy was the type to just come out with it. “I get the feeling this is. What did you find?”
“Well, this transport wrecked when one of their emitters blew in hyperspace. They couldn't have been going too fast, since only a few meters of the port side was torn up but it was enough to knock their life support and main power out. We got the emergency transmission and arrived too late. They were from the Lethis System, you know, blackout central, and too far away for us to bother reporting the casualties. We got an all clear for the salvage operation center and hauled it back.”
“The Lethis System is in blackout status for a reason. They restrict that area with so much detection gear and firepower that I don't even put wormholes through within five light years of the place. No one knows what goes on there for sure.”
“Well, I could find out.” Wendy said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair with a smile.
“You got a database?” Alice asked excitedly, keeping her voice down.
“Yahuh, a whole active high capacity organic data block. It's not empty either.”
“That's enough storage space to take in half the Stellarnet without breaking a sweat and not many people have seen or used one.”
“I've got one and that's not the biggest find.”
“I know I shouldn't even ask, but I can't resist.”
“There are four sealed deep stasis pods the company didn't know what to do with. They couldn't destroy them, didn't want to keep records of the find, and definitely didn't want to take them into inventory.”
“People?”
“Nope, eggs.”
“What?”
“Eggs the size of your head with some kind of genetically engineered specimen inside. It has something to do with the edxi. The genetic material they used is based on them.”
Alice's jaw dropped for a moment before she caught herself and used the small control panel on the table to request some music from the bar entertainment system. “There, this way there's less chance of someone overhearing you and spouting off at the mouth, starting an intergalactic war.”
“Oh come on, we're on the edge here but we're no where near their territory.”
“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.
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