by Garion Swann
"She sounds amazing, Jamie. I'm so sorry she was taken in such a horrible way," Doctor Tamber said placing her hand on his arm and slightly squeezing.
"It's okay, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said so much, I'm a mess," he said wiping the tears away.
"No, don't be silly, say as much as you like. I'm here, okay?"
"Thank you, it helps. I don't have many people I can talk to that aren't drunk or wanting to get drunk," he replied.
"Well talk to me all you like Jamie," she said in a calming tone.
"Thank you, it's really good to see you again."
"You too, Jamie," she smiled at him, they'd been apart for over thirty years but seemed as close as they did back then.
Alex left the capsule once it came to a stop, he was glad he didn't need to spend any more time in the small capsule, he felt claustrophobic after just a few minutes. He made his way towards Commerce Control, this was the central business district of the station, lots of office blocks holding thousands of people both for station administration and leased out to private businesses. He was inside the station, but it seemed as though he was outside in a city. If he looked up, he could see the transparent hull that covered over like the sky would on a planet. He felt more at home, growing up on Europa he was used to cities within what was basically a huge room on the station. Commerce Control was the centrepiece of this inside city, a large round building, the walls were all transparent and angled upwards, so the building was wider at the top, the roof then got thinner and became a large elegant spiralling tower which acted as structural support.
Alex found one of the entrances to commerce control and made his way in, he joined the queue which already had several people in front of him all looked like Captains like himself. Some had uniforms on with their ship name, others wore jumpsuits. The line moved rather quickly, the Trulen system seemed very efficient which was good, if he could get a trading permit here, he was sure it would work out well.
"Next!" came the shout from the person at the desk. Alex approached, there was a middle-aged woman behind the counter who looked up at him with no smile.
"Yes?" she said sharply.
"I'd like to apply for a trading permit please," Alex asked.
"Ident," she responded. Alex scanned his ident, and she started reading through his details.
"I'm sorry we cannot trade with companies that have outstanding debt."
"Excuse me?" Alex said surprised.
"I'm sorry we cannot trade with companies that have outstanding debt,"
"Yeah, I heard the first time, why not?"
"The Trulen family does not wish the trade with companies that have outstanding debt,"
"That's ridiculous, my debt is with you!"
"I'm sorry we cannot tr…" She began, but Alex interrupted.
"Okay! I get it," Alex said in a raised voice. What a stupid rule, lots of people are in debt, they'll be turning away a lot of good Captains at this rate. Alex turned to leave but was stopped.
"Alex Harper?" it was a familiar voice which he struggled to place for a moment, but then he got it, his bad mood was suddenly gone.
"You're kidding me!" Alex said as he turned, "Dean Fletcher, what the bloody hell are you doing here!" Alex laughed as they gave each other a hug. Dean was an old friend from Europa, they used to work for a company which designed and built shuttles, the company lost a large contract and was forced to close down. They both lost their jobs, and the started working in Commerce Control aboard Europa. Dean moved off Europa to live on a planet, that was the last time they saw each other.
"Director of Commerce for Trulen," Dean responded.
"Blimey, you've gone up the ranks then!" Alex said. It was brilliant to see Dean again.
"C'mon let's have a catch up in my office," Dean said leading Alex behind the clerk desks, much to the dismay of the clerk who had just denied his trade permit. They moved into a large office, there must have been upwards of seventy people working at desks.
"Trulen's commerce machine," Alex said.
"Yep, a well oiled one at that," Dean replied, "We've managed to double efficiency with the same number of people within the last two years just by making simple changes."
"You've certainly made it work here then!" Alex said, Dean opened a door into his office, it was a well-furnished office that had his desk and chairs opposite, behind his desk was a meeting table for about ten people, he'd made it so he could just turn his chair around from his desk and he'd be at the meeting table.
At the side of the room was some comfortable seats designed for more relaxed meetings, this was where Dean motioned for Alex to sit down, they both took seats, and Alex liked how comfortable they were.
"Something you don't get on ships is this level of comfort!" Alex said to his old friend.
"They are good, a lot of money has been made from these sofas," Dean replied, "So what brings you to Trulen."
"Escaping pirates," he said bluntly.
"Ah, what did you do to piss them off?" Dean asked. Alex explained his first run-in with Lady Jean and then about the second encounter that lead them to Trulen.
"I'll put an alert out that she's operating closer to Trulen than before, we like to keep our commerce ships safe." Dean said with a smile, "I guess you finally got the ship you wanted.
"Aye, an in-system cargo ship which I retrofitted with a jump drive, it's caused a few problems, but she's never failed a mission."
"Well, I can get you some good rates if you want to get your trade permit here. Anything for an old friend!" Dean said happily.
"I would if I could, I just got declined a trade permit because of debt," Alex said, he would be happy working for Dean he knew he could trust him.
"Ahh, we can't be having that. I can't give you a trade permit, but I can give you a way to wipe the debt out." Dean said, his tone had changed, this must have been his business tone.
"I'm interested," Alex said.
"I've been looking for a ship, a ship with a Captain I trust and someone who's not had dealings with Trulen, you fit the bill perfectly." Dean finished.
"Why do I get the feeling the mission is of the books?" Alex said.
"Your feelings are true, do you want to know more?" Dean asked him. Alex thought for a moment and knew that it would be a good thing to have Trulen as Ally. But an off the book mission would be risky.
"Go on,"
"We've been losing ships in a nebula, it's on the edge of the space the Apollo Consortium charges us with defending and it is also the Consortium's border with the neighbouring power." The Apollo Consortium was the government whose space Trulen Station resided in, Trulen still manages its own fleets but it means they are charged with defending a section of the Consortium's space, it was a similar agreement Europa had with the United Planets.
"So what do you need me to do? I don't know if you've noticed, but I own a trading ship" Alex asked.
"That's exactly what we need, we want you to complete a trading run from a nearby station through the Nebula dropping some cloaked sensor buoys along the way, simple."
"Simple? You're asking me to take my ship to a nebula and drop cloaked buoys in a competitor's space without being caught," Alex was taken aback by the request. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even think of this sort of mission, but what he is getting out of it was valuable. He'd just taken on a massive debt that would take him a while to pay off, the ship barely makes ends meet as it is. He could do this mission, get a trade permit for Trulen, with Dean as Commerce Manager they'd get excellent rates and also be protected by Trulen’s fleets.
"I'll have to speak to my crew, it's not what they signed up for, so they deserve to have a say," said Alex.
"Understandable, the offer stands until noon tomorrow station time, that's nineteen hours away. You do this for me, I will wipe your debt, you'll be able to apply for a trade permit, and I'll give you some damn good rates. You'll be under our protection as well, if your pirate friends come knocking at your door I can s
end the whole Trulen fleet after them, they would be dust."
"I'll be in touch, thank you, Dean. It's good to see you again."
Grey had made his way to deck two, section twelve, subsection thirty-two and saw the new panel that had been put in place, there was no damage in this section whatsoever yet a new panel had been put in, he opened the panel and inspected the cabling on the inside it all seemed to be in order. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. Something wasn't right though, he still couldn't figure out why the panel had been replaced. The panel itself he thought, he checked over the panel and noticed an irregularity. All panels are basic, they were there merely to hide the cables and make the ship look neater. This panel, however, seemed to have some equipment on it, nothing he'd ever seen before. It was a small chip connected to a larger storage unit. He placed the panel on the ground and undid the clips holding the storage unit's cover on and had a look inside. There was a battery of thirty small cells. These were state of the art, military ships used these for emergency power. All the cells were connected to a little contraption which had a motor, then it dawned on him what it was. When triggered the device would cut into the cabling a cause a high powered surge that would overwhelm systems aboard, the results would be catastrophic. He made some small modifications to the device when triggered it wouldn't make it to the cabling, Grey had made it so the power would go nowhere. He'd also disabled the motor that deployed the device which would transfer the power to the ship's cabling. He needed to show this to Captain but he was off the ship, he didn't want to arouse suspicion by calling him back, that would have to wait.
Jamie and Doctor Tamber had spent the last several hours talking, they talked about their lives, what each other had done. Doctor Tamber went through all the ships she had been and the funny stories that she got from each of them. Jamie talked about his two wives, how his bar business had grown and how he was proud of his two children a daughter, Lily, and a son, Ryan. Both children were now adults, and both had chosen to serve in the Trulen military. It was nice to just talk to a friend, she had friends aboard the Michelangelo but not a close friend, she tended to speak to people as a councillor, she provided advice and support, she would also solve disputes between crew members. She, however, didn't have anyone to go to with her problems, so it was helpful just to talk. Jamie was troubled, he ran a successful business and was not short on money, but he was lonely. Ever since his wife passed he had not formed relationships with anyone, he kept to himself. Doctor Tamber thought it must be a relief for him as well to have someone to talk to.
"Hey, is that food place we ate at on the last day still open, I can't remember what it was called it that cooked tomato bread thing that was so good!"
"You mean Pizza?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, that's it!"
"The food place is called The Italian," Jamie told her, trying not to laugh, "and yes it's still open. Fancy a bite?"
"Definitely! That was one of the best foods I have ever had!" Doctor Tamer was excited, she had not felt this energised for many years, she could tell she was getting old, "What is Italian anyway?"
"I think it's food that was made on Earth, I think it was a city or something called Italy where they made that sort of food," Jamie replied, neither of them was very good with history, something to look into the Doctor thought.
They walked from Jamie's bar to The Italian which was not a long walk, Doctor Tamber was enjoying seeing the station again, it looked the same as when she was last here. Once they arrived she saw the restaurant and smiled, it was bittersweet memory of this place as it was the last time they spent together. After they finished the meal the first time she was here, Doctor Tamber's ship was due to leave, and this was the last place she had seen him.
The pair sat down and realised they were sat in the same place they sat many years before, they both smiled and chuckled at the fact. The waiter came over and pressed a button on their table, holographic menus appeared, and they looked through. Doctor Tamber quickly found the Pizza section and ordered a basic one, Jamie ordered something more extravagant, full of vegetables and protein blocks. Protein blocks contained more than just what they were named after, they were designed to provide all the nutrients required, they had been the staple diet of humans for over a millennia, the need for breeding animals for food had died out in most cultures as protein blocks became a widely used substitute. Some governments still farmed animals and others outlawed it.
Doctor Tamber enjoyed the meal, the time seemed to fly by as the pair continued talking, she came to realise how right she felt with Jamie, she was beginning to slow down and struggle with the rigorous lifestyle of a trading ship. She had been thinking for a long time to settle down somewhere, she rarely had a need to purchase anything so she had a considerable amount saved for when the day came that she'd retire. She was just about to start talking to Jamie about how this might be the opportunity to settle down when her comm device beeped.
"Hmm, priority message from Captain Harper. All staff meeting half an hour. I'm so sorry Jamie, I have to go."
"That's okay," he replied smiling, "Duty calls." Jamie looked saddened.
"I'll be back, I promise," she said getting up to leave, "I really promise." She walked off towards where the ship was docked and realised that she left Jamie in the same way she'd left him many years ago.
The canteen aboard the Michelangelo was large enough to hold about half the crew seated at any one time. Protein block dispensers lined one wall and windows lined another. The room was basic, the tables and chairs were all metal and bolted to the deck and all set up as four to a table with eight tables in total. The canteen itself was at the front of the ship directly below the bridge. Crewmembers who had got here first and taken a seat, and were talking amongst themselves, the last crew members entered and found somewhere suitable to stand. Captain Harper stood up on top of the table he was at so people could see and hear him.
"I'm sorry to call you all here at last minute, but I wanted to give you a chance to voice your opinions on an upcoming decision that I will be making." Alex talked through the cost of the repairs and the need to get a loan out to pay for them, he spoke about how he couldn't get a trading permit due to the debt. He then talked about the mission Dean had offered him and the reward of going debt free and good rates. He added that there was an element of risk, but the rewards that came with it were very attractive. Alex opened the floor to the crew as he was happy to take comments.
"It's a bit of a risk, isn't it? I mean going into a nebula where ships are known to have been destroyed, we are asking for trouble." a crewman Alex didn't know said. They had hired new crew recently, so there were a lot of new faces.
"Well, so far only known Trulen ships have been destroyed. We are not a known Trulen ship. So we hope we should be on the safe side." Alex regretted saying hope as soon as it came out his mouth, he could not guarantee the safety of the ship or crew.
"Paying off debts and getting good rates, that's one damn attractive offer," Tina from Engineering said.
"It's not our debts though, it's the Captains. No offence, Captain. But it is your debt this mission is paying off. What do we get out of it?" Val, one of the medical staff, asked.
"That is true, it is my debt," Alex agreed, "I am asking you to help me, there will be extra pay for this mission, double in fact. You will get double your standard pay, and your pay will go up for future missions as the better rates we get for missions means I can afford to pay you more. The Trulens have an efficient commerce machine so we can expect a lot more work coming our way." Alex gauged the reactions of the crew as they thought about his last statement, some seemed happy with the offer of double pay, it was an attractive prospect. The future trade missions available also helped his case.
"It's an issue though!" Most the crew looked to where the raised voice had come from, two crewmembers we're having a debate, and it seemed to have got heated.
"What's an issue?" Captain Harper asked, "Speak your mind, that's
what this meeting is for."
"We're putting out spy buoys, to spy on another company, in another government's space. Isn't it a crime?"
"That's a good point, Alex. Did you even bother to think of that?" Dylan asked in a snappy tone.
Alex was surprised at Dylan's tone, it was direct even for him. He had not actually thought about it though.
"Grant, pull up a system map on your pad, can you see if we can do this without crossing the border," Alex asked. While Grant looked into it, another crew member spoke up.
"Can they provide safety, Captain? We're here because of Lady Jean, could the Trulen's defend us against Lady Jean."
"Yes, the Commerce Manager assured me of that, his exact words were ‘they would be dust'" Alex replied, his confidence bolstered a little. Grant handed him a plotted route that would complete their mission, and it did go across the border.
"We would be crossing the border to drop the buoys, but also to drop off cargo," Alex paused, "I know this is the sort of thing a Captain decides, but I feel as though the crew, all the crew, should get a vote. Grant do we have a voting feature on the CMS?" The CMS was the Crew Management System, it was connected to the bands that all crew wore, nicknamed tags. The tags allowed them to communicate with each other and connect to the ship's computers.
"Um yeah I think so, give me a few seconds," Grant replied and began tapping at his tablet. Alex was nervous, he had made the choice that the ship would go on this mission. He offered the vote as it's showing he is willing to listen to the crew and engage with them more. He regretted the choice as if the crew voted against it he would either have to betray them or lose the opportunity.
