Cloaked

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Jack corrected herself. “Marissa, can we go please?” she said, a little more firmly, like a grown up playing the game of asking the child nicely before said child received a walloping.

  “Just a second,” Maya’s voice called from between the rows of steel cylinders.

  Jack looked up and down the width of the chamber, trying to guesstimate how many rows there were. The darkness swallowed them up pretty quickly, but from what she could see there were at least a dozen rows, and the one in front of her was at least five deep. Her curiosity begged her to venture forward - to head into the vats and see how many there really were.

  Just then she felt movement off to her right and saw Maya reemerge from the sea of steel. “Ok,” Maya declared, closing a holoscreen confidently. “Let’s move.”

  Jack turned on her heels and in a heart beat they were back out in the corridor, carefully allowing the door to close quietly behind them.

  Jack started walking again in the same direction they had been heading before their rebellious little detour. “I think that’s quite enough excitement for one day,” she concluded. “Remind me never to let you do rounds with me again.” She glanced sideways at her mischievous companion.

  Maya had closed her holo down and clasped her hands behind her back, walking nonchalantly half a stride ahead of Jack.

  “Sure,” Maya agreed. “You’ll just miss out on all the fun…”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Aboard the Flutningsaðili, Mess hall, Level 2

  Sean sat eating on his own, his supplements untouched in a dish to his left.

  “You really should take those,” a voice told him. Sean looked up to see Jayne looking down at him. She was still quite scatty in her appearance… her hair a little disheveled and tied in a short pony tail, just back off her neck. But the wisps framed her face gently, softening her look and almost countering her age.

  Sean looked back at his food, and took another forkful. After eating that, he answered her. “I don’t like them. They spoil the food.”

  Jayne took it as permission to enter into a dialog with him and sat herself down at the table in front of him. “You’ve got months of this though, and the food you’re eating doesn’t have-”

  Sean raised his eyes to look at her. She stopped speaking.

  He continued eating.

  Jayne tried again. “You know… I get the feeling you don’t like me very much.”

  Sean finished chewing a mouthful. He shuffled the gruel around his compartmentalized tray and spoke without looking at her. “What gives you that idea?” he asked.

  Jayne clasped her hands in front of her face, her elbows on the table. “Oh nothing. Just the way you are… Moody. Unengaging…”

  Sean looked up at her again. This time he allowed a smirk to appear on his face. “Unengaging?” he repeated. He held her gaze a moment.

  Jayne looked awkward and then looked away.

  Sean went back to his food. “I can see that,” he conceded. “So how would you have me be instead? Life and soul of the party?”

  Jayne shook her head. “No. Of course not. You can be however you want to be. It’s just…”

  Sean waited, deliberately not looking up. Deliberately not being too interested. He forked a piece of synthesized protein and stuffed it into his mouth.

  Jayne sighed. “I should leave you to it,” she said, putting her hands on the table to get up.

  Sean waved with his fork. “Nah. Get yourself some food and come sit. You can tell me all about how you came to be the ship’s doctor on this floating hell. And I’ll tell you how I got landed with heading up administration for the lamest auditing company in town.”

  Jayne flushed a little even under her blue skin. “Ok,” she said smiling, and scrambling to her feet. She headed off across the mess hall to the food counter and picked up a tray. Sean watched her leave, knowing full well he’d make her into an ally by the end of the day.

  “Yo… Rexy-baby!” Maya came striding over and plonked herself down at the table next to him. She looked at his food, and leaned over grabbing a piece of baked ‘carboardhydrate’ as she’d been known to call it back in the safehouse.

  Sean looked a little taken aback, and his carboardhydrate was being munched before he had the chance to slap it out of her hand.

  Jack arrived suddenly too, and sat in the seat opposite him where Jayne was meant to be returning to. He looked bewildered. “Hey, someone’s-”

  Jack ignored him and reached for something off his plate. Once bitten, he reacted faster this time, slapping her hand before she could pinch anything. “Go get your own food. It’s all there. Free of charge. Free for the taking…” He waved over towards the food counters behind him.

  Maya spun round on the seat and glanced over before turning back. “I will in a minute. In the meantime… guess what we found.”

  Sean sighed. “Surprise me.”

  Maya folded her arms on the table and leaned in. “You have to guess!”

  Sean waved his fork, ‘no’. “You have less than a minute before Jayne gets back here.”

  Jack looked amused. And impressed. “Look at you, having dinner with Jayne already. You dark horse!” She winked.

  Sean didn’t react. “Fifty-six.”

  Maya frowned.

  “Seconds,” Sean clarified for her.

  Maya nodded quickly and then got to the point, lowering her voice, and keeping her head low in confidence. “Fourteenth floor. We hacked our way into one of the rooms. Turns out it’s a chamber full of cryostasis vats.”

  Sean shook his head. “Well, why wouldn’t they have stasis vats on board?”

  Maya raised her eye brows and turned her head a little. “There were a lot of them. All installed and functional. Empty. But usable.”

  Sean’s brow creased up. “Yeah but this is a space-going ship… without any faster than light capabilities. They’ll be needed to keep the crew from dying of old age before they get to where they need to be.”

  Maya shoulders slumped. “Fine. So it wasn’t a discovery,” she resigned, glumly.

  Just then Jayne arrived back, and sat herself down next to Sean. “You’re looking better,” she said to Maya.

  Maya nodded. “Yeah. I had a wander with Griselle and it seems to have walked off the most of it.”

  Jayne smiled, picking up her fork. “Well if it comes back, or you have problems sleeping over the next few nights, come by and see me.” She looked at the others. “Any of you. Really - I’d kill to have a patient on one of these trips!”

  Maya was the first to get the joke, and then Jack. Sean either missed it or didn’t want to waste energy laughing.

  “So,” he started, glancing in Jayne’s direction, “Twenty-five floors. All of those are cargo stores?” he asked.

  Jayne had started eating. She emptied her mouth before responding, shaking her head. “No. I don’t think so. I think a bunch of them aren’t used. But the facilities need to be maintained on them for regulations or something.” She thought for a moment. “I think most of the warehousing happens on the lower floors, just because it makes unloading easier when we land.”

  Sean bobbed his head. “And do our guys get involved in the unloading?”

  Jayne nodded. “Sometimes. Sometimes not. Depends on what is being shipped. Sometimes we have cargo that is sensitive, or technical and then the clients come and pick it up as soon as we land. We can sit about for days before we can get the rest shifted. Not that we all head out and start trucking stuff about,” she added, chuckling a little.

  Sean smiled. “Ah, the royal ‘we’ then…”

  Jayne nodded, a protein chunk on her fork. “Exactly.” She continued eating, and Sean looked poignantly at Jack.

  Jack ever so slightly nodded her understanding. She’d also clocked that there were shipments being taken off before the ship may have even officially docked.

  Jack suddenly had a thought. “So, are there any areas that are off limits?” she asked. “The reason I ask is
that little Marissa here seems to think that she can go poking around wherever she pleases. But surely that’s not the case. Even if you have got skeleton key access?”

  Maya shot Jack a look, which Jack promptly ignored.

  Jayne shook her head. “Probably not. Though a cargo ship isn’t the safest of places to just be wandering around. Especially not on your own, she said, looking at Maya now.

  “The thing is,” she continued, “when these ships get old, things tend to break. All it takes is for a burst exhaust pipe or a ruptured boiler, or heck even a box to fall on you and you’re done. I’d stay in the main common areas unless you have to go crawling around fixing computers… And always take someone else with you if you have to go out away from the common areas.”

  Maya nodded obediently. “Ok. I will. Besides, this place is filthy. It’s going to take a month to get clean once I get back to Estaria if the grime under my fingernails is anything to go by.”

  Jayne sighed. “It’s true. It’s a problem,” she said sympathetically to the young girl.

  Gaitune-67, Safe house

  Molly followed Joel out of the kitchen. “I’m just going to check in on Paige and Pieter. They should be doing a hand over about now.”

  Joel nodded. “Great. I’m heading that way too. And there was something I wanted to run by you about your Estarian portfolio.”

  Molly took a swig of her protein shake as they walked. “Ok, great.”

  They headed into the conference room together, causing Paige and Pieter to look up. Pieter grinned his haphazard kind of grin. “Looks like mom and dad have arrived at work!”

  Paige giggled, as Joel made a playful swipe at Pieter’s head. Pieter ducked, nearly falling off his chair. “Missed!” he said victoriously as he tried to regain his balance.

  Joel started to sit down, and a second later there was a thump as Pieter disappeared from view. He and Molly looked over to see Paige still snickering, and Pieter re-emerging from beneath the table.

  “You ok chap?” Joel asked, trying his best to keep a straight face… his bouncing chest giving away his laughter.

  Pieter nodded, his face bright red as he hauled himself back up and sat properly on his seat again.

  Paige’s sniggering had escalated to where she was killing herself laughing.

  Molly, oblivious to why everyone was laughing, glanced over with a look of confusion. Instead of asking for clarification, she reverted to the task in hand. “So how are things going with the crew?”

  The mood sobered, but Pieter reported in brightly. “They’re all ok. Everyone has been checking in on time. I’ve been monitoring some of the conversations here and there. So far nothing untoward. Maya is doing some poking around… as you might expect.”

  Molly smiled. “Indeed,” she agreed. “And everything working ok with the shifts and the hand overs?” she asked.

  Paige nodded. “Yep. No problems. Oz is also helping monitor things as well. If these guys so much as sneeze, we’ll know about it.”

  Molly nodded her head once. “Good.”

  She turned her attention to Joel who was smiling at Pieter who was still looking somewhat embarrassed.

  “So what is the deal with the companies?” she asked.

  Joel’s focus zoned in, as he pulled up the screen he needed. “Pieter and Oz were doing some analysis of the companies that were under-performing according to our remit…”

  Molly pulled her chair around to see his screen. “You mean things like profits and pay outs versus reinvestments?”

  Joel nodded. “Yeah, it looks like some of the old guard have re-established themselves on the boards of a number of companies, and are drawing salaries and bonuses just as they were doing before.”

  Molly’s face turned dark. “Well this needs fixing.”

  Joel pulled his lips to one side, and nodded grimly.

  Pieter chipped in in a movie announcer voice. “I recommended termination, with extreme prejudice!” he interjected.

  Molly raised her eyebrows. “I think that is probably the way to go.”

  Joel looked at her shocked. “You mean… kill them?”

  Molly laughed. “No silly. Sack them. And then put a lock on them so they can’t be rehired at any of our companies again.”

  “Ohhhh,” Joel said, lifting his chin slightly as the understanding caught up to him.

  Paige chuckled. “My, my, Joel. Someone is a little blood thirsty these days. Maybe you should have headed out on the mission to get some ya-yas out?”

  It was Joel’s turn to blush. “I just… Yeah,” he buried his head in his hand for a moment.

  Pieter patted him on the arm. “It’s ok, mate. We all think stupid things now and again.”

  Joel looked at him sternly, and then at Pieter’s hand on his arm. Pieter removed his hand. “Just sayin’” he added, defensively.

  Molly had been reading down the list of names. “Yeah. I think I’ll head on down there and sack them in person. It will send a clear message to everyone else in the companies too. We should also issue a statement citing our specific reasons why: failure to comply with company ethics and Operating Agreement.”

  Joel made some notes as she talked. “Great, I’ll start drawing something up and then Paige and I can firm it up before we send it out.”

  Paige looked up, nodded, and made a note herself.

  “Great,” Molly confirmed. “Ok, I’m off to get some training in. Then I have a meeting with Von.”

  Paige looked up in recognition. “Tell her I say hi!” she chirped.

  Molly grinned. “Will do… teacher’s pet!” she winked, disappearing out of the door.

  Pieter glanced over at Paige. “Hahaa… teacher’s pet!” he chuckled at her.

  Paige humpfted and turned her attention back to her work, and eventually Pieter did the same.

  Aboard the Flutningsaðili, Pike’s office

  Max Pike sat in his console chair in his private office, just off from the ship’s primary control room. He swiveled around, his feet on the desk, handling a game ball as he talked on the holo audio.

  “What about our guests?” the client asked.

  “They’re safe,” Pike confirmed. “None of the crew know about them… I’ll be tending to them myself just to reduce the risk. But since they’re sedated they won’t be making too many demands.”

  The client was silent for a moment. “As long as their brain cells are functioning when they get here,” he warned sternly. “Else there will be hell to pay. I don’t suppose I need to remind you how much we have riding on this, do I?”

  Max sat up, putting the ball on his desk carefully. “No sir, you don’t. I understand exactly what is at stake, and will be doing everything to ensure this is successful. You have nothing to worry about from this end.”

  “See to it I don’t,” the voice warned. “Let me know when the shipment is due in port and I’ll have my people come pick it up. I trust we have an adequate window?”

  Max rested one hand absently on the ball, as if subconsciously making sure it wasn’t going to roll off the desk. “Yes sir. At least twelve hours. Maybe longer. I’ll know more when I get the updated flight plan.”