Chapter Seven
“So,” said Powell, “tell me again why I can see my cargo sitting quietly in the cradles instead of being loaded onto my ship?”
“First,” replied Olaf, “there was an accident earlier on. One of the guys had his leg crushed in a loader. With an accident like that, you can’t just push him aside and keep working. Second, it’s the fifth such accident this quarter and the boys ain’t happy. Third, the boys ain’t happy, so there’s a lot of muttering about going on strike.”
“Strike?” said Papo incredulously. “They can’t go on strike.”
“Sure they can. Happened twice last year, and three times the year before.”
“What do they want, better medical?”
“Medical? Oh no, medical is about as covered as it’s ever going to get. Most of the boys who get hurt, even the really bad ones are back at work the next day. But there’s the whole pain and mental anguish thing, the forms to fill out - it goes on and on. The boys aren’t worried about getting fixed up; they’re worried about not getting hurt in the first place. Admins seem to think that because they can be fixed so easily that they can just tell everyone to hurry up and just let accidents happen.”
“But we have got to get our load on!” said Powell. “We’re supposed to be leaving in twenty minutes!”
“Cool your jets, bayou,” said Olaf. “You got problems? I got problems. Let me tell you, I’ve got thirty ships inbound from half the galaxy and they’re queued up all the way to the emergence zone. I’ve already got ten ships sitting in my locks waiting to be unloaded with lord knows what in the holds. I’ve got five other ships sitting and waiting to be loaded ahead of you and another three behind you. And the last lock is sitting empty because it’s being investigated by the OHS boys and probably won’t be available for use for another four hours. And behind all them, I’ve got another fifty ships scheduled to arrive before the end of the shift!”
“Okay, okay, we get it,” said Papo, backing away from the tirade. “Do you have an estimate on when we’ll be loaded?”
“Estimate? No, but as a guestimate, I’d say you’ll probably be here for at least another five hours.”
“Great,” moaned Powell. So much for the on-time bonus. On the plus side, it was only the freight and cargo vessels that were being affected. The regular message couriers were still running, so he’d be able to send word that he was running late. And more importantly – why.
“So what’s the plan, Captain?” asked Isacus.
“Tell everyone they can head back out into Balga. No point in sitting cooped up in the ship longer than we need to.”
“Yes sir,” said Isacus as he started to leave.
“Oh, and tell them to make sure that they have their comms active. We may need to recall them at short notice.”
“Yes sir.”
Powell watched the man go. Papo continued to stand next to his captain and they surveyed the scene together. A strike wasn’t the most convenient thing, but it wasn’t the worst. The ship was cleaned and fully restocked, the crew was happy with only the two kitchen hands not coming back. They were fairly easy to replace. He hadn’t seen much of them, but from what he had seen and from what the other crewmembers had said, those two were pretty into each other. Powell tried to recall when he’d been that young and in love and was disappointed to find that he couldn’t.
“Excuse me, are you the captain of the Celiker?”
Powell turned around. A man he had never seen before was standing next to them. He seemed anxious, and was dressed like a cross between a businessman and a neon pimp.
“Yes, I’m the captain. Captain Powell.”
“Pleasure to meet you Captain Powell. I’m Ordovus Cleverly. May I have a word with you?”
Kuparinen was very similar to many other stations of its type. Having a base structure that had been expanded and upgraded several times during its lifetime, there was now more matter that was not in the original design than there had been when it was new. However, unlike most other stations, Kuparinen was alone. The normal pattern was for there to be an original station, many other stations in different orbits and dozens of orbital factories ranging from consumer pharmaceuticals manufacture to ship maintenance and construction depending on the planet and it’s industrial base.
However, Elli didn’t warrant any more stations since the variety of traffic was so low. It’s not that the volume of traffic was low; just that almost every ship that came to Kuparinen was either passing through or not stopping at all. But since it was at a major crossroads of sorts there were enough ships coming and going to keep the station viable.
It was here that Kilkka had docked. The Kilkka was not stricktly a cargo ship, but it was carrying cargo on this trip, and a secret.
“Any problems?” asked Tyrell.
“None whatsoever,” replied Captain West. “It all went off without a hitch.”
“Very good,” said Higuel. “So you have what we asked?”
“Of course,” said Oxley. “Like we said – without a hitch.”
The four men were seated at the Raving Monkey, a strange bar that tried to blend old and new styles and failed to pull off either. Gathered around a table in a dark corner, they looked like an odd sort of conglomerate. Two in impeccable business attire, two in slightly scruffy ships suits. Or at least, it would have looked odd in any other bar. These sorts of under the table deals were quite commonplace here at the Raving Monkey.
“Well,” continued Tyrell, “since it went without a hitch then you have what we want.”
“That depends.”
“On what?” asked Higuel suspiciously, his eyes narrowing.
“On whether or not you have what we want.”
“Of course, of course,” purred Tyrell. “You assure us that you have what we want, and I assure you that we have what you want.”
A pause.
“We’re waiting.”
“So are we.”
The two groups glared at each other across the table. They both wanted what the other had; they were just both trying to see if they could get any last minute advantage over the other. Generally, that was how these deals went. It was always easier with properly documented contracts, but nobody wanted records for these types of transactions.
“Very well,” said Tyrell, blinking. “We shall meet at a neutral third place. We’ll bring ours, you’ll bring yours and we can go home with each other’s.”
“Seems fine to me,” said West. “Where do you suggest?”
“Since you are the ones with the most to lose, I suggest that you suggest the location, if that will assay your fears.”
“I suggest the main airlock of the Kilkka.”
Tyrell and Higuel looked at Captain West for a moment. Then it clicked as to what he was referring to. “Ah, your ship. Of course. Say, in one hour?”
“How about ten minutes? I’d like to leave at my earliest possible convenience.”
“Done. Which lock are you in?”
“Twelve.”
“Very well Captain, lock twelve in ten minutes.”
With that, the four men got up simultaneously. A terse nod to each other and they left in separate directions.
“What do you think, Captain?”
“They don’t seem the type to go in for this type of deal. It could go either way so I want the engines hot and ready to leave as soon as the exchange is done. I want a hack on the cams in the approach corridors so we have visual on their approach. I want Glodi and Lasho out in the corridor beyond their approach so they can close in from behind. And I want everyone armed.”
In the opposite corridor, heading for one of the suites, Tyrell and Huigel moved at a fast trot.
“What do you think, Ty?” asked Huigel.
“They look like the type for it. They’re rough as guts and would probably kill us in a second if they thought they could benefit from it.”
“Mierda.”
“On the plus side, it’s to their advantage to not harm us until the deal is finished. I don’t want to be stuck carrying a heavy box, so organize two muscles from some local agency. Make sure that they are unarmed.”
“On it.”
“And I want to make sure that the Narjus is in that box before the handover.”
“Call on the comm,” said Ken.
“Put it through,” replied West.
“Hello Captain,’ said Tyrell. “I’m calling ahead to let you know that we are bringing two large men with us. We can’t carry a box with just us, so we hired some locals to give us a lift.”
“Why didn’t you hire a mech lift?”
Silence for a moment. “That is a good point you make. I should have thought of that.”
“Yes, you should.”
“Did you want to wait until we requisition one before proceeding?’
“No, come on down.”
“See you soon.”
“Jackass,” muttered West. “Send another four Boarders out to join Glodi and Lasho. I don’t want them getting the jump on us. All comms go encrypted.”
“Yessir,” came the chorus from a variety of people. It was a tense few moments, and then Knox started speaking.
“Have them on visual, main corridor. Five people, assessing now. Tyrell and Higuel on point, two unknown heavies behind. Female in the middle. Confirm, female is Kasia.”
“Good,” said Oligana.
“They’re past our boys, lid is shut. Contact in approx ten seconds.”
Captain West watched in apprehension as the party approached the airlock. He stood just inside the airlock doors. On either side of the door lounged Oligana and Saer, apparently relaxed. Two more boarders stood behind each of them, but behind the doors and out of sight from the main corridor. He could see past the five approaching people to see his other boarders fall into step behind the Tyrell’s group walking casually, apparently indifferent.
“Why hello, my dear Captain Westcott Heifner,” said Tyrell.
“Say my name again,” replied Captain West,” and it’ll be the last thing you ever say.”
Tyrell looked around and decided to change tack. “I don’t see our package…”
“Oh, excuse my lapse,” said Captain West. Calling over his shoulder, he shouted “Gustavus!”
The biggest, meanest, strongest Boarder they had on the team walked into the airlock carrying Box HBF-32146 casually under one arm. He placed it on the deck and straightened up, folding his arms across his chest. He looked straight at Tyrell’s eyes, and never blinked.
“Would you mind if we inspected the box before the deal is finalized?”
“Knock yourself out,” said Captain West through gritted teeth.
“Check the box, Higual.”
“Me?”
Turning to Higuel, Tyrell hissed some unmentionable words. Higuel walked forwards and stood in Gustavus’ shadow. He examined the box and noted that it still had its customs seal from when it was shut on Condell. Pulling out a key, he opened the box. Carefully rummaging around the inside, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Either these guys had removed the Narjus from the box, or it had never been loaded on Condell. And neither aspect was particularly appealing.
“It’s not here,” he whispered.
“What?” asked Tyrell.
“I said,” hissed Higuel, raising his voice slightly, “it’s not here.”
“What do you mean it’s not there? Where is it?”
Instantly the sound of weapons being readied resounded throughout the chamber. The two guys that had been hired looked over their shoulders and realized that this was not going to be the super-easy job they had been promised.
“Is there a problem?” growled West.
“Could … um … could your guys put their weapons away?” stammered Tyrell.
“Let Kasia aboard and we’ll put the toys away.”
“Of course, of course,” said Tyrell. With a slight wave of his hand, he motioned for Kasia to walk forward. She walked past the people in the airlock and entered the ship. A small nod from West and everyone else quietly put the weapons away as efficiently as they had been drawn. Nervously, Tyrell asked: “Have you opened this box, Captain?”
“No.”
“Oh,” continued Tyrell nervously. “Well then, maybe our supplier failed us on Condell.”
“You’re welcome to come aboard and have a look around,” offered West in an almost genial fashion.
“That’s okay, Captain, I believe you. Um, I guess we’ll be taking what’s ours and going on our way then, shall we?” Tyrell motioned for his two heavies to fetch the box. Higuel closed it and stepped back, glad that he had been able to clench tight enough to not mess himself. The two strongmen picked up the heavy box between them and walked off the ship followed by Higuel, under the glare of Gustavus. “Well, it’s been a pleasure. Kasia will explain, I’m sure. Goodbye Captain Wes- uh, Captain.”
With that, the four men left and Saer closed the airlock. Puzzled, West turned away from the door and headed towards the main lounge. “Ken – let’s go.”
The ship eased out of the lock that it sat in. Up on the bridge, Ken gave Kuparinen traffic control access to the ships systems for the flight out. With everyone safely aboard, West found Kasia being examined by Akie, the Boarder’s medic.
“How is she, Doc?”
“I’m fine,” said Kasia before Akie could reply. “I don’t see what the big deal is with all the guns though.”
“Don’t see the big deal?” spluttered West, flabbergasted. “They kidnapped you!”
“Kidnapped! I wasn’t kidnapped!”
“What the hell is going on?” asked Saer as he entered.
“We got a ransom demand. Well, we didn’t, Cyrianne did.”
“Sis is aboard?”
“Yeah, she’s one of our mechanics on this trip. She got a ransom demand and told to intercept a package on a ship in transit in order to get you back. She came straight to me and we worked it out. We thought those guys were real pros since they gave us access codes to the target ship in order to let us board her without detection and loaded a Trojan on Condell before she left. Well, I thought they were pros until I met them.”
“Yeah, that guy who checked the box looked like he was about to drop a load in his pants or something,” giggled Knox.
“No, I wasn’t kidnapped. I was working on Balga when I was offered a transfer to Kuparinen. It was a hole so I asked to be transferred back and said that they could keep their extra money. Those two guys I came with said they’d organize a trip back with you. It wasn’t until we reached the ship that I noticed something was wrong from the way everyone was acting the two beefy boys that joined us.”
“Okay, so did anyone get screwed?” asked Saer.
“I don’t know,” said Oligana. “It looks like whatever they wanted, it wasn’t in the box. What did they want?”
“Something called a ‘Narjas’ or something,” said Gustavus. “Couldn’t hear too well over the little guy’s knees knocking together.”
Half the people in the room laughed.
“It’s a moot point, but she checks out fine. Nothing wrong with her,” said Akie. Although an accomplished medic, Akie was pretty bored with this job. From the actions that the boarders engaged in, there were generally only two conditions – perfectly fine and dead. There were very few occasions when someone was actually injured in a treatable way. She’d spent more time patching up the mechanics than the boarders.
“Thanks Akie,” said West. “Okay, so were are we heading?”
“Can I hitch a lift to Balga?” asked Kasia.
“Seems like as good a place as any,” said Saer. “It’s a fairly big place and we should be able to pick up some contracts there. Maybe even some legit ones.”
“Agreed,” said West. “You get that Ken?”
“Copy, Captain. I’ll set the wheels in motion.”
“I guess that’s that then. Kasia, you may as well go see Cyrianne, I’ll bet she’s anxious to see you. Ox, see if you can dig up any data on this ‘Narjas’ thing before we’re out of range of Kuparinen.”
“I’m on it, sir,” replied Oxley as Kasia left the room.
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