28 Salas 1117: Jumpspace
There wasn’t much going on today, so I just commed the entire ship and had everyone come down for the pre-landing meeting. Not that there was much new to go over, but I decided to stick with formalities.
Everyone wandered down after a while. Jami and Saahna were playing their usual card game, with Varan watching and making occasional suggestions that both of them seemed to be ignoring. I was just watching net-vids on my comp when the iris opened, and Shelly and Dr. Korvusar came down from the passenger lounge. He must have been monitoring because Do’rex entered from the Bridge a few seconds later.
I waited as everyone got something from the dispenser, then flicked the data on Girar up to the overhead holo.
“I’ve got nothing new, really,” I said, gesturing towards it. “So this will be pretty short unless one of you has thought of something over the past few days.”
Dr. Korvusar politely held up a hand. “If I understand, you are still planning to deliver your ‘special cargo’?”
“Yes. I am. I don’t want us to get a reputation for being a ship that doesn’t honor its agreements. If things get awkward, I’m sure I can cover it. Somehow.”
She tilted her hand in dismissal. “Well, as long as you are confident, then I have no concerns. I’m not a Free Trader, just Naval Intelligence. I’m sure I have no idea how these things work.”
I grimaced slightly at what I felt was an implied insult. “Differences of scale. You’re thinking planets, subsectors, and sectors. I’m thinking of a few tons of cargo on a single ship. They aren’t the same. Worst case? We spend some of our profits paying a few customs inspectors to look the other way. We’ll be fine.”
“I was not questioning you, Captain. As I said, as long as you are confident, then I have no concerns.” She immediately pulled out her comp, opened it, and started scrolling through it.
I sighed. “So… anyone else?”
“I’ve been looking up data on Girar,” said Shelly. “For my netcast. Is it… as dangerous as it seems to be?”
“No. Look, there are a few millions of planets. If people are living there, then it is safe. People are willing to live there to make a life for themselves. The hazardous planets don’t even show up on navigation maps; that’s why no one ever goes to black holes or neutron stars. We could. I mean, I guess the Scouts do, but there’s a reason they have the reputation they do. Yeah, there’s a risk, but there’s also a risk every time we enter Jumpspace. Being on Girar is actually safer than being on this ship. Or living on Boilingbrook for that matter; at least on Girar you can breathe the air.”
She frowned at that. “Well… OK. Yeah. I guess I’m good.”
I looked around. “Anyone else?”
“What do we do if someone does come after us, for talking to Tahma and Kol’toti on Tlianke?” asked Saahna.
“What do you mean?”
“Look, I thought their precautions were sufficient when we were there but… Doctor Korvusar is right. If anyone were paying attention, then it would be obvious that we made some kind of deal with them. And while a message couldn’t have gotten here before us, one almost certainly will while we’re on-planet. What are we going to do if someone starts asking questions?”
“We’re a Free Trader. We carry goods for other people. Someone asked us to carry something and were willing to pay extra for direct delivery. All completely standard. This is hardly the first time we’ve done something like this.”
She thought for a long moment. “I suppose. I guess I’m just a bit more paranoid than normal.”
I hesitated. “OK… I trust your instincts. What is different this time?”
She paused for a moment as well. “It’s the mess going on back in the Imperium. The local polities they’re… wanting to throw their weight around. Wanting to prove that they can do their own thing while the Imperium is occupied elsewhere and the Solomani haven’t shown up yet. Establishing a new status quo before one of the real powers shows up again and is then forced to take the current situation as it is. I think the Tliankians might be willing to make an example of a single Free Trader.”
“So… what do you think I… we should do?”
“I think the Doctor is right.” She tilted her head in Dr. Korvusar’s direction. “We sell the cargo we have to prove that we aren’t involved with whatever plot Tahma, Kol’toti, and whoever else is with them. Then we buy new cargo, or even repurchase the same cargo, and deliver it as planned. Then avoid Girar for a while.”
“OK. I don’t want to hurt our reputation, but I want to hurt us personally less. We’ll sell all of our cargo then go from there.”
Shelly was nodding. “Yeah, what destroyed the Cygnarus was Captain Barrikus prioritizing his contact over the current situation of the ship. I’d just as soon not get shot at again.”
“Trust me, I’d prefer not to get shot either. And I’ll disable our ‘Hinterworlds Alliance’ beacon before we hit normal space.” I stopped to think. “Should we activate the ‘preferred trader’ tag we got from Tahma and her friends?”
Everyone looked around at that, but Saahna was nodding. “Sure. That would make total sense. We said we would deliver cargo in exchange for the beacon, then sold the cargo anyway. That makes us look untrustworthy, but not suspicious.”
“I’d prefer not to look either.”
“If we actually wind up delivering the cargo, then we won’t.”
“That’s… threading a slingshot orbit.”
She smiled. “You keep telling us how good you are? Let’s see you prove it.”
I could tell she wasn’t being serious, but I could tell from the expressions of a few others that they weren’t quite as convinced as she was. “I can make this work. We’ll be fine.”
There were still a few dubious expressions around, but no one said anything. I nodded.
“OK, unless anyone has anything else then we’re good. We should hit normal space around 1300 tomorrow, so be ready. Not that we have any passengers to worry about.”
Dr. Korvusar raised her hand without looking up from her comp, but I ignored her.
“And we’re back to normal passenger operations next week. No need to look like a suspicious Free Trader. Beyond that… I’ll comm everyone after we land and I have a place for our landing meeting. After that? Have fun for a week. So again, does anyone have anything?”
No one did though I saw a few somewhat dubious expressions. But, since no one said anything, I dismissed the meeting.
Afterward, I went up to the Bridge briefly. Do’rex was in the Pilot’s seat, of course, but didn’t indicate any surprise at my being there; merely giving me a tentacle wave over his shoulder.
I tapped on my console for a while; disabling our Boilingbrook alliance credentials and activating the fake ones I had gotten from Kol’toti. I felt a little bad for both, but… business was business.
Then I retreated to the cramped quarters of my cabin. I hope I’m… We’re making the right decisions here.