Chapter 2-1
1060 Words
2
Sonia took a slug of her drink then pulled a face.
“Damn, Captain, I think that was worse than the last bottle you had!”
“Nothing but the best for us!” replied Drake.
“If that’s the best I’d hate to taste the worst.”
Drake chuckled. The two of them were in his cabin, sitting either side of the small table. Sitting there with his first officer had become a routine, almost a ritual. Drake was glad to have the chance to do it under more normal conditions than they’d faced recently.
“So what’s the plan, Captain?” Sonia asked.
“For the moment I just want to get things back to normal. We’ll find a good cargo to haul and make a bit of money.”
“Did you ever actually get paid by the Commander?”
“Not fully, no. We had a twenty percent down payment but I certainly don’t plan on going to the Phoenix Conglomerate and asking for the rest. We’ll chalk that one up to experience.”
“Along with not letting anything on board we haven’t physically seen inside?”
“Definitely! Though whatever tech they were using to hide the bomb from our sensors was probably something they stumbled across rather than something they can replicate.”
“I don’t know, Captain. Don’t forget they managed to keep the Jade Star completely hidden from our sensors. And that ship the Commander had us meet so he could get information from his contact. That’s two hidden ships and one container we couldn’t see into. That’s a lot of advanced tech concentrated together!”
“It is, but they were seeking something they wanted really badly. It seemed like they were throwing everything they could into the efforts.”
“Did you ever get an idea what it was they were looking for? I know the Commander wanted us to capture that hellship, idiotic idea though that was, but did he let slip why?”
“No,” lied Drake. “He kept his cards very close to his chest. He was paranoid about anyone else learning even the small amount he did tell us. I think it’s probably for the best that we have no idea.”
“Yeah, just as long as his superiors believe we know nothing.”
“That’s why I’d like to grab some cargo and get out of this area. I’m thinking of heading toward the eastern fringe. A lot of systems that way are involved in mining because they’re rich in metals. From what I can tell there’s very little in the way of hellship activity in that area. Hopefully that means we won’t stumble across anyone else on the same mission as the Commander.”
“Really, Captain? You’re going where we can’t destroy hellships?”
“Not forever! Probably not for too long. Besides, very little isn’t none… but maybe we can help tilt it that way. I just want a chance to find out what’s going on and if anyone is looking for us.”
“Well, other than the Phoenix Conglomerate there’s a definite chance the Crimson Dragon and his fleet of pirates will be after us as well, if they ever figure out it was us they saw. And of course any hellships we stumble across are likely to seek you out. We’re getting mighty popular!”
Drake grimaced. “Exactly. So we’re going to have a few nice quiet trading runs while we try to drop below the radar a little bit. I think we all deserve that. Ideally we need to recruit some more troopers too.”
Sonia nodded solemnly. The assault on the Dark Destiny had not been without cost. In some ways Drake was glad he’d managed to get anyone off the hellship. It certainly hadn’t been easy but the aborted boarding had still come at the cost of several lives.
“Will you need to swap out some of the crew as well?” asked Sonia.
“A couple,” said Drake. “Not as many as I’d thought. Now we’re not gallivanting after hellships the others shouldn’t be suffering so quickly.”
“I wish you wouldn’t be so tight-lipped about what the danger is and how it manifests itself,” said Sonia. “If something is harming the crew, or at risk of starting to, I want to know about it so I can help you!”
“It’s not something I can teach or really explain. It’s just something I can sense by looking at the crew. I think it must come from having spent so much time chasing down hellships.”
“Then why aren’t you affected?”
“Who says I’m not? Chasing the hellships has taken its toll on me, believe me. I don’t want anyone else to suffer the same way.”
“What about Jacobs, then? He’s been with you longer than anyone.”
“He has. For some reason it’s never really affected him. Maybe it’s because he’s busy preparing food whilst the rest of us are facing down the hellships. I don’t know. All I can do is play it by ear and keep my crew as safe as I can.”
“So how long will it be before you get rid of me?”
Drake sighed. “A long time, I hope! But when the time comes I won’t put my needs before yours.”
“Don’t you think that’s my decision to make?”
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s mine. That’s why everyone calls me Captain!”
Sonia snorted, and shook her head.
“All right, Captain. I guess I’m going to have to get you more drunk than this to find out what dark secret you’re hiding.”
“I don’t actually have any dark secrets but if I did you’d need to find something a damn sight better tasting than this whiskey to get me that drunk!”
“I’ll drink to that!”
They both threw back the rest of their drinks. To Drake’s relief the conversation turned away from the subject of purging crew. He didn’t need to offload any of the crew now. Those he’d wanted to see safely away were now too far gone and would be stuck aboard the Azimuth for the rest of their lives.
There wasn’t really anyone else who was in danger of succumbing yet but he would pick two or three who were heading that way and leave them behind. Sonia was already curious enough, he didn’t want to let on that any of the crew had passed the point of no return.
He was glad he’d never singled out just which crew he wanted to offload, a habit he’d developed to avoid bad feelings from those who knew they were on their way out the door. As it turned out it was now helping him solve a totally different problem. If only all their problems could be solved so easily.
- Writer
