Untitled Captain Koell Adventure - Day 3

“Just tell me what you know then,” Corwin said.

She actually sighed a little. “Very well. There are more details in the dossier you’ll be receiving shortly, but in short, this time we want you to acquire the artifact in question, not just examine and appraise it.”

Corwin tapped his fingers on the console in thought. That was outside his usual line of work. “I don’t know anything about archaeology, Ms. Sobol. I don’t have the training or the equipment for it, fascinating as the subject is. And I don’t know anything about the world this artifact is located on. This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”

“Nonetheless, that is what they wish of you. You are, of course, free to refuse.”

Free wasn’t the word he’d have chosen. Twice in the past he’d turned down assignments that had conflicted with his duties at the university, and while there had been no overt action taken against him, the distance between the burden of his debt and the progress he’d made in repaying it had almost magically seemed to widen. It was a subtle but effective message.

It sounded ridiculous, so he was tempted to refuse on the spot. He schooled himself to patience though. “Okay, fine. I’ll check out the information and transmit my decision.”

“Excellent. And, do be careful, Captain. Sobol out.” Her holo dimmed to nothingness.

He leaned back, staring at the cockpit ceiling until Aru alerted him with a chime that the info-pack had finished transmitting. “One of these days I’ll be able to afford a new vocalization module for you, Aru,” he said. One of these days I’ll own this ship and Aru with it, and maybe then I will indulge my interest in archaeology, he thought with a mental sigh.

The dossier in the info-pack was almost as skimpy on detail as Madeline had been. Several facts stood out in his attention; the target world had been the site of a failed colony more than a thousand years before, had been used as a base of operations by pirates numerous times in the time since, and had been utterly abandoned for the past two centuries.

Most notable at all, there were no details about what kind of artifact it was he was actually seeking. Instead, the dossier used words like “rumored” and “alleged” to describe some sort of information store or database.

“Well Aru, at least this doesn’t sound terribly dangerous,” he said aloud. Aru already knew the contents of the dossier, of course. “Though I do wish there was more on what caused the colony to fail and why the pirates stopped coming back. Can you see what you can dig up about that?”

Untitled Captain Koell Adventure - Day 2

The response gave Corwin pause. It wasn’t like Madeline to be coy like that when the subject was business. “Just how far outside my usual area of expertise are we talking?”

“Perceptive as always, Captain. I’d tell you more, but … well, I’m afraid I just don’t have all that much to tell you. Naturally we have people who usually check these sorts of things out for us, but there are those in the agency who are most impressed with your resourcefulness. They’re of the opinion that you can handle this.”

“But you have your doubts.”

“I do have some reservations,” she said.

Untitled Captain Koell Adventure - Day 1

The incoming message light lit up on the control panel, immediately shattering Corwin Koell’s state of placid contentment.

“Great, just I needed. Aru, put it through for me will you?”

A series of chirps responded; he assumed it was an affirmative. A glowing holo-projection appeared in the cockpit of his freighter; he swiveled the pilot’s seat around to look at the perfectly kempt, professional figure standing patiently in the projection.

“Good evening, Captain Koell. I trust all’s well?”

He bit back a sarcastic retort; it wouldn’t help. It never did. “As well as can be expected, Ms. Sobol.”

“Please, Captain, do call me Madeline.” The woman in the image frowned a moment, then resumed her patiently pleasant tone. “I’m calling to thank you for your swift and expert handling of your last task. The agency is very appreciative of the translation you accomplished.”

“Then the agency should be thanking Jayni, not me. He’s the one who did the translation.”

She nodded. “Of course. But Jayni would never have had the opportunity to translate the tablets for us had you not brought him in to help you. The agency prizes that kind of initiative, and rewards it as well. You’ll find a bonus on your next payment, Captain. Isn’t that good news? You’re that much closer to paying off the debt on your ship.”

And that was the rub. He was always ‘that much closer’ to paying off the debt, but somehow the numbers never showed it. For the first few months he’d simply told himself that star ships were incredibly expensive, and it was only natural to be overwhelmed by the numbers. Two years with no measurable progress though, that had him frustrated and angry.

“That’s just great news. Best news I’ve heard all day. Be sure and give the agency my thanks.” She’d always been his sole contact in the shady organization he worked for, and she was never willing to give up any details about them. “So that’s it then?”

“There is just one more thing.”

Of course, he thought. There always is. “And that would be …?”

“It’s a little outside your usual area, but nothing too strenuous. We’ve obtained information about a discovery of interest. A person of your background can streamline the process for us.”

An Improbable Journey - Day 5

“That’s them? So where do we start?” he asked the bot. He paused to read Aru’s display.

“We’re approaching the most recently delivered vessels. Odds of finding viable food are highest with those closest to our present location.” Corwin’s response to that was a rumbling of his stomach; food did sound really good.

“Lead on, my little friend.”

They approached a rough circle composed of eight of the most recently acquired mid-sized ships. “I assume these bigger ones will be more likely to carry food?”

“Yes.”

“Anything else I should know about?” he asked as he stepped up close to the boarding ramp of a small but bulky cargo-hauler vessel, relieved excitement in his step.

“All vessels stored here implement strict security protocols. Opening one will trigger an alert and prompting action by system security.” Of course he read this last part after he’d already hit the ship’s controls to lower the boarding ramp.

“System security! I thought this planet was uninhabit—” He was cut off by, not the lowering of the ramp, but by the abrupt appearance of a security officer. Corwin could’ve taken the man for a living presence if it didn’t show the tell-tale bright white glow of a projection.

“Halt! Intruder, you have one minute to identify yourself and explain your presence on this world and why you’re attempting to steal this ship.”

Corwin’s mind raced. That didn’t sound like a standard security greeting. “Wait, I can explain! I thought this planet was uninhabited, I’m just looking for food and a way off!”

“50 seconds, intruder. Identify yourself or face the consequences.” The man’s tone was decidedly unfriendly, even hostile. Just then a disembodied hand appeared on the projected man’s shoulder and a female voice spoke.

“Now now, the poor man’s trapped and hungry. Let’s not be too hasty, I would hear his story.” The security man stepped aside, replaced by the image of a handsome woman perhaps in her mid-thirties, sharply dressed more like a company executive than like a security lead. “There, I’ve cancelled the alert.” The “for now” was implied. “I’m Madeline Sobol. Please, tell me what’s happened here.”

Corwin let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. “Thank you, Ms. Sobol. I woke up a few hours ago on this rock, I have no idea how I got here. Someone must’ve dumped me on a transport or something. My name is Corwin Koell, I’m a dealer in antiquities at the Tau Ceti Institute of Galactic His—”

“Are you now,” the woman broke in, somehow giving the impression of leaning forward with interest without actually moving. “Now that is interesting.” She paused to look him over, and Corwin found himself holding his breath again.

Her image in the hollow took a few steps and suddenly she was sitting in a chair, exquisitely manicured nails tapping a staccato rhythm on the arm. “Mr. Koell, I believe we can help each other out. I would like to make you an offer.”

Corwin felt relief starting to seep through him again. “What kind of offer would that be?”

“I represent the owners of all the ships on that planet. I carry the authority to allow you the use of the ship you need to get yourself off-world. And as it happens, if you are the dealer in antiquities that you claim you are, your services could be of great help to those I represent. If I were to authorize your use of a vessel, how would you feel about making a small cargo run on our behalf? Your inspection and sign-off on the cargo would be most appreciated.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” he said. “Just what exactly is this cargo?”

She smiled. “Nothing dangerous, I assure you. Some statuary and other assorted relics of the Dolish Dynasty.”

He tried not to gape; if genuine, such relics could be incredibly valuable. “Forgive me for prying, but who exactly is it that you represent? I’ve never heard of any government or military agency operating like this.”

Her smile stayed just as pleasant, but suddenly it felt the tiniest bit brittle. “Mr. Koell. Corwin. There’s no need to worry yourself about that for now. We’ll get to those details at a later date. Let’s concentrate on getting you off of that horrid planet.”

She instantly resumed her pleasant countenance. “Now I see you have one of our autonomous bot controllers with you; that’s good. You’ll need it to effect repairs to the vessel and get it space worthy again, and likely to help fly it as well. I’m relaying the pickup and delivery coordinates to the unit. You’ll be making the pickup from me directly. It’s a short trip, you don’t even have to leave the solar system. Our manned station is on the next closest planet to this system’s star.

“Once you’ve made the pickup, I’d appreciate it if you’d limit your inspection to verifying the authenticity of the items in question. I want this treated with the utmost discretion. I trust you have no objections?”

He kept a frown from his face; he didn’t really have a choice. It was his only way off-world, even if he was becoming convinced there was something a bit sketchy about the deal. “No, no objections at all.”

Her smile was all warmth. “Well then, we have a deal. I’m so glad we could work this out to our mutual advantage. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Her image faded, and with a hollow pop, the boarding hatch of the ship unsealed and lowered itself to the ground. Corwin followed Aru into the unknown within, wondering what he’d gotten himself into now.

END

An Improbable Journey - Day 4

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Aru got him to the star ship disposal sector safely, but “comfortably” was not an available upgrade to the ride. His transport chassis had been designed for hauling waste, not people, so in addition to missing a cabin, speed hadn’t been a consideration. On top of that, they’d run into bad weather. When he arrived, he was soaked to the skin in light clothing, and thanks to Haruna having slightly cooler temperatures than he was used to, he was frigid. I suppose I should just be thankful that Haruna rains are largely water, he thought. There were plenty of worlds where the air was breathable but rain would kill you.

He crawled off the transport’s rear deck, feeling like a drowned rat. He paced up and down the Aru’s new length, stamping off the chill that had seeped into him.

“Is this it?” he asked, and then waited. The transport had no visual display.

A whirring rumble answered him and a panel opened up on the chassis near the ground, forming a small ramp. The original unit Corwin had met slid down from a recess within the chassis, snapping into what looked like the set of treads it’d been using to get around earlier. The now much smaller Aru rolled down the ramp, which closed back up again, leaving the transport chassis inert and lifeless.

He bent down to examine the display. “Yes. We have arrived.”

“What kind of ships are around here?” He craned his neck looking around; they were on a rise of some sort, but if he’d expected a hangar of mothballed vessels, or a vast graveyard of broken hulks, it appeared he should be disappointed. What he saw instead didn’t look all that much different than what they’d left behind, safe that the mounds were less broken-looking. There was an order to the chaos that he couldn’t pin down.

“I selected a section that best fit two overlapping criteria. 1) Least likely to be badly damaged, and 2) most likely to contain viable food. Results: Luxury non-military craft.”

Corwin nodded slowly. It made sense to him; the military would strip down any decommissioned ship thoroughly and destroy any sensitive equipment or technology they couldn’t easily remove. Wealthy private citizens, on the other hand, were likely to care for their vessels very carefully, upgrade to newer models regularly, and care far less about what happened to them or their more mundane contents after the ship changed owners.

That still left one small problem. “That sounds great, Aru, but … where are they?”

“This way.” The little bot started off at a quick but easy pace, to Corwin’s relief. He was forced to jog to keep up, which immediately started warming him up. They were moving around the nearest of the junk piles, which on closer inspection Corwin realized was made up of bundled hull plating scavenged from downed vessels. Other heaps nearby were similarly gathered bits and pieces pulled off ships that weren’t so fortunate as those Aru was taking him to see.

They wound their way between several more junk piles when finally Corwin laid eyes on the scene he’d been looking for. A vast field of small- to mid-sized star ships of all designs, descriptions, and state of repair greeted him. Several of the nearest looked as though they’d just come out of the assembly docks.

He felt a giant knot of tension he hadn’t been aware of ease up between his shoulders; he just might get out of this after all.