'Newark Station, this is vessel Jack Rabbit requesting to dock.'
'Vessel Jack Rabbit, this is Newark, what is your cargo?'
'No cargo Newark, we only need minor repair and restock.'
'Roger Jack Rabbit, please stand by.'
Stephen Cruz turned to speak to the captain, 'You know Jack there are easier ways of doing this. I still think it would have been a lot simpler to just dock at Manhattan.'
'No one is arguing that point Stephen, 'Captain Jack Crow answered him, 'as simple as it may be, I just don't trust the LPI. I'll take any opportunity I can to avoid their harassment. Interspace may not be my favorite group either, but they pay good money to keep the LPI from poking into their affairs. As long as we keep our heads down here they'll leave us alone.'
The comm unit interrupted their discussion, 'Vessel Jack Rabbit this is Newark, you are cleared to dock at mooring point seven.'
'Thank you very much Newark, Jack Rabbit out.'
Jack Crow left the bridge and shot down the ladder to the lower deck where his quarters were located. He removed the side arm he was wearing on his hip. This wasn't going to be an occasion for big guns. He placed the weapon in a safe set in the wall and locked it. He then grabbed his long black coat. This coat had a specially designed pocket that would conceal a small weapon and even fool most modern weapons detectors. He touched the pocket and looked back at the safe. 'No', he thought, 'not this time.'
Stephen Cruz, his first officer was waiting for him in the hallway. 'Ok, let's get on with it Jack, this is going to be a long enough trip as it is.'
'You're not getting impatient are you my friend?'
'I just think we're going through an awful lot of trouble to find work. There have got to be easier ways of doing things.'
'There are much easier ways of doing things. However, if you're not willing to take a little risk, you're never going to see a big payday.'
'Just once I'd like to do without a bit of the risk.'
'You're not going soft on me are you? Besides, you're not the one in debt to Junker loan sharks. If I don't get this ship paid off I'll be on the slave train to Malta and the rest of you just may be coming along for the ride.'
'I get the point. I just remember life being simpler once.'
'That was a long time ago Stephen. Besides, I don't ever remember a time when we weren't taking some kind of risk.'
The two men made their way to the airlock where a dark haired woman almost as tall as Jack was waiting for them. 'We're all set here Captain. We should be restocked within an hour and then we'll just wait for you.'
'Ok, just sit tight Sophia. If you don't here from us within twelve hours take this boat to Rochester. We'll meet you there.'
'Not the smartest place for us to be going right now is it?' she answered him.
'Maybe not but it's definitely the safest if something goes wrong. At least until we can move to an even more remote location. I don't even know where we'll be headed with this job and maybe that's for the best right now.'
Sophia waved to both men as she closed the airlock behind them. As the door slammed shut the two men made their way down the corridor of Newark station. There were regular shuttles from Newark to Manhattan they just need to find one with two empty seats and a quick departure.
A few hours later both men were standing in one of the larger spaceports of planet Manhattan.
Jack pointed down the street, 'According to the directions Thumper gave me we head that way. It's a bit of a walk.'
'Lead on boss, I'm with you.'
Jack and Stephen walked about a mile and a half from the landing pad where they came in. They found themselves in a rough looking neighborhood on the edge of the spaceport. After making a few turns Jack saw the place they were looking for. Then his face turned sour. 'Of all the blasted places he could have picked for a meeting.'
'Calm down. Hey, it'll be like old times.'
'In case you've forgotten, those were old times I never liked very much.'
They walked into a dimly lit bar with no shortage of loud music and rowdy clientele. Even those who weren't in uniform would stand out in a crowd. They were obvious Liberty Navy. Jack just shook his head as he and Stephen took seats at the bar and ordered drinks. After a few minutes of small talk a man approached them. He did not have the obvious look of a navy man. 'Gentlemen, 'he said 'my boss sends his regards and asks that you join him at his booth.'
They got up from their stools and followed him to the back of the establishment where two more men where sitting in a corner booth. Jack recognized one of them immediately as Thumper, a contact who had gotten them work many times in the past. 'Good to see you again Jack, 'Thumper greeted them as they slid into the booth 'I believe I owe you a bottle of that rum you love so much.'
'I believe I owe you a swift kick in the pants for choosing a navy bar as a meeting place. '
'You don't like the place? I think it has character. Back on Earth in the old days this would be called a squid bar, hardly an appropriate name since the discovery of the nomads. Anyway, what would you prefer one of those dives outside town where half the people are looking to rob you and the other half work for the LSF? There's nothing going on in here cept navy boys getting drunk and rowdy. As long as there's not major trouble in here the place stays off the radar.'
'Ok great,' Jack answered him. 'What have you got for us?'
'Ok, down to business it is. As usual I've got a mess o' cargo that needs movin. This trip shouldn't be too bad. The cargo's all legit so long as no one looks too closely.'
'And that would mean exactly what?'
'It means you ain't goin to be carryin contraband Jack. Just don't let anyone inspect it too closely. You might not like what they find.'
Jack nodded. He understood the meaning perfectly. Thumper was known for having contacts within the Lane Hackers. The goods he was talking about probably came from one of their heists and now they need someone to move it for them. 'Ok, sound simple enough. Where do we make the pickup?'
'This one will be done in space,' Thumper said as he passed a small data card across the table, 'All the information you need is on there. I believe you know how to decipher that. The buyer will be waiting for you at Planet Cambridge. The encryption codes to contact him are on that card.'
'And payment?'
'Six and a half million and you get paid when you deliver.'
'That's a little slim for this job Thumper. There's got to be more money than that involved here.'
'That's the job Jack. You tellin me you don't want it?'
'Didn't say that, just didn't think you'd sully your reputation by low balling us that way.'
'You think so eh? Tell you what I'll do. If you can pull this off without causing any trouble for me or my friends I'll see to it that you have another job lined up in Bretonia so you can keep right on moving and earning at the same time.'
'Thumper, there just aren't that many people who can pull this off as efficiently as we can and you know that.'
'This is the job Jack. It's all I've got to offer you. There aren't many who can do what you can do but there are plenty who are stupid enough to try. You keep doing right by me and I'll see to it that your ship stays full. There's money to be made if you want to work. Besides, I'm working on some new angles we can talk about when you come back this way. A bit more risk than most captains will even consider, but the payoff is better than either of us have ever seen.'
Jack looked at Stephen who gave him a nod, 'Ok, we're in.'
'Excellent. I'll send the signal. My friends will be looking for your ship at the rendezvous. Don't be late Jack they get nervous when you stand them up.'
'Don't worry about us and thanks. We'll see you in a few weeks I guess.'
'That went well I think,' Jack said to his friend when they were back out on the street.
'It was almost too easy.'
'It was as it should be. He's got contacts with goods that need to be moved and he knows we get the job done. Still, I'd like to be bringing in a little more money.'
'There you go again. I thought he was offering us a pretty good deal.'
'He is offering a good deal. I'm speaking as a man with a huge dept on my head. The sooner we get this paid off the sooner we can start living a very good life.'
'Won't that be the day? The way I see it, you're barely keeping the loan sharks at bay now. How do you really expect to get that thing paid off?'
'If Thumper can come through with the work he's promising it can be done. It's just going to require that we stay moving without a lot of down time. It's going to be a hard life.'
'Well, the crew hasn't tried to kill you yet. I guess they'll go along with this.'
Both men stopped talking as they passed an alley and heard a woman scream. Stephen turned to see a large man dragging a woman by her arm. Jack was already running down the alley.
'Dammit Jack not now. What part of low profile doesn't he understand?' he thought as he followed his friend down the alley. He got to Jack's side just as he was starting to question the man.
'What's going on friend? You're sure making quite a ruckus down here.'
'This is not any of your business. You'll do well to keep walking.'
'And will she do well for us to keep walking. I can't help but notice that she doesn't seem to want any of this.'
'Turn around now or I'll see both of you locked up.'
Stephen started to get even more nervous at this. What exactly had they just gotten themselves into? Then Jack answered the man, 'See, you don't exactly look like cop to me. The LPI doesn't usually go dragging people into back alleys like this, at least not that they want the public to know about. Why don't you tell me what's really going on here.'
'I've already told you all you need to know,' the man answered back as he reached into his coat. Jack saw the gun in his hand and instinctively grabbed the man's wrist. The last thing this large man saw was the top of his own gun rising up to meet his face. Then he was lying on the ground.
'Uh'¦.yeah,' Stephen cut in, 'That was helpful. What's your next trick?'
Jack turned to the woman, 'Are you ok?'
'Yes'¦.I'm fine,' she answered him 'He tried to proposition me on the street. Just wouldn't take no for an answer.'
'Well, this isn't exactly the part of town people come to meet women of high moral character.'
'I must have gotten myself lost ending up down here. I need to get to a place where I can get a shuttle off world. Can you help me with that?'
Stephen shot Jack a suspicious look. Then he bent down to take a look at the man lying on the ground.
'We were actually about to do the same,' Jack told the woman 'We can walk you to the shuttle docks where you can find transport wherever you need to go.'
'Uh'¦..Jack, you might want to have a look at this.' Stephen said as he stood up and handed over the pistol the man had been carrying. Jack took it and looked it over. It was small and compact. He had never actually seen one but he knew right away what it was. It was one of the most expensive handguns available on the open market. During his brief time in the navy he didn't even see officers carrying side arms of this quality.
'This is not a thug's gun,' Jack said as he turned his attention back to the woman 'I'm now seeing two people that don't really belong in this part of town.'
'You're right,' she said 'I don't belong here. I'm ready to not be here anymore if you know what I mean.'
'You running from something?' Jack asked her.
'That's one way to put it. I'm not a criminal if that's what you're asking me. I'm just in a bad spot and I need to get off this planet without attracting a lot of attention.'
'Where are you headed?'
'I don't know yet. Away from here, probably back to Denver eventually. At least I hope.'
'Is that home for you?'
'It's been a while since I've called it that, but yes.'
'Well this is a little too much naughtiness for us I think,' Stephen cut in 'I'm thinking we should not be heading into the spaceport for commercial transport right now.'
'Stephen, when you're right you're right. I think we'll make other arrangements.' As they were leaving the alley Jack dropped the man's fancy pistol into the pocket inside his jacket. 'Looks like this was a good idea after all,' he thought to himself.
'I wonder if you'd be interested in a little company,' the woman said to them. Both men turned and looked at her with a shocked expression. 'No. No, that's not what I meant. I'd just like to get out of here and I'd rather do it quietly. I'd like to tag along if you have a plan. You've already seen that there are too many people looking to take advantage of a woman traveling alone, especially in a place like this.'
'Lady, it's nice that you're so trusting but that's going to get you in even more trouble,' Jack told her 'We're not nice men either.'
'I'm Maria by the way, not Lady.'
'Nice to meet you Maria,' Stephen cut in again 'We need to be going. You ready to split Captain?'
'Indeed. We've been here too long already. Maria, I suggest you head down that road as fast you can and find a small transport off here. Once you're in space you'll find that you blend very well among the crowd. I suspect that will be very much to your liking.'
The two men turned down a different road then the way the came and took a different route back to the spaceport. Maria followed after them and called out, 'Are you really a captain? Does that mean you have your own ship?'
'That would be a kindness,' Stephen answered her. 'What we have is a means of interplanetary travel.'
'That's perfect she said. It sounds like exactly what I need.'
Stephen turned to face her, 'No, it's not what you need at all. My friend gave you very good advice. I suggest you follow it.'
'I have money. I can pay you very well for transport.'
'That would be great if we were running a cruise ship, but the fact of the matter is we ain't.'
'Wait a minute,' Jack said, 'You don't even know who we are. I told you we aren't nice men. Why are you so determined to travel with us and now willing to spend good money to do it?'
'I don't know you. What I know is you stepped in to help me when you didn't have to. I think that may have even caused you a little trouble, but you did it anyway. You aren't wanted men or you wouldn't have made it through the spaceport to be walking openly on the street. I get the feeling that you like to travel with a low profile which is exactly what I'm looking for right now.'
'What are you offering?' Jack asked her.
'I'll pay you half a million credits to get me to a safe port outside of Liberty. I can throw in another quarter mil if you can get me to a Freeport in the border worlds.'
'That's a tall order. You're offering us a Spa and Cruise fee and you aren't going to be getting anything close to that. In fact you may find it down right unpleasant.'
'I'll take it. I'll even do what I can to earn my keep on board.'
'Really?'
'As long as we keep it honorable, yes.'
'Ok. I still don't think you realize what you are getting into but come on.'
'Jack, have you lost your damn mind?' We're going to have a hard enough time getting off this rock after what you did back there. You want to throw yet another wrench in the works?'
'Well, we're now running a little behind. That's my fault I realize that. The money she's offering will help offset the damage done by that. Besides, it just feels right.'
'Well I'm glad it feels right. As long as you've got a feeling I'm sure everything will be just fine.'
'Stephen, we've been doing this too long. You know me. Trust me, we'll survive.'
'Ok mister survivor, how do you plan to get us off this rock? '
Jack led the other two down a series of streets turning in different directions as they went. As they turned down one street Maria noticed two things. First that they seemed to be headed away from the commercial shuttle docks, and second that the smell was getting progressively worse. Soon there were less and less buildings around them and the ones that were there seemed to be falling apart. She looked at her watch and realized they had been walking longer than she realized and moving at a good pace. They were now well outside the spaceport. 'Where exactly are we going?' she asked.
'Welcome to the town dump.' Stephen told her.
'I'm beginning to rethink my first impression of you two. How exactly are we going to get off world here?'
'It's really quite simple,' Jack told her. 'Tax paying Libertonians would never stand for trash accumulating in their cities. All this scrap won't be here for very long. The Junkers will be hauling it out of here. You have to keep the people happy and that means keeping the size of the trash piles small at all times. That means the Junkers will be making regular flights out of here with the scrap.'
'So'¦..we're riding out of here in a trash bin?'
'Something like that. I told you that you would most likely find it unpleasant.'
'You weren't kidding.'
'I never do when things are this serious.'
'How will this get us to your ship.'
'Patience my dear Maria all will be fine. I actually have a plan.'
Jack walked up to a series of small landing pads and began talking to a man standing near by. 'You're flying scrap to Rochester right?'
'Just what concern is that of yours?' The Junker answered him.
'Well, we're actually looking to make your pockets a little heavier if we can pretend to be stowaways.'
'Sorry, I've got no use for this. I'm not running a passenger service. You've come to the wrong part of town.'
'My friend, this is exactly the part of town where I want to be. How about forty thousand credits for not doing anything extra and simple letting us take a ride?'
'You've got cash up front?'
'Yes, I believe we can handle that.'
'Ok. You stay quiet in the back and you get off quietly at Rochester. I don't want to see you around here again.'
'I understand.' Jack turned from the man and walked back to Stephen and Maria. 'Well, I just took a rather big chance. Let's see if I was right. Maria, that's a large sack you've been carrying on your back and you did offer us a good bit of money. Would I be right to assume that you're carrying a good bit of money on you now?'
'I've got no where near the amount I promised you but I can get that easy enough.'
'Yes, I rather suspected that. Can you come up with at least forty thousand in cash right now?'
'Maybe, why is that important?'
'That's what it's going to cost us to get out of here.'
'That's a lot of money to ride with the trash.'
'Maybe you'd like to go back to the spaceport.'
'No. No I really wouldn't.'
'I didn't think so. I'm not trying to take advantage of you. This is how it's done. If you want to get out of here quietly, this is what it takes.'
Maria reached into her bag and fumbled with some smaller bags. Then she handed some credits to Jack. 'That should be what you need.'
'Excellent. These Junkers are usually pretty efficient so we should be leaving soon.'
____________________________________________________________________
The three 'stowaways' were sitting in a cramped room near the ship's engine. The room was hot and dirty. 'I thought we'd have a little more room than this on a ship this size.' Maria said as she stared and the grease covered walls.
'There's not much wasted space on a ship like this. They don't make much money hauling this stuff so they have to squeeze as much as they can on here. It's all pretty efficient actually. The ship has its own incinerator so much of this stuff will be fed through the engine and cast out into space as atoms. Anything that can be salvaged will be taken back to Rochester. There will be a little more room to move around by the time we land.'
'And just how long will that be.'
'A rig like this, I'd say about 8 hours. The good news is that my ship travels faster. We've already missed our check in deadline so they should be en route to the same place. In fact they should be ready to depart by the time we arrive.'
'So, is this what I should expect on board your ship?'
'Well, we do live a little better than this. Not much, just a little. We're not really used to taking passengers though. You might find that part a little difficult.'
'Not to mention some of the crew might not like it either.' Stephen cut in.
'Well, that's a possibility.' Jack added, 'They'll deal with it though. We've all dealt with much worse. Anyway, I'd suggest getting some sleep if you can. It's really the only way to deal with a trip like this.'
________________________________________________________________________
Maria opened her eyes slowly. She had a headache and her neck was stiff. She wasn't even sure how long she had been asleep, but she was surprised that she was able to sleep on this ship at all. She thought back through everything that had happened in the past few days. How did she end up here? She had been living a life of luxury, and now she was sleeping on the dirty floor of a trash ship. As she started to look around she noticed that Jack and Stephen were both gone. She stood up and walked around the compartment a little, not that there was much room to walk. Suddenly the door opened and Jack Crow walked back in the room. He was carrying a dirty duffle bag.
'Look who's awake.' He said, 'I hope you're feeling a little better.'
'I feel like I'm ready to die. I don't suppose there's any chance of getting a shower where we're going.'
'Well, there are showers on Rochester, but they're quite expensive. I suspect that might not be a problem for you though. We won't be staying there that long though and I wouldn't be flashing credits around the place if I were you. The good news is we have showers on the ship. Once we get underway water is usually much of a problem for us.'
'From all the stories I've heard water is a very precious commodity in space.'
'It is. It's hard to come by on bases like where we're going because it all has to be shipped in. They end up recycling a lot of what's used. Junkers are pretty good at that. We recycle a lot on the ship too.'
'Where do you get all your water from?'
'Ok now, I'm not going to tell you all my secrets. Anyway, if you want to stretch your legs any there some more room to walk around now. Most of the stuff that's not being saved has been incinerated. There are only a few important things left to incinerate.'
'Really, and what would those be?'
'Well'¦.I'm no expert in fashion, but I'm guessing that's a rather expensive dress you're wearing. It looks like it's seen better days anyway. Besides that, you'll neve blend in where we're going wearing that.'
'So, you think I'm just going to strip my clothes off right here for you?'
'No. I'll step outside.' He opened the bag he was carrying and pulled out a dirty jumpsuit, a pair of shorts, and a t-shirt. 'I think these will fit you. Everything you are wearing now has to go. We'll be able to get you some more later. That designer bag you're carrying too. Use this duffle to carry what you need to save of your belongings. Step out when you're ready.'
Five minutes later Maria stepped out into the corridor wearing the jumpsuit. She had it zipped up to her neck.
Jack looked her over. 'You need to take that zipper down just a little to look right. Also, you've got something on your face let me get that for you.' He reached down and grabbed a dirty rag and proceeded to rub her face with it. She jumped back screaming when she realized he had just rubbed dirt and grime all over her face.
'What was that for?'
'Sorry about that. Now you look like you belong on a Junker base. You did say you wanted to blend in and not be noticed.'
The three 'stowaways' slipped off the transport very quietly as they had promised. There was not much security to get into Rochester. The security forces would only rear their heads when trouble started. One of the things that made this base so attractive for people in Liberty was that people could come and go without anyone keeping track of arrivals and departures.
Maria was amazed at everything she saw. After coming through the airlock they stepped onto a small catwalk. Below them she could see several large fighters and freighters with dock crews scurrying all around them. There were steam vents belching gas into the bay and the smell of grease and H-fuel was thick in the air. As they passed through another set of bulkheads the area around them quickly opened up. It appeared to be a large open air market with people all around bargaining and making deals for ships, parts, weapons, and cargo.
'Welcome to the underground stock exchange.' Crow said and they passed by away from most of the crowd.
'What exactly does that mean?' Maria asked him.
'Just an expression really. You can buy and sell just about anything here. Stay close though.
They followed Jack to a data screen on the wall. He activated it with a touch and quickly brought up the display he was looking for. 'There's my girl,' he said, 'She's moored a few levels below. We can get there this way.'
The three of them walked through another series of corridors and then went down an elevator. It opened to face out on to another catwalk. As they found the airlock they were looking for Jack opened it and entered a code into a console. The door swung open. 'Honey I'm home.' He screamed into the waiting corridor. A voice called out from one of the upper decks and Sophia came sliding down the metal stairs.
'Welcome back. You guys sure took your time getting here and'¦'¦..uh, who's this?'
'Sophia, this is Maria. She's going to be our passenger for the next few days. See what you can do about setting up a room for her.'
'Passenger? Aren't you full of surprises.'
'I do try. What's the status of the ship?'
'Fueled and ready to fly, where are we headed?'
'Well here's the info. Take that to the bridge and decode it although I suspect our next destination is either California or Magellan.'
'Ok, I'll take a look. Are we going to be hauling anything?'
'Probably, let me go see what I can round up.'
Jack walked back up to his quarters and quickly logged his terminal onto the neural net. There were no urgent messages waiting for him. That was a good thing. No news is definitely good news on a day like this. After he had done that, he headed back off the ship almost as quickly as he had come on.
Jack walked back to the market area. There was a dimly lit bar off to one end. He walked in and ordered a drink and then began to look around. As he spotted a familiar face he headed over to have a chat. 'Hey there Lance, what's happening?'
'Jack Crow. What brings you to my little corner today?'
'Shopping actually. I'm a little low on cash but I want to pick up what I can so we aren't flying empty when we leave. What have you got that's good today?'
'You name it my friend. Are you in the mood for something special?'
'Actually, engine components and electronics will go over very well where we're headed.'
Lance knew better than to ask him where that would be. 'Ok, I think I can help you there. We recently had some new stuff come in. It's been selling pretty well actually.'
'Ok, I can spend about 180k right now. Give me what you can. The Rabbit's moored below, just have it sent over ASAP, we're looking for a quick departure.'
'No socializing today huh?'
'When have you even known me to do that?'
Just then Jack felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see yet another familiar face staring at him. 'What's going on Sledge?' He asked the large man.
'Oh, now we're old friends I see. Looks like you've got some money to spend. You wouldn't want to be forking some of that cash over for my boss would you?'
'Hey man, I'm up to date on my payments.'
'I know you are Jack. I just figured if you can be flashing cash around in a place like this you can let a little something go toward you debt.'
'Not this time Sledge. Things are a little tight at the moment.'
'That's not what my boss likes to hear Jack. You owe us a lot of money. We don't like to hear that you're running short.'
'I didn't say I was running short. I said I don't have anything extra to spare at the moment. Do I tell you how you run your business?'
'Mind your tongue Jack, I'm just trying to help you stay right with the world.'
Jack's face grew very grim and he moved slowly up to the man's face. 'Listen to me Sledge. Have I ever missed a payment with your boss?'
'No, you haven't Jack.'
'Have I ever tried to give you guys those stupid excuses that all these idiots offer you?'
'No, you haven't Jack.'
'Then let me do my damn business. I've got 200k to my name at the moment. If I use it to fill my ship I can turn that into half a mil where we're going. Then after that we'll be able to collect enough to make our next two payments. How's about you back off and let me get about that business of mine?'
'Fine Jack, you just go on then. I just don't want to see you getting careless with that business of yours.'
'Tell you what. Just to show how much I appreciate all you guys have done for me I do have a little something extra for you.'
'Oh really?'
Jack reached inside his coat and pulled out the designer pistol he'd been carrying. Sledge jumped back when he saw Jack pulling a gun. 'Relax Sledge, I'm not going to shoot a Junker on a Junker base, how stupid do you think I am. Take this. You may find it to your liking, or you can just make a buck off it.'
Emerson Powell was not having a good day. The news he had been waiting for since morning had not come yet. He was starting to get very impatient. He stood and paced the floor looking out the large window at the city below him. He walked several large circles around his plush office.
His comm. unit buzzed and he quickly rushed over and pushed the receive button. 'Johnson is here to see you Mr. Powell.'
'Good, send him in here immediately.'
He walked back behind his desk as the doors opened and a stocky man in a business suit walked into his office.
Powel looked across his desk at the man, 'I really hope you have good news for me.'
'I wish I did Mr. Powell.'
'I thought your boys had found her.'
'They did. One of my guys apparently found her. We found him a few hours ago after someone cold cocked him an alley.'
'Someone did what?' Powell screamed across his desk.
'He tracked her to the edge of town. It's an area mostly inhabited by young navy punks on shore leave. He's still a little fuzzy but he says two guys came to her aid and jumped him in an alley. '
'Where is this guy now?'
'Well he needed his head stitched up so I took him to one of my associates where he could have that done quietly. I'll have my people bring him here as soon as they can.'
'You do that. I want to talk to this guy myself. Where'd you find him anyway?'
'He's not a bad guy. He's done pretty good work for me in the past.'
'Lovely. Ok, so where does that leave us now?'
'Well we placed a tracker on her that allowed us to find out where she ran to. We aren't getting a signal on it now, but if she tried to get out through the spaceport the tracker would have signaled us and we'd know where she went. She could have traveled to another city, but if she had gone off world we'd have known it. If she did go to another city it won't take long to pick up the signal again and we'll have her.'
'So, who are these two that helped her escape?'
'I have no idea. Like I said, that area is mostly inhabited by navy guys on shore leave. Sometimes other people wander in there too, but there's not going on besides that. If she took up with some navy guys they'd never be able to get her off planet without us knowing about it.'
'Then where the blazes is she?'
'We don't know. We're sending teams to the nearest cities to track her. She could not have boarded any commercial transport without us knowing it. The net is closing. She can't stay hidden for long.'
Jack Crow was strapped in to the command chair on the bridge of his ship as the cruise engines engaged and Rochester quickly disappeared behind them. He didn't usually strap in here but right now Mac was at the helm. Mackenzie Mason was one of the best freighter pilots he had ever met. She had great skill, but when flying something this big she tended to forget that she wasn't driving a freighter and the ride could get a little interesting. Her tricks had managed to get them out of trouble enough times in the past that Jack was willing to put up with this.
Sophia entered the bridge and looked right to Jack. 'Ok Jack, I've got your little princess put up in one of the spare racks down near the bottom. I picked up a few things on Rochester for her as well so she'll be as comfortable as we can make her which isn't going to be much out here. So, since when have we been a passenger liner?'
'Since today I guess.'
'Obviously. What I'm asking is why all of a sudden to you decide we needed to be in this line of work?'
'Since she seemed to be in a bit of trouble.'
'What kind of trouble?'
'I have no idea.'
'You have no idea. No idea and you brought her on here anyway. You really think that's smart?'
'I don't know what it is Sophia. I just didn't feel like I should leave her where she was. Stephen and I may have even gotten her into trouble when we tried to help her out. I felt I owed her just a little help. Besides, the money she offered us to do this will help us get just a little bit ahead in our payment plan so we won't have to sweat this one out so much.'
'You're the boss. I just hope you know what you're doing,' she called over her shoulder as she walked off the bridge.
'So do I,' he thought to himself as she left. With everything quieting down he turned to the man at the navigation panel. 'Jeff, you've got the bridge. Call me if anything exciting happens. Otherwise I'm going to sleep til we get to California.'
He walked out the back of the bridge into the day room. There was a table in the middle of the room and several small chairs. There was a data console in the corner capable of accessing the neural net like the consoles on the bridge. It was a small room set aside as a place for the crew to relax while being ready to go on duty quickly. It was also a place where they often shared meals together. From there he took the ladder down to the next level where his quarters were located. He entered his room which was barely more than a walk in closet. There was no furniture, only a closet and various drawers. A bed was set into a niche in the wall. He looked around the room. He thought about going to check on Maria and make sure she was settled in ok, but he was just too tired. He crawled into his bunk and quickly fell asleep.
Maria awoke feeling very refreshed. She fumbled around with her hands and found the controls to turn on a light. There was no clock in the room so she had no idea how long she had been sleeping. She got out of bed and walked to a mirror. She didn't have to walk far as small as her room was. She had never imagined a bed room this small in her life. She stared at herself in the mirror. She had managed to clean herself up a bit since coming on board the ship but she was still a mess. Standing there in an old jumpsuit, noticing what a mess her hair was. She pulled her back into a pony tail and moved to the door. Outside her room it was very quiet except for the hum of the ship's engine. It was loud but she was surprised at how peaceful it sounded to her. It was warm in the corridor. She walked over to a steel ladder near her door and started to climb. Three levels later she was at the top. She saw a table in the center of the room and a data console in one corner. There was a woman sitting at the table reading from a digital pad. She looked up at Maria as she came up the ladder.
'You must be our passenger.' The woman said to her.
'I guess that's what I am, yes.'
'I'm Mac, good to meet you.'
'I'm Maria.'
'Well don't just stand there, have a seat. Are you hungry?'
'A little yes, actually more than a little. I'm having trouble remembering how long it has been since I ate.'
'Well let's go ahead and fix that. You're going to be on board with us a while. We can't have you starving.'
'Thank you. Everyone has taken such great care of me so far, I don't know what to say.'
'Well, we're an interesting group on this ship. Most of what we do is frowned on among polite company. We do look out for our own however, and as long as you're on this ship you're one of us.'
Mac got up and punched some buttons on the wall. A panel slid open and some packets appeared. She grabbed them and brought them over to Maria. 'These should be warm enough once you open them,' she said, 'It's pretty simple faire, but that's what we get on a ship like this. Sometimes we get to celebrate our accomplishments with a fancy meal, but it ain't often.
'I'm sure this will be fine, thank you.' Maria tore the packet open and began to devour the contents. She wasn't even sure what she was eating. It was like nothing she had tasted before. She realized that anything could taste good when you were hungry. She was so caught up in her new surroundings and everything that had happened to her in the past few days that she hadn't even realized how hungry she was. As this strange food began to fill her belly it felt very satisfying.'
A door opened on the opposite side of the room from the ladder where Maria had entered. Jack Crow walked into the room. 'Well look who's awake.'
Jack Crow closed to door to the bridge and took a seat at the table. 'I hope you're finding my little ship comfortable enough. I told you we don't have much to offer here.'
'It's fine thank you. It's a very different experience for me, but given the circumstances I'm very glad to be here, so again, thank you.'
Jack then turned to Mac, 'We've got about twelve hours before we jump to Magellan, I want you and Stephen on the bridge when we do. It will probably take us a couple hours to reach the rendezvous, but I want everyone on their toes. No telling what's in store for us there.'
'No problem. I was about to go catch some sleep, but I'll be ready. You aren't expecting trouble are you?'
'I'm always expecting trouble, that's what keeps me alive. In all honesty though Thumper has been good to us and I trust the jobs he's set up for us. There's nothing to be gained by someone trying to cross us in a deal like this, but there's money to be made by all if the deal goes well.'
'Ok, Captain. See you in a few hours.'
Mac headed down the ladder into the lower levels. Maria then turned her attention back to Jack, 'So, exactly what kind of business are you in Captain Crow?'
'Whatever pays the bills. Right now we're just hauling freight for some people. Simple and unexciting, but it's a living.'
'You seem to take a lot of precautions for such a simple and boring business.'
'Space is a dangerous place for a single vessel like this one to be flying around. You've got to watch your back all the time.'
'I see. So who is it that you are hauling this freight for?'
'People who don't like it when we talk about them if you know what I mean, but I suspect the people we are meeting live somewhere in Magellan and not at the Freeport.'
'Well you do keep some interesting company, don't you?'
'It keeps life from getting too boring.' Jack got up from the table and walked through the doors to the ship's bridge. A few minutes later he emerged from the bridge and walked to the ladder at the other end of the room. 'I'll be downstairs for a bit. Make yourself as comfortable as you can and ask the crew if you need anything.'
'Thank you, 'she said to him, 'this is not exactly what I'm used to, but at the same time I do appreciate what you've done for me. You've helped me a lot.'
Jack sat in his quarters reading a book. He had few luxuries on this ship but his books were something he would not give up. Most of what he liked to read could be found electronically on the neural net and in many cases that was necessary. However, he still liked the feel of a book in his hands. It was his connection to a much simpler time when men had much more control over their own destinies. It was important that humans didn't forget their past. As he read the comm. in his room beeped.
'Talk to me.'
The voice of Stephen Cruz spoke to him from the bridge, 'Jack, we're about to jump to Magellan.'
'Ok, I'm on my way up.' He put down the book and stood up. He picked up his coat and stepped out into the corridor. As he mounted the ladder and began to climb toward the bridge, he saw Mac coming out of her quarters as well. 'You all rested up for the fun?' he asked her.
'Ready as I'll ever be. This should be pretty simple though.'
'I think so. I just like to be ready for anything.'
Jack and Mac both climbed onto the upper deck and walked across the common room to the bridge. Maria was sitting in a chair with her feet up looking like she was ready to fall asleep. She looked up at the two of them as they made their way across the room with very serious expressions on their faces. 'Is everything alright?' she asked them.
'We're just great, 'Jack told her 'it's now time for us to earn our pay.' He and Mac disappeared onto the bridge.
Stephen was sitting in the command chair when Jack and Mac walked onto the bridge. Stephen started to get up and Jack motioned for him to stay where he was. Mac walked forward and took her place at the helm. Jack walked to front of the bridge. The entire front and most of the sides was window from the floor to the ceiling. There were many things about the design of these old vessels he disliked, but this was great. Here he wasn't confined to looking at space only through instruments. He could gave out and see what the ship saw.
What he saw all around them were great massive pieces of ice floating in space. They had just jumped into the Magellan system, most of which was covered by two large ice fields. The ice made it pretty easy to hide, which also made it a favorite hiding place for ships that wanted to avoid easy detection. Jack turned to where Stephen was sitting,
'Any contacts?'
'We picked up a few signals when we first came through the gate. I'd say it was a mix between naval and commercial traffic. Nothing got very close to us and there's nothing in range of us now.'
'How long until we reach the rendezvous?'
'About five hours the way we are traveling now.'
'Ok, good enough.' He paced back and forth by the window looking out at the massive ice field. His ship slipped so easily between the large pieces, especially with Mac driving.
The door to the bridge opened and Maria stepped in. 'I'm sorry, 'she said 'I hope this is restricted territory or anything.'
'Have a seat, 'Jack told her 'I'll let you know when it's not a good time for you to be here.'
Jack walked over to scanning console. There was a young man in his early twenties sitting there monitoring the equipment. 'How are you holding up Baxter?' Jack asked the man.
'I'm good Jack. Everything seems to be working fine.'
'Ok, this is where you really earn your keep. Don't take your eyes off that scanner and let us know before anything gets near us.'
