The Captain

  Jordan Higa

  The Captain

  Copyright © Jordan Higa, 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  First edition

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  Contents

  Arrival

  The Crew

  Bounty Hunters

  Crow's Corner

  Hotel Black

  The Smoker

  The Quant

  Oblivion Excerpt

  Author's Note

  The Inferno

  Through me the way into the suffering city,

  Through me the way to the eternal pain,

  Through me the way that runs among the lost…

  …Abandon every hope, who enter here.

  -Dante, The Inferno

  1

  Arrival

  12,246 A.D.

  Rocquamport

  Colony World, Third Horizon

  “You sure you still want to get off here son?”

  Denis Richards stood at the top of the gangway looking out at the dusty city. “I paid my fare, didn’t I?”

  The ship’s captain nodded, “That you did son, but there’s nothing that can stop a man from changing his mind. I’ve never been this close to the edge of the horizon and I don’t think I ever want to again. Rocquamport is a nasty place.”

  Denis watched a dirty cloud scud over the skyline and silently agreed. Not that he had a choice. “Thanks for your advice but I’ll be getting off here.”

  “It’s your choice,” said the old man shaking his head. “Your bag is waiting for you at the bottom.”

  Denis nodded not looking away from the horizon that was his future. Whatever you’re doing now Falk I hope you’re unhappy. He picked up his bag, pausing to glance inside. A comforting dull black greeted his eyes, and he zipped the bag closed. At least Falk hadn’t gotten everything. A heavy footstep, made him focus and he looked up as the dockmaster approached.

  “Sign your name here, here, and here.”

  Their implants synched, and Denis waved his finger through the air quickly signing off on the virtual form.

  The dockmaster pointed to his bag, “Got any contraband?”

  “Nope.” Den fought the urge to pull his bag closer. Even if he looked the dockmaster wouldn’t see anything.

  The man shrugged scratching a scruffy beard, “Your loss. If you want to rent a car the desk is over there.”

  Denis looked in the direction the man pointed and saw a stout woman dominating a single rental car counter. She squinted at him as if daring him not to rent a car.

  “No thanks, I’ll be fine.”

  “Suit yourself.” The man wheezed away.

  Denis watched him go, feeling any hope that Rocquamport would be welcoming disappear. The Captain had said she would have someone here to meet him. He looked around. Aside from the crew members preparing the transport to lift off, there were no other people in the terminal.

  He wondered if they forgot he was coming. It would be just his luck. Calling on his implants he pulled up the local news and started reading. The articles flickered unsteadily on the lower edge of his vision, the net system was archaic.

  What else did you expect Denis? You’re on the edge of civilization. And thanks to Falk he was stuck here. The law of the United Planets Congress (UPC) wasn’t kind to people who hacked quantum level computers. His net credentials had been instantly revoked along with his citizenship when Falk had been caught using them. He wondered what the bastard was doing.

  Denis walked to the waiting area and sat down by his bag. His whole life was in the bag now. Everything he’d worked for, for the past five years. Not that he had anything to show for it of course. He laughed bitterly fingering the heavy signet net ring weighing down his right hand. Normally he thought of it as his lucky ring, but today it had lost its charm.

  An hour later he had had enough. They had forgotten about him. No one had come through the terminal and he doubted anyone was going to. The woman at the rental car desk was squinting at him hungrily. I guess that means I’m walking, he decided. He got to his feet and loaded the map to the building where his new job supposedly waited. At least it was only about an hour’s walk. He could’ve been there by now if they’d told him.

  Hefting his bag onto his shoulder he nodded at the woman, and she glared at him before turning back to chew on her nails sourly. She’d obviously thought she was going to have a customer.

  It was bad luck. Bad luck for you and bad luck for me, there’s more than enough to go around. He walked out the front door, letting the weak AC flutter along behind him as the door shuddered closed.

  By the time he reached the building, a gloomy mansion that took up most of a lot in the middle of the city, he was covered in sweat. Rocquamport was a desert planet. The city, also named Rocquamport, was the only habitable place on the surface. The rest of it was covered in dry shifting sand. Why anyone had thought to establish an outpost this far out was beyond him. When he got the strange job offer days after his credentials were revoked and the Guard had begun hunting for him, he’d taken it as a sign of fortune.

  He walked up to the door and banged on it. The knock gave off a dull thud. He listened but heard nothing. He knocked again, louder, rubbing his aching knuckles afterward. This time he heard movement behind the door. It opened inward with a creak and he saw an eye stare out him.

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Denis Richards; I’m here for the job offer.”

  “A job offer? I didn’t hear anything about a job offer.” The door opened a little further and he caught a glimpse of a thin male face a good foot above his.

  Frustration filled him. “Maybe I’ve got the wrong place then. A Captain named Stella told me to come here.” This day was just getting better and better.

  At the name Stella, the door flew open revealing a tall man with thin shoulders. “Why didn’t you say that immediately?” He looked Denis up and down. “My name is Tan Nichols. I didn’t know you were coming, but pleased to meet you.”

  “Pleased to meet you too,” said Denis shaking the man’s bony fingers. A muffled curse rang out from inside and he heard a crash.

  “Is the Captain here?”

  The man gave a panicked look over his shoulder and then helped Denis pull his bag through the doorway. “Right this way.”

  They started walking down a dimly lit hallway and Denis did his best to pick up the layout as they moved. They passed a room that might have been a dining room, though the fact that it had neither table nor chairs made it difficult to tell. Tan led him deeper into the mansion and as they were just getting to another doorway a bottle flew past Denis’s face and crashed into the wall.

  He jerked back in surprise.

  “Who the kriff are you?” shouted a raucous, female voice. “Tan, what’s he doing here?”

  Tan sighed audibly, looking cornered.

  An extremely drunk woman barely older than Denis sat perched on the edge of a couch swigging a bottle of beer. She sloped it over her chest, adding another stain to her dirty, white tank top, then laughed crazily. “He’s still here Tan! I said, get him out!”

  “Um, Tan, where’s Stella?” said Denis suddenly feeling uneasy. The place was beginning to feel more and more like a bad setup.

  “You said you wanted Stella,” answered the disheveled woman pushing a dirty lock of blond hair out of her face and straightening the crusty whit
e tank top over her leather pants. “What the hell do you want me for?”

  A sinking feeling filled Denis as he looked at the young woman. “You’re Stella?”

  “The kriff I am,” answered the woman swallowing another mouthful of beer before spitting it out and puffing on an unlit cigarette.

  “Uh, I’m here for the job offer,” he answered dully feeling beyond surprise. “I’m Denis Richards.”

  “What the kriff is a Denis Richards? Sounds like a disease. I didn’t hire you.”

  “But the job,” began Denis. “I came all the way from Earth…”

  “Tan! What the hell is that burning idiot still standing in my living room for?”

  “Of course, of course, Captain,” broke in Tan grabbing Denis by the shoulders.

  “I said get him out of here!” shouted the woman flinging her beer at Denis. It flew wide bouncing off a lamp, before coming to a miserable stop at his feet.

  He stared at her. She was still sitting, hand outstretched, drunken anger plastered across her face. She held the position like a holostar caught mid-frame. Then her nose twitched, and she sagged forward with a shudder, falling onto the couch face down. A muffled snore emanated from the cushion.

  “Finally,” muttered Tan pulling him out of the room.

  “That’s the Captain?” said Denis in disbelief.

  “Yeah, that’s the Captain. You’d best call her Stella though. She doesn’t like us to call her Captain. Maybe you’d be better off following her advice, Denis. You look like a nice guy, but nice doesn’t really fit in around here.”

  “But I can’t go back.”

  Tan sighed heavily, “I thought as much. Let me show you to a room then. Stella’s had a bad week. You can meet her again in the morning. For now, I’ll tell you how things work around here because whatever she told you over the nets was probably a lie.”

  “Why would she lie?”

  Tan shook his head, “You’re the first recruit who’s actually showed up.”

  This just keeps getting worse and worse thought Denis as he followed Tan through dingy hallways up to the third floor.

  “The third floor is where all the rooms are,” said Tan. “The Captain’s suite is at the end. Akatski’s is on the right across from her and you and I are down on this side. I’m on the right and you will be on the left.”

  Tan pushed open a door and Denis looked in. A small cot filled one end of the room with a chest of drawers and a couch. A desk completed the ensemble. He nodded, it would do. “Is there a net connection?”

  “Yeah, we can set up your login credentials in the morning. So, what is it that you do Denis? And by the way, Stella’s right, Denis is a terrible name. We’re going to have to call you Den.”

  “Fine,” muttered Denis dropping his bag to the floor. “I’m a hacker.”

  “You don’t look like a quant.”

  “That’s because I’m not.”

  Tan laughed, “You’re a hacker who’s not a quant? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Maybe you’ll actually fit in then. I’m the ship’s engineer. Why don’t you drop your stuff off and I’ll show you the Night Lady.”

  “The Night Lady?”

  “Our ship.”

  “Oh, uh sure.” Den dropped his stuff on the bed, and Tan led him out the back of the building to an old car.

  “If you want to use the car, just let me know. It belongs to Stella, but she hardly leaves. I can give you the neural passcode to the keys if you like.”

  “I think I’ll be okay.” Den doubted he’d be wanted to borrow anything belonging to Stella.

  Tan pushed the start button and the car lurched into the air with an unhealthy bang. He brought them higher and Den looked at the city below as they passed over dingy skyscrapers and huddled buildings. They headed back to the spaceport, but to a different terminal than the one, Den had arrived in. A few small starships sat on the concrete in the shadow of a heavily modified cargo freighter. Tan parked outside the freighter.

  Denis stepped out and looked at the Night Lady, feeling his first surge of hope. While their headquarters might have been dilapidated and dirty as hell the Night Lady was anything but. Her dark surface gleamed in the fading daylight.

  “That’s the Night Lady,” said Tan with obvious pride. “She has twin hangars port and starboard large enough to load a battleship and enough power to cross the Terran Solar System in a day. Plus, some modifications we’ve added over the years.”

  Den nodded without understanding.

  “Right then, I’ll show you the inside.”

  As Tan spoke the gangplank started lowering and immediately Den’s mind began to race. So they had some kind of connection to the ship through their implants then. He wondered how secure it was. Would he be able to hack it? He shouldn’t have to hack this system, he reminded himself. The gangplank kissed the ground, and Tan led him up. Slick, austere permasteel filled Den’s vision. In comparison to the transport that had brought him in. The Night Lady looked like a warship.

  The gangway was towards the aft section of the ship, so they turned right and started walking forward. Tan waved his arms to either side of the corridor. The cargo bays on are the other side of these walls,” he said. “The hangars can be used as cargo bays as well, but Stella doesn’t typically arrange for us to carry anything that needs that much space.”

  Den nodded.

  “The engine room is in the aft section, but what you’ll mostly be worried about is what’s up forward.”

  They fell silent as they kept walking and Den marveled at the size of the Night Lady. It had to be at least a class three merchant vessel. They finally reached an airtight door and Tan keyed in a code to open it. The door slid back and Tan began to speak again. “This is the “house” section of the ship. Stella’s stateroom is on the deck above but you, me, and Akatski will all stay down here. Feel free to choose any open stateroom, we have plenty.”

  “Um sure.” Den looked down the hallway noted at least a dozen doors. “So how many people do you have in the crew?”

  “Well just four counting you, you’ll meet Akatski tomorrow.”

  Den stopped in surprise, “But how are you able to operate the ship?”

  Tan grinned at him, “Plus an automated staff of about fifty servitors.”

  “Fifty,” breathed Den in shock. He had never heard of a class three ship operated with so few crew members.

  “Trust me, you’ll get used to it. I keep most of them busy in engineering unless we’re doing cargo ops.”

  Den shook his head. He’d worked on some merchant transports between Earth and the moon over the summers during high school and those captains had been lucky if they’d been able to afford one servitor.

  Tan pointed him towards another room, “This is the lounge we use the most often. If everything’s going well that’s hopefully where we’ll spend most of a mission. Let’s go up to the bridge though.”

  He started walking again and Den followed him up a narrow set of stairs. The inside of the bridge was filled with twinkling lights and digital readouts. Though what filled Den with joy was the sight of the net terminal on the right bridge wing. It was state of the art.

  “Perfect,” he breathed, running his fingers over the neural transmitter.

  “That’s where you’ll sit,” said Tan approvingly. “It’s been awhile since we had a hacker.”

  Den traced his fingers over the equipment only barely paying attention. He had to stop himself from syncing up immediately. Since Falk had betrayed him he hadn’t been able to sync with a healthy net connection and his mind ached for it.

  “We can play with the gear tomorrow,” said Tan putting a hand on his shoulder. For now, let me explain how the pay works because I’m sure Stella told you something and I’m betting that it wasn’t true. No, don’t even bother telling me what she told you,” said Tan raising a hand.

  Den bit his tongue.

  “It goes like this, fifty percent of the cut goes to Stella and the ship and
the other fifty percent will be split equally between you, Akatski, and me. I hope that’s not too much different from what she told you.”

  “I see,” answered Den. It was a far cry from the guaranteed twenty-five thousand marks Stella had promised him, but he didn’t see what he could do about it now. At least he was off Earth. “So, who’s Akatski?”

  “He’s the First Officer or what we have that passes for one. You probably won’t see him much till our next mission. But he takes care of the cooking while we’re in port. I take care of the ship.”

  “What about Stella?”

  Tan shrugged, “Stella takes care of herself. You will be in charge of our data security. Tomorrow I’m sure you’ll get a better idea of what we’ve got and what our capabilities are.”

  “I still feel like I don’t completely understand what I’m supposed to do though. You guys are a shipping company right? I mean I can do security but what has to be so secure about your systems? I mean…”

  “That’s something you’ll have to ask Stella about,” said Tan, his face flattening.

  “Um, sure,” answered Den though he was sure he didn’t want to ask Stella anything.

  “You still sure you want to join this crew Den? Rocquamport is not an easy place to sleep at night.”

  “I already told you, I don’t have a choice. I can’t go back to Earth. They would,” Den stopped himself. Arrest me the moment I stepped planetside, he finished in his head. “I just can’t go back okay.”

  2

  The Crew

  Den woke to early morning sunlight beating down on his eyelids. He rolled over and groaned as everything came rushing back to him. What had he got himself into? Sliding off the bed, he began pulling on his clothes. What was Stella going to say when she saw him?

  Stepping into the hallway he looked up and down. Light poured in through the window by the stairs, but other than that nothing had changed. All the doors were closed. Carefully pulling his shut behind him, he silently padded down the stairs. It was time to find out a little bit more about his apparent employer.