Neither here nor there.
07 Apr 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
Neither here nor there.
Colonia Region
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Ryuko studied the nineteen occupied escape pods inside the Krait's cargo bay. He kept the last six separate from the others, acquired in the slaughter of three bandit squads, except for three who had surrendered and were now chained and belted in a separate cargo hold alongside the six battle droids he had purchased when the Krait was rebuilt and refurbished.
Hiding in normal space would make them difficult to find, even with the best sensors available. Finding and intercepting a ship hidden in normal space was nearly impossible unless one were within range to detect its hyperspace engines discharging. The wake would take thirty standard time minutes to dissipate. After that, the statistical chances of finding them stretched to infinity for anyone searching.
Aby was doing his best with the available information to cross-reference the bio-scans of the six separate escape pods and their occupants. Only at luminal velocities could they access the larger galactic network, which could present even greater problems for them.
Whoever these people were, they were of more value alive than dead. Whatever secrets they held had cost the bandits a platoon of soldiers, plus one of their ships. They would be searching for whoever was responsible, and they would know, by the imprint of the landing skids in the lunar dust, that a Krait had been involved.
The business Python was not equipped with cargo racks, and restructuring it was not cost-effective. The Vulture was far too small, leaving only this ship as an option. Ryuko turned and left the cargo hold, heading to the bridge. He needed information and knew how to obtain it, but this was not the place.
Aby sat in the lounge area, connected to the ship’s computer, as Ryuko passed, headed toward the bridge.
“I have been unable to identify the occupants of the escape pods, but I do have a faction location, based on their dress and markings. These have been confirmed by the bandit captives.”
Ryuko stopped short, turning his head toward Aby with a curious look. “Again, with clarity. You’ve been here, and Tara’s been on the bridge. Since I haven’t questioned them, how did you get confirmation?”
“I needed to confirm my findings. Since the battle androids were with the captives, I tasked them with obtaining any useful information the bandits might possess.”
The thought of torture crossed my mind. Could Aby have ordered it? It would be against his programming—or so I thought. A shiver ran down my spine.
“I didn’t authorize any interrogation, and wouldn’t torture be against your programming?”
Aby tilted his head to one side, as was his custom. “My programming permits actions that might otherwise be prohibited unless failing to perform those actions would result in potential harm to others. In this case, the mere threat posed by non-sentient lifeforms was sufficient—without physical contact.”
“What did you discover?”
“The escape pod occupants hail from a known guild in the Amatsuboshi system. Whether they were subcontracted there or elsewhere remains unclear. According to the captives, they were smuggling experimental chemicals, toxic waste, and operatives into Carcosa to sabotage and destroy the processing facilities of ore and minerals owned by the system's proprietors. The ensuing need for cleansing, rebuilding, repairing, and replacing would necessitate an external corporation specialized in such tasks.”
Kagehiro and Sakura seemed to be engaging in their own form of corporate piracy.
“Let me guess, Shinkai Industries?”
Aby nodded.
“Without direct confirmation from the captives, that's the logical conclusion. They are the only viable option within an economical range.”
The ancient tactic of creating a problem only to offer the solution, at a cost, seemed at play here. This knowledge could prove valuable to the local system authorities.
“We find ourselves in a stalemate. Revealing our knowledge could jeopardize our assets at the planetary port and make us targets. We can’t hand them over to local authorities, as word of our involvement would surely reach Kagehiro and Sakura. Attempting to extract our assets would likely raise suspicion and fail. Our options are limited, but we do have a few.”
“What are you thinking?” Tara interjected, entering the galley and catching the tail end of the conversation.
Ryuko approached the processor, inserting a zero-g thermos and selecting the coffee option.
“Aby, reach out to my benefactor and inquire about the next bubble shuttle run to the bubble.”
Aby tilted his head the other way. “You're considering giving them passage?”
Ryuko, sipping from the now-filled coffee thermos, nodded. “It’s either that or we jettison them. Either way, they can’t remain in our cargo hold.”
Tara nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation, and turned to Aby. “You'll also need to alter our flight logs, replacing any references to that moon with a nearby gas giant’s rings, where miners are active. Make it appear we were engaging in piracy there.”
Aby’s head realigned. “And the other cargo pods?”
Ryuko gestured with his thermos. “The remnants of a skirmish with other pirates in the rings. Since we couldn't secure any cargo due to their interference, we opted for profit through search and rescue. Charging 30k per occupied pod could turn into a substantial payday on its own.”
“Not a bad plan,” Tara mused as Aby froze momentarily. “Sending the message."