Lost & found...
27 Nov 2020Synthya Wylder
The Station Docks echo with the steady cacophony of rumbling, thunking & hissing of ships coming & going, rising & falling with the frequency but never ceasing.A conversation could be overheard between a couple of people, if one happened to be close enough, & it goes something like this:
"Well! Hey, you wandering bit of old flotsam! What worthless debris did you bring in this time?"
"Ahh, you misbegotten barfly! Surprised you sobered up enough to make your shift!"
The two hugged briefly; in these parts, it was only too possible that 2 old friends might never see each other again...
The pilot, a bit withered beyond his years from too much time in zero-gee & unfiltered solar radiation in The Deep, replies,
"Nothing but the usual crap from scutter-runs, hauling rubber dog-shit, you know, & the cargo-bots are busy tending to that, but lookie what I found out there, floating about!"
He waves the other over to the cargo hatch & yanks the lock open, grunting a bit as it's been sticking awhile now, & the hatch falls aside with a dry gritty-sounding clang.
"Another useless damaged life pod for scrap? So what? You dragged me over to see that?" the jaded old docker exclaimed.
"Oh-Ho! Not damaged, & there's a body still inside! & look at that design! I've never seen one that old & still intact!"
The pride of finding some kind of prize entered his voice, but his face fell a bit after the docker responded,
"Bah! You idiot... you know what this means, don't you? If it was damaged, we could just scrap it & send anything inside direct to Reclamation... but No, now we gotta call Medical to take the body for identification & possible autopsy. Hell, there might even be next of kin & all the legal beagles wrangling over claims...Pffftt!"
His voice drifted off, visions of instant profits quickly fading from both their faces.
"Well, might as well get on with it," the docker sighed, & he slid his comm-pad out & thumbed the green button for Medical.
The pilot peered closely at the ancient life pod, as if he could decipher its story... any markings were nearly all burnt or scored away, & he could barely make out the faded name inscribed in ancient-styled script as the frost from its time in deep space quickly melted away: "La Belle Heaulmière"
He lifted his gaze to eye the 2 figures in the uniforms & insignia of Medical as they approached, wishing that he'd managed to 'somehow accidentally' damage that life pod, & shook his head ruefully.
He sighed & turned back to the routine of reviewing & comparing the manifest with the receipt... he wouldn't be surprised to find those damned bots were trying to cheat him again!