The Sentinel Fulcrum, 5: Supervision
17 Nov 2021Meowers
Now that puzzle just had resolved itself, in an instant. That guy... He was the second hostage on Lozin. That damned place where I met Jacqueline. His real name is Creamy. Hah, that weird Imperial name... Uh..so much unexpected things. I lowered the rifle and leaned on the back of the pilot seat, with my arms folded across the chest. And looked down..a bit. As far as I remember... Well, I've probably made this person upset by speaking wrong words at the wrong time, because..Uh. You know. Sometimes thoughts are faster than words. Sometimes you don't have enough time to say everything right.
So.. I replied. I told him about Jacqueline, in short, about her treatment and PF training. And then asked, how he could be such an important target for someone. What did he done and why it's happening. Yeah, we weren't friends... But I've tried to sound and look like I pose no threat anymore.
He was pleased to hear that Jacqueline is recovering and explained that French pseudonym he had, looks like he was in real trouble... Lost his job, due to safety reasons, as his company didn't want to have a pilot, who was constantly threaten and followed by..any kind of lowlifes. So he was left on the streets. I had to reject his humble invitation to the local mess hall, as those questions... were better discussed in private. And another humble invitation to take the free pilot seat, due to, you know, uncomfortable stains on it. Instead of it, I just made some steps towards him and quietly explained the details of my contract. About his 'assassination' and retrieving something from that Anaconda...
Hearing about the ship, he instantly changed his face. As if he was recollecting something from his deep memories... And then told that it could be his old mining ship. A mining ship? What's the reason to start this mess over a mining ship?..Ah. Things are getting more and more weird. And then he asked about what kind of ship do I have, to visit this place, mentioned in the contract files. So, seeing how abruptly that 'never-bothered' expression on Creamy's face disappeared, I've instantly thought about, yup, making things happen in a bit... more hurry. Don't like it, actually, but sometimes I just have no choice, if I'm up to doing my best. And...I don't see any reason even to start, if you're not going to do your best. I've put the rifle behind my back again, switching it to the 'safety' mode and reached the console of this T-7, looking through the cockpit glass. Marshmallow was too far away and hidden behind a hill and a local tall grass, so, I just told him about 'highly-engineered Fer-de-Lance', and looks like he was pleased.
Then... Yeah, had to say another important thing. About that faction that seemed like... a facade of sorts. No way those simple folks could place such a massive contract. They simply don't have anything to protect for that cost, or take a revenge for. All my senses, mainly the paranoia, hah, now were just screaming about this contract being a dupe or a trap. This guy was harmless. And his mining Anaconda was floating there for years. Having half a billion credits, you could buy three or four ships like that, why...Ah. Nevermind. It's a dupe. Screw the contract, I'm not killing the guy and not doing whatever else those folks may want from me. Let's go and reveal the truth.
* * *
...Quickly we made our way to Marshmallow. Ship was standing on the landing pad, with engines still warm, and the dense air of Lushertha A1 was swirling in the heat haze around the nozzle casings. Good. We won't lose much time on warming up. I've pressed the button on the remote hatch control on our approach and the boarding ramp lowered to the ground right when we reached it. Opening the cockpit, I quickly put the rifle into the holding clamps on the wall, reached the pilot seat and activated the main power switch.
I diverted as much power as possible to the drive systems, and with engines roaring at the maximal thrust, Marshmallow rapidly shot up into the sky, piercing the clouds and eventually leaving the atmosphere of Lushertha A1. It took just a minute for us to see the skies blackening and stars appearing. So, when we reached space, I adjusted the course to follow the escape vector, checked the gravity indicator and then remembered about my guest. Told him about some food and drinks in one of the lockers, as he was probably quite hungry, and, hmm... Seems like he was admiring my ship, hah.
...And then I heard a message notification on the comms. It was a private channel, but not 'my' private, known only by people who are dear to me... Usual ship comm private... Who the heck... What the...
Message was... Completely weird messed up crap. That contract was abandoned..Hah, goodbye half-billion credits. However, screw them. I'm not killing that person for money. And..I pretty much guess it was a dupe anyway. Herthans Labour was a facade. So, I wasn't going to see that money anyway. But, uh, the sender wasn't the Herthans Labour rep, it was..Ciphered? Hidden? Completely unreadable mess of symbols. And..uh..those photos... Is somebody watching me? Us? The photos were...A mess. They were noisy, glitchy, seems like the camera or whatever was damaged, and that.. weird 'electric blue' tint all over, and.. Weird symbols. Completely unknown to me. They weren't hieroglyphs, or cyrillics, or ancient arabic stuff...Uh. Can't say exactly what it is.
And the photos... Blurred, glitchy, but I've recognised.. Some of them were showing us running to the ship, one with us leaving the atmoshpere almost vertically, and one..Recent. With Marshmallow already in the space..Heck. Shit. What the... Sensors are clear, absolutely, not a glimpse, not a..not anything, on every detail level. We were alone here, but... What the. Uh, I guess... We have to leave now. Screw the route plotting, we have to leave this place. Now. To the nearest star. I think..we should shake this..thing off. Uh... I'll make some chaotic jumps with intertwining trajectories...
(A photo from unidentified sender.)