The value of a Name: Part 4
19 Sep 2016Cartlidge1000
“How’s is it down there?” I asked, prepping the Trebuchet’s engines for takeoff. The cyborg had discovered the Custodian’s drop off point, but it was deep in Kumo space, on the other side of the bubble. So I was forced to switch to the old girl since she was able to drop the travel time in half. Still, I didn’t like it. The Trebuchet was a wonderful ship, but she wasn’t built for combat like the Ballista or Paladin. I didn’t really expect to be a target, but I also didn’t want to spend too much time in the section of space belonging to the galaxy’s biggest POS.“I don’t understand why pilots require such an open view when they have the sensor system to tell them where their target is at all times. It only makes the canopy an easier target to hit,” the woman replied.
“Well not everything can be solved by technology alone. Sometimes plain old fashioned eyesight is the best thing a pilot can have.” I immediately realized the hypocrisy in my statement, since I valued my prosthetic eye as much as my organic, if not more. Still, we both had fair points.
After the first few jumps I started to notice the silence. Until now I was entirely used to it. You had to be to join the Pilot’s Federation, but having another crew member now made it… discomforting, even if the other person lacked the capacity to show emotion.
“You know I still need something to call you by” I said, switching the ship’s frameshift drive to hyperspace.
“As I said before I do not have a name. You may use whatever name you please,” she said in her usual monotone voice.
“That’s not how this works. How about you come up with something you like and I’ll stop bothering you about it.”
“Four… Three… Two… One… Engage,” the AI interrupted as the void of space was replaced with the curious lights of witch space.
After about a dozen jumps and a couple scooping breaks we found ourselves in the Alici system. It was a moderately sized system with one station and a few terrestrial colonies. Halfway to the station the cyborg finally spoke again.
“I have it!”
“Have what?” I asked.
“A name. I would like to be called Ten,” she announced almost triumphantly. The word bounced around in my head for a moment.
“...Ten? Why Ten?”
“Yes. Well you see, the first computers were designed to operate in numbers of two. This was known as binary coding, and is still used even today. Their creators, however, work in factors of ten. I enjoy thinking in both bases, but it is ten that I consider more ‘human.’ Plus, ten is two in binary.”
“So… you want to be named after… a number?”
“Correct.”
“Oh… Kay then,” I replied, dropping the Trebuchet out of supercruise in front of the station.
“You have yet to tell me your name.”
She was right. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me until now. “Oh, uhh. Sorry. My name is Jacob Cartlidge.”
“So how do you plan to find the Custodian?” she asked as we entered the station’s hangar bay.
“Well first we have to figure out how to find him directly. The transaction is our ticket in. If we upload it to our own computers we can claim to be the slavers involved in the contract.” As I was explaining this, I was already sifting through contacts in the starport services. “Ah! Here it is.”
I made contact with the station’s representatives for the Custodian, the Alici Purple Camorra. Initially they wished to simply finish the transaction, but I managed to convince them to meet me in person. They reluctantly agreed and said that they would come to the dock to greet me. It was courteous, but it also allowed them to get the process of unloading the cargo done a little more quickly.
“So what is it that you needed to talk about?” One of half a dozen men asked. He was clean shaven but sported a rather ugly haircut, and walked with a swagger that implied that he was the leader, if the fact that he was the only one without a rifle didn’t make it obvious.
“Am I to assume that I am speaking with the Custodian?” I asked bluntly. I had to be careful in these situations. If I acted too aggressive I would piss them off, but if I was too timid they would toy with me.
“No, I work for the Custodian. He trusts me to handle things if there’s a problem.”
I pretended to think for a moment, as if confused. “I was under the impression that I would get to speak with the Custodian.”
“The Custodian doesn’t deal with transactions personally. I’m sure he made that very clear when you took the job.” I could tell that the man was getting agitated, which meant my cover was failing. Before I could react another voice spoke up.
“So how do we know you actually work with him?” Ten asked, hints of suspicion in her voice. She was supposed to stay aboard the ship, but I found myself more surprised by her tone than her sudden presence.
The man’s face scrunched up for a moment, as if he had been genuinely offended. “First of all, your unit seems to be busted, commander. Talk like that would’ve gotten her shot on my ship. But to answer your question let me tell you who you’re actually dealing with. The Custodian works directly under Archon Delaine, meaning those who use the Custodian’s name also use that of the Kumo Crew. I’m sure you’ve heard the Archon’s punishments for fakes, but I can assure you the Custodian is much worse. The last group that tried to strong arm someone under his name worked out of this station. Do you know what happened to them? Their leader was executed, dismembered, and served to his crew. Those who didn’t eat were executed themselves. Have you ever had long pig commander? It’s even lot harder to eat when you know who it belonged to. So I’ll tell you what. If you really think we’re stupid enough to risk that kind of madness then call em,” he nearly shouted as he tossed his datapad to me, “Ask him if Valentin Todd works for him.”
I kept as calm as I could, but I could tell my face had gone pale. We had most certainly offended the man, meaning he was likely itching for an excuse to shoot us. It was only a matter of time before they figured out who we really were. In spite of this, the man had actually given me what I needed. If I took a moment to look at the Custodian’s contact information, we would be able to trace it directly to him. All I had to do was look for a moment before deciding not to make the call.
I never got the opportunity.