Another Day, Another Credit Part Five
04 Dec 2024Borderreiver
The high wake Braben tunnel was stable, perhaps this time I will jump out without a hyperdication? That hope came to a sudden end as the cockpit view changed, the audio input wailed and we dropped out in to normal space.Deploy heatsink, line up on MIQUICH and boost, then boost again. Not a scythe this time but definitely at least two scouts, so heatsink and boost, repeating it as often as the capacitor can handle it and keep temperatures below 20 until I can get through the FSD cooldown. With four heatsinks remaining out of ten I engage the FSD and high wake out.
Messages are coming in from passengers, but they can wait. They will have more to say when they realise it is MIQUICH and not the Rescue Ship Cornwallis that is their destination. Their complaints will also wait for a response from me, I have other things to think about.
As I approach the planetary outpost of Farmers Landing those refugees that have travelled some have realised that we are not approaching a megaship but somewhere planetside. There is an obvious fear of their future being one as slaves. Though that is not my intention I am not going to waste time debating it with them.
The despatcher hangarside is not a civilian, despite this not being an obvious military hangar. There were eight marines waiting by the arch to the elevators with weapons drawn to deal with any resistance to the diversion.
"Hello Captain, welcome to Farmers Landing. I have a detachment to ensure things go quietly."
"Thanks, I have 112 refugees to disembark. I have just delivered the please disembark message to the cabins."
"If there are any who would rather stay onboard we will talk to them, and not in friendly tones."
"The cabin lock overrides are engaged and all cabin doors are in the open position."
Most refugees disembarked grumbling and threatening action of one kind or another, but they went to the elevators and disappeared in to the station. It took just one trip in by four marines to persuade about six remaining refugees to come out and go in to the station, with assurances that APEX Taxi service was not suspended and there were no reports of Thargoid activity in the system.
Once the hangar was emptied, with just the despatcher and myself, the despatcher motioned towards the ship and we boarded the gangway.
"I expect to meet someone here, why are we onboard the ship?"
"Because I am your meeting Captain, and we will be lifting off together in a minute or so."
"I don't know you, you are not who I am meeting."
"You do know me, I'm Jack, just not looking or sounding like I did a decade ago. I have had some work done."
"So, tell me something only Jack and I know."
"Your Tormentor was empty on that job in Typhon we did and you had to beat the tech to death with it instead of shooting him. The report we submitted said he suffered extensive trauma from an encounter with our SRV."
"Jack, so what about Jeri? How is she?"
"Jeri was killed at HIP 22460, she was on the Bright Sentinel when it went down."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Anyway, let's get out of here. I know that you have a covert seat, so I will ride in that, but I will need one of your Maverick suits before we get to Abraham Lincoln."
"Okay, what for?"
"Need to know I'm afraid, but we will change places en-route and I will go out at the hangar. Your Mav suit will return but it won't be me in it. You stay out of sight in the covert seat since it needs to look like you coming and going with your helmet on. Stay in the covert seat until the ship gets to MIQUITCH and then it is back to SOL and the regular mission work for you. If this works out we may get to work together again."
"I am not going back to that, I am done with it, done with it all."
"So it is true what I heard, about what went down in LAVE?"
"Not true at all will be my guess, whatever you heard from whoever said anything, which they shouldn't have. I am not going to talk about it. I can't talk about it and I won't talk about it. We worked for terrible people then and did terrible things and you still do it seems."
"Fair enough, but it is still good to see that you are still around."
Jack was quiet in Buford's covert seat as I lifted off and said nothing when we switched seats on the run in to Abraham Lincoln. I made a note to tell the Chief Engineer on the FC that this covert seat did need some work done on it as it is too damn cramped.