1
Story opens as a lonesome space freighter approaches the border world of Santo. Captain Denton "Denny" Ashiem is at the helm. Denny is a grizzled old man (mid 60s), likeable enough although sometimes a bit blunt. He keeps his past in the past and has been trading forever as far as the young crew know.
The entire crew is on the bridge which consists of only three: Denny, who serves as pilot (although given the constant complaining about a bad back from long hours in the drivers seat this is about to change), Jemma "Cookie" Cookson (a somewhat Jack of all trades ship's medic and cook) and Jay Sikes (a sometimes jittery ex-captain in the engineering core for the Browncoats during the Unification War).
Also on the bridge is the newest addition, a wide-eyed fourteen-year-old boy who stowed away on LOST about three weeks ago when it disembarked from Ariel. Denny has tolerated him so far as he tries to make genuine attempts to earn his keep.
Jemma seems to have a soft spot for the kid, Robert, and will sneak away sweets for him and sometimes extra rations of food, flirtingly saying that boys need food to grow big and strong. Jay Sikes on the other hand seems to always have something to complain about when it comes to Robert. The boy has no personal problem with Jay, but finds the constant nagging about how he doesn't bring anything useful to the crew annoying. Many times Robert has been on the verge of dropping his low-profile to show the old drunk what he really can do, but so far has been disciplined enough to know better.
During the course of the journey the Captain has had three waves that set the scene for their visit to Santo.
1. Due to aforementioned backache Denny is keen to employ a pilot to relieve him of that burden on LOST. Following posting a wanted advertisement with the local port authority in Franklin (destination city on Santo), he has received inquiries from two interested parties. A guy named Elroy and a gal named Sophie.
2. The trade deal (for cargo presently on board and the next load) previously agreed with a buyer on Santo has become complicated and could jeopardise the next leg of the trip, to Boros. Therefore Denny needs to meet with the trader to reach a new agreement or enforce the old one.
3. An old acquaintance of the Captains, Lewis Childs, would like a sentimental package picked up for transport to a family member on Boros. Denny knows Childs is somewhat dodgey but is adamant he would not screw him over.
Thus as the ship comes in to land in Franklin, Denny gives out assignments. He is to go and sort the trade agreement, taking the loaded skiff. Cookie is to tout for more passengers (there are two getting off on Santo). Jay is to go to a casino where Childs is staying, and also where the two prospective pilots are to be met `- around 2:30pm.
Meanwhile at the Casino Royal about a mile from the port, a gambler and card player Dexter Salem is sizing up his opponents. Dexter is a confident trickster, especially so because he has successfully sneaked his derringer pistol into the gaming hall. Not to mention the fact that his companion (not in the literal sense) Lee has also smiled sweetly and concealed her twin pistols when entering the establishment.
Lee stands off to the side watching Dexter's back. She is harder than her soft curves would suggest.
The game is generally going in Dexter's favour and several players drop out as the stakes rise. In this instance he is intending to push it as far as he can because he feels the time has come to move on from Santo `- or Franklin at least. He owes a few big players money and violence may result.
Out at reception a tall rugged pilot is leaving a message for Captain Ashiem, who has not shown up yet. He must wait for the receptionist to finish with another customer; a black suited man in sunglasses carrying a large briefcase. Elroy, the pilot, catches the name "Salem" and "Childs" spoken by the thickly accented (Russian) man.
Back in the gaming hall Dexter's one remaining opponent becomes agitated and suspicious, like he is being taken for a ride. It's an uncomfortable feeling staring into Dexter's eyes. Almost like he is trying to get into your head.
A porter approaches Lee and hands her a note. It is for Dexter and reads: "Salem, I have a job for you that will square us away. Come to room 310 at 3pm. If I am not back, make yourself at home. L. Childs."
As the last cards fall (after a deft slight of hand trick) the high roller launches across the table for Salem's throat. He clumsily collects him into a heap on the floor. He pitifully tries a punch. The bouncers begin to approach but Lee has already restrained the man's arm from further attack.
Dexter brushes himself off. "Sore loser" he comments to the bouncers. The woman with the defeated gambler smirks. Dexter says, "a pretty lady like you should perhaps find some more refined company". She smiles (eyes twinkling) "you're right. Bill can be an oaf. But he hasn't earned himself a black mark just yet". She leaves alone.
As the gambler and his colleague leave the hall (retrieving a sidearm as he goes) they pass a rough looking engineer in a jumpsuit and a boy. The boy is taking in all of the new sights, absorbing the experience like a sponge.
Jay and Rob position themselves at the bar. With only a few minutes to go before 3pm and having already missed their meeting with the pilots.
The tall pilot is amusing himself by spinning a beer bottle like a quick draw from his pocket. This fascinates the kid and he tries to mimic it; with remarkable success given his naiveté.
Jay asks the barman if he knows of Elroy or Sophie. He replies "no, but they might know at reception". The pilot is oblivious as he entertains the boy. As Jay slips a few credits to the barman to make an inquiry at reception Rob asks the stranger "what is your name". He replies "Elroy, kid. And it looks like I've been stood up."
Jay hears this and introduces himself, having realised he's found who he's looking for. Elroy stealthfully pours the trio beers from the unmanned tap, delivering them just as the barman returns. He is followed by the receptionist. "That's him," she says. "Thanks", Jay waves to the barman, "we found him".
A job interview of sorts follows. Jay inquires about Elroy's past pilot experience. Jay elaborates that he served in the Core, but quickly adds (after sensing Jay's none-to-friendly attitude toward Alliance men) that he was discharged early on in the war for deliberately underperforming. Elroy makes it quite clear he has no affection for the Alliance. He was "just doing his job `- man's gotta make a living".
The door to room 310 was found to be unlocked when a knock yielded no answer. Dexter opens it to find a fairly pleasant suite. A large double bed, a sofa and a small table with some chairs. There is a closet and another door, presumably to a bathroom. Dexter immediately relaxes on the sofa and turns on the Cortex. Standard stuff `- local news, some gameshows and a lot of advertising about holiday destinations on Santo. There is also a commercial about interplanetary cruises but Salem barely notices. Lee leaves the door open and takes a seat next to the table.
Dexter makes a sandwich from the cheeseboard on the table (note: there is a sharp knife with an ornate handle for cutting the cheese!) and as he takes a first bite the phone rings.
"Hello?" Dexter answers hesitantly. "Mr. Childs?" says the receptionist.
"Umm, maybe," Dexter replies. Luckily she is not that smart and does not notice the unsure response. "I have a representative of a Captain Denton Ashiem to see you."
"Okay. Send him up." As Dexter hangs up the phone he notices the wet carpet surrounding the bathroom entrance. Curiosity gets the better of him and he opens the door. The sight is somewhat disturbing - a submerged corpse in the bath. There is a fair bit of blood from a stab wound in the chest and abrasions from a solid beating.
Dexter shuts off the dripping tap. Then, looking at his hands, proceeds to grab a towel and wipe off any fingerprints. He closes the door. But has no time to speak to Lee as Jay arrives moments later (alone, because he left the pilot and kid in the bar) carrying his tool bag, one of his compulsive traits. "Hello. I represent Captain Ashiem". Dexter replies: "I respresent Mr. Childs".
"Well aren't we all nicely representative folk," Lee says sarcastically.
"Have you got the package?" says Jay. "Umm. Yes. Umm, you might have to wait while we get it." Dexter wings it.
At that point Jay also notices the wet carpet. "Is there a problem with your plumbing? Because I have my tools and can have a look at it if you like."
Before Dexter has a chance to stop him Jay has opened the door and sees the dead body. "I see," he says, "there is definitely a problem with your plumbing."
"Indeed."
"Hmm dead bodies tend to block the drainage."
"What?" interjects Lee.
A somewhat nervous standoff ensues as Jay tries to decide whether he is faced with the killers or not. Then there is a knock at the door, "room service."
Lee tries to get rid of the young man outside the room who, through the spyhole, looks clearly anxious and may not be alone. There is a delay before a stronger knock. Lee opens the door a crack to see an officious man in the corridor. With little hesitation she throws open the door and trains guns on the first man and another on the left side. The second man is quick off the mark (or already holding a weapon) and has a gun trained on her also. Lee asks for identification that the first man shows - confirming they are Feds. "Put down your weapons and back away from the door." Lee complies.
The next minute or two are a blur. Dexter and Lee and certainly Jay generally follow instructions. The agents take ID cards from each and read them in a handheld scanner. However, when Dexter produces his derringer on its spring loading this spooks the agent. Hand cuffs are produced which Dexter resists. He even kicks him away which results in the Fed training his gun from a kneeling position on his stomach. Dexter's gun his aimed at the Fed's head from about a metre.
You could hear a pin drop. Dexter sees the intention in the other man's eyes and pulls the trigger. Brain fragments scatter the wall. The other cop spins around from his stance aiming at Lee. She breaks his arm and the gun falls to the ground. A swift kick and pistol-butt to the head knocks him unconscious.
Jay gets up from the floor where he had being laying prone. "Look, I don't want any trouble. This is not what I signed up for." He edges for the door and both Lee and Dexter raise their guns at him while debating what they are supposed to do now.
"You are an engineer, right? Do you have a ship?" Jay hesitates, "No," he lies.
The drone of sirens is heard drawing close - back up called by the second Fed. There is no time for negotiation and Jay is forced at gunpoint firstly up the stairs as the police are storming upwards and then down the stairs to the basement.
In the reception Elroy has seen the police arrive - which makes him very nervous.
The fugitives meanwhile make it to the street and a few blocks away Jay admits he does have access to a ship. They could do a deal if enough money was involved. Jay is still unsure whether he is dealing with Captain Childs' killers, but knows they are killers nonetheless. As the policeman without a face will attest.
Jay says he must get to his ship to check things with the captain. Dexter leaves him with a mail tag to be contacted at. They part ways, both headed for the docks.
2
Elroy helps the intoxicated boy over the street, away from the flashing lights of the police cars surrounding the entrance to the Casino. The pair avoid being asked any questions, as they are not the only ones trying to make a discreet exit.
Rob stumbles into an alleyway and throws up `- again. The pilot looks around the street and decides the only responsible thing to do is to take Rob home. There is no sign of the engineer and Elroy is not waiting around until 4pm when Jay is to return. They make their way for the docks. Elroy is reasonably familiar with the city but he also has the boy's recently accessed Cortex terminal. A map to and from the ship is still in the memory. Considering the boy's unsure footing, they walk a relatively direct route.
Elroy now helps the intoxicated boy up the gangplank of the ship, LOST. A pretty young woman greets him with a look of concern. "Does this kid belong to you?" Elroy says. Rob gurgles a smile, "tee hee, Jebba" and falls on his face.
"What happened?" she pulls Rob away from the stranger, positioning his arm around her shoulders to take the weight. "Umm. Kid's a bit of a lightweight".I was meeting your colleague, um, Jay. Then he left me with the little tyke. I'm sorry. I didn't expect this. He was fine and then all of a sudden the drink hit him."
"You the pilot?" she says, leading the teenager up the stairs to the balcony. Not even waiting for an answer she starts talking sternly to Rob. "What were you thinking?"
"The pilot. Yeah, that's me," Elroy whispers to himself.
Dexter and Lee are meanwhile also moving toward Franklin's spaceport in search of a ship off this rock. Dexter is doubtful that the skittish engineer will contact him about passage, despite the promise of large sums of cash.
As they reach a wide boulevard that borders the spaceport, Lee points at a column of black smoke in the far distance. It is in an entirely different direction from where they have come from and in any event they do not recall lighting any fires or blowing anything up. As Dexter looks up at the smoke and then back down to street level he sees the engineer hurry across the road. It is some distance away but he is recognisable by his overalls and tool bag.
Noting which ship Jay enters; Dexter and Lee check the docking terminals for available ships. There are several scheduled to leave within a few days, but none ready for immediate departure. As they make their way down the boulevard to Jay's ship they pass a huge berth. There is an office for Andersson Interplanetary Cruises. Unfortunately the last cruise ship, El Dorado, left two days ago. It would have been a guaranteed ticket off world.
Dexter checks the Cortex, anxious about whether there is any news about the Casino incident. There is not, but there is a frenzied report on the local news about an explosion and fire across several warehouses and factories in the industrial zone, in the North sector of the city.
From the bed in the infirmary Rob can hear irate voices. Jemma has given him a shot of something and he is beginning to come to his senses.
The voices are unmistakeably Jemma and Jay's. She is berating the engineer, "you just leave the kid by himself with some stranger? Drunk? Nice goin', Chwen!"
"Wuo Jai Jeong Yi Chi'', bitch! I was busy having guns waved in my face!" It appears Jay may have had a bottle in his kit bag and emptied most of its contents on the way back to the ship.
It goes on like this for about a minute, somewhere in the vicinity of the balcony. Rob sneaks out in time to see Jay cross the corridor and slam his door shut. Jemma kicks it, "that's right, drink yourself unconscious you Bei Bi Shiou Ren fuck-up!"
She sees Rob watching and her fury lessens. Marginally.
"Is he angry at me?" Rob is genuinely afraid of getting offside with anyone on the ship. "No. He's too concerned about himself - and someone threatening him `- to bother about you. Listen. Jay can be impossible, some".well most of the time. Don't ever take what he says to heart, Dohn Luh Mah?" Rob relaxes.
An incoming call is signalled by a gentle buzz and flashing red light on the wall. "You go ask your friend what his intentions are. See if he wants to stay for dinner. Least we can do after he brought you back like that." She strides down the stairs to the bridge.
"Thanks Jemma," Rob replies.
Elroy is sitting on a crate in the corner bouncing a ball against the wall. He looks up hesitantly as Rob descends the stair. He looks happy to see the boy, as opposed to a wrathful woman or stressed engineer. "Are they always like that?" he is beginning to question whether taking this job is a good idea. Elroy proceeds to ask various questions about the Captain and crew, especially Jemma. Notably both of them are happy to keep the conversation in the present, neither asks questions about the past `- for fear that the other will then make a reciprocal enquiry.
They notice a man approaching the gangplank "Howdy," Dexter says, trying to look relaxed. Rob almost instantly recognises him from the Casino - he is fairly distinct and the appearance of the Asian woman at his side confirms it. We're looking for a ship out of here," says Dexter as Rob approaches. They have a brief, casual, conversation before Jemma appears on the balcony shouting down, "you; pilot. You've got yourself a job." She moves with purpose down the stairs. To Rob she says, "go and see if you can get clearance for take-off. The Captain is on his way and seems to be in a hurry to leave." Dexter looks hopeful. "Hi there miss. My colleague and I are very interested in taking passage on your ship."
Jemma looks him up and down. Perhaps if he had not been with the woman she would have asked more questions, but as it was: "we're bound for Boros. One-seventy-five each," she says, "you know anything about disconnecting fuel couplings?". "No problem," comes Dexter's reply. He then turns to Lee, giving her some notes from a wad of cash. "Be a dear and go get our gear." Lees leaves to hail a taxi.
As Dexter attempts to unhook the fuel line he fails to seal it properly. Some liquid fuel begins to leak out of the pipe, unbeknown to Dexter.
He then hears the roar of a hover engine as a truck races toward the ship. An old man gets out. Dexter notices a slight limp as he moves up the gangway. "We've got to make a quick exit Cookie, get some of this loaded." The captain moves into the ship, heading for the bridge. "Care to help me out?" Jemma says to Dexter. Seeing the possibility of making a friend, he nods.
They load some large plastic crates out of the truck, after Jemma backs it into position. While doing so a customs official pokes his head around the cab accompanied by a cop with a rifle on a shoulder strap. He walks up the gangway, failing to notice the sign 'Boron Enterprises' high on the side of the truck. "You got your papers filled out? Looks like you're in a hurry to leave."
Jemma pushes aside the hand-operated forklift. "We're not due out for a few days," she says, "but you'd have to talk to the Captain about the paperwork. He's not here yet. Should be back in about an hour." The officer looks around, then at Jemma, smiling sweetly. She has an honest face. Dexter tries to avoid eye contact. The two men turn and begin walking away.
Denny appears again. He is sweating heavily and leans by the wall to mop his brow. "You okay Captain?" Dexter says with concern, "some customs men were sniffing around."
With a look of "who are you?" Denny nevertheless replies "when?" Dexter looks out of the hold opening and points, "just now. There." The Captain pulls a pistol from a shoulder holster and turns to also look out of the hold, just as the customs officer stops in his tracks. He turns, staring at a Cortex screen, then looks up to read the logo on the truck. Simultaneously the engines of LOST rumble to life. He almost chokes "stop!" Then dives for cover as Denny starts shooting. It is unclear whether the Captain actually intends to hit them.
On cue a screeching of tires and police sirens signals the approach of a taxi around the street corner. Moments later a rocket slams into the car's rear, lifting it off the ground and spinning it a full turn before it ploughs into the truck, still backed against the gangway of the ship. Dexter sees Lee slumped over the steering wheel and runs toward the flaming wreck. Meanwhile police cars have pulled into a defensive roadblock-type position. Armoured police are running around behind their vehicles for cover.
The Captain yells, "we need to get this bird in the air!" But the truck must be moved out of the way. Jemma jumps onto the deck and runs for the drivers seat. Denny throws his sidearm at Rob who catches it, bemused. However, without hesitation he moves after Jemma into the truck.
Shots are being traded. Dexter is lucky to keep out of harms way as he carries Lee from the car to the ship. But he then must return for the carryall on the front seat. The customs officers fire at both Denny and Jemma to no avail.
As Jemma gets the engine started and lurches the truck forward Rob notices a policeman with a rocket launcher over his shoulder, being loaded by a second man. He has only seconds to act but braces the pistol against the passenger side door, praying to any god he can find. He fires.
As if in slow motion the rocketeer flies backwards, the shot hitting square on his chest body armour. The rocket streaks past the truck cab over Rob's head into oblivion.
Dexter has collected the carryall which takes a bullet as he launches for the gangplank. Rob jumps out of the back of the truck and while clearing the last few feet feels a piercing sting in his left thigh. He collapses onto the rising platform, pulled to safety by the Captain. Jemma is on the intercom to Elroy yelling, "everybody's in, get us out of here!"
The force of the swift lift-off pins all in the hold to the ground, grabbing onto anything tied down. Dexter covers Lee's prone body to protect her from any debris flying about.
In a minute the spacecraft is stabilising, the intercom blares, "breaking atmo. Rest easy folks.....would someone mind telling me what is going on?"
Denny stands to make his way to the stair but collapses on the first step. As he falls on his back his waistcoat opens revealing a bloodsoaked shirt, "Denny!" Jemma screams and rushes over to help him. She beckons for Dexter who assists her supporting the Captain up the stair. Rob slowly limps up after them. He has a flesh wound but is still pumped on adrenaline.
Somewhat to Dexter's surprise the infirmary is fairly well equipped and the young woman purposefully prepares for removing the bullet from the Captain's stomach. The gambler takes his leave and goes to help Rob by preparing a bed of pillows for him in the dining room. It is not too difficult to stop the bleeding. Dexter then returns to the hold to fetch Lee, still unconscious. He deposits her in one of the passenger quarters. She is breathing evenly and nothing appears to be permanently damaged.
Hours pass. Jemma has stabilised the Captain although he is still anaesthetised for the time being. Dexter has made himself useful by stowing the cargo securely in the hold. He cannot help himself lifting a lid off a crate, to find only clothes. He takes note of the quality but investigates no further. One crate has a keypad-operated lock.
Rob has moved to the infirmary where a temporary mattress has been placed on the floor. There is otherwise only one bed in the room, occupied by the Captain. Denny stirs. Rob looks up expectantly as the old man's eyes open. It takes a few moments for him to focus. "Where am I?"
"On the ship, in the medicine bay. Jemma patched you up."
There is a pause as he adjusts to the surrounding, then he looks at the boy, "who is flying the ship?" This is a reasonable question considering he is normally the pilot.
"We hired a new one I think. His name is Elroy. Seems pretty handy since we left in a bit of a hurry."
The Captain notices the bandage around Rob's thigh, "you all right kid? You look banged up."
"You can talk, sir." Rob replies with a smile. "I took a hit in the leg. I'm okay," then, excited, he tells how he shot down a man with a rocket about to fire at the ship.
"So you take a bullet for the crew and you save my ship? It seems I owe you one."
"I'd do it again in a second, sir. You have been good to me. Could have turned me in when I stowed away like that."
"I never leave a man behind, son. And I don't turn in helpless kids," he ponders. "Although". maybe you're not so helpless."
Jemma and Dexter have now appeared in the doorway, overhearing the bonding session. She sees Denny turn to eyeball the stranger. "This is Dexter Salem, he's hitching a ride."
"At your service," Dexter bows. "A smooth-talker, huh? Watch out for him Cookie."
"I will." She says neutrally. Then Rob pipes up, "Captain, what happened back there?"
"In a second; first, did you get the package off Captain Childs?" Denny says. He is fully alert now.
"I suppose so. Jay probably has it," replies Rob. "Where "." the Captain begins, but is interrupted by Dexter, "I doubt that. Sir, Childs is dead."
Denny reacts, but it is subdued shock. "How do you know?" he says suspiciously. "Because I saw his body this afternoon, just before your engineer showed up." Seeing the suspicion Dexter adds, "he was already dead when we got there. You see, Childs sent a message to me to meet him in his room. He said he had a job."
Looking thoughtful, "are you the gambler?" Looking bemused Dexter answers, "sometimes."
"I called Lewis as I was on the way to my meeting `- to let him know someone from the crew other than me was coming to meet him. He seemed nervous. Said he'd maybe bitten off more than he could chew this time and got involved with the wrong people. He mentioned wanting to send someone along for the ride with the package for negotiating. Didn't say much other than that this guy he was sending"," Denny smirks remembering, "this guy maybe makes some stupid decisions sometimes but I should be able to trust him. But, whatever you do, don't play him at poker."
"That is me then." Dexter says.
"Where is Jay?" says the Captain. "Yi Dwei Da Buen Chuo Roh'' has probably drunk himself to hell by now. He was singin', yellin' and hollerin' earlier, but he's been quiet for a while."
Rob grows impatient, "What happened to you at your meeting?!"
The old man sighs and stares at the ceiling, "I don't rightly know. Everything was shiny. We were about to part ways, the skiff was loaded. Then Jim Boron gets called to his office. He comes back, still smiling, then pulls a gun! Blabs something like 'what do you know?' he was itchy and I didn't have a mite more than a second. I was Wong Dahn so I pull out my sidearm and drop him." He pauses, and then continues, "so anyways a gun battle ensues. I managed to get into the nearest truck and high-tail it out of the warehouse. I shot up a fuel dump to give me some cover."
The three others look at each other in disbelief. "Subtle," Dexter comments.
"Then I came back here. Time was of the essence you might say."
"So the cargo in the bay is not your contract load? What is it?" asks Dexter, interested.
"No idea. I had other things to worry about. Like this bullet in my gut!"
"I noticed there was a crate with a lock on it, anyone here know how to deal with something like that?" asks Dexter. Rob is hesitant, but cannot stop himself saying, "can I take a look at it?" he looks at Denny.
"You're a hero. Be deservin' a reward," the Captain replies.
Dexter helps Rob to leave the infirmary and go to the cargo bay. The lock looks familiar to Rob but he plays it cool, winching at his thigh. "Gosh. You couldn't get me some painkillers could you Mr. Salem?" eyes of innocence stare at the seasoned gambler and trickster. More convincing than any lie he ever told.
Dexter leaves upwards, back to the infirmary. With Jemma's help he locates a pre-pack syringe of Octrophene. He returns to the hold in no more than two minutes. Rob is standing there with a barely concealed look of self-congratulation. The lock is popped open. "How did you do that?"
"It was easy when it was just left on the factory settings: four zeros."
Dexter was not, like Lee sometimes acted, born yesterday. "Right," he says but does not push the issue. "Let's see what we've got then." Dexter lifts the lid and is mildly disappointed to find food bars, somewhat valuable on the rim, but hardly sunken pirate treasure. However he perseveres and after rummaging a little uncovers a sight that makes Rob jump back in alarm. There is the head of a pretty woman blankly staring upward out of the foodstuffs. She looks very dead and very"plastic.
"It's a Lovebot," he says picking the kid up, hesitating, "or I think that's what people call them. People who know these sorts of things"people who I don't know." Good save.
Further investigation around the disembodied head reveals a cache of Alliance grade weapons and armour that makes their eyes pop out. Rob also identifies a number of pieces of electronic kit familiar to him. But he stays quiet.
Jemma appears over their shoulders, "if we weren't before. Now we really are in the shit."
More hours pass. They have set a course (poorly as it turns out) for Boros. The captain is asleep. Lee is still unconscious but Jemma has checked on her to ensure she is stable. The three new unlikely friends: gambler, stowaway and"whatever Jemma is, are eating some dinner when Elroy's voice comes over the intercom, "you guys should get down here."
When they reach the bridge Elroy is hovering over the comm desk. "I'm getting some kind of call for help. It's a weak signal, but its not far away either." The screen flickers with intermittent white noise, trying to lock onto an image. At last it appears more clearly, but still very low res.
"Mayday, mayday. Can anyone hear me?" It is the voice of a young man, apparently in some kind of confined space. The only light is the glow of his own view screen. Jemma whispers to Elroy, "answer it."
"We hear you. Who is calling?" Elroy asks.
"Oh. Thank God! The ship has been overrun by armed men. They were signalling for assistance. Their ID all checked out, the ship, umm Backdrop, was all legit." They can see the look of relief on the man's face at receiving the signal.
"Wait. What kind of armed men?" Elroy's paranoia about Alliance involvement kicks in. "Who are you?"
"Vic Willson. I'm a trainee nav operator on El Dorado. I was taking a dump when it all happened `- after the ships docked that is. They took everyone hostage. I don't know what's going on. But I heard shooting. I've been holed up here for hours. You've gotta help."
"What about a distress beacon?" Dexter asks the group. Elroy looks up from the screen, "probably won't do him much good. A distress beacon is like lighting a Christmas tree. It broadcasts on all channels until someone responds. These bad guys would notice. Besides, the nearest cruiser is days away."
"Any idea why you've been hijacked?" asks Jemma.
Young Vic shrugs with his eyes, "not really. We quite often have important guests but the list is restricted. We could be carrying the Emperor of the 'Verse and I wouldn't know."
Elroy looks at Jemma, "even if we wanted to help, we can't get close enough to board ourselves without being spotted by that Backdrop." Vic overhears and says hopefully, "no, wait. If one of you knows what they're doing I can get you remote access through this terminal to El Dorado's systems. There are all sorts of countermeasures to scramble shipboard sensors. We're pretty well equipped. We should never have gotten caught out by these guys but the laws of the Black are pretty clear about leaving others stranded."
"What kind of access?" Rob moves forward, at once interested. He has had a taste of adventure and is somewhat eager for more. Vic gives Rob a basic rundown of the access procedure, although the trainee's knowledge of how to actually use it is limited.
Dexter seems somewhat bemused as to why they are considering liberating a random hijacked ship in deep space but the others appear to already be drawing up a plan of action.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing," he sighs to himself. Rob says, "we have a boatload of toys to use and these people need our help."
They have a journey time of a few hours to prepare. If nothing else the feeling of having a purpose is quite comforting. They sign off from Vic as the longer he is transmitting the greater the risk of being discovered.
There is crash from above and heavy footfalls. Boots appear, unsteadily, on the bridge stairway. "Hey, I wanna dance" Jay stumbles down into the bridge smelling like a brewery, a distillery and a gas station rolled into one intoxicated mess. His bleary smile turns to shock as he halts, seeing Dexter among his crew.
"Mi Tian Gohn''," Dexter curses.
Jay may have shouted something in response, but it is not coherent. It is blind fury. Jay rushes at Dexter like some kind of primitive tribal warrior.
3
The bridge erupts into chaos. Jay is irate and yelling something along the lines of "murdering bastard." He hurls the bottle in his hand at Dexter. The throw is wide and whizzes past the gambler's head to explode into glass shards and wasted spirits against the windscreen.
Rob attempts to trip Jay but the engineer deftly strides over the outstretched foot. Jemma is screaming at Jay to stop. It falls on deaf ears and a few swipes are rounded at Dexter who is trying to use the pilot seat to hide behind. The gambler is in full defensive mode, blocking any punches that do strike out. As Dexter feints to one side he leaves the ground and flies toward the wall `- gravity has disappeared with the flick of a switch. Elroy is strapped into the operations desk chair.
Rob, having made a desperate call on the intercom to raise the captain, is relatively secure holding the comm desk. Dexter spins off and Jay launches after him, trying to tackle him. Jemma is trying to grab Jay and he can feel her pulling his hair. She fights like a girl.
Meanwhile, Lee has come out of unconsciousness (or perhaps feels some kind of empathic sense of danger?). She is groggy but leaves her room. She quickly finds the infirmary and the captain, trying to get out of bed to answer the call to trouble in the bridge. "Where is the bridge?" she asks. "Down the stairs out in the hall," he replies. Neither knows whom the other is, but it does not seem to matter.
After some further random flailing about Elroy engages the gravity drive. Dexter notices him flick the switch on and grabs onto a pipe on the ceiling. Seconds later Jay and Jemma crash to the ground. She bashes her head against the edge of a table and passes out. Blood pools on the bridge floor.
Rob is already running through the door to get the captain, almost colliding with Lee coming the other way. Elroy stands drawing his weapon, clutching it firmly by the barrel he attempts to pistol-whip Jay in the head. A glancing blow turns the enraged engineer's attention toward the pilot. There is more cursing and screaming.
Jay lands a few solid blows to Elroy's face. Dexter swoops down from the ceiling toward his five foot four asian woman bodyguard. Then a bellowing comes from the intercom like the voice of god; it is only the captain, but it sounds just as authoritative, "stop busting up my ship!" There is a reprieve.
It is not enough to bring Jay's blood off the boil. He dives for Elroy again who, sensing the imminent danger discharges his handgun at the engineer's foot. A burst of pain temporarily stuns him enabling Lee to wrestle him to the ground. He almost breaks free but Elroy offers a belt to tie him up. The situation is still tense but temporarily under control. As Jay yells insults Dexter picks up Jemma and carries her out of the room. Lee hauls Jay to his feet with the intention of marching him to the infirmary. He either trips or purposefully collapses before reaching the stairs. The normally demure young woman loses her temper and stamps on his foot `- the one with the bullet hole in it. With a white hot flash of agony Jay falls unconscious.
Elroy, concerned, begins to do a systems check to ensure that nothing was damaged on the bridge. As the bridge is cleared the pilot subtly closes and locks the door. "This crew is crazy," he thinks. Mind you, he is the one that fired his weapon in flight. There is a hole in the floor to prove it. Remembering the present course toward the El Dorado, Elroy again makes contact with Vic. He is given the access codes to the general security measures, but cannot do much other than log into the system.
It becomes fairly crowded in the small infirmary. Jemma regains consciousness quickly as Dexter bandages up a nasty cut on her head. He leaves with Lee and Rob at her insistence. She must now deal with her second bullet wound of the day.
After closing contact with El Dorado Elroy takes to exploring the ship and notes the bay to the shuttle on the top deck is sealed, requiring coded entry. The ship is generally in adequate repair, although Jay did not have the opportunity to purchase the spare parts and other equipment he had intended to on Santo. Elroy decides to visit the captain.
".You don't understand, the ship has been overrun by psychotic lunatics!" Jay pleads with Denny as he winces at the open foot surgery performed by Jemma. He is only marginally affected by the sedative administered to him.
"The only one that's caused any trouble on this ship recently is you!" Jemma accuses. Her surgeon's touch is not as gentle as it could be, but she does her job.
"Now, now, children. From what he's said Jay has reason to be wary. But we might all be locked up in federal prison now if it wasn't for our new passengers".and the pilot. Who else was gonna fly this bird? I think for the time being we, here in this room, have no choice but to trust a little to these strangers."
Calmer than he was, Jay is still visibly upset, "but they're insane! Reckless and unpredictable. Gun-toting murderers!"
"That's enough!" the Captain scolds. "I already explained how I called Childs and he told me about the mess he'd gotten into. He intended to send the gambler with his precious package `- which none of you seem to have. I admit that shooting Feds in the head is less than subtle, but don't we all feel like doing that sometimes?"
There is a buzz at the door. Jemma goes to it and, apprehensively, opens it for Elroy to walk in. Jay's knuckles whiten as he clutches the edge of his mattress. "Hi Captain. I have just run diagnostics on this baby and she is purring like a kitten, I"."
"What happened in my bridge earlier." The captain is all business. Elroy replies, "Umm. Yeah, bit of a scuffle. No harm done."
Beckoning the pilot to his side Denny says through clenched teeth, "if you ever pull a gun on any of my crew ever again, I will shoot you myself. Is that clear?!" Elroy nods. The Captain's manner is somehow familiar to him. This is a leader of men `- a little rusty perhaps - but there is no doubt that there is some kind of military discipline in the way he commands respect. "Now apologise to my engineer. And"by the way, there is a new house rule. From now on all weapons are to be stowed in the arms locker. Cookie will have the key for safekeeping."
Elroy, previously with his back to Jay, turns around and puts on a brave face. "I think we got off on the wrong foot"." Jemma's eyes roll as he begins to make amends. To some Elroy's manner would be considered barely repentant, but for him it is the equivalent of a heartfelt tearful apology.
Later, Elroy has returned to the bridge and explains to Rob the problem he had accessing the cruise liner's systems. "Oh, sounds like" Rob's voice trails off as he taps purposefully at the keyboard. In a second the screen is filling with schematics and status information. Dexter is standing by and whispers to Lee, "that kid is not normal."
In a short time they have gathered all they need to take to a strategy meeting scheduled for ten minutes in the dining room. Elroy estimates that if they are going to proceed with this crazy rescue mission then the scrambling countermeasures will need to be activated about an hour before they arrive at the rendezvous point. They have half an hour to decide.
All (except Dexter who disappears momentarily) move up to the dining room, adjacent the infirmary. Denny is strong enough to make an appearance. Jay's foot is very painful but, courtesy of the wonders of modern medicine, is well on the road to recovery.
The Captain's policy on trouble in space is clear. "I will never leave lambs to the wolves," he announces. "From what that kid locked in the closet says, we have a volatile situation, with a wagonload of armed men and a bunch of innocents. Those aren't fair odds. You people might just even it up."
Dexter enters without a word, armoured like a one-man battlegroup. He strides to the table and places a large assault weapon down carefully. "I guess you haven't heard about the new house rule regarding guns," says Denny, only half joking.
Elroy's eyes bulge, "where did you get that?" He goes on to identify all manner of military grade hardware as Dexter unloads it. Rob excuses himself, "guys, I am glad to hear we are going to help these people. But we are getting pretty close now to the rendezvous. I am going to turn on the scrambler." All nod agreement. In a sense that was the final decision to proceed with the rescue made right there - by the fourteen year old.
With a task to concentrate on the new crew somehow forget just how dysfunctional they are. Each an expert in their own field, they begin to plan the mission. At its centre is the intention to shut off the oxygen replenishment systems and incapacitate everyone on board the El Dorado, leaving them asleep but relatively stable. They will have to deal with the Backdrop separately.
Jemma verifies that oxygen deficiency, if carefully controlled, should not cause any permanent damage. Elroy chimes in "only the very old and the very young might be in any real danger." Dexter, with tangible sarcasm, comments, "that's lucky because cruise ships are never filled with old people."
Rob returns with more information. He has seen the security camera positions and can show on the schematics where the hijackers and passengers are located.
LOST sails through the Black closer to El Dorado. The lives of about one hundred passengers and crew depend on this bunch of in-fighting misfits. God help them.
4
Rob closes his eyes, visualising the docking controller framework. As if drifting toward it in a cybernetic dream world he activates the Companion bay door from his remote position on board the top deck of LOST. A hundred thousand miles away shuttle Epoch approaches El Dorado. Elroy's overconfidence in his piloting abilities may one day prove his undoing as the shuttle narrowly misses scraping its nose on the bay wall. After that tense moment the strike team consisting of Dexter, Lee and Jay prepare to disembark. The red tinged bay turns blue as the door to open space closes, courtesy of distant Rob. They each stow grenades and make final adjustments to the new armour they are wearing. Elroy opens the shuttle door, directly adjacent an airlock.
Spreading his mind into the security systems of the El Dorado, Rob quickly gains control of the security cameras. The last time Rob did this when the crew planned their approach only hours ago, he had seen through all cameras at once. The price then for successfully integrating over a hundred disparate moving images in his brain had been a splitting headache. Such an omniscient view would be too hard to maintain for long, so Rob narrows it down to one or two cameras, following the crew around, warning them about dangers ahead.
There is a second door leading, if the schematics are correct, to the Companion concourse. After the all-clear from Rob's camera view of the hallway, Elroy opens the door and proceeds directly to the security office at the fore end, only a few yards away.
Lee has a handheld Cortex terminal in standalone mode, with the ship's plans scrollable on the screen. As she steps out to the hall the first flaw in their plan becomes apparent. "Umm. Feh Feh Pi Goh. Guys, we have a problem. From this level the most direct route to Engineering is down these stairs to Deck 3".but it will take us past the dining hall".where all the bad guys are!"
"Shitballs," says Dexter. Jay rolls his eyes, "that's an encouraging start!"
They spend a few moments finding an alternative route `- up to the next level then across past the bridge and down a service elevator to Deck 2. A small set of service stairs will then take them down another level to close by the Power Converters and on to Engineering. As Elroy tries to get security camera images on the screens, the three-person strike team ascends the stairs.
Lee's senses are blunted by the heavy helmet she is wearing but, as the first in line, her movements are cautious. Slowly creeping up the stairs she catches movement ahead. Rob confirms it must be from the conference room or captain's quarters, but cannot see into these rooms. She stealthfully bolts around the corner, as the coast is clear. As she does so she hears a raised voice from the conference room. There may be English words among the foreign language, but she cannot make it all out.
However, Rob then calls a halt as a man appears at the door directly in front of the stairs. Dexter and Jay hit the deck, remaining unseen. The man, carrying an assault rifle, taps a communicator in his ear and moves out, luckily taking the other route around the stairs. Rob informs Lee that he will reappear past the stairs with his back to her, presumably moving toward the bridge. She wastes little time in tip-toeing up behind him, holding the barrel of her pistol. Seeing a shadow on the floor the man spins, too late, to be greeted by a blow to the face. He staggers back startled. Without time to cry out he attempts a desperate swing but suffers a further flurry of blows that send him crashing to the ground unconscious. Lee binds him swiftly, whispering to the others on their micro transmitters to follow up.
Elroy has meanwhile disabled the doors to the Companion shuttles with unsubtle violence to the electronic locks. No one will be accessing these shuttles in a hurry. He returns to the security room, beginning to master the camera system.
Having deposited the unconscious man bound and gagged in a lifeboat the trio make their way toward the bridge. Lee has taken the hi-jacker's communicator and hears a questioning "Abdul?" and some guttural language. They proceed down a narrow corridor toward a door marked 'bridge' but take a left. As Jay passes he hears the door open behind him and pushes Dexter in front around the corner. He narrowly misses being seen.
The group quickly proceeds to the service elevator and hits the down arrow. Rob, keeping an eye on the security monitors cannot see anyone in the vicinity. He has however, been observing a man being beaten in the kitchen area adjacent the dining salon. It is difficult to make out who he is, but he appears to be a passenger.
Elroy has fixed cameras on Engineering and can see two men inside apparently chatting. One assault rifle is on a desk next to the systems console. The other man has a rifle on a strap over his shoulder. "Two baddies waiting for you in Engineering," he announces.
They exit the elevator on Deck 2 and cross the reception gangway toward service stairs leading down. The Power Converter room, is empty except for the hum of the machinery. As they approach the Engine room Lee moves to a first door and Dexter, a second. After a quick countdown the gambler and his associate storms the room. The surprised men have no chance and are riddled with high velocity bullets.
Jay follows, purposefully striding toward the console `- one of its monitors now with a large hole in its screen. He goes to work and finds the life support controls. The first action is to disable the scrubber units and the alarms that would be triggered by such an event. This by itself will take hours to deplete the oxygen enough to affect people onboard, therefore, the next step is to evacuate the atmosphere from the Deck 1 compartments forward of Engineering.
Lee and Dexter leave so they can be ready to open the stairway door up to the next level `- thereby effectively thinning the air by a fifth or more. All have masks handy waiting for the signal to put them on. As they exit Engineering and seal the doors behind them Jay's finger hovers over the button that will expose the Power Converter room. The brief drive for revenge passes.
As Lee and Dexter safely reach a crew room and close the door the auxiliary cargo lift is opened to space and Deck 1 is a vacuum. No alarms sound. The lift is closed.
While debating how they are to reach the stair door, only ten yards away, through the searing pain of no atmosphere, Jay finds a better solution and uses the air conditioning vent system to gently equalise the pressure with the rest of the ship. He then prepares for a second evacuation to space.
Not long after the first evacuation Elroy notices three men leave the conference room and move down the stairs toward where he is on the Companion level. There has also been various frenzied conversations over the hi-jacker's communication system overheard but not understood by Lee. Luckily they pass by the closed door of the security room and round the stairwell toward the main elevator shafts in the middle of the ship. Elroy breathes a sigh of relief, but it was too soon as he sees on his screen the last man out of the concourse turn to his right and approach a doorway to a Companion shuttle. After a few moments he sprints after the other two men.
Rob sees, outside the elevator, the three men talking. One appears to be giving instructions to which the other two nod and turn back toward the concourse. At the same time Rob notices two other men, a man in a white coat and one with an assault rifle appear in the lifeboat corridor at the rear of the ship. "They are all on the move guys. They know something is wrong! Elroy, there are two bad guys headed straight for you."
Elroy leaves the security office and takes up position peering round the corner of the stair well down the corridor toward where the first hi-jacker had noticed something amiss with the shuttle bay. Two men appear, and then are temporarily out of sight in an alcove off the corridor. Elroy takes aim at the point they will re-emerge. As the second man comes into view behind the first Elroy opens fire with a burst from his assault rifle. And then another. And another.
The bloodied remains of two men decorate the hardwood floor of the Companion Concourse. "Two more down," he says, making his way toward the aft airlock where Backdrop is docked. Jay had locked the airlock in place so it cannot be manually disconnected from its mooring.
Rob announces in panic, "Mi Tian Gohn'', the terrorists in the dining hall are rounding everyone into a corner! Its chaos, and some of them have been collapsing from the lack of oxygen. But there is emergency breathing gear in there. I think they are going to shoot them!" He accesses another part of the mainframe and cuts the lights to the dining room.
As he does this he sees, in the wide hall outside, the hi-jacker previously giving orders look up at a security camera position. There is a brief muzzle flash and Rob's view goes dead. Moments later one of the elevator cameras turns to static.
Lee and Dexter take separate stairways up toward Deck 4. Coming around the corner is the man in a white coat, followed by a gunman. Not recognising either, she instantly opens fire. The man in front is cut down before he can react. The second dodges out of sight. However, Dexter approaches from the other side, behind the nervous gunman. In seconds his head is broken apart. Lee sees blood spatter from around the corner. "You okay Lee?" Dexter asks. "Always," comes the reply.
Elroy has reached the airlock just as Rob's frantic voice warns him that two more men approach, running down the corridor. It is the terrorist leader and he has picked up another henchman.
The airlock is sealed by coded entry. He is trapped and so jumps round the corner with machine gun blazing. The leader dives for cover as the man behind is hit. Bursts of fire are traded and Elroy is hit several times. Luckily for him the new armour absorbs the multiple shots. He is peppered at least ten times before the second man expires and the leader, on the ground with arms protecting his head, takes the initiative and leaps for the pilot.
They grapple for some seconds before a shout "fire in the hole!" from Dexter announces the arrival of a flash bang grenade. Elroy throws off the terrorist leader as the grenade goes off. Both are blinded and so is Dexter, although not as severely. Running past the stumbling men, Lee delivers a business-like blow to the head of the stunned enemy.
There is a moment of silence. Dexter's eyes adjust relatively quickly, Elroy takes a minute. Lee is talking to Jay, "did you lock the umbilical to the bad guy's ship?"
"No. I just locked the passageway in place so they couldn't leave. I can override the key-code if you want."
"Ok. Do it." With little time to prepare, the door opens. All hell breaks loose with little cover as they try to storm the ship, against opponents under cover. Another flash bang is thrown. This time Dexter shouts to his colleagues, "close your eyes!" The charge is dulled by a crewman jumping on the grenade.
"Let's try that again," Elroy tosses in another grenade. This one is not so flashy, but a lot boomy. "You are one Wei Shian Dohn Woo," Lee exclaims, "little hesitation at blowing or shooting holes in a spaceship!"
"These babies can take it. And if they can't we won't live long enough for you to be yelling at me," Elroy smiles and charges into the Backdrop as if bulletproof. Which one could be forgiven for thinking he was. There is a hint of homicidal glee in his eye which disturbs the relatively innocent young woman.
Storming the Hotaru/Firefly class transport is a relatively expedient operation. Dexter must dispatch another man, presumably a pilot, down a corridor but after that everything is quiet. The ship is outfitted to carry about twenty passengers in makeshift harnesses. It also carries, as verified by Elroy, basic weapons systems in place of the shuttle bays.
They provide an update to their crew. The captain begins to bring LOST in closer, about a twenty-minute flight time. Rob reports muzzle flashes from within the dining hall. Lee and Dexter make haste to the third Deck, "damn it. I'm out of flash bangs," he pants as they enter the stairwell.
Coming closer to the dining room they hear gunshots. "Turn on the lights kid!" Mayhem ensues as they barge into the large room. Most of the people are collapsed but a few have found oxygen masks, passengers and enemies alike. One man stands with a large knife embedded into the chest of a gunman. Lee and Dexter choose other targets. They stand fast, hoping to drop as many as possible with accuracy over stealth.
Bullets fly, a significant proportion of which slam into Lee's lithe body. Dexter is also hit. Thankfully their armour takes the lion's share of hurt. But not all of it.
As the last terrorist falls Lee sinks to her knees. Dexter rushes to her side, "are you okay little girl?"
"Who you calling little?" she smiles, coughing up a little blood. "I'll be okay. But I'm looking forward to seeing Jemma."
"They're on their way. Hang in there."
A man with a thick Australian accent approaches, putting his large knife back in its sheath, "are we glad to see you mate. I'm Des Warren." Dexter asks him to put down his weapon. He then helps with reviving passengers and crew.
Rob confirms their approach and says, "there's still movement in the kitchen. And I think I also see something in the amphitheatre." He brings up the house lights on the large dimly lit auditorium. A young boy can be seen scurrying behind the stage. Rob mentions this on the comm..
Dexter moves off after the villain in the kitchen, finding a half dead man tied to a chair. He misses seeing a golden Star of David discarded on the floor close to the chair. He dashes off after the shadow disappearing around the corner. Rob informs him of the man running toward the stairs going up to the Companion lounge.
Reaching the top of the stairs Dexter's heart sinks as he sees the door to the first shuttle bay, their shuttle bay, close. "I lost him. He's gonna steal our ship!"
"Don't worry," Rob says calmly. From a camera in a corner Rob sees the man running toward the shuttle. Reaching out with a thought, he opens the door to the shuttle bay door to space. A red light starts flashing in the room. Rob assumes there must be a loud alarm sounding as well, but from his viewpoint it is all silent, having no microphones in the bay door. The man realises immmediately what the red flashing light means and runs toward the closed door, trying to escape the way he came from. He gets half-way before the resulting wind from the air rushing out of the bay lifts his feet of the floor and flings him across the bay and out into the cold vacuum of space. "He's taken care of." Rob says over the intercom.
The young tech whiz then sweeps the cameras all over the ship as LOST comes in to land. There are a few that are out, notably a camera in one of starboard engine rooms is disconnected.
Time passes and the El Dorado passengers and crew begin to come back to some sense of normalcy. Lee, feeling somewhat of a second wind, retrieves the child from the ampitheatre and returns him to his grateful parents. She then returns to LOST for badly needed treatment.
At no point do any of the team remove their helmets and are therefore mistaken for Alliance special forces. Dexter is approached by a man, Horatio Blenheim, a politician in the core parliament who thanks him. He also mentions the name of the tortured man, another statesman called Mel Greenberg. Rob is with Dexter. Jay joins Elroy to help checking Backdrop's systems.
While Dexter goes to the bridge to discuss their impending departure with El Dorado's captain, Rob makes himself useful in the security office (luckily empty at present). He deletes all the surveillence and landing records that might identify LOST or its crew. He then leaves to return to his ship.
Dexter is also preparing to leave, walking across the hall from the bridge when someone taps in on the shoulder. "You are not Alliance. I assume you are with the Greens?" the man, whom Dexter recognises as the pilot of El Dorado says. His tone is not exactly suspicious; it is matter of fact. Dexter blows out some smoke from his freshly lit stogie, "we're leaving. Have a nice flight." He turns to head for the stairs.
"Tell Mark that Al Shariq must have had his own agenda. We found some bodies in the captain's quarters. Jesse was among them. Tell him I'm sorry for that, there was nothing I could do."
Dexter nods and leaves. Completely bemused but hiding it well.
With Backdrop free of its previous occupants the crew of LOST prepare to depart, Epoch safely back in its bay. The captured terrorists are in the custody of El Dorado's security force. Elroy pilots Backdrop and Denny maintains the helm of LOST.
Some hours later, with the course for Boros set again; Dexter, Rob and Lee sit eating in the mess and discussing the events of the last day or so. Dexter recounts, not thinking much of it, the conversation with El Dorado's pilot. Rob immediately leaves the mess and returns moments later holding ID cards that they had found with the other equipment acquired on Santo. The names Gill and Mark Green are clearly displayed.
They piece together their version of events, in which the hi-jack may well have taken place as a consequence of the missing equipment from Boron Enterprises. Some hearty laughter goes around the table. "Oh, well," Lee says, "at least we set things right in the end."
Then the door opens and Jemma comes through, tears streaming down her ashen face.
"The Captain is dead," she says, shaking as she sits down at the head of the table. The others look at each other, speechless. Rob is the first to react after the words settle in. "But he was healing ok!" he says in a voice filling up with tears. "He was old, and his body just couldn't cope. I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do." Jemma says, looking down to the table. Distraught, Rob runs out of the room leaving the others to realise that they have two ships and only one pilot.
Events on Santo happened so fast that I am still fuzzy about what exactly happened there. The final knife-edge escape was the most exciting thing to ever happen to me and I loved every second of it! Even being shot felt exhilarating. Who knows, maybe they brainwashed me into enjoying those kind of situations, to prevent me from acting my age and crawl into a corner and hide. It does not matter. I am who I am now, and I wish to be no one else.
The hours between when we escaped and Jay came out of his room and started beating everyone up was good. Not only did the captain commend me for saving his ship (I thought I would split in two from joy and pride!) but I got to talk some more to my fellow crew members. Elroy has been really nice to me ever since I met him in the bar. He took care of me when I was, ehh, ill (There is another mystery about Jay. Why would anyone willingly drink themselves to that level, it felt awful!) and we have been talking a lot onboard the ship. I bet he is a great pilot! Dexter and Lee seem to be slippery but good people. I might have been a bit wary of Dexter if Lee had not been there. But she seems to such a nice girl that there is no way that she would hang around someone who didn't have some goodness in them. And neither of them has done anything but treat me with respect.
Come to think of it, pretty much everyone except Jay does. It is as if they can see that I am not your average childlike 14 year old kid. I wonder how long it will be before they start asking questions. Take the digitally locked crate for example. I knew that cracking it would create suspicion, but I just couldn't help myself! I knew that I could be useful; I knew I could make this adventure move faster! How could I then act a normal useless kid and stand by and watch them fail over and over again. No way. So what if Dexter didn't buy my story about the crate's code being set to factory default. And then the whole business with the El Dorado. They all know that there is something I am not telling them. But there is no way they know the truth. And when they demand it, what should I do? Lie to them? Tell them the truth? Leave them?
So we then came upon the El Dorado. I knew from the start that I wanted to help them! Sure, they were innocent people needing my help, but it was more than that. It was a chance for more adventure! Another opportunity to use my skills! I wanted to impress both myself and the Captain. Well, I think I did. We all did. No one had any obligations to help, but we did anyway! What a crew! Even Jay helped out!
I snuck away to the emergency escape pod where I could plug into the system nicely. My job was to hack as much of the El Dorado's computer systems as I could. The video cameras were the best thing I got my mind around. I kept everyone up to date with any moments on the ship. Ha! Those durkastanies never had a chance! Well, they did put up a fight in the end. When Lee got shot in the final confrontation I got really scared. I frantically tried to find anything in the ballroom to find anything I could control, anything that could help her, but nothing. She's all right now though.
The mission was successful. But I didn't have much time to celebrate. When Cookie walked into the dining room with tears in her eyes, I knew even before she said it that the captain was dead. My whole body went cold. My mind screamed that it was not so. It just could not be! He was fine when I last saw him. The shot wound was healing! He was getting better, and then, dead. It is unfair!
I ran out of the room and down to the infirmary. He was there. In a matter of weeks, he had become the closest thing to a father I've ever had, and now he was taken away from me. And without him, the crew will split up, I will be left on some planet or returned to "them". All my hopes that built up during this time shattered in a moment. Unfair unfair UNFAIR!
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"Let's go off to Ireland!"
- Paul Drake after group received life threatening letters in the What is Truth Worth chronicle. Noted for being a spanner in the plot, totally derailing the game for a session. Has become a catchphrase for spannering the plot, or otherwise annoying the GM.