OMEGA Exile (4 page)

Joni offered a half frown. "They are out there, Mr. Beutcher. I have insisted that they not be visible, and family security has responded with a team that is pretty good about not being seen. Here, out the viewport, see those three men loading cargo? That is the third time they have lifted it with that autopallet. See the supervisor up there behind the glass wall? I guarantee he was not working this dock yesterday. When you signal the bay controller with your flight plan, it won’t be a voice you recognize. I would almost bet there is not a single person in this bay today that actually works here."

I nodded my head as I looked around. "You are right, I’ve been in and out of this bay for years, and I don’t recognize a single one of them. If it were me, I would be thrilled at the level of security that was around me, but I can see how it might weigh on your sense of freedom to move about. We are all individuals, and part of being an individual is being able to make your own decisions about when and where you go. I’m guessing you had to tell them ahead of time you were coming on the
Daunte
."

Joni replied, "Two hours’ notice I had to give. They checked the ship, sent everyone home for the day with cabin restrictions so they would not be seen wandering about, and put their teams in all the places connected to this bay. If you noticed, there hasn’t been a single ship docking in here since you came back."

Joni was right. Bay-17 was normally very active throughout the day. I was good about observation of my surroundings and normally would have picked up on that fact. I winced at how easily I had been distracted, and made a note to myself to not be so again. Potential threats to my new trainee would be threats to me as well.

With a flight plan filed, I gave Joni the controls for the taxi out of the bay. We lifted gently off the deck and maneuvered to the gravity wall and then out into space. Any other veteran could not have done it any more by the book than Joni Salton’s first flight. We were soon moving rapidly away from SS5 toward the Gelnac system. Gelnac would be a two-hour flight in the
Daunte
.

I spoke. "That was an impressive first flight out for a trainee. I don’t remember having one who wasn’t as nervous as a Magonia parrot in a hat factory. That was a smooth transit, and I was impressed with the checks you were doing at the same time. Those are something that I do as well."

Joni replied, "I don’t want to be screwing up on my first time out. If I lose your respect, I lose what little trust you have gained in me today. I learned that from my grandfather before he passed."

I pulled up the tactical display to look for ships in the direction we were going. "Grandparents are an important part of the Grunta culture. Since many fathers are away for long periods of time during our youth, our grandfathers play a pivotal role with our young. They are often the man figure of the family during those early formative years. My grandfather, Movis, taught me to fly my first helocycle. I was the junior champion at my school for three years running."

Joni nodded. "Impressive!"

I laughed. "Not really; I mean, I won, but it was not impressive. Of the twelve contestants, eleven were direct family. I guess I could say my grandfather was impressed, though. I was his only student during that time."

Joni reached over and smacked me on the shoulder. "Well, it was impressive to me, and I am your only audience at the moment, so, way to go!"

The flight out to Gelnac passed quickly. Joni took the
Daunte
in close to the comet’s tail and then sped up to just even with the brightly glowing ball of ice. It was an impressive sight from such a close distance. After two spins around Gelnac and its two moons, we returned to SS5 in time for a late dinner. Joni was high spirited, but unpretentious. Her lack of fear was something that I would have to work on. Fear brought caution; caution brought safety. If Joni was to be an inspection detective, safety would have to come first.

The following day, we received our first inspection assignment. It would be a repeat flight out to Gelnac to inspect a newly arriving load of refrigeration units. The units would later be assembled for home use in a variety of different brands and models. Since the trade embargoes had begun, simple appliances had sometimes been difficult to acquire.

Joni spoke as we approached the target vessel. "You know, those embargoes are all a joke. It is nothing more than the ruling families fighting over trade imbalances."

"I don’t follow."

Joni punched up a diagram of the
Barnamus
. "Well, there are twelve ruling families in the New Alliance. Each has their own little empire of planets and colonies to pick over, and they all decided that any trade imbalance with anyone else was unconscionable. Why should they be allowing wealth to flow out of their empire into another? That’s the reasoning that went into all the embargoes rather than working out fair practices that would benefit everyone. It’s all about power and control."

Joni continued, "You can’t get Orientus coffee here anymore because my uncle decided he didn’t want profit going to the Galwich family. The tit-for-tat trade squabbles over simple items led to full-fledged trade wars, which led to the embargoes. In the last two years, that has spread to withholding of raw materials as well. In some ways it’s a great opportunity for local entrepreneurs, but most lack the resources to start businesses producing the needed goods. Instead, we just go without."

I replied, "You seem to be well versed in the economics of the New Alliance."

Joni laughed. "It’s the family business. I despise politics and all this economic nonsense, but I do find it important to study. If I know how the trading systems work, I can better tell if a cargo is being smuggled, or if it’s counterfeit. The longer these trade wars last, the more likely a cargo is to be one of those two."

I closed my holo-display. "I’m going to let you handle this inspection. I won’t say a word until you have a report prepared to deliver to the ship’s administrator. I will follow along and then offer feedback when you are done. There is no better way to learn than by doing it yourself."

Joni smiled. "I appreciate that, Mr. Beutcher. Hopefully, this is another confidence builder."

We pulled alongside the
Barnamus
and slipped through the gravity wall into the docking bay. The manifest administrator was waiting for us with his logs.

The administrator smiled as he held out his data store. Joni transferred the log and popped it up above her arm pad. "Fifty thousand refrigeration units. OK. Let’s go have a look at your cargo bays."

As I followed the pair, I continued to be impressed with Joni’s professionalism and thorough inspection procedures. Twelve random shipping containers were opened, though the inspection procedure only called out four. Every nook and cranny of the freighter was inspected, with all the usual hiding places yielding no signs of contraband.

As we proceeded into the bunk room, she began searching through the personal belongings of the crew. I took note of an Igari crewman who fidgeted as she searched his gear. After finding nothing, she moved on to the next trunk and duffel bag. When the search was complete, she moved back in front of the nervous Igari.

Joni stared him in the face and said, "Mr. Jaqua. You do realize that you are carrying a banned substance."

The Igari panicked and sprinted for the door. I was shocked by the quick response from the petite Human that was now under my tutelage. The doorway was seven meters away. Not only had Joni Salton caught the fleeing Igari, but she had subdued the subject on the deck with an arm bar and a knee to his back.

The slightly larger Igari was slowly pulled to his feet and returned to his trunk, where a small bag of Orientus coffee was found. Joni held up the small sack.

Joni spoke. "Mr. Jaqua. I was only going to give you a warning that under order of the Salton family, Orientus has recently been banned. You might want to finish what you have before it gets confiscated."

I turned to look at the mortified captain. He had been warned to have a clean ship, as a member of the Salton family would be performing an inspection. The ship was registered to the Motlin Corporation and was fully owned by the Saltons.

Joni handed the bag back to the crewman with a pursed smile before turning to the captain. "Captain, I know that you know who I am, so this is how it’s going to be. Mr. Jaqua is not to be punished for this in any way. I will have someone follow up sometime after this, and if I find any sort of punishment for this incident, I will have your license. Am I clear in what I am saying?"

The captain nodded. "Yes, ma’am. Mr. Jaqua has done nothing wrong and therefore will not be punished in any way."

Joni turned back to the still-shaking crewman. "Mr. Jaqua. I hope you are still able to enjoy the Orientus, but you may want to brew it up soon, before it goes missing."

Jalla Jaqua replied, "Thank you for your kindness with this situation, Miss Salton. I’m new to the crew of the
Farengate
, and I am in desperate need of this job."

Joni looked back at the captain. "You do your job to the best of your ability, and I am sure Captain Haira will treat you fairly."

The captain nodded with a still-worried look on his face.

We moved back to the docking bay, and Joni quickly had her report ready for the administrator and the captain. "You run a good ship, Captain. Keep in mind that a captain is only as good as his crew. Treat your men fairly, and they will work hard for you, and a hardworking crew means better profits for the family. Take care, Captain, and have a good day."

I followed Joni back onto the
Daunte
, and we were soon back out in free space, heading toward SS5.

"I have to say that I liked the way you handled yourself back there, Miss Salton: both professional and mature. I wish the trainees I had twenty years ago had been so cool and collected. Although, I’m left to wonder why you pounced on that poor fellow so quickly. We are on a ship in space."

Joni turned with her eyebrows raised. "Did you see the panic in his eyes? I didn’t want him running out of there and purposefully jamming his hand into an ion stream somewhere, so I tackled him before he could hurt himself."

I nodded. "Quick thinking on your part. I would not have made that immediate leap. Now, on to the more important topic. Has Orientus really been banned by the family?"

Joni smiled. "Does it bother you that you have two crates of contraband in your storeroom, Mr. Beutcher?"

I slowly nodded. "I can hardly be out here busting captains and crews for contraband if I am carrying it myself. I try to go by the letter of the law, Miss Salton. That’s one reason I earned these three stars."

Joni laughed. "OK, well, I guess we need to remedy that situation right now. In the name of the Salton family, I hereby confiscate the two crates of Orientus in the store of the
Daunte
. Said contraband will from here on out be property of the Salton family and will be dispersed to the crew of the
Daunte
, a government-owned ship, at their discretion. How’s that sound?"

I replied, "Add that note to the ship’s logs, and we will be in good shape. I believe we should seal this edict with a cup of said coffee. Does that fall within the new Salton family guidelines?"

Joni again laughed. "I believe it does."

When I returned with the two cups of Orientus, Joni had the inspection schedule up on the holo-display. "Next up is the
Kuleroog
, with eight hundred thousand tons of iron. I’m requesting a portal transit for this one."

I sipped as Joni managed the controls for our jump. Two minutes later we were parked in position, four light-years from where we had been. For only an instant, I noticed a blip on the tactical display. I checked the history logs and could not see that any anomaly had been logged.

I spoke. "Did you get a flicker on the nav screen right after that jump? I saw something, but the logs aren’t showing a blip."

Joni shook her head. "I didn’t pick up anything."

I set down my mug and stood.

As I poked away at a small device on the wall behind my chair, Joni asked. "What are you messing with?"

"It’s a personal recorder. I keep my own records of everything I do in the cockpit. If a situation arises where my actions are in contention, I can review them to see what transpired. It has helped me to avoid mistakes by going back and reviewing what I’ve done. We sometimes develop habits that are not the best for us. In this instance, I want to see if it recorded the anomaly that I thought I just saw."

Joni tilted her head slightly to one side. "Hmm. Interesting. I might find something like that useful as well."

"There! I’m transferring this to your display. See this spike in the detector array? It was on-screen, but not recorded in our logs."

Joni stood and walked out of the cockpit, walking around the cabin in search.

I looked out of the cockpit. "What are you looking for?"

Joni said, "Oh, never mind. I’ll tell you later. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about that blip. My simulator display used to do that as well. Probably just some defect they never worked out of the designs."

The
Kuleroog
pulled up alongside our position. As we walked around the cargo bay, Joni quickly pulled me between two supply containers.

"Sorry about the brush-off about the blip, Mr. Beutcher. I believe that is a shadow ship that my father has following us. The blip was from a portal jump it made to a nearby location. It wasn’t in your logs because the ship’s systems are fully under the control of my father’s security teams. Everything we have been saying and doing is being recorded and analyzed by an entire team of people. When we get back aboard, I’m going to crash the system and do a clean basic reboot. I’m guessing we will be contacted about it in under three minutes. If that happens, we are going to need a way to communicate privately."

Joni was right. When the inspection was complete and the
Kuleroog
had pulled away, she performed a crash-boot of the
Daunte
’s systems.

Three minutes eight seconds later, the Captain came on the comm. "Mr. Beutcher, this is Paq Wendell. Just wanted to check in to see how things were going."

"We are about to jump back to the station, Captain. Miss Salton just performed another flawless inspection, and we sent the vessel on its way."

The Captain continued, "I just noticed your logs aren’t fully transmitting, Knog. Are you having a problem with the systems?"

I smiled at Joni. "We just had a simple reboot, Captain. I wanted to familiarize Miss Salton with the procedure. I’m sure the full system will be running shortly."

The Captain was silent for a moment. "If you have any further issues, please let me know immediately, and thanks for watching over her, Knog. Your efforts are appreciated."

"No problem, Captain. So far, she has been a pleasure to work with."

I winked as I closed the comm. The jump back to SS5 was completed.

After looking at the schedule, I said, "Next inspection isn’t for another four hours. Any interest in lunch?"

Joni replied, "I’m famished. What did you have in mind?"

As the ramp-way dropped down onto the deck of Bay-17, I said, "I know a restaurant where we can get the best Kuriatan stew this side of, well, Kuriata. The owner is a friend of mine."

We continued our chat as we walked the halls toward Sam’s. I took note of the complete absence of any other beings as we walked.

"You can see how lonely and boring my life can be, Mr. Beutcher. They probably have every citizen cleared out of here for a kilometer in each direction."

When we arrived at Sam’s, there were a dozen other customers sitting having lunch. I took note that I did not get the usual stares that Grunta received when going into an eating establishment. We were big, and we were different from the standard Human or the smaller Igari who dominated SS5.

I directed Joni to the bar. "Bartender, can you let Miss Chocks know that Knog is here?"

The bartender looked at me inquisitively for several seconds.

I spoke. "The owner, can you get the owner for me?"

The bartender shook his head. "I’m sorry, Sir. She is out today. She should be back later, if you would like to leave a message."

I offered a half smile. "No need. I’ll talk to her later myself. I think the lady and I are going to have a bowl of the Kuriatan stew. Bring me a bowl of Thisen peppers on the side also."

I turned to Joni. "You like peppers?"

Joni winced. "Not especially. I’m not much for the spicy hot foods. Aren’t Thisen peppers supposed to be the hot ones?"

I nodded. "I suppose they are for Humans. The oils don’t react much with Grunta physiology, which makes them on the mild side for me."

As the bartender turned away to enter the order, I said, "I’m not putting much faith in the soup. I don’t think the regulars are at work here today. This looks like a group from your security teams. I know the owner, and she is here each and every day. The bartender didn’t even know who she was. I would suspect we are going to get Kuriatan stew made by a security officer."

Joni laughed. "This is what I was talking about. I walk around in an insulated bubble. Just once I would like to see the real world and real people. Half of the people at the academy were probably plants. You might be one of the only real people I know, Mr. Beutcher."

The soup came out and was warm but flat. The peppers were Thackeries, which any chef would never have mistaken for Thisen.

I stood and transferred twelve credits to the bar register. "Let’s go. We are wasting our time here. We can grab something from the
Daunte
’s food store."

The halls were again empty on the way back to the ship.

Just before boarding, I raised a question. "How difficult would it be to disable some of the devices on the
Daunte
? I’m getting a little irritated by the security overkill."

Joni smiled. "Ha! Now you are talking my language! I’ve spent a better part of the last five years trying to identify all the listeners and recorders that blanket the landscape around me. Give me ten minutes and I think I could find them all. I would need an energy broadcast sensor, though. Know where I might get one?"