Last Call -- Chapter 3: Waiting
The commissary had come through, having a coffee carafe waiting in the
center of the round table by the time Gideon made his way to the
conference room. Slipping into the chair nearest the display console,
Matthew poured himself a mug and curled his hands around the ceramic.
After taking his first sip, he placed Galen's data crystal into the
computer and loaded the information as he waited for Dureena and Max.
Gideon played the distress call again, listening to the same message as
it looped. He had heard his share of distress calls over his career,
all ranging from angry and frightened cries to the hallucinations of the
oxygen deprived. They all left him with a similar sense of grief and
need to help. But this call was different. She was almost serene in
her calmness, resigned to the possibility she wouldn't be heard. A
small part of his brain argued that it could be a trap, something used
to lure in passing ships for some devious purpose.
"This had better be good." Gideon reflexively jumped, not expecting to
see the woman standing beside him. Dureena had come into the room
unnoticed. Trying not to betray the fact that she had startled him, he
looked over the rim of his mug at her.
Dureena was calmer than she was in their earlier conversation, and
dressed-- her usual mix of dark leather and fabric covering her body.
Obviously showered, her hair fell in gentle curls and braids around her
face instead of the tangled mane from before. A smirk curled Dureena's
lips as she gazed down at Gideon with amber eyes, watching with
amusement as he continued to sip at his coffee.
"I'll try and make it worth your while." Lowering his mug, Gideon
motioned to a chair and watched as she sat down. Always a presence,
Dureena seemed to take up more room than just her body in the chair,
sliding it back so she could rest her elbows on the edge of the table.
Without flourish, she reached for the carafe and a mug, pouring out a
small amount of coffee. She wasn't fond of the taste, but the caffeine
and warmth would be welcomed.
"I thought Max was supposed to be here." Dureena took a tentative sip,
expressing her disgust with the brew in a wince. She forced herself to
take another taste.
"He'll be here."
"Yes, I'm here." The hatch opened, allowing Max Eilerson entrance into
the room, hardly looking up from the notebook he had in his hand as he
walked. He scratched a few notes in the margin of the page before he
sat. When finished, he closed the notebook and placed the pen across
the top. Reaching up, he pulled off the dark framed glasses from his
face and placed them on the table. The xenoarchaeologist looked unusually
disheveled; his hair was uncombed and the first few buttons of his tan
linen shirt were undone. Dark circles lined his eyes from going too
long without sleep.
"Now, if you wouldn't mind getting this meeting started, Captain, I have
several more artifacts to archive before I'm supposed to send a coded
message to IPX." Max leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over
his stomach.
"I certainly don't mean to keep you from your work Mister Eilerson."
Gideon was used to Max's conceit and his voice held controlled sarcasm.
"This won't take up too much time."
Dureena smiled into her mug, amused with their antics. The verbal
posturing approached the ridiculous at times, but Gideon allowed it
in light of Max's expertise. Max, however hostile, survived the
occasional deflation of his ego for the opportunity to explore new
places. If it eventually turned a profit, he was willing to put up with
just about anything.
"You said Galen intercepted a distress call?" She got them back on
track, preferring to head back to her quarters to rest until the time
she normally woke in the morning, than to be stuck in a meeting.
"Yes." Gideon called up the information to the main console. "He
wasn't able to narrow it down any closer than three possible
coordinates. I was hoping either of you have been through this sector
and know of specific routes freighters would take."
Dureena leaned forward to get a better look at the information as it
scrolled across the screen, searching her memory for anything familiar.
She understood Gideon's need; to cover the distance between all three
points would take time, more time than anyone figured the pilot had.
Names for nearby planets scrolled across in several languages, but none
were familiar. Even trying to remember the stories she had been told in
childhood of her race's travels across space didn't do any good.
"I'm sorry, Matthew, but I've never been in this sector."
"I have." Finally Max spoke up, leaning back further in his chair
before reaching up to pinch the base of his nose to soothe an
encroaching headache. "Well, through vids and communiqués, anyway."
"And?" Gideon prodded before taking a sip of his coffee.
"And, I might be able to pull some strings back at IPX headquarters to
get you the details." Eilerson was smug; for the first time in a long
while he had something Gideon desperately wanted. Max had no intention
on holding onto the information indefinitely, but it was amusing to
watch the Captain sweat.
"Max, I'd appreciate it, as well as that pilot, if you would get me that
information. Was it on one trajectory in particular?"
Max pondered briefly, replaying his consultation on the expedition from
memory. InterPlanetary Expeditions often sent out survey ships to find
suitable planets for further exploration. Universal Terraform Company
did the same in their quest for Quantium 40, the mineral that made jump
gate travel possible. Casually he glanced at the screen behind Gideon
and remembered a name.
"I'm not sure which of those it is, but the survey planet was IPX22-79C,
at least that is what it had been designated. The corresponding
coordinates will be in the IPX report."
"All right, I suppose there's not much we can do until you get me those
reports, Mister Eilerson. As soon as you possibly can, preferably."
"Of course, Captain." Max managed a smile.
"Gideon, how bad off are they?" Dureena spoke up, tapping her
fingernails gently against the ceramic mug in her hands.
"I'm not sure, Dureena. All the information I have is what Galen has
given me. But I'm not about to leave them floating out in the middle of
nowhere, left to die." Gideon stressed, tapping a finger on the gray
metal of the table. Dureena nodded her head, agreeing.
"What's to say somebody else hasn't received this transmission and is
intercepting?" Max questioned, playing devil's advocate.
"Who's to say someone has? If anyone replied to that distress call,
Galen would have been able to pick it up. If he can confirm someone
has, we'll be there regardless to assist." Gideon began to feel his
anxiety over the situation rise again and forced himself to keep it
down, knowing that if he continued to offend Max-- however unintentional
-- he would have a tougher time getting the information he needed. It
wasn't a luxury Matthew had.
"Where is Galen now?" Dureena asked, setting down her mug. Sitting up
to lean against the backrest, she crossed her arms.
"Good question. He took--" A double quip from the console interrupted
Gideon, and he stood quickly, reaching for the com to accept the
transmission.
"Captain, there's a call for you." Matheson appeared on the large
viewing console. "It's Galen."
"Patch him in." The Lieutenant nodded before the screen went black.
Moments later, Galen materialized on the screen.
"Good morning, all." Galen smiled, and looked around Gideon's image at
the others in the room. "I see you decided to try my advice, Gideon.
Maximilian was probably still awake, but bravo on rousing Dureena."
"Galen."
"Yes, yes, I know. You are horribly impatient, Matthew. But
regardless, I have been able to isolate the signal to one direction.
Strangest thing though; there is massive interference and I'm not sure
where it's coming from." The Technomage's brow creased in concern.
"Do you think it's a trap?" Gideon hated the thought of his previous
suspicion being right.
"No, not intentionally. But our pilot may be in a plot she is unaware
of; therefore extreme caution is warranted. I will discretely try to
find out more information. Uploading the update to you as we speak."
Galen leaned forward, doing something off screen. As stated, a progress
monitor popped up, announcing the encoding of the data through the port
into the crystal.
"You know, that doesn't fill me with great confidence, you being able to
upload any old thing to my ship, directly into a crystal port." Gideon
stared at the port before glancing up at Galen out of the corner of his
eye.
"Oh come now, Matthew." Galen smiled, amused at the Captain's
paranoia. "If I wanted to do damage to your systems, do you really
think I would do it in such a trivial and uninspiring way?"
"Doesn't make me any less nervous." The progress monitor finished and
the file system on the crystal expanded beneath Galen's face. "Just the
fact you can get into my system makes me worried."
"I'll return when I have more information to upload to your poor
unsuspecting crystal port." Galen's smile was mischievous, taking
delight in teasing Gideon. Before the Captain could make a retort,
Galen disappeared from view, replaced with the standby screen.
"God, I hate when he does that." Turning on a heel, Gideon faced Max
and Dureena again, shaking his head. "I guess that's all for now. Max,
if you could get me that info A-SAP, I'd appreciate it."
"Certainly, Captain."
"Dismissed and thank you."
Max was the first to leave, picking up his notebook and glasses before
wandering out, leaving Dureena alone with Gideon. The Captain glanced
down at the thief, studying the slight scowl on her face. She was
staring absently at the brushed surface of the table.
"Dureena?"
"Do you think it's a deception? Maybe the Drakh trying to take out two
targets at once?"
"It's plausible." Gideon sighed, slipping back into his chair. "It
would be a feat to lure in a ship like the Excalibur to destroy over a
distress call. I'd hate to think they'd stoop to that low, though."
"I know you want to help them, but what if it is a trap? Wouldn't it be
better to--"
"Forget about them? No Dureena, it wouldn't." A frown formed over her
face at his sudden harshness. Noticing, Gideon breathed deeply and
calmed himself. "I'm not satisfied with 'what ifs'. What if it's a
trap; what if it's the Drakh; but what if Galen's suspicions are wrong?
Do you see my point? I can't pass this by without being positive. Not
as an Earthforce Captain and especially not as a Human. I've been
there, Dureena. It's not a reassuring feeling to think you're going to
die alone."
"Well, just as long as I know the method to your madness." Dureena
smiled finally, reaching forward to take her now-cold mug of coffee.
"I'm accustomed to the idea of my own demise; it's the scenery I haven't
quite figured out yet."
"She is the best of the fleet." Gideon waved a hand in the air between
them, a motion to mean the Excalibur. "You'll go in high style."
"It would mean more if the ship was mine." Dureena shrugged, smiling
into her mug as she finished off the last of her coffee.
"Over my dead body." Matthew laughed and reached forward to grab the
handle of the carafe. He refreshed the small amount of coffee left in
the mug, filling it up half way.
"Don't tempt me." Dureena's smile widened as she moved to stand. With
her foot she pushed the chair back beneath the table and set her used
mug near the commissary tray.
"Even if you did kill me, Lieutenant Matheson has first dibs." Gideon
smiled, watching as she mocked disappointment. Turning to go, her face
became serious again.
"Keep me in the loop if you would, Gideon."
"Sure thing, Dureena. Thanks again." Gideon watched as she nodded and
walked out of the conference room. Spinning around the chair, he faced
the console and checked the new upload. Galen had just provided a set
of coordinates, nothing else. No new status changes for the freighter.
The Captain frowned, wishing he had more to go by, but he was thankful
for what information the Technomage had managed to gather.
"Gideon to Matheson." Depressing the link on his com bracelet, Matthew
waited for the Lieutenant to answer.
"Matheson. Go, Captain."
"I've just received an update on the distress call. Transferring new
coordinates to helm. Please adjust course and set for safest speed."
Gideon's right hand quickly tapped in a brief string of commands, almost
instantaneously sending the Lieutenant the corrections. Until he knew
more, the Captain would have to remain happy traveling in normal space,
perhaps giving the scanners a chance to pick up on the signal.
"Received. Adjusting course and safest speed, aye sir."
"Gideon out." Pressing the link once more, Matthew ended the call and
turned back to his coffee, cradling the mug in his hands as he leaned
back in his chair.
"Just hang on, Toledo. We're coming." Closing his eyes, Gideon spoke
to the air.
The commissary had come through, having a coffee carafe waiting in the
center of the round table by the time Gideon made his way to the
conference room. Slipping into the chair nearest the display console,
Matthew poured himself a mug and curled his hands around the ceramic.
After taking his first sip, he placed Galen's data crystal into the
computer and loaded the information as he waited for Dureena and Max.
Gideon played the distress call again, listening to the same message as
it looped. He had heard his share of distress calls over his career,
all ranging from angry and frightened cries to the hallucinations of the
oxygen deprived. They all left him with a similar sense of grief and
need to help. But this call was different. She was almost serene in
her calmness, resigned to the possibility she wouldn't be heard. A
small part of his brain argued that it could be a trap, something used
to lure in passing ships for some devious purpose.
"This had better be good." Gideon reflexively jumped, not expecting to
see the woman standing beside him. Dureena had come into the room
unnoticed. Trying not to betray the fact that she had startled him, he
looked over the rim of his mug at her.
Dureena was calmer than she was in their earlier conversation, and
dressed-- her usual mix of dark leather and fabric covering her body.
Obviously showered, her hair fell in gentle curls and braids around her
face instead of the tangled mane from before. A smirk curled Dureena's
lips as she gazed down at Gideon with amber eyes, watching with
amusement as he continued to sip at his coffee.
"I'll try and make it worth your while." Lowering his mug, Gideon
motioned to a chair and watched as she sat down. Always a presence,
Dureena seemed to take up more room than just her body in the chair,
sliding it back so she could rest her elbows on the edge of the table.
Without flourish, she reached for the carafe and a mug, pouring out a
small amount of coffee. She wasn't fond of the taste, but the caffeine
and warmth would be welcomed.
"I thought Max was supposed to be here." Dureena took a tentative sip,
expressing her disgust with the brew in a wince. She forced herself to
take another taste.
"He'll be here."
"Yes, I'm here." The hatch opened, allowing Max Eilerson entrance into
the room, hardly looking up from the notebook he had in his hand as he
walked. He scratched a few notes in the margin of the page before he
sat. When finished, he closed the notebook and placed the pen across
the top. Reaching up, he pulled off the dark framed glasses from his
face and placed them on the table. The xenoarchaeologist looked unusually
disheveled; his hair was uncombed and the first few buttons of his tan
linen shirt were undone. Dark circles lined his eyes from going too
long without sleep.
"Now, if you wouldn't mind getting this meeting started, Captain, I have
several more artifacts to archive before I'm supposed to send a coded
message to IPX." Max leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over
his stomach.
"I certainly don't mean to keep you from your work Mister Eilerson."
Gideon was used to Max's conceit and his voice held controlled sarcasm.
"This won't take up too much time."
Dureena smiled into her mug, amused with their antics. The verbal
posturing approached the ridiculous at times, but Gideon allowed it
in light of Max's expertise. Max, however hostile, survived the
occasional deflation of his ego for the opportunity to explore new
places. If it eventually turned a profit, he was willing to put up with
just about anything.
"You said Galen intercepted a distress call?" She got them back on
track, preferring to head back to her quarters to rest until the time
she normally woke in the morning, than to be stuck in a meeting.
"Yes." Gideon called up the information to the main console. "He
wasn't able to narrow it down any closer than three possible
coordinates. I was hoping either of you have been through this sector
and know of specific routes freighters would take."
Dureena leaned forward to get a better look at the information as it
scrolled across the screen, searching her memory for anything familiar.
She understood Gideon's need; to cover the distance between all three
points would take time, more time than anyone figured the pilot had.
Names for nearby planets scrolled across in several languages, but none
were familiar. Even trying to remember the stories she had been told in
childhood of her race's travels across space didn't do any good.
"I'm sorry, Matthew, but I've never been in this sector."
"I have." Finally Max spoke up, leaning back further in his chair
before reaching up to pinch the base of his nose to soothe an
encroaching headache. "Well, through vids and communiqués, anyway."
"And?" Gideon prodded before taking a sip of his coffee.
"And, I might be able to pull some strings back at IPX headquarters to
get you the details." Eilerson was smug; for the first time in a long
while he had something Gideon desperately wanted. Max had no intention
on holding onto the information indefinitely, but it was amusing to
watch the Captain sweat.
"Max, I'd appreciate it, as well as that pilot, if you would get me that
information. Was it on one trajectory in particular?"
Max pondered briefly, replaying his consultation on the expedition from
memory. InterPlanetary Expeditions often sent out survey ships to find
suitable planets for further exploration. Universal Terraform Company
did the same in their quest for Quantium 40, the mineral that made jump
gate travel possible. Casually he glanced at the screen behind Gideon
and remembered a name.
"I'm not sure which of those it is, but the survey planet was IPX22-79C,
at least that is what it had been designated. The corresponding
coordinates will be in the IPX report."
"All right, I suppose there's not much we can do until you get me those
reports, Mister Eilerson. As soon as you possibly can, preferably."
"Of course, Captain." Max managed a smile.
"Gideon, how bad off are they?" Dureena spoke up, tapping her
fingernails gently against the ceramic mug in her hands.
"I'm not sure, Dureena. All the information I have is what Galen has
given me. But I'm not about to leave them floating out in the middle of
nowhere, left to die." Gideon stressed, tapping a finger on the gray
metal of the table. Dureena nodded her head, agreeing.
"What's to say somebody else hasn't received this transmission and is
intercepting?" Max questioned, playing devil's advocate.
"Who's to say someone has? If anyone replied to that distress call,
Galen would have been able to pick it up. If he can confirm someone
has, we'll be there regardless to assist." Gideon began to feel his
anxiety over the situation rise again and forced himself to keep it
down, knowing that if he continued to offend Max-- however unintentional
-- he would have a tougher time getting the information he needed. It
wasn't a luxury Matthew had.
"Where is Galen now?" Dureena asked, setting down her mug. Sitting up
to lean against the backrest, she crossed her arms.
"Good question. He took--" A double quip from the console interrupted
Gideon, and he stood quickly, reaching for the com to accept the
transmission.
"Captain, there's a call for you." Matheson appeared on the large
viewing console. "It's Galen."
"Patch him in." The Lieutenant nodded before the screen went black.
Moments later, Galen materialized on the screen.
"Good morning, all." Galen smiled, and looked around Gideon's image at
the others in the room. "I see you decided to try my advice, Gideon.
Maximilian was probably still awake, but bravo on rousing Dureena."
"Galen."
"Yes, yes, I know. You are horribly impatient, Matthew. But
regardless, I have been able to isolate the signal to one direction.
Strangest thing though; there is massive interference and I'm not sure
where it's coming from." The Technomage's brow creased in concern.
"Do you think it's a trap?" Gideon hated the thought of his previous
suspicion being right.
"No, not intentionally. But our pilot may be in a plot she is unaware
of; therefore extreme caution is warranted. I will discretely try to
find out more information. Uploading the update to you as we speak."
Galen leaned forward, doing something off screen. As stated, a progress
monitor popped up, announcing the encoding of the data through the port
into the crystal.
"You know, that doesn't fill me with great confidence, you being able to
upload any old thing to my ship, directly into a crystal port." Gideon
stared at the port before glancing up at Galen out of the corner of his
eye.
"Oh come now, Matthew." Galen smiled, amused at the Captain's
paranoia. "If I wanted to do damage to your systems, do you really
think I would do it in such a trivial and uninspiring way?"
"Doesn't make me any less nervous." The progress monitor finished and
the file system on the crystal expanded beneath Galen's face. "Just the
fact you can get into my system makes me worried."
"I'll return when I have more information to upload to your poor
unsuspecting crystal port." Galen's smile was mischievous, taking
delight in teasing Gideon. Before the Captain could make a retort,
Galen disappeared from view, replaced with the standby screen.
"God, I hate when he does that." Turning on a heel, Gideon faced Max
and Dureena again, shaking his head. "I guess that's all for now. Max,
if you could get me that info A-SAP, I'd appreciate it."
"Certainly, Captain."
"Dismissed and thank you."
Max was the first to leave, picking up his notebook and glasses before
wandering out, leaving Dureena alone with Gideon. The Captain glanced
down at the thief, studying the slight scowl on her face. She was
staring absently at the brushed surface of the table.
"Dureena?"
"Do you think it's a deception? Maybe the Drakh trying to take out two
targets at once?"
"It's plausible." Gideon sighed, slipping back into his chair. "It
would be a feat to lure in a ship like the Excalibur to destroy over a
distress call. I'd hate to think they'd stoop to that low, though."
"I know you want to help them, but what if it is a trap? Wouldn't it be
better to--"
"Forget about them? No Dureena, it wouldn't." A frown formed over her
face at his sudden harshness. Noticing, Gideon breathed deeply and
calmed himself. "I'm not satisfied with 'what ifs'. What if it's a
trap; what if it's the Drakh; but what if Galen's suspicions are wrong?
Do you see my point? I can't pass this by without being positive. Not
as an Earthforce Captain and especially not as a Human. I've been
there, Dureena. It's not a reassuring feeling to think you're going to
die alone."
"Well, just as long as I know the method to your madness." Dureena
smiled finally, reaching forward to take her now-cold mug of coffee.
"I'm accustomed to the idea of my own demise; it's the scenery I haven't
quite figured out yet."
"She is the best of the fleet." Gideon waved a hand in the air between
them, a motion to mean the Excalibur. "You'll go in high style."
"It would mean more if the ship was mine." Dureena shrugged, smiling
into her mug as she finished off the last of her coffee.
"Over my dead body." Matthew laughed and reached forward to grab the
handle of the carafe. He refreshed the small amount of coffee left in
the mug, filling it up half way.
"Don't tempt me." Dureena's smile widened as she moved to stand. With
her foot she pushed the chair back beneath the table and set her used
mug near the commissary tray.
"Even if you did kill me, Lieutenant Matheson has first dibs." Gideon
smiled, watching as she mocked disappointment. Turning to go, her face
became serious again.
"Keep me in the loop if you would, Gideon."
"Sure thing, Dureena. Thanks again." Gideon watched as she nodded and
walked out of the conference room. Spinning around the chair, he faced
the console and checked the new upload. Galen had just provided a set
of coordinates, nothing else. No new status changes for the freighter.
The Captain frowned, wishing he had more to go by, but he was thankful
for what information the Technomage had managed to gather.
"Gideon to Matheson." Depressing the link on his com bracelet, Matthew
waited for the Lieutenant to answer.
"Matheson. Go, Captain."
"I've just received an update on the distress call. Transferring new
coordinates to helm. Please adjust course and set for safest speed."
Gideon's right hand quickly tapped in a brief string of commands, almost
instantaneously sending the Lieutenant the corrections. Until he knew
more, the Captain would have to remain happy traveling in normal space,
perhaps giving the scanners a chance to pick up on the signal.
"Received. Adjusting course and safest speed, aye sir."
"Gideon out." Pressing the link once more, Matthew ended the call and
turned back to his coffee, cradling the mug in his hands as he leaned
back in his chair.
"Just hang on, Toledo. We're coming." Closing his eyes, Gideon spoke
to the air.