What May Come
Author's notes: In case anyone was wondering, no one in the crew of the Christa belongs to me. If you were under the impression any of them did, I have some land in Florida you might want to take a look at. A few places/species have been stolen from other sci-fi series. Original characters, however, are mine so please don't use them without permission.
Please note that it has been awhile since I have seen Space Cases, and I have read a lot of fanfiction since then. I'm trying to keep to what actually happened in the series, but it is possible that some of the details I remember are actually from stories I have read. If I do end up needing some details that I remember were from stories, I will ask first and credit the author. If I have used something from a story you wrote and did not ask/credit you, please let me know and I will either remove the details or give appropriate credit. I can guarantee it wasn't done out of maliciousness; my head just turned your fanfiction into SC universe fact. That said, on with the story.
Chapter 1: Into Darkness
Goddard stared at the empty dock with a frown. Around them, repairs, refueling, and a hundred other small tasks continued on docked ships of all shapes and sizes, no one paying attention to the three figures standing near the post denoting M-21.
"Hey, I thought you were the one with the amazing sense of direction," Harlan demanded of the young Andromedan beside him. "Now we're going to have to spend all day trying to figure out where the Christa is."
"It sh-should be here," Radu protested. "This is wh-where we left it, I'm sure."
"Well, it's not here, so obviously there's a couple wires twisted under those curly ears. Figures, we're stuck with an And—"
"Enough, Mr. Band," Goddard cut him off. "Radu is right, this is the dock number where the Christa was. She just isn't here."
"M-maybe they needed to move her somewhere," Radu suggested.
"Yeah, but why?" Harlan asked. "The Christa isn't any bigger than the rest of the ships in here…there's plenty of room. And it's not like she needed major repairs or something. So why would they move her? And why didn't Suzee or Bova or somebody stay here to tell us where they went?"
Radu shook his head in helplessness.
"I don't know, gentlemen," Goddard said, "but I intend to find out." He headed for the director's office, the control center for this portion of the Triiad docking station.
"Can I help you?" the creature sitting in the receptionist's desk asked.
"I just had a question. Our ship was docked in bay M-21, and it seems to have been relocated. Could you tell me where it was moved to?"
"M-21?"
"That's right."
It consulted a screen with characters in some unrecognizable language. "M-17…19…20…ah, M-21. Ah. Your ship has been impounded."
"What?" Harlan and Radu exclaimed at once.
"Your ship has been impounded," it repeated more slowly.
"No, we heard you…what—impounded by whom?" Goddard asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to give out that information."
"Not at lib—look, that is our ship! We certainly have the right to know who took it."
"Do you have written proof of ownership?"
"What?" Goddard's mind raced. They didn't technically own the ship, but… "Not with us, of course, it's all on board."
"Well, that does present a problem, I'm afraid. Without proof of ownership you do not have any rights to information about the ship from this office. You'll have to go elsewhere."
"Can just you tell me what happened to the people onboard?" Goddard asked. "The rest of our crew was doing repairs while we located parts; they should be able to confirm who we are."
"I'm sorry; no information about crew members is stored in our database."
"You have to have something," Harlan protested. "They wouldn't have just let you take the Christa!"
"I'm sorry, this office deals with ships only. We have no interest in crew manifests."
Goddard frowned. "Well, who would have this information?"
"If you think your crew protested, you could always check with security. Maybe they were detained. Other than that, we really don't have anyone who could help you."
"Thanks," Goddard ground out. "Where is the security office?"
"Three levels down at the far end of the station."
"Thank you." It wasn't very heartfelt, but then, Goddard wasn't feeling very thankful. The three of them headed immediately for security, although until they left the bay Radu kept casting quick glances backward in the hopes that the Christa would suddenly reappear.
As soon as they entered the security office, they were met with a deafening babble as a mass of aliens crowded the counter and filled the room, all demanding information about their own concerns. There was no formal line, and clearly getting service was a matter of who could get to the attendants first. Radu managed to filter enough of the noise that he could concentrate on forcing them a path to the counter…neither Harlan or Commander Goddard could have moved aside half of the people in their way. The closer they got, however, the worse the noise since everyone was shouting directly towards the person behind the desk, and by the time they actually got there his face was pinched from the pain. "Hurry, please."
"Be out of here soon, buddy," Harlan promised, moving to stand between him and a woman with a voice frighteningly like Aieeee's. It wasn't much of an improvement, but at least it was something.
"Excuse me? Excuse me!" Goddard repeated a little louder. "EXCUSE ME!"
A figure from behind the counter turned to him with a bored look on his face. "Yes?"
"We're looking for information on the crew of the Christa? It was impounded earlier."
"If it was impounded, you'll need to speak to Station Services."
"I will later, but right now I need some information on the crew. Has anyone from the Christa, dock M-21, been detained today."
As though it was the hardest thing he'd done all day, the man punched in the information on his console. "There have been no detainees from M-21 in the past three solar days."
"What about their names?"
"We do not track detainees by name, only by ship."
Goddard sighed. "Station Services you said? And where would that be?" After they exited the office, he sent Radu back to the dock, just in case Miss Davenport sent one of the others to meet them there. He wasn't thrilled with splitting up what was currently left of his crew—especially since if Station Services was anything like Security had been having someone who could force his way through would come in handy—but the more of them who went to the services office the more impact they would have, and of the two Harlan was more likely to get into trouble on his own. Anyway, by the look on Radu's face he still hadn't recovered from the noise in the security office.
"Did they do this on purpose?" Harlan asked as they walked into the one office on the station that couldn't possibly be farther from the Security if it tried.
"At this point I wouldn't be surprised," Goddard muttered. Unlike the previous office they'd been in, this one was neat and orderly, and they were told to take seats and wait for the receptionist to call them. "Hopefully one of the others will meet up with Radu and all of this will have been for nothing."
"You sure you should have sent him off by himself?" Harlan asked. "I mean, I know he's not going to get lost, but…"
"He'll be all right." The teenager had become a lot more concerned about Radu since Catalina and Suzee had switched places, Goddard noted. It hadn't just the shock of being trapped on a planet with no one but each other, more that they had actually lost someone. Not permanently, but… Apparently Harlan had considered what life would be like without his teammates and the idea of life without the Andromedan hadn't been as pleasant as he'd originally thought. He turned towards the counter as their number was called, moving to speak with the woman. "We're looking for information on the crew of the Christa."
"Oh, we don't handle crew manifests here, you'll need to go to Secur—"
"Been there, done that," Harlan interrupted. "They said to come here since the Christa was impounded."
"Ah, an impound we will have information on. Docking number and reason for impound please?"
"Dock M-21, and we don't know," Goddard responded. "That's one of the things we're trying to figure out."
"Well, let me check. Do you have proof of ownership?"
"It is onboard with the rest of the crew," he responded shortly.
"Hm. Most irregular. However…" she entered the information in the computer. "Well, it seems there was some dispute about ownership. A claim has been made that your ship was stolen."
"What?" Harlan demanded indignantly. "We didn't steal the Christa, she's ours!"
"Well, the matter has been turned over to the Spung Empire for jurisdiction."
"The Spung Empire?" Goddard demanded. "What do they have to do with anything?"
"The person claiming that your ship belongs to him is a citizen of the Spung Empire. You will have to take up your request with them."
"W-wait," Harlan said before she could turn away. "People can just claim a ship is theirs and tow it away? They don't have to prove anything?"
"He had a warrant from the Spung government for the ship. It is not our business to interfere."
"And the ship is already gone?" Goddard asked. "We only left it three—four—hours ago!"
"According to my records, impound was made three solar hours ago, and 0.5 solar hours ago a Killcruiser arrived to escort your ship back to Spung space."
"Back to—we aren't from there, and we didn't steal the Christa!" Harlan repeated.
"Then you will have to take the matter up with the Spung government."
"What about the crew?" Goddard asked.
The woman shrugged. "I imagine they were turned over to the Spung with the ship. If security had no records of them, then they did not attempt to leave it after the impounding."
"But they had papers too," Goddard protested, forgetting for a moment that they technically didn't. "And the Christa's android could have confirmed they were the real crew!"
"Look, you are clearly not understanding our position," the woman snapped. "The Spung Empire is a large, influential sphere. It is not our place to meddle in their decisions. They claimed your ship was stolen. If you have proof it was not, you will have to go to them and sort the matter out."
"Meaning you people were too cowardly to stand up to them when they kidnapped innocent travelers," Harlan translated. "You just—"
Goddard dropped his hand, interrupting the teenager before the woman could storm away. "Fine, we'll take the matter to them. Exactly how are we supposed to get there, since they've just stolen our ship?"
"I'm afraid that is your problem, gentlemen. Now if you'll excuse me, there are others waiting."
Harlan looked numb as they exited the office. "The Spung took them…just like that?"
"Apparently so, Mr. Band, now we need to start figuring out a way to get them back."
"Man, Radu's gonna freak."
Goddard sighed. He suspected the same thing. He had no idea what Radu had been through during the war or what he'd heard stories of, but there was no doubt that the young Andromedan had a deep and abiding terror of the Spung. "Our first problem is going to be figuring out where they took the others and getting there. If we can get to the Christa we might be able to get her free."
"Somehow I don't think anyone is going to be real helpful," Harlan muttered. "They'll probably tell us to go ask the Spung."
"Unfortunately, you're probably right." He checked the cash pouch he carried. "Well, fortunately we didn't find all of the supplies we were looking for…I imagine we have enough here to rent a room for a few nights, or maybe get seats on a shuttle."
"We could go back to the vendors and cancel our orders, get some money back. That will help."
"Good idea, Mr. Band. We'll go collect Mr. Radu, and then make a round of the shops. Then we'll find a room and start making plans. I know—" he put in Harlan opened his mouth to protest— "that you would rather ride off to the rescue now. So would I. But we're going into Spung space without a ship of our own and no way of knowing where they're being taken. We need a plan. A good one."