Gadget hummed to himself as he rode the lift tube up to the main deck. Both holds were crammed full of cargo, which meant there would be a nice chunk of money when everything was delivered. Even better, two places on their list were planets Gadget had never been to before.
The plasglas door of the tube slid open, and Gadget hopped out onto the main deck. "Bottom hold is secured!" he called to the bridge, where Shaw was busy running through the dock's exit procedures.
"Yeah, yeah," came the reply. "Don't forget the rest of it."
Gadget grinned. Shaw was pretty laid-back about how they did most things aboard the Shakujou, but he was a stickler about two duties; securing the cargo that they hauled on the freighter, and completing all the takeoff and landing safety checks.
As Gadget walked through the main deck's cargo hold he checked strappings and restraints, and when he got to the engine room in the back he scanned the rows of gauges that made up the back wall. Shaw had taught him which ones to check and what to look for, and with every flight Gadget learned more about the ship. He looked forward to when Shaw would let him have a chance in the pilot's seat.
A quick jog around the perimeter allowed Gadget to examine the fuel tanks—all full and properly pressurized—and then he rode the rear lift tube up to the top deck. The topmost space had originally been designed for housing extra passengers, but Shaw had tricked it out to house their food and water stores, allowing them to take longer distance jobs, and it freed up the main deck for more cargo. The top deck also housed the freighter's small shuttle, which doubled as an escape pod. Money had been tight lately, so the food stores weren't as plentiful as Gadget would liked. He scanned the shelves and made a mental note of what to get at their next stop, and then he grabbed a bag of vegetable crisps, secured the container, and headed back to the bridge.
"Everything's good," he told Shaw as he stepped down into the cockpit. He dug into the bag for a handful of crisps.
Shaw eyed the bag. "It's a wonder we have any supplies at all, the way you eat."
"What?" Gadget asked with his mouth full. "I'm a growing boy."
"You're somewhere around twenty, for fuck's sake, you're done growing." Shaw looked him up and down, "And it looks like you didn't do a very good job of it."
"Asshole." Gadget flung himself into his chair.
"Just calling it like I see it, bro." Shaw reached over and stole a handful of crisps from the bag. "Finish that shit before you touch my equipment."
"I don't want to touch your equipment."
"You can't handle my equipment."
"You're right," Gadget retorted, "it's too dinky for me to handle." He laughed and ducked Shaw's mock-blow, and then he crumpled up the empty bag and shoved it into the cockpit's garbage chute. He wiped his hands on his pants and reached for his headset.
Takeoff was uneventful, and Gadget yawned while they went though the mind-numbing routine of exiting a spaceport. After uploading their delivery schedule and manifest for the third time—this time to the checkpoint that orbited the planet—Gadget breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally in open space.
"Please tell me our next place isn't going to have this many checkpoints," Gadget said as he took off the headset and hung it next to his console. "Don't these people talk to each other?"
Shaw shrugged and tossed his headset up onto the dash of his nav panel. "Eh, it's all a fee-charging racket. But it bites them in the ass, really; a lot of pilots don't want to deal with the hassle and won't carry freight here, so imported stuff is scarce."
"But we just delivered here."
"That's because I am a patient man," Shaw said, and then he grinned. "And besides, I charge extra for coming here." He reached over and pushed the accelerator forward. "Our next stop's just has one checkpoint at the spaceport, and I know most of the guys who work there."
"Cool." Gadget watched as Shaw piloted the ship, deftly maneuvering around nearby ships that were coming and going. Soon they were far enough away from Kinzaan that the chatter died down on the comm panel, and they were left with the familiar noises of the Shakujou.
Familiar… except for an odd thump. Gadget turned his head and listened. It wasn't consistent, and Gadget tried to think of what mechanical parts would make that kind of sound.
Another thump, louder.
Shaw frowned and looked back at the entrance to the bridge. "What the hell is that? You must've done a crap job securing the pods in the lower hold - the noise is coming from there."
"I tied everything down fine!" Gadget swiveled his chair around and leaned forward, trying to suss out the source of the noise. "Hunh. You're right."
"Of course I'm right! It's my fucking ship, I think I should know it pretty well." Shaw jabbed a finger at the bank of monitors that were mounted to the right of Gadget's seat. "Bring up the feeds on the bottom cargo hold."
Gadget reached over and punched some buttons, and a few seconds later half a dozen screens flickered to life. He studied each of the grainy, green-tinged pictures, and he gasped when he saw one of the storage pods shake. He tapped the screen. "Look!"
Shaw peered at the screen, and his frown deepened when the pod shook again. "There's something in there. You need to check it out, right now."
"Me?"
"Yes, you! The cargo holds are your responsibility, for one thing, and I can't switch over to comp-pilot just yet. Get your ass down there and find out what's going on." Shaw returned his attention to the flight controls in front of him. "And put your headset back on."
"Okay," Gadget said, and he glanced at the screen and made a mental note of the pod's location. He undid his restraint and got up, and then he retrieved his headset and headed for the doorway.
"Gadge." Shaw kept his gaze on the starmap that now illuminated the cockpit's canopy. "Take a friend with you."
"Yeah." Gadget grabbed a long metal rod that was tucked into a niche next to his console, and then he bounded up the steps and down the main corridor.
The metal chilled his hand as Gadget made his way down to the lower cargo hold, and he was uncomfortably aware that he was armed in what he considered his home. He remembered the two strange men from earlier, and Gadget gripped the rod tighter. What if they were thieves? What if they'd found a way to sneak on board?
"Shit," he whispered. He had been careless, leaving the pods unattended while he'd been joking around with Pol and Hardis. He switched on the lights, and the hold was bathed in flickering, pale blue light.
Fortunately, the pod in question was easy to get to. Gadget moved carefully down the narrow aisle, keeping a loose but ready stance. He reached the end of the aisle, and eyed the large, plas container in front of him. The inspection seal was still intact, so Gadget carefully reached into a pocket of his pants and retrieved a folding knife. He held the metal rod aloft, ready to strike, while he sliced through the seal and pocketed the knife. Then swiftly undid the pod's lock, threw the lid back and looked inside.
What the hell?
He tapped the comm button on his headset. "Hey, Shaw! I think you need to come down here as soon as you can."
Shaw's voice crackled in his ear. "What is it?"
"There's a guy in here, and it looks like he's hurt pretty bad."