Chapter 24: Salvage(Pt 1)
Krystal and I felt and heard the soft thump of the shuttle making contact with something solid; the vibration and noise causing us to look up. The dingy gray hull of the dead cargo ship we were about to board hovered outside the viewport overlooking the dining booth; causing my chest to slightly tighten with anxiety. I had started to grow used to the constricting feeling of the flightsuit, though I wasn't really thrilled with how exposed I felt.
"We've arrived," Krystal spoke, her voice not without trepidation as she looked over the weapon I had given her; in addition to her staff we were going to both carry shotguns. I had given her a quick tutorial on how to use my now-modified Remington while I opted for John's Benelli; I was less familiar with the semi-auto and the pump-action was much easier to demonstrate for her. I divvied up the supply of shotgun slugs between us; between my stash and John's there were about eighty.
This time I opted for John's tactical vest; there wasn't really anything in the way of pockets or pouches on the suit I was wearing. I loaded up a few of the magazine pouches with slugs and attached the big .44 onto the vest's integrated belt; as an afterthought I stuck my phone into the one of the pouches after I discovered I could actually use it with the gloves. I also emptied the duffel bags and decided to take them along, just in case we found anything useful to salvage. "Yeah," I replied. "I can only hope this goes smoothly. The whole hostile environment business is a bit nerve-racking."
Krys turned to me with a soft, gentle smile. She stepped forward and swept me into an embrace; at least as much of one as we could with all the environmental gear and weapons we were wearing. "I know it's risky," she near-whispered, "but I think we'll be okay. We've made it this far, right?" She leaned in, her lips meeting mine with a gentleness that belied its insistence.
It only lasted a moment, but it was enough. We pulled away slightly; her emerald eyes gazing into mine with a soft, quiet intensity. "I gotta admit you have a knack for reassuring me," I grinned. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."
"I wouldn't have either, che," she replied. "I am fortunate and grateful for all you have done for me." She held me for a moment longer before letting go; her hands giving mine a quick squeeze as we parted. "Fay's about to come down; I sense she wants to board the ship as soon as possible."
The spaniel descended the stairs a moment later, the serious look on her features tempered by the smile in her eyes. "I found an airlock near the bridge," she explained as she rechecked her equipment. "I'm also reading no lifesigns or power signatures that would indicate active security bots or turrets, but that doesn't mean we can be lax."
"Copy that," I replied, picking up the AR15 that was propped up against the wall. "Just in case, I think you should keep using the rifle. It's probably the best chance we have to get through armor, but our shotguns are a close second place."
The Cornerian nodded as she slung the carbine over her shoulder; I handed her a few loaded magazines in the off chance things got really hot. "I think we're about ready," she stated, "but I want to go over the plan. Neither of you have been through hostile environment training, so please follow my lead. I want comms and suit telemetry active the entire time we're aboard; if one of us gets into trouble I want the rest of us to know immediately. Our first priority will be to secure the bridge. I'll try to break into the systems and pull any data I can find; I'll also try to disable any security measures that might still be active. If the gravplates and life support are disabled I'll restore them if I can, but expect to stay buttoned up the entire time we're on board."
"The next step is to go over the ship and collect anything that might be evidence of sentient trafficking or any link between the Iprani, Remnant, and the pirates," Fay continued. "We'll likely need to split up to cover as much deckspace as possible. If one of us sees anything or needs help let the others know immediately. Is this agreeable?"
"Yes, it is," Krystal answered while I nodded my assent.
"Finally," Fay concluded, "if there's any supplies we can make use of, take them. Food, water, weapons without biometric locks, and anything else we might need. There should be plenty of transport carts, so feel free to take one if you find one. I think that covers it; if you two are ready let's head down to the airlock."
I nodded again, though I wasn't looking forward to being sealed up for an extended period of time. We made our way to the lower deck; Krys reaching out to grasp my hand as we followed behind Fay. 'I sense your nervousness, my che,' her voice drifted into my mind. 'I will be right behind you.'
I squeezed her hand in response; I was grateful for her reassurance but didn't have the time to respond as we reached our destination. "We'll perform the final equipment checks and adjustments here," Fay explained as she reached for a shelf that sat next to the entrance to the airlock and withdrew two sections of black fabric that looked like they belonged to the other flightsuits. "Tail sheaths," she explained further as she handed one to Krystal and began sliding the other over her exposed tail. "They're a hassle, but you don't want any part of your body exposed to open vacuum." She walked Krys through the process of putting it on and sealing it to her suit; they looked cramped and by her expression I probably wasn't too far off the mark.
"We'll don helmets and make our final equipment checks before we enter the airlock," Fay instructed as she plucked hers from her waist and attached it to her enviropack. Krystal reached for hers; I reluctantly did the same.
The procedure was a repeat of what we had practiced; the sensation of panic wasn't as bad as the first time but the pressure all around my face and the mechanical hiss of my breath was unnerving.
Fay's voice entered my ears shortly after the HUD elements sprang to life, peppered with her own semi-mechanical breathing. "Comms check. Krystal, Adam, do you read me?"
"I can hear you clearly," Krys' voice came over the channel.
"Both of you are coming through five by five," I answered.
"Good," Fay affirmed. "Suit telemetry is active and I'm showing both of you sealed up and in the green. We're ready to begin the transfer." She reached for the airlock controls which opened with a muted hiss; we followed her through. I concentrated on my breathing; the reversal of effort between inhaling and exhaling was throwing me off.
The former Star Fox pilot's voice became businesslike, just like it had been when we left the airlock in the stricken pirate vessel. I was struck with the realization that was just yesterday; unconsciously I reached out to grasp Krystal's hand. The gentle pressure of our contact was a relief, even through the pressure suit; I was grateful for the reassurance. "Beginning boarding procedures. Airlock pressure is at one point zero atmo. Verifying umbilical attachment, gravplate engagement, and initiating handshake with destination."
A symphony of mechanical and hydraulic noises filled the airlock for close to a minute; their impact muffled by my helmet. The noises ended in an audible thump which I also felt through the floor. Krys' grip on my hand tightened, but Fay's body language seemed nonplussed. "Initiating handshake using Kewian standard protocols. Destination ID is Iprani registration 603 dash 50487, transponder designation Tartari. Interior environment is hostile; reading zero point one atmo and negative twenty-four centigrade. Gravplates are active; at least that's one thing going for us."
"So," I forced out between mechanical-sounding breaths, "very cold and little atmosphere?"
Fay nodded at me. "This ship seems to be holding a tiny bit of pressure; it's probably being held together by emergency expansion foam and not much else. I doubt we'll get the life support working so expect to stay buttoned up. Make final checks on your suits and enviropacks."
I glanced to the critical readings; it looked like everything was working okay. As Fay started the countdown to depressurization I found the climate control settings for the flightsuit; I bumped it up a few degrees. I was just about caught off-guard by the suit tightening around me; the pressure readout changing to an alarming 0.1a/1.25a. "Depressurization complete," Fay's voice called out.
Krystal's grip on my hand also tightened a little bit, but I noticed that I could only vaguely feel her presence. Instead, her voice carried over the channel. "My senses are quite muted because of the helmet," she cautioned. "We must be on our guard."
"Agreed," Fay chimed in. "The sensors didn't pick up any active life signatures, but that doesn't mean there aren't shielded areas that may hold survivors. We'll need to find the captain's console or a security station; I can perform an internal scan from there." She punched a button and the airlock doors opened up to a sight I hadn't been expecting: a short, enclosed, well-lit gangway that ended at a drab, gray door. I took a few deep breaths as I realized that the gangway was all that was separating us from open space.
Fay took the lead; Krys and I followed through into the gangway. The myriad of things that could go wrong flashed through my mind; a micrometeorite puncturing the gangway and hitting one of us to the ships separating and leaving us stranded in space. We didn't have far to go, maybe thirty feet, but it didn't keep me from wincing until we reached the door on the other side. It wasn't until we reached the door that I realized that I didn't feel weightless; was there simulated gravity in the gangway?
"Negotiating entry," Fay's businesslike tone continued as her fingers danced over the minicomputer that was mounted to her wrist. I noticed a flash of amber light on a control panel next to the door; the light blinked a few times and became solid green. With a muffled clunk the door slid open, revealing the darkened interior of another airlock.
We stepped into the alien ship's airlock; I just about jumped when the door shut behind us, entombing us in darkness. "Headlamps," the spaniel's voice commanded; I fumbled through the menu as Krys and Fay's lights snapped on. The airlock looked similar to the one we just left, though I became dumbfounded when I noticed that the keypad inside the airlock wasn't engraved with the flowing Lylatian script that I saw everywhere on the shuttle. It was in standard Arabic numerals, though its layout was completely different than the standard ten-key layout I was familiar with.
"I think I can override the lock," Fay elucidated as she punched a few commands into her wrist computer. A green light flashed on the control panel, followed by a muted yet cheerful chime as the door opened. I let go of Krystal's hand and gripped the Benelli as we were greeted by the violent fate of the ship's occupants.
I had become accustomed to the aftermath of violence over the past several days; I had caused my fair share of it during my time on Sauria. I hadn't been too bothered by seeing the effects firearms had on Sharpclaw; dealing with the bodies of the pirates I recently shot was somewhat more unnerving. The sight that was before us caused me to gulp deep breaths of cold, flat air; this time I was seeing fellow human beings who had succumbed to violence.
The airlock opened up into a relatively wide corridor; the bodies that had fallen there must have been trying to reach safety. I counted six people; all of them wearing light gray flightsuits similar to our own. Blackened, circular marks on their suits and bloody boils on exposed skin were a telltale sign of what happened. "Blasters," Fay hissed.
I closed my eyes and turned away; one of the victims was a young woman, definitely younger than Krys and Fay. Her hazel eyes were eternally open; a panicked expression staring with blank accusation to our intrusion, her pale skin glistening with collected frost. She looked somewhat like Fi; if I was completely honest with myself the resemblance was a little horrifying. "No weapons among them," Krystal observed. "Poor souls."
"The two males in back may have been armed," Fay responded. "Their hands look like they were holding weapons. Remnant forces routinely strip weapons off enemies as trophies or to restock their armories."
I looked off into the distance, spotting blotches of rust-red standing out against the sterile white yet darkened floor. "I see bloodstains over there," I managed, pointing to what I had found. "I don't see them near these bodies."
"Remnant casualties, most likely," the Cornerian's voice answered. "They won't leave their wounded or dead behind unless circumstances are against recovery. I know this is disturbing, but there's nothing we can do for them now. We need to focus on our objectives; find out what happened here." She waved us past the grisly scene as we made our way deeper into the stricken ship.
More bodies greeted us; humans who had either succumbed to blaster fire, asphyxiation, or exposure. Some of them wore full-face respirators that were analogous to the ones Krys and Fay had worn in the mines. Another observation I made was the signs written in what were obviously Roman characters and Arabic numerals; the language wasn't anything I knew but it looked vaguely Latin. 'DOMORIVS REGIA 3-8' was one example sign that stuck out. Krystal stopped a few moments later in front of a doorway whose placard stated 'ARMATOR SECVTARIS'. "I think this is a security station," her voice breathed out. "Was this what we were looking for?"
"Yes," Fay affirmed after taking a look at the device on her wrist. "I'm detecting faint power signatures here, so we might find a functional console."
The door was open, but gouges in the deck plating seemed to indicate it had been forced. "I'll clear it," I offered, tucking the shotgun into my shoulder and letting the weapon lead the way. My helmet's lights revealed a mostly empty room, other than two armored men that lay amongst several empty storage racks, lockers, and what looked like a few monitoring stations that were currently turned off. Their flightsuits and armor had emblems emblazoned upon them; ones that I didn't recognize but looked official. "Two bodies," I said between breaths, "looks like security guards. They aren't armed, but I see empty holsters on their belts."
"Check the lockers," Fay asked as she moved into the room. "I'll break into one of these consoles and run a more comprehensive scan." Krystal and I started opening lockers and going through them; it was immediately apparent they had been ransacked.
"Pressure suits and tactical gear," the vixen responded with a hint of frustration in her voice. "Hold on. Have you seen anything like this before, dearheart?" I turned around to see my Cerinian companion hefting a gray plastic cylinder about the size of a large drinking glass. Frowning, I held out my hand to take it; giving the contraption a critical onceover.
The nature of the object became apparent. It was moderately heavy, with a small aperture cut into what looked like its top. A tiny, off-white cylinder was tucked inside it, which I slid out of its container by pushing it forward. I caught onto what it was pretty quickly. "It looks like a helical magazine of some sort," I speculated. "They're small caliber caseless rounds; about the size of a .22 Magnum."
"It's Ipranian," Fay's voice joined in. "Their personal weapons fire a tungsten projectile; they favor a high volume of autofire to overwhelm armor and breach hardsuits. The Remnant would be highly interested in obtaining them, so they likely took everything they could find."
"Wouldn't the biometric locks stop them from using these weapons?" Krystal asked.
"A good engineer can bypass the locks within a few hours," the Cornerian answered. "It's not an easy process but it is doable with the right equipment."
"May as well pocket this," I reasoned, slipping the magazine into the duffel bag. "If we're lucky we'll come across one we can use. I wouldn't mind having a machine gun, that's for sure." I reached out and placed my hand on Krystal's shoulder; I couldn't see her eyes through her helmet's opaque visor, but I was glad she was here.
"I can't give you an Iprani auto-slugthrower," Fay admitted, "but we did luck out by finding the main security terminal. There were a few armed security bots on board, but they're all flagged as destroyed."
"Are there any survivors?" Krystal asked as her free hand fell on mine.
"None," the spaniel's voice was heavy and somber. "The Remnant was quite thorough; this ship belongs to us and the dead at the moment. I've unlocked everything except the secure cargo bay and deactivated any active security measures. We need to head to the bridge and find out what happened here."
The bridge was one floor above us; indicated by a steep stairway labeled 'ALNVS'. Between the constrictive suit, the pressurized helmet, the chill that seeped past the suit's heating element and my generally being out of shape I sounded like an asthmatic Darth Vader by the time we reached its entrance.
"Are you okay?" Krystal's concerned voice came over the channel as I felt her hand on my shoulder.
"Your respiration rate is significantly higher than normal, Adam," Fay added. "Your suit telemetry is still in the green; are you having issues with your gear?"
"I'll be… okay…" I gasped. "Just give me a … minute, I'm just… really unused to… this…" I took a moment to regain my breath; a message box popped up at the bottom of the helmet's HUD that read 'O2 Demand Set to 100%- Rebreathing Circuit Interrupt Active'.
"I set your enviropack to deliver a pure oxygen feed," Fay explained. "That should help you recover, but reduces your suit runtime to its onboard oxygen tank." I looked at the HUD; sure enough it read '0.1a/1.25a -12/30 07:27'. "This will revert back to the rebreather eventually, but your pack's runtime will still be impacted."
"Copy that…" I confirmed. "I'll take it… easy." Krystal's hand gripped my shoulder a little tighter. I looked up for the first time to an incredibly impressive sight; the bridge was a massive transparent dome that looked out over open space. The sheer number of stars that shone in the impossible distance was amazing; an orange glow was cast over the entire bridge courtesy of Sauria's sun. The planet itself was a wounded orb in the near distance, surrounded by the debris field and the various regions that had broken off and were somehow still hovering in its upper atmosphere.
The majestic sight had torn my attention from the bodies that littered the bridge and the signs of battle; the dome itself sported cracks, scorch marks from what I assumed were Remnant blasters, and pockmarks from Ipranian firearms. Frozen, crystallized patches of rusty red indicated spots where Remnant soldiers likely fell; the bridge was obviously the location of the occupants' final stand. Fay was already at work; she slid into a centrally located station that I assumed was the captain's chair.
"A haunting backdrop," Krystal commented as she leaned against me, "I can't shake myself from the tragedy that befell these people."
"You might want to reserve your judgment, Krystal," Fay commented. "Those aboard this vessel weren't innocent. Internal camera feeds have been either destroyed or wiped, but you two may want to look at this navicomp data."
We made our way over to the spaniel, who was busy entering commands into her wrist computer as the nearby displays lit up and scrolled with data. What looked like a top-down starmap dominated one of the screens; points intersected by either solid or dashed green lines. A large green dot stood out as its terminus; the legend 'IPRANVS/KEW' emblazoned next to it. A dashed line connected it with another star system, followed by a solid line which terminated at another system. This one was labeled 'LYLA/INFERIS VI'.
Fay traced the line with a glove-covered finger. "Strange," she muttered. "The dashed lines suggest B-Gate travel; the timestamps seem to confirm that. Via Slipspace would take nearly three months to get between the Kew and Lylat clusters; the logs recorded a transit time of twelve hours."
I noticed another dashed line leading from what was obviously the Iprani homeworld to a much farther destination; well outside the borders of either Kew or Lylat. The label 'SOLEM III/LVNAM' stuck out at me. "What's… this?" I was starting to catch my breath.
"Another star cluster?" Fay inquired, bringing her attention to the logs. "That's an incredible distance; eighty to ninety light-years out. This suggests the Iprani have developed some kind of a B-Gate network. The power requirements must be incredible; the transit time alone is an entire month!"
"That destination must be significant if they went that far out of their way to stop there," Krystal surmised. "Can we see if they picked up any cargo?"
"Let me see if I can find and translate more detailed logs," Fay mused. Text cascaded down the screen, but she was paying much more attention to her wrist device. Several minutes later she turned to us. "I think I figured out this ship's itinerary. It originally left Ipran two months ago, starting out via B-gate to this Solem system. When it arrived, it looks like they took on a passenger named 'Dom V.T.' and multiple boxes stored in the high security section labeled as 'probo armae'. Their final destination was Ipran."
"So that trail is cold," I mused from my perch on a nearby seat. The thing Fay did with the suit's oxygen supply seemed to clear up my huffing and puffing, but I did notice a new timer counting down on the helmet's HUD labeled O2 Demand Timeout. Currently it was sitting at 1:43:17. "This is getting… convoluted very quickly." I felt like I was thinking a little more clearly; not that I hadn't been before but I felt mentally… sharper.
"The logs show they bypassed Ipran on the return trip," the spaniel clarified. "They mention a high priority communication that directed them to Lylat as soon as they exited the Iprani B-Gate. They also mention that the passenger sent a communication requesting that they offload first, but it was overridden by the Iprani Minister of Commerce. I don't know much about Iprani politics, but it's very likely this ship was being used to ferry high-priority goods for their government."
"So this passenger was still aboard when the Remnant attacked?" Krystal's voice was laced with curiosity. "Is there any reason why they were redirected?"
"The logs allude to an emergency rendezvous with another Iprani freighter called the Tulanox," Fay's explanation was framed by a darkening in her voice. "The cargo transfer happened a week ago near a Freeport called Outpost Kiver; approximately two hundred stasis pods were moved on board. I have a bad feeling those stasis pods weren't empty."
"Kidnapped Lylatians destined for Ipran?" I asked.
The Cornerian shook her head. "No. The logs indicate their origin was a place called Ceriei."
Krystal stiffened; her gasp distorted into a hollow, artificial hiss by the open channel and her helmet. "My people," her voice hitched. "Those must be other Cerinians!"
I reached out to take her hand; I could feel her trembling through her flightsuit. I was struck by the sudden, fervent wish to hold onto her and not let go; the best I could do with our bulky gear was to half-hug her. "We'll find out what happened to them, hon," I halfheartedly reassured. "They may still be here." The question of how we could rescue them wasn't an easy one, but we had to try.
"The power requirement to keep that many occupants in stasis is enormous," Fay's explanation cut in. "I don't want to bear bad news, but with the state of this ship's reactor it's unlikely they could have survived this long, even if they were properly equipped with a standalone or backup reactor. The internal power cells inside stasis pods are designed to hold for two days, maximum." Krystal's hand squeezed mine even tighter.
"I…" Krystal's voice hitched and broke. "I… understand. I need to know what happened to… my people." I placed my other hand on top of hers; I could tell she was breaking down. I didn't blame her; I just wanted to hold onto her and comfort her until all this bullshit went away, but I couldn't do it in any meaningful way with all the environmental gear we were wearing.
Fay reached out as well; taking Krystal's free hand into hers much like I had mine. "We'll find them," her voice was resolute; an undertone of fury accenting her words. "No matter what. Then we'll find the Crimson Scourge and Iprani bastards who did this and pay them in kind."
"These shitbags deserve a bullet," I snarled. "At least some of them got what was coming to them." I wasn't about to take my anger out on the frozen corpses that were strewn across the bridge, but the hidden sympathy I felt for the lookalike Fi who perished near the airlock vanished. What these people had done was disgusting; sickening.
"That may be true," Fay warned, "but don't forget this was a betrayal. The Crimson Scourge lured them here; the transcripts seem to mention that they were the ones who sold the captive Cerinians to the Iprani in the first place. It's entirely possible they told them they had more waiting here on Sauria and lured them here."
"But why do that?" I asked. "Why screw over an organization that you were doing business with for no apparent reason?"
"Lord Graydale is one of the most ruthless Pirate Lords in the Rim," Fay answered. "He has close ties to the Remnant. If they offered more for the Cerinian captives he would have done something like this; even among pirates he has developed an untrustworthy reputation."
"I could see where this might end up," I offered. "Ipran finds out about the pirates' betrayal and the Remnant attack; they decide to send in their military. They may already suspect this, considering the whole emergency cargo transfer thing."
"That is a serious concern," the Cornerian admitted. "Despite our hostilities with the Remnant an open war between them and Ipran could endanger many lives, not to mention an outside military breaching CDF-patrolled space. The fact they are using B-Gate technology is another concern; the CDF needs to know about this Iprani gate."
"This unknown system could also be a threat," Krystal added, her voice not quite containing the dismay she had expressed earlier. "If we can find that passenger, we might find out more about them."
"That's a good point, hon," I agreed. "It might also be a good idea to see what kind of cargo they brought on board."
"We'll want to be careful," Fay cautioned. "I think we should split up and search the crew areas first; we should search the cargo bays as a group. Searching cargo from an unknown alien species doesn't necessarily fill me with joy."
"Will the communications equipment from this ship work with ours?" I asked, motioning to the console. "If so, we need to take it."
Fay shook her head. "Our fortune ends there, I'm afraid. The comm array is proprietary and is set up for encrypted Ipranian channels. We'll need to scavenge from that Saurian array you told us about."
"We should probably move forward with searching the ship," Krystal's voice chimed in as she gave my hand a quick squeeze. "How should we go forward with this?"
"I agree," Fay replied, motioning to the console in front of her. "I think we're secure enough that we can split up and search individual decks. It'll go quicker that way."
The main non-cargo area of the freighter was comprised of three main decks; each the width and length of a football field. Fay found maps within the ship's computer and sent them to our suits; considering the labyrinthine corridors and collections of rooms we were about to go through they would be useful. The maps could be accessed through the suit's HUD, which I was starting to get the hang of.
Fay was tasked with the top deck, which included the bridge, operations, and other vital areas. Krystal was tasked with the bottom deck, which seemed to be engineering and the ship's storeroom. I had the middle of the 'sandwich', which seemed to be comprised of most of the crew's actual living space. As I stepped onto the second deck I checked the enviropack's remaining time, which was now hovering around seven hours. I was starting to get far more used to it than I had been at the start, but I would be glad to be back on the shuttle and in my normal clothes.
"I'm on Deck Two," I reported, arching a brow at the fact they were labeled in Roman numerals. It fit in with the pseudo-Latin, which caused a bit of unease. Something about all this didn't sit right with me. "Beginning search."
"Copy that," Fay's voice came in. "I'm on Deck One; beginning with the officers' cabins. Krys, what's your location?"
"I'm on Deck Three," Krystal's voice joined in. "It looks like that small room to the right of the stairwell has a couple of functional hovercarts. They may be present on the other decks."
"I'll check it out, hon," I responded, bringing up the map on my HUD. It was reminiscent of the original Doom, which I had played copiously as a kid. Sure enough, there was a small room off to the right of the stairwell.
Despite the darkened corridors the controls were lit up; comprised of a green and red button. I pressed the green one; it slid open to reveal several flatbed carts secured to the walls. When I tugged at one it broke free with a sharp click; several lights came to life and it automatically folded outwards. With a soft hum it defied gravity; the contraption floating down to within a few inches of the floor. It resembled the same kind of flatbed cart I used to haul around equipment at work; the major difference being its lack of wheels.
"Look, Mom," I quipped, "no wheels! I found a few of them; apparently they still have power." I pulled on the cart; it effortlessly slid across the floor.
Krystal's good-natured laugh filled the channel. "These devices are quite amazing, my che. I think I found the provisions storage; I may be here a little while."
"Good to know about the hovercarts," Fay answered. "We have enough time left to be thorough. Just be careful; don't forget we're in a hostile environment."
The discomfort of the suit and the hollow, mechanical sound of my breath made that point hard to forget. I tried to force it out of mind as I looked at the map layout. The floor I was on had a large sign that read 'DOMORIVS CANTVM/DOMORIVS BESTIA'; the cold, dark, and sterile corridors beyond seemed foreboding. I had to force myself to not grab my shotgun; we already knew we were alone.
At the very least, we were the only ones here among the living. As I moved into the main corridor I noted several bodies crumpled on the deck; all of them clad in the same gray flightsuits we had previously seen. The notable difference was the fact not all of them were human. Two looked like Lylatians; one a male feline of some sort and the other a vixen. By the russet and white fur she wasn't a Cerinian, but I still winced as I saw the scorched marks of blaster fire on her suit and in her fur. The Lylatians had what looked like thick plastic collars around their necks; I frowned at the sight.
"I see bodies here," I called in. "I think a couple are Lylatian; one vulpine and one feline. They look like they're wearing collars." I pushed on; there wasn't anything I could do for them at this point.
"Lyla," Fay's voice growled. "Those slaving bastards. They could be from the Kew system, but we'll need the CDF to make a sweep of this ship once we establish comms. I know it's disturbing, but we need to continue the search."
"Copy," I replied. "I'll report if I find anything else." I shook the horrific images out of my mind; it drove home that there were innocents suffering from these actions. I couldn't shake the fact there was some kind of connection; something I was missing.
I systematically went through doors; each one revealing a small cabin. There were plenty of personal effects; clothes, electronics, jewelry, and other things I didn't feel right rummaging through. Besides that most of them had already been gone through, likely by the Remnant. Signs on the doors listed names; I ignored them on purpose. These people were dead; I didn't feel comfortable with disturbing their peace without good reason.
I finished with the main corridor and started going down some of the side ones; spotting what looked to be an open crew lounge. Several Iprani and a few Lylatians looked to have made a final stand here; by the numerous bloodstains on the deck it looked like they gave as much as they got. Unfortunately any weapons they might have had were policed up, other than a few empty helical magazines.
I made a turn down a corridor just past the crew lounge; blinking when I discovered another body. This one was wearing what looked like an armored version of a flightsuit; it was black with crimson accents. They were wearing a helmet but it had been smashed in; a spiderweb of cracks along the visor originating from a solitary hole punched into it. A few more holes were punched into the figure's torso; I couldn't make any positive identification other than that she was a female and she had a tail. The freeze-dried puddle of blood around her made it clear she had been shot to death; a blaster rifle lay on the floor next to her. I was almost positive she had been a Remnant soldier; had they left her behind accidentally?
"Found another body," I called in. "Black and red armor with a helmet similar to ours. I guess they're Remnant."
"Wait, what?" Fay's voice betrayed her surprise. "You found a Remnant soldier?"
"Yeah," I answered. "Looks like she was shot. Her buddies failed to grab her and her weapon for whatever reason."
"From the logs," Krystal chimed in, "the Remnant ship that attacked this one wasn't interrupted during its raid. This seems unusual."
"Unless there was something sensitive in that area of the ship," Fay replied. "A sensor jammer could easily drown out a suit's signals; if someone was crafty they could have ambushed our unlucky Remnant friend and tried to make an escape."
"Sounds like something I should keep an eye out for," I responded. "I'll see what I can find." I glanced around at the nearby doors, frowning when I saw the placard a couple of doors down. 'DOM V.T.' A slight feeling of dread filed me as I reached out for the door, resisting an urge to fill my free hand with my revolver.
"Found the alien's cabin," I reported as I looked into the open door. "Beginning search." My helmet's lights swept the room; it looked like a luxury hotel suite. The luxury motif was apparent in the fine artwork that graced the walls and meticulously crafted carvings on the wooden bedframe; this wasn't a typical cabin.
A desk sat next to the door; it had been set up to serve as an impromptu office judging by the laptop and document binder set next to it. It would have been a mundane sight had I spotted it in a hotel room on Earth; the fact I encountered it on an airless, derelict alien spacecraft was outright bizarre. The laptop was a thin, sleek Dell XPS; a similar model to the ones my employer provisioned for directors and executives. I added the system to the duffel bag I brought; noting an adapter was attached to the power brick. I figured it was some sort of Iprani-made adapter that acted like the ones Fay made for my equipment.
I snagged the binder next, noting that it had a logo for a company called ReadyTransit Logistics, written in plain English. There would be time to look at it later, so into the bag it went. It was then that I looked up and saw a control panel on the wall, complete with a hastily-added switch. The pseudo-Latin label read 'SECVTARIS AGRI'; a post-it note stuck to the panel had a scrawled note, once again in plain English: 'Signal Jammer- Keep active when using laptop! TURN OFF WIFI!'
"Fucking hell," I hissed. "We might have a problem here; a goddamn big one."
"What is it, che?" Krystal's voice filled with worry. "Are you okay?"
"Physically, yeah," I spat out. "I'm not sure how to explain this, but I found a few objects in the so-called alien's room. There's a laptop computer, a binder, and a note. All of them have some link to my world. The laptop's a brand I'm familiar with; the note's in my language, describing something they call a signal jammer. The binder is some sort of business document, also in my language."
"You suspect this passenger they took on is from your planet?" Fay asked.
"It looks that way," I responded. "I don't see how these would have ended up here otherwise. There's a suitcase at the end of the bed; I'm going to root through it and see what else I can find."
"Be careful," Krystal warned. "If you need anything please reach out to us."
"I'll stay safe, hon," I promised. "I doubt this is booby-trapped or anything like that." I really hoped that statement was true, but the Tumi logo emblazoned on the roll-on case was indicative of its owner having tastes that were both terrestrial and expensive. The case itself wasn't locked and zipped open just like I expected.
The contents were mostly mundane… mostly. The clothes inside were equally high end; this passenger had a preference for Armani and Burberry. The two interior compartments felt lumpy and heavy; I opened one to reveal four loaded magazines and two boxes of ammunition. "Guy was strapped," I reported. "He's packing a nine-millimeter pistol of some kind, stoked with Speer Gold Dots. It's a safe bet this guy knows his way around a firearm."
"He's likely dead or in Remnant captivity," Fay warned. "I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this."
"So am I," I admitted. "I don't think I'm going to get much more of value from this floor than this; maybe we should move onto the cargo bays sooner than later?"
"I've just about filled two hovercarts with food and other supplies," Krystal affirmed. "I'm going to move them to the airlock. After that I'll meet up with you, che."
"Copy that, hon," I answered. I'll finish up with what's left in this room and…" I broke off as I opened the other lumpy compartment; gawking at the contents of the sealed plastic package within.
"Adam?" Krystal's concerned voice reached my ear. "Is everything alright?"
"Y… yeah," I answered, "I just startled myself, that's all. I'm going to finish up here and give you a hand." In reality I was stopped cold by the bundles of currency within the plastic. My folks owned a small retail business when I was younger; holidays brought a lot of cash sales. I helped with counting money and had held bank deposit bags with up to fifty grand inside. I was now holding far, far more than that; at least a quarter-million in neatly bundled hundred-dollar bills.
While my conscience wrestled with the ethics of just taking the cash, it was solid evidence that this Dom guy wasn't screwing around with whatever he came to do. It was obvious that he was going to give this cash to Ipran, which meant that these extraterrestrial humans had plans to put it back into the global economy at some point. I added it to the duffel bag, fully aware that this rabbit hole was going to get a lot deeper before we found answers.
"Sounds good," Fay replied, "I'm starting my sweep of Deck Two. The Remnant was pretty thorough with its sweep of the command section, but I hope I can find something. I'll meet you when I've finished my sweep."
"I'm grateful for the help," Krystal added. "These hovercarts aren't the easiest things to navigate up stairs."
"I'll be there in a moment, hon," I answered, leaving my empty hovercart behind as I started to make my way to the stairwell. As I did I glanced down the hallway, blinking as my helmet's lamps reflected off of something metallic down the hall. "Something else caught my eye; I'm going to investigate. It shouldn't take long."
I moved closer; several orange-gold objects reflecting against the cold, gray floor. Again, they were objects that I recognized. Frowning, I bent down and picked one up; turning around to glance at the fallen Remnant soldier about fifteen yards away. It was an easy shot. "Looks like we've got an advantage over the Remnant," I quipped, pocketing the object.
"What's that?" Fay asked.
"Their armor isn't bulletproof," I replied. "The Remnant soldier I found was taken out by that passenger. I just found shell casings down the hallway; nine-millimeter. We certainly didn't shoot them."
"CDF and Remnant armor systems are primarily designed to stop blasters," Fay reminded. "While they can provide limited protection against micrometeorites they aren't really rated against slugthrowers or firearms. It's a common excuse used by nobility in the CDF officer corps; they'll use their family's pre-Unification pistol as their chosen sidearm citing superior armor penetration."
"Does it work?" Krystal asked; I noticed a little breathlessness in her voice.
"I don't see that Remnant soldier arguing against your mate's choice in weaponry," Fay dryly answered.
"Let's hope we don't have to find out firsthand," I pointed out. "I'll be at the stairs in a few moments, hon. I'll help you get the goodies up to the airlock." With that I left the gruesome scene behind, trying to shake it out of my head. It wasn't working.
Notes: If you've gotten this far, I'd like to thank you for the time you've taken to read what I've put out. I wanted to touch upon a few things that have come up, either tangentially related to questions or things I've seen when reading other works.
I don't really have a specific writing schedule. While I understand that makes it a little difficult to capture interest, the time I have available to write isn't super consistent. Simply put, I don't want this to turn into a second job. I also have a second writing project, but that one is a bit too similar to post here(though it is an original work and not fanfic).
I will try to stick to somewhat frequent updates over the coming weeks, at least until the end of the year. However, I have significant life events lined up next year so updates in 2024 may be sporadic; I will likely be incredibly busy. My hope is to finish this current arc by the end of the year(or early next); if I can find more time to make progress I absolutely will. The next three chapters are in various stages of completion and I have some upcoming time off for the holidays, so chances of that happening are likely.
Again, thanks for reading this story, along with those of you who have commented, gave kudos, and bookmarked. It does mean a lot to me.
