Castaway Chapter 4

[Ed Man]

The Inside Man
Chapter 4

The Guards escorted the man into the office where they were waiting.
[Officer] “Does this man work for your company?”
[Kea] “No!” [Officer] “Are you sure?” [Kea] “I know everyone that works for company and he no work for us!”
[Detainee] “Hold on I was hired to repair a ship by a Teladi that said he was Ananeoo the owner he had the codes to both ships and the paper work I had the Guard check it out.”
[Kea] “Is this the Teladi?” The Detainee looked. “No.”
[Peter] “Show him a picture of Klope.” [Detainee] “No it’s not him either the Teladi that hired me had a large scar on his left jaw.”
[Officer] “Tell us all you know the ship was rigged to blow you up what do you know that’s worth killing you to keep quite?”
[Detainee] “I know what that sorry helper and the Teladi that hired me looks like and I was going to get paid today for the job.”
[Officer] “We have that rat that helped you on video so that’s can’t be it or the credits. Do you thank you could pick the Teladi out on video if we can find the a tape of your meeting?”
[Detainee] “Yes. I meet him at the space dock we talked in the lounge next to the fighters.”

The Officer picked up the phone and started calling and sent the man to a holding cell.
“You two can do whatever you want with the two ships like I said they belong to Ananeoo my man will show you the other ship.”

After Kea talked to Ananeoo and he stopped yelling and told her what to do a guard took Peter and Kea to look at the other ship then call Ananeoo so he could decide which one suited the needs of the Company best.
The ship they were sent to repair was a Harrier Hauler the other ship was a Discoverer Raider. One was a fast attack interceptor while the other was better shielded and a Hauler. Ananeoo was quick to decide he needed the Hauler repaired first and place the Disco in storage. Then pick up the parts and return to the station.
After working on the Harrier doing what they could then moving over to the Disco to take back the parts they needed to fix the Harrier Kea had fell asleep slumped over a panel.
“Kea wake up and set the drone to work on removing the parts we need we can sleep in the pilot seats for a few hours.”
Kea was all for getting some rest as she gave the drone a list of commands and the two went into the cockpit locked the door and passed out in the seats. A pair of Guards were posted outside keeping watch as the two sleep for a few hours till Peters PDA sounded waking them up and back to the repairs.

When all the parts had been removed Peter was securing the last one on the cart while Kea was locking the ship up he asked one of the Guards about the Detainee. “What is your Commander going to do with the prisoner?”
[Guard] “He said he was going to keep him here and work him around the shipyard till we close the case or it’s safe to let him go. He’s the only link to the Teladi with the scar on his face. That sap of a helper he had was found dead last night face down with his throat cut near the docks. He’s safer here with us than on his own right now he said he had no relatives or friends and every thing he owned was in his bag.”

[Peter] “I feel for him I was stranded here when my ship was damaged and lost my memory in the accident then spent a few weeks in the hospital. I didn’t even remember my name they got it from my ID card.”
[Guard] “He said he about died when a container on a freighter busted open and killed everyone onboard except him, another man and a woman with pointed ears. He said it did brain damage to all of them and he can’t remember anything. If a drone had not vented the gas into space and sprayed it down with a sealer they would have died.”
[Peter] “Does that kind of thing happen a lot around here?”
[Guard] “No.” [Peter] “What’s his name?
[Guard] “I can’t remember but it will be on the report. When will you two be finished?”
“How long do you think Kea?” Peter asked as she walked up and heard the question.
[Kea] “We be done in 12 hours then we test. System test then fight test and if it ok we pressure test then we leave. Maybe 14 hours if all go well.”
[Guard] “We use to scrap more ships in here than we got to see fixed but since the Gate shut down we stopped scrapping ship hulls. Now we just the scrap the hulls that are in pieces.”
Peter and Kea climbed in behind Guards on the cart and went to the Hauler and started installing the parts.

One of the human Guards from the shipyard is it a bad part of town waiting in a bar on a Teladi that he just seen come in.
[Guard] “Things didn’t go as planned.”
[Teladi] “Nothing went like planned. You get me off planet.”
[Guard] “The only way you’re getting off the planet is slipping out in your own ship. The repair man that was supposed get blown up picked you picture off of video from the docks and they have gave it to every security force and bounty hunter on the planet! You are now a wanted man!”
[Teladi] “We in this together!” As he took hold of his pistol.
[Guard] “Yes we are so ease up and move your hand off that pistol. If you get caught or killed you’ll be linked to me, we been seen together to many times. We knew this day would happen sooner or later.”
[Teladi] “What now we have no ship.”
[Guard] “I’m going to take the Hauler and fly it to the warehouse and change the codes. We’ll take it and the freighter and what we have and leave. You go back to the warehouse and finish loading up. And stay out of sight on the way there it‘s a cool night cover that scar on your face.”
The Teladi growled at the remark and said. “How you get ship, Guards watching?”
The Guard laid his hand on his pistol. “I’ll have to kill them.” He said with a smug smile on his face as the two thieves got up and left.

Back at the used shipyard Peter and Kea were about to start testing the systems.
[Peter] “Kea I want something to eat besides power bars.”
“Kea hungry too but where we get food out here?”
[Peter] “The Guards eat somewhere I’ll ask the two outside where they eat at.”
Peter went outside and talked to the guards a few minutes and came back in.
“Kea the two guards told me a restaurant down the street delivered to the yard what do you think.”
[Kea] “We order so food be here when we leave. We eat while the parts are loading so we get paid.”
Peter laughed at the remark of how Kea worked it so they would keep getting paid while they ate.

The system check was finished so they moved the ship out of the large storage hanger and tested the maneuvering thrusters and took the ship out to the pre-flight testing area.
They raised the ship up off the ground to a hover and held it then set it down and looked over the data.
For the next test Kea flew the ship in a X flight path and then a circle eight. The ship passed the filght test so Kea set it down near the presure testing area and surrendered the ship over to the inspectors.
[Kea] “We ready to order our food now Peter.” The two called the restaurant and placed their order as the inspectors eased the ship into the test bay and started the test. Peter watched as a drone pushed a bottle of gas onto the ship and sealed the hatch. The inspectors walked into the bay with their spacesuits on and turned on a containment field.
[Peter] “Now we wait.” Peter replied as the inspectors tested the ship for leaks. Next they would do the same flight test Peter and Kea did before they passed the ship to fly anywhere on the planet.
[Kea] “They take ship back to bay we were in so we can load our tools when done. We go look at my freighter if you want?”
[Peter] “Let’s go I want to see it.”
A few minutes later Kea walked up to a Vulture. Kea laid her hand on the pad and tapped in the codes opening the hatch. The power generator turned on as the ships systems came to life and the lights came on showing how nice the freighter was.
[Peter] “This is nice Kea when are you going to get it?”
[Kea] “I own ship now Kea make last payment in office.”
Peter could see the pride in her eyes as she looked at the ship.
[Peter] “What are you going to do now you own the freighter?”
[Kea] “I come back to planet and take ship to station. Kea still work for Ananeoo for now till save up more credits. Maybe you help Kea in spare time making deleverys to planet? Kea pay Peter fair wage.”
[Peter] “I don’t get much spare time but I’ll help you out part time will that do?”
[Kea] “Part time ok for now till business grow.”

Peter and Kea bumped fist making a deal as they exited the ship and Kea locked it back up and headed for the hanger to pick up the Hauler and leave.
As they walked back Kea asked Peter? “What you going to do with your ship?”
[Peter] “I’m going to fix it back up. It’s a part of my past and I want to keep it.”
“Kea forgot Peter no remember past. Some people want to forget past how Peter now he not one?”
[Peter] “I don’t know. What if I’m rich?”
“Then Kea work for Peter if he pay Kea more than Ananeoo. He family but Kea want her own business.”
[Peter] “You’ll do well Kea you’re a honest Teladi.”
[Kea] “Here we are same hanger see Guards cart and our food on cart?”
The bag of food had their names on it so Peter picked it up and headed for the ship.

Peter looked around for the Guards as they neared the ship and asked? “Who do we owe for the food?”
A Guard stepped out of the ship. “You can pay me.”
[Peter] “Where are the other Guards?”
The Thieve pulled his pistol out and pointed it at them saying. “You’ll be seeing them in a second both of you put your hands up. You get up here Teladi I take you to keep my friend company.”

The Thieve shot Peter in the arm the same time Peter pushed Kea down behind a crate and reached for his pistol as the Thieve shot him two more times. Then with every ounce of strength Peter took aim and shot the Thieve as he fired one more round into Peter. Peter shot one more time killing the Thieve then fell to the ground.
[Kea] “Peter! Peter! Hold on I get help!”
Peter lay on the ground as he felt the pain from shots rush through his body as he coughed up blood thinking. This is it! As he heard the alarms sounding throughout the shipyard and slipping out. Then someone placing him on a stretcher. Peter could hear them saying how bad it was.
And then Kea screaming hurry to the medical team and then hold on Peter help here and then the noise and pain just stopped.

[Guard] “He was one of ours Sir! He killed the two Guards and covered them up over here.”
The Detective walked over to bodys of the two Men he had sent out just a few hours before to Guard the ship and two mechanics. Now they laid dead and he was going to have to tell their familys how they died.

[Detective] “Where’s the worker drone? Get the data recorder off it.”
[Guard] “It’s outside the hanger behind some crates he shot it’s main driver it’s no good to us.”
[Detective] “Someone said their was a girl where is she we need some answers? All I’m getting here is questions!”
[Guard] “She was a delivery girl from the local restaurant. She’s at the station Sir.”
[Detective] “Bag, tag and film everything here your squad better not miss a hair do you hear me!”
[Guard] “Yes Sir! We hear! No stone unturned, they were our own Sir!”

The Detective climbed into his vehicle and headed out to talk to the Girl hopeful she could fill in some of the unknown events leading up to the murder of his Guards and her abduction. The inside cameras and the guards video cams had been placed on a loop somehow. Which explained how so many parts had been coming up missing but it didn’t help with the murder investigation.

As the Detective walked in the duty Officer asked. “How bad was it?”
[Detective] “It’s bad. Two of our Guards are dead. One of the Mechanics got shot up in a shoot out with the thief. The Thief is stone cold but the Mechanic is still alive. His partner is with him at Medical. I sent two Guards to keep an eye on them. Where’s the delivery Girl?”
[Officer] “She’s in the intergation room with a counselor.”

The Detective opened the door where the Girl was. “Pardon me I need to talk to the Girl.”
[Counselor] “She’s not very stable right now.”
[Detective] “Please Miss I need to ask you some questions you may know something helpful to our investigation will you help?”
The Girl looked up still terrified from the whole ordeal. “Yes but I don’t know anything.”
The Detective explained that even a uncommon smell a reference to a place or person. The Girl stopped him and replied. “His partner was a Teladi I heard him say that he was going to keep the Teladi female for his partner. Then the shoot out started. I asked where was he taking me but all he said was away from here. Then he slapped me down and told me to shut up as he tied me down in a seat.”
[Detective] “What about the Guards did you see them at any time?”
[Girl] “No just him he met me outside as I pulled up. Then he asked me to delever the food to ones that ordered in in the ship. When I got inside he said I was going with him that’s when I asked and he slapped Me down.”
[Detective] “Did he mention anything about the Teladi having a Scar on his face?”
[Girl] “No nothing I told you everything that happened and was said.” The Girl placed her head in her hands and started crying. The Counselor gave the Detective a dirty and opened the door.
[Detective] “Think you Miss.” The Detective replied as he went to his office and called in a team of investigators.
“Go to the Inside mans home and talk to everyone and anyone his friends, enemies, lovers places he ate drunks on his way home. I want to know everything about this man and I want to know it now go!”
The Office emptied out as the team divided up the list and left.

The Doctor stepped out of surgery asking. “Is anyone here with Mr. Stone?”
[Kea] “I am. He My friend. We here together on job when he got shot.”
[Doctor] “All right then, Mr. Stone is alive for now. We removed the bullets and patched him up but he was badly injured. The four shots he took should have killed him but he’s holding on. If he has any family now would be the time to call them?”
[Kea] “No family just Me.”
[Doctor] “Well it’s all up to him now I did everything I could.”

Peter felt himself slipping away as he looked at the light it started to become clear what he was looking at.
A Man standing on a hillside holding a lamb. As Peter felt himself getting close to the Man Peter knew it was God as he reached out his hand Jesus reached to take hold. Then Jesus stopped and pulled his arm back and went to petting the lamb and said. “Not now you have unfinished business.”


Peter felt himself being drawn back as he opened his eyes and seen Kea setting looking at the floor.
“Kea how long have I been out.”
Kea jumped up and looked out the door shouting. “Nurse come quick Peter awake. You been out two days Peter. Kea happy to see you wake up! Peter save Kea and Kea make sure Peter get good care.”
[Peter] “What about the gunman trying to steal the ship did I stop him?”
[Kea] “Yes Peter stop him. He was a bad man. He killed the Guards took the food girl and tried to take me. But you stopped him and saved Kea and Kea very thankful.”
[Peter] “Did I kill him?”
[Kea] “Yes he dead. Peter you are a hero! You risk you life to save Kea and Girl.”
[Peter] “I don’t fill like a hero I killed a man.”
“Kea sorry Peter sad about man you shoot. He was a bad man Peter he tried to kill you and take Kea and Girl.” [Peter] “What Girl?”
The nurse walked in. “I need to give you a shot so you’ll get some rest.” As she put the shot into Peters IV.
[Nurse] “I know you been out but you need to rest and give your body time to recover. The Girl was delivering your food. The Murderer you stopped had her tied up inside the ship. You may not thank it but you’re a hero to the people you saved Mr. Stone.”