Castaway Chapter 6

[Ed Man]

Mining Outpost Gamma
Chapter 6

Peter spent the next two days watching the spiders work on the missiles and his new spacesuit. While taking a few of the dreaded training programs Sam insisted he need to take to refine his military skills.
As the freighter neared the outpost Sam replied. “Peter you just received a message from the outpost asking for your to ID yourself and state your business.”
[Peter] “Send them our ID codes and trade contract for a delivery and pickup.”
Sam sent the reply as the ship closed to scanner range Sam replied. “We were just scanned Peter.”
[Outpost] “This is Outpost Gamma please dock you have been cleared.”

Peter noticed a pair of the mining ships were docked under the outpost as the freighter eased into the docking bay of what now Peter knew was a refitted TL turned into a station. Peter put his helmet on as he went into the airlock and vacuumed the air out and opened the hatch.
Peter stepped out with his case as a worker scanned him saying. “Please come with me Mr. Stone is that right?”
“That’s right I’m Peter Stone, just call me Peter. The two ships under the station what are they doing?”
[Worker] “That’s where we offload the ore it keeps the main docking bay cleaner and less inside traffic. Theirs a small repair bay on the backside you can’t see unless you fly around the station set up for the mining ships. Please come in here Sir this is the Clerks Office your first stop.”

Peter went in as the hatch closed and the room pressurized as another worker opened the door. “Please come in you can take your suit off if you want. We’re checking the freight to make sure nothing is outdated or damaged we have a lounge and a few shops you can visit I’ll contact you when we’re finished and your ship is reloaded and ready.”

A deckhand showed Peter the way to the lounge and shops. As Peter looked around he noticed how basic the supplies were. Then Peter thought this was a outpost not a trading station basic was all they could stock. Peter noticed a shop selling new and used equipment as he walked in he seen they had drones for sell. “Do you have any used or damaged drones for sell?” Peter asked.
[Salesman] “What kind of drone you want they make all kinds?”
[Peter] “Just a standard humanoid worker drone.”
[Salesman] “All I have used is a damaged unit that’s main processor is fried. I’ll show it to you.”
The man took Peter into the pack of the shop where the drone was. As Peter scanned it he noticed it had been shot.
[Peter] “What happened here it looks like it was shot.”
[Salesman] “It was! The owner was drunk and thought it was taking to long to do what he said so he up and shot it! Big dummy was lucky he didn’t pierce his hull and kill himself. I’ll make you a deal on this one just to get it out of here.”
The man looked at the drone with frustration and made Peter a good offer.
[Peter] “I’ll take it have it loaded onto my ship.” Peter paid for the drone and headed out for the lounge.
[Peter] “Sam did the owner shoot the drone?”
[Sam] “Yes he did it’s on the station records. How did you know?”
[Peter] “Just the way he described it like he was still mad at it and wanted it gone. What’s taking them so long with the freight?”
[Sam] “They are checking to make sure they didn’t receive any outdated supplies. Their records show they have received outdated supplies before from shipments in the past so now they check the dates on each case.”
[Peter] “Did Kea know about the bad shipments?”
[Sam] “Yes the order she placed had a reminder on it not to load any outdated supplies.”

Peter went into the lounge and looked around at the small bar to the left a section of the lounge with tables and chairs in the center with booths set around the walls. Peter went to the left wall and set in a booth.
A woman walked out from behind the bar and over to the booth. “What can I get you, are you new here?”
[Peter] “I’ll take a cup of coffee and sweet roll and yes it’s my first time here I‘m making a delivery.”
[Server] “Will you take a rider back to the Trading Station or Planet when you leave?”
[Peter] “I’d be willing to talk to them.”
[Server] “I’ll send her out and let her explain.”

A woman came out from kitchen area and walked over with his food. “My name is Dana can I set down while we talk?”
[Peter] “Yes of course have a seat.”
Dana explained how she and her husband had came to the outpost in search of her husbands son he had with his first wife. The young man had got involved with the wrong crowd and was seen headed for the outpost with his new outlaw friends. A credit card had been maxed out repairing a small ship at the outpost and that was the last lead they had as to where the young man was.
The father in desperation decided to go looking for his son so she came along with him in their discovery. After a few days of asking around the father found a man that said he knew where the boy had went and offered to take him to a station hid in a nebula on the border of the system. Her husband set out with the man leaving her on the outpost where it was safe giving her orders to return to the planet if he didn’t return in a week and that was 28 days ago. Shortly after he left someone broke into her room while she was asleep and took everything she had.
Dana went on to explain how they were well off but without her belongings she had no ID, credit cards or tokens so she was stranded and needed a way back to the planet and only had a few credits to pay for the ride.
[Peter] “Why hasn’t anyone come looking for you or your husband?”
[Dana] “I don’t know I thought someone would have came looking for us by now. His ex wife knew we were coming to the outpost. But with the two of us gone she’s the next in line to run the business. I know she hates us but she loves her son so I don’t know why no one has came looking for us.”
[Peter] “I believe you.”
Sam replied in the earpiece. “The have eyes on you two now tell her she’ll have to better than that.”
[Peter] “But you’ll have to do better than that!”
[Dana] “All I have to offer is myself if that’s what I have to do to get home I don’t know. I thought you may have been different.”
The woman stormed away from the table and back into the kitchen with tears in her eyes.
Peter took out his PDA and typed in a message. “Doe’s the woman check out?”
[Sam] “No data to verify who she is but she did arrive with a man and he left like she said and her things were stolen. And someone has tapped into the camera lines to watch here and her apartment door.”
[Peter] “Can you hack their lines and find out who they are?”
[Sam] “Yes but I would advise against getting involved someone is waiting to make a hit on her the minute she leaves someone will be coming after her to finish the job.”
[Peter] “You do what you do best and gather Intel and find a way. If she stays her she is dead I know that and if I take her we both die. Let’s find a way to get her off the Outpost and back to the Trading Station alive.”
[Sam] “The freighter should be loaded about the same time she gets off work so lets start with that as a departure time.”
Peter and Sam devised a plan to get the woman off the Outpost by having her tell the woman she works for she was filling sick and wouldn’t be able to work the next day. Sam would loop the camera watching here door getting her out of her room when the ship was loaded and leave giving them a over a days head start.

Peter called for Dana and explained what he was going to do and why and to sell the diversion to slap him as she left.
As Dana turned away she slapped Peter and stormed off back into the kitchen all they had to do was wait till she got off work the Freighter was loaded and Peter was headed to sign of on the paper work and transfer the funds.
[Peter] “Sam do you know who it is that’s watching the woman?”
[Sam] “Yes it’s three men with three ships. One Pirate Buster and two Disco’s.”
[Peter] “Can you hack their ships and disable them somehow?”
[Sam] “No but I can raise the ejection rate on one of the Discos the other Disco is deadheaded and rigged to blow if the pilot dies but I could shut down the systems all at once into a reboot cycle. The Buster has a state of the art security system and hand held tester to check the systems for any tampering or bugs.”
[Peter] “What about his missiles?”
[Sam] “He is carrying a mine and a drone I could hack the drone through its network while the ships shields are down and the drones in it’s rest mode and place a program in it to take control of the drone and use it to set the mine off.”
[Peter] “Do it and does the other Disco have a drone on it you could hack?”
[Sam] “Yes and it’s a security drone with a weapon and the other Disco has a drone on it also.”
[Peter] “Hack all three of the drones so we can control them if we need to and hack both the Discos to do as you suggested. How long till you’re done?”
[Sam] “I’ll be done before your finished signing the paper work in the office.”

Peter went into the office and signed off on the shipment and ore and drone he bought. Peter turned and left the office and went to the section the Woman was in. “Sam are ready to loop the camera?”
[Sam] “Yes I’m starting the loop now.”
Peter walked over to the womans door and knocked. When she opened the door she was in her spacesuit ready to go. Peter pulled out the scanner to check for bugs. “You’re clean did you call in sick for your next shift?”
[Dana] “Yes all I have is on my back I’m ready to leave this place.”
[Peter] “You access the bays through the workers hatch your ID card will open the door then Sam will guide you through your raido in your suit to the freighter. I’ll be right behide you just do as Sam says and we’ll be out of here in a little while.”
Peter sat waiting until Dana made it onto the ship. Signed out and went through the airlock and onto the freighter. Dana was strapped in a passengers seat when Peter boarded and went to the cockpit and left the outpost and set course for the Traiding Station. After the ship was on the way and everything was clear Peter went to talk to Dana.
[Peter] “So far we’re in the clear. What kind of business do you own there are three fighters docked at the Outpost waiting on you to leave. That’s probably why none of the locals would help you.”
[Dana] “Are we going to make it back safe?”
[Peter] “Yes now start talking who are you and why do they want you dead?”

Dana started to explain how her husband owned a shipping company and ½ of the Shipyard on the Planet and was worth over two hundred million credits and if he died she got it all. But if she died it went to the son and ex wife.
[Peter] “Does the ex know all this?” [Dana] “Her lawyer is our family lawyer so I would say yes. The lawyer settled the devorce settlement out of court with her to keep from dragging the family through the mud. She had been cought with other men several times and didn’t stand a chance in a courtroom of winning anything but My Husband gave her a nice weekly settlement just to leave. I us to work for my husband during the devorce and seen it all. A year after the devorce we started dating a little and after several months it turned serious after we realized how much we ment to each other. We just celebrated our third wedding anniversary a little over a month ago. Do you think she’s behind this?”

[Peter] “Is she happy with what she gets and stable? Does she realy care about the son? Do they spend time together on the holidays or vacation together or even like one another?”
[Dana] “No all she cares about is her latest boy toy and next check! How could we have been so blind and not seen what was going on? Are they dead?” Dana asked with her eyes full of tears.
[Peter] “I don’t know. Here take this and go lay down and get some rest.” Peter gave her a sedative and showed her to his cabin then returned to the cockpit.
[Peter] “Sam any sign of the ships?”
[Sam] “No all clear Peter.”
[Peter] “Start back to work on the missiles we may need them and let the small unit work on the drone I bought in case we need to use it. I’m going to lay back and try and get some rest.”
Peter laid back in the pilots seat and closed his eyes the ship was clear and out of scanner range from the outpost. Peter had been up for over 36 hours and went to sleep as soon as he shut his eyes.
Peter woke up and looked at the hud to see if any ships were on the long range scanner. The hut was clear the freighter had taken a wide path on the return trip out of scanner range to avoid the fighters if they were to come after them. It added a little time to the trip but if all went well the fighters would fly right past them thanking they were ahead and by the time they looped back and broaden their search they would have to split up which made them less affective.
Peter got up and fixed a pot of coffee. “Sam how many missiles are ready and how is the repaires on the drone going?”
[Sam] “One more missile is finished and the drone is repaired and refitted. Can I use the drone to help with the missile building?” [Peter] “Yes put it to work.”
Peter knew the next few hours were the most critical as they neared the halfway mark and they knew Dana was gone. Five missiles were ready and the ship was running dark with no lights or signals.

[Sam] “Commander the two Discos just passed heading strait for the Trading Station.” They watched as the Buster came by two hours later headed in the same direction.
[Dana] “What now?” [Peter] “We keep going and wait and see if they find us.”
The freighter was a little faster than a normal vulture and the ones looking for them didn’t know that and two hours of space in any direction is hard to search. They continued flying full speed as the two Discos came back by and started a search pattern at where they should have been. The race was on now as the freighter keep on course for the Station while the two Discos searched the skys for any sign of the freighter. Peter knew they would be found it was their plan of attack he was concerned about. One at a time or two or spot and follow while the Buster catches up to the Discos. Which ever way the game was on.

One of the fighters made a close pass but missed them. [Peter] “Sam the next pass he is bound to see us lets get ready for it. We’ll have ten minutes to capture or destroy the ship the minute it’s in range let’s start.”
Peter was ready as the Disco made its next sweep and spotted the freighter. The Disco closed to rainge. It was the one the Pilot had disabled the ejection seat.
[Peter] “Hack the drone and wait for orders.” Peter hailed the Disco. “Pilot back away from my ship and leave!”
[Pirate] “You’re funny! You’re about to loose your life you //##\\\ space jockey.” The ship closed on the freighter and opened fire as the rear turret returned fire Peter said. “Send the drone in Sam!”
The Disco was in a wide sweep as it slowed down.
[Sam] “It’s done I’m trying to disable the self-destruct. It’s a crude unit designed to blow if anyone tries to remove his body or change the ownership. The drone is not equipped with what I need to disable the bomb.”
[Peter] “I have a plan we’ll use the bomb on the ship to lower the shields of the other Disco. Set the auto pilot to follow the freighter at a safe distance. When his buddy shows up send him a missage from the Disco asking him to look at his weaponry he hit a small asteroid and thinks it damaged one of them. Reset his ship and when he gets close roll over and thrust the ship his way and blow it.”

The ship fell in behind the freighter as they waited on the second Disco as it showed up right on time and eased in behind the first one waiting for the right moment.
[Peter] “Sam have the drone turn into the Disco and plow it he’s almost on top of it.”

The Pilot keep calling the dead mans ship while Sam cracked the return signal as if it was damaged till the ship thrust and blew.
The Disco spun away with the pilot. Peter fired a missile as the shields on the Disco was still to high to eject the pilot. Peter watched as the missile hit it’s mark and the piolt ejected.
“YES! [Peter shouted with approval.] Sam claim the ship and leave the pilot out there and but some distance between us I need to get onboard that fighter.”
The Pirate watched horrified as the two ships sailed away leaving him floating in open space.

Peter sent the drone over so Sam could check out the Disco before Peter went over. After a deep scan of the ship and Sam downloaded onto the systems Peter spacewalked over to the Disco. The ship was undamaged in the capture because of the raised ejection rate. Peter had four of the missiles dropped so he could scoop them up and load them.
The freighter held position while Peter picked up the Pirate and the dropped missiles from the other Disco. Peter took up a escort position behind the freighter as it returned to full speed heading straight for the Trading Station.

[collins50]

Good One Peter is getting back to his old self,