Seeker
Chapter 8 Deep Six
The Magnetar cleared the gate as Gabe set course for the Dock Luke asked. “Captain what are you going to call the ship have you given her a name yet?”
Gabe looked a little puzzled and said. “I been thinking about calling her Seeker because that’s what we do.”
[Luke] “I like it.” [Simon] “Me to, Seeker sounds good to me.”
[Gabe] “Speaking of naming ships what you going to call yours?”
[Simon] “Windfall.”
[Gabe] “I like it and it fits.” [Luke] “That’s a good name Sir.”
[Simon] “You don’t have to Sir me Luke I’m just Simon.”
[Gabe] “Bit if Snake is in his office get him on my com.” [Bit] “He’s on your com. Gabe.”
[Gabe] “I’m about to dock with my new ship and I want to know can you get me a 125 or 200 meg shield and take one of the 25 megs in on trade and how much will it cost?”
Snake replied. “Hold on a few minutes I’ll see. I have a 125 in the stockroom I’ll let you have it for 70,000 credits and one of your 25 meg shields.”
[Gabe] “Pull it out I’ll transfer the funds over to you when we dock I want it.”
The Seeker docked and Gabe went to Snakes office with the case and paid him for the shield. Then Gabe sold the missiles and transferred the funds and the rest of the credits into his account. The case was rough looking with scrapes and dings all over it from its bouncing around in the asteroid field. So Gabe took the case and went to the local exchange to turn in the tokens. Then bought a new case like he wanted, slipped the old one in a garbage unit so it would be destroyed. Then he bought a small amount of tokens and stored them in the safe onboard ship. The last thing was the pistol as Gabe asked. “Bit is the pistol clean?”
[Bit] “No it’s serial number and id chip have been removed so it’s illegal to have it. I suggest removing the power pack and destroying the pistol.”
[Gabe] “Well I guess that’s tells us what kind of person had the case full of credits. What’s the best way to get rid of it?”
[Bit] “I can have the repair drone take it apart and destroy it in the waste unit one piece at a time and vent the dust out into space.”
[Gabe] “Do it then and we’ll be done with the original case, tokens and pistol. I’m going to my room I want to see how the Tanker is doing.”
Bit pulled up the trading log on the Tanker and it had been making a profit on every sale. But in high traffic trading areas and no jump drive big profit trades were hard to make. The list of buys and sells showed a steady increase into the account with every sale. If the Tanker keep up every day with the same amount of steady profits it would have enough credits built up to buy a jump drive in less than a month.
Gabe realized he needed a dispatcher to send the ship to get the deals and have a place to sell them.
“Bit could we run a dispatch office out of this ship?”
[Bit] “Yes I can do that for you if you want which ship do you want me to direct.”
[Gabe] “So if I get a jump drive for the Tanker you can direct it to the deals and places to sell?”
[Bit] “I could direct a small fleet but the more ships they are the smaller the profits would become.”
[Gabe] “That’s good to know but for now just help the Tanker and keep it in secure sectors and out of harms way.”
[Bit] “Understood Gabe I’ll send the Captain a message and start lining up the trades for the highest profits.”
Bit opened the com to Gabe with a urgent message from Snake. “Gabe a TL was just attacked and about destroyed in Grand Exchange after a devastating battle with the Xenon and they had to abandon ship. If you jump in at the West Gate you may be able to find some worth while equipment and missiles. You can claim the TL beam whatever you can off and abandon it again while your fighters pick up as many missiles as they can safely then jump back here. I have the energy cells and the ship is about ready do you want to give it a try?”
Gabe looked at Simon and Luke. “Are you two willing to give it a try if it’s to hot we’ll just jump away?”
They both said yes so Gabe opened the com. “Load the energy cells we’re going. You two suit up and be in the ships ready to go when we get there.” Simon transported onto the RT and Luke was in the Windfall ready to go while Gabe pulled up the sector on the monitor as the ship was clearing the dock.
The TL was halfway between the West and North Gate dead in space with no support ship in sight just destroyed fighters and debris all around the area. Sector Security was at the North Gate standing guard while two Xenon Ns were running from the Harriers that were trying to catch them.
Gabe engaged the jump drive and watched as it charged then the ship was in Grand Exchange. Gabe cleared the Gate and headed for the TL and gave the order. “You’re cleared to launch get what you can and lets get out!”
The two ships took out at full speed picking up missiles and weapons blown off the fighters from the intense battle while dodging the wreckage. Gabe closed on the TL and scanned the badly beaten hull of a TL as it lay floating in space with smoke still spewing out for the fires onboard.
No survivors were onboard and it was abandon. Gabe claimed the dead smoking monster of a ship and started transporting the intact equipment then the damaged shields and weapons. The cargo hole was filling up as Gabe switched to the floating cargo around so he abandon the TL and started moving the Seeker to open space and called for the fighters to come back.
Gabe slowed the ship to a stop as it cleared to a safe area so the fighters could dock.
[Simon] “My cargo hole is full but I see a Harrier with no pilot do we have a spot for it?”
[Gabe] “Claim it and set it to dock onboard the Seeker then return to ship if we have to leave before it gets here we can send it to the Shipyard.”
Gabe noticed the Harrier looked like it was flying around in circles. “Bit what’s wrong with the Harrier it not going anywhere?”
[Bit] “There is to much debris for the auto pilot to fly it directly here I’m changing the flight plan to correct the problem.”
The harrier reversed course and up till it was clear then headed for the Seeker.
Simon docked and transported up. “It looks bad out there they haven’t collected the bodies yet I seen a few floating around.”
About that time Luke transported up and set down and picked up a drink with his hand shaking. Gabe looked at Simon and nudged him to go over and talk to Luke as he set there gazing at the cup on the table.
[Simon] “You all right?”
[Luke] “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this kind of work! A dead Teladi was right outside my cockpit as I eased through the wreckage to pick up some missiles. His body was facing me and I felt like he was looking at me with his cold dead eyes.”
[Simon] “That’s a bad thing to see and I’d like to tell you you’ll forget it but you won’t. But you will get your nerve back and you will survive fighter Pilots have to deal with it all the time. Luke we don’t do this every day we just search open space.”
Gabe spoke up. “If I knew it was this bad I would have said no to the salvage run. I’m sorry I really wasn’t thinking it’s a first for me two and this is not how I want to make a living as soon as the Harrier docks we’re gone.”
The three watched the HUD as the Harrier seamed to slow down but the speed remained the same as they counted the minutes until the Harrier docked.
The Seeker seamed to take forever as the jump drive charged and they were back at The Vault. Gabe set course for the Dock as he looked over the list of freight taken in on the run. It was a good hall as far as the credits were concerned but the imagines of the battle and dead would forever be in there heads. Gabe knew they would see things like that again but not on such a grand scale and knew he needed to tell Luke.
“Luke we’re going to see things on ships we find that are just as bad and you may not want to do this kind of work. So when we dock if you want to leave I’ll pay you and get you a ride back to the Temple if you want to leave or you can transfer over to the Tanker and they‘ll be no hard fillings.”
Gabe and Simon watched Luke as he paused to think about the offer for a while then said. “No Sir I signed own and I’m going to stay on for the six months. Besides I was just as excited when I heard about the run as you two were I’ll be allright I’m just a little shaken up right now I want to stay on with you Captain.”
[Gabe] “Good because we sure need you. We will be hireing a few more crewman for the Tanker and us if this hall pays off as good as I hope it will.”
And pay off it did as the missiles alone netted over 200,000 credits and the shields were more of a trade off making a little but giving the Seeker two 200 meg shield and the sale of the 125 back to Snake made a nice profit. The weapons picked up and transported upgraded the ships to better fire power and the equipment gathered gave them a new weapons generator for the Seeker to give the new weapons the power to fend off a small fleet that Snake adapted only using up a few extra units of cargo room from the hole. After two days of working on repairing, refiting and adapting the Seeker was ready to go. Snake sold the harrier at a good price after he repaired it making Gabe and himself a nice proffit.
The Tanker Captain had a full crew and jump drive now and Snake had maxed the extensions out and added all the extras at a good price. So the tanker was running around the clock and was making a good profit in the first day of trading since the upgrades. Although most of the credits were gone on new shields for the Tanker and upgrading for all the ships there was still about 20,000 left from the run after everything and everyone had been paid.
The Seeker pulled away from the dock as Gabe set the auto pilot for the power plant in the next sector to buy enough energy cells to jump to there next Sector to search. For now it was still just Gabe, Simon and Luke as Simon took over the pilots seat while Gabe fixed himself a snack and drink as he looked at a live feed of the sector next on the search on the other end of Teladi space then one system over into Split space.
The ship was loaded with the energy cells they needed and a few extra. The sector wasn’t that far of a run and was only one sector away from the power plant but that was the sector where the Pirate Station was. Gabe set the jump drive for the South Gate of the Sector where Pop had given Snake a ride to the Equipment Dock he had his first shop at when they first visited these sectors.
The Seeker cleared the Gate and its traffic as it pulled up out of scanner range of the smaller ships and stopped as Gabe give the order to launch.
The two ships took off and started their search and within minutes were deep within the sectors outer fringes out of scanner range. Gabe watched the monitor as the two ships relayed a live feed back to the Seeker as they searched there areas.
Each had found a missile and pieces of worthless fragments of destroyed ships long gone and forgot about drifting so far out they my never be seen again until someone else decides to search the system.
A crate here and there with no real big finds but enough to make it worth there while. Gabe docked the Seeker at the Equipment Dock and sold the missiles and two units of sun oil to a docked freighter pilot.
Gabe paid to dock the ship over night so they could rest up for the next sector without having to worry about watching there backs in open space.
The Seeker had been docked for about a hour and they were about to turn in when Gabe receved a message from someone onbard the station. “I need to speek with you Mr. Lander. Your friendly Clerk from the Shipyard in Argon Prime.”
Gabe showed Simon the message. “Gabe just don’t answer back and pretend you never got it.”
[Gabe] “I don’t think I should do that I need to see what he wants.”
[Simon] “Whatever it is it’s not going to be good you can bet on that.”
Gabe looked at the com and picked it up. “Connect the call Bit. What do you want? I‘m kind of busy and about to leave this sector. ”
[Clerk] “Now don’t leave because of me. Use that night of docking you paid for and rest. Just here me out if you don’t want to help me out I’ll find another way to do what I want but I’ll make it worth your while just listen to what I have to say that’s all I ask.”
[Simon] “Don’t listen to him Gabe just say no and then well just jump away.”
[Gabe] “And go where and then wonder when he’ll show up again? No I’m going to here him out and I want you to come along with me to set in and watch my back.”
Gabe opened the com again. “Where do you want to meet?”
[Clerk] “In the Pilots lounge just inside the Station I’m in disguise as a Freighter Pilot I’m wearing a brown jumper with Argon Foods on it. I’ll be looking for you.”
[Gabe] “I’m bringing a friend.”
[Clerk] “Just as long as it Simon and not your crewman Luke.”
[Simon] “Darn Gabe I tould you not to answer he’s been watching us.”
[Gabe] “All the more reason to hear him out. Are you going to be allright?”
[Simon] “Yes!”
[Gabe] “Then get your stunner and come on.”
The two put there stunners and flight jackets on and took off for the lounge.
As soonas they hit the door of the lounge and walked in looking around they seen a man waving his arms standing up saying. “Come on and set with me I haven’t seen you two in a while.”
Disguise was a under statement as the went over and set down he didn’t look anything like the man they seen at the Shipyard. “Hi boys glade to see you made it.”
He put his PDA down on the table under his hand and tapped it with his finger at it as he pushed it over to Gabe slipping it under his arm. Gabe laid his hand over the PDA and acted like he was pulling it out of his pocket. He started making small talk to Gabe and Simon while they read the PDA.
He wanted Gabe to pick up a Buzzard in the south section of the next sector and let them have the data box out of it. Gabe was going to get to keep the Buzzard and a new data recorder. If he don’t help the Clerk he would have to get the ship out ahead of them somehow and they get nothing from him. And the Clerk is with the Argon Secret Service and Gabe was involved more than he thought.
Gabe handed the PDA off to him as he shook his hand. “And how are we involved?”
[Clerk] “That pretty little Girl you gave a ride to that called you a hopper shes a friend of mine and that Split you saved from the Pirate. You know that’s when you got the ship Pops using he’s a friend. It’s really amazing how much I’ve seen you in my business lately I was woundering about who you was myself for a while. I need your help with this will you do it.”
[Gabe] “Only if you give your word no one gets hurt in any way because of it.”
[Clerk] “It’s only data the Split asked the Argon to help because a lot of traffic from a known Clan Base in Nathans Voyage have been making runs deep out into space in that area looking at a asteroid for some reason. Dock the ship at the Shipyard and call this Split on the Stations com he’ll take care of the rest.”
He handed Gabe a paper with the Splits name on it as he shook his hand and left.
Gabe and Simon left the lounge and returned to the ship and set down at the table to talk.
[Simon] “What do you want to do?”
[Gabe] “Get the ship and dock it at the Shipyard like he asked and call the Split.”
[Simon] “And what if they throw us in a cell and we’re never seen again?”
[Gabe] “I’ll dock and do it after we search the sector. You take Luke and come back to the Equipment Dock here in Teladi Space and sell what you found and wait on me to show up. If I don’t call Snake and tell him everything then find Pop and keep him safe and never go in Split space again.”
[Simon] “When do you want to leave?”
[Gabe] “Lets try and rest a few hours and head out early.”
Try and rest was the only thing Gabe did as he laid in his bed until the buzzer sounded for him to wake up.
Grabbing a cub of coffee and a breakfast bar was all Gabe wanted as he got the ship ready to leave.
Simon come dragging into the cockpit with a cup of coffee. “When do you want to wake Luke up?”
[Gabe] “Wait till we clear the dock then get him up. You know I want you to fly the southern half of the sector. Keep a eye on the HUD for Pirates and stay clear if you see any. But if you can scan the asteroid and see what’s so interesting about it and don’t take no chances with anything out there.”
The Seeker was headed for the Gate when Luke came in. “Good morning Captain I thought I felt the ship moving did I over sleep?”
[Gabe] “No we were just up and wanted to get headed that way and check in with the Split and get set up and ready. You got a hour or more before we need you if you got something you want to do.”
Luke left the cockpit and went back to his room with a cup of coffee.
The Seeker eased into Split Space and was scanned by Security. “Scan show ship all clean you move on now.”
Gabe hailed the officer. “This is Gabriel Lander with Deep Six we want to look around your sector for discarded freight.” The com went silent for several minutes until the offier replied. “Split say you can search sector.”
Gabe set course for the staging area to lanch the ships and hailed Luke telling him to get ready.
This sector had asteroids scattered around the core so the first part was going to take a little longer till they reached the outer sections and open space.
Gabe stopped the Seeker and wished Simon and Luke good luck as they transported down to the ships and took off. The first part of the search was slow going for the ships as they dodged the asteroids making there way out a little at a time as they weaved in and out keeping the search close so they wouldn’t overlook anything. The two were moving on out when Simon spotted the Buzzard an called Gabe. “I found a abandon Buzzard it’s in good shape.”
Gabe opened the com. “Claim it and I take it for there then finish your search.”
A minute went by then the Buzzard turned green showing it belonged to Gabe as Simon moved away and restarted the search. Not even a hour into the search and the ship was already found.
Deep Six Chapter 8
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