Deep Six Chapter 12

[Ed Man]

Mr. One Hundred
Chapter 12 Deep Six

As the Crew left out Gabe wanted Susan to do the right thing and come clean but he knew it wasn’t going to happen as he waited till everyone was gone and transported Bob up.
Bob asked as soon as he got up. “How did it go?”
Gabe slowly answered. “Just like we planed. If Susan doe’s like you think she’ll be back in about two hours if she sells the freight and returns before getting the jump drive installed to make her move.”
[Bob] “It works out to her advantage to do that. She doesn’t need a jump drive on a ship she plans on selling anyway. I see you’re having doubts about our plan if she does what she’s suppose to do and tells about her partner waiting out there do you want to let her go? Do you really think she’ll pass up a chance to make millions on a plan she worked out?”
[Gabe] “No I guess not but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
[Bob] “Show me your ship we got a little time to spare and it beats setting here looking at each other.”

Bob knew Gabe was troubled and needed to get his mind off of what was going on even if it was just for a short time as Gabe showed Bob the ship.
But time went quickly as Bit opened the com. “Commander the RT has entered the sector and is headed for the Seeker and not the Goner Sector.”
[Gabe] “Thanks Bit we’re going to my cabin and keep Bob off the viewers and scanner of the RT. You was right Bob lets get ready.”
[Bob] “Don’t take any chances remember she’ll have the pin on her so don’t let her near you Gabe when she opens the door to your room shoot her with the stunner first clear shot. Then we’ll use the pin on her and we’ll get the real story.”

Bit was telling Gabe every move Susan made as she entered the sector and Bit said Gabe was in his bed sleeping. Susan docked the RT and went to her room opened a channel and signaled the Falcon took her coat off and headed for Gabe’s cabin with a stunner in her hand.
Susan opened the door to a dark room and never seen Gabe setting beside the bed holding the stunner as he shot her in the doorway dropping her to the floor.
Bob and Gabe but restraints on her and carried her to a empty storage compartment. Bob found the pin in her shirt pocket ready to use.
Susan knew when she seen Bob it was over with for her as she started trying to talk Gabe into letting her go all the way up till Bob gave her the shot she intended to use on Gabe.
Bob shut the door and walked away as she set in the chair tied down. “It will take about five minutes to get into her system good then we’ll get the truth out of her.”
Bob had started a list of questions to ask he knew what the answers were she would lie about if she could to make sure the drug was working.
Bob went into the room first as Susan squirmed in her chair gritted her teeth when she seen Bob. Gabe stepped in and closed the door behind him. Bob started the questions off as Susan told about the deceit, stilling and lives she had destroyed or killed that Bob knew about.
Susan asked. “Why are you asking about the things you know?”
[Bob] “To make sure the drug is working and so your boss will know what kind of person you really are!”
[Susan] “I’m a killer just like you Bob! Tell your nephew why they call you Mr. One Hundred Bob.”
[Bob] “Because I’ve killed over a hundred Xenon in one three month tour and because I’ve killed over a hundred Pirates that were trying to kill me or innocent people. I killed to protect you killed to cover up, still or just because you wanted to! No you’re not like Me! You’re just a killer.”
[Susan] “Tit for tat Bob they’re still just as dead.”
[Bob] “And you really think there’s no difference that is sad? Tell me about the boy you kidnapped from the Clan leader in Brennan’s Triumph. How did you kill him and what did you do with the body?”
Susan struggled around with that question knowing what Bob had planed for her as she snapped her head around and bit her tongue. “Stop it!” Bob yelled as he grabbed her head and stopped her.
[Bob] “Now tell what you did with the boy and his body!”
[Susan] “I took the boy are you happy! I took him and keep him till I seen it was getting to hot so we killed him and put his body in a crate and sent it into the sun in Danna’s Chance so he’d never be found.”
[Bob] “And your friend who was it you said we?”
[Susan] “You killed him or you wouldn’t be here now!”
[Bob] “You talking about your long time partner I killed in the Falcon?”
[Susan] “Yes you sorry ///////.”

[Bob] “I’m done do you want to ask her anything Gabe?”
[Gabe] “What were you going to do with me?”
[Susan] “That’s a stupid question! I was going to take everything you have and kill you.”
[Gabe] “And Donna what was she to you?”
[Susan] “A patsy if I needed one to frame. If not just another person to kill either way she was going to die.”
Gabe looked at Bob. “I want her to leave Donna a message saying she was involved in the deaths of her Mom and friends and she’s been found out and has to leave. Can you make her do that?”
[Bob] “You can do that can’t you Pretty Thing?”
[Susan] “Sure I can Bob! I can but a bullet in your head to if you want me to.”
[Bob] “No just the message and make it believable.” Bob held her PDA up to her face as she told the story just like she was told. Bob transferred it onto the ships computer files as a message for Donna.
[Susan] “What now Bob are we going to play nice for a while before you kill me?”
[Bob] “No you’re going off with a friend from Brennan’s Triumph you know the one. He want’s to talk to you about his Son you two can play nice.”
Susan went into a frenzy after that as Bob but a muzzle in her mouth to shut her up and keep her from biting her tongue off.
[Bob] “My friend in the Falcon is still out there waiting on me I’ll have him fly by and we’ll transport over while you’re asleep. Can you have the ship to make it look like it was just Susan?”
[Bit] “I can do that Commander.”
[Bob] “Come and see me at the Station I’ll be back in a day. Gabe you Grandfather did a real good job raising you, you’re a good man I know you Dad would have been proud I am. And don’t let this bother you she’s getting off easy the Man she‘s going to will just do to her what she did to his son a eye for a eye concept his clan lives by.”

Bob called his friend and moved Susan to the transporter with her things and was gone as he waved goodbye to Gabe.
[Gabe] “Bit have the drone to clean up the storage room.” Gabe watched as the Falcon jumped from the sector map.
[Gabe] “Bit secure the ship and take away Susan’s access to board or do anything on the ship or company and show she quit and left without a notice in the middle of a job without a reason and give her a bad reference and file it with the Argon employment records service.”
[Bit] “It’s on the way Commander what about the jump drive for the RT?”
[Gabe] “Send a message to Simon and have him return to the ship with Luke and pick up the RT on their way to the Goner Station and take it with them to get a jump drive. They should be about done.”
[Bit] “They are about to enter the sector Commander do you want to send it now or when they enter?”
[Gabe] “Just delay that order and tell them I’ll be jumping to the sector and I’ll see them at 0700.
Bit collect the satellite and jump to the Goner Sector and send the RT to station to get a jump drive and park the Seeker high and midway and drop the satellite. We‘ll search that sector next while I look for a new crewman to replace Susan and try and regroup.”
Gabe watched as the ships entered the sector and the message was sent and got a quick see you there back from Simon as Bit collected the satellite and jumped. The sector traffic was slow as the RT undocked and headed for the station while the Seeker headed for a high point in the center of the sector and dropped the satellite. Gabe looked at the HUD as the long range readings came in showing the system was clear of enemy ships just a few crates back behind the Gate. Gabe went to his room this time to get some rest he had been up way to long and a lot had happened as he locked the door to his room and laid the stunner on the nightstand by his bed. Gabe had always left his door unlocked when he slept but now it was locked and the security system armed. If anyone tried to get into his room to do him harm he’d know about it.
The whole ordeal with Susan made Gabe fill vulnerable and distrustful. Sleep wasn’t restful for Gabe as he tossed and turned until he fell asleep. The alarm went of and startled Gabe as he set up looking at the door reaching for his stunner.
Gabe took a deep breath and set the stunner down. “Bit is any of the crew onboard?”
[Bit] “Yes Commander all three crewmen and the ships are onboard. The Crew is in the galley waiting on you to come in and tell them what happened. Donna has seen the message Susan left and is very upset.”

Gabe went into his bathroom and washed his face off and looked in the mirror. He looked worn out with his red eyes and heavy look like he had been up for days instead just waking up.
Gabe went on into the galley to get it over with. Simon and Luke were setting on each side of Donna trying to comfort her as she set crying as the wounds of all she had lost were ripped open again. And to make it worse her best friend had just confessed to being involved in all of it only adding to her pain.

Gabe tried to explain the version he had decided to tell them and what was on the report choking every word out until the story was told. Susan was gone and Gabe didn’t know where and she had left in a Falcon. Although most of the story was true it was the parts in between that he wanted to tell them about. All of Susan’s deceit and her partner and how she had set them up and how close they all came to being killed. If Gabe had stayed onboard and not went to help Bob when he did they would all be dead now.

Gabe looked at his crew as they set there Donna unable to stop crying while Simon and Luke tried to keep their cool and comfort Donna while dealing with the fact Susan had deceive them too.
Gabe got a cup of coffee and set with them wishing he could help Donna as she started to calm down into a dull numb state just to cope with the agony of it all.
Gabe looked over at Donna as she tried to hold back the tears. “A lot has happened so if you three can just wait here and let me check on a few things and I’ll be right back.”
Gabe went to the control room and contacted the Goner Station and talked to them for a while and went back to the galley to talk to his crew. “Luke I need you to stay with the ship. Simon we’re going to hire a some help and we’re going to know more about them than their parents do. Donna I made you a appointment to see a grief counselor at the Goner Station. She will see you as soon as we get there and is going to spent the day with you. Then you can see her over the next four days twice a day. We’ll be staying here at least four days and search the sector. Then we’ll move on to a neighboring sector and you can pick your shift back up and use the Buzzard to make you appointments until you want to stop.”

Donna got up and hugged Gabe’s neck. “Thanks but when it’s time to work I want to carry my own weight around here.”
[Gabe] “You will this is just while we’re here in this sector and then it’s back to normal.”

While Donna spent her time with the counselor Gabe and Simon interviewed pilots and resurched there backgrounds to make sure they were who they said they were. The ones with to little a personal history they just passed over until they found several to interview. Gabe was going to hire at least three maybe four new Pilots so the ships could fly around the clock and Simon could take the second watch while Gabe slept.
The plan was to swap the pilots out and collect the freight with the Nova and its point to point jump drive every shift change. The search area was going to be increased to cover two full days or more in each sector then a day to sell the freight recovered and move on to the next sector.

After they got back to the ship Gabe checked on Bob who was back on the Trading Station in Treasure Chest. Gabe sent him a message asking if now was a good time to talk and got a instant reply saying yes.
Gabe had told Simon earlier in one of the many conversations at the station he had met his Uncle at the Equipment Dock in PTNI so when Gabe took off for a privet meeting with his Uncle nothing was thought of it as Simon wished him good luck. The RT was at the station in no time and the pub was close to the docks as Gabe seen his Uncle and set down at the bar next to him.
[Bob] “You made good time. Everything went well and that job is finished. My client was very grateful and sent this briefcase with a hundred thousand credits worth of tokens in it for you and has given you a good status with his clan. I told him you wasn’t interested in the bounty but he insisted you have it so there it is. He helped me with a problem I was having with one of the clans he still had connections with and paid me a nice reward after.
He has a Station in Split Fire and has offered you the chance to search the sector. They are trying to go legit with the Argon and Paranid. The Sector should be a goldmine for you Gabe it’s been a hotspot for as long as I can remember all the way back to when it was a Xenon Sector.”
[Gabe] “Do you trust him? It is a Pirate Sector!”
[Bob] “He has got a good status with the Argon now and has fought hard to get it so yes. I’d like to go there with you if you’ll let me come with you.”
[Gabe] “We’re in a sector right now and I’m hiring some more Pilots give me about four or five days and I’ll contact you and let you know if I’ll go there but I would like you to go with me sometime.”

Bob and Gabe talked a while until Bob motioned a man over that walked in looking for him. “That’s my next client I guess I need to go and follow him back to his station before he get mad and hires someone else. I’ll go with you when you’re ready for me just tell me where and when.”

After Gabe made it back to the Seeker and stored the tokens then went to talk to Simon before he turned in about the Pirate sector as a choice for the next sector to search. The two decided they needed some good fighter pilots before they went there so they knew what kind of pilots to hire.
The next day at the Goner Station after hours of personal interviews Gabe hired four pilots just out of the Navy. Ann a female fighter Pilot to room with Donna and Jack a male fighter pilot to bunk with Luke. The other two had a Navy pilots license but specialized in other departments. Steve had medical training and Mike was a ships engineer.

The new pilots were onboard and settled in and had got the grand tour. Two days were gone and Gabe wanted to start the search so he sent Luke and his roommate Jack out first. Donna was ready to pitch in and wanted to go the second run with her roommate Ann. And the third run was up to Mike and Steve with Simon in command and the next day would be a repeat. Eight hours shifts for the pilots searching the sector and 12 hours shifts for Gabe and Simon. Gabe was going to take Donna and Ann out and pick up Luke and Jack. Simon would pick up the girls and drop off Mike and Steve. The ships computers monitored the video feed with a recognition program to spot ships and freight off in the distance showing the pilot anything unknown. If it wasn’t a rock they were going to see it on a viewer and have to decide if it was worth checking out. Gabe explained how he had found a case full of credits just by chance and with this they could spot about everything and decide if it was worth picking up or not.

First shift was about over as Gabe took the girls out and picked up Luke and Jack along with the freight they picked up. Gabe looked at the light loads taken in from the first shift as he docked and unloaded the freight. If this sector followed the same pattern as the others the first run brought in about 40% of the freight found.
Luke wasn’t impressed with the hall but Jack was excited about everything he had found. The first run had brought in enough to meet operating expenses for the crew and ship for two weeks which was good but the last sector had brought in about a years worth of operating expenses and a Buster and the sector before that even more.
Gabe knew the sector was going to be lean on the freight but it gave the crew time to bond a little and learn the new procedures. But most of all it gave them a stronger and better equipped crew to handle any problems they may possibly run into. Donna was filling better and Gabe did see her smile a little at something funny she seen on a show the crew was watching on there down time.

The freight had been sold and they were ready to leave the sector so Gabe called the Trading Station and set up his last task for the crew to do before moving on. Gabe sent Bob a message and when he got a reply he called everyone into the galley. “I have rented each of you a flight simulator for four hours of fighter training in the Kestrel us it wisely and learn all you can! We have been offered a chance to search Split Fire and that’s our next stop. My other business enterprises have opened the door for me to sell and buy common idems from the Paranid and I plan on selling as much of the freight as I can to them to increase my standing with them so we can search there sectors as well so it will benefit us all in the long run.
My Uncle Bob has set this up for us and will be coming along with us with his Nova for added security and will be our guest and go-between for the locals if well need one. Any questions?”
Mike asked. “What if were attacked by some drunk or smoked up Pirate.”
[Gabe] “Try to avoid trouble if you can if not we have a right to defend ourselves but only fire if you’re being fired on! This is a salvage mission no a hunting party. The Station that invited us and his ships will show up green to us but it is still a Pirate sector so watch your backs. The Pirates do have a Kestrel version of our ships if you run into a real problem and need help I’ll jump in with the Nova but I would rather you jump away. We’ll keep solar cells onboard the ships for that reason. We’ll park the Seeker up above scanner range and after a hour into the first run the ships will be out of range from any normal traffic so anyone just passing through will never see us. Any more questions?”

Gabe looked at their faces as they looked back he could tell they were a little concerned but no one said anything.

[Ed Man]

Good luck with your computer collins50

[Mr. Reeves]

I've been silently following along and wanted to say i enjoy reading your novel as you write it.

[collins50]

Thanks ed