��Sea Stories & Curiosa��

The Leghk Sector
Folia-4
ISS The Moor of Venice

Grix rode the lift down to the lowest deck in the port nacelle wing. He was hunting down the source of another pressure failure light on the engineering readout. When the lift squeaked to a halt, Grix stepped onto the metal deck and turned toward the small gray hatch labeled �Gear 2P.� He popped the hatch and climbed into the small bay that held the hydraulic machinery and pressure seals of the starboard rear landing gear.

The stark fluorescent lights blinked to life and Grix immediately saw the problem. The repair access panel wasn�t battened. In fact, it was wide open. He set his tool case down and stepped through a tangle of conduit wires to fix the problem. I took just a moment to restore the seal�s integrity.

The voice came from the hatch to the gear bay. �Grix, if you move, I�ll bore a hole right through you.� Grix froze.

�Vern?�

�Yeah. Now back up. Leave the tools and come out into the passage way,� said Vern. Grix complied, working his plated insectoid body back through the mesh of conduit wiring and into the passage. He turned to see Vern, who was wielding a loaded reverb carbine.

�Now listen. We�re going to go up to the bridge and you�re going to key me into the navigation console, and we�re going to fly away from here,� said Vern.

�What are you doing?� asked Grix.

�I,� said Vern, gesturing toward the lift, �am making a huge sum of money. Now shut up.� Vern keyed his communicator and spoke into it. �Do you have Biss?� A reply came over the net. �Good. Take care of her. Let�s keep this tidy.�

The Leghk Sector
Folia-4
Planetside

The terrain vehicle ground through the sand-laden maelstrom, slowly making its way back to the ship.

�It�s not interference,� said Arella, reading the communications summary in the cramped quarters of the terrain vehicle cockpit. �We�re ranging the ship, but nobody�s grabbing the signal.�

�Ux, can you halt us for a minute?� said Hal. Ux pulled back on the collective. Hal reached over the control panel and flipped a switch. The metal screen shutter rolled up over the exterior of the windshield, revealing the churning sand and through it, the silhouette of a star ship.

�See the ship?� said Hal. Arella squinted.

�I see the outline,� she said. Something was missing. �Where are the perimeter lights?�

�Somebody turned them off,� said Hal, leaning toward the windshield.

�Who?� said Arella.

�Don�t know. But this job has a payout in the high six figures,� said Hal. �More if you�re smart, and everybody has a price.�

�Wait,� said Ux. �I�m going to try to open the cargo bay ramp by remote.� He worked his control panel briefly. They waited for the belly of the ship to open up to reveal the bright light of the bay.

�Nothing,� said Arella. She thought for a minute. �Okay, so somebody doesn�t want us on the ship. That means somebody has the map key, doesn�t it?�

�Safe bet,� said Hal. �Can you guess their next move?�

�No way,� said Arella. �They�re not going to maroon us here. Ux, see if you can�t park this beast right beneath the starboard kick thrusters.� Ux shifted the engines back into low gear and leaned into the collective. In a few moments, the terrain vehicle was tucked in just beneath the downward facing thrusters that did the grunt work of picking the ship up off the ground before main engines could safely engage.

�They try to take off, they turn us all into embers,� said Arella. She donned her oxygen assist mask and picked up her carbine. �So,� she said, turning to Hal, �how are we going to get aboard?� Hal thought for a minute. It was obvious, really.

�Same way Vern did.�

The Leghk Sector
Folia-4
ISS The Moor of Venice

Vern was furious. �Well get out there and move the damned terrain vehicle,� he screamed into his communications link. �And kill all three of them. They can�t be far.� He slammed his fist into the bridge science console. There was no response. He looked back at Grix, who was sitting at the navigation console.

�Now key me into the damned system, you putrid bug,� said Vern. He studied Grix for a minute. �Key me in or I�ll torture you for an eon before I kill you.� Grix looked back at him with glossy, lifeless eyes.

�They won�t let you kill me,� said Grix, gesturing to Vern�s communications link. �They know each part of this equation, and I�m one of the pieces that has to stay alive, at least for a while. I don�t think they see you the same way.�

�Don�t play with me,� said Vern, a smug grin on his face. �They can�t kill me. I�m the only one that knows how to pilot this tub. I get us out of here with this key,� he said, patting his hip pocket, �and all of us are rich.�

�What makes you think they want the key or the money, Vern?� Grix watched Vern�s emotions flash back and forth between bravado and a dawning fear. Vern wiped a film of sweat from his pale face then pointed his carbine at Grix.

�Get up,� said Vern. �Get up. We�re moving.� Grix sat at his console, staring straight ahead at the bridge view screen. Vern was shaking, his eyes growing wider. �I�ll blow you away, you roach. I�ll do it.� Grix didn�t move.

�Damn it,� said Vern, clenching his fists. He was speaking quietly, now. He backed toward the hatch at the rear of the bridge. �I�ll be back for you. Stay here,� he said, looking over his shoulder. The hatch slid open and Vern slipped into the main corridor, leaving Grix alone on the bridge.

The Leghk Sector
Folia-4
ISS The Moor of Venice

�Had to have been Vern,� said Hal. He had climbed his way up the landing gear and into the cramped outer gear well, which was caked in sand. He was trying to force the seal and break into the ship. �Remember how he jumped to come back here when Grix told us the seal was compromised?� Hal grunted as he pushed his shoulder into the hatch. �I bet he broke it in the first place. I bet that little worm slithered right through here and went for the map key.�

�But why aren�t Grix and Biss stopping him?� said Arella, bracing herself against the wind at the base of the landing gear. �I can�t believe either of them are in league with him.�

�No,� said Ux. He was standing, weapon ready, between the landing gear and the cargo bay ramp. �So who�s helping him?�

Hal and Arella both looked at him.

�Help?� said Arella.

�Well, it stands to reason he�s got some,� said the Veloxi flight engineer.

�Whoever it is, they did a nice job putting a batten to this pressure seal,� said Hal, his voice crackling through over the net. �I can�t budge it.�

�Can we blast through it?� said Arella, looking up into the well where Hal was working the pressure hatch.

�Not with these carbines,� said Ux. �Not enough power.�

Without warning, a loud metallic grumbling came from the direction of the bow. It was the sound of the cargo bay�s loading ramp as it lowered down into the barren soil. The bright light from the ship�s interior bled into the swirling sand under the ship�s belly.

�Giddyup,� said Ux.

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