by AZ Kelvin
“You got it, Cap,” Cal answered.
“Aye, sir.” Katy’s tone was cool but agreeable.
“Cal, hang on,” Cat spoke up. “Captain, I’d like to run some tests on Mr. Stile here, before we do anything else, with your permission.”
“Is there a concern?” CJ asked.
“I just want to rule out anything viral before we start turning up the heat.”
“Right, good thinking, Doc. What do you need?”
“I need the full forensic kit from the Altered Moon.” She smiled as she said it.
“You want to go back for it?” CJ asked, but she pointedly shook her head. “No, right, we shouldn’t even board Moonshadow until we’re cleared, eh?” This time, she nodded her head. “Okay. Gina, do you copy?”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Will you load five O2 refill packs and a power cell into the airlock? I’m sending Katy and Cal to pick them up. And we need the forensic kit from the Moon, after that, if you would be so kind.”
“Copy that, wilco. Any problems?”
“No, the doc just wants to make sure we don’t catch this dead guy’s cold before we come back home.”
“Eww, what is it with you and space corpses?” Gina teased him.
“Hey, you were the one who shot the last dead guy in the head, so…”
“That was before I knew he was dead. Besides, he shouldn’t have snuck up on me like that, anyway. All right, send the kids over and I’ll have the goods ready.”
“Roger that. Okay, you two, head out.”
Cal and Katy both nodded and headed down the dark corridor to bring back the equipment they needed.
“Extra O2?” Boss inquired.
“Eh, just in case. I’d rather take back extra than get stuck without enough.” He thought about the picture frame he was going to look at earlier. He moved back to the desk and pointed his light at the frame.
The light activated the slideshow of family pictures that were on the microdrive inside the frame. A series of images portrayed a man, woman, and child in various settings and activities. Other people were in them, too, scattered throughout the two hundred or so pictures.
What happened to his family? CJ wondered to himself. Did they know what happened to him? “Boss, start running video, catalog everything.” CJ thought through his plan. “Get as much information on the two ships as you can, especially the ship ID and registration numbers. We’ll have to see if there’s any salvage claim on them. If there’s not, we’ll need the video to document a new claim. Once we have things settled here, I’ll have Cal run a preflight check to see if there’s any hope of getting them out of here on their own power.”
“You got it.” Boss activated the recorder on the side of his helmet and panned the room. “This is Bernard Keltzer, coming to you LIVE from the spooky smuggler base in the beautiful downtown ass end of space! We have with us today two celebrities.” He slowly panned across CJ and Cat as he continued his narrative. “Yes! We have two heroes of the infamous Kang beatdown of Galactic Year Five-Eighty-Nine”—both Cat and CJ waved for the camera—“the lovely Doctor Zhu Katsu and the dashing Captain Crucible Johannson Evermore.” CJ scowled at his friend and stopped waving. “Oops. Did I say that out loud?”
“And got it on video,” Cat pointed out.
“Oh, blast it! Sorry about that, mate!” Boss said with sarcasm. “You know what? I should go video those ships right now.”
“Good idea,” CJ said.
“Off I go into the wild black corridooor…” Boss sang out, as he half pushed-half floated out into the corridor.
“A real solid crew you got here, Captain,” Zhu teased him, but included herself as well.
“A bunch of friggin’ lunatics.” CJ laughed at his crew’s behavior. “But, where else could I fit right in?”
“Captain, this is Moonshadow,” Gina called over the comms.
“Go ahead Moonshadow.”
“Your goodies are on the way and I’m off to pick up the forensic kit unless you need something else.”
“Nope, thanks, G, we’re good.”
“All right, well, you kids play nice and keep the door locked until I get home.”
“Okay, Mom!” CJ answered in kind.
Cal and Katy showed up with the first load of equipment from the shuttle.
“Here’s the power cell and we brought a cadaver bag, as well,” Katy said.
“Oh, excellent, thanks,” Cat said, as she took the body bag from Cal.
“What do you want us to do?” Katy asked CJ.
“Get everything hooked up, but don’t turn anything on until Cat gives the go-ahead. Power up only the main computer first, and then bring up secondary systems after running a full security scan.”
“Aye, sir.” She and Cal got busy with opening the power supply access panels to hook up the power cell.
“Captain, will you give me a hand with Mr. Stile?” Cat asked as she held up the body bag.
“Yup. What do you need me to do?”
“First thing is a bioscan, and then we can do the forensic analysis. I can run the scanner over the remains, and then you can load what we’ve scanned into the cadaver pouch. All I need is a small sample of both bone and tissue left out to run the analysis.”
“Understood.” He and Cat scanned the remains and loaded them into the bag. Cat got her samples and ran them through the analysis process as CJ secured the body bag to Fulson’s bed. The two of them finished with the analysis about the same time as Katy and Cal had the power cell hooked in and ready to turn on.
Boss came floating into the room with the forensic kit in tow behind him. “One forensic kit for Doctor Katsu.”
“Wow, that hour went by fast.” Cat checked her chrono. She took the kit from Boss and opened the sides flat then stood up a small display screen from the center of the rear panel. She put the samples into the input port and initiated the forensic scan. The machine ran for a few minutes and began to display the results of the scan.
“Analysis is coming up now,” Cat reported. “No biological contaminants, no toxins or poisons. Medical scan shows signs of a significant hemorrhage in the midbrain, even after all this time. Most likely cause of Mr. Stile’s death was a brain aneurysm.”
“Kind of young for an aneurysm, wasn’t he?” Boss asked.
“Brain aneurysms don’t really follow an age criteria,” Cat said. “We’re clear to power up, Captain.”
“Very good. Okay, Chief, she’s all yours, but leave the gravity plating deactivated for now.”
“Roger that.” Katy switched over the supply and turned on the power cell. The power systems began to initiate one by one as the main power came back online. She ran a security scan of the entire system as soon as the main computer finalized the startup procedure. Green lights showed across the status board, indicating all systems were operational. “Primary systems are green across the board, Captain.”
“Good, bring up the secondary systems and check life support.”
Katy restarted the secondary systems and ran a performance check on the environmental systems. “All life-support systems are operational and standing by.”
“Very well, check seal integrity.”
“Hatches are secure and sealed,” Katy reported after checking the status panel.
“Roger, stand by. Attention everyone, we are bringing all systems to full power. Go, Chief.”
“Powering up now.” Katy switched all breakers to the closed position which channeled power to all systems.
A series of beeps went off as the air pressure, heating, and circulation systems came to life. The pressure sensors flashed green three times then went green continuously indicating the habitat was holding air. Indicator panels and room lighting flickered on as the power reactivated all systems and equipment throughout the small base. Display screens lined in front of the desk blinked as they powered up. Several were status screens showing the various levels of the base’s operations. One display showed multiple b
oxes with different information and some odd-looking images.
“Pressure and O2 are at normal levels,” Katy said. “Temperature is up to negative twenty degrees Celsius. It’s going to be chilly in here for a little while as things defrost.”
“Well, here goes nothing.” CJ deactivated his EV suit’s O2 supply and cracked open his helmet seal. He inhaled slowly and then sniffed a couple of times; his breath came out in steamy puffs. “Yep, you’re right. It’s cold. It smells like freezer burn in here. Okay, you three start checking out the side rooms. Anything worthwhile goes to the airlock for transfer. Be thorough, but be quick. It’s past my dinnertime. Let’s get moving. I’ll start with the logs.”
“Roger that,” Boss said and began to float toward the side rooms. “Cal, see what you can do with the doors.”
“I’m on it.”
CJ sat down at the desk after he brushed the imagined dead guy cooties off the chair. He had the station logs open in a matter of seconds. The logs of ‘Stile’s Hideaway’ included ship maintenance logs, cargo manifests, container locations, security files, documents, and charts, among other things. He poked the screen icon for each of the files in turn, which were loaded with descriptions, possible locations, and other miscellaneous facts on dozens of different secret places, lost artifacts, hidden caches, and missing items of great value. It was a treasure trove of treasure-hunting information.
“Ohhhh yeah—jackpot!”
*~*~*
Chapter Eight
CJ was stunned at the amount of information in Fulson Stile’s treasure-hunting data files. There were dozens of different files, each one a different item. Some looked absolutely absurd while others appeared to be legitimate lost treasures. Even if half of what was here led to anything of value, CJ and the crew had enough information to keep them busy for five years searching for relics.
“GABI, do you read?”
“Affirmative, Captain, go ahead.”
“Link up with the station’s central computer. Download everything and start an analysis on the data.”
“Aye, sir. Any specific parameters?”
“Yeah, run the tomb raider filter and process that information separately. And, see if you can track down locations of any living family the guy might have.”
“Understood.”
CJ checked Fulson’s personal logs and his datpad entries for anything that might be important. Most were the typical notes from the everyday life of a working-class freighter captain. Schedules, contacts, locations, and deadlines were listed, but most were crossed out. The data CJ went over indicating most of the accounts had been closed or lost. Several delinquent payment notices were listed there too, with deadline dates that expired more than eighty-five years ago. Fulson had run Stile Freight Lines into the ground, then into debt, and eventually into ruin.
The most recent message was from his wife, Rose. She begged Fulson to end his obsession with treasure hunting and to come home. She and their son, Leland, were in trouble and they needed him now more than ever. No reply was shown and there was no outgoing message either. Fulson had probably died before he could respond. CJ felt sorry for the man having died knowing his family was in trouble. All of a sudden, the small domicile seemed very much like a tomb instead of a home. Artifact recovery from ancient tombs had been, by far, the majority of their jobs in the last two years. I guess this job isn’t that much different after all, except he’s the youngest guy we’ve found in a while. He smirked at the thought.
“Captain, the analysis is complete,” GABI said over the comms.
“Very good, go ahead.”
“The complete analysis would be quite lengthy, Captain. One thing stands out, though, there is another way out. The base schematics show a corridor hidden under the floor of the main chamber that leads to an outer door and open space beyond.”
“Fantastic! Did you hear that, G?”
“Loud and clear, sir.” Gina sounded happy. “Not that I was worried about getting out. Just wanted to, you know, avoid scratching the ship, is all.”
“Hey, is that a stab at me?” CJ feigned innocence. “I am so hurt by that.”
“You definitely keep me busy,” Katy piped in. “Plasma burns, missile damage…”
“I wouldn’t want you to get bored. GABI, save me here. Tell me where the controls are.”
“It is RF signal controlled also. The pass codes are listed in the security protocols. Shall I transmit?”
“No, hold on a sec. Boss, what’s your waldo?”
“We’re in the room closest to the airlock.”
“Nobody’s outside then?”
“Negative on that. Got eyes on everybody.”
“Copy. Gina, I want you to get out of the chamber and stand by for recon.”
“Roger that, Captain, moving now.”
“GABI, close the outer door to the habitat first, and then open the floor door.”
“Understood, proceeding.”
“Hmm—Floor door,” Boss said thoughtfully. “That sounds evil to me for some reason. Beware the darkness of floooor doooor.” The others just looked at him. “What? You guys need to lighten up.”
CJ shook his head and turned back to the video feeds on the operations console to watch what was going on in the outer chamber. “This guy didn’t skimp on the cameras. You can see every meter of the chamber.”
The others returned from their inspection of the rooms in the corridor just in time to watch the outer wall-slash-door of the landing bay close and lock itself off. The space of a couple breaths went by before two massive slabs sank down into the cavern floor then separated and slid sideways to open the way out. The exit corridor’s lights came on as the doors opened. Thin beams of light streamed out as the slabs parted and then widened to illuminate most of the chamber. Another pressure door stood at the far end of the corridor, which led out to open space. Other video feeds came up as the main power of the corridor activated the secondary systems.
“Mr. Stile was a pretty smart guy,” CJ said.
“If it was he who built the chamber,” Katy added.
“Right, he could have been a squatter,” CJ said.
“We could use it as a hideaway of our own,” Cal suggested.
“It does have a two-car garage.” Boss smiled.
“Yeah, but the driveway’s a bitch!” CJ said, referring to the way they’d entered, which got a laugh out of their star pilot.
“This place would be too expensive to maintain, anyway, Cal,” Boss said. “It’s no wonder it sucked his accounts dry without the income of the freight business. It’s an extravagant hideout for a mediocre smuggler.”
“If I ever choose to stay put anywhere, it would be in a better place than this,” CJ said. “Okay, GABI, let’s take a look outside.”
“Aye, sir.” She transmitted the second sequence. The outer door moved up into the corridor and slid away in the same way that the inner door had. Even on the monitors, the starfield was a welcome sight after they’d been inside the planetoid for almost a week now.
“That’s more like it,” Boss said. “I like a few stars in my sky.”
“You can say that again!” Cat said. “I like a whoooole lot of stars in my sky, my friend.” She gave Boss’ shoulder a couple of pats causing him to drift away a little. “Oops, sorry.” She reached out to pull him back over.
“Always pushing me around,” Boss teased the normally stoic doctor.
“Blast! It’s still not big enough to get the Altered Moon up in here, though.” CJ poked the ship-to-ship comms icon. “Gina, once around the planetoid for a recon, if you would please. Then come back and pick us up. We’ll call it a day.”
“Roger that. I’m gone!”
Everyone watched as Moonshadow reentered the chamber and did a triple-axis spin and three-quarters, then dove nose first down the corridor in a graceful spiral and out into open space.
“Showoff,” Cal said to Gina over the comms.
“Jealous,” she answered back.
>
“Oh yeah?” was all Cal could come up with.
“Yup,” Gina finished him off.
“Now, now, kids,” Cat said.
Gina flew around the small planetoid and scanned short and long range for any contacts.
“The skies are clear, Captain.”
“Very good, return to base.”
“Roger that, Moonshadow is RTB.”
The O2 level alert on Katy’s EV suit went off just then, indicating her supply had dropped to twenty percent of full.
“Perfect timing,” CJ said as it went off. “Okay everybody it’s nineteen-forty-nine hours. Secure what you’re doing and move to the airlock.”
“What about the power cell?” Katy asked.
“Leave it hooked up but shut it down overnight. We’ll come back tomorrow and pick the bones. Ya know, the complete schematics of the place are downloaded.” CJ wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“I know, and you know what a good tech manual does to me.” Katy came over and gave him a hug through their EV suits. CJ’s stomach grumbled loudly. “Sounds like we should get some chow first, eh?”
“Good thinking, Chief, on both counts,” CJ said as he returned her hug.
“You two do know the comms are open, yes?” Boss asked.
“Oops,” Katy said.
“Inner airlock door is open, Cap,” Cal said from down the corridor.
“Copy that. Okay, Chief, put her to bed.”
Katy switched the power cell to standby mode and the power throughout Stile’s Hideaway began to flicker and then dimmed to total blackness once again. Katy and CJ joined the others in the airlock before Cal shut the inner door and locked the pressure bolts into place.
“Everybody sealed up and ready?” CJ asked, as he visually checked all their helmets were sealed and lit. He got the affirmative from everyone. “Okay, Cat.”
Cat pumped the door control lever to release the door locks as Cal stood ready to pull the door open when she was done. The party stepped out into the landing bay when it suddenly hit CJ.