Outcasts of Gideon

The First Lowering : Part 2

Lieutenant Ulkos reviewed the other ships in the queue. Several were cargo vessels. One was a research ship. Two others were corporate charters. There were eight private vessels in total. The cargo vessels would not likely have stasis pods. That's what he needed, a way for him to get through the empty. His genetics wouldn't allow it otherwise.

The research vessel might have the right facilities. Unfortunately, they tended to strictly follow protocol. Private ships were likely to be too small, though two of these might be large enough. The corporate vessels were the most promising. Both of them would still be in the queue when he reached Titan. That gave him a few potential options.

He started by contacting both private ships. He presented himself in an official capacity. Rather than revealing too much about the mission, he focused on ship capabilities. Neither of these vessels had what he needed.

The first corporate ship he contacted – The Faustus – did have a stasis chamber. Two, in fact. He checked with the last vessel just to be certain. It had a single pod that would serve.

He'd made these calls under thrust. That was intentional. Lacking official sanction, he hoped to convey a sense of urgency. He wanted to avoid having them contact the Patrol, so he made no requests for passage. When he was close enough to dock, he would demand they accommodate him.

Of the two corporate ships, the Faustus seemed his best bet. The vessel belonged to an outfit named Euphemia. It was a satellite manufacturer out of Mars. One of the company's larger Saturn clients was the Patrol. That would be useful. He didn't see anything else that might serve as leverage.

As for urgency, he would play the dangerous pursuit card. That and a well time arrival might be enough to keep them from checking on his story.

It was hardly the first time he'd used his position to bend the rules. When he'd plotted like this in the past, it was to advance the goals of the Patrol. This time, he focused on his own goals. They weren't as easy to justify, but he cared less about that at this point.

He would regret doing this. It was one source of the anxiety. Bending or breaking the rules, not being prepared, these were the things eating away at him. As far as he was concerned, what he was doing was right. He would just have to learn to live with it.

He tried to extend his braking burn to start his run back to Titan. It didn't work. The strain on his body was too much. He needed some rest. After that, he triggered another hard burn. Time was slipping away.

Better than an hour later, he was able to slow himself again. The system queue had shortened, though the Faustus was still there. It had moved up to third in line. That meant it might leave as early as an hour. He slowed his ship even more, looking to time his arrival just right.

With the Faustus next in line, he eased the FBXL7 along side it. He registered a transmission through his comm and waited for a response. The communications officer of the vessel accepted his call. She appeared before him in hologram form.

"Faustus, this is Lieutenant Ulkos of the Saturn Patrol."

"Lieutenant, this is Alexa Demberel, communications officer. How can we help you this time?"

"Miss Demberel, I have been authorized to get passage through the empty. That means I will need to commandeer one of your stasis chambers. I've come alongside your ship and am prepared to board."

"Lieutenant, this is highly irregular. I will have to..."

"I understand that, Miss Demberel. I hope you can appreciate the urgency of the situation. A ship just crossed to the other side of the bubble with a violent felon."

"Lieutenant, I can't authorize anything. I will have to speak with the Captain."

"Do what you must. Please explain to your Captain that not complying may result in further delay."

"Yes sir, I will." Miss Demberel cut the video feed.

He expected the ship's captain to ask for confirmation from the Patrol. If he'd timed it right, they would decide they couldn't accept any further delay.

Within minutes, a message came through his comm. It authorized him to link up with the Faustus. It came from the vessel's commander, a Captain Burglind.

He fired thrusters to pull alongside the large vessel. He maneuvered beside it and extended his docking bridge. The entire operation took him less than five minutes.

Before he left the FBXLS7, he programmed in a course back to Huygens. He would trigger it as soon as he was aboard the Faustus. The Patrol would be monitoring him. If his ship returned to dock, they might be thrown off of his activities.

He triggered the atmosphere to fill the bridge. Before it completed, he cycled the hatch. A rush of air propelled him into the bridge. He grabbed the nearest handles and pushed himself along to the Faustus's airlock. Cycling it, the hatch opened to reveal the ship's communications officer. Before she could greet him, he activated his comm, instructing the FBXL7 to begin its return.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, Miss Demberel. Can you please direct me to the stasis pod? I don't want to delay you any further."

"Certainly. Just follow me."