Published: 28 Mar 2019

Flashback

I came to, lying face down on the steel decking. I could feel the bitter cold that had penetrated my clothes and felt as though it had seeped all the way down into my bones. I could also feel the sticky wet from the pool of my own blood surrounding my face and hand.

I could tell I was in bad shape and knew if I didn’t move now, I never would. Using all I had in me, I dragged myself to the edge of the control console and used it to pull myself upright. I could now see that the engine room was totally destroyed. I already knew that the habitat module and bridge were gone as well.

Looking myself over, I saw a six inch piece of steel sticking out of my upper chest on the right side. I had cuts and bruises all down both arms and there was a long ugly gash running down my leg. I knew if I didn’t get help quickly it would be the end for me. I tore off my shirt and used it to wrap my leg. Every movement made my right arm and chest sear like it was on fire. I wanted to scream but knew there was no one to hear anyway. Next I tried the computer.

“Chip! You still there?” I called, punching the comlink button on the panel. The com crackled, popped and fizzed several times and then stopped.

“HEY, CHIP! Come on! Talk to me!” I yelled, pushing the button again. Suddenly an image of Chip appeared beside me. It was weak and bathed with static.

“Da…” fizz, pop. “Dad, I ca…hear …ou.” The image winked out then back on again.”I’m try… clear up… tic. Hang… a min…” fizz, pop, click. It went out again. Several seconds later Chip popped back on. “I’ve rerout… most all … pow… eft. Ther… uch left. You lo… …ible. What shou… do now?”

“Is the emergency transmitter still working?” I asked.

“Jus… inute. I’ll ch…k.” Another several seconds went by. “Yes, it’s wor…ng but th… is’nt enough …er to …each very far.”

“You need to launch the distress beacon first. Then use everything that’s left to send out an S.O.S. You got that?”

“Yes, I’ll do it ri… …ay.”

Chip’s image disappeared and didn’t come back. Several seconds later I heard and felt the buoy launch containing the emergency beacon. I knew Chip was sending the message out when almost everything went dark and the air slowed to a crawl. I turned and started to drag myself towards the door. I needed to get to the med-kit stored in the hallway just outside. When I reached the door, it didn’t open. “Oh yeah, no power, dummy.” I chided myself. I tried to pry open the door but just didn’t have the strength. All at once the door was forced open and I fell forward, right into the arms of the medi-bot.

“How’d you get here?” I said.

“It wasn’t easy sir. I had to make my way along corridor 3B when 2A was blocked…”

“Oh shut up! I didn’t mean literally. I meant why, how. I didn’t summon you.”

“Chip sent me here sir. He said it was urgent.”

“Yeah, I guess it kinda is.” I said, motioning to my shoulder and the chunk of steel sticking out of it. “Can you fix this? Or at least stop the blood!”

“Yes sir. Right away.”

The medi-bot scooped me up and trundled back to the wreck that was left of the infirmary. On the way it must have injected me with something because everything started to waver and blur. I caught one quick look out a window as we passed. Oh goddess! Almost every cargo pod was either torn open or gone. There were things floating out there. Most likely whatever the pirates hadn’t thought worth taking.

As everything went black, all I could think was that all was lost. My cargo was gone. My ship was wrecked beyond repair. I was a mess and had little hope anyone would respond to my beacon in time to save my life. I passed out believing that was it for this space trader. I’d had a good run but the fates had finally caught up with me. With one last plea to the Goddess, I let go and left it in her hands. I awoke some time later. How much later I had no idea whatsoever. I found myself in a medi-bed(pod) but I was in a hospital, not my ship. I had no clue where I was, nor how I had gotten here. I tried to sit up and quickly decided that was not a good idea. Every inch of me screamed in pain.

I lay there, examining the room and taking inventory of my body. The first thing I was happy to find was that I had all my parts. My leg was bandaged and so were both arms in several places. The steel was gone out of my chest but it was a bit difficult to breathe. Carefully touching my chest and shoulder, I could tell I had at least two, maybe three broken ribs and a large set of stitches on my upper right chest. My right arm was bound across my abdomen so I couldn’t move it. My left arm was in a cast from the wrist to my elbow.

I must have gone back to sleep at some point. I was awakened by the nurse when she started checking my bandages.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Welcome back.”

“Where am I?’

“You’re at the Paladien Medical Center on Adelfi Nine.”

“How did I get here?”

“You were picked up out in the QS-II sector by a Grylor Destroyer doing their patrol.”

Somehow, I thought I had been in port before this. How did I get there?

“How long have I been here? What about my ship? When can I get a comlink?”

“Hey, hold on there. I’m just the nurse. Now that you’re awake the doctors will be in to talk to you. Oh yeah, and there’s an investigator who will want some of your time as well. I’m sure they’ll be able to answer all your questions. For now you need to rest, okay?”

I let it go and allowed myself to slip back into sleep. Later that morning the doctors came to see me. I was wrong, I had four broken ribs, my right lung had been partially collapsed, my left arm was broken in three places, the gash in my leg had taken them two hours to fix because of all the nerve and muscle damage and I had numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises.

The doctors told me I was lucky to even be alive. My medi-bot had been efficient, fortunately. It had stopped all the bleeding and started fluids. It had been smart enough to not remove the steel from my chest. That’s why my lung had only partially collapsed. The piece of steel had been plugging the hole.

My medi-bot had placed me in the hypersleep chamber which put everything into stasis. It had been almost a month by the time the destroyer had picked up my emergency beacon. It took them a week to reach Adelfi Nine and I had been unconscious for almost two weeks now. I’d be just fine physically but it was going to take time for everything to heal. I would be having regular treatments in a rehabilitation chamber to help the broken bones regrow and to help all the tissue damage that had been done. I would probably be here another couple of weeks and then need treatments weekly for another month.

Great! Just what I needed! Three months gone getting better and the Goddess only knows how long it would take to get myself back into business. I had no ship, very little money and a lot of unhappy clients to deal with.

On top of that, I was hounded by the investigator a couple times a week trying to recall all that had happened. I gave every detail I could remember. I also found out that the remains of my ship had been towed into orbit and parked. They had powered up and repaired the AI enough to download it’s core but that’s all.

When all was said and done, it boiled down to the fact that I had been attacked by pirates and they had gotten away with almost a million credits worth of cargo. The only good news was that my story and the AI’s records matched. Therefore, I was not held responsible for the loss. My clients would have to eat it themselves. The bad news though, was that none of them would do business with me any longer.

Over the next year on Adelfi Nine, I took a job in a junkyard. They helped me retrieve CHIP’s memory core from my ship and paid me enough in salvage for the ship that I was able to start putting together some deals.

One evening while at my favorite hangout, I got more lucky than any human has the right to be. I’d been playing cards with six other individuals. As the evening passed, the others dropped out one by one until it was just me and this Mellforian who had been claiming royal blood all evening.

I was getting tired and knew I should stop while I was ahead. I let the Mel talk me into one more hand though when it offered double or nothing stakes, I was already up by nearly 50,000 credits. Double that would give me the down payment I needed for a new ship. I just couldn’t resist.

When the cards were dealt, my heart felt like a stone dropped to the bottom of a well. I had a pair of fives, an ace and two crap cards. All I could do was bluff. I tossed the two crap cards and drew two jacks. Two pair wasn’t strong but maybe it would be enough. After three rounds the Mel was out of money. I held my breath and went all-in. There was almost 130,000 credits on the table now. I tightened my control and waited.

“Are you going to bet or not?” I asked after almost a full minute had passed.

“I ah… have money none more, unless to willing accept this you are.” It answered, producing a small rectangular box of about 6″ x 4″ x 2″. The Mel set it on the table and pushed it to me.I couldn’t believe my eyes and I dared not even touch the thing. There sat a small jewelry box made of Auldorian Crystal Weave. This Mellforian was either nuts or had no clue what this thing was worth. Suddenly, another thought crossed my mind. “What if it was hot?” If this thing was stolen property, I would get killed for it. It would explain why the Mel was willing to give it up so easily.

“Are you certain you want to bet with THAT?”

“Very I am. I having others am.”

“You have more of these?” I asked, astounded.

“At my palace are they being several. No less grand being it, this one.”

“You really are a prince then?”

“Affirmative. Being I Prince Tollgar, Mellfor of.”

“Okay, I accept. Let’s see your cards.”

“Oh, afraid I am being of having cards not good” it said, laying them on the table. The Mel had a pair of fives, a pair of jacks and a queen. My hand beat the Mel’s by only one card but it was fair and square. The Mel had been bluffing all along, just like me.

“I’m afraid you’re right there, my friend. I guess that’s game to me.”

“Oh, ah… bad this is for me. You play again me? Please? I am having great need of box!”

“I see. So it’s not such a small loss after all.”

“No! Parent mine angry very will be. Must have back!”

“Well I’m afraid it’s mine now. It’s really late and I’ve got work in the morning. I can’t stay any longer. Besides, you’re out of money. I think I’ll say goodnight.”

“NO!” the Mel cried. “Let you take, can not I! Ejected from home, will I be! Box worth much is being! Please! help you I! Please!”

It was a pitiful thing to watch. The Mel had tears streaming down it’s face and enough fear in its eyes to make a guy shiver. Maybe what he said was true after all. “Damn my soft heart!” I thought. I couldn’t bring myself to take the box and leave the Mel sitting there like that, even though it wasn’t my fault.

“Okay, Okay. Hold it down.” I said, sitting. “Listen, tell me what you’ve got you can trade for the box. If I like your offer we can talk.”

The Mel stopped blubbering and his face brightened. I could see the hope come back into its eyes.

“Having a ship I am. Show you it I will.” The Mel brought out a datapad and called up a holo image of the ship. It was huge but I could tell it was built for both space and atmospheric flight.

“Where’s this ship now?”

“Being here it is, at spaceport.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

“NOW?!”

“Yes! NOW! I’m not making any deal like this without seeing it first.”

“Oh, yes. Look we can then.”

The Mel sounded a bit discouraged but we went out to the spaceport anyway. The ship was there just as he had said. After a walk through and check of the AI and other systems, I started up the engines and did diagnostics. The ship was in rough shape but not so bad that it couldn’t be fixed. It would take work but I’d have a ship again.

“Okay, tell you what. If the ship passes an ownership check I’ll trade the box for it but I keep the money from our game as well. Will that work for you?”

I could see the relief in the Mel’s eyes and body as soon as I said this.

“Yes, yes, yes! Make trade will I, gladly. Ship pass it will, guarantee I wholey.”

I summoned a clerk from the Galactic Ship Registrar’s office there at the spaceport and after he did the title search and found it true and clear, he witnessed the exchange of ownership and gave me my new registry number. He told me I could add or change the name at my pleasure and left.

The Mellforian took the box and almost ran out of the ship and disappeared. It took me almost six months to get the ship readied for space, arrange cargo contracts, install CHIP and lift off. I cost me every penny of the 130,000 credits I had won as well. It was worth it though. I had a ship that was much bigger and better than my old Desolation. It had better shields and better weapons too. I put myself into a hypersleep chamber with new hope for a better future.

“Night Chip.” I said.

“Night Dad. See you in 8 months.”

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