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Chapter One
Theo Knox, Sixth Officer of the CLC Lines Nebula Zephyr didn’t actually mind being the officer on duty in the wee hours of the night shift. Maeve, the Artificial Intelligence who was the Ship was incredibly efficient. Theo oversaw the operation of the bridge but especially when they were in hyperdrive on the way to their next destination, there was little for anyone to do. He sat in the captain’s chair since he was technically in command, watched the vidscreens for anything out of the ordinary, exchanged a few words from time to time with the pilot or the com officer and drank his nightly cup of genuine coffee from a battered mug.
He could indulge in the fantasy the ship was his, with all the responsibility instead of basically on loan for the duration of his assigned shift. Someday I’ll have my own command again. After the way his military career ended, he was grateful to be working on a new career. Sure it was hard to accept being in the junior position of sixth officer after having a command of his own in the Space Navy but he knew he was incredibly lucky to be getting a second chance with the CLC Line. Most of the ship’s officers and senior personnel were ex-military and understood the raw deal he’d gotten, no need to discuss it further. This assignment was considered to be a plum placement, serving on the line’s premiere ship under the most senior captain.
Theo had the utmost respect for Captain Fleming. When he first reported for duty aboard the Nebula Zephyr he and Fleming had had an extremely frank discussion of the incident which led to Theo resigning from the military and cleared the air between the two of them. Theo was a man in a hurry to make his mark and regain what he’d lost, even if now his ship would be a civilian cruise liner rather than a destroyer. But with five officers in line above him, the best he could hope for was that one of the others was given his own ship and transferred out. Interstellar cruises were an increasingly popular form of recreation in the Sectors and the CLC Line had the best reputation for luxury and more importantly, safety. The company had several new ships under construction.
No promises had been made to him when he’d been hired—and he thanked the Lords of Space yet again the CLC Line management were also former military and understood his circumstances. Most companies would have passed, despite Theo’s credentials, and he’d have been running a free trader out in the hinterlands.
A CLC crew wouldn’t abandon their passengers in an emergency the way the crew of the long-ago, ill-fated Nebula Dream had done in one of the greatest disasters in Sectors’ spaceflight history.
No, CLC was top of its class, with a sterling reputation. He couldn’t have hoped for a better place to rehabilitate his name and rise to the point where he’d be entrusted with a ship of his own again.
Drumming his fingers on the arm of the captain’s chair, Theo let his thoughts run along the same lines as they did most nights he was on duty.
The sound of alarms and an abrupt drop from hyperspeed brought him to his feet, astonished. He wondered if he was having a waking nightmare. “Ship, what’s going on?” he asked, going to stand beside the pilot and doing a rapid check of the sensors and indicators there.
“There is an uncharted object in our path,” Maeve said over the ship’s coms. “I’ve taken evasive action and cut the engines to avoid a collision.”
“Pirates maybe?” Theo asked. Piracy was a growing problem in the outer Sectors but hardly likely here where they were cruising. He debated waking up the chief of security. The Nebula Zephyr had a full complement of ex-Special Forces operators to keep them all safe and the ship herself had unknown secrets in her self-defense toolkit. Maeve was ex-military and even Theo knew she’d made extensive modifications to the basic cruise ship chassis to enable her to fight if necessary. He often wondered if the CLC Line management had any idea.
“Negative. The ship crossing our path is too small and there are no living sentients detectable on board.” Maeve was matter of fact in delivering her astonishing report.
“Report, Mr. Knox. Why have we stopped engines?” Captain Fleming was on the bridge, looking as wide awake and ready for action as always.
Theo pivoted to salute. Maeve would have given the captain a full rundown of the situation already but nevertheless he reported. “We’ve stopped to avoid running into another ship, sir.”
“I have the con.” Fleming slipped into his chair. “Put the other ship on the vids.”
Theo stood aside, a bit disgruntled at being displaced in his duties but it was after all Fleming’s ship, no matter who had the con at any given time. He understood better than anyone the captain had the ultimate responsibility for all the lives, the cargo and the ship herself. He stared at the vids as avidly as everyone else on the bridge and narrowed his eyes as he assessed the trim ship sailing along serenely at sublight speed. She’d blithely crossed their path and was going on her mysterious way, no hand at the controls if Maeve was to be believed.
“Is there an AI in charge? Can it be hailed?” Fleming asked.
“No response, sir,” the Comtech said. “I’ve tried all the standard frequencies. She’s not broadcasting a distress signal or any other chatter either.”
“The Mebsuta C,” Theo muttered as the view was enlarged in one screen and the name became visible.
“There doesn’t appear to be an AI capability on the ship,” Maeve reported. “This is an older design with rudimentary intelligence at best. Possibly three or four hundred years old. No record of a Mebsuta C in any database listing ship registrations in recent centuries. Of course there might not be if she was colony-built and based.”
“Which begs the question what she’d be doing all the way out here. Quite a mystery, eh Knox?” Fleming said. “Up for an exploratory run?”
“Sir?” Theo straightened and a flash of excitement ran through him.
“Take a boarding party and go check her out. Depending on what you find, I may declare her a prize and assign an officer and crew to bring her to our next destination as salvage. Pretty little gem like that should be worth quite a pile of credits, even if she is outdated. Of course the purse would have to be split with the CLC Line.”
Saluting, Theo was icy calm. This was a rare, nearly unheard-of occurrence and he intended to maximize the situation. “At once, sir, thank you for the opportunity.”
“I’ll have the designated crew meet you at the launch bay immediately.” Fleming settled back in his chair. “I can’t keep the Zephyr in a holding pattern here forever. I’ll have the cargo master up on the bridge in no time, registering a formal complaint if we jeopardize his shipping deadlines.”
While a bit disappointed he couldn’t pick his own people for the unusual excursion, Theo had every confidence in Fleming’s choices whoever they might be. He left the bridge at a run, taking the crew gravlifts to the launch bay where the ship’s own shuttles and fliers were parked.
Security officer Jayna Evans joined him as he reached his destination. He was glad to see her as she was a tough, no-nonsense member of the ship’s security forces. An ex-Special Forces veteran, she was third in command of her department, tough as nails and extremely efficient. Theo found her to be an extremely attractive woman. In fact they’d enjoyed a mind-bending session of hot, passionate sex in his cabin not eight hours ago.
Unfortunately that was all it was, for her at least, as far as he could tell. The rumor was she’d been married once but if anyone knew any details, they weren’t spilling. She never indicated by word or gesture she’d be open to more than the flings they currently enjoyed in bed. When he joined the ship he’d had no intention of complicating his own quest for a new start by getting involved with any member of the Zephyr’s crew on anything but a superficial level with clear understanding on both sides. If anyone could tempt him to break his resolution, it would definitely be the mysterious Ms. Evans but unfortunately she showed no signs of wanting to get to know him better, much less of letting him see too deeply into her feelings, life or past. They’d enjoy each other for a few hours and then she’d rise, take a shower alone and leave his cabin as enigmatically as she’d arrived.
And now that situation wasn’t enough for him because he was so intrigued by her but he had no idea how to move the relationship along. Maybe if this turned into a salvage operation, and they were alone on the small ship with only a skeleton crew…
Firmly he banished the speculation from his mind. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand.
