Chapter 5: Hailing Procedures Initiated

“Hailing procedures initiated. Short-range communication systems activated. Broadcasting hailing request,” the escape pod’s sterile voice announced.

Yan waited with bated breath.

The others had accepted her nod without question. Maybe it was because they also agreed that this was the logical thing to do. Or maybe it was because they saw this as a command from Dr. Regina. Either way, she did not like how they looked to her for instructions. It made her feel responsible for their lives.

There was something here. A fragment of her past, perhaps?

But she could not quite identify it.

“Awaiting response…”

“They’re taking a moment,” Luke groused. His face was pale from blood loss.

Neon shrugged. “Who knows? They might be heating up the pot as we speak. Straight from the pod to the pot. Yummy, am I right?”

Luke laughed despite his pain. Even Yan cracked a smile. The tension in the pod faded a little.

Still, that reminded her of her knife. She looked around discreetly. Where had she left it? Her hands were obviously empty and she had not found a sheath or any compartments in this bodysuit so far. So, where could it be?

Then, an image flashed through her mind: Her knife, left on the floor of the Prometheus Research Station as she dragged Luke away.

Yan frowned. Once again, she was weaponless.

She returned her attention to the rest of the pod. Luke’s gaze was drifting around the room as he fought to stay awake. Neon was staring intently at the black glass - or rather, the screen - in front of the controls.

Written across it were the words: “Awaiting response…”

Suddenly, the words disappeared.

The pod’s speakers crackled back to life. “Hailing request accepted. Encrypting communication channel… Encryption complete. Representative, please stand in the designated spot to begin communication.”

A circle set into the centre of the pod lit up.

Yan looked at Neon. She was “speaking in tongues” and Luke was definitely not meant to stand for any period of time.

That left only him.

Catching her gaze, Neon let out a dramatic sigh and strode over to the circle.

Immediately, a beam of translucent blue light shot out from the ground, encircling him. Then, there was a sharp beep. The light receded.

“Humanoid lifeform detected. Opening communication channel.”

A portly-looking man appeared on the screen. He was dressed in a formal uniform - a naval blue jacket with gold trim over a white shirt and tie - and his black hair was cropped close to his scalp. On his chin was a full, thick beard.

“Ahoy there! I am Captain Harvey of the Silent Sail. To what do I owe the pleasure?” His voice boomed across the pod.

Yan suspected that the man was not shouting. This was just the way he spoke.

“Captain Harvey, this is Prometheus Escape Pod Number Oh-One-Eight. We seek your immediate assistance,” Neon replied.

Yan’s eyebrows rose. The young scientist could actually speak properly if he wanted to.

“Bah. Immediate assistance? I’m sure you’ll do just fine on your own!”

There was a moment of silence in the escape pod as Harvey’s voice stopped echoing.

Then, the man laughed. It was a hearty sound. “Oh, you should see your face! Now, now. I’m not one to deny a fellow spacefarer the comfort of my vessel but I need to know that it’s… safe to bring you onboard.”

Neon nodded politely. “Naturally. And how can we assist?”

“Very good! You just need to answer my questions. First, how many onboard? Any injured?”

“Three. Two injured.”

Harvey frowned. “I see. Let’s make this quick, then. Next, who are you and why are you in an escape pod?”

“We are employees of the Prometheus Research Station. We were attacked and forced to evacuate.”

“Attacked by…?

Neon hesitated. Yan could almost hear the gears spinning in his brain as he decided how to reply. Finally, he said, “Aramian Dominion.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Aramia? Ho, that’s a big ‘un. And why?”

“We do not know their motives, Captain.”

The man sighed and replied, “If only we did. If only we did. And you said you were employees of… Prometheus Research Station? What's that about?”

“… Research? I’m afraid I cannot divulge too many details without approval from the relevant figures.” Yan noticed Neon’s eyes flick over to look at her for a moment.

“Top secret, eh? Where have I heard that one before… any proof of your employment?”

Neon tugged a lanyard out from under his lab coat and flashed it.

“Good, good. I’ll have my crew run a check on you. Now, are you mayhap carrying any contraband, any weapons that I should know of?”

“None. Oh, wait. We have a pistol.”

There was a short bark of laughter from the Captain. “Right. You’d be mad to be without a weapon these days. But I’ll have to confiscate that. I’m sure you understand.”

Neon nodded.

“Now, final question. Are you… associated… with any authorities?”

Yan could see Harvey’s eyes narrow as he spoke. This question was particularly important to him.

“Captain Harvey, I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

The Captain turned away for a moment, nodded and then looked back to say, “My crew tells me that Prometheus Research has a long history of working with numerous governments. Teruvian Conglomerate. Elysian Union. The Cyborgian Enclaves. Even Aramia, once upon a time. And that’s just the start of the list!”

Harvey leaned in closer to the screen, his eyes narrowing further. “It’s too dangerous. Top secret work, government associations, beef with Aramia. There’s just too little benefit for me and my crew.”

For a moment, Yan thought that he might cut the line.

He did not.

The Captain let out a loud sigh before concluding, “I would like to help a fellow spacefarer. I really would. Now, if only this arrangement were… sweeter.”

Yan realised what this man was getting at: A bribe.

The little textbox appeared again in her vision, declaring, “Intelligence +1”.

Neon seemed to come to the same conclusion. “Captain Harvey, I understand. We’ll make sure that this deal is sufficiently palatable for both you and your crew.”

The Captain’s face creased into a bright smile and he let out another short bark of laughter. “Aye! Now, that’s my lad! I’ll give orders to bring my ship around. It won’t take long. You just make a docking request first.”

As Harvey’s booming voice faded away, his image collapsed into a single white line and vanished.

“Well, I’m not sure what I expected but having to deal with a money-grubbing spacefaring fat cat was not it,” Neon announced to nobody in particular.

Luke gasped, “Just be glad he takes cash and not flesh.”

Neon chuckled at the joke before asking, “So, should we trust this guy? This pod is not meant for repeated escapes, if you get what I mean. There’s maybe enough fuel left to dock once. So if we do that here, there’s no resuming our path to Narius Port - or to anywhere else for that matter.”

Both men looked to Yan - or rather, they looked to “Dr. Regina”.

Mentally, she shook off the discomfort this gave her and nodded.

The ghost eye’s analysis remained true. Right now, it mattered very little whether she trusted this Captain Harvey or not. The fact of the matter was that if they did not dock here, death or cannibalism was almost inevitable.

It was better for them to take the chance.

Neon pressed a few buttons on the control panel.

“Docking requested,” the pod announced.

Then, Neon turned to address the elephant in the room. “And what should we say about your condition, doc? You still can’t speak normally?”

Yan nodded again but did not try to speak. If Sierra was speaking the truth, she might be able to speak “Universal Common” now but she still had no idea how Dr. Regina usually spoke.

For now, it was better to let sleeping dogs lie.

“Then… should we just say that you’re mute…? No… we’ll just say that you’re concussed and aren’t in the right mind to speak. Yes, that’s right. Actually, come to think of it, can you write or type? Surely, that won’t be -”

“Stop it, Neon. The Doctor’s been through enough today. Questions can wait until we’ve all had a full meal and a night’s sleep,” Luke grumbled.

Yan heaved an internal sigh of relief. She did not even need to feign exhaustion. Her body still ached and the day’s events had really taken their toll. Still, she needed to find a way out of this. Should she just reveal that she was not, in fact, Dr. Regina?

How would it go down with these two?

She had no idea.

“Docking request granted. Initiating docking procedures,” the pod declared. A tremor ran through the pod as it reoriented itself.

The tension in the room returned. Although corrupt, Captain Harvey had seemed fairly harmless. But looks could be deceiving.

Turning her attention to the entrance, Yan unstrapped herself and waited. If this was a trap, she wanted to swing her fists at least.

The pod rocked again. There was a mechanical hum around the door that lasted for a minute.

Then, the humming stopped.

“Successfully docked.”

Luke had already pulled out the gun from his holster. He swapped out the lightning canister on top before dropping his arm down to the side. From the perspective of anybody entering from the door, the weapon was hidden behind Luke’s leg and seat.

Yan hated this feeling of helplessness that hung over her. She hated being at the mercy of others.

The door slid open with a hiss and Yan could see Luke tighten his grip on his gun.

A woman in a navy blue sailor’s uniform walked cautiously into the room. She clutched a rifle in her arms, a glowing canister of energy mounted on top.

The rifle was aimed at the ground.

“Prometheus Escape Pod Oh-One-Eight?” She asked.

Neon grunted in agreement.

The sailor continued, “I’ll need you all to surrender any weapons you have.”

Luke hesitated.

“Please,” the woman added, looking around the pod.

Shooting a glance at Yan, Luke finally relented. “I have a pistol. It’s the only weapon we have.”

Slowly, he stood up, favouring his good leg. Then, he popped out the lightning canister on top of his pistol and handed the gun over to her, grip first.

The woman accepted it and slid it into a holster by her side.

“Captain! All clear!” She shouted.

Yan let out a small sigh. There was no trickery here.

Captain Harvey strode into the room. “Wonderful, wonderful! A smooth transaction, that’s what I like!”

His voice was even louder in real life.

The Captain walked up to Neon, arms wide open and continued, “Isn’t that right, my good man?”

Neon kept his expression neutral and held out a hand. From her angle, Yan could just see a little chip clasped within his palm. Her mind told her that it was a credit chip: A little stick of metal containing the currency of this world.

Harvey took Neon’s hand and pumped it up and down.

When their hands parted, the chip was gone.

“Come, my dear guests! The Silent Sail is but a humble freighter but it has enough amenities to see to your good health! Germaine, be a dear and assist the gentleman, will you?” Harvey gestured towards Luke as he sauntered back out of the pod.

The sailor hurried over but Luke waved her away.

Marching up to the open doorway, Neon declared, “Wow, what a day! Here’s to a safe and uneventful trip!”

Then, he seemed to realise something. Hurrying after the Captain, he shouted, “Captain, hold on. Where’s this ship going again?”