AMP Armageddon (25 page)

A transfer portal swept across the
Daunte
, leaving me fifty thousand kilometers from Thalimus and inline for an intercept of the
Belwitz
. I picked up my mug and stared at the empty bottom.

I grunted. "Well, Mug, at least we still have our coffee, even though it is running low. How about I fill you up and we do a records search for the
Belwitz
. I don't like boarding a ship blind, and you, you couldn't care less, you are just a mug."

Ship inspections could be a lonely job, and I often found it would break the monotony of an assignment if had fake conversations with inanimate objects. With my third star, I had earned the right to bring my family aboard the
Daunte
. The ship was one of the newer cruisers in the fleet and the accommodations were first rate, but deep space was no place for a family, especially when the criminals I chased were sometimes hostile. Besides, with a wife and eighteen Gunta offspring, the Duante just wasn't big enough.

A search for the
Belwitz
returned one hundred fifteen items of interest. One hundred twelve of those items were nothing more than transition logs when jumping from the Alpha to the Gamma sector, or when coming through to Alpha from the other way. The three search items of most interest were from prior inspections.

Two of the inspections were for minor infractions. Crew members had smuggled aboard banned items in their personal gear. A Pelomoni skull, the smallest of the prior alliance's species was found in a hygiene container, and a lizard like creature from Deltan VII was kept in small box under a bunk. The Kexa, when cut in half, would grow into two such animals. They were voracious breeders and eaters. Within a year of their introduction on two new colony planets, the colonies had to be abandoned due to the destruction of their environments. Without foliage, oxygen levels on those planets had begun to fall. The third inspection yielded a result that caught my attention.

The
Belwitz
had been caught carrying five hundred litres of bleurgh. Bleurgh was a highly addictive intoxicant that had become popular with colony miners. It was often brought in by the owners of those mines. One of its side effects was that a worker would often stay of station for days on end. It had been outlawed in the AMP for centuries, but had made a comeback under the sometimes lax rules of the ruling families. I had often wondered if those families were not responsible for it's return as the market for it among the miners made it extremely profitable.

The prior search and subsequent arrest of the
Belwitz
' captain had been dismissed over a technicality. A typo in the ship designation code allowed a suspect judge to dismiss the case. Captain Jergem Meyers and his crew of five had been released, and the ship, with the cargo still aboard, returned. The arresting detective swore that he had entered the code correctly, his demotion and loss of his first star said otherwise. If the captain was carrying bleurgh, I was going to bust him hard.

After a six hour wait the
Belwitz
transponder came up on my holo-display. She was six hundred meters in length; not overly big for a trawler. As she came closer, I broadcast an all-stop signal. The
Belwitz
slowed to a stop.

I hailed the captain. "This is Detective Beutcher of the New Alliance security force. Please prepare your manifest logs for inspection. I will be coming aboard."

The captain replied, "We are carrying sensitive medical supplies to Thalimus, Mr. Beutcher. We have to maintain a clean environment. I'm afraid you will have to inspect the logs from your ship."

I almost laughed out loud. Who was this barge captain to try to pull something like that? I was a three star detective and my credentials had no doubt shown that on his console. Were the crooks getting so bold as to openly make such requests?

I spoke. "Captain Meyers. I am coming aboard. Open the gravity wall of your docking bay. Have your logs ready for inspection when I board."

The Captain was silent for a moment. "I am afraid I have to decline that request Detective. We have a crewman with Duleria aboard, so I must maintain quarantine until we reach Thalimus port."

I had to smile at the Captain's audacity. "Mr. Meyers, you are aware that I have full authority under the laws of the New Alliance to board and inspect that vessel. Please reduce the gravity wall on the docking bay so that I may land this cruiser on your deck. This time Captain, I am insisting that you do so."

The Captain replied, "We are having trouble with our open channel reception Detective. I'm switching to a scrambled feed. Please enter X447 to continue receiving our broadcast."

This was something new. It was obvious that the Captain wanted to talk in private. I entered the code with the anticipation of finding out what it was that he wanted.

Meyers spoke. "Mr. Beutcher, I know this may look bad, but I am only trying to save us both our jobs. I have always respected the law, Mr. Beutcher. I don't want either of us to pay the price for what others have dictated that we do."

I replied, "Captain, open that docking bay or I will be forced to shut down your core. You will then have no choice but to turn yourself and your crew over to me for a full arrest. The
Belwitz
will then be towed to Thalimus port where it will be impounded by the colony authorities."

The Captain was silent for several seconds. "I will level with you detective. This cargo is property of Camwich mines, a subsidiary of the Motlin Corporation. The story I told you about the quarantine is true. I have six thousand miners on this ship, and one of them has Duleria. If you come aboard that infected miner will be logged in your public records and I will not be able to dock at Thalimus port to unload the rest. The people who pay our salaries will be extremely unhappy with us if that happens, Mr. Beutcher. I'm pleading with you to please not do this."

I looked down at my empty mug. "Would you have any coffee over there Captain?"

Meyers replied, "I do. The last port I was at was overloaded with it due to some arguments about taxes and transfer fees. I have a good stockpile of it aboard this ship."

I was not one to outright break the law, but I was given discretion to bend rules while in the field, with three stars, my judgement would not be called into question. The quarantine problem the captain of the
Belwitz
was having, if that was indeed his problem, was not a violation of any law. It was a protocol that the Thalimus port authorities, and most every other port in the galaxy, enforced for health safety reasons.

I spoke. "Maybe we can work out a little trade Captain. If you sell me some of that coffee, at a fair price, I will take your infected miner off your hands. My holding cells on this vessel are rated for quarantine."

The Captain replied. "How do we make the transfer, Mr. Beutcher? If I allow you to dock it becomes public record and the quarantine will be exposed."

I brought up the schematics of the
Belwitz
. "You have a dozen lifepods on there for your crew, Mr. Meyers. Blank out the transponder code on one of those, place your miner aboard and set her afloat. I will pick up the miner. You can recover your pod afterward."

The holo-image of the Captain's face that floated in front of me had a smile. "I will happily give you two crates of our coffee store, Mr. Beutcher. I will pack them on the lifepod with the miner myself."

I held up my hand. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. Meyers. I still have a ship inspection to report on. You send out the miner, and I will come over for the inspection and the coffee. We both get what we need and we can both be on our way."

The lifepod was jettisoned and I allowed it to float in free space while I performed the inspection. I cringed as I let slip a single digit in my report log for where the pod had been found. The
Daunte
's logs would show the correct location, but those logs were not read unless an officer's integrity was called into question over an arrest. Without an arrest in this instance, there would be no questions and the
Daunte
's logs would remain sealed.

I brought the
Daunte
to a stop on the deck of the
Belwitz
. A smiling Captain Meyers came out to greet me with his manifest logs and two crates of high grade, Orientus coffee. Enough to last me for several months. The logs reflected one less miner in transport than had been there an hour before. The miner had been logged as having a burial in space after a natural death, an event that was not uncommon. I again had a moment of pang as I looked over the manifest logs of the
Belwitz
. I abhorred any type of dishonesty, in the field however, compromise was something that would allow all parties to continue on with their duties. Even though it was a minor transgression, it would weigh on my conscience.

After reviewing the logs I insisted on a full inspection and was granted access to all sections of the ship. The miners were well cared for and no contraband was found. I gave the Captain his clean inspection report, paid a fair price of twenty credits for the coffee and began to board the
Daunte
.

I turned back towards the Captain with one last question. "Mr. Meyers, you had a run in some months ago for supposedly carrying a load of bleurgh. One of our detectives was demoted because of that. What can you tell me about that incident?"

The Captain looked down at the deck. "I was not aware of the cargo my manifest administrator had loaded aboard at the last minute. He was on the payroll of the Motlin Corporation who had contracted for the remainder of the legitimate cargo. At the time I was OK with not having to pay the extra wage for a company worker."

"When the detective came aboard and the container was found I was terrified. I have a family to support, Mr. Beutcher. If I'm stuck away in some jail for years they would have to turn to the streets for food and shelter, or even worse to the government. I've run an honest ship for thirty four years, and I will do it for that many more if I can. Retirement is not something that happens often in the New Alliance. If I want to take care of my family I have to keep this ship moving."

I replied, "This is registered as a salvage trawler. Why would you be hauling miners?"

The Captain shook his head. "Live cargo is not something I want to do, Mr. Beutcher. Contracts are hard to get and you take what comes your way. Besides, with the slowed economies everywhere, salvage is not always in demand. I'm just trying to feed my family, nothing more."

I was a good judge of character and the Captain's expressions told me he was telling the truth. I nodded goodbye and the hatch of the
Daunte
closed behind me. I slowly taxied back out into free space and recovered the lifepod and the infected miner. Jurgem Meyers then recovered the pod shortly after its second release.

As the
Belwitz
sped away toward Thalimus port, I raised dispatch on the comm. "This is Beutcher. I'm transmitting my inspection report on the
Belwitz
. And I came across an unmanned lifepod out here. It had one occupant and a med scan says they have Duleria. I brought them into quarantine for transport to the proper med facilities. Sweep me back to SS5 for the dropoff and I'll be on to my next inspection."

Hela Gruend replied, "Roger that, Mr. Beutcher. I will have a med team waiting at Dock-17. Hold your position for a sweep."

Twenty seconds later the Duante was swept through a portal back to the security station. I promptly moved to the assigned dock and unloaded my infected cargo.

Fifteen minutes later I was ready for a jump to the colony at Jarvis IV, a farming colony on the boundary edge of the Beta sector. The colonies near Beta were governed by the Magnus family. As close allies of the Saltons I, expected no trouble.

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Stephen Arseneault