Space Pioneer 4 - Akar Kazbek - 1. Space Pioneer 4 - Akar Kazbek

The Horus returned from a trip to the Mohic Empire and landed on Cyrus, the space hub for many illegal or half-legal transactions in space. The ship was directed to a hangar and the men got off, except of Galven and Forrit who performed an engine check and supervised the refueling of the tanks.

A hovercraft tanker was directed to a hatch with inbuilt fueling tubes. The fueling crew plugged the tubes to their vehicle and Helium-3, necessary for travel in real space, was sucked from the hovercraft into the ship’s tanks.

Doctor Midad went to the medical center to catch up on the latest developments in the medical field. A doctor showed him a newly developed emergency kit.

“These nano-bot strips are a great success,” the man said. “The strips work more effectively than the older ones. Applied to an injury, the healing process starts immediately. A deep gash is two-third repaired before you get the man to sickbay. Combat crews buy the kits en masse.”

“What’s the price of a kit?” Doctor Midad asked.

“120 credits, if you buy one in the medical center’s shop,” the doctor replied. “You can get cheaper kits in many places on Cyrus, but ours are certified. We produce them in a sterile lab. You never know how and where the others were produced.”

Midad nodded thoughtfully. “What about a discount?” he asked.

“Two percent if you buy ten kits, three if you buy fifty and five if you buy one hundred or more,” the man said.

“Well, ten kits should suffice,” Midad said, smiling slightly.

The Cyrus doctor led Midad to the medical shop, then wished him a good day and left. Midad went back to the hub’s main hall, carrying a recyclable polythene bag.

Corr and Le’Ton looked for gadgets in a second hand shop. Most devices were outdated, but they knew from previous visits that at times a crate of the latest gadgets could be found in the store.

“I would love to find this Atkon game station expansion that I heard of,” Le’Ton said. “It shouldn’t be difficult to build it into our onboard game station.”

“What’s the game about?” Corr asked.

“Ships of various species unite and attack a pirate tower,” Le’Ton said. “The space tower is under control of a nefarious pirate leader. His name is Catlil. The game is set in the solar system Tau Ceti.”

The game was a popular reality based game. The pirate Nanuq Kitlali had taken control of the Tau Ceti system. The system was beyond Alliance territory and belonged to the Titan Empire, but a couple of years ago the pirate Nanuq Kitlali had invaded the system, planted a platform between the third and the fourth planet and erected a tower. The nefarious ruler commanded an army of several hundred men, hired guns, feared for their ruthless and cruel acts that often ended lethal for those who offered resistance. Nanuq Kitlali was the self-appointed ruler of the pirate empire in this now lawless part of space. He engaged mainly in drug smuggling, but didn’t shy away from a kidnap or people smuggling to finance his empire.

“The game’s based on Kitlali’s tower,” Le’Ton said.

“What’s the name of the game?” Corr asked.

“Catlil’s Demise,” Le’Ton replied.

The men rummaged through the crates.

Finally, Corr held a box up. “Is this the game?” he asked, handing it to Le’Ton.

“Hey, yes,” Le’Ton said. “Thanks, Corr. Do you think we can pay it from the ship’s account? It would be for general entertainment on board.”

“I’ll contact Lest,” Corr said. He touched his temple, focused on his neural implant and sent Lest a message. “He’s coming to the store. He’s already in the mall,” he said.

Lest entered the shop a short while later and joined the men. Le’Ton handed him the box with the game.

“How much is it?” Lest asked.

“The official price is 275 credits,” Le’Ton said. “We should get it cheaper here.”

“Can we see if it runs properly?” Lest asked.

Le’Ton shrugged. “You must ask the shop owner. He’s over there,” he said.

Lest went to the counter.

The man took the box from Lest’s hand. “I’m afraid I can’t install it here. The game is huge. Install it on your ship and run a test. Come back within an hour or two if you can’t get it running and I’ll refund the money you paid,” he said.

“What’s the price of the box?” Lest asked.

“It’s a popular game,” the man said. “I can’t reduce the price much. 250 credits.”

“This isn’t much of a discount,” Lest said. “200.”

“230,” the man replied. “This is my final word.”

“All right, I’ll buy it,” Lest said. He told the man the number of the ship’s account.

“Very well,” the man replied, seizing the payment device.

The men left the shop. Le’Ton and Corr were eager to get back to the ship and test the game. Lest moved on and visited a couple of shops. He finally spotted Jeff and Hulton. Each man was carrying a small box.

“What’s this?” Lest asked, pointing at the boxes.

“Microwave meals,” Jeff replied. “We ordered ten big crates for the ship, but they’ll be delivered only tomorrow. So we took a few meals along.”

“Why?” Lest asked. “I thought we’d eat at Abydos as long as we’re on Cyrus. I’ve got a good table in the restaurant.”

Abydos was a popular restaurant on Cyrus that offered fresh food from everywhere in space. The place was usually crowded and reservations had to be made.

“Corr sent me a message and asked if we could get them a few meals. He and Le’Ton are occupied with installing a game on the ship’s computer,” Hulton replied.

“I know. I paid for the box,” Lest replied. “Okay, let’s go back to the ship.”

They met Doctor Midad in the hangar. The men entered the ship. Jeff stowed away the meals in the galley, Doctor Midad went to sickbay, and Hulton joined Corr and Le’Ton in the gaming room. Lest entered the galley.

“We’re on a planet and they could escape the confinement of the ship, but what do they do? Hide in sickbay or sit jammed together in the ship’s gaming room,” he said, shaking his head. “We’ll leave the ship together for dinner. I’ll issue a command if they don’t come freely. I don’t want us to get weird from being too long in space.”

Jeff just smirked.

The men left the ship in the evening and went to the restaurant. Le’Ton and Corr had complained, but Lest had silenced them. They had just sat down at their table when Lest received a message to his neural implant. Lest grimaced.

“Perez contacted me. He heard we’re on Cyrus. He wants me to come to his office after dinner. He sounded nervous. That’s new. It kind of makes me curious,” he said.

“Will you go? He dumped you,” Doctor Midad said.

“I’m going, but he won’t get me to sign a contract right away. I will thoroughly think over his offer,” Lest replied. “Okay, let’s enjoy our meals. What will you eat, Jeff?

“Orean steak and Atkon eggplants and tomatoes,” Jeff said. “Orean steak tastes much like a steak on Earth.”

“I’ll take this, too,” Lest said.

It was already late when Lest went to Perez’ office. The man had waited for him. Two Goyans were also present. The men jumped from their seats when Lest entered the office.

It was way past midnight when Lest left the office with the copy of a signed contract in a pocket of his overall. According to Perez, he was the only one capable of helping the Goyan Jokin Trescothik out of his predicament. After hearing the Goyan’s story, Lest thought the dealer had a point. He had pushed aside his doubts and had signed the contract.

The Horus left Cyrus two days later.

The ship dropped out of real space. A distant speck showed on the main screen.

“Corr, send the code Perez provided,” Lest said.

“Code confirmed,” Corr replied. “We’re assigned a hangar on the second level.”

The Horus decelerated. The speck on the screen grew bigger and finally turned into the highly resolved image of a space tower on an artificial platform. The platform was located between the third and the fourth planet of the solar system Tau Ceti.

“The tower looks exactly like Catlil’s tower in the game,” Le’Ton said. “Catlil is a self-appointed ruler of a pirate empire.”

“Well, his real name is Nanuq Kitlali,” Lest said. “He’s engaged mainly in drug smuggling, but doesn’t shy away from a kidnap or people smuggling to finance his empire.”

A kidnap was the reason why the Horus was on the way to the platform that Nanuq Kitlali called Kumari in his language, meaning ‘center of the universe’. The pirates had abducted Jokin Trescothik, the Goyan ambassador, on his way to Epsilon Eridani for an Alliance meeting. Nanuq Kitlali had attacked the ambassador’s spaceship, a huge Goyan cruiser, and the accompanying four battleships when the ships had dropped back in real space for a stopover and refueling on an Alliance platform. The pirates had shot down the Goyan battleships without effort and had disabled the electronics of the main ship with an ion laser gun. The ambassador’s ship was towed to the pirate platform. A few men who had offered resistance upon arrival were relentlessly killed by the pirates. The rest of the crew and Jokin Trescothik’s travel companions were released one after the other for ransom money, but the negotiations on Jokin’s release had dragged on for a year.

Finally, Alliance stepped in and offered to pay fifty percent of the demanded sum. Nanuq Kitlali agreed on the sum, but declined any Alliance ship entering his system and refused to send a pirate ship into Alliance territory. The negotiations were stuck again. A distant relative of Jokin Trescothik, a high-rank Alliance politician, finally organized the exchange of man and credits privately. He contacted the Cyrus dealer Perez who had a spacewide net of henchmen and had eyes and ears everywhere. Perez had hired the Horus crew. The operation sounded easy: Fly into Tau Ceti and touch down in the assigned hangar, get Jokin Trescothik on board and contact Perez who then will manage the credit transfer. Take off from the pirate platform, leave Tau Ceti, and take the ambassador to Epsilon Eridani. The operation sounded almost too simple.

“Full alarm mode and all shields on,” Lest commanded.

“Ground control sent the vector. Touchdown in two minutes,” Le’Ton, the navigator, said.

The Horus landed, rolled down the runway and came to a halt.

“Ground control requires identification,” Le’Ton said.

“Ship on stand-by mode. Send second code,” Lest commanded.

“Security is in the hall,” Hulton said. “Six hover vehicles.”

“Hangar hatch is closing,” Jeff said.

Lest straightened.

“Second code sent. Await confirmation,” Corr said.

The ship shook heavily for a second.

“Ship is mag-locked,” Hulton said.

“This wasn’t part of the negotiations,” Lest said. “Can the ship pull free from the locks?”

“Shouldn’t be difficult,” Corr replied. “The applied mag-field can’t lock a Daglon warship for long. Pulling free might result in hangar destruction, however.”

“Well, who would care?” Lest asked, moving to the front console where the four men focused on their screens and devices.

“Incoming communication request,” Le’Ton said.

“Send to main screen,” Lest said.

The main screen activated and showed the face of a middle-aged male. Nanuq Kitlali looked from the screen. The pirate ruler made no secret of his identity. He could have passed as a Titan, but he was of Orean origin.

“Open the rear hatch. We’ll come on board,” Kitlali said.

“I want to speak to Jokin Trescothik,” Lest replied.

Kitlali didn’t reply, but turned his head and waved his hand. A figure was dragged in front of the camera. Jokin Trescothik looked with widened eyes on the Horus bridge. Lest muted the intercom channel.

“He looks younger than he looks in the images. Can we be sure this man is Jokin Trescothik?” he asked, turning to Doctor Midad who was seated at a side console.

“I’ll run a fast test on his genetic profile once he’s on board of the ship,” Midad said. “I’m going down to the cargo bay. I have my kit ready,” the doctor said, rising to his feet and seizing a box from the console.

Lest activated the ship’s intercom. “Galven, Forrit, suit up and go to the cargo bay. Meet Doctor Midad there. We’ll open the hatch for the pirates. Should anything go wrong, close the hatch manually. Wait for further commands.”

The engineers confirmed.

Lest opened the channel to the pirate. “The hatch will be opened in ten minutes. Send four men without weapons in, as was negotiated. Take the Goyan ambassador on board,” he said.

“Confirmed,” Nanuq Kitlali replied, a faint smile curling his lips.

Lest closed the external intercom line. “Scan the hangar hatch, Hulton. We might want to blast it open,” he said.

The four men at the front console exchanged sideways glances, but didn’t comment.

“Scan of hangar hatch completed,” Hulton said after a while. “Two missiles should break it.”

“Get them ready,” Lest said. “Cargo bay on the main screen.”

Jeff sent the images of the monitoring system to the screen. The cargo bay was empty, but the door opened a short while later and Galven and Forrit, suited up in combat suits, entered the bay. Doctor Midad followed them.

“Deactivate the combat suits for now,” Lest said through the intercom. “Negotiations say no weapons on both sides. We’ll scan the four men when they enter.”

Lest re-established the connection to the pirate leader. “Rear hatch opening,” he said.

Nanuq Kitlali didn’t reply. The rear hatch opened and the ramp went down. A minute later, four men entered the ship. The scanning systems showed their combat suits were deactivated. The pirates had the Goyan ambassador in tow. Two men seized him and pushed him forward. Jokin Trescothik stumbled, made two awkward steps and then stood motionless in the cargo bay. His hands were bound in front of his body.

Doctor Midad approached the man and spoke to him. He opened his kit, placed an analysis plaster on Jokin’s cheek and turned his eyes to the display that was integrated in the box. A minute passed by. Every man in the cargo bay stood motionless. The image on the main screen looked frozen. Finally, Doctor Midad looked up. He made a sign with his hand and touched his temple. Lest focused on his neural implant and the incoming message, then ordered to re-open the channel to the pirate leader.

“Doctor Midad’s genetic analysis proved the man is Jokin Trescothik,” he said. “I’m contacting Perez on Cyrus.”

“I’m watching my account for the incoming credits,” the pirate said mockingly. “My men will stay on board of your ship until everything’s settled.”

“Fine,” Lest replied. He muted the channel. “Corr, establish a connection to Perez.”

Corr activated the space crease intercom that allowed to exchange messages over long distances without major delays. Perez’ face showed on the main screen.

“The ambassador is on board of the ship. Doctor Midad tested the genetic profile and verified the ambassador’s identity,” Lest said.

A Goyan whispered to Perez. Perez gave a nod.

“I’m transferring the credits. Get out of the system soon, Lest. Good luck,” the Cyrus dealer said.

“Thanks, Perez. We might need it,” Lest replied.

“Difficulties, captain?” Perez asked.

“The ship is mag-locked and the hangar hatch is closed. It shouldn’t be difficult to get out, though,” Lest said. “I’ll contact you when we’re back in outer space. Lest, out.”

Lest ended the transmission and switched to the channel that connected the Horus with the pirate leader.

“Captain Lest here. You should have received the credits by now,” he said.

“Confirmed,” Kitlali replied. “You have a good ship, captain. A Daglon warship is rare to get. You have a fine ship and I have a fine tower. Your ship looks good in my hangar.”

“My ship looks even better flying in space,” Lest replied.

“No doubt,” Kitlali replied. “But you might want to re-consider which side you prefer to work for.”

“No time for second thoughts,” Lest said. “The Goyan booked a trip home. Open the hangar hatch and release the mag-locks. We’re ready for take-off. Call your men out.”

Kitlali smiled an amused smile, then ended the transmission. Galven called the bridge and reported that the four pirates had left the cargo bay.

“Pull in the ramp and close the rear hatch,” Lest commanded. “Power up engines for take-off.”

The engines came on. The ship shook briefly.

“Mag-locks released,” Corr said.

“Hangar hatch is opening,” Jeff said.

“Ready for take-off. Contact ground control,” Lest said.

“Take-off requested,” Corr said.

“Ground control sent outbound vector and clearance for take-off,” Le’Ton said.

“Take-off,” Lest commanded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

The sound of the engines grew louder. The Horus turned und taxied, accelerated and shot out into space. The ship followed the assigned flight vector and left Kitlali’s tower behind.

And then all electronics failed simultaneously. The lights went out, the main computer shut down, the stalled engines groaned and then fell silent. The men strapped in instinctively.

“What’s this?” Lest shouted in the dark.

“All electronics failed,” Corr said. “The ship’s falling through space. Vector unknown.”

“Onboard gravity gone,” Le’Ton reported. “Life support systems don’t work. Air will last thirty hours.”

A long minute went by, then a crackle could be heard through the ship’s intercom. Electronic power was back.

“Backup chemical reactor came on,” Galven said from the engine room. “Emergency systems are running.”

The emergency lights on the bridge flickered, then stabilized. The bridge was drowned in a dim blue light.

“Computer is booting in safe mode. Eleven seconds until boot complete,” Corr reported.

“Standby systems are running,” Hulton said a minute later.

“Internal intercom on. External intercom on. Onboard gravity on. Life supporting systems have full power,” Jeff said.

“Defensive shields on and working 100%,” Hulton said.

“Main engines coming on,” Galven said from the engine room.

“Scan for engine failure initialized,” Forrit said.

Lest unstrapped with a rash movement of his hand and jumped from his seat.

“The son of a bitch tried to take the Horus out,” he shouted. “Open a channel to Kitlali.”

Kitlali’s face showed on the screen. The pirate leader was grinning.

“This was a surprise, wasn’t it, captain?” he asked. “I was feeling generous, though. We didn’t destroy your ship, we just disabled it. How did it feel, Captain Lest?”

Lest’s look could have blasted the main screen, but he forced himself to calmness.

“Impressive, Kitlali,” he said. “But only cowards attack from behind.”

Kitlali’s mouth twisted. He leaned forward and hit a button. The transmission ended and the main screen went dark.

“Sack of shit,” Lest hissed. He exhaled and turned to his crew. “Status updates.”

“I’m attempting to locate the transmission source, Kitlali’s tower,” Hulton said.

“Computer is in standard mode. All systems are working,” Corr said.

“Computer initialized self-scan for damages to software and hardware,” Jeff said.

“The navigation systems are working properly,” Le’Ton said. “The computer located the sun of the system and determined the distance to the Horus.”

“Kitlali tower located,” Hulton said. “The computer determined the distance to the Horus. I’ll send the data to Le’Ton.”

“Thanks,” Le’Ton said. “We have enough data to determine the ship’s location and re-set our flight path.”

“The computer stopped the ship. Current speed and acceleration zero. The ship is floating in space,” Corr said.

“The computer determined the ship’s position,” Le’Ton said. “Vertical deviation from planned flight path three degrees. Horizontal deviation zero. The ship followed a straight course. Course correction is programmed.”

Lest sat down in his seat. He hit a button on his seat panel. “Lest here. Galven, Forrit, update, please.”

“The engine stall caused a few minor damages. Nothing to worry about,” Galven said. “Main engines run with 89%. power. We can make it out of the system and into space jump mode without problems. Repairs can be done onboard. Ship can go in full stealth mode, but I would advise you wait until we have done a full analysis.”

“Thanks, Galven,” Lest replied. “Okay, Le’Ton, set course on Epsilon Eridani. Corr, initialize space jump mode at the edge of the system. Jeff, watch the computer scans for damages and failures. Hulton, keep an eye on space. Shoot down any pirate ship upon detection.”

Lest hit another button. “Lest here. Doctor Midad, how are things in sickbay?”

“The systems are recalibrating,” Midad replied. “The isolated emergency system came on and sustained most medical systems. What was this, Lest?”

“Kitlali disabled our electronics,” Lest replied.

“Did the shields not work properly?” Midad asked.

“The Horus has the latest shields and they worked 100%. Nanuq Kitlali has a weapon that bypassed these shields. I must contact Perez. How’s the Goyan ambassador doing?” Lest asked.

“He’s in good health, as far as I can tell,” Doctor Midad said. “I’ll run a full medical analysis once the systems finished calibrating.”

“Thanks, Midad,” Lest said. He closed the connection. “Corr, establish a connection to Perez.”

The Cyrus dealer was on the main screen a minute later.

“What went wrong?” Perez asked.

“How do you know?” Lest asked back.

“Your report is delayed,” Perez said.

“The delay is minor,” Lest replied. “All right, listen, Perez.”

Lest reported the incident. Perez twisted his mouth.

“Your ship’s entirely overhauled. I sold you the latest shields,” Perez said. “I heard rumors of a very advanced weapon that might bypass them, though. This weapon is said to be in the development stage. Hard to imagine Kitlali seized a prototype. I will look into this, of course. Back to the Goyan ambassador, Lest. How’s Jokin Trescothik doing? The Goyans want to speak to him.”

“He’s in sickbay. Doctor Midad is checking on him,” Lest said.

“Okay, switch us to sickbay,” Perez said.

“Put him through, Corr,” Lest said. “Le’Ton, where are we?”

“We’re leaving the system in seventy-five minutes,” Le’Ton said.

“I’m going down to sickbay to speak with the Goyan ambassador,” Lest said. “I’ll be back on the bridge before we’ll switch to space jump mode.”

Lest left the bridge and went to sickbay. The Goyan was sitting on the edge of a bed. Doctor Midad had applied several monitoring plasters to the man’s skin. Jokin Trescothik was a slim and medium-sized man. His brown hair was cut short. He was shaved and looked cleaned up. The man was dressed in a plain beige shirt and trousers.

“Welcome on board of my ship, ambassador. I’m Captain Lest,” Lest greeted the man.

Jokin Trescothik looked up, a faint smile on his lips.

“I thank you, Captain Lest, for taking me home. From what just happened on your ship, I must conclude that Kitlali didn’t want to let us go,” he said.

“Showmanship on his part,” Lest replied. “You appear to be in good health. Did the pirates treat you well?”

“I got what I needed, food and drink, and a bed to sleep in. I was mostly on my own in a cell,” Jokin Trescothik said.

“They kept you for more than a year. Quite a long time,” Lest said.

“Yes,” the Goyan replied. “I’ve just spoken with a Goyan official and a relative. I told them I was glad to finally come home and thanked them for their efforts.”

“We’re not flying to Goya. It’s too far away,” Lest replied. “We’re supposed to take you to Epsilon Eridani.”

“I know,” Jokin said. “It will only be a stopover for me.”

Lest nodded. “Doctor Midad will check on your health and will then take you to your quarters. He’ll introduce you into the ship’s intercom system. Feel free to call on the bridge whenever you want to,” he said. “You’re free to move around on the ship, but don’t enter the bridge without previous consent. Doctor Midad will show you the lounge and the galley.”

“I think I must rest,” Jokin said. “This day and the previous days were stressful.”

“Sure,” Lest said, giving another nod. “Rest well, ambassador.”

Jokin nodded faintly in return.

Lest went back on the bridge. The ship arrived at the edge of the solar system and Lest commanded the switch to space jump mode. The Horus dropped out of real space and continued on its course to Epsilon Eridani.

The following two days were uneventful. The Goyan ambassador stayed in his room for most of the time. The engineers repaired the damage on the engines. The computer finished the software and hardware scans and self-repaired a couple of damages. Hulton went through the remaining errors and worked on erasing them.

The third day of their trip passed by. The men had dinner in the lounge, when Jokin Trescothik entered the room. He looked around insecurely until he spotted the captain.

Lest rose from his chair to greet the man. He provided Jokin with a meal and a drink and invited him to his table. Jeff and Midad pushed their chairs aside. Lest placed a chair between them and the Goyan ambassador sat down. All conversations had stopped. The men watched the Goyan silently. Lest introduced his crew to the ambassador. The atmosphere relaxed.

“Quite a crowd on this ship,” Jokin said. “I almost forgot how crowded a spaceship is. I was locked away in a cell too long. How is the trip going? When will we reach Epsilon Eridani, Captain Lest?”

“Tomorrow evening,” Lest replied. “We’ll contact Perez when we drop back into real space.”

Jokin cast Lest a questioning look. “Why must we contact him again? Isn’t there a contact person in the system Epsilon Eridani?”

Lest leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. “It’s just a minor problem, but we can’t exactly proceed as you probably think we will,” he said.

Jokin put down his fork and looked at Lest with fearful eyes. “Why? What happened?” he asked.

Lest raised his hand. “I think you are aware that you are on board of a Daglon warship,” he said.

“Yes, I recognized the type of the ship,” Jokin replied. “It’s one of the best Alliance warships.”

“Exactly,” Lest said. “It’s just that I don’t work for the Alliance.”

“What does this mean?” Jokin asked with a worried look.

Lest told Jokin about the long negotiations between the Goyans and the pirate.

“You see this mission isn’t an official Goyan or Alliance mission, although the Alliance paid fifty percent of the ransom. Kitlali didn’t want Alliance in his derelict system and didn’t want to take you to Alliance territory. He feared to be run down by Alliance ships. A distant relative of yours, Akin Ascothik, stepped in and resumed the negotiations. He organized the rescue mission privately. Perez was the mediator. The man has many connections,” Lest said.

“Akin Ascothik? My great-uncle’s stepbrother?” Jokin said. “I still can’t see the problem, Captain Lest.”

“Your relative hired Perez. Perez contacted me and hired my ship and my crew. I’m not Alliance, but Epsilon Eridana is a center of Alliance operations. We cannot enter the system,” Lest said.

Jokin stared at Lest. “You fear detection? Are you a pirate?” he asked.

“No, I’m not a pirate. I run my own business. I operate in the gray markets. My operations are legal,” Lest said. “Mostly,” he added with a brief smile.

“I have no right to judge on your operations, captain. Nobody else came for my rescue. You saved my life and I’m in your debt. Tell me, Captain Lest, what is the plan then?”

“We’ll take you to a mining asteroid in the asteroid belt at the edge of the solar system. Perez has organized another spacecraft, a mining vessel, that will pick you up there and take you to Akar Kazbek, the main planet of the system. Captain and crew of the mining ship won’t ask any questions, ambassador,” Lest said.

“My name’s Jokin,” the Goyan said. “I don’t like the idea of getting off your ship on a mining asteroid.”

“You will be safe, Jokin,” Lest said. “Everything’s organized and prepared. We’ll check back with Perez when we drop back into real space.”

Jokin continued eating and started a conversation with the crew, but his smiles were faint and brief and his look was clouded until he retired to his room for the night.

“The man fears for his life. It’s written in his face,” Jeff said.

“The man is traumatized,” Doctor Midad said. “He was kidnapped and locked away for more than a year. Part of the crew of the main ship and the entire crew of four battleships died, whereas he was released due to a distant relative’s intervention. Jokin Trescothik isn’t a man who takes such things lightly.”