Alarms blared, red lights flashed.
Val woke up with a start, cursing. She’d dozed off again.
“What’s going on, Nim?” she asked. “And would you please cut out that racket! I can’t hear myself think.”
The ship went quiet, though she could hear running footsteps coming her way.
“We picked up a CFH,” said the familiar voice. “It is being broadcast far and wide.”
She straightened in her seat just as the door behind her burst open.
“Can you locate its origin?” she asked.
“What’s going on?”
She glanced at Kaine over her shoulder.
“Not sure yet. Nim picked up a call for help.”
“Coordinates are included in the message. Should we change course?”
Kaine frowned. “Is that all?”
“Not exciting enough for you?” she asked as she looked back to the dashboard. “Yes, Nim. Let’s go check it out.”
“I’m not sure this is wise,” came the AI’s voice. “We cannot afford to waste—”
“Oh, hush you. If there are people in danger out there, it is our duty to help. And before you think of overriding my decision by taking control of the ship—or of yourself, I should say—I’d like to point out that I could make your life much, much, much more difficult if I wanted to. So don’t mess with me!”
“Very well,” the AI said as it changed their course. “But let’s be quick about it, please.”
Kaine had sat next to her while she was speaking.
“It’s not about excitement,” he answered once the room had gone quiet. “I just wouldn’t deem this alarm-worthy. Not with you at the controls, anyway.”
She frowned. “I had sort of dozed off.”
“Sort of?”
Val grunted. He chuckled.
“Besides,” she added, “it’s automated.”
“You should do something about that.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been kind of busy since you popped into my life.”
“Talk about excitement, eh?”
“Don’t push your luck, buddy.”
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Kaine grinned as he leaned back in his chair.
They heard the clanking of Ondine’s leg long before she reached the room. Mrill was not far behind.
“Hey girls, you’re just in time. We’re on our way to investigate a CFH. Should be there in...” Kaine frowned and glanced at the dashboard. “Nim?”
“Twenty seconds.”
“Oh.” He straightened in his chair, staring at the window. He pointed. “Is that it?”
There was a growing black dot straight ahead.
“I think so,” said Val.
“It is,” the AI confirmed. “From the data collected so far, it is a B-class Barden, built twenty-six years ago, belonging to one Henig Dovath. Its engine is off.”
“Barden? Aren’t those ships designed for private use?” asked Kaine.
“Correct.”
Val leaned to look more closely at the screen. “Any signs of damage?”
“None.”
“How many on board?”
“I am picking up five signs of life.”
“Let’s try to hail them.”
“I’ve been trying to reach out ever since we changed course. No response so far. I suspect their Coreum died, which would make communication impossible.”
“Then how are they broadcasting a CFH?”
Kaine snickered. “I’m surprised you don’t know this, Val. Because of their nature, calls for help cannot rely on thilindrin energy—that would defeat the purpose. So they use an older system, based on light and sound, that get transmitted through a set of mechanical relays. All ships are equipped to automatically pick up on such signals.”
On the screen, the ship had grown to take up half the view.
“I see.” The scavenger said. “Guess I’ll just have to board the ship and see for myself what’s going on.”
“I’m coming with you.”
She glanced at him. “You sure it’ll be exciting enough for you?”
He grinned. “Absolutely.”
“I’ll stay here with the girl,” said Mrill from behind them.
Val jumped to her feet. “Alright, sounds like a plan. Nim, hook us up to that Barden, and let us know when we can go in.”
“On our way. Should connect in two minutes.”
“Great.” Val headed to the door and glanced over her shoulder at Kaine. “Coming?”
He stood and followed. “I’m right behind you.”
“What do you think happened?” she asked as they made their way through the ship’s halls.
“I don’t know. The AI thinks the Coreum failed, but that’s not supposed to happen. It’s a rather chilling thought.”
“They have thilium engineers on every major cruise ship,” she remarked.
“True. I always assumed they were for show, but maybe there is more to it. But then, why not warn private ship owners of the risks?”
“Sales would drop.”
He snorted. “Cynical much?”
“You know it’s true, though. Besides, do you know how many of those private ships go missing every year?”
“Can’t be too many.”
“Thousands. Tell me that doesn’t make you wonder.”
He blinked as he looked at her. “You’re not even kidding, are you?”
“Thousands I tell you.”
“How can you know that?”
She sighed. “I’m a scavenger, remember? I spend my time going through dead ships. Often they were attacked by pirates. You can tell from the damage to their hulls, and the insides are all torn up, with the passengers clearly shot. But then... Every once in a while, I’ll come across one that weirds me out. No damage, engines off, passengers dead from either hunger or dehydration or suffocation.”
“Every once in a while doesn’t add up to thousands.”
Val frowned. “I’m not the only scavenger in the rim, Kaine. And we talk to each other. We’ve all seen these. And that’s just the rim. There are bound to be even more within the Imperium, as that’s where most of the traveling happens. I’ll grant you the number is a guess, but it’s an educated one. I’d bet my ship that it’s pretty damn close to the real number.”
“Yikes!” Kaine shuddered at the thought. “Imagine the horror of being stranded like that, in the middle of nowhere, your only small hope for salvation a CFH broadcast to the void.”
“I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you.”
They fell quiet until they reached the hatch.
“Status?” she called out as they slipped on their suits. Though the other ship should still have air, they did not want to risk it.
“We just completed the docking process,” said Nim. “You may go through.”
A hissing sound followed, and the hatch slid open.
The two friends looked at each other, then stepped through the opening.