Galaxy's End: Book One by LeRoy Clary (pdf ebook reader txt) 📕

like the captain of a starship. If not a captain, certainly a valuable crewman. He fit right in.

I was the odd duck.

Bert fit in. Fang did too. I could sway people with my mind, but how often was that needed? During the negotiations of a trade with a client, I might help. Not always but sometimes. And what would I do on a starship the rest of the time? Sleep? Followed by naps?

I wouldn’t be an engineer. My idea of fixing something was to tell Bill it needed repair. Ships didn’t require pilots because they have computers. I knew nothing about electronics or workstations.

“There it is,” Fang snarled.

A red blip had appeared at the edge of the screen in front of him.

Bert said, “I have it on my monitors, too. That last boost in power you added increased our detection range by seven percent.”

“Do you think they know we spotted them?” Fang asked.

Bert hesitated and I imagined him researching his answer before speaking. He broke the silence when he said, “The MK-8 is the standard unit for detection on almost all ships of this type, and most others. It has the highest sensitivity of any civilian detection equipment sold. Their consistent range that they stay behind shows they know that and are attempting to remain just out of range. Only our fluctuation in speed gave their position away.”

Fang continued for him, “It could be they have the same equipment, so now and then they surge ahead slightly, just enough to see us for a moment, then they slow and stay on our tail.”

“Meaning they are definitely following us,” I said.

The buzzer for the door sounded and I looked at the screen to find Captain Stone on the other side. I let her inside.

She said, “Thank you, Bert. I heard it all.”

Bill and I exchanged a glance. We were wondering what she was going to do.

She took her seat and stared at the little red dot, a slight smile on her lips. Fang misted himself again and turned a pair of questioning eyestalks in my direction without turning his head. I ignored them. We three waited in silence.

As often happened, Captain Stone surprised us again. She said, “Okay, we know they are there, and they don’t know that. Good. Keep a watch on them.”

She settled back in her seat.

I couldn’t help myself. “That’s it?”

Stone said, “I’ve spoken with my ship. Well, not spoken, but messaged each other. Heshmat has an old military ship-for-hire in orbit. My First Officer is hiring it. Since we know where we’re going, he can supply the coordinates to the military ship to wait and intercept it, as well as lay mines and have warm torpedoes to convince that ship back there to stop for inspection. My First Officer will lead the boarding party.”

Fang said, “That sounds expensive. If you need more funds, I may be able to help, for a small fee.”

Captain Stone laughed, the first genuine laugh I’d heard from her in a day. She said, “Thanks, but we have it covered. I’ll pay their fee, which is minimum because we’ve also offered a split on any compensation if we should capture the ship and sell it back to the owners.”

Bill said, “Are you sure that we are not pirates?”

We all turned to him.

He shrugged. “This will be the second ship we’ve taken over in two days. Well, more than that because we won’t take over the second ship for a week or so, but you get my point. The way it’s going, by the time we arrive at Heshmat, we may have another ship or two in tow.”

It was not funny, but we laughed.

Captain Stone told the AI to sound an alarm if the pursuing ship started to close the distance between us. I decided to head for the galley. I hadn’t eaten since sleeping.

Bill said with a sideways glance my way, “We’ve determined that one of the galley crew, the ship’s stewards, is most likely the killer.”

There went my idea of a full meal served at a table in the galley. To date, I had enjoyed eating food served by others twice. Both times on this ship.

I called in a voice slightly louder to draw attention, “Bert, I was counting on that meal. Have you cleared any of the Dreamer’s stewards?”

“No.”

“Do you have a suspect?”

“No.”

I sighed.

Captain Stone, yes, I was getting used to using her title now that we were able, glanced my way. She said, “You could make something for yourself.”

Feeling obstinate, I said, “The poison may have been applied to the ingredients days ago.”

“There is that,” the captain said as her head turned, so she could watch the ship following again. It was not the red blip that she was thinking about but the ship it represented. Which ship was it, why was it there, how did it know the correct distance to follow undetected, and most important, was it armed?

Rather than draw her away from her duties, I opened the door and slipped out. I heard the chink of the locking pin being inserted before strolling down the passageway. I paused at the door to the dining room and composed myself.

I was about to do a little sleuthing on my own.

Inside were three passengers huddled at the same table, two females, and one of indeterminate sex. One steward stood aside, cleaning the tabletops, the chair seats, and anything else that didn’t move.

He was a young male, wearing a white uniform, as all stewards did, and an apron wrapped around his middle. His skin was mottled and wrinkled in patterns, much like the water-monsters on Roma. They were a species of quasi-reptile that ate anything that got too close to their ponds and swamps. Their camouflage coloring and rough-textured skin allowed them