Chapter 8: The Gathering Audience

On the outside of the Jian Seng, the few crewmembers that were outside were bundled up for warmth. Most of the crew that worked at the facility wore some form of thermal protection that overlapped their jumpsuit uniforms. The internal heating, however, was slow to kick in as it slowly warming everything up.

Steam was rising from the transport, especially near the heated thrusters. The collected ice and snow on the sides and top were melting. The main bow door was open and lowered to the deck, with the large container section currently opening up. The armor plates began to retract inward as a loading ramp was being deployed to the deck as well.

Shira, the chief engineer, Obasi, and Manthan were both out discussing and pointing out the different areas of the ship. Taking careful note, the goal was to assess and affirm that the vessel was in operational status. In the distance was Lifen, who was talking with some scientist dressed in white lab clothes. The male scientist had a pale complexion and a small thin mustache to him. He almost had a prudish look to him. His hands were waving about whenever he spoke to the captain. Shira also recognized another engineer that was a distance from her that was busy assessing the ship but not part of the group.

She recognized this individual as Bertram or the right-hand man to Obasi. He was busy rubbing his cheek. Her fin-like ear was aimed at both the Captain that spoke and Bertram rather than the team of engineers.

“I am still concerned about the sensor network,” Obasi told the chief engineer. “Manthan, was it working alright during your watch?”

“It would occasionally flicker on and off,” Manthan replied. “As soon as it did, the secondary system would turn on.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Whittaker replied with his gruff voice. “The new parts will be coming shortly.”

“Even then,” Obasi warned. “It is a sign that the system is fully degraded now than ever.”

“You worry too much,” Manthan replied with glee. “We can conduct all the repairs in space.”

Obasi slapped his signs. “Fine ... just don’t make me work overtime like last night. Sick of that shit.”

Whittaker said nothing at first as his eyes went and looked at the protruding antennas. Getting the main communications array online was quickly being overridden by the sensors that were falling apart. Lack of parts made this nearly impossible to fix, and the chief engineer was fully aware of it.

“I don’t suppose you have any ideas on how to fix the system, Shira?” Whittaker asked her without turning his head to her.

Obasi and Manthan both looked at her. Obasi didn’t seem to hold the anger and hatred towards her after proving pivotal in fixing the communications array. Manthan already showed renowned confidence in the alien woman. With Shira, however, she was quiet at first. Her attention seemed somewhat diverted.

“The answer to fixing it will come soon enough,” Shira replied.

“See? I knew it,” Obasi almost mocked her. “She can’t solve all of our problems.”

The words almost fell on deaf ears. His tone was not a display of anger, and nobody seemed annoyed by it. He was not angry but not happy with her either. His tone, while accusatory, was primarily neutral.

“Ah, Obasi, stop being mean to her,” Manthan tried to stop him. “She helped the engineers out yesterday. These problems require all of us to work together.”

Obasi sighed a little bit. Even for Shira, the words just seemed too much to say. She felt no insult by Obasi and only remained focused on the events going on in the hangar bay. She could see a large mobile vehicular crane that was heading to the bow of the ship. On one of the magnetic latches was a large sphere-like device. On its side were a control panel and latching network. There were two additional sphere-like objects in the distance as well. The scientist continued to walk with the captain with a look of concern on his face.

“I think we will be alright,” the chief finally said as he was observing the side. He said it primarily to himself as he continued to follow carefully.

Both Obasi and Manthan were talking to each other. Shira turned her body to the oncoming captain and scientist. She could hear the two talking as they finally got within audio range.

“These superconducting magnets must survive the trip,” the scientist said with a thick Spanish accent. “They are my life’s work.”

“Doctor Lozano, you are getting worried about nothing,” Lifen argued back. “It is a simple trip to Valdivia. As soon as we depart, we will be heading to that location. It will be an hour at the most.”

“But about the pirates. If they get a hold of that technology, I will be ruined. The magnets I made are better than anything the UWA has ever seen.”

“You just told me that, Doctor. I know.”

“I am saying it over and over again to make sure you understand. Any damage to that and they won’t work. They are very delicate.”

“Look, you won’t have to worry about pirates because it’s going in that!” Lifen remarked, pointing at the Jian Seng.

“That CC-5 will be a sitting duck! The pirates will easily...”

“Lozano, that is what I am trying to tell you. This is not a CC-5 transport. This is a Fu Yi class military transport. See the guns and armor plating?”

By now, the first mobile crane was carrying the large metal sphere up the ramp and into the cargo container. It gently placed the device and began to reverse out and back onto the ramp.

“Ah...” Lozano said as he began to nod. “They did manage to send a military transport after all.” His eyes befell Shira as he pointed his hand at her. “What is this Itrean doing here?”

“That is a member of my crew,” Lifen replied.

“A Shal’rein? I am well aware of them. They are thugs. Why do you have one?”

Shira remained quiet and composed as the two were close to her now. The captain seemed annoyed with the doctor’s antics and comments.

“That is enough, Doctor,” Lifen explained to him. “It shows me that you didn’t even bother to read the report the UHN sent to you. Shira is a member of my crew. Treat her with respect. Her job is the same as everyone else’s, and that is to safeguard your technology.”

“What is so important with these magnets, Doctor Lozano?” Shira calmly asked the doctor.

Lozano seemed to be surprised by the question. He didn’t expect such fluency with the words, perhaps that he quickly snapped out of it and gritted his teeth a little bit.

“I’m surprised that you would care,” Lozano replied to her.

“It was a simple question, Doctor.”

“Fine. They’re superpowered magnets,” he explained as he pointed at the next crane that was grabbing the next spherical device. “They’re one of the most powerful magnets to be ever constructed. When activated, it will draw everything within this hangar into it or send it flying to the hull of the Jian Seng. They are plasma-induced Tri-Haltrin Lozano Neodymium.”

“I have never heard of that design.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to know, Shal’rein. I actually created and named the element after myself. The magnetic fields these things make are perfect for mining operations. These can be used on drills to help extract the rare metals on Valdivia. I plan on making more of these, but I need to make sure that they can be properly field-tested.”

“Rest assured, Doctor. That it is a very likely possibility,” she replied. Shira momentarily looked at the next crane that was moving up the ramp with the next sphere in tow.

“I put my life on it,” the doctor said, pointing to her. “Make sure that no one touches it!”

“We swear it,” Lifen answered for her.

This didn’t seem to be enough to quell the scientist. His emotions ruled out his prized work. With Shira, she could understand that the man wanted this delivery to succeed. Her head turned towards the direction as the scientist continued to rant a little bit. She put her hands behind her back as she remained calm and collected. Despite the words the man said to the captain, it did not phase the Itrean woman at all. Finally, the doctor went and waved his hand at Lifen. His expression only hinted at annoyance and lack of control in the situation. He turned around and walked away from everyone.

The captain gave a slight sputter of annoyance. Even the most professional individuals might have had some challenges. She made sure to wait for the scientist to be at a safe distance before she spoke to Shira.

“Ugh ... civilians,” Lifen replied quietly enough for Shira to hear. “I already have to worry enough about some things.”

“I would be more concerned about the sensor array system,” Shira replied to her.

“Yes ... again, thank you for your help with last night. Lozano was pissed off enough as it was with the delay in the shipping.”

Shira gave a brief nod to her. The captain’s attention went towards the chief engineer that was busy talking with Manthan and Obasi. She started to head toward them. Shira’s attention was briefly attuned to the discussion that was at hand. She turned and began to walk back the gathering group. Her shark-like tail swung briefly in the air as she kept her hands behind her back. She debated about lighting a cigarette but kept it confined for now.

“I am worried about the sensor system,” Obasi told the captain. “It was going in and out these last several days. It was doing it again.”

“Manthan, I remember you telling me about it,” Lifen commented. “Chief, any status on the shipment of parts yet?”

“We are waiting on it right now,” Whittaker replied. “It should...”

Before he could say anything else, the door that led further into the base opened up. Two individuals in UHN uniform, a man and a woman, came walking out and into the hangar bay. The woman was carrying parts in hand. One looked like a tool of some sort, while the other was a large socket and gray cylindrical pipe. The chief gave a brief sigh of relief.

“There it is,” he said. “Yeah ... that’s it alright. It ... is one of the replacement couplers needed for the primary sensor array.”

“How is the status of the sensor array?” Lifen asked.

“It was operating at 100%, but it occasionally dips 78% efficiency. The primary array is basically in a complete degradation cycle. It’s acting like the transceiver array is turning on and off. The secondary array kicks back online, but ... the effective range is less when it does so.”

Shira’s attention was momentarily focused on the man that had entered. He had broken off and waved at Bertram. The concentration of the others was mainly focused on the woman with the parts. It was easily the most crucial thing in the room. She pretended to only give attention to the woman as everyone else was.

“Do we need to stay here and conduct the repairs on the sensor system?” Lifen asked with some reluctance.

The chief engineer was not fully decided yet. “I don’t know yet, Captain,” he replied to her. “For a short trip like this, I probably wouldn’t worry so much about it. We need those parts if the repairs are going to take place.”

“I’m not exactly in the mood to be here with Lozano breathing down our necks,” Lifen commented.

“Doctor Lozano means well,” Shira answered calmly. “I can tell from his facial inflections that he is true to his work. He wishes to see this shipment be completed. His attitude reflects that of a person who had to wait longer than expected for our arrival. The sooner that we leave, the sooner he will finally be able to calm down in turn.”

The last sphere was loaded into the cargo container of the Jian Seng. The chief engineer waved at the woman to come forth as she gave a brief smile on her face. Manthan, Obasi, Whittaker, and Lifen were focused on the smiling woman, almost as if she was making the most significant delivery on Palora. Shira, on the other hand, was studying the woman closely. She had similar facial complexions as the man and Doctor Lozano. She almost appeared to be Brazilian by her past nationality if she was on former Earth. Her long black wrapped-up hair and bronze complexion were apparent. On the other hand, the man who walked over to Bertram also had similar looks with short black hair but had a paler face. The Itrean woman made sure to keep her attention directed on the woman.

“There it is,” Whittaker remarked as the woman happily planted the pipe-like device into his hands.

“The Genisen J70 Conduit you ordered,” the woman said with a familiar Spanish-like accent.

“There is only one of them. Do you have the other?”

“It’s the only one. They just don’t make these anymore, Chief.”

“Fuck...” Whittaker said as he shook his head. “We need both to have the primary sensor array fully operational.”

“Will it improve everything?” Lifen asked.

The chief engineer nodded. “It will have to. I was really hoping to have both. At least we have the proper tools.”

“Without the other part,” Obasi said. “We are looking at it being 85% of operation. Might not fix it completely. The sensor system will still go in and out.”

“How long will it take to install it?” the Captain asked.

“We can do it right now, Captain. It will take like ten minutes tops.”

“Manthan, bring this into the ship and begin the installation.”

Shira’s head was turned to Bertram. Both of the men were talking to each other. With the attention diverted, her one shark-like eye was focused on the two. Very briefly, Bertram pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to the other man. It was done in a discreet way to ensure that handling it over wouldn’t be observed. The two didn’t even seem to notice the towering Shal’rein in the distance that was watching them.

With that, Shira began to walk towards the two men. It was enough to grab the attention of the captain and chief engineer that both looked at her and the direction she was heading. Obasi had a look of concern as to what was going on. Manthan already had the part in hand as he was heading up the ramp of the ship. He hadn’t seen the set of events to occur.

Bertram and the other man were busy communicating to one another, but it was obvious that the approaching towering alien woman was enough for them to look over to her. They stopped talking as Shira stood towering over them.

“Is there a problem, Itrean?” Bertram asked her with deep suspicion. The other man said nothing.

“Excuse me,” Shira coldly replied. “I couldn’t help but notice that you handed something to him.”

“What’s it to you? Go the fuck away!”

Shira’s head was turned towards the stranger. Her shark-like yellow eye gazed upon him. She wagged her shark-like tail around for a moment. With absolute calm, she took a step towards him. Bertram started to get defensive. Lifen, at first, seemed to hesitate in heading towards her direction, but the moment that the chief engineer began to walk towards her was enough to persuade her to head over as well. Obasi had a look of anger and suspicion on his face as he had to head over to see what was going on.

“Hey!” Bertram yelled at Shira. “What the fuck?! Leave Matias alone!”

“May I see what it was that you handed to Matias?” Shira asked as she extended her hand to the man.

“What the hell are you talking about?” the stranger of the man replied back to her. He almost swatted the large four-fingered hand away.

The chief engineer was behind Shira now. His attention was focused on Bertram.

“Is there a problem?” Whittaker asked everyone.

“Yeah ... this Shal’rein.”

“Shira,” the chief corrected him. “Her name is Shira.”

Bertram expressed some anger. “This woman came up to me and started getting in Matia’s face.”

Lifen was quiet as she observed the events. She folded up her arms, and she let everything unfold. It appeared that Bertram didn’t notice the captain’s arrival. Obasi, however, was going to become defensive at the event.

“Why are you bothering my friend?” Obasi demanded from Shira.

“You are avoiding the question,” Shira said as her gaze remained focused on Matias. “May I see what Bertram gave to you?”

“Shira, what is that you saw?” Whittaker asked her.

“In the last few minutes, I have seen Bertram and Matias talking to one another,” Shira explained. “During your discussion with the scientist Lozano, Bertram handed a small device to Matias.”

“I didn’t hand anything to him!” Bertram countered.

“That is a lie,” she said in a collected tone.

“You dare accuse my friend of lying!?” Obasi replied.

“Obasi, that is enough,” Whittaker said. “Bertram?”

“I didn’t give him anything ... I swear! What the fuck is the issue here!?”

“That is another lie,” Shira explained. “I can see your eyes are blinking more often than it is. You are also not looking directly at my face as compared to yesterday. Your eyes continually shift in other directions away from me.”

“What?” Obasi reacted. “He is just nervous of you!”

“He was not nervous of me yesterday at the mess hall. When I displayed my teeth to him, he kept his head aimed toward me at all times.”

“Matias, show me your pockets,” Whittaker demanded from him. “This is an order.”

“I don’t have to obey it,” Matias argued back. “You are not the superior of my base.”

Whittaker showed a look of surprise that quickly turned into anger. “Like hell ... you want me to bring your COC down here so we can have you show what’s in your pockets?”

“She is making up shit!” Bertram said as he pointed up at her. “She has it in for me after the shit from yesterday.”

“Fucking hell,” Obasi finally relented. “Matias, just show your fucking pockets. If Shira is making this up, then we can accuse her of harassment later.”

Matias began to show signs of sweating as Shira retracted her hand back to her back. He gave in as his hands began to go towards his rear pocket. He started to turn it inside out. A small tool fell out of it and into the deck.

“A Genisen Hyper Screwdriver,” Whittaker said. “Nothing impressive there.”

“See?” Matias argued back. “I have nothing. Now leave me...”

“You have not shown your other pocket,” Shira interrupted him.

Everyone remained quiet except Obasi that was mumbling curse words primarily to himself or what was happening. Matias then reached to his other pocket as he began to expose it. He tried to use his hand to stop something from falling out. The moment that it did happen, Shira’s hand reached out and grabbed it with pure grace and swiftness. It took Matias by surprise as the linen of his pocket revealed a small screw-like fuse. It landed on the deck with a hard thunk.

“Hey!” Matias yelled back at Shira. “She is trying to attack...”

With that, Shira released her hold on his arm, almost shoving it away. She once again put her hands behind her back. Bertram expressed anger and shock while Obasi was ready to jump on Shira.

Thankfully, none of that happened as the chief engineer walked over and picked up the part. He began to investigate it in his hand as his eyes looked over to Matias and Bertram.

“This is a transceiver fuse for the sensor array,” Whittaker said as he gripped the part in his hand. “This would match the ones that we use for our sensor array.”

“It just so happens that I have one,” Matias argued back. “I was planning on giving it to Bertram to help out on the repairs.”

“Hmmm ... my orders were sent back to me on this,” Whittaker said as he kept a skeptical look on his face. “They were all out of these. What is the meaning of this? Why do you have this?”

“I was planning on giving a spare part to Bertram ... it ... it was what I said before.”

“According to Shira, she saw Bertram handing something to you, though. If there is any sort of spare parts that you have that I need, it goes to your chain of command before it reaches me. Now ... why am I holding this?”

“I might be able to explain this,” Shira answered as her head turned to look at Whittaker. “This is one of the parts that was taken off of the sensor array.”

“What?” Whittaker replied with surprise.

“Indeed. In reviewing the logs, I have come to the conclusion that the reason the system is falling apart is that it is being stripped of non-essential parts.”

“I ... I would have noticed it.”

“Not necessarily. As chief engineer, you are overtasked in taking care of all systems on the ship. This forces you into a role of overseer where other engineers can commit to actions that you are not fully aware of. This is not an attempt to mock you in any way since your job is being pressed into multiple roles. Upon reviewing the logs, I have observed that the primary sensor array is slowly being stripped apart, and the working parts are being sent to somewhere or someone else.”

“How? What other proof that you have on this claim?” Whittaker demanded.

“I believe that Bertram is part of a front to sell parts into the black market that will most likely find its way to the Nova Pirates in the asteroid belt of Oracip or Picaro. Upon further review, I have recognized Matias and the other woman as criminals.”

“What?” Obasi remarked. “You accuse my friend of being a criminal and a thief?”

“Yes. The income pay of an enlisted for UHN personnel is inadequate. Conditions on Palora sometimes help encourage theft and other criminal activities as well. According to the logs, the system started to degrade once the Alpha shift would take over.”

“Heh heh,” Obasi almost laughed. “Then you got it all wrong. I have the Alpha shift. Bertram has the Beta shift. Nice try.” He folded up his arms.

“That is not completely true. Approximately a week ago, Bertram had one watch on the Beta shift.”

“Yeah, he...” He stopped as he thought about it. “Wait, you are right. Bertram did have one watch.”

“Obasi...” Whittaker snapped at him. He pointed his finger at him. “Don’t you be trying to lie to me and cover his ass!”

“No, no, Chief,” Obasi waved his hands at him. “I really meant it. I forgot about it. Yes, it is true that Bertram had a Beta shift watch. He claimed that he wanted to catch up on some shows that he missed and wanted to be able to spend all day watching it. He wanted to take up the Alpha and Beta shifts to have the next day completely off. I didn’t mind him doing a watch for me.”

“Normally, the watches involve two personnel,” Shira explained as she slowly turned to look at the captain. “In this Beta shift watch, Bertram would be alone. It is here that he used the opportunity to begin stripping the system. Captain Lifen, when did the crew start to know about the planned departure to Palora?”

“Approximately a month ago,” Lifen answered. “There had been delays, of course, from all sides.”

“That would leave enough time for Bertram to begin taking anything valuable off of the ship. I would not be surprised if other parts that you need are currently in his possession.”

“Chief Whittaker, why is Bertram currently on watch? Shouldn’t his be on the next shift?”

“He is supposed to...,” Whittaker replied, giving Bertram an evil eye. “I asked for a volunteer to help out with this watch ... he was the first one to stand up.”

“Yeah ... well, I wanted to set a good impression,” Bertram said.

“Also another lie,” Shira remarked.

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Whittaker said. “Bertram rarely volunteers for such events.”

“What about the other two you just accused of being criminals?” Lifen asked Shira.

“You will find that Matias’ profile matches that of Carno Caetano, a thief that works for other criminal organizations. He was released from prison over a year ago.”

“How would that be possible?” Lifen asked. “It would endanger the likelihood of working for the UHN with a past criminal record.”

“That is true. However, he works for Palora’s military service. It is very likely that the organization he works for has bribed officials to get him put into service or look the other way.”

“And what organization would that be?”

“I don’t know. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough data to give a quantifiable answer.”

The chief engineer had tapped his augmented arm. It turned on as he tapped the projection screen that appeared. He looked at the list of options that he had available. He lifted his arm towards Matias’ direction as a small beam of light began to scan his face. Matias was sweating now. Bertram’s fingers would grip tightly and fidget at times. There was a positive ID scan made from the arm. It showed up on display.

“Confirmed,” Whittaker replied as he tapped the security call button. “He is Carno Caetano.”

“Yeah, but...” Bertram tried to argue back in a flustered state. “Wait, though. Did you see how Shira’s hand flew to his earlier? She had it in her hand and tried to drop it to the deck to frame us. She attacked us!”

Everyone began to evaluate the scene carefully now. Obasi gave a look of anger at Bertram. His mind on Shira was quickly changing the more and more he heard from her.

“You son of a bitch,” Obasi said to Bertram. “You fucking told me to toss that cup at her yesterday. You dared me to do it. Now I find out that you used me to strip my ship bone dry! You fucking liar.”

“Obasi ... my man,” Bertram argued back with a nervous smile. “She is just making up shit to have me accused of something that I didn’t...”

“No,” Obasi waved his hand at him. “She helped us out last night when she didn’t have to. She helped fix a problem that if I find out was you, will have to be Captain’s order to stop me from breaking your arms!”

“I have security on its way here,” Whittaker told Lifen.

Despite the intensity of the scene, Obasi knew that Lifen was watching him. He could do nothing more upon the revelation that had occurred. Bertram gave a scolding look at Shira. Meanwhile, the chief was keeping an eye on Matias. Shira seemed unimpressed with everything.

“How did you know that Matias was a thief?” Lifen asked her.

“When I came to the possible conclusion that Bertram was the one responsible for taking parts from the ship, I began to do cross-references on possible criminals on Palora. I kept a memory of those faces. Of course, this could have been easily incorrect or just a coincidence. Faces are faces, after all. It was likely that I could be mistaken, however. I noticed that the woman that was delivering the part to us was a carefully designed plan to distract us. It was a rather good plan that was executed poorly. The woman’s face is also similar to that of Somara Rosana, one with ties with the Nova Pirates, although her crimes are more of minor data retrieval than true theft. Her sentences were rather light. When she handed the part to the chief, Bertram made the exchange with Carno Caetano as discreetly as possible.”

“Surrounded by criminals...,” Whittaker said as he shook his head.

“That isn’t entirely true, Chief,” Shira calmly explained to him. “An analysis needs to be done on the woman to confirm if I am true or not. Even if that is the case, Palora’s population of 270,000 only has a total population of 1,174 confirmed criminals. That is less than 0.4% of the total population. However, the pirates and other known criminal organizations have likely bribed and corrupted government officials. This base might be a part of a forwarding operation for criminals, but it easily might not be.”

“Unfortunately, I will have to take your word on it,” Lifen remarked.

“Um...” Bertram said as he began to scratch the back of his head. “The ... remaining parts that I took are in my locker ... just to let you know.”

“Good. Come clean now,” Lifen said, holding back her anger. She shook her head at him. “It might lessen the charges that I will have to press to you. Make sure that you are court-martialed rather than having my crew throw you out an airlock in space. You are a disgrace to that uniform.”

It was an empty threat that Shira recognized immediately. Lifen was being nice despite the truth that was brought out. Caetano, however, seemed to have a slight smirk on his face like he was caught red-handed. The chief was keeping a close eye on him.

“Are you going to take me on the ship?” Bertram asked.

“No...” Lifen replied. “You will be placed under arrest here and now. I can’t have you on my ship if you are going to be doing that. I will have to take the risk that Palora will do the right thing and make sure that you are behind bars. As for ... Caetano...” she paused as her eyes looked at him. “Hopefully, we will have one less criminal running around.”

“Rot in a cell,” Obasi angrily told Bertram.

“Obasi, go ahead and go to Bertram’s locker and start pulling everything that he took. Start reinstalling them again. Hopefully, our systems will start operating better than before.”

“Aye, Captain,” Obasi replied. Shira turned her head to look down at him. He looked up at her and gave another brief nod to her before walking away. He almost spat on his former friend’s foot as he left.

“I wasn’t expected to be stopped by a Shal’rein,” Caetano said in a sly voice. “The Nova Pirates have been dealing enough with the criminal chain of the T’rintar clan. The Shal’rein are stupid grunts that don’t know better.”