"Sir?"
Linkaas turned, gazing at his subordinate with thoughtful eyes. The sun of Evas VI had finally come out after three days of rain, and he wanted to enjoy its soothing warmth. Sunlamps only did so much.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked, leaning forward. "And it had better be good."
The subordinate seemed to shrink inside his clothing. "Sir, you wanted to know when Lifehold got his assignment?"
"And has he?"
"Yes, sir, just a few moments ago."
Linkaas turned back towards the window. "Excellent. He'll have to stop at Darkon III first before going to Dohu. Send Chokk and Bakk to Dohu immediately. I want them in place when Lifehold gets there."
The subordinate looked relieved. "They've already left, sir. Chokk says they'll beat Lifehold to Dohu by at least a day."
"Good," Linkaas said, drinking in the warmth. The rain had been good for his fronds, but without the sunlight he would freeze. "That should give them plenty of time to be in place to kill Lifehold." He spun suddenly, startling the subordinate. "Was there anything else?"
"N-no, sir," the subordinate mumbled.
"Very well, then. I think that I shall take my sun on the terrace. Wheel me out, Qwot."
"Yes, sir."
* * *
The pinging of the proximity alarm woke Dannen from a reasonably sound sleep. With a yawn and a stretch, he hopped down from his berth and headed for the bridge of the Lifeline. Out of habit, he cocked his ears, listening for any change in pitch that would indicate engine problems. Satisfied that his ship would make it back to Evas, he paused at an empty cabin. He almost knocked before he caught himself. Feq had been dead for a couple of months now, but Dannen still found himself listening for Feq's jovial voice, his friendly chuckle, and his curses as he'd tried to keep the engines running.
Face it, Lifehold, Dannen told himself, he's gone. At least you won't have to listen to his snoring.
Turning, Dannen walked to the bridge and sat down just as the hyperdrive shut off and the main engine kicked in. Checking his readouts, he confirmed that he was indeed just outside the Dohu system, about 20,000 kilometers from the outermost planet's orbit. He hated coming out this far from the system, but without a backup pilot, he didn't have much choice. He had to sleep sometime, after all. But, with eight planets in the system and his destination the seventh, he only had a short flight to deal with.
He glanced over at the empty copilot's chair. Well, at least this was the last job he owed on his debt. One more pickup/delivery, one more payment to Linkaas, and the Lifeline would be his at last -- lock, stock, and sensor dish. Then he could afford to hire a first mate, and go for the profits.
Two hours later, as he guided his ship towards the largest land mass on Dohu VII, his ship comm began blaring insistently. "Unidentified ship, this is Dohu Space Control, respond immediately. Unidentified ship, this is Dohu Space Con--"
Dannen hit the response button, cutting the voice off in mid-syllable. "Dohu Space Control, go ahead."
"Unidentified ship, please broadcast your identity beacon, and state your purpose."
"Transmitting code now, Space Control," Dannen said, flicking a switch.
A moment later, the comm crackled to life again. "Space Control to starship Black Knight, state your purpose."
"Equipment delivery to warehouse of Linkaas Corporation in city of Skagras," he replied. A small lie; actually, it was a pickup.
"Starship Black Knight, you are cleared to land at Docking Bay 71 in the city of Skagras. Directions are being transmitted to your guidance computer."
"Space Control, this is the Black Knight, cleared for Docking Bay 71," Dannen said. "Directions received. Thanks for the assistance. Black Knight out."
* * *
Skagras was a fairly good-sized city, but Docking Bay 71 was little more than a pit in the ground with a few support buildings nearby. As Dannen hovered over the pit, the ship lurched to starboard, and a red light began flashing. With a curse, Dannen struggled to keep the ship level as the landing gear lowered. He heard a thunk as the gear locked into place.
Here we go, all or nothing, he thought. Just hope it isn't too serious.
Checking only told him what he had expected -- the starboard repulsorlift had blown out. It was still barely operational, but it meant he had two choices: fix it today with money he didn't have yet or lift off with 40 percent less power. Looked like the second option was all he had.
"Great," Dannen said to himself. "That's all I need today."
Heading out of the ship, he stopped just long enough to grab a datapad with his directions to the warehouse. Consulting it, he saw that it was about four kilometers away, in the heart of the city. Taking the first street he came to, he noticed a cantina on the corner.
A grin crossed his face. He had enough time for a little refreshment.
