station will draw them from great distances,” said Spectra as she took over the science station.
“Is it alone?” I asked.
“Unlikely. It is just a hauler, fairly defenseless. Most likely it has an escort that has remained cloaked,” said Spectra.
“Then keep us cloaked, but bring us close to their hull. I want to check them out,” I said.
“Dusty, we should get out of here,” said Spectra.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because others will be here soon, and then there will be a fight for this debris,” she said.
I knew Spectra was probably right, but I really wanted to assume that this hauler was connected in some way and continue the investigation. Someone built that station and expended a considerable amount of resources on doing it; it should be possible to find them.
“Spectra is right, Master. We should leave while we still can,” said Rocky.
“Then take us out of here, slowly and quietly. Once we are clear, jump,” I said. I would have to contact Master Shadow, but we could not do that while cloaked.
“Dusty, something is not right,” said Spectra.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the hauler is putting out a sensor pulse,” she said.
“So? Are they watching for others who might make a claim?” I asked.
“No, this pulse is at the wrong wavelength for that. The only reason for this kind of pulse is that they know there is a cloaked ship here and they are trying to force it out.”
“Can it find us?” I asked.
“No, we should be fine,” she said.
“Then, Rocky, get us out of here carefully,” I said.
Rocky said, “Yes, Master.”
“Dusty …” Spectra began but was cut off by more tactical alarms. I looked up at the display as Rocky said, “Five sparrow class fighters de-cloaked and are sweeping the area.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Not sure, Master, but our best plan is still to slip away,” said Rocky.
“We might be in the middle of some kind of feud,” suggested Spectra.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“They might be watching for an ambush from a competing scavenger group or some such thing,” she said.
“Rocky, how long until we are far enough away to safely jump?” I asked.
“If these sparrows keep up their current sweep pattern, at least several hours,” he said.
“Is there any chance they will find us?” I asked.
“No, they lack the technology to sniff us out. We just need to keep our cool and coast to the jump point,” said Spectra, but she did not sound sure.
I looked over the tactical displays and wondered what Shadow would do. As I did, I could hear Master Mathorn in my head saying, “ You are not Shadow, you are Dusty .” Still, Shadow’s experience would be handy here, but he had sent me out to learn to lead on my own.
“Opinions?” I asked.
“Master, let’s just coast out of here and move on as planned,” said Rocky.
“I am not sure,” said Spectra.
“Something is bothering you. Speak up,” I said.
“It’s just that nothing they are doing is consistent with normal scavenger behavior,” she said. “Well, other than actually picking up the debris, which they are doing.”
“Are you thinking they are connected to the station?” I asked.
“The odds are against it, but it still seems strange to me. Maybe we should slip on board that hauler briefly for a peek.”
“Rocky, what do you think?” I asked.
“Master, I think it would be fruitless, but there is really no danger of them finding us, so I don’t see any real harm in it.”
“Spectra, are we out of your range to gate us back yet?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Rocky, work with her to get in her range and stay within that distance. We can fly over in Night Wraith Form but might need to gate back if things go poorly.”
“Yes, Master.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Spectra and I slipped on board the hauler and found more of what we had seen on the station. That is, we discovered nothing but automated systems and robots.
“ I assume this is not normal? ”I asked.
“ No,
“Is it alone?” I asked.
“Unlikely. It is just a hauler, fairly defenseless. Most likely it has an escort that has remained cloaked,” said Spectra.
“Then keep us cloaked, but bring us close to their hull. I want to check them out,” I said.
“Dusty, we should get out of here,” said Spectra.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because others will be here soon, and then there will be a fight for this debris,” she said.
I knew Spectra was probably right, but I really wanted to assume that this hauler was connected in some way and continue the investigation. Someone built that station and expended a considerable amount of resources on doing it; it should be possible to find them.
“Spectra is right, Master. We should leave while we still can,” said Rocky.
“Then take us out of here, slowly and quietly. Once we are clear, jump,” I said. I would have to contact Master Shadow, but we could not do that while cloaked.
“Dusty, something is not right,” said Spectra.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the hauler is putting out a sensor pulse,” she said.
“So? Are they watching for others who might make a claim?” I asked.
“No, this pulse is at the wrong wavelength for that. The only reason for this kind of pulse is that they know there is a cloaked ship here and they are trying to force it out.”
“Can it find us?” I asked.
“No, we should be fine,” she said.
“Then, Rocky, get us out of here carefully,” I said.
Rocky said, “Yes, Master.”
“Dusty …” Spectra began but was cut off by more tactical alarms. I looked up at the display as Rocky said, “Five sparrow class fighters de-cloaked and are sweeping the area.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Not sure, Master, but our best plan is still to slip away,” said Rocky.
“We might be in the middle of some kind of feud,” suggested Spectra.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“They might be watching for an ambush from a competing scavenger group or some such thing,” she said.
“Rocky, how long until we are far enough away to safely jump?” I asked.
“If these sparrows keep up their current sweep pattern, at least several hours,” he said.
“Is there any chance they will find us?” I asked.
“No, they lack the technology to sniff us out. We just need to keep our cool and coast to the jump point,” said Spectra, but she did not sound sure.
I looked over the tactical displays and wondered what Shadow would do. As I did, I could hear Master Mathorn in my head saying, “ You are not Shadow, you are Dusty .” Still, Shadow’s experience would be handy here, but he had sent me out to learn to lead on my own.
“Opinions?” I asked.
“Master, let’s just coast out of here and move on as planned,” said Rocky.
“I am not sure,” said Spectra.
“Something is bothering you. Speak up,” I said.
“It’s just that nothing they are doing is consistent with normal scavenger behavior,” she said. “Well, other than actually picking up the debris, which they are doing.”
“Are you thinking they are connected to the station?” I asked.
“The odds are against it, but it still seems strange to me. Maybe we should slip on board that hauler briefly for a peek.”
“Rocky, what do you think?” I asked.
“Master, I think it would be fruitless, but there is really no danger of them finding us, so I don’t see any real harm in it.”
“Spectra, are we out of your range to gate us back yet?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Rocky, work with her to get in her range and stay within that distance. We can fly over in Night Wraith Form but might need to gate back if things go poorly.”
“Yes, Master.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Spectra and I slipped on board the hauler and found more of what we had seen on the station. That is, we discovered nothing but automated systems and robots.
“ I assume this is not normal? ”I asked.
“ No,
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