Episode 401: Hot Cargo, Cold Cash - Part Two
We quickly attach Kiera’s container in the empty container dock, and sort out accommodations. We have the girls in the four second class cabins, where they’ll double up. Kiera had originally intended to stay in her container since there were second class quarters installed in it. Unfortunately, that container is no longer spacetight and she’s out a place to sleep. Yet she’s paid up for a week at second class. She speaks to Joshua.
Kiera: So, where’s my room at?
Arden: You can stay in my cabin.
Oh, you letch! And in front of the Captain, too.
Joshua: (to Arden) Okay, I’m going to ignore the fact that you said that.
Arden: Why?
Nika: Considering the trouble, an upgrade would be…
Joshua: I have no issues in putting her in a first class stateroom.
Kiera: I’m more than capable of payin’ for first class. If you have one.
Joshua: We do have one and we’d be glad to take your money. I’ll show you to it.
Nika leaves the passengers in Joshua’s hands and returns to the bridge to take off. As we burn atmo off Angel, he escorts her to her first class stateroom, Joshua asks Kiera about the other passengers. Kiera explains the girls are shy and she couldn’t get any of them to talk to her except that one who spoke outside. That one, Channa, is basically her spokesman for the rest of the girls and Kiera ended up dealing with them through her. So if you spoke to her, you’d get things done.
Joshua: I’m pretty good with people, so I think we’ll do okay. Can I get you anything?
Kiera: That would be lovely. Dinner would be spectacular.
Joshua: That won’t be for another couple of hours.
Kiera: I need something to drink. Do you keep spirits aboard?
Joshua: We do have some. We could provide you with one.
Kiera: A shot of something would be great.
Joshua: I can get you a shot of whiskey if you want it.
Kiera steps inside her stateroom, takes a turn around it and is apparently satisfied with it.
Kiera: Well, that was an adventure. (turns to Joshua, holds out hand) Nice to meet you.
Joshua: (shakes her hand) It’s a pleasure. What is your name?
Kiera: My name’s Kiera.
Joshua: Kiera …. ?
Kiera: Sullivan. Kiera Sullivan. Nice to meet you, again, Captain, and I appreciate your help.
Joshua: Wait, I think you’re giving me too much power, here…
Joshua politely bows out and gets her that drink.
Meanwhile in the foredeck corridor, Arden offers to examine the girls physically and Rina steps in and tells him hands off. This degenerates rather quickly into the whys and wherefores of not touching the merchandise versus women aren’t property. Rina can’t seem to make Arden understand that the authorities would not take it kindly if we damaged the girls’ virtue and Arden can’t seem to make Rina understand that the authorities are wrong.
Nika steps in on the wrangle between Rina and Arden and orders them both to never again argue like that in front of the passengers.
Nika: Is that how you really want to run this as a business?
Arden: Run what as a business?
Nika: You’re going to sit here and argue in front of the passengers like that?
Her tone tells us we better hope not.
Arden: I didn’t think we were doing it in front of the passengers.
Nika: From here on out, do it in the crew lounge where the passengers can’t see it.
Rina: Got it. That’s where my tools are anyway. I can brain him with them.
Nika: If you brain him you better learn surgery.
Rina: Workin’ on it.
Arden: How’re you doing surgery on yourself?
Rina gives him her signature eyeroll. Joshua shows up at this point and stands to one side to watch.
Arden: I do have a question, though. A serious, serious question. (points to Rina) She tells me that all these girls are property.
Nika: (slowly) I wouldn’t know but it’s not our business, quite frankly.
Arden: I’m sorry, but I think it is our business. I’m not a slaver and I refuse to be one.
Nika: And Christian wouldn’t’ve booked us the passengers if that’s what’s going on. And?
Joshua: Arden. There’s lots of reasons they might be traveling places.
Arden: And what are those?
Joshua: They are paying passengers. It’s not our job to interrogate them.
Nika: Christian has already vetted this cargo. That’s the bottom line. I trust Christian. If Christian’s vetted the cargo and he sends us cargo, I will guarantee you it’s not slave girls. It might be rescuing slave girls, I don’t know, but we’re not takin’ them somewhere where they’d wind up bein’ slaves.
Arden: Then what’s the problem?
Nika: (snapping!) What is the problem with you two?
Rina: He’s looking to… look… over the girls.
Nika: So?
Rina: (points to Arden) He wants to grab ass! You don’t mess with cargo.
Joshua: They’re passengers. We’re crew. They’re passengers.
Nika: (to Rina) You keep your nose out of his sex life. (to Arden) You keep your libido in your quarters.
Joshua: (seeing Rina’s expression) Oh, no… That’s far enough. Far enough.
Arden: I have no problem with keeping it in my own quarters. What I want to know is if we want the girls checked. Is there an answer here?
Nika: I don’t know. I’ll get back to you on that one.
Arden: Thank you.
And Nika strides off, matter handled. Good Mother of God, she feels slimy. She needs a shower. Arden goes to med bay to get his equipment ready for the exams, should they have them.
When Nika steps onto the bridge, the proximity alarm is yarking. We have a ship on pursuit course aiming for us.
Nika: (muttering) Oh great. What kind of ship?
It appears to be a light transport of some kind, nothing fancy. Not a military ship. They will overtake us before we reach safe pulse distance. They hail us.
Ship: Stop your engines. Prepare to be boarded.
Nika: For what reason?
Ship: You have the property of Sheik Al Hadur of Tabuk.
Nika: I am unaware of any property on board my vessel.
Ship: Then you should have no reason not to stop. We will search. If we do not find it, we will let you go.
Nika: I’ll get back to you.
Ship: We will use force if necessary.
Nika: Understood.
Nika cuts the channel and comms Joshua.
Nika: Joshua. Come to the bridge. Bring our passenger.
Joshua has just settled our first class passenger and goes to the nearest comm to verify.
Joshua: Bring our first class passenger?
Nika: Yes.
Will do. Joshua walks aft and knocks on Kiera’s door.
Joshua: (firmly) Excuse me.
Kiera: Yeah?
Joshua: You’ve been ordered to report to the bridge along with me. I have a feeling trouble is afoot.
On the bridge, Nika hails Rina in the engine room.
Nika: Rina.
Rina: Yes, ma’am.
Nika: Fire up the turbo.
Rina: You got it. (to herself) Looks like the go se’s just hit the fan.
She warms it up but keeps things banked until Nike needs her to flip that switch. Nika watches the gauges until Joshua and Kiera show up. When everyone’s assembled, Nika nails Kiera with her tone.
Nika: (pissed) Well since you didn’t want to tell me on the ground what was going on, you may now inform me exactly just how much trouble you’re in with this Sheik who’s on my ass.
Kiera: Ahhh, darn. Now she told me that nobody was goin’ to be followin’ us. Never trust an old woman. She lied. (sighs) Short story long or long story short?
Nika: Make it the short version because you got about 90 seconds before I have to outrun him.
Kiera: Oh. Well in that case—girls downstairs, property of Sheik, would like to become not-property, because they’re really Indian and they’re really not of that descent and were kinda kidnapped into it and well I was kinda paid to get them out—
Nika: Stop there.
Kiera: (yes, ma’am) There you go.
Nika: Rina! Hit it.
Rina: Hang on to something.
Nika: (on all-ship) Strap in.
Joshua advises Kiera to secure herself in her cabin before he takes a seat at the copilot’s console. Arden hears the announcement and does the same in med bay. Back in the engine room, Rina straps into her chair.
Rina: (on all-ship) On my mark. Five. Four. Three. Two. One…. Mark.
FWOOM!
We haul ass out of there. Kiera’s been though this sort of thing before and she doesn’t dawdle getting herself secured in a jump seat in the passenger lounge. Screaming comes over the comms from the second class cabins. Joshua gets on the intercom as alarms start wailing all over the bridge.
Joshua: All passengers, there is nothing to be worried about. This is momentary turbulence. We will all be together…like…soon. It’s all normal.
The lights on the bridge controls turn red. Nothing immediately explodes and Nika steers us for the pulse point. She rejiggers her astrogation calcs to account for the speed as she gears up to pulse and when the moment is right, she punches it. The stars stretch into ribbons and we leave the Sheik’s ship eating our dust. The ride smoothes out and Nika slides a look at her steward.
Nika: (drawling) Standard fare ain’t coverin’ this. Fix it.
Joshua: Yes, ma’am.
Joshua goes back to check on Kiera, who’s shaking her wrist free of the grab straps.
Joshua: Can I offer you that whiskey?
Kiera: I would like to have that. That would be lovely. Thank you very much. We can talk over the whiskey. Come. Decent alcohol. Let’s see—.
Joshua: Actually, I’d like to go check on the girls real quick. I’ll be back in a moment.
Kiera: Oh, yeah. The girls. All right.
Joshua fetches Arden from med lab to go with him. Arden grabs his bag and Joshua fills him in on the details as they go.
Arden: So they were slave girls.
Joshua: Technically, they weren’t slave girls when we picked them up, because once they’d escaped they were no longer slaves.
Arden: That’s why I said ‘were’.
Joshua: Well see, there you go. Problem solved.
Arden: I would like an apology.
Joshua: Why?
Arden: Because I was right!
Joshua: You don’t deserve an apology for that. If you deserved an apology for being right, then I get an apology every three seconds. So, you can see how that goes.
Arden: Actually, I don’t.
Kiera joins the two men in checking the girls. The girls suffered nothing more serious than some bumps and bruises. Once assured everyone’s all right, Kiera and the menfolk return to the passenger lounge. Back in the engine room, Rina’s running a check on the damage. The turbos weren’t quite hardy enough for this sort of maneuver and it created a cascade of problems when we punched it. Also, the damage we’d taken on in escaping has screwed our sensor package again. We’re at pre-Orcus levels on those and the fuel lines from the Orcus need repair as well. Rina is griping to Nika on the comms and the sound of it drifts down the corridor to lounge.
Rina: I feel like the housemaid around here. Can’t this ship stay fixed? For TEN MINUTES?!
Nika: Nope.
Rina: Vernitieh vas!
Arden: Apparently not.
Joshua: What’s she complaining about? The ship was fixed for two months.
So much for that cake run transporting passengers. Arden continues on to med bay while Joshua gets Kiera that promised drink. Rina’s still sending a muttered stream of invective over the comms. On the bridge, Nika snaps out an order and the resultant running commentary comes in five by five.
Nika: Rina!
Rina: What did you do to my ship!?
Nika: What happens when we come out of pulse with turbo having been running when we jumped?
Rina: (crossly) I don’t know. You’re the pilot.
That exchange is still audible as far back as the passenger lounge and Joshua glances toward the bridge.
Joshua: (to Kiera) Point to Rina on that one, I’m sorry.
Kiera: (pointing to her glass) That won’t do. (gestures to a bigger glass.)
Joshua: You’re right. (grabs two glasses) I’m gonna have some of that… A little bit of this. A little bit of that…
He mixes up a stiffer drink from several liquors on hand and pours Kiera a generous glass of it.
Joshua: Try that.
Kiera: (sips, shakes head) That’s not… It ain’t painful enough yet. How bout s’more of that? (points)
Joshua remixes and hands her the results.
Kiera: Ahhh….now I can feel the lining of my stomach burning off. Now we’re okay.
Back on the bridge, Nika realizes they’re being overheard and puts the comms on her headset and asks her engineer for the bad news.
Nika: What kind of stresses are we talking?
Rina: (calming down) Pretty sucktastic ones.
Nika: Good. Do what you can before we come out of pulse, because I think it’s going to get ugly when we come out.
Rina: Tell me how long we got.
Nika: About a day and a half. It’s a two-day run, but if you can get it done in a day and a half that would probably be better.
Rina: Start the coffee going.
Nika: You know the least Christian could’ve done was said: ‘slaver rescue’.
Rina: Yes. Had he, I would have been better prepared and everybody would have had something better to do than sit on our asses.
Nika: No joke.
Rina: Oh c’mon, Nika. You know that prissy boy always keeps his own council.
Meanwhile, Joshua and Kiera are sharing some words over their drinks.
Joshua: We’re going to have to talk about what happened today. There’s going to have to be a fee on top of everything else, a ‘Danger! Emergency! I’m under pursuit’ fee. Since you didn’t give us a hint or any knowledge that you were going to be—
Kiera: Well, at the time I didn’t know. I was sold a bill of goods saying there’d be no one followin’ me, everything was okay.
Joshua: Did you really? Did you really believe that?
Kiera: Have you seen those girls? They’re just … barn ugly. I mean, who’d miss them?
Joshua: Excuse me?
Nika: Oh, that’s just rude.
Nika’s concluded her conference with Rina and walks in just in time to hear the last. And not missing a beat, Nika tells Kiera that not only is she paying the difference between second and first class for her upgrade, but now she’s gotta pay the difference for the trouble she’s caused. She leaves Joshua to handle the details as she goes back to the bridge. Kiera doesn’t bat a lash.
Joshua: So you’re going to have to end up paying any repair costs.
Kiera: What kinda credits are you talkin’ about?
Joshua: The cost to repair? We don’t know what the cost to repair is going to be, but by the sounds of that particular escape, it might not be cheap. But you never know…we’ve got the best engineer in the ‘Verse.
Kiera: I’m thinkin’ if it’s in-house, it might not cost as much as doing it commercially.
Joshua: That’s true. Like I said, it’s not a flat repair rate, it’s what it costs us to get us back into shape.
Kiera: Well, you see now, it’s only a two-day burn.
Kiera’s paid the standard one-week rate for two days’ travel and we’re keeping the unused portion as pure profit.
Joshua: We can do it with repairs. Repairs only. Like at cost of repairs, to bring us even to where we started.
Kiera: I’m willin’ to do repairs. Heck I might even throw a little bit of ammo in for that gun, if I could get a-hold of it. Cuz I might use you again.
Joshua: All right. We can talk about it.
He leans back in his chair and gestures with his drink.
Joshua: So how did you, um, how did you stumble into this particular situation?
Kiera: Well, there I was. And this tells you what I was dealin’ with. The man did not think the girls were pretty enough, so I was brought in to do a little bit of shufflin’ them around, makin’ them a little prettier. But not pretty enough. Anyway, while I was there I got offered—because I’m kind and I was really distressed at their situation—could I please get these poor girls who were not born into servitude out? For a small fee. Which I said I would be willing to do because I’m just that kind of a person. So there I am and they said they were ugly and they won’t miss’em. Not really goin’ to miss them—that was the eldest wife, Alima. And while I looked at them, okay, yes they were rather okay. But. Either way there was some really gorgeous girls and I figured he really wasn’t going to miss them and besides I was takin’ a moral stance and they weren’t born into it. And so I—
Arden passes through and quips in response to her last sentence.
Arden: And you were getting paid.
Kiera: These are small details that are not important to the morality of the story. Anyway, so there I was. Runnin’ away. And these people came. And they were shootin’ at me because obviously the property and the idea of losin’ it was more important than lettin’ these poor girls go. Which he shouldn’t never had them anyway. And now y’all came and flew in, the drivers are dead so I guess havin’ to pay them is no big deal. So I can cover the repairs because I don’t have to pay dead drivers. So.
Kiera sits up with a bright expression and Arden gapes at Kiera for a beat, then looks at Joshua.
Arden: Joshua.
Joshua: Yes, sir?
Arden: I just want to take a moment and apologize to you. Abjectly. For some of the things I’ve done.
Joshua: All right. Fair enough. I’ll take that into account.
Joshua turns back to Kiera.
Joshua: Well that was… the most fascinating story I’ve heard in a while.
Arden: I especially liked the part about it not having anything to do with the morality of the story. That was interesting.
Kiera: Well, yeah. You gotta keep these things separate, you know.
Arden: But they’re not'! The morality is the morality.
No. She said the monetary details were separate from the morality. Joshua tries to head the brewing argument off at the pass.
Joshua: Kiera Sullivan, meet Dr. Arden. Dr. Arden, Kiera Sullivan.
Kiera: Oh, very nice to meet you, Dr. Arden.
Arden: Nice to meet you, too.
Joshua: So. That’s a… a fascinating story.
Arden: Which should be applauded.
Joshua: But the next time you might—you might—want to inform us that there might be the possibility that there might be someone after you or the cargo.
Kiera: I was quite stunned to find out that there were people chasing me.
Arden: I missed the beginning of the story. It was the wives who wanted to get rid of these girls?
Kiera: Yeah. There were wives, also.
Arden: So it was the guys, the husbands, the mas—whatever you want to call them—they were the ones who were chasing after you.
Kiera: I’m assuming. I didn’t stop and ask them. We didn’t negotiate.
Arden: By the evidence of my eyes, you are a female.
Joshua: (Um…?) Yes.
Arden: So you should have realized that males are going to be chasing after women no matter how ugly they are.
Um, Arden? You know the girls are right there behind you? In the passengers lounge. Hearing your last unlovely statement. Right?
Kiera: Umm-hmm. Yeah.
Cuz she’s lookin’ right at’em.
Joshua: Also you’ve noticed that Dr. Arden here may occasionally say things that might not normally be socially allowable.
Arden: But they still need to be said.
Joshua: That is up for debate. We’ll say sometimes, yes.
Arden: All I’m saying that you should have realized someone was going to come after you.
Kiera: So you’re saying if you had these women, you would’ve chased them down.
Arden: I wouldn’t have them to begin with.
Careful, Arden.
Kiera: Okay. So you don’t want them.
Joshua: I’m going to suggest now, Arden, that you might want to go to the med bay or your room, because the shovel is in your hand, you’re five feet deep in the hole and you’re digging yourself deeper.
Arden: Why would I be digging a hole?
Joshua: You’re digging yourself deep, sir. You’re going to be—never mind. (waves) I’m just going to sit and watch this.
Cuz it’s like a train wreck! You can’t take your eyes away.
Arden: No, I’m just saying that I think it’s not within the realm of possibility that you didn’t know that someone was going to come after you.
Kiera: Well, I thought it was a tiny little possibility.
Arden: Really? Just a tiny one?
Joshua: Enjoy your drink.
Joshua gets up abruptly to see to the girls. Because it was only going to get ugly from here.
Kiera: I didn’t know you knew to do guns. Where does a doctor learn to know guns from?
Arden: I don’t know to use guns. You might have noticed I missed most of the time.
Kiera: No, actually, I was under the truck. So, when you blew the guy to pieces—.
Arden: Wait. I blew a guy into pieces?
Yeah, Arden. On top of the truck.
Kiera: You did.
Arden: I had my eyes closed.
Kiera: Aww, then you just got lucky. (grins) So did I.
Arden: You did?
Kiera: Yeah. Apparently I don’t need to stand behind you often then. Cuz that means you got lucky this time, which means you’ll probably get me killed next time.
Joshua returns from taking care of the girls and shakes his head at the continuing argument.
Joshua: Sweet Gods of Faria, I’m going to fix dinner now.
Arden: Hopefully I won’t get anyone killed next time. That’s not my job, to kill anyone.
Joshua: Yes, let’s not kill anybody.
Arden: No, I don’t want to kill anybody.
Joshua: (sincerely) Thank you.
Joshua makes good his escape to the galley and Arden bulls on.
Arden: Do the girls need to be medically checked?
Kiera: I assume they don’t…
Arden: I’m assuming they’re going into a new environment so I need to know whether they’re going to need any immunizations or … the usual stuff.
Kiera: I assume they got all immunized and everything on-planet.
Arden: Okay. I’m just asking. I’m just making sure of my medical duties.
Kiera: If you feel like you need to examine them, I’m sure we can talk them into it.
True to what Kiera said earlier, one of the girls acts as spokesman for the rest and it’s to her that Kiera and Arden talk to. Channa asserts that they’ve been immunized for and why would they need more? In case they go somewhere else, Arden tells her. But they aren’t, are they, asks the girl. They were going to be taken to Urvasi, weren’t they? Kiera doesn’t know that yet but we should be going to Urvasi.
Kiera: Would you like to be examined by this man?
Channa: What? I’m not sure for what purpose that would be. We’re from Urvasi. Why would we need to be immunized for it?
Arden: (to Kiera) Have you been to Urvasi before?
Kiera: No but—
Arden: Then you need to come with me to med bay.
Kiera: What do you want to see, Doctor?
Arden: Oh, lots of things.
He leads her back to med bay.
Kiera: I tell you what, Doctor. If you’re able to find something that I ain’t never seen before we might have somethin’ to talk about.
Arden: I’ll need to look first.
Kiera: However, as a counteroffer, do you mind that I—I mean, not that you’re not the most attractive of persons, but I do have skills for makin’ you just that smidge prettier. So we can trade skills. You can examine me and make sure I’m all wholesome and healthy, and I can fix a few little blemishes.
Arden: I wasn’t aware I had any blemishes.
Kiera: (brightly) Oh, of course you do! Everybody does!
Arden: I was designed not to have any.
Kiera: Nah! Nobody ever can make it done that way. Everything can be improved just a little bit.
Arden: Okay. I’ll take that under advisement. Seriously though. If you are going to be staying, I’d like to keep medical records of the people aboard the ship.
Kiera: I’ll bring my dossier.
Arden: You have one?
Kiera: Of course I do.
Arden: No one else did when they came aboard the ship.
Kiera: Well, I’m not everyone else, am I?
Arden: That’s damned right true.
Kiera: But now you see? It’s out in the carrier, which is out in space…
Arden: So it’s not available at the moment. (a beat) Okay.
She grins wolfishly.
Kiera: Seriously, I can fix that weird little mess up on your chin.
Arden: Okay.
Kiera: Turn around for me.
Arden does.
Kiera: Yeah, I can fix that saggy butt, too. All right! It’s a deal!
Arden: Are you a plastic surgeon, then?
Kiera: Yup. In my spare time.
Arden: Then you ought to have much in common with Joshua then. He quite good with plastic surgery, too.
Yup. Train wreck! Can’t look away.
It’s going to be a long ride to Urvasi, folks. A long ride.
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