Vast Mantis Read online

  Next to her sat Peter, her companion bot, also dressed to go out. He was a a TSR QT companion/service robot, with a strength enhancement. Elsbeth had acquired him a couple years before and seemed very happy with him. He was about two meters tall, with rugged good looks and the chiseled, if simulated, muscles of a body builder. He assisted Elsbeth with ship maintenance and handled their cargo and inventory.

  At the other end of the table sat Shao Tai, the sensor operator. She was a well-educated sensor designer/engineer, though she wasn’t a veteran and didn’t have a great deal of practical experience. She was young, slim and dark-haired, in her late 20s with what might be called Asiatic features. Shao, as usual on a non-work night, was clearly dressed for barhopping and would likely run off as soon as they were done talking. According to Elsbeth, who had a accompanied her a few times, Shao liked to dance hard, drink lightly, and not come back home before morning if she could avoid it. She’d then sleep in late. She suffered from some of the excesses of youth.

  Next to the table stood Mantis’ telebot, with Euclidia attached.

  Raiza finished putting the food on the table and then sat next to Ximon.

  Ximon laid out the general idea of the mission, the route they’d come up with, and the estimate they had put together.

  Elsbeth, ever the voice of caution and/or contrariness, was quick to speak up. “So, you’re obviously considering this year-long trek, despite the fact that seven other ships disappeared without a trace. What makes you think we won’t just be number eight? Food for some alien, prey for pirates, or whatever?”

  Ximon was prepared for just that question. “Well, none of those ships knew anything was going on. They each disappeared without knowing of the others. We, on the other hand, have that information. We know that there’s something afoot, so we’ll be careful.”

  Elsbeth snorted. “Careful!? When have you ever been careful? We go from one scrape to another.”

  “We might occasionally have some ‘exciting times,’ but we always exercise due caution.”

  “Are you serious? Do you want me to list our misadventures and excitement?”

  “That won’t be necessary. In any case, I think we can safely pull this off. The pay sounds great, and we’ll see some new places. Along the way, we will, of course, be careful.”

  “Sure.”

  Shao then chimed in. “Do you really think this will take a year? I had hoped to hit the university in a few months.”

  Ximon pointed to the display showing the projected path. “I don’t think it’ll take quite a year, but it could be nine to ten months. You can continue your online studies and you’ll get a lot more real-world experience. Anyway, ladies, the questions to you – will you extend your contracts for this mission if the final offer is good enough?”

  Elsbeth rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess I don’t have anything better to do and I could use more moolah. But we’ve got to stop for shore leave a few times along the way.”

  Ximon nodded. “I plan to spend several days at Xalanan and Irapce, if they’ll have us. We’ll probably spend a day or two in other places, depending on the investigation.”

  Shao looked at some things on her tablet. “I guess I’m in, but I’ll hold you to making some stops along the way. I don’t just want to see the inside of this ship.”

  Ximon held up his hands. “Got it, we’ll add in some stops and I’ll try to let you make the most of the stops we make. Plus, you know you’ll get a generous bonus out of this.

  “Peter, Raiza, any thoughts?”

  Peter put his hand on Elsbeth’s shoulder. “If Elsbeth wishes to go, I will happily join you.”

  Raiza smiled. “I will go where you go, Ximon, and be happy there.”

  Elsbeth again rolled her eyes. “Oh brother. Ever the dutiful wife. Sure, Ximon, make us a good deal, give us a couple of days’ notice, and we’ll go on this escapade.”

  With that settled, they ate and reviewed the estimate. Elsbeth and Peter added quite a few ‘essential spares and parts’ and Shao suggested upping the estimate for food and supplies so they could have more variety. In total, it was a hefty estimate. Ximon wondered if Johannes would balk at it or even bat an eyelid.

  As soon as they were done, Shao, Elsbeth, and Peter ran off and Ximon transmitted the estimate to Johannes, along with their decision to take the job if the final offer and terms were acceptable.

  The next day Ximon and Johannes finished the contract and Raiza and Francesca witnessed it. Robatham Associates deposited a sizable advance in Mantis’ account. It was agreed that the investigator, Silas Ahab, would meet them in two days at 0900, ready to depart.

  Ximon contacted KSF Operations to get the latest scan data on the Orrarra and Verravroge Sectors. The specialist he spoke with directed him to a standard form to submit. Ximon was notified a few hours later that the latest available data had been sent to Mantis at the level of detail set for unofficial/commercial use.

  A while thereafter, Ximon got a call from Commander (CDR) Jantzi in operations. “Ximon, I saw that you just pulled data for the Orrarra Sector.”

  Ximon was a bit mystified and curious. “Yeah, so?”

  “I take it that means you’re heading that direction, yeah?

  “That’s the plan. What do you need?”

  “When are you heading that way if I may ask?”

  “We’re planning to leave in a couple days.”

  “Well, two things, if your schedule allows. First, we’ve got a bit more stuff that needs to be hauled to Zased, which is likely on the way. Second, as you may have heard, we’ve worked out an arrangement with Irapce and have a ‘temporary base’ set up there. We need some stuff hauled there too.”

  “Well, as it happens, I was considering going through both systems, so we could probably help with that.”

  “Great. If you can do it, we’ll have the stuff for Zased pre-loaded at the base on Edorener, so you don’t even have to go ‘down planet.’ We’ve got the stuff for the Irapce base here. Obviously, you can file invoices for both jobs at the first base you hit after that. Can I let Supply here and at Edorener know you’ll be by?”

  “Yep and send us the information on mass and such. Unless it’s too big, it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “Great, that solves a problem I was working on. Thanks.”

  “Hey, while I’ve got you on the line, I’ve got a favor to ask.”

  Now Jantzi sounded a bit leery. “Uh, okay. What’s the favor?”

  “Well, we’re doing some work over in Orrarra and we need all the info we can get. As you know, I pulled the scan data, but could only get it at the commercial level. I think for what we’re doing we’ll need the best data we can get, so I’d like the KSF detailed data. Could you get that for us? The KSF is one of the interested parties on this task.”

  “Interested parties?”

  “Apparently the KSF lost a ship in that area a couple months back. We’re looking into that.”

  “The Trailblazer!? We had to farm that out to third party. Are you it?”

  “Not exactly, but we’re working with them.”

  “Ok, that sounds official in my book. I’ll get that data to you and give you a mission code that you can use if you want to double check at Xalanan for updated info.”

  “Awesome. Exactly what I was hoping for.”

  “Ok, I’ve got to run, but thanks for getting that stuff and good luck in Orrarra.”

  Ximon then sent a message to his contacts on Irapce to see if they would mind if Mantis visited in an unofficial capacity. They’d visit this KSF ‘temporary base’ in any case, but if they could visit with Major Kanebti or the other folks in the Irapce System Guard, that would be much nicer. Ximon figured that he’d probably get an answer as they got closer to Irapce. Worst case, they’d have some kind of response when they got to the system.

  Two days later Mantis was fueled, tuned, loaded, and ready to go. They had picked up about eight tons of cargo headed for the temporary base in Irapce and
had stocked up on food and other consumables.

  The crew was eating breakfast and waiting for the investigator to arrive. Mantis alerted Ximon that someone was coming, so he stepped down the loading ramp to see.

  A man in his late thirties approached, carrying a large mobility bag and wearing a backpack. He wore dark sunglasses and had very short hair and a beard of dark brown. He wore black combat pants and a gray sport shirt, allowing the crew to see the tattoos that covered his muscular arms. Ximon immediately took him for a man of action.

  Behind the man trailed a crude, wheeled robot. It was just over a meter tall and generally cube-shaped, with no evidence of arms or a head. Behind the robot trailed a long, wheeled case. Ximon assumed it was for weapons.

  The man stopped just before the ramp and looked up. He spoke gruffly, “I take it you’re Sabo. Permission to come aboard?”

  Ximon extended his hand. “I’m Ximon. Come aboard. Welcome to the Mantis.”

  The man shook his hand heartily. “Silas, Silas Ahab. Nice to meet you.”

  Ximon motioned him to follow and they came up into the galley. Ximon pointed everyone out. “This is Elsbeth, our engineer. Peter, logistics. Shao, sensors. My wife Raiza, medical and steward. This ship computer’s telebot and the head of Euclidia. Welcome.”

  Silas pushed his sunglasses up on his head, looked around, and let out a low chuckle. “Interesting lot. Name’s Silas. Nice to meet all of you.”

  Raiza stood and smiled. “Welcome. There’s still some breakfast left if you’d like some. If not, I’ll show you to your cabin.”

  Silas considered the food for a moment. “I’d like to get settled but might grab some food in a bit if there’s any left, thanks.”

  “Very well. Follow me.”

  She started down the hall, Silas following.

  Ximon stopped them with a word. “Silas. We’re going to need to stow those weapons in the ship’s locker or the hold.”

  Silas turned and gave a weak smile. “Oh, aye. No worries, though I’ll need them when we’re on the ground and such. Where shall I put them?”

  “Just have your bot leave them. Peter will stow them. By the way, what’s the bot’s name?”

  “I just call him Io. Io, please leave the case. Captain, if possible, I’d like to meet with you after we take off.”

  Ximon nodded. “Sure.”

  Silas followed Raiza to his cabin.

  Once he was gone, Elsbeth pointedly raised a curious eyebrow to Ximon. “He seems a bit strange. Very mysterious.”

  “I imagine he’ll be fine once we get to know him. Let’s get ready. Liftoff in twenty.”

  Ximon headed for the bridge thinking that Silas did, indeed, seem somewhat intense. He hoped they could establish a good working relationship. Otherwise it was going to be a very long mission.

  They took off and Silas came to meet Ximon while they were heading for a jump point.

  “Captain, I’m sorry if I seemed a bit aloof earlier. Until I get the ‘lay of the land’ I’m a bit preoccupied or anxious in new settings. I hope to get to know your crew better.”

  “They’re good company and we’ve got plenty of time. By the way, please call me Ximon.”

  “Sure, Ximon. I wanted to discuss your general plan for the mission though, as you say, we have a lot of time.”

  “Well, basically we head rimward. I plan to stop for several days at Xalanan. It will give us a chance to relax a bit, but I’ll also see if there’s any updated scan data at KSF. Then we’ll go through the Irapce Sector, stopping off at Irapce for a few days if we can and possibly Zased for a day. From there, we’ll enter the Orrarra Sector and head to Udirzaus. Most of that is new terrain to me. I assume we’ll want to hit a couple of those planets for any information they might have. Then, it’s largely your show.”

  “That sounds reasonable. I’ve certainly got no problem with stops along the way, as long as they’re not excessive. Unless we learn more before then, once we get to the Orrarra Sector I want to visit Orra-FDL, Udirzaus, and Nalenus for information as most of the ships passed through one or the other. Depending on what we find, I may want to drop down to Kaqarbius or Fasa in the Verravroge Sector. In either case, we’ll then have to head where the ships headed and see what we find, but we’ll try to go with ‘eyes wide open’ as much as possible. I think you’ll find I’m pretty reasonable to work with.”

  “That sounds good. At some point we’ll just need to let the information guide us.”

  “Aye, that’s what we do. Let’s plan to meet periodically to see if, between us, we have any new ideas or new information.”

  “Well, we certainly have the time. I’ll let you know if find out anything new along the way. Perhaps we should have a meeting with the whole crew a few days into jump to discuss what we’ve got as far as scan data and anything you’ve got that we don’t.”

  “That sounds reasonable. I’ll share everything I can. There’s some privacy or proprietary information I can’t share, but it’s probably not significant at this stage.”

  “Okay, I’ll set up a meeting.”

  “Ximon, one other thing. Do you mind if set up a small gym in a corner of the hold? I need to keep myself sharp and I’m more than willing to teach some classes in there – unarmed combat, shooting, that kind of thing. It helps pass the time for me and anyone interested.”

  “I think there’s room and that sounds like a worthwhile use of it. Speak with Peter about the best location. He manages the hold. Oh, and tell everyone about the classes you’re considering. A lot of us might benefit.”

  Ximon thought for a minute. “Silas, have you ever fired ships’ guns?”

  “A few. I’m no expert, but I like just about any gun.”

  “Would you mind manning Mantis’ guns if we get in a scrape?”

  “Not at all. It’d give me something to do, wouldn’t it?”

  “Would you be willing to work through a few training videos and exercises?”

  “Sure, I’d think you a fool if you put me in charge of ship weaponry without doing so.”

  “Great. I’ll point ‘em out to you. You’ll have plenty of time to do them and practice as you like.”

  “I’ll get right on it.”

  Chapter Two: Rimward Ho!

  The couple of weeks it took to get to Xalanan went well. Silas did settle in with the crew, joining them at meals and proving to be a good conversationalist and great storyteller. He had quite a few stories from time he served in the Kremiy Army and a few from ‘recovery operations’ he’d done for Robatham Associates. There was quite a bit of gunfire involved in all of these and Silas generally came out as the hero that saved the day. They were wild enough that Ximon wasn’t quite sure if all his stories were true, but they were all entertaining.

  Silas did also start up a couple of training sessions in the cargo hold. One was on basic shooting form, using dummy lasers. Another was more gun combat oriented and the last was on unarmed combat. Ximon attended once or twice, but he was so sore after the unarmed combat that he didn’t go back, and he told himself that most of the others would get more benefit out of the other sessions than he. The main attendees were Shao, Elsbeth, Peter, and Raiza. Silas showed great patience with all of them. Ximon noticed that he also seemed more than happy to help the ladies with their form, adjusting their arm, hip, and leg positions as appropriate.

  Raiza and Elsbeth also spent time on another project. They had acquired a used, basic robot body to try to attach the head that was Euclidia to so he could be ‘whole.’ Unfortunately, they were having great difficulties with this. First, the nerve structures and protocols between his head and this body didn’t match, so to make it work they’d have to convert everything. Second, the crude, quick way that Euclidia’s head had been removed from his broken body on the abandoned station at Darcy in order to extend his life meant that the proper ‘nerves’ weren’t readily available to attach. Raiza and Elsbeth fought with this off and on for a couple of weeks and finally came t
o the conclusion that they’d need a couple of specialized parts to complete the project. Raiza planned to acquire these parts on Xalanan if they could be found.

  Io, too, began some small interaction with the crew. He, or it, or ze, joined them at some mealtimes and interacted with some of the other bots. In particular, Ximon was sure that Io had quite a few non-verbal communications with Mantis and Euclidia, exchanging information and getting acquainted. Mantis told Ximon that Io was well-travelled and seemed well equipped to help with observation, being arrayed with multiple cameras and other sensors. Raiza told Ximon that Io wasn’t much of a conversationalist but was a wealth of information on places he had visited.

  As usual, the planet Xalanan was a nice place. It was a sizable, advanced, populous planet that had almost everything they might need. It was also near the edge of the Republic and had a bit of frontier wildness about it. Ximon gave everyone four days on the ground to relax before they started their longer stretches in space.

  Shao did some clubbing and also accessed some new material for her degree program. Some of this clubbing involved Elsbeth and Peter and a couple of outings involved Silas, though he wasn’t much for the young, dance-oriented scene Shao favored. Elsbeth and Peter hit a few clubs, stayed in a couple nice motels, and (Elsbeth at least) enjoyed some good food.

  Raiza’s search for the parts she needed for Euclidia was substantial. The robotics firms she hit up, including her own TrueForm Service Robots, didn’t carry most of what she needed for older models like the body she was working with. She wound up dragging Ximon to some used robot stores and repair shops, and ultimately found what she was looking for. Elsbeth wasn’t available to consult on the parts so Raiza bought the nerve cluster and neural protocol converter that she thought she needed and then bought a couple extra ones just in case. They wouldn’t be hitting many other places where such things were likely to be available.