A Space Merchant's Tale & A Shotgun Wedding - Two Tales from The Keeper's Universe, Page 3

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  Thomas Verch Angharad reached over and toggled the hyperdrive. The bulky freighter leaped into hyperspace on the course that Peaches had programmed. The eventual goal was Adaven, a planet on the fringe of the Galactic Republic and Socialist Alliance space. But as they were leaving from the distant planet of Star’s End there was no direct course to Adaven and the long detours would drag the trip out to nearly two weeks.

  Normally Thomas did a lot of studying and sleeping during these long runs. He and Peaches also played many strategy games, Peaches was particularly adept at Chess. But this trip had empty cargo bays. In the back seat of the cockpit sat the beautiful woman Kirstin. She had medium length blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was the most beautiful woman Thomas had ever met, and she had come from a harsh world like Star’s End. Amazing Thomas thought to himself.

  Double checking all the instruments as the ship rocketed through hyperspace Thomas turned to his passenger. She was staring out the window with the small black and white kitten, Mede, sitting on her lap. “So why were you and your brother so desperate to get you off of Star’s End?”

  Kirstin looked up at him and smiled a smile that took Thomas’s breath away. “I was born and raised there. My mother did her best to keep me away from the scum outside. My father is now the commander of the Mercenary Militia, and he wants me to marry his second in command. He told me I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to get off world and so my mother and brother agreed to help me. Fortunately you came along when you did.”

  Peaches leaped out of his chair on the dash and stretched. He then walked in front of Thomas’s face and whispered, “Do not fall in love with her.” Thomas smiled at him, picked the large cat up and tossed him to the floor. “Hey, I may be a tenth of your size but that does not give you the right to throw me around.”

  “Well I just figured that this is my ship, and according to law you’re my cat, so that gives me the right.”

  Peaches stuck his tail in the air like a banner and with an upturned nose proceeded out of the cockpit into the living quarters of the ship. The computer still translated his words as he walked away. “I thought slavery was illegal in this galaxy?”

  Kirstin was still petting Mede who was sitting calmly in her lap with eyes half closed and purring loudly. “You have such sweet cats.”

  “I know. But don’t let Peaches hear you. He thinks he’s pretty bad.”

  “I heard that.” Peaches called back from the other room.

  “Oh yeah, his hearing is excellent.”

  “I noticed.” So where did you pick up a talking cat?”

  “Found him at BioTech labs on Galantos. They do all kinds of animal intelligence enhancements. He’s a handy copilot and has helped me out of more scrapes than one.” Thomas looked back at his instruments. The hyperspace counter was nearly done. “Peaches, we’re almost to course correction one. Did you get those changes into the computer yet?”

  “Yes Master, I finished all of them already.”

  Thomas shook his head in amazement, “See what I mean? He does stuff in ten minutes what would take me an hour.”

  The hyperdrive disengaged with a whine that made Thomas turn and look behind him. Not that he could actually see anything he reminded himself as he turned back to the computer and brought up a diagnostics screen on the hyperdrive. Everything seemed to be fine so he adjusted the direction of the ship and took her back into hyperspace. “Only another week and a half of this.”

  Kirstin smiled at him, “It feels like it’s already been a long day. I’m going to go get some sleep.”

  “Okay, the ship isn’t built for a lot of people but there are two bunk rooms. Make yourself at home in the second one down the main corridor. All of my things are in the first.”

  Kirstin laid the sleeping Mede on her seat as she stood up and made her way back into the living quarters of the ship. Thomas watched her go and then spun his chair around with a sigh. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love, shipping was no kind of a life for a family, and this is why he had cats to keep him company. No, you cannot fall in love, he told himself. But there was a little doubt at the back of his mind telling him that he might be too late.

  A few days later Thomas was still at the controls making his daily course corrections. He and Kirstin and enjoyed many long talks with little else to do on the ship, much to the disgust of Peaches, who continued to show a serious dislike to females of any species, including Mede. The hyperdrive was still making noises as it disengaged and in the last day it had also begun making noises as it started up. The diagnostic computer was still saying that everything was fine, but Thomas was having doubts. He was just hoping that they could get to Adaven before there were any serious problems. They had a good spaceport there and he could get it all thoroughly checked out. As of yet he had not let Kirstin in on his worries, but he and Peaches had been discussing it.

  Kirstin walked in wearing clean clothes and a towel around her head. She plopped down in the copilot seat and stared at the swirl of colors outside. “It’s amazing how it is never quite the same out there.”

  Thomas nodded as he too let the swirling colors mesmerize him.

  Kirstin turned to look at him. “Is something bothering you?”

  Thomas looked at her a little surprised, “Is it that obvious?”

  Kirstin shrugged, “I guess I’m just getting to know you. So what’s up?”

  “I’m a little worried about the hyperdrive. There are plenty of stories of people who go into hyperspace and are never heard from again. If our hyperdrive dies we may never be found. And without better tools than I carry on the ship I can’t seem to find what’s wrong with it.”

  “Let’s hope we can make it to Adaven then.”

  A few more uneventful days went by. Thomas and Kirstin continued to talk and Peaches continued to be annoyed by the female presence on the ship. The last hyperspace jump and been made with a great deal more whining from the engines. Everyone was hoping that they would make it to Adaven. The last few hours it was all the three sentient beings on the ship could think of. Even small Mede could feel the tension building on the ship, she did her best to avoid Peaches and comfort Kirstin. Everyone sat nervously watching the countdown. It hit zero, and the hyperdrive did not shut down. This happened often and Thomas reached over to manually shut down the hyperdrive. Thomas pulled the lever. The engines whined, but did not shut down. Thomas looked at Peaches, “Eight to twelve minutes before we hit a star?”

  “Yep, not much time to figure this out.”

  “Nope,” Thomas said while he ran the diagnostic computer. It reported a short in the circuitry off of one of the main cargo holds.

  Kirstin saw the diagnostic. “Can’t you go in there and fix it real fast?”

  “I wish it was that simple. Standard shipping procedure for empty cargo holds is to vent the air, no germs and bacteria get carried from one world to another that way. And it takes me about ten minutes to suit up. No time.”

  Peaches too was staring at the diagnostic. Carefully he began manipulating the screen and looking at the shorted circuitry from odd angles. “What do we need to do to get that wire working to kill the engines?”

  “Probably just jiggling the wire so the connection gets through.”

  “I think I can get to it. Open up that air vent,” Peaches commanded looking at the long vent in the ceiling of the cockpit. Thomas did so and Peaches leaped into it. Swiftly the cat bounded through the vent system into the main structure of the ship. Making his way through access tubes and ventilation shafts Peaches quickly closed in on the shorted circuitry. As he arrived at the last tube with the goal in sight Peaches realized he had made a mistake, he was too big.

  Time was ticking and Thomas continued to try to shut down the hyperdrive from the cockpit, nothing. The sensors showed that Peaches was near the spot but he had stopped. The computer speaker carried his voice, “I’m too big, send in Mede.” Kirstin tried to slip the small black and white kitten into the
vent but she absolutely refused. Spreading her feet wide so she wouldn’t fit into the vent Mede growled.

  Thomas toggled the communicator, “Peaches, she won’t come.”

  Peaches mentally disable his translator and began mewing to Mede. She calmed down and then on her own accord she quickly ran through the interior of the ship. Reaching Peaches he gave the kitten directions. Swiftly she pounced on the loose wire and the hyperdrive disengaged.

  Thomas and Kirstin cheered as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. It wasn’t a moment too soon, looming large in the front viewport was Adaven’s sun. Peaches and Mede returned from the vent, and after that Peaches wasn’t nearly as rude to Mede.