Saturday, April 9, 2011

In Coromaur's Debt - Part 8.

Viper's senses struggled against the overwhelming onslaught of information, his mind reeled at being ripped from slumber. Disoriented, he shook his head trying to clear it, and grabbed at the console. "What is happening," he grumbled, trying to clear his vision enough to read the displays. "And just what is that racket," Viper asked of the empty air, only to be answered by a flashing screen.  On it, was the stern young face of an A.D.U. officer, and he did not look particularly friendly. Terror slammed into Viper's gut and accelerated his race to consciousness.

Nervous, Viper ear's drooped a little as he opened the comm channel and was immediately enveloped by rapid fire orders. "State your name and your business, now.," barked the officer. "What is you destination and point of origin," he continued without pause.  "Transmit your vessel's registration, and  flight records, now. If you attempt to flee or engage in any suspicious activity you will be fired upon, you are warned." Viper knew better than to question anyone in the A.D.U., especially if they already had guns on you.

Dutifully he set himself to transmitting all requested data as fast as he could, all the while desperately praying old gaps in his records remained lost. And yet, curiosity tugged at him. Why had he just ran smack into an A.D.U. checkpoint, out here in the middle of nowhere. Contemplation, however, would have to wait. "Confirm," the officer began, disbelief clear in his tone. "You are one, Jonathan "Viper" Andrews, are you not?"

"Yeah, that's right," Viper agreed. Best to nod and smile he reminded himself. "Last known port; Coromaur's Outpost, is this correct?" Viper nodded in agreement and waited for it to continue. "What is the nature of your business?" Here we go, Viper thought, they want to see if I'll say matches my paperwork. No reason to hide anything, he figured. "Just a charted courier run. I'm on route to pick up some cargo and deliver it, that's it."

"Alright, you can go about your way," the officer sighed. "Your clearly not our concern at present, no way your involved. Just be warned; there is increased criminal activity in this area. I suggest you take your scrap-heap and get your job done and haul out of here as fast as you can. We cannot guarantee your safety."

Managing his best grateful wave, Viper closed the comm channel and set himself to resuming his course. It did tickle at the back of his brain though, did this have anything to do with his courier run. And if so, what had he gotten himself into?

No comments:

Post a Comment