 |
| Free Use Image |
Somewhere out there in the vast darkness and bright stars at the edges of civilized space, the only law is what you can enforce. An abandoned space station can be like an old west town, where the yarn is always unraveling. . .
***
(Continued from The Outer Reaches, the first Outpost story )
Noot had just sat down with a coffee (at least that's what they called it) when he heard a knock on the door. Slowly he got up, putting down the reader he had found from decades prior. A fella can't sit down for a few minutes, oh no. . .
Opening the door, he was surprised to see the pilot that he had found on the lower levels. He appeared slightly agitated.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure, sure. Why not? You need something?"
"Just talk right now. I was listening to an old short wave radio I found and I heard some talk about raiding this old abandoned station. It didn't seem to be coming from a distance, but closer if not on the station. It seemed to me that they were trying to contact someone here."
"You sure about this? I can't go to the Boss with some cockamamie story."
"Why would I make it up? You can come and listen for yourself, Noot."
"Right. But first, sit down and tell me more. Where is this radio? You sure this isn't some kind of set-up? You show up here, and shortly after, you hear about a raid on this derelict old station. Nobody usually bothers us, most don't even know we are here, and that's the way we like it."
"I swear, Noot, I wouldn't do such a thing. Do you know if there are people on some the lowest levels? I'll do my best to defend any kind of trouble on this place. I was a pilot and I did serve time in the fleet before all my stupid mistakes."
"Hmmm. You were in the fleet, eh? That gives you a bit more credibility. As for the information you heard, we don't honestly know too much about the lowest levels. We are all fugitives from one thing or another and most of us scrounge for what we have."
"Maybe they want to strip the metals, I don't know. Does anyone know about those flyers you discovered, other than the the Boss (look for his name)?"
"A few of us, but all are trusted. This is bad news if it's true. We may have to rig some traps for these attackers, if they exist." He looked pointedly at the pilot. A raised eyebrow was all he got in return.
Noot finished his coffee, and grabbed a jacket. "Let's go, then. I want to hear that message if it comes again."
Noot followed Pilot Mondero down to his rooms. He watched as he connected the wires. The 'radio' as Mondero called it, looked like a bunch of toggles, switches and wires. Noot was intrigued, wondering where all these parts must have come from.
Static burst out as Mondero fiddled with the tuning until all of a sudden they heard, "We have a team ready to breach the upper levels. Those upper levels won't be ..." static interrupted the rest of the message.
More static came back. . .then the voice continued.
"...Received. Time plan is set. Keep this talk to a minimum. See you at ......."(more static).
Noot and Mondero looked at each other, both surprised and alarmed. An attack might be imminent. They tried but couldn't pick up the signal again.
"We have to notify Odiwa right away. He'll know what to do. Let's go, Mondero. Sorry for my earlier comments. You may have just saved us from a rude surprise."
(To be continued at another WEP moment.)
***
WEP - Write, Edit, Publish, a flash challenge
It's time for another WEP challenge - with the support team of Nilanjana Bose and Olga Godim adding their imaginings and creativity. Thanks to Denise for being the host. We also want to wish Yolanda, the other host, a swift recovery.
The challenge:
Be sure to check all the other entrants on the WEP participation list!
Is an abandoned space station appealing to you? Or a little creepy? Do you think you could survive on one? Do you have scrounging or life skills which might help you?
Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. I'll respond. Thanks for stopping by.
***
