The Black

Seven

Jol arrived at the birth of the Imperial Jung early on the day of departure. He had been lucky to get passage on the ship. His orders made no sense, but they were valid. He had received them three days ago, they were short and simple. He was reassigned to Regional Command at Sol Station, effective immediately, he was to take first and shortest passage to the station.

The Staffing Officer of the Station had told him he was in luck, one ship was actually headed to Sol, it would take some time, it was a big Transport, but piloted by a Blue, so would not be as long as it could be.

He had not known, till this morning that it was a Family Ship. Few of the really big transports were Family Ships, first they were actually too big to easily make a profit for a family. They were slower, more cargo and mass, smaller folds. But with a Blue in the mix things were more fluid. He had of course just assumed a big Transport meant Corporation, and he had been prepared for that. They took on Military Passengers to lower their taxes, the Federation did not pay ships to carry soldiers, they cut their taxes and they got credits for later. It was the same deal for Family ships, but they got less you would say, as most of them operated just south of the law and could make a lot more without carrying people who could find out any less than honest dealings they might have. So he arrived, and saw the ship and knew it was clearly not Corporate.

He had reported in to the Purser, who would be a cousin or uncle. He was a younger man, Guild, but did not show his color, most of the civilians did not, just the Guild pins, and thus left alone most of the time.

When on a stations fights and other things would happen, people were robbed and other things. This never happened to a Guild Member. No one wanted to go after an easy mark, that turns out to be someone powerful enough to sent you out into space. In all honesty that was not a hard thing to do. But it was a clear danger if a Guild member felt cornered or in danger. So the pins worked, also if a Guild member saw a pin and the person was not a member, then they were turned over to the local authorities, first time, the name would go out, if a second time the Guild Official would get them and they fell under Guild law, which was a little more draconian than Federation.

He felt some power off the man, so knew he was just not wearing a pin, then was directed to go to a location. There a young girl, about 13 or so had met him. She was almost old enough to go to the Guild Schools, so had to be less than 14. He could feel the power off her, she was not a low power that was for sure, she contained it, but she was young and that was not that easy to do as it came into its strength. He followed her to a cabin, it was not bad, it held a bed, a cabinet, a small chair/stool, had it's own head, and you did not have to move around the bed by walking sideways, it was wide enough to just walk. He found that the storage was all on one wall, which was a lot for any ship. He stored his gear, the girl said that if he wanted to go around, the ship would help him. He knew a lot of old ships had old programs, that were helpful, but had not been on one. He had always traveled on Federation Military, never on private till now. He heard announcements, and he had decided to take a shower. On the ship he showered one time every three days, rationing of water for that was a military tradition, he did not know why, but it was. He had asked the Computer and it said that all water was recycled, so there would not be a limit other than one time a day, and for less than 3 minutes. He thanked the computer, and took his shower.

Jol came out sat on the bed, and then was called.

"Commander Jol?" a voice asked over the overhead speaker in the room.

"Yes," he felt silly in talking to thin air, but this was an old ship.

"Captain Pyke would like you to meet him in Mess Area 7," then it was silent.