Homestar Saga

Chapter 56: Already Dead

"Well that went better than expected." Lissa leaned back in her chair, hands behind her head. "I thought Scathach would try to eat us for sure."

"Don't worry," said Mims. "I'm sure he'll try to kill us eventually." He handed Lissa a bag full of credit chits. "Do me a favor, find out how much he gave us?"

Lissa took the bag as the Captain sat down. She frowned as she examined it. "Is this made of...?"

"Human skin," said the human. "Yes."

"Gross." She found a clear space near her console and dumped the bag. "Are we waiting here til they leave, or are we just going?"

"Going," said Mims. "The Warmaster said he wouldn't eat anyone, and he strikes me as a man of his word." He put on his helmet and activated flight control. "More to the point, the Tegarns can't wait. Whoever took them already has a four hour head start."

"Oh. Right." Lissa grimaced as she put on her helmet. "Can't believe I forgot that."

Yvian grimaced, herself. She hadn't forgotten about the crew of the Niroco, but she'd pushed the worry for them into the back of her mind while they dealt with the Vrrl. Now the fear came rushing back. Guilt came with it. Yvian knew perfectly well she'd done what she could, that the flerg family had made their own choices. She knew they'd had no choice but to deal with the Vrrl, for the sake of the people on Migo's Shipyard. But when she thought of that little girl, outfitted with slave implants...

"Don't stress it too much," said the Captain. "The threat of being eaten is very distracting." He checked to see if everyone was wearing their helmets. "Initiating jump."

The soothing voice of the ship's computer counted the charging cycle, then blue light flared through the viewports. The Jump Effect gave the impression of fast motion, though what exactly happens when you enter a Gate was a mystery that had yet to be solved. Thirty seconds later they were ejected from the East Gate in the Gilry Sector.

"Lissa, system check," ordered the Captain. "Yvian, run a scan. See if our missing ships are still in the sector."

"All systems green," Lissa reported.

"No sign of the Meat Missile," Yvian reported. She peered at the sensor screen. The Niroco was where they'd left it. Adrift, no power readings. She sorted through the streams of ships flowing through the sector. It still bothered her sometimes, how there could be so many hundreds or thousands of ships passing through, and almost no-one would answer a distress call.

"Acknowledged," said Mims. "Setting a course for the Niroco. Estimated time of arrival in..." he finished typing the sequence. "Eighty seven minutes."

Yvian saw no sign of any pirates, or Militia for that matter. She ran a vector sweep, checking to see if anyone had changed course to intercept the Encounter. The Freedom Republic Pirates had placed a massive bounty on the Captain's head, and twice now they'd had privateers try to collect. Satisfied no one was gunning for them, she ran a second sweep for the Niroco.

"Captain," Yvian got his attention. "We've got a small wing headed for the Niroco. Four fighters and a tug. Looks like a salvage crew."

"Scavengers," Mims nodded. "How soon will they get there?"

Yvian checked. "Forty three minutes."

"Ok. I'll talk to them." Mims opened a hailing frequency. "Attention vessels. This is Captain Mims of the Random Encounter. The Niroco is mine. Please change course."

"Piss off, grinder," one of the ships replied. "This is our salvage."

"The Niroco is not salvage," Mims said. "It's my ship. Change course now."