Page 6 of Life-Debt

After a short wait, the screen flashed and pending connection dialog appeared.

“Pandora, heel,” I ordered.

Without being aware of what was visible on their end, I would play it safe and keep my companion close to my side.

An older version of the man I’d left lying in the hallway of my ship stepped into the camera view, and his expression went from hopeful to neutral in the blink of an eye. I wondered how long he’d been waiting for the ship to make contact.

Upon consideration, I opted to speak in the most common trade dialects used across the known universe, as most people were taught rudimentary proficiency from an early age. “My name is Viva, and I found this derelict near a shiftgem gate. I would like to return the crew and cargo to its home planet, Cremora Delta 005-26 according to the ship records. Three members of the crew are deceased, and my ship lacks the equipment required to put the bodies into stasis. Their remains are contained in their suits. One member of the crew survived, but he was put into stasis. I do have the appropriate training, certifications, and equipment required to restore the individual, although I have not done so yet. I’ve only just restored this ship to questionable operational status, but I believe I can transport it within range of Cremora Delta 005-26.”

“Do you have the identification of the living member of the crew?” the man replied, using the same form of trade.

Phew. Good. One problem solved. With the worry of communicating out of the way, I settled in for the important work of negotiating with the stranger. “Unfortunately not. The ship’s logs had a record of four people. I assume the captain is deceased, judging from the messages left. The bodies are in fairly advanced stages of decomposition, and I don’t dare break the seals on their suits. As it is, the ship will need to be quarantined. It suffered a life support system failure along with the breakdown of several other systems. I was able to get most systems back online, but it may a while to get the ship to its destination. I will begin the process of decontaminating the member of the crew on board my ship, but we’ll need to be in isolation for a minimum period of ten days.”

I wrinkled my nose at the thought of sharing close quarters with a handsome man for ten days—one I couldn’t put my hands all over due to his classification as cargo.

“An escort will be provided,” the man replied. “Was there any cargo on board?”

I nodded. “I required the use of several of your shiftgem crystals to bring the ship back online, but I assumed you would rather lose some crystals and have the rest of the load returned. There are limited shiftgems that are compatible with the engine and other systems. I can’t promise they will remain in good condition, although I did my best to match crystals to the drives. This ship used a brown shiftgem core drive, which is the likely culprit. Brown shiftgems are not typically suitable for use in vessels of this size.”

I’d leave the whole idea of sabotage out of the discussion, especially if my cargo’s father had been loitering in some comm station hoping for word, weeks after hope should have been lost.

“I will make a note to report that. Can you send your coordinates?”

“I can, but please understand that I will begin hauling the derelict to the nearest shiftgem gate as soon as it’s possible to travel. This area is not safe. The gems I selected for use in the drive core can handle the jump, and the ship almost made it to its destination.”

“Do you have the identification of the shiftgem gate in question?”

I held up my hand to indicate I needed a moment, went to the nearby console, and began tapping at the keys until I was able to pull down the coordinates, which I relayed. “Does this connection allow for data transfer outside of video?”

“It does.”

Well, I had nothing to hide for a change, as my ship had been cleaned top to bottom of anything illegal. I hadn’t registered my unnamed guest yet, and I wouldn’t until I began the process of reviving him from stasis. With no bounties on my head, valid permits for a year, a new captain’s license, and a paid-off ship, I could give them all the data they could hope for, including the scans from my ship. “Please open the communication line from your end. I will send over a copy of the scans from my ship before I boarded along with this vessel’s logs. This system is a little different from mine,” I admitted. “If you initiate the connection, however, I can handle the rest of the transmission.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. It’s a newer linking system. Are you alone?”

I gestured to Pandora, who remained sitting where I’d asked her. “It’s just me and Pandora.”

“What species is your companion?”

“She is a vulpes vulpes. A red fox. She’s an Earth species, with some minor genetic manipulations for survivability and intellect.”

His interest piqued, and he continued to stare at my fox. “And she is not modified to a new species designation?”

“She is a certified vulpes vulpes.”

“Might I ask how you acquired one?”

“I’m homo sapiens,” I replied, sighing as the ritual of species identifications began. “I was conceived on a generational ship, modified prior to birth for survivability, and born on a planet in Andromeda. Pandora’s mother and father belong to my parents, and they gave her to me when she was a kit. She is modified to have an extended lifespan and higher-than-normal intellect. She’s a little larger than standard vulpes vulpes.”

“And you were modified to have ears?”

“And a tail. They were not certain what dangers would be on the new planet, so I was modified to have an extra pair of ears, heightened hearing and sense of smell, and a lengthened lifespan. The tail was an unexpected consequence of the enhanced genetics for my ears, although it helps with balance. I still qualify as homo sapiens, however.”

“Impressive. And you said you’re originally from Andromeda?”

“That’s correct.”

“Ah, I see. Yours was the final Earth generational ship to reach its destination planet. You’re the last generation of Earth-born homo sapiens, then.”