Chapter 38

"I hear you are looking for me?"

TJ recognised the voice,

"Yes; we are wanting some aahhh fancy goods. Are you still in business?"

"I am not selling anything these days; the blockade you know. Nothing gets out and insurance rates are prohibitive even on neutrals. And the neutrals get stopped and searched and all Harbourian goods are seized. It's bad. Only "humanitarian" goods pass through inward — whatever "humanitarian" means."

"Look you, come up to the ship and we can have a talk."

"I haven't got transport anymore and the word is out that State Security will want to know what's going on and I don't want to be involved with that lot. I'm going to throw this com away after I'm finished so it wont come back to bite me. I'll like to do business but I want to be alive afterwards to enjoy it."

The neurones made multiple connections and some straws made bricks about the recent change of government to a peoples' republic.

"Can you get to where we first did business?"

"Yes — that's not a problem. Why?"

"Suits. Can you get another com? Good. Ditch that one as planned. Be there tomorrow at twentytwo local. I'll come calling in something unusual so be ready for anything. Clear."

"Ted? TJ. I want to use 737 tonight. Don't ask questions, I can't answer them. Get Dennis and shorten up to the forward slip shackle; then put the port airlock on the clip — you can do that in skinnies and if anyone asks, 737 is going for routine maintenance in our boat bay. Suits?"

"Yah! Suit, but you owe me a big one."

"Put it on the bill Ted."

TJ and Morg dropped out of the after decks airlock and jetted to 737. They found the port outer airlock on the clip, entered the lock and sealed the hatch. There was atmosphere and gravity in the shuttle's compartment — Ted had gone the extra klick. The duo quickly equalised the airlock and then entered the cargo bay of the shuttle sealing the hatch. They seated themselves in the cockpit and brought up the main bus. Everything was in the green (they did routine inspections during the exposition just to be careful). Morg slipped the shackle and reeled the line into its hatch; a touch of low power side thruster and 737 drifted away from "Sundowner". TJ brought up the stealth shield and they allowed 737 to coast gently away. The check lists were booted and items checked carefully. A buzz sounded as a radar was detected outside return range but the shield tuned to it — it came from the direction TJ wanted to go. The pod checks were gone through. The starboard pod was started and when it was in the green Morg warmed up the FTL probe. In the green and Morg manually swung the probe in a hemisphere away from "Sundowner". Clear. TJ used the starboard pod to move away from "Sundowner" and then brought up the port pod. At minimum velocities, 737 made for the co-ordinates of the spider silk farm he had first visited all those years ago. They made a low powered approach with all passive search modalities active; Morg made the occasional FTL probe sweep confirming 737 was the only thing in local atmosphere and "Sundowner" had no company.

Ground IR detected a hot source at the co-ordinates and wordlessly, Morg brought the PDs on line. The buildings came up next and, shortly after, a solitary source identified as a human was seen moving around the 'hot' ground truck. TJ put 737 down some hundred metres from the double trailer ground truck, idled the pods, said to Morg,

"Your ship; I'll go and meet the man. He knows me"

And exited the left seat, dropped the ramp, exited the shuttle and put his helmet viewer onto IR as he walked across the meadow towards the oncoming grower. With no extra hotspots, TJ removed his helmet and shook the proffered hand.

"You did warn me you were coming in something unusual" the grower grinned, "Bert Belter is the name I go by these days. A friend of mine from my marine days wants you to listen to this chip before your ship departs — says its important (handed TJ a chip). Now to us. The situation for my product is worse than your previous visit — there is only basically local trade now and that is saturated. I took a chance hoping you'd have something large enough to take the load I've got."

"What were you going to do if I came down in a flivver?"

"Put the load — the bales are all on antigrav pallets — in the old shed and hope I could talk you into taking the chance and coming back to get it. What price are you offering and doesn't matter I'll take it anyway. My spiders keep spinning and my warehouse needs emptying."

"I can give you a draft on Credit Suisse. My boss lady said to pay you same as last time; she makes a very good deal on it so don't think she's being charitable."

"All of it? Last time was only a fifth of this lot."

"Well, she doesn't know how much of it there is, but we've got more space available this time, so yeh, we'll take the lot at that price."

Bert looked stunned,

"Could you give me ten percent in the draft and put the rest in my account like you did last time?"

"The draft — not a problem but you are betting on our completing our voyage and we're just at the half way point and in a warzone."

"And you are Mounties. Suit. that's a risk I can take. You people play fair. I'll shift the truck and we can start loading."

"No need; I'll get my friend to bring the shuttle over and we can load the pallets through the ramp. Suit?"

"Suits" Bert turned to his truck and opened the rear doors.

Morg positioned 737 so that as Bert freed up the pallets on his truck and passed them to TJ, TJ pushed them into the cargo compartment, forming three high, and clamped them securely. He took time to put the port hatch on the clip and continued loading. 737's cargo compartment just took the ground truck load. TJ walked back to the hatch and asked Morg to close the rear ramp. Done.

Bert's PDA was credited with the draft.

"Aahh ... I need another favour and you might be able to help..."

Bert went on to explain that the black silk spiders were space creatures and to mature needed time in either n or hyper space; the adults were not prolific breeders but over the decades young were raised and...

" ... there is a another small problem, well two really (and rushed on) with engineered muties they are telepathic and they are poisonous."

"Explain poisonous carefully" Morg, who had been listening on the low powered link to TJ's suit.

"Their bite is fatal. But they only attack to defend themselves or their hosts..."

Bert stopped because a palm sized blur had hopped across him, used TJ's shoulder as a springboard, bounced off the third seat onto the control panel, fixed its stare at Morg's helmet and emitted a warbling whistle. Morg slowly removed his helmet and returned the stare,

"Oh ... Well if that is the way of it ... Ah, TJ, the little one here has convinced me. He has ... beg pardon, she has twenty three sibs waiting. Let's get them aboard. Bert, I'm Morg Windsor; hope we can get together some time in the future but we have to get going."

TJ was momentarily covered in spiders who disappeared onto the cargo.

"You wont regret taking them and I owe you a big one for that. And thank your bosslady for the price" Bert said, shook TJs hand, waved at Morg through the hatch and headed for his ground truck.

TJ was rather bemused by the last turn of events but shook himself and donned his helmet. He clambered into the left hand seat after sealing the port hatch / airlock. They quickly ran through the check lists (Bert departed before the list were finished), powered up and returned to "Sundowner". Morg had commed ahead and the Sundowners, in hard suits, were waiting to unload 737 after which E deck was sealed again, 737 piloted back to Podmounts external display where Morg used the magnetoclamps to secure her while TJ shut 737 down. TJ dropped the ramp and joined Morg to EVA back to middle deck becoming aware they were both covered in largish spiders. The spiders dismounted and spread over "Sundowner's" hull. Morg waved at them as he entered the airlock.

After shedding their armoured suits, TJ asked Morg to accompany him to the clean room. Once there, TJ briefed Morg on the whole evening's events, then produced the chip inserting it into his PDA,

"And afterwards you can tell me what went on with that spider."

The PDA screen showed a crossed pair of muzzle loading prediaspora duelling pistols and the voice began:

"State Security has begun to form a dedicated Naval force consisting only of the larger warships and requisitions regular elements when it requires them. A State Security battlecruiser "Fireman" has apparently been given a role which sent it first to Mars in the Solar System and more recently on clandestine patrol in the Amaranti Empire. During this recent patrol, one of the escorting regular escorting destroyers was engaged and damaged. No information on the attacker has been released and the crews of the escort have been sequestered. The DD was towed to New Liege and repairs made; she has returned to her squadron. As soon as your ship made port, "Fireman" and the escort have been urgently preparing to sortie again. The purpose of the sortie has not been made known to the escort and is close held in State Security. The timing of the engagement in Amaranti suggests that your ship might be involved. I am reporting this to the polar link. Clear."

"Is that our old friend?"

"Probably; Morg, the Commodore has to know of this — well, the content but not the chip. Do I destroy the chip?"

"Yah. That way it can't be traced back."

TJ fired up the crucible and put the chip in the oven watching it reduce to a metal bead which he extracted, doused and placed in the waste.

"The spider?"

"I was twisted in the seat looking at Bert and you chatting. I became aware of a ... a ... a tingle in my brain is the best description I can make. I saw her leap across and by the way, try not to mix up their genders, she said spiders get a bit sensitive about things like that. We made eye contact through the helmet facepiece and she was in my brain. I got an idea it was discourteous to wear my helmet so I took it off. Thoughts entered my brain, no voices, no sound. The thoughts were that if I didn't agree, she'd bite me through the suit and all and besides the thought went on besides she was harmless, she only bit enemies and her sibs and she were really lovable and needed a home.

I got the rest of it on the way back.

From her olders' histories, the shepherds were an ancient family who kept a non descript freighter in n space in which the spider colony flourished; the spiders were living in what was a spacing hydroponics factory whose produce made a healthy profit and the spider silk was a bonus. That was two administrations ago. The shepherds were eliminated by the Harris administration and the assets seized. Bert Belter was the hydroponic's attendant and he got most of the colony out. He knew where the family kept an old space yacht and moved them into there. The sale of the silk decreased and storage became a problem until we arrived the first time; Bert was only sorry he couldn't sell us more but he had things mentally arranged when we showed up the second time and he emptied his storehouse and got more cash to use. The colony continued to produce and the spiderlings to slowly increase and grow. The recent change of government has meant that close watch is kept on Bert and his comings and goings; the silk is confiscated as tax — what silk the Committee knows about - and Bert kept the colony on the earnings of the last monies we paid him. But storage had become a problem and he couldn't use the old farm as it had been requisitioned and the colony was outgrowing the yacht. We arrive and problem temporarily resolved.

We were always going to take them, you know. She says one of the olders went with Bert on the second trip and knew some of the Tulip's crew were muties; there is a special affinity between us as my ancestors and theirs were engineered in the same laboratory."

"Interesting history but that didn't mean we were sure to adopt them" TJ argued.

"I cant bet on it — really I cant — it's too sure a thing. TJ, they are just as much engineered as we are and those!@#$%^&* who got at our genes gave the spiders our codes so that if muties got out of control, the spiders were sent in to destroy us. She says its never going to happen as the colony long ago realised that muties are their only chance for survival but we are, in a way, kindred souls if not kin."

...

TJ acquired the FTL net using the bridge 'puter and recorded the warning message; Charles and Percy were informed and the Commodore advised. The Commodore paid another clandestine visit for a command conference which included the "Sundowner's" officers. (All the Sundowners knew what was going down.) TJ, Morg and Cedric detailed "Sundowner's" offensive and defensive capabilities. Charles and the Commodore were in agreement — while "Sundowner" would give a good account of herself, success against an escorted BC was problematical and the downside was that any hit would cause severe damage to "Sundowner" as her armour was at a par with that on a CL — in layman's terms, it could reliably keep environment in but that was all. If they had to fight they would, but getting clear unscathed was the priority. No one disagreed.