What Is a Slave Without a Master?

Alex had her feet kicked up on her ship's dashboard. The glowing orange lights of her scanner display dancing around her boots: one foot tapping absentmindedly in time with the music coming through her cockpit speakers. She leaned back in her pilot's seat, staring out her canopy at the planets lazily drifted past as her little ship hurtled along in Supercruise.

She held open a paper cartridge in her hand. She glanced down at the diagram taped to her armrest, explaining how to use the pair of sticks she held precariously in the other. She carefully reached inside the cartridge, plucking out a piece of food before she quickly squeezed it closed again to stop anything else from escaping.

She let the food float in front of her face for a moment in the absence of gravity: watching the roll of rice and synthetic fish rotate slowly before leaning forward and catching it in her mouth. Her long braided ponytail snaking through the air behind her head as she moved. She sat back in her chair, chewing slowly for a moment before swallowing.

"Hey Verity!" she called out.

"Greetings Commander," came the automated response from her ship's voice assistant. Verity spoke calmly as always, sounding like a slightly uptight woman trying her best to be polite.

"I'm tired of thirty-fourth century rock music, got any thirty-third century stuff?"

"Of course Commander," came the simple reply. And in the background the energetic chorus faded out to be replaced with a gentler, more twangy melody. Alex laughed as she recognized the song.

"I think my Dad listened to this when he was a kid!"

"I can find alternative music if you require Commander," Verity replied.

"Nah leave it. It's got charm," she chuckled as she turned back to gazing out the window at space as it slipped by. Occasionally popping more food into her mouth as she tried her best to appreciate the beauty around her.

She finally gave up as her sticks knocked into the bottom without finding anything.

"Oh motherfucker," she grumbled as she peered inside. She crumpled the paper cartridge in her hand as she let out a long sigh.

"Hey Verity."

"Greetings Commander."

"How long have we been in Supercruise for?"

"We have been traveling for - Four hours, thirty-seven minutes, and twenty-four seconds as of the beginning of this voice line."

"How long has it been since I last asked you that?"

"You last inquired about our progress - twelve minutes, forty-six seconds ago as of the beginning of this voice line."

Alex slumped her head back, staring up through the glass above her.

"And how much longer have we got?"

"At current speeds our projected arrival time is in -- eight hours, eighteen minutes, and-"

"I still don't need the seconds, just hours and minutes is fine," Alex interrupted.

"Of course Commander. At current speeds our projected arrival time is in -- ten hours, eighteen minutes as of the beginning of this voice line."

Alex kept staring up, counting the stars above her.

"Verity, I'm bored. Will you flirt with me?"

"Apologies Commander. My voice lines are not programed to account for mature content."

"Can I get you programed to be able to handle mature content?"

"Illegal modification of a COVAS system is in violation of the Pilots Federation Statute B7428."

"Laaaaame," Alex complained as she lifted her feet off the console and brought the back of her seat upright, stuffing the empty cartridge and eating sticks into the pouch beside her seat as she did. She let out a long sigh as she looked around her cockpit, trying to find something to occupy her mind. She reached out, activating her comms panel and looking at the list of ships within range. This far from a Starport there were very few of them, and even those nearby were just making their way across the heavens like she was. Unlikely to be interested in conversation.

She turned her attention towards the scanner display, surveying the floating orange dots for anything of interest. She zoomed it out as far as it would go, the smaller details vanishing and leaving just the planets of the system and her far off destination. She zoomed back in, grumbling as she flicked one of the dials. She cycled through the frequencies to see what else she could find on the scanners. After several disappointing searches the best she had found was a faint cloud littering the blackness.

"Verity, give me a scan of that. What is it?" she asked disinterestedly as she dug around in the pouch to see if she could find anything else to eat.

"Scans suggest a debris field several dozen kilometers across," came the reply.

"Any idea what caused it?" she mused as she pulled out a package of dehydrated synthetic fruit, before deciding against and sticking it in her pocket.

"Apologies Commander. A more conclusive scan cannot be done from Supercruise."

Alex pouted for a long moment before taking hold of her flight control stick. Using the thumb controls to cycle the ship's targeting system over to the cloud's location.

"Ah fuck it, I'll go be nosey," she muttered. Despite her words not being directed at Verity, the voice assistant chimed in anyway.

"Apologies Commander. But investigating the debris field will delay our arrival further."

"Yes but you see, I want the instant gratification of something to do. I can only bask in the majesty of the universe for so long," Alex shot back, taking full hold of her controls and beginning a slow turn towards the cloud.

She watched her display carefully as she approached, slowly sheading speed as the target drew closer. She feathered her thrusters so she would only just drop below safe exit speed as she passed over the target. She curled her thumb around the small switch at the base of her throttle, counting down the seconds in her head before finally flipping it back. The ship gave a slight shudder, before Alex was lurched forward in her seat. The space all around her that had been sliding by so effortlessly only moments before suddenly sat perfectly still and unmoving.

Now at sublight speeds Alex gripped her throttle again, gently pushing her ship forwards as the edge of the debris field came into view. As the closest objects began to appear on her scanner display she cycled her targeting system through whatever it could find.

"Hull fragments, thermal shielding..." Alex read out.

"Well someone had a bad day out here. Some kind of wreck?" she asked, the question mostly directed at herself as she continued to cycle targets.

"That is inconclusive Commander. However initial scans do not indicate the appropriate debris is present to account for an entire vessel," was Verity's response.

"Well you're the one who said we had to be sublight to do a proper scan, so let's do more than initial," Alex retorted as she weaved through the floating debris.

"What type of scan would you like to initiate Commander?"

Alex blew out her cheeks in exasperation.

"Anything that's giving off an EM signal. Maybe there's a Black Box transmitter floating around. Wake signals, escape pods, the usual," she added with a shrug, her eyes continuing to travel down the scan report for one of the large chunks of debris.

"But it did suffer energy damage. So it was an attack," she mused quietly

"I have completed a scan of the present wake signals," Verity announced a moment later.

"Okay, what you got?" asked Alex, eyes shifting between her scanner and the view outside the canopy.

"One high energy wake signal consistent with the departure of a Megaship class vessel, and one low energy wake signal consistent with the departure of a medium class vessel. High energy signal from -- one hour, three minutes ago. Low energy wake signal from fifty-six minutes ago as of the beginning of this voice line."

"Oh Jesus, this just happened...." Alex muttered as she sat up a little straighter.

"But that's a 'no' on escape pods?"

"That is correct Commander. No standard regulation escape pods detected," Verity replied calmly. Alex wore a quizzical expression for a long moment as she took it all in.

"Okay here's my theory," she announced.

"There would be no reason for any ship to be sublight here normally. So I say the Megaship was interdicted by the other. It was attacked, but survived long enough they were able to jump into Hyperspace. The attacker couldn't trace the jump, so they returned to Supercruise. What do you think?"

"I do not note any inconsistencies between your theory and the results of our scans, Commander."

Alex cheered quietly to herself as they continued trawling through the debris until something caught her eye. She froze stiffly, a somber silence falling over the cockpit. She was staring at a small egg shaped object on her scanner. Alex pivoted the ship towards it and reached over to activate her docking lights. The twin beams illuminating the surface of the thing. Torn hoses and pipes dangling from it as it drifted.

"Verity! You said there weren't any escape pods!" she stated, a gnawing sense of unease building in the back of her mind.

"Apologies Commander, but the indicated object does not match the profile of a standard regulation escape pod."

"What about non-standard escape pods?" Alex asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Apologies Commander, but Pil-"

"Pilot's Federation Statute bullshit dash bullshit says all escape pods must be regulation. Fine whatever. Give me a biological scan of it anyway," Alex ordered tersely.

"Of course Commander," Verity answered. Her calm politeness seeming drastically out of place given the subject matter.

"Do we know if they came from the Megaship, or is it possible that's from the attacker?" Alex asked cautiously as she watched the scan progress.

"Unknown. However scans detect no significant debris having come from a source other than a Megaship class vessel. It is likely the attacker did not suffer enough damage to warrant jettisoning escape pods."

"Why the fuck would the Megaship jump away and leave them behind?" Alex muttered to herself.

"But they only left here an hour ago. The pods haven't been out here that long," she added hopefully.

"That is correct Commander," came Verity's response as the biological scan completed.

"However I must remind you that the life supporting capabilities of targeted object are unknown," but Alex wasn't listening. She was pouring over the biological scan results.

"Biological scan: Positive. Signs of life........ Negative," she read solemnly.

Alex sat quietly for a long moment. Her usual nonchalant attitude gone as she let the silence hang in the air. Slowly she raised her left hand, bending her elbow so her fingertips rested against her temple to offer a salute to the lifeless pod.

"I'm sorry friend, you deserved better," she stated mournfully.

"Verity, we... can't recover the body, right?" she asked after another moment.

"That is correct Commander. It is not considered safe to retrieve and transport the deceased without proper training and equipment, and as such it is not required by any major galactic power. However scans of the deceased must be turned over to a Search and Rescue Agent at the earliest opportunity," was the calm reply. Alex was silent for a long moment, just watching the lifeless pod drift in space before she let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping.

"If that was me, I know I'd rather be cremated and be done with it than have my body float for however long it took to just break apart," she said quietly as she pushed a button on her console.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to make that choice for yourself."

Before the canopy a pair of doors set flush into the hull slid back and a pair of laser cannons extended outwards: locking into place as their barrels swiveled around to track the derelict pod. Turning a dial, Alex dropped their power to as low as she could: hoping to make what was to come as gentle as possible.

"I hope you didn't suffer friend. You deserved not to. But now you get to rest, and I hope it's a peaceful one. I promise I'll turn in the scan so someone will know what happened to you," she offered quietly as she pulled the trigger.

Two continuous beams of dim light streaked across the black, briefly connecting her ship to the pod as its exterior began to glow. Slowly the shell began to fold in on itself under the heat; whatever oxygen was left quickly burnt away, taking everything inside the pod with it. As soon as her biological scan switched to negative Alex released her hand. She sat in silence for another moment, simply watching whisps of fine ask drift out of the remains of the pod.

"Rest well friend," she finally repeated as she twisted her controls, sending herself turning away.

"Verity! Get me another scan, but this time looking for whatever the hell kind of pod that was!" she called out as she pushed her throttle ahead.

"Of course Commander."

Verity quickly returned eight other matches, and Alex gritted her teeth as she sent them hurtling towards the nearest. She kept checking her display nervously, noting how long it had been since the Megaship had jumped out of the area. But after the scan of the next pod gave the same results, and she had given its occupant the most dignified end she could offer: all she could do was urge her ship towards the next, watching the minutes tick by.

But the scene repeated itself with the third pod. And the forth...

By the time Alex reached the final pod another thirty minutes had passed, and she grimly accepted that there were no survivors. She halfheartedly initiated the scan, guns already trained on the thing as it spun slowly before her, illuminated by her docking lights. Alex was ready to jump back into Supercruise and finish her journey. She wouldn't even complain about soaring through space with nothing to do this time. She just wanted to leave this floating graveyard behind. When the scan results returned her eyes drifted over them, but the words didn't truly register in her head. She began reaching for the trigger, already offering her condolences to the poor soul.

But then she stopped. Her head snapped back around, her ponytail cracking through the air like a whip. She leaned forward squinting at the scan report.

"Verity.... does that say, Signs of life: Positive?" she asked, her voice stiff and unsure as to if she could trust her own eyes.

"You are correct Commander. We appear to have found a single survivor," the assistant replied. Alex sat frozen for a long second, before lunging forward and retracting her guns.

"Verity prep the cargo bay airlock," she ordered, her voice full of sudden urgency and determination as she spun the ship in place: carefully bringing her rear door as close to the object as she could.

"I'm going to go out and get them!"

She ripped off her harness as soon as she was satisfied with their position, launching herself out of her pilot's seat, and sending herself sailing back towards the cargo bay. The door slid open before her with a gentle hiss as she entered. Before her were rows upon rows with cargo racks, overloaded with tightly secured crates, but it was a small locker bolted to the wall nearby that she sent herself rocketing towards.

She grabbed hold of it and brought herself to a stop before finally activating her magnetic boots to anchor herself in place as she threw open the door. She hastily raised her hands to her shoulders, pulling off her jacket and tossing it inside before dragging out her space suit. She quickly pulled the grey and tan base layer over herself, slamming the seals closed as she tightened it into position. She grabbed the thruster array, pausing only long enough to check its fuel before securing it to the chest rig and clamping it into place.

"Verity!" she called out as she grabbed the suit's white helmet and kicked off towards the airlock.

"Please tell me signs of live are still positive on that scan!"

"You will be pleased to hear that that is correct Commander," Verity replied simply.

"Well thank fuck for that," Alex replied as she pulled the helmet down over her head, quickly double checking all her seals before slamming her palm against the airlock release. The interior door opened, but quickly sealed again behind her as she stepped inside. For a brief moment there was a low hiss as the air was pumped out of the room, and with it left all the sounds of her ship that she was so accustomed to. The low whir of the reactor, the hum of electronics, the idling of her thrusters, replaced only her own breathing and blood pumping behind her ears.

She steeled herself as she waited, but as soon as the indicator light turned green she punched the release. Before her the door slid back, leaving nothing but the suit between her and the vacuum of space. She reached over grabbing hold of a small winch before kicking off. She glided free of the airlock, the cable spooling out behind her. Her eyes remained fixed on her target, silhouetted against the backdrop of stars.

Alex ignited the small thrusters on her back, nudging herself towards the derelict pod as it grew larger before her. She carefully made a few corrections as it approached. But at last her fingers grabbed hold of one of its trailing hoses. She fought the spin of the pod as she dragged herself closer, before finally managing to bring it to a stop with her thrusters. As she stabilized herself she realized that almost half of the pod was covered with an enormous glass door. But when she swung herself around to peer through its surface, all she could see was a spiderweb of frost, with only the faint shape of a motionless figure visible within.

"Verity, signs of life?" she asked apprehensive as she scoured the pod for somewhere to attach the winch cable, her voice sounding strange and distorted inside her helmet.

"The biological scan is still reading signs of life as positive Commander," came the crackly reply in her ear.

"But I'm not seeing movement," Alex said worriedly as she found a piece of exposed frame and clipped the cable to it.

"Signs of life does not equate signs of consciousness," Verity clarified simply.

"Oh sure. They're just having a little nap in there. I'm so relieved," Alex replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Just start reeling in the cable. And slowly," she added, feeling the line go taught and the pod jerk gently into motion. She braced herself against the side, using her suit trusters to correct their course as she watched the airlock door drift closer.

The airlock door was nestled between her ship's two main thruster outlets, and as they loomed tall on either side of her, she made her few last painstaking corrections.

"Verity stop pulling!" she ordered as she scrambled around to the front of the pod, using her thrusters to carefully slow their approach. Until at last she could reach out and grab hold of the open doorframe, dragging both herself and the pod into the airlock before hastily sealing the door shut behind them.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief that the pod wasn't any bigger, with it already pressing her into the corner as the room slowly filled with air. As she waited she reached over, rapping her knuckles a few times against the pod's door, but she saw no response.

But after many nail-biting movements the indicator light activated, and all the familiar sounds of her ship came rushing back as she unhooked the winch cable and dragged the pod into her cargo bay. She shoved it up against one of the racks and quickly locked it in place on its back with a handful of cargo straps before ripping off her helmet.

The woman took a few deep gulps of air as she wiped the sweat from her eyes. But once she composed herself she turned back to the pod, slamming her palm against the glass.

"Hey!" she called out.

"Anyone alive in there?"

But still no response came from within.

If the occupant was unconscious, that at least meant she could toss them back outside easily enough if they did turn out to be a Pirate, Alex thought darkly as she reached over. She tapped quickly on the pod's control panel, but it seemed to be without power.