Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 15 (a)

There was never any telling if she could ever go back to any hiding place so Orion packed up everything. She had nanufactured several new clothing items from under to outerwear. She had also changed the bag she used to carry it lest anyone recognize the previous one. She could have coloured her hair but chose to put it up under a non-descript cap. She left the room tidy as she found it.

Without probing deeply into it, she knew that searching Aubrey Chase Chen's container had left her vulnerable. She stopped using Chief Brunner signet and password. She had others. For the cabin she'd just left, she used a steward's signet. It had less access to restricted areas of the ship but would raise fewer red flags than a senior crew ID.

The presence of a Commonwealth Marshal was a bit troubling to her. Before leaving the cabin, she looked more into the man she'd only seen once. Over toast and juice, she read news reports in the ship's computers from prior to their departure. It didn't take long to realize that he was someone with capabilities and unlike regular ship security, knew how to investigate.

Not that anyone had been seriously looking for her before now. She had one or two IDs to access security to see where things stood on the investigation but nixed the idea. It was risky. AI might be waiting for unauthorized security logins. Still, she wanted to know what was happening to see if it would affect her plans.

The last time she had seen the marshal had been by chance in the Central Plaza. He had been in the company of a ship steward. It had been easy to find out his name was Miguel Rodriguez. Knowing this and tracking him were two different things. No individual was tailed constantly as research proved it was demoralizing and unproductive. All stewards had cabins on the main promenade and it was possible to sit near the door to the crew area and see staff as they came and went.

Since it appeared that the steward with Marshal Cole was assigned to him, the usual schedules didn't seem to apply. Even if she had used the ship computer, Orion would have possibly known where Miguel had been rather than know where he was going. Reaching out in her special way was time consuming. It was also physically and mentally draining if you did not know where to look. Instead, she decided to play the odds and sit for a while near the door. She had time.

Playing the odds was what Freddy Curso used to tell her all the time. His main argument was to not to lean on special powers too much as odds are the more they were used, the higher the chance of it working against you. What might appear to be a speedy way to achieve an objective was in fact the very thing that might lead to getting caught. And Freddy told her over and over again that he and she alike were not something humanity was ready for.

There were 50 stewards and two chief stewards aboard the Niagara. The two chiefs worked primarily in the Purser's Office and the Purser headed their department. A steward's job was passenger and crew services. Administration, banking, travel, cargo, supplies, activities, food services and housekeeping needs were all seen to by the stewards. They liaised with several departments and were seen as essential to smooth operations aboard a passenger liner.

Orion learned all this researching the ship and in terms of percentages, if you sat and waited near the entrance to the steward's cabins, you would eventually see the person you looked for. Freddy Curso would be proud and she didn't have to use any special power other than observation.

There were plenty of lounge chairs and tables for passengers to relax and enjoy themselves. It was easy to be inconspicuous. She drank tea and had a datapadd in her hands open to some book pages. Stewards came and went as it was near a shift change. Soon there was a flurry activity but no Miguel. She was starting to wonder if his work with the marshal had him elsewhere consistently. It was just then that Miguel walked out the steward's door.

A little trace of a smile was visible across Orion's lips as Freddy's words about odds had come through again. Standing slowly, she watched Miguel make his way to a lift. She moved to the opposite side of the promenade and took the lift there. This was going to be a quick and failed pursuit if it ended up in another crew only part of the ship.

It was with some relief that that she saw Miguel's lift stop at the Central Plaza. She pressed the button to stop one level up at one of the bridges that criss-crossed and went to end over the plaza. It was perfect for people watching.

Orion moved to the rail to look down just in time to see Miguel meet Marshal Cole at one of the kiosks called Hot Kohee,which served a coffee-like drink from Proxima. It was possible to hear voices in the courtyard below without difficulty. She took a seat with her back to the rail and listened.