Journeys of the Shepherd

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Find

It suddenly stopped. Luke couldn't believe it at first, but it was true. The constant shaking that was going on for the last three weeks, just stopped. Luke listened, he couldn't hear ice smashing against the ship either. He looked around , and saw the faces of the rest of the crew. They were apparently as confused as he was. Luke stood up, and walked out of the mess room. When he was walking down the corridor, he felt a weird sensation. He wasn't used anymore to walking around the ship, without stumbling all the time. 

When he got to the bridge, he looked out of the windows. There was nothing, no ice, just the darkness of space and the stars in the distance. ''Well, we're out of the Kaku belt.'' The captain said, Luke didn't even notice him until now.

''Finally.'' Luke responded. ''So where are we going anyway?''

''Well, we're coming along a shipping lane, so we should -'' The captain was interrupted by the sound of an incoming signal. The old man walked over, and tapped a key on a monitor. ''Speak of the devil!'' The captain exclaimed. ''It's a ship!''

''A ship? What kind of ship?'' Luke asked confused.

''I'm not sure.'' The captain said. ''Looks like they deactivated their identification system, I'm just getting some code. Strange.''

''Maybe it's another pirate ship?'' Luke said. 

The captain shook his head. ''No, the code is vague. But it can recognize a pattern used by Union ships.''

Luke raised his eyebrow. ''Union? Out here? I thought they didn't patrol this far out?''

''They don't.''

''So what the hell are they doing out here?'' Luke asked.

''I don't know.'' The captain stroked his beard. ''But I've got a feeling there is something very interesting about this ship. I've never seen a Union ship here before, let alone with ID deactivated.''

''So are we going to investigate?'' Luke asked, but he already knew the answer.

The captain grinned. ''This might be the chance of a lifetime, Luke.''

The hours passed, and the Shepherd changed course to investigate the mysterious ship. As they got closer, they aimed their telescope at the vessel.

'Dear God!'' The captain gasped, as the image taken by the telescope appeared on the monitor. It was a huge ship, although it was hard to tell just how big it was. A red symbol on the bridge identified as a Union ship. It was a deepspace freighter, but it wasn't unarmed. On each side of the ship there were three turrets.

''What do you think?'' The captain asked Marshall, who he had called earlier to report to the bridge, to help indentify the ship.

''I'm not sure.'' The mechanic said. ''Looks like a Velikan-class. Never expected one of those around here, they are normally used to transport valuable cargo.''

''That's what I thought. What do you think is on board?'' 

Marshall scratched his cheek. ''I have no idea, metal, oil, minerals, who knows. But that ship has alot of guns, do you really think it's worth it, captain?''

The captain nodded. ''Worth it. I'll alert the crew. We'll probably attack within two hours. Luke, could you do something for me?''

''What is it, sir?'' Luke responded.

''Could you wake up Ash, and tell him I want him on the bridge?'' 

Luke nodded, and walked out of the bridge. A few minutes later he was standing in front of Ash's bunk, which was right next to the captain's bunk. Both compartements were located at the aft deck, above the engine room. Luke slammed open the door, Ash never locked it. He saw his friend laying stretched out on his bed, his clothes scattered on the ground.