OMEGA Exile by Stephen Arseneault Read Free Book Online

how it’s going to be. Mr. Jaqua is not to be punished for this in any way. I will have someone follow up sometime after this, and if I find any sort of punishment for this incident, I will have your license. Am I clear in what I am saying?"
    The captain nodded. "Yes, ma’am. Mr. Jaqua has done nothing wrong and therefore will not be punished in any way."
    Joni turned back to the still-shaking crewman. "Mr. Jaqua. I hope you are still able to enjoy the Orientus, but you may want to brew it up soon, before it goes missing."
    Jalla Jaqua replied, "Thank you for your kindness with this situation, Miss Salton. I’m new to the crew of the Farengate , and I am in desperate need of this job."
    Joni looked back at the captain. "You do your job to the best of your ability, and I am sure Captain Haira will treat you fairly."
    The captain nodded with a still-worried look on his face.
    We moved back to the docking bay, and Joni quickly had her report ready for the administrator and the captain. "You run a good ship, Captain. Keep in mind that a captain is only as good as his crew. Treat your men fairly, and they will work hard for you, and a hardworking crew means better profits for the family. Take care, Captain, and have a good day."
    I followed Joni back onto the Daunte , and we were soon back out in free space, heading toward SS5.
    "I have to say that I liked the way you handled yourself back there, Miss Salton: both professional and mature. I wish the trainees I had twenty years ago had been so cool and collected. Although, I’m left to wonder why you pounced on that poor fellow so quickly. We are on a ship in space."
    Joni turned with her eyebrows raised. "Did you see the panic in his eyes? I didn’t want him running out of there and purposefully jamming his hand into an ion stream somewhere, so I tackled him before he could hurt himself."
    I nodded. "Quick thinking on your part. I would not have made that immediate leap. Now, on to the more important topic. Has Orientus really been banned by the family?"
    Joni smiled. "Does it bother you that you have two crates of contraband in your storeroom, Mr. Beutcher?"
    I slowly nodded. "I can hardly be out here busting captains and crews for contraband if I am carrying it myself. I try to go by the letter of the law, Miss Salton. That’s one reason I earned these three stars."
    Joni laughed. "OK, well, I guess we need to remedy that situation right now. In the name of the Salton family, I hereby confiscate the two crates of Orientus in the store of the Daunte . Said contraband will from here on out be property of the Salton family and will be dispersed to the crew of the Daunte , a government-owned ship, at their discretion. How’s that sound?"
    I replied, "Add that note to the ship’s logs, and we will be in good shape. I believe we should seal this edict with a cup of said coffee. Does that fall within the new Salton family guidelines?"
    Joni again laughed. "I believe it does."
    When I returned with the two cups of Orientus, Joni had the inspection schedule up on the holo-display. "Next up is the Kuleroog , with eight hundred thousand tons of iron. I’m requesting a portal transit for this one."
    I sipped as Joni managed the controls for our jump. Two minutes later we were parked in position, four light-years from where we had been. For only an instant, I noticed a blip on the tactical display. I checked the history logs and could not see that any anomaly had been logged.
    I spoke. "Did you get a flicker on the nav screen right after that jump? I saw something, but the logs aren’t showing a blip."
    Joni shook her head. "I didn’t pick up anything."
    I set down my mug and stood.
    As I poked away at a small device on the wall behind my chair, Joni asked. "What are you messing with?"
    "It’s a personal recorder. I keep my own records of everything I do in the cockpit. If a situation arises where my actions are in contention, I can review them to see what transpired. It has