Chapter 133: 132. Neglect

"We're entering the wreck now," Rebecca announced via her suit's commlink.

I sent back, "Be careful you two. Keep us updated, we're tracking things from here."

"Will do," she responded.

The shuttle was magnetically coupled to the starboard side of the MV Kaden Merit, a few meters forward of the damage to the hull. My two girlfriends were both in their e-suits and had just started their EVA. We were too far from the wreck to see them out the window, but we could monitor their progress thanks to the ship's sensors.

They were entering the derelict vessel through the hull breech on the lower deck, which meant making their way past potentially sharp or jagged twisted hull plates. There might also be conduits or cables or other obstructions, but I had to trust that Rebecca knew what she was doing. She wouldn't lead herself and Sarah into danger.

After a tense couple minutes the cute blonde engineer spoke up, "We're in. It looks like the breech tore open a stairwell connecting the upper and lower decks. From what I can see the internal hatches were open, at least on the lower deck anyways. So all the air in the cargo hold would have vented as soon as it happened."

"We're moving into the hold now," she added.

A couple seconds later Rebecca stated, "There's our first objective. Those orange shipping containers belong to our customer, and they look intact."

Sarah agreed, "Looks like they were properly secured to the deck. There's a bunch of bins floating around in here, but the shipping containers seem to be secure."

They went quiet again for a bit, I figured they were probably having a closer look at the client's shipment. Or maybe they were checking out the other goods to see if any of it was worth salvaging.

During the pause Cam asked, "Have y'all done this sort of thing before? I mean, boarding wrecked ships in the middle of nowhere?"

I replied, "We've done it twice since I joined the Demeter. Or, we visited the same wreck twice that is. I went aboard on our second visit. Sarah and I both knew the ship though, it was the Imperium craft we shipped out on. This is our first time visiting a strange wreck."

"I believe our captain has done this sort of thing a number of times in the past," Jenny added. "She's been doing this sort of work for quite a while."

"Good point. Rebecca's an old hand at this sort of salvage work," I nodded.

The comm came to life again as Sarah reported, "We're in engineering now. No reserve or emergency power at all, this ship is as dead as she looks. It's a hell of a mess back here too. Based on the damage I'm seeing I think when the number three engine blew that sent an overload back up the line and the whole power plant came apart."

"There should have been safeties in place to prevent that," she added, "But for whatever reason they didn't engage."

Rebecca added, "We also have our first casualty in here. Probably the engineer."

"Yeah," Sarah sighed. "At least he didn't suffer. Looks like it was fairly instantaneous back here."

There was another pause before the captain stated, "We're going up to the main deck, making our way to the cockpit."

They were both quiet again for a while after that, but we could track their progress through the sensors. My girlfriends made their way to the port-side aft corner of the lower deck, then started up what was probably another stairwell. That brought them to the main deck, where they began moving forward. It took them about ten minutes to get all the way from engineering at lower deck aft to the cockpit on the main deck forward. Not that the ship was so big, but they were floating along in zero gravity and finding their way with flashlights. And they were probably being cautious rather than rush into anything.

When they reached the cockpit Rebecca contacted us again, "There's another casualty up here. Looks like she was on watch when it happened. Sarah's getting to work on one of the consoles now, she's going to try and apply some external power so we can dump the logs. And if we're lucky, cargo and crew manifests too."

"Thanks for the update," I responded. "After you get the data are you heading back here? Or are you two going to explore some more?"

There was a pause, presumably Rebecca and Sarah were discussing the matter before answering. Then after a half minute or so our captain replied, "We'll be returning to the Demeter, ETA fifteen minutes. We have the ship's log and the manifests. See you all shortly."

"Understood," I stated.

The three of us continued to monitor our shipmates as they started making their way aft. They were travelling along the starboard side of the upper deck this time, returning to the damaged part of the ship where they originally entered.

Then Cam asked quietly, "What do you suppose they found? Is it normal to come straight back after only being over there a short time like that?"

I gave them a reassuring smile, "If there was a problem Rebecca would have said so. I have a feeling they want to review the data here where it's more comfortable? And they can get all of us involved in that discussion."

"They might also want a drink," I added as my smile faded. I sighed and lowered my voice as I reminded the cat-kin, "They've come across two bodies over there, and from the sound of it at least one of them probably wasn't a pretty sight. Although speaking as a medic, any remains in those sorts of conditions aren't going to be pleasant to look at. The void is not kind to soft warm bodies."

Cam's ears and tail all drooped as their face paled slightly.

"Rebecca and Sarah are safely back in the shuttle now," Jenny commented, perhaps to distract our newest shipmate with a change of subject. "They'll be back aboard the Demeter in no time at all now."

No time was a bit of an exaggeration, but at least they'd got past all the hazards. Soon enough the shuttle disengaged its magnetic clamps and pulled away from the derelict, then Rebecca piloted the small craft back over towards the Demeter. It was another half dozen minutes before the docking process was complete, then Cam and I headed aft to greet our friends and welcome them back on board.

We had to wait until they were through the airlock, but we were by the inner door when Rebecca opened it up. It took her and Sarah another minute or two to get out of their e-suits, then soon enough all five of us were seated around the dining table in the ship's mess. Rebecca and Sarah had shot glasses in front of them, while Cam and I opted for soft drinks instead. And our cute engineer had her portable terminal set up in front of her, so she could review the data she downloaded from the Kaden Merit.

"So she had six people on board when she left Rolandan-2," Sarah announced, as she checked the crew manifest and passenger records. "Only four crew, and two paying passengers."

Rebecca was seated next to the cute blonde so she could see the data as well. She commented, "I'm guessing it was probably the first officer we found in the cockpit, according to the manifest she was the only woman on board. And the body in engineering was almost certainly the ship's mechanic. That leaves the captain and a deck hand unaccounted for, plus the two passengers."

"We might find them all in their bunks," she added. "Assuming the explosion happened during a routine part of the trip, the passengers would probably have been in their cabins. Same with any off-duty crew."

Jenny asked, "What about the missing escape pod? It's possible at least some of those people were able to abandon ship, is it not?"

Sarah switched to the ship's log and checked the last few entries, then shook her head. "If they did, there's nothing in here about it. If there was any reserve or emergency power there should have been an automated entry when the escape pod was launched."

"Based on what we saw I don't expect there were any survivors," the boss added. "Most of the hatches and bulkheads were left open. The blast tore open a bunch of hull plates in the starboard-aft corner, and the whole damn ship probably vented at once."

I was about to suggest some survivors could have been trapped in their cabins, before I remembered there were no life-signs on the ship. And thinking about that I realized that even if some people did survive the initial catastrophe they wouldn't have lasted long after that.

Assuming they weren't injured or killed outright by the explosion sending the ship into a violent tumble, they'd be trapped in their cabins with nothing to do but wait for their air to run out.

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It seemed like Jenny was probably thinking the same thing as me when she asked, "Can you tell how long ago the accident happened?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "Looks like all power was lost nineteen days ago."

Rebecca added, "That was about a day after their last status and position report."

I sighed, "So even if someone did make it to the escape pod..."

"They're only rated for five or six days," the boss completed my sentence. "If it's out there, it's already far too late."

After that we were all quiet again for a half minute or so, before our captain spoke up once more.

"All right folks," she said in a very captainey voice, "We have a job to do. We were given twenty days to find, retrieve, and deliver our client's cargo if we want that fifty-percent bonus. We have eleven days left, and it's a six day jump back to Ecclestone's World from here, so we're looking at five days on-site before we need to get moving again."

She looked at Sarah as she continued, "Here's what I need to know ASAP. Is it worth our time to haul that entire wreck over to Rolandan-2? In your expert opinion, can the Kaden Merit be repaired and put back into service as a working ship? Or is she destined to be broken down as scrap and sold for parts? And if so, is that something we can do ourselves out here in five days?"

The boss added, "Basically I need to make a decision in the next few hours. If we're towing that ship to Rolandan-2 we can kiss the twenty-thousand eck bonus goodbye. If we do that then I'm going to want at least five times that in profit off the salvage. If not, we have five days to break it down and stuff our holds with the most valuable parts, then we'll make our delivery and collect our bonus before turning around and heading back to Rolandan-2."

Sarah's eyes widened, "Why are you putting all that on my shoulders? I have no idea what this stuff is worth out here. I'm not sure I could even tell you what it's worth back in the Imperium, I never had to pay for parts or repairs, the Navy accountants took care of that stuff."

Rebecca replied, "You're our chief engineer. I'm not expecting you to know the cash value of things, just tell me whether you think it's worth our time or not."

"Fine," the cute blonde frowned. "I already have some idea based on what we saw out there, but I'm going to need a few minutes to check the logs for maintenance records and damage reports."

While Sarah was staring at the screen on her portable terminal I asked, "Are we curious about what actually happened to wreck the ship in the first place? And will that make a difference in your decision?"

"I guess after what the Persephone went through recently I'm wondering if sabotage is a possibility," I added with a grimace. "Especially considering our client seemed more than a little shady to me, and I can't help thinking there's something shady about his cargo."

The boss shrugged, "Like I said before, just about everyone on Ecclestone's World is shady. If someone sabotaged the Kaden Merit they either died with everyone else on board, or they're back on Rolandan-2 and none of our concern. Either way they aren't going to threaten us out here."

"I doubt it was sabotage," Sarah stated. She was still reading the log entries, and from her expression it was pretty clear she didn't like what she was seeing. "There's entries in here dating back almost two years, detailing problems with all three engines. And it looks like the ship's a couple years overdue for maintenance."

She frowned and shook her head, "No need for sabotage when you don't look after your ship."

Rebecca frowned as well, "If she's in bad enough shape to have an engine blow up in routine service then I doubt the rest of her's going to be worth much."

"Didn't Seyoun say the ship was supposed to be in good working order?" I asked.

"He said his associates thought she was space-worthy," the tall redhead replied. "But that's third- or fourth-hand information."

Sarah gestured at her terminal, "Give me an hour to review all the engineering log entries, and I should have a better feel for her condition over-all."

"Maybe Jenny can help with that?" Rebecca suggested.

She added, "Cam you stay with Sarah, maybe you can give her a hand. Or she can explain what she's doing so you get a feel for it. Amanda, you're with me. I want another detailed scan of the wreck, this time with an eye for what we can potentially salvage in the next few days."

We all started moving, the boss and I headed for the cockpit while Jenny and Cam moved closer to Sarah so all three could see the data on the portable terminal. Up front I got into the copilot seat this time, and with our captain watching I started another scan of the derelict ship.

Beginning at the cockpit then slowly working backwards, I tried to get as much detail on the other craft as possible. And like Rebecca asked, I also tried to focus on mechanics and assemblies that could hopefully be salvaged intact.

Along the way I also found out what that dome-shaped structure was on the top of the craft. I'd originally assumed it might be an advanced sensor suite, but it turned out to be concealing a weapons system. According to our scan it was a triple pulse laser turret, which the boss made note of.

When we were finished we had a small list of candidates for salvage. It was nowhere near the sort of windfall we got from the Hammersmith, but it was still potential profit above and beyond the ecks we'd be getting from the client.

The two of us finally shut down the scan and returned to the mess to find out what information the others were able to glean from the ship's logs.

"In my opinion," Sarah stated as soon as Rebecca and I sat down at the table, "That ship was probably an accident waiting to happen. I doubt the two intact engine pods are in much better shape than the one that blew. I can't see anyone putting the money into repairing her back to safe working order."

Jenny added, "I concur. The logs paint a picture of a captain looking to save every eck, by neglecting maintenance and cutting corners at every opportunity. The captain refused to hire additional crew, he had folks doing extra shifts and double duties. The ship's engines needed an overhaul three years ago, the engineer made several requests for replacement parts which the captain ignored or turned down."

"It sounds like she was a very unhappy ship," Cam commented quietly.

Hearing all that, it only took the boss a second or two to make her decision. "All right then. We're going to be spending the next five days stripping the wreck of anything and everything that might be valuable. Sensor array, computers, weapons and defensive systems, and of course cargo."

"I hope this isn't in bad form," the AI hesitated, "But we should probably try and find the ship's safe. The captain's been cutting corners and saving ecks, there's a chance we may find a substantial amount of cash on board."

Rebecca nodded, "Good point. The safe is usually in the captain's cabin, so we'll have a look in there. Sarah and I also saw a storage compartment on the upper deck and a big locker in the hold, we can pry those open and check for any valuables in there too."

"Can I help with any of this?" Cam asked. Their ears and tail were all sticking up as they added, "Taking stuff apart is something I'm good at. I'd like to help out, if you'll have me."

Sarah cautioned, "You only just learned how to handle an e-suit. This is potentially dangerous work, zero-g out in space."

The cat-kin nodded, "I know ma'am, but I really do want to help. This is the sort of work I know I can do."

"All right then," the boss stated. "Amanda, Jenny, you have the ship. Sarah, Cam, let's grab all the tools we'll need and suit up. Let's get to work folks, we've got five days."