BJ Allen

Meanwhile, in the depths of the citadel, an alarm went off on a console.
The operator pulled up the alarm. The algorithm had flagged an anomaly in a small pub in one of the dirtiest and poorest areas of the citadel. The operator saw that the algorithm was complaining about somebody blocking their mouth repeatedly over the course of several minutes. The algorithm was not able to lip read what was being said.
The two people in question had been identified. One was a nobody. A general labourer. The other was only just short of a nobody. A crew member on a galactic freighter.
The operator checked the pub’s security footage. The sound was unusable owing to the background noise. And the video wasn’t great. The lenses were smudged, and the three angles showed little more than the heads and shoulders of the two people. The pictures were also further obscured by other people and furnishings.
The operator didn’t even have a clear view of one of the people’s hands owing to a jacket resting on the bar.
Whilst the operator reviewed the pub footage, the system was connecting to the implants in the heads of these two people. It now had connection. The operator listened in. Then the operator reviewed the recordings.
There wasn’t much on any of it. Just the same background noise as picked up by the pub cameras. No conversation. Just drinking.
The operator concluded it was just two wasters sitting at a bar, drinking, and looking about. It appeared they didn’t even know each other. It didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary. So, the operator cleared the flag and instructed the algorithm to ignore that scene for the rest of the evening.

Back in the pub, the man sitting next to Dukk said, “My name doesn’t matter. Don’t ask for it. In fact, don’t ask anything. Try not to speak, but if you need to speak, hold your drink near your mouth. I have a contract offer for you. Three loads of beef. Destination is a local system. Must be sequential. Seven hundred and fifty thousand EUs on top of costs. That’s the same Thumpol promised you for an entire year. It will go a long way to clearing your debts. And it will save your life.”
Dukk was gobsmacked for the second time in less than an hour.
The amount was off the scales. A local system run meant he could turn around a load in just under three weeks.
“But” he thought. “How does this man know what Thumpol is offering, and why does he keep saying my life is at risk.”
Before Dukk could respond, the man continued, “When I leave, look up the contracts job board. Search for urgent high value beef contracts. Locate the contract offered by Wallace in Utopiam. Get the meeting details off the notice. Tonight, go to dinner with your crew, have fun, enjoy yourself. Tell them you are exploring a contract and leave in time to get the midnight VG to Utopiam. Make the most of the five hours of rest during the flight. You’ll be on the ground at seven p.m. local time. Go to the meeting place at nine p.m. Meet with Wallace. Make the deal. He will even sort out your crew shortage challenges. Eat. Be Merry. Get the midnight return. You’ll be back here at three p.m. tomorrow. That will give you two hours to refreshen up ahead of the handover at five p.m. You’ll hardly be missed.”
With that the man finished his drink and stood up. Before leaving he said, “oh, don’t mention this conversation to anyone and take this bracelet with you. Wear it at all times. Wallace will explain.”
He then turned, pushed the bracelet in Dukk’s direction, collected his jacket and left.

Dukk stared at the wall behind the bar and let the barely touched drink go warm.
“What in the world is going on?” he thought.
His self-reflection was interrupted by an incoming alert on his comms. It was Annee.
“Ann, what is going on?” Dukk answered in a daze.
“Are you alright?” Annee asked.
That woke Dukk up.
“Sure. You?”
“Yes, all done here. Rachelle has taken all her stuff from the master cabin. Bazzer and I gave it a once over and moved your lockers in there.”
“Thanks, Annee.”
“So, I was thinking I could move into your old cabin? I already checked with Bazzer, and Larinette is hardly in hers, so she shouldn’t care?”
“Wait, what? You are staying? What about you and Rachelle,” Dukk asked calmly. He was starting to get used to the idea of the unexpected by this stage of the afternoon.
“All good things come to an end, Dukk. Besides, I have years of potential left in me. I am not ready to settle down or be grounded just yet!” Annee replied awkwardly.
“That is brilliant news!” Dukk replied gleefully without thinking.
“Actually, I will miss her,” Annee added.
“Oh, of course, I mean, I am sorry for you and Rachelle, but I am delighted you are staying with the Dinatha, you are one in a million. And, definitely, take my old cabin.”
“Thanks, Dukk, see you at dinner,” Annee added and ended the call abruptly.
That suited Dukk fine as he felt it was getting a little uncomfortable. He was struggling with his emotions and was in no state to help Annee with hers.

Dukk used the heightened awareness following the call with Annee, to get his thoughts together. He used his heads-up display to access the contracts board.
He searched for urgent high value beef contracts. There was only one. It had just been posted.
“Odd! And as suggested by the mystery man, the contact went by the name of ‘Wallace’,” reflected Dukk.
The listing gave the details of the load and destination. It all looked legitimate. The listing also gave the place where Wallace would be tomorrow at nine p.m., local time. He saved the details. Paid the tab, left yet another drink barely touched, and headed for the door.