Seven
Halifax – the Cape Fortune
Captain Amyl Bond was not a patient man. Waiting in port for weeks at a time was galling, much as his crew liked the liberty to spend evenings in the various pubs and clubs of the Fleet dock’s private levels rather than in their quarters on the cramped old freighter.
Work was, however, scarce, and the retainer Philemon Baxter was paying him added nicely to his expected half-share of the stolen diamond shipment.
Bond wasn’t even sure why he was on his own Bridge this lazy Tuesday afternoon, watching a skeleton crew perform a few minor maintenance chores. The only station on the Bridge that was operational was the Signals panel, and it was the Signals tech that spoke up now.
“Captain, message intercepted from Port Control; the Shade Tree was just given permission to dock. Pier Nine, two spaces over from us.”
“Nice to have neighbors,” Bond noted. “I’m sure Baxter already knows they’re here, but send him a heads-up anyway and…”
“Captain,” Signals interrupted him, “The Shade Tree is signaling us.”
“No shit?”
“No shit, Captain. They’re requesting a private channel from their Captain to you.”
Bond picked up an old Pratt-Siemens headset and put it on. “Send them through to here.”
“Transferring.”
A moment later, the headset buzzed. There was a hiss of static from a low-powered, short-range radio set, and a voice came through that Bond recognized. “Cape Fortune, this is the Shade Tree.”
“Cape Fortune,” Bond replied.
“Having a nice quiet time in port, are we, Captain Bond?”
“A bit dull. What can I do for you, Captain Barrett?”
“We’re approaching our pier now, should be docked inside of ten minutes. How is your medical staff, Captain? Up to date on communicable diseases?” It was a rhetorical question; a starship medic was useless if they didn’t stay current on the diseases one could expect to find on the many Confederate worlds.
“Our Doc is competent,” Bond answered. “Why?”
“As soon as we dock,” Barrett answered him, “I’ll be sending my Security Chief over to your pier. He has a blood sample with him, and he will have orders to place that sample personally in your hands. I’d like you to have your docs analyze it – very carefully, full Class IV biohazard protocol – and tell you what’s in it. Then, call me back, and I’ll explain it.”
“I don’t see the point,” Bond said, “but I’ll do as you ask.”
“You’ll understand it all in good time, Captain, believe you me. Shade Tree out.”
“Well,” Bond said as he removed the headset. “Isn’t this interesting. I’ll be going to the docking port,” he announced to Signals tech. “Page me if she calls again.”
***
Baxter’s office – two hours later
“Boss,” Fox informed his employer, “Message from the Cape Fortune.” He held out a small message pad.
Baxter raised his eyebrows; Fox normally just read the messages out loud. He took the pad, looked at the screen:
Baxter:
Sorry, but biohazards aren’t really our cup of tea. By the time you get this message, we’ll have left port. I will expect our retainer through today deposited in our ship company’s Tarbos account by six weeks from this date.
Good luck hiring another ship for anything once word of this gets out.
– Starship Cape Fortune, Amyl Bond, Captain
“Shit.”
“How do you suppose he found out about that?”
“Barrett,” Baxter growled. “It had to be that bitch Barrett. She dodged the plague somehow and got word out.”
“This looks bad,” Fox observed.
“It’s worse than bad,” Baxter said. “The Shade Tree arrived this afternoon – we heard anything from them yet?”
“Nothing, Mr. Baxter.”
“She’s up to something,” Baxter said. “She’s got to be up to something.”
To see more of Animal’s writing, visit his page at Crimson Dragon Publishing or Amazon.
Links, in case you need them:
https://crimsondragonpublishing.com/anderson-gentry/
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Anderson-Gentry/author/B00CK1AWMI
Isopentyl chemistry is kind of obscure to be naming your kid after.
And it’s a girls name.
Better than calling her Amyl Nitrate.
you read my mind
No love for Polly Styrene ?
I can’t believe no one else linked this…
What is it with Aussie chicks?
She looks a lot like Brody Dalle (well when she was blonde)
Animal Nitrate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7mEB2wnDLQ
And I doubt it will be subtle.
Sorry to go OT – about to shut down laptop for driving.
For the laser pointer question this morning – I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a blue laser pointer, but as a formerly qualified Administrative Laser Safety Officer (in 2011), make sure that any goggles you buy are the correct wavelength and optical density for the specific color laser you own.
https://lasersafetyindustries.com/collections/eyewear
https://www.etsy.com/listing/849524123/warning-stickers-laser-warning-do-not
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/U4T1S6usQWOrQZR6DBExWw.RMz–KoaQYZ735iP4PIH9b
Why does it list 2 different wave lengths?
I think that’s the full length of blue in the spectrum but I could be wrong.
650 is red IIRC.
Depending on what the lasing medium is, it could very well be emitting two colors.
Looks like multiwavelength diode lasers are a thing:
https://www.laserglow.com/product/bywavelength/532/
Neither of those wavelengths is blue though, does it really look blue?
I’m nervous to play with it yet. Coworker has one too, and yes it’s blue.
Shoot it at each other.
Pew Pew Pew!
532 nm is green
650 nm is red
So, most likely is that the box is wrong for the listed wave length?
The visible colors from shortest to longest wavelength are: blue violet (405nm), blue (445nm, 460nm), pure blue (473nm), green (532nm), yellow (589nm) and red (635nm, 650nm).
Wavelength – Laser Pointers
Maybe. Get a prism and see if the colors separate. Google shows some triple color lasers at 473, 532, and 650 (blue, green, red).
Quora says:
How strong is a 100 mW laser?
100mW is 20 times what is considered to be “eye-safe”. If the air is clear, the beam can easily be seen many miles away if you hit the target directly. You don’t see it going through the air because air isn’t very reflective unless there is a lot of dust or moisture in it.Jul 9, 2020
The alien commander was wrong about just how clever Baxter is.
OT: But just looked in on commentariat at TOS and things are… not well. Lots of multi-directional scitzo posting.
Somebody call Elmo!
Drat it all!
Do you know how little time I have?
Now I have to go back and start this story from the beginning.
Great honk
It’s a great story. That should make it easy.
Yep. Just finished going through the first six chapters.
Oh look. They’re starting to admit it, albeit a little at a time.
Largest Covid Vaccine Study Yet Finds Links to Health Conditions
“Small increases in neurological, blood, heart-related issues.”
And they pushed it on millions of people who had absolutely nothing to fear from getting COVID.
Yeah. Just a tiny bit of pericarditis.
It’s still good!
https://frinkiac.com/caption/S07E05/899214
“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” – Some old sot a long time ago.
They engineered a deadly virus and it got loose, or they set it loose. It acted like any virus does in the wild and turned out to be not nearly as effective as they had hoped. They engineered a vaccine so fast it appeared that they must have had it up their sleeve all along. Vaccine turns out to be more dangerous than the virus.
I agree there are too many people but my list doesnt look like their list.
Even Politico is abandoning Biden.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/18/the-biden-name-how-the-presidents-brother-became-embroiled-in-a-hospital-fiasco-00141868
Jim Biden was just taking after Michelle Obama.
I can’t believe you vicious republican thugs keep attacking a sweet old man’s family! And of course, that has nothing to do with FJB at all!
Southern Arizona represent!
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46829622/man-steals-semi-chevy-corvettes/