Captain Emrah Jackson Ch. 13

We talked a little bit more before I thanked her and made my way back to the ship.

**********

Delphine found me in my quarters.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good I suppose, it's nice to be closer to the truth."

She sat down on the bed and put a comforting arm around me.

"So you are a captain, in the UEN. Pretty impressive."

That made me laugh. It didn't feel impressive, or change my feelings about things. I didn't even know what the UEN even was. Dex had told me it stood for the Untied Earth Navy, but that was all I knew.

"I should be calling you captain. It's your rank after all."

I shook my head, "I think I would prefer Cara for the time being."

Delphine agreed, but admitted that whatever skills were locked away in my head would be a boon for her crew. She said that she thought she had seen something special in me, and was glad that she was able to help. We talked about the plan to free Lilly. She told me that they had bought a bulk hauler with the credits I had provided.

"We are going to pose as slave traders, and trick the farm into thinking we are buyers."

"Can we just buy Lilly?" I asked.

Delphine shook her head. "These places don't sell individually, they only sell large batches, mostly for work crews, or labor."

She told me more about the plan. It wasn't going to be subtle, once we got past their defenses, and land the hauler, it was going to be a straight up fight.

"There aren't many other options. Apart from planetary defenses, they are usually lightly guarded. We have set up a meeting with the director, I will pose as the interested party, and, I know I shouldn't ask, but I was wondering if you could act as my." She trailed off, but I knew what she was going to say.

"Your slave," I said.

She nodded. "It's a lot to ask, but we have to give the right impression."

I agreed.

********

The crew were busying themselves with preparing the yacth for departure. The entire paint scheme had been redone, it was now a deep purple, with yellow pipping. Some of the exterior fittings had been changed too. As much as possible was done to alter it from what it had once been.

Before we left I took a look around the bulk hauler. It had a wide, fat body, with a small section at the front that acted as the bridge. It wasn't pretty or fast, but it would hopefully save a lot of people.

The insides had been hastily converted too. Food and provisions were put inside for the escape attempt. It was also done to give the impression that we were intending to transport the slaves.

I bumped into Dex at the docks. It seemed like he had been avoiding me since our discovery. When I asked him, he admitted that this was the case.

"It's great to know the truth," he said. "But it's still hard for me to come to terms with."

We talked for a while about what had happened to him, About what had happened to us.

My ship had been called the Calypso, and had been attacked by pirates, only myself, Dex, and another girl called Talia had survived. Dex told me how he escaped and how he had contacted the UEN to tell them about our predicament. They wanted to cover the whole incident up, and there were even implications that I had been working with the pirates. He had wanted them to help with the search, but they denied his request, and told him it was pointless. He was told that if he didn't return they would declare him a deserter. Thankfully for me, he didn't return, and instead searched from me and Talia by himself.

It was the first time I had heard about this girl Talia. He seemed very concerned for her, and told me that he suspected she was still with the pirates.

"They had me working on the engines for them, but she was given other duties," he said, and I was thankful he didn't elaborate. There was great sadness in his voice as he explained how he had wanted to escape with her, but the men kept a close eye on her, so it wasn't possible.

"I got odd jobs here and there fixing ships, but I'd always ask for information about you two, that's when I met Delphine." He laughed and told me he didn't expect to find me the way he did.

I mention what Hella had told me about my age, and he laughed again. "You look a lot younger," he said, with a smile. "The last time I saw you, you were thirty nine."

The laughing didn't last long, and we talked more about Talia. She was a junior officer, and with me found, he had to concentrate on finding her now.

"I'm not coming with you to the breeder farm. I'm going to take a shuttle and follow up some leads on her whereabouts," he said, with sadness in his voice. I knew it was the right choice.

"I will leave word with Hella if I get any information," he said.

Before he made his goodbyes, I asked him what Emrah was like. I could see how this upset him, but he told me that I had been a strong and respected leader.

"Go find yourself," he said, and gave me a warm embrace.

Later, I watched his shuttle depart, it gave me similar feelings to watching Nim's departure. Why was every man who cared about me leaving, I thought, sadly.

I felt the rumblings of the yacth's engines stir to life. I had to prepare for the breeder farm.