The Black

Seven

Jol got up, asked the computer where to go, and left the room.

Sub-Director Frederick Mass, stood at the entry to the Cargo ship Imperial Jung. He had his gear, on a small wagon beside him. He saw the Purser and he did not look happy.

"Director Mass?" the man asked a little upset.

Fred looked at him and said, "Yes, Sir, I am Fred Mass."

The man motioned and two men with Guild Pins came out of the hall, they took his gear, and the Purser walked to him. He took him by the arm and hurried him into the entry. Behind them the door slid shut, and he heard the locks go into place. "You are late, Sir, we have just 2 minutes to decouple, and then get into our place in line for departure."

Fed had not realized that he was late, he had thought that the departure time was about two hours, then said, "But..."

He did not get farther, the Purser said, "I know, we were moved up at the request of the Captain, and he has sent out drones to find you. He does want to get going," It was clear to the Purser that the other man was about to speak, but he said, "No, we were not going to leave without you, just glad you made it in time, but we have to hurry."

They moved down the hall, his belongings went right, they went left. He looked around, the Purser saying, "They are going to your room. You are going to a meeting with the Captain and the other Federation passenger on the ship." He was surprised to hear that. He had not known that anyone else had been sent orders to depart, especially to Sol.

He not for the first time wondered why he was going there. No one outside the Guild went to Sol. It was the only system totally under Guild control, the Federation had a Station there, but it was old, like over 1,000 years old. It was likely the oldest station still in operation throughout Human Space, and it was in the Cradle of Humanity. They continued to walk, then suddenly they came to a halt. The Purser indicated the door, Fed had noticed that there were no name plates on the door, unlike on the Corporation ships, this was clearly not one.

Fed had always heard that the Family ships were dirty, held together by spit and string. They broke down, and were in generally poor shape. The men who ran them were Guild, but they felt very little reason to obey Federation Laws, they were not going to face any major problems, as long as no one was killed, or nothing of real importance was taken or destroyed. If that happened, the Guild would punish them much more harshly than the Federation ever would. This place was clean, in fact it was spotless, it looked not any older than the Corporation ship he had come to the Station on. The air smelled better, that was a clear sign of hydroponics, which meant that cargo space had been sacrificed. Nothing that a Corporation Ship would ever do, every ounce moved was money. He had seen a few crewmen, they were all wearing the same uniform, it was Blue, with for the most part guild pins.

He entered the room, he had no idea what to think, but he went into a mess area. It had a half dozen small tables, on the walls were dispersers for foods, or machines to cook what came out. He could see bowls of fresh vegetables, what appeared to be bread, and a huge coffee machine with lights on, meaning that there was coffee. He almost laughed, thousands of years in space, and humans still needed their coffee. He also noticed that there was no one here.

He went over got a cup of coffee, thinking that he was no different than anyone else in this, and then sat at a table. The coffee was good, in fact great, he had had Sol Coffee, one time, it was expensive, and it was rare out of system, and this was it, just there for the taking by anyone.

Jol followed the red glowing lights on the wall through the halls. He rounded a corner and almost hit the Purser, and he said sorry. The man said something, that he did not understand, but was gone, hurrying to get someplace. He continued to walk, and then saw a red light over a door, and knew it was his destination. He entered, to see another young man sitting at a table drinking what from the smell was coffee.