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“How’s that?”

“I find no life signs to indicate a crew.”

Her statement made me pause, though some of my best scavenging efforts had been from crewless ships.

She continued. “They are transmitting on the emergency channel.”

I had to take a golden opportunity for what it was, and quickly.

“Move to intercept.”

I watched the squashed hexagon of a ship as our aft thrusters fired and we closed the distance. Every usable amount of space on the hull was covered with a cargo bay door, five rows down the length and eight bays around the perimeter. A large spherical dome rested on top of the freighter at its front end. A pair of docking stations waited for us, one on each side.

“So, any idea what happened to the crew?”

“There is evidence of video logs, but they can only be accessed from the Captain’s quarters.”

There was a more pressing issue at stake anyway.

“What’s the cargo?”

Jeanie paused a little longer than she probably should have. “According to the manifest, all of the bays are filled with containers of platinum ore.”

I let out a laugh of excitement. “Can you drop the bays remotely?”

Again, she paused. “Negative.”

If not for the fact she was a machine programmed to obey, I would have thought she had just sabotaged my efforts.

“Guess I’ll have to do it myself.” I shook my head and sighed. “Take us in.”

I stood and made my way to the back as we adjusted course toward the port docking station.

# # #

The air inside the Ursulan freighter was stale as I stepped out of the airlock. I licked my lips, then looked up and down a narrow corridor with bland tan walls and floorboards. The stench of burnt flesh lingered in the air.

I pulled my Mark II blaster out of its holster, then gripped the handle of the stubby weapon. My palm was moist as I switched over to a three-shot burst. I raised my other hand and spoke into the cuff transmitter.

“Jeanie, I’m going to need directions.” I’d only seen Ursulan freighters from the outside before.

“Are you still at the airlock?”

“Yes.”

“Go left down a small corridor and the bridge should be around the corner, the first hatch on your right.”

“Thanks.”

I stepped down the hall and the hairs in my nose curled. As I turned the corner, a pile of light gray ash lay on the floor along the left wall. A handheld energy weapon rested next to the debris.

Disintegrator cannon fire was one of the more horrific ways to die and not something a decent person would wish on even their worst enemy. Out of paranoia, I lifted my wrist.

“Jeanie, let me know if you see anything inside or outside the freighter.”

“Acknowledged.”

A hatch in the right wall split apart as I approached. Three more piles of ash lay at various spots around the rectangular bridge. Only one energy weapon was nearby, which told me someone had disintegrated unarmed victims.

I shuddered.

The console stations around the bridge were all functional, so it didn’t take long to find the cargo bay controls at the aft end of the room. Fortunate for me, they weren’t locked down, so I ejected the first four bays and lifted my transmitter.