"The Bounty" - Part 2

The Bounty

Part 2

Essdy continued:

Unbeknownst to the crew of the Connelly, Commander Daniels found himself strapped to a chair on the command deck of a ship that was unknown to him. A beautiful young woman was at the command console. She seemed familiar. She looked like... But it could not be because she was dead. A door opened and in walked a man. His straps prevented him from turning to see him.

"Hey!" he shouted, "Turn me loose!"

"Those restraints are for your own good," replied the man. "We were in a bit of a rough stretch there, but I guess we could remove the restraints. What do you think Miss?"

"It is difficult to say what lies ahead. To be safe, you should always be strapped in."

Those voices were very familiar to Commander Daniels, and he knew he had heard that phrase many times before. It could not be her; she is dead. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You're pretty slow on the pick up there Sparky."

"Eagle? Is that you? Then it is 'L' at the controls!"

"Not quite, she is no longer with us; may she rest in piece. The 'L' hologram is one of my on-going projects. The only part of her voice I could get was her buckle up spiel she used to give. I recorded it once. But that is the only thing my computer can get exactly right, it gets some near misses, and some dead wrongs. I'm working on it."

"What is going on? Why will not you release me?"

"Relax; we're not holding you prisoner. You were unconscious, so we strapped you in for your protection. I was just checking the controls. We've got a tricky bit to navigate through."

"Where are we going? Why am I here?"

"You are quite the inquisitive one aren�t you?"

"He is impatient too," a mechanized sounding voice stated.

"Computer, turn off voice responses," stated Eagle while releasing Sparky from his restraints. "See what I mean, not quite 'L's voice."

"Well..."

"I guess the easiest thing to say is that you're headed back to Thradlum. One of the royal family claims that you used your voice in her presence. That is a big no no, and they offered a fair bounty for you."

"You're a bounty hunter?"

"Oh... well... not anymore. I took this one so we could talk about old times."

"You're going to sell me up the river without a paddle for a handful of magic beans?"

"I hate it when you mix your metaphors. You have nothing to worry about. Captain Caruthers is a bright man, and I left him several clues that even YOU could figure out. He will be there on Thradlum in a couple of days after we arrive. He'll be able to clear up this situation when the Connelly arrives. That is, unless you DID use your voice in the presence of the princess."

"I did not!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about. So how is your mom?"

"Fine. She's fine. She recently remarried... I do not want to talk about that. I could spend some time in prison there."

"Hey that's great. I hope she's happy!"

"You're not listening to me!"

"No, you're not listening. I told you that I took the bounty so we could talk about old times, and you're certainly not cooperating on that aspect. Also, Earth is not going to allow this to escalate into a galactic incident. If your ship puts up a good front, and demand your innocence and immediate release, you will be heading home within the week. So, how are things on Earth?"

"This is just too much to absorb."

"How do you like working for Captain Caruthers?"

"He's fine."

"Remember when he was our TA. We used to torture him something fierce. Is he making you pay for those days?"

"There were some interesting times at first, but we worked through them. You on the other hand, would have to work pretty hard."

"Why? He wouldn�t hold a grudge just because I totally showed him up in his computer security class, would he?"

"'Hey! You should change your password Freak boy!' He still has not lived that one down."

"Well, if you're a Teaching Assistant for a 'Computer Security' class, you should not have the password of 'password1.' It took me all of 5 minutes to break into his account and change his prompt."

"I still do not know how you kept breaking into his account."

"Really? It was simple. When I broke into his account, he had system administration rights. So, I created a new account with the same rights. Thus, I did not have to break into his account. I would just use this new account to do whatever I needed to do."

"You had him so buffaloed. You're lucky you did not get expelled."

"Don't tell anyone, but I was expelled. However, the notice got lost somewhere in the computer system."

"You did not!"

"I had to. Nigel was trying to ruin my career. I went to the professor and explained that I was having problems with his TA. I explained that Nigel would challenge me and I would show him up every time. He was taking offense to my skills, and he was going to hold it against me."

"So, he dismissed the notice..."

"Yes, but it inexplicably took a day to come to him. When I saw the notice one night, I delayed it so I could talk to Professor Miller about the situation."

"You did earn your grades didn't you?"

"Of course, I showed my stuff on that Izanian ship. I deserved my grades. Professor Miller gave the grades, and I showed him my stuff."

"Because of you, security is much better now."

"If you say so..."

"What?"

"Security is only as good as its weakest link. Admiral Jensen is the weakest link. He has not changed his password EVER. I still know it. I think his dog has long since died, but the password in his name lives on! I think half of NASA knows his password. It is like securing all the doors of a building complex except one. Once you're in, you're in. But, I do not have to worry about that kind of thing now."

"Hey! How did you get me here?"

"Oops! I've given out my big secret. I used Admiral Jensen's credentials to run a program that would fool your ship in several ways. False distress call, fake Izanian attack, among other things. Earth and other space going races depend on computers to tell them everything. Sensors connected to computers to tell them about incoming vessels. Computers are involved in communications. You get into the ships computer, and you can make them see and hear anything. If I can get access to a ships computer, I can essentially become invisible or can become another vessel. It's a piece of cake."

"You know I cannot keep this to myself."

"Tell anyone you wish. You cannot make Admiral Jensen change his password, and you cannot restrict anything from his access. So, until he retires or leaves, I will always be able to walk all over any Earth vessel."

"There has to be something we can do."

"Hey! It is not like I make a habit of it. This is the first time I've done this to an Earth vessel. I'm not the enemy. I did not kill one person. It was a tool that I took advantage to preserve life and property."

"Our ship was disabled, how can you say you preserved property?"

"Ahh! There is my point. Your computer told you of damage. Your captain has likely discovered that no damage was done to your vessel. Other Bounty Hunters do not care about property and life."

"The great humanitarian you are!"

"For a person with your language skills, you don't understand what I'm saying. You never did understand many of the subtleties. You are good with vocabulary, but you miss much of the meanings of some things. On the bright side, you did turn out to be a pretty good flier. "

"You underestimate me."

"Ha ha ha! Just like old times!"

"I miss Laura."

"So do I."

They talked until it was very late and they were very tired. The Laura Hologram awakened Eagle. A Thradlumite ship was on an intercept course. Perhaps friendly, perhaps not, Eagle had to be ready. "Thank you 'L'," Eagle told the computer. "Prepare to execute 'CC-Alpha' on my command. Hail the Thradlumite ship on their standard frequency."

"OK EJ!" responded the computer, which made Eagle reminisce briefly. "EJ, they do not respond to our inquiry."

"Very well then," stated Eagle, "execute 'CC-Alpha.'"

"What's going on?" asked Sparky.

"Oh nothing really," responded Eagle. "I think they may be trying to renege on our deal. They've got a warship out looking for us. We will make it through OK."

"EJ," interrupted the computer, "'CC-Alpha' is engaged and appears to be functioning normally."

"Thank you Laura," quipped Sparky. "What is 'CC-Alpha'?"

"CC is a computer cloak," remarked Eagle. "We're basically invisible. We will fly right by."

"You did not say this was dangerous..." worried Sparky.

"Unfortunately, it is the nature of the business," replied Eagle. "No one really wants to pay for these types of services. So, they always try to find ways out of paying. It is largely why I got out of the business. 'L', CC-Alpha goes for any Thradlumite ship you encounter."

"OK EJ," replied the computer.

"You are leading me to my death aren't you?" Sparky remarked nervously.

"You have my word that nothing will happen to you," assured Eagle. "You will be joking with Nigel in no time. They are probably on their way to Thradlum now."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Sparky.

"'L', Where is the UNSS Connelly?" asked Eagle.

"They are making their way through the asteroid field," replied the computer. "It appears that they have plotted a course for Thradlum."

"How do you know that?" asked Sparky.

"On board my ship," started Eagle, "I have assembled some of the most advanced tools. These allow me to gain access to various pieces of information. One piece of information for which I can gain access is the location and direction of any Earth vessel."

"You are dangerous!" exclaimed Sparky.

"I suppose from a perspective you are correct," Eagle said calmly. "Information is power, and power corrupts is that your meaning?"

"You know it is!" Sparky declared. "With this technology, you could sell us out to the highest bidder!"

"Well first of all, I AM an Earthling," responded Eagle. "I may not be one of the 'us' that you're referring to, but I do have some allegiance to Earth. Furthermore, I have access to this type of information for hundreds of worlds. I can get into other ships, not just Earth ships. Any power wishing to get a hold of this type of information will always wonder if I could gain access to their strategic secrets. I would never be trusted anywhere in the galaxy. Thus, it is in MY best interest, to keep this information confidential. After all that you and I have went through in the past, you still do not trust me. Me! I was the guy that stood up for you when you nearly burnt down the EE wing of the University. Me! The guy who taught you everything you know about Quantum Mechanics! Me! The guy you came crying to when Kylie LaCher dumped you. 'L' let me know when we're through this asteroid belt!"

"OK EJ," replied the hologram of Laura. "The Connelly is taking the long route to Thradlum. They will be 3 days behind us."

"Understood," replied Eagle as he left the room.

"Eagle wait..." started Sparky but Eagle had closed the door behind him. "'L' open this door please."

"Sorry! Your access has been denied," came a very strange computer voice.

It was not Laura's voice at all. All inquiries that Sparky made also resulted in the same 'Access Denied' message. So, he sat in the chair wondering if Eagle was ever going to speak to him again. That wonder came to an end when Eagle came with lunch. He asked his computer for a status report, and he set up the lunch table. They began talking about old times again.