Randolph Lalonde - Resurrection

“That happens out here, you know that. Whole crews with a burnout, no way to get anywhere fast enough starving on their own ships. Anyone can walk down the wrong alley and get taken by slavers, end up on a ship like this, just cause you're seeing it for the first time doesn't make this special. Doesn't mean we have to jump in and be heroes.”

“I've done a lot of things that would make me a criminal in any port, taken a few lives I wish I hadn't, but I couldn't walk away from what I saw in there. Have you seen it for yourself? Have you gone and helped back there?”

“No, I've been minding your ship Captain. That's my job. I do it, I get a share, that's how it works.”

“Well you don't have to be on the bridge now, so get your ass down that catwalk and do something useful.”

“No, and you won't cut me out neither.”

“I'll not only cut you out, I'll put you to our aft and hit the thrusters.”

“You're goin' soft.”

“Your choice, go help or get off.” Captain Valance said as he turned towards the brig.

Frost stood there looking down the hall for a moment then turned and started walking towards the cargo train.

Captain Valance punched his security code into the panel beside the thick brig door. Beyond it was a small compartment with two barred cells. Burke sat up on the edge of his bunk and smiled. “The hero of the day pays me a visit. Frost tells me you're handing out fruit and emergency rations.”

“I am, but that's nothing you have to worry about. I need two files decrypted, and you're the only man on board with the know how.”

“Your problem. If we're not dropping these cargo containers off with Regent Galactic, I know we're not getting paid. I don't work for free Captain.”

“You won't be working for free, I'll pay you the same share right out of my pocket. Just do it, run whatever custom software you've got and crack these files.” Captain Valance said as he took a data chip out of his arm command unit and offered it to Burke through the bars.

“Out of your own pocket,” he said, looking back with scepticism.

“The whole crew knows I'll be paying them. I can't go back on my word or they'll turn.”

“You'll let me out of the brig?”

“I will.”

“Lead the way.”

Captain Valance entered the lock code on the shielded security panel and the cell door popped open with a loud click. He let Burke lead the way to the bridge, walking just a couple steps beside him. His patience was completely frayed, and he couldn't wait to get Burke off his ship one way or another.

“Sir, Frost is here and we have a problem.” Stephanie said through his communicator.

“Go ahead.”

“His vacsuit wasn't sealed when he got here. I guess the smell hit him. He tossed his dinner across the deck and passed out.”

“Now who's going soft?” Valance whispered to himself.

“Sorry sir? I didn't catch that.”

“Nothing, just seal his vacsuit up, roll him out of the way and make sure he's all right. He'll be on his feet soon..”

“My pleasure sir,” Stephanie replied, he could hear her smiling through the comm.

They arrived at the bridge and Burke sat down at the communications station. Christie was helping with the efforts in the cargo train and Silver was covering communications from the navigation station.

Captain Valance sat down beside him, took his vacsuit head piece off and stared at him. It was a calm, expectant, steady gaze.

“You're going to watch me work this?” Burke said peevishly.

“The only reason why this would make you nervous is if you're about to do something wrong or have already screwed me on something, so work the problem.”

He put the data chip on the console and started checking the encryption. After a minute he nodded to himself. “Should take about five minutes to crack. This file comes from a system I'm familiar with.”

Captain Valance nodded slowly.

Silver was rubbing his shaved head with his hand slowly, from front to back, looking worried in a way only he could. Ashley started to turn in her seat to face the communications station behind her but he stopped her, whispering some warning that no one else caught. Finn was working nearby checking hull stress and quietly minding his own business. The communications station to his left was the last place he wanted to look, in fact he went out of his way to avoid it.

“Okay, the software is working through it.”

“Good,” was all the Captain said, still staring at Burke, who was slowly turning red as he tried to focus on the comm station.

Finn watched the chronometer at his engineering station as the Captain stared at the communications officer. He couldn't help but glance over for a few seconds. The Captain didn't move a millimetre, when he blinked it was a leisurely act. He stared at the communications officer like he was his property to treat however he liked.

Burke at one time stretched, then tried to look at the Captain but turned back to his station. He even said; “Wow, you can cut the tension with a knife,” chuckling nervously.

Nothing broke the Captain's focus. Burke settled and just stared for another full minute before he spun towards Jake. “What? What do you want! I'm doing what you told me!”

“I don't trust you Burke. I can't leave you alone with my ships computer for a second, not one second,” Captain Valance said quietly.

“So you just stare at me like some robot? Some God damned simple machine?” Burke yelled in his face.

“How are you going to betray me Burke?”

“What?”

“When you leave this ship and walk into that big port what are you going to do? What will you take with you? What will you steal from me if I just let you go?”

Burke just sat there, looking back at the Captain on the verge of panic.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

“What the hell are you talking about? You've lost it!”

“That's it, you're hiding something. Tell me.”

“What would I hide? There's nothing!” He blubbered.

“Step away from the console Burke,” Captain Valance said with no inflection in his tone. “We're going to the brig, we'll finish this conversation there, where there's no one looking on.”

Burke stared at him, his face turning a new shade of red, eyes starting to tear up. “No,” he croaked.

“What is it Burke? There's something you're not telling me. Something I need that you have.”

His nose was running, chin quivering. “There's nothing-”

Jake Valance twitched his sidearm out of its holster and punched Burke out of his chair. He fell to the deck and scrambled back up to his knees. Before he could catch his balance the barrel of the Captain's gun was against his forehead and the sound of the safety turning off was the loudest thing in the room.

“What is it Burke? What are you hiding?” He was so quiet you could barely hear him. “Tell me.”

“I'm s-sorry, I'm s-so so s-sorry. We got a t-transmission, just o-over a year ago, it was a w-woman, v-voice m-m-matched your earliest s-security f-footage.” Burke blubbered.

“Go on.”

“S-she said she n-needed help, w-was t-trapped on V–Van P-Purius.”

“Why didn't I get the message?”

“Y-you w-were hunting s-someone down. Thought it could w-wait. By the time y-you got back s-someone b-b-backtracked it and deleted it in our s-system.”

“And you thought I'd kill you for it!” Valance shouted. Everyone on the bridge jumped. Most of the ship could hear it. He kicked Burke in the side and pressed him down onto the deck with his boot on his shoulder.

Captain Valance leaned down and pressed the barrel to Burke's temple. The communications console beeped and Jake smiled, seeing the decryption was complete. “I don't need you anymore Burke.”