{"id":2610,"date":"2024-02-17T15:17:24","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T22:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2610"},"modified":"2024-02-17T15:17:24","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T22:17:24","slug":"cargo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/17\/cargo\/","title":{"rendered":"Cargo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story in which a conversation takes place where the true subject is only implied.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJack\u201d walked into the bar as if he owned it. He didn\u2019t pause at the door to adjust to the dim lighting or to suss out the crowd. His broad frame nearly filled the width of the door, while his stained, blue baseball cap with a daisy logo nearly brushed the top of the frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he made his way to a table in the back, he adjusted the leather bomber jacket he wore that matched the brown of his hair. Anyone watching closely enough might have caught a glimpse of the weapon hidden in his waistband at the rear. That didn\u2019t happen, however, as the bar\u2019s patrons were more interested in not catching his attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was the biggest person in the bar \u2014 not that big of an accomplishment when he was the only human. The small, flat faced, large eyed, bewhiskered, pale blue aliens that called themselves murins filled the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack had to remind himself that this was not Earth, this was Kula, and he<\/em> was the alien here. He sat across the table from \u201cJill,\u201d the small, female murin whose pale blue skin was crossed by faint stripes of even paler teal. The size of the table and bench meant that his knees were spread wide and pressed against the table. It felt like sitting a child\u2019s school desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJill,\u201d he said, \u201cgood to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pushed a glass full of an amber liquid across to him. Her whiskers moved up and forward from their relaxed position where they had hung parallel to her face with a slight droop. \u201cGood to see you, Jack. How are things going for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing exciting, but that\u2019s good for a freight pilot.\u201d Jack smiled at Jill\u2019s obvious excitement at seeing him. He took a sip of the warm liquid, letting it coat the inside of his mouth. It was like a cross between Amaretto and maple syrup. Too sweet, but he\u2019d grown accustomed to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jill let her whiskers relax. She focused on her drink, tipping the glass and turning it, letting the liquid coat the glass. She slid a foot under the table until her toe bumped into Jack\u2019s boot and held it there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack knew something was bothering her. \u201cHow\u2019s business been?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her whiskers pulled back tight against her face and her eyes opened wide enough that the whites showed. Jack put a hand over hers on the table and she got herself under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s got you stressed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cElla\u2019s moving to another city. I want to follow, but I don\u2019t know if I can get out of my job here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust go, then. Ella will be happy to have you, and you can probably work for Ella.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cContract?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jill nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd it covers the new city, too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe contract severely limits my mobility,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack gave her hand a light squeeze. \u201cTell you what, ma\u2019am. You don\u2019t worry about your contract, I\u2019ll sort that out. I\u2019ll have my lawyer call his lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019d do that for me? Even if I want to work for you, instead?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course I would.\u201d Jack cocked his head. \u201cWhy is Ella moving, though?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the stepsisters, again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSnooping around, putting their noses where they don\u2019t belong?\u201d Jack sighed. \u201cAnnoying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpeaking of annoying,\u201d Jill said with a slight twitch of her whiskers toward to the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack looked at the three murins that had entered. Slightly larger than the average, each was dressed in the armor of Enforcers, with their shock sticks held at the ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of them held up a device and swept it around the bar. When the device was silent at the end of the sweep, he said, \u201cNot here. We\u2019re getting closer, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou!\u201d he barked at the waiter nearest him. \u201cYou\u2019re the new squad laborer for the day. Get up and follow us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waiter\u2019s eyes were wide, the whites showing, his whiskers plastered against his face. He set down the tray of drinks he\u2019d been carrying, careful not to make eye contact with any of the Enforcers, and followed them, his head bowed, his legs shaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Enforcers\u2019 powers were meant to be temporary,\u201d Jill said with a sad droop of her whiskers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo power, once gained, is ever relinquished freely. Power corrupts, and all that.\u201d Jack took another sip of the warm, sweet drink. \u201cI get that Ella\u2019s moving and all, but did she leave anything for me? I\u2019d hate to leave with an empty cargo hold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jill took a solid swig from her drink. \u201cYeah, twelve crates of assorted textiles. I think one might be blankets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to know her sisters haven\u2019t slowed her down.\u201d He took another sip of the sweet drink. \u201cDo we have the lading bill?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do. The crates, customs paperwork, and bill of lading will be waiting at your ship by the time you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack thought for a moment. \u201cI\u2019m going to stop by my lawyer\u2019s office then come down. Why don\u2019t you meet me at the slip? You know how to open up the ship and settle the cargo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see you there.\u201d Jill left the bar with the sort of determined walk that advertised places to go and things to do. It wasn\u2019t a guarantee, but it was<\/em> the best way to keep from being picked up by a roving Enforcer squad looking for someone to humiliate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack left the bar with the kind of ambling walk that said he had nowhere in particular he had to be, and no kind of schedule to be there. The Enforcer squads avoided him anyway. He wasn\u2019t a citizen, and the Enforcers weren\u2019t looking to create an interstellar incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His wandering took him to a warehouse. He\u2019d been there before, but his business was different then. When his knock on the door was ignored, he kicked it open while drawing his weapon from his waistband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reached his ship an hour later, the crates all loaded and pasted with customs stamps and inspection stamps. Jill\u2019s whiskers pointed up and forward. \u201cHere he is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI suppose you need my sign on your paperwork,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, please, thank you.\u201d The dockworker was stout for a murin, with a grizzled mien; the politeness felt artificial and more driven by fear to Jack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, no problem.\u201d Jack signed with his print, and said, \u201cYou can relax around me. Next time just say \u2018Hey asshole, hurry up and sign this so I can get back to work.\u2019 I won\u2019t take it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dockworker\u2019s whiskers wiggled in the manner of murin laughter and he said, \u201cGood to know, asshole. Now get out of here so I can go home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven better! Have a good day.\u201d Jack waved at the dockworker before walking up the ramp to the cargo bay of his ship. Jill was there, waiting for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s secure,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat did your lawyer say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour contract is null and void. If you still want to work with me, you can, but I need to get this cargo in space right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShow me where to strap in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After takeoff, clearance to high orbit, clearance to depart orbit, then entry into slip-space, Jack left the cockpit and made his way to the cargo bay. \u201cJill, we\u2019re in the clear,\u201d he called out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jill joined him in unstrapping the crates and opening them up. From each, a murin climbed out from under the piles of cloth in the crates; political dissidents in danger of being \u201cdisappeared\u201d by their repressive government. The largest of the crates, marked \u201cblankets,\u201d contained a murin female and her three children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack made sure everyone was safe and healthy, and invited them to make themselves at home in the large galley where a feast awaited them. Once everyone was settled, he told Jill to follow him to the bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They strapped into the chairs in the bridge, and he said, \u201cTyler Mitchell, pleased to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInkira sal-Birna, my pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll probably be a long while before you can go back, Inkira.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know. Ella warned me it was getting too dangerous, but without getting rid of \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. I figured he was tracking you. And he would\u2019ve sounded the alarm if he saw you were at the docks.\u201d He removed the pancake holster from the back of his trousers with the revolver. Stamped on the holster was a balance scale. \u201cI don\u2019t like killing, but good riddance. The Enforcers can fight over who wanted him dead more: the Enforcers he was paying off or the drug runners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen are you making your next trip?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll get these folks settled, then I\u2019ll have to get another ship, a new alias, and see where our agents make contact with Ella. It\u2019ll be a couple months, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a long time?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbout sixty Earth days, so around seventy-five of your days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot too long, then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tyler, a.k.a. Jack, turned toward the small murin woman. \u201cAre you sure<\/em> Cinderella is safe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is. Very<\/em> safe. Last night was the first time I ever met her in person. She scared me half to death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe showed up in her Enforcer uniform. I thought she was there to arrest me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, she made it in. Good to hear.\u201d Tyler smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou knew she was an Enforcer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew we asked her to try, and we provided all the help we could to get her there. For her own safety and for the safety of the people we smuggle out. Plus, it gives her access to places and people she wouldn\u2019t have otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we finally overthrow the government, and get our democracy, what will you do then? I\u2019ll want to help rebuild, of course. I suppose you aren\u2019t a smuggler by trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right about that; I\u2019m not. But when the time comes, rebuilding requires a lot<\/em> of materials and supplies. I\u2019ll go back to hauling normal freight and make Kula my home port. Maybe even buy a house there. I\u2019ve grown fond of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust Kula?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, you too. Makes it that much better.\u201d He winked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her whiskers wiggled. \u201cI do, don\u2019t I? Come on, \u2018Jack,\u2019 let\u2019s see if our guests need anything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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