OMEGA Guardian Read Online Free

settled into the copilot’s chair. "Hey, I know this ship! That’s the Governor’s personal cruiser!"
    I smiled. "Let’s hope the Governor is running a clean ship, then. If not, we may have to write a citation or place him under arrest."
    Go’s eyes got big. "I have to say that I think that might be taking it a bit too far, Mr. Beutcher. You do that, and we are just going to end up dead."
    As the Mabel lifted up from the deck, I turned to face Go. "We aren’t going to slap the Governor in the face just yet, Go. We are going to chip away at the edges of his little illicit empire. When we find a weak point, we will work it to our advantage. If we present the right information to him, I think we might find the Governor will come crawling."
    Go checked the gauges in front of him. "I’m not sure what you meant by all that, but you make it sound interesting. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed being your maintainer since I walked in that bay door and you defended me. You can count me in for whatever you are planning."
    I replied, "Well, if you see or hear something that looks like it might get us killed, I hope you will speak up. You won’t hurt my feelings with whatever you have to say, so if you are unsure about whatever it is we are doing, just say it."
    Go smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Beutcher. I can’t promise you anything, but I'll try."
    The Mabel slid out of Bay-68 and was soon accelerating away from SS241. Go hand typed the list of the Governor’s ships into the Mabel ’s computer. A quick search of our nav system yielded one of those ships in transit from Algo IV. The Helmund was a small freighter. I set a course for intercept and pushed the throttle to full.
    As we pulled in close to the Helmund , I broadcast on the general comm. " Helmund , this is the Mabel , a ship of the security forces of SS241. Please bring your vessel to a full stop for an inspection."
    The captain of the Helmund replied, "What?"
    I repeated my message and then added the part about shutting his core systems down. The captain complied, and I squeezed the Mabel into his tight docking bay. Go opened the hatch and I stepped out.
    As Go began to follow, I held up my hand. "You stay here until I know it’s safe. Pull up any monitors you can access and keep me informed of anything that looks suspicious."
    Go stepped back inside and pulled the hatch shut. I stood beside our ship, waiting for the captain or one of his crew.
    The captain came through a hatchway. "What is the meaning of this? The Governor owns this ship!"
    I nodded. "That is understood, Captain. Under the authority of the security forces of this sector, I am performing an inspection. Do you have a manifest of whatever it is you are hauling?"
    The captain looked confused. "Manifest? Nobody uses manifests. Is that something new?"
    I replied, "Under the laws of the New Alliance, every ship that is transporting any goods, even personal, should have a manifest prepared, listing all said goods. That is how taxes are paid, Captain, which is how they pay my salary."
    The captain shook his head. "So, that’s what this is, a shakedown. How much do you want so I can get moving?"
    I pointed toward the ship’s holds. "Sorry, Captain. I don’t do shakedowns, only inspections. Now, if you would like to accompany me, I’m sure we can get this over with quickly and get you on your way."
    The captain had a confused look on his face as he followed. I stepped through a hatch and walked down a narrow hall to the first cargo bay of the three-bay ship.
    After stepping through the hatchway into the first bay, I spoke. "I count sixteen identical containers. Can you tell me what they carry?"
    The captain replied, "I have no idea. I just pick up whatever the Governor’s staff asks. He’s the boss, so I just do as I’m told."
    I stepped over to the first container. "Let’s open this one and see what we have."
    The captain sighed as he pulled a chain winch to a position above the container. He attached the four hooks