The blast ripped through the spaceliner long after they had left port. Quickly air was sealed in magnetically, despite the gaping wholes in the hull. Larwence and Jon where first on the scene so went through the effected areas looking for survivors.
Lawrence was almost 50 years old and looked like it, only worse. Grayed streaked hair hung straight from a remarkably full head of hair in a displeasing bowl cut. Years of travel on interstellar journeys had destroyed looks that at a younger age would have endeared him to anyone and everyone he met. Now his withered skin clung to him as if his life had been sucked into space leaving a shriveled husk.
Jon was much younger and handsome still. He did not look like a man who would wander the stars professionally for a life time. He had a short red beard that did not seem to be a natural match to his dark brown hair. He was still healthy and strong, suggesting vigor and something to live for.
Lawrence and Jon split the the rooms randomly searching alone and coming back with only bad news. After the first couple of rooms, Jon decided that he didn't want to find anyone else. He was not hardened as Lawrence was by years of service in space. Lawrence seemed to be unaffected, except that a little more life was drained from him by the sites of those unfortunate enough to have survived the initial explosion.
It was not hard to predict the outcome of the searches. All the cabins or rooms with the hull wall damage had only grisly remains, if their inhabitants where even on board, instead of being sucked out into space. No survivors. Even those that had survived the explosion had died moments after the magnetic seal had gone up. The dramatic changes from pressure to no pressure, from warm to near absolute zero and back again had been too much for their fragile human bodies.
When Larwence and Jon reported in, they had no good news except that those in cabins unaffected by the blast with seal airlocks where fine, no one affected by the blast had survived.
Jon sat down on the floor as Lawrence reported in. He had never expected anything like this. He just needed a good paying job, that's all. None of these people were going home, and that made him think of his wife and daughter, a daughter he had not yet seen.
He pulled their picture out of his pocket and stared at it. Lawrence finished reporting in their findings. He glanced at Jon staring teary eyed at the picture and walked off. Jon took a deep breath and stood waiting for security and maintenance to arrive. He and Lawrence were maintenance, but instinctively he knew as Lawrence did that they were in no shape to help with repairs. Security would remove the victims before the rest of mainenance got to work.
Security started the investigation into the cause of the disaster, but soon turned it over the space marshalls. The marshals were better equipped and trained for this kind of investigation. Ship's security was more trained for handling ship board disputes and small time thefts.
It took two months at a foreign planet's port for the investigation to complete, but eventually they found the cause. It was all blamed on one fatigued bolt.
Twenty-two people had died in a very gruesome manner, and it was all because of one bolt. They checked the records to see if there was any sign that this bolt would give out, but it turned out that it was just an unpredictable event.
The space port was on a planet about the size of Mars. It was slightly disorienting to step off the ship and feel the gravity drop from Earth norm that was standard on ships to something less. It did strangely give the feeling of great strength until you got use to the new gravity. Getting back on the ship from the lower gravity was unpleasant for the weariness and fatigue that it caused.
This planet was solely settled by people of Earth. Some travelers from non-Earth descent would pass through, but it was not the norm. Any man or woman from Earth could easily blend in and enjoy themselves, and that is what Jon, Lawrence and most of the crew did while waiting for repairs on the space liner and the investigation into the explosion to complete.
So, now that the investigation was complete, Larwence and Jon had to wonder why they were here in the room where all the debriefings for the investigation had taken place? Why were they waiting on these hard bolted down chairs waiting to talk to another investigator?
The room was quiet except for the constant hum of the engines. The rockets' hum was cancelled by sophisticated sound canceling systems in guest areas of the ship, but not in the employee only areas. It was too important that the crew be aware if the engines stopped behaving properly, so the engines where completely audible, if somewhat muted in these areas.
Lawrence sat still, looking forward, looking nervous. He was trying to hide his nervousness, but not doing a good job. He fidgeted, and he was sweating.
Jon did not notice Lawrence's behavior. Jon, sat on the edge of his seat, looking bored. He took out his new pocket watch and started opening and shutting the case. You could see all the gears, even though it was self winding, it had the look and feel of an old watch, very old. However, it was definitely pure gold and studded with gems. It was in no way a cheap watch.
Lawrence stopped fidgeting to look over at the watch. It was engraved gold with rubies and other gems. The scene on the outside of the watch was of an elk standing majestically on a mountain ridge at sunrise or sunset. It was a magnificent watch.
Jon opened and shut the watch, generally amusing himself. It was an expensive watch, much more expensive than you expect a starliner crew member to have.
Jon got tired of opening and shutting the pocket watch and put it back in his pocket. Lawrence went back to his fidgeting
Meanwhile, down the corridor, Detective Henry Plowman carefully searched their separate quarters. They were unaware of his activities. He found nothing of value, except a receipt showing Jon had taken out a considerable advance on this voyage's pay. Probably all of the pay he would make this trip was withdrawn. That was unusual and Henry noted it. He also noted a birth announcement of Jon's daughter. Crewman Jon was married, but probably didn't even know his wife was pregnant when he left on this voyage if Henry was doing the math correctly.
In Lawrence's cabin, much less stood out. He was more of a lifer. It didn't look like he kept in touch with any family. You would almost guess that he was an orphan by the lack of evidence of connection in his cabin.
He did have some tools, like a hand held electro magnet, and a power jack, which were probably stolen. These items didn't concern Henry. He was looking for stolen jewelry, not equipment. Besides, if the ship's captain wasn't going to take the time to report the loss, it wasn't worth his time to pursue charges. He made a quick note of the items for future reference, but returned them to their previous locations, hidden in a drawer, before his search began.
Still the two men waited in the interrogation room. They did not talk, they had nothing to say. The coincidence of them stumbling onto the disaster at the same moment had not endeared them to each other. They rarely associated before the incident and never after. Finally, the door opened, allowing a marshall to enter.
The marshal wore the standard white uniform, a white jumpsuit with some pockets and a set of white work boots. He was about the same age as Lawrence, except a little on the portly side and missing most of his hair. What hair he had was a little too long for the baldness of his head.
He could have easily been a plumber or some other common trade back earthside, but here in space everyone recognized the white jumpers. White jumpers were worn by marshals. Many called the marshals jumpers for short. The term "jumper" wasn't a polite phrase, but was commonly used when marshals were out of earshot. People like Lawrence did not like marshals, and marshals did not like people like Lawrence. Drifters were always causing trouble.
Jon took out his watch and checked the time as the marshal sat down. He wondered to himself if he would be docked hours of pay for this interview, or if this was on the clock. He closed the case and placed the watch back in his pocket.
"My name is Detective Henry Plowman." The marshal began. He paused to watch Jon and his watch.
"Nice watch," Henry commented as it disappeared from site.
"Thanks," Jon replied, politely, but obviously not wanting to stay here anymore than he had to, and definitely not wanting to discuss the watch.
The marshal took a deep breath.
"One of you is under arrest for looting the damaged crew quarters at the time of the explosion.
"I suppose it is too much to ask for one of you to just own up to it, and let me get straight to the paper work?"
He grinned, not really expecting a confession. He usually got stunned silence out of this kind of direct approach. It wasn't really a good approach, his boss kept explaining, but he figured, it was a quicker approach than pretending there were no problems in hopes that someone would mess up and say something that solved the case by accident. Besides, usually it was such a shocking approach that the suspects did not notice the bugs planting themselves on their person.
Each micro sensor allowed the marshals to track, hear and see the suspects for up to three days. When they were away from the interview, they usually gave something away thinking that they were alone. Usually that wasn't in their private quarters, because the criminals expected those to be bugged, but they did not expect themselves to be bugged. So they fell into the trap.
Jon perked up after being accused of looting. Looting could get you shot in extreme cases earthside, but in space it almost always meant immediate spacing, or if you were lucky enough to be at dock, just being put off the ship, but on any foreign planet, spacing might be preferable. You could quickly end up as a slave, or parts on the black market.
Thoughts of his daughter passed through Jon's mind. He let them pass quickly. He needed to be on his toes. No day dreaming now.
Neither Jon nor Lawrence looked like they were ready to confess. Lawrence played with the sleeves of his shirt. They were too short, but he kept trying to pull them down to the proper length, but they would just creep back up to annoy him some more.
The marshal had not really expected them to confess, so that was fine. A signal was given from through a sensor in his jumper in his pocket that the bugs where planted and fully operational. Diagnostics had completed and data acquisition had begun. He could now take his time if he felt that a lengthy interview would be beneficial, or just get up and leave without any explanation.
Henry decided to stir things up a little. Adding a catalyst to the mix, mostly to get things going. If he got the accidental confession before the weekend, he could probably talk his boss into giving him Monday off. Henry absent mindedly rubbed the large bald spot on his head.
"Jon," the marshal paused to give Jon the chance to confess at least that much. He did, so the marshal continued. "The looted gems and gold had a radioactive tracer embedded in them for insurance purposes. Mind if I check that watch of yours?"
Jon was visibly nervous now. He did not say a word as he passed the watch over the table to the marshal. The marshal pulled a small detector from one of his many pockets and passed it over the watch. It went off.
"85% match for insured substances." The marshal looked at Jon with some irritation. "Why should I not throw you off the ship now?"
"I bought it. You can check my account."
"I already have. You withdrew cash. That could easily be a cover."
Jon knew it looked suspicious. He knew it was probably stolen because of the deal he had been offered, but figured that it could not be traced, because the ship would have left port long before it was tracked to the man who sold it to him. Jon had figured that he could resell it earthside for a good profit, maybe doubling the money he made on the trip.
As the marshal slipped the watch into his pocket, Jon wondered if losing his shirt would be all he lost on this trip. If anyone had looted, then it must have been Lawrence, but this looked real bad. Jon had a gut feeling that he had been set up, and Lawrence just sat quietly trying not to draw attention to himself as he pulled at the too short shirt sleeves he wore.
"I'll be returning this watch to its rightful owner. Any other purchases that we should know about Crewman Jon?"
"No," Jon spoke softly, irritated, but trying not to show it. That watch was ticket to life with his family, and now it was gone.
"We will search both of your quarters and then release you until we are ready for an arrest."
Henry failed to mention that they had already done a fairly extensive search. The marshals he worked with would want one more look, though, before these two crewmen were released. Henry decided to try one more tactic, even though it was a long shot.
"Of course there is a hefty reward for any information leading to the recovery of the items and the arrest of the thief." Henry paused for dramatic effect. "If either of you can prove the other did it...." He let his voice trail off.
The marshal stood and left the room. He caught the word "jumper" uttered under someone's breath as he closed the port behind him. He didn't really care. No one likes being under investigation, but someone had to do the job. He gave the bald spot on his head yet another rub before going to the observation room to join the other marshals in the continued investigation of these two crewmen.
Their rooms were searched twice and no further stolen goods were found. Jon could not say who he had bought the watch from and probably knew it was stolen, that was the marshals' guess anyway. These crewmen often acted out the part of pawn shops, taking in stolen goods at incredible prices so that they could resell them earthside. Very illegal, but not Henry's or any of the marshals current problem. Their current problem was which one of the crewmen had stolen the insured items. They were all stolen from the same cabin, and it wasn't likely the thief had shared with the other crew member, so only one was guilty, and it just wasn't possible to tell which one yet. Jon might be the culprit, though. He did have the watch, and it's likely that he just hadn't got around to selling it yet. But then, what happened to the money he withdrew from his final pay?
Gambling?
Drugs?
No none of those explanations fit his personality.
Jon and Lawrence walked away free. Neither was arrested as the marshal had said they would be. Jon waited until Lawrence and he were out of earshot of the marshals that let them out of the interrogation room, then turned on Lawrence.
"You owe me a lot of money."
"Get over it."
"I'm not joking. You and I both know you stole that junk, and I just lost an entire voyage pay because of you. I'm not going earthside after twenty months work with nothing to show." Jon's voice quivered as he spoke and Lawrence wondered momentarily whether Jon was going to take a swing at him, but he didn't.
"Jon, you're not getting anything out of me. Just find the guy who sold you the stuff and get the money from him."
"You know I can't do that. He's probably a spacer too, and long gone." Jon's voice still quivered and his face was turning red in rage.
"You're not getting the money from me." Lawrence said with finality.
They stared each other down for a few tense seconds.
Jon stormed off angry, Lawrence returned to his cabin, and the marshals watched it all in 3D technicolor. One of the marshals brought buttered popcorn. They all shared the popcorn.
When Lawrence entered his cabin, he opened his top storage drawer and pulled out the hidden hand held electromagnet. He turned it on and ran it over his entire body like it was a bar of soap in the shower. The marshals watched in interest until he got to the back of his neck at which point the 3D image flickered and died. The powerful magnet had probably shorted the miniature circuits of the planted bug. They were made to be stealthy, not durable.
The marshal that had done the interview with Lawrence and Jon commented, "Looks like we found us they guy who done it boys and girls."
One of the other marshal pointed out, "Yeah, but we still don't know where to retrieve the items from. We'll just have to get lucky now."
It was tough tracking Lawrence. He had more tricks than just getting rid of a bug that he couldn't possibly know for sure was there. He alluded marshall after marshall until they all lost him. This was a career criminal they were up against, which made Henry wonder how this crime could be one of solely opportunity. Maybe they needed to look into that failed bolt again, or at least see if the inspection records were tampered with.
The marshals only left one marshal, Henry, to watch the 3D of Jon. Henry felt for Jon. He seemed to be a newlywed separated by work from his new wife and a child he still had not met. It was a ruff life. And now, he would have to spend another voyage paying off the cost of losing that pocket watch on this one.
"Real shame," Henry voiced, but he was alone.
It appeared that Jon was searching the streets of the port city they were docked at looking for the man who sold him the watch. The general consensus of the marshals was that Jon was right. The guy who sold Jon the watch was probably half a light year away by now. Jon would not be seeing his money again. The other marshals were out trying to figure out where Lawrence had spent his time two months ago when the insured items were reported missing. Since they had lost all track of Lawrence, looking into his past was the only option.
As luck would have it, Jon succeeded where the marshals had not. He was busy looking for the man who sold him the watch and saw instead Lawrence walking down the street. Trying to blend in to the crowd and not look like a lifer or a bum.
Jon decided to follow. Lawrence looked nervous, the same as when he was waiting for the marshals to interrogated them. He must be up to no good. Lawrence was convinced that he had lost the marshals if any were tailing him, so he was not trying as hard to prevent anyone from following him. Jon was just barely able to follow him, so Detective Plowman had a perfect seat with none of the actual work. Henry updated the other marshals on the situation, but suggested they hold back and let Jon do the tailing, as he was just doing such a good job.
After a while, Lawrence cut through an empty lot by a vacant factory and ended up well out of site, but not out of earshot, down in a loading dock.
"Give me an update, and then I'll take care of it."
"I set up the sale. He is framed and the marshals have the watch."
"And?"
"I'll fence the rest back earthside, but you're going to have to smuggle it back for me. The marshals have people tailing me."
"Not now I hope?"
"I lost them. They're not very good. They even tried to bug me." Lawrence's voice emphasized the word "tried". He was very sure of himself.
Detective Plowman ran the voice print of the unseen person. It turned out to be the owner of the stolen jewelry. He notified the marshals to move in.
Henry smiled at the remote Jon who did not know he was being watched or followed.
"Well, Jon, you just made all your losses back in reward money."
Of course Jon couldn't hear him. Even if he could have, he wouldn't have noticed. He was too shocked by ten marshals swarming past his hiding place by the loading dock.