Captain Avery The Galactic Bank Heist Read online

CAPTAIN AVERY: The Galactic Bank Heist

  Sheldon Rogers

  Copyright © 2015 Sheldon Rogers

  Cover art: Copyright © www.wallpopper.com

  All characters in this publication are fictitious

  and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead,

  is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1499556230

  ISBN-101499556233

 

  DEDICATION

  To my father, who made me question the world, and myself.

 

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  1 - Connections

  2 - Usual Business

  3 - Assembly

  4 - Action

  5 - Forging a Plan

  6 - Other Business

  7 - Speculation

  8 - Revenge

  9 - Capture

  10 - Mission

  11 - Undertakings

  12 - The Return

  About the Author

 

 

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank, David Braben, for his inspirational game Frontier Elite II, James H Schmitz, for The Witches of Karres (1966), Zachariah Sitchin, for his Earth Chronicles Series, and Phyllis V Schlemmer for, The Only Planet Of Choice (1993).

 

  PROLOGUE

  Henry Weaver, was a happy-go-lucky guy at school, but was not the sharpest tool in the box. He got into trouble with the local police, on his home world, in the Afave System, and found himself, shipped off to an elderly aunt, on the planet Radian, in the Diso System.

  ‘You have no choice,’ his father had told him, ‘you’re going to have to get away from here, or you’ll end up getting shipped off to some prison colony!’

  ‘What do you know dad, you’ve never left this system? I don’t want to turn out like you!’ argued Henry.

  And so, it went on.

  Alice Weaver, had never been married, she preferred the company of cats, which is just the way she was.

  ‘Well, we have a special treat today,’ she said to her three cats, ‘my nephew Henry, is coming to stay with us, I want you all to be nice to him, he has had a few problems, so I want you all to be on your best behaviour, that includes you Olive.’

  Olive was her new kitten Alice had picked up. Alice found her scavenging from garbage cans, in the city. No one seemed to care anymore about animals, since the society had been forced into the fast lane of consumerism, by the somewhat recent change in economy, from the Republic sphere of influenced, rural self-sufficiency, to the Federation’s industrial and corporate, dog-eat-dog ethos.

  Henry, arrived some weeks later and appeared at Alice’s country cottage, a little disheartened and depressed.

  ‘Hi aunt,’ he had managed to say as she opened her old wooden door, with a large smile on her face and three cats around her legs.

  ‘Come in come in, you have come so far, I have your room all ready made up for you and there is a stew in the pot.’

  Henry felt like he was welcome somewhere for the first time in his life. He bent down and stroked the smallest of the three cats.

  He had spent his days helping his aunt, by doing odd jobs for her, looking after her smallholding, and taking care of her three cats, whilst she had to visit the hospital - which was more regularly as the years rolled on.

  When Alice eventually died, two of her cats had also; Henry was in his mid-twenties. His aunt was a kindly soul, and had left all her assets to him, as she realized that he would never be able to attain such things for himself. He sold the cottage and bought a newly built apartment, in Diso City, where pets were allowed, as Olive, who was just a kitten when Henry first arrived, was old, but still agile.

  Henry had become like his aunt, in more ways than he realized. He disliked people, even though he worked in a bar, he preferred characters in comic books and of course his cat. He still stayed in touch with his mum and dad though, through infrequent 3D video conference calls, but found the whole experience cold and soulless. He missed the warmth that his aunt had shown him, and could only compare this to the cold, hard talking customers he had to deal with on a nightly basis, at Bariki Bar.

  It was a quiet evening at the Bariki; he picked up a copy of that day’s Diso Gazette, and turned to the want ads. Nestled in-between the usual ads for deep space mining and yap welding jobs, he spotted something a little different:

  WANTED

  The Council of Intelligence is hiring. Are you the type of person we are looking for? Do you have the required skills to be of use to The Council? Do you have the skill to blend into society and not be noticed? If you think you have what it takes, The Council wants to hear from you. Message the number below, and we will be in contact, if you are what we want: 19994555666778000333355886666770033320000545576779999336834

  Henry, took his messenger out of his pocket, and tapped in the long number. ‘This must be going a long way,’ he said to himself, as his finger began to ache. Finally, it was there, he checked it twice before he pressed the send button and forgot about it.

  The Council, was the over-arching power of the galaxy, more powerful than the Federation, Empire and Republic powers put together, but invisible, secretive and impenetrable, so what Henry did not know, was that his message reached the most important and secretive department in the galaxy; The Council’s Recall Centre, or TCR.

  From here, The Council could use organic soul bearing entities, to see what was going on, throughout the galaxy - but this operation, was forbidden to be used on humans - and so only animals could be of use. Therefore, there was a need to recruit humans to do normal spying activities and report back. It was a part of a big insurance plan, to monitor progress on the changes within the galaxy, which was nothing more than an experiment to The Council in any case. The Diso System had in recent years, due to the changeover in governance, become of interest to The Council; they were interested in changes, and any potential problem, that arose from such a fundamental shift, from one way of living to another. This was the first time that this had been allowed to happen. One thing that they had noticed was the rise in crime, especially piracy. They were looking to keep an eye on this odd effect, with its sudden rise in popularity, as a career choice, for many from this backwater.

  A scan of Henry’s number, revealed all the information stored, in every computer, in the galaxy:

  • His run in with the police.

  • His poor exam results at school.

  • His inheritance from his aunt.

  • His cat license.

  • His billing information.

  In a special room, in TCR, there was a strange machine, with a helmet type connector, where a member of the Special Operations Team, could link him or herself up to a receptive member of the community, to undertake snooping activities.

  Reginald, had been working for TCR for five years, and had made his way into this department, through his ability to communicate with animals.

  He took the readout of Henry’s report to his superior, and without saying a word; she stamped the printout with her inked red stamp, “Authorized”.

  Henry was past the first hurdle. Reginald scanned the stamp at the door of the room and a pressure lock opened, closing the door behind him.

  ‘Okay Henry let’s see what you are up to.’

  Reginald flicked the monitor on, and nestled himself into, the comfortable chair, where he could spend hours, conversing with his team.

  ‘Well, it says you have a cat, named Olive, let’s see if I can tempt Olive to play ball.’

  He placed the helmet on his head and be
gan to lock himself into a trance.

  ‘Hello Olive,’ he said, ‘aren’t you a nice cat, I bet your owner Henry, loves you.’

  That was it; he had Olive’s attention. She was sat in a window, her favourite spot, looking out at the twin suns of Diso, dreaming of the garden at the old cottage.

  ‘You liked that garden didn’t you Olive, well I can take you back there, and to Alice, if you do what I say. Would you like that Olive?’

  Olive just purred, and that was enough for Reginald to realize, that she was compliant, and ready to put to work for TCR. The screen flickered into life, in front of Reginald, and he was now seeing what Olive was: the suns rising over Diso City. Looks like an okay place, this Diso, Reginald said to himself.

  The morning meant, that Henry would be up soon, to feed her, and this was Olive’s favourite part of the day: food, sunshine and the affections of Henry. Reginald steadied himself, as Olive jumped down from the window, and began to brush past Henry’s legs, as he entered the kitchen.

  ‘Alright Olive,’ Henry said, as he held his hand out, whilst she brushed under it purring. Reginald, had temporarily lost control, and he knew that nothing could get between an animal, and what it treasures the most. He just sat back, watching the action.

  Henry, took a food packet out of the fridge, began to tare it open, and poured the contents, into her bowl. ‘There we go Olive, your favourite, fish and onion.’

  Henry seemed to be a loner, Reginald thought, that’s good. He took out his checklist and crossed off a line. This could be over before I know it, he thought.

  After many close-ups of food and milk, Reginald, saw that Olive was again looking out of the window, at the sunshine. Henry had told Olive, that he was off to the store below, to get some more groceries.

  ‘Okay, Olive, what I want you to do, is to watch Henry, at all times, when he is in the apartment. I want to see what he does, when he is alone, and away from public view, do you think you can do that, for me, Olive?’

  Olive’s rate of purring increased, to the point that Reginald, had to turn down the volume on his headpiece. Henry, returned, and began to sort out his groceries, putting them away; he had until five to do as he pleased, until he returned, to the Bariki Bar. He sat on his sofa, turned his 3D viewing device on. There was a message from his parents on there: he pressed play. Olive sat on the kitchen table allowing Reginald a clear view of the living room.

  ‘Hello son,’ said an elderly looking father and mother, on the floor in front of the viewing device. ‘Hope you are well and the job is making you happy,’ said his mother. Then they started talking about the weather, their holidays etc.

  However, as Reginald observed, they did not seem to be too caring of him, nor that interested in his life. Again, this was good: he was not influenced and controlled by his family. Reginald took out his list again and struck off another point.

  Days passed, Reginald watched Henry during his down time. He did not appear to have any visitors, no love interests and no friends. He was getting closer to selection.

  Reginald thanked Olive for her help, promised that she would be back in a cottage with Alice one day, and took the headgear off. He left the room, went to Judy-Lynn, his boss, and showed her his checklist.

  Judy-Lynn studied his notes, ‘I see, he seems to be our man in Diso City,’ she adjusted her glasses, ‘I want you to take the next shuttle out of here and go pay him a visit Reg.’

  ‘Is that wise? I think that it might be better just to message him back.’

  ‘No, I don’t trust such a long connection; it’s easy for some snoop to tap into that down the line,’ was her reply, and that was it. Reg. was on the next shuttle out of TCR, and on his way to take an intergalactic trip, to the Diso System.

  A room was pre-booked at the Arumba Hotel, in the Hotel District, and the next morning he set out by sky-taxi, to visit Henry. He was enjoying the view, the two suns, made it feel warm and welcoming, the female taxi driver was pleasant, and he tipped her well. It was early morning, and Reginald had calculated that Henry would be just getting up, to have breakfast, and about to feed his cat.

  He stepped out of the red taxi, as it returned to the ground, and walked the short distance, to the apartments, near the Technology District. He buzzed the number, on the video screen, and saw Henry, through the eye of the intercom system, instead of through Olive’s eyes.

  ‘Hello?’ said Henry, clearly not used to having house calls.

  ‘Hello Henry, my name is Reginald; I work for The Council of Intelligence. I need to talk to you.’

  ‘Go away Mr., I have things to do, I have no time for pranks.’ The intercom went dead, and Reginald tried again. ‘Hello,’ said Henry, ‘this better not be a hoax.’ The buzzer sounded, the door swung open, and Reginald entered.

  Henry was standing in the doorway with Olive by his side; it seemed, she recognized the voice, over the intercom system. Reginald, showed him his ID and Henry let him in.

  ‘Hello Olive,’ he said, entering the apartment, stroking the purring cat on the head.

  ‘How did you know her name was Olive?’ said a surprised Henry.

  ‘There are lots of things we know about you Henry, but first of all. I would like to offer you a position as a spy for The Council; you will be working for The Council Recall or TCR, as we know it.’

  Henry was silent, for a moment, and then responded. ‘So my application, all those months ago, was successful?’

  ‘That’s right Henry, we know that you work in the Bariki Bar, in Diso City, and that you get a few - lets say, unsavoury characters in there - and we would like you to provide us with information, on the goings on, from time to time. No pressure, we just need to get some idea about what sort of criminals we have in this system.’ Henry and Reginald sat down, and he carried on, ‘We are particularly interested in pirates, they are causing a real nuisance on trading routes, all over the galaxy, and we have had unconfirmed reports, that they have set up a haven somewhere, but we don’t yet know where. So, any information you come across, will be of use. We will send lists of pirates, that come up on any system, computerized or otherwise, and we will update you so you can identify key figures if you come across them.’

  ‘Well, I’m sure I can do that, what sort of money will I receive?’

  ‘I’m not in a position to discuss terms, all I can tell you, is that there is no need to worry about a pension.’

  ‘So I just carry on my job?’

  ‘Yes, there is a need for you to carry on your post.’ He reached into his bag, and gave Henry a handset. ‘You can contact us day or night with this, just press send and talk into it.’

  As quickly as he arrived, Reginald left. He was back on the next spaceflight out of Diso City, heading back to TCR. The trip had been a success; Henry began reporting comings and goings at the Bariki Bar and received regular payments into his bank account: the sore thumb had been well worth it!

  Back at TCR, Reginald, had put in for a transfer, to his boss Judy-Lynn. He was sat at her desk, watching Judy-Lynn regard his request, over her glasses, and he was just about to count her frown lines, when she spoke.

  ‘I hear you enjoyed your little trip to Diso City?’

  ‘Yes it was good, thanks.’

  ‘Well, believe it or not, we have had a position come up, as an industrial spy there. Would you be interested?’ she said suddenly.

  Reginald looked at her for a second, to see if she was having him on or not. Then he remembered that she never joked, so he said, ‘Yes I would. That sounds like a good post; how long would it be for?’

  ‘This post is for five years. Do you think you can handle that?’

  ‘I think I can. Can you tell me a bit more about the post?’

  ‘We have landed you a job as a Lab Technician, at the newly founded Corporation X. They say they are going to be involved in adapting alien technology, for the use of various organizations and governments. We want to know what they are up to, so we can intervene, if nec
essary.’

  ‘What will happen after five years?’

  ‘We will arrange for your replacement, to take over from you.’

  ‘When is the start date?’ Reginald said, with more reluctance, than he thought was in him.

  ‘They want you to start next month, so, you still have time to work on a few more pet projects’

  And that was it. Reginald was to head back to Diso City, with a new job, a new life, for the next five years. He was becoming an external agent, at last. This was definitely a promotion, and there was no way he was going to mess this up. He thought about all the animals he had been contacting, and in a strange way, felt a loss.

  ‘Hi,’ said a friendly voice, as he entered one of the many research labs, in Corporation X’s new high-rise edifice, in the centre of the Technology District, in Diso City. ‘My name’s Anthony, but you can call me Tony. I’m your new manager, have you travelled far? I heard that you came all the way from Van Maanens Star, for this post?’

  ‘Yes that’s right, a long way away, my names Reginald, but friends just call me Reg. What is it we are going to be working on Tony?’

  ‘Well, I’m not too sure myself; I’ve just been promoted into here, after my old company merged with another, to form Corporation X. I’ve got an appointment this morning, with a Captain Avery. He says that he has something of particular interest; he picked up in some far away system, which I’ve never heard of. He reckons that there maybe, amongst his finds, an alien life support machine. It sounds interesting.’

  Therefore, that was the first report that Reginald sent back to TCR. He did not go and visit Henry at Bariki Bar, as that might raise suspicions and potentially blow both their covers, so he stayed solitary, just like Henry.

  1 CONNECTIONS