by Sean Huxter
Your shift began like most others as Captain of the United Worlds Guardian Class Patrol vessel, U.W.S. Ceres, a routine supply mission of no particular import, routine crew checks, signing this order, monitoring that communication, so it was not only a surprise, but an unexpected honor when your mentor, Admiral Copeland, contacted you by secure sub-etha channel to charge you with a highly sensitive mission.
James Whitehall, perhaps this era's most renowned and reviled interstellar pirate, was cornered with his crew and captured yesterday out on the galactic rim, and he wasn't taken quietly. Though when the moment approached, Whitehall's crew bailed and fled in their tattered ship, abandoning their leader to the law. Under heavy guard, Whitehall was transported to the U.W.S. Orion, another Guardian Class ship, which was heavily damaged in the arrest operation. The Orion had to undergo immediate drydock repairs, but it was the only spaceworthy ship in the vicinity.
Your mission was to rendezvous with the Orion and take charge of this deadly prisoner, allowing the Orion to get back to spacedock without further delay.
The route you were instructed to take was a coded, randomly-generated series of course corrections which would have sent anyone trying to intercept you on a wild goose chase, as you were eventually to arrive and dock at Penal Satellite One, where Whitehall would be held until trial.
You know the Admiral was putting some portion of his reputation on the line trusting you with this job, and you weren't about to let him down.
But it didn't turn out that way. There must have been a leak somewhere, either on your ship or at United Worlds Command, because in an isolated sector of open space you were approached and attacked by a ramshackle pirate cruiser.
The pirate crew had come for their leader. They made their intentions clear immediately, ordering you to heave to and be boarded.
Of course you were not about to give up your prisoner without a fight, but their rag-tag ship, festooned with weapons, outgunned your ship's meager trio of laser cannons and its small crew.
After an all-too-brief battle your ship was boarded, and as far as you know, your crew completely wiped out by the ruthless marauders. You wonder why you're still alive, guessing that your good fortune comes only due to the possibility you may yet be of some use to the pirates.
Now, Whitehall, with a keycode for the Brig he must have tortured out of your Security Officer, escorts you personally to the cell and shoves you in. He laughs as the door locks behind you...
(For information about Piracy 2.0, type HELP at any prompt. For a Walkthrough, type WALKTHROUGH.)
Release 2 / Serial number 100408 / Inform v6.31 Library 6/11 S
You're in a small, smooth-walled room with barely enough area to stand. A pair of simple bunk beds occupy most of the cramped space. There is a panel near the door. A faint smell of ozone is coming from the vent high above the beds. The pirates must have started some electrical fires. The only door is north, but it's closed and locked.
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