Rollin' Deep

Hauling freight across the vastness of space requires a level-headed lunacy infused with a hefty touch of moxie most cargo jockeys--ship'rs, as they call 'em--have in spades. Ship'r Bax was no exception; a former bandit turned to the legal, more profitable side, she holds her own against the myriad of hazards the job entails, not to mention the vagaries and whims of capricious clients. But this particular cargo run is turning out to be almost more than she can handle.There's something out in deep space hollering so hard, so persistently, that it's carrying through into the very structure of the universe itself, setting the bulkheads of her rig to whispering, and shaking the very foundations of physics itself. No one knows what's making such a ruckus, or why, but it's annoying everyone to the point of insanity.It's also freaking out her hitchhiker, Daniel, who already has problems of his own, having recently fled from the cultists he'd fallen in with years ago. Those sweethearts are likely hot on his heels, eager to drag him back to the horror-fests of their nasty little 'family compounds' and assimilate him back into the fold. That was a nuance he'd recently learned from Bax herself, and seems to be taking badly, the poor kid.The maintenance crew still being underfoot wasn't helping Bax's mood any either, and neither was how downright tetchy her already mouthy AI was getting, thanks to it suffering from a strange electron 'jitter' that it couldn't really explain, but was getting worse with every passing moment. Everything from the quantum transit engine they used for long distance travel to the simple use of electricity on board anyone's rigs was screwed so sideways it was impossible for a body to get a damn thing done with any kind of sanity about them anymore. All in all, what was supposed to be a simple cargo run was going to hell in a handbasket with a quickness.But the fun isn't over, not quite yet; now two of their own are missing, and it looks like the only people interested in their whereabouts are a small group of soft-headed ship'rs led by Bax, who'd have to run towards that loud crazy-making ruckus out deep to rescue them. What they find on the edge of mapped space challenges even the strongest-stomached of them all. This wasn't normal business-as-usual, not even by their standards, but then again, normal isn't a space any of them are even passably familiar with. Whoever said that hauling cargo was boring obviously has never set a steel-toed boot on any rig worth the driving.