One business focused entirely on selling their light source crystals in bulk. Stores in the shopping district had individual pieces for sale, I was informed. It was likely that Lin and Nancy would return to the ship with some. But if I wanted to sell them in other star systems, this was reportedly the place to get them at decent prices.
Portia recorded all the conversations so I could refer back to them later. I left without making a purchase but told them that I would likely return the next day. At that point I had no idea if I was being offered a good deal. Hopefully, once back aboard the Terran Capsule I'd have the chance to do some research. Portia appeared to be eager to help. She was like a moth to a flame when it came to learning new things.
"Joah, are you there?" Lin's voice came through my wrist communicator.
"Yes, dear. I'm heading back to the ship now. We'll be there in thirty minutes or so. Where are you?"
"We're back on the Terran Capsule," she replied. She didn’t sound happy. Tired maybe.
"How was shopping?"
"It was great, Joah," Lin answered impatiently. "We got a lot of nice things. Maybe even some stuff that you'll want to buy for resale. But we can talk about that later. The ship's computer is picking up readings on an intruder."
"An intruder? On our ship?"
"Yes, but not a real one. It has to be some residual effects from the phantom creature in jump space."
"Okay. I'm on my way."
I instantly increased my speed without breaking into a run. Portia kept up with me while looking surprisingly natural in a fast walk. As things got crowded near the gate to the port, we started drawing more attention. When I tried to push through a crew of five that were taking their leisurely time, I had to apologize before a conflict could arise. They had numbers on us if a fight should break out, but between me and Portia I was sure we could take them. The question would be whether or not anyone else might get involved. I decided it was best to avoid violence to start with, let alone the delay that it would cause. It was the icy chill running down my spine that was suggesting otherwise.
I controlled my pace better after that. I knew that Lin and Nancy were not in any real danger. I even checked in on them twice to keep me from panicking. Once I reached our parking spot I broke into a jog toward the entry of our spacecraft. Portia matched my pace exactly once again.
The ship was shaped like a two-prong fork with our door between the two tines, which were our engines. Just inside was a foyer type space with a stairwell up to the quarters, control room and so forth. There was a lift that could be used as well. Beyond that was the cargo space. I spotted Nancy in there immediately.
We had already unloaded, so the main cargo bay was empty. It took up over eighty percent of the level. Off to the left and right our ship had smaller holds where things could be locked away better. They were perfect for smuggling. Nancy was staring into the doorway of the small bay on the right.
"It is in here!" she exclaimed, looking frightened.
"It is not in there," Lin told her with annoyance. "I just checked it myself. There must be some kind of residue that the computer is picking up."
"Residue my ass!" Nancy yelled. "I just saw the thing."
When Nancy slowly backed away from the doorway, Lin's doubt disappeared. Sure enough, an otherworldly shadow of smoke seeped into the room toward her. If an evil ghost could slither while levitating, it would look like this guy.
"The ship's computer is sensing an anomaly in Nancy's area," Portia told us calmly.
"No shit," Lin replied. "We can see it."
"What can you see?" our android asked as if it were a routine interview question.
I could see it, too. Clearer than ever. It must not be visible to robot vision for some reason. "It is the shadow creature that we picked up when we were ripped over to jump space," I told her. "It has no physical form, just smoke. Can you not see it, Portia?"
"I cannot with my eyes, but my circuits are registering an interference when I probe the area with my sensors."
Nancy yelped but froze up when the thing advanced toward her quickly. I jumped forward and swung my right arm through the smoke. The entire limb tingled like it was going numb from hypothermia, right down to the bone.
Stepping between the strange entity and my first wife I held my hands up hoping to hold it off. The sensation in my arm wasn't fading away very fast. I squeezed my fingers into a fist repeatedly to pump more blood to my hand. It seemed to help a little.
There was no distinct form to the creature, but it was narrower toward the top, like a head. Tendrils of shadow wiggled slowly off to the sides like tentacles of an octopus. Two of them shifted to reach out toward my outstretched hands.
Portia stepped over, her eyes toward the weird beast even though she couldn't see it. When she opened her mouth a gush of air came out as if she had a powerful mini fan in her throat. Maybe she did. That was a feature I would have to remember for a variety of reasons.
"Is the smoke still there?" she asked.
"Yes, it didn't
