1.6– Mogadishu
-Everybody wake up! Get up! Customs Guard is on board.- Albert rubbed his eyes and sat straight in his cot. The moment he feared had arrived. A sudden adrenaline surge made him wide awake, as he realised his fake identity was about to be checked. Standing up, he looked at his two other bunk mates. They were two of the grease monkeys that worked the machinery down in the ship's powerplant and looked the part. Their clothes covered in oil blots that never came out, no matter how much you washed them, and on board the MS Sumatra, they didn't get washed at all, due to water usage restrictions. One short and fat, Rolf, the other tall and skinny, Mike, they made quite a pair and he knew their friendship came back a long way, and that they were acquainted from way before being mates in this crew. He looked down at the green book cover of the Al-Koran that rested right beside his pillow and wondered how he'd get out of this one, if the had to run, and figured there was no point in even thinking about it, as there was no where to go to.-Maktub!- He said to himself. Fate would decide what came next.
(Image: Kims Crafty Corner in uk.pinterest)
Moving along the isle that led to the mess hall, where all the crew was being gathered, he passed by one of the exterior glass hatches and looked outside, at the ominous silhouette of the Customs Guard boat. The Sun wasn't up yet. As he stood in line to enter the room, he overheard the muffled conversation between his bunkmates and figured they must have had something to hide, because the tall one kept asking the short:- Rolf, are you sure the fruit is safe?- And the other kept mumbling:-Shut the fuck up, Mike.- And this went by every thirty seconds or so. Albert, however, had his own problems, so he pushed it aside in in his head, thinking if there was any chance his cover as Vlad had been broken. He passed through the hatch into the room to find the rest of the crew standing in a neat line. Being the last one in, had him be the one closest to the door. As the Captain was in his office with the Customs officers, the Captain's Mate was left running the shop in the Mess. - You've all gone through this before and know how it is. They will send in a nest filled with a swarm of cyberbees to scan the ship and we stand still and watch. Hopefully, none of you sorry bastards has anything to regret bringing along for the ride.- Albert briefly thought of his package, but decided it was harmless. They'd have to really be looking for it to consider it illegal. His real problem lied under the skin of his left forearm. He was definitely not Vladimir Orlov and his ID chip said otherwise.
-Hey, Vlad.- The Captain's Mate called,- Move away from the door, will you?- He didn't answer while he backed a couple of passes to allow for whatever was coming in though that hole. The stocky figure moved towards the wall and pressed the intercom's talk button.-They're all set. Let them in.- Albert figured the bees nest would be lying in the disinfection chamber, waiting for the inner door to be opened. A distant buzzing sound started to grow as the bee swarm began to spread around the the ship. The little metallic drones in the shape of bees were gifted with numberless sensors and, the camera each one carried, allowed for the controlers to be fed a 360º, 3D view of the environment the drones moved in. A powerful AI system reproduced the unimaginably complex dynamics of a flying bees swarm, avoiding collisions and making the most out of every unit's possibilities. These metallic insects were also deadly, as a set of tiny rotary blades surrounded the head of every bee and this, combined with their speed, was enough for any one of them to easily carve its way through a human body. As the buzz grew louder and louder , the first cyberbee entered the room. Albert ran his hand past his forehead to stop any incoming drops of sweat.- Left arms forward and sleeves up. You know the drill.- The Mate said between teeth, from behind his beard.
They were uncountable, thought Albert, as the bees buzzed around his arm and face. Time, for him, almost stood still. He knew that there would be no warning, no red lights going on or claxxon sounding if things didn't work out for him and he was found out. He would probably just be dropped, immediately, on the spot, pierced through by however many bees were around him at the moment, so, he just stood there, breathing as slow as he could, feeling the air move around him as the little buzzers did their scan. He exhaled deeply and allowed himself to look to his right, following the tiny flying machines, as they moved on to the next in line. He was so relieved he felt like jumping in joy, the Id chip actually worked. Containing himself, he tried to put on as straight a face as he could, as he saw the air of relief on everybody else's face, as the bees moved from one to the next. Then, as suddenly as they had come in, the room was free of the bugs and there wasn't one in sight. The buzz also dimmed until you could hear the almost eerie humming of the mess's ceiling lamps. Eveybody was dead silent. The intercom beeped and out came a voice Albert had never heard before.- Everybody keep your positions. The Customs officers are coming down. Forbidden items have been found. Prepare youselves for individual questioning. Albert stood hair on end again, his eyes opening wide and suddenly feeling the unease of his pee wanting to be released without his consent. He'd just managed to control himself, when he heard Rolf whispering Mike to keep quiet and the barrel of a shotgun appeared in front of his eyes as the first of the sanitizers made his way into the room.
- To be continued -
02.02.25 - @hefestus
To find the other parts: https://steemit.com/created/justalittlebitofblue
Disclaimer:
"Just a little bit of blue" is a work of fiction. Every event, character, planet, continent, country, city, street, building, corporation, institution and product mentioned in this work is totally fictitious and has absolutely no relation to reality or real events, persons, planets, continents, countries, cities, streets, buildings, corporations or institutions. Everything is derived from the author's own imagination and no AI products were involved in the planning, writing or revision of this work.