Page 1 of Hijack! (Cosmic Connections Cruise #1)

The ship had been larf-balled for a long time.

Almost a millennium, according to the possibly unreliable records, deserted in a stable orbit around an artificial moon labeled “Used Ships— Good Decent Prices” on the local star charts.

The ship couldn’t be inspected since the interior was flooded with preserva-gas to ward off the plasteel-chewing larfs that were the bane of ships transgalactically, but the exterior was promising: cleanly engineered with sleek nacelles balancing a spacious hull, and just enough embellishing trim to suggest it had been built for a spacefaring folk who valued good decent ships.

And it had no obvious holes.

“I’ll take it.”

The Ajellomenes who owned the shipyard waved one tentacular extremity with excessive enthusiasm. “A decent ship, plenty of parsecs left in her—and no larfs!”

“Exactly as advertised, I’m sure. Just one thing. I’m curious about the brief troubles noted in your logs—about a hundred sols ago. The security sensor readings were…well, as I said, curious.”

A few apprehensive bubbles quivered around the Ajellomenes’ beak. “No trouble. We’ve only decent ships here. Probably a minor infestation of sorts, but the gas took care of it. No more noises or lights. Other than the noises and lights that should be on a decent ship, of course.”

“Of course.” If there was a faint timbre of skepticism in that response, Ajellomenes vibrational filaments were not attuned to receive it.

“And so?” The tips of three more tentacles wriggled eagerly. “What data for the new ident?”

“Ownership: Mr. Evens’ Odds and Ends Shop. Originating: Sunset Falls, Montana, Earth.”

“You mean Dirt? Ah, I’ve heard stories. A cousin’s polyp’s regenerated appendage had dealings there. For a closed world on a lesser spiral, it seems to have a reputation.”

“Only partly deserved, I assure you.”

The Ajellomenes paused, the last bubbles popping. “Not looking for any other trouble either.”

“Of course not.” A credit chip flashed. “And send me a copy of those old readings, would you please?” The chip flashed again. “That should be worth your time.”

A few more half-hearted bubbles. “Ship name?”

“Undecided. For now, note it as the Cosmic Connections Cruiser: Love Ship I.”

“So noted.” On the screen, the cursor blinked, each symbol winking into existence like a newborn star. “And finally, who shall be listed as claiming registration?”

The new owner of the Love Ship I smiled. “The Big Sky Intergalactic Dating Agency.”