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Smash and Grab
“We've given you a discount this time.”
I was paying for the twenty two units of Kitten Brand Coffee at Kirk Dock, CD-75 661. This was the third stop of three and the station I had decided to have lunch at. Such generosity also led me to as ask a question. Why?
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Ground Work
“Lookin' for a good time Spacer?”
She was in her early to mid twenties. Two or three inches taller than me, nice figure and good looking. The oldest job known to man or in this case, woman they called it. Prostitution while not exactly legal in Alliance space, it isn't exactly illegal either. A nod, a wink and the right palm greased and it's all good. It also wasn't my cup of tea.
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Wyndham P.I.
"You're taking my cargo and transporting it in that bucket of bolts?”
With each word the tall, blond haired gentleman before me jabbed a dirty(ish) finger in the air. Well the first jab was at me, the second at his merchandise and the third was at the T6 Transporter sitting in the hangar we stood in.
“You'd be surprised at how little that bucket of bolts gets scanned.” I replied, a little put out that my competence was under question. Ok not mine but definitely my ships.
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Temperature Rising
“Cleared to land on Pad One Zero, Sisters' Refuge Control out.”
Sister's Refuge in HIP 16813 was a different kind of station, in more ways than one. It was run by a religious order called the Order of the Seven Bells, what they worshiped and what it all entailed I have no idea. The other thing is that it is a hollowed out asteroid, just a lump of rock with a slot to get in. With clearance given it was that slot that I aimed the bright yellow Orca toward.
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Looking from the Inside
“You seem lost in thought.”
Shoshana wasn't wrong. I had been given a lot to think about. Not by anyone but by the things I had seen and of course what I was starting to realise about why the Thargoids had returned. What I'd seen?
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From Bad to Worse
“It's great to see you, thanks for coming to help me out.”
I had just exited supercruise and before me shining bright and blazing sat a T-Tauri star. If my computer hadn't told me what it was I would have guessed I could scoop from it. No doubt the stranded Commander had thought the same.
“No worries, limpet one and two on the way.” I replied.
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Girls Best Friend
“That concludes this evenings Gal-Vision Alliance News. We hope to see you all for the next broadcast and as always thanks for watching.”
I was leaving the bedroom after changing and cleaning up a little as Shoshana finished watching 'The News'. It had been two or three weeks since the Thargoid structures had been discovered and around two weeks since they stopped being headline news. Sure pilots were still looking into them, they were still a big deal to some but to big media. Nope, they had moved on, looking for juicier more sensational stories. The only mentions in this broadcast were that Ram Tah had started to wrap up his research and reduce his payments at the same time. Also that an Ocellus starport had been sent out to the Pleiades to help with research of the structures. Of course to the general public all that meant very little and the initial interest had faded to an uneasy acceptance.
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Crystal Ball
“So what's next?”
We were sitting at our usual table alongside our usual coffee kiosk. Shoshana had finished work for the day and we were having evening coffee. Let me explain why we use this particular kiosk and not some other stall or shop in The Ring.
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First Limpet
“You are the lead on this case Aitken. Client is Case Red.”
I had one jump left to enter the system when Dispatch past on this information. It wasn't as grand as it sounded, it just meant that I was closest to the client. Not that a Case Red was the end of the line for the in distress commander. With their usual professional efficiency Dispatch had the pilot activate the stasis mode on their Rem-Lock suit. This not often used mode slowed down bodily functions as close to death as was possible, heart rate, brain activity, breathing, you get the picture. It could only be turned on once all ships modules had been shut down and the emergency oxygen had come on line. Of course even with this method being used rescue was not guaranteed, there were just to many variables for that.
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The Plot Thickens
“Ah Aitken, I was starting to think you were avoiding us.”
Mr. Smiths' near smiling image said to me. He wasn't far wrong but I did not let him know that.
“I've been busy.” Again the truth and still his smile persisted.
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A Trip in the Void
“So you're back.”
I was watching the last limpet being loaded by the automated system when I heard the statement. I knew the voice and was not surprised to see Shoshana standing there when I turned round.
“Yeah I finished up a rescue a few jumps from here.” I replied, shocked at how tired I sounded even to me. “Been kinda busy but I should have got a message to you.”
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Mice and Men
“Your mother seemed to like me.”
I looked over at Shoshana as the Python 'Diamond' cleared the toast rack of Titan City.
“Yes she did.” I replied with a smile. This had been our third stop on our vacation tour. Not the one I had hoped for or planned but sometimes we have to make compromises.
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Pathfinder
“There you are Aitken. We need to have a little talk.”
I could hear the voice of Rodger Clay but I couldn't see him. At that moment I had half of my body inside a maintenance hatch of a Type-6 Transporter. The bright yellow and duller black stripes on it's bodywork let people know that this was 'Horse' the T-6 I had brought to Perez Ring and had used in service of the controlling faction. Speaking of controlling, that's what I was busy refitting for the second or third time, Fuel Limpet Controller. I tightened up the last connection and let my body slide. As my feet impacted with the hangar floor I allowed my momentum to bend my knees and then I stayed in that crouched position as I looked over toward Rodger.
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Beer Money
“Aitken, don't pretend you didn't hear me.”
Oh I had heard her alright and as I stalled by staring out the window I watched an elderly man shuffle along the boulevard. There was nothing startling about him, just an ordinary human male. He looked to be over one hundred, again nothing unusual with the medical advances in the past few hundred years.
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Filling in the Blanks
“I missed you, you know.”
We lay together the way we had fallen asleep. Still holding each other in her modestly decorated quarters.
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