Pidgin
13 Mar 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
Pidgin
Colonia Region
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Jumping back into the system we had recently departed, I was shocked at how fast fortunes had changed. Traffic and communications had increased drastically, with reports of system-wide attacks, interdictions, and war flooding the channels.
Turning in my seat to look at Aby, the news of who was in conflict sent a chill down my spine.
“I don’t believe in coincidence, but this one time I am hoping my gut is wrong.”
“Without knowledge of the variables behind the scenes, I cannot rule that out. If it helps, the chances are low that a singular action could have prompted all of this. The group, known to have donated to the industrial site's cause and now the instigators of this war, have a distinctive pattern of doing the exact opposite of their publicized by-laws and their open declaration of principles of peaceful coexistence; to quote them directly.”
“What an entangled quantum mess this all is. Our destination was one of their biochemical sites, which is now a battleground. Any information that was there has been erased, and any useful materials have either been whisked away or destroyed in place.”
“In this type of situation, what would be your normal course of action?”
Turning back around in the pilot’s seat, I researched the system information data.
“Without knowing what I think I know, my usual course of action would be to earn a few credits. Wars are profitable. The trick is to not become entangled in any one side's cause other than your own.”
I caught the reflection of Aby, tilting his head to one side. “But now that you do know?”
If they did have a weapon of the type expected and used it, there would be little anyone could do about it until it was too late. The only way to find out was to be there, which was one of the dumber ideas I had since coming to this sector.
“Knowing there is nothing there, I need to see this location with my own eyes.”
“To sing the obvious to the choir, you will be entering into a war. Do you favor a party?”
Great, now he was using colloquialisms.
“As I have stated before, no, I will not be choosing either of their causes. I will need to choose a side to enter into the battle, for the pure cause of observation, and to earn some credits. I like to profit, even when my time is being wasted.”
Aby tilted his head up, looking at the stars outside of the canopy. “I have never seen a war firsthand.”
The corner of my mouth lifted.
***
“I should not be here,” Aby commented, sitting at the controls of the Scarab recon vehicle as I manned the turret, rapidly firing on the enemy infantry infesting the settlement, while the defending infantry swarmed from one location to the next, attempting to check their invasion.
“You have a perfectly sound Dominator suit that you could put to good use here.”
I toggled the synthesis reloading mechanism to top up my ammunition as a new enemy dropship neared, its hold full of another infantry squad.
Aby could not see the obvious of what I was doing and why I had him position the Scarab on the far-side landing pad, which was on a small rise, giving me a good view of the complex.
“Work smarter, not harder. If I suit up, then I fail at what I am here for. Besides, we are far enough back in case anyone releases any surprises.”
“I’m glad you are confident,” Aby replied. I knew that an android could not feel fear, but his statistical calculating capabilities were being stressed by too much input, placing him in what would be the human equivalent.
“You just keep that comms system open so I can hear what is going on and move when and where I tell you to.”
I saw Aby’s shoulders flinch as I let off a long burst of the twin plasma repeaters. They were meant for cracking rocks and worked equally well at cracking armor and the fleshy things inside it.
One of the enemies fired a rocket at us, striking the shields, causing Aby to flinch again as I melted them on the settlement's habitat module's external stairway. A second one descended from the roof of the building, attempting to get the launcher, joining the fate of the first one. The remaining one on the roof took notice of me, diverting their attention from the friendly infantry ascending the same stairway, lobbing grenades.
An eagle-class ship dove to make a strafing run on my position, catching a long burst from my plasma repeaters, making its shields flare as its pilot pulled up, boosting out of range.
“He won’t make that mistake again,” I laughed as a weird message came over the comms.
“Burp the rails, I’m juggling plasma.”
My eyes opened wide. “Back up now!”
The Scarab sped into reverse as the ground where we used to be erupted in sparks from a railgun's impact.
I watched as an enemy Vulture climbed back into the sky. “Stop and reposition where we were,” I commanded, centering my plasma repeater’s reticles on a new infantry squad that landed nearby. Melting three of them before their survivors found cover behind a collection of containers, in full view of a friendly infantry squad that began to engage them.
“I apologize for not seeing that second ship,” Aby stated as I keyed the communication channel from my position. “You're navigating by the dark stars, burping the rails. Degause, we quantum entangled.”
Aby looked up at me in the turret, a firm look of confusion on his android face. “What language is that?”
“Pay attention,” I barked, letting off a burst at a distant infantryman who dove back around the corner of a distant building, only to catch a friendly grenade.
After thirty minutes of back and forth, the enemy ships began to retreat as I looked around, wondering what kind of loot might be scattered across the surface that I could scavenge.
“Looks like we are going prospecting,” I said with a large smile, thinking of what I might find inside the wreckage of both friend and foe alike.
***
Back aboard my Vulture, I flew a lazy twenty-kilometer pattern around the base, looking for debris and scorch marks from downed ships. The lack of atmosphere meant there would be no smoke and flames rising into the sky, making finding any difficult. The Scarab had a wave scanner that could detect objects on the surface, which was useless when flying, but it would take days to cover the same amount of terrain that I could in only an hour while flying. Of the two, flying was better.
Aby kept his own watch, observing in silence for most of the flight. I was sure his circuits were working overtime trying to process everything, and I wasn’t wrong as he voiced the question inside of his positronic mind.
“That weird language I heard on the communication frequency that you replied to during the battle. I have referenced several databases and the only reference I could find was that it was a pidgin, of some sort?”
I nodded, making a slow circle near a ridge to get a better view of the shadows it cast.
“Yes, it is more a generalized form… of sorts. I knew there would be others from my sector of space out in this region, but never expected to hear one.”
Aby slewed a cursor on my head’s up display to show me where he was looking. “There is a charred hull plate but nothing usable.”
“Got it. Looking to see if there is something it belongs to nearby.”
“Is hearing your reply why they stopped strafing us?”
I studied the imagery inside the terrain’s shadow using the ship’s night vision equipment, spotting nothing but rocks and dust.
“Doubt it. At best it would have made them pause, but they were too busy with the other ships above them, looking to take advantage of them getting low to the surface.”
“So they would have killed us, even though you were of their kind?”
My eyes rolled as I slewed the night vision around the terrain, seeing small pieces of blasted ship parts but nothing salvageable.
“If you mean pirates, then no, they are not of my kind. I hunted their kind.”
“Because it was more profitable to do so, like now.”
“My reasons for my change are my own, but to answer your question, we are not kin or kindred of any kind. Being able to speak the language of my sector means nothing other than I would be more than happy to take any bounty they have, and have no regrets.”
Aby went silent to process my responses. I did not doubt he was recalling a recent experience where he stepped over the line.
Searching for usable scrap was proving to be a bust. At least I received a ten million reward for my part in defending their installation, so the adventure was not without its rewards.