THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE OF A LOUSY COWBOY, ISSUE #3
03 Jun 2016Mike Syron
[ ongoing story, go back: ISSUE #2 ]“Computer, keep an eye on that battle zone! If anything, and be it a shitty canister full of pink teddy bears, moves somehow somewhere in my direction, I wanna know it, okay?“
Drops of sweat were shaping on Mike’s forehead, a thick vein on his throat was pulsing in sync with his heart beat. The eyes bound on the scanner he counted the seconds it still took to reach Fox Orbital. Everything told him that it was a huge mistake sticking to this job. He just should turn around by 180 degrees and leave the nice scenery the system was offering him straightaway. Whatever was awaiting him, it would be way more healthier. But then he couldn’t forget the name of the ship, he was asked to protect. Rocinante - you just don’t leave a ship with such a pretty name in the dust. And Myung-Dae was counting on him, she might be some nice lad in distress in fact. A well armed lad in distress though …
„Cannot comply, please specify. By ‚shitty canister full of pink teddy bears‘ do you mean potential threats against this ship?“ The board computer replied.
„Right on, you shiny rep of your kind!“
For this very reason deLacy still engaged exquisite academics with lots of doctor’s degrees to develop the most sophisticated onboard AI you could get for your hard earned buck, while still managing that it wasn’t going to get silly ideas of its own. Only a few tedious rumors had it that this happened from time to time regardless, but deLacy were paying a horseload of expensive lawyers too, all of them being true experts in their fields.
The drives started to yowl suddenly. The tiny light dot in front of the Viper was about to get bigger very fast. „Warning. Approximately alert. Slowing down is advised.“
„I’m gonna do a loop, darling. Stay focussed on that zone!“ Mike pulled the yoke as far back as possible while throttling down. The little outpost rushed almost to close past his ship, giving him another adrenaline kick. He knew himself exactly that idiots like him tend to get blown into smithereens by flying such ruthless maneuvers, causing a sudden death to themselves and clueless innocents, but he did it anyway. That was one of the reasons Mike never had made it into the Fed’s navy, given that it wasn’t very welcomed to unnecessarily endanger comrades especially in combat scenarios. But he couldn’t help himself, great stress just pulled him right into it. His former superior had awarded him with a master degree in „mindless assholism“ because of this, before he finally was kicked out of the cadet corps.
The comm system was picking up the local traffic channel, when his Viper finally fell back to normal speeds. Mike recognized the Keelback on a landing pad while approaching the outpost, but it wasn't alone, an almost invisible Eagle fighter with a dark paint job and a Cobra were floating nearby. Most likely the two other wings Lambert had mentioned. Getting closer, the Cobra looked pretty much patched up, thick pieces of reinforced steel were welded on its hull, with different shades of metal colors. It wasn't quite perceptible but someone had painted a huge hand across its left side, it showed a big middle finger.
Just when the scanner identified the Keelback as Rocinante, a not so lady-like voice began to shout into the channel, overstraining the mic. „A fucking moron! I asked Lambert to get me a reliable pilot and he sends me a fucking moron! I can’t believe it! - And what’s that for a name? Ridonkolous Jack? - For God’s sake, I’ll kill that son of bitch as soon I get my hands on his neck, I swear!“
Mike bite his teeth. „Yeah, I like you, too, Myung-Dae. Your name’s not giving the proper impression your kindly personality deserves either.“
„Oh, shut up and put your damn sarcasm to where the sun never shines! We’ve got some very serious business going on here, pal. People are dying all around us because of bullish pricks don't getting it again! - Are you one of them or are you here to help?“
The harsh bitterness of the insult hit Mike hard, he had to gulp. „I … I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to give this first impression of me. - That asshole Lambert didn’t told me the whole truth! I was almost about to leave right after I arrived because of it! Jeeesh … please forgive me.“
„Lambert doesn’t know shit about what's currently going on. - When I asked him for help the local fuckers were still debating and negotiating. But then it all went to hell pretty fast, way to fast in my opinion. I suspect there’s something very fishy going on here, some crying ugly first class premium bullshit politics with all its fucking intrigues!“
„Yeah, what the hell are they thinking …“ Mike mumbled meekly while listening to the seriously concerned voice of Myung-Dae. She also made it quite clear who was in charge of this job which was a good sign. A very good sign.
Another voice appeared on the channel, very professional and striking calm, it must be coming from the Eagle. „Tango speaking. - Greetings, pilot, you came just in time. We haven’t got much left, the battle nearby is moving fast in our direction, it seems they started to throw anything into it they’ve got. Fed’s might even consider dropping one of their shiny capital ships into it, the Allied Industry consortium is crying out loudly for help. - And to add some sugar to it: the Fed’s have me on their radar for some silly reason.“
„Yeah, I know.“ replied Myung-Dae. „Okay, Mike-India-Kilo. Your callsign is Jackass from now on, like in Jack being an ass. - Don’t question it! I really hope your fighting skills are on par with your sarcastic talent otherwise you won’t make it much farer than this, capicé? - Team, I’m decoupling from the pad now, sync your nav systems with mine and get in formation!“
Mike was pressing the air into his lungs very hard since a minute, his head became redder and redder. This was way beyond everything he was ever involved into, this was a real battle with some serious military-shit going on. His training in the navy never lasted long enough for this. Pure, brute panic was about to decouple his overwhelmed mind from his body, imminently becoming the main factor of all his actions. He couldn’t respond, his hands were grabbing the flight controls like a branch above a dark abyss. It seemed to be a very good moment for merely saying: „Oh, fine! Didn’t see that coming! Sorry, gotta leave now! Bye and fly save!“ This simple thought was pushing him so hard it brought him right at the brink of insanity.
„Mike.“ Myung-Dae’s voice got a bit softer. „Don’t forget to breath, okay? You can thank Lambert for this later. We need you now. I’ve got some fragile cargo onboard, be aware of this, I absolutely can’t fly hard maneuvers, it’ll break into pieces then.“
Mike pulled up his socks, packing all the will he’s got left together. With a pressed voiced he asked: „What is in this cargo that I’m going to risk my fucking life for it?“
It seemed to take ages before she finally answered, dismissively. „It won’t make it easier for you right now, trust me. Better you don’t know.“
„I repeat: we have got no time anymore. Let’s roll!“ Tango demanded. Just as he had spoken it out something strange happened to his shilds - to all shields. It looked like they all were hit by a shower of micro meteroids, the surface of the outpost was throwing sparks. "See - they're sending us their best wishes already. Hypersonic projectiles and debris, that is."