Light and Haze, 17: Machine Parts
14 Oct 2021Meowers
You know, I really had that bit of... Anticipation. That some day these folks will return. Didn't expect them being that fast and numerous, though. They located her too precisely back then on Citi. She was hiding on the ship, in the technical compartment, shielded out by military-class armoured bulkheads and kilometres of high-voltage cables... No scanner could see through that kind of interference. Only direct signals with fixed signatures... They knew what they were looking for. Luckily they didn't attack us in Komotae, but, hm... Living blocks there are full of people, too much levels and too much doors. When we were flying and mapping those planets, we moved too chaotically, they had to check every place, every beacon we passed by, to find her... Find us, again, on the same ship. But that maintenance hangar, a vast place with just a few techs in it, and one of them was their agent too... Any signal, accurate to within metres, will point to a right person... Ummm... We really have to figure out, was it a tracking implant or what...
Ah, here we go. Had to retreat from a previous fight, because of, uh, a bit too much of them appeared. So we were in the neighbouring system, scooping hydrogen, recharging shields, orbiting that red dwarf... What was that... Ah. Ross 1019. Uninhabited place full of worthless frozen planets. Just had to retreat somewhere fast. And now... Hah. Still being followed. By the same guy on Mamba, just arrived, hah... But now I had that interdictor module and still more than enough ammo for one more. So... I pulled the poor bastard out of the cruise mode right on that orbit. Mamba was faster than me, normally, but now I had some time without another foes around... So, diverted all power from the shields to the engines to be almost as fast. And much more manoeuvrable, and... He was doomed. Running away? Then we both will move too far from the wake signal. So when friends arrive... They'll see nothing on their sensors. Outmanoeuvring me? Impossible now. Trying to fight? Hah. You may guess.
Seeing my opponent spinning out of control and falling apart, disappearing in the explosion fire, I just boosted again, increasing the distance from the wake signal... And for that 'fly through the flames' kind of epic moment too, hah. Scattering the debris even further. Some day they will fall onto that star and burn, making this place a bit brighter for a moment... Ah. How romantic.
So... I guess we're about hundred kilometres away now. And every second of us moving forward was making the search zone even larger, in all three dimensions... If they're following the tracking device, they can't pinpoint us in the open space from the cruise mode, and even looking around the wake, they still have to catch up with us. Activating the cruise or jumping somewhere will bring us back on the sensors, however... But we had enough fuel for hours of thinking about our next steps, just flying to nowhere in the middle of nowhere. So, I took my hands off the controls, relaxed a little and looked at Jacqueline. She... Seemed nervous, stressed, but thankfully not completely scared or something.
Well. Khm. She was also a bit impressed. Said, uh, 'it's like a kind of art'. Adding this 'don't think I encourage this' line afterwards, however. But, umm... Something tells me that she don't mind exposing slavers to a space vacuum. And that 'art' stuff... Errm... Performing something like this on a Hauler is definitely a kind of poetry. Maybe even obscene. On a Fer-de-Lance? I call it 'just another day'. And that retreat was... Ugh. Ah, have to admit, those slavers were equipped way better than your cheap standard corporate or authority enforcers... So, uh... Anyway, I had to tell her about that tracking implant idea. There were just so much clues now pointing to this. And, ugh, it was a popular practice... So, she may had that thing implanted during the surgery, and therefore she wasn't even aware. And these things are really small, as they had only one function to perform, while being autonomous. Powered by the natural body heat or something like that. So, we had to find a hospital to do the screening, now, not just 'in the coming days'... It must be in a highly-populated system... With major orbital stations or settlements... So, Aganippe system was our next destination. Ah, just one jump away. Nice.
One jump, one short in-system run, one transportation cab call, and we were at the place. Cherry Port, Aganippe system, local hospital. Looking good so far... Even if they were reluctant to let me in with the rifle on my back. Had to take it with myself, who knows what may happen... We weren't followed, but, uh. Can't let the guard down being so close... Had enough of that bad luck... So, I explained, quietly, why are we here and what we're looking for, so, hah, this particular patient had a personal bodyguard today. Hey, and I was her official supervisor, according to the PF licence. Ah, that rare moments when bureaucracy is really on your side.
So, yeah... Much as I expected. Screening for foreign objects revealed that little tracking implant, put in the back of her neck, very close to the upper part of the spine... Ugh. It had no neural connections, was powered by body heat, but still, trying to remove it on your own, without proper equipment, could be fatal or lead to paralysis. So, they had to do some surgery. Was glad to hear that it's not a challenge if done professionally... Grrr... Remind me, why I don't like those guys chasing us?.. Why I don't see human beings in them?.. So, they're just... A force that I need to oppose. And, uh, I had a plan now. Told them not to throw this implant thing away... Also they found us an empty ward, to give Jacqueline a few hours to recover from anesthesia, and, um, a chair for me to sit on. And to look at usual ordinary everyday starport fuss through the window... Thinking about... Um. Just random things that come and go, nothing in particular... Skipping the time.
And then, when she woke up... She asked me. Like... Again. Why I'm helping her with all that things. Didn't know what to say except... Truth. Like, she already realised that her case is somehow close to me, personally, but it's not just about that. I'm helping people because... Seeing their progress, hearing their kind words is like a sign to me, that I'm doing what's right. I can't feel any compassion or sympathy... But still can follow my own simple logic. If I'm able to help someone, it means that my experiences weren't in vain. And seeing positive results give me... More meaning of 'me'. Of 'why I am here'. 'Why do I live', maybe. A good way to fill that..emptiness. That I see, trying to find the answers to these questions within me. Especially, maybe, when I need them the most.
And speaking of feelings... Have none of them. I live without emotions, for a long time. I remember them, I know them, however, but now it's some faint rare sparks at best, too faint and too short to react. Once in a month or even less. And even the memory of them is fading. So, almost all the time it's quiet. But... It's calm. Comfortable for me. So I..follow the logic of my own values and priorities, observations, analysis. I may 'express' some thoughts as if they were emotions, to let people understand me better. I have my own versions of how do I 'like' something or someone, how do I 'care', what's 'good' for me, what the 'hope' is, and even the 'negative' things too... All based on what exactly and how much I think about something in particular, how often I remember it. It's... a simple system that's too difficult to explain sometimes. Like a..foreign language. But then... Really see it as my strong point. That quietness helps the logic. This is my armour... Of sorts.
Uh... So. Jacqueline recovered from the surgery and we were ready to move on. Having said our verbal and financial thanks to the hospital, and... Yeah. That extracted implant. They returned it back to me, in a thermal bag full of ice, to make sure it won't activate until I want it. Next step... Ah, you may guess. Electronics parts shop. Some batteries and a little heating element to imitate the human body temperature... And an airtight repair tape, of course. No serious engineering work is done without it.
And she's going to visit another famous place of the Galaxy...