The Reaper Diaries: Fetch Job, Part 7
09 Dec 2015Michael Wolfe
“They’ll take good care of her, right?”I watched The Professor disappear underneath the hanger floor, watching it be conveyer belted away as the sliding trap doors snapped shut. I was standing in one of the surface towers with Kyndi, giant rucksack over my shoulder, packed with everything I would need for the journey ahead. Hopefully.
“Yeah. That’s the good thing about these anarchy systems. Nobody messes with other people’s stuff- you never know who it belongs to- and there ain’t any laws against them coming after you if you did.”
I’ll never understand how it works out here. Novitski Oasis was bizarre mixture of lawlessness and de facto rules, of brutality and civility, and absolute respect for property while utterly disregarding the basics of human rights. You could buy a slave as easily as a crate of rations, and neither provoked any particular reaction from the denizens who lived here. It was both safer and far more dangerous than anything within the Federation, Empire, or Alliance. Just different rules, I guess.
I looked down at the display. “Looks they’re just about done getting my new ship ready. You’re sure this is worth it?”
Kyndi had cajoled me into buying a Diamondback Explorer like hers. She made the case that the longer jump distance and consistent performance would make the job of transporting the artifacts much easier than the tiny hops that The Professor was capable of making. I didn’t like the prospect of blowing most of my savings on a ship and having it refitted with A-grade everything, but I had to admit that her idea made sense.
She smiled. “I promise. We would have both been driven crazy, putting up with a Viper’s jump range. Besides, when it comes to artifacts, your best bet is to focus on jumping as much as you can. There ain’t going to be much time for messing around, Matty, not on this one. It’s jump and scoop, and get rid of the cargo when things start to go screwy. And they will.”
I nodded, and for awhile, we both just watched the ships coming and going from the hanger. Finally, my Diamondback emerged from the hanger, newly upgraded and ready for action.
Yellow. It’s goddamn yellow.
Kyndi nudged me in the side. “Well? What do you think?”
I shook my head. “I ain’t too crazy about the color.”
She took my face in her hands and swirled my cheeks. “Oh, is the new shippy-wippy not black and edgy enough for Matt the Bounty Hunter? Afraid no one will take you seriously?”
I reached over and slapped her gently on her rear. “I’m still just wondering why I’m running with you again.”
To my surprise, Kyndi reached behind her and actually pressed my hand against her bottom. “Still don’t trust me, Matty?”
I snorted out a short laugh. “Sure don’t, darlin’.”
Her eyes flashed. “Good.” Then, a smile crept over and face and she released my hand. “See you in space.” Then, she spun around, hips getting busy as she powerwalked towards her hanger. All I could imagine was my handprint covering one of those perfect little lumps of hers.
I looked down at my hand, still in the cupped position. Progress?
Well, this isn't too bad.
The cockpit of the Diamondback was roomy, had a great view- and made me feel glad that I wasn’t taking it into combat. I would have just felt… exposed. Even though I knew on a rational level that I wasn’t any better protected in my Viper, the comparatively bunkerish feel of The Professor’s cockpit had given me a sense of security. Not so in the Diamondback.
Oh well. You bought her for her legs, not her fists.
I was going through the “first time” startup procedure with the ship’s systems, getting her registered with the Pilot’s Fed and such, when I came across the line to either accept the default serial number or input a custom name.
Hmmm… what should I name her?
The Star-Crossed Lover? Too… ugh.
The Fearless Banana? Were I ten years younger, sure.
The Lady Luck? I thought it over. It was clichéd as hell, but appropriate for the job. I was going to need luck to handle both my partner and the cargo.
The Lady Luck it is.
<Warning: There are 5,732 active ship registrations with this name. Continue?>
Whatever. I like it. I pushed “Y” and submitted the name. Me, and 5,732 other people.
The Diamondback’s cabin was roomier than a Viper's. Whereas The Professor’s cabin was little more than a tiny sleeper with a bunk and a locker tucked in before getting to the cargo bay, the Diamondback had a little bit of room to walk around. It had the built-into-the-bulkhead bunk, of course, but also a bit more storage, a fold-down table for actually eating a meal, and a dedicated computer terminal so that you didn’t have to sit in the pilot’s chair for everything. Perhaps most importantly, the Diamondback had a combination toilet and shower. I bet you’d get pretty grody exploring the black without one, right? Taken as a whole, the Diamondback’s living area wasn’t big, but it was more than I was used to.
As the computer finished its initial programming and database updates, I checked the cargo bay. Nice and big, like I had wanted, and- yep, there it is. I had bought a hover-lift, in case any cargo containers had been needing moved by hand. Kyndi had mentioned the possibility of retrieving more artifacts from the crash site where she had left me to rot, and hell if I was making a dozen trips if I could do it in one instead. I went back inside the pilot’s cabin and opened the lockers. One had the two atmo suits I had bought- a regular one, and one that was extra-reinforced against radiation. Next to them was a standard spacewalking suit. I unpacked my clothes and began to load the personal locker next to it with enough clothes and spare flight suits to last for several days. Last, I secured my pistol and bolter rifle- graciously left behind by Kyndi after shooting out my engines- into the secured, pull-out drawer below the two lockers, along with some spare clips. I tightened the security straps around the firearms, stood up, and shoved the drawer shut with my foot.
Well, I’m moved in. I took a look around. Home, sweet home. My comm device beeped. It was Kyndi.
<U ready yet?>
I checked the computer. It was just finishing up, and initial systems checks were complete.
<Ready in five. >
I settled into the pilot’s seat, and fired up the systems. Pre-flights were complete, and I was given permission to depart. Above me, I could see Kyndi’s black Diamondback gracefully flying towards the mail slot. I keyed in on the comm as I fired the thrusters to lift vertically off of the pad.
“Right behind you, darling.”
A moment passed, and- “Just how you like it, huh?”
This woman. “You know it.”
We both flew out of the station and took a moment to link our nav systems. “Ok, so where do you have it hidden away?”
“The LHS 3124 system. Uninhabited, no one goes there unless they’re on their way to somewhere else. Even if some idiot did go poking around, they would never find it. It’s drilled into an asteroid cluster around the star, with the beacon removed. The cluster will show up on the nav, but not the canister. No one is touching it.”
She was already inputting the route into her frame shift drive. Mine detected the plotting and began to spool up, as well. “Not even a miner?”
I heard her chuckle over the line. “For bertrandite and gallite? It’s safe, Matty. Let’s just get there.”
Well, she wasn’t kidding about the remoteness of the location.
LHS 3124 was in roughly midway between Naraka and LHS 3005. It was a red star, and completely nondescript in every way.
“Hell of a place to break down, darlin’.”
Kyndi’s ship surged ahead of mine, scanning for the asteroid cluster. “I wasn’t completely busted by the time I decided to ditch. I still had auxiliary power, but I knew I didn’t have long before I lost that, too. So I ejected the thing, and went on a little spacewalk to make sure it stayed put. Like I said, it’s bolted to the actual asteroid.”
So much for sending a limpet drone.
“Why do I have the feeling that one of us is suiting up in the near future?”
“Because you are. I did mine already.”
I thought of the new spacewalking suit tucked away in the locker. Well, now’s a good a time as any to break it in.
We decelerated next to a tiny field of six or seven asteroids. The place looked tranquil enough, and no one in their right mind would ever think to pirate here.
“That's it. The big, potato-shaped one.”
That doesn’t help.
“Which is the potato-shaped one?”
Kyndi didn’t answer, but I did see her ship fire a few pulse laser shots at an oval-shaped asteroid.
“Got it.”
I goddamn hate spacewalking.
I was floating toward the asteroid, attached to my ship by a cable, waiting to collide against the exposed canister. The art of maneuvering yourself in vacuum had been my least favorite part of Pilot’s Fed training. There was something unnerving about knowing that only about a half-inch highly engineered material separated your skin from the coldness of space. Was it consistent of me to worry about that, and not the fact that a hull only separated your skin from space by a few more inches? No. But at least I could take a knife to a hull and be confident that it wouldn’t rupture.
I touched down, the canister in front of me. “Ok, I’m here. Looks like it’s in good shape. No damage that I can see, no signs of tampering.”
Some static came over the comms, and then Kyndi’s voice. “Alright, Matt. Cut it free.”
I reached behind me and unhooked the handheld plasma torch that I had liberated from the Anaconda wreck on LHS 3005. Let’s get this over with.
It took a little while, but I was able to cut through the bolts that had been holding the canister to the rock. Slowly, it began to float away.
“Alright, it’s free. Do you have visual?”
Above me, Kyndi’s ship maneuvered into view. “I do right now, Matty, but the closer I get, the touchier it’ll be. You’ll have to stay right there and guide my ship to it so that I can scoop it up. The cargo scoop sights won’t work without the beacon.”
I shook my head. Is this how it’s going to go every time we have to transfer the artifact?
“Got it. Just wait a little bit, let it float up on its own.”
It took a few minutes, but Kyndi was able to maneuver her ship right above where the canister was floating anyway. I saw the cargo scoop deploy, with the canister still floating towards it. “You’re looking good darling. It’s floating right up to you.”
“Copy that, Matty.”
Sitting in the cockpit of these ships, it’s easy to forget just how big they all are. Even though Diamondbacks aren’t considered overly large ships, I was feeling mighty insignificant next to the ship not twenty meters away.
“Ok. Just go forward nice and easy, and it’s all yours.”
Her engines brightened just a tad, and her ship crawled forward. The canister bouced a few times in the bin, and-
“Alright. It’s in. Hopefully the sorting arms figure out that there’s a canister.”
Without saying anything on the comms, Kyndi maneuvered her ship a ways away from the asteroid, until I barely had visual. I was pulling on the cable to get back into the airlock of my ship, when an alarm sounded in my helmet.
<Nav-linked ship frame shift drive engaged>
“Uh, Kyndi-?”
< 5 >
“Kyndi?”
< 4 >
“What the hell, Kyndi?”
< 3 >
“I goddamn knew it!”
<frame shift jump aborted>
For a moment, there was nothing. Then the comm kicked on, treating me to the sound of Kyndi laughing as hard as I had ever heard a woman laugh.
“You shoulda heard yourself, Matty!” she cried between laughing fits. “’What the hell!’ ‘I Goddamn knew it!’ Classic!”
This woman.
“That’s fucked up, Kyndi.”
My wrist comm lit up.
<sorrynotsorry>
It’s going to be a long trip back to Naraka.
I’ve been in some hairy dogfights. I’ve taken on foes that I shouldn’t have. I’ve engaged in duels with pilots where we beat the hell out of each other’s ships, where disengagement meant death, and success meant a fat bounty hitting my account. I’ve had modules fail after taking damage. I’ve even had my canopy shot out, and felt the rush of cold vacuum sucking everything out from the cockpit as the Remlock snaps shut around my face.
I’ve been in ships as they sustain all kind of terrible damage, and I’ve never held it against either the ship or fate. If an engine gets blasted with a railgun, the engine is going to have problems. That’s fair; in fact, I would be weirded out of it didn’t.
It’s when modules fail for no goddamn reason, despite a clean bill of health from systems diagnostics that I get cranky. Such was my experience a few jumps into hauling the artifact once Kyndi started having problems.
<Shield failure>
“Ok, Kyndi, it’s starting. I just lost my shields.”
“That’s usually the first thing to go. Just keep flying. You should be good for another jump or two. Then, we’ll transfer before hitting Naraka, and I’ll take it right in.”
Sure enough, the ship only lasted a few more jumps before I lost thruster control and life support.
“And there goes thusters and life support. You ready to scoop?”
My ship was cartwheeling, and it was a struggle to level it out. I had to divert almost all the reactor output to thusters, and even then, it was barely enough.
“Looks like the power plant is going, too.”
“Don’t wait until it’s perfect, Matt- get rid of the thing before your cargo hatch dies!”
I pulled the release, and thank God my hatch opened, ejecting the container into space. “You see it?”
“Yeah, I’m going to follow it. Don’t worry about your ship. The further away the artifact gets, the more of your systems will come back online.”
Sure enough, after minute or so, reactor output started to climb back up. Full thruster control was spontaneously restored, and the shields started their recharge cycle.
“Jesus, that’s spooky.”
“I know what you mean. Now come on over so that I can scoop this thing.”
By now, we had pulled this maneuver a few times, but never going so fact. I caught up to Kyndi, and although no one was going very fast, it was still a pain in the ass to try to scoop a moving object with no homing beacon.
“Ok, it’s under you. Looking good, looking good. A little to your left… more… ok….”
I checked again. “Ok… if you accelerate now, you’re good.”
And…. scooped.
She ain’t a bad pilot, I’ll give her that much.
“It’s in, darling. Now let’s get back to Novitski and turn this thing into cash.”
The comm crackled. “No arguments here!”
The rest of the job went almost ridiculously smooth. We both made it back to Novitski Oasis without incident, and Kyndi was able to make contact with a buyer within minutes. From there, it was just a matter of us taking a stroll to the woman’s office. Before we went in, Kyndi held out her hand, blocking me.
“Hold on, Matty. This woman, well- she doesn’t like strangers. Especially man-shaped strangers. Can you just wait out here for a few minutes?”
My eyebrows raised a little. “Should I expect an elaborate trap? Perhaps capped off with a smug victory speech, like last time?”
Kyndi’s face twisted up into mock offendedness. “Why, Matthew Victor Lehman! I’m shocked that you would even suspect such a thing! That business back on LHS 3005 was the old Kyndi! This is the new Kyndi, remember? Trustworthy and sweet as you like! Why, just the thought of it!”
I raised an eyebrow a little further. “Don’t take too long.”
She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “See you soon.”
I must waited ten, no- fifteen?- minutes before Kyndi emerged, smirking. I stood up, and she walked up to me, holding out two closed fists.
“Pick a hand.”
Shrugging, I tapped her right hand. It opened, dropping a chip for eighty thousand credits into my palm. I held it up next to Kyndi, who was kissing the chip for the same amount from her left hand.
“Well, that wasn’t too bad, was it?”
She smiled and hooked her arm around mine as we walked the station corridor. “It’s good to have a little bit of scratch in the account again. Even if it ain’t no two mil.”
I smiled. “That it does.” I turned to her. “So, what now?”
Kyndi hopped just slightly and beamed. “What now?” She giggled and punched me on the arm. “I’m heading back to The Bear Den and finishing the good time that you so rudely interrupted.” Looking up at me, she added, “You could come with me, you know! I get a private room whenever I want, and there’s plenty of space on that cushion!” There was just a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
Not that I’m a master of sensing traps to begin with, but it seemed that there was nothing malicious or sketchy about the way Kyndi was acting. I had been paid, she had been paid, and all I saw before me was a happy young woman who wanted to celebrate a job well done. Still...I stopped, held her by the arms, and shook my head.
“You go on without me, darlin’. It’s not really my kind of scene.”
Kyndi pulled a pouty face. “Oh c’mon, Matty! It won’t be like last time. Besides, it’s flower shirt night, and those are always so much fun! Or are you afraid of all the big, strong men?”
I chuckled and shook my head again. “Nah, it ain’t that. I’m sure they’re a great bunch of guys, just-“ I shrugged and smiled. Just that I ain't sure if I can trust you yet.
Kyndi nodded, understanding. “Ok, Matty, we’ll wait until another time to wreck what’s left of your innocence.” She pulled me forward and kissed me squarely on the lips. No cheesiness, no posturing, just- a really good kiss. We looked into each other’s eyes, both smiling.
I took her hand in mine. “Well, don’t let me keep you. Have a good time in there, ok?”
She smiled a little wider. “I’ll try to leave some onionhead for everybody else!”
I touched my lips where hers had just been. Shaking my head, I turned and headed for the hanger. Progress?
I had no idea how long I'd been asleep when I heard the knocking on my ship. I rolled over to check the time.
<Novitski Oasis local time is 03:17>
Jesus. What the hell is going on? I could vaguely hear a woman’s voice outside the ship. I sleep-stumbled over to the boarding ramp controls and punched the button. The ramp slowly lowered, and-
-There was Kyndi, leaning against a hydraulic arm. Her eyes were blood-shot, and she was wearing a big, sloppy grin. She seemed like she was out of breath. “Heya partner. Or did you say howdy partner?” She slid a little further down the arm. “I forgot how you said it. I was a little messed up on Onionhead at the time.”
Standing unsteadily back up, she flattened her hand and almost hit herself in a mock naval salute. “Permission to come aboard, commander Matty?”
I just chuckled and shook my head. “Permission granted, commander Kyndi. How the hell did you make it all the way back here?”
She shrugged and started to stumble up the ramp. I put my arm around her to help her. She was almost entirely dead weight. “No- no idea. I was in the club, and I wanted to be here, and then I was here. I must have hit my friendship drive.” She let out some baked giggles, and her legs gave out.
I lifted her up and newlywed-carried her into the ship, punching the gate button with my elbow. I laid her down on my bunk as gently as I could. She looked up, still slurring her words. “Your bunk is still warm, Matty.” She tried half-heartedly to kick off her boots, so I leaned over and helped her. “That’s normally really gross to me, but I kind of like it right now.”
I stood up and smiled. “Glad to hear it, darling. I’m going to crash in the pilot’s chair. You have a good night.”
A hand reached out and clutched mine just as I was leaving. “No, no, no, no, no, Matty. I just came here because we never celebrated, and”- her eyes were closed for longer and longer periods of time, and she barely whispering- “I left you stranded, Matty, I was so mean.”
She pulled me back over to her, and pressed my palm against her belly. “I’ve been so mean to you, and now I want to be nice, I want to be nice to you”- she used my hand to lift up one side of her shirt- “Just let me be nice to you.” Her other hand started pulling on the waistband of my boxers.
I shook my head and pulled my hand back, slipping out of her grasp. Sitting on the bunk next to her, I moved her other hand from my boxers to the bed. She drowsily looked up in confusion. “Don’t you want to, Matty? Don’t you like girls? Don't you like me?” She giggled. “Maybe the Bear Den is your scene!”
I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, running my hand down the side of her face. “I like girls just fine, darlin’. But I Iike ‘em in their right minds, too.”
Kyndi opened her blood-shot eyes and wrapped an arm around my neck. “Fucking boy scout,” she sloppily whispered in my ear. Then she closed her eyes and her arm slumped off.
Shaking my head, I looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. The hell kind of mess are you getting yourself in, Matt?
I looked back down. Kyndi was snoring.
I awoke to a tap on my shoulder. I had slept sitting upright in the pilot’s seat, and Kyndi was standing over me, still in her clothes from last night. Surprisingly, she didn’t look too bad. She gestured towards the pilot’s cabin. “You got any coffee on this boat?”
Yawning, I nodded. “Freezer. Instant packs. Your choice of morning blend or Sumatra.”
She nodded and wordlessly disappeared back into the living area. I closed my eyes to catch a little more sleep, but after a few minutes, the smell of fresh-brewed coffee was hitting my nostrils.
A cup of Joe really does sound good right now.
I got up and went to the living area. Kyndi was slumped over on my bunk, nose-deep in her cup of coffee, letting the fumes do their work.
“So- fun night?” My coffee started brewing.
All I heard from Kyndi’s direction was a groan. “The first thing I saw this morning was that I was in your bunk. The second thing I saw was a message from the Bear Den that I racked up an 800 credit tab.”
She looked up, eyes still glassed over. “Please tell me that was the only way I got fucked last night.”
I chuckled and added some cream to my beverage. “Cross my heart. Though you were insisting on being ‘nice’ to me for a change.”
Kyndi took a deep breath and a sip of coffee. “And… nothing?”
I shrugged. “Not quite. You did put my hand on your boob for about five seconds.”
She snorted a short laugh into her coffee. “And that’s it?”
“Well, no- then you called me a ‘fucking boy scout’ and passed out.”
Kyndi sipped her coffee, smiling. “Yeah, that sounds like me.” She looked up. “And you spent the night in the pilot’s chair? Like, the entire night?”
“Yeah. Seemed like the right thing to do.” I raised my cup to her. "Gentleman points, you know?"
Kyndi snorted and shook her head. “Matty, you don't always have to-” Then she sighed and looked down. “Never mind, just- “ She shook her head again. “It’s all bullshit anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
“You sure?”
She looked up, glaring slightly. “I said don’t worry about it.”
I held up my hands. “Whatever you say.” I sat down next to her and nudged her arm.
“So, what now?”
She looked up, still a little unsteady. “Now I go back to my ship, sleep for three more hours, and take a shower.”
I nodded. “And then?”
She shrugged. “Then, we decide how badly we want a payday.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. If I’m right, there’s a whole pile of those artifacts just waiting to be scooped up under that ice planet. We nab those, and we’re black market royalty.”
I finished my coffee and looked over at her. “We, huh?”
She looked back at me, eyes flashing. “Yeah. We.”
“You ain’t gone out and bought a new stunner, have you?”
Her mouth curled into a smirk. “Nope.” She traced her finger over her chest. “Cross my heart.”
“And no more space mummies needing their thumbs cut off?”
She smiled a little wider and shrugged. “That I can’t promise.”
I leaned over and smiled. “Still partners, then?” I held out my hand.
She didn’t shake; instead she learned over and kissed me like before she had gone to the club. “Partners.”
I smiled. “Glad to hear it. Now let’s rustle us some artifacts!”