The Reaper Diaries: Supernova, Part 4
09 Jan 2016Michael Wolfe
“Ok, try it.”Gingerly, I eased the throttle forward. Even through the massive hull, the engines sounded like shit, but the ship was slowly crawling forward.
I felt a slight bump. Wonder what that was?
“Turn it off! Turn it off!” Over the comms, Nova's voice was almost panicked in its urgency.
Immediately, I cut the throttle, swung to the console on my right, and killed the engines.
“You ok?”
For a few seconds, all I heard was Nova’s heavy breathing. “I’m fine. The engines still ain’t. I think that little test just blew out a few more parts. It looked ok for a few seconds, and then it got really bumpy and flamey back here.”
“Want to try again?”
I could hear the frustration in her voice. “Not sure what good it’ll do. The engines will just go from broke to broke’r.”
“So, got any suggestions?”
Nova didn't even try to hide the sarcasm in her voice. “Find religion?”
I would just about be willing to do that if it got us out of this jam. “Seems like the First Church of the Black is doing just fine without us.”
“Aw, c’mon Matt, don’t you want to be saved?”
I chuckled. “Sure I do. Just the ‘back to port’ kind, not ‘give money for intangible rewards’.”
“Well, I don’t know what else I can do out here except use up my suit’s air and stare at this mess of an engine.”
I stretched. Damn. Body’s startin’ to hurt again. “C’mon in. It’s time for a little rest anyway.”
By the time Nova was back inside, my aching body was telling me to take it easy. I was already stretched out on a bunk when she walked in to the Bluebird’s living quarters. She noticed me holding my head.
“Stim wearing off?”
I only nodded. “Feels good while it’s in my system, but damn if all the aches and pains don’t get theirs!”
She frowned and sat down next to me. “Well, that’s to be expected. Stims ain’t for healing- they’re to keep you on your feet.”
“Well, I was on my feet- and I don’t feel healed. How about another, Dr. Nova?”
My partner shook her head firmly. “I’m afraid not. I already gave you three trying to wake you up while the stasis drugs were in your system. The last one was a risk all by itself. Too many, and you end up damaging your body even worse, since you’re still pushing yourself instead of taking time to heal.”
“So- what now?”
Nova disappeared into a bathroom, already changing out of her flight suit. She emerged a short while later in a similar set of boxers and tank top as the night before. “Emergency rations, and then sleep.”
I gestured around the ship. “Being adrift doesn’t exactly put me in the relaxed state conducive for restful shuteye.”
“Me, neither. But we need to try.” Nova opened a cabinet and tossed me a ration bar. I looked down at it. It was flavored… yellow. I looked back up at her, already tearing open one of her own.
“You know, sooner or later we’re going to have to have the emergency beacon talk.”
She sighed and nodded. “I know. I just don’t want to risk, you know….”
“Attracting some old friends?”
“Yeah.”
I shook my head and took a bite of the bar. Banana nut… something. Not bad.
“Well, if those engines are truly kaput, then we need help. That pretty blue hair’ll be grey by the time we make it back to a dock.”
Smiling despite her concern, Nova nodded. “I’m no mechanic, but I do believe the supercruise is on permanent vacation. The beacon is something we should really think about.”
I shook my head, taking another bite. “Well, let’s sleep on it, darlin’. You’ve been outside all day, and I’m feeling worse by the minute.”
Nodding, I finished my ration bar and settled down into my bunk. I had lots to think about, and Nova must have felt the same, since she didn’t fill the air with superfluous conversation. It was hard to get to sleep, and something was still bothering me.
“Nova?”
I heard the rustle of blankets and fabric in the bunk above me. “Yeah?”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
She was silent for a few moments. “I guess.”
“Just what the hell did you do to your ship that let you pull that ‘emergency supercruise’ stunt?”
Above me, I heard a loud exhale. “Oh, thank God!”
I raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
Nova chuckled. “For not floating some lame ‘we might die out here, so this could be our last chance for a romp!’ line my way. I've been half-expecting it all day.”
Smiling despite the pain, I shook my head. “Sorry darlin’. Between the busted ship and the busted body, I ain’t exactly in the mood.”
“Yeah. Me neither.”
I softly punched the bunk above me. Ow. “But you never answered my question. What the hell did you do to your ship? I’ve never seen or heard anything like it.”
Nova sounded a little hesitant in her answer. “It wasn’t me. It was me taking the advice of an old mechanic on a port I’d rather not name. Said a supercruise can be almost instantly charged by an emergency reactor dump- but it’s like charging a comm battery with a lightning strike. It works great for about five seconds, but you’ve got no control over anything and then your engines are slagged.”
“And you let him jerry-rig the Bluebird anyway?”
I heard another sigh. “I had only been flying her for a week, and was a little more suggestible back then. Besides, it doesn’t affect the systems at all unless you manually override the safeties and mean to do it.”
“Well, I think we both figured out why it ain’t caught on.”
Nova let out a sad little giggle. “That we have." She didn't say anything for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "I’ve replayed the decision a hundred times in my head, and I’m still asking myself if I could have jumped out normally.”
Below her, I shook my head. “What’s done is done, darlin’. Maybe you could have, maybe not. Ain’t no sense in beating yourself up over it.”
“I know. But still.”
Yeah. I’d be thinking the same thing. Gradually, we both started to drift off to sleep.
“Nova?”
“Hmm?”
“The, uh, idea of a ‘last romp of our lives’ with me ain’t that bad, is it?”
Once again, I heard a tired chuckle from the bunk above me. "Didn't say it was. But in your condition? I'd probably kill you, darlin'.”
Hell of a way to go, though.
“Fair enough. Good night.”
“Good night, Matt.”
“C’mon, Lehman- four years into it, and you still ain’t gonna spring for some tail?! The hell’s the matter with you?”
I looked around, resisting the temptation. All around me, beautiful women were sitting around the well-appointed lounge, giving my friends and me their best ‘come-hither’ eyes. “Because places like this, a sailor leaves with less than he walked in with.”
My friend reached down and grabbed his crotch, leering at the women around us. “That’s the bloody idea, mate!”
I was in a seedy brothel with four of my dock-tech navy buddies. All around us, women of every size, shape, color, and look were waiting to separate us five Imperial sailors from our hard-earned credits. I was a young man with a young man’s needs- but was also firmly resolved to keep my credits in my account- not theirs. My friends swiftly began to pair up with the girls, making their way upstairs to the private rooms. I felt a grip on my arm.
“You still nursing that Pilot’s Fed dream?” My friend shook his head. “I swear to God, you look at those ship brochures like they were Goddamn nudie holos!”
I just smiled and shook my arm loose. “Everyone needs a hobby, bud. Every credit that stays in my pocket is a credit towards Pilot’s Fed Academy.”
My friend shook his head as he was led upstairs by an olive-skinned beauty.
“Still seems like a waste of shore leave to me!”
Smiling and shaking my head, I sat down at the bar adjacent to the lounge. A young, black-haired woman wearing torn jean shorts and a straining leather bikini top walked up and leaned over, surgically enhanced cleavage almost touching the bar. “What’ll it be, handsome?”
Struggling to maintain eye contact, I tried my best to smile. “Just a cola for me. I’m here to make sure these guys make it back to the shuttle tomorrow in one piece.”
She stood up and put her hands on her hips as she set the innocent beverage in front of me. “Just a cola? If you’re feelin’ shy, sometimes a little liquid courage is all a sailor needs!” Somehow, she had produced a bottle of cheap whiskey, holding it over my drink and stopping just short of pouring.
Again, I smiled graciously and shook my head. “No thanks, darlin’. This’ll do for now.”
The young woman grinned, leaned over again, and kissed me square on the lips. “You call me darlin’ like that again, and we just might have us a tumble on the house!” With that, she turned around and walked away, her slim hips still looking mighty inviting.
Slightly confused, I looked down into my still-fizzing cola. Did I really just call her ‘darlin’'? Where the hell did that come from?
I looked up towards the rooms above my head. From behind the thin wooden doors, I could already hear the muffled sounds of an old mattress rhythmically squeaking and my buddy lustfully begging his hired help to marry him.
Looks like the navy’s expanded my verbal horizons, I thought with a chuckle. ‘Darlin’’. Yeah. I think I like the sound of that...
“Matt!” Nova was whispering urgently, crouched by my bunk. Inside the Bluebird, every system except life support and sensors was powered down.
I groggily blinked a few times, clearing my mind of sleep. “What is it?”
Already, she was getting dressed. “There’s a contact on the sensors coming straight for us!”
What? How? I sat up, causing a wave of pain to wash over my body, but I had more important things to worry about. We both started making our way towards the bridge.
“Think it’s detected us?”
For a moment, Nova didn’t answer- then she turned around, almost looking embarrassed. “I think so.”
I shook my head and looked at the ship’s heat sig. “There’s nothing on but sensors and life support. We’re putting out as much heat as a damn ice cube!”
Nova leaned over the controls and hung her head. “It ain’t the heat, Matt. It’s the emergency beacon.”
I snapped my head to face her. She was still looking down, an uncertain look on her face. “You launched it?”
She turned back to me, her eyes taking on an edge. “Yeah, I did. After you fell asleep. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Bluebird is my ship! I’ll launch the damn thing if I feel like it!”
I opened my mouth in consternation, and then shut it. “Whatever you say, Commander Cassidy, but let’s hope you’ve got a plan in case that contact is something other than Fuel Rats with spare engine parts!”
Grimly, we both stared at the scanners. As the ship moved in closer, it registered as an Asp, like ours. The software read the code, and then spat out the ID tag:
<Lysenko Labs>
“Goddamnit!”, we said in unison. Nova turned to me, worry in her eyes.
“So what now?”
I looked outside the canopy glass. The ship was only a speck in the distance for now, but that would change soon enough.
“Well, it depends on their orders. Hopefully, we look nice and harmless to ‘em. Best case scenario is that they pass us by and report us as dead. Next best case is that they try to board us and see what goodies they can rustle.”
“And how the hell is us being boarded a good thing?”
“It ain’t- it’s just not as bad as getting blasted or abandoned.” I motioned towards the pilot’s cabin. “You got any weapons onboard this jalopy?”
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. “You ain’t seriously thinking about“- she shook her head- “ambushing the boarding party, are you?”
I smiled grimly and nodded. “That’s exactly what I’ve got in mind. They’re due a little payback anyway.”
She shook her head and swallowed. “Yeah, I’ve got some guns, but- I ain’t never been in a firefight before!”
I started making my way back to the crew quarters. “Well, this whole job’s been full of firsts for you, ain’t it?” Turning around, I tried my best to grin. “What’s one more?”
Nova opened up a locker and removed a beam rifle and a small-caliber pistol. “Well, have you ever been in one?”
“Of course I have! Dangerous, remember?” That response got the beam rifle handed to me.
By which I mean that I fired a handful of tungsten spikes in the dark at a guy a few years ago back when I first met Kyndi. And even that was more luck than anything I had planned.
As she was loading her pistol, Nova shook her head. ”And to think, this was supposed to be a nice, safe salvage job.”
"You ready to go dark?"
Nova looked at me and nodded, fingers over the light controls. Her other hand held the pistol at the ready.
Fortunately, Nova’s beam rifle had a scope on it, so I could see everything in dull orange. Of course, it was more than likely that our guests would also be equipped with something like that. As it was, we were in flight suits, with our Remlocks over our faces. Even a hull breach a few decks over can ruin someone's day if there isn't a seal between you and it, so we had patched up my flight suit as best we could with some sealing gel and duct tape. There was only one entrance from the cargo bay, and we had two guns on it.
I only need a few good shots, I thought.
We were hiding behind the pilot's cabin entryway, gun pointed towards the door to the cargo bay. It was the most likely way that they would get inside. Just as we had expected, the newly-arrived Asp launched a hatch-breaker drone, forcefully opening up the bay doors just like we had done to the Anaconda a few days prior. Soon enough, we could hear the echoes of limpet claws and twiting metal. Though she was trying to hide it, I could see the look of violation and disgust in Nova's eyes at the the thought of her ship being forcefully broken into.
Beside me, Nova was on the other side of the door, pistol held up. Unlike the beam rifle, she didn’t have a scope on hers, and would just have to point at whatever my gunfire illuminated. Her bionic eye was illuminated slightly, giving her an unsettling appearance. Must have her night vision on, I thought.
We didn’t dare say anything else. At this point, it was a waiting game. We had seen two suited figures floating towards the ships, which pleased me greatly. Only two of them meant that they were just scouting around. If we were very lucky, the two people boarding the Bluebird were the entire crew of the other Asp.
I still hurt like hell, but didn’t want to take another stim until it was all over. They made me feel better, but I felt my senses being dulled just slightly while the drugs were in my system. I looked over at Nova and nodded. She manipulated the controls on her forearm, and the ship went dark. The only thing I could see was the red floating ring that was her bionic implant, still looking at me.
As far as she’s concerned, you’re a regular goddamn Imperial marine. What was it I had said? ‘Dangerous, remember?’ Yeah. Dangerous while sat in your Vulture.
Shifting my gaze from Nova to the door ahead of us, I tried my best to focus through the pain.
Just remember, that blue-haired girl is depending on you to pull this off.
Soon, we saw the tell-tale flashing and sparks of a door being cut through with plasma torches. The melting door slag lit up the room a little, but it would also destroy the night vision of the two people breaking their way in. I hope.
One or two good shots, and it’s all over, I reminded myself. When the circle was almost complete, I raised the rifle, aiming it at the center of where the door had been melted. I heard a loud thump. And another. And another. The last strike breached the door, and instantly, the atmo was sucked out of the room.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and I opened fire on the figure standing on the other end, keeping a long, continuous beam of energy aimed int he center of his body. In the brief illumination, I saw the suited man tear fruitlessly at the hole in his suit, scream of pain echoing through the ship as the beam ate a hole through his body. I held fire, looking for his partner.
Then, from behind the miserably wounded man in front, an arm shot out, spraying bullets from an auto-pistol throughout the cabin. Nova and I turned and crouched for cover behind the door, hearing the ricochets all around the cabin, and even forward into the cockpit.
Goddammit.
Fortunately, the clip for an autopistol doesn’t last long, and the moment we heard the rapid clicking of an empty chamber, both Nova and I swung back around. The man was still there, using his dying buddy as a human shield, clumsily trying to load another pistol clip with his bulky spacewalking gloves.
I don’t think so.
We both opened fire at the exact same moment, me hitting his buddy some more with the beam rifle, and Nova putting a pistol round right into the second man’s helmet glass. For a moment, he just stood there, convulsing. Then, he fell forward on top of his mate, as thick chunks of blood, bone, and brain matter started to ooze out of the hole in his helmet.
I turned to Nova, who was breathing hard, face pale, and eyes fixed firmly on the man she had just shot.
“That was... a step up from throwing a drunk out of a bar.”
I patted her on the shoulder. "You did great, darlin'. You sure that was your first time?"
Nova holstered her pistol. "Using guns? No. Being this close? Yes. I think I like blasting ships and cashing in bounty vouchers better."
"You and me both. Let's see if we there's enough pieces left over to make me a spacesuit."
She wordlessly nodded and went back to the cockpit. A few moments later, the lights came back on, and the two men stood right next to each other, blood still pooling on the deck. I stood over them, shaking my head. Soon, I felt Nova’s presence beside me. Looking at the two bodies, I couldn't help but feel a bit of elation that things had gone so well.
“Jesus. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
She looked up at me, curiosity in her eyes. “You almost seem surprised that things worked out. I thought you were experienced with gunplay.”
“Well, yeah. Kind of. I mean- I got lucky once.”
Now it was her turn to drop her jaw. “What happened to ‘dangerous, remember?’”
I shrugged. “You were dealing with the idea of strange men with guns boarding your ship, and were pretty slagged anyway from the engine work you’d been doing. I figured you didn’t need the news.”
Nova’s eyes narrowed. She waved a finger back and forth between us, shaking her head. “You and me- we’ve got to work on our communication!”
I knelt over, and started to take off the men’s spacewalking suits. “No arguments here, darlin’- but let’s jump ship first, ok?”
She looked down. One body had a helmet that was leaking all kinds of disgusting matter that had no business being outside a skull. The other had a mess of a torso that looked like a barbecue that someone forgot about. Between the two, I had me a spacesuit.
Thank God for the Remlocks. I don't even want to imagine how that smells.
Taking a deep breath, Nova knelt down beside me to help. “Nice, safe, salvage job” she said under her breath, echoing her words from earlier.
“How do I look?” I had just hooked the safety tether on my newly- liberated spacewalking suit. Nova looked over at me and wrinkled her nose.
“Like you just lost an argument with a painter.” Blood was splattered all over my suit, and I wasn’t really in the cleaning mood. I tried to smile through the pain. Only a little more of this, and another stim is mine all mine.
“Well, you look at lovely as ever.”
Donning her helmet, Nova was rolling her eyes.“Yeah, thanks. You got the stuff?”
Patting the oversized cargo pocked on the suit’s leg, I smiled and nodded. “Data core and ship’s logs, packed and ready.”
Her eyes flashed. “Then let’s do this!”
Swiftly, we opened the airlock and floated to the Lysenko-owned Asp, magnetically tethered to the Bluebird. Nova moved with exponentially more purpose and competence this time, though from confidence or fear, I couldn’t say. The hatch to the other Asp’s airlock was still open, and we were able to climb right in. We disengaged our physical tethers, and made our way cautiously to the bridge.
When we were able to verify that the two men who were face down in the Bluebird had indeed been the only crew on the corporate Asp, we both started breathing a little easier. We got ourselves strapped in, with Nova taking the commander’s chair since she had more stick time in an Asp than I did. Before us, the Bluebird floated- damage all over the hull, both engines looking like a train wreck, and dark smoke still leaking out of them.
“You ready to get the hell out of here, darlin’?”
For a few moments, Nova didn’t answer. Then, I heard her over the comm, speaking in a somber tone. “Yeah, just- I think I might know what you were talking about. I feel...off. Like I’m abandoning a family member. Like it’s pleading for me to not leave it.”
My first impulse was to say I-told-you-so, but I resisted. “They grow on you, don’t they?”
I heard some of her old determination return. “Well, these coordinates are locked, and job or no, I’m coming back for her! You stay put, ok?”
Smiling, I input the course for a safe harbor. Yep, I thought. Nova’s coming right along. You ain’t a real pilot until you’ve spoken to your ship like you expect it to answer. The navigation spit out a nice, safe course. Lots of refuelable stars, not a lot of company.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Nova clearly didn’t like my choice of destination.
“What’s wrong, darlin’? It’s got everything we need! Shipyard, repair bay, clothiers- and a place where we can store this corporate hunk of junk without a single question asked. What’s not to like?”
“Just- there’s no authority. And it’s really out of our way.”
I chuckled. “Trust me, darlin’. We don’t want authority poling around, not in a stolen Asp, and not in possession of classified intel. Plus, I know the perfect place for us to lay low. You’ll love it.”
I could hear lingering suspicion in her voice. “Ok Matt. I’m trusting you- but if half the things I’ve heard about this place are true, you’re going to owe me big time just for setting foot there!”
“I’ll be sure to add it onto your share."
Over the comms, I heard a frustrated sigh. "Where exactly is there to hide in a place like that?”
I smiled. Best keep that one a surprise. “Let’s just say I know a great bunch of guys, around whom you are completely safe.”
Nova snorted. “Not likely.”
Laughing, I confirmed the course. “You’ll understand when we get there. Strap in, darlin’- we’re heading for Novitski Oasis!”
