Unwanted Attention
18 Nov 2017MMMMMalcolm
16 Nov 3303Dropping out of hyperspace and coming face to face with a raging dichotomy of nuclear fission and fusion never gets old. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first, or your five millionth jump, your heart will skip a beat. I get doubly excited when that star anchors Sol. Where it all began. Not just my life, and my career (if you want to call it that); but everyone can trace their roots back to Sol in one way or another. The birthplace of ALL humanity. That’s special. As I turn toward Abraham Lincoln and float past Earth, a tiny shiver creeps up my spine. Earth, another raging dichotomy of the beauty of nature and the ugliness of mankind. The birthplace of ALL corruption. That’s special too I guess. I shake my head to dismiss the thought. Such philosophy could trap one for a lifetime, and I only had a couple months.
Once the Menace was safely stored in a hangar, and I ensured she was lavishly doled upon by the resident dock workers, I ordered all my ships and spare modules transferred to the station. “Snakelet” the Sidewinder loaned to me by the Pilots Federation in flight school. “Fang” MY first ship, a Cobra MK III. “Slippery Fish” the Type-6 Smuggler, uh I mean Transporter, I bought in Ceos. And “Warm Embrace” an Anaconda I bought just before leaving for Sothis.
Next, I pulled out my data slate and looked up all my old wing mates from flight school. Chuck was headed to Sagittarius A. Mark was combing through some ruins in Meene. Donald was answering a call for pilots, protecting some traders, in some system, for some faction or something. Well, seeing as I was on my own, I ensured I was lavishly doled upon by the resident therapists at a nearby spa. Some hours later, the stress of space thoroughly expelled, I emerged -no floated- back out into the bustle of the busy station. I felt like I could take on -what are those things everyone seems to be talking about these days- Thargoids? I felt like I could take on a Thargoid. Rrruuummmble Just not on an empty stomach.
Back on my data slate, I hunted down a four star steak house. Someplace nice enough to guarantee the food is grown and imported; not synthesized like on the Menace or even worse galactic outposts. But not too nice; after all, I’m eating alone. With the earliest reservation being two hours away (hang in there stomach), I decided to board a tram, get some new clothes, and a new flight suit.
That’s when I saw her. She couldn’t have been taller than six feet, a few inches shorter than me at most, but she seemed to tower over everyone around her. A rare flower adrift in an ocean of weeds. Long, thick, deep black hair framed the most perfect mocha brown face and disappeared past her shoulders into the crowd. Soft brown eyes stared intently into a data slate as she too waited for the next tram some twenty feet away from me. When the tram arrived and everyone boarded, her in the lead car and me in the trailing, a million questions filled my head. What’s her name, where was she headed, did she grow up in Sol like me or was she just visiting? Rrruuummmble My stomach reminded me and the others packed in the tram around me of my mission. To keep the “peace” I concentrated on the items of clothing I would purchase at the store. I concentrated so hard I missed my stop. I had to double back. When I entered the store, she was there. Her back was to me but there was no mistaking that long black hair; that I now saw stopped just short of her hips. Interestingly, she too was looking for a new flight suit. And the form fitting green number she had on, though worn, had me envious. Wiping the drool from my mouth I walk up behind her. I notice she is an inch taller than me. Six foot four. Maybe it’s her high heeled boots.
“Excuse me, are-“
“Yes I’m a pilot.” She quips, cutting me off. “Yes I can handle an Anaconda. No I don’t want to handle yours.” Her dismissive tone was accentuated by the fact she never even turned to face me. Who says stuff like that? Obviously someone very lonely because I can't imagine it ever working. A sweet vanilla scent plays with my emotions. It signals I’m too close and need to back up all the while inviting me closer. It also delays my comeback for a split second that to me seems like an eternity.
“I was going to ask if you have this suit in a 44 Long?” As she turned I step back so as not to bump her breasts despite my urge to smother myself in them. I held up a flight suit I grabbed on the way over. She flashed a beautiful but knowing smile as she looked me up and down.
“You look more like a 48 than a 44.”
“Nah, no way. 46, maybe, but definitely not 48.”
“Okay, but you still have a couple problems.”
“What’s that?” I ask, anxious to hear her assessment.
“One, I don’t work here and two, that’s a woman’s flight suit. Either way I can’t help you.” She turned back around giggling slightly at my faux pas.
“Busted,” I breathed.
“Yeah,” she replied her back still to me. “At least you’re not a dumb pilot. You rank Elite for creativity. But your execution was Mostly Harmless.” Rrruuummmble “Besides, your 46 gut is rebelling against your desires to be a 44 with its own aspirations to be a 48. You might want to go take care of that and take your weak game with you.” Eject, eject, eject… Pop! If this girl is a bounty hunter, pirates beware. I got shot down faster than a rookie in a Sidewinder. Undaunted, I pressed on with my unwanted attention.
“I was on my way to do just that when I spotted you getting on the tram.”
“So you’re a stalker?”
“No, running into you here was a happy coincidence. I had some time before my reservation, so I stopped to get some new clothes.” She turned back around to face me. I was already on the defensive fighting hard not to let her go. Looking at her eye to pretty brown eye had me even more so. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything I extended my hand and introduced myself. “Malcolm Xavier”
“Kay Wantz,” she replied taking my hand. Instead of shaking it, I gently lifted it to my lips and kissed it above the knuckles.
“I would be honored if you joined me and my rebellious gut for a bite to eat.”
“I’ve been shopping all day after an even harder week in space. I can go for a little refreshment.” After buying new flight suits and clothes that we wore out of the store, I took Kay out for a nice steak dinner and got a chance to have ALL my questions answered.
I sensed him long before I saw him. Still, if he was in the suite where Kay and I ended up, it was already too late. In one swift motion I sat up and lunged for the pistol I placed in the night stand sometime between entering the room and falling asleep in Kay’s toned arms.
“What are you doing?” he said. I recognized the voice and relaxed. I leaned my exposed upper body against the headboard. Looking at Kay sleeping beside me, I tensed again this time in horror.
“Relax; I shot her with a needle not a gun; this time. All she will have are a headache and a sore arm. So I ask you again, what are you doing?” I bristled at the question. Though it was obvious what I was currently doing, I knew what he meant.
“I’m taking a well-earned break. Making Rear Admiral in a month is no easy feat.”
“Break?! We can’t afford breaks.”
“Sure we can. Making rank the normal way would have taken years. I just did it before I turned thirty. I feel two months is a fair exchange.” Even in the dim light I could see him rubbing his temples as he leaned forward in the chair near the bed. He took a deep breath before calmly reminding me of my purpose. “What you feel isn’t important. Making rank the normal way was the plan. It would have allowed you to blend in like a chameleon. Your way has made you stand out and brought with it a lot of unwanted attention from not just the Federal Navy, but our superiors as well. Now my butt is on the line, because I convinced them not to terminate you and start over. Seeing you here now though, I’m not so sure.” He was right. But I was never one to shun an opportunity. Kay was proof of that.
“So this is what you’re going to do,” he continued. “Tomorrow, before you spend any more of our people’s hard earned money, you will buy a Federal Corvette at the closest available ship yard. Once you have stored it in a remote independent station, you will book an appointment with a holo-lab and alter you appearance. While you’re doing that, I will scrub all traces of your existence from Galnet records. Commander Malcolm Xavier no longer exists. Your new name will be Commander Ikem Abaez. You will then proceed to an Imperial system and enlist in the Imperial Royal Navy. This time stick to the plan. Our people’s survival depends on it.” I looked sadly at the woman sleeping peacefully beside me. Yesterday looked like the start of a wonderful two months. Now… When the door closed behind him, I leaned over and kissed her cheek. After I showered and got dressed, I followed him out and followed his directions.