Generations Personal Problems
29 Jan 2018MMMMMalcolm
Personal Log: Commander Kay Wantz“Hey Ma, it’s me Kay.”
“Hi sweetheart,” my mom replied. Her visage hovered and flickered in the shuttle station booth. She always started out sweet; but it never remained that way for long. “I didn’t think I would hear from you again after you left so abruptly after Christmas. Did you have to rush back to the killing so soon?” I had become an expert at deflecting her jabs and this time wasn’t any different.
“You’re looking nice. How’s daddy?”
“Thank you baby, you’re sweet. You know your father; as long as there’s breath in his lungs he’s going to be in that warehouse shipping and receiving. You know Carla is pregnant.”
“What, so soon? They’ve only been married six months!” I sidestepped the jab only to realize too late it was a setup for a haymaker.
“Actually, it’s been a year and a half. But you wouldn’t know that running around in that ship of yours. I told you, space is no place for a respectable woman. If you had listened to me and married a man with a safe, secure profession, who could take care of you, you would still be married and I would already be a grandmother.”
Oh my gosh! This woman! I tried to be considerate and check on my family because I wasn’t so sure ‘The Club’ had not caught up with us, and this was the thanks I got. Another reminder my mother has not forgiven me for joining the Pilot’s Federation, becoming a Bounty Hunter, and marrying a Bounty Hunter.
“Last call for shuttle twelve boarding on pad eight. I repeat, last call for shuttle twelve boarding on pad eight.”
I didn’t have time for this. Obviously my family was just fine, so I ended the call.
“Look ma, I have to go. You’re fine; I’m fine, so let’s leave it at that. Give the family my love.” Click. I shook my head and joined Malcolm on the shuttle. One day I’m going to stop drowning myself in his problems as a means of avoiding my own.
“Sorry for accusing you of not loving your family since you ran away.” I stated as I sat next to him on the shuttle.
“Don’t worry about it.” He replied. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I wasn’t really qualified to council you on family matters.” He tried to add a smile to punctuate his statement, but it was as hollow as a blowgun. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling after learning his whole life was a lie.
“So what do we do now?”
“Now we get back to ‘Breathless’ and fly to Arbuda. I was checking my messages and saw a reminder to help Commander Barrett root out some pirates terrorizing the system. War isn’t the best place to take one’s mind off their problems but it’ll have to do. You don’t have to come. I can control the ship’s weapons with the AI unit.”
One day I’m going to stop drowning myself in his problems as a means of avoiding my own. Just not today.
“I’ll tag along. I have some problems of my own I need to temporarily forget. Taking my frustrations out on some pirates is my kind of therapy.” This time his smile was genuine, if not a little menacing.
The tensions of Arbuda seemed to envelop us as soon as we reached the station.
“Delacy Mike, Mike, Mike, this is an independent installation. State your business here.”
As pilot of the Anaconda, I thought it was my place to reply. Malcolm beat me to it from the navigator’s chair.
“Control, this is an independent ship flown by independent members of the Pilot’s Federation. We request permission to land. Our business is our own.”
“Understood commander. You are authorized access to landing pad zero two. Be advised tensions in the system are extremely high. Be careful who you make friends with dur…”
Malcolm cut the communication.
We landed just long enough to refuel; then headed to a conflict zone four thousand light seconds away near Arbuda 3. My problems quickly melted with the shields of Vipers, Cobras, and Vultures. I wanted to think the same for Malcolm, but that wasn’t the case.
“Malcolm, where are you?! I’m not going to last long in this GU-97 if you keep drifting away from me.”
“Huh, oh sorry Kay. I’m heading back your way now. I’m reading a Python six clicks from you. Let’s rendezvous there.”
“Copy, I see him. Get your head in the game! These guys aren’t that tough but it doesn’t take a lot of skill to get yourself killed out here.” Malcolm let his flying answer my plea. Over the next three hours we took down three Pythons, a Type-9, and countless more Vultures and Asps before we jumped out of the zone.
Back on Novitski Oasis we contacted Caitlin Gilliam, the Arbuda Company clerk that handles their combat bond claims.
“That’s quite a lot of bonds you got there commander. We need more skilled pilots with your combat talent. Arbuda Company thanks you for your assistance.”
“I didn’t do it for Arbuda Company.” Malcolm replied. “I did it for Commander Barrett. Have you seen him?”
“You just missed him. He and Commander Falkner just left here thirty minutes ago. He told me to extend his gratitude to any pilots that come through my office and mention his name.” The clerk slid Malcolm a credit chip which he pocketed without a second glance.
We didn’t go straight back to ‘Breathless’. While the ship was being repaired, restocked, and refueled, we booked a room at a nearby hotel.
“I think we helped enough for one day. What do you say we grab a nice meal, some needed rest, and face our own problems tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
One day I’m going to stop drowning myself in his problems as a means of avoiding my own. Just not today.