A New Friend
22 Feb 2018MMMMMalcolm
I was awake but I didn’t get up. It’s been a couple weeks since I learned the truth of my heritage, but I still wasn’t motivated to do much; and what I have done I’ve done through a thick fog of grief. The only parents I knew, who cared for me, protected me, taught me, and loved me, were gone. The parents I never knew I had were taken before I could get to know them. I wanted to give up. The weight of the galaxy had hit me like an Anaconda landing on a high gravity planet and I just wanted to lie there and die too.Kay… I don’t know what I would do without her. She had other ideas. That night we made love like never before. We intertwined not only our bodies, but our tears and our hearts and our spirits. We connected through the joy of knowing we were not alone in our struggle and that fact heightened the pleasure of each touch. When we climaxed, our cries mixed our release of ecstasy with the release of deep pain and anguish; a bitter sweet cocktail we drank from again and again. Then in exhaustion, we held each other and silently wept; because of our grief and because we were glad we each had someone who understood.
Our new bond got me through that night and dragged me to the Alioth system the next day. It kept my voice clear when I bought a small remote mountainside plot overlooking an ocean on Argent’s Claim. It kept my hand steady when I signed the order for an indite monument honoring their memory. I embedded a protected copy of their picture in the side and engraved their names below. I did not include any dates as they will always live in my heart. Instead I quoted their final attempt to help guide their lost son: “Know that we love you and we will always love you. –Mom and Dad”.
As I laid tucked behind Kay while she slept and held the arm I draped over her, I wondered if I was as strong for her as she has been for me. Was I offering smiles to brighten her day? Did I patiently listen when she wanted to vent? Did I suggest interesting tours of the planet to free her from this cold dreary ship? No I wasn’t. Like a black hole I was sucking up all her energy and giving nothing back. I decided that ended that day. If I didn’t do anything else in the known galaxy, I would live to protect her.
I freed myself from her grip being careful not to wake her. After showering and getting dressed, I went to the galley and began cooking her favorite breakfast. I didn’t get far before she strolled in wearing a robe.
“Umm, something smells good.”
“I’m making your favorite, scrambled eggs, grits, hash brown potatoes, and fresh squeezed orange juice.”
“Where did you find oranges?”
“Ok, it’s synth orange juice. But the rest is fresh from our ships supplies. I wanted to thank you for all of your support. Not just with this business of my parents; ever since you discovered who I really was, you’ve been there for me. It’s past time I returned the favor, starting with breakfast.”
She stood staring at me for a moment; then to change the subject and hide her emotions she reached to scoop some potatoes with her bare hand. I slapped it away.
“No you don’t. Go get cleaned up first, ya nasty.”
Kay backed up, opened her robe, and flashed her God given beauty. “You didn’t complain about me being nasty last night.”
While she stood with her robe open, I came out of the kitchen, embraced her, and leaned in to kiss her. At the last moment I changed course and kissed her on the cheek.
“There’s nasty and then there’s nasty. You’ll never be able to taste my appreciation as long as that dragon of yours is hanging around. Go tame him. I’ll keep your plate warm.”
She jerked away and turned to leave. I smacked her rump before she got too far away and then finished cooking our food.
After breakfast, we went to the bridge to prepare to leave. I checked ‘Breathless’ systems while Kay inventoried our supplies.
“What do you think we should do with the journals we found?” I asked her between system status reports.
“Right now, nothing. All the Thargoid activity on the net has the bubble charged like an FSD about to jump. We don’t know what affect these journals will have. Until we can find someone we can trust our best option is to keep them locked in your safe and pretend they don’t exist.”
“Ok, that makes sense. Who would be someone we can trust?”
“Someone smart enough to recognize the gravity of the situation and powerful enough to do something about it.” A moment later Kay asked, “Do you think we could trust Aide Mason to help?”
“I don’t…” I was cut off by an incoming communication request. It was from Commander Dave. The holo-projection showed him sitting in the cockpit of his ship.
“Greetings. Are you Commander Malcolm?”
“I am.” I replied. “What can I do for you commander?”
“I saw your Galnet mission board and I was wondering what I had to do to sign up.”
“Well the mission request form is pretty straight forward. Just fill it out and we will get back to you if we choose to accept your mission.”
Dave looked confused. “No, I don’t want to hire you.” He explained. “I want to join you. How do I become a member of AWE (Armed Wanderers Enterprises)?”
I muted the com then turned and looked at Kay.
“This is new. What do you think?” I asked.
She glanced at the holo-projection and then shrugged. “There’s strength in numbers and right now our number is two. We could use a new friend.”
I unmuted the com and turned back to Dave. “What system are you in Dave?”
“Momoirent. I’m protecting transports delivering commodities to Jahn Dock.”
“We’re wrapping up some personal business in Alioth. It will take us six jumps to reach Momoirent. How about we meet you at Jahn Dock in a couple hours?”
“Sounds like a plan; I’ll save you a spot at the bar. Fly safe commanders.” Dave ended the transmission; no doubt eager to await the arrival of his new wing mates. I too was curious what type of pilot he was.
“System checks are done. Do we need anything else for our trip to Momoirent?”
“As long as you can handle synth juice, our supplies are more than adequate.”
“Then let’s go meet our new friend.”
As we broke Argent’s Claim orbit my thoughts drifted back to my parents. Enjoy the view mom and dad. I’ll be back often to share it with you.
Momoirent was an industrial system controlled by Felicia Winters. Its machinery and haphazard construction stood in stark contrast to the preplanned harmony of Vasilyev Vision. We set ‘Breathless’ down on her assigned pad and contacted Dave who informed us of the meeting location. Don’t ask me why the director of Jahn Dock would provide its heavy equipment operators easy access to alcohol. But there was a small bar called “The Jackhammer” just outside the dock’s main personnel entrance; and that’s where we met Dave.
He waved us over to a booth sitting midway along the left wall. Dave was about my age (maybe younger) and average height with dark hair. He was wearing a red trimmed black and white flight suit. He was very outgoing despite the gruesome scar over his eye. It was obvious he was used to it, because he didn’t react to the frown I made before I could catch myself.
“Commander Dave?” I asked as we shook hands.
“In the flesh. You must be Commander Malcolm?”
“Guilty as charged. And this is Commander Wantz, vice wing commander of AWE.”
“Nice to meet you commander.” Kay stated extending her hand.
“The pleasure is all mine ma’am.” He replied shaking her hand. As we sat in the booth Dave stated, “I’m just finishing up my sandwich. Let me buy you guys a drink. What will you have?” He waved over a nearby waitress to take our orders.
“I’ll have bottled water and a glass of ice.” Kay said.
“Do you have cranberry grape juice?” I asked.
“I’ll have to check.” The waitress replied while trying to hold back her laughter. Dave stopped chewing the last bite of his sandwich and stared at me in disbelief.
“I don’t drink.” I stated. “It dulls my senses and slows my reflexes. But I don’t judge. If you can down a six pack and still fly right and shoot straight; as long as I’m not paying the rebuy, knock yourself out. ”
Dave awkwardly swallowed his bite and washed it down with the last of his beer. A moment later the waitress brought us our drinks.
“It turns out we stock cranberry juice and grape juice for a couple of our drink recipes. I had the bartender mix ‘em for you. Enjoy.” She walked away.
I took a sip from the tall glass she placed in front of me. It wasn’t that good, but it wasn’t bad either.
“So Dave,” I started, setting my drink aside, “what makes you want to be a member of AWE?”
“Like your motto says, I believe I have what it takes to make the ‘verse a better place. People work too hard to scratch out a living in this galaxy. It’s not right for some pirate to just come and take it all away from them.” Dave mindlessly rubbed the scar over his eye. I wondered at the story behind it but I didn’t ask him. I figured he would tell us when he was ready.
“Which ship do you fly?” I asked.
“A Cobra MK III. I almost have enough for an Asp Explorer.”
“How long have you been flying?” Kay asked. “You get that off of just bounty claims?”
“No ma’am.” Dave answered. “I’ve been delivering data, goods, and passengers as well since I got my license four weeks ago.”
I took another sip of my juice. It wasn’t getting any better, so I stole a couple swallows of Kay’s water then rose to leave.
“Let’s continue this interview on ‘Breathless’. You ever been hired on as gunner, Dave?”
“Once, aboard a Python.”
“Well then your first test should be easy. Don’t let anyone scratch my paint and you will pass.”
We all boarded the Anaconda and headed out to the nearest Haz RES. I flew 'Breathless', Dave manned the guns, and Kay flew the fighter.
A few minutes later we returned and split the bounties three ways. Dave’s share came to a little over four hundred thousand credits and he didn’t have to pay for hull repairs. He was so excited he flew the 12.5LY over to Varayah and traded his Cobra for an Asp Explorer at Lind Terminal. Kay and I were still on our pad when he returned to Jahn Dock.
“Ok Dave, this is your final test. You proved you can shoot straight, but how well can you fly? We’ll wing up and return to the Haz RES. If you can return that stock Asp with the hull at 100%, not only will you earn enough to properly outfit it, you’ll also be the newest member of AWE.”
“Sounds like a plan;” he replied over the coms, “let’s do it.”
An hour later Dave was one point three million credits richer and our new wing mate. We went back to “The Jackhammer” to celebrate and I bought a round of drinks for everyone in the bar. I just ordered a grape juice without the cranberry mixed in. I was thirsty and did not want to see if the bartender could do a better job this time.
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Thanks to Commander Dave for allowing me to use his character in my story. It was fun meeting him and flying with him popping pirates for the CG.
Also thanks to all who have expressed they enjoy reading my stories. I have never done anything like this before (I'm sure you pros and grammar teachers have noticed) so it means a lot.
To everyone else, I am not fragile. If you have a complaint or suggestion, lay it on me.
-Mal