Weight of choice
25 Apr 2024Xochitl Khae
Weight of choice
Colonia Region
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A flotilla of ships had them trapped. The only reason they still breathed was the captain was keeping his smaller and better capable ship within the gas giant gravity well– where the larger system security ships would be at a disadvantage. They couldn’t stay here forever. There were numerous holes in their hull from railgun hits, and several of the ship’s modules had sustained serious damage, including the life support. Though some of the crew were now dead, only half of what remained could be supported by what little the systems could support. A youthful Ryuko glanced through one of the holes at the distant fleet. At some point, their suits would fail.
Ryuko bolted away as Tara reached over, touching his shoulder, and startling him. “Are you alright?”
"Damned space dreams," Ryuko muttered, exhaustion evident as he rubbed his face. Glancing sideways with a wry smirk, he asked, "Do you dream?"
Tara’s gaze drifted as she pondered. "I see random images, disjointed and confusing. Some are echoes of experiences, others are inexplicable."
"That would be a yes," Ryuko chuckled, settling back onto the pillow. "Damn this ship."
Resting her head on her hand, Tara’s fingers idly traced patterns on Ryuko’s chest. "I looked into what that witch hunter mentioned, and it seems there are substantial credits to be made. What’s a week here, more or less?"
Ryuko closed his eyes, the weight of their situation pressing down on him. "How long can we really stay here, and when will it all come to a head?" His voice was low, tinged with fatigue, as the reality of his position hung in the air like the cold void outside that old battered ship.
***
As Ryuko boarded the sleek Dolphin-class ship, the sound of his magnetic boots echoed through the corridors until he reached the bridge. Zaria, already waiting, couldn't suppress a chuckle at the sight of the rugged pirate dressed incongruously in an orange-striped, white Artemis suit tailored to fit him.
“Well, would you look at that,” Zaria remarked with a grin, glancing at the data Ryuko had collected. “14 million credits worth of data for just ten minutes of scanning a few planets and a single bacterial specimen. On your second planet, you sampled five different species and netted 62 million, and not a single shot was fired. No ships were scanned, and no interdictions. Imagine what you could earn in a full day!”
She extended a zero-g thermos filled with coffee towards Ryuko, who took it with a hint of reluctance, eyeing her cautiously as he took a sip, the warmth washing away some of the frozen moon’s chill.
If it’s poison, at least it’s warm, Ryuko mused silently.
“So, what’s all of this really about, eh? Making you credits? How does that benefit me?”
Zaria laughed, as her gloved hand stroked the arm of the pilot’s seat, her eyes boring into his. “You’re not even close. All of these credits that you earned are yours … minus the cost of this ship of course, built especially for this role.”
Ryuko sipped his coffee allowing his eyes to wander across the small bridge.
“A Dolphin class ship. Hardly a worthy prize for anyone but the most desperate.”
Zaria smiled. “Yet here you are, owner. Making credits that those so desperate can only dream of, with a cargo hold full of pressurized air. Not worthy enough for even their trouble, but yet your credit account swells.”
Ryuko took another sip, examining the flask as Zaria leaned back, examining him.
“With the knowledge you gain and the credits you will make, you can make yourself a comfortable life, or kit out a fleet and carve out a section of some lonely rim space lane, all for yourself.”
Huffing, he turned, sipping the last of the liquid. “What good would any of those have out here?” Turning around he looked at the hunter. “I assume you plan on returning us, at some point?”
“Of course, but there are things you should know before we continue.”
Ryuko dropped the flask, as it drifted to the deck under the micro-gravity as Zaria outlined the breadth of what lay in their immediate futures.
High above in orbit of the moon a shadow passed, absent detection by eye or sensor, fading into the blackness of the space surrounding it.