by M. Garnet
At last, after hours of searching, they made an announcement that could be heard all over the ship and outside on the docks. It was simple—they were closing up the ship and then opening up the back ramp that was still out into space. This would allow all of the ship to be without any atmosphere.
It was not an unusual procedure, as the Captain would do it once the ship was at its home site. It was part of a final cleansing to get those rodents out of the ship.
The military team felt it would frighten any missing crew person to admitting their position and to give up and come out. It didn't work, as anything but rats scurried and died at the back door.
With a frown, an officer approached the Captain.
"Once your ship is reloaded, we will let your crew back on, one person at a time, and you will be last—standing by my people. Then if there is no problem, you will be allowed to continue on your trip."
This took another two days for the ship to be restocked and everything put back in its place and for the freighter to be ready to leave. During that time, the crew was in different teams, coming down from the hotel to either watch or supervise or work.
Among them, as they chatted in front of the military, they spoke of seeing Traci, but she had decided not to go on with them to the homeworld. No one knew where she was going next or if she was going to work here.
Her items were packed into her single tote and left at the hotel reception desk for her to pick up later. What was missing were her cape, pad, and a knife that she liked. She usually kept the pad and knife with her, so it was not a surprise that it wasn't in her cabinet. No one was worried about her staying on this low colonized planet. There was a reasonable amount of ship traffic for the repair units at the docks.
Once they did get out into the deep dark and away from the OOW, all the talk was about everyone worrying about the beautiful and hard-working woman. There was no way to get a message to her and no way to check on her. All they could do was hope, and some even prayed for the young woman. She had become a part of their life for such a short time.
They all were worried about the woman who had touched each of them while she had been on their ship. On the pretense that they were making sure everything was in order, the decision was made to open every carton in the hold. There was a lot of extra help for this effort, as many of the crew that didn't normally work in the storage area volunteered.
The hard work proved that everything was as it should be, and nothing was out of order with no surprises. The cartons and crates were sealed back up with some sadness, and the BoseIn went on its way toward its home. Many times, when someone settled in their bunk, their mind was on Traci and where she might be at that moment.
What Traci was doing would be exactly what her friends would advise against. She was watching the last of the OOW officers get their troops off of the planet that had such a small colony. Traci had a theory, and it was that they might be looking for her aboard the freighter and all over the colony, but not here at the OOW restricted compound and inspection areas.
It was easy to do because the ships' area to dock on this planet, where there was also a repair section, was not set up for a landing strip on the planet. It was a raised platform. The planet was either a desert or a low water table. A third of the land was a swamp with no natural ocean on this world. The water was either below ground or seeping up, making the land into bogs or marshes.
The answer for the colony was to build where the water was, as humans needed water. So, they built on raised platforms and stilts. It was amazing to see the hanging bridges and more boats than some planets had land vehicles.
The area where the space vessels docked was not the largest platform, but it was very impressive. For someone like Traci, who had spent a lot of time on ships or satellites, the metal floors and maze-like alleys were not strange. For those who had spent most of their lives on solid normal worlds, this way of living all the time in metal-raised platforms was unusual and fascinating but uncomfortable.
Wearing a one-piece rough coverall, Traci was pushing a small floating container with arms that reached out for small debris on the floor. It was an easy job with low pay and quick turnovers, which is why there are always openings for workers.
With a short man's crew cut and her hair color dark brown, she still had her eyebrows shaved. She was careful to have no make-up except for some pale powder that made her look almost colorless. The second day on the job, she found a small hat with only a small brim on the front.
Someone called it a Captain's hat from the many sailing boats that ran across the swamps below the high towering docking area. Traci liked it because it was worn and discolored and made it look like she had lived on this world for a long time.
Pushing the cleaning cart against the wall out of the way of some OOW troopers who walked by without even glancing at her, she smiled. The smile went without notice. Tracie had to reach down and pick up a piece of paper that had been run over by the cart and was too far away for the arms to grab.
It was near the end of her shift of fourteen hours, and she was moving back toward the area where she would store the cart. There was a room where the workers met and could register out for their autopay. The supervisor had a desk in one corner and was pleasant, as he chatted with people when they came and went.
Deciding that the man knew that the people here were temporary, Traci thought the supervisor just chatted with all of them so he wouldn't be lonely. For all the different people who worked on the cleaning jobs, the work was not hard, but it was a long shift, and the pay was poor. They did the work until anything better came along, and then they would be gone.
The thing they all talked about away from the supervisor's desk was the other jobs they were all looking for or hoping to find soon. Low-paying jobs were available in great amounts on this wet or dry world, but the better ones were rare. So, there was also the possible chance to get a position on a ship.
Being close to the docks was important for all of them, but maybe more critical for Traci. In her plan, once she discovered her dark-eyed ghost, she was going to disable him and get a job on a freighter.
Chapter Nine
Done for her shift, Traci was heading back to her single room. She decided to pick up some food that she would eat in the room while she watched the news. She stopped at a stand-out in one of the halls that sold food from the locals.
Now that she was receiving pay, she was using a different name and ID registered in her wrist. The supervisor had her down in the records officially as Essy Day. Buying a package that was titled salad that contained protein from local fish, Essy found the local fish with a bit of shell and crawled from water hole to water hole to be very tasty and mild with vegetables.
Thanking the vendor, she tucked the small package inside her coverall and turned to see her ghost just thirty feet away. He was moving into an alley. She knew he had been watching her but moved, hoping she had not seen him. Fortunately for her, he had not moved soon enough.
Moving through the thin crowd, it was within seconds that Essy was at the edge of the alley and took a breath before charging into the dim place. Having pushed the cleaning cart down these halls, Essy knew most of them, and she didn't hesitate to go full out with her strong legs. He was there ahead of her—a large outlined black silhouette.
At the moment she saw his shape, he still did not realize she was behind him. So, he was only taking long strides, but not with a step that was in a hurry. Waiting until she was about ten feet behind him, she yelled.
"Hey." Her voice was loud and echoed against the walls beside them. Before he even turned all the way around to face her, she had pulled up a knee for her next long step. This threw her into a long jump and tossing her body over; she landed on her hands doing a flip over her head and bringing her work boots against his wide chest.
Under normal conditions, she would never have been able to take the big, trained male. But the surprise and the unusual hit of her weight took him down on the g
round, lying on his back. This resulted finally in her sitting on his chest with her legs on each side of his head.
Looking down at those dark eyes, she just sat there for a moment and then frowned. "Hello. I thought it was time we met face to face."
Without moving, he looked up at her with those dark eyes.
"What, not going to introduce yourself?" Essy/Traci/Moxxi shifted on the broad chest to get some reaction.
"You are a dangerous fool." She could feel his deep voice through her body as he finally spoke.
She made a noise in her throat. "I may be a fool, but you are a stalker. Who are you?"
Suddenly she felt him draw up his feet, and then with a move as fast as one of hers, he pushed up with his bent knees, throwing her forward onto her face onto the metal street. Before she could move with her hands over her head and legs spread, he placed a heavy knee into the middle of her back. She was trapped, barely able to breathe.
"I'm the one who is assigned to keep you safe, except you keep making my job very difficult. Now, what are you doing on this world?"
Taking a moment to think over her answer, she chose the truth. "Trying to catch you. I need to know who knows my secrets." Her voice was almost a whisper, as that was all she could manage with the pressure on her back.
"Get a better job and blend in and stay away from the OOW." With that, the pressure on her back was gone, and she raised her head; he was over her and moving away, just a shadow again.
Back in Moxxi mode, she wasn't about to give up so easily. She was up and running to catch up with the ghost. When he turned the corner to move down between buildings that were still another alley but a tighter one used for deliveries, she followed. As she turned, she used the wall by jumping and placing a foot up on the wall almost at her height and then landed on the run that let her catch up to be right behind him.
Her ghost knew she was behind him with his long legs, and he was soon into a jog. Obviously, he was trying to discourage her and lose her on this strange high metal colony. Moxxi decided that for a male who seemed to know about her, he had misjudged her determination. He was not going to lose her.
Her ghost was bigger and stronger with longer legs. What she had was a body that could perform movements that were unusual and graceful, and that would outpace even the strongest. As he sped up, letting his long coat fly out, he kept to the back walls behind the buildings, homes, or businesses.
Still, no matter what turns he made or what speed he used, the smaller woman was on his heels. At last, in a desperate move, he took a long hall that led out into a full main area with open shops and lots of people. He made a mistake.
His bigger appearance made it harder to push through the people without getting some utterances from a few angry at being pushed. She could slip past people without disturbing them for the smaller woman while she followed his plowed passage.
Finally, her ghost seemed to give up and find a small café to sit down. He was pushing the buttons on the floating screen, and so Moxxi just went up and pulled the stool out and sat across from him.
"Get me a coffee with double cream." She announced and looked around at others sitting at the small high tables, drinking or eating. No one was aware of the ghost or a young woman with a strange heritage.
The robot server rolled up with two disposable cups and waited for a payment scan before it would release the glow over the top. Her ghost placed his wrist on the right spot and then picked up both cups.
Sitting the lighter-colored one in front of her, he took a long drink from his even though it was hot. Moxxi only took a sip and then looked up to meet those dark eyes.
"Are you going to give me your name?"
He sat the cup further back and looked around as if checking to make sure no one could hear them talking. "You can call me by the name of Bridge."
"Okay, and you know my name, right?"
"I know all of your names. Even the ones you have hidden on your hacked wrist ID and haven't used." He nodded at her arm as he brought up his cup to finish off the coffee.
"Who are you?" Suddenly her coffee had lost its appeal, and she didn't pick up the cup.
"I gave you my name."
Slamming her hand on the table, Moxxi whispered harshly. "Who are you?"
Bridge sat back, even though these stools had no backs. He seemed to be studying her face very carefully. "I'm part of a special group of universal soldiers who help when there is a gap between what the OOW does to help large groups and the Veldan's go out to help just one particular problem.
It has come to the attention of some that there are all kinds of individuals, who need help, or protection, or security that is not available locally or from the expected sources. We take up that position. I am a trained guardian and have been assigned several times to step in without being seen, to interfere when a person is in danger and arrange for their safety."
Sitting and digesting what he had said, finally, she was beginning to understand why he was following her without contacting her.
"So often, the people you are helping never know you are there. They never were aware that you saved them from the danger they were in or who was about to cause harm to them?" She was now also looking around at the people walking out in the main wide walkway.
"We need to work behind the scenes to do our job. It is better if people do not depend on us. There is still the need for humans to stand up to fight on their own. The Dark Guardians are just a backup for the unusual."
Looking back at him, she let out a short laugh. "So, I'm unusual?"
"I'm not supposed to have any contact with the asset. That is against the rules." He looked over at her with a frown. "You are the asset."
"Okay," Moxxi brought her eyes back to the big ghost, "so what do we do next?"
There came a heavy sigh that raised his broad shoulders. "We separate, and you forget you ever met me."
"Nope." Now she just put her elbow on the table and balanced her chin on her hand to smile at him. "Not going to happen. Now that I've found you, I'm not going to lose you."
Shaking his head, he put his empty cup into the central hole in the table meant for disposal.
"Since you're going to follow me anyways, come on and let me get you into a safe place."
Once they were in the hidden metal apartment that looked like a storage bin of the dock area, he now had time to watch her and make a report.
Report: Asset is under control. I have had to take her under control due to unusual circumstances. Report will follow.
After the report, he showed the female where the cleansing room was and just stretched out in his favorite and the only chair to think about his problem. This gave him a moment to think about his life. Why, after all this time, would he remember so long ago that he had tried to wipe it from his brain? It had to contact this female and her history and lose her parents and her world.
It did remind him of his own life.
Like this beautiful woman, he was known by many names and was always on the move. It went with his life now. It was his life from the time of his boyhood.
In a hidden place in the back of his mind were the first ten years of his life where everything was normal. It was full of love with a father and mother that represented the family. His dad was big and would always show him how to do the tough stuff, and his mother was so smart that she could help him figure out answers.
Later in life, he went back to discover that his father was a Captain in a local law department and his mother was a renowned scientist in some restricted studies. That was not the problem, their life was normal, and they decided to take a well-deserved vacation to take him to a special world that was just one big library. They promised him that he could spend days in the comic book sections and even watch ancient movies.
They would have two days in space. They even got him a tour of the small spaceship that they had the best cabins on for the trip. They were asleep when the ship was attacked and overwhelmed by freebooters. The marauders
were on the ship and looting freely, killing anyone who resisted, starting with all the crew, from the low man in the engine room up to the Captain.
His dad forced him onto the small closet's top shelf and closed the door, leaving him in the dark. The next face he saw was a male who had bad breath and a scar over his one eye.
"Oh boss, I think I found a little treasure. Not worth much, so we might want to throw him out the airlock." He was pulled out and held above the ground by the back of his neck with those words. Now, as the man turned, he could see his parents.
His father was stretched out on the floor with a strange, shocked look on his face. On the other side of the room was his mother, completely without any clothes and blood in so many places. There was no movement from either of them, not in any part of their body or faces. He began screaming out and kicking at the man who was holding him. The man dropped him to backhand him across the room. As he hit the corner of the built-in bed, everything went black.
The next year was confusion with pain, hunger, and learning a new way to stay alive. They blew the tourist ship, and he heard them laughing about it as he hid under the table. It was there that he ate scraps and stole the water glasses when they fell asleep.
Mostly if he stayed out of the way, they ignored him. They called him Mutt. He had a new name, and until he learned to avoid their kicks, he suffered the pain. Mutt had no idea of the time as it passed, as a ten or eleven-year-old who had no one to talk to or help him.
There was never a moment for him to cry for his parents or to let tears show for these loud, angry people. It was more important to scramble out of their way to avoid another slap or kick from heavy boots.
Mutt might be a lost and frightened boy, but he was smart and learned fast. There was no way he could help his parents until he was big and strong and could deal with these monsters. He would duck and hide to eat dirty food from the floor and drink from murky cups late at night. He would survive.
