by A. R. Knight
14
The Real World
Things looked different from the floor, a plastic mess of tiles overlaid with the sticky grime of spilled booze. The neon lights in the ceiling faded out as Whelk’s companion leaned over, reaching for her with arms outstretched. A reflected glow from the floor showed a straight face, exasperated. The sight pushed a burst of adrenaline through Viola's veins. Like this guy had any right to be annoyed.
So sorry for making this hard for you.
Viola kicked out, hard, at the man’s ankle, her foot bouncing off of the strike. The man paused, laughed, and grabbed Viola’s shoulders. She tried to wriggle, but the man’s grip pushed into her muscles, her joints, and trying to move sent pain whistling through her nerves.
“She’s a fighter, Whelk,” The companion said.
“We’d hate for this to be boring, wouldn’t we, Gat?” Whelk replied.
“Then you oughta love me,” Davin slurred, once again stepping off his stool launching into a sloppy tackle.
Davin fell into Whelk, pushing them backwards into another table, beer spilling everywhere. Gat picked Viola up, pressing her back to his chest, and lifted her towards the exit. His wrists and hands were too low for her to bite. Viola’s heels broke on the stone slabs of Gat’s shins. Puk whirled in front of them, trying to find a shot. Gat paused, glared at the little bot.
“Poke me with that laser, and I’ll break her leg. Reward said nothing about bringing her back in one piece.” Gat said. Puk hesitated and Viola shook her head. This wasn't worth a broken leg. Puk floated back, and Gat continued his march to the exit.
Viola tried to yell for help, but her lungs were still having a hard time catching breath. Stare after stare slid away from Viola's eyes. There were no friends here. Nobody cared what was happening to her. Other than Puk, and the drunk captain behind her, Viola was alone on the moon.
“Problem with me,” Davin announced from the floor behind them. “Is that I’m a package deal, see?”
“With who, other washed up losers?” Whelk, coming up alongside Gat, shot back.
“Nah, Whelk, my crew,”
Viola didn’t see the big man until Gat dropped her to the floor. She caught herself on the wall of The Bitter Chill and turned around to see the giant man standing over Gat, daring him to stand. The newcomer was one of Davin’s crew, one of the bunch who’d been at the table a minute earlier.
The giant man had ripples and bulges beneath his clothes, and not in the usual spot for muscles. As she looked at him, the man looked back at her, his face inscrutable in the shadows of the bar’s lighting.
“Now might be a good time to run,” Puk buzzed next to her.
“Agreed,” Viola replied.
As she back-pedaled, Viola glanced over at Whelk, who was standing very still as a woman with lava-red hair pressed a jagged glass edge up to his throat.
“Phyla,” Whelk said. “You know this is just business.”
“Yeah, but now it’s our business,” the woman, Phyla, replied.
Whelk raised his hands and Phyla, after a slight press with the glass to remind the man how close his day had come to ending terribly, backed away. Viola turned to head out the exit, and stared right at a grinning dude wearing a full flight suit.
“Now, lady, you weren’t thinking of skipping out on your rescuers without even saying thanks, were you?” the man said.
“Uh, thanks?” Viola said, trying to get around him. She just needed to leave this place. Right now.
“Merc, leave her alone,” another woman, sounding tired, said. “She’s scared enough without you talking to her.”
Viola felt a hand on her shoulder. Davin’s head swung into view, his right hand sweeping up in a grand gesture.
“My crew, right on cue,” Davin said, before running Viola through high-speed introductions. Between the lights, the adrenaline, and the growing realization that Viola’s father had put coin on her capture, Viola barely kept track of the names coming her way.
“For as many times as we save your ass, cap’n, it’d be nice to see a bonus,” Cadge, still holding a couple beer glasses and drinking out of both of them, said.
“Keeping your captain alive is just part of the contract,” Davin said, voice adopting a sage inflection and draping an arm over Cadge’s shoulders. “To warrant a bonus, well, you’d save me before the fight started.”
“There’s an impossibility,” Phyla said, eyes rolling.
“Davin’s been nice enough to introduce us to you,” Opal said, leveling a very sober look at Viola.“Maybe you can return the favor, tell us why they were after you?”
“Because I ran away and my father wants me back,” Viola replied, adding her and Puk’s names. The bot was hovering over her shoulder, tracking its camera on each of them. What Puk could do if they took Viola, she didn’t know, but the little bot was trying.
“Putting a bounty on your own daughter? That’s cold,” Merc said.
“One way to get the job done,” Cadge said. “Enough money, he’ll get her back.”
“I’m standing right here,” Viola replied.
“Stop. Go outside,” said Mox, nodding towards the other side of the bar, where Gat and Whelk were now talking to another crowded table. “Safer.”
Nobody objected, and the group escorted Viola out of the bar. Viola was in the middle, with Mox and a wobbly Davin in front. The boulevard was even quieter now, the hour getting close to morning. Exhausted, hurt, Viola still noticed the ten people standing in the through-way. Because they were staring right at her.
15
Fisticuffs
Oh, look at these bastards int heir dirty reds and blues. Matching uniforms like little kids. Cadge slipped his hands into his pockets, ran his fingers through his stunner mitts. The gloves took the kinetic energy off the punch and shocked the victim, blasting their nerves into a spasm. Cadge had seen their original owner knock jaws loose with the mitts, was scaring everyone in the place. Until he forgot Cadge was behind him. It would’ve been a shame to leave these toys.
“I get the displeasure of seeing you twice in one day, Ferro?” Davin slurred at the lead trooper.
“Unfortunate, yes,” Ferro said. “It seems your circumstances have worsened. You are a murderer now.”
The captain was a lo tof things, but Cadge knew he was too goody-goody to ever straight-up murder someone. Wasn’t Davin’s way. Wasn’t Cadge’s way either. Killing a man was fine, but doing it without a fight? Where was the fun in that?
“Murderer's a new one,” Davin replied, standing straighter. “Where’d you heart hat?”
Cadge noticed the new girl, Viola, was edging towards the back of their group, her little bot hovering next to her. Whelk had been talking about a bounty, but here Davin was treating her like a new friend. Bet the girl's bounty would be able to keep them paid till they found a new job. He'd have to talk to Davin about it, assuming they didn't all die right here.
“You, and your team, killed two inspectors. The ones who landed here earlier today,” Ferro said.
“Liar,” Mox said.
“I have no wish to start our lives here with violence,” Ferro continued, eying the big man. “Come peacefully, and perhaps we will find redemption together.”
Cadge suppressed a laugh as a few of the troopers eyed the big man and stepped back. Cowards.
“Ferro, you seem like a good guy,” Davin said, stepping forward. “So I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.”
Cadge felt the smile as Davin threw the punch. As soon as Davin’s fist connected, Cadge sprinted towards the closest trooper, his feet skipping across the floor and then leaving it as Cadge dove through the air and hit the man in the chest. They fell to the ground, Cadge working his arms into the man’s ribs, each jab knocking volts through the clothes.
Flashes, white ones flitted through the air as Cadge moved the trooper’s body to keep him in the way of the stunning lasers. The secret to surviving a scrum was to stay low. Go for the knees,
ankles, stomaches.
Throwing the first trooper to the ground, stunned into oblivion, Cadge rushed a pair of panicked enemies. To his right, he saw another trooper fly by, sent by Mox on a one-way trip to pain. Only problem was that none of the Nines had their real weapons. A brawl was one thing, but as soon as these troopers got themselves composed, it would get ugly.
Cadge jumped towards the pair of troopers as they raised their rifles. Each hand grabbed a shoulder and Cadge pulled both of them to the ground with him. Elbows flying, knees jabbing, Cadge worked every muscle he had in a frenzied dance. When he felt the troopers go limp, felt them stop trying to hit him back or run away, Cadge looked towards the fight.
Mox was carrying Phyla in one hand, Opal in the other, both of them hanging on as the metal man ran out of the tangle of bodies. Merc was trying to cover their retreat - the pilot had picked up a rifle and was spraying stunning bolts at the remaining troopers, which were diving into cover and taking pot shots. Davin dodged a looping haymaker from Ferro by falling flat on his back and rolling away.
Ferro took the opportunity to talk into his comm. Cadge couldn’t hear the words, but could guess what was being called. The new girl was gone.
“Back to the Jumper!” Davin yelled, scrambling to his feet. Mox broke into a run while Merc back-pedaled, still shooting. Several troopers were coming out of cover, aiming their shots. The Nines were going to get picked off. Nobody was looking at Cadge, though.
A big mistake.
“You’re all a bunch of cowards!” Cadge yelled, running towards the trio of aiming troopers. They turned as one, but the cocky jackasses overestimated his height and their shots flashed over Cadge’s head. Or singed it, the smell of burning hair breezing into his nose.
Cadge hit the first trooper low, in the abdomen, bouncing off the charge into the next one. That trooper was aiming his rifle low, and Cadge grabbed the barrel, shoving the gun straight back into the trooper’s face. Two down.
Cadge kept his legs pumping towards the third trooper,and took his stun shot right in the chest. The lasers had no actual force, so Cadge kept moving forward even as he stopped feeling any of his muscles. Like watching a movie where his head was the camera. The trooper that hit him didn’t have time to get out of the way, and Cadge slammed into him, crashing them to the ground.
Above Cadge, the great mass of Jupiter glowed in the sky. A fixed feature. Lights along the boulevard were coming up to simulate an actual solar cycle. Would’ve been pleasant, if Cadge could've felt his own body. A pair of trooper heads poked into his vision, staring at him. Cadge tried to spit, but his mouth wouldn’t work. Still, if the bastards were watching him, that meant they weren’t chasing after the rest of the Nines. Mission accomplished.
The effects of the stun bolt were immediate, but also slow-moving as it worked its way through Cadge’s body. Lost the fun extremities first, consciousness last. Cadge felt his brain slag as Ferro came into view. The man was talking, words not making it into Cadge's mind. The view changed as troopers picked him up. Carrying him somewhere, maybe to be shot or dumped out an airlock. But hey, at least he wasn’t bored.
16
Run and Hide
As soon as Davin’s fist hit the lead trooper, Viola ran. Puk followed.
“They’re not evening following you,” Puk said, buzzing up alongside her. “Which, given the effort to rescue you from those clowns, strikes me as a waste.”
“Shut it, Puk.”
Viola risked a glance back and yeah, Puk was right. The two groups were brawling, with bright white stunning bolts flying out. Mox, that big metal man, was throwing a trooper into another pair as easily as Viola would throw a ball, bowling the troopers over with their own man. Who were these people?
Viola kept running, past the hotel and to the large doors leading into the bays. Through those doors and past the ever-present cleaning and maintenance bots combing the corridor. Past bay one, bay two, and then Viola pulled up short. Ahead in the corridor, outside bay four, where Viola parked the Gepard, was another set of those uniformed troopers. Three of them, rifles in proud display. Gesturing into the bay at someone Viola couldn't see. One turn and they'd see her.
“Are they searching my ship?” Viola said, pausing by the open door to bay three.
“Can’t tell,” Puk replied. “Given your luck with people today, though, I’d hide.”
A single large cargo carrier dominated bay three. The ship looked like it had a disease, modules sprouting from the original frame in blocky growths. Different paints coated the parts, as though the crew assembled the whole thing at once from a random collection.
The ship's ramp was lowered, touching the ground. Open door at the top. If she stayed here and those troopers came by, she'd be caught. Viola started towards the carrier.
“You’re not,” Puk said. “There’s crates right over there. Hide.”
“They’ll see me if they come in here. The ship’s the best hiding place,” Viola said, continuing towards the ramp.
“And if man-eating pirates own it?”
“Those odds have to be worse than waiting out here.”
Viola picked up the pace. A quick jog up the ramp and into the ship’s cargo bay. A few scattered metal containers sat around. Too sparse for a ship in active use. Graffiti coated the walls. Drawings of abstract landscapes, faces. One looked like Earth. Another, made up of swiped reds, must have been Mars.
Circular doors led to other modules, and Viola picked one of those at random. Walked up to it, and as she came close, the door spiraled open. Not locked. Whoever owned this thing really trusted nobody would take it.
A small hallway, barely wide enough for two people. Hanging on the walls were maps, charts, diagrams of shipping routes and trade laws for various settlements. After those came a series of . . . trophies? One resembled a piece of fur, brown and thick and cut in an intricate arrangement with swirling versions of Saturn’s rings. Another a dustwork, made from grinding and scattering Mars dust in spots on sticky fabric. This one made fragile and textured work of a Martian mountain landscape.
Several doors branched off, Viola peeked inside them while Puk hovered behind, watching for any sign of the owners.
Crew quarters, each room holding a small bunk. Enough for four crew members on this level, but, going by Galaxy Forge requirements, a ship this size would need at least double that to run well. The first room had a calendar with pictures of Earth on it, landmarks that Viola recognized from classes when she was younger. Pyramids, the fjords of Norway, the regrown Amazon jungle. There was a temptation to dig further, but Viola stopped herself. Maybe she’d get pity hiding back in the engines, but not if she rooted through their stuff.
Further down the hallway Viola hit a fork, one way leading to the engine panel, the other leading to a small launch bay. Which way to go…
“Is someone there?” came an older man’s voice, scratched and strained.
“You could run,” Puk said as Viola took a step towards the sound. “We could get out of here. There's no telling what this guy might do.”
“And go where, Puk?” Viola said, then kept walking towards the sound.
In front of the large console and metal access hatch to the left engine sat an older man, his white beard clotted with blood that spread across the cream coat and pants he wore. Despite the wrecked state,the man’s eyes tracked up to Viola’s, alert and fiery.
“You’re not the one I was expecting,” the old man said.
“Neither were you,” Viola countered.
“Fair enough, I suppose.”
“What happened?”
“These thugs in uniforms. They said they’d destroy the ship if we didn’t lower the ramp, and then they just about did it anyway,” the old man said, then coughed hard. “Much as I’d like to talk, it’s rather painful. If you aren’t going to kill me, would you mind helping me to the medical bay?”
Viola hesitated a second, Puk’s warning dangling in her ear. If she tried to carr
y this guy somewhere, there’d be no running if someone found her. But then, what other choice was there? Leave the old man to suffer?
“You’ll find I’m not as heavy as I look,” the old man said as Viola crouched and put his arm over her shoulders. “I’m mostly hot air, you know.”
“Was that a joke?” Viola said. Picking up the man reminded her of how long she'd been awake, her legs exhausted and twinging with the extra weight.
“I find it’s the dire situations when humor is most necessary,” The man said. “And I suppose since you are attempting to save my life, introductions are in order. I’m Erick.”
“Erick’s clearly crazed,” Puk buzzed in Viola’s ear. “I say we ditch him and run.”
“I heard that,” Erick replied. “Though I can’t fault your little mechanical friend much if, indeed, you came to this ship under suspicious circumstances.”
Viola managed to walk back to the stretch with the crew rooms on either side.
“I’m just trying to hide.”
“Oh? And who is pursuing you? Perhaps we share a foe.”
“Someone named Davin? He had a crew with him.”
Erick laughed, a weak, coughing thing that did little for him making it through the injuries. Viola couldn’t stop moving forward - she worried that as soon as momentum stopped, Erick’s weight would crush them both to the floor - but she wanted to ask what was so funny.
“What’s your name?” Erick asked as the laughter died.
“Viola.”
“Viola, it seems you’ve met my captain,” Erick said.
“I told you!” Puk said, buzzing ahead and looking out into the main entryway of the ship. “It’s still clear! Drop him and go!”
“Tell me why I shouldn’t,” Viola said, nearing the end of the hallway.
“Don’t worry, Viola, Davin’s never made it a point to hurt young women. I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” Erick said. “I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”
