by Will Crudge
“Walking around with an infantry drone doesn’t lend much to our confidence. We had you made when you got within thirty meters of the bar.” The man says.
My heart sank. If this dude made Marbles, then who else could have? It’s not safe. Not one bit. “How did you figure it out?”
“Easy.” The man says with a strained voice. He’s struggling to sit up, and bat-bitch is trying to pull him upright by his shoulders. “I have an NSAI that I’ve tasked with detecting Crimson wireless network devices. This dude was pinging like hell!”
“Shit!” Marbles gasps. “I’m off the network now!” I ball up my fist and dong him on his coppery-pewter head. He says nothing in response. Good. Let that be a lesson.
“All we were trying to do was capture you until the authorities figured you out. That way we keep ourselves in the good graces of Unum Security Forces, and the local cops.” The man says.
“Can you unlock our credit store device?” I ask eagerly. I know we don’t have any time to chat, so I just get to the point.
He shakes his head. “No. I would have to get a hold of our guy, and then have him spring the device. It would take at least an hour for him to get off shift and bring it.”
“How long do we have before the locals find us?” I ask.
“Wait a damned minute!” The man says as he finally stands up. He shoots us both a scowl. “If you’re a War Master, then why all the cloak and dagger? The locals are your allies!”
“Long story short… Marbles here is a sentient drone. If my ‘allies’ take note of that, then they’ll take him out before I can get the situation cleared up. By law, he should be protected, but he’s in the shell of an enemy combatant. He won’t survive long enough for the dust to settle. I need to get him to Unum where he can be safe with the Guild.” I explain quickly.
“Shit!” Marbles shouts and turns towards me. I can’t see his eyes through the EV suit’s helmet, but it wouldn’t matter if I did. He can’t articulate emotion through facial expressions, but his body language speaks volumes. “You’re not going to believe this!”
“Believe what?” I say with earnest.
“The tracker is pinging.” He replies.
“What tracker?” I spout with an agitated tone.
“THE tracker!” He says. I stare blankly at him for a few seconds. Then it hits me. It’s the tracker that I ended up putting on Peterson’s armor ten years ago. Our key to finding Trixie. My avenue for vengeance!
GAME CHANGER
The bartender’s name is Geneva. Her boyfriend that Marbles blasted is Jason. They turn out to be good people. Marbles chats with Geneva to get his bearings of the complex. I’ve been engaging in small talk with Jason. They’re loyal UAHC citizens that occasionally do some shady stuff for refugees. Their own government is less forgiving of Crimson folks who defect unless they have Intel to offer. They started their little racket as a means to help innocent people, and even make a few extra credits from spacefarers that just want to disappear across the cosmos.
They’ve been taking a huge risk to pull it off. Their pub makes solid money alone. Jason inherited the storefront from his father when he retired. Any small business in a hyper gate station does exceptionally well amid high taxation and overhead costs. He explains how the constant foot traffic from nearly a billion visitors per year keeps it profitable. If he didn’t inherit the space from his father, then he would never be able to afford to secure it on his own.
They haven’t just been risking their lives, but Jason has been putting his own legacy on the line. Tangine Station is eight centuries old, and his family has passed this spot down since the first hyper gate came online for commercial use. It’s admirable. Coming from a unique legacy myself, I find a kindred spirit in Jason, and the risks he takes to do what he feels is right.
Also, I wouldn’t mind if he bent me over one of those kegs on the shelf. But he has his sweet Geneva, and I have my libido suppressed enough to avoid temptation. Even my cool ability to control my perversion is limited… Especially since I haven’t been within ten light-years of a viable penis in decades. But I digress…
“I’ve got a fix on the signal!” Marbles shouts. “I’ve been trying to build a model to approximate its location, but it’s been tricky.”
“Where is it?” I ask.
“It’s within normal space flight. Right here in the Sol System!” He replies.
“How is possible that the signal is so strong?” I ask. “Even if we’re within a few light minutes of it, it doesn’t have the broadcast range.”
“Is it a UAHC tracker?” Jason asks.
“Yes. It’s been in place for ten years. We never thought it would still be active.” I say. He just nods and smiles.
“Those trackers have a fifty-year lifespan if they go dormant. They remain inactive until they detect any secured UAHC signal. But the range doesn’t make sense. The only explanation is that it’s relaying to a UAHC long-range transmitter somehow. Even then, the signal would be intermittent… unless…” Jason explains.
“Unless what?” I ask.
“Unless it’s onboard a UAHC vessel. Or at least a vessel with the correct transmitting array.” Marbles interjects. Jason nods.
“Can you tell where it’s going?” I ask Marbles.
“Not exactly. I would need another signal to ping it for triangulation. I can only approximate its distance at the moment.” He replies.
“Not to worry,” Jason says with a smile. He looks at Geneva and nods. She gives him a sly grin and leaves the room. “Marbles, please forward your signal data to Geneva’s neural interface. Her sister is on shift at the STC. She can get a tight beam signal to query it.”
“Done.” Marbles says.
Several minutes go by before Geneva returns. She comes in with a smile and reaches out with her left forefinger to tap Marbles on the head. “There you go, tin-man!”
“She did it!” Marbles shouts. “The signal is coming from a UACH frigate. It’s heading towards Jupiter. Probably going to one of the satellite habitats or a shipyard.” Marbles says.
“Well, if he’s in UAHC custody, then that means he’s caught. We won’t be able to just show up and ask the captain if we can politely kill his captive.” I say sarcastically.
“Nope.” He says. “Looks like Peterson has been pretty naughty. The Frigate is believed to be destroyed, so nobody has reported it missing. It was onboard a UAHC light cruiser that got attacked by a rogue Crimson ship. That thing is being piloted by our long lost ass-monger!”
“You’ve got to go!” Jason says abruptly. “Security forces are heading this way, and they’ve got shoot to kill orders!”
“I need to get me one of those NSAI’s one day,” I say under my breath. “Ok, so how much time do we have?”
“Five minutes. Eight if they’re being cautious.” Jason replies. “But you’ve got nowhere to run. Without credits, you can’t just hop on a ship and go through a gate or HAL. Even if you get out into open space without a HAL, it will take a full week to make it to Jupiter. By then, your mark will be gone.”
“What if we went full burn?” I ask.
“Pfft! That won’t help you unless you’ve got a military grade vessel. Good luck with that!” Jason says somberly.
“What if we have a space donkey?” Marbles asks.
“Even if you did, they dialed down the specs on those thrusters a decade ago. They were exceeding military specs on speed, so the government made the LISD dial them all down by eighty percent!” Jason says.
“What if we had one that’s from thirty years ago?” Marbles asks playfully.
“Ha! Those were all dismantled… But if you could wave a magic wand and make one appear, then you’d probably beat that frigate to Jupiter.” Jason said with a hardy chuckle.
“Then get us to our space donkey,” I say with a serious tone. I nod to Marbles, and he nods in turn. Marbles sends the shipping container location to Jason’s neural interface.
“You’ve got to
be shitting me!” Jason gasps. “You have a vintage space donkey?”
“You know, out of context, your last statement would sound really weird. Just saying.” I laugh. Nobody else does. I guess it went over their heads. Their loss.
I suddenly hear shouts and screams from the pub’s main room. Glasses shatter and shouting men are spouting orders for people to clear a path. Fuck! I don’t want to kill any good guys today.
“Is there a back door out of this place?” I ask.
“C’mon!” Jason replies and gestures for us to follow him. Sure enough, the corner of the room had a hidden door. We slip through, and Jason follows. He gives Geneva a nod before closing it. I’m guessing she’s staying behind to try and stall them.
The corridor is dark, but Jason moves through it as if he saw it in broad daylight. I’m guessing that he’s traversed these passageway thousands of times, and he can do it in his sleep. I fight the urge to cop a cheap feel of his junk… “By accident” of course.
Another door opens. Light pours through. We’re staring at stacks of boxes and small containers on pallets. The ceiling is high and well-lit. Our view is obstructed, so we can’t see much else. Jason turns and whispers.
“Listen. Marbles should have the fix on your container. It’s about half a click east of here. If you manage to fly out of the docking shield without anyone seeing you, then keep to the inside lane of the station. It’s designated for civil travel, and there’s no charges to use it. Once you get to your second break in the protective shielding, then head for open space. Don’t hit full burn for at least two hundred clicks. It will raise suspicion. The STC won’t bother to scrutinize you if you appear to be nothing more than outgoing civil traffic. Understand?” He explains. I take it all in, but I’ve forgotten half of it. I’m too busy getting lost in Jason’s sharp eyes.
“I’ve got it.” Marbles says with a nod. I nod too.
“Best of luck, you two. It’s been an honor!” Jason says as he reaches out to hug me. I don’t hesitate to feel his warm muscles squeeze me tightly. Truth is, I could crush his rib-cage with one arm, but I don’t mind being submissive for a hug from a hot guy!
We part ways, and I actively try to ignore the moisture in my nether region. I seriously need to get laid.
Before too long we navigate through heaps of industrial equipment and palletized cargo. We open up to an open lane for foot traffic and loading bots. Luckily, this place is mostly automated. We only see a few workers, but they’re mostly techs doing maintenance on equipment, so we don’t catch their attention much.
Marbles guides us to our container. As luck would have it, it’s positioned with the opening towards the magnetic energy gate to the dock. Just like we were told it would be. #Winning
We manage to open the container and find our baby donkey waiting for us. Its black finish hides most of its clean lines in the dark container. But glints of glossy polished surface reflects enough light for me to find the canopy latch. Marbles has already spun up the initialization sequence remotely, so by the time we get in the cockpit, it’s nearly finished with its pre-flight self-test.
“We’re topped off with go-go juice, and ready to take her out to open space.” Marbles reports.
“Him.” I correct him.
“Isn’t it customary to refer to a vessel as a female?” Marbles asks.
“Yes. But this is a space donkey with an attitude. I picture it as the cool uncle that sips scotch and tells dirty jokes all day.” I explain. Marbles just removes his EV helmet and gives me the automaton equivalent of a blank stare. I just smile and put my hands on the controls.
“Um, what the fuck are you doing, whore-queen?” He asks.
“I’m flying us out of here, you over-sized sex toy!” I retort.
“I’m the one who actually listened to Jason’s instructions, semen gulper!”
“Maybe. But I have the urge to firmly grasp a fallacy right now.” I give him a wink.
“You do know it’s a steering yoke, right? It’s basically like grabbing two dicks at the same time!” He lectures me.
“Yeah, well I never got to experience college life, so…”
FLIGHT OF THE DONKEY
“I have to admit… I didn’t believe for one second that the beacon would ever go active.” Marbles says.
“I kept telling you, never lose faith!” I say with a hardy grin. A strand of long thick blonde hair fell forward from behind my ear, so I try blowing away from my mouth.
“Do you need me to get that for you?” Marbles asks sarcastically.
“Yes, mommy!” I say. Marbles reaches over to clear it from my face. It’s nestled behind my right ear again. I feel the sensation of my delicate ear begin tickled, and it reminds me to try not to be so horny. Seriously! I’ve got to get my hormones in check!
“There you go!” Marbles says, proudly. “That’s the first time I’ve touched your hair without getting beaten over my head with a wooden sword!”
“That just means I’m charging interest… The total of payments will be due at our next training session!” I jibe. I hear the clanking sound of Marbles making a metal-on-metal facepalm gesture. “Don’t scratch your finish! I spent days polishing you up after we stripped off all that old paint!”
“It’ll buff out.” He replies. “I figured you’d just have to polish me back up after you battered me with the sword again, anyway.”
I don’t respond. I’m struggling to keep my eye on the faint blip in front of me. Marbles is hooked into the donkey’s HUD via the auxiliary port. He’s internally tracking the beacon while sending the GUI to the HUD for me to follow. I’m cautious about how I maintain my vector and speed. The beacon might be boosted by the Frigate’s coms array, but it’s still relatively weak. I dare not lose it.
“My internal mapping data may be decades out of date, but I believe they’re heading for that orbital habitat near Titan.” Marbles chimes in.
“How sure are you?”
“99.96% probability.” He replies confidently.
“You sure they’re not heading for that massive shipyard?”
“Very sure. They’re in a UAHC Frigate, but the main fleet has long since left the system via Tangine. If they were going to link up with their fleet, then they’re heading in the wrong direction.” Marbles says.
“Why in the hell would they do that, knucklehead?” She scoffed. “That dude is Crimson through and through, but he’s not an idiot. The last thing he would want would be to roll up on a UAHC fleet in a stolen UAHC frigate!”
“I get that, dear! I was just making a point as if it weren’t him. The fact that he’s had that same suit of armor for more than ten years is fascinating. I only gave it a 1.23% likelihood that he’d have the same suit for five years, let alone a decade.”
“Well, it’s not like he’s part of the rank and file. He was sent to kill or capture War Masters in UAHC controlled space. As a result, I was left stranded… My only friends were you and Trixie… He took her from us, and he’s going to pay dearly for all of it!” I spit. I feel something ignite deep inside me. Something I haven’t felt since I saw him last. I barely notice that the instrument panel has a dull bluish glow. My eyes. They’ve flared to life.
I have no doubts that my body is tapping into interdimensional energies as a result of my adrenaline levels. But it’s not the Rage. I burned that out long ago. I’ve carried a profound sense of loss about it for years. I feared it so much but loved it too. It was like a scary father that you couldn’t help but to love.
No. It’s not Primal Rage. It’s my own!
“Calm down, Kat.” He said softly. “Whatever that monstrous energy inside you is, it’s going to come out if you don’t keep calm.”
He doesn’t understand that the Rage is dead. I’ve told him a thousand times, but it’s like talking to a wall. It’s just me. My biological rage can still flare up independently from Primal Rage. I had to figure that out the hard way. Now I’m a husk. An empty shell.
And t
hat motherfucker has my Trixie!
He dies tonight.
ENTER THE WAR MASTER
I asked Marbles to ditch the EV suit when we landed. This is a combat mission, and I don’t want the suit to hinder his maneuverability or sensors. He gladly complied. He’s always been a minimalist of sorts, anyway. It was his wish to go down to bare metal and shed the layers of camo and red paint that he once donned.
I watch as Marbles pulls out his massive multipurpose rifle. I just have my trusty sword and a UAHC standard issue ballistic pistol… Well, the standard issue as of thirty years ago, at least.
The docking back for the Titan habitat is horrible. The entire complex isn’t on Titan’s surface… nor would anyone actually want to live there… but it is locked in low orbit. It’s essentially a massive ghetto that’s been around for centuries. At one time it would have been considered a luxury dwelling for wealthy young movers and shakers, but now it’s devolved into sub-standard living space.
Since more and more people ventured further from the Sol System over the centuries, they tended to leave the poverty-stricken populous behind. Even Earth doesn’t have too many inhabitants any longer. It’s mostly relegated to the seat of power for the UAHC government, and the rest of it is designated as a preserve for Earth-based life. Even though the former nation-states of Earth no longer exist, the old national borders now separate ethnic and cultural regions for anthropological and historical study.
The other planetary bodies in Sol are still heavily populated, but that’s only because the real estate is cheap, or they work for the government. The best and brightest of humanity have all made their way across the cosmos.
We walk through the docking structure of the ancient habitat. People still live here because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. Each dwelling has a designated paddock to store a personal spacecraft, shuttle, or small skiff. But it was built for a long-gone generation that had the means to own one. Dozens of old skiffs, shuttles, and piles of parts litter the complex.
