by L. Fergus
The boy looked at Kita, surprised, and then nodded.
“Your parents went back in time for that one. So, what do people call you?”
“Raphael.”
“Yeah, but that’s a mouthful. How about Raph? My name is Kita, this is Jess, and they are Sarge and Jupiter. So, how’d you get to the convention? You don’t look like the rest of this crowd.”
“I bought a ticket, like everyone else,” he said shyly.
“Kid, I bet you couldn’t buy a ticket for here with all the money you’d make in a lifetime.”
Raph frowned and glanced at the door.
“You can tell me. I won’t tell, neither will Jess. What’s your connection? Who do you know? Or, what do you know?”
Raph remained quiet.
“All right. I’ll tell you our story. The city down below has been my prison for years. Jess was a Political Bureau Officer in charge of watching me.” All the blood left Raph’s face. “Don’t worry, we have bigger problems than arresting someone who shouldn’t be here. The Political Bureau kept my mind locked so I didn’t know who I was. They made the mistake of thinking they could unlock it and keep me in my cage. We spent most of last night trying to piece my head back together. We made it as far as the shuttle pad, before being jumped by Marines and two of my former friends. They killed me, while I was trying to save Jess. My sister came, brought me back to life, and turned me loose. I’m still trying to puzzle out what my sister has become and how she did what she did. But, in death my mind finally reconciled. I still can’t remember specifics, but I know enough to be dangerous. Oh, and that superhero suit Jess is wearing is real, as are the wings. So, what’s your story?”
Raph stared at Kita like she’d turned to gold.
“I know it’s probably not as interesting as ours. So, let’s hear it?” Kita snapped her fingers at him as the food arrived. “Come on, talk. I got to eat.”
“I…I grew up in Brooklyn,” Raph said.
Rabbit made a face.
“What’s wrong with Brooklyn? New York, right?” Kita said around a mouthful of food.
“Kita,” Rabbit scolded. “Manners.”
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t have to be a stuck-up bitch at the moment.”
“Brooklyn is the slum of the slums,” said Rabbit.
“You’re from London, east side, by the river?” Raph asked Rabbit.
“Yeah, good ear.”
“I like languages, both human and computer.”
“Good things to know,” said Kita.
“So, how’d you get from Brooklyn to here?” said Rabbit.
“Ah, I created a false ID, hacked the transportation network, added myself to another group’s manifest, and made my costume while on the way.”
“Damn, I knew I liked this kid,” said Kita.
“You’re joking?” Rabbit said, trying not to spit out her food.
“Manners,” Kita tried to say around a bite of burger.
“That was different,” said Rabbit.
“It’s not very hard. I just sit in front of a console, and it’s like everything becomes clear. It’s so much better than the real world.” Raph sighed.
Kita nodded. “That’s impressive.”
“Impressive? That’s impossible,” Rabbit countered. “That entire system is monitored for everything.”
“There are back doors and holes all over. You just have to look,” said Raph.
“How did the Bureau not pick you up?”
“I’m not in the system. My parents died when I was young. I had no money, so I drifted into Brooklyn. I never went to school. I just read any book I found.”
“How’d you get into hacking?”
“Food machines. It’s the only way I kept from starving.”
“Being poor explains the glasses,” said Kita.
Raph blushed. “I found them in a dumpster.”
“I’ve heard of some tough lives, but that’s about the worst. So, could you hack, like a ship?”
Raph shrugged. “I guess so. I’ve never tried.”
“How do you connect without an Arcom?” asked Rabbit.
From his belt, Raph produced an old-fashioned micro keyboard with an LED screen and universal cable attachment.
“Wow,” Rabbit whispered. “You got into the transportation system with that?”
Raph nodded sheepishly.
“I’d hate to see what you could do with some real equipment.”
Raph fidgeted in his chair as if he wanted to say something.
“What’s on your mind?” said Kita, reading his body language.
“What are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“If those wings are real, then what are you?”
Kita chuckled. “What’s it look like?”
“An angel, but they don’t exist.”
“Are you saying even though I’m sitting here next to you, I don’t exist?”
“No, but…Where’d you come from?”
Kita shrugged. “I have no idea, to be honest. I hope to find out.”
“Aren’t angels’ wings white?”
“That depends. My sister’s are white. Mine are black because I’m a fallen angel.” Raph went stiff. “I’m not that bad, I promise. Believe me, whatever mythological book you read is just someone’s idea. It’s not the truth.”
Raph’s frown said differently.
“How bad have I been so far?”
Raph shrugged.
“Ok, how bad have I been to you?”
“Not really,” he said quietly.
“There you go. It’s not a black or white issue. It’s a what-do-I-want issue. I find you interesting to talk to. So is Jess, but I’ve been talking to her all night, and she will probably be the only person I get to talk to for a long time.” She winked at Jess playfully.
Rabbit stuck out her tongue. “You’ll be lucky I don’t give you the silent treatment for a month.”
“Are you two…together?” said Raph sounding confused.
“She wishes,” Kita said, beating Rabbit to the punch.
“And you’d be so lucky,” said Rabbit.
“Guess I won’t be getting lucky with that Rabbit. She should be glad I’m not into feet.”
Rabbit kicked Kita hard under the table. “How’s that for a foot?”
Kita giggled as she finished off her last entrée. “That should keep the furnace stoked for a while.”
“I am glad I’m not paying for this trip,” Rabbit groaned when she brought up the tab on the screen. She gave it to Kita to pay.
“Alright,” Kita said standing up. “Let’s go get some snacks and find us a ship.”
They found a convenience store. The small store was packed, but Kita pushed her way through to grab what they needed, which included all the synthetic meat snacks she could carry. After fighting her way out of the store, she used some small backpacks to create bags for the cats to carry the supplies. For fun, she attached Rabbit’s bear to Jupiter’s back to make it look like the bear was riding the cat.
“What?” she said when the cats gave her a dirty look. “Do you think I’m carrying all your food for you?" Both cats growled in response.
Following Rabbit, they navigated the busy strip toward the cargo port. Flashing red warnings and orders to get down replaced the strip’s kaleidoscope and cacophony of lights and sound.
“Well, that was faster than anticipated,” Kita commented as the people on the strip dropped to the ground.
“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” said Rabbit as her suit deployed.
“Nice meeting you, Raph. Good luck to you.”
The boy gave her a bewildered looked.
“Sorry, you can’t come. It’s too dangerous.”
“But, but I can do magic.” He held up his twig, pointed it, and a small jet of flame shot out.
Kita lit a fireball in each hand. “Sorry, I’ve got plenty of magic tricks of my own.” She hurled them down the strip toward a perfume shop and an
authentic clothing boutique. Both shops exploded into flame. “This is where the bad part comes in.” She smiled wickedly. “Better get moving. Space stations and fire don’t mix.” She threw several more leaving the strip ablaze. The station’s fire suppressive kicked on, but couldn’t keep up. “Go,” Kita yelled at him. “They’ll vent this section to kill the flame and anyone in it.” She hurried to catch up with Rabbit and the cats.
“What happened to killing only guards?” Rabbit yelled at Kita angrily.
“We needed a distraction.”
“A small fire is a distraction. Igniting half the station is willful destruction.”
Kita shrugged. “I think it may have killed a dozen people.”
“What about all those in the strip?”
“They were alive when I left.”
“And if they seal and vent that section of the station, how many then?”
“Those aren’t my concern. If they vent, that’s on them, not me.”
“You put them in that position.”
“If I were in their place, I would be ordering everyone out and have fire crews rushing in. And, have a much better fire suppression system. I wouldn’t consider losing my people an option. I’d be dragging them out myself if I had to. If they put chasing me down as a higher priority than saving their own people, then that’s their choice. I never promised to be a bloody hero. Antihero, maybe.”
Rabbit was quiet for a moment. “Let’s try and keep the scale to small.”
“I never do anything small.”
Rabbit grabbed Kita’s arm and flared her jets, whipping Kita around to her. “Start,” she said. “We’re not big enough to handle big trouble.”
Kita wrenched her arm free. “Don’t order me to do anything, ever,” she snarled.
“I will to keep us safe.”
“I don’t answer to you.”
“No, you don’t. But, if we’re going to survive together, this,” she pointed at each of them, “is equal. I’m not your soldier, minion, or henchman.”
Kita blinked hard. “I never meant to imply anything like that. You’re my friend, not a…” She almost said human. “…Anything less. If that’s the way it sounded, I’m sorry. I really am.” You have to believe me. I wish I could see your face.
“It’s all right,” Rabbit said, calmer. “Just trust me, ok?”
“I do,” Kita said firmly.
“Then don’t get mad at me when I’m trying to help you.”
“I…I’ll try. Criticism is not something I take well.”
“You try, and I won’t take it personally, deal?”
“Deal.”
“Good. Let’s get our ship before we’re neck deep in Marines.”
From around the corner, Raph appeared and yelled at them.
“Oh, bloody moons,” Kita said under her breath. “I told him to stay put.”
“And you like making friends with the friendless,” said Rabbit.
“Yeah, well, it was supposed to be short-lived.”
“He might be useful.”
“And he’s fragile.”
“So am I.”
“You’re in a tin can.”
“He’ll just have to duck,” said Rabbit, expressing her distaste for Kita’s euphemism with a gesture.
Raph arrived breathing heavily.
“You get to get him in shape,” Kita said to Rabbit.
“Whatever, let’s get going.”
“Come on, kid. Welcome to the dark side,” Kita said to Raph with a sigh.
Raph ran to keep up, looking comical with his cape flapping behind him while chasing an Angel and a robot. They found the portmaster’s office, but it was locked.
Kita punched the window, but it didn’t break. “By the Crushing Depths,” she snarled. “Do you have any tricks, Jess?”
“Not beyond what you tried. I might be able to blow the door open with my missiles.”
“If it’s not too thick I could melt through it.”
The door opened. “Got it,” Raph announced.
Kita nodded. “Not bad, kid.”
Rabbit led them inside. A pair of men stood up.
“Where are the portmaster’s logs?” Rabbit demanded.
They pointed to a computer behind a counter.
She jumped over. Seeing the login screen was locked she demanded, “What’s the password?”
“We don’t know,” said a man.
“Bull. Kita, feel free to break his fingers.”
“Do you need me to open it?” said Raph.
“Sure,” said Rabbit.
Kita picked the man that answered and motioned for the cats to watch the other. She kicked him to his knees and grabbed a finger. With a quick motion, she broke it, causing the man to scream. “Oh, that was nothing,” Kita cooed. “You want something to howl about? Sarge, you want a chew toy?”
The war cat came over to sniff the finger Kita offered him.
“My kitty’s jaw can snap a human bone like a dry twig,” Kita informed the man. “You can chew, Sarge, but you can’t eat.”
Sarge took another sniff and then chomped down on the finger with the side of his jaw. The bone crunched under the powerful bite as the man screamed.
“Kita, we’re in,” Rabbit called as her helmet and gauntlets retracted.
Kita pulled the mangled finger from the cat and smiled at the two men. “Have a nice day.” She walked around the counter to look over Rabbit’s shoulder. “So, what options do we have?”
“Only one is a long haul freighter with FTL, Gjord Dallas. The rest are jump capable only.”
Kita shrugged. “That makes it easy.”
“Do you have an FTL pilot?” Raph asked.
“Neptune’s rings, I forgot,” Rabbit said, smacking her forehead with her hand.
“Why do we need a pilot?” said Kita.
“Pilots make a neural connection with the ship to guide it. The running joke, and it’s rather accurate, is that it takes a brain full of nothing to navigate nothing.”
Kita scowled. “So, there are only two on this entire station? We’ll never find them in time.”
“Most new pilots are FTL qualified. It’s part of their training. Older pilots probably aren’t,” said Rabbit. “But we need to find a crew, too.”
“And the chances any of them are pirates or mercenaries?”
“How old are you?” said Rabbit laughing at Kita. “We just need to hire them.”
“Really? Who’s going to work for us?”
Rabbit shrugged. “Or kidnap.”
“Any idea on how to locate them? I kind of messed up the station.”
“Thankfully, the crews aren’t allowed in the main part of the station. They have a small section down by the docks. If the station’s on lockdown, then they’re probably still there.”
“Good. Any chance you can bring up dossiers on the crews, Raph?”
The boy touched the screen a few times and brought up all the ship crewmembers on the station. Looking over his shoulder, Kita scanned each entry looking for criminal and military background. She selected whom she wanted, along with a few alternates.
“That should give us some overlap, just in case someone’s difficult.” Kita looked at the two men. “Where do the crews hang out?”
Neither man responded.
“I’ll turn you both into chew toys if you don’t answer.”
“The Orbiter or FTL bars. There are also the recreation center and the Cargo Hold Bunks,” the non-mangled man answered.
Rabbit grunted. “That’s a lot of territory to cover in no time.”
“You take the recreation center and bunk area,” said Kita. “I’ll hit the bars. Raph, you come with me for the moment.”
Raph and Rabbit nodded.
Kita looked at the two men on her way out. “Good luck, gentlemen. I’m sure the Bureau will want to talk to you.”
In the crew wing, Kita found the other thing she was looking for: an electronics store. It was locked. Through the windo
w, she saw a pair of clerks waiting on the floor for the emergency to end.
“Can you get us in?” Kita asked Raph.
Raph took out a screwdriver and popped the scanner off. He connected his cable and tapped on his keyboard, and the door slid open.
Kita walked inside calmly. “Alright, nobody move. This is a purchase. Raph, you’ve got five minutes to get all the best equipment you can. Go.” To the clerks she said, “Who wants to make a commission? I need someone to pay for this stuff.” The pair looked at each other in surprise. “Come on, blondie.” The woman stood up slowly. “Hurry up.”
Raph had a few boxes under his arm and stood at the software kiosk.
“Do you have an account or are you paying with credit?” said the woman.
“Account under the name Kita Gjord.”
The woman tapped on her Arcom. “I have it,” she said raising an eyebrow.
“Finished, Raph?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It’s Kita, and are you sure? I don’t want to be caught without the proper safecracking software.”
“They don’t have that here. But I got a lot on shipboard systems and general software tools.”
“Fine. Give it to the lady.”
Raph set it on the counter.
The woman scanned everything in a hurry. “Would you like a bag?”
“Yes,” said Kita. “Let him bag it, and I’ll sign for it.”
The woman gave Kita the scanner, and she pressed her thumb to it. Kita frowned a bit when the woman looked surprised that the transaction went through. “Thank you, Miss Gjord.”
Kita nodded and hurried Raph out looking for the bars.
“Why’d you pay for it?” said Raph.
“I’m trying to leave a paper trail,” said Kita.
“Are you really a Gjord?”
“I don’t know. But, someone there knows me and wants to help. I’m not going to turn down someone with lots of gold.”
“How can you not know?”
“I’ll tell you later. I want you to go back to the corner to be a lookout for any Marines, and get all that gear working. We might need it to get the freighter moving.”
“What?” said Raph is eyes went wide. “I can’t do that.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll have the cats with you.”
Raph looked at Sarge and Jupiter with a doubtful look.
“Don’t worry. They’re more than meets the eye. Go.”
