13 Degrees of Separation

by Hechtl, Chris

  Annie's eyes flashed as her hands went to her hips. “Don't go doing me any favors Wario. I can get my own work.”

  He turned, resting a shoulder on the fence. “I'm trying to help you gal.”

  “Right,” she snorted. “Help me into an early grave you mean. This job is a suicide run. What's in it for you?” she asked, eying him.

  He sighed. “No fooling you is there?” he asked. She shook her head, smiling slightly. The smile didn't get to her eyes though.

  He sighed once more than kicked a rock. “Well, Bert was supposed to do it, but he just broke his leg bringing the herd in to Freeport. Damn rattler spooked his horse.”

  Annie winced. “It happens.”

  “Yeah. He'll be laid up for weeks. So, my youngest is keen on taking the job.”

  Annie smiled. “Good for him!”

  “Yeah well, he's never managed a herd. Never been in space, and he's got soft hands. He's more like his mother than me.”

  Annie tipped her hat back, cocking her head in inquiry. “Oh?”

  “He's not so much interested in taking care of the animals as he is the idea of going up on a ship. I've had trouble getting him to do work and he's spooked about handling them. Put that together in a confined space and well...” he frowned and kicked another rock.

  She scowled blackly. Taking on a job like this was a bitch. You had to be on the animals nonstop, practically sleeping with them. Mucking them out daily, cleaning, feeding... it was smelly, dangerous, exhausting, and damn tedious. One good round of colic and there would be hell to pay. Toss a neglectful kid into that sort of mix who didn't have his head on the job... “Not a good mix,” she admitted gruffly.

  “Yeah. He's a good lad, good heart, but for this sort of job...” Wario shook his head. “He's in over his head.”

  “Wario...”

  “I'm asking you to think about it. I'll chip in to cover whatever they are shorting you,” Wario said.

  She frowned thoughtfully.

  “Why don't you come by the house and we'll talk about it? Or at least you can see Matilda and put me back in her good graces,” he teased.

  She snorted. “Well, I have missed her peach pie.”

  “They get better the longer you've missed them,” Wario replied dryly, patting his belly.

  “Well, we'll see about that,” she chuckled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Annie knew the job was dangerous, that was a lot of animals in a confined space for a long time. Large animals, none of which had lost their horns. All the males would be near their first musk by the end of the trip. None of them were gelded, all were to be transported that way, they wouldn't put on weight but would be worth more if they survived the trip. She wasn't looking forward to that.

  Reluctantly she decided to make the run on the condition that the males were gelded. Wendy Darling, the assistant purser wrote the contract up. The woman was fair, a blond not quite as old as Annie, but she knew the risks of handling the animals and deferred to Annie's judgment, which was a relief.

  George Darling, the purser hadn't been happy, he'd called her on it, and she'd used short words to describe just how dangerous the animals were when they were in musk. That hadn't deterred him, but mentioning that the animals did better and put weight on after being gelded did. Her warning that she wouldn't make the run and he'd get his people killed if he went his way had gotten Wendy to intervene. She'd taken the phone and discussed it with the purser, who was apparently a relative before she'd set her foot down and did things her way.

  Gelding the males had taken a while, longer than she'd wanted to take, but it was done. She just didn't have the damn room to separate all the males on the ship. Wendy had heartily agreed, and had even joked about having that problem with the male crew.

  “You could always do this...” Annie teased right back with a straight face. Wendy pursed her lips, fighting a smirk as she watched a crew of six men load another young male into a chute and then pin it in place for the surgical procedure. The soon to be castrated five hundred kilogram male bawled in terror. The hand doing the cutting just ignored the thrashing animal as he stropped his blade on a piece of leather tied to a hitching post. Other men were near the cooking fire, frying up the 'meat' for lunch. Waste not want not, Annie thought. The New Texas tradition lived on.

  “Don't tempt me,” Wendy said darkly. “Though it would solve a few problems now wouldn't it? And I'm sure Roger would absolutely love to do something like that when our Jane starts to date,” she said wryly.

  Annie snorted. “That your Jane?” she asked, nodding to the girl with the pilot.

  “Yes,” Wendy said. “So, gelding was your only term?”

  “Only one that mattered. It wasn't just for my safety mind you, but the entire ship and the herd. Get two of these bulls in musk in the same compartment and they'll tear the place apart. They are liable to overheat too, and the stress...” she shook her head. “This way, with them gelded, they'll put more energy into getting fat then in having sex.”

  “That sounds good,” Wendy said, smiling. “I'd try that with Roger, but he's already put on enough weight as it is. I may have to put him on a diet!” she teased, raising her voice ever so slightly, and turning her head in her husband's direction.

  “I heard that!” he growled, mock glowering at her as he accepted a skewer. Jane whispered to her dad, asking what he was eating. When she found out she made a face and hastily retreated. Wendy snorted.

  “She looked a bit green, with her hand over her mouth,” Annie observed of the girl.

  “It'll pass,” Wendy replied serenely.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Loading was terrible. They could only take six to eight head each trip. Fortunately she'd put her foot down and picked only animals she was sure would survive the trip. Most were calves, less than a year old but weaned. She carefully checked each animal to make sure none had medical issues. It was her hide if they turned up sick or infectious. Each was branded, and each had a plastic ID tag clipped to their right ear with a number on it for tracking purposes. It was something she'd suggested to Wendy. Wendy and her father George, the purser had heartily agreed.

  George was a blowhard, a nice guy, but on the job tossing boxes he sure liked to carry on like no one's business, screaming and carrying on about the schedule and weights and balancing the ship. She was sure he was headed to an early grave with all that fuss. His Veraxin assistant Knynuck was a nice sort, though much like his boss.

  The cowgirl was surprised that the copilot of the shuttle was the twelve year old daughter of pilot Roger. Jane Darling she thought, sizing her up. The girl was cute, with her blonde pony tail and coverall, but she was all business at a moment's notice. Professional through and through, despite the twinkle in her eye. Annie nodded in approval, slapping dust off her chaps. They hit it off, forming a fast friendship on the trips up and down. Her approval and support helped seal their friendship.

  Annie had to admit, she didn't make many friends, she was alone with the herd most of the time. Having a kid, a lass, to talk to made her feel good. But she tried to keep her distance, knowing they'd part ways in a couple months. Still their discussions were fun. It took some of the grit out of the situation, and it sure beat her last trip on Pelican.

  Jane gave her a small vacuum to get the dust off. “You have no idea how much of a pain in the ass that is. Same with the animals. The Captain doesn't understand it, doesn't understand how much work goes into maintenance and how much damage the dirt and hair can do.”

  “I'm sure,” she replied, taking the vacuum and using it.

  “I see you've used one before,” Jane said.

  “I've been around the sector a few times,” the older woman said, working at getting as much dust off as possible.

  “Around the sector? I thought you were new?”

  “New to your ship certainly,” Annie replied, looking up. Her tight braid bobbed. “But I've been around as I said. I usually make runs south and th
en catch flights back with lighter animals.”

  “Really. So you've been on a lot of ships?”

  “Sure,” the cowgirl replied absently, going back to brushing and vacuuming her boots. “Been doing it nearly thirty years.”

  Jane whistled. “Any favorites?”

  “Wondering how you'll measure up?” she asked, looking at the girl.

  Jane squirmed a bit. Finally the cowgirl shrugged, straightening up. “Pelican's my least favorite. She's an accident waiting to happen. Now, Io 11 wasn't much beyond her a while back, but she's something else now. Pretty impressive,” she said smiling.

  Jane raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Yeah, they picked up a sleeper in Senka and boy has he worked them hard fixing that ship!”

  “Really?” the girl asked excitedly.

  “Yes, supposed to be some high muckity muck, a Federation admiral if you can believe it. I met him on the flight south. Saved the Captain's bacon when a young stud slipped out of containment and went on a rampage.”

  “A rampage!” the girl said, eyes wide with concern.

  “Sure, they are big animals and scared. They don't know any better lass, they are just acting up out of instinct. New place, smells, sounds, they don't condition them on New Texas, just a slap on the rump up the ramp. So it all boils out when we get topside.”

  “Really?” the girl asked, now concerned.

  “Ayup.”

  “How did it get loose?”

  “He. Though he's most likely in someone's belly by now. He got loose. Beauregard. Big boy. Young, a couple of months old, even though he stood 16 hands high. They grow quick, what can I tell you,” she said as the girl's eyes widened comically.

  “I'm all for women pulling their own weight but Io's set up was well, not the greatest when it came to running heavy cargo. I don't mind showing the boys up, but having a few around to do the heavy lifting make sense.”

  “Wait, I don't understand,” Jane said, wrinkling her brow in confusion.

  “Oh? Sorry. Thought you spacers all knew each other. Io's got an all female crew. Well, most of them. There are a couple of guys like the admiral fellow. Mostly passengers.”

  “Oh. So um, about the animals. You said they can be dangerous?”

  “Not if you handle them proper. Git of a girl tried to be all lovey with Beauregard and he wasn't her type. And the stupid thing about it is, the more stress you put on the animal the faster they lose weight. They can lose a lot on a flight, so the faster and quieter, the better. More room matters to them too.”

  “Oh.”

  “You'd think that given that they just stand around and eat and shit, they'd put on fat. Ain't how it works lass.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. It figures to about a kilogram a day loss despite all the food and love you can give them. A long flight will have them looking like they are ready for a glue factory,” the cowgirl sighed, shaking her head. “I haven't found the right way to get them to cope, never did. Conditioning, that's what my research says, that or stasis. But no one will listen.”

  “Conditioning huh?”

  “Yes. And if we can get them real food. By the time they get half way to their destination all they have is freeze dried pellets or recycled mush. Gives them indigestion every time. Colic can kill. We usually loose 10 or 20 percent of a herd.”

  “Oh.”

  “Mucking them out daily in such tight spaces is damn dangerous. Foolhardy. But it's got to be done.”

  “Oh.”

  “So, no, it's not all fun and games for me either missy. Just stay in the flight cabin until we're unloaded. Okay?” She pronounced okay with an H in front of it. Sometimes her New Texas accent slipped in whenever she spoke fast. She was cosmopolitan, she'd been a spacer since this kid's mother had been born. But... she put the rumination aside.

  “So, tell me more about this admiral guy... what did he do for the ship that made it so great?” Jane asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “Rebuilt it from stem to stern. Dorsal to keel, she's almost as good as new, or so I heard the crew say. Fast, she did the run in less than a quarter of the usual time, that's saying something right there.”

  “I see.”

  “Beta band. High octaves of Beta no less. They were pushing Gamma near the end of the run when I got off.”

  Jane's eyes flared wide. “Wow!”

  “I got some stuff from him. A flash chip of reading material. I can copy it for you...”

  The girl smiled as if she was giving her a treasure. Which, in a way she was, knowledge was vital to spacers. “Sure!”

  “Okay, well, let's get em on and move em out then.”

  “Yeah ha!” the girl said, bouncing about.

  “I'll make a cowgirl out of you yet,” the cowgirl chuckled, handing the small vacuum back to her.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Once the batch of animals were loaded she worked with the freighter’s crew to move the animals to their intended home on the ship. They used portable fences and defensive barriers to herd the animals to the cargo hold. The ship rang with their hooves skittering and clattering on the metal deck and bulkheads. Annie used a popper, a short whip to get the animals moving. By flicking it in the air it made a popping sound, spooking the animals away from her. She didn't like to use it, it stressed the animals, but with the tight loading line she didn't have a choice.

  She wrinkled her nose at the crap and piss some of the calves let loose as they wandered the corridors of their new home. A few were pretty dainty, lively stepping over the knee knockers and trotting along to the hold. Others were all asses and elbows, kicking, stumbling messes. She tried to make a note of which ones were ungainly and which were quiet. It was always the quiet ones that got you. A stumbler though, you could easily get a broken foot from one of them. They might even do it on purpose.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  They broke orbit two weeks after the ship arrived, a day after the last shipment of hay and oats was brought on board and stored. Annie was a bit put out about being drafted to toss hay bales after finishing up with the animals. She did the work though, putting her gloves on and grabbing the twine to swing with the best of them.

  Her back ached when they were through, she was itchy, sweaty, and in dire need of a bath, but the fodder hold was stocked to the brim. It wouldn't last long, just a month or so, but it if she managed it right she'd wean them onto the protein crap the recycler put out. Maybe she could also talk the ship gardener into giving her plant scraps? That always helped, if the scraps were right. He'd get the manure anyway... she made a note to check. Some gardeners were prickly about that. She smiled to Jane as the girl passed her. Jane hadn't shirked helping, even though she didn't have the muscle for the work. She was proud of the girl.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  As the ship crossed the system and then jumped, Annie settled into the routine of mucking out, feeding, and cleaning the animals. With nothing to do Jane tagged along. Even though her parents weren't happy about her being around such big and dangerous animals.

  Annie kept an eye on her young helper, at first making certain the girl stayed on the other side of the fence. She'd set the hold up with a separate pen. That way she could open a gate and let the animals in there, then close it, and then muck out their old quarters. Once she was finished she'd clear out and let the animals back in.

  She took the time to handle each animal, slapping their sides and rubbing at them, giving each a treat as she talked softly to them. She wanted them to get used to her, get used to her presence and her smell. She taught them to lift their hooves so she could make sure none were cracked or infected. Being on metal decking was a sure fire way of causing hoof damage. She talked with Jane as she gave each of the one hundred animals a rub down. She explained about the salt licks hanging from the fencing and supplements she slipped into their feed and water daily.

  Jane occasionally played gopher, getting her things or keeping an eye out for trouble. Working wi
th the animals was an all day affair, even though Jane's helping out with the muck out cut some of the work load. Just giving the animals a rub down was back breaking labor.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  She kept to the herd for the most part, busy dealing with them. Syntia's world wasn't a long hop, no more than three and a half months at their highest speed. She took to having dinner with the Darlings when she could, either chatting up with Jane or Wendy when they were available.

  Micheal Darling was a treat, he teased her about his smell and hers. She'd surprised herself by laughing at his wit. They'd hit it off, and even had a brief roll in the hay before they'd broken it off. Wendy and Jane had gotten their hopes up, but they'd quietly explained, neither was really compatible. Annie was too set in her ways and had no intention of staying in the sterile confines of a ship the rest of her days.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  MM arrived in Syntia's word without incident. For once Annie didn't lose a single calf. She had been surprised by that. The crew had been amiable to her requests, so much so the stock had survived. Oh a few were a bit poorly, but they were alive, that was the important thing. Now they were taking on supplies. George was devious, he wanted to feed the herd for a week on hay before shipping them down to market. She approved of the idea, it would get most of them back on track before they hit the market.

  She'd heard the scuttlebutt from Jane, the ship planned to run from Syntia's world to Senka as part of the circuit. Annie ignored the discussion until the bridge crew had moseyed into the cargo area they'd set up for the feed and started in with her and a crew trying to work around them.

  The Captain was a nice sort, honest, hard working, he pitched in with the cargo hands unlike his mouthy cargo master. Annie nodded in passing to him. He was a handsome sort, with the curly hair just going gray at the temples and on the sides. He didn't have a gut, he must work out a bit to stay in shape, not shine the Captain's seat with his ass so much.

  The XO was a high elf, a rare breed that. Annie shot her a look to size her up. Bluish skin, tall, stick thin. Long ears that seemed to move about, scanning the compartment. She was serene, silver haired and not bothered by the surroundings or the work. She was dressed in a silver jump suit, fetching, but not really suited for their surroundings. Her long fingers were tucked in the overlong sleeves.