Curse of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book Two (The Altered Moon Series 2)

by AZ Kelvin

  “Oh shit!” he said.

  “What?” Boss asked.

  “I forgot to open the door-wall, before we shut down the power. Get everything set to move and I’ll go back in.”

  It took only a short while before the power came alive and the door-wall opened to its maximum extent before the power flickered and faded out once again. The running lights of Moonshadow outlined the ship against the velvety deep black of the chamber. Further off in the distance, the lights of the Altered Moon twinkled like the stars themselves from where the ship sat in waiting for her crew to return. It was a truly beautiful sight.

  CJ rejoined the group just as Gina brought Moonshadow up perfectly to where the crew could step off the deck and float right into the airlock. The five people and the thruster packs, along with the extra O2 packs, made it a tight fit in the medium-sized airlock of the shuttle. They had to scrunch in just to get the outer door to swing closed. The airlock cycled through the decontamination stage then pressurized to equal that of the shuttle.

  “Take us home, G.” CJ felt the fatigue of a long day of EV activity.

  “Copy, we’re on the way.”

  The crew stowed the thruster packs and the work frames and plopped down in the seats even before they loosened their EV suits. The current models of civilian extravehicular space suits were lightweight, flexible, strong, and dependable, but it still felt like wearing ten layers of clothing. They barely moved or spoke during the short ride back to the Altered Moon. Gina set Moonshadow down without so much as a jiggle and powered down the flight systems.

  “Here we are, folks,” she said to the lackluster group. “There are a few boxes to carry in, Captain.”

  “Yes, that’s right.” CJ perked up. “We have presents to open while we have dinner tonight.”

  The prospect of opening something unknown washed away some of the fatigue. They squared away their EV gear as quickly as they could and moved the goods to the crew’s mess. Food and drink were prepared, places at the table were set, and the crew dug in like it was a picnic in the park. Even GABI materialized and sat down, leaned back with her hands in her lap, and crossed her holographic legs.

  “Would you like the analysis while you eat, Captain?”

  “One moment, GABI.” An impish grin spread across his face. He tinged a utensil for attention. “I’ve had a hunch on what is inside these cylinders since I saw them this morning. So people, is it business before pleasure, or pleasure before business?”

  “Pleasure.”

  “Pleasure.”

  “Pleasure.”

  “Pleasure.”

  “Pleasure.”

  “Business,” Cal said. Silence followed. “Okay, twist my arm.”

  “Why did I even ask? Stellar! GABI, hold off on the report until after dinner. Let’s open the loot!” CJ rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Cal, hand me that group of cylinders. Thank you. Everybody grab something.” CJ stood up and set the cylinders on the table. He deactivated the seal of one of them and carefully removed the pressure cap. He peeked inside the padded cylinder then looked up with the same impish grin, as he pulled out an ornate bottle of deep purple liquid. An ‘ahhh’ of appreciation came from around the table.

  “What does the label say?” Boss asked.

  CJ read off the fancy lettered words, “Black Dwarf Brewers and Distillers, Ltd., Shadow Berry Corvina, one hundred and seventy proof alcohol.”

  CJ made an impressed face and nodded his head as Cal made sure there were glasses all around. A miniature red sash was sealed over the top of the bottle by a wax blob with the company crest pushed into it. CJ pulled the sash, which broke the wax seal and spun the cap off the bottle. He took a sniff to get an idea of what the taste was going to be like before he filled each glass.

  “GABI, I wish you could enjoy a fine Corvina,” Boss said, as he grabbed his glass of the dark purple liquor.

  “I do, Boss. I enjoy watching its effects on you. It is quite entertaining. I have put together a very nice blooper compilation.”

  “Ha, ha, that’s a joke, right?” Boss asked after her remark set in.

  GABI just smiled and said nothing.

  “We could always randomize your power conduits for a while, if you want,” Cal suggested.

  “Maybe later,” GABI whispered with a wink.

  Cal got a boyish grin on his face until he saw the look on Cat’s face. “I—just…,” he pointed at somewhere in space then looked helplessly back and forth at Cat and GABI, as they both laughed at his expense. CJ and Katy joined in the laughter, as they had been watching it unfold.

  “Hoist yer glasses, mateys, to the good ship, Altered Moon, and her fine crew,” CJ raised his glass. “The best crew a captain could hope to have. Cheers!”

  “Cheers!” came from all as they drained their glasses in the traditional first toast ‘bottoms up.’ A chorus of various comments came from everyone as they swallowed the fiery liquor.

  “Oh, wow!” Cat said hoarsely.

  “Holy Oort cloud,” Boss whispered.

  “Ooo, that’s smooth,” Cal said.

  CJ set his empty glass down. “Smooth is how it leaves your throat.”

  Gina’s glass slid over to CJ a half-second before Katy’s did, both for a refill. He filled the rounds again then checked out the bottle as he set it down. “Hmm, this was bottled on Ushan in year three-fifty-one.”

  “Three-fifty-one?” Boss exclaimed. “This is two hundred and forty-one-year-old Corvina! Why, you could buy a short-range shuttle with this bottle alone! I better have another glass.”

  CJ refilled his own glass as well. “Well, somebody open another cargo pod. Open all of them, hell.”

  The crew began to open the twelve cargo pods they’d pulled in from the first row of containers. Cal opened one of the medium pods. “Hey look at this. Star Pilot Hologames. These are ancient!”

  “This was one of the most popular games in history,” Boss said, as he looked one over. “There were riots over this game. How many are in there?”

  “Ah, four cases of six games each,” Cal replied.

  “Think they’re worth anything?” Katy asked.

  “To the right person, sure,” Boss said. “They’re almost a century old and in mint condition.”

  Cat pulled a velvety black box out of one of the small pods. She undid the three black ribbons holding the box closed and lifted the lid. Cat gasped and said breathlessly, “Oh my stars.” The others closed in around her as she lifted out four small shelves full of gemstones. Each little shelf was split into three compartments filled with a variety of gems. Silence settled over the group as they took in the beautiful and extremely valuable sight.

  “Waaaaahooooo!” CJ blew up the silence with his bellow of excitement. The rest of the crew joined in celebration of such an excellent score. The three women ooh’d and ahh’d over each of the different stones: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, opals, and more.

  “Oh, look, Sunfire gems!” Katy spun the deep red-orange gemstone around to catch the light.

  “And Asteria, too.” Gina held up an oval gemstone, one of many various colors in the shelf; it had a four-pointed star-shaped refraction that seemed to go on forever into the depths of the stone. When you held it just right, a tiny flash reflected from the very center.

  “Ohh, that’s beautiful,” Cat said when she saw the stone.

  “Never seen one? Here.” Gina passed one over to her.

  “Ohhhh…,” Cat was enchanted by the gemstone. “That is so beautiful.”

  “Going to take your cut in stones, are you?” Boss asked her with a smile.

  “I would take my weight in these,” Cat whispered and handed it back to Gina. “Here, you need to take this from me, please.” She looked up at CJ. “Can I take my share in stones?”

  “Ha-ha-ha, well I don’t see a problem with part of it, leastways. Why go to all the trouble if you’re not going to enjoy the spoils? I’ll tell you what, and you guys tell me if you think I’m out
of line on this, but I think that everyone, GABI included, should get two of each stone as a bonus for this one before we do the standard split. Coming here has been tough on the ship. We have a lot of damage to repair, but it’s been tough on us, too. So, ladies, if there are no objections, you have my leave to take first selection.”

  “You first, Katy,” Gina said.

  “Me? Why?”

  “Because you really rocked out there today.” Gina reached out and squeezed her forearm. “Going after Cat like that—that was above and beyond.”

  “Hear, hear!” everyone hailed, as they raised and downed another round. Boss made sure the glasses were quickly refilled.

  “Undoubtedly stellar!” Cal added in.

  Katy blushed two shades of red all the way up to her hairline. “Couldn’t let her hit that wall.” Katy smiled at Cat, “Go to no end to save a friend, right?”

  Katy raised her glass in turn and the others responded with a loud, “Aye!” They drained their glasses once again.

  “Ahh, gettin’ smoother.” Cal grinned ear to ear.

  “Smooooother—he he he.” Boss poured Cal a drink and then drank it.

  “Hey!” Cal looked at the empty glass. “That was mine.”

  “Caaaal hey! How are you? Lemme pour you a drrink.” Boss refilled the glass again which Cal promptly secured this time.

  After everyone, including GABI, got their bonus, the gemstones were packaged back up and set aside to be tallied with the rest of the loot. Katy opened another box with a dozen plastic-wrapped bundles of fabric. She read the manufacture tag on the side, “Uh, oh, Seedge.” She smiled up at CJ. “It’s an old-fashioned Far Star Action Jacket straight out of the bag. Six of them actually and six women’s style, too.”

  “No friggin’ way!” He opened one that was his size and fell in love with it immediately. “Stellar shit! They don’t make them like this anymore. Okay. Bonus round two, anybody who wants one, gets one.”

  “Can I have a Star Pilot game instead?” Cal asked hopefully.

  “Eh, what the hell, why not?” CJ replied. “Here’s to raidin’ tombs and robbin’ treasure rooms! Ha-ha!”

  A cheer was raised up and another round of Shadow Berry Corvina went down.

  “Here’re three more boxes of Far Star Adventure Gear,” Boss said. He and Gina went through more of the cargo pods. “There’re some nice ba—, oh, excuse me—ballistic gloves in here.”

  “Really?” CJ asked.

  “Yeah, and some shuz for Zhuz, tooz.” Boss finished with a snicker.

  “Shoes? What kind of shoes!” Zhu asked.

  “Yep—hey!” Boss said as she commandeered the cargo pod.

  “Hey look here, cases from Rellia.” Cal pulled out a briefcase-sized black alloy case. He thumbed both latch icons and the case clicked open to reveal a vintage Rellia K-12 charged hydrogen pistol. Nowhere near as powerful as the current K-13 pistols of today, but she was a beauty, nonetheless. “Well, well, well, well, well—ol’ Fulson Stile was a gun runner, too. I wonder what else the ol’ buzzard had stashed away.”

  “And all this stuff is at least eighty-zix yearz old,” Boss added with a hiccup. “Thaz damn near vintage for everythin’ here. Wherez that Corvinaaa? Di’jou girlz drink all that?”

  “An’ ’eres two more from Rellia,” Cal said. “Holsters, cleanin’ kits, magazines, everythin’ else you need to shine yer gun.”

  “Hellooo, iz there more Azzteria in here?” Cat called when she opened another cargo pod. “Nope—just crap…,” she laughed as she dumped a pile of blank datpad mem cards out on the floor.

  “Huh,” Boss said when he saw the goods. “Blank comms cardz for dacking hatpadz—datting hackpadz—“

  “Hacking datpads.” GABI said.

  “Thaz right! For making fake onez. Datpadz today don’ ev’n uze thiz zhit azz tech anymore. No zzrap value, pretty muzh worthlizz.”

  “Look property deeds” Katy rooted about in the next cargo pod, “Aren’t these deeds?

  GABI looked the documents over. “Yes, these are deeds, Chief; to four separate properties on Canalar with no owner listed. Most likely blank documents for real estate scams.”

  “Man-o-man, this guy Stile had his hands in a li’l bit ah everythin’!” Cal seemed impressed.

  “Whozup for a game ah Three Man?” Gina hollered then drained her glass and slammed it down on the table. “C’mon Seedge, ol’ buddy, come play.”

  “No effin’ way.” CJ shook his head. “I could’n see straight for three days afder the last game.” He laughed out loud for no real reason; it just felt good.

  Boss picked up on CJ’s laughter and starting roaring himself. Pretty soon, the whole group forgot about the loot, howled with laughter, and called out well-meant insults.

  The one hundred and seventy proof liquor snuck up on its prey and pounced on every one of them. A short time later, somehow, by someone, a second bottle of the strong Corvina had been opened and the party was on.

  GABI, in between many excited conversations with her drunken crewmates, sat back in great enjoyment and added to her blooper reel.

  Tales were told and songs were sung, while the hours slipped away as easy as the Shadow Berry Corvina went down. Sometime in the night CJ and Katy, followed by Cat and Cal, and then Boss and Gina, all split off from one another to continue the festivities in more intimate fashions.

  *~*~*

  Chapter Nine

  A giant had gotten in behind CJ and managed to stay there. No matter which way CJ turned, the giant stayed right behind him. It carried two massive war hammers, and smashed them against his head with in a pincer-style strike. The hammers hit with every heartbeat: thump thump thump .

  “Aaaaa—blaachh.” CJ opened one eye partway and closed his wide-open mouth, which was dry as a desert and tasted like something had used it for a crapper. He opened the other eye and focused in on pipes and conduits, his gaze following them to what could only be the Inner System Drive engine.

  The question, I’m in engineering? floated through his alcohol-soaked brain. Ohhh—I feel terrible. He tried to sit up but something held his left shoulder down. He looked over to see Katy snuggled up to his left side, lying on her stomach. He looked down and saw they were naked and lying in the engineering bay, covered with a greasy tarp. “Ewww.” He tossed the nasty thing aside, slid out from underneath Katy, and stiffly sat up. “Ohhh.” “Ehhh—yuck.”

  “Unnhhh…,” Katy roused, as she opened an eye, looked at CJ then around the bay, and dropped her head back to the deck with a thump. “What the hell happened?” She rolled over and noticed she was lying naked in the middle of engineering. “What…?” The crisscross pattern of the tread plate decking was embedded along her entire right side from her thigh up to her bosom and the side of her face as well. “Ugh, my boob is smashed.” She looked over at CJ. “Oh honey, you look like shit.”

  “Tastes like I ate shit.” He grabbed the edge of a control panel and pulled himself to his feet.

  “Mmm, you’ve got a great ass, especially with tread plate marks on it.” She sighed and smiled, as she watched him get up. His back and buttocks were embedded with the same tread plate pattern as she was. He reached out to help her to her feet. “Where are my clothes?”

  “All over the bay.” He waved at the clothing strewn around them. “How did we end up down here?”

  “I haven’t a clue, but I feel like I need a thousand showers.” She collected and donned her clothing. “What time is it?”

  “Shit, zero-nine-twenty!” The anger he felt at himself for being so irresponsible burned away most of the grogginess. “GABI?” he called over the comms.

  “Yes, Captain?”

  “What’s our situation?”

  “Our situation remains unchanged. All systems operating normally.”

  “I apologize for my tardiness.”

  “Understandable, Captain. Shadow Berry Corvina has a reputation for relaxing inhibitions.”
>
  “Understandable, maybe, acceptable, I don’t think so. Thanks for covering our asses while we got stupid.”

  “Most welcome, Captain. The analysis you requested is ready at your leisure.”

  “My leisure is over! Meet me in the crew’s mess in twenty minutes.”

  “Aye, sir, twenty minutes.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Seedge,” Katy said.

  “No, we should have waited until the job was done. Not get tanked in the middle of the game.” He pulled his shirt on over his head. “Wow, I need a shower.”

  They got back to their quarters, quickly shat and showered, and arrived at the crew’s mess smack on twenty minutes: not a second late or early.

  Cat was there already and had fixed some coffee and nibbly things for everyone to eat. “Good morning, you two.” She smiled happily when they came in. “I didn’t think that anyone would want a big breakfast after last night—well, maybe Boss.”

  “How are you so not hung over?” CJ asked.

  “Analgesic for the headache and lots of water. Most hangover symptoms stem from dehydration.”

  “I’ll take some headache meds if you have them,” CJ said, which Katy dittoed.

  “On the table. The amber pill vial that says ‘Nulliceedin’ on it. Take only one and let it dissolve under your tongue, then drink a full glass of water. You’ll feel better in about ten minutes.”

  GABI materialized and sat down at the table. She greeted them with a good morning, which the others returned.

  “How’s Cal?” Katy asked as she stuck the small yellow pill under her tongue.

  “Ohhhh, he’s hurting, but he’ll be okay,” Cat said, with a sympathetic smile.

  “The Corvina hit him that hard, eh?” CJ asked.

  “Oh, yeah, the Corvina hit him as hard as the rest of us, but it was the parkour race that you and he held at, oh—about zero-two-thirty this morning that he’s going to feel for the next few days.

  “I was running parkour at two this morning?” CJ asked in disbelief and rubbed his eyes with his palm heels. “Oh, ho, ho, what a night: finding treasure, getting drunk, running parkour, having sex in the engine room!” he said without thinking.