by Reiter
“Don’t forget to dot those ‘I’s and cross those ‘T’s,” Jocasta said, though it sounded more like a nursery rhyme. “One foul slip and you belong to Z!” Annsura smiled as she finished her entry. “Yes, we make fun of it, but serious business, you mess that up and I will slice you up and feed you to him; anything to keep him from being mad at me!”
“I can see where you’d get that, Captain,” Annsura chuckled.
“Listen, I’ll make this easy for you, because you’re still very new at this,” Jocasta stated. “Hell, we’re both new, but you’re very new which means I get to act all long and gray about it. You can lighten that load, Cutter. It’s not all yours to carry.”
“Captain?”
“That Siekor weight you’ve got hanging around your neck,” Jocasta stated, locking her eyes on Annsura. The young woman’s brown eyes were suddenly very still, as was her hand. “Thought that was it,” she said softly. “You’re conflicted, and you should be. You don’t like him, personally or professionally, and you wonder if you should have stepped up and said something. After all, you were reporting to your Captain! You don’t want to lie to your Captain, do you? Not and get caught, anyway.”
“Captain, I–”
“You did the right thing, Cutter,” Jocasta interrupted. “… but I think we’ve covered that it was for the wrong reason.”
“Then what’s the right reason?”
“You’re not responsible for each crewman, each crewman is! You’re responsible for the crew, and that is a fickle, freakin’ body to say the least! You didn’t front on Siekor because you’re not sure, and if you’re not sure, your best bet, your only bet, is to go along with the tide. No sense in planting an ugly seed in front of everyone and have your crew start growing apart.
“Look,” Jocasta said as she stepped to Annsura and lifted her chin with a finger. “I’ve seen a perfect crew, living, laughing, and loving together. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. You know what happens to them?”
“No,” Annsura muttered. “What?”
“They go away every time I wake up from that dream!” Jocasta said sharply. “We can sail together, live together, laugh if we’re drunk enough, and fight on the same side. After that, Cutter baby, let it go! When I sailed under one of the best ship commanders I’ve ever seen, we took whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and that woman charted us from having one customized freighter to a five-ship fleet! And we still fought over who sat where in the Mess Hall! I got clocked for saying that I should be flying point! What the hell was I thinking?! Who gives a damn if I was the best pilot, hands down? And hear me on this Cutter. When I kicked, clawed, and flew my way to that top spot, I wound up having to put a fellow pilot down. The bastard had been my wingman for like five missions, but he had more time in the seat and he was older… oh yeah, he was all man. That was the first thing I changed before I killed him!” Jocasta stepped back from Annsura and gave her a moment to process what she had said.
“So, what’s the solution for my Siekor problem?” she asked.
“Good girl!” Jocasta smiled and winked at Annsura. “You get a cool head to be your eyes for you. If they’re really cool, they’ll even get close to and trusted by the very person you want to have monitored.”
“Llaz,” both women said softly. Jocasta laughed, touched her knuckles to Annsura’s chin and turned to take her leave.
“Thank you, Captain.”
“For what, Cutter?” Jocasta waved before the doors closed behind her.
“Let’s try this one more time,” Jocasta whispered as she put her first boot off the gangplank. “Because the last time I tried this, we killed a spaceport!”
“Captain, if it is all the same to you, I have work aboard ship I–”
“Are you certain you want me walking around Black Gate alone, Z?” Jocasta asked as she started to walk away from the shuttle. “Because you’d be the only one I would take with me while I’m handling ship’s business.”
“What of Cutter?” Dungias pressed as he followed Jocasta down the ramp.
“She’s got her own job to do,” Jocasta replied. “She’s got to make sure we’re all stocked up and ready to go. Plus, she’s also going to see to my most immediate crew needs.”
“I am?!” Annsura asked.
“I need a saw-bone, and I need a boil-bone,” Jocasta stated.
“Ugh!” Silnee said, covering her mouth. “And we insist that they can never be the same bones!”
“Damn, cut off again,” Jocasta said to Dungias. She then smiled at Annsura. “Happy hunting.”
“But that is only after we get to our abode,” Nulaki insisted.
“Our what?” Jocasta stopped and turned to face him.
“I figured we would be here for a moment, and to keep from sucking the coffers dry with room rentals and ferries to the ship, I thought we would rent a house… a seventeen-bedroom house to be exact.”
“That sounds more like an estate, Conadier,” Jocasta pointed out. “… an estate away from the grit and grime that is Black Gate. I want my people to experience everything this place has to offer!”
“And they still can,” Nulaki returned. “… but now if they receive the same reception you did, they can give the address of the estate to the med-techs and receive treatment because it will just be billed to the house.
“And that is all that can be billed to the house!” Nulaki quickly added, holding up a pointing finger and making sure that everyone heard him. “You’re right, Captain, it is away from the grit and grime, but I have to tell you, that only accounts for the areas bordering on the spaceport decks… and the lower regions. At the house we’ll have artificial sunlight… green grass… there’s even a park nearby!”
“And?” Jocasta said, folding her arms.
Nulaki locked eyes with her and started to nod. “And it’s a great base of operations for me,” he admitted.
“Base of operations?!” Jocasta asked, lowering her voice and moving closer to the man. “How long do you think we’re going to be here?”
“I should ask you the same thing!” Nulaki quickly returned. “You want passage into the Territories and it sounded like you didn’t get the run-down about this place on your visit.
“No ship can just sail into the Prism Baronies,” he explained. “This place is called a gate for a reason. If they don’t open the door, you can’t get in! That means you have to go before the Baronial Council and make an application.”
“The what?! An application?! Are you shitting me right now?” Jocasta pressed.
“I swear to you, Captain, I wouldn’t joke about such a thing. If you do not already have a standing pass into the Territories, you have to go through the Council,” Nulaki explained. “And I would highly suggest you get all of your rainbow jokes out of the way here and now, because despite how ridiculous some of them are going to look, jokes about their sense of fashion are not tolerated in the least. Like you said, there is only one kind of law out here, and in the Council Chambers you’ll be surrounded by Baronial Knights and Troops. Pound for pound, those guys would give Gulmar Bricks a run for their money, plus they love tech too!”
Jocasta sighed as she began to walk away. The crew followed behind her and Dungias locked the shuttle down. He caught a glimpse of the outside of the station and allowed himself a smile. He closed his eyes and recalled Gavis Station… the good times he had had running and flying around the outside of the main hull with Nugar. Gavis was a small percentage of the size of Black Gate, and the Traveler wondered what the feel outside of this station would be to him. He opened his eyes and set his mind to finding that answer, should he be given the opportunity. For the moment, however, Jocasta needed him. A presentation needed to be made and some modicum of etiquette, style, and the sort of grace that did not lead to bloodletting might be in high demand. JoJo Starblazer was going to need help with that.
** b *** t *** o *** r **
Without moving his head, his lips searched for the pink straw an
d upon finding it, he took another healthy gulp of mango tea. He needed to keep his eyes fixed on the displays. Three of his opponents had decided they would band together to take him out and then settle their affairs afterward. His hand moved feverishly over his controls. In lightning speed he was sending forward units, telling others to hold, and still others to either move to a flank or retreat. He cackled as he heard the explosions going off. His mercenaries had been successful, and the headquarters of all three opponents had been destroyed. He could hear the whining and moaning of the other players as they each dropped off the network.
“It is all over!” he shouted, standing up from his chair and raising his fists above his head. He watched the upper right-hand corner of the largest display and rubbed his hands together as the credits rolled into his accounts. “There’s nothing in the worlds like a positive cash flow!” A warning beep punctuated the moment and the young man quickly turned to the machine giving off the sound. “Then again…”
Reaching the console, he quickly entered in the commands to receive the report. One of the displays changed to show a view of a lander craft parking at Black Gate. “This cannot be!” he whispered as he watched. “This simply cannot be!” He remained fixed on the playback as the gangplank lowered and the passengers started to disembark. One sort of breed walked down the walkway after another, but none of them interested the young man. It was the last man he had been waiting for! “Oh, but it is! It has been years, hasn’t it, my alien friend. But finally… finally you’ve come to Black Gate. We must take steps to make sure you are made to feel… most welcome!”
** b *** t *** o *** r **
“Will you look at that,” Hennix said, lowering his glasses from his eyes. “Now that is what I call one mother of a ship!
“That is what I call suicide!” Bruveia quickly countered after a very brief look at the monitor. “Look at the dimensions, baby. “That thing is probably hauling around a crew of at least 350. In case you’re getting fuzzy with your math again, we’re not even one percent of that.”
“We’re close!” Hennix argued. “… only point five off.”
“More like a full one,” Bruveia muttered, looking down at her leg.
“Take it easy, babe. Doc said that bone-set could come off in a couple of days.” Reaching out to take hold of her hand. Her hazel-green eyes fell into his brown eyes and she squeezed his hand. “Just hang in there.” The door to the warehouse slid open and Deolun walked inside carrying a box of groceries.
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said, quickly sliding the door closed and locking it.
“Will you please get him to come up with a new opener!” Bruveia hissed through clenched teeth. Hennix chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m glad you guys are on the lookout,” Deolun continued. “You probably saw that mammoth sphere take to the Green Lot. I received a trans-comm… our last one for the immediate future. “That thing has to be automated out the ass; it’s been logged in with a crew of ten and one passenger!”
“Eleven?!” Hennix exclaimed.
“Just eleven,” Deolun confirmed with a sly grin. Hennix took in air to speak but Bruveia’s finger pressed against his lips.
“And what’s the bad news?” she asked.
Deolun found reason for his smile to wane. “One of those ten is a well-logged bounty-hunter who has more runaway Imps to his credit than anything else. Nothing in these parts, but some serious Middle Rim cred.”
“Nothing Middle Rim counts unless it’s got some BSZ to it,” Hennix argued. “You just tuck yourself into your computer, hack me a dock feed and let me know when they put to port.”
“Hennix,” Bruveia said, trying to reason with her man. He took hold of her hand, caressing it.
“You heard your cousin. This is the last data-feed we get until we can pony up more funds. We’re almost to the wall, babe. We’ve got to make good on something and soon! If we can get a read on how many leave the ship, I say we go for that small treasure moon.”
“And who will go with you?” she quickly asked.
“You and D have to switch up. You fly us in, he’ll partner me.”
“D?!”
“Wow, really?! Deolun exclaimed. “I am in the room, you know.”
“Just get into the grid, cousin, and get us a harbor feed!”
“Won’t have to,” Deolun replied as he continued to work. “Looking at their channels, they made one other comm-link aside from Harbor Control. Seems they’ve rented a house… a damn big house… in Dayno Forks!”
“WHAT?!” both Bruveia and Hennix questioned.
“Verified,” Deolun reported. “A manor, actually… fully furnished… with an explicit inquiry about a vault… and accommodations for eleven!”
“That thing is going to be empty?!” Hennix inquired, not wanting to believe what he had heard.
“We’ll know shortly,” Deolun replied. “They’ve just been assigned a dock slip for a landing craft. I’m already in the feed. We’ll have eyes on them as soon as they land.” Hennix looked at Bruveia, a very obvious question written across his face. She did not want to, but the blonde-haired woman could not keep from smiling. She closed her eyes and nodded. Hennix shouted with delight and ran off to prepare their equipment.
I love meeting new people; I think everyone has a story to tell.
Kim Smith
(Rims Time: XII-4202.22)
The tastes of Nulaki Conadier became more evident as the crew of the Xara-Mansura acquainted themselves with the décor and layout of the estate. Per the clearly-stated instructions of the First Mate, everyone was allowed thirty minutes to be awestruck by the estate – to gasp and silently cheer at having Nulaki in their company – before getting to work and donning goggles to make a very thorough scan-sweep of the estate, the grounds, and the immediate neighborhood. By the time Dungias was done converting the Communications Room to a central hub, the crew had scanned every last centimeter and Satithe had merged all files rendering a comprehensive three-dimensional map of the property. Though his name was on the leasing agreement, and he had paid for the first two weeks, Nulaki was surprised to see that there were so many tunnels and hidden passageways worked into the architecture.
“This explains a few things,” he concluded.
“Such as?” Dungias asked.
“Such as doing a job to lift ten precious stones, steal fifteen instead, and come away with only twelve when it came time to hand them off to Tehdi. Hmmm, I guess ol’ Moncrieff wasn’t lying after all. Oh well. Rest in peace, old boy.”
“I will be heading back to the Xara-Mansura when everyone gathers for dinner,” Dungias advised. “We have modules that can be placed inside these passageways for the purposes of surveillance and security.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Nulaki started. “… but I did have a life before you, yes?”
“I would think one of substantial note and worth,” Dungias replied.
“Because I’m trying to figure out how to live without you, Z!”
“I am sure you will come up with something, Nulaki,” Dungias said as he moved to the door.
“He probably doesn’t know how cold that sounded,” Nulaki muttered as he collected himself. “Yeah, that’s what I’m going to go with.”
Dungias opened the door in time to keep Jocasta from breaking stride as she approached. He had more than heard her footfalls, which were heavier than her normal stride; he could also feel her approaching. So much intense emotion was hard for anyone to miss.
“You have got to be shitting me!” Jocasta barked as she entered the room.
“Do come in, Captain,” Dungias said as he closed the door.
“Five days?!” she shouted, looking at the monitor of her brace-com. “Five?! Five days!”
Dungias pointed at Jocasta’s brace-com while saying the word ‘link’. He then pointed at the computer hub for the estate and the information on Jocasta’s device was displayed on the main screen. It was the noti
ceboard for the Baronial Council, and JoJo Starblazer’s application for audience was listed as received with a date… on the twenty-second of the Februsi. Nulaki managed to remain silent about the speed at which Satithe had managed to link all the systems. It was simpler to look at the display… or at least, that was what he initially thought. A second glance, however, showed the word ‘pending’ inside parentheses.
“Hmmm,” Dungias muttered as he took a seat at the computer. He too had seen the notation and decided to investigate it.
“Hmmm what?” Jocasta asked, knowing that Z’s hmmm’s were nothing to dismiss lightly.
“You’ve got a ‘pending’ marker on your application,” Nulaki explained. “That means it’s not confirmed.”
“What?”
“The actual event has not yet been scheduled,” Dungias informed.
“You see,” Nulaki quickly added. “The thing is… while that number won’t come down…”
“It might go up,” Jocasta concluded.
“From my experience, Captain, ‘might’ isn’t a word I would use,” Nulaki replied. “It’s a safe bet that your wait time is going to go up.”
“Considering it was just moved to the twenty-third, I would have to concur,” Dungias added.
“Z, you really have to work on your bedside delivery!” Nulaki snapped.
“The only thing that could possibly be wounded here is the Captain’s pride,” Dungias stated. “… which I have noted that humans possess in excess. Instead of coddling the bitterness, the Captain would be better served in recalling the demeanor she described when she told the crew of Black Gate.
“Okay,” Jocasta thought. “… that definitely burns the angst muffins!”
“And, given our current company,” Dungias continued, “I have already theorized a solution.” Nulaki looked at Jocasta and was surprised to see her smiling.
“He’s an acquired taste,” she explained. “What do you have cooking, Z?”
“Since direct measures are, at best, a waste of time… and given we are in the company of a gifted thief, I am considering how we might go about stealing an audience,” Dungias revealed. The brows of Nulaki and Jocasta lifted at the same time.
