Soldier

by David Ryker

  “So what the hell do they need us for?”

  “Who knows — maybe they need more muscle. Money doesn’t seem to be an issue.” I took another swig. “Maybe they just want more hands on deck — more guns on their side if things go sideways. But the longer we sit here, the weirder it’s going to be when we go over there. We’re mercs, here looking for work, and now that there’s work on the table, with a nice price tag attached, suddenly we’re not sure?” I smiled and tilted my head, putting on a show for them. They needed to see us taking it in our stride. “Come on, we’re going to give ourselves away if we don’t at least check it out. Best case scenario, they get spooked and bolt. Worst case, they pull out whatever weapons they’ve got hidden in their coats and put a thousand holes in us. And if that happens, we’ll be too dead to care about it.” I drained what was left of my beer and slid off my stool, cracking my neck.

  Alice stared at me for a second, and then got up, too, grabbing the napkin. “Fine.” She breezed past me. “But I’ll lead, and you follow.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  We headed over slowly, Alice on my left and me hanging at her shoulder. We rounded the corner, past the entrance and across the back of the room toward the booths.

  The mercs watched us the entire way. When we got to the table, none of them moved; they all just stared blankly.

  Alice set her jaw and folded her arms. “So,” she said in voice not quite like her own. “Got work for us?” She was playing down her accent, her upbringing. She spoke well usually, but now, all of a sudden, she was stretching out her vowels and cutting her words off like she didn’t have a great grasp on the language — like she hadn’t been educated at a Federation pilots academy. Guess she knew it’d be a dead giveaway if she didn’t.

  The woman with the blue skin smirked. “Kid’s got spirit,” she said dryly. “What’chu theenk?” She nudged the Polgarian with her elbow and he grunted.

  “Think they’s a couple pups.” He bared his teeth a little. He had just as much charm as Jonas. He sniffed the air a couple times and looked at Alice. “And this one’s got Federation stink all over her.”

  I could see Alice trying not to stiffen next to me.

  “And ‘im, too,” he said, nodding to me. “Though I knows the Federation’s not like them runts much.” He laughed to himself. It was a shot at my origins, but it wasn’t the first I’d ever gotten it so I let it roll off my back.

  Alice scoffed and shook her head, honing in on the woman again. “You invite us over here just to insult us, or are we talking business?” She tried to sound hard, but I could hear the quiver in her voice. I just hoped they couldn’t. I didn’t jump in. I was letting her take the lead as she’d told me she would.

  The woman with the blue skin stuck her bottom lip out and pointed to the seat across from her. The droid shifted up and Alice slid in, face set in a stern grimace. I sat next to her and stayed quiet. I wasn’t about to interject, even if I wanted to. We needed to come off as a strong team — that much was imperative. These guys weren’t going to give anything away if they thought for even a second that something was hinky.

  “So,” the blue-skinned woman said airly, “how long you two been on tha circuit?”

  Alice shrugged. “Not too long, but you know — we’re good at it.”

  She laughed behind closed lips. “Sure. You twos look a leettle young, is all, to be mercs like you is, you get?”

  “Do we? And how do mercs usually look?” Her voice was hardening as she found her rhythm.

  “Maybe more like they seen de galaxy — known wa’s out there. Known what do.” Her voice was strange, and English definitely wasn’t her first language. I couldn’t peg the race she was mixed with, but it wasn’t from somewhere nearby. Either way, it was almost chilling — laid back but self-assured, like she didn’t have a care in the world, which probably made things even more tense.

  “We’ve been around.” Alice got comfortable in her chair, leaving her hand on the table. “Federation saw to that.”

  The Polgarian straightened in his seat a little at the name drop, eyes roving across our midsections, looking for anything concealed.

  Alice smirked. “Oh, come on,” she snorted, waving a hand at him. “He already said it — as if you weren’t trying to figure it out yourselves. We used to roll with them, and now we don’t.”

  “No one geets out de Federation,” the woman said.

  “Not with their approval, no. But you know, you land on one too many planets where bullets are flying and bodies are dropping, and you just think — hell, I’m not getting paid enough.” She exhaled slowly and curled her tabled hand into a fist. “Speaking of which — that was a pretty number on the napkin. Want to talk about that?”

  The blue-skinned woman measured her for a second and then looked at me. “What about ‘im? He was all talk over der, and now he not say a word. He talk?”

  “Too much,” Alice said cuttingly, smirking. “It’s a real fucking problem, actually.” That one sounded convincing. I didn’t think she was lying.

  I smiled. “I talk. Just usually only when someone asks me a question.”

  “Where you from, white-hair?” the woman asked.

  “Genesis 526 — a terraforming colony not far from the dark zone.”

  She nodded like she knew, but I doubted she did. “And how you get here?”

  I shrugged. “We’ve been working together a while. Trained together. Landed together. Decided together that there was more out there for two pilots who had their shit nailed down and more sense than to stay with the Federation.”

  The woman’s lip curled. “Pilots, eh? Dat mean you got dat beeg Federation steel?”

  I nodded, but Alice cut in. “Yeah, and if you want them included in our arrangement, then you better add a few zeroes to that figure.” She tossed the napkin across the table and it slid to a halt in front of the woman.

  She looked from Alice to me and back. “Is it just you two?” Her finger rose and waggled between us.

  Alice nodded. “Yeah. Just the two of us.”

  “Bullshit,” the Polgarian grunted.

  Alice’s jaw flexed. “Excuse me?”

  “You think we’re stupid, huh?” His voice was deep, like tires through gravel.

  The blue-skinned woman waved him down. “Theenk what he means is that you don’t really ‘spect us to beelieve you done travelled all the way to Telmareen, just de two of you, without a line on work, rolling in stolen Federation steel big-boys? Dat mean the two of you, leel pups, got yourselfs two big-boys, and a ship, and the balls to walk in here? Nah, we don’t buy it. So, we ask you — who you got wich-you?”

  “They’re not stolen,” Alice retorted.

  The woman laughed, showing off small teeth. “Oh, come now — don’t get all offendeed. Everyting is stolen if it s’posed to belong to da Federation but don’t no more.”

  I cleared my throat and leaned forward, curtailing that line of conversation. “Alright, you got us. We’re here with a crew.”

  I felt Alice’s foot nudging mine under the table, but ignored it.

  “A crew, aye? A second ago it was just da two of you.”

  “What, like you three are working alone?” I raised an eyebrow. “Come on now, if we’re doing all cards on the table you might as well come right out and tell us what the hell you need two extra mercs for that you’re willing to pay that much.” I pointed to the napkin. “Or do you want to keep getting to know each other?”

  She bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Go on deen. Tell me ‘bout dis crew.”

  “Federation outcasts, like us. Trained, ready, packing. We’ve got the steel. We’ve got a ship. And we’ve got the thing you need the most.”

  “Oh yeah? And what dat?”

  Alice was on my wavelength. “The deep-seated desire to fuck the Federation right up the ass every opportunity we get.”

  The blue-skinned woman smiled a little wider. “Oh, I like her.” She waved her hand at Alice, looki
ng at the Polgarian. “I just hope her go as good as her speak. Whatch’you theenk?”

  The Polgarian’s face was stone. “I think they’re full of shit.”

  And then there was silence around the table, and Alice’s foot pressed very hard on mine. The blue-skinned woman’s face changed from a smile to a grimace, and then she glowered, measuring us for all we were worth.

  Alice laughed first — awkwardly. Hyperbolically. I swallowed and then sucked in a breath between my teeth, mentally mapping my movements to the Arcram in my coat, calculating how quickly I could rip it out, dial it up and put rounds in these guys if they made a move.

  “Please,” Alice snorted. “You think we’re full of shit? Fuck you.” She met the Polgarian dead-eyed, and I had to admit I was impressed she had the stones. “You guys aren’t who we thought you were. We came to Telmareen looking to make some serious money because heard there was some rare shit flying around.”

  She elbowed me out of the booth and onto the platform. I slid to my feet and straightened my jacket as they watched us, saying nothing. She looked at me, and then nodded at the door. I didn’t know what angle she was playing but I obliged.

  We got ten feet before the blue-skinned woman called us. “Wait,” she said, smirking. “What dis rare sheet you mean?”

  Alice tried on a smirk, looking at me, and then changed it, deciding it wasn't the right expression. Her mouth was pulled into a thin line when she turned around. “You need us to spell it out? Iskcara. But you guys are obviously as in the dark as we are.”

  It was ballsy. Baiting them — testing them. The woman laughed to herself. “Oh sweetheart, you’re so cute. And say, whatcha theenk you do if you find thees Iskcara?”

  “Buy it. Sell it. Escort it. Whatever the fuck pays. We risked a lot coming here to Telmareen with the Federation dogging us, and if there’s nothing for us to take, then we’ll go somewhere else.” Alice made toward the door again.

  “And what make you theenk this a good place t’come looking for it, aye?”

  Alice smiled and shook her head. “It doesn’t take an idiot to run a low-level radiation scan. The whole city’s lit up because of the Iskcara moving around, but if you look close enough, it’s easy to see patterns. A line between the Sazaaron Spaceport and a warehouse in the industrial sector — lit up like firework. And considering the Sazaaron Spaceport isn’t supposed to ship that shit... And this bar just happened to be the nearest watering hole.”

  The blue-skinned woman turned in her seat and leaned on the back of the booth. “So where you fit in, you say? You want to buy it — you theenk you can sell it? You know what this sheet is, yeah, pretty?”

  Alice’s jaw flexed. “I know what Iskcara is, and I know what it’s worth. And I can shift it right now if you’ve got it. I’ve got a buyer on the hook.”

  “A buyer? Before you even got the stuff?”

  Alice scoffed. “You think I’m going to go hunting for stolen Iskcara without a buyer already lined up? Shit, you must think we’re fresh.”

  The woman stuck her bottom lip out. “Who say it stolen?”

  “Come on. Everything is stolen if it’s supposed to belong to the Federation, but doesn’t any more.” Alice let her lip curl just a touch and I watched as the blue-skinned woman’s eyes lit up a little.

  “Okay,” she droned. “We see.”

  “You see?” Alice asked.

  She nodded. “Ye, we see what’chu made of — and what ‘em steel big-boys can do.”

  14

  We stepped into the afternoon gloom with the mercs behind us. Alice was looking stoic and focused. I wasn’t feeling so sure. They’d made sure we went out first, which to me said that they were just as unsure whether we’d put a bullet in their backs as I was that they’d put a few in ours.

  The wind was icy and had picked up since we went inside. It bit at my cheeks and stung my eyes. I pulled my collar up to shield my face and braced it with my shoulder. We got down onto the dirt track in front of the bar and turned. The Polgarian had his coat zipped up to his nose, and the blue-skinned woman’s cloak covered her chin, her pale eyes piercing in the halflight.

  “So,” I said over the wind, “what’s the deal here?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Deal?”

  “Yeah, you dragged us outside, now what?” Alice cut in, resuming control of the situation.

  The woman smirked and laughed to herself. “Now we see how serious ya are about dees credits, huh?”

  “Look, lady, we’re not playing games, alright? We want into whatever this shit is all about. If it pays, we’re in, no matter what.” Alice cut the air decisively with her hand.

  The blue-skinned woman stared at her for a while. “Alright, well we gotta see whether dat’s true, feel?”

  Alice nodded. “Sure. Whatever. Just tell us what you want us to do.” She shrugged nonchalantly, but the look in the woman’s eyes told me this wasn’t going to be good. I was thinking they might have us attack some Telmareen guards or rob a bank. But it was none of those things.

  “You say you got two more ya crew, aye?”

  Alice nodded. “Get to the point.”

  “T’ing is, we only need three bodies for dis job. So there one too many, see?”

  Alice’s jaw flexed. “Then hire three of us,” she growled.

  “Nah — I want you,” she said, pointing to both of us, “to kill each other. Whoever left standing we take, plus de other two.”

  Alice’s eyes narrowed. I just breathed slowly, staring at the Polgarian, who’d fixed his eyes on me.

  “We’re a crew. We’ll split the credits. Doesn’t matter if one of us doesn’t work,” she said flatly.

  “No.” The woman grinned and then shook her head. “We need to know you serious — dat you got what we need. Dat being de cold blood and dat hunger for no more dan credits — das de merc way.” She stuck her bottom lip out. “Or maybe he right,” she said, nodding her head sideways at the Polgarian. “And y’are full of shit.”

  Alice’s wheels churned as she looked for a solution. She didn’t find one. Her eyes slowly turned to me, looking for an answer. She wasn’t ready to forgive me, but she also didn’t want to put a bullet between my eyes. I clenched my jaw and looked at the ground. Guess now was as good a time as any.

  Alice?

  Her eyes widened for a second before she reined herself in and looked up, and then at me, having just heard my voice in her head.

  Don’t freak out, I said. Just listen — I established a neural link so we can talk like this — sorry — but we need to do something — say something. Agree to it. We’ll figure it out.

  She cleared her throat. “You’re a bitch, but I get it,” she said, voice thin and hard. “We knew what this was about when we signed up.” She reached behind her back and pulled her Arcram out of its holster, holding it up. She pulled the barrel back and it lit up and glowed blue. “This payday better be worth it.”

  The blue-skinned woman fixed her eyes on Alice’s. “You shoot ‘im, just like that?”

  She shrugged. “We’ve only known each other a few months. It’s the job, right? Don’t get attached — focus on staying alive long enough to collect the paycheck.” She scoffed. “Only a matter of time ‘til we turned on each other anyway.”

  The woman laughed. “Das de spirit. No such thing as friends in dis game — only credits.”

  I drew across my body and cocked my pistol too, watching it light up.

  “And what you got to say, eh, white-hair?”

  “That after I plug her, you’d better fucking pay me,” I grunted.

  She laughed and clapped. “Okay, den, you der, her der.” She flicked her hands in opposite directions and we both trudged off up the road, giving ourselves space.

  Al, can you hear me?

  What the fuck, Red? How did you even do this? Even in her head she sounded pissed off.

  Uh — outside, before we went into the bar.

  When you tried to kiss me?

&
nbsp; I wasn’t trying to kiss you, I said defensively. I was linking our chips.

  It’s kind of invasive, don’t you think? How do we cut it off?

  I… I don’t know. But let’s just get through this, alright? I was pacing slowly, waiting for the blue-skinned woman to call us back.

  What the hell are we going to do? Don’t suppose you’re willing to die to keep our cover? She sounded agitated.

  I gritted my teeth. No, but… If you dial your Arcram up to six, it’ll kick like a mule, probably pierce the skin… But it shouldn’t go right through. At least if Greg’s explanation was accurate.

  That’s your plan? You want me to shoot you?

  But not kill me — yeah. I’d say go in at a five, uncharged, but I don’t know if that’d draw blood, and if they check…

  Jesus, Red, you’re serious?

  “That far enough,” the woman called. “Turn around.”

  We both stopped and turned on our heels. I thumbed my pistol down to a four, just in case, and swallowed hard. Center mass, alright? You tag me, I go down, and we carry on like this — we can’t afford to give this lead up.

  She was silent for a few seconds, staring at me from about twenty meters away. Okay.

  The blue-skinned woman looked from Alice to me and slowly raised her hand. Our pistols hung at our sides. My pulse quickened, my mouth dry. I was about to get shot.

  “Now,” she said, dropping her hand.

  Alice’s muzzle flew up. Mine did too. I pulled the trigger, aiming high. She did too, but hers spat a round out right at me. I saw the muzzle flash, then the world blinked black and I was in the air.

  The ground slammed me in the back and I raked in a ragged breath, an intense heat spreading across my chest. I blinked and found my eyes heavy. I let them close, letting my hands fall at my sides.

  Alice’s voice echoed in my head. “We done?”

  The blue-skinned woman replied, hers thin and distant in the cold air. “Aye, we done. You proved.”