by Charles Nall
“We've started calling him that because he seems to stutter a lot and he has a snake tattoo. This guy just bleeds from his nose and mouth constantly while babbling about nonsense. He used the same credit chip as Jun Souran. Maybe he just found it or something, but it’s intriguing that he seems to visit the same places. It's like he is the same person. It's probably a coincidence. We would release him, but he's crazy and potentially dangerous. You are free to talk to him, but I don't think you'll get anything out of him,” Hawk explained.
Elijah looked over some of the files. “You say he visits the same places? It's not like this station is that huge, is that really that odd?”
“A little,” Hawk said, “the credit chip records are in there.”
“Yes, here they are.”
“The bombing occurred on January 26th. Look at the credit purchases around there. I'm not even sure where the money came from, there was a deposit of ten thou from an anonymous donation.”
“There's a lot of purchases for a place called Red Shift? Looks like almost the same times and amounts. That is odd,” Elijah said as he handed the files to Sharon.
Hawk put his hand over the top of his drink and moved the glass in circles. “Eyewitness accounts say that Jun Souran was indeed there, and then replaced by this crazy homeless man. Why would he continue the old habits of Jun once he got the credit chip? That's not all, Rattlesnake goes to the same food vendors and other entertainment venues. Jun and Rattlesnake probably lived in the slums. With that much money they both could live somewhere half-decent, but instead they just spend it on entertainment, booze, and food.”
“That is strange,” Sharon said. “Okay, the thing they both went to the most is called Red Shift. What is that?”
Captain Hawk smiled and raised his glass. “Well, young lady, let's just say it's quite exotic.”
Sharon laughed. “So you’re saying the crazy man and the bomber had the same taste in red light districts?”
“Apparently so,” Captain Hawk said with a chuckle.
“This is bizarre. We need to try to talk to the crazy guy,” Elijah said.
Sharon added, “And maybe check out Red Shift.”
“Well, before you do that, you should drink! Please! It's on me. This bombing investigation is so odd you probably will need some drinks anyways!”
Sharon smiled. “Oh, alright.”
February 14, 0270 AC - 19:00
Rapture in dock
Silver Cove, Neutral Space
Jacob Carpenter sat down in the captain's chair on the bridge of Rapture. He tapped his console's screen to bring up the contract that Teresa Day had sent to him.
Trevor Reynolds was leaning back in his chair watching a program on his screen. Arnold Lawrence was at his station scanning over other contracts. Elijah Shepherd and Sharon Rose Turner were in their respective quarters.
Trevor called out to those on the bridge, “Hey, what are Elijah and Sharon up to?”
Arnold answered, “I think Sharon is looking over some stuff that Captain Hawk gave her. Elijah is resting, he was complaining about a headache.”
“Hey, guys, this is awesome!”Jacob exclaimed. “Teresa sent me a contract. In fact, it's a group mission that the Mad Cats will assist with. Trevor, you will really like it. A company is sponsoring an expedition to Aisu IV, a frozen unexplored planet. It’s on the edge of Blood Dynasty territory. A probe sent back some interesting pictures of some sort of structure under a glacier.”
“A structure under ice where a human has never been? That's intriguing! I'd love to go!” Trevor said.
Jacob smiled. “I knew you would, Trevor.”
Sharon climbed up into the bridge. She walked over to her console and started looking up information regarding the recent tragedies but did not sit down in the chair. Arnold walked over to her and began giving her a back massage.
Jacob continued, “Okay, they are requiring two frigates or corvettes with large loading bays. Some laser drilling equipment will be transported in one of the ships. A few scientists will accompany the crews. There has to be a catch, this seems like easy money. It pays well, too! We just have to take some scientists and drilling equipment over there. We'll let the scientists do their science stuff and get out of there.”
“I figure one of the bays will be used to carry any interesting stuff back home for more vigorous testing. I'm in,” Trevor said.
Jacob turned to face Trevor. “Yeah, we should accept this mission.” Jacob eyed Arnold giving Sharon a back massage as she was quietly moaning. Jacob cleared his throat. “Uh, do you two like the contract as well?”
“What? Oh, sorry, wasn't really paying attention,” Arnold said.
“Well, it's a contract to go to planet Aisu IV for some science stuff. Teresa will be helping out, too,” Jacob said.
Sharon frowned. “I told you to stay away from Teresa, I don't think it's a good idea. She's bad news. Stop hanging out with her.”
“I don't really hang out with her.”
Sharon smirked. “I saw you giving her a huge hug earlier today. I thought hugs like that were only for a certain somebody.”
“What? It's just a hug. And besides, I'm not that comfortable with how Arnold is touching you right now,” Jacob said in frustration.
Arnold yelled, “Hey, what? If she doesn't like it, she can tell me herself to stop.”
“No, no, you don't have to stop. Jacob just doesn't like a taste of his own medicine,” Sharon said.
“What are you talking about Sharon? You and me, we have something,” Jacob said.
Sharon shook her head. “I'm sorry, Jacob, I don't know what to say. We can accept that contract if you want, but I don't want to go, I don't want to be near Teresa, and I don't like you being around her. I'm busy trying to figure out what happened to dad, I don't want to go to the edge of known space when I could be researching.”
Jacob growled, “There's nothing wrong with Teresa. I'm the captain, I think it's a great opportunity. I'm accepting this unless someone has real problems with it.”
“I have a problem with your tone of voice,” Arnold said.
“What?” shouted Jacob.
“Guys, let's calm down,” Trevor said. “Let's just accept that contract. It’ll be fun. Just let it go, everything is fine. People can hug and massage who they want! But I suggest not worrying about relationships or anything in the ship, it can make things weird. You know the old saying, 'Don't dock your ship into the company hangar bay.'”
“I thought we had something. It's okay. We'll accept this contract. I'm out of here, I'm going to take a walk around the station, see you guys later.” Jacob made his way down the bridge's ladder.
Sharon ignored the nice feelings of the massage and wondered to herself if she made a mistake. She felt sick to her stomach. Sharon waved Arnold away. “That's enough, thanks.”
Arnold nodded. “Okay, just let me know when you want some more. Hey, you up to anything exciting later? We could go check out more areas of the station.”
“No, not tonight. Tomorrow you can help me do some research,” replied Sharon, “It's at a shady part of the station and I'm not comfortable going alone.”
“Sure, I'll come along.”
February 15, 0270 AC - 19:30
Red Shift, Silver Cove
Neutral Space
“You took me here?” Arnold laughed.
“Keep your hands to yourself, we're doing work! And keep your eyes off of those,” Sharon said as she pointed at a woman with a bare chest.
Arnold and Sharon Rose were walking around in the Red Shift, an exotic club on Silver Cove. Many mercenaries were unwinding watching the exotic dancers. A cloud of smoke hung in the air of the dark area. Pulsing music accompanied the hypnotic dancing.
Arnold smiled. “I should come here more often.”
“No, you should not,” Sharon said sternly.
Sharon and Arnold kept walking through the crowd, looking for someone who was in charge. Some of the patrons eye
d Sharon with toothy grins.
“Ugh, this was a mistake,” Sharon said.
A scantily-clad woman walked up to Sharon and Arnold. “You two looking for some good fun? Are you interested in the group rates? They are worth it if you have the cash.”
The perfume of this middle-aged woman caused Sharon and Arnold to nearly gag. The woman was not attractive. Instead of relying on any natural beauty, the woman had turned to questionable plastic surgery and heavy applications of make-up.
Sharon squirmed uncomfortably. “Uh, no, thank you. We're actually looking for information regarding Jun Souran.”
“Missy, I tell you one thing, he broke my heart!” exclaimed the woman.
“Your heart?” Arnold asked.
“Yes! He would always pay for the works. He was so, oh, I almost didn't want to accept the payment,” the woman said. “Then he was gone.”
Arnold raised an eyebrow. “He was that, um, good?”
The woman started curling her long blonde hair with her finger. “Oh, he was relentless in the bedroom. It's like he had never touched a woman before and he just couldn't stop. He was addicted to me.”
Sharon caught Arnold staring at the woman's chest and shoved him. “Well, that's all well and good. Did he ever do anything weird?”
The woman gasped. “Well one time he made me– ”
Arnold quickly interrupted her, “My friend means: Did he act strange? Not necessarily in the bedroom.”
“He would occasionally bleed from his nose or mouth, that's kind of weird, right? I just assumed he was allergic to my perfume.”
Sharon waved her hand in the air in front of her nose. “No, that couldn't be it.”
“Here's a strange question. Once Jun stopped coming to the Red Shift, did another man seem to take his place? Perhaps showing up at the same times as Jun?” Arnold asked.
“Well, yes, actually. Jun always knew my schedule,” said the woman. “This other gentleman did start sessions with me after Jun's disappearance. He was kind of dirty and homely, but oh well, that's the living. You know I haven't really thought about it before, but he was a lot like Jun. That's weird!”
“So once Jun stopped attending, uh, sessions with you, another man did? And that man seemed a lot like Jun?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I suppose it's just a strange coincidence. I haven't seen either Jun or the other gentleman in a while. Do you know if they are okay?” the woman asked.
“No, unfortunately. One is dead and the other is in jail,” Arnold replied.
The woman pouted. “Oh, that's too bad, they were both great customers. How about you, big man, would you care for a good time?”
Arnold was about to answer but Sharon cut him off, “Well, thank you for your time, we have to get out of here.”
Arnold glanced at Sharon. “Wait, why–”
“Thank you!” Sharon said as she started shoving Arnold away from the woman.
“Jun and Rattlesnake... Are they the same person? How could that be?” Arnold asked as they started walking toward the exit.
Sharon shrugged. “I don't know. But Jacob said my dad was being controlled. Maybe these two are also being controlled somehow.”
“Controlled to spend their time boozing and going to a sleazy strip club?”
“I don't know. It seems that way, but we're on the right track, I think. I need to try to talk to Rattlesnake.”
Arnold nodded. “Alright, well, let's head back to the ship. I think Trevor is trying his hand at cooking.”
Sharon sighed. “Oh joy.”
February 15, 0270 AC - 22:00
Rapture in dock
Silver Cove, Neutral Space
“Hey, Sharon, I don't know much about hyper-drives, but I think I found a contract that is perfect for us,” Jacob said.
Sharon paused a video on her console. “Oh, really?”
“A transport from an outer rim world will be exiting the Silver Cove jumpgate with a wake-buddy frigate in two days. The transport is heading to a station near the border to Dynasty space. The transport is relying on the frigate to be able to travel through hyperspace, since the transport doesn't have a hyper-drive. The frigate however has other duties to attend to and cannot continue the journey coreward through the neutral zone. The transport just needs a buddy with a hyper-drive to travel with them.”
“That's doable,” Sharon said, “depending on the size of the transport. As long as the transport isn't that big I think we could buddy up with them. I've got that hyper-drive purring. I think it's a great opportunity, Jake.”
Arnold chimed in, “Well, as long as there isn't bandit activity. What are they transporting?”
“Not sure what they are transporting. The contract says low possibility of hostile contact,” Jacob said.
“I don't know,” Arnold said, “I know they won't necessarily reveal their cargo, but I hope it's not something that other pirates are after. We need the cash, though, and something like this doesn't come along every day.”
“Yeah, exactly. I think I'll accept it.”
“Sounds good. What are you up to, Sharon?” Arnold asked.
Sharon kept replaying the video of the bombing of Silver Cove over and over on her display. “Just looking at the explosion in the market here on the Cove a few weeks ago. I suppose there's nothing of importance in this vid. I just want to find something that may help us figure out what's going on. Sadly there's nothing here, this guy explodes and takes out a bunch of people with him. It's morbid and yet I continue watching it, hoping to discover something, anything.”
“Well, tomorrow we'll talk to the crazy guy in the brig. Maybe he will shed some light on the situation,” Arnold said.
“Elijah is going to come with us tomorrow. You know how he is with those weird things he says too. Maybe he will be able to figure Rattlesnake out,” replied Sharon after finally closing the video.
“Really? Not just us? You know I don't really trust that guy. His story is still unbelievable, even if he did know that Double-Crescent was out there. We need to keep an eye on him.”
“His story is unbelievable, but he hasn't done anything for us to question his loyalty. He's coming with us.”
February 16, 0270 AC - 13:21
Silver Cove
Neutral Space
Arnold, Sharon, and Elijah were walking through the station towards one of the station brigs. They passed by many people that were going about their business. Some of these people were crew of the station, some were mercenaries, and others actually lived on the station. Some families did live on the station, especially those with connections to mercenaries.
Arnold, Sharon, and Elijah turned a corner down a hallway. Knave Gunner and Aria Briel were leaning against the wall smoking cigarettes just around the corner.
“Look who it is, boss.”
Knave Gunner took a puff of his cigarette. “Part of Jake's crew. You guys still haven't gotten off this scrap heap?”
Sharon sighed. “Hello. Just passing by to the brig. We don't want any trouble.”
Aria smirked. “If you didn't want trouble, why'd you set up shop here? You asked for trouble.”
Arnold shielded Sharon. “We’re just on our way. Nice to see you guys, too. Let's go.”
“Hey, I didn't say you guys could leave,” Knave Gunner said.
Elijah bowed to the two mercenaries. “I'm sorry, but we have a meeting with an individual in the brig. Good day. We’ll be on our way now.”
“You have time to chat with us,” Knave yelled. “I own this place, I own you. Stay and talk to me. I want to tell you the joys of getting off this station before you get yourself hurt.”
Arnold got in Knave's face. “Is that a threat?”
Sharon grabbed Arnold's large arm. “Arnold, let's go, don't drop down to their level.”
Aria laughed and shoved Sharon away. “Down to our level? What's that, little girl? Your boyfriend said the same thing! What do you mean?!”
“Huh? Boyfriend?” Sharon s
aid.
Elijah moved in between Aria and Sharon. “Let's calm down, guys. We're all in this together.”
Arnold and Knave were staring each other down. Knave smiled. “No we're not. I never would have accepted the likes of your crew into our family.”
Aria yelled at Elijah, “Who do you think you are? Get out of my face before I rearrange yours.”
Elijah calmly replied, “I don't even know who I am, all I know is I do not appreciate threats. The red moon is rising. There's a darkness approaching. You will be among its first victims. The ice will be your tomb.”
Knave cocked his head. “What is your story? You aren't from around here, are ya?”
Elijah stared Knave down. “I’m not. It seems to me that you are still in our way. ” He roared, “Get out of our way.”
Knave was bewildered. He slowly nodded and backed away. “Okay. Fine. Get going before I change my mind. What is your deal?”
Aria yelled as she walked away, “Little girl, we're not done. Go cry to your boyfriend.”
Sharon screeched back, “You are right, this isn't done. I don't have a boyfriend to cry to, that's how much you know about me! You know nothing. Don't mess with something you can't handle!”
Arnold, Sharon and Elijah growled and grumbled as they walked away from the other mercenaries.
Sharon sighed. “I hate them so much.”
“Yeah, they’re annoying. It's okay, Sharon, Let's just go talk to Rattlesnake,” Arnold said.
“Yeah, yeah. Captain Hawk says it is just this way to the brig,” Sharon said.
“Don't have a boyfriend? Was that correct or were you just venting at Aria? I had a feeling that you and Jacob were a thing,” Elijah said.
“No, no, we're not a thing... anymore,” Sharon replied. “I'm not involved with anybody right now. I'm too messed up right now for a relationship.”
Arnold stared straight ahead as his brain processed the information Sharon just stated. He was about to raise his voice but did not.
Elijah nodded. “I understand. For some reason I just felt that you two were together.”