by S. W. Gunn
"We've got what we need here, let's get out of here." Jarron said.
Elyse released his waist and took his hand. Jarron guided her away from the terminals and out of the small room. As soon as they exited the room and started down a hallway Jarron could hear a large group moving quickly towards them. He spotted about a dozen security types heading their direction. They raced by Jarron and Elyse and into the small booth. Jarron realized they were looking for him and Elyse.
"We need to get out of here quick." Jarron said hurriedly.
As they started to walk away he could hear one of the guards yell out, “Go back out, that couple we passed was them!”
“Run!” Jarron told her as he started to run while pulling her hand.
Jarron could hear the guards shuffling in the booth before their feet began to pound on the metallic floor of the space station. He pushed Elyse as fast as he could, which thankfully due to her Eal’tain blood was just as fast as he could run. They stopped at a corridor intersection that led towards the elevator. Turning to his right Jarron spotted two guards near the elevator.
“Damn it.” He stated.
Turning the other direction he pulled on her hand and walked at a normal pace until they were out of sight of the guards near the elevator. He heard the guards chasing them as they made it to the corridor intersection.
One of them yelled out, “Did you see a couple come here?”
Time was up as Jarron knew that the other guards had seen them although he suspected they did not recognize who they were.
“Hurry, we’ve gotta find a way to another elevator or a ladder system.”
Elyse paced along behind him as they started to run again. Jarron had been to this station a few times but he was no expert in its layout. He would have to guess as they fled in order to find the way back to their room. He had no idea what they would do once they made it there. Escaping this station would be a high priority. He also knew they could not rely on Elyse’s powers as if she made a mistake in the depths of space it could end up killing everyone. After some time running along he spotted what looking like a utility access point, one that no doubt led to some type of ladder or other hidden pathway within the innards of the space station.
“Here.” He instructed Elyse as he fidgeted with the latches on the sides of the panel.
After a few minutes he was able to open all of the latches and pry the panel off. The utility space was quite dark but it appeared to be a very narrow set of ladders.
Elyse told him, “Go first. I’ll use the Gift to hold the panel closed so they’ll think its jammed shut and probably move on.”
He nodded grimly. Her quick thinking plan was a very good one. Stepping through the opening he climbed upwards and then wrapped his arm around the ladder so when she used her powers he would not fall off the ladder. Elyse slipped through the opening and then pulled the panel shut. Jarron could feel her nerves begin to build up. He was a little nervous too and while he had never been in a jam quite like this one, he and Hain had been through many more situations that were way worse. After a minute or so he could hear the sounds of a group of men’s boots slamming on the metallic floor as they ran closer. Eventually they stopped and he heard muffled voices.
Eventually the voices got close enough that he heard someone say, “Check the utility ladders. The screws are off.”
He felt her powers start as he froze in place, unable to move. The guards pulled, banged, and pounded on the panel but were unable to make it budge.
After a minute or so he could tell they gave up and when one of the men’s voices echoed through the walls saying, “Its stuck. No way that either of them opened this thing. Spread out and search the whole level. We’ve got all of the elevators blocked so they must be here somewhere.”
The sounds of their boots echoing again as they jogged off. After a few seconds he felt her release him.
He instructed her, “Follow me. We can go up a level and then we’ll be able to sneak back to our room.”
“Alright.”
Turning upwards Jarron began to climb up the ladder. The climb took a bit longer than he thought it would to find the next utility panel and his arms were letting him know they did not like the climb. As he got close enough he reached out and fidgeted with the latches of the panel and once he got them open he pushed the panel open. It clattered loudly as it fell down. Jarron peeked out into the hallway and was relieved to see that there was no guards. He slipped through the opening and then reached a hand out to help Elyse once she close enough.
“Lemme close this panel and we’ll head off.”
Moving as fast as he could Jarron picked up the panel and reset the latches. He gave her a nod once he was done and they started walking. They walked briskly in an attempt to get away without drawing attention to them. Once Jarron and Elyse made it to the elevator they quickly boarded and Jarron had it take them to the level where their room was.
Jarron announced, "I think we better change how we look, with those holos of us we are too obvious this way."
"What is your plan?" She asked nervously.
Jarron rubbed his chin. His scruffy goatee scratched his fingers. He then realized he was going to have to shave it, which saddened him more than a little bit. He sighed heavily when he realized that his very distinct hair was also about to go away.
Frowning he said, "Well it looks like I am about to get a shave and a haircut."
Elyse looked very unhappy about the idea as she said, "But I love your hair."
He nodded at her before saying, "I know, but we need to be less obvious. Also we should dye your hair. Brown should do the trick, something to make you look different."
Elyse giggled and said, "I've always wanted to be a brunette."
Jarron chuckled. He was glad that she had found some positive out of the situation.
"Well let's stop at the small shop in the hotel and buy what we need." Jarron declared as they exited the elevator on their level.
They walked through the level and into their hotel where they bought a hair clipper and some hair dye. Afterwards they headed to their room. Jarron was very unhappy about what was to come because he would miss his hair dearly. After they got into the room Elyse must have sensed his unhappiness because she did not say a word as she took the dye and headed to the restroom. Jarron sullenly sat on the bed in the room just staring off into the distance. He could hear the water running and after a few minutes Elyse returned with a towel wrapped around her chest. Her hair was now a chestnut brown color. She grinned at him.
"Hand me those clippers." She said.
Jarron handed her the clippers, which she took and went back into the restroom. After a few minutes she returned. This time her long hair, which had gone down to the upper part of her back, was now cut neatly and evenly just above her shoulders. Jarron had to admit that it was a cute look for her. She winked at him.
"I really like it." Jarron told her.
"Thank you, I actually like it too. Do you want me to cut yours?"
Jarron sighed and just nodded at her. She took him by the hand and guided him back to the restroom. He sat down on the closed toilet and then removed his jacket and shirt, which he tossed through the door and into the bedroom.
"How do you want it?" She asked.
Jarron shrugged and said, "Short but at least some style to it."
"Alright." She said as she slowly loosened the bindings to his hair and then evenly spread his hair out.
After a brief pause she said, "Sorry, I know how much it meant to you."
She took the clippers and began cutting. Jarron actually felt slightly depressed to feel his hair fall away. He knew it would grow back, but it just took so long to grow. After a few minutes of working with the clippers, Elyse took a towel and dusted off the loose hair that was on his chest, shoulders and back.
"Alright look into the mirror." She announced.
Jarron could hear the pride in her voice. She must have done a fine job. As he looked
in the mirror he could see why she sounded proud. It was a good look for him. She cut his long hair into a shaggy wavy style that started a little longer and loose on the top and then quickly faded to a clean shaven and even edging along his neck. The top was still long enough to run a brush through but it made Jarron almost look like one of those holo-actors. He chuckled at his new appearance. Now he would have to shave his goatee off. After a quick jaunt to his bag Jarron found his clippers and then in a quick motion he cut his poor goatee off. He had not been clean shaven in almost five years. After he set his clippers down Elyse softly ran her hand through his hair.
"You look cute." She said.
Jarron grunted. He was not happy about his new look, which reminded him very much of his old appearance before he met Hain. Elyse glanced down at her hand, which was covered in small bits of his hair.
"Alright mister, I think you need a shower." She announced.
Jarron laughed and wickedly replied, "Anything to get my clothing off of me huh?"
Elyse grinned at him before saying, "Always."
After a long hot shower Jarron felt much better about losing his hair. Hopefully their disguise would be enough to keep the authorities from harassing them. As long as they did not get a scan performed on them, which usually is only done for major purchases or financial transactions, they should be fine. As Jarron took another look at himself in the mirror Elyse walked up behind him and then looped under his arm. He had to admit that brown hair was a great look for her. She grinned at him in the mirror.
Jarron stated, "I think we should change our plan. I don't think staying on this station is a wise idea. Especially since they know that we are here. I wanna go out and see if I could find a job flying somewhere. Usually it's pretty easy for pilots to find work, even under the table. I'll shoot Hain another message to meet us somewhere else."
They quickly dressed and left their room. Almost as soon as they entered the hallway their disguises were tested. Dozens of security personnel were moving throughout the station searching. Jarron was confident since they were searching for a long haired man and a blonde woman. Elyse looked a little hesitant at first, but once the first few groups passed them by she seemed to relax quite a bit. They worked their way back down to the galactic terminals, this time using one of the other stations.
"I'm going to tell him to meet us where we met the first time." Jarron informed Elyse.
Jarron quickly shot off the message and they left. Jarron decided the best place to look for work was the lower level pub near the docking level. There were three pubs on the station, the main one on the marketplace level was almost always filled with station guards so that one was obviously not a wise choice. The second pub served the locals so Jarron knew no one there would be hiring pilots. As they entered the third pub Jarron became much more confident. It was just as seedy and dark as he had hoped, with no guards in sight. He did spot several hired guards that would toss the occasional drunk. Jarron smiled widely.
He guided Elyse to one of the few empty booths and then whispered to her, "Stay here, I'm going to ask around."
She nodded at him. Jarron could tell that she was very uncomfortable in their environment. The only unfortunate thing in Jarron's mind was the lack of his blaster. He felt very naked here without it. The Eal'tain would not let him bring it so it sat hanging on a hook in the Keg. After several minutes of inquiry Jarron finally found just the man. He was an out of his luck pilot named Jakob who broke his right arm attempting to offload his cargo here on station. Jarron found him sulking in one of the poorly lit booths. The man had gotten a timed shipment to the Lunar Colony and that time was running out. He wanted to leave immediately, which Jarron as more than interested in doing. Jarron did not get a very good look at him due to the lighting but after he brief negotiation he turned back to Elyse and saw a new problem brewing. Three spacers had slipped into the booth and were now uncomfortably close to her. She looked very unhappy.
Jarron calmly walked back over to the booth and saw one of the bigger ones had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She looked miserable. Jarron had no doubt that she was unused to this type of situation. Before approaching the table Jarron took a moment to take in the three men. The largest, who was probably the leader of the group, wore a rough brown spacer's jumpsuit. His dirty blonde hair was very unkempt. He had dark blue eyes and a rough patchy beard. Jarron guessed he was probably in his early thirties. Jarron could imagine the unpleasant odor wafting from the man. His two friends were not any better; one of them was a smaller man with ruddy brown hair and a matching jumpsuit. The third was very tall and skinny. He had pockmarks riddling throughout his face. He had darker brown hair and it was clear to Jarron that the three of them were part of the same crew because this one had the same style of jumpsuit.
With a calm voice Jarron approached the table and asked, "Gentlemen is there something that my wife and I could do for you?"
The leader said, "Well she's bout to file for a divorce pretty boy."
The three men all laughed loudly at the man's comment. Jarron spotted a flash of anger in Elyse's eyes. He had to find a way to settle the situation that would not involve Elyse tossing furniture wildly around. Jarron raised one of his hands to try and calm her. Jarron was hit with a sudden idea. If he and Elyse were kicked out by the nearby guards then the problem would be solved long enough for them to get to the dock where a job awaited him.
In a loud and very belligerent sounding voice Jarron screamed out, "Woman you think you're going to divorce me?"
He tossed the nearest chair several feet away from himself. Elyse must have immediately deduced what his plan was. She wormed past the men and stood directly in front of him.
She yelled back at him, "Damned right! All the time with your pretty boy looks. You don't think I see how that other women look at you?"
He spotted several of the guards slowly begin to work their way to him.
Jarron replied angrily and very loudly, "And I see how men look at you woman! You sit around batting your eyelashes at every man that walks by! I left you alone for three minutes and you found yourself three to replace me in that time. All this haughty talk about loyalty went out the door in seconds wife, seconds!"
Just as Elyse was about to reply one of the guards approached and said firmly, "You two best leave the pub now."
Jarron turned angrily towards him and began to open his mouth as if to retort, knowing full well it was all a show. He looked several times at the different guards before finally grabbing Elyse's hand roughly.
He firmly and loudly announced, "Come with me woman, I'll deal with you elsewhere."
Quickly he dragged her out of the entrance of the pub and towards the dock that their employer had told them to go. Once they were out of hearing range of the pub Elyse began to laugh uncontrollably. Jarron quickly joined her.
"Those men sure smelled horrible." Elyse said between laughs.
Jarron replied, "I could only imagine. It's typical of spacers, they usually go from port to port with little concept of hygiene. I've got us a job from a poor guy named Jakob who has a broken arm. We'll fly him to the Lunar Colony. From there we can meet up with Hain at a pub on the Mars Base. Let's go get our things and then we'll be off."
Elyse nodded as they continued to walk. They made it through the station and back to their hotel, which was now flooded with guards. Jarron sighed heavily. He hated the idea of losing his favor beard clipper and his guitar but there was nothing he could do.
"Let's just go." He announced.
"What about our things?" Elyse asked.
Jarron solemnly replied, "They must have found our room. Our things are now their things. We'd have to fight our way through to get them and I don't want to hurt people unnecessarily."
She sighed at his words. Jarron could imagine she was most unhappy about losing the dress that the Eal'tain had given her. Jarron was still wearing the necklace that he was gifted but everything else was in the room. Jarron guided her b
ack through the station and then back to the dock where Jakob was waiting. Jarron had not gotten a very good look at the man because he was in one of the darker booths and as he examined him now Jarron was surprised. The man appeared to be almost elderly. He had heavily peppered black hair, deep brown eyes and a deeply wrinkled face. Jarron guessed he was well into his eighties, probably much too old for the spacer lifestyle. He wore a short sleeve gray shirt, a rough wide leather belt, mottled brown trousers and a pair of faded leather boots. On his right arm was a crude cast. He grinned widely when they approached his dock.
He announced happily, "It's good to see you are here, I've got an urgent shipment and was having the damnedest time finding a pilot to get her to the Lunar Colony."
His eyes moved from Jarron and to Elyse before saying, "You pretty boy pilots always get the best lookin' ones."
Elyse giggled at his words.
He chuckled at her response and then he said, "Well follow me."
Jarron squeezed Elyse’s hand as they followed him into the airlock. Jarron knew immediately that this cargo ship was going to be one of those slow plodding ones. There was barely space for him to walk through the lone hallway. Jarron saw three doors in the hallway before they entered the cockpit. Jarron immediately recognized the ship as a very old one. The flight controls appeared to be very ancient and manually manipulated instead of automated. There were three seats that spread evenly over one semicircular pattern. The pilot's seat was in the middle with navigation on the left and weapons on the right. Jakob took a seat in the navigation seat and Elyse sat in the remaining chair. Jarron casually glanced at the panel to familiarize himself with it. Like every other ship he immediately knew what was where and how the ship worked.
Jakob asked, "Will you be able to fly it?"
His question elicited a chuckle from Elyse. Jarron nodded at the man and immediately started the warm-up sequence. This old ship would take much longer to warm-up than any Jarron had flown but he knew there would be no issues. After a few minutes the ship's ancient computer beeped. Jarron initiated the airlock release and then slowly pulled the ship away from the dock.