What’s happened to Pops? The options were many. He could have survived and gone into hiding. He’s a tough old nut to crack. Maybe he had an emergency backup of himself? Maybe they'd found it and destroyed it. So many questions and no way to answer them.
Brock had been walking around the ship’s engineering section, following Mr T. He’d been deep in thought when they’d found the emitter nestled among an array of communication devices. After what had happened on the Fearless they were careful to avoid any domino effects. He'd never hear the end of it if he blew up the ship.
Moondog had been patient the whole time, but Brock could tell that he’d loved being outside and wanted to play. Brock smiled, it’d be nice to just play with the dog, not think about anything, just run in the grass. Be more dog.
With the emitter disabled and Rick probably on his twelfth drink, Brock had time to play with the dog. They headed towards the cargo doors, but Brock remembered seeing some balls in a recreation supplies crate. Dog’ll love that. He was trying to find a ball, so he didn’t notice when Moondog tensed up. He was rummaging when the dog growled, so he didn’t hear that either. The triumph of finding a ball made him oblivious to Moondog’s change of mood, but the playful attitude was gone.
The hangar door opened, and a soldier stood before them. The way was blocked. No fun time with Moondog. Brock knew the soldier. Commander Spickard, a veteran, career soldier from the days of humans. He’d served in the big war and every subsequent conflict. Brock smirked, this guy was the most experienced soldier alive, and he was chasing them. Must have been hard for him to take orders. No need to beat around the bush with this guy.
“Why are you here?”
“We’ve come for the ship and those who stole it. Did you steal it?”
“No.”
“Then why are you on it?” Spickard took a step forward, and his squad did the same, twelve warriors stepped out of the shadows and revealed themselves. Brock had no chance, but they didn't know that.
“We were picked up by the thieves.” Brock feigned being unimpressed, but he’d already seen the Hunters, he actually thought highly of them.
“Where is the other stolen ship? The one that was following you?”
“Don’t know, we lost those Agency lunatics in traffic.”
“Agency?”
“Yeah, those are the fuckers that started the Battle of Ceres, we were just trying to get away from them. They’re also responsible for the Luna attacks.” Brock knew Spickard couldn’t care less about the desires of the elite and the Agency. Some version of the truth might serve their interests.
“If what you say is true those criminals will get their comeuppance. I’ll see to it personally.”
“Good.”
“Now, Brock, where is The Last Human?”
“Why do you care?”
“You two are always together. Where is he?”
“Out drinking with the pirates.”
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere in the city.”
“Brock. I suggest you tell me where your friend is, so we can save him and take care of the thieves.”
“He doesn’t need saving.”
“There is a standing order that suggests differently. All Council forces are to rescue Rick Archer on sight and deliver him safely.”
“Well, I still don’t know where they are.”
“You look like you want me to beat it out of you.” Brock smirked, he did kind of want to fight, am I that obvious. Spickard’s chiselled jawline, stern features and particularly tall flat-top seemed to challenge Brock’s mohawk, saying “I too sit atop a god of war, come at me!” Spickard wasn’t as big as Brock, few people were, but he made up for it in other ways. He was on Brock in an instant. The blows came quickly and often, overwhelming Brock who dashed away. “What’s happened to the Great Brock Dynamite? You’ve spent too long fighting pansies! That’s what!” Spickard let out a dry laugh. Someone in the squad sniggered. “When was your last real fight? No answer eh? This will be it then!” He was on Brock again, pummelling him around his raised fists.
The strikes were powerful, more so than anything Brock had ever felt. His defence was faltering, and he couldn’t find an opening to counter-strike, he could barely think anymore, and the hits kept coming.
With his guard worn down, Brock started taking hits, to the sides, to the face, each one crunching metal and bone like they were nothing.
Moondog could watch no more, barking would no longer suffice, the dog jumped, biting at Spickard’s arm. The soldier looked at the dog with disdain and punched it in the ribs before throwing it across the cargo hold. He pulled out a pistol and took aim, Mr T rushed towards Spickard but stopped. Probably by the sound of twelve rifles cocking.
The commander looked at his bloodied arm and lowered his gun towards the dog.
“You should have just told me, Brock...” Spickard squeezed the trigger and Brock using the last of his strength hurled himself at Moondog.
The shot hit him in the back, and he crumpled over the dog. Mr T rushed over to him, and Spickard turned to his squad.
“Find The Last Human and take care of the pirates. You two stay here and guard the ship.”
They disappeared into the shadows and Brock was left there, lying face down over the whimpering dog, aching and bleeding, his body and spirit broken.
Catch me if you can!
Diego was having a grand old time, the mission was a roaring success. He watched and then joined in with the others as they found exciting ways to express their drunkenness. They sang, danced and fooled around, playing and tumbling in the grass all along the way. Slowly, they made their way back to the ship. Rick kept going on about how happy he was, and how he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. And they’d had fun, a lot of fun, which was always pleasant after near-death experiences.
They’d been treated like family and wined and dined like royalty. Diego was infamous, but tonight he’d tasted the life of a celebrity with Rick. He couldn’t quite understand why Rick complained so much about his old life, the few hundred photos for social media were a small price to pay for such a good time.
Diego was in the middle of teaching the second verse of a space shanty when one of the AI cubes sent a neural alert through to everyone. It was Mama who sent the alert. Everyone stopped… And started laughing. Rick, Moon, Amy, Gary and even Steve were trashed.
“There’s an intruder alert on the ship. Moon snap out of it!” Diego was glad he didn’t have a Smartcube as he watched Mama buzz around her daughter’s head for a few moments. She made a sound that seemed to express some combination of disapproval, annoyance, and frustration before floating on ahead.
Diego continued with his space shanty and managed to get to the third verse before Mama came back. Her display was rendering a perfect 3D representation of a worried mother’s face.
The AI had floated straight towards him this time. Why me? What have I done to deserve the nagging? Deep down he knew the truth. He was better than the others. In case of an emergency, he was obviously the person to come to. Mama settled in front of him and made a request to sync the last five minutes. Diego obliged her. They came out of sync, and Diego said “mierda” a few times. Mama went to sync with Amy next.
Diego engaged his sobering modules and shed his fun persona. It was time to unfuck a situation, which was not his forte. His specialities leaned the other way, usually.
Brock, one of the most fearsome warriors known to transhuman kind, was down. Mama had linked with Mr T during her little recon. She’d found out that Brock had been beaten to a pulp before being shot while trying to save the dog. The simple fact that their enemy was cool with shooting a dog made him a special brand of terrifyingly fucked-up, even to Diego who’d ended his fair share of lives. Perros no. Mr T had told Mama that two soldiers remained behind to guard the ship while the others looked for Rick.
Everyone was up to speed. And catatonic. The idea that Br
ock could be beaten was sinking into all of them. Apart from Rick who was quite drunk and unwilling to let the good times stop. The neural link with Amy had seemingly failed.
“Hey, why the long faces guys! Party, party, party!”
“Rick! Brock is down.”
“Yeah! Down to party! Let’s get Brock and party with him.”
“No Rick, Brock has been shot, his vitals are low. Brock is dying Rick!” Amy finally reached him with the last sentence.
“No.”
“Rick…”
Diego had formulated a plan while Amy caught Rick up. He’d conferred together with Mama and those sober enough to handle seriousness. Rick just stood there, dumbstruck, with Moon comforting him.
“I’ll go take care of the guards. When I give the go-ahead, you board the ship, and we get out of here rápido.” With that Diego headed into the brush and vanished into the shadows.
It didn’t take him long to reach their ship. He crept around the back and entered through the flight deck’s emergency hatch. Everything was dark, all the consoles were switched off. Diego walked over to the bridge windows and looked outside, then over to the captain’s chair, he whispered, “Mom are you there?” Nothing at first and then the dejected voice of Mom.
“Diego. Did you get my message? I tried calling, nobody answered.”
“What’s going here?”
“The Council has sent special forces to recapture their ships, kill the thieves and save The Last Human.”
“Why did they shoot Brock then?”
“He wouldn’t let them.”
“OK, makes sense.”
“How many of them on the ship?”
“None. They are both on the side near the main cargo bay doors. Close to Brock.”
“How is he doing?”
“I scanned his vitals, he’ll live, but he hasn’t moved since being shot.”
“OK let’s go wake him up, prep the ship for departure, and get the others aboard.” After giving her the coordinates to the refuelling station, Diego headed down to the cargo area.
Brock lay on his front, he partly covered the dog that made no attempt to move. It softly whimpered and licked Brock in the hopes that it would help. Right in the feels. Diego wiped an imaginary tear and cycled through his optical modules until he could see through the ship and the soldiers outside.
Mr T hovered quietly by Brock. Diego linked with him and shared his plan. The cube told him their enemy was well trained and that he shouldn’t be a fool. Gracias cubo...
Diego’s initial plan was simple sneak up behind and shoot them in the back of the head. It had worked before, tried and tested. But then it had occurred to him they might have fancy upgrades, so he’d come up with an equally devious plan.
Quietly, he lowered himself from the footbridge over the cargo bay. He crept behind boxes, careful to avoid Brock and Moondog until he made it to the opening. The soldiers were standing a dozen metres in front. Diego walked towards the soldiers with his hands raised up high. Sensors must have gone off because they turned to face him the moment he was in range, with their weapons trained on him.
“Don’t move! Keep your hands where we can see them!” One of the soldiers, the one who wasn’t talking, began to slowly approach Diego. “Who are…”
Diego deployed an additional two arms concealed beneath his brand new coat. The arms were stored in his sides until he needed to surprise someone. Each hand held a handcannon ready to fire. The vicious projectiles punched through the personal shields and tore fist-sized holes into the soldiers’ chests, they went down in unison. Diego double tapped them and ran back towards the ship. The others should have boarded by now, he linked with Mom.
“Todos aboard?”
“Yes, we’re ready.”
“OK, start her up!” Diego felt the familiar burn of laser through his new coat and onto his back. He whipped around, guns at the ready, expecting to be melted by overwhelming firepower. Instead, he faced the downed soldier’s AIs. Brave little fuckers. Diego shot them out the sky and boarded. “Mom! Vamonos!”
The Last Human ship soared through the clouds and into space. Diego passed the blood-stained floor where Brock and the dog had lain moments earlier. He caught up with them in the corridor by the medbay. The AIs had combined their tractor beams to levitate Brock, they’d managed a metre or so off the ground. Diego arrived in time to help them lift the massive cyborg into a medpod.
“How’s the big lunático?”
“The fool’s fine.”
“He’s asleep, he’s engaged his advanced healing processes…” Amy probably had more to say, but she was interrupted by Mom.
“I have detected a ship in pursuit.” Mom waited for all the mumbled cursing to die out before asking Diego to come to the flight deck. Amy followed him, and the others stayed by Brock.
◆◆◆
The Last Human's current course would take them on the outside of Io, to one of the many refuelling stations on the other side of Jupiter. Diego had plotted this course because it was fast and efficient and there were only so many paths safe from Jupiter’s gravity. He hadn’t expected them to be followed. The course was obvious, there was nothing but refuelling stations in front of them. The thought had begun nagging at him earlier when he crept through the ship. How did they find us?
“Mom, did you find and disable the ship’s tracking?”
“Yes, Brock and Mr T did it, but the Hunters had already found us. But there’s something else.”
“What?” Diego didn’t like Mom’s grim tone.
“Amy I don’t think we should tell Rick this. Not for the moment anyway.”
“Mom you’re worrying me.”
“And you’re annoying me!” Diego gesticulated at them to get on with it.
“At the party, a lot of the photos and videos people took were tagged with locations…” Mom waited for a moment. “All our enemies know our general position now.”
“Fook, Fook, fook… FOOK!” Diego was pissed, but mostly at himself. He wasn’t familiar with the ins and outs of celebrity; he’d used Rick to get a good deal on supplies. Supplies they might not even get now. Fook. Diego continued his symphony of “fooks” while walking around the holographic display of Solus.
They could carry on their current trajectory and attempt to lose their pursuers around Io. It would be such a shame to miss out on their deal. Diego zoomed in on Io, the moon had one floating colony, and volcanoes, lots and lots of volcanoes. Maybe he could lose them in there. He zoomed out and stepped over to Saturn. It was far, at least seven or eight AU. It would take just over two days to get there and would use up a fair amount of fuel. One way or another they needed to refuel before attempting the trip to Eris. Diego went back to Io on the holomap.
“Mom, can you check the manifest?”
“What am I looking for?”
“Any gravity wells aboard?”
“What are you thinking you mad bastard?” Rick had walked in and taken his seat in the captain’s chair. It seemed he’d sobered up a bit, but there was still a twinkle about his eyes that said inebriated.
“We need to pick up our supplies, so I’m going to lose the pursuers in Io’s atmosphere.”
“OK sounds good.” Rick just lay back as if expecting a show to start. Diego smirked at him.
“What do you need the gravity generator for?” Amy had come to hover in front of Diego’s face demanding details.
“I don’t know yet, just some idea I have. Do we have any onboard?”
“Yes, the ship is carrying five colony support packages each contains a small gravity generator.”
“That’s good, Mom can you locate them and send the coordinates to Rick and Amy. Guys if this is going to work timing will be key.”
“If what is going to work?”
“Right so I’m going to take the ship down into Io’s atmosphere and test the limits of hull integrity, then we test the pilot behind us’ reflexes.”
“Cool, cool.”
> “No Rick, not cool! Not cool at all! Diego, what does that mean?” Amy buzzed angrily in front of his face, he lazily swatted at her.
“We’re going to drop a gravity generator and see what happens. I’ll tell you when to drop it. Get everyone to strap in.” Diego turned away to look at the navigation console hoping that would make Amy go away. It did. “Let me know when you’ve found it.” Diego watched as Rick followed Amy out into the corridor. His plan was insane, but it could work.
Diego steadily decelerated as they approached Io and let their pursuers catch up a little. He’d received word from Amy that’d they found a gravity generator and set the timer for twelve seconds, which would give them the exact amount of time needed to escape the device’s pull as it activated.
Diego checked everyone was strapped in one last time. The Last Human ship entered the Io orbital corridor and started to pick up speed again, their pursuers were right behind them. Diego’s eyes darted from screen to instrument as he tried to do all of the flight crew jobs.
“Tell me when Mom!”
“Now!”
“Aqui Vamos!” Diego pulled left, and the ship veered out of the safety corridor, diving towards Io’s maze of volcanic plumes.
Red lights, alarms and Mom’s warnings filled the bridge as Diego descended into Io’s hellscape. The ship’s shaking and rumbling somewhat reduced when they entered Io’s shielded zones. They escaped Jupiter’s pull into debris-laden corrosive clouds and columns of fire and molten rock.
Diego navigated the deadly maze at breakneck speed in near zero visibility, he was doing great. He wished he had an audience for this. His instruments told him the enemy ship was still behind them. That craft needed to be about thirty seconds behind. Diego glanced at his screens. Just a little closer.
Space Shenanigans Page 12