by E J Gilmour
Thompson’s eyes narrowed and he laughed anxiously. ‘Actually, my price is reasonable.’
‘I was hoping to pay less than a thousand.’
‘Hmm, I could do a basic repair for a thousand, but I can’t give you any guarantees. It would only be a patch job. He definitely needs a new hydraulic motor; the cheapest one available is four hundred and ninety-nine credits. I will then have to restore his internal wiring, and I can get away with using inferior components. His battery terminals are cooked; I can use generic terminals, but he won’t operate on full power, and he will be vulnerable in high stress environments. I will also have to rebuild his synthetic tissue and replace his missing arm; I would have to use low-grade silicone fibre. He also has some radiation damage to his inner circuit boards and his processing unit. I don’t have to replace them, but he just might display some unusual behaviour. The job can be done on the cheap, but if he starts falling to pieces then it has nothing to do with me.’
Michael knew it was probably the best price he would be able to find on the station. His GCTD account was dwindling down toward nothing, and the fact that he still had to pay his crew as he had promised was at the forefront of his mind.
‘Near enough is good enough,’ he said.
‘Agreed, please take a seat,’ said Thompson as he drew the trolley through a door into another room. ‘I will return in twenty minutes with your repaired android.’
There were two metal chairs in the centre of the room. He sat down on the one furthest away from the spiders; he had always been a little afraid of spiders. Dog-Two was still snarling at him; however, the synthetic K9 hadn’t made the slightest move from his place in the corner. Michael was ready to turn his rifle on the android dog if it attacked. He sat still and waited patiently in the bizarre apartment for twenty minutes, and the eeriness was more than a little disconcerting. Thompson returned exactly on time, and Ivan followed him into the room.
‘Captain, thank you for paying for my repairs,’ said Ivan in his monotone voice.
‘It’s a pleasure, Ivan,’ replied Michael.
‘For an extra hundred credits I can update his voice program. You must grow tired of that dull monotone.’
‘No, I like his voice the way it is. I’ve had to listen to his voice for nearly three years, and I’m used to it.’
Thompson nodded as he reached for his GCTD. ‘That will be one thousand credits.’ Michael lifted his own GCTD and transferred the one thousand across, which was a wireless transaction between the two devices.
‘All right, Ivan, let’s get out of here,’ he said as he turned for the door. They both walked toward the exit. Dog-Two stood up and followed them across the room.
Thompson Vega’s brow deeply furrowed. ‘No, you can’t go with him. He isn’t the one who ordered you!’
Dog-Two whipped his head around and bared his large teeth. Thompson took several steps back as the dog started barking at him. Meanwhile Michael and Ivan watched on from where they were standing beside the door.
‘How dare you bark at me? I made you! You have to do what I say; it’s in your programming!’ shouted Thompson. Dog-Two snarled. ‘You better return to your corner or I will be forced to remove your batteries!’
Dog-Two backed away from Thompson and sat down beside Michael and stopped barking immediately. Thompson scratched his chin and pondered the situation. He eventually shrugged his shoulders.
‘It seems that his loyalty program has started operating. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason he has made you the prime focus of the program. I don’t think I’ll be able to deactivate him without a fight, and even if I could I would have to completely remove his internal circuits and start again. I simply don’t have the time for such nonsense. I’m afraid Dog-Two will have to go with you.’
‘I can’t afford to buy him,’ said Michael as he glanced down at the large dog. Dog-Two was looking up at him with glowing eyes, and his tail was wagging.
‘Consider him a gift.’
‘I’ve never owned a dog before,’ said Michael in a low voice, feeling unsure as to whether he should accept the offer.
‘He’s technically not a dog. He’s highly capable synthetic organism; nevertheless, his programming is designed to make him think and act like a dog.
‘Well, all right then; I guess I will take him.’
Thompson nodded. ‘I am sure he will be a valuable asset.’
Michael gave a curt nod as he walked out of the apartment. Ivan and Dog-Two followed. They proceeded back toward the elevator door.
He lifted his wrist-com. ‘Hey crew; Ivan is fixed. I’ll find a place for us to meet up before we set out.’
‘…Yo, Cap, I found a bar down on level fourteen…’ said Ajax. ‘…It’s called The Waiting Saloon; just the kind of place we like…’
‘Did everyone hear that? Let’s all meet at The Waiting Saloon.’
CHAPTER THREE
Ajax lifted a glass of red glowing liquid to his mouth. The Waiting Saloon was a dark and rather dank bar that was lit by dull fluorescent light with a green tinge. The place was a hub for crews and was situated close to the docking bays. There were about fifteen metal tables and a central bar where a heavyset barkeeper with a tattooed bald head was serving drinks. The crew of the Out Drifter were seated around a table in the corner of the room.
‘They say Savage Slap will turn your skin red if you drink too much,’ said Sara to Ajax.
Sara generally considered drinking an unnecessary distraction, and she frequently argued that Ajax was being irresponsible, especially if she found him drinking before a mission. Her strict military background had kept her from such indulgences, and her home world culture had generally frowned on the consumption of alcohol.
Ajax gave a wide grin. ‘I try to balance it out with Purple Incineration. I have been told that if you drink as much Purple Incineration your skin doesn’t change colour, and so far I’ve been fine,’ he said as he checked the back of his hand for any discolouration.
‘You could always simply stop drinking Savage Slap, or you could give up drinking altogether,’ she said.
‘Ha, I don’t think you would like me much if I gave up. I get stir crazy without a drink,’ he said, grinning.
‘Do you think you could even make such a choice if you wanted to?’ she asked.
‘Sure I could, but why would I bother?’ he answered in a low voice.
‘Maybe because you are putting the crew at risk.’
‘That’s ridiculous!’ he grumbled. ‘What do you think, Cap?’
Michael sipped at his synthetic coffee and glanced across the table at Ajax. He shook his head. ‘I don’t have an opinion.’
‘You mean that you don’t think there’s a problem?’ asked Ajax. Michael didn’t answer. ‘I’ll tell you what, Sara, if Cap asks me to stop drinking I’ll stop drinking.’
In that moment a young woman approached the table. She looked to be in her early twenties. She had shoulder length black hair, and her eyes were large and dark. Her pale skin appeared as if it had never been exposed to natural light. Pale skin was a common trait of people who lived for long periods on space stations. She was wearing a full-length black cloak, and she had an Epherian plasma pistol latched to her belt.
‘My name is Cynthia; I want to join your crew,’ she announced in a confident and commanding voice.
Ajax laughed as if she had told a joke. ‘We don’t need anyone like you, and we’re not advertising for any new crew, especially not a station girl.’
‘I can match any of you in a fight. Just give me a chance. I’ll prove myself.’
‘Forget it, honey,’ said Ajax gruffly.
‘Don’t call me honey,’ she said coolly, staring down at him with a stony face and a fierce look in her dark eyes.
‘Maybe you should call the police,’ replied Ajax, chuckling.
Cynthia reached for her pistol. She drew her gun and pointed it directly at Ajax’s head. His face hardened, and he glared up at her without
moving.
She gave a victorious grin. ‘You see; you didn’t even have a chance to draw.’ She lifted her chin proudly.
‘I didn’t bother,’ he said, casually sipping his Savage Slap. ‘You know if you kill me that my crew will finish you off. You wouldn’t survive a second if you pulled that trigger. I knew that when I saw you reach for your pistol.’
Dog-Two snarled up at Cynthia and her hand began trembling.
‘You better put your gun away,’ said Michael calmly.
Cynthia returned the pistol to its holster. Her eyes nervously shifted from left to right; she then turned to leave, hanging her head low as she walked away.
‘Wait, Cynthia. What could you bring to our crew?’ asked Michael.
‘Cap, you can’t be serious,’ said Ajax, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.
‘Let her answer the question.’
Cynthia turned back around and stared blankly at Michael for a few seconds before answering. ‘Well, like I said, I’m a fighter. I’m sharp with my pistol, and I’m not afraid of anything. You can send me into any situation, and I won’t buckle under the pressure.’
‘You’re really not afraid of anything?’ asked Michael.
‘Nothing at all, Captain. I have nothing to lose, so I have nothing to be afraid of.’
‘If you are really not afraid of anything then you won’t mind telling us the real reason you want to join my crew,’ said Michael. Cynthia lowered her eyes, and a few moments passed in silence. ‘That’s what I thought. I’m sorry, Cynthia, we don’t have any room for you on our ship.’
‘Wait, wait; just give me a second. The real reason; I’ll tell you,’ she stammered. ‘The real reason is because I’m stuck on this space station. X5126 is the worst place in the galaxy; just take a look around; there’s nothing here but shadows and misery. They say the aliens are coming. I don’t have any money, I don’t have a family, and nobody has any friends in a backwater like this. If I can’t find a crew I’ll die when the aliens sweep through and destroy this place.’
‘We’re not running a charity,’ grumbled Ajax.
‘I don’t want your charity. I just want a chance to prove myself, nothing more.’
Michael stared up at Cynthia for a long moment and wondered if he should give her a chance. He knew what it felt like to be trapped, and he felt sorry for Cynthia; nevertheless, a lot of people were in the same situation. There were billions of people trying to escape the advance of the aliens across the galaxy. He knew the life of a station girl wasn’t one to be proud of. Life on a space station like X5126 was one of hunger and hopelessness. He could fully understand why she wanted to join his crew. She stared at the crew with hopeful eyes.
‘I’ll give you one mission and then it goes to a crew vote. We will drop you off at the next civilised stop if anyone votes against you. You have to prove yourself as you said you would. Do you understand?’
Cynthia’s eyes lit up and she looked as surprised as she was happy. ‘I won’t let you down,’ she said enthusiastically.
‘Take a seat. I’ll introduce you. This is Ajax; he’s our heavy gunner. Sara is our pilot. Ivan is an android, but you better treat him like he isn’t a robot; and this is Ethan, he’s our mechanical engineer.’ Dog-Two barked at Michael. ‘Oh, I nearly forgot; this is Dog-Two.’
**
The Out Drifter powered away from X5126. Michael was sitting beside Sara in the co-pilot seat. He stared through the viewing panel at the faint stars in the distance.
‘Captain, I’m plotting a course through the alien battle zone to Zeno Par. I hope we don’t regret this decision.’
‘We won’t.’
She hit the ship’s internal communicator. ‘Ethan. How is everything looking in the engine room?’
‘…All systems are functioning reasonably. The engines are at eighty-five percent and increasing. The pressure release valves are stable…’
The pressure release valves almost overloaded on a previous mission, which would have destroyed the entire ship. When Michael had upgraded the engine he hadn’t upgraded the release valves, which meant that they were frequently at risk of exploding due to the large increase in pressure. Ethan had welded several reinforced alloy sheets over the valve casings, but they all knew that it was a patch job that could not last. Michael felt a fair degree of anxiety each time they switched to the interstellar engine, which required the reactor to be at full power.
‘We are almost ready for interstellar speed, Captain. I’ve plotted the course. Twelve days to destination.’
‘Let’s do it.’
‘Switching engines now. The underlying two-dimensional field is distorting. I’m developing the curve in three-dimensional space. We have a stable trajectory. Here we go.’
Sara turned on the internal communicator. ‘Be ready for the gravitational adjustment.’
She reached forward and hit the four interstellar engine acceleration switches and pulled the operational lever fully back. The ship started to tremble and lurched forward as three-dimensional space began to curve under the influence of the interstellar engine. The curvature of space created what was commonly known as the sliding influence, where a ship would slide down the angle of distorted space. The speed was directly proportional to the size of the distortion. An interstellar engine allowed ships to reach speeds many thousands of times faster than the speed of light.
For a few moments the artificial gravity dissolved, and Michael felt a queasy feeling in his stomach. Seconds later the artificial gravity adjusted to the new speed and everything returned to normal.
‘…the valve casings are heating up…’ said Ethan over the com.
‘Will they hold?’ asked Michael nervously.
‘…They will probably settle in the next few minutes. Captain, we need to replace these valves when we return to Timber 5. This is totally unsafe. The entire ship is at risk of falling apart at any moment…’
‘We’re safely in the slide, Captain,’ said Sara. ‘The computer will guide us all the way to Zeno Par on autopilot. I’ve left the salvage scanners on; we still need to turn a profit.’
Michael nodded. ‘Well done, Sara,’ he said as he stood up and walked toward the back of the ship. Ajax and Cynthia were standing in the corridor at the door of the armoury. Ajax was showing Cynthia an Epherian modified automatic cannon, which was an oversized gun that would usually be fixed to a tripod due to its weight. The auto-cannon fired explosive micro-droids. The miniature robots could adjust their own course in mid-flight. If they missed their target they would land and use their six on-board robotic legs to either return to the auto-cannon to be refired or seek out the original target overland.
‘You would want a weapon like this with you if you ever got caught out in the open, especially in a firefight with aliens.’ he said, clearly trying to impress her. ‘It’s probably too heavy for someone of your size and weight.’
‘Have you ever fought aliens?’ asked Cynthia.
‘Just once…’ he mumbled.
‘He hasn’t fought any aliens whilst he’s been on my crew,’ said Michael as he walked by.
Ajax nodded curtly. ‘That’s right. We try to avoid confrontations with them, but we have to be ready just in case they decide to show their ugly faces.’
Michael continued back to the cargo bay. Ivan was sitting in the corner of the cargo bay and working on repairing a broken jetpack. The jetpack had been in Michael’s possession since his early days of salvaging, and he had once used it extensively, especially whilst surveying wrecks on surface missions. He had found the jetpack whilst searching a derelict battleship; it was highly advanced, with duel auto adjustable rockets, a programmable advanced computer with autopilot, a return to mothership switch and highly sensitive balance sensors. Ivan had been working on fixing the jetpack since the day it stopped working, but he hadn’t been able to identify the exact nature of the malfunction.
Michael continued across the cargo bay and walke
d through the engine room door. The engine room was cramped and narrow and cut directly between the two large engine blocks at the back of the ship. Most of the wiring, piping and valves were exposed, which made it easier to work. Ethan was musing over a panel of indicators at the back of the room. He glanced at Michael as he entered.
‘The release valves are stabilising,’ said Ethan.
‘I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem,’ said Michael.
Ethan walked over with a nervous smile. ‘Captain, this ship is a wreck. Look at all these aging components. It’s not just the pressure release valves; the whole ship is falling apart. I’m surprised it has lasted this long. Most of the components need to be replaced, and we need a complete rewiring of the entire ship.’
‘It’s not that bad. Remember she’s an Armorstonian Cruiser. The Armorstonians didn’t build ships to fall apart.’
Ethan shook his head. ‘Captain, the Armorstonians made great ships in their time, but if you don’t service them regularly and replace defective parts, well, to be honest, they will fall apart like any other ship. Most of the components on this ship are original; I’ve written a list of everything that needs to be replaced. Captain, you’re looking at a price tag of one hundred and fifty thousand credits, and that’s just the urgent repair work.’
Michael didn’t say a word for at least ten seconds. His eyes scanned the exposed wiring and electronic components. ‘Look, Ethan, I don’t have that kind of money. I think you’re doing a great job keeping the ship together. I believe in your skills. You’re the best mechanical engineer I have ever worked with. I don’t think I’ll ever meet a better engineer in my life.’
‘Flattery won’t keep the ship flying,’ muttered Ethan, looking away. ‘You know I’ll do the best I can, but you have to understand I’m limited by what I have to work with.’
Michael gave Ethan a friendly slap on the shoulder. ‘Keep up the good work,’ he said as he turned and walked back to the cargo bay.
**
The journey across the alien battle zone was set to take them approximately twelve days at full speed. Usually during long distance space travel the crew would enter the deep sleep pods and remain in stasis for the entire trip. Ajax always refused to enter deep sleep, or “go under” as he described it. Often Michael would sleep intermittently throughout a long trip, and Ethan would wake every two days to check the ship’s systems before returning to deep sleep.