Operation: Recovery
Chapter 3: A Slip in the Ice
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was glad for the quiet after Sector X. Nobody else tried to attack the convoy so the pilots were allowed a well deserved break. It wasn't until we arrived in Fichinan Airspace that the pace on the ship picked back up.
Fichina had been nothing more than a giant ball of ice with no interest to anyone except for a few scientists up until recently. Two decent sized spaceports had been established on the planet within the past few years with the primary goal of refueling and repairing Cornarian ships. When soldiers and pilots began complaining about having nothing to do while they're ships were getting fixed the government offered money to anyone who'd be willing to set up businesses in Fichina's spaceports. With the influx of people legitimate houses had to be built. In the end, Fichina got two decent sized cities, and pilots got a few places they could go to get drunk and relax.
As we landed The Savannah, Grimmsley's voice broke in over the intercom again.
"I know all of you were hoping to go out and have a little fun after all you've been through," a collective moan escaped from everyone in my barracks, "…and I'm letting most of you go. Engineers are required to stay until repairs on the arwings are completed, and all medical personnel are required to stay on duty until additional personnel are brought in which, lucky for them, should only take an hour or two. I don't care what you do out there so long as you're back by 0700 tomorrow morning for roll-call. Dismissed."
A split second after Grimmsley's voice had faded the barracks filled with the sound of men and women digging through their trunks for anything to keep them warm, followed shortly after by the thudding of boots. I waited until everything was relatively quiet before I even bothered to get out of my bunk. I looked around and was surprised to find myself standing alone, figuring that at least Vivian would've waited for me.
"Come on!" She shouted, suddenly appearing in the door. "You didn't think you could get out of buying that easily did you?" I quickly grabbed my aviator jacket out of my trunk before running to catch up with her.
We left the Savannah through a door near the front of the port side of her hull. Despite being mid-afternoon it was already dark, and the clouds hanging overhead added to the atmosphere. I stopped a moment and took a deep breath of the cold, crisp air before Vivian, who'd manage to get in front of me again, motioned for me to follow her. Together we made our way to the large fence that designated the landing pad and left the spaceport all together behind as we passed through a nearby gate. We walked down a snowy street to the front of the spaceport. From there we crossed the street we'd been following and slowly made our way into downtown.
With as crowded as everything was I was amazed that Vivian had any idea of where she was going. As we passed by yet another alley, I looked down it and wasn't surprised to find it exactly like the rest of the city: crowded and twisted. After walking for a few more minutes Vivian stopped for a second and looked up at a glowing neon sign hanging above us. I didn't bother; I knew we were standing in front of the Dragon's Den, a local bar and club popular with pilots and the same bar we'd gone to the past few times we'd been on Fichina. Just on the other side of its front door was a small room painted black and lit up with more neon colored lights. Two men armed with more than stun guns stood on either side of the door that led into the club. They stopped us and one of them began to say something when Vivian and I both took our blasters out of our holsters and handed them to the guards who accepted them with a nod. The Dragons Den had gotten into trouble in its opening year when a soldier, angered by the bartender cutting him off, drew his blaster and started shooting. Another patron drew his blaster and tried to stop him. His aim was off though and he accidently shot another patron. At that point a huge fight broke out and it took the Fichinan police to break it up. Fortunately, the only thing seriously injured in the fight was The Dragons Den's reputation which they've been trying to fix since then (hence the serious security).
The guard on our right pressed a button behind him and the door into the club unlocked. As Vivian and I stepped through it we were immediately hit by the bright lights and thumping sound of techno music. We walked around the dance floor and over to the bar. Vivian whistled in an attempt to get the attention of the bartender. She succeeded, and he walked over to us before asking,
"What'll ya have?"
"Solar dive-bombs, and keep 'em coming!" She shouted over the music.
"How about you?" The bartender asked, looking at me. I hesitated a moment, afraid more for my wallet than anything else.
"Come on!" Vivian said, smiling at me. "Have some fun!" I sighed, before looking at the bartender.
"Venom Rushes." I said, smiling.
"Now you're talking!" Vivian said.
I'm not sure how long Vivian and I sat there drinking and just having a good time. At some point I felt someone tap on my shoulder and I turned around to find Duke standing behind me.
"How's your night been?" He asked.
"Not too bad." I said, trying my best to hide how drunk I was.
"Maybe I can make it a little better." He said grinning. I was about to ask him what he meant when he explained. "Come on, Captain. It's been a while since you've seen any action, and since you may or may not have saved my butt out there today, I'm going to help you out."
"That's all right, I'm good." I said.
"Come on!" He said, still grinning. "You're not doubting my ability to pick up chicks are you? If you did, you won't once I tell you this:" He stopped and leaned in close, "Our dear friend Chuckles finally got lucky thanks to yours truly." He whispered. As he stepped back I stared up at him in disbelief.
"No…"
"Yup." He said. "You'd be surprised how sympathetic some women can be to guy whose head's covered in bandages. So, how about it?" Maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe it was the fact that I hadn't been in any kind of relationship in a long time, but I agreed.
"Fine." I said. Duke smiled, glad that I'd given in. "Just let me let Vivian…" I turned back towards where, minutes before, my copilot had been sitting drinking. "Hey!" I shouted at the bartender. He came over to me. "Where's the lynx that was just here?" I asked him.
"She said she was feeling sick so I let her slip out the back door to get some fresh air." He said.
"Shouldn't you have gotten her to pay before you let her out?" I asked.
"She said you were paying for everything." The bartender replied.
"Of course she did." I said with a sigh. I dug my credit chip out of my wallet and handed it to the bartender who scanned it in his cash register before handing it back to me. "Duke," I said turning back to him, "I'll be back in five minutes all right? I'm just going to go make sure Vivian isn't passed out in an alley. When I get back…"
"I got it." Duke said. I nodded. I stood up, took one step, and fell. I quickly picked myself back up but no matter how fast I walked I couldn't escape the sound of Duke laughing his ass off.
I made my way to the back of the club and from there outside through the club's back door. I had thought it was going to be hard to find Vivian but thankfully there was a set of fresh tracks that wobbled away down an alley. I followed them as they twisted and turned away from the club and further into the dark alleys of the spaceport. I stopped for a moment as a snowflake landed on my nose and I looked up. I turned my attention back to the tracks but stopped again as I heard someone shouting.
"What do you mean you don't have them?!" I looked around, unsure of where the voice had come from.
"Getting what you want wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be." Someone else said. I took a few steps further before pressing my back up against a wall just outside of another alley.
"Why not?" The first voice asked.
"Security's been tightened." The second voice said. "After what happened there're only a few people with access, and I'm not one of them." I peeked around the corner I was hiding behind and was just able to make out two figures about halfway down the alley. I ducked back as the man on the right looked towards me.
"What?" The first voice asked. A moment passed before the second voice responded.
"I thought I saw something but I guess not."
"You need to get in there and find me those manifests." The first voice said.
"Forget it." The second voice said. "No amount of money is worth the trouble I'd get in if I got caught with it." I heard a few footsteps as the second man walked further down the alley.
"What about for something else then?" The first man asked. The second man stopped.
"Nothing you have is worth losing my job over." The second man said.
"How about the life of your dear wife and your darling little daughter?" The first man asked. There was a long pause before the second man responded.
"What did you say?" He said, obviously shaken.
"Your wife Elizabeth and your daughter Mary," the first man said casually, "would you do it for their lives?"
"You're bluffing." The second man said. "I just talked to them earlier today; they're fine, they're at home, they're—"
"Being watched by some of my friends." The first man said. "The second I give the order, they'll break into your house and your family will be at my mercy."
"You wouldn't."
"I will." The first man said. "That is, unless you can get me the shipping manifest for The Seeker, The Curiosity, and The Discovery." Hearing those three names really got my attention and I risked peeking around the corner again. Little had changed, except now the man doing the threatening had his back to me and the other man was standing in front of him facing him.
"Of course, if you feel that your job isn't worth their lives then I suppose our business is done." The first man said.
"No!" The second man shouted. "I'll do it! Just… Give me a few days!"
"I'll give you six hours to bring me those shipping manifests." The first man said.
"Six…?" The second man said, faltering. "That's not enough time! I'll never be able to do it!"
"You'd better find a way." The first man said, threateningly. "If those manifests aren't dropped off at our ship in six hours my men will break into your house. If you're one hour late, both your daughter and wife's arms will get broken. If you're two hours late, both of their legs will be broken. If you're three hours late I'll tell my men to start cracking ribs and if you're four hours late…"
"I get it! I get it!" The second man said. "I'll find a way just…don't hurt them please." I ducked back behind the corner, my mind racing. Whoever this guy was he was after the shipping manifests from the three ships my unit and her sister units were assigned to guard. Whether it was my own stupidity or the booze helping it along, I decided I needed to try and stop him.
"Hold it right there!" I shouted, stepping out into the middle of the alley. "I don't know who you are, or what exactly you're after but I'm…" The entire time I'd been talking I'd been reaching down slowly to get my blaster. As my hand grasped air I suddenly remembered that I'd left it with the men at the front of the Dragon's Den. "…in serious trouble." I added. The man who was closer to me reached down and grabbed a blaster from his hip. Realizing the seriousness of my situation, I quickly threw myself to the left, managing to dodge his shot. I quickly picked myself up and, without hesitating, I bolted down another alley to my left.
I kept running, knowing that my pursuer was close behind me. I took a left, then a right, then another left, then a right, and I just kept hoping that my luck would hold out and that I'd be able to escape him. My luck has an odd way of biting me in the butt in the worst of times though. Just when I thought I'd managed to get away I turned down an alley that ended in a sold concrete wall. I looked frantically around for a way out but there wasn't one. I heard snow crunch behind me and I quickly turned around, only to be met with a shot from blaster, hitting me dead center of my chest. I crumpled to the ground, fighting to stay conscious.
"Don't worry," my pursuer said, walking over to where I was lying, "you'll be out for a little bit but when you wake up… We'll have a nice long chat…" Using the last of my energy I looked up, managing to get a glimpse of his face. I only had a moment before, to quicken my loss of consciousness, he shot me again. It worked, and the world faded to black.
