Our sailing ship
Is for the hard and the quick.
We roll our load and go.
There's a living to be made
Or there's Hell to pay
When you're sleeping in the cold below.
~Keith Power-Warframe "Sleeping in the Cold Below"
CHAPTER TEN
Heroes
Pirates had a terrible sense of timing.
Lance poked at the control panel on the foot preparator, his stomach grumbling for dinner. "This thing makes bread, right?"
Pidge moved up next to him. "With synthed wheat. Not as good as the real stuff, but okay." She smirked. "You still love garlic knots, don't you?"
"Sweet, sweet carbs," he said. He pointed at his shirt which said: Lo que no mata, engorda.
"You could use meat some your bones, flaco." She pinched his arm.
He laughed. "'¿Flaco?' ¿De verdad? ¿Hablas español?"
"Se me hace que lo hablo mejor que tú."
"You probably do." Hearing his idioma dropping from her lips was the sexiest thing he'd heard in a long time.
"Tal vez…," she began, just as the proximity alarm went off.
"No," whined Lance. "Las emergencias después de la cena."
"It's probably just a passing ship." Pidge marched into the cockpit and sat down. "What do you think?" she said, pointing at the screen. "Bugs?" She made a cute, little crinkled-nose face. "I know, 'bugs' isn't nice. Normally, I avoid derogatory names for other species, but for Unilu pirates, I make an exception."
Lance shrugged and studied the screen. He'd used and heard worse slurs. Mercs didn't go through any kind of sensitivity training.
Their company in the black was close enough to set off the alarm, but not near enough for sensors to get a definitive reading. Besides the other ship, a few asteroids blipped the screen. Although "asteroid belt" conjured up images of a dense clot of space rocks, the rocky debris and planetoids between Mars and Jupiter were few and far between.
"Big enough to be a hive," he observed. Unilu pirate ships were actually five or more hoppers joined together into a larger ship. On attack, they did a reverse-Voltron and split into separate ships.
As they watched, the ship grew larger and then split into eight individual signals. "Bugs," Lance said, unconsciously rubbing his scarred hand.
"Athena can handle them. Once they see her firepower, they'll scatter like…well, roaches."
Lance started to say one thing, then changed his mind. "Please don't hit me."
"What? Why would I hit you?"
"I wanna do the flying. Please, please, please."
"I can handle this."
"I know," he said. "It's just…I'm soooo bored." She stared up at him, expressionless, but a teeny smile twitched on her mouth. Teeny smile was so adorable he briefly lost his train of thought. He focused and entreated with his most charming smile. "Please."
She rolled her eyes, but rose and gestured at the seat. "If you so much as scratch baby girl's paint…."
###
"Where are they going?" Katie squinted at the screen. The pirates were moving away from them.
"They got word I was flying." Lance cringed in advance of Katie smacking him. She bit back a laugh, and obliged him with a light whack to the head.
"Wait! There's another ship."
"They're after it," said Lance, "not us." He beamed hopefully up at her, blue eyes mirroring her own thoughts. "Heroes?"
His enthusiasm infectious, she laughed and said, "Heroes."
Athena ran on metastable metal hydrogen engines at standard sub-light speed, but she could achieve faster, short bursts with her Quintessence boosters. An expensive fuel, Quintessence wasn't affordable for long hauls on a small hopper like Athena. Lance made use of the Q-boosters to close the distance. Even with the boosters it took fifteen minutes to get within firing range. They arrived a few minutes after the pirates had begun firing on the hapless ship which, Katie noted, was a Cardinal.
"Cardinals have good shields. That's all that's saving them. No guns, though. Probably can't afford the illegal retrofit." Her old Cardinal, of course, had guns.
Lance nodded, pressing his thumb on the security lock. She'd coded his thumbprint and biometrics into the system, giving him access to pretty much everything, including the fore guns. Because, why not? It wasn't like he could do any damage. Nothing she couldn't repair, anyway. (After she kicked his ass for doing said damage.)
She tapped her glasses, switching to combat mode, and headed for the small gun port to the rear of the ship. The rear port was hidden in the mechanicals access panel and was a tight squeeze. Fortunately, she was still small. Tucked into the little seat, bathed in the green glow of the controls (green being a special customization of hers), she wrapped her hands around the twin controllers, and hoped Lance still had it.
I'm trusting you, Goofball.
The Cardinal's pilot was making an admirable attempt to dodge fire, using a couple of mid-sized asteroids to block enemy fire. But outnumbered and without offensive capabilities, it would take just one well-placed blast to end the fight. From her view, solely through a small screen and the glasses' HUD, the action felt distant, like a video game.
In space there was no up or down, especially absent the view from the cockpit. Only the tactical display told her that Lance sailed the hopper toward one side of the ship. Picking a target, she marked it. A few seconds later, Lance fired on another pirate ship, and she followed suit.
Her goal wasn't to kill anyone, although they probably deserved it. Unilu pirates typically chose soft targets like the Cardinal; basically, they were bullies looking for an easy mark. When faced with a hopper that actually fought back, particularly one with Athena's ferocious fire power—thanks to Shiro and her targeting algorithms—she expected them to give up.
She sensed through the readout, rather than felt, Lance smoothly pull Athena out of the pirate's return fire. A touch of the flow hummed in her brain, and she calculated, picking more targets, and firing. Athena turned, spun and slid back into the fray, and Lance said, "Oh, baby, you're smooth like glass."
Three of the pirate ships changed course, marking Athena as the more dangerous quarry. And probably, the better payout, if they won. Katie noted the position of the asteroids and opened her mouth, a command on her tongue.
Lance anticipated her strategy, aiming the nimble little hopper straight at the three ships, firing and then breaking off. His new trajectory put an asteroid between the pirates and Athena. Athena emerged from cover, flanking the ships that still badgered the Cardinal. Together, she and Lance rained Hel on the pirates.
Sensors told her that one salvo blew by dangerously close, but Lance dodged it effortlessly. She smiled, grudgingly admitting he still had it. Athena's defensive shields hadn't been taxed at all. She tugged the front of her shirt away from her boobs. His effortless mastery of the little hopper, turning Athena into a tiny starfighter, was making her nipples perky. Focus!
She fired three more times, noting that at least two of her targets were already fleeing, albeit slowly, likely damaged. "Yeah," she whispered, "Mama's baby's got big bite."
One ship continued to doggedly fire on the Cardinal. Again, Lance anticipated her command and focused fire on that ship. It broke off the attack. With a cursory shot in their direction, it followed the other fleeing ships.
Then just as abruptly as it had begun, it was over. All the pirates had turned tail and run. "Should we pursue?" Lance asked over the coms, a little too eagerly.
"No." She tagged the Cardinal, and began reading its status. "I think the Cardinal's in trouble."
###
"Cardinal 562X, this is the Athena. Do you read?" The hopper wasn't moving although scans showed that life support and other essential systems were working. Sensors noted four life signs.
After a couple minutes of silence, she repeated the message.
"Athena, we read," came a woman's voice.
"Are you in trouble?" Again, a long pause. "Do you need assistance?"
"The bugs fried something' in our controls," said the woman.
"I'm a mechanic, an expert with Cardinals. I'd be happy to take a look at it. I have a stocked tool kit."
The Cardinal's crew must have been deliberating the sanity in letting strangers on board as there was a long another long pause. Finally, the woman replied, "All right. I'll set the hatch to dock."
###
Not knowing what they'd be walking into, Katie and Lance both wore bayards on back holsters and knives in their boots. Katie carried her tool kit and she reloaded Cardinal specs and schematics to her glasses. In a wrist holster, she had a smaller kit, which, in addition small tools, could eject a wicked dagger, a modification of her own. Lance had donned the fingerless gloves again, presumably to hide the scar on his hand.
Anything more than two people in a Cardinal constituted an overload. Optimistically, Katie hoped they were dealing with a family who couldn't afford a bigger ship. But they could be walking into a literal den of thieves or worse.
Well, it's not like we're helpless, she thought, thinking of New Aleppo and glancing at the tall man at her side. Remembering the photo and the predatory ice in his blue eyes. A frisson of excitement vibrated through her limbs. She had missed this so much.
They were met by a lone woman: a tall redhead, her hair chopped brutally short, expression sour. Like Katie and Lance, she wore a bayard. She rested a hand on the weapon where it slung low on her hip. Like Athena, the Cardinal's interior was small and split into two main areas—a cockpit and living quarters, with the hatch opening into the living quarters. The cockpit door was closed.
"Hi. I'm Katie. This is Lance."
"Maude." Green eyes narrowed, the woman studied Katie and Lance, and then the junction between the two hoppers. "You two it?"
Katie tensed, wondering if they'd wandered into a trap. Calculations-the time it would take for the cockpit door to open; how quickly she could bring down Maude; how she'd maneuver in the tight space—buzzed through her brain.
"Yup, just us," said Lance, cheerfully. "Where's the rest of your family?" When the woman glared at him, he pointed at the small galley. "Three glasses. And a kid's artwork." A crayon drawing of something that was either a purple dog or a mutant Galra was taped to a wall.
As though summoned by his observations, three more people—a man, woman and little girl-emerged as the cockpit door opened.
The second woman was small, dark, and wore her black hair in a simple ponytail. There was a smile on her face. The man instantly reminded Katie of Hunk: he was darkly handsome, built like a tank, and also had a welcoming smile on his face. He held the little girl in his arms. All three adults sported wedding rings and engagement bracelets, a Martian matrimonial custom.
"I told you to stay back," growled Maude.
"It's okay, M. I got a good feeling and you know you can trust my feelings." The man smiled fondly at Maude. To Lance and Katie, he said, "I'm Jasper. This is Maria and Casey."
Lance gestured at himself and then Katie. "Lance. Pidge, uh, Katie."
Casey wiggled irritably in Jasper's arms and he let her down. Lance smiled cheerfully at the child and asked, "Is this your first time in space, Casey?" She nodded. "Do you like it?"
"No, it's dark and scary."
"Yeah, it is. Hey. Do you want to know what I do when all that black scares me?"
Glancing at her parents for reassurance, she nodded.
"If you have some paper and crayons, I can show you."
Maria smiled at the child. "Go get your art supplies, Casey."
###
"Where are you all headed?" asked Katie. She had found the problem easily and was making a temporary repair. Maude hovered nearby, suspicion evident on her face. Lance and the rest of the family were in the cockpit.
Irritated by the woman's attitude, though it was understandable, Katie said, "We aren't here to rob you or steal your ship. Really. We just want to help."
At length, Maude said, "Titan."
"Work?"
"We're taking a Seed ship for the outer colonies, the deep frontier."
Seed ships were so named because they planted colonists, mostly human, on colonies in distant star systems. Titan, with a wormhole nearby, was a frequent departure point.
"That's brave," Katie replied. "I don't know if I could do that. Leave all my family and friends."
"It's hard, especially for Jasper. But we have to look to our little one. For a while, after the aliens showed up, it looked like things would get better, new tech, new jobs and trade." She sighed. "But then Xiphoid and the Reds started kicking up a fuss. And the climate on Earth is still a cluster. We want our daughter to grow somewhere she can breathe the air, away from the politics."
Katie nodded, tapping her glasses to switch the HUD's diagnostic mode. "That was some good flying you did today. Where'd you learn?"
"I flew transports and tugs for Artzon, the ag shipper. Ya'll did some good flying too."
"That was Lance," said Katie, giving credit where it was due.
"Where'd you learn to do this?" asked Maude, gesturing at Katie's repair.
"Here, there, everywhere and MIT." She gestured at her toolbox. "Hand me that torque wrench, please."
Maude handed it to her. "MIT? That's a fancy school in the North American Union, innit? You only go there if you're a genius or if you buy your way in."
"Well, I didn't buy my way in," said Katie dryly.
"Your hopper says otherwise."
"It's on loan." Changing the subject, she asked, "How long have you all been married?"
"Ten years total. Jasper and I were childhood sweethearts, married at nineteen. Two years later we meet Maria on Mars, and fall tits over ass in love." Her scowl faded to a smile at the memory. "We were married on Earth because the Marvins still don't cotton to triples."
"Yeah, they're kind of backward."
"Our angel Casey happened a year later."
Childish laughter erupted from the cockpit, followed by Lance crying, "Oh no, a horrible Robeast. Save me!" More laughter followed.
"Your man's good with kids."
"Oh, he's not my…I mean, we're just old friends. From Galaxy Garrison."
Maude fell silent. Katie, grateful for the quiet, as quiet as was possible with Lance's battle with a tiny Robeast in the cockpit, soldered a broken connection. Turning to pick a new servo from her tool box, she found Maude's eyes on her, the expression unnerving in its intensity.
"You're one of them, aren't you? One of those, what's the word, 'knights?'"
"You mean, Paladin?"
"Yeah. Voltron, right?"
Katie nodded and Maude's demeanor changed. "Well, that explains it."
"Huh?"
"When I saw your ship, I said to my deres, I did, 'Why would them Elois help us Morlocks?' The more Mammon, the less manners, you know?"
"We're all just fragile bodies trying to stay alive in the black. We have to take care of each other."
"Ain't that the truth."
Maude lapsed into silence for a while before saying, "Funny. I thought you'd be shorter."
###
"How much for the repair?" said Maude as they were leaving.
"Nothing," said Katie. "Just send us a nod when you get to Begay." Her repair would easily hold if they took a detour back to Begay, but it wouldn't get them all the way to Titan. "And another before you leave Titan."
"Thank you so much," said Jasper, and Maria echoed his thank you. Casey waved shyly at Lance. In her head, Katie laughed and rolled her eyes. Lance, you heartbreaker.
"No," said Maude. "We don't take charity. There must be something…"
"Well," said Lance, rubbing his chin, "you wouldn't happen to have any real wheat flour?"
Translations/Slang-
Lo que no mata, engorda: What doesn't kill you, makes you fatter.
Flaco: Skinny.
¿De verdad? ¿Hablas español?: Seriously? You speak Spanish?
Se me hace que lo hablo mejor que tú: I think I speak it [Spanish] better than you.
Idioma: Language.
Tal vez...: Maybe...
Las emergencias después de la cena: Dinner first, then emergencies.
Marvins: Martians.
Eloi[s]: A wealthy elite person, especially one who cares little for the plight of the lower classes
Morlock[s]: Lower class or poor. Frequently used to self identify as disadvantaged and oppressed by the Eloi.
###
THANKS for reading!
My translations aren't precisely literal because I think in both languages. In my head canon, for this story, Pidge and Lance fall into the habit of often speaking in Spanish. But I'm not writing it that way because it would be awkward and besides, I make enough typos in English.