My mind was in two places. One part was that Vega was holding my hand, just out of sight of everyone else. The other part was that Gregory had just admitted that people were trying to kill him. The older guy who I quickly figured to be some kind of cop narrowed his eyes at Gregory.
"Explain." he said.
"You are?" Gregory asked politely.
"Special Agent Twist. ISB."
"Glad to see you Special Agent. I was born and raised in Pretoria. I became a journalist there and specialized in politics in Africa." He sighed and rubbed his face. "I had heard a tip of some corruption in Windhoek and had gone there. There I found a corruption ring in the upper levels of the South African District Administration ."
"Oohh corrupt politicians. What a surprise." I growled.
I got a light chuckle from everyone in the room. Even Gregory smiled. "Normally I would agree. But how many corrupt politicians do you know are hebephiles or ephebophiles?"
"Umm?" Vega started to say.
"Hebephiles are disgusting perverts who are attracted to preteens and early teens. Ephebophiles are more for teenagers. Typically ends at eighteen or nineteen." I said and turned to Gregory. "I thought the age of consent was sixteen and adulthood at eighteen?"
"Oh it is. Except when they've been enslaved." Gregory gave a tired smile. "Yes that's right. I uncovered a sex-slave ring. Several extremely high ranking people were involved either directly or indirectly. My articles created a shitstorm. Dozens of people were arrested up to and including the Chief Executor of Windhoek."
"The guy in charge of the police." Vega whispered in my ear.
I whispered a quick thanks because I had no idea what the hell a Chief Executor was supposed to be. "Normally I just hide out in Joburg until the storm settles. This time with the number of people that were arrested I decided that hiding on Ganymede would be safer. I contacted a friend out here. Imam being the stubborn arse that he is, refused to let me come alone. Same with my godson Kyle."
Special agent Twist opened his mouth and Gregory cut him off. "No, both of them would sooner die than betray me. I'm willing to bet my so-called friend betrayed me. No, I know that he would. I'm told that I have a considerable bounty on my head. I had thought that our friendship and the years together would mean more than money. Clearly I was wrong."
"I'll have a friend of mine look into things on Ganymede itself." Twist said. "I'll take everyone's statements and then take you and your friends into protective custody. This is the ISB and Ganymede. You'll be able to trust us."
Imam spoke up. "I certainly hope so, Agent. For your sake."
Twist merely shrugged but I took one look at Imam and knew something dangerous was lurking beneath the surface of that religious persona. I damn well did not want to meet whoever he was in a past life.
"Captain Vega, here is the second half of your payment. I had hoped that this would be a quiet simple trip, but I was wrong. I apologize."
Vega smiled. "No need to apologize. Just next time, a warning would be great."
For a few seconds, the saddest most tired look came across Gregory's face. "I thought I knew who to trust. I was wrong."
Gregory gave a small bow and tossed the bag of money at Vega who deftly caught it. Twist took all of our statements and then left with Gregory and Imam. "Cat's going to be upset. She was eying Kyle." I said.
Vega shrugged. "Somehow I think she'll live." She took her hand from mine as she counted the money. Andre had passed out after giving his statement to Twist and I felt safe to ask "You uh..okay?"
Vega shrugged and sighed. "We lost money on this trip. Even with our emergency funds and this payment, we're barely covering repairs and refueling. I can already tell that we're going to be in dock for weeks if not months."
I sighed. "I thought you'd be pissed at him for not saying anything."
Vega moved to pull the blanket over the sleeping Andre. "Oh I'm mad. Really mad. You guys are more important and...and I would have thought the same thing. You're supposed to be able to trust people right? I would've thought the same thing. Don't need to say anything because he already looked so hurt."
Vega smiled. "I don't have to worry about you guys though."
I snorted. "You've only known me for a few months. You don't know me."
Vega shrugged. "I do actually. I also know that you'd never betray anyone." She cocked her head and smiled at me. "You're a much better person than you give yourself credit for."
I looked away to hide the blush that was threatening to spread across my face like a wildfire. "Shut up." I snapped. Vega made a clucking sound and said "Nope. Andre's going to spend the night here. You need help getting back to your room?"
"I'll be fine. Go do your captain shit."
Vega glanced at Andre and then walked over and kissed me on the forehead. Just above the bandages. "Do you want me to check on you later?"
"Do whatever you want." I grumbled. I didn't need a freaking nanny. "So that's a yes then. I'll see you in a bit."
She left the medbay and I called out "What freaking universe was that a yes?"
"The one with a Jade in it!"
I smirked and sighed. I looked at Andre and said "You can stop faking it. I've seen more convincing sleep-acting in porn."
"You watch porn?" Andre said as he opened his eyes and looked at me.
"Why were you pretending to sleep?" I asked, ignoring his question. "Have to. Otherwise Tori would stay here worrying and it becomes a whole thing."
It probably would knowing Vega. "That and you wanted to spy on us. I bet you wanted to see us make out."
Andre shrugged. "Not going to admit anything. You'll hurt me."
"Yeah I would." I grunted as I swung my legs over and stood up. Pretty sure I bruised a rib or two falling out of that turret. "Are you staying here?" I asked.
"Yeah. My head hurts and I don't feel like making the trip to my room."
"Right. See you later."
Andre waved good-bye and I shuffled out of the medbay. Once I made it to my room, I climbed down the ladder very carefully before changing to black pajama pants and a tank-top. Imam had told me that I only had to leave the bandages on for night. Let's hear it for twenty-sixth century medicine! I sat down on the bed and my face practically fell into my hands.
Jesus fucking christ I had almost died!
My mind replayed everything like it was a movie. The missiles racing towards me as the headset shrieked a warning at me. Three of them. I had cheered when I shot the first one and it had blown up a good distance away. That was when I saw the next two. Somehow I knew that I wouldn't be able to hit them. I had unbuckled myself and dropped down the ladder. Seconds later the first missile and I was knocked off of my feet.
That's when I hit my head. I remembered trying to ignore the pain and forcing myself to stand up, just in time for the second missile to hit. I don't know how I survived. Maybe it was because of the shields. Maybe it was the way the ship is designed. All I know is that I was again knocked off of my feet and sent tumbling down the hallway. Bruised and battered, I had limped away and ran into Imam, who helped me to the medbay.
I had unlocked it and Imam had treated me while Vega and Andre had done the micro-jump. I bit back a sob as I tried to process this. My heart beat at a triple rate, seeming to come out of my chest. Yet..yet a part of me was thrilled. As shocked as I was at my near death, I felt so...alive. I made this sound..I think it was some kind of laugh.
Great.
Questions for later.
I flipped the blankets over and crawled under them. I was asleep minutes after I put my head on my pillow. I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. For some reason I felt upset before I banished the feeling. I got out of bed and stripped out of my clothes and tried to take the bandages off of my forehead and arm. They wouldn't come off easily and I swore and gritted my teeth. Gripping the bandage on my forehead, I ripped it off. Tears welled up and I bit my lip and punched the wall. The one on my arm was next. I inhaled and ripped the bandage off. A couple tears fell and I swore more than once. I wiped my eyes and looked over my arm. There weren't any marks. If I didn't know better, I would swear that I had never been hurt. What the hell was in those bandages?
I turned on the shower and stepped under the scalding water. I enjoyed the hot water and the light pain that came with it. I tilted my head up and felt the water run over my face. The memories of the fight seemed to wash away. I stepped out of the shower long enough to turn on some music before quickly getting back in. Thrasher, a descendant of metal filled my room. More electronic and digital then what I grew up with, it still sounded nice and I enjoyed it alot.
A steady buzz interrupted my euphoric state and I sighed. I stepped out of the shower and turned off the music before hitting the intercom. I promptly then hopped back in the shower. "Jade, it's Tori. Are you busy?"
"I was enjoying my shower. Now I'm dealing with a headache."
"Headache? How long have you had a headache?"
"About thirty seconds now."
"Stop being a gank for a minute and listen!"
I sighed. "What is it?"
"Cat and Andre will be working with the local crew to fix up Nostromo. I need you to head into the station and buy a few things." Vega said. I turned off the shower and climbed out. "Give me twenty and I'll be up."
Vega said thanks as I toweled myself off. I grabbed a black sleeveless shirt and a black faux-leather jacket that I left open. Black pants with one green stripe up one leg and blue stripe up the other leg with kickass boots completed the ensemble. Taking a deep breath, I was ready to face this shit-tastic world.
I climbed out of my room and made my way to the cargo-bay. I found Vega deep in conversation with someone in a grey workmen's uniform. She spotted me and waved me over. "Good. You're here. This is a list of things that we need and where to find them. We don't have much anymore so priority are the first things on the list."
"Got it." I said and started walking away and Vega yelled "Call if you need anything!"
I gave a sort of wave and walked towards the air lock. Once I cycled through, I stepped off of the ship and started floating. This zero-g dock was so damn cool. I wish Beck and my Dad could have seen this. Nostromo was locked in place between two metal rectangles that glowed a light blue. They held the ship in place while people floated about doing work. There was oxygen, so suits weren't needed. The entire hanger looked like the inside of an ipod-beehive. Ships flew in and out of different docks as people flew around on either different machines or just kicked off. I stood at the airlock and just took in the sights.
I spotted a bullet train looking thing at the very back of the dock and I gently kicked off from Nostromo and floated my way towards it. I should have kicked with a little more force because it was slow going, but I made it. Eventually.
A second kick kept me going past the clamp things holding Nostromo and I sailed to the door and I nearly laughed as it slid open. On the other side was the standard public transportation train station. It was like being back in LA in the 21st century. Except that the station was clean. I grabbed a pillar as I floated past to stop myself and floated there while I waited for the train.
Holo-maps told me where I needed to go and which train that I would need to take. While I waited, I shot down no less than three different guys from trying to talk to me. I was slightly less mean to some chick but still shot her down. I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone and I was still confused about Vega. I barely paid any attention to anything as I just thought and thought.
The train finally arrived and my graceful floating came to an end when I crossed through the door and the artificial gravity on the train kicked in. I held onto a pole as the train moved deeper into the station. I looked over the list that Vega had given me. It was a list of medical stuff and other odds and ends, but the "Gun for Jade" being in bold tripped me up. I stared at it long enough that I almost missed my stop and had to dash out the door. The inside of the station reminded me of Titan station. Save that it was smaller and clean. Everything was neat and orderly and honestly looked like something the Pear-phone or Apple companies would design. Perhaps this really was a nice place in the cesspool that was the Alliance.
I easily found the medical-pharamacy store thing and bought what we needed. Next on the list was the gun store. I had just stepped outside when I saw a man wearing raggedy clothes was being manhandled into a van by a couple cops. A woman next to me grunted in approval. "Have to keep the trash out." She muttered.
I sighed. Nevermind. This place was just as nasty as LA. Just was cleaner. With nicer shoes I guess. I made sure to look like I belonged and it worked because the only thing that happened was a cop staring at my ass. Unfortunately for her, pudgy blondes aren't really my thing. I'm pretty sure my thing is half-latina brunettes. The gun store was just down the street (convenient) and I walked in to look over the display.
"How may I help you?" A dark skinned man with a bored look asked me. "Yeah. I need to buy a pistol."
"Indie?"
"A what?"
"Independent worker. Cargo, etc."
"Yes I am."
He nodded and pulled himself off of the barstool and pushed a couple buttons. It was a little surprising to see the opaque walls suddenly clear up and reveal a large number of guns. "I guess you need a pistol?"
I looked over the display and pointed at the black one that looked almost exactly like the ones cops used in my time. "Good eye." The seller said as he took it from the display. "The Sunlock 9. Proof that if it ain't broke don't fix it. Made by that Austro-German company called Glock-Sonne who've been in business for centuries. Simple coil tech, lightweight with a twenty-five round magazine. Can take and deal out a beating."
He handed me the gun butt first and I remembered the lessons that my dad had given me, after the accident. Maybe taking your daughter to the gun range wasn't the most Disney- thing ever but it was great. I went with him often and the lessons came flooding back. Two hand grip, looking down the sights.
"Triple safety on it and of course comes with the standard counter on the back. Honestly, my first choice for you indies. Few parts makes maintenance a zoom and you can find ammo literally anywhere. Lightweight and accurate, good for fighting on ships and stations."
I was practically sold on it, but I did try out a couple others before deciding on the Sunlock. Buying turned out to be really simple. Fill out a form, put my name and birthday down (the birthday I lied out my ass) and answer a couple questions. All told the actual sale took a couple hours. I bought a shoulder and thigh holster, though I used the thigh holster first. I stepped out of the shop when the seller called out.
"I don't know what's on your mind Indie, but overthinking it ain't gonna solve your problems. Sometimes all you can do is stand up and get it done."
When I looked back at him, he laughed. "I could tell your mind's been elsewhere for awhile. Like I said, best to stand up and deal with whatever's bothering you, because it ain't going to solve itself. At least it never does in my experience."
"Yeah..You're right. Thanks." I said and left. The shopping list could wait. I got what I needed and the rest can be done tomorrow. Not like Nostromo is going anywhere. The ride back was quick but uneventful. My heart thundered as my mind raced.
I shoved my way through the few people and kicked off to the airlock. Once I cycled through I tossed the things I bought into the medbay. I could sort them out later. I found Andre connecting a couple wires and I scared the crap out of him by yelling. I waited until he stopped cursing before I tossed a crown at him.
"Take Cat and go...anywhere. Don't come back until tomorrow morning." I said.
Andre looked the crown over. I sighed and tossed another one at him. "Do I want to know?" He asked. "Sure. If you don't mind me cutting your hair off while you sleep."
Andre shocked gasp and the way he grabbed his hair will always be hilarious. I wish I had recorded it. Prima donna much? Andre left grumbling as I marched my way up to the bridge. Somehow I knew that I would find Vega up there. Lo and behold, there she was nose deep in some data pad as some music played softly across the bridge.
I walked onto the bridge and right up to her and yanked the data-pad right out of her hands. "Wha-Jade!" Vega said and I put a finger against her lips. She blushed but thankfully shut up.
"Vega. We're not tap-dancing or anything else around this anymore." I took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "I would like you to go on a date with me. Tonight. Here."
For several agonizing seconds Vega didn't say anything. It took every ounce of self control to keep my face blank. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt her tongue brush against my finger. I dropped my finger and she smiled. "I can't answer if you're holding a finger against my lips like that."
Okay she had a point.
Vega stared me right back into my eyes. "I'd love to go on a date with you." I smiled and then stilled when Vega held up a finger. "On one condition."
"And that is?"
"No matter how this date goes, no matter what happens after today you have to start calling me by my first name."
I leaned over and took her face in my hands. My lips brushed hers and I gave a deep kiss as Vega...no Tori took my hands into hers. We were both breathing heavily when we parted. "Okay. You have a deal. Tori."
Using coil based tech means that ammo these days don't use propellants, so it's just the bullets. Letting magazines carry a lot more ammo for their size. Hope you all enjoyed.
-C.H.
