Chapter 5
James crept back into Bureck's apartment. He took off his shoes and tiptoed to the cashbox after making sure that the three Bandits who lay sprawled on the floor were sleeping. He pulled several thousand Wong out and went back to the door. He smiled at the three when he thought about the headaches they'd have when they woke up. His smile saddened, and he went to the kitchen, got glasses of water and aspirin and put one of each by each of their heads. He shut the door quietly and met Karen outside.
They walked to the city, and got there around seven o'clock. They had breakfast at a small diner and James took Karen clothes shopping. He bought her a couple of outfits, and she thanked him profusely for them. They shopped for other things they thought they'd need for and after the trip, including some magazines, snacks, and bottles of water (the price of which had been steadily increasing).
"Karen," Jim asked in the magazine aisle of a bookstore, "Where are we going?"
"A newly discovered planet called Aaron Fifteen. Why?"
"Just…you didn't tell me before."
"Oh," she turned to him with a magazine in hand, "I'm sorry. You didn't ask earlier so I didn't remember to-"
"It's okay. Do you want that?"
She smiled. "Yeah… but… I'll buy it."
"Okay."
They continued on like this for the entire week, James buying Karen new clothes and Karen buying them things for the flight.
They had lunch, then dinner, and checked into a cheap hotel every day that week. It was only thirty Wong a night, but the room James and Karen got was nicer than anything either of them had slept in at least four years.
On the night before their departure, James closed his eyes and turned away while Karen changed into her pajamas (James had made sure to buy her oversized baggy pajamas that were totally unrevealing), and vice-versa while James changed into new boxers and a t-shirt. Both of them packed the items they were taking into newly purchased bags, brushed their teeth, made sure the door was locked, and then curled up in each other's arms. They fell asleep under the warm blankets of a real bed.
James was surprised, when he woke up, that for the sixth time in a row, they hadn't been attacked during the night. He got dressed and brushed his teeth, and made sure everything was ready for their departure. Though his years of being basically alone and in constant danger had given him a tendency to lean towards spontaneity, his knack for careful planning never really left him. By the time Karen woke up, he had everything in order and was checking their inventory on his data pad.
"Good morning, James," she said quietly, wiping sleep from her eyes.
"'Morning."
She smiled and got up. "I think that was the best sleep I've ever had."
"Same."
She went over to him and looked at him for a second. "What are you doing?"
"Inventory."
"Oh." She yawned. "Wanna get some breakfast?"
James put down his data pad and nodded. "Alright."
The two went down to the dining hall after Karen got dressed. They had a quick breakfast, then went back up to their room and got their stuff. They paid at the front of the hotel and went to the shuttle bay they would be departing from. Bureck, Roban and Krent intercepted them in front of it.
James got in front of Karen protectively. "Hello."
"Shut your shit-hole, you little thief!" Bureck shouted, his face red with pure rage. "You take all our money and spend it on some hooker, then leave aspirin out for us to mock us!"
"I wasn't mocking you."
"Just shut the hell up! You may be better than me, or Krent, or Roban, but you can't take the three of us on all at once!"
A small crowd gathered around the two parties. There were some "Ooh"s as the three Bandits took out their knives, then "Ah!"s as James took a three-pointed knife in each hand.
"You don't have to do this, Bureck. I'll give you a chance to back down."
Bureck spat at James's feet. "I'll never back down. And certainly not from a runt like you!" He sprung at James, aiming for his chest with his knife. The two twins came at James from opposite sides. James ducked and spun to the side. The three attackers bumped heads mid-air where James used to be, and fell, just as James rolled out from under them. Karen stabbed Roban in the side and James stabbed Krent in the back while they were down. Bureck got up, gaped at his comrades' corpses, and angrily plunged his knife into James' throat. Or, he would have, had James not sidestepped him and kneed him in the chin. Bureck fell to the ground and James kicked him in the side. Krent suddenly got up, grinning.
"Dammit. He's a cyborg." James dodged a small, sharp projectile shot from Krent's arm, then pulled a collapsible headset from his belt and quickly put it on. He flipped a view piece over his eye and scanned Krent.
Karen looked at James, silently asking what to do. James jumped back, avoiding another of Krent's attacks, then shouted "The back of his neck!"
Karen nodded and, with surprising speed, stabbed Krent in the back of the neck, twisting the knife and ripping it up and out. He convulsed, machinery, fluids, and blood spewing from his neck, and then collapsed.
The crowd cheered. Two Blue Heaven guards came forward. "You're under arrest for fatal bodily harm to two citizens and serious injury to a third. Your accounts of manslaughter are diminished because they were acts of self defense, but…"
James handed the guard one hundred Wong. "…but since you were attacked, three on two, I think it's obvious that you are not at all guilty. Good day."
James stared after the guard, as he and his companion pulled the collapsed bodies away. "I'm so glad I'm leaving," he said suddenly to himself.
Karen looked up at him. "Hmm?"
James shook his head. "Nothing. Let's get going."
The crowd separated in front of them as they ran for their shuttle, bags back in hand. They checked in with the sparse customs agents, who were paid off with several Wong when running James's caster rifle and other guns through. James and Karen entered the hanger, boarded their shuttle, and then settled down in two seats next to each other.
James pulled out a bottle of water, and noticed how tense Karen was. "Relax. It's relatively safe."
"I…I've only flown once before, and…it was too early…."
James smiled as a fleeting memory entered his mind. "Haven't lost your space cherry, eh?" he mumbled.
"James!" Karen's face reddened in embarrassment.
"Sorry…" James's smile left and he grabbed her hand. She gripped it tightly. He smiled again.
The flight began with the navigator's usual preamble, then the rocket blasted out of the hangar. James closed his eyes and withdrew into his own mind. He was so used to flying that even a period of being in relatively the same place for a while hadn't eliminated his being used to flying. He was aware that Karen was gripping his hand tighter and tighter as their speed increased. He felt like she would squeeze it off when he felt the sudden deployment of the sub-ether drive.
He heard her raise a water bottle. "Don't."
"Why?" she asked, taken a little by surprise, with a frightened edge to her voice.
"You'll start to wretch."
"…Oh…"
James opened his eyes and looked at her. She gazed back. "We'll be fine," he smiled. "I've done this a hundred times. You'll get used to it eventually. You're lucky we're not in combat or anything…" his gaze slowly reached past her eyes as memories flooded back to him.
"Jim!" Karen shook him. "You ok?"
"I'm fine. Here…" he got a magazine from his bag beside the seat and gave it to her.
" 'Veteran Spacer monthly'… " she read aloud from the cover. She flipped it open and started reading.
James smiled and closed his eyes again. His thoughts turned to Clara. He
imagined that she was sitting next to him, his hand in hers. Instinctively, he leaned on Karen's shoulder, thinking that she was Clara. She smiled and leaned her head on his. James smiled too, but was lost in his own imaginary world.
Gene came over and mussed James's hair. "Gettin' smooth with the ladies, eh, Jimbo? Want me to get you reservations at the 'In Heat Hotel'? Or are you not man enough yet?"
Clara blushed and James grinned. He grabbed Gene's arm and flipped him forward. Gene landed on the pillow beside them. James laughed, then Clara, then Gene joined in. Melfina walked in with bags of groceries. She put them down and turned to close the door. Gene got up, sneaked behind her, then grabbed her and kissed her passionately. Melfina giggled and returned the kiss. James turned to Clara, smiling brightly and laughing. Clara smiled back and ran her fingers along the side of his face. He leaned closer to her…
James's eyes flew open and he sat up when a blaring alarm interrupted his dream. "This is your captain speaking. We are being pursued by a combat grappler…"
"So, we've come out of sub-ether…" James muttered to himself. He turned to Karen, who looked positively frightened. His hand was still held tightly in hers.
"…Please remain calm. We will try to negotiate with them, and while we do, everyone please make for the escape pods. We'll buy as much time as we can. Good luck."
Red lights over the escape pod hatches illuminated abruptly, and the panicked passengers ran for them. Karen tugged James toward the nearest available pod after the two un-strapped themselves from their seats, and looked back in surprise when he started tugging her towards the cockpit. "What are you doing?!" she screamed above the excited passangers.
"Trust me," James answered, unblinking.
They fought the crowds, going in the opposite direction, to get to the front of the ship. The seats in the area around the cockpit were empty. Suddenly, the captain spoke again. "Everyone remain calm. The attacker has threatened to shoot any escape pods leaving the ship. Please stay onboard."
After a pause, the captain continued, "Would a James Hawkwind please proceed to the cabin?"
James smiled knowingly and knocked on the cockpit hatch. It opened, and the copilot beckoned the two in.
"Hawkwind?" the copilot asked nervously. He was visibly shaken, and 'Why me?' was nearly written all over him.
James nodded.
"A 'Bureck' would like to speak to you."
"Patch him in."
The copilot looked at him a second, his head cocked to the side a bit, then turned and opened up a communications line.
"James?"
"Yeah."
"You damn piece of shit! I'm going to rip you limb from limb!"
"Hello, Bureck."
"You little… I'm gonna kill you… But since I don't want the police on my ass, I'm going to let everyone but you get off. So I'm going to keep talking, and you'd better keep answering, or I'm gonna start blastin' all the pods."
"Alright, Bureck. Then what?"
There was a moment of silence. "I uh… I guess I'll… I'll blow up the ship!"
James grinned. "You never did think ahead."
"SHUT UP! You won't be thinking at all after I'm through with you! Even if your brain survives, it'll have trouble in the freezing vacuum of space." Bureck guffawed, "And if it does make it through that, somehow, I'll end up blasting it anyway. So, who's the tramp?"
"What 'tramp'?" James pulled out a piece of paper and beckoned for a pen. The captain gave him one. James started to write.
"The chick that killed Krent!"
"What do you mean? I thought you were unconscious." He finished writing and handed the paper to the captain. 'Got any weapons?' it read.
"I….uh…."
"Don't tell me you played dead! So, you were backing down!" James looked back over to the captain, who nodded slowly.
The captain handed the paper back, on which he had written, 'Anti-asteroid missiles-why?'
"Well, I knew I couldn't take you alone!"
"Heh… always were a coward." James smiled and wrote 'Prep 'em' on the paper and handed it back. The captain looked at him questioningly (and somewhat disbelievingly), and James nodded.
"You little shit… it's gonna feel so good to kill you."
"I'm sure." The captain turned the ship to face Bureck's grappler.
"Wha…what are you doing?!" Bureck demanded.
"The captain says he needs to turn the ship like this in order to eject the rest of the pods. That ok?"
"Oh…ok…"
James gave the captain a thumbs-up and motioned for him to get out of his chair. The captain got out and saluted James, then left with the copilot.
"What's going on, dammit? James, you better still be there."
James sat down in the pilot's chair. "Yeah. The captain just left." Karen sat down next to him.
"Ah… good. When the last pod has launches, I'll blow your ship into dust."
James's hand hovered over the missile launch button, "I have a better idea. Karen and I will get into pods and fly over to you. Then maybe we can negotiate something."
There was silence for a while. "How 'bout that Caster of yours? That would be a fine trophy…I mean… bartering… thing. For your life, I mean. And I want my money back, too."
"Fine. We'll be there in a few minutes."
James waited a while and then launched the missiles at the grappler's hatch.
"Wait… you're coming in too fast! What are you-? Oh, god…" static.
James shielded his eyes from the brilliant explosion. Heh, he thought, as stupid as he is greedy. He ran a check for pods and found that they had all departed and were sucked in by a nearby planet's gravity.
Karen took her hands off of her eyes. She blinked and looked around. Then, she jumped out of her seat and hugged James around the neck. "You did it!"
James smiled, but said nothing. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her.
"But…" she pulled away, "now what?"
"Well," he said, scratching the back of his neck, "I guess we have a new ship."
James crept back into Bureck's apartment. He took off his shoes and tiptoed to the cashbox after making sure that the three Bandits who lay sprawled on the floor were sleeping. He pulled several thousand Wong out and went back to the door. He smiled at the three when he thought about the headaches they'd have when they woke up. His smile saddened, and he went to the kitchen, got glasses of water and aspirin and put one of each by each of their heads. He shut the door quietly and met Karen outside.
They walked to the city, and got there around seven o'clock. They had breakfast at a small diner and James took Karen clothes shopping. He bought her a couple of outfits, and she thanked him profusely for them. They shopped for other things they thought they'd need for and after the trip, including some magazines, snacks, and bottles of water (the price of which had been steadily increasing).
"Karen," Jim asked in the magazine aisle of a bookstore, "Where are we going?"
"A newly discovered planet called Aaron Fifteen. Why?"
"Just…you didn't tell me before."
"Oh," she turned to him with a magazine in hand, "I'm sorry. You didn't ask earlier so I didn't remember to-"
"It's okay. Do you want that?"
She smiled. "Yeah… but… I'll buy it."
"Okay."
They continued on like this for the entire week, James buying Karen new clothes and Karen buying them things for the flight.
They had lunch, then dinner, and checked into a cheap hotel every day that week. It was only thirty Wong a night, but the room James and Karen got was nicer than anything either of them had slept in at least four years.
On the night before their departure, James closed his eyes and turned away while Karen changed into her pajamas (James had made sure to buy her oversized baggy pajamas that were totally unrevealing), and vice-versa while James changed into new boxers and a t-shirt. Both of them packed the items they were taking into newly purchased bags, brushed their teeth, made sure the door was locked, and then curled up in each other's arms. They fell asleep under the warm blankets of a real bed.
James was surprised, when he woke up, that for the sixth time in a row, they hadn't been attacked during the night. He got dressed and brushed his teeth, and made sure everything was ready for their departure. Though his years of being basically alone and in constant danger had given him a tendency to lean towards spontaneity, his knack for careful planning never really left him. By the time Karen woke up, he had everything in order and was checking their inventory on his data pad.
"Good morning, James," she said quietly, wiping sleep from her eyes.
"'Morning."
She smiled and got up. "I think that was the best sleep I've ever had."
"Same."
She went over to him and looked at him for a second. "What are you doing?"
"Inventory."
"Oh." She yawned. "Wanna get some breakfast?"
James put down his data pad and nodded. "Alright."
The two went down to the dining hall after Karen got dressed. They had a quick breakfast, then went back up to their room and got their stuff. They paid at the front of the hotel and went to the shuttle bay they would be departing from. Bureck, Roban and Krent intercepted them in front of it.
James got in front of Karen protectively. "Hello."
"Shut your shit-hole, you little thief!" Bureck shouted, his face red with pure rage. "You take all our money and spend it on some hooker, then leave aspirin out for us to mock us!"
"I wasn't mocking you."
"Just shut the hell up! You may be better than me, or Krent, or Roban, but you can't take the three of us on all at once!"
A small crowd gathered around the two parties. There were some "Ooh"s as the three Bandits took out their knives, then "Ah!"s as James took a three-pointed knife in each hand.
"You don't have to do this, Bureck. I'll give you a chance to back down."
Bureck spat at James's feet. "I'll never back down. And certainly not from a runt like you!" He sprung at James, aiming for his chest with his knife. The two twins came at James from opposite sides. James ducked and spun to the side. The three attackers bumped heads mid-air where James used to be, and fell, just as James rolled out from under them. Karen stabbed Roban in the side and James stabbed Krent in the back while they were down. Bureck got up, gaped at his comrades' corpses, and angrily plunged his knife into James' throat. Or, he would have, had James not sidestepped him and kneed him in the chin. Bureck fell to the ground and James kicked him in the side. Krent suddenly got up, grinning.
"Dammit. He's a cyborg." James dodged a small, sharp projectile shot from Krent's arm, then pulled a collapsible headset from his belt and quickly put it on. He flipped a view piece over his eye and scanned Krent.
Karen looked at James, silently asking what to do. James jumped back, avoiding another of Krent's attacks, then shouted "The back of his neck!"
Karen nodded and, with surprising speed, stabbed Krent in the back of the neck, twisting the knife and ripping it up and out. He convulsed, machinery, fluids, and blood spewing from his neck, and then collapsed.
The crowd cheered. Two Blue Heaven guards came forward. "You're under arrest for fatal bodily harm to two citizens and serious injury to a third. Your accounts of manslaughter are diminished because they were acts of self defense, but…"
James handed the guard one hundred Wong. "…but since you were attacked, three on two, I think it's obvious that you are not at all guilty. Good day."
James stared after the guard, as he and his companion pulled the collapsed bodies away. "I'm so glad I'm leaving," he said suddenly to himself.
Karen looked up at him. "Hmm?"
James shook his head. "Nothing. Let's get going."
The crowd separated in front of them as they ran for their shuttle, bags back in hand. They checked in with the sparse customs agents, who were paid off with several Wong when running James's caster rifle and other guns through. James and Karen entered the hanger, boarded their shuttle, and then settled down in two seats next to each other.
James pulled out a bottle of water, and noticed how tense Karen was. "Relax. It's relatively safe."
"I…I've only flown once before, and…it was too early…."
James smiled as a fleeting memory entered his mind. "Haven't lost your space cherry, eh?" he mumbled.
"James!" Karen's face reddened in embarrassment.
"Sorry…" James's smile left and he grabbed her hand. She gripped it tightly. He smiled again.
The flight began with the navigator's usual preamble, then the rocket blasted out of the hangar. James closed his eyes and withdrew into his own mind. He was so used to flying that even a period of being in relatively the same place for a while hadn't eliminated his being used to flying. He was aware that Karen was gripping his hand tighter and tighter as their speed increased. He felt like she would squeeze it off when he felt the sudden deployment of the sub-ether drive.
He heard her raise a water bottle. "Don't."
"Why?" she asked, taken a little by surprise, with a frightened edge to her voice.
"You'll start to wretch."
"…Oh…"
James opened his eyes and looked at her. She gazed back. "We'll be fine," he smiled. "I've done this a hundred times. You'll get used to it eventually. You're lucky we're not in combat or anything…" his gaze slowly reached past her eyes as memories flooded back to him.
"Jim!" Karen shook him. "You ok?"
"I'm fine. Here…" he got a magazine from his bag beside the seat and gave it to her.
" 'Veteran Spacer monthly'… " she read aloud from the cover. She flipped it open and started reading.
James smiled and closed his eyes again. His thoughts turned to Clara. He
imagined that she was sitting next to him, his hand in hers. Instinctively, he leaned on Karen's shoulder, thinking that she was Clara. She smiled and leaned her head on his. James smiled too, but was lost in his own imaginary world.
Gene came over and mussed James's hair. "Gettin' smooth with the ladies, eh, Jimbo? Want me to get you reservations at the 'In Heat Hotel'? Or are you not man enough yet?"
Clara blushed and James grinned. He grabbed Gene's arm and flipped him forward. Gene landed on the pillow beside them. James laughed, then Clara, then Gene joined in. Melfina walked in with bags of groceries. She put them down and turned to close the door. Gene got up, sneaked behind her, then grabbed her and kissed her passionately. Melfina giggled and returned the kiss. James turned to Clara, smiling brightly and laughing. Clara smiled back and ran her fingers along the side of his face. He leaned closer to her…
James's eyes flew open and he sat up when a blaring alarm interrupted his dream. "This is your captain speaking. We are being pursued by a combat grappler…"
"So, we've come out of sub-ether…" James muttered to himself. He turned to Karen, who looked positively frightened. His hand was still held tightly in hers.
"…Please remain calm. We will try to negotiate with them, and while we do, everyone please make for the escape pods. We'll buy as much time as we can. Good luck."
Red lights over the escape pod hatches illuminated abruptly, and the panicked passengers ran for them. Karen tugged James toward the nearest available pod after the two un-strapped themselves from their seats, and looked back in surprise when he started tugging her towards the cockpit. "What are you doing?!" she screamed above the excited passangers.
"Trust me," James answered, unblinking.
They fought the crowds, going in the opposite direction, to get to the front of the ship. The seats in the area around the cockpit were empty. Suddenly, the captain spoke again. "Everyone remain calm. The attacker has threatened to shoot any escape pods leaving the ship. Please stay onboard."
After a pause, the captain continued, "Would a James Hawkwind please proceed to the cabin?"
James smiled knowingly and knocked on the cockpit hatch. It opened, and the copilot beckoned the two in.
"Hawkwind?" the copilot asked nervously. He was visibly shaken, and 'Why me?' was nearly written all over him.
James nodded.
"A 'Bureck' would like to speak to you."
"Patch him in."
The copilot looked at him a second, his head cocked to the side a bit, then turned and opened up a communications line.
"James?"
"Yeah."
"You damn piece of shit! I'm going to rip you limb from limb!"
"Hello, Bureck."
"You little… I'm gonna kill you… But since I don't want the police on my ass, I'm going to let everyone but you get off. So I'm going to keep talking, and you'd better keep answering, or I'm gonna start blastin' all the pods."
"Alright, Bureck. Then what?"
There was a moment of silence. "I uh… I guess I'll… I'll blow up the ship!"
James grinned. "You never did think ahead."
"SHUT UP! You won't be thinking at all after I'm through with you! Even if your brain survives, it'll have trouble in the freezing vacuum of space." Bureck guffawed, "And if it does make it through that, somehow, I'll end up blasting it anyway. So, who's the tramp?"
"What 'tramp'?" James pulled out a piece of paper and beckoned for a pen. The captain gave him one. James started to write.
"The chick that killed Krent!"
"What do you mean? I thought you were unconscious." He finished writing and handed the paper to the captain. 'Got any weapons?' it read.
"I….uh…."
"Don't tell me you played dead! So, you were backing down!" James looked back over to the captain, who nodded slowly.
The captain handed the paper back, on which he had written, 'Anti-asteroid missiles-why?'
"Well, I knew I couldn't take you alone!"
"Heh… always were a coward." James smiled and wrote 'Prep 'em' on the paper and handed it back. The captain looked at him questioningly (and somewhat disbelievingly), and James nodded.
"You little shit… it's gonna feel so good to kill you."
"I'm sure." The captain turned the ship to face Bureck's grappler.
"Wha…what are you doing?!" Bureck demanded.
"The captain says he needs to turn the ship like this in order to eject the rest of the pods. That ok?"
"Oh…ok…"
James gave the captain a thumbs-up and motioned for him to get out of his chair. The captain got out and saluted James, then left with the copilot.
"What's going on, dammit? James, you better still be there."
James sat down in the pilot's chair. "Yeah. The captain just left." Karen sat down next to him.
"Ah… good. When the last pod has launches, I'll blow your ship into dust."
James's hand hovered over the missile launch button, "I have a better idea. Karen and I will get into pods and fly over to you. Then maybe we can negotiate something."
There was silence for a while. "How 'bout that Caster of yours? That would be a fine trophy…I mean… bartering… thing. For your life, I mean. And I want my money back, too."
"Fine. We'll be there in a few minutes."
James waited a while and then launched the missiles at the grappler's hatch.
"Wait… you're coming in too fast! What are you-? Oh, god…" static.
James shielded his eyes from the brilliant explosion. Heh, he thought, as stupid as he is greedy. He ran a check for pods and found that they had all departed and were sucked in by a nearby planet's gravity.
Karen took her hands off of her eyes. She blinked and looked around. Then, she jumped out of her seat and hugged James around the neck. "You did it!"
James smiled, but said nothing. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her.
"But…" she pulled away, "now what?"
"Well," he said, scratching the back of his neck, "I guess we have a new ship."