Swallowing, Kazuma scooted Alice behind him, backing them both up to the ramp, the ship shaking and humming around them. He'd only been on a spaceship once, after he'd sold his birthright to buy passage off of Belzerg, and he'd been too frightened and high on whatever drugs he could buy to really remember it. But the feeling of the enclosed space, the stale air that smelled of oil and sweat, and the dim lights made him feel sick to his stomach as he regarded the four heavily armed poachers in front of him.
"What do you mean, you finally found her?" Kazuma demanded.
"Don't you know who that is?" Dust demanded, wiping away tears as the crew regarded both their captain and passengers skeptically. "That's the key to winning! Where did you find her?"
"She's my little sister. We were born on Belzerg, but we emigrated to the moon when our parents died," Kazuma said, lying smoothly.
Behind him, Alice shifted, but nodded her head affirmative, clinging to the back of Kazuma's mud and sweat-stained coveralls.
"Dust, she's like 10," Rin said quietly. "I mean, she did some crazy stuff, but she's just one little girl."
"No, she's not! Don't you get it! This is why we're HERE! Why we were sent up here in the first place!" Dust said, turning to the rest of the crew.
"So…she's a valuable escaped slave?" the other man, Kazuma thought he was called Keith, asked. "Not like the others?"
"You try to sell her back into slavery and I'll give you something to think about!" Kazuma said, raising his hand. "Look, we'll work our way back, but I'm not letting you take her!"
"You can't hurt my brother!" Alice said, peeking her head around, tears falling down her cheeks. "I won't let you!"
"You're scaring her," Lolisa sighed, taking off her helmet and setting aside her weapon. She was short, but still had to bend over to put her head on a level with Alice. "Look, sweetie. Rin and I…we were like you once. They probably had you hooked up to a machine, put all kinds of things in your mind?"
Alice clutched at Kazuma's hand, trembling like a frightened fawn. "The dreams…I don't…I won't…I can't remember…"
Bending her head down, Lolisa showed the metal connection at the base of her own spine. "They chipped me. Hooked me up to a machine. I was…well. I'm a succubus, so we're sort of used to being…you're kinda young for this, aren't you?"
"You suck out the souls of men and tempt them to evil," Alice snarled. Then she blinked, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry! I don't…I just…you're a demon…you're from hell, and are the Bane of Men."
Lolisa looked up, blinking slightly. "We haven't done that since…sweetie, I was born in Hell. But the way has been shut for…I can't even think how long. I was so young when I was brought here…I can't remember. The things they did to me…"
"I was carved," Rin admitted, blushing and wrapping her tail around herself. "I was supposed to be…a toy. Like Lolisa. But Dust…"
"Wasn't just me. Keith and Taylor were there too," Dust said staunchly, patting the back of his companion.
"Yeah, but she stays in your bunk," Keith muttered. "You'd think we'd get a share…"
Rin glared daggers at Keith, but Dust came and knelt beside Lolisa. "You were in one of the tanks, right? But you got out."
"How do you know about the tanks?" Kazuma demanded, then mentally kicked himself. Oldest trick in the book.
Dust stood up, a wide grin on his face. "That's what I was told to look for. A girl from the tanks, who-"
"Hey Captain? We got issues," a voice said over the ship's intercom. "Might want to come up here…"
"What is it, Taylor?" Dust demanded. "Kinda busy."
"Oh, alright. Then I suppose the total embargo on the planet can wait. I'll just idle in the upper atmosphere until we get boarded," Taylor said in tones that positively dripped with sarcasm.
"What?!" Dust scrambled away, and on a whim Kazuma followed after him. He was semi-aware of Rin and Lolisa taking custody of the young girl, while Keith sulked and went to start processing their freshly killed cargo.
Taylor turned out to be the ship's pilot, older than Dust or Kazuma by at least a decade, and with a bit of a gut. Both his eyes had been replaced with artificial lenses, giving him a rather unsettling stare, especially when combined with the gray-blond stubble on his chin and the scars on his face that likely had cost him those eyes.
The pilot grimaced, gesturing to his screen as Dust entered the small cockpit. Like most ships, this one was shaped roughly like a cigar, with main thrusters on one end, and the pilot's station on the other. Now that they were leaving the atmosphere, Kazuma could feel his weight rapidly fading, though the acceleration was enough to keep his feet pinned to the deck for now.
"About ten minutes ago by the timestamp, all traffic to and from Discord has been frozen," Taylor said without preamble, pointing to a message on the screen. "And I mean everything. There's chatter on every line from some real pissed corporate highliners who are making it known they are extremely unhappy that they're not allowed to dock, or depart."
To illustrate his point, Taylor opened the comm line, and dozens of voices all complaining and arguing at once spilled out. Kazuma didn't have the augs to filter anything useful out of it, but he did get the message: Everything was screwed up to Belzerg and back, and people were not happy.
"Are you serious? What the hell?" Dust demanded, squinting at the screen.
Kazuma felt his heart sink, listening to the chatter. He shook his head slowly, fear gripping his heart. "It's her. Sylvia wants her back."
"What?" Dust looked up, frowning. "Taylor, turn that off. I can't even think. What'd you say?"
"Who the hell is this? And why's he wearing a Chimera uniform?" Taylor said, his metallic eyes whirring and clicking slightly as he scanned Kazuma.
"Uh, yeah, never did ask your name," Dust admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"I'm Kazuma Sato. And…and that's Alice. You were right. She did come out of a tank. I…I saw her in there and…" Kazuma swallowed, his throat constricting. Could he trust these people? Didn't seem like he had much in the way of choice. "And I got her out of there. We got out, but…we lost someone along the way. And Sylvia was after us."
"Wait, the Carver itself?" Taylor asked, going slightly pale.
"She would be. Do you even know what you stole?" Dust asked, pointing back to the hold.
"My little sister," Kazuma said firmly. He swallowed. "I…I had a sister, a lot like Alice. She would be about her age now."
"Captain? What DID he steal?" Taylor asked.
"You'll see. Any ShopWiz ships ready to depart?" Dust asked, scanning the HUD. He pointed. "Hey, is that the Guild Hauler? Is Captain Luna still in charge?"
"Yeah, should be. Why?" Taylor asked.
"Open a line," Dust ordered. He glanced at Kazuma, then shooed him back. "Out of the pick-up range! You need someone real smooth to sweet talk a honey like Luna."
Reluctantly, Kazuma took three steps back, and Dust adjusted his clothes, then licked his hand and slicked back his helmet-mussed hair. "Ok, open a line."
Taylor pressed a button, and a female voice came over the line. "This is the Guild Hauler. We're reading you, Faitfore. This had better be good."
"Lan, honey, sweetie, it's me!" Dust said, throwing his arms open wide. "Have I got a deal for you!"
There was a pause, then a click, and the line went dead. Taylor sniggered, leaning back in his chair, while Dust sputtered.
"She just must not have realized who I am," Dust said, straightening his jacket. "Obviously a mistake."
"No, Captain, I think she knows you. And how deep in debt you are," Taylor chuckled. "How you've kept this ship and not gotten it repossessed…"
"Charm, wit, and skill," Dust declared. He stabbed the button. "Now listen, Lan, I do have the goods this time! Twelve full tons of meat! And I need to offload it before we get inspected because it's maybe a teensy bit very illegal. And I can't keep the stealth systems running too long or we'll get picked up. I'll cut you in on the deal…just let me talk to Luna!"
"She's not sleeping with you, asshole," Lan's voice said, and a moment later, the image of a young woman in overalls and a long sleeved workers top flickered onto the screen. "And neither am I."
"Oh that's probably good, because I think Rin would kill him if he tried that," Taylor said. He poked his head into pick up range. "Hey, Lan. How's it going?"
"Taylor, why am I talking to this asshole and not you?" Lan demanded, turning her glare on Taylor.
"Technically, he's the captain and this is his ship," Taylor pointed out as Dust sputtered behind him.
Lan sighed and rubbed her face with one hand. "Right. How much of a cut are we talking?"
"Five percent!" Dust said quickly.
Lan paused, blinking. "On twelve tons?"
"Six percent!" Dust quickly said.
Lan paused, blinking. Then she grinned wickedly. "Oh, do go on."
"Come on, Lan. Cut us a break. Six percent is already outrageous, especially with what Luna will want," Taylor pointed out.
"Fine, fine. Damn, a full six? Shit, this almost makes what you pulled worth it, Dust Bin. I'll put in a call to the captain," Lan agreed, and the screen cut out.
Kazuma stepped forward, peering at the blank screen. Then he glanced at Dust. "What did you do?"
"Not her," Taylor put in before Dust could speak. "Despite his best efforts."
"I didn't do anything. She's overreacting!" Dust stated firmly. "Women are just too emotional!"
"Oh really?" Rin's voice said from right behind Kazuma, which made both him and Dust jump in fright.
"Rin! Honey, Darling! Look, Lan's nothing! It's you I love, sweetie!" Dust said, giving Rin a lopsided smile as Kazuma backed hastily away. "I just sort of maybe have to-"
"Can it. Not you I want to talk to right now," Rin said, turning to Kazuma. She smiled at him, taking Kazuma's hands and giving them a squeeze. "We're going to let Alice bunk down, but she wants to talk to you first. We gave her a quick shower, and some of Lolisa's clothes. They're a bit big on her but both of them are pretty petite."
Kazuma glanced down at Rin's chest, which was fairly flat. Some guys were into that, he guessed.
Rin flushed, but continued on, gritting her teeth slightly. "You did a good thing getting her out of there. Don't worry. The guys on this crew are pigs and assholes, but they have some redeeming value."
"Aw come on, Rin! It was one date with Lan! Just one! She just over reacted to-"
"Dust, I do not want to hear about your ex right now," Rin said, turning around without looking at him. "Now shut up, or the next time I'm having a problem, I'm going to Kazuma. He seems to at least know how to be kind to a young lady."
"What?! Rin, no I swear-"
Kazuma followed Rin, her tail twitching back and forth in irritation as she hauled herself hand over hand, gravity having been reduced to a fraction of it had been as the ship had entered orbit. Kazuma managed to pull himself after her, though he did bang into the wall a few times.
He found Alice with Lolisa, both of them floating in the microgravity. Alice didn't look even slightly motion sick, though Kazuma was starting to feel the effects.
"Hey, sis. What's up?" Kazuma asked, gingerly pulling himself into the cramped room. There were beds with sleeping bags strapped to them so that it was possible to sleep even when the ship wasn't accelerating to maintain some semblance of gravity. Like most of the ship, it was a bit grungy with a lot of patch jobs, but seemed reasonably clean.
"I'll give the two of you some privacy," Lolisa said, using her tail to latch on to a railing. She'd taken off her armor, and was dressed in a tight black bodysuit. "You hang in there, kid."
"Wait, I-" Alice suddenly jerked forward, wrapping Lolisa in a hug, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. You…you seem really nice. I shouldn't have called you a demon."
"It's what I am," Lolisa said quietly. "I'm surprised you even know what that means. Most people have forgotten, and we do our best to keep it quiet."
Lolisa's pupils suddenly dilated, and she shuddered, then shoved Alice away. "You smell…like mana. I'm sorry, I…I have to go."
The succubus hurried out of the compartment, and Kazuma saw tears in her eyes as she brushed past him. He had to admit, she looked pretty cute. Though she was as petite as Rin had mentioned, her slender frame was far from boyish. She was definitely built differently than most succubi Kazuma had seen, who tended to go for voluptuous curves. She had the body of a dancer or gymnast, though Kazuma didn't have much time to appreciate it before Lolisa vanished around a bend in the ship.
"I'll be back," Rin said, and hurried after her shipmate, leaving Kazuma alone with Alice.
"Hey," Kazuma said, floating closer. He swallowed, not sure of what to do or say. He didn't really know Alice at all. "So, um, I'm Kazuma Sato. I was…well that's not important."
Alice nodded quietly, looking worried, hugging herself and tucking her legs in so that she floated in a fetal position.
"I did find you in a tank. I'm not really sure what they were for or why, but I couldn't leave you there," Kazuma continued. Alice hiccuped, tears filling her eyes, and she looked even more concerned.
"But, I do want to be your big brother. I know I'm not as strong as you, but, if there's anyway to-"
Alice gasped and jerked forward, impossibly as far as Kazuma could tell, as she hadn't used any sort of motion to propel herself through the air. But she was suddenly in his arms, and they were hugging each other.
"Thank you, brother," Alice said, clinging to Kazuma like a limpet and causing them to start spinning slowly in the air. "I was worried…I know I'm not really your sister, and I wasn't sure…I thought I scared you."
"You gave me a heart attack a couple of times, but that's because I thought I'd lose you," Kazuma admitted, squeezing Alice, and closing his eyes. He really did hate Zero G.
"I'm strong. The others died, but I survived," Alice whispered.
Those words felt like a stab in the gut, and Kazuma winced, thinking of his own dead family. How had he survived? Sheer dumb luck, mostly. If he hadn't gone out to sneak some time alone with that porn VR he'd gotten…no. Don't think about that.
"Don't leave me too, please?" Alice whispered.
"I won't. I'm pretty good at surviving myself," Kazuma said, far more bitterly than he intended.
Alice was quiet for a moment, then Kazuma felt something brush his face, and he snapped his eyes open. He found Alice wiping away his tears, looking terribly mournful.
"Don't cry, Kazuma. We can survive together. Promise?"
"I promise, sis," Kazuma said, forcing a smile on his face. "We'll take care of each other, OK?"
"Yes," Alice agreed, then yawned hugely. She blushed, turning away in embarrassment.
"You've been through a lot. Plus, you still probably are close to that 'mind down' or whatever right?" Kazuma asked.
"My reserves are…low. And restoring very slowly," Alice admitted. "I could do with a long rest. They gave me some food, and while it did not seem to have any experience, it was satisfying I suppose."
"Experience?" Kazuma asked, frowning.
Alice opened her mouth, then frowned, tilting her head to one side. "...does food not have experience? I remember…oh, it is just there…"
"It's OK. Get some rest, you'll feel better in a shift," Kazuma said.
Alice nodded, and Kazuma helped her snuggle into a sleeping back and strapped her down. He rubbed her head, and Alice smiled as her eyelids fluttered shut.
"Keep watch…there are foes…all…around…" Alice yawned.
"I will," Kazuma promised. He kissed Alice's forehead, and a moment later, she drifted off, snoring softly.
Kazuma rubbed at his burning eyes, then turned and pulled himself down the corridor. He paused by one of the rooms, hearing little moans and grunting coming from within. Someone was obviously having a good time.
"Give it to me," he heard Lolisa say, her tone breathy and pleading. "I need it. Please! Give it to me!"
"I am you bitch," Keith's voice grunted.
Blushing, Kazuma hurried down, finding Rin working in the main hold, a shop vac whining in her hands as she sucked up fur and blood from the dead barkhides. She shut it off when she saw Kazuma, lowering a pair of goggles. "How's Alice? Kid seemed exhausted."
"Sleeping. Thanks. I, um, I am a janitor, I can help clean up…" Kazuma offered, looking around at the various debris floating.
"I'll take you up on that in a bit. When Lolisa's done, I need a turn," Rin said, sounding irritated. "But Dust wants you. Go help him and tell him to hurry up."
Kazuma blinked, then blushed. "Oh, I uh, I know we just met, but, um, you're very pretty, but I can't. Alice…she wouldn't understand, and we don't really know each other, and, I er…"
How to say "I'm a virgin and the thought of spending a night with a woman I just met terrifies me."
Rin snorted, then floated over and bopped Kazuma on the head with a vacuum. "Not you, horndog. As much of an ass as Dust can be…under all that bluster and dumbassery is a good heart. Plus, who doesn't love a good rescue romance?"
Kazuma's mind flashed to Alice, and he blanched. She was definitely like a little sister, and he'd never been into that kind of porn.
"Oh relax, he's not into boys, and I'm unfortunately fussy, though don't tell him that. I like to keep on him on his toes. Don't try anything on Lolisa. I don't know what came over her: she's refused to let a man touch her since I've known her. Or a woman. Now get going, and do me a favor? Try to keep Dust from giving his exes all the profits. Man has no sense."
"Er, OK," Kazuma agreed, and fled back to the cockpit, where Dust was still waiting with Taylor, the two of them talking and not bothering to be quiet.
"Look man, it was just the one date! I just, you know, was hard up, and well, I sort of had to leave, and she ended up with the bill! It wasn't a big deal, just a few hundred credits!" Dust was saying.
"So you ditched her and left her with the bill? Was this because you thought she wouldn't put out on the first date?" Taylor asked, not watching Dust as he performed what looked like a routine task at his console.
"Huh? Oh, I could have gotten into her pants, no problem," Dust said dismissively.
"Really? The same guy who was a virgin until Rin came along?" Taylor said, his tone mocking.
Dust went bright red. "I had experience!"
"No you didn't," Taylor deadpanned. "You were both extremely awkward and a pain in the ass to be around for months. Still are. Also, fuck you, Keith! Damn, why couldn't Lolisa pick me over that little shit?"
"Huh? What's happening?" Dust asked, peering at the screen.
"Not on there, dumbass, and I ain't tellin' ya. But I got eyes on this whole ship," Taylor said, tapping his implants. "You know that."
Snarling, Dust grabbed Taylor. "If you peep on Rin!"
"No, I don't, relax. I'm not a pervert or an asshole like the two of you, but I DO have to turn on certain cleaning systems when you idiots get busy, because you're not so good about cleaning up after yourselves in micro, Captain," Taylor said, glaring up at Dust.
"Oh. Um, thanks." Dust noticed that Kazuma was floating in the doorway, and turned to him, a smile plastered on his face. "The man of the hour! How's our fair fortune doing?"
"I swear, Dust, you try to sell her, and I will kill you if it's the last thing I do," Kazuma growled.
"Huh? No! Slavery is- look, I'm one of the GOOD guys. You tell him, Taylor!" Dust said, turning to the pilot.
Taylor sighed. "Our captain has the unfortunate habit of flushing all our profits down the drain like our patron, and usually for a pair of pretty eyes. Even if he is obviously smitten and as loyal as a dog. Which he is as dumb as."
"Hey! I serve a noble cause!" Dust puffed out his chest, putting one hand to his breast as he stared off into the middle distance. "A noble crusader, fighting for justice amongst the stars."
"I think you just have a head full of stories and romance, and want to get yourself and me killed," Taylor said with a shrug.
"If he's such a dumbass, why do you work for him?" Kazuma asked.
Taylor pointed to his eyes. "He got me these. No one else would have. They'd have cut me loose and left me to die when I lost my peepers. So what can I say: I'm a sucker with a soft heart too."
"Hey man, we're friends," Dust said awkwardly. "Plus, you know, work-related injury. As your boss, I had to pay for them."
"Pull the other one. Oh hey. It's our friends on the Guild Hauler." Taylor pressed a button, and a buxom woman with reddish-blonde hair in a tight bun appeared on screen, dressed in the uniform of a Merchant Captain in the ShopWiz fleet.
"What is it, Mr. Cheruka?" the woman demanded, her tones clipped and business-like. "I'm losing money by the minute, and I do not have time."
Slowly, Dust reached into a pouch at his side, and pulled out a silver disk, bringing it up before him. "Oh, not much. Listen, Luna, you know me. I can cut you a deal on 12 tons of meat. A good one."
"Mr. Cheruka, I am trying to offload cargo, and I have a ship full of passengers and goods. I do not have space for 12 tons of questionable foodstuffs," Luna said, her tone irritated. "And considering our past relationship, I see no reason to trust you."
Dust flipped the disk into the air before him, letting it spin in the zero G for a moment before catching it and putting it on his wrist. He peered at the disk, then shrugged. "It's valuable cargo, Luna. And if they board me and find it, which they will when my stealth drive runs out of power, or when they start doing hard scans, I'm dead."
"Tragic. But there are many tragedies in the system every day, Mr. Cheruka. And your death would likely save ShopWiz money in the long run, considering how fast you run up debt with us," Luna said, her voice frosty.
Dust flipped the disk again, frowning. "Aw, come on, Luna. They're really valuable goods. The best. You know what this stuff goes for on the open market? I might even have some stuff to sweeten the deal."
"I do not…do not…" Luna trailed off, blinking. She gasped, suddenly leaning forward to peer at her display. "Dust! What is-"
"Oh, this?" Dust shrugged, catching the disk and putting it on his wrist again. Kazuma saw that it was a silver coin, which was odd. Physical currency was mostly long phased out, though precious metals retained a great deal of value. Mostly for their use in various electronics though, as Belzerg had been stripped of anything useful ages ago, and asteroid mining was proving problematic. "Just a trinket."
"Dust…you…you found something valuable?" Luna asked, her tone hesitant.
"I bagged a big one," Dust said, flashing a grin. "Trust me: This will pay off for you, and your boss. This is exactly what you're looking for."
Luna took a deep breath, which did interesting things to her chest. "I'll open a port for you. I'll make room for you and your ship. They're not letting us dock anyway. I'll start demanding they let us turn around: we have the fuel for a trip back to Belzerg on board already."
"You're the best, Luna! And not just because you were my first kiss!" Dust said with an eager grin.
Luna gave him a flat look. "I never kissed you, Dust. I have better taste than that." With that, the screen shut off.
Taylor whistled. "Damn, and here I thought she hated your guts."
"Aww, women love me!" Dust said, putting the coin away and laughing. He turned to Kazuma. "Alright pal, we need to talk. This is about-"
"DUST! GET DOWN HERE!" Rin shouted.
"I'm busy!" Dust called back. "I need to-"
"You need to come down here right now, or I'm going to have problems!" Rin called back.
"Aw, come on! I never even kissed Lan, she was just-"
"Not THOSE kind of problems!" Rin appeared in the hatchway next to Kazuma, her cheeks flushed, breathing heavy, her pupils huge. "Please. Please Dust. Now?"
"Oh. Oh! Um, yeah, right away! Taylor, how long to dock?" Dust asked, taking Rin's hand. She mewed softly and sniffed at him, nuzzling him as her tail wrapped around his leg.
"Couple hours, boss, they're by The Hub. We'll take it slow. But I know you don't need that long," Taylor said with a chuckle.
Rin began to purr like some sort of cat, and Dust hustled her off, leaving Kazuma alone with Taylor. He frowned after the departing pair. "What's that about?"
"Not my place to say," Taylor said as the engines kicked in. "But Dust doesn't pick up people who aren't broken as bad as he is. Welcome to the Faitfore, kid. Strap in. Might as well get started on telling me your sob story."
"Why do you think I have a sob story?" Kazuma scoffed.
Taylor looked up at him, his eerie metal eyes unblinking. "Cause you're here. Cause everyone in this godsforsaken void does. Now you better start talking, or I'll have to start prepping the airlock for your swift departure."
Reluctantly, Kazuma strapped into the co-pilot's seat. "I mean, I don't know what to say."
"Start with why you were in the jungle with that girl, and how that led to the lockdown," Taylor told him. "And don't lie. I saw on the scope what that little girl did. She ain't normal. No one on this boat is."
"I mean, shit man, I just started my shift today like normal," Kazuma said, leaning back. "It all started when that bitch tried to take my tunes…"