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Authors: Jamie McFarlane
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sending a cab. I had to babysit a work crew. Want to check out all the changes?" I asked.
"What’s that?" Tabby pointed to the ceiling of the cargo hold. I looked up and saw a white square platform pushed up against the ceiling. I didn’t recognize it, nor had it been there a couple days ago when I’d been cleaning.
"Frak, no idea," I shrugged. It was a five meter flat square with posts in each corner that stood around one-point-five meters tall.
"Looks like a boxing ring," she offered.
"What would you know about that?"
"It’s popular at the Academy. Turns out I’m pretty good at it too, for someone who hasn’t boxed that is. You should see this kid, Glori. She’s smaller than me… quiet… you wouldn’t expect much, but she’s a killer. I can barely lay a glove on her. Does Marny box?"
"I have no idea. Remind me to ask when Nick and Marny get back." I said.
"Where are they?" she asked as I led her around the berth deck.
"Puskar Stellar, they’re grabbing a quiet dinner together. We’ve been working pretty hard to get things shipshape."
"I think you were successful. Everything looks so clean, I can’t tell we’re even in the same ship," she said.
"You’re almost not. We’ve had every surface ground down, filled in and repainted. The only remaining furniture is the table and couch in the main bridge and if we’d had enough money, we’d have replaced those too."
"It’s awesome. It feels less cramped than your last ship," she said. I agreed, but the mention of Sterra’s Gift made me feel homesick.
"I’m just finishing our schedule for the next run. It’ll only take me a few minutes. Check out the bridge while I finish, then I’m all yours."
We rode the lift up to the bridge deck and I sat back at my desk and got to work.
After a few minutes, Tabby lost interest and walked into my small bedroom, which had little more than a bed and shelving that served as a footlocker. I heard her flop on the bed.
Forty minutes later I finished, happy with my progress.
"Are you up for a ride?" I asked, standing in the doorway to the bedroom.
"Where we going?"
I jumped on the bed next to her and pulled her into a hug. She initially resisted, letting me know she didn’t appreciate being ignored. We wrestled for a few minutes and ended up making out. I wasn’t so sure I liked her provincial rules about how far we could go, but I was willing to live with it.
"You didn’t answer me. Where’re we going?"
"Other side of Mars. City called Deivid."
"What's there?" she asked.
"Three hundred fifty cubic meters of equipment."
"Where is that going?" she asked
"Can’t say. If I told you, what’s to prevent you from telling your friends at the Academy, who will tell their friends? Eventually, pirates hear about it and then I’m handing over my load to some crazy warlord." I tickled her as I talked.
"You don’t trust me?"
"You gonna keep it to yourself?"
She gave me pouty lips and I figured I’d driven my point home well enough. I wasn’t specifically worried that she’d say anything, but I felt like I needed to make sure she understood.
"Yes," she relented.
"We’re taking off tomorrow for the Valhalla Platform. First shift, Ada’s headed to the Navy yard to pick up a load of un-named cargo with the tug. It must be heavy, because they’re giving us an extra fuel allowance. We’re not getting a lot for that load, otherwise. But it’ll cover fuel out to Colony 40 and back."
"Is that where the Deivid equipment is headed? Valhalla Platform?" she asked.
"Nope, that’s going to Terrence." I didn’t need to explain where that was since we’d both grown up on Colony 40 and Terrence was the second closest colony to our home.
Tabby sprung over the top of me and landed neatly next to the bed. "Let’s go, old man. I want to see this thing under sail."
To say I was a little apprehensive about landing the Hotspur on Mars was an understatement. I knew the ship handled well and that all her systems had
"What’s that?" Tabby pointed to the ceiling of the cargo hold. I looked up and saw a white square platform pushed up against the ceiling. I didn’t recognize it, nor had it been there a couple days ago when I’d been cleaning.
"Frak, no idea," I shrugged. It was a five meter flat square with posts in each corner that stood around one-point-five meters tall.
"Looks like a boxing ring," she offered.
"What would you know about that?"
"It’s popular at the Academy. Turns out I’m pretty good at it too, for someone who hasn’t boxed that is. You should see this kid, Glori. She’s smaller than me… quiet… you wouldn’t expect much, but she’s a killer. I can barely lay a glove on her. Does Marny box?"
"I have no idea. Remind me to ask when Nick and Marny get back." I said.
"Where are they?" she asked as I led her around the berth deck.
"Puskar Stellar, they’re grabbing a quiet dinner together. We’ve been working pretty hard to get things shipshape."
"I think you were successful. Everything looks so clean, I can’t tell we’re even in the same ship," she said.
"You’re almost not. We’ve had every surface ground down, filled in and repainted. The only remaining furniture is the table and couch in the main bridge and if we’d had enough money, we’d have replaced those too."
"It’s awesome. It feels less cramped than your last ship," she said. I agreed, but the mention of Sterra’s Gift made me feel homesick.
"I’m just finishing our schedule for the next run. It’ll only take me a few minutes. Check out the bridge while I finish, then I’m all yours."
We rode the lift up to the bridge deck and I sat back at my desk and got to work.
After a few minutes, Tabby lost interest and walked into my small bedroom, which had little more than a bed and shelving that served as a footlocker. I heard her flop on the bed.
Forty minutes later I finished, happy with my progress.
"Are you up for a ride?" I asked, standing in the doorway to the bedroom.
"Where we going?"
I jumped on the bed next to her and pulled her into a hug. She initially resisted, letting me know she didn’t appreciate being ignored. We wrestled for a few minutes and ended up making out. I wasn’t so sure I liked her provincial rules about how far we could go, but I was willing to live with it.
"You didn’t answer me. Where’re we going?"
"Other side of Mars. City called Deivid."
"What's there?" she asked.
"Three hundred fifty cubic meters of equipment."
"Where is that going?" she asked
"Can’t say. If I told you, what’s to prevent you from telling your friends at the Academy, who will tell their friends? Eventually, pirates hear about it and then I’m handing over my load to some crazy warlord." I tickled her as I talked.
"You don’t trust me?"
"You gonna keep it to yourself?"
She gave me pouty lips and I figured I’d driven my point home well enough. I wasn’t specifically worried that she’d say anything, but I felt like I needed to make sure she understood.
"Yes," she relented.
"We’re taking off tomorrow for the Valhalla Platform. First shift, Ada’s headed to the Navy yard to pick up a load of un-named cargo with the tug. It must be heavy, because they’re giving us an extra fuel allowance. We’re not getting a lot for that load, otherwise. But it’ll cover fuel out to Colony 40 and back."
"Is that where the Deivid equipment is headed? Valhalla Platform?" she asked.
"Nope, that’s going to Terrence." I didn’t need to explain where that was since we’d both grown up on Colony 40 and Terrence was the second closest colony to our home.
Tabby sprung over the top of me and landed neatly next to the bed. "Let’s go, old man. I want to see this thing under sail."
To say I was a little apprehensive about landing the Hotspur on Mars was an understatement. I knew the ship handled well and that all her systems had
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