Dreaming of Atmosphere (5 page)

“Any questions?”

“Why us?” asked Max, shaking with barely contained rage.

“I’ve invested a lot of time looking for just the right crew, the right ship for the job. I don’t have time to keep looking, but I’d rather just have you all killed right now if you refuse me again and take my chances with a mercenary crew.”

“You won’t get away with this, Jenner.”

“Spare me the empty threats, just tell me you’ll take the job and you’re free to start right away.”

Max glared at Jenner for a full minute. I could see her eyes wander to her crew, lined up against the hull of the Dreaming. They were all standing and watching with interest. She didn’t need to look at me, I just reached out and touched her wrist.

“Okay. Give me the package.”

“It’s already on board. Ms Derris will show you where it is, ensure it’s not molested with by any curious crew.”

At that, he clicked his heels and walked past us, the goon with the missing teeth a step behind and Isaac following, his head down. Soon, all the goons left and we were alone with our crew and our new passenger. We all gathered around and tried our best to intimidate the stranger among us, showing her we were not happy with her around. She gave us a bright smile and sauntered over to me, and stepped up close. I felt her hands reach around me and holster my gun. She then pulled the front of my pants open and dropped Maxine’s hold out into my trousers. I pulled back with a gasp, and reached in to retrieve it.

“Keep it.” Declared Max as she turned and walked up the gangway in a dark mood.

Artemis kept smiling at us as she turned and followed her. She hadn’t said a single word the entire time. The rest of the crew and I rushed up the gangway afterwards and started stowing our gear and prepping for take-off.

6.

True to her word, Maxine kicked me out of the command module when I tried to sit down. She shooed me out and told me to get changed, get clean and go see Zoe about my shoulder. Fel and Crege were there already, flipping switches and going through the start-up checklist like professionals. Crege actually didn’t look too bad. A new cut on his beak, a black eye and a cut above his other.

I ran back out of the bridge down the central passage of the upper deck, heading for my berthing compartment. As First Mate, I rated my own cabin, small though it was. The Captain, of course, had her own. Fel and Crege shared a cabin one deck below, in the main living spaces, as did Eric and Mal, and Hergo and Denno. Zoe had the last cabin to herself, since it wouldn’t be proper to bunk her with one of the guys. I guess she’ll be sharing it now. I reached my cabin and threw open the hatch.

“Or not...” I muttered to myself. Artemis was in my cabin, sitting on my bunk. Two military style duffle bags sat on the floor before her. “Err…can I help you?”

“I’m sorry, was this your cabin?” Her voice was smooth, like liquid mercury. It almost sounded like she was purring. She casually reached down and began to undo the laces on her boots, the kind that ran halfway up her calves.

“Was? Is. This
is
my cabin, and I’m in dire need of a shower and a change of clothes.”

“Don’t let me stop you.” That amused, predatory grin again.

“Huh?” I can be stupid sometimes, especially where women are concern.

“You have two bunks here. Plenty of room. I don’t snore.”

“You don’t snore?” I sounded like I was having trouble hearing, “You want to bunk with me?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Uh, wouldn’t you rather bunk with a female?”

“I hardly think the Captain would appreciate me sharing her cabin.”

“I meant Zoe!”

“The pretty little girl with a medical degree? No thanks, she’d talk my ear off.”

“But…but…” I stammered.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of women? Do I intimidate you?”

“A little, yeah!”

“I promise I won’t bite. Unless you screw up the job, then I do bite.” At that, she gestured to the small remote device she was carrying when I first saw her. I stared at it for a moment. Then I looked back at her. She was still smiling that evil little grin. I sighed in defeat and began taking off what equipment I had left and putting them back away in a locker I keep in my cabin for just such a purpose. When finished, I glanced longingly at the small shower stall in my cabin.

“Do you mind?” I asked, indicating the stall.

“Not at all, go right ahead.” She leaned back on her arms behind her and kept watching. So that’s how it’s gunna be? I thought. I started stripping down my ruined clothes, pausing briefly when I was down to my last undergarment and turned to look sheepishly at her. She sighed and pretended to be inspecting something under her fingernail. I quickly undressed and jumped into the stall, pulling the opaque screen door closed behind me. My troubles evaporated almost immediately with the release of hot water and I began scrubbing at my grime-caked body. I let the hot water massage my muscles, and felt my tender shoulder once more. Maybe I should let Zoe look at it.

By the time I was finished, we were under-way and when I left the shower Artemis was gone. Thankful for a moment of privacy I dried off and grabbed a change of clothes, a simple jumpsuit with many pockets favoured by star ship travellers the galaxy over. I went below decks to look for Zoe, and found her in the med lab on the second deck, aft of the living spaces. The med lab isn’t big, or even very well equipped, but it has all the necessary equipment needed to patch up an energy burn, a broken limb or a cut from sparing. It also has a minor surgery rig for basic operations and two bunks for observation. This is where Zoe spends most of her time, and she even brought with her a top of the line Aug maintenance kit with her from the university on Kanto Prime. Her passion, she told me once, is cybernetics and biological Augs. She only got into medicine to get familiar with the principles of Bios, and cybernetics is her hobby. She’s going to have field day on me today, though.

“Zoe, I need you to take a look at me, please?” I startled her, absorbed on equipment, connecting several cables to a small box I didn’t recognise.

“Oh, sure thing, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt? Wow, wasn’t that a rush out there! I was so scared!”

“Zoe, I’m fine, I just need you to take a look at my shoulder. I took an energy blast to it earlier.”

“You were shot?!” she almost dropped the small screwdriver she was holding.

“It hit my ablative jacket, but I have an Aug where it hit.”

“You’re augmented?” this caught her off guard. She’d never given me ‘the medical’ that she did on the other crew. I’d always avoided her as often as I could. Maybe this was why.

“Yeah, reconstructive.” I explained as I folded down the top half of my jump suit.

“Oh wow! You have got to let me tinker with you!” She started to probe my shoulder and arm with her fingers. “Human Industries Model 398 Synthetic skin, is that a Class 4 cybernetic limb? And the shoulder? I’d say that’s a Suus-Van FX-91!”

“93, actually. There’s also a synthetic lung, a hybrid neuro-cord shunt and my breast bone is titanium alloy.” She stared at me for a few moments, the first time I’d seen her speechless. It didn’t last.

“What happened to you?”

“Long story. From my time with the Star Marine Corps.”

“I’ve…I’ve never seen someone with such extensive augmentation. The whole left side of your torso must have been almost completely destroyed?!”

“Yeah, I’m not really comfortable talking about it. Most of the crew don’t know either. Please keep it that way.”

“Of course.” She was suddenly professional. Say what you will about her more annoying personality traits, I know Max wouldn’t have taken her on board if she wasn’t good. Zoe started inserting small electrodes into my synthetic skin around my shoulder and connecting them to various test equipment. She injected a solution into my upper arm and used a handheld scanner to trace around my shoulder once more. The whole process took less than ten minutes, but when she was done she told me I could pull my jump suit back up.

“Those nanites should repair any cellular disruption to your FX-93, I think you just had some overloaded syro-static converters from the energy blast. Should be back to normal by morning.”

“Thanks, doc. Sorry I’ve been a bit hard on you lately. I know I haven’t been the most sagely Space Daddy to you, and…”

“Are you kidding? You’re the best Space Daddy I’ve ever had!”

“Ah…okay. Well, thank you and let’s just keep the Augs between you and me, okay?”

“Doctor / patient confidentiality!”

“Right! Okay, I’d better go then.”

“I have some questions, actually, if you don’t mind?”

Inwardly I groaned, there she is, back to her usual self. But I figured I owed her, and yes, Max is right, I need to learn patience and introspection, etcetera.

“Okay, I’ll answer a few, but I have to get back on station in the command module.”

“Who was that man, Jenner? Why does he want us to go to the Gossamer System?”

“He’s a crime boss, and I’m not sure. Because he thinks we’re up to the task.”

“But I thought we don’t work from criminals?”

“We don’t. Maxine was coerced into it, as you saw at the docks.”

“Okay, do you think that lady will blow us up?”

“Artemis? No, I don’t think she will. I hope she won’t.”

“Will she be bunking with me? Should I talk to her when she does?”

“No, apparently she’s bunking with me. And you can talk to her if you like.”

“She’s bunking with you…but, you’re…you’re a guy!”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“I mean, isn’t that little bit inappropriate?”

“I don’t think Artemis gives a shit about what’s appropriate and what’s not. I think she just enjoys making people feel uncomfortable. I figure it is part of her defence mechanism, or part of her arsenal of weapons. I think she’s someone who’ll use sex to get what she wants and…”

“Who said anything about sex? You’re not going to sleep with her are you?” she gasped, “You are! You’re already thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“What? No! I said…”

“You men are hopeless! I’ve been on this ship for almost nine months and you haven’t even made a single pass at me. She’s here for less than thirty minutes and already you’re jumping at the chance to get naked around her!”

“What?! I had no choice! She wouldn’t leave the cabin!”

“What?”

“What? Nothing!” I was flabbergasted, bamboozled and a jabbering mess. One thing did sink in though. “Wait, did you
want
me to hit on you?”

She threw a kidney pan at my head and narrowly missed me. She reached for the next nearest thing and I ran out of the med lab as if I was under fire. Zoe? No, she never ever, well she, I mean no, that’s completely inappropriate, I’m her Space Daddy!

“Talking to yourself again, Donovan?” I almost ran into Mal Cutler, I was so caught up in my thoughts.

“Sorry, Cuts.”

“And watch where you’re going! Starships are no place for addle brained wannabes!”

“Sure, Cuts. Thanks for the advice,
bezak
.”

I made my way back to the command module, pausing at each corner in the passageways and open hatches, hoping to avoid any more unpleasant and terrifying encounters with women. I literally threw myself into my seat with a loud huff, which earned me an eyeful from Fel and Crege, both of whom were still at their stations as we navigated away from the Corus Cluster.

“Where’s Max?” I asked.

“Having a shower. Problems?” returned Fel. I grunted.

“I’ve had better shore leave, human.” Declared Crege.

“Haven’t we all?” I retorted.

“You seem a bit strung out, my friend. Anything I can help you with?”

“Thanks Fel, but unless you have some secret
Way
technique for understanding women, I think I’m on my own here.”

“Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.”

“Which of your ancient Orlii philosophers said that?”

“I believe it was Oscar Wilde, actually. One of your ancient earth philosophers.”

“Huh.” I grunted.

“Which particular woman are you in trouble with now?

“Take your pick. One wants to stay in my cabin and bunk with me, the other is pissed at me because I let it happen. I think she’s jealous.”

“Wait, human, which one is bunking with you?”

“The new one!”

“She is enemy, fool, a
calak!
She will slit your throat when you sleep!”

“Thanks, Crege, as if I don’t have enough nightmares already. Look, she was already in my cabin when I got there, and she wouldn’t leave. I somehow blurted out while talking to Zoe that I took a shower while she was there, and now she’s pissed at me. Something about me not hitting on her the whole time she’s been on board.”

“You are Space Daddy, not the way a warrior should act!”

“Right! That’s what I thought!”

“I agree with Crege, Seth, you hold a position of authority over Zoe, your role is to guide her in the abyss of space, not to pursue her.”

“Look, I agree with both of you. I’ve never even considered it.”

“And therein lies the problem.”

“You think I should sit down and explain it to her?”

“Yes!” “Yes!” they both shouted in unison.

“Okay, I will.” I stood to go.

“Not now, Seth!” said Fel as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my seat. Crege was chuffing and trilling in the front. I could tell the pair were having a good laugh at my expense. I let them. They were my friends, and we were heading into a very dangerous part of space. We’ll need all the laughter we can get if we’re to get through this next job. Did I mention that space was dangerous?