The time went by slowly. I spent it studying the sights in front of me through the view screen of the 300i. I could see Crusader with its whirling mass of pinks and yellows in the distance. It was the home of Orison! The city in the clouds! If you haven’t heard the ad, you live under a rock. It was also the orbital home of Seraphim Station. Finally, my hack took effect. Every hangar door opened above me. I saw the gas venting from the doors actuation systems. It was now time.
Normally I would’ve buried Jenz’s body on the Terminus line of Yela. It was one of my favorite spots to hang out. I’d land wherever the terminus line is and just watch the star rise over its planet. It was relaxing. You’ll have to wait to find out what else I’m famous for. I landed the 300i in my hangar, the doors were wide open after all.
Once I was touched down, I got to work. It didn’t take me long to unload the power supplies into the Tempest. Not having to deal with a vacuum outside my door each time was nice. My last trip out of the 300i I looked at Jenz. Nearly every person I’d ever killed, had regenerated moments later. Even my commanding officer that I’d shot in the head. I wondered if he would. I wondered if he could even afford the imprint. I shook my head at the thought and then climbed out of the 300i.
Rhys, who had been blissfully absent from my day, appeared in the hangar as I was descending the ladder from the 300i. “Oh fuck no, we can’t keep it. Put it back where you found it, it’s mother is probably looking for it,” his sarcasm washed over me like a wet blanket.
“It has served its purpose, I suppose I could. I have a better idea, though. Go look in the Tempest,” I sounded annoyed, even to me. “No ‘How was your day, Grimm?’ or, maybe even, a ‘Good to see you, Alexis!’, would that be too much to ask for?” My voice sounded whiny towards the end. I just stopped.
In his right hand, he was carrying a Hot Dog from the stand inside the station. I hated hot dogs. He knew I did, too. He made sure to waft it toward my face, “I was busy chewing! You want a bite?” His gruff voice was comforting, even if he was being an ass. He stood a good bit taller than me. The tip of his chin met up with my forehead.
Coincidentally, his chin was adorned by a grey, well-trimmed, clean and manicured beard. It was offset by the scars criss-crossing his face and neck. They weren’t large scars, just numerous. I’ve asked before, he just mumbled something about hating working on Retaliators.
“Fuck no. That’s disgusting! How can you even be in the same room as that?” I asked. I climbed up a single rung of the ladder and used the tractor beam from my hip to tractor Jenz’s body from the 300i. It floated free from the ship and out into the air of the hangar. It hadn’t started to smell, yet. It would start to do so, soon enough. “Would you just go look in the damned ship? Fuck you’re impossible, old man,” I said, finally annoyed enough to bite with my words.
Rhys gestured toward the floating sack of flesh and bloat that had been Jenz, “You’re one to talk? Fine! Fine. I’m going… shit, can’t a guy get a bite to eat around this place?” He was, otherwise, unphased by the dead body. It was kind of a common occurrence around me. Rhys headed into the ship. It didn’t take him long to find what I’d acquired, “Oh, hell yes! Lotuses! I can work with that!” He’d called out from the component bay of the Tempest, where I’d left the two power supplies.
I took off the armor that I had been wearing, and dressed Jenz’s body in it. Even if the security officer remembered what he saw, he would still be the guilty party. Normally I’d just bury his body under his ship on Yela and be done with it. However, this was personal. I called out to Rhys, “Yeah. Hey, get those installed as fast as you can, alright? The owner is gonna come looking for them eventually. I want us to be the new owners.” I took off the helmet, I had spare armor in the Tempest. Now was the last phase of my plan. Framing my actions on the jerk who’d tried to violate me. As I’d said before. Poignant. I called out to Rhys once more, “Hey! Meet me outside the hangar with the ship once those are installed. I’m gonna set a little gift for our friend here.”
If anyone asked, I’d gladly claim the murder, and subsequent framing. However, I was willing to bet, no one was gonna ask. Jenz Hoffman had seemed like the type of guy, that no one was gonna care if they disappeared. Nor would it be surprising if they did something illegal. He would swear up and down that it was me. However, the last person to see me, knew I was in “no condition” to do what was suggested. Finding Jenz’s corpse with the same armor on it was going to be a hard thing to explain, too. As much as I hated to part with it, I’d buy another set. This was important.
Rhys called out, “Alright, just give me thirty minutes or so. This is gonna be delicate.” He got to work immediately. The power supply bays on our ship were empty. The failed parts had already been removed. We were currently connected to station power just to get the ship to function. I heard the component bays unlock on the Tempest moments later. Rhys was already getting to work on things. Now it was my turn.
I looked at Jenz’s body where it lay, with my former attire adorning his bloated form. He would look like the person that assaulted a security officer. I hoped he would enjoy Klescher. I hadn’t. It seemed like a fitting place for a person like him. I tractored him back aboard his ship with the Multi-Tool I’d borrowed. This was currently the evidence they were looking for, or I’d give it to Rhys to finish the job with. Instead, I called out to Rhys, “Heading out now! You’ve got ten minutes!” Then, I boarded the Tempest and retrieved my spare Star Kitten Armor. Putting it on felt nice. A lot more ‘me’ than the armor I’d previously been wearing. Black with Neon Pink Lights. It was cutesy, which suits me just fine when I’m trying to throw off suspicion. Also, if you don’t like it, bite me. I’m damned adorable in it. That sounds like a ‘you’ problem. Much like this was about to become a Jenz problem.
I boarded Jenz’s ship, his body was crumpled into an unceremonious armored pretzel, just on the inside of the Hab. Perfect for what I was about to do. The security systems, scanning stations, and comms for the entire station were still down. My Tiger’s Claw had done its job rather well. Reaching the controls of the 300i was the easy part. The hard part was about to arrive in just a few moments. Considering what I’d already done today? This was going to be terrifying. I might have a heart attack trying it! Couldn’t wait to find out. Thrillseeker? Maybe just a little. It beats feeling dead inside.
I lifted the 300i off the hangar’s pad and out of the doors within moments. The little fucker was fast; I’d give it that. I deftly maneuvered the 300i just under the station. Time to make it look like it suffered a pilot error during his ‘daring escape’ from the station. I pointed the nose of the ship toward the hull of CRU-L1, then inched the throttle forward. I didn’t want to hit it too fast. When the ship looked like it was on the right heading, I triggered the exit button for the seat. It spun me around and I stood. I barely had the time to leap from the 300i’s hatch, while tractoring the body of Jenz. His body, and myself, sailed through the hatch into the vacuum dark of space. Lit only by the station’s lights and the distant light from Stanton.
It was gorgeous, even if a bit of a horror for me to experience. My heart was in my throat. I checked my vitals on my Mobiglas, the tractor beam in the other hand. My heart rate was 119. I took a few measured breaths to calm myself. 112… 109… 101… 96… 92; 92 was about as low as I was able to get it. The ship bounced against CRU-L1, disabling the engines. It spun wildly for a moment, before becoming lodged next to the entrance to Hangar 04. I tractored Jenz’s corpse to its final resting place, next to his busted 300i. Now, it was time to wait.
This wait did feel like a long time. I was contemplating hailing Rhys to yell at him, when I saw movement from the hangars near the corner of my eye. There she was. Black and red paint, Drake Interplanetary Logo in red, and giant wings. I had missed my Sanguine Tempest. It was nice to see her again. The wings began to unfold once she was clear of the hangar, her shields undoubtedly raising. I did have a Level Four Crime Status. The station would attack me the moment it detected me. Luckily, we should still have eight minutes before its systems could reboot. The turrets surrounding the station were still blissfully silent, so far.
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