I reached the Hangar Bay where Greg Rixton’s ship, and a well-used Novikov Exploration Suit, awaited me. It went on over my own clothing fairly easily. The Argo Astronautics Mole was even brighter than the armor. I do mean bright. A shade of orange that was so loud, you could see it an entire sector away. I jest, of course. It wasn’t quite that bad. The one we had back in Nyx was Aphorite hued. Made it a lot harder to spot while mining “less than legitimate” claims. An entire universe out here, and the UEE would still try to fit it into little tiny boxes. Can’t compartmentalize beauty, only destroy it.
Though, I suppose, there is a sort of beauty in the way the Empire works. The worlds they’ve managed to carve out of the hunks of rock in the current known regions of space are marvels. I have to wonder what they looked like before our arrival, however. What kinds of expansive beauties must there have been? Now strip mined hulks. If you’ve never been to Lorville, it’s a mess. Hurston was once a gorgeous world. Lucious and full of life. Now? You almost had to wear a helmet to be able to breathe there. The smell could probably choke a fully grown Vanduul.
Lorville was the capital of Hurston and the home of Teasa Spaceport. The Spaceport itself wasn’t so bad. Though, that was mainly due to the dealership on site. New Deal. Same place I’d gotten my Corsair. It was a proxy buy, as I have a level four Crime Stat. Best money I have ever spent. Though, the stay at the Lorville Habs May have taken a few years off of my life.
I donned the helmet from my pack, and headed towards the Mole’s lift. There was already a group of three other guys there. It looked like two in mining gear. The others seemed to have the tools of an Engineer. Much like Rhys. That was how I could tell the difference. I was the groups medic, more often than not, and it’s leader. We didn’t really have a medic. I was the closest thing.
The lift started moving, rattling me from my thoughts. I tore my vision from the point on the hangar wall I had been staring at. Good thing, too: I couldn’t see it anymore. The lift had already passed that point. Unless I wanted to lean down. Not really. Wasn’t worth falling over in front of my temporary co-workers. Or, revealing the Coda Revolver hidden in the pack I had, for that matter.
I’d have worn it, but it’s bright purple, and attracts attention. A girl’s allowed her small bits of femininity. Make no mistake, I’ll kill you with the same gun you laugh at me for carrying. I’m on the run already, the hell do I care?
I filed up the ladder last among the group. I liked it that way, that left me not being ogled. The Novikov armor I was assigned was bright yellow, however, I could still feel the stares. The purple liberty spikes, not to mention the rest of my attire, were a bit of an attention getter, too.
It was a fucking warning. Like most brightly colored animals, I come with a venom. Not literally, of course, I’m human. I did have to wonder if the Vanduul were venomous. The small views I’d had of them were terrifying. I’m also terrifying to many. Guess that means I knew what to look for to find it in other things.
I lifted myself through the hatchway, then stepped through the doorway into the habitation deck. It was nicely kept, if a bit well used. Wear and tear were not that obvious, but they were present. It looked like it had been a well loved ship during its tenure. I was suddenly a little more at ease. Just from that. You can tell a lot about a Captain from their ship.
A man in a bright red set of armor stepped through the double doors leading to the main bridge. The top left chestplate of his armor had Rixton Deep Space Mining emblazoned on it in bright yellow. Odd choice. I preferred black on red, myself. In his arms, was an equally crimson helmet.
He spoke into the microphone on the collar of his suit, “Alright people, get settled. We’ll be underway shortly. The person filling in for Horace this week is Captain Reznik. Give her your utmost respect. If you don’t, you’ll know. GrimmGod, care to introduce yourself?” He smirked under the screen of his helmet. I knew I’d been had.
I wondered, briefly, how fast I could get to my gun. Could I take everyone here? He must’ve seen me stiffen when he mentioned my title. He laughed, “No one will make a move here, Grimm. You’re among friends. Rhys dropped by when you guys got stuck here. He’s been really looking for that power supply. Sadly, the resource lull has hurt production temporarily.”
He turned and gestured to his crew, “We’re a group of people trying to ease that shortage. Right, RockHounds,” he exclaimed with his arms in the air, his question lingering on the air like a power surge. The crew erupted in a raucous cheer. Like a conductor in front of an orchestra. Ready, maestro? He definitely had some charm about him. Even I was a tad impressed.
I relaxed visibly, “You can understand my apprehension, yes?” I would wager that I looked slightly perturbed. I, likely, was. I was trying very hard to not feel anything. I’d have to punch Rhys in the nose later. He had scared the absolute shit out of me. We would be having a discussion on OpSec later.
He nodded, “No worries, Captain. Rhys’ presence means you. Always. I know who you are, but as for the rest of the crew? Not so much. Now, let’s cure your boredom. We have rocks to bust and the law to avoid. To that end, I know just the place. Let’s show you the station you’ll be manning; first, introductions are in order.”
He was seriously going to make me give a speech? I hated giving speeches. I turned to the crew of mostly men, only one other woman was among them at first glance. The look on my face must’ve said how much I liked the idea, as a small voice from the back chimed up, “We know who she is. Can we get to work now? Honestly, boys, keep your comments to yourself. She won’t put up with the shit we do. She’ll just kill you.”
I looked around for the feminine voice that had risen above the crowd of about thirteen people. Some of them would be leaving to their own operations aboard solo Prospectors. This was just the briefing. Rixton had quite the fleet. Had to give him respect. Managing all this wasn’t easy, likely enough. With me managing the Grimlins; I could relate.
At that Rixton’s laugh rang out, “You heard Azale boys, she tells it right. Roll out the red carpet. I got just one question, Captain. Did you actually kill that Navy shithead? I know he regenerated an hour later. Did you, though?”
My guard, somewhat, relaxed. I was at least among people who wouldn’t turn me in immediately. I shrugged as I responded, “Yeah. I did.” I looked out at the crowd of assembled scoundrels of the mining world. The galaxy didn’t quite feel as much like it was closing in on me at that moment. It’s a good feeling to be among friends. Though, usually short lived. I’d gotten myself into this mess. Rhys wasn’t likely to be happy with me later.
Rixton nodded approvingly, “About damn time someone stuck it to those rich pricks. I don’t care why you did it. To this crew? You’re a damned hero,” the crew erupted into a raucous cheer at the statement. It took a few moments for them to quiet down again, “Alright, alright! Settle down,” Rixton called out. His eyes showing the pride he felt in his crew, all scrunched down in the corners.
He turned to me as soon as it was clear, and then continued, “The patrols around our usual picking grounds have begun to decline. The guy you killed? He was in command of those. Now? He’s terrified to go back to work, leaving our guy in his place. You scratched our back. I’ll scratch yours. Talk with me after your shift. We’ll exchange info.” He turned his attention back to the crew, “Since we’ve gotten that out of the way, if any of you end up dead, I’ll know why. Don’t fuck this up.”
Rixton went on to dole out the shift responsibilities. One by one people filed out of the Mole. Each to their respective ships, presumably headed towards the rendezvous point. Rixton looked over at a young Engineer in a green IndVest Jacket. “You’ll be with Reznik on this, Mason. Get her trained on the starboard Helix. It’ll take about an hour to get to the point we’re going. Be ready,” he said, his voice conveying the seriousness of the tone.
He then turned to me, “Well GrimmGod, time to show us what that title means. Can you do more than shoot?” He smirked. As he donned his helmet, his cajoling gaze never left me. Oh. I get it. A challenge. I liked to rise to a challenge. It was kind of the GSC’s thing. Challenge us at your peril, we love a good challenge.
I looked over at the young boy who’d been assigned to teach me. He couldn’t have been more than 19. He looked terrified. I mean, there’s a known Pirate and you’re in charge of teaching them? I’d be terrified, too, if I were still that wet behind the ears. I smirked, “We shall see, Captain Rixton. We shall see.” I turned to the kid and walked to his side, “Guess I better hope you’re a good teacher.”
The kid smirked in response. Eyes still wide in terror, but there was some confidence there. A knowing of something that I did not. That’s when I knew I fucked up. I was going to regret it. Even as the heap big leader of a pirate crew, I still had a tendency to put my foot in my mouth. It had the unfortunate result of making things harder for me, most of the time.
Over the next hour, I indeed regretted thinking anything less-than-stellarly about young Mason. This wee bairn of an engineer was a mining prodigy. I had more than a few moments where I had to ask him to stop, re-explain, rephrase, and repeat the information he’d given me. I oughta learn not to judge an article by the title.
My head satisfactorily filled with more mining knowledge than I’d had previously, I proceeded to leave Mason to his academics. The boy was apparently studying new ways to refine Quantanium. A bright young fellow. What had brought him to Rixton’s employ? I hadn’t the foggiest. I hadn’t asked. I did look forward to seeing what research he was able to complete. As hard a time as I had understanding what he taught me, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually fulfilled his goals.
The rest of the voyage to our destination I spent in the starboard mining station. The views were nothing short of stunning. It’s one of the reasons I could never live “the good life”. It required settling down, so then, I’d miss sights like the swirling dust cloud of the nebula ahead of us in the distance. We seemed to be headed for a nearby asteroid field. Wasn’t this Nine Line territory? If not, it was damned close.
I was broken from my musings by Rixton’s voice over the shipwide public address, “Alright RockHounds! We’re close to our claim for the day. Get into position and get your equipment primed. Be ready to move when a rock hits your sights. We won’t be sticking around long, so make it speedy.” His tone indicated that the time for daydreaming was over. Damn. I’d really been enjoying my thoughts of a different life. Perhaps one day. When I wasn’t so angry that living in the same four walls was an everyday torture session.
With that, I put my hands on the controls and reached above me, powering on my Helix II Laser. Just like Mason had taught me. I was running over the mental checklist in my head.
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