It was morning. Or at least, the lighting on the ship indicated that it was the beginning of the day. The harsh light beaming down on my face was supposed to simulate the morning rays on a planet. I grumbled incoherent complaints to myself, and rolled out of bed. I looked up at my work tablet on my wall. No notifications. At least I didn’t have any jobs today. I yawned and stretched all four of my arms. I stumbled out of my room and into the bathroom, rubbing my eyes blearily. I executed my morning routine with tired monotony. After it was complete, I stepped outside the bathroom to head to the kitchen and grab some breakfast.
Noah was sitting on the couch in the lounge, tablet in hand. His legs were crossed and he was staring intently at the screen, swiping and prodding. It took me a second to register that Noah was actually there, though. Being in close proximity to a human was still a little unbelievable.
“G’morning, Noah.” I said, yawning, exposing my sharp teeth and blue tongue.
“Good morning, Saka.” Noah replied, in Standard. I guess he was currently practicing on his tablet. Noah looked up towards me, and started to blush. What? I looked down towards myself and realized that I was still in my pajamas, which was actually just a loose tank top and underwear. Shit. I started to feel heat gather on my face, and wordlessly scuttled into my room to change. I needed to get used to living with someone else.
When I came back out, in fresh clothes, both Noah and I had embarrassed expressions on our faces. Noah had gotten an eyeful of Togumo anatomy, and I forgot that I was in my underwear, like an idiot. I had to clear the mood.
“Uhh, are you hungry? I’m going to make breakfast.” I offered.
“Yeah, I can eat. Wait, you can cook? You always struck me as the type who always buys food.”
I scoffed and exaggerated an insulted face. “Well, you’re about to witness my signature breakfast dish!”
I heated two pre-made breakfast packs. Noah watched as I hunched my back in shame. Was I really that easy to read?
Noah laughed. “Guess I was right!”
“Bah, cooking is a waste of time. Why do it yourself when you have technology to do it for you?”
I passed a pack to Noah and we both sat at the small kitchen counter. The pre-made breakfast was alright. I had it often because it was cheap and easy to prepare, and I was lazy, especially in the mornings. As we ate, we made small talk about Noah’s progress in learning Standard, and questions Noah had about grammar and vocabulary. He was definitely a fast learner. Which was perfect, because today’s plan was to teach Noah how to do his new job.
After our little review session was over, I invited Noah to sit in the cockpit with me. I turned my seat to face him.
“Alright, Noah, today I’m going to be teaching you how to fly my ship. If there’s ever an emergency and I’m not able to pilot, it's going to have to be you.”
Noah fiddled with his fingers nervously. “You’re teaching me already? Don’t I need a license or something to fly a ship?”
“Yeah, I need to teach you as soon as possible so you can learn as fast as possible. We’re going to start going to work once your suit is finished. And yes, you do need a license, but you have no ID or any records so that’s never going to happen.”
Noah gave me a faltering smile. “Thank you.” He looked like a terrified teenager learning how to drive a car. Which wasn’t entirely inaccurate, I suppose. Except for the fact that ships were a lot more dangerous than cars, and fucking up could mean a brutal death out in the vacuum.
“Alright, buckle in. We’re going to take a small flight.” I cracked my knuckles and initiated the undocking sequence, and after a couple minutes we were back out in the empty void, the Maralu Station looming over us.
I started to explain the basic controls and functions of the ship. I pointed every time I talked about a mechanism, and Noah nodded diligently every time I finished an explanation.
“Here’s the throttle. Pushing it forward thrusts forward, and pushing it backwards brakes you, and eventually makes you thrust backwards. The dial on the top makes the ship thrust left and right. The dial on the side yaws the ship left and right.”
“Here’s the stick. It controls the pitch and roll, depending on which direction you move it. The easiest way to explain it is that it controls where the cockpit is facing. It also serves as a trigger. By clicking these buttons here, you can fire the weapons in the direction that the ship is facing. Basically, you move the stick to aim at the target you’re trying to hit, and fire with these buttons. It’s pretty straightforward.”
I also went over various other functions like deploying heatsinks and chaff, turning lights on and off, and autopilot, just in case we were put in a situation where Noah had to use it. After Noah showed an understanding of the console and piloting, I executed some maneuvers to show Noah firsthand how I was piloting. Once we came to a stop, I unbuckled myself from the pilot’s seat, got up, and patted Noah on the shoulder.
“Okay Noah, it’s your turn.”
Noah’s jaw hung open. “You’re letting me pilot this right now? The spaceship?”
I laughed and pushed Noah towards the pilot’s seat. “Now’s the perfect time to learn. Don’t worry, you can’t even hit anything out here!”
Noah murmured something, and carefully sat down in the pilot’s seat. I sat down in the copilot seat. He looked towards me with a worried expression.
“Don’t worry Noah, I’m right here. If anything goes wrong I can take control.”
“Alright, here goes!”
Noah pushed forward on the throttle, a tiny bit. The thrusters sputtered on. The Leviathan began to crawl forward at a snail’s pace. He tested the horizontal thrust and the yaw, pitch, and roll. Once he became more comfortable, he increased the speed. We were now whizzing around the inky nothingness with a decent amount of speed, and Noah practiced turns and rolls. A grin started to spread across his pale face. He was starting to have fun with it. I monitored his actions carefully, but he didn’t make any critical mistakes. Not like he could make any, there was nothing to crash into anyways.
Noah flew for about an hour, joy plastered all over his face. Once he finally had his fill, we came to a controlled stop, and Noah took his hands off the throttle and stick.
“That was incredible. I’d never thought I’d be able to fly an actual spaceship!” He exclaimed.
“Good job, Noah. That was pretty good for your first time!” I wasn’t lying. Noah showed an understanding of the fact that in space, you could move in a three dimensional manner. Up, down, left and right were suggestions. He’d done really well.
We swapped seats again.
“Noah, most of the time you’re going to be sitting there, in the copilot’s seat. The copilot only has a few jobs. Call out threats, enemies, or obstacles, and operate the turret. You have the camera screen here, and the turret control system right here. You’ll be using the turret to shoot debris in the way, or enemy ships. The last time you used it, you took out several enemy ships, so no need for me to test you there. You’re a natural already.”
Noah nodded in humble gratitude.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
We flew back to the Maralu and landed back on our docking station. We had one more errand to run today - teaching Noah how to shoot firearms. Handing an illegal sapient a firearm didn’t seem like the brightest idea, but I was already in trouble if anyone found Noah, and he needed a way to defend himself.
“Hey Noah, do you have any experience with guns? Have you ever used one back on Earth?”
Noah stroked his chin. “Yes, but only once. One of my friends took me to a shooting range one time, so I know the basics. Why?”
“Well, you’re going to need to know how to shoot out here. I’m going to buy you a gun, and take you to a shooting range so you can protect yourself.”
Noah looked a little reluctant. “I don’t really want to shoot anybody…”
I laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not asking you to kill people while we’re on jobs. A lot of jobs don’t involve violence. I just want you to have a weapon, for insurance. I’ll try to avoid any situation where you have to use your gun, but when it comes down to it, I want you to protect yourself.”
Noah nodded solemnly. “Okay. You’re right. I’m in a whole new environment now.”
Besides, Noah’s already killed several ships full of people, even if they were poachers. I didn’t point that out though, and Noah probably didn’t want to talk about it.
I told Noah to get ready to leave the ship, and while he was preparing, I booked an appointment at a firearm shop that I was a longtime patron of. The store mainly supplied to mercenaries like me, and they were good with privacy. They even had a private shooting range where you can test your new weapons without anyone else seeing what you had up your sleeve. It’d be perfect for smuggling Noah a weapon. I wasn’t friends with the owner of the shop like I was with Yori, so there wasn’t going to be any identity revealing going on today. With luck, I’d be able to get Noah a nice beginner handgun, and teach him enough so that he’d be fine in an emergency. I hoped Noah could help me in jobs, but I understand why he was reluctant to fight. He didn’t ask for any of this. I’ll just have to treat him like a client of an escort mission.
Several minutes later, Noah and I were sitting in an auto-taxi, heading towards the gun shop. It was a bit further away, and in a secluded and dangerous area, so I decided we’d take the easy way there. Noah stared out the window absentmindedly, watching the cityscape whizz past us. Soon, the quality of the buildings steadily decreased, until the only sights surrounding us were old warehouses and worn down factory buildings. The old industrial district was a brown smear on the Maralu’s station’s usual monochrome palette. The crime was high, the authorities were barely existent, and it was a hotspot of activity for less than legal businesses.
The auto-taxi dropped us off in front of a sketchy alleyway. The gun shop had no entrance facing the street. We’d have to walk a few minutes on foot. Noah adjusted his oversized cloak, and I shoved my hands in my jacket pocket, and we both walked with purpose towards the gun shop entrance. I didn’t want to be outside long enough for the locals to catch on that we weren’t from there.
Noah and I stepped through a small metal door into the gun shop. Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the showroom, I spotted the owner standing behind a counter on the far side of the room. We gave each other curt nods, and scanned the room with my eyes. Only us in here today, it seemed. I let Noah look around at different guns on the walls for a few minutes, then I directed him towards a rack carrying dozens of beam pistols.
“Noah, I’m getting you a beam pistol because they’re perfect for beginners. They have no recoil, pack a decent punch, and you don’t need to reload it.”
Noah nodded and inspected a nearby pistol on the rack, without touching it. “Rayguns, huh. Just like the movies and games.”
I reached up and grabbed a familiar shape off one of the higher racks. Nostalgia rushed through me like a burst dam. I turned it around and inspected every part. Yep. It’s the same. I handed it to Noah.
“That’s the Fune 2. Low range, okay rate of fire, two fire modes and two beam output modes. It was the first gun that I owned. It’s reliable, and got me through a lot of stuff. Don’t have mine anymore though. I think it’s going to be a good partner for you, too.”
Noah inspected the Fune 2 with curiosity. He kept his finger off the trigger, demonstrating good trigger discipline.
“It fits well in my hands.” Noah said, in a flat tone. I could tell he still didn’t really want to have a gun.
I patted his back. “Perfect. Let’s get it checked out for you, and get some practice in.”
We walked over to where the stoic shopkeeper was stationed, and he examined the gun. Once he found no flaws, I exchanged the credits I owed, and he handed it back, and pointed towards the shooting range. I thanked the shopkeeper and led Noah towards the range.
Noah and I walked into our private booth, and I began instructing him on how to use the Fune 2.
“It’s pretty simple. Point and shoot. The safety is here, the select fire is here, and the power output is right here. Select fire turns the pistol into a single shot to a burst and the power output lets you pick between stun and lethal. You can put it on stun for now.” The tiny lever clicked into place. “Now, go ahead and fire at that target. Make sure to flick the safety off.”
Noah nodded at every point of my explanation. He breathed in deep, and aimed down the sights, at the target. He pulled the trigger. Noah flinched as the sound of crackling air resounded throughout the booth. Noah and I both peered at the target. The beam had missed the target entirely and had dissipated against the wall behind it.
“Aw, good try! Don’t sweat it, it was your first shot.” I laughed, lightly tapping Noah’s back.
Noah lowered the handgun and smiled sheepishly. “God, I didn’t even hit the target. Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Are there refunds?”
“Good try, but you’re not getting out of this, Noah.” I chuckled. “Here, go back into the aiming position.”
Noah complied, and raised up the Fune 2 once more. I spotted a few things wrong with his form, so I nudged his legs, gently pushed his arms, and carefully turned his hips from behind. Once Noah’s form felt satisfactory, I stepped back and nodded.
“All right Noah, you’re good to go. Make sure not to flinch at your own shot again. Don’t want to bore a hole through that wall.”
“Got it.” Noah’s response was crisp and focused. He took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger. The air crackled again.
I crossed one set of arms and rested the others on my hips. Not bad. Noah had managed to hit the target this time. It wasn’t a bullseye by any means, but he’d hit the target on his second try. Noah probably had naturally good aim, like an innate talent. He’d made quick work of the poachers with the turret, too. Too bad Noah didn’t want to fight. He could be the best marksman in the sector.
Noah practiced for another hour while I gave him pointers, tricks, and tips on how to shoot and how to survive a combat situation. Noah hasn’t been in a single firefight before, since he lived in a peaceful nation, apparently, but he’d played video games. Apparently some of them were borderline combat sims, but of course, that could mean nothing in a real situation. Once we were both satisfied, we stepped out of the shooting booth and headed out of the store. The shop owner sent me a curt nod again, and I returned it.
We stood in the dim alleyway as I fiddled with my tablet and requested an auto-taxi to come pick us up. I placed the order and stowed my tablet. My ears perked up. I heard shuffling behind us, and I turned to see three Sabi slumrats approaching us with practiced confidence.
The Sabi made up the majority of the population in this derelict industrial sector. The Sabi have two arms and two legs, and their silhouette was not unlike humans. However, the Sabi had four eyes, earholes, and no nose. They tended to be physically tough and mentally resilient. They were enticed by factory jobs decades ago, and were abandoned as the industrial sector rotted away. Now, with high poverty rates and no way out, young Sabi people often turned to crime as a way to make ends meet. Unfortunately, we were their next targets.
Noah hung close to my side, hands concealed by his large cloak. I stuck my hands into my jacket pockets, wrapping my fingers around my handgun’s grip.
One of the Sabi hooligans spoke first. “I want you to drop everything that you have. That means tablets, jewelry, clothes, weapons, everything.” He waved a rusty old gun in clear view.
Damn it. I’d gotten careless, I didn’t think anyone would try to mug us right outside a gun shop. I wasn’t wearing my armor either. Thankfully, it looked like the other two muggers only had melee weapons, a rusty pipe and a pocket knife. Which means that the only real threat was the one with a gun.
“Hey, didn’t you see? We just came out of that gun store. We might be packing some serious heat, and you’re still trying to take our shit? Back off now and nobody has to die.” I bluffed, chin raised.
The only guns we currently had were handguns, and the Sabi already had his in hand. I didn’t really want to fight them anyways, so if I could get them to fuck off, then I’d gladly take that chance.
“Yeah, and you’re going to be giving us whatever you got in that damn store. Drop it on the ground now, or I’ll drop your friend!” The armed Sabi raised his shitty handgun and aimed it at Noah.
Shit. I couldn’t take any more chances. “Alright, I’m dropping it now!”
“Don’t try anything.”
I nodded and started to pull my left hand out of my left jacket pocket. At the same time, I gripped my handgun inside of my right jacket pocket and aimed it center mass, straight towards the Sabi mugger.
The mugger’s eyes glanced towards my left hand as it left my pocket. At that moment, I released a burst of inaccurate shots from my handgun, tearing the front of my jacket open. The sound of gunfire echoed through the alley, and the mugger dropped, bleeding from two holes in his chest. As soon as his friends realized what happened, they lunged towards us, enraged.
“You killed him!” One of them screamed, swinging the rusty pipe wildly. Stupid. You’re charging someone with a gun. It might as well be suicide. I popped two shots in between her eyes. She was dead before she hit the ground.
“Shit!” Noah fumbled backwards, trying to avoid the other Sabi who charged him. Fuck, I thought both of them were going for me! The Sabi quickly caught Noah, and wrapped his arm around Noah’s neck. He pointed the razor sharp tip of his knife towards Noah’s neck.
“Move and your friend is dead!” The Sabi screamed, sending spit flying everywhere. I stopped and stood still as a statue. “Now drop the gun!” Doing that would be very bad for Noah’s survival, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Seeing my hesitation, the Sabi squeezed Noah’s neck tighter. The cloak’s hood fell.
“Huh? Wha?” The Sabi looked at Noah’s face in confusion. “A human?”
Shit. He saw him. But in the moment of confusion, Noah acted. He still had his arms concealed inside of the cloak, so he pulled his arms clear of the cloak, jabbed his newly acquired Fune 2 into the Sabi’s side, and squeezed the trigger. The Sabi fell to the floor, unconscious. The handgun was still set to stun.
I released a breath of relief. I’d messed up, but Noah had come through, just like he had before. However, Noah himself was not taking it well. He was breathing hard, and he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He looked between his handgun and the unconscious Sabi, like he was unsure of what had just happened.
“Noah, are you hurt? Are you okay?” I asked worriedly. He didn’t look hurt, but he was just put in a life or death situation. It would be strange if he was perfectly fine.
“I’m fine.” He lied. “I just need a moment to catch my breath.”
I nodded, and went around him to check on the dead Sabi with the handgun. I bent over and checked his rusty shitty gun, and noticed that the gun wasn’t loaded, or even functional. Damn. I looked over to Noah, who was staring at the unconscious Sabi mugger, disbelief written on his face.
“Noah, he saw your face.” I said, walking over to him, voice low. “And he’s going to wake up soon. We can’t let anybody know.”
Noah’s head snapped up. “What do you mean? What are you going to do?”
I didn’t answer his question. I didn’t know how. Two more shots rang out in the alleyway. Minutes later, the auto-taxi arrived on our street. We both boarded. Noah didn’t talk to me for the entire trip back.