Bryce

“You’re joking, right?” I asked the little robot. “2,000 credits is ridiculous.”

We were standing in a literal back alley trying to make a deal. Thea had volunteered to play lookout, and she was standing near the entrance enjoying an oversized kebab that she bought from a stall near the market.

“It’s corporate encryption. Not only will it be hard to crack, but if I get caught doing it, then I’ll have corporate cyber-sec on my ass. 2,000 credits is a steal. Hells, I should charge you more. Let’s make it 2,500.”

2,500 credits was an absurd amount to crack a data-drive. But, learning that the encryption was corporate worried me.

Back in Daelin’s office, I had attempted to bypass the encryption using an executive override code that should have granted me full access. The only reasons why I wouldn’t be able to get in were if the encryption wasn’t corporate or if I didn’t have high enough clearance.

Somehow, Daelin’s data-drive required higher corporate clearance than class two executive. I needed to access that drive.

“1,000 now and another 1,500 in three weeks on delivery,” I countered. “But only if you leave the files unread.”

“Deal!” The robot lifted a small hand to me and I shook it. “Wouldn’t want that kind of corpo heat, anyway.”

I gave them a secure subspace route to one of my private servers. There was no guarantee that they’d be able to crack the encryption, but they were supposed to be the best on New Eden. If they couldn’t do it, then I was shit out of luck.

~~~~

Sora was waiting at the base of the ramp by the time we finished shopping. They looked skeptical as they watched us approach.

“Trouble at the markets?”

I half-turned back towards the way we came, looking for the trouble that Sora apparently saw. I didn’t see anything, so I turned back towards the kitsune.

“No trouble. We didn’t even have to haggle. Apparently there was a surplus in the harvest last winter, so we got a discount on the strawberries and hard pears.”

Sora lifted one of their delicately trimmed eyebrows.

“Are they going to deliver everything or…?” Sora let the question hang, and I understood their confusion.

Thea and I had returned empty-handed after a three-hour shopping trip to a crime lord’s private hangar, and having anything delivered here would draw a lot of attention.

“We didn’t need to set up a delivery; Thea is carrying everything.”

“I hope her ability to carry invisible groceries will be a part of what you’re planning on explaining when we get out of here.”

We walked aboard the shuttle and as Thea passed Sora; she held up her ring as a way of explanation. Her invisible ring. Which she wore on her middle finger.

“Fine, keep your secrets.” Sora laughed as they followed us aboard. “Welcome aboard The Fury. I’ll give you a tour while we leave atmo.”

The ramp lifted, leaving us in the lit interior of the cargo bay and I was pleasantly surprised.

Based on the absurd opulence of the hangar, I had expected Teolix’s overpriced luxury yacht to be equally extravagant. Instead, we stood in a relatively utilitarian mid-sized room. It was still one of the nicest ship interiors I had ever been in, certainly the cleanest, but I had expected everything to be like gold or obsidian or at least something other than the off-white dura-plastic panels that lined the ten-meter-high ceiling and walls.

On the far side were two sets of stairs a few meters apart, and between those, an open panel revealed a passage that led deeper into the ship.

“This deck is just the cargo bay and maintenance access corridors,” Sora explained. “Sami is going to set up her quarters in there, so if you need access, make sure you knock, otherwise you risk getting an earful.”

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“That’s fine. I wouldn’t know what to do down there, anyway.” If it wasn’t magi-tech, I was completely useless when it came to engineering. Even with magi-tech, the only thing I could do was adjust the enchantments or throw a bunch of mana at it.

I could feel the ship take off as we followed them up the stairs and onto the second deck.

“We have a cruising speed of twenty-five percent light speed in the Aether, and two camouflaged torpedo tubes and about a dozen antimatter torpedoes. But there’s enough storage for twice that many,” Sora continued. “Our baseline shields are pretty standard for a warship our size. Which is to say, we should avoid getting hit, because they won’t last under bombardment.”

I nodded, noting our capabilities. The Fury was classified as a pleasure yacht, but apparently Teolix hadn’t been using it as one.

The shields and armament weren’t amazing, but still much better than what you’d expect from most private ships. The speed more than made up the difference, and based on the aerodynamics, we were going to be extremely maneuverable in the Aether.

All of that dictated our tactics if we ever found ourselves in a fight, something that was, unfortunately, pretty likely. Especially while on the run from a vindictive mega-corporation.

At the top of the stairs, there was a door to our left and what looked like an airlock to our right. The corridor then split to wrap around a wide staircase that led up.

“This deck has the armory, medical, an airlock, a few bedrooms, and even a small shuttle.” Sora was counting on their fingers before adding one last thing, “Oh, and a storage room that was converted into a surprisingly secure brig.”

“A storage room converted into a brig?” Thea asked while stepping around the staircase to get a look at the rest of the deck.

“Yeah. Well, I said converted, but it doesn’t actually feel converted. It was probably just registered as a ‘secure storage room’ so they could get it passed off without too many questions.”

“Neat.” Thea was smiling as she looked into the large “secure storage room.”

It was about the same size as the cargo hold at nearly ten meters wide on either side. But the ceilings were half the height, and three compartments took half of the floor space. Each had powerful shield emitters at their entrances, and I could see magic dampeners aimed at all three of them.

The room would be more than secure enough to hold most prisoners.

We left the brig and Sora led us up the wide staircase to the last deck, which had a much more open layout.

I could see nearly half the length of the ship from where we stood. The closer half of the space was set up as a comfortable looking living area with overstuffed leather couches arranged in front of a large screen, and the other half had a massive dining table that could easily seat a dozen people comfortably. Near that was a stocked bar and a kitchen.

“Now, this was more of what I had been expecting when Teolix offered to give me a luxury yacht,” I commented with a smile while rubbing my hand along the backs of the couches. It felt like real leather.

“The bridge is back behind the kitchen—same with my room—and check this out.”

Sora grinned and the ceiling above us turned transparent, revealing clouds and blue sky as we sped through the air, making our way off world.

I just watched wide eyed as we left the atmosphere and the scene slowly turned to the vastness of space. It was beautiful.

“Pretty cool, right? And wait until you see the captain’s quarters.”

Sora pointed back the way we had come from, towards another staircase that flanked either side of the stairs we had just ascended. It led to a loft that overlooked where we stood. Thea smiled widely and raced up the stairs before I could say a word.

I looked towards Sora, who was shaking their head and smiling.

“It’s fine, Bryce, go with her and check it out, but do me a favor and wait until later to break in the bed.” Sora’s expression turned serious. “I’d like to have that discussion you mentioned. I trust you two, but Sami isn’t convinced. She’s already fallen in love with the ship and she’ll go along with what I ask, but—”

“But she deserves to know the details. You both do,” I finished the thought for them. “And yeah, I agree. Get her, then meet us on the couches here. We have a lot to talk about, so we might as well get comfortable.”

Sora took the stairs back towards the cargo bay and I went up to my new room.

There was a massive portrait of Teolix in human form hanging in the loft with a door on either side. The left door was already open and I could see the room on the other side, so I went in that direction while trying to think of the best way to get rid of the oversized shrine to narcissism.

The transparent ceiling effect carried over into the dimly lit bedroom. There was fabric draped along the walls and a massive bed in the center of the room with silky red sheets. Art was placed decoratively between statues and trophies. Which gave the room a mystical feel.

A desk was visible with a personal console on the far side near a vanity with a series of drawers.

I squealed as Thea swooped me off my feet and deposited me onto the bed, which was softer than it looked. She then jumped on top of me and we kissed passionately.

“You should see the bathroom. It’s huge. Closet too,” she spoke a little breathlessly. “Aren’t you glad I tricked you into becoming the captain?”

“Maybe. We’ll have to see how the others react after I explain everything.” I smiled back and leaned up to kiss her again. “Now, come on, we can do this later. Sora and Sami are waiting for us in the living area.”

Thea groaned but complied by reluctantly climbing off of me and then jumping off the bed.

“Fine, but I’m holding you to that.”

“Holding me to what? The bed?” I gave her a coy smile, and she returned it with a promising golden spark in her eye.

I was clearly playing with fire, but that was fine by me. Gods knew I could use the warmth.