My girlfriend is amazing and came through for me in a big way. She convinced her Mom to let me buy a decommissioned surface to space shuttle that was one of a dozen that had been cleared to be turned into civilian leisure craft. Fortune further smiled on me in that the craft was at Ganymede Shipyard and was scheduled to be delivered within a twelve-hour window. Good fortune ended up costing me 23k credits, but Zia said that it was the shuttle she drove, so it was safe, reliable, and mod-able. Marcella immediately asked to hitch a ride with some Health Club members once she heard I bought it.
I get a ping on my Settlement ‘radar’ and it shows a slow-moving aircraft heading for headquarters. I immediately rush for the fourth floor and the helo deck to appreciate my new ride as it arrives.
The vehicle looks like a door stop with an irregular hexagonal cross section: a soft angle trapezoid on top, and a thinner, sharp angle trapezoid on bottom. Two thin fins extend down from the upper trapezoid walls and end with tapered diamond-shaped thrusters. There seems to be another thruster mounted on a boxy shape above the rear hatch, and as the craft slows for landing, the three thrusters mounted within the lower trapezoid come to life.
This thing was definitely designed by an Earther.
The vessel slowly spins, to land with the rear hatch facing me. As the shuttle lands on the fins, the rear hatch opens and a ramp descends. I jog up the ramp and past the hatch to see a small cargo hold.
“User, please link with console to accept delivery of the vehicle.” I turn around looking for a console and a blinking light indicates a hidden console? Tova, can’t you just handshake with this thing?
It is disabled until after ownership has changed to you. Push in the panel and slide it to the side.
I do as Tova suggests and a screen with a biometric scanner is revealed. I place my hand on the scanner as the screen suggests and a light scans it. I jerk my hand back as something stabs my ring finger. I’m about to start cursing when the message on the screen changes.
//Aetheric Signature matches User Kimber Novarro. Delivery confirmed. Would you like to register this location for Auto-return?
Why yes, I would.
After I establish the ownership profile for the shuttle, Tova gets full access to its systems and a giddy excitement floods from her into my mind before she thinks to throttle our connection. Don’t worry about it Tova, I like that you’re excited. It’s nice to feel that you enjoy something.
This craft is installed with a proto-intelligence matrix. It could host me in my entirety or become imprinted with another AI that can exist autonomously. This is not just a standard decommissioned shuttle, Kimber.
Seems I have some people to thank. I tell Zia that my shuttle just arrived and that I absolutely love it. She tries to play the gesture off as nothing, but I can tell she didn’t like asking her mother for a favor.
Even though Penny never interacted with me on this transaction, I know she had her hands all over it.
/Thanks for helping me connect with Ganymede Shipyard, Penny. This shuttle is beyond my expectations./
\I was about to toss it into Solastra, I hate that damn shuttle. It’s better that you have it though, and before you ask, the 20k was to replace components that were irrevocably tainted and the Andromeda damned transfer fee. You owe me drinks the next time I see you.\
/Shit, with how nice this thing is, I will brew you a drink for the next time we meet./
\Deal!\ A golden scroll drops into my hand and I curse that Pixie asshole.
/Fucking Pixie bullshit/ I feel an echo of laughter in my mind coming from her connection. What an absolute turd. Hilarious and inconvenient. There is definitely a backstory to my new ride.
Tova, your mission, should you choose to accept it.
I do.
I didn’t even finish the request.
If it has anything to do with the shuttle, I accept.
Oh my, you’re in love with the hardware. Good for you Tova. And yes, I want you to scope out the quirks and non-standard ‘easter eggs’ that came with our purchase. She chirps her agreement.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
I smile as I leave the craft, feeling truly independent with long-distance travel options. Granted, with my bike and a storage ring, I could be in Reno in six or seven hours. With Tova’s new girlfriend, it’ll be max two hours, maybe 40 minutes if I don’t care who I piss off. Then again, flying over a portion of Nevada that has a history of being mostly empty.
I go to my condo? Suite? Doesn’t matter. I head back home to pack for a few days and stuff some materials for rune practice. I also buy a fillable fountain pen and some low-bleed paper. My ‘leaving town’ checklist also reminds me to send a list to my chemistry students and marching orders for the Warram crew that’s helping me clear the settlement and identify the assets I have.
I take the elevator down to Marci and Danielle’s place and knock on the door. Marci opens up, today’s lounge attire being a basketball tank and some poofy capris, checking behind me for a second before inviting me in. I spy the Doc sitting on the porch in a beach lounger in a bikini top and some sort of floral bottom wrap. I could see either of them going out looking like this, if I didn’t know them better.
“The delivery go okay?” my mentor asks.
“Went great. Tova wanted some alone time with the pretty new machine, and I wanted to review my checklists. One of them is talking to you. You want to leave tonight, or ass early in the morning?”
“How early is that to you?” She asks with an eyebrow query.
“Four-ish.”
“Fuck that noise. I’ll call the team, they should be ready by eleven.” Her eyes shift focus into her menus while I ponder what they could possibly be doing that would take five hours of prep. Not that I mind. I didn’t plan anything for this evening because I was far too nervous about the timeframes involved.
I did some research on Sheriff Benson Winchester. Not only is the man the proud owner of the sturdiest name I’ve ever heard, he lives the lifestyle of an Old West Sheriff. He rises before dawn, drinks his coffee thick and black, carries a modern pistol and a backup six shooter. The sun rises around five thirty tomorrow in Reno, so I’ll be there at five. Think that weirds me out, is that the Sheriff’s office is in the main City Center government complex, instead of being some centralized territory thing. The Colorado Springs metroplex is the other large city in the territory, but governance concerns on the far side of the Rockies are different than politics on this side despite being part of the same Territory.
Also in my looking things up in settlement interfaces and Nevahrado public records, I found that Wymonto and Nevahrado are banded together in the Old West Alliance. I would have thought that the Dakotas would group with Kansas and Nebraska, but the Dakotas went tribal, leaving the two plains states to be loosely managed by OWA. Washington, Oregon, and Northern California also have a group, but they try very hard to be separate and self-sufficient.
There’s no way to anticipate what Winchester is going to ask me about and there’s a small chance that he’s just asking me up there to mess with me. He doesn't seem like that kind of man, at the same time, however, he didn’t seem too thrilled to be talking to me. I was surprised that the Sheriff called me instead of a local deputy, can’t wait to see what that’s all about. Ugh, I want to like people sometimes, but most seem disappointing after learning more about them.
In an attempt to shake some of the nerves from my mind, I start practicing runes and my general artistic ability. If it weren’t for my dexterity, this would look like a toddler with finger paints. Instead, it looks what I imagine would be the result of using unsharpened colored pencils on a rollercoaster.
“Does the figure have to be drawn in a continuous stroke?” A voice over my shoulder questions.
I look back to see Danielle leaning over the back of the couch at my ‘work’. I blush heavily at the proximity of her chest with my face and turn back to my ‘art’ before she catches me staring.
“Not that I know? It would be silly to expect someone to chisel stone in a continuous stroke.”
“That does seem silly, so maybe think about forming the shape with discrete strokes? Steps or instructions you can follow instead of trying to do the whole thing in one go?”
It says something about my artistic ability and how far out of my comfort zone this is, that I couldn’t think of something as simple as breaking the problem down. This would be so much easier if I was using a knife. Wait . . . is there anything keeping me from using a knife? I dip a throwing knife tip in ink and try it again with noticeable improvement. Is this just a difference in my skill with blades versus my skill in art or Runes? Yeah, beginner 5 versus advanced 1 is a huge gap in ‘tool’ control. Does the tip of a fountain pen count as a blade? I take out the one I bought, ensure the ink is being fed to the bifurcated blade, and try the rune again. Survey says yes, I can consider it a blade! I do a little dance in my seat, and I hear a musical giggle behind me.
“Good work Kimber.”
The praise floods dopamine into my brain and all is right in the moment. Then Marcella ruins it.
“You going to be okay seeing Hailey again? I want her on the team coming with me.”
I sigh, “Did she have the stick removed from her ass? Maybe now that I’m not occupying all of your attention, she’ll stop acting like a jealous ex.”
“Really? Kimber, it’s been months.”
That is not the supportive sister I wanted to hear. “Sure, but I got shot again recently by people that were supposed to be allies, so I guess the vibe is a little fresh.”
Marcella’s features darken and the room gets a degree or two colder.
“Chill, sis. I was wearing combat armor at the time. Just a few bruises that have already healed.”
She sighs and slumps next to me, flopping her head in my lap. “I forget sometimes that you’re becoming this awesome, independent human and not the orphan that I thought I could help.”
The praise fuzzies are back! I briefly entertain the idea of drawing on her forehead, then decide to pull out her ponytail and mess with her hair. “Love you too, goober. You gonna tell me what mission I’m playing taxi driver for?”
“Settlement stuff. I’m hoping you can help when you’re finished at the sheriff’s office.” I nod while continuing to marvel at the silky mass of hair in my lap. I shift a little to set my head against the back pillows on the couch, my body convincing me that a nap is a good idea.