Gentle creaks and dulcet groans lulled Lix from slumber like the scent of a freshly cooked breakfast, the thin blankets of Jack's cot twisting about her naked body like a cocoon of comfort as the aforementioned mechanic sat silently by her still side. They had absconded to the Gerthtrude via a quick space walk from the Stripped Bolt for several hours of uninterrupted sleep after Skrunkles had returned with news of their quarry, away from the din of civilization where they could alone in a haven of privacy.
Lix herself had laid awake for some time, worrying over the coming violence before Jack squeezed the reptile to his chest and chased away the Kux'lar's hesitation with warmth and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. In her dreams, memories of the Keelhauler's unprovoked attack on the Vents and the blood they'd spilt, the people they'd threatened, solidified her dedication to the plan. These weren't good people, and while the Rippers weren't either, extortion was a slower poison than turf war.
Fuck these Keelhaulers.
Growls and little kicks disturbed the raptor's sleep at the thought of one of the pickpocketing little kids or an innocent street vendor catching a stray round from one of the deckhands turned gangsters. Damned if you do and damned if you don't for the locals, stuck between a rock and a hard place, but at the very least one side wasn't trying to kill them as long as they walked the line and paid their protection fees.
So that begged the question; What were the Keelhaulers after, starting turf wars with the Rippers and endangering the local populace like that? In the end, Lix decided it didn't really matter. Leave Vent politics to the Vents, all she needed was a pinger. The thought of all that juicy, juicy gear… all those hardpoints the Keelhaulers stole that could slot so nicely onto the No Safety Measures, brought drool to the raptor's muzzle. Too bad, then, that most of it was serialized and reported stolen. In that regard, Jack had downplayed the role corporate enforcement was playing in local oversight in regards to theft. It had quickly been made apparent that every scrap of cargo would be catalogued, inventoried, and any discrepancy would be hunted down and quickly rectified.
Eyes from within and without the station were turning towards hangar fifty-six-beta, none more so than Arington Freighter Co. and Koorka Station central control itself. Getting away with the pinger alone would be a feat, one Lix was eager to pick Jack's brain over. How he'd get a pinger out of that bay without Arington knowing they were the ones that took it? She had no idea…
Currently the man was sitting at the edge of the cot, bent over a heavy crate he'd pulled from the top of his closet, the very one that had nearly tempted the Kux'lar into breaching the man's trust. Pitch black and secured with hefty steel clasps, the case sparked Lix's curiosity something fierce, enough so that it was pulling the yawning reptile from the depths of sleep. Her maw opened wide with an almost hydraulic span, her fangs glistening in the low light as Jack worked at releasing the clasps one by one with a sharp clang!
"So what's in the mystery box? Another toy? Something you can use on a poor defenseless Kux'lar?"
"We can go back into the Vents for somethin' like that. Besides, don' need a toy to get ya screamin' if you remember." A tail swipe, a gentle one, was his reward for such disrespect. "Just an old piece of gear." That same tail wrapped around the man's neck as Lix stretched her legs, without shame, before joining him at the edge of the cot to peer into the now open crate. Deep within was a set of scratched gray protective gear that appeared to have environmental seals around the shoulders, along with an intimidating helmet spraypainted like a jester.
"That's a little cringe, man. Not gonna lie. Want me to go get some acetone? It'll take that paintjob right off."
"Oi, this is bona fide Mad Jack armor right here!"
"Hey, I'm just saying! We all did stuff we regret when we were younger. I painted flames on the No Safety Measure's nose, she flies in space." Lix licked the man's cheek, grimacing at his scratchy growing beard. "Hey, if you wanna keep it then you rock your embarrassing clown paint! Live your younger years."
"Ya jealous. Clowns bring laughter."
"I'm sure it's your charisma is why everyone was laughing, sweetheart." Teasing aside, Lix couldn't deny the armor was intimidating. Bulky and solid, the helmet alone boasted a suite of sensors that wrapped around a sallet style helmet reminiscent of jackbooted monsters. Moving down, the marred chest plate bore signs of war, crisscrossed with scratches and dents from ballistic impact. Further still was an integrated gear belt and thigh plates that connected to EVA capable boots with battery operated magnetic plating and gas ports for zero-g nitrogen powered movement if a handheld canister ever ran out or failed. Lix whistled, impressed as her Human turned the chest plate over to thumb connective ports for back mounted gear. "I assume this is the tall, dark, and handsome armor you wore to terrorize Koorka Station back in the day?"
"Among other things, sure."
"No armor for your arms… I mean… nevermind."
"Uh-huh. Thought I'd dust it all off for the push into Keelhauler turf, if for no other reason then intimidation. They be new, never seen me in it before, but once I start walkin' around in it, word will spread." Jack took a deep breath and unceremoniously dropped the supposedly infamous armor on the deck, rubbing his neck with a metal hand as Lix nibbled his leg. "Gotta make a call…"
"Oooh… that sounds… un-fun. Should I run away from the drama?"
"If ya want."
"Gonna call your ex or something?"
"Worse, an old buddy who isn't a buddy anymore."
"Oh no, a dude-friend-ex, now I gotta see this." Jack turned to glare at the Kux'lar for a moment who simply returned the man's heated glare with the wiggling tip of her reptilian tongue and a pair of gleaming innocent eyes. "Whaaaat? Get on with the show, monkey man."
"Sure sure, just gotta put this junk up first."
"Why did ya hide all that away in the first place? Aside from the funky paint job it's solid gear." Lix tilted her head one way, then the other, as if looking at the crate of armor at an angle would provide secrets the stars hid away.
"Gotta keep the Jack in its box, yeah?"
"Uuuugghhhh, Jack nooooo. You could cut steel with that edge. Give me your shop, your ship, your Roarks, you don't deserve any of them." Paws flew to Lix' face in an attempt to hide her shame, a smidge of purple burning between her scales. "I can't believe I had sex with you. You're banned from speaking forever. Your mouth spews pain."
"And yet," Jack's grin grew twisted, evil perhaps, as he heaved the crate closer towards his door. "This edgy mouth had you squirming and begging not too long ag-ack!" A singular pillow, crinkled from use, slammed into the back of the mechanic's head with all the force a Kux'lar on her back could manage. A sad pompf followed as the cushy article made missile met its short journey's end upon the deck. Next came the blanket, which was far more effective, wrapping around the man's head instead.
"You sush! Every moment of that was… amazing torture…" Lix looked aside, bashfully wrapping the remaining sheet around her torso, and hoping the act would entice the man to pounce upon her for a second round. Alas, the raptor pilot knew such things were reserved for moments when things were less… scheduled.
Like hurtling aimlessly through space in a barely working ship.
Jack's return shattered the delightful memory, his weight depressing the bed and rolling the lizard towards his hip. It was a shift she welcomed, the Kux'lar wrapping around her Human as he wirelessly accessed his comms unit with a heavy sigh. A trill left Lix's throat as he placed a cold metal hand on her neck, the temperature a sharp contrast to his warm thighs that she had lain her head upon. The tension in his muscles was palpable, a nervous winding that corded beneath his skin and culminated in an uncharacteristic hesitation that Lix simply accompanied him through.
No words…
No touch other than her tight embrace…
Proximity was what the man needed now, for there was a history here she didn't understand. Eventually, the nearly silent burble of a ringtone drifted down from his ear, one that went unanswered.
"Pick up, bird. I know you're there." Jack grumbled, leaving a message before calling once more. Three time again, the Human called this mysterious contact, the scars and wrinkles on his face hardening with each unanswered summons. Finally, on the fourth, just before the call rolled over to voice mail, the line picked up. It was only thanks to her position below his head that Lix could hear the voice on the other line.
"What."
"Good to hear you too, Tik'Tik."
"I'm busy, don't waste my time."
Jack sighed at the clipped, almost angry tone that chirped across the comms link. Tik'Tik, a little avian alien known as a Vector, had been a member of his old crew and their communications specialist. Which was a fancy way of saying electronic warfare enthusiast. If it had an electric current running through it and soared the wavelengths, Tik'Tik had an obsession for it. What the pint-sized bird didn't appreciate, was Jack in any way shape or form. In fact, the last time the two had been in the same physical location, Tik'Tik had informed the Human he'd rather space himself than ever see the violent mechanic again.
A promise he'd kept so far.
"Then I won't. I assume ya'll have been keeping an eye on our Keelhauler friends down in the Vents?"
"The Arington contractors. Not your concern Jack, I officially advise you to leave corporate business to the proper channels. If that will be all we can conclude this recorded call."
"Tik, lil' man, come on. Enough with the bullshit. We've got gangsters shooting up entire markets down in the Vent-"
"Unauthorized and unlicensed markets in the Vents, I'm sure-"
"Which, I'm sure ya only give a shit bein' a recorded call an' all. Look, I'm givin' ya a courtesy here. We cleanin' house since Arington is… carefully observing the situation an' whatnot, very very slowly. All I'm askin' is either hook us up with a representative or… maybe come down an' help us out. Ya know…" Jack paused, swallowing. "A lil' inner-outer ring cooperation."
"Jack…" A sigh, the creak of a chair, the ruffle of feathers, and an angry chirrup… Jack grinned at the familiar sound. "Do you have any idea the shitstorm that would kick up?"
"I could just start leavin' the bodies these Keelhaulers are rackin' up by those fancy elevators. Look, I may or may not have took a peek inside their hangar. They gettin' organized, fast, I'll even send ya the vids. Weapons, trainin', all usin' Arington's juicy proprietary cargo! An' we both know how many went missin' from their employee logs…"
"Shit…"
"Recorded line, bird buddy."
"Don't call me that."
Jack let the silence stretch, his mechanical eyes searching the dim corners of his room for nothing as he ran metal fingers through Lix's vibrant blue quills. Groaning leather, squeaking wheels, and whistling sighs drifted from the avian on the far side of the call as Tik'Tik pondered and debated within his own head.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"It'll be like old times, yeah?" Jack started with a grin, only to be cut off by a sharply tweeting retort. Like twigs snapping underfoot.
"Like old times? Like old times being when you spaced full corridors and murdered a family for their shop?"
"They shot first you little- are ya goin' to help or are the outer rings on their own like usual?" Lix gazed up at the man with a worried eye, her paw gently squeezing his nearly imperceptibly trembling thigh. A rapid tap tap tap began to bounce off the walls, like teasing specters, as Jack tapped the toe of his boot on the uncaring deck. Claws dug into the mechanic's thick pants, parting the cloth to lightly prick at his pale skin beneath. Gradually, the fidgeting ceased.
"Yeah, I'll be there, Jack. Not to help, but to keep you from causing more damaging to my home than you already have!" Tik'Tik cut the call before Jack could respond, giving the Human only enough time to fill his lungs before leaving the line with only so much white noise. There hadn't been any delusions of a repaired relationship in Jack's mind, he knew his old friend despised him, but perhaps some semblance of the bird's joviality? A pipedream, nothing more than a delusion that had crawled up from the depths of some still as of yet uncorrupted corner of his soul.
"Bah. Fuckin' asshole." Jack gently untwisted his Kux'lar from around his waist, much to her hissing complaints, before rising to retrieve his crate of armor. "I suppose we should get dressed for our date. Did you bring a dress?"
"Do I look like I wear dresses, you twat?"
***
A great deal of time had passed, but Jack's armor hadn't forgotten him, nor had Koorka Station forgotten the matte black visage marred by ballistic fire. Each blemish worked in tandem to forge a story of wrought terror, and the denizens of the space station were quick to pay tribute, either moving aside or fleeing altogether. Whispers of the outer ring's crew bringing the hammer down on some fool drifted throughout the corridors, speculation abound of who it could be.
Jack paid them no heed. His crew was hard at work fulfilling their tasks. Lix had long since spooled the Gerthtrude's engines to a whining pitch and Mo'Ona was nowhere to be seen, vanished into the shadows where he could operate unseen. Tik'Tik… would be mad once he arrived but when wasn't the little bird man mad? One could only get so angry, right? Besides, his involvement, while important, was minimal and would protect the inner rings. How could he get his pretty little feathers twisted up about that?
The Vents were much more… visceral… about Jack's appearance than the upper ring had been. Glares and gasps abound as the myriad lenses around his helmet seemed to absorb what little light permeated the ever-present haze, his suit's rebreather filtering the sweltering air with a near silent hiss of pumps still well oiled. Only the jester grin of Jack's cruel paint greeted his old stomping grounds in any way, that… and his infamous revolver holstered proudly to his chest between environmentally sealed pouches of concussion grenades. Normally he'd sport a pack of fuel for his flamethrower and pouches upon pouches of nerve canisters… but the disapproving glare of a certain ruby scaled reptile banished the thought.
And brought a grimace to his face. How far he'd fallen… Liliana would never let him hear the end of this…
Soon enough, his path was clear of foot traffic and crowds, the citizenry having long since abandoned their wares for the safety of the alleys and the shadows. Mad Jack was on the prowl, that meant the wise and wily went elsewhere. Though word on the streets was he had a new ball and chain that was a lot better at keeping his tendencies in check…
Jack heard Tik'Tik before he saw him, the little avian alien called a Vector animatedly waving his wing arms about at Taran and his assembled mass of Ripper enforcers outside the closed drop gate to hangar bay fifty-six beta. If all had gone according to plan, several more teams were blockading the maintenance and crew entrances as well, trapping the majority of the Keelhaulers within, while the newer and greener of the gang conducted mop-up operations on the stragglers who were out and about on the station.
"Jack, get yer flyin' rat outta my face 'fore I punt 'em." Taran sneered, stepping over the angry Vector towards his men.
Tik'Tik was small, his crest of vibrant yellow head feathers coming up to the bottom of Jack's chest, but the top of his head only making it to his solar plexus. Weighing in at a whopping forty pounds, he wasn't exactly a force to be reckoned with either… physically at least. The gray alien's pure white environmental suit, laden with screens and battery packs, held all manner of dormant data pads and wires that had seen a great deal of use and upkeep, use that Jack had personally witnessed. If there was data running through it, Tik'Tik could make it dance. Bully the bird, and you'd most likely come home to your bank account drained and every screen of your house with an internet connection sporting a picture of his feathery rear.
"Tik'Tiiiiik," Jack's modulated voice, made tormented and even more electronic by his helmet, made the Vector jump, his feathers puffing in a threat display as the Human bent down to snatch him up in an unwanted hug. "Been literal years, you flying disease trap."
"Let me go! I'm not here for reunions!" Tiny claws pressed on Jack's armored chest, pushing with futile rage. "Your Ripper contact won't tell me anything! I have people on the inner ring asking for updates! What's your plan? I'm not here to make friends!" A squawk of rage mixed with Jack's mirth filled chuckle as he set the little bird on his shoulder, catching a specially made suit from Taran. It was one Tik'Tik recognized… one that had him shaking his beaked head. "No… no no no…"
"Yes yes yes! We're goin' on a spacewalk!"
***
"Gerthtrude to Spitfire, comms check over." Lix settled into the Gerthtrude's wide seat, her tail comfortably set into the hole Jack had made for her, as she gently guided the heavy cargo freighter into the designated rally location. To her port quarter lazily drifted a sleek, if jury rigged, vessel that resembled several different engines welded together and bolted to a shuttle cockpit with an oversized railgun squeezed in between them. Mo'Ona's prize and joy, the Spitfire, deceptive in both power and speed, Lix knew from experience.
"Spitfire to Gerthtrude, comms greens. Geehhhhh looks at Jack's ship! So much rooms for stuffs! An' those guns! They calls em's Boneshakers."
"Don't I know it…" The Kux'lar's hackles raised, memories of their dogfight with Ters and the headache she'd sported after Jack had fired a broadside of the ship killing turrets. It had felt like the entire freighter had wanted to vibrate into another plane of existence. "So, this plan… what do you think?"
"Oh, it's gonna go's sideways. Those be the best ones though!"
"I mean… when Jack was laying it all out it sounded so good."
"That's because he's your mans." Skrunkle's snickers drifted across the distorted line like grade school teasing, but Lix couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"You're just jealous."
"You's right! Skrunkles would lift tail for that anydays! Lix gots a good thing goin'! Jack's a good contact."
"He's more than a savvy mechanic, you know."
"Yeahs! Got a shop, goods in a scrap, can fix on the fly. Mhm, mhm."
"Ugh, nevermind. Just be ready with those tow cables."
***
"You want me to what?"
When Tik'Tik got angry, truly angry, he didn't scream or holler or kick. No, the Vector got quiet.
Contemplative.
"Call a lock down!" Jack said, his voice so jovial you could practically hear his smile. "On hangar fifty-six beta."
"You want me to put on an EVA suit, you want me to call a non-protocol lockdown… Jack, I'm about to walk away."
"Naaaah." Earning himself a chirp of rage, Jack retrieved said EVA suit specially made for Vectors and tossed it at his former friend and crewmate. "And it won't be out of protocol if you call a tier three emergency."
"Tier th- T-Threes are for hull breaches!"
"Uh-huh." Fear filled Tik'Tik's thin chest as Jack pulled a small device from his armor, nothing more than a boxy little thing with a plunger handle. Around the damned Human, Rippers donned helmets and checked seals, each and every single one looking up to the overhead emergency bulkhead that would drop in the case of a hull breach. "Trust me, you really wanna call a T-Three. For the good of the station, of course. You'll be a hero…"
"Fuck you Jack. Fuck you!"
That laugh… Tik'Tik heard it in his nightmares every so often. It wasn't fun or warm or jovial, it was the precursor to a man using the galaxy's problems as an excuse to turn it into his playground and cover his madness in a veneer of gallantry. Jack just wanted to let loose without consequences and damn the collateral. Keeping the Keelhaulers in check? Protecting the Vents? Protecting Koorka Station or even his assets on the outer rings?
Lies, like he always did.
He just wanted chaos and fire.
"Tik'Tik to control, T-Three, authorization bravo two-niner-niner-five. T-Three lockdown on hangar bay fifty-six beta, hull breach!"
As if the very Gods had ceased their impassive observation from beyond the stars, the protective bulkheads above descended like a reaper's scythe, slamming into the deck with a guillotine GONG that shook the attending gangster's very souls, most only staying upright with the mechanical assistance from their suits. Affirming comms calls and a hand signal from Taran had Jack smiling wide within his helmet, a memory from the day prior quickly fliting across his mind as he gently caressed the detonation plunger he'd fished from a pouch on his armor with a reverence most reserve for newborn babes.
"Skrunkles, you manage to get that little side project I asked you to done?"
"Keeeheheh yeahs! Haaaah… Befores the drones got theres, just likes Jacks asked. Skrunkles… tireds…"
"That's what I'm fuckin' talkin' about lil' guy!"
Jack breathed deep, holding his cybernetic arms wide as he rocked back on his heels, his head lolling on a suddenly loose neck.
This… this is what he missed… The shop and the work was nice, sure, but… This…
His thumb depressed the plunger…
You see, Koorka Station's lower ring hangar bays are modular, easy to expand, and rely on a simple grid of welds and hardpoints. It is an efficient system of metal and pipes and conduits.
One Mo'Ona had learned on his way to spy on the Keelhaulers.
And on his way back, left gifts purpose built by none other than Jack himself, who knew Koorka Station like the back of his metallic hands.
Half of the Rippers fell flat on their faces as a monumental shudder ravaged its way through the Vents, shaking the deck as if an enraged titan had bored its talons through the fuselage in a revenge fueled spree of madness. A following daisy chain of dull explosions split what little hearing the collective crowd had left, a tearing shear shaking the emergency drop down bulkhead like a rattling cage, before a klaxon cast the hall into an oscillating black and red kaleidoscope of panic inducing sound and light.
Amidst it all was Jack, laughing like a loon, his voice distorted by his jester painted helmet.
"Fuck you jack…" Tik'Tik glared, his voice quiet as he shoved his beak inside his helmet. "Fuck you…"
***
"By the stars… they actually pulled it off… Look alive Skrunkles!" Lix whooped as her paws danced the Gerthtrude on a gentle sideways path towards the square section of steel and sparks that had slowly begun to drift away from the bottom of Koorka Station on blooms of smoke and quickly freezing vapor. Trails of conduit and wires hung behind the hulk like deadly streamers. Thankfully, Taran's warnings to the Keelhaulers had been taken to heart, the hangar's airlocks and bay doors tightly shut and saving the precious cargo within. "They'll have about six hours of air, ignoring EVA's and tanks of their own."
"Keeeehahahaha! Those bombs your mans made worked like a charms!"
"Yeah that did. That was a spectacle. Launching tow cables in two, one, launch. Good connection." Lix felt the fwoomp discharge of triplet magnetic tow cables zoom away from the freighter's port side, her captain's console providing a myriad of cameras with which to watch each and every one slam home on the side of the now separated modular hangar bay fifty-six beta. "Annnnd… slow lateral thrust forty degrees down from the ring."
"Yup yup, numbers and official soundings comms stuffs. Gonna secure the ass of this big an' juicy bitch when I sees 'er!"
"Ugh. Guys."
***
"Team one through ten, prep for spacewalk at the airlock, eleven through nineteen, yous guys up next. Everybody else, hold rear guard!" Taran waved his men into position with a grimace. Jack's plan was heavy on the blind, shock, and awe. Normally, that would work just fine on street trash and your general organized crime, but if the Hux's report had been accurate these Keelhaulers had some kind of support in there.
Planetary defense? Private contractor? Disgraced council enforcer, even?
Did it matter?
In the end, they had Mad Jack. A Mad Jack that was currently being accosted by a small bird.
"Bombs on Koorka? A jumbo hangar drifting into space? Have you regressed? Was Lily's sessions just an act to keep her happy or have you final- hrk!" Jack's metallic hand closed around Tik'Tik's clothed neck, squeezing just enough to lift the Vector off his taloned feet.
"Ya best shut yo- look, we're both friends here, right?" Tik'Tik gazed into those unblinking lenses, that unflinching painted grin… and nodded, his pupils nothing more than terrified pinpricks as Jack set him on his shoulder. "Good! I knew you were just… uhhh, tense about how things went down, is all. You just slice what I need sliced, hack what I need hacked… things will be like old times, and you can go back to doing that really important… job… in the inner rings, yeah?"
"Yeah… yeah, I get it Jack."
"Great. Prep for spacewalk."
Nothing more needed to be said. Nothing more had to be said. Tik'Tik simply held on as his new ride joined the eager, nearly slavering Rippers. It had been some time since they'd been able to flex their status as the best crew in the Vents, and they were itching for a chance to remind the people of Koorka Station just who they were.
"Alright, everyone pile in! It's gonna be tight! Nut to butt, heel to toe!" Jack waved the initial fireteams onward, sliding into the brightly colored airlock as it slid slowly open. "Once that airlock cycles it's nitrogen canisters to the hangar! Stick with your teams, no one off into the void! If you get separated, jet to the Gerthtrude and hook on to her fuselage. If you can't make it, shoot yourself. It'll be quicker than letting your air slip."
"Never change, Jack…"
"What's that, bird buddy?"
"N-Nothing…" Tik'Tik cast his eyes to the deck, morose that he hadn't seen this coming. He'd been a fool to think he'd be able to keep the damage to a minimum if Jack was involved. What had he thought he could do? Threaten him? Reason? He wasn't Liliana, or this Lix character he'd heard about over the comms… he was just Tik'Tik, the little Vector the old crew kept around for his slicing… All he'd done before when things had gotten too much was storm off as Jack called out…
No one had even chased him down… or checked up on him later… Now here he was after just one call, running to Jack even if it was with an angry scowl on his beak. Not one thing had been prevented. Had it not been for his helmet, Tik'Tik would have felt stifled in the tight, crowded confines of the airlock…
"Cycle in three! Two! One!"
Stars greeted the Keelhaulers with their unending twinkle, a staccato burst of nitrogen from dozens of nozzles propelling the batch of Humans forth like a murder of stalking crows. Tik'Tik hadn't even seen Jack pull his canister from his belt, too deep in his brooding to pay much attention to anything. This, at the very least, was the calm before the storm. A moment where everything could be mistaken as just fine before all Hell broke loose and rounds were once again flying over his feathers. Which was something that happened often when Jack was around. If only the EVA's suits gloves didn't stop him from digging his claws in he'd be able to actually enjoy being along for the ride.
Instead, Tik'Tik clung to the top of Jack's helmet as tight as he could until he felt the dull thunk of the Human's boots hitting steel and the comforting pull of magnetization securing them to its surface. Rippers landed around them like cosmic paratroopers, slowly making their way towards distant airlocks as Jack set his ward down on the metal surface, his own covered talons pulling towards the metal as well.
"Alright, tech bird, you're up! Show me you still got the magic touch."
"Yeah yeah…" With this, at least, Tik'Tik could show up the bastard… It didn't take long to join the main team, the larger Humans moving aside to give the Vector easy access to the locked down systems as more teams arrived on the far side of the free-floating hanger.
In the distance, the Gerthtrude held station with taught mooring lines while the Spitfire vanished behind the far side, acting as a counterweight to keep the massive ensemble in one place. Further still, vessels ardently minded their own business. If you didn't see it, or your ship cameras didn't catch it, you couldn't be dragged into a corporate inquiry. Those cost a lot of time and never paid out what you lost in revenue.
"This is Jester to Gerthtrude, how you doin' up there, scaly lady?" Jack gazed up at his ship with a warm smile, looking to the bridge as if he'd see his amore. Alas, the glare from a distant star obscured the pilot within.
"Oh, just sitting here waiting for my boyfriend to raid a hangar full of murderous assholes. You know, stuff that makes scaly ladies oh so happy."
"Ah, am I sleeping in the galley?"
"Only if you get hurt."
"If I get hurt, will a paw rub exonerate my sins?"
"It'll… be a start."
"Be advised," Taran's voice, professional and clipped, came over the line. "This be an open channel fer the operation."
"We knoooow, Gerthtrude out." Lix said with an audible hiss. Jack didn't chuckle, his mirth as false as the smile on his face. No, his mindset was elsewhere, as had been his gaze for the past several moments. He knew how Tik'Tik worked, how fast and efficient the Vector was at slicing. The old crew had based entire missions around the hackers skill, after all… and the airlock's status which had previously been red?
Was now green.
The Keelhaulers were no longer outside his reach, but more importantly, the contents of hangar bay fifty-six beta were no longer under video surveillance, separated as it was from Koorka Station. Hangar bay fifty-six beta was nothing more than floating prey.