Throttle Twenty-One

Cynie had to pause her interview to get landing clearance, but that only took a moment or two of chatting. It seemed that knowing the local language and being part of a known company made things like that easier.

Diana found it a little strange that the security was so much lighter than back in Sol. There were definitely guns and other weapons out there, so why weren’t incoming ships greeted with more suspicion? She set that aside as a question for later.

Their ship found an empty berth and came in for a careful, auto-pilot guided landing. “I suppose that technically marks the end of our interview,” Cynie said. Her hovering recorder drone noticeably continued to hover and record both Diana and Ahvie.

“I guess so,” Diana said. Of all the interviews she had, it wasn’t the worst. “Where will you be heading to next?”

“Next? Likely the Shibaune sector. There’s a quadruped race held there every twelve system rotations, it’s a big event for the borel that live in the region. They’ve been accepting other races as jockeys too, but they’re still uncommon. We cover it as a matter of course even if it’s only popular with a certain demographic of viewers.”

“Sounds a bit less exciting than the Overflow Cup,” Diana said.

“It is. There’s always a lot of scandal and drama around the race. Doping charges, allegations of cheating and of genetic alteration to the stock, but the race itself is fairly tame.” Cynie looked at Diana. “The next Tyrant Cracker is going to be the real big prize.”

“The race you keep trying to not-so-subtly push me to try?” Diana asked.

Cynie sniffed. “As a member of the media, I cannot in good faith push anyone to attempt such a dangerous event, even if it is one of the most notorious and exciting races in this end of the galaxy. Especially not seeing as how the entire race is very illegal.”

“Just how illegal is it?” Diana asked.

“Illegal enough that the Federation denies anything to do with it. The racers are so dangerous that the Federation makes a point of pulling patrols out of the region where the race will take place, and ships that are destined to participate are often given special inspections when crossing Federation jump rings to the rally points.”

“Ahvie heard of those special inspections. Don’t they usually turn up nothing?”

Cynie laughed in her strange fox-like way. “The good kind of special inspection. In any case,” she reached up and tapped a button, and the side of the ship hissed as it equalized with the pressure of the station outside the ship. “I hope I’ll be seeing you again.”

“Hey, I hope so too. Maybe we can do another interview after that Tyrant race?” Diana asked.

Cynie grinned. “Oh, it’s a deal.”

Diana hesitated. She wanted to shake hands, but what Cynie had was more paw-like, and she wasn’t entirely sure if handshaking was even a thing at all. In the end, she settled for a smile and a nod, then stepped out of the reporter’s ship, Ahvie on her heels and ChaOS clunking after them.

The landing bay wasn’t too dissimilar to the one where the Star Skimmer was parked. A bit smaller, but otherwise the same general aesthetic of third-hand materials welded together with little regard for safety or care.

They headed to an airlock in the side of the berth, then waited as it equalized with the corridors beyond.

“So,” Diana started. “Where are you heading to now?”

“Ahvie can’t go anywhere until her ship is repaired, but now that Ahvie has funds, she can hire others to come and help with the repairs, and bring the replacement parts she needs.”

“Life support stuff, right?” Diana asked.

“More than that,” Ahvie said. “The containment around the living quarters and the bridge have worn out, and there are breaches in it. If it was just life support, Ahvie could fly with a suit on. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but Ahvie would make do.”

“What sort of containment?” Diana asked.

“For jumping,” Ahvie said. She didn’t elaborate further, so Diana chalked it up to something that was so commonly known that it wasn’t worth explaining to the layperson. She still subtly poked ChaOS to look into it.

“If your repairs aren’t going to take too long, then maybe we can hang out a bit more. I’m interested in that race Cynie mentioned. It sounds like my kind of fun.”

They reached an intersection, one that was fairly wide, with a few folk passing by. It was the nearest junction where they’d have to split up if they were heading to their own ships. Ahvie looked up to Diana, tail low and flicking near the ground.

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“Ahvie… wouldn’t mind spending more time with you, Diana. You’re a bit insane though.”

“Nah, that’s just a racial trait with us humans,” Diana said. “At least, the best of us. Did you want to sleep on the idea? I really could use someone with your skills, and your knowledge… and your ship, for that matter. I don’t think mine is able to jump or whatever, not without some serious modifications.”

“Sleep on it?” Ahvie repeated.

Diana hissed. “Ah, right, that’s an expression that probably doesn’t translate perfectly. It means to take some time to consider an idea before making a choice.”

“Oh,” Ahvie said. “In that case, no. Ahvie has made her choice.”

“Really?” Diana asked.

The little alien nodded. “Ahvie would like to enter into a business arrangement with you.”

“A business arrangement?” Diana asked.

Ahvie nodded again. “Yes. A contract. Ahvie will help you get to your races, and you will help Ahvie become very rich.”

Diana laughed. “I think I can work with that,” she said. “ChaOS, can you draw up a contract? Though, I guess you’ll want to have it checked by whatever passes for a lawyer around here.”

Ahvie’s ears twitched. “A what? No, we can just go to a Federation contract office and have them certify the deal and give us a contract.”

“Mistress, a cursory bit of research reveals that local legal matters are nearly all handled through the intermediary of the Federation. They have locations that can be visited and where people can discuss a deal with a representative who will then formalise it as a contract. They also act as arbitrators in contract disputes. Essentially, they are both the lawyers and the judges when it comes to legal matters between Federation citizens. Which poses an obvious issue.”

“Ah, right, I’m not a Federation citizen, am I?” Diana said.

Ahvie gasped. “You’re not a…” she glanced around, obviously checking to see if anyone or anything was listening in, then, with a cute little hop that Diana had to hope ChaOS had captured, she jumped up and took Diana’s hand. “Come, we can talk about it on my ship,” she said.

“Alright, alright,” Diana said. “Uh, in the meantime. ChaOS, can you see to paying the fee for our berth? We’ll want to move the Star Skimmer as soon as possible.”

“Certainly,” ChaOS said as he clanked along behind her. “I could have the Star Skimmer fly itself to Miss Ahvie’s berth. It is large enough to hold both ships with relative ease. That is, if Miss Ahvie has everything secured in her own berth?”

“Ahvie never leaves without shutting everything down and making sure that everything is secured,” Ahvie said. “Your ship can pilot itself that well? That’s a good autopilot.”

“It’s pretty alright,” Diana said. She spared a cheeky grin for ChaOS, who didn’t react in the least.

“Then with your permission, Miss Ahvie, we’ll have the Star Skimmer secured by the time we arrive,” ChaOS said.

They were a few corridors down when something rang on Ahvie and she pulled out a small device. She tapped a few things, then told ChaOS that the berth was open to space.

On arriving at the berth, they had to wait before the airlock. The dock was still repressurising with breathable air after venting itself. The station’s systems weren’t exactly the best in the galaxy when it came to quick transitions.

Once they were through the airlock, Diana glanced around for any surprises, but found none.

The Star Skimmer was parked next to Ahvie’s ship. Even at 130 metres in length, the Star Skimmer was only a fifth the size of Ahvie’s cargo ship. It could likely fit in one of the bigger ship’s cargo bays, which was going to be pretty practical.

Still, Diana made a mental note to get Ahvie a bigger ship if they continued to work together. Racing was the best, but she had to plan for other things, and that would require putting her ship and its capabilities at work.

When someone had the ability to manufacture a fleet of warships by stripping a system of its natural resources, it was practically irresponsible not to.

For fun, of course!

“Alright, what did you want to tell me?” Diana asked.

Ahvie’s gaze was fixed on the Star Skimmer. She turned and looked up to Diana. “Ahvie wants to know who you are.”

***