The Spacecab Antics of Ashton & Rhed | The Ter-Key
Lore:
The three gas giants of our solar system are found to be inhabitated by advanced civilizations through the use of dark-matter-sensitive telescopes pointed to the stars.
Upon contact these alien denizens were cordial and shared with us technologies that propelled our rocket science centuries.
Quickly establishing travel between planets, bases were constructed with elaborate space ports. Earthly financial and government centers moved to Ara, the native name for Neptune.
History, as it does, eventually repeated itself and humans slowly took over the ‘New Worlds’. All non-unioned natives were forced out and pushed to the recesses of their own planets, their own homes.
In the spoils of all their new found advancements, humanity abandoned Earth; the entirety of the planet went into economic shambles shortly after.
Slums engulf every county and country now; crime-rates are high, power outages are frequent, and low food supplies are the norm. The space port controls the last of Earth’s dwindling resources, which means it’s the only place left that’s properly maintained.
Rapid acceleration in rocket technology led to the development of the Dark Energy Pulse-Wave Generator (DEP-WG, nick-named the ‘Dub-G’) a self-sustaining engine that emits pulses of energy through gravity waves, supplying power wirelessly. It made everything obsolete; junk-yards started to pile up with generations of equipment that was once top-of-the-line.
The only legal work left is with Vini Vici, the space-mining conglomerate. If you’re not an Astroid Stripper, it’s Mineral Refinement, or slaving away at the millions of call centers; there’s always HR too but, that’s sadistic.
They’ve recently started an aggressive round of global lay-offs, likely due to a string of robberies targeted at a fleet of mining rigs. The ones responsible have become mythical, images of the crime scenes are now the most searched items in all the internet; children want to dress like them. Vini Vici was untouchable, they control everything. Their fingers are in every stock, every government. These renegades muddied their rugs, reminded them of the working class they decided to forsake.
Word of the ‘Banshee’ started to grow in the hearts of people, parents on Earth told stories of the exploits and heists to their children before bed. It became religion, ‘Banshee Cannot Die’ can still be found scribbled in any alleyway, on any block.
Our story starts here, on the last Thursday of a scorching November.
———————————————————
“What’s a ter-key?” asked Ashton with a whimsical pout as he scrolled through the holo-screen. “Did it open something important?”
“It’s not a key, goofy-“ scoffed Rhed from behind her observation desk as he plugged away on the ship’s console. “-it’s an extinct bird of some sort, people used to eat it.”
“Eat it? Why?” he cried while jerking his head back to her with a soured frown. “Who could be so cruel?”
“Eating dead things is how people used to nourish themselves, genius.” she replied with a flat face as her eyes rolled to the back of her skull. “You ask too many stupid questions for a person writing a health thesis.”
“You rhyme too much when talking for a person who supposedly hates music...”. he whispered under her breath while eyeing the dusty vinyl player in the corner.
“I don’t hate music,” she snapped with a furrowed brow. “-I just understand that everything after classical dubstep isn’t worth its weight in wax; plus that’s busted.”
APPROACHING ARA IN TWO MINUTES.
“Thank god,” moaned Rhed as she massaged her lower back “-my butt’s cramping up something fierce.”
“How’d you think it tasted?” asked Ashton with starry eyes.
“...What?” she responded with an aggravated groan as he eyed her scornfully.
“The ter-key,” he muttered with his face still glued to the screen. “I wonder how it tasted.”
“It took hours to cook, needed to be drowned in a reduction of its own fat cause it was so dry, and was primarily eaten only once a year.” she grumbled with a faint sigh. “It probably tasted like a huge waste of time. Steak on the other hand...”
“Only once a year?” he blurted out with her jaw hung.
“Yup, called it Thanksgiving,” she said while swiping her finger across the console’s surface with a light squeak. “-a huge feast to celebrate the start of Giftsgetting.”
“You mean Christmas?” he sang as she perked her ears like a dog who’d just seen a squirrel. “I love Christmas!”
“...Let’s just get this over with.” she replied after a long, defeated sigh.
Through the cabin’s panoramic glass, Ara’s border loomed. Floating into a wide-mouthed porthole they enter Access Point C7, a security terminal located at the fringes of the planet’s defense grid.
Docking their ship at customs, they de-board and make their way to the front desk as surveillance drones flood their vessel.
Ashton, a young medical student, is on his way to volunteer. Nursing mal-nourished Arweks will mean tons of school credit and he’s missing a few to finish the semester. This is his first time in space.
“What happens now?” whimpers Ashton as they meander through the hall, neck snapping in their direction with each step they take.
“After they finish tearing through Stella,“ sneered Rhed as she twists a soured face back at her weathered ship. “-they check us and that’s it, we’ll be cleared for landing.”
“What happens if they find something they’re not supposed to?” he asked with a faint stutter.
“They’ll start sticking fingers in places fingers shouldn’t go.” she mumbled back as she stared off into the distance.
Rhed, an escort pilot, has been paid to bring Ashton from Earth to Ara in one piece. The pay’s horrible and she hates every minute of it, but we can’t all live our dreams can we? This is, roughly, the three-hundredth voyage she’s made for the company this year.
“Hello and welcome to Ara, the oldest of the Twin Sisters.” chimed the clerk behind the front desk with a wide smile and arms spread out like a bird. “How may I assist you?”
“Hi, uh, just escorting her to the Capital,” groans Rhed as she nudged Ashton with her elbow. “-here’s my permit, my badge ID’s C216-M60.”
Reaching over his desk, the clerk took Rhed’s permit then quickly handed it back after a few thumps on the console in front of him.
“Looks good, enjoy your stay here.” he sang with a warm smile before waving them to the side. “Please step over to the right and have a seat in the waiting area, an agent will come review you shortly.”
“He must be new.” whispered Rhed as they walked away to find a seat.
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“Why’d you say that?” replied Ashton in a half-whisper.
“Too nice, doesn’t have that dead look in his eyes yet.” she mused while plopping down on the first empty chair.
Finding seats, they sat and looked at the stars from the station’s observatory. Inching across the windows, Ara spun below. It’s azure surface, sprinkled with dense patches of light, twinkled through the planet’s sizzling plasma shell. To their left Ara’s twin sister, Wek (the native name for Uranus), floats ominously in the distance like the mischievous sibling it is. Together, these two planets are the heart of the Arwek Empire; the twins that mothered their entire civilization.
“So Thanksgiving,” muttered Ashton as he stared out the window in awe. “-how’d it start? Was it always just a about...food?”
“Basically,” replied Rhed with a bored sigh as she jerked her head back to look at the ceiling. “-the story’s kind of ironic though.”
“What’d you mean?” he asked with a raised brow.
“You atleast know some history dontcha?” she sneered with a condescending sigh.
“Kinda, but not really.” he muttered as her shoulders slumped. “It’s not required in our curriculum anymore.”
“When the colonists first got to the Americas it wasn’t uninhabited, there were natives. Unlike them, the natives were kind and peaceful; upon seeing strange men wash up on their shores they accepted them, offered them food. That’s how the first Thanksgiving came to be, a huge feast bringing people together that were alien to one another. It’d be a nice story if it ended there, but it don’t.” she told her as her faint grin melted into a grimace before dropping her head. “The colonists proceeded to decimate the natives after that, took their lands and pushed them off their own homelands. Their kindness was seen a weakness.”
“That’s...horrible.” cried Ashton as a tear raced down his face.
“And it happened again...” she muttered with a long sigh as she jerked her head up to look at the Twin Sisters. “-except this time we didn’t even have the common curtesy to make a holiday out of it.”
“How’d you know all this?” he whispered through her sweatshirt that was currently being used as a tissue.
“I had a...friend who was really into all this stuff.” she replied with a solemn grunt as she eyed the stars. “She’d never shut up about it.”
“Mister Ash-ton?” yelped a woman in uniform as she cocked her head to then and approached the pair with a hearty smile. “Please come with me, I’ll be your screening agent today.”
Wiping the mist from his cheeks Ashton gets up, hangs his head, and follows the agent into a room with a humming red light. As the doors closes behind her, he flashes a worried look to Rhed and takes a hard gulp.
With impatience stretching the seams of her skin, Rhed waits as Ashton’s screening takes longer than usual. Much longer than usual.
“Miz Rhed?” called out a young man in uniform as his head popped out from the side of wall. “Your ship’s been cleared, you’re free to land.”
“Finally, you guys took forever.” snapped Rhed as she slowly stood up. “...Where’s the kid.”
“Your passenger is being detained,” said the young man, a rookie, with a serious pout. -“be was found with a foreign object on his person that’s been outlawed on this planet.”
“What?” roared Rhed in exasperation. “That kid wouldn’t steal a stick of gum, what could he possibly have that’s so dangerous?”
“That’s classified sir.” he replied with an annoyed grunt.
“Well un-classify it then. That’s my passenger, I don’t get paid until he lands.” screamed Rhed as spit flew out the corners of his mouth.
“Don’t worry ma'am, we’ve contacted your company. Your current contract has been canceled due to the circumstance and you’re to report back to Earth for another assignment.” he responded, his shoulders hung in a nonchalant shrug.
“Listen, I’m not leaving without the kid.” said Rhed as her fist tightened into white-hot stones.
“Then you’ll make yourself an accomplice.” replied the rookie with a nervous stutter.
“So be it. Won’t be the first time you guys try to diddle me back there; bet you guys get a kick out of it.” howled Rhed as everyone’s eyes started snapping their way.
“Hey, what seems to be the problem here?” cried a short and stout woman as she strained her neck over the developed crowd to get a better look. “Oh Rhed, should’ve known it’d be you. How’s it goin’, what’s got you huffin’ and puffin’ this time?”
“Ask clown shoes over here,” she bellowed with a look of contempt and disgust. “-he’s got my passenger detained over nothing, probably just saw a quite kid and thought he'd be an easy target!”
“You talkin’ bout that Ash-tin boy? I just came from vetting him Rhed, he’s got a necklace with traces of plutonium in it.” explained the woman, a manager, with a soured smile. “Tony here might be a bit of a brown-noser but he’s not a creep, your passenger is being lawfully detained.”
“That can’t be right, this guy’s on his way to volunteer,” he cried with shaking fists. “-he’s studying to be a doctor for christ’s sake.”
“I’m sorry but, there’s nothing I can do.” she replied with a short sigh as her scowl faded into a frown. “Listen, we go back a while now, if this was something I could clear up with a simple wave I’d help ya out, but it’s not. My hands are tied.”
Closing her eyes as she exhaled a shaky breath, Rhed dropped her arms and cleared her throat.
“What’s he being charged with?” she asked with an angry pout.
“Well, the plutonium seems to be inactive so we reduced the charge to just a fine but he was unable to pay it.” said the manager while eyeing the growing crowd around the scene. “He’s being held until a public defender can come up and take her case.”
“That’ll take months!” she bellowed while throwing her hands in the air again.
“I know and I apologize, but that’s all we can do,” she whispered with a sympathetic nod. “-those are the rules.”
“How much’s the damn fine then?” she snapped back at her as while grinding her teeth to dust.
“Five-hundred and fifty thousand.” said the rookie with a smug grin.
“That in...thoughts and prayers?” she muttered through a half-smile as shock made its way through his veins.
“That’s in cents and dollars.” replied the rookie with a cocky smile.
“Jesus...” she groaned before hanging her head to rub the back of her neck, pacing back and forth as she does.
She knew what he should’ve done immediately, but didn’t want to actually go through with it.
“Damn it!” she blurted out with a loud stomp after finally making up her mind. “I’ll do it, pay the tab.”
“You alright Rhed? Does he have something on you or something, 'cause this is more than double what you make a year. There’s easier ways to pick up dates nowadays.” cried the manager with a baffled look on her face as she slapped a palm to her forehead. “I mean, it’s just a passenger for cryin’ out loud, it’s not like he’s bein’ sent to some interment camp either, he’ll be comfortable if that’s what your worried about.”
“Just shut up and charge me.” she replied with a cold glare to the room as she made an about-face to wait for Ashton in the lobby.
Processing the payment through her company account, the clerks cleaned out Rhed’s savings and released Ashton from his holding cell. Running to him the moment he made eye-contact, he smiled wide as tears dried on his puffed face and glistened in the light.
“That was terrifying.” mumbled Ashton with a sullen face as he sniffled. “They kept me in a cold room with no windows and-“
“Why you got plutonium around your neck?” blurted Rhed as her upper lip stiffened.
Taking a deep breath as his eyes started to water, he reached into his collar and pulled out a lopsided medallion with a silver pebble in the middle.
“...My f-father was an engineer, helped design the drill-rigs Vini Vici uses for space.” he stammered as his voice started to crack. “He died from cancer a few years ago, side effect of the latest project he’d been working on; a plutonium-fueled laser. It’s why I got into med school.”
“This necklace,” he continued after taking a moment to wipe his face. “-is all that’s left of his success. He was eventually able to find a non-lethal isotope, but not before his research caught up to him first.”
Unable to find the words to respond, Rhed stood there speechless; looking at her boots. He reminded her of him so much it was hard to look straight.
“You hungry?” she asked with a faint shrug.
“Yeah...” replied Ashton with a soft chuckle.
“C’mon, let’s go to the ship then,” she said while turning around and gesturing for him to follow. “-there should be some popcorn and ice cream for us somewhere in storage.”
“What kind of ice cream you got?” he hollered from behind as he ran to catch up.
“Vanilla and butter pecan.” she replied from the side of her face.
“Ouu, I love butter pecan!” he sang with a bubbling smile as they walked the hall side-by-side.
“...So did he.” she muttered under her breath with an airy chuckle.
“What was that?” he asked with a confused pout as her head jerked towards him.
“Nothing.” she responded while turning her face away.
“Weird, I thought you did,” he whispered before shrugging it off. “-by the way, who paid for my fine? No one would tell me.”
“Eh, probably just an anonymous donor, maybe a rich snob that lost a bet. Someone so bored they don’t know what to do with their boards of dough.” she told him while looking through the bay windows that point out to the station’s garage; in it she saw her baby, Stella, being valeted over to them.
“Well, that was awfully nice of them.” he said with wistful eyes. “I’d love to at least be able to thank them.”
“Don’t worry about it; soon you’ll be giving out vaccines for the space-flu, or whatever it is you do, and someone else will be wishing they could give you thanks.” she replied with a faint, reassuring grin.
“Do you rhyme on purpose or is it like, subconscious.” he quipped as a toothy smile snaked up his cheeks.
“I hate your face sometimes, I really do.” she grumbled before picking up the pace to leave him behind. “You try saying something nice for once...”
“Relax grumpy, I’m just messing with you.” he shouted through another short jog so he could catch up to Rhed as she stomped away. “I am really hungry though, you know of any good places to eat at the capital? Ice cream alone won’t cut it.”
“There actually is a spot down there I haven’t gone to in years,” she said as her voice started to trail off after looking at the busted vinyl player in the corner. “-it’s where we celebrated his first birthday, every birthday after that too.”
“What was that? I didn’t hear the last part, sorry, had my head in the freezer.” he howled from behind a wall. “Something about a birthday?”
“Yeah, I uh, said it was my favorite birthday-dinner spot.” he responded while punching away at the ship’s navigation console.” Great food.”
“Awesome!” he cried with an excited fist in the air. “We’ll have us a feast then, my treat!”
With a thundering boom, the ship’s engine roared and the hatch door slid open revealing Ara’s skies whipping by below.Before taking off he looks ahead to Ashton, who’s scarfing down a pint of creamy confection with ease, and a weak grin started to snake up her cheek.
“Thanks kid.” she muttered under her breath as her eyes lightly misted up.
Her son, Trent, would’ve been around his same age by now.He wanted to be a doctor too.