With how fast my ship traveled through hyperspace, I arrived at The Reaver before everyone else and brought my ship in to land in the massive dreadnaught. Once I landed and shut off The Mauler, I calmly exited my ship, walked to the nearest wall, and screamed as I drove my fist into the steel wall. The wall caved in, leaving a fist-sized dent, and I immediately followed it up with another punch and another until the wall looked as though it had been left in a hail storm and pounded with football-sized ice.
What the fuck happened out there!? How did they know about the cargo ship!? Did I use it before?! That can’t be it. I would have disposed of it if that was the case. WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!? I took a few deep breaths to calm down and returned to my ship. I turned it on enough to activate the comms and immediately called Sam.
“Ricme corp wea—”
“WHAT THE FUCK SAM!” I yelled over the comms, interrupting his opening interaction.
“W-what?” Sam stammered, “Ms.Ricme, I do apologize for anything that may have happened, but I am unaware of what happened.”
“What happened?! WHAT HAPPENED!?” I yelled incredulously, “The cargo ship you prepared for me, E-233, had been marked as a smuggling ship! Have I used it before? How long have I had it?! Where did the ship come from?! Who had it before me?! And how did the ship get picked up so quickly!?”
“Uh, umm—” Sam stammered again, “One-one moment, please.” A silence slowly grew as Sam looked up all the answers to my questions before finally saying, “You’ve had the ship for one week and three days. You’ve never used it before today. The ship was previously owned by Tanith Cargo Ships and Shuttles, which had no owners before being built by them. As for how the ship was found so fast by someone, I do not know.”
I took another deep breath as I massaged my temples and said, “Okay … okay. I’ll not fire you today. When we meet next, and I bring the ship by, I want you to dump it just like all the rest.”
“Y-yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am,” Sam stammered almost immediately before I cut communications.
I sat back in my chair and chewed on my thumb as I thought. How did someone know about us? Did someone betray us? These are all not-fun questions I’m asking myself. I’ll have to assume there will be trouble moving forward from here on out. So I should prepare for that.
After a few minutes of trimming my tails with my teeth and then properly taking care of them with a file and clippers, I went to the engineering deck of The Reaver to see what I had in that part of the ship. The engineering deck had several work benches with diagnostic computers and five consoles that monitored the ship’s engines. I went to the workbenches and sat down on an old spinny chair on wheels. After rifling through a few drawers full of electrical repair equipment and weapon repair kits, I pulled out a diagnostic cable. Plugging one end into the monitors and the other into a port behind my left ear.
As the port snapped into place, my vision buzzed for a split second before one of the monitors changed, showing a small menu.
Connection Made …
Running Diagnostic … … …
Diagnostic Complete.
Cybernetic Implants Undamaged.
Show Detailed Diagnostic? Yes/No?
Yes
Left Arm: Dust Tech Prosthetic Mk-V
Modifications: Bio Musculature Density Enhancement, Neural Interface Reflex And Cognitive Mobility Enhancement, Cyber Interface.
Right Arm: Dust Tech Prosthetic Mk-V
Modifications: Bio Musculature Density Enhancement, Neural Interface Reflex And Cognitive Mobility Enhancement, Cyber Interface.
Left Leg: Dust Tech Prosthetic Mk-V
Modifications: Bio Musculature Density Enhancement, Neural Interface Reflex And Cognitive Mobility Enhancement.
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Right Leg: Dust Tech Prosthetic Mk-V
Modifications: Bio Musculature Density Enhancement, Neural Interface Reflex And Cognitive Mobility Enhancement.
Left Eye: Opti-Tech Prosthetic Mk-V
Modifications: 20-20 Vision, Time Perception Enhancement, Cyber Interface, Cyber Attack Program.
Right Eye: Opti-Tech Prosthetic Mk-V
Modifications: 20-20 Vision, Time Perception Enhancement, X2, X4, X8, X10, X20, X40, X100 Zoom, Personel Marker And Predictive Tracker.
Brain: Ricme Corp. Neural Interface.
Modifications: Cyber Interface, Time Perception Enhancement, Cognition Enhancement.
I stared at my cybernetics for a few minutes as I thought. Most of it was standard prosthetics, with only the modifications being illegally added. I should have Sparky look at all these and improve them before I go on to my next job. But since I can’t make any enhancements right now, I should work on my bracelets. With that final thought, I pulled the diagnostic cable from my head, pulled my failed plasma blade bracelets from my pocket, and sautering tools from one of the drawers as I got to work.
***
“STUPID PIECES OF SHIT!!” I yelled as I brought a hammer down on the bracelets, sending wires and bits of circuitry everywhere, “YOUR MOTHER WAS A CALCULATOR AND YOUR FATHER A RUSTY BREAD KNIFE!” I continued to yell more and more creative insults as I smashed the bracelets until the battery within them exploded and set fire to the station. Luckily, I didn’t get hurt, and I felt the need to stare angrily at the red flames as a fire suppression droid came out from a hole in the wall to put out the flames.
I cursed one more time, dropped the hammer by my feet, and turned to leave when the hammer caught around my ankles, and I tripped, falling face-first onto the steel ground with a loud bang. I cursed again, kicked the hammer away, and stood, leaving the engineering bay. As I walked the halls to calm down, a notification resounded through the ship, “Ship detected.”
I sighed as I smiled, “They’re finally here.” I then raced through the corridors to the hanger bay, arriving just as they came in for a landing. The E-class cargo ship they flew had a grey, box-like frame with two massive cargo holds on either side of the bridge and five engines in the back, and as the name suggests, the ship is shaped like an E. The ship’s sides opened up with cargo ramps, exposing everything in the cargo bays. I patiently waited by the door to the hanger for everyone to get off the ship.
I didn’t have to wait long as I soon saw a set of robotic legs emerge from the right side of the ship. I jogged to that side to see Jin, Sparky, and Haru emerging from the ship’s cargo. The cargo on that side of the ship consisted of Jin’s chemical crates, a few fish tanks Jin made, and seven tired and terrified children. I smiled and spread my arms wide, “Welcome to Casa de Barco de gran culo. Or, as I like to call it, my big ass bonk stick.”
Haru and Sparky rolled their eyes as Jin laughed, “It’s good to be a part of the crew,” he then clapped his hands together and said, “Now, before I do anything for you, I need to get my project underway.”
“Of course, but one question,” I said as Jin turned around.
“Yes?”
“What are those fish tank things?” I asked, pointing to the tanks.
“Ah, yes, of course,” Jin nodded, walking over to the biggest tank, “This one is a cloning tank. I’ll pump it full of all the ingredients needed to make a human. These smaller ones are the supply tanks that hold all the extra ingredients.”
“Extra ingredients?” I asked, a little confused.
“Yes, the genetic modifiers that will make the clone of myself healthy and intelligent. They will also work as a plan B in case the first try fails,” Jin explained.
I nodded and turned to Haru and Sparky, “Well, my curiosity is satisfied. Let’s go talk next steps.”
“Actually, I need to help Jin with his project,” Sparky interjected, “I have to make sure everything is set up correctly and the program runs properly.”
I sighed, “Fine, but I need something from you first.”
Now it was Sparky’s turn to sigh, “What now?”
“I need a laser pointer.”
Sparky stared at me for a full minute before blinking and asking, “W-what?”
“I need a laser pointer. Do you have one?”
Sparky shook her head and said, “No, I don’t. But I can make one in a half hour with a fabricator.”
“Okay, but we don’t have a fabricator on the ship?” I hedged as Sparky began walking to the other end of the ship, “We do now. I stole — borrowed two from your R&D department.”
Now it was my turn to shake my head, “Not cool, Sparky!”
“Still not my name!”
I huffed and turned to Haru, “Well, I guess it’s just you and me now. Shall we start planning?”
Haru winced and said, “Actually, I can’t help with that. I need to head out to one of my clients. He’s having a rough time, and I need to do some damage control with him.”
I scoffed, “Well if you’re just trying to keep your income secure, we have a blank check with all the money you need. I’ll take care of you,” I paused for a moment before adding, “and if it’s sex you need, I’ll happily take care of that, too.”
Haru smiled, “The client is a space pirate who might be willing to lend us some helping hands on your … how did you put it? ‘Big ass bonk stick.’”
Shutting my mouth with a snap, I nodded as Jin walked past with his cloning tank on a hover pad. “Right,” I said after a moment, “We do need peons.”
“Yep! And remember, they’re crew, not peons,” Haru said, planting a kiss on my cheek before walking by with a swagger in her step. I watched her go as she gave a questioning glance at the dented wall and disappeared into the elevator to go to a different hanger.
After a moment of not knowing what to do with myself, Sparky walked up to me with a laser pointer in hand, “Turns out I borrowed a cup of laser pointer pens. So here,” she said, handing me the pen.
I took it with another sigh, “Well, it looks like I’m going to be heading out alone. Keep the ship safe while I’m gone, and don’t set it on fire anymore. I’ll send you a list of things we need doing on the ship, Sparky.”
As I walked away to my ship, Sparky yelled after me, “What fire?!”