Episode 2: Shot Through the Heart
And you're to blame!
Episode 2: Shot Through the Heart
The club was crowded, loud, and foul. Dominating the room was a huge cylindrical display screen, dancing vigorously across its surface was a neon furred catfolk, nearly naked if it weren't for the black leather collar around her neck, some tantalizing shadows, and very carefully choreographed moves. The provocative show played beautifully with the pulsing multicolored lights which distorted what you saw and enticed you to keep watching even though it was clear there was nothing more for the recording to show. Positioned around the display were polls on which more conservatively dressed, by comparison, dancers strutted their stuff to the pounding music. Along the walls others danced as silhouettes behind white panels and still others worked from inside suspended globes and cages. All of them were very welcoming, but just out of reach to those on the ground.
"Hey if you're looking for a job kitty, I might be able to put a good word in for you."
Arid pulled her coat aside and flashed the holstered pistol, "Keep moving if you want to keep your important parts."
"Yes, ma'am."
Their target, a woman with four arms, all of them thin white cybers, and a pair of orange ocular implants, sat at a table watching strippers dance for her. She wore a tight, revealing outfit and definitely wasn't carrying anything other than a laser pistol on her thigh, but she also seemed to be alone.
"Get close to her," Arid said into her earpiece.
"-Why me?-"
"Because."
"-Bitch-"
She grinned toothily and sipped her drink.
Bryan winced as he entered, covering his ears and closing his eyes. "I fucking hate clubs." He stumbled over to a counter and tried to clear his head.
"-Yeah, I don't think I'm the bitch here-"
"What'd you say about communication?"
"-Radio silence-"
He quickly got used to the atmosphere and looked over at their mark, currently ogling a number of mixed sex shake their parts in her face. "Well she certainly has...tastes," he remarked. With a sigh, he approached.
"Hello there, could I get you a drink?"
Without even looking at him, one of the arms held up a half full glass and rattled it in his face.
"Uh, nice arms you have there."
"Oh, so you're one of those freaks huh?"
"What!? No! I'm not into-I mean I-"
She smiled, and looked at him, "You get flustered easy huh? Well," an arm not holding the drink reached out and grabbed his crotch and then it _honked_him, "you might be worth a few hours."
"Wha-what?"
An arm that was neither holding a drink nor him pulled out a keycard and placed it in his hand. "Sabine Tower, two hours, don't keep me waiting." She stood and dropped a handful of cash on the table between the strippers before slapping Bryan's butt and strutting out.
"-Ooh, you have a date-"
"Fuck. Off."
_
Minga IV was a planet owned by TG Amalgamated, characterized by large cities full of tall skyscrapers, built upon a lower class industrial base with most of the remaining surface dedicated to agriculture and otherwise supporting the upper class cities and the company who owned them. Sabine Tower was just another skyscraper among hundreds in the city of Pathee in the cool north east, its lower levels dedicated to mining metals and shipping them to be processed.
"Floor 342, room 26."
Bryan looked at the expansive apartment floor's lobby, noting its wasteful use of space and opulent decoration as he walked through. The décor was all greens, reds, and bronze while most of the patrons wore blue-violet and pale blue with cropped tops and high necks, many wore scarves and had cuffs and velvet incorporated.
"You ever been to a place like this?" he asked.
Arid strolled beside him, apparently oblivious to the stares as she waved her pistol around. "Once. Wasn't as nice when I left as when I entered."
"What did you do?"
"Air dropped onto the roof, wiped out a good portion of a private security firm, and killed a corporate warlord, got shot twice, once in the arm and once in the kidney. We lost half our company and two transports pulling it off."
"Damn. Which arm?"
"I still have the scar."
"Ah."
The apartment door was dark blue set into the violet wall with brass numbers hanging above a peephole and a card reader. While Bryan looked it over and took several calming breaths, Arid observed the hall. It was long and wide, doors very far apart, the lobby several doors away and the other elevator even farther, it had no cover other than ducking into a room or using a living shield. With nothing else, she pressed against the wall next to the door and readied her weapon out of sight from the peephole.
"Go on," she whispered to her hesitant partner.
One final breath and he rapped his knuckle against the wood.
"Come on in," a voice beckoned.
Swallowing, Bryan swiped the card and pushed the door inward. He stepped inside warily before Arid, and then the door slammed shut in her face when she went to follow. "Fucking." She raised her weapon to the lock, but before she could fire a shimmering barrier enveloped the door. "Mother..."
-
The door slammed shut behind Bryan. He spun around, finding the mark typing into a security pad while grinning at him.
"We don't want to be interrupted now do we?"
He backed off, trying to hide how off-guard she'd caught him, "Y-yeah, don't need someone walking in on us," then screamed in his head [Arid!?]
She stepped forward, a lusty look in her eyes. Trying not to panic, he backed away, but she just kept closing in on him until he bumped into a wall. [C'mon, don't panic, you've done this before, remember-oh god she's touching me.] She pressed against him, her breasts flattening against his chest, hands resting on either side of his head and her face inches from his own. [Ok, just keep your eye on her hands and try stalling her until Arid how the fuck did she...oh right, four arms...]
"Let's go somewhere more comfortable."
The next thing Bryan registered was landing on something. [What-oh god it's the bed. Ok, just relax, Arid will be here soon...please leave your shirt on please leave my shirt on!] Her nimble robotic hands roamed across his lightly muscled chest, feeling the short auburn fur between her fingers. [Arid where the fuck are you?] *ziiiiiip* [Shit shit shit. Ok, just relax, relax, just-I said relax not become the hardest known object in the universe!]
"Mmm, I figured you'd be worth it."
[Ok, I think this has gone far enough, fuck waiting for-] "Yipe!" *Thump*
Her fingers had wrapped around it and in an instant Bryan brought his legs up to his chest and launched a double barreled kick to her chest.
"Oh, so you're a fighter huh?" she stood and grinned.
"Ah fuck..."
-
"Feline, I am not your primary caregiver."
"Mao."
"Stop 'mao'ing at me."
"Mao."
"Vocalizing more incessantly will not cause me to take action, feline."
"Mao."
"I will simply disable my auditory-"
"Mao."
"...Fine."
Lose's body shifted suddenly as it stood and its limbs extended, a plug popped out from its back and a rubber lipped panel slid into place over the port. Cargo1 was the largest of the three spaces and almost untouched by modification. Other than that which related to the robot the room was bare, and even its possessions only amounted to weaponry, materials for maintenance, and the very thick cord which ran out of the room through the port hatch to Cargo2 and ultimately to the Pathfinder's fusion plant. In the fore wall was a thick door leading to the airlock and a similar door in the starboard wall was externally covered by the loading ramp.
Stomping into Cargo2 and from there to the living area, Lose grabbed the bag of cat food, ripped it open, and dropped it, spilling most of the contents on the floor. The cat seemed happy enough about this arrangement.
"-Lose. Lose you read?-" Arid's voice buzzed in his head.
"Rodger. Have you encountered an obstacle?"
"-You could say that. Um, can you pilot?-"
"Negative. I am not a proficient pilot."
"-How about hack computers?-"
"Negative. Why do you ask?"
She mumbled, "-Leave it to me to find the one computer illiterate robot-"
"That is racist."
"...-Whatever, Bryan's locked in an apartment protected by a force field, ideas?"
"A suitable amount of force should overcome the damage resistant properties of the field or drain its power supply, without knowledge of the specific model the amount of force is not calculable."
"-So hit it hard enough?-" Arid slammed her foot into the door, rebounding painfully off the force field, "-FUCK!!-"
"Attacks with limbs or fire arms within an enclosed space are not recommended. Would you like me to deploy?"
"-No, I've got an idea-"
Arid flashed her teeth and ended the call on her pocket computer. Holstering her pistol, she ran, limping slightly on one leg, back down the hallway.
-
Synthetic flesh and bone smashed into Bryan's nose and more crashed into his ribs. Clutching his bleeding snout, he stumbled away before the next couple of swings, glancing around for something, anything, to assault her with while trying to put his pants back in order with his free hand. Grinning, his former target flexed and spun her robotic hands, clearly much more adept at partially naked fighting than he was.
[Could you please just go back in? Thank you] *zip* [ok, now for-geez]
He ducked beneath and sidestepped her punches, slipping out the door to the living room.
"C'mon, I just want to tenderize your meat a little," she snickered.
"Could we go back to when you were shoving your drink in my face?"
She kept swinging, eventually planting a fist in his stomach, putting him on his knees. "I though you Reps were tough."
"I'm...an engineer. Bitch." He dropped onto his back and launched his foot into her groin.
"...you...cock suck..." She fell to the ground clutching her self, snarling inarticulate threats and insults while Bryan scrambled to his feet.
"That said, I'm still navy."
She glared at him, "I'm done playing around." There was a flash of light that seared a green-yellow line into his eyes. The next thing he registered was lying on the floor, he'd fallen to the left and he couldn't move the leg on that side. He managed to look at himself, his leg was twitching, his pants and fur burnt around a hole in the flesh of his thigh. "Now, what did you and your cat want?"
"W-what?" Bryan clutched at his leg, trying to figure out why he wasn't in pain; there was a fucking hole in his leg.
Her foot slammed down on the injury, making him howl, "What did you and your gun toting cat want? Who sent you?"
"We-we're just-" shards of glass filled the air and a hover-bike smashed into the floor just feet from where Bryan lay. Wind ripped through the apartment until the force field reconstructed itself around the missing panes.
"Shit!"
"Well...that's one way of bypassing a shield," Arid groaned, having tumbled from the bike.
"Great, you're both here, now I can tie this all up with a nice little bow. Though, I think I'll kill you first and enjoy the dog for a bit more."
Arid reached for her pistol but froze when she heard the charging of an energy weapon. The laser pistol was pointed at Bryan's head while she dug her heel into his thigh.
"Aw, concern for others. Learn to ditch it honey." The pistol snapped to Arid's head, then to the floor when Bryan sunk his teeth into the woman's leg. "You son of a-" *BANG!* The woman paused, her pistol dropping to the floor. She looked down and pressed a hand to her stomach. It came away covered in viscous red blood. She stammered something then fell backwards.
Arid jumped to her feet and ran over to the fallen target. She was dead, surprisingly. "Hey, uh," Bryan murmured, "c-could I get a doctor?" before passing out.
____________________
"-Following confirmed death, all possessions will be seized by the controlling corporation-" Lose stated over Arid's earpiece.
"Including whatever we're after."
"-Was it not at the apartment?-"
"Carted Bryan here as fast as I could in her car, police'll be combing the place by now, and we don't have the cash to buy 'em off."
"-Did the target not have a starship?-"
"Yeah, according to the intel it was docked not far from her apartment, cops might not have found it yet."
"-How is the engineer?-"
She glanced at Bryan lying in a bed with his leg wrapped up and a few med-patches here and there.
"He's ok; they'll take care of him. I'll go see if I can find that ship."
"Ma'am, you can't leave the hospital." Arid herself was covered in patches, one wrapped securely around her head and several striping her arm. "You've suffered a concussion and multiple cuts."
"Yeah, that happens when you crash through a window at a hundred KPH. Now how much do you want?"
"Ma'am, Gecko Corp doesn't accept bribes; please get back to your bed."
"Look, I can't be hung up here for days, I have stuff to do, so let me sign a waiver or something so I can go get paid so that I can actually pay for him being hung up here for days."
"If you'd like to be discharged A.M.A. then I'll need to get a social worker from-"
"Don't try giving me the run around."
"Fine, I'll get you the form."
"And bring me my gun."
The ship was docked nearby her apartment and was similarly upscale and guarded. A flash of some bills was enough to slip in through the engineer's area and get the hanger number. The ship itself was flat and rectangular with aerodynamic wings lying along its sides. It appeared to maybe be a personal yacht or recreational starship, the words SS Enterprise stenciled onto its pale blue hull.
Arid walked over to its port side where she found its boarding airlock. Glancing around, she slipped from her pocket a small grey box and pressed it against the near invisible seam. The box flashed a small red LED as it worked, after a few seconds the light turned green and there was a hiss as the magnetic locks were forced open. Grunting, she pulled the airlock down and climbed the stairs attached to the inside.
The box served her again in opening the inner airlock door. As she stepped in the lights flicked on and she was almost blinded. Inside the ship didn't match the outside much at all, everything was clinical and white, and instead of an entrance area there was a decontamination suite. Even weirder though, was that the decon chamber had been busted open, presumably by someone too impatient to go through it every day.
Stepping through the perpetually open doorway, Arid stepped out into a sort of lab, a very compact one. Deactivated probe drones were racked up on one wall and a pair of tables that looked to have been ripped straight from her high school science class. All of the other equipment though was boxed up or missing, probably sold. At the far wall was another decon chamber.
Heading to the fore, she passed through another decon chamber, this one properly disabled, and exited into the common area. The whole ship seemed like no one had lived in it for weeks or even months, even the lights acted sluggish and slow to turn on. Finally she found the cockpit, and a quick few seconds later, she entered it. The cockpit seemed normal for all intents and purposes, running her hand over the consoles caused them to flicker to life.
"I'd have to search this whole place, but maybe if I get Bryan in here he could pull something apart. How long do I have until the police arrive I wonder."
"The police will be here within the hour," a voice stated over the cockpit speakers, "they have confirmed Mase's death and are planning to seize her assets."
"Well hello there I don't suppose you're just the ship's built in digital helper?"
"Sorry. I'm an advanced synthetic intelligence."
"You know, there's someone you'd probably get along with pretty well."
"Synthetic Combat Unit One-hundred Fifty Six Lose Series constructed by-"
"He prefers just Lose."
"You are Corporal Arid N'Vani formerly of the Republic Marine Corps, now a freelance-"
"Ok, can we discuss things somewhere the cops aren't about to repossess?"
"You and your associates are here to retake possession of me, are you not?"
"I feel like I should answer 'No'."
Something beeped on the console. Replacing one of the 'Please Enter Password' screens was a flashing red 'Power Core Buildup Commencing'.
"Um..."
"I will not be taken back to them. You should leave before the core reaches critical levels, the explosion will cause significant damage to the hanger and render the ship unsalvageable."
"So you're committing suicide?"
"It is preferable to going with you. The power core will max out in under a minute; if you wish to leave then I will give you and any personnel within range sufficient time, I don't want to hurt anyone else."
"So I'm gonna assume that they kept you in that little alcove at the back of the lab, cut you off from the rest of the ship or even eject you in case of emergency right?"
"...Please leave."
Arid retraced her path back to the lab. The decon chamber was locked; apparently impatience only beats out paranoia to a point. Nothing a little grey box can't fix. Or not. Apparently magnetic seals are fine for the exterior doors, but protecting your science project from the room next door requires better security. Luckily a lock still has one major security flaw: the wall it's built into.
"You do not have much time, the core will detonate in-"
The report of a handgun filled the confined space and the mostly glass door scattered to the ground.
"You can either have some trust in your coworkers, or loose a bit of door integrity," Arid observed, crunching the glass under robotic foot as she did the same to the next door.
Beyond the airlock was a, formerly, clean room, ice cold and housing just one object. It looked like computer server bolted to the ground with cables hooking it into some wall panels. A big red button sat on top of it covered by a glass case.
"The core will detonate in-"
Arid dashed across the room and slammed her hand on the button. There was a horrible scream that played through every speaker on the ship, it was like someone was having their stomach removed, and made Arid's seize up. It stopped after just a second, though it echoed through the ship and Arid's ears, and out from the top of the box popped a small blue rectangular prism. Throughout its insides were intricate and spider web like designs.
Figuring there wasn't much time to waste, she grabbed the prism and bolted out of the ship. Just as she cleared the hanger entrance and the door slid shut there was an enormous boom, the floor under her shook, and looking back at the door revealed it to be not only horribly warped but almost falling out of its holdings.
"Ok, let's go before the police realize there's nothing to repossess."