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On the Rim, Ch 7: Duct-Tape's Mixed Bag Day

2019 copyright comidacomida

Duct-Tape was used to awakening early; when he was owned by the pirates it was that, or be roused with ice cold water or, worse, a shock prod. Although he still had flashbacks and occasional glimpses into his past during times when he didn't' keep his mind busy, the Fox really and truly felt like a new man, and he felt better than he had in years.

Rousing from bed, he paused long enough to crack his back and do some basic calisthenics; old age was definitely a curse but, he reminded himself, it beat the alternative of dying young, and many of Duct-Tape's friends had done just that. As he dressed, the Fox thought about his time back in service to DRC, and then the pirate attack on his ship, and when he was captured, and the feel of plasma-heated metal rods pressed against the pads of his paws and-- no, he realized, best not to dwell on the past.

Washing up in a small stone basin he'd made for that specific use, Duct-Tape put on his best smile, ran his fingers through his fur, and stepped out of his room to greet the day and the folks from The Relegra Corporation that welcomed him into their safe hold. It turned out to be anything but a quiet morning; the security team had already roused the management staff due to an unexpected intrusion into the outskirts of the settlement.

The Fox moved quickly to the entrance of the cave system; although he didn't know every last settlement and every last faction on the planet he was aware of many of the biggest players and hoped to be able to advise accordingly. Captain Archie addressed him as he drew closer. "Hold it... there's some folks wandering out near the tree line. May not be safe, DT."

Although the abbreviation of the Fox's nickname was just as many syllables as actually saying it, for some reason the Dog preferred the version with less letters. Duct-Tape nodded respectfully to the Captain, then turned to address the Overseer. "Ma'am... if you wouldn't mind, I know a decent amount about a lot of the groups that call this continent home... if you'd be willing to let me take a look at--"

His request was interrupted a call from the tree line. "Duct-Tape?!? Is that you, old man?"

Duct-Tape recognized the voice immediately and he called back. "Bobbiam?"

Two individuals stepped into the open: a Ferret and a Weasel, both of whom Duct-Tape knew. The Fox was immediately the focus of the Overseer and the security officers. Ms. Simpson's gaze stayed on the newcomers, but her question was leveled at Duct-Tape. "You know them?"

The Fox nodded. "Bobbiam and Twill... they're from Free Market LLC."

Grizz grunted. "Never heard of it."

Missy, who had since drawn closer, slid her arm around the Bear's. "Of course... you don't get business dealings in the core systems with LLCs anymore. Business folks along the Rim use it all the time though-- most folks out any further than Rho don't usually like dealing with corporations."

Captain Archie glanced to her. "You know Free Market LLC?"

She smiled back. "Nope-- and that's usually how you know they're reputable. Only the bad businesses make names for themselves on the rim."

The Overseer interjected. "Duct-Tape, if you know them then invite them in... Captain, Corporal-- keep an eye on them just in case."

They each responded in turn. "Yes, Ma'am." & "Copy that."

The introductions went well. Bobbiam the Ferret was a regular merchant from Free Market who would make occasional rounds to the pirate base where Duct-Tape was kept. The Pirates generally had no great love of Gens, but, considering all of Free Market were Gens they at least had the good sense to play nice, and they had Duct-Tape do most of the dealings to limit any chance for 'untoward aggression'. Twill was a skilled navigator, and she was pretty good with a knife from what he remembered during the one time when a pirate was impolite.

Once he vouched for both sides to the other he was excused from the rest of the meeting and the Overseer told him that Doc probably needed some help getting the sick bay set up. He took that as his next set of orders and headed back into the cave system, seeking out the young man whom he found to be pleasant enough company. A loud, fleshy thud followed by a temperate curse told the old Fox that he'd found the Human.

Walking into the cave set aside for medical treatment, Duct-Tape saw Dr. Zimmerman sitting on one of the beds holding his hand; a rudimentary wooden-and-stone hammer sat on the floor near him. Without waiting for a greeting, the Fox made his way to the storage chest that held some of the medical supplies. He quickly gathered up some basic needs first aid items and went over to assist Doc. The Human looked up as Duct-Tape started caring for his hand. "Used to being a caretaker, or just don't think I can handle it myself?"

Not entirely sure whether the question was a challenge or playful banter, Duct-Tape chose to go with the second. He flicked his tail good-naturedly and began treating what would probably be a nasty bruise. "More of the former, plus, even doctors can use an extra set of hands-- or in this case paws, now and again."

Regardless of the initial meaning behind Dr. Zimmerman's question, the Human smiled at the answer. Once Doc's hand was seen to Duct-Tape helped with the final 'renovations' of the room, which were more a matter of nit-picking the smoothness of the floor and the spot of where the beds should be located. He was assisting the Human with moving the last one when they both paused. Duct-Tape was familiar with the sensation but he could tell that Dr. Zimmerman wasn't. The Human further reinforced that assumption by putting his hand to his head. "I think I may have overdone it or something..."

The Fox moved over and helped him to sit down on the bed. "Headache?"

The Human nodded hesitantly. "Yes... something like that. It's more of a--"

Duct-Tape remembered the words he'd used to describe it the first time he'd felt it. "A buzzing? Only you can't quite hear it, but it's there?"

Doc looked up at him immediately, concern and curiosity in his gaze. "You're suffering from it as well?"

Nodding, the Gen reached up and pressed his paw to the side of the Human's head. "You're lucky-- it gets the worse the greater your body mass... and only men. Guys like you and me get it bad enough, but I can only imagine how bad it would be for someone li--"

He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as the door to the sick bay was pushed open and Grizz came stumbling in, holding his head with a grimace on his muzzle. "Doc... I think something's wrong with--"

Dr. Zimmerman stood up, calm, collected, and acting as if nothing were wrong in the world; Duct-Tape admired his professionalism since, even after decades of the experience, the Fox was still not comfortable with it. The Human motioned to the bed nearest the Bear. "Headache? On a scale of one to ten, how would you describe the discomfort?"

The Corporal sat down obediently. "Four... maybe five... but it started outta nowhere and it's not going away."

The Human moved around to behind the Bear and began running his fingers through the big Gen's neck fur and up the back of his head. "Humming? Buzzing?"

Grizz nodded, and winced when he did so. "Yeah-- feels like a whole hive of bees put a hive in my head... makin' my back teeth vibrate."

Duct-Tape sat across from the bear on an adjacent bed. "Captain sent you here first?"

The Bear's round ears rose up. "Who said anything's wrong with him?"

The Fox shrugged. "Well... this happens from time to time. The guys back at Larry's Men called it a 'psychic drone', but I don't think it's anything that magical or metaphysical. A few years ago I--"

Cole spoke up from the doorway. "Larry's Men? What's that?"

Duct-Tape stood up and offered his seat to the Stallion. "That's what the pirates call themselves. There are quite a few different groups of pirates, and that was the one I was being held by. I suppose you're here to see the Doctor about a headache?"

The Horse nodded, then winced, and settled into the bed. "It's like a headache and a tooth ache and an ear-ache all in one... and there's a--"

Grizz interjected "Buzzing."

Cole sighed. "Yeah. That."

Duct-Tape shot a glance at the Doctor, who had, himself, taken a seat, and looked to him as if for guidance. When it was obvious that Dr. Zimmerman was deferring to him, the Fox explained. "I was able to scan the signal once-- it's a transmission of some kind, but it's at a frequency that hits the scale just right to go unnoticed consciously, but it wrecks havoc on us subconsciously... usually lasts a few hours."

Everyone in the room spoke in unison "Hours?"

The Fox nodded. "Yeah... it happens once or twice a month. You never get USED to it, exactly, but after the first few times you realize what it is and it doesn't cause any real damage... it's just--"

Doc spoke up "Uncomfortable."

At the same time Cole said "Painful."

While Girzz interjected "makes me wanna knock myself out."

Dr. Zimmerman glanced to Duct-Tape and offered a muted 'ha', followed by "Hmm... affects all males, and worse for larger ones."

The Doctor excused himself and went to spread the word with the rest of the group; the folks from Free Market weren't surprised since they were familiar with it already and, in fact, Bobiam's trading party had been the one who'd helped him get the components together to do the scan. The females in the group were seemingly unaffected by the phenomenon, thus the conversation between the groups continued with the Overseer, Missy, and Twill while Doc and Duct-Tape led Bobbiam to the guest room which, serendipitously, had been completed the prior afternoon.

They chatted briefly until Duct-Tape took his leave and returned to working around the settlement. A short time later Missy found him. "Come on, old man... I need someone to join me on my rounds."

Not one to object to straight-forward direction, the Fox grabbed his duster from where he'd set it while he cleaned and made to follow. "Happy to oblige, miss."

She turned toward the storage room as she went. "Missy is better than miss."

Duct-Tape smiled. "Missy, sorry."

The Lynx came out a moment later and tossed him a pistol. "Here. You'll need something if you're gonna be wandering around out there."

Rather than object to being armed without being vetted by security, the Fox simply nodded and stowed the weapon. "Lead the way."

By the time the two of them were passing into the tree line, Duct-Tape noticed that they were being shadowed by the wolf that Missy had brought into the settlement. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to point it out. "Looks like you already had someone ready to join you."

Rather than look back at him she foraged on ahead at a good pace, saying only "You're pretty observant... first person out here with me who even noticed him."

"You don't live as long as I do out here by being blind."

She chuckled, slowing as they approached the pond where she'd set traps. "I think I like you, Duct-Tape."

It was a surprising but pleasant statement. "Well thank you, Missy. You seem like a capable young woman, so your opinion is appreciated."

Her chuckle turned into an all-out laugh. "Wow... okay-- I can't remember the last time someone offered up such a straight-forward response."

His tail swished; not only was Missy straight-forward, but, as far as he could tell, she was forthcoming and earnest. "Something tells me that's your preference... am I wrong?"

She opened her muzzle to respond but, at the same time as Duct-Tape noticed, she did too. The two of them turned in unison to see Roscoe crashing through a nearby bush, hurled through it, in fact. A split second later an enormous reptilian predator shaped like the mix between a dog and a cat (but the size of a small pony) followed after, open maw with two rows of teeth leading the way. Missy's smg was on target and she immediately let loose a spray of shots.

The pulse rounds struck the predator, creating flashes at the impact point but its scaled hide was not as damaged as a normal animal's should have been; the scales were almost as resistant as plastisteel security armor. There was little more time to consider it, however, as the beast lunged toward Missy, sprinting along the shore of the lake toward her. She fired again backpedaling as she did so and the burst did little but make the predator stumble. It slid along the mud, which gave Duct-Tape the time he needed to pull out the pistol Missy had provided to him, and he took aim.

The Fox was no soldier, and had received no formal security training, but it was impossible to live among pirates for as long as he had and not pick up something out of necessity. He fired three times. The beast had two sets of eyes on either side of its head and, even though he aimed for the front left, the one shot he landed hit the back left instead. The thing tumbled to the ground, sliding along the mud for several feed before coming to a stop; his charged shot had passed through its head entirely.

Neither exchanged a word as they both looked over Roscoe; he had a few scratches but was otherwise unharmed. They continued in silence as she found a large branch and tied the creature to it by the legs and, without being told, he grabbed one end. She grabbed the other and the two brought the slain predator back to camp; she went to butcher it, while he went off to be of use elsewhere. Before he left her presence, however, she glanced back at him an added "Yep... you're okay in my book."

He smiled. "Ditto."

As anticipated, the sensation bouncing around inside the heads of all the males at the settlement faded as dusk approached. The travelers from Free Market LLC elected to stay the night in the guest room and they joined the group for dinner. Casual banter was exchanged among everyone and, although Missy explained that Duct-Tape had helped her bring down that night's dinner, she provided no elaboration about the dangerous experience the two had shared and he took that as a sign that he shouldn't either, so he said nothing.

Before everyone turned in for the night, Bobiam approached. The Ferret's tone was low as he said "I'm glad to see you got away from Larry's Men... you have NO idea how many times some of us talked about seeing if they'd sell you."

Duct-Tape grasped the Ferret's paw and gave it a firm shake. "Bygones... I know how it goes and, besides, living out on the rim doesn't make it easy to pay to free a slave. I get it, Bob-- don't worry. I'm just glad these folks took me in."

Bobiam lingered a moment longer and the Fox realized that the Ferret had more to say and, after a long pause, he did. "Claw got taken."

The disclosure left Duct-Tape stunned; Private Sean Badger, nicknamed "Claw" due to his prosthetic arm was one of the few staff aside from himself who'd survived the attack against the DRC vessel by the pirates. Unlike the Fox, the young security officers had made it to an escape pod. Duct-Tape had found out a few years later that Claw had ended up with Free Market LLC; the Fox was happy for him. To suddenly find out that the situation had changed...

He didn't have a chance to provide a response to Bobiam but Overseer Simpson, who had come up behind Duct-Tape did. "Who's Claw?"

Bobiam answered for the Fox. "Duct-Tape and Claw served on the same DRC vessel that was attacked by pirates. Twill and I were scouting the compound where he's being held... there were too many of them for us so we have to go home and regroup."

Overseer Simpson returned her attention to Duct-Tape. "He's a friend of yours?"

Duct-Tape nodded. "Sean's a good kid-- well... not much of a kid anymore, but if pirates have him..."

The Overseer didn't give him a chance to finish. Turning to Bobiam, she stated "Give us the location. We'll help."