Pixie Hazard Read online

  Eniella turned to the skipper.

  “You want me to take it out with one of the Javelins? Plenty of time this go-round for target acquisition.”

  But Donnie’s helmet shifted side to side as she shook her head.

  “No sense drawing even more attention to ourselves. Davie? You on the scopes like you oughta be?”

  The redheaded pilot was more than capable of using the fire control station to keep an eye out for hostiles, and even spin up one of the Javelins in a pinch, though she was nowhere near as able of composing a symphony of destruction like the one that Eniella had pulled off on the Junkers, with manual targeting no less.

  “Aye Skipper. And I’m monitoring the biological in question, despite the truly idiotic modifications that my dumbass soon-to-be ex-girlfriend made to the sensors.”

  Opting to ignore the potential lover’s spat Donnie instead focused herself, and her people, on the task at hand.

  “Good. Hooker, keep your head on a swivel and stay close to the airlock in case you need to take cover. Junkers aren’t about to hop on top of the Pixie, but like Kyle said one of those things might land on your ass if you decide to take a nap.”

  Billy came on the coms then.

  “Hey Captain. Maria’s fine. No concussion or major internal injuries, just some nasty bruises and a couple of cracked ribs she’s pretending don’t hurt. You want her up top with Eva?”

  “Sounds good, and if you’re not needed in medical, get up to the cockpit with Davie in case she needs a hand.” She paused long enough to hear the doctor copy her orders then turned back to Kyle and Eniella; “Meanwhile the three of us get to sweep a shady-ass ship for booby-traps.”

  “Oh what fun.” Unlike the captain, Eniella’s tone was more excited.

  Crazy bitch loved her explosions.

  Kyle lifted one leg out of the muck with some effort, the suits physical augmentation gyros not properly calibrated for him.

  “Yes, it was my reason for getting up this morning. I gotta be honest Captain: I’m a mechanic not a demolitions guy. I might just be in your way in there.”

  “Maybe, but maybe you’ll spot something out of place that we wouldn’t look twice at. You want to pick this carcass clean or not?”

  He grunted.

  “Fair enough. Lead on.”

  It took them most of the rest of the day to ensure the ship had no more nasty surprises, but by the end of it the attitude of the crew was jubilant.

  They hadn’t had any more Junker trouble and aside from the one airlock the ship was in perfect condition.

  She turned out to be a mid-sized transport, a lot less bulk but roughly half again as long as the Pixie and running a very similar fusion drive configuration.

  One of the first things Kyle did when Eniella and Donnie gave the all clear was swap out the faulty part from the Pixie into the transport.

  They all breathed easier once he announced that their ship wasn’t going to blow up any time soon.

  Being fed-up with the infirmary, and with people fussing over her without following through with giving her hearty orgasms, Bunny prepared dinner for them in lieu of the disaster that Maria and Eva inflicted on them the previous night.

  A massive roasted fish with a rich cream and lemon sauce was far preferable to baked beans and nutrition-cubes and they were all packing it in as they discussed their options for the ship.

  “So, she’s space-worthy?” Billy asked, her eyes on Kyle.

  “Mmm, so good baby.” He said to Bunny around a mouthful before answering the medic’s question; “Yeah, I’ll test-fire the fusion drive after dinner to be safe. And we’ll need to use the Pixie to wrestle some of that crap off of her back, then check to make sure the thrusters are clear and undamaged, but she should break atmo without issue.”

  Though happy that the ship could fly, Eniella frowned.

  “Even with the faulty conduit you just installed?”

  Torn between stuffing his face and answering the crew’s questions, Kyle nodded around another bite of fish.

  “Yeah, she’s a much newer model than the Pixie so she won’t strain it as much.”

  “What about fuel?” Donnie asked.

  “Just shy of forty light-years worth Captain. More than enough to get her to port somewhere.”

  “And then she’ll make a helluva payday for us!”

  Unlike her usual dour disposition, Eva was all smiles as she mentally counted the deks they didn’t have yet.

  Kyle shrugged.

  “Maybe. There’s likely a bunch more this ship can do for the Pixie. I don’t know why it’s here but it’s only a few production runs behind the latest models.” He took a long drink from his cup before leaning back and finishing his thought; “What I’d really like to do is get into dry-dock, strip both of these girls down to their keels and swipe every moving part that the Pixie could use. Then sell the rest.”

  Eva’s mood promptly soured.

  “This doesn’t sound like much of a payday anymore.”

  Eniella and Kyle both laughed out loud, until the redhead’s glare convinced her sister’s girlfriend to explain their amusement.

  “Eva, buttercup. That ship is easily worth twice what the Pixie is, not counting the weapon systems of course, so even if me and Kyle manage to find and update every last bolt our girl needs, it will still be the best score we’ve had since he and Bunny first signed on!”

  Eva’s glower remained undiminished, so Donnie broke in, opting to end the tension before it could become a thing.

  “Hooker’s right. You all know the deal: the Pixie’s my boat and my responsibility. Everyone will get their percentage based on the value of the whole salvage, not whatever scraps are left when you two nerds are finished.” She gestured at Eniella and Kyle with a piece of garlic bread; “So starting with the conduit thing, keep a list of every part that you swipe for the old girl. Then maybe we’ll take a week off someplace sunny. Recharge, get drunk, get laid. The usual.”

  The matter settled, and Eva mollified, they continued eating for a bit until Maria broke through the clinking of cutlery with hopeful words.

  “Didn’t I also hear something about a safe that needed cracking on the transport?”

  Donnie, more cautious in her optimism, nodded.

  “Yeah, in the captain’s quarters. The cargo-hold, the galley, the whole thing was empty but for that one safe. We gave it a pass in our sweep so we’ll treat it like it’s rigged. May end up cutting it out of the wall to be safe. But the most important question right now is for Bunny. Where the hell did you get this enormous fish? No way could we afford this!”

  The girl’s ears swivelled at the mention of her name and she licked at her claws before looking to Donnie; unlike the others she ate with her fingers, deftly picking the bones out as she methodically devoured her meal.

  She was a cat after all.

  “I didn’t pay for it! It was a gift from this nice man at the market on Mung Station! He told me that he really liked my butt so I let him stick his tongue in-”

  “Gah, stop! Please! We’re eating Bunny!” Maria protested with a whining groan while the others laughed.

  Bunny rolled her eyes with a helpless giggle.

  “Humans are so strange. On Macka it would be weird not to talk about sex at dinner!”

  “Yeah, we’re the odd ones.” The blonde groused.

  Within a few more minutes they finished the last of the fish then gave it a half hour or so to settle before returning to their work.

  In the ready room off of the primary airlock and aft of the drop-pod, Billy was helping Kyle and Eniella back into their suits.

  With Kyle’s orange jumper patched up, and given the relative safety of the other ship, he was back in a suit he could actually manoeuvre in.

  The raven-haired woman gestured with her eyes at her armour, mounted on its charging station against the wall.

  “I hope you realize that you are going to be cleaning out of my suit when you’re done with
the other ship. You’ve been wearing it more than me lately.”

  “Uh, sure, Billy.”

  She gave him a stern look.

  “I’m serious! If I put that thing on and find myself sitting in a puddle of your ball-sweat I’ll take your teeth out. One kick at a time.”

  Eniella’s laughter was cut off by the hissing sound of her helmet sealing.

  Kyle shrugged as best he could in the orange survival suit.

  “Fair enough. So what are you going to do with your-”

  “Nope.” The doctor interrupted him while fetching his helmet.

  “What?”

  “Not ours yet. Don’t forget that. There is an Old Earth expression: don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.”

  He puzzled over it for a moment as she quickly checked the seals on his helmet.

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Did chickens lay empty eggs or something?”

  Given that all meat now consumed in the universe was either grown in vats, synthetic, or came from an oceanic world somewhere, his ignorance could be forgiven.

  “I don’t know man, Earth was crazy. It’s just a dumb saying.” Billy sighed as she plopped the helmet down without ceremony.

  He felt as much as heard the hiss of oxygen as the suit pressurized then he activated his external coms to make another observation.

  “A better saying, especially given what we just had for dinner, would be: don’t count your fish before you catch them.”

  Eniella came over and looked at them both like they were idiots, then rapped her knuckles against his faceplate.

  “Dude, that’s not any better. How are you supposed to count something you don’t have?”

  While Kyle tried to insist that was the whole point Billy ushered them to the airlock, sealing them in.

  “When you two figure it out you can tell the captain, who is currently waiting for you on the other ship.” She reminded them.

  “Nah, I don’t think she’ll care. Probably just end up accusing me of making shit up again. I mean, quails were a real thing! Weren’t they?” Eniella was speaking over the ship coms now, as the pressurized chamber was all but sound proof from where Billy was standing.

  “How would I know? I’m a doctor not a zoologist. Now get your asses out there!”

  Donnie, Kyle and Eniella worked through the night to make sure the transport ship was space-worthy while the rest of the crew took shifts watching for Junkers. Until in the wee hours they all piled into the Pixie again while Davie lifted her off and began to push and nudge at the debris on top of the other vessel, all the while ignoring the screaming proximity warnings from her scopes.

  It took a bit of doing, and more than a few targeted shots with the Javelins, to finally overturn the enormous pile of debris to free the transport. But eventually they succeeded, then it was back outside to ensure the thrusters were clear.

  By mid-morning they were all dog tired, but more than happy with the results of their work when Kyle firmly declared the vessel ready for launch.

  The celebratory noises and jubilant whoops were abruptly cut short however when Davie’s voice came over the coms.

  “Yo Skipper, I found where the Junkers have been coming from. If you’re interested?”

  Chapter 8:

  Junkers gotta Junk

  Ducking into tac-ops Donnie found her pilot pouring over the display table.

  She’d been in the cockpit since the second ambush but was showing no signs of fatigue, though she pouted a bit at eating Bunny’s dinner after everyone else.

  “Tell me a story Reeves.”

  “Like I said, I found the Junkers’ camp.”

  “Wait, camp? They’re seriously living on the surface?”

  “Yes ma’am. They’ve got a number of pre-fab shelters huddled against this ridgeline to our northeast, around fifty klicks out. We actually relocated closer to them, so that helped.”

  “Trust a Junker clan to set up a pirate base in a junkyard.” Donnie rubbed at her temples for a moment as she mulled over the development; “How did you find them anyways?”

  “They just landed a ship, weren’t very subtle about it, all but gave me their address.”

  “Lovely. How long ago?”

  “Just a few minutes. I rechecked the surface scans when I detected them entering the atmosphere, found the site almost right away, then called you. Are we done recapping?”

  Donnie gave her a level look, to which Davie simply raised an eyebrow and smirked.

  “Quit being a smartass, your girlfriend has that covered. If they haven’t detected us already, they will if we try to take the transport into orbit.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  It took the captain a good thirty seconds to explore all of their options, by the end of which she was looking dour.

  “No choice. We need to go take a look. Update everyone’s suits with the coordinates of their camp. Then you and Eniella get the Pixie ready for a scuffle in case we need more fire-support.”

  “Copy that Skipper.”

  After filling everyone in and handing off command of the Pixie to Billy, Donnie set out with her fire-team to recon the Junker base.

  Two hours later they were crouching amidst a pile of garbage while Maria was following the pirates’ activities with an optics unit.

  “They’ve cobbled together a lidar tower in the middle of that camp. Sharp-eyed pricks must have caught our drop. I doubt we’re their first victims.”

  The blonde’s ribs had mostly recovered after the injection of nanites, so she was eager to volunteer for a chance at some more payback.

  “That’s one mystery solved. Shitty luck to come down so close to their base though.” Donnie observed from her place at the Maria’s back; “Personnel on the ground?”

  “A couple dozen, maybe. They’re running back and forth from their shelters, loading their boat. They look spooked.”

  “Wouldn’t you? They’ve had a rough couple days. Tell me about the ship.”

  Maria adjuster her viewfinder while Donnie and Eva continued to watch her back; it would be a hell of a thing if they stayed hidden from the Junkers only because another scrap-hawk caught them unawares.

  “Definitely a frigate, but not military. I’m seeing a number of hard points, all retrofitted. Probably an old asteroid miner.”

  “Jury-rigged or not, guns are guns. What are they packing?”

  “Arbalests I think. I can see three spun up and scanning.”

  “Shit, so much for the Pixie being able to take a chunk out of them. Those things hit like freight trains.” Eva muttered.

  Maria shifted her scope back to watching the Junkers scrambling around the ship.

  “Yeah we’re lucky whoever is watching their scopes is more worried about the sky otherwise our day could get pretty interesting.”

  Relaying the information to the ship, Donnie was open to suggestions.

  “Could drop a Doberman on them if you’re that worried, they’re still scrambling to get their cargo loaded so they wouldn’t have any time to evade.” Eniella suggested over the coms.

  The captain balked at the suggestion.

  “Kentis might be a trash planet, but you know the rules. No antimatter dirtside.”

  Though she let out an impatient huff, the FCO was undeterred.

  “So we bug out to space and wreck their asses when they-”

  “Eniella, she’s got Iowa Clan markings on her bow.” Maria cut her off before she could finish.

  “And we care why?” Donnie asked with a frown.

  But it was Billy that answered, her voice subdued as it came over the coms.

  “Because they’re neck-deep in the flesh trade. A month back one of their other ships was destroyed near Teegarden. Going through the wreckage they found a dozen or so civvies on board. Slaves, Donnie.”

  The captain cursed.

  She and her crew were callous at times, but never truly heartless. Civilian casualties were not an acceptable outcom
e, which meant they couldn’t use the Pixie’s antimatter warheads to claim victory outright as Eniella hoped.

  Before she could decide on a course of action though, Maria did it for her, putting away the viewing scope and taking up her weapon.

  “If we can’t take them from the outside, we’ll have to do it from within.”

  “You want to bum rush them while those guns are online?” Eva said in disbelief.

  “No. That would be stupid.”

  “So... what do you want to do then?” Donnie asked.

  “I’m suggesting we wait for their guns to not be online anymore.”

  “But that only happens when-” The captain stopped and then violently shook her head; “Maria! Be serious!”

  “I am. Our suits can take it. Come on Skipper, it’ll be fun!”

  With no ideas forthcoming and running short of time, Donnie reluctantly agreed.

  Several minutes later both she and Eva were seriously questioning the blonde’s sanity, not to mention their own for following along with her half-baked scheme.

  “Gustav, if we get out of this alive I’m either going to punch you in the tit or buy you a beer!”

  “That’s the spirit Hooker!”

  Once the Junkers had all piled in and the arbalests powered down in preparation for launch, Donnie and her fire-team sprinted out of hiding and latched onto the ship right before it took off.

  Now the three of them were clinging to the side of one of the mining vessel’s lower airlocks for dear life as it rocketed skyward.

  In reality their white knuckles were unnecessary as the mag-grips built into their suit were doing all of the work, but it was a hard impulse to overcome as they watched the ground rapidly fall away while the roaring of the wind and the intense g-force soon had their stomachs bottoming out and their vision darkening around the edges.

  As Maria said, their suits were built to withstand the rigors of combat in vacuum so they weathered this lunacy easily enough, but even the veteran marines had never ridden a ship into space from the outside before.

  It was several noisy and tense minutes before they cleared the atmosphere of Kentis, their visors adjusting automatically as the Junker vessel rolled them into direct sunlight when it took its position in orbit.