Pilgrim (15 page)

“We’re all here, we should get an equal
share,” Freya said with another aggravating toss of her hair.

“I didn’t ask you to come mushroom picking
with me.” Nova pointed to Aart. “He did, so please feel free to
take a portion of his profit.”

“Come on guys, let’s be fair,” Aart said,
stepping past Nova to the centre of the circle. “She has already
been captured twice by these things; that probably deserves a
bonus.”

Orion laughed and Aart grinned around the
circle.

“Why don’t we say every man for himself for
the money? We collect up what we can carry and sell it on our own.
Finders keepers,” Gus said.

Freya rolled her eyes and nodded with just
the smallest flicker at the corner of her mouth.

Nova nodded once. “As long as I get my bag
and original stash back.”

Orion shrugged and smiled.

“Then we’re agreed,” Aart said. “Now these
guys are bad news, they can see in the dark a hell-of-a-lot better
than you can and they’re fast when they want to be. Their teeth are
nasty and they’ll try to bite you, they’re like animals.”

“We have two options,” Nova said as she
moved out of Aart’s shadow. “We can go straight to the mushrooms
and try to load up as much as we can before they find us—”

“Or, we can find the queen of this colony
and knock her out. It should destroy the rest of them,” Aart cut
in.

“I’d rather get the goods and get out of
there,” said Orion.

“Me too,” said Freya.

“We should kill that sucker while we have
the chance. Don’t want one of them bugs clinging to my arse when we
leave,” Gus said, hoisting his gun onto his back. It was a massive
weapon, ten times the size of Nova’s, at least.

“We could be down there for ages trying to
hunt her down. What if we get swarmed while we’re there?” Aart
said.

“There’s a whole colony ship down there.
Think of what we might find? I think it’s worth finding and killing
her just to buy time to look through everything,” said Nova.

“There’s that much?” Orion said with his
eyebrows raised.

“Yep.”

“And how were you planning on splitting that
bounty?” Freya asked, staring at Nova.

“Whatever you find, you keep, except that I
get first shot at any depth detectors and engine parts. Seeing as
I’ve found myself somewhat stranded.” Nova bit her lip and tried
not to think about what she’d do if one of the others found the
warp converter before she did.

“Deal,” Freya said, throwing a lock of hair
over her shoulder.

“Done,” echoed Orion and Aart.

“Alright, it’s getting dark so I propose we
have dinner on my ship and wait until morning. Seeing as you three
decided to take longer than an outer orbit,” Aart said.

“We had some trouble at the transport
tunnel, bloody Confederacy trying to tax everything,” said Gus.

“Well if it’s the Confederacy’s fault, all
is forgiven,” Aart said with a chuckle.

CHAPTER
TEN

“So let me see if I’ve got this right,” said
Orion. “There are a bunch of flesh-eating humans who are probably
descendants of the crashed colonists?”

“Yes,” said Nova.

“And the reason they want to eat our flesh
is because they’re being controlled by some kind of brain-sucking
slug?”

She nodded.

“And instead of doing the smart thing and
leaving this planet far behind, we’re going to go down into their
cave in order to get some psychedelic mushrooms?” Orion’s eyes were
wide.

“If you’re scared you can always leave and
we’ll take your share,” said Gus.

“I’m not scared,” said Orion, “I just wanted
to make sure I had all the facts straight.”

Gus grunted and went back to shining the
massive gun lying across his legs. He scrubbed at it with the dirty
cloth in his hand, going over it until every inch shone.

“What are you all going to do with the
cash?” Aart asked.

“Buy a bigger gun,” Gus said.

“Are you kidding? You’ve already got a
hand-cannon!” Orion said.

Gus shrugged. “I don’t like the limited
spray on this one.”

Aart smiled. “I’m going to get that new Zen
Seven engine. I’m going to be ready for the bounty hunter space
race. There’s no way I’m letting Nova beat me again.”

Aart looked at Nova and grinned. Her
eyebrows rose in response but she didn’t say anything.

“Well I’m going to take a trip to Haven
Minor. I’ve been saving up for years now,” said Freya. She looked
into the distance, her eyes glazing over.

“Why would you want to hang out with those
stuck-up glazers?” Orion said.

Freya’s eyes refocused and she glared at
Orion from across the table. “They’re not all glazers. Some of them
are just hard working people like us. Besides, haven’t you ever
wondered what it’s like?”

“I’d go there, you know, for a holiday. But
I’d never pay what they’re asking,” said Aart.

“I’d never go there. You’ll be surrounded by
glazers with their cred-sticks wedged up their arses,” said
Gus.

“I’ve heard there’s real food. Can you
imagine?” Freya asked.

“You’ve eaten real food before,” said Aart.
“Just think of every time you’ve been stuck on some field mission
without your ship.”

“That’s not the same and you know it,” Freya
said, turning her sharp blue eyes towards Aart. “I’m talking about
real food, made in the old-century kitchens. And the walls are
decorated with gold,” Freya continued her dream-like
imaginings.

“It’s not even the real thing,” said Orion.
“People like us aren’t welcome in Haven Major. How can you support
them when they won’t even let us look in the window?”

“Haven Minor is looking in the window. And
one day I’m going to have enough saved up to retire to Haven
Major,” Freya said.

“But they'd never let you leave,” said Nova.
“I think I’d die if I had to stay there for the rest of my
life.”

“It’s worth it,” Freya maintained. “People
say it’s the closest thing to re-joining the universe.”

Gus snorted. “Please don’t tell me you’re
one of those new age atom recyclers.”

“As a matter of fact, I think they have some
excellent points,” said Freya.

Gus groaned and returned to shining his
gun.

“Well you can all enjoy your grimy
existence, but I’m only in this business for one thing: to get out
of it again,” said Freya.

“Hey, I’m in it for something too,” said
Aart.

“What?” Freya asked.

“Adventure,” Aart replied. “And that’s just
as noble as your re-joining the universe.”

Freya sighed and folded her arms across her
chest.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Gus
shone his gun, Freya stared at the ceiling and the others avoided
eye-contact as best they could.

“What will you buy, Nova?” Aart asked when
the silence threatened to squash them into the floor.

“Nothing,” Nova said. “A few parts for
Crusader but that’s all.”

“Are you kidding? With that much money, you
could buy a whole new ship and replace that ridiculous labourbot,”
Aart said.

Nova frowned. Crusader and Cal had saved her
life more times than she liked to remember, most recently just two
days ago. They were worth more than any of the second-hand ships
she could pick up with the money from the mushrooms. She couldn’t
say that in front of the other hunters though, she had a reputation
to maintain.

“Just a few parts and then I’m saving the
rest. In case of a rainy day,” she said with a shrug.

“Wait a second, you’re not still planning
that crazy adventure?” Aart said, his brows drawing together. Nova
glared at him, she couldn’t believe he was bringing it up in front
of the other hunters.

“What adventure?” Orion asked.

“Nova’s planning to break the border. Go
into the beyond,” Aart said, obviously ignoring Nova’s glare.

“What?” Orion said.

“You know, get past the Confederacy border
at the edge of the outer planets and get into uncontrolled space,”
said Aart, grinning.

“No way!” Orion said. “I didn’t think that
was even possible.”

“It is,” she said.

“I don’t blame you,” said Gus. “If I thought
I could afford it, I’d be out of here too. Damned Confederacy has
their hands in everything. Taxing the warps is just the tip of that
damned iceberg.”

“Isn’t it uncivilised out there?” Freya
asked, tossing her head and lifting her nose at the thought.

“We’re here fighting zombies controlled by
brain-eating slugs,” said Aart, “I think uncivilised is a relative
term.”

“Well good luck to you,” said Orion. “That
would be an adventure worth hearing about.”

Nova nodded but didn’t say anything. The
last thing she wanted to do was talk to these strangers about her
life plans, her dreams.

“You at least have to buy a new racer,” said
Aart, changing the subject. “With the rig I’ve got this year, your
old set-up doesn’t stand a chance.”

“You should probably focus more on your
driving than on how much you spend on your racer,” said Nova. “Just
look at Kero, he spent a fortune on his racer last year and how did
that end?”

“You ran him into an asteroid by all
accounts,” said Aart.

“I didn’t run him into anything,” she said.
“He lost control of his too-fancy ship and went off course.”

Freya shook her head. “I’m not surprised. If
his head got any bigger, he wouldn’t be able to fit inside his
ship.”

“Surely you’re not talking about the great
and honourable Kero Lepone,” said Orion. “The man who let a
confirmed serial killer go for the right number of credits?”

The others chuckled and Orion continued,
“The man who single-handedly enslaved a planet? The man who
according to himself is the very reason the universe exists?”

Orion shook his head and leant forward on
the table. “I wish he had been accepted into the Gunner’s Guild. At
least then we wouldn’t have to deal with him.”

The Gunner’s Guild was the most well-known
bounty hunter organisation. The entrance criteria were
unparalleled; you practically had to own a planet to get accepted.
Then again, by all accounts, Kero did own a planet.

“Got that right,” said Nova.

“Okay, enough about Kero,” said Aart.
“Orion, what are you going to buy?”

“That’s a tough question,” said Orion. He
put a finger to his chin as if in deep thought. “I think I’m going
to get a Hologram Three-Thousand.”

“What’s that?” Nova asked.

“Let’s just say that Orion must be looking
for a friend through the night,” Aart said, chuckling.

“Hey! It has other functions,” said Orion.
“What if I want to look out over a sunset vista with my meals,
instead of looking at the grey insides of my ship?”

Orion waved his hand around to indicate
Sylar’s metal walls.

“So you’re getting it for the views?” Aart
asked.

“No,” Orion said, the corner of his mouth
twitching. “I’m just saying companionship is just one of the many
benefits.”

The others chuckled.

“So another round?” Aart asked.

They each held up their empty glasses.

“Gabby, we need more drinks,” Aart called
out.

A female labourbot stepped out of a nearby
closet. She was scantily dressed and made to the beauty definitions
from five years before. She walked over to their table and
collected each of their glasses onto a tray which extended out from
her hand.

“No way, you got a Triple-X labourbot?”
Orion asked.

Aart grinned. “Let’s just say you’re not the
only one who enjoys a good view.”

“I thought the robot league outlawed those,”
Nova said as she watched the robot disappear into the next room,
her hips waving from side-to-side.

Aart’s chuckle fell silent. “What we’re
doing doesn’t exactly align with the Human Confederacy laws. What
she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“I disagree with that on so many levels,”
Nova said.

Aart rolled his eyes. “I should have known
you’d have a problem with it. If you must know, the robot league
knows about her, she’s got papers and everything. Turns out some of
them would rather continue their work than be turned into scrap.
Technically, I’m doing her a favour.”

“I’ll drink to that,” said Orion, lifting
his glass as the labourbot laid it before him.

“Is that true, Gabby, you want to be here?”
Nova asked as the robot laid a filled glass down in front of
her.

The robot turned to look at her. Unlike Cal,
who didn’t look the least bit human, Gabby looked like a real
person. Her face was perfectly carved and her eyes blinked as she
regarded Nova. The likeness made Nova’s skin crawl. She wouldn’t
get Cal humanised, even if someone paid her. She counted it as a
small blessing that Aart had decided not to get the artificial
skin. Instead, Gabby was exposed, revealing the bare metal plates
of her interior design.

“The scrap-yard is a worse place to be,”
said Gabby, “much worse than here.”

“But couldn’t you retire?” Nova asked.
“Wouldn’t the robot league pay for you to stop working?”

“Would the Human Confederacy pay for you?”
Gabby asked. Her reply came suddenly but without any hint of
malice.

“I suppose not,” Nova said, turning back to
her glass. Gabby rolled back to her cupboard.

“Thank you, Nova, for turning a completely
reasonable dinner to a discussion of robot rights,” said Aart,
lifting his glass in her direction.

“Oh come on, Aart. I know you’re just as
concerned with robot rights as I am. That’s why I was surprised you
had a Triple-X.”

“Well now you know,” said Aart.

“Yes I do,” she replied.

“Speaking of inappropriate conversation,”
said Orion, taking a deep slurp of his drink. “Did you hear that
the Human Confederacy knocked back another request for
re-examination of the safety policies in the Resources
District?”