Voyages of the Solar Wind 1: A Fire in Heaven (10 page)

Rick's a former pirate gone legit... sort of. He still keeps a few fingers in the pie and an ear to the deck. He kind of had no choice when he ended up losing his legs in a pitched battle against a numerically superior force of law enforcement ships. He'd taken two of them down by the time his ship got blasted and a bulkhead had fallen on his legs. The tough sonuvabitch had crawled to the cockpit on just his arms. He was able to enter slipstream for Port Royal before the last cutter could board him. He'd had to scuttle his ship, though. It was a total loss. He used the insurance to pay off his surviving crewmembers and used the rest to buy himself two new cybernetic legs. He hooked up with Jeka while recuperating in the hospital, but they knew each other from when they served together in the Navy. They were nearly like me and Rilar, in that they crewed a two man frigate. The difference was that when the war ended, they did their own things while Rilar and I stuck together. Mostly because we'd bonded as best friends by then, and enjoyed cuddling together when we slept.

We're the perfect team, my Kitten and me. I fly. She shoots. We kick ass. We still cuddle naked when we sleep. This time, though, it's usually after making hot passionate love first. What really gets me is how dense I was. It seemed that everyone BUT me knew how she felt for ten years, and nobody thought to even give me a hint. During all our time together, she'd never once put the moves on me, and I had decided she didn't want to do anything but cuddle. Yeah, I was fuckin' WRONG in the best way possible. Our relationship works, for the simple fact that we spent ten years as best friends first.

"Harrana, if this is your standard two percent cut, you probably have enough to retire now!" Rilar was flabbergasted by the amount she'd thrown at us.

"That's four percent, hon. I probably do, though. I think I'll look into buying some tropical paradise somewhere in the Outer Badlands." She shrugged.

"Harrana, you are insane. I luvs ya, but you're insane!" I laughed.

"I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid, Dex. I'm not retiring yet. Not by a long shot." She grinned and winked at us. Nobody here wanted to mess with Harrana, and I knew why. She'd once ripped a man's arm off after he'd smacked her ass. She'd propositioned me once. Luckily, I'd been drunk enough at the time to take her up on it. She'd nearly killed me when she came that night. She'd given me six or so cracked ribs. We've flirted ever since, but she's accepted that Ri is mine and I'm hers.

We sat and talked for a while. I looked at my watch, but we still had a little while before our contact showed up. With our docking permits reinstated and our names cleared, we were once again For Hire. We'd been contacted though the FTA by a guy to ship something somewhere, but he wouldn't give details yet.

Then I saw him. Race Nieman. At least that's what he said his name was. Didn't matter as long as he paid.

Rilar and I rose. "Sorry, guys. Client's here. We'll see you all later." I nodded and smiled to our friends, then went to meet our new boss.

He saw us coming and smiled as he came forward. He looked to be early forties, and he was in good shape. His grip was firm, and his eyes were steady. If I didn't know any better, I would swear his posture and stance screamed I'M A COP!

The reason I knew better is that cops don't hire me. Ever. I run a clean show, most of the time. I've never been caught, and I make sure to cover everything. Race sat down at an empty booth, and we took the spots opposite.

"What's the gig, Race?" I asked.

"Ten thousand credits for one box. Twenty kilos. No questions asked." He stated his terms.

I countered. "Ten thousand for one box. Twenty kilos. One question: What is it?"

"That's need to know, Captain." He replied.

"Race, I told you my terms over the com earlier. I don't ship it unless I know what it is." I had a very firm policy on that.

"I would prefer that not be known by anyone except me and the buyer." Race was scowling now.

I'd seen this game before. "Race, listen. I run a clean ship. I don't ship harmful drugs stronger than whiskey. There are other things I won't ship. If I don't like it, I won't take it, and you'll have to find someone else. However, my discretion is free, so you have my word that deal or no deal, I won't alert anyone to it. You know my rep already."

He sighed. He knew my rep. I was about as honest as Free Traders got, and he knew it. He also knew my rep for discretion. What got him to come to me is that I'm the best. I have the fastest ship in the galaxy at sub-light speeds, and I can run a blockade blindfolded.

"Very well. I need you to transport relics." He said. Ok, I could work with that.

"I'll need to inspect them, Race." Let's see what he says now.

"I can't let you do that. It could be... dangerous." He replied.

"Once again, Race. I don't ship illegal drugs. If you're hiding illegal drugs in there and I get boarded by a CFC ship, I'm done. I'm not a fall guy. Never make that mistake." I kept my voice level. I'd been set up as a fall guy once, and that had been the birth of my strict policies concerning cargo.

"Very well. You may inspect the crate." He sighed. He really must need the best.

"Good. Where is it now?" I asked.

"I'll have it transported to your hangar." He tapped his ear com and sub-vocalized so we couldn't hear him. He tapped it again. "There. Shall we?" He asked as he stood. We stood with him.

"Let's go take a look." I replied with my best professional smile.

We got to the hangar as the crate was being brought in on the hovercart. The two goons pulling it looked more like hired muscle than hired laborers. Ri surreptitiously popped the widow strap on her holster, and I did the same. With big guys like these, it could go sideways real fast.

"Here we are." Race said with a smile as the hovercart came to a stop and slowly lowered to the hangar floor. One of the goons brought a crowbar and pried the top of the crate open. I moved the packing paper and grabbed a clay vase. Then I put it on the floor and pulled out the one below it. And the one below that. I was looking for anything that might be hiding inside them. I found a few statues. I checked all around at random intervals until I was satisfied.

A random search pattern isn't foolproof, but it does lower the chances of a drug smuggler sneaking shit in on you. Drug smugglers pack in bulk. They wouldn't waste the time of paying ten K just to ship a few grams of their brew.

Satisfied, I put everything back the way I found it, and resecured the crate. I hit my remote for the boarding ramp, and told the goons we'd take it from here. Race gave me the name and com number for his contact on Rigel VII, and said that it would be best if we not speak again. He told us our payment would be taken care of by his contact, a Mr. Jayms Davys.

"Very well, Race. Good doing business with you on this end. Now, please don't take this as a threat, but if your contact stiffs us, we will see each other again." I nodded and smiled.

Rilar had already grabbed the hovercart and was pulling it up the ramp. I shook Race's hand and joined her in getting it onboard and down the hall to the cargo bay. Once there, we lowered it and strapped it down.

By the time I got to our quarters, I thought I saw something out the corner of my eye. When I looked, it was gone, though.

"Rilar?" I said. I noticed she wasn't with me. "Ri?"

"Over here, Dex!" She called from the direction of the cockpit. She hadn't gone past me, had she?

I walked quickly to the cockpit, and there she was. "But you were walking with me." I turned to look behind me, then back to her. She was still dressed in her favorite, and now my favorite outfit of hers. Black synthmesh leggings with kneeboots. Red synthmesh halter top, and black synthmesh vest over it. She was still wearing her rail pistol on her right hip cross draw since she's a lefty.

"You just stopped, and looked like you were thinking, so I came up here to give you a minute." She shrugged, then jumped out of her Gunnery seat and slipped her arms around my neck. "I love you, sek'natha." She purred.

"I love you too, my lovemate." I replied and kissed her lovingly.

As we broke the kiss, she gave me the sitrep. "Checks are complete, and we're ready to go." She smiled and kissed me quickly before plopping back down in her seat.

"Thanks, baby. Ok, let's get this show on the road." I sat in my pilot seat and fired up our baby. "Engines: Check. Weapons?"

"Weapons: Check." She replied.

"Armor plating?"

"Armor: Check."

"Thanks, sweetheart. Slipdrive: Check. Life Support: Check. Ok, we're good." I lifted and pivoted Solar Wind one eighty degrees and accelerated to One Quarter. We cleared the docking bay and I set course for Rigel VII. It would be a five hour trip. "Slipdrive engaged." I grinned as we entered the slipstream.

I turned to Rilar, but she was gone. "Ri?" I asked. "Where'd you go, baby?"

This wasn't like her. Something was off. I stood and walked down to our quarters. I walked in and staggered back. My blood ran cold when I saw her.

"Hello, Dex. Miss me?" Jen said in her sultry tone.

"J..J...Jen! What?" I couldn't catch my breath. She was dead. She'd committed suicide the day before. This was impossible!

I couldn't move as she walked slowly to me and slid her arms around my neck. She leaned into my chest as she used to when we were together. She looked up at me and kissed me on the lips. I couldn't respond. I wouldn't allow myself to respond.

"Dex, make love to me, honey. Please..." She pulled me to the bunk... our bunk.. mine and Rilar's bunk.

I stopped, threw my head back and shouted "RILAR!"

I opened my eyes and Jen had disappeared. I looked around and drew my rail pistol. Where'd she go? Had she run off? What the fuck was going on here? "RILAR!" I shouted again. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

I heard running boots in the hall outside. She came skidding around the corner and looked at me. "What is it, baby?" She saw the gun in my hand. "Dex! What's wrong?"

"Jen was here, sweetheart. I saw her. She touched me. What the fuck?" I was still scanning all around me, looking for her.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, baby!" She pulled me to her and held me as I shook. I dropped my pistol and held her tightly to me.

"I think I'm going nuts, baby. I saw her. I heard her voice! She kissed me and I could taste her! It was Jen!" My voice was shaky. I didn't know what the hell was going on. I hated this feeling of fear. Pure terror.

"Shhh, baby. I'm here. Come on." She pulled me to the bed, and I sat down. She walked back and picked up my pistol, then put it back in my holster and snapped the widow strap closed.

"Thanks, baby." I still couldn't move, and I was shaking badly.

Ri sat beside me. I held onto her and closed my eyes. "It's ok, Dex. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Ri held me. She stroked my hair as I clung to her. I was shaking and crying my eyes out.

"I feel like I'm losing my mind, sweetheart." I confessed. I'd never lost control like this before. I felt like I'd lost myself. That everything I knew was gone. Only Rilar was real.

"It's ok, lover. We'll make it through this together, just like the old days." My eyes were shut tight, but her voice had changed. I opened them and jumped back.

"Awww, what's wrong, Dex? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Jen was grinning at me from where Rilar had just been sitting.

I closed my eyes and calmed myself. Something was going on here. Something inside my mind. Something...

"You can't escape me, Dexten." Jen said through my calm. She was the only one who ever called me that. This was in my mind. Jen was dead. Confirmed so by Ensign Braedon on the CSS Grant and Admiral Conroy at CFC. She was gone.

I walked out into the corridor and saw Rilar walking towards me. I looked back and Jen was still sitting on the bed smiling seductively at me. I turned to Ri again. "Ri, come here please. I want you to tell me what you see."

"Sure, baby. What is it?" She asked. She walked up to me and I pointed right at Jen.

"It's our bunk. Why?" She looked puzzled. I looked back and Jen was rising to her feet and pulling her pistol. This was a hallucination, and I had to let it play out.

"Where were you just now, sweetheart?" I asked Ri.

"I was still in the cargo hold checking everything out. You went up to the cockpit and launched." She looked at me. "Are you ok, honey?"

I heard the crackzap of the Confederate Navy PuNCH pistol and saw Rilar's body crumple to the deck. I had to hold it together. I knew this wasn't real. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew she was still alive. I knew Jen was dead. I looked at Jen.

"Why, Jen?" I had to let this play out. I had to see what would happen.

"Because now we can be together. The alien whore is dead." She threw her arms around me. The air scrubbers. I needed to check them.

"Well, then welcome aboard, Jen. Let's go check everything out." I smiled and took her hand. I led her to the cockpit and she sat in Rilar's gunner seat. She even put her feet up just like Ri. I did a systems check to see if I was right.

'Air Scrubbers: Optimal' The readout said. Hmmm... I needed to do something... I couldn't remember what. Air scrubbers were good to go. Something else... I fell to my knees. I...

^V^V^V^V^

"Dex!" Rilar shouted as she knelt beside his still form. He was breathing, but she didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd been talking to Jen, but Jen was dead. He was hallucinating something. He'd been crying to her in their quarters. She'd tried to get his attention, but he didn't hear or see her. She went through what he'd been doing that day. They'd checked the shipment...

^V^V^V^V^

"Dex!" I heard Rilar shout from a far way off.

I hear you, Ri!

I said it. Didn't I?

"Oh Gods, Dex! What happened to you?" She said, still a great distance between us.

I'm right here, kitten! I shouted back, but I made no sound.

I felt myself being lifted quickly. I felt a sense of motion as I was... carried? Rilar! She's strong. Of course. But what about Jen? Ri, you died by her hand! What's going on? Am I dead?