and try to bypass the ship security. “Ship thieves? I have two super corporations after me and the big problem I'm facing today is ship thieves?” She connected to Lewis's communication line. “Did that cracking program give up?”
“It did, as soon as I closed all my communications lines.”
“That makes sense, they're looking for a data line they can tap. I don't think these guys are hunters, they just want the ship.”
“Not encouraging news.”
“No, but if you get us clear to take off by the time I get there I'm pretty sure I can just blow through them and up the ramp.”
“Don't do anything I'll regret.”
“No promises. Tell me when you have clearance.”
“Yes Alice.”
She went over the railing and landed on the hull of a much older vessel below. “Help! They're trying to steal my ship!” she called out.
Several mechanics heard her and a security guard armed with a stun pistol came running out of a storage room so far away she could barely make him out with her biological eye. She ran down the sloped hull of the ship and dropped off the low side, hitting the ground running and drawing her sidearm. “Get the hell away from my ship!” She shouted so loudly she was a little winded.
To her surprise one of them drew his handgun and fired. It narrowly missed her and she ducked behind another ship's heavy landing strut. “Lewis, I don't think they're just ship thieves. They might have wanted inside so they could surprise me when I returned.”
Someone was firing a smaller weapon from another direction, most likely the security guard.
“You are aware that if station security's sensors record you firing your sidearm they will not allow us to leave until local law enforcement clears us.”
“Are their sensors that good?”
“I can't be sure, but I'd advise against leaving it to chance.”
“Well then, plan B,” she said, climbing up the landing gear into the undercarriage of the much older ship.
As expected, the firing soon stopped. Anyone who had stepped forward to help before was probably under cover and that guard most likely didn't win the exchange. She dug around a little in the undercarriage compartment and found a number of hoses. She picked the thick brown one and pulled a knife out from an inside jacket pocket.
“Where are they?” She asked Lewis silently, using her mental link.
“They're approaching your location.”
“Oh goody, I have a surprise,” she sealed the head piece to her vacsuit and quietly pulled one of the hoses in the undercarriage compartment.
“Please don't cause damage we can't afford to pay for,” Lewis complained.
The pair of men looked behind the large landing strut. They were just starting to look up when she cut the liquid waste recycling line and let it spray in both their faces. Her intention was to drop out, knock one down and then trip the other. Instead her foot slipped and she ended up falling on one of the large men.
From her awkward position, on her back with one man under her, the other in front, she had no choice but to draw her sidearm and point it at the one left standing. “Drop it!” She ordered, rolling to her feet.
Her opponent complied and Alice kicked the weapon hard before picking up the other one.
“Behind you,” Lewis warned.
She spun on her heel and pointed her sidearm at the third assailant who was running to aid his friends. “I wouldn't,” She called out loudly.
He raised his weapon anyway and made to fire, Alice got back behind the landing strut just in time. “God this is frustrating!” She yelled at no one in particular.
One of the disarmed attackers made to tackle her and she sidestepped him, kicking his knee cap square on with her heel. Several shots rang out and she got fully behind cover again. “Can't I just shoot him?”
“Whining won't help,” Lewis replied. “Should I open the door?”
“Please,” she ducked low and gripped the sidearm she had picked up by the barrel. In one swift action she peeked around the the strut and threw the gun as hard as she could. It made its mark, smashing him in the nose.
The narrow forward crew ramp was just starting to lower as she made a mad dash for it. Lewis knew her all too well, he didn't open it all the way. He left enough space for her to run up so he could close it right behind her.
Instead of running to the cockpit she removed her jacket and vacsuit entirely, making sure not to get any of the raw sewage on her before she ran to the cockpit. “Oh my God that stinks. No wonder the one I hit full in the face with that stuff was down for the count.”
She dropped herself in the pilot's seat and double checked the ship's status. Their fuel reserves were up to fifty one percent, everything was powered up and charged and her small communications screen displayed a notice from Port Control that they were clear for takeoff. “Nice work Lewis.”
“If I had arms I'd clean and fold your vacsuit. I'm just that good.”
“Be careful or you'll come online one day and discover you've been transferred to a male android.”
“Oh my.”
“Now let's get out of here,” she brought the antigravity manoeuvring systems online and the ship rose off its landing gear. The inner Port lock doors opened and she guided the ship through. A moment later the rear doors closed and the outer lock doors opened, revealing open space.
She had the ship for over two years. Since before Bernice had gotten married and settled down but she still hadn't grown so accustomed to the enjoyable experience it was to pilot it. The transparesteel main view was completely blacked on the outside so the exact location of the cockpit wasn't easy to determine. What was more impressive was the overlay that displayed everything a pilot might need to know. There were three interactive holograms, reconfigurable control panels and manual flight controls as well. It was a long range fighter, designed for a crew of six. The standard model had room for twelve, but the collector who had owned it before had everything the factory offered installed, including a small wormhole generator and basic cloaking device. Lewis didn't come with the ship, he was an AI of her own design.
“Okay, start doing the math, I don't plan on staying longer than I have to. It looks like we're leaving just in time.”
“I'm almost finished, one moment.”
She started charging up the wormhole generator.
“It's on your screen.”
“Thank you, here we go,” she said as she activated the automated systems. They turned the ship in the right direction and opened the wormhole. Within seconds they were far, far away from the rickety station.
Alice cleaned up the mess she had made in the rampway and tossed everything, including her sidearm into the cleaner. Using her wrist unit, she materialized a very basic vacsuit on herself before rehydrating a compressed meal of salad, pasta, tomato sauce and a protein brownie. She sat down in the compartment right behind the cockpit, the captain's quarters.
There was a thickly padded round seat for four in the center, a queen sized bed against one bulkhead, a pair of seats against the other and cabinets covering the last wall. The ceiling was transparent one way, providing a broad view of the stars. She dropped herself into the center of the round seat and the cushions adjusted to support her. “Okay, we need to find out what's going on with Vindyne. If they've gone bankrupt and no one has their hands on my file then we might not have to worry about them anymore. Maybe go find father and return to Freeground. Can we transmit through the wormhole lensing effect and buy a subscription to Hart News?”
“No.”
“Oh, well, drop us out then. Dinner will have to wait.”
“I've already purchased a subscription to Hart News, it was expensive, but I didn't think you'd mind. Their most recent feed has been downloaded.”
“I love you Lewis,” she said around a modest mouthful of pasta. “Can you bring up any segments pertaining to Vindyne?”
