“You got through a patrol with that thing?”
“Yeah, this thing throws lead.”
“You might as well throw rocks. Really, that museum piece got you through?” She shook her head.
“Listen, I'm doing the best I can here with this hero thing.”
And then she softened a little. “Well, you did remember how to use that gun. That's a start.”
The big ship slowly heaved forward. Jolo wondered if its massive bulk would ever break atmosphere. “We have to go about 2 km outside the city before we make a burn,” Katy said. “Fed regulations. There's a clearing where most of the refuse detail and some of the larger frigates have to go from.”
They got to the launch point, a grassy clearing with nothing around for several kilometers, and Katy said, “She's clumsy in the sky, but won't once we get upstairs she handles better.”
Just then two drones buzzed high overhead.
“How much longer before this boat goes up?” said Jolo.
“It takes a minute to wind up but we’ll be there soon.”
A moment later Jolo heard the unmistakable sound of a Federation gunboat. “That’s a gunboat!” he said, before it came into view. “I know that sound. I think I remembered it!”
“That's great,” she said. “When we’re in jail we can reminisce about your first clear memory in two weeks.”
“There hailing us,” she said, and hit the comm button, as the big gunboat came into view. “This is refuse ship 8725. I'm on the 9 AM run, boys, and I ain't got time to fart around, what's going on?”
“Refuse ship 8725, disengage your drives immediately and land your ship. Repeat, disengage and land that tank.”
“Listen boys, I'm carrying a pile of shit headed to Qualus, and I'm late as it is. So what gives?”
“Refuse ship 8725, this scheduled run requires one pilot, authorization code 579-alpha-bravo. Our scans register two human life forms on board. Land that flying toilet or I'll have to take action.”
She turned off the comm and looked at Jolo. “There's a hatch right here,” she said, reaching behind her seat. “It'll take you right into the refuse pile. Here's oxygen.” She handed him a small oxygen tank and a breather. “If you jump in there and bury yourself deep down they won't be able to see you on a scan. And I’ll ask them to rescan and tell him their scanners suck and I will get us out of here. It's the best plan we got.”
But Jolo wasn't listening to her. He was staring at the gunboat. He knew the lines, knew where the metal plates ran up underneath to form an almost invisible seam, but it was there if you know where to look. He knew the subtle cowling on the left side housed the ion cannons. And he knew exactly where the man was on the boat that would control them. He knew the Marine team was standing by, there’d be a standard team of four. He knew the captain was green because he’d flown in too low to the ground. Gunboats were made for interstellar warfare and he wondered why this boat was sent here now. They should've sent one of the smaller ships designed to fly in atmosphere.”
Jolo knew the captain was just bluffing. He’d never shoot down the trash ship. It be against Federation protocol. And by all means, above all else, there had to be protocol.
He knew that the ship had a captain, a first officer, navigation, engineers, a few low-level ensigns that were there just to learn, and a four-man Marine team.
And he knew one other thing. The big gunboat--hovering too low, straining to stay level because the stabilizers never worked well so close to the earth--was his. This ship was the Jessica. And that memory came on and filled him up. And then he remembered his crew just like he’d remembered Jaylen and Barthelme.
He unstrapped his harness and got out of his chair.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I'm gonna take that ship,” Jolo said.
Jessica
Federation Home Word: Sol.
The jump point 3km north of the Federation docks.
Jolo told Katy to land the ship, and then he jumped down onto the soft grass and walked towards the gunboat. The memory of the Jessica, his gunboat, flooded into his mind like cool water, like food for a man who had never eaten, like seeing color for the first time. He was happy, even though they had come to take him away. He remembered the bridge, where his chair was. He remembered the feel of the ship breaking out of the atmosphere, finally free. Not everything had come back. But this was the first true memory, since the girl, that was truly his.
He stood in front of the big ship with a smile on his face.
“Stand down,” said the captain through the speaker. Jolo could see the skinny, young captain standing there next to the bridge view port near the captain’s chair. His chair.
Jolo took out his gun and shot it right at the captain. Jessica's force field was designed mainly for energy weapons so his tiny bullet passed right through and bounced off the porthole. The captain fell to the ground as if he was shot, and scrambled up again quickly when he realized he was okay. The bullet had made a small chip in the the main deck forward view port.
Now, land the ship and send the Marines, Jolo thought. Sure enough, the young captain did as he was trained and soon the big ship eased down, the large landing pads swung out and the ship settled down onto the earth. Jolo knew four Marines we're headed down to the exit room at the bottom of the ship. They’d be cussing about having to get all geared up but they'd also be happy because they'd be out in the open, free to fire their weapons. They were always itching for an excuse to pull the trigger, but Jolo wasn't going to let them fire at him. They'd be in
