“What does that have to do with anything?” Zane snaps.
Touchy. I wander to the port window on the opposite side of the ship. There’s the hiss of the hangar doors opening, and a small, unmarked vessel lands inside, the doors sealing behind it. A moment later, someone exits and heads through a door in the side of the hangar. I don’t recognize them, not from this distance. They don’t even look our way. Must be one of Lee’s men.
“Well, if you ignore how you see me—actually, no that’s not going too work with either of you… Yvonne, how did you see cyborgs before you met me?”
She shrugs. “I dunno, I basically grew up with them hovering around.”
“I mean, if you had to picture a cyborg in a fight, who do you think would win?”
“Well, the cyborg.”
“And if they got hurt, would it really matter?”
She’s quiet. They’re all quiet.
I say, “Everyone thinks we’re invincible. I got shot in the face, sure. But the next time anyone saw me, I was wandering out of the ship after waking back up. Bleeding, yeah, but basically alive. It’s a lot easier to believe I wasn’t really critically injured and blame the job on me than to think I’m a person with feelings and nerve endings who might’ve needed help.”
Anya looks like she’s going to cry, which is not where I was going with this.
“Lee doesn’t think that way, obviously,” Yvonne says.
I shrug. “Seems so.”
“But Kel is pissed.”
“Like I mentioned, that was her first big job she was in charge of. My screw up cost her three of the five bounties and two other hunters died. Makes sense she doesn’t like me.” Even if I wish she’d leave me alone.
“Your world view is screwed up, do you know that?”
I just look at her. I understand where she’s coming from, but I also understand Kel. I don’t have to like it, but when hunters work as a group, we all rely on one another. Even if Lee’s crew members didn’t like me, they were relying on me to do my end of the job, and I screwed it up. Even if I got hurt, I still screwed it up.
“Did you leave after that?” Zane asks quietly.
“Yeah, a few days later.” I never mentioned anything to Lee, just left. Though no one had threatened me or outright been hostile, I’d been able to tell the way the looks in their eyes had changed when I passed them in the hall. Even if none of them outright acted out toward me, I was never going to be safe here. Never going to have people to rely on. It was never going to become a place I could belong. I’d taken my guns and my few changes of clothes, stuffed them in a backpack, and made a run for it the next time we made planetfall. I never collected my pay from the job, or any of the smaller jobs I’d done for Lee fixing up their ships or their weapons. I had some credits from the very first job I ever did for him, but that was it.
I’d missed Audra a lot in those days. Who knows if she really even thought about me.
Took me ages to hunt and save enough to get my own ship, but I’ve had it ever since, and it’s been much more of a home. I was safer alone. Safer with just Bat and myself. I didn’t need humans to have my back. Still don’t, really.
But I know Zane and Lalia have taken it upon themselves to have my back. It’s nice, in an uncomfortable sort of way. Not that I’m going to tell them.
“Well, I still want to punch that woman in the face,” Zane mutters.
“I agree with Zane,” Anya says. Bat snickers.
It’s kind of a funny image. Like a kitten trying to attack a dog. I offer her a smile anyway. “Well, you’d better not. Punching is for grownups.”
Her bottom lip puffs out.
“Does that mean I can punch her?” Zane asks. The idea seems to cheer him.
“You’re a grown man, I can’t stop you. But I’d appreciate if you don’t piss off Lee. We’re in a bit of a precarious position, don’t you think?”
He slumps. “Good point.”
Yvonne says, “What things can you tell me about her I can use for ammo? Women don’t have to punch to fight, we just bully each other.”
Lalia dissolves into cackles, and I have a hard time not joining in. Even Bat starts back up with his growling snicker.
“I noticed. You bullied me.”
“Oh, please. You thought that was bullying? You sweet child.”
“Well, I’m sure Captain would agree, at the very least.”
“No, no. What I did to Captain was annoyance, I don’t think I can bully him. Big difference.”
“Uh huh.”
She winks at me. That’s a new one. I roll my eyes.
“Look, no one’s going to pick a fight,” I say. “We’ll stay in here until the supernova passes. Then we’ll leave. And if there is a single shred of mercy in this universe, we won’t come across these people ever again.”
Zane’s lip finally twitches in a smile, but I can tell he’s still not happy. And he’s still not making eye-contact. He’ll come around. At worst, he’ll cheer up after we leave this place. I’ll cheer up, too.
“I don’t want to go to Neyla Ve,” Anya says.
“We’re still going to Zar.”
“Excellent.” She claps her hands softly. Yvonne pats the top of her head.
My ship’s comm blinks, then beeps. I eyeball it suspiciously, thinking of ignoring it again, but it’s probably Lee, and I’m trying not to piss him off.
“Hello?”
“Aaron,” Lee’s voice comes over. “Want to watch a star explode?”
I pause. I’ve never actually seen a supernova. They’re rare, and not exactly wise to get in the way of. Plus, this galaxy is huge, not to mention the rest of space.
It’s tempting. I’ve heard people say it’s a sight.
“I don’t think that’s a great idea, do you?”
Now that we’re all back safely in our ship, leaving it again seems like a stupid decision. Parading the humans around would not be wise.
“See the elevator along the hangar wall to your right?”
I lean over the console to get a look out the viewport. “Yeah.”
“Take that up to the very top level of the ship, first door on your right when you get out has a big window. No one’s going to be up there, they’re all in the observation deck, I’ll join you in a minute or two.”
He hangs up. I frown a little. He’s been honest so far, but it feels like that means relatively little. He could still have something up his sleeve, though I can’t imagine what would be gained by waiting until now to try to pull something, not before when we were eating.
I look to Bat. He shrugs. “I wanna see the star.”
The humans look equally unsure but eager. Except Zane. Who’s still staring at the floor.
“Anyone have any objections?” I ask.
“No!” Anya practically sings. Well, I figured she wouldn’t.
I suppose us being in my ship isn’t much barrier anyhow. If Lee wanted us, he can get at us. If he wanted us, we were plenty vulnerable before.
“Alright, let’s watch a star explode,” I say, and cycle open the airlock.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Zane snaps.
Touchy. I wander to the port window on the opposite side of the ship. There’s the hiss of the hangar doors opening, and a small, unmarked vessel lands inside, the doors sealing behind it. A moment later, someone exits and heads through a door in the side of the hangar. I don’t recognize them, not from this distance. They don’t even look our way. Must be one of Lee’s men.
“Well, if you ignore how you see me—actually, no that’s not going too work with either of you… Yvonne, how did you see cyborgs before you met me?”
She shrugs. “I dunno, I basically grew up with them hovering around.”
“I mean, if you had to picture a cyborg in a fight, who do you think would win?”
“Well, the cyborg.”
“And if they got hurt, would it really matter?”
She’s quiet. They’re all quiet.
I say, “Everyone thinks we’re invincible. I got shot in the face, sure. But the next time anyone saw me, I was wandering out of the ship after waking back up. Bleeding, yeah, but basically alive. It’s a lot easier to believe I wasn’t really critically injured and blame the job on me than to think I’m a person with feelings and nerve endings who might’ve needed help.”
Anya looks like she’s going to cry, which is not where I was going with this.
“Lee doesn’t think that way, obviously,” Yvonne says.
I shrug. “Seems so.”
“But Kel is pissed.”
“Like I mentioned, that was her first big job she was in charge of. My screw up cost her three of the five bounties and two other hunters died. Makes sense she doesn’t like me.” Even if I wish she’d leave me alone.
“Your world view is screwed up, do you know that?”
I just look at her. I understand where she’s coming from, but I also understand Kel. I don’t have to like it, but when hunters work as a group, we all rely on one another. Even if Lee’s crew members didn’t like me, they were relying on me to do my end of the job, and I screwed it up. Even if I got hurt, I still screwed it up.
“Did you leave after that?” Zane asks quietly.
“Yeah, a few days later.” I never mentioned anything to Lee, just left. Though no one had threatened me or outright been hostile, I’d been able to tell the way the looks in their eyes had changed when I passed them in the hall. Even if none of them outright acted out toward me, I was never going to be safe here. Never going to have people to rely on. It was never going to become a place I could belong. I’d taken my guns and my few changes of clothes, stuffed them in a backpack, and made a run for it the next time we made planetfall. I never collected my pay from the job, or any of the smaller jobs I’d done for Lee fixing up their ships or their weapons. I had some credits from the very first job I ever did for him, but that was it.
I’d missed Audra a lot in those days. Who knows if she really even thought about me.
Took me ages to hunt and save enough to get my own ship, but I’ve had it ever since, and it’s been much more of a home. I was safer alone. Safer with just Bat and myself. I didn’t need humans to have my back. Still don’t, really.
But I know Zane and Lalia have taken it upon themselves to have my back. It’s nice, in an uncomfortable sort of way. Not that I’m going to tell them.
“Well, I still want to punch that woman in the face,” Zane mutters.
“I agree with Zane,” Anya says. Bat snickers.
It’s kind of a funny image. Like a kitten trying to attack a dog. I offer her a smile anyway. “Well, you’d better not. Punching is for grownups.”
Her bottom lip puffs out.
“Does that mean I can punch her?” Zane asks. The idea seems to cheer him.
“You’re a grown man, I can’t stop you. But I’d appreciate if you don’t piss off Lee. We’re in a bit of a precarious position, don’t you think?”
He slumps. “Good point.”
Yvonne says, “What things can you tell me about her I can use for ammo? Women don’t have to punch to fight, we just bully each other.”
Lalia dissolves into cackles, and I have a hard time not joining in. Even Bat starts back up with his growling snicker.
“I noticed. You bullied me.”
“Oh, please. You thought that was bullying? You sweet child.”
“Well, I’m sure Captain would agree, at the very least.”
“No, no. What I did to Captain was annoyance, I don’t think I can bully him. Big difference.”
“Uh huh.”
She winks at me. That’s a new one. I roll my eyes.
“Look, no one’s going to pick a fight,” I say. “We’ll stay in here until the supernova passes. Then we’ll leave. And if there is a single shred of mercy in this universe, we won’t come across these people ever again.”
Zane’s lip finally twitches in a smile, but I can tell he’s still not happy. And he’s still not making eye-contact. He’ll come around. At worst, he’ll cheer up after we leave this place. I’ll cheer up, too.
“I don’t want to go to Neyla Ve,” Anya says.
“We’re still going to Zar.”
“Excellent.” She claps her hands softly. Yvonne pats the top of her head.
My ship’s comm blinks, then beeps. I eyeball it suspiciously, thinking of ignoring it again, but it’s probably Lee, and I’m trying not to piss him off.
“Hello?”
“Aaron,” Lee’s voice comes over. “Want to watch a star explode?”
I pause. I’ve never actually seen a supernova. They’re rare, and not exactly wise to get in the way of. Plus, this galaxy is huge, not to mention the rest of space.
It’s tempting. I’ve heard people say it’s a sight.
“I don’t think that’s a great idea, do you?”
Now that we’re all back safely in our ship, leaving it again seems like a stupid decision. Parading the humans around would not be wise.
“See the elevator along the hangar wall to your right?”
I lean over the console to get a look out the viewport. “Yeah.”
“Take that up to the very top level of the ship, first door on your right when you get out has a big window. No one’s going to be up there, they’re all in the observation deck, I’ll join you in a minute or two.”
He hangs up. I frown a little. He’s been honest so far, but it feels like that means relatively little. He could still have something up his sleeve, though I can’t imagine what would be gained by waiting until now to try to pull something, not before when we were eating.
I look to Bat. He shrugs. “I wanna see the star.”
The humans look equally unsure but eager. Except Zane. Who’s still staring at the floor.
“Anyone have any objections?” I ask.
“No!” Anya practically sings. Well, I figured she wouldn’t.
I suppose us being in my ship isn’t much barrier anyhow. If Lee wanted us, he can get at us. If he wanted us, we were plenty vulnerable before.
“Alright, let’s watch a star explode,” I say, and cycle open the airlock.
