Reine walked off the vessel wearing everything she currently owned in the Federation. Today, she wore the black cargo pants and green shirt she bought at the resort spa gift shop on planet Hell, over top was her leather jacket. She went down the ramp with her backpack on and followed the white lines painted on the pavement.
She was led towards the main terminal. Jack followed in behind her, and she did not have to turn around to see the smug look on his face. He was a creature of habit and almost always had a smug grin on his face.
They made their way through the maze of vessels and crafts that littered the spaceport's landing yard. The sky on Falentro was a dark pink hue during the evening. Luckily, they had arrived during late spring on the planet and the temperature was a crisp seventy degrees; which just-so-happened to be his least favorite temperature, so he complained.
“Why does it have to be sixty-nine and a half degrees?”
She tilted her head in response, “What?”
He laughed once and replied, “You heard me...”
She let out a sigh in exasperation, as she replied with frustration, “There is no such thing as sixty-nine and a half degrees...”
He sounded confident, though, “Oh, yes - there is... and this is it!”
She growled and kept walking. When they rounded a large vessel, she noticed Jin sitting on top of a large crate around the corner from the door to the terminal. She wore a special gray spacesuit, on the front under her left shoulder was a name tag with 'Jin' written on it.
Reine had specially ordered the spacesuit and knew it had 'When I fix it, I make everything better!' written in big red letters on the back. The spacesuit had many loops and pockets for tools all over it with a matching helmet, gloves, and boots - of which, her girlfriend currently wore the boots. She immediately felt better, as the suit was one of the few tools too expensive for her engineer to afford on her own and it was important for her first task. She dashed forward and took off her backpack, tossing it to the ground.
The two girls met in the embrace that followed. She lifted her up and twirled her around in the embrace, before she set her down and kissed her lips. The passionate kiss ended abruptly, and her lover gave her a concerned look. She stared back with sad eyes and tilted her head slightly, before she gave a weak smile and spoke solemnly.
“I'm okay, Jin. Let’s just do what has to be done.”
“Aye, Captain. What first?”
She picked up her bag and started towards the crate of tools her engineer brought along, before she noticed the small backpack beside it. She smiled happily, as she thought, 'Jin always is a bright one, someone I can rely on.' She put her pack back on and gestured for her engineer to do the same, as she spoke in kind.
“Jack, would you mind pulling this crate behind us? We need to go buy a specific type of vessel - I think I know a good place.”
He had a broad grin and held up a finger, as he suggested, “Aha! Or I could wait here with said crate for you to return with said vessel.”
She shrugged and giggled, as she turned away and answered in jest, “Do so if you wish, but it may take hours.”
His reply sounded hollow, “Hours?”
She smirked back to him and held a hand out by her shoulder casually, as she explained, “We need to stock the vessel and prepare for a voyage, before we take off and the crate floats.”
His face grew frustrated, as he conceded, “Dang it. Why you gotta have everything your way, babe?”
Reine smiled sweetly and watched, as Jack started pushing the large crate after pressing a key that activated the engine. It did not strain him very much, so she led them quickly through the city; first, she stopped at a clothing shop. Where she bought new clothes for her and him. He only had one set of clothes, and she needed a new wardrobe, so this was the place to start.
She bought herself a few outfits and two sets of black dress pants with matching white dress shirts for him; while she also bought him new undergarments and a long, black duster coat to wear as well. The prices were reasonable, and the two changed into nicer clothes before leaving the store. She now wore her jacket and a comfortable black sundress with green nebulas printed on it.
She had knee high black socks similarly decorated with her combat boots over top. Her backpack was now full on her back from recent purchases, but she felt much better. His new outfit was fitting too, while she insisted they stop at a remote dumpster along the way and burn his old clothing before continuing.
She continued through the bustling city to a ratty part of town with a few low buildings and one used spaceship lot on the outskirts. It had a lot of different vessels for sale, but some looked in sub-par condition. When she got there, a middle aged sales woman approached and wore a mechanic's jumpsuit with 'Little Mama' printed on the name tag.
Little Mama prodded, “Where's your father?”
“Dead, Little Mama,” Reine trailed off with an emotional expression, as a tear started to form in her eye.
“Oh dear... well alas...,” Mariel embraced her briefly, before she took a step back and inquired, “What can I do ya for?”
“Mariel, it's good to see you. I was wondering if you got what I was looking for? I need a recovery vessel, something with a mecha hangar. I need to salvage the Swan. So I need a big enough cargo hold to get everything of value.”
Mariel nodded slowly and was thoughtful, as she slowly led them into the lot. The two girls kept pace to each side of her, while he now decided to pull the crate in the rear. She finally spoke with cheer, raising a fingertip into the air.
“I’ll give you what you asked for before in private and I know a vessel that would suit the task, but it needs some work... I have the parts, but haven't been very hard pressed to do the repairs...”
“How much, as it is with the parts?”
She led the pirates more quickly now, towards a larger old vessel - it was oval and shaped nearly like a teardrop. The ancient vessel had one plasma bolt turret on the top and bottom, which had to be manned to fire. Reine had heard of this rare vessel - the 'Pelican 1' was designed as a trade ship that could defend itself. They reached the cargo entrance at the rear of the vessel.
Little Mama turned and answered frankly, “Reine, tell me how much you can afford - this ship is priceless. They don't make them like this anymore, because they were just too hard to kill.”
“She's right, Reine - it's basically all armored on the outside. It just has the bridge and those two turrets. It's almost perfect...”
Jin trailed off in her curious tone, as she approached the vessel and placed a hesitant hand on its thick metal side. Her face lit up with glee, before she slowly leaned in and pressed her cheek against the cold metal. She could feel the hardness of the armor beneath her cheek and gave her leader a broad grin, as she continued to speak with yearning in her eyes.
“Can I fix her?”
Reine watched her engineer for a moment and gave her an expression of endearment, before a grin grew on her face. 'It is an impressive vessel for the task at hand,' her thought continued at length, 'it would not be great for pirating, but for other ventures it will do quite nicely - even if it is antiquated and just under a mid-sized class cruiser, it is built to survive. I need that stability in my life.' She spoke with confidence.
“I can afford nine-hundred grand...”
“Give me one million even, and I will call it even. The 'Naughtilus' is easily worth ten times that in its current condition with no parts. It's the last one, just like the Swan was. Bless her soul. Just promise me you'll take care of the Naughtilus and sell it back to me at a decent price when you're all done with it.”
She nodded and bowed her head to the woman. Cargo ships did not usually run that high, but the Naughtilus was an exceptional vessel. She handed her chip over from inside her jacket, but she found herself gripping the chip and let go abruptly. She would have only enough for supplies for a few months and the mecha units.
Reine swallowed hard, as she continued to speak with Mariel, “I need two mecha units. With three sets of gear, two assault packages and an engineer package.”
“Reine, I don't have the implant,” Jin spoke up and looked concerned.
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This is not the end - Next Chapter ->
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
A Prologue Part Three ~ The Rise(sample)
Ficção Científica(All content now has chapters approximately 1500-3000 words each) (Still being edited) "The Ventures of Captain Xavior" Series synopsis ~ The Federation is an overwhelming force of mankind waging war for control of the galaxy. Their primary objecti...
