The Gradisian's FTL engine died as Finn and Jake neared Krieger's Junkyard. They were still a good distance away from the actual station, but the floating debris that surrounded Krieger's shop made coming out of FTL any closer a hazardous proposition. Most of the debris consisted of abandoned ships long since defunct, though Finn knew from experience that a few were at least partially functional; Krieger had set up a fairly complicated security grid that was rigged into the weapon systems of some of the more recent ships, making them less junk and more automated turrets.
Finn transmitted the friend code Krieger had given him to bypass the security. While waiting for the confirmation signal, he glanced back at Jake and said, "You okay back there?"
Jake let out a yawn. "I'm bored!"
"You wanted to come along," Finn reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just didn't' think it would take this long. It didn't take this long last time, I'm sure of it." Jake put his front paws on the back of Finn's chair and poked his monitor over the top of the headrest. "Why does he keep the place so trashy anyway? I thought the Gult were all about selling stuff."
"Krieger's more of a collector. He only sells the extra stuff to fund future acquisitions."
"Huh. So he collects junk?"
"Pretty much," Finn said moments before he received the confirmation signal from Krieger's security net. Nodding, Finn said, "Better settle back down; this might get a little bumpy."
Even with the security off-line, the nature of the junk field surrounding Krieger's place made it impossible to predict a safe path. Incoming pilots had to rely on manual control and fly through a star-borne obstacle course or risk becoming just another junked vessel.
"Whoa!" Jake exclaimed as a bit of floating metal banged off the side of the Gradisian. "Careful."
Finn snorted. "Relax. I've been flying since I was a kid."
"Yeah, I remember. You banged into everything then too." Jake sat down in his seat, his cartoon face wearing an expression of concern.
Old ships and junk were everywhere, but Finn wasn't lying about his past experience. A few more small chunks of debris banged off of the hull but Finn always managed to slip his fighter away from the more dangerous debris, no matter how tightly packed.
Spinning past the broken wing of an Terrastellar frigate and the bulk of an old krag scouting vessel, the Gradisian finally left the debris field and entered the small ring of clear space surrounding Krieger's station. The Gult collector's home was much larger than J-27, and incorporated the parts of no less than thirty ships in its design. Some of that power went to maintaining the station's shielding and environmental systems, but most of it was dedicated to the kinetic barriers that kept the junk from crashing into the station.
The Gradisian slipped through the atmosphere shield and into the docking bay, where to Finn's surprise another ship was already docked.
"Huh," Finn said, squinting at the ship. "Looks like Krieger's got company. Nice ship, too."
Jake peered over Finn's seat. "Ooh! Let me see!"
The ship was small, likely a one or two-person vessel like the Gradisian, but shared little in common beyond that. The onyx-black hull was smooth and tapered toward the tail end, and instead of wings, the ship was equipped with several rings that were seemingly unattached to the ship. Finn looked over the ship for an insignia, a sign, or even a bumper sticker to no avail; whoever it was didn't want anyone knowing with whom he, she, or it was associated.
"Looks pretty slick," Jake said, his tail end wagging.
"Indeed." Shrugging, Finn maneuvered his ship to a different docking port. It was unusual to see someone else at Krieger's place, but not unheard of.
YOU ARE READING
The Streamer's Edge
Science FictionA repairman and his robot dog live on a small station in the middle of nowhere until a series of events sees them becoming the target of a shadowy organization. Their attempt to escape turns into a trip into a past they hoped to forget. Joined by a...
