The Dance Eternal

ch 24

24

“Damn, Sid, what is the noise about,” Jor’s tired growl came over the com as the scow settled to rest in the bay. Large metal clamps slammed together over the landing struts with a ka-chung that locked the craft in place. The lights in the forward-dome cockpit dimmed as Sid climbed from the pilot’s seat and sidestepped through the narrow corridor to the hatch.

As he opened the door and climbed out, the cargo bay slid open on the underside of the ship, it’s payload dropping onto a conveyor belt below with a steady rattle. The belt took the ore to a larger cargo hold, where it would stay until it was sold. The terrasine, on the other hand, was in a smaller hold on the scow. He pulled a pair of thick gloves from behind his belt and slid them on before pushing the button to open the compartment.

As Sid worked at unloading his bounty, Jor came stomping out from the control room nearby, his seven-foot height towering over Sid by a head. He walked heavily, but then, he was nearly six-hundred pounds of muscle. Jor was from a race of warrior-beings, called Iordreth, that resembled very large and muscular humans, with somewhat avian-like faces; extended and rather like a large beak, with their narrow eyes were set wide, more to the sides like that of a bird. Their flesh tones ranged widely – his was a pale blue, speckled with little black spots like freckles – and they grew plumes of feathers where humans grew hair on their heads, that ranged in hue from vibrant reds to dusky yellows on females, with blues and greens on males.

Jor wore a gray mechanic’s jumpsuit, with all manner of tools hanging from loops placed in seemingly random places , and they jingled and clanked as he walked. Eyeballing Sid, he ran a massive hand back over his bright-green plumes (which immediately sprang back up as his hand passed), grumbling, “You made such commotion on radio, had me looking for damned O-PATs.”

“Sorry, Jor, didn’t mean to startle you,” Sid said a bit sheepishly. For being a huge warrior, Jor was a big softie. The two had been friends for most of their lives; they were both orphans, refugees from a raided settlement in a nearby system. An orphanage in the Phrost Station on Ustar Six had become their home, and once both had finished their schooling (some who didn’t get adopted received an at least decent education to build upon), they started working and saving for their own ship.

Three ten cycles of ‘scav’ work, scrapping space wreckage, and an inheritance for Jor, and they got a great deal on this pair of ships. Now, a few dozen cycles later, they’d built a little business, while managing to keep from getting swallowed up by the larger conglomerate mining interests constantly seeking to expand their influence.

“So, what did you want me to see,” Jor asked, leaning casually against the side of the scow, “More blue-rock, eh? Should be profitable.”

“There’s a ship out there, near the edge of the belt. Look at the scan,” he said, and held up a small computer tablet he produced from his pocket while balancing the box he was loading the terrasine into.. Jor took the proffered item, the thing looking ridiculously small in his hand, and looked at the screen.

He blinked, “Ship. Never seen anything like that. So?”

“I scanned it, and nothing came up, like it never existed.”

“Or never been registered. Might be pirate, smuggler. Raider.” Jor’s eyes widened a bit, and his pointed tongue flicked near the tip of his ‘beak’, a sign that he was getting revved for a fight.

“Calm down, killer. I know it’s been awhile since you’ve hit anything, but… I don’t think that’s what this is,” he felt it surely as he said it, “but I do think it’s worth looking into… just not in the scow.”

Jor studied the scans, switching between several modes, scrutinizing every detail given. He nodded, then squinted at Sid, who recognized the mirthful pitch his voice carried, “Oh, I see. You want my ship to look into this other ship.”

Sid rolled his eyes, “Yes, your AI ship that can’t operate without you… I am asking you, by way of your ship that we bought to-gether,” Sid suddenly threw his arms out to the sides, “BECAUSE-THIS-IS-SPACE-AND-HOW-THE-f**k-ELSE-WE-GONNA-GET-THERE?!”

Jor, nearly a foot taller than the other, recoiled when John hollered, waving his arms wildly as if he expected to fly there. His blue eyes were intense and slightly bloodshot, and the mass of dark hair around his mouth made it look like a furry black hole on his face were the source of the shouting.

“Wow, Sid, sorry. I was being sarcast-awk,” his sudden nervousness caused his voice on the last word to rise in a shriek, like a parrot’s call.

Sid instantly lost all irritation and exploded in a howl of laughter, doubling over and slapping his knee repeatedly. Jor stood, staring flatly, not understanding the humor. Sid quickly regained some composure, and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Jor. I don’t mean to offend you. It just strikes my humor, like when I bang my head on the door to the bridge.”

Jor chuckled, a throaty gargling, “That is funny.”

“Yeah, see,” Sid said idly, then, “Come on, let’s go get a look at this potential treasure box.”

A half-hour later they were on the bridge, Sid rubbing a fresh bump from the low doorway, and muttering for the hundredth time, “How such a tall people are comfortable with such small doorways…”

Jor quietly snickered.

A beep on the communications console alerted them to an incoming transmission, and Jor pressed the answer button. A deep male voice announced, “Vessel ”Jor-Gen-Sid” Captain, this is Control Tower 34. Your refueling is complete, and 3600 credits have been deducted from your account. Thank you, and please return safely.”

“Understood, Control. Ready to disembark. Thank you, Control. Good day,” Jor replied, and closed the channel. In seconds, they heard the docking moors release, and felt the ship drift free as a blast of air vented from the station gave the craft a gentle push outward and away.

Jor took control and gave the engines some power, turning away from the station. He glanced at Sid, who was looking at the scans of the ship on a terminal. “Which way?”

He held up his hand, and after a moment, “Heading one-seven-six degrees, keep level and we’ll see her.”

“How thick are patrols, today?”

“Not bad, only saw one while I was out.”

“Which one?”

Sid was silent, and Jor grumbled a curse in his native language – from what Sid had picked up over the years, it was something to the effect of a comparison of one's head to excrement. He chuckled despite himself. It had, indeed, been that ship, but he was hoping to keep it quiet.

That ship was captained by some hot-head who had opened fire on them, some eight cycles ago, with no provocation. Every time their paths crossed since, that vessel had attempted to blow them into oblivion. They had been extremely lucky, having escaped capture or worse, but they feared when their luck would give out, and did not want to press the issue.

They moved into a thicker part of the belt, and Jor maneuvered the vessel with a deft hand, angling the pair of sticks on his console-chair that served to steer. Sid sat at the scanner to the left, giving course corrections that took them in a somewhat circuitous arc, while Jor handled the more deft maneuvers guiding the craft around the large hunks of rock.

Sid looked out through the large glass front of the bridge, which offered a wonderful panoramic view ahead, but made him feel like he was dangling on a stick in front of the ship with a giant “SHOOT HERE” sign. To the left, he saw the rock he took today's score out of; from this distance he could see a multitude of pockmarks that had appeared since he was there earlier.

“Good thing I got that terrasine. Damn Fo-dri Conglomerate has been through with their mining drones.”

“This ship. Too big to fit the hold?”

Sid thought for a moment, “No, it’ll fit, but we may have to move the scow.”

“Attach it to the hull, outside. Hooks aft-top.”

Sid nodded. His curiosity was peaked, and he wondered why, but he just couldn’t care. He felt like there was something on that ship that he needed to see.