The Mechaneer

Chapter 5: A Deal

Until the day she did it, Chloe never would’ve dreamed of letting a man she’d just met take her to his hotel suite.

Of course, until that day, she never would’ve dreamed of seeing her parents and the Mother Goose lifted into the sky by a Federal destroyer, stranding her on a tourist world, penniless and without the first idea of how to survive – much less how to rescue her family.

She’d allowed Rudy to lead her through the still-filling streets and alleys of the port village, to buy tickets for the gravlev train, to load her into a seat like a piece of human luggage. She’d felt reactive gel conform to her slumping frame and try to make her comfortable, and felt it fail. She’d stared out the window at the endless kilometers of glistening blue ocean and gleaming metallic highway tubes and seen none of it. She’d left the gravlev holding Rudy’s hand and let him lead her through a series of almost a half dozen transfers, eventually ending outside a massive building of conch-shaped metal and mirrored windows. She’d been so indifferent, she didn’t even offer a squeak of protest when the elevator they boarded within took them beneath the waves instead of up.

“Nice place, eh,” Rudy called. He’d vanished into the rear of the suite.

Chloe blinked. For the first time, she mustered the energy to pay attention to her surroundings.

They were, as promised, nice. Cream colored walls curved from a thick dark carpet to meet at the arch-like peak of the ceiling, the painted-on screens of which glowed in a theoretically soothing abstract pattern. An archway promised a recreation room. The two interior doors, Chloe figured, closed on a restroom and bedroom.

The suite’s expanse surprised her. Despite his garish flight suit, Rudy didn’t strike her as a rich man. Because of his suit, she wouldn't have expected such tasteful decor. She said, “You can afford all this just on tournament winnings?”

He laughed. “Don’t bet on it. I’m a test pilot. The tournament is technically company business ‘cause I use a prototype. What you see around you falls under the category of ‘business expense.’”

“Sounds like a sweet deal,” Chloe said absently, her mind already wandering.

If only she’d insisted her parents touch down on Prentice Alpha and drop her off! No one would have bothered them, they could have used the last haul to ameliorate some of their bills – everything would have worked out fine.

Chloe didn’t know what she would’ve done on Prentice Alpha.

She didn’t much care.

Were they treating her parents right? Were they allowed to stay on the Goose? Imprisoned?

Tortured?

If I turn myself in, Chloe thought, maybe they’ll let Mom and Dad go.

She spun to the door, commanded her flight suit to bare her hand, and pressed a palm to the lock.

It didn’t open.

Of course. Rudy hadn’t stopped at the front desk to have it attuned to her DNA. She was locked in.

He popped his head into the antechamber. “Where do you think you’re going, Invincible Battle Princess? We just got here.”

“I have to –”

“You have to sit down and grab something to drink,” Rudy said. “Once you’ve got your head screwed on straight, we can talk about how to go forward.”

Chloe hung her head.

“Drink first, talk second, mope never. I can’t stand weepy women.”

She didn’t answer. With no better idea, she shuffled after him. The recreation room was open to the sky, or rather, the sea. It stretched above and below, showing off a riot of bright-colored fish and gently rolling blue waves. Chloe barely registered the view. She bumped into a couch formed from the same reactive gel as the gravlev seats. She collapsed into it. When an alcohol globe pressed against her fingers, she took it and dropped it into her mouth. Her saliva dissolved the globe and released a rush of cool liquid.

Her eyes shot open.

She wasn’t sure whether to gag or pass out.

Rudy said, “Don’t like the gin, huh?”

“Not straight,” she gasped. In truth, she’d never had it before. Her parents went in for beer, wine on special occasions, and Chloe had only been allowed to drink at all for a couple of years. Her tastes ran more toward sodas.

Rudy motioned to the table between them. A depression in the center contained a colorful array of globes. Spacers still used them to make liquids easier to consume in zero gravity, but they’d become fashionable at least centuries before. “Pick your poison.”

“I’m not thirsty,” Chloe said.

He shrugged and grabbed a pair of clear globes, seemingly at random. He flicked them into his mouth, swished the impromptu cocktail and shrugged. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

Chloe closed her eyes. “What are you going to do with me?”

She didn’t sound scared. She didn’t feel scared. After the day’s events, she didn’t have it in her to care what Rudy did.

She figured she probably deserved it.

“Dunno,” he said. “Nothing unpleasant, though, so lighten up, would you?"

She forced herself to smile, though she felt no more relief than she had concern.

“I am going to get paid, mind. You’re racking up debt like it’s going out of style.”

“Oh,” said Chloe. So whatever he might have said, he did want a – what had he called it? A “personal” favor. She'd expected nothing less from a groundling man.

Spacer upbringing crashed into despondency. She almost, almost rallied enough to resist.

Malaise trumped morals. She slumped forward and buried her face in her hands.

Rudy said, “You were a salvage mechaneer, right?”

“Huh?” She wondered why her previous work mattered to him. “Y, yeah.”

“Who was your mechanic?”

Chloe’s red-rimmed eyes opened. “What?”

Rudy remained sprawled on his own couch, safely across the table from her. “Did you have a dedicated mechanic, or did you work on your own mecha?”

“We couldn’t afford a dedicated mechanic,” she said, too confused to even consider lying. “Mom and Dad and I did the little stuff ourselves. I mean, sometimes. I didn’t do it alone, you understand, but I was pretty good at it. Good enough to keep Gosling Two going, at least.”

He flashed a thumbs-up. “Great. I want you to join my pit crew.”

“I don’t know how to repair a military mecha – a prototype, no less! Besides, how would I get clearance? It’s –”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll clear everything up tomorrow. They let test pilots get away with anything.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Chloe said. She pushed herself from the couch. The gel sloshed back into its original, angular shape. “Back at the hangar, you told me you’d help me find my parents. That’s the only reason I’m here. If you’re gonna mess around with some stupid tournament, you can take your so-called help and shoot it out an airlock.”

Rudy cocked his head. He seemed infuriatingly calm in the face of her tirade. “So where’re you headed?”

“Um,” said Chloe.

“Exactly.” Rudy flicked an alcohol sphere toward her; she caught it instinctively. “See, the way I figure it, those bureaucrat-soldiers were after you, not your parents – right?”

Chloe nodded. She could buy somebody coming after her parents, but not with a Federal destroyer. The only member of her family who warranted such measures was the one with an Animus Hunter on her trail.

“So what’s the rush? They won’t leave this planet as long as they think you’re here.”

“What if they hurt Mom and Dad?”

“Unlikely. Their best bet is to make an exchange, or claim to set up an exchange and try to capture you. They could fake your parents’ presence, but why bother when they have the real thing?” Rudy grinned. “Trust me, that bunch don’t spend a dime more than they have to, and feeding prisoners is a pittance next to faking them.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. I went to six federally-sanctioned mechaneer academies, you know.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. She’d never heard of anyone going to more than one, especially not someone as young as Rudy appeared. If he was older than her, it couldn't be by much.

“Yep; you’re looking at a pupil of the Etemenos Military Academy, the Imperial Institute for Space Tactics, the Algreil Devil Ray School of Martial Arts, the Federal Officer’s Academy, the Federal Mechaneer Training Station, and the Fort Raypoint Academy.” Though Rudy seemed to beam with pride, a trace of sarcasm glinted in his eyes.

Chloe wondered if he was lying. “How did you manage to attend so many? And why did you go to both officer’s and mechaneer’s academies for the navy?”

Rudy shrugged. “I attended ‘em all. Never said I graduated, now did I?”

That startled a laugh from Chloe. She immediately stifled it.

“You look a lot better when you smile,” Rudy said. “Maybe I’ll rethink that ‘leggy noble’ bit…”

Chloe’s face fell. She looked away.

She flinched when his hand closed on her shoulder. She hadn't even heard him approach.

He said, “Hey, I was only kidding.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But I’ve got no right to be happy. This is all my fault. If I’d –”

“If you’d done something different, something different would’ve happened. Maybe your parents walk away home free and nobody ever catches you and we all live happily ever after. It could happen.”

Chloe nodded miserably.

“On the other hand, maybe you get caught and whoever catches you decides to just off your parents to cover his tracks. After all, he won’t need ‘em as bait since he already has you, and a couple with a kidnapped daughter could raise quite a stink on election day.”

Such a scenario hadn’t occurred to Chloe. “Who would do something like that?”

“An Animus Hunter, for one. You think those bastards keep their legendary status by leaving a bunch of loose ends?”

“Guess not.”

“Definitely not,” Rudy said. “Fact is, your best bet is to wait and watch. Those guys probably expect you to do something dumb – which you would have, if not for my expert advice – so they won’t take a hard line. While they’re snooping around, we’ll keep our eyes peeled.”

“Won’t they recognize me, though?”

Rudy clasped both her shoulders and turned her to face him. His eyes glinted with mischief. “Not for long.”