Warhawk's Sacrifice - Ch. 4 - Arrival at Timura Outpost - Alpha (Patreon)

After a few days of much needed rest and relaxation, the crew of the Amnesty arrived at Timura Outpost. Once they received approval to dock, Seb commanded Vi to take the ship in. They approached the station as it floated aimlessly in space, looking like a flat-head screw.

Its peak was completely flat, covered in millions of solar panels used to soak up energy from the nearby blue giant sun. From the top, it sloped inward. Its sleek metal exterior was peppered with an endless number of windows into the habitat. Nine rings extended from the base, creating a corkscrew pattern down its length until it ended in a sharp peak that was littered with antennae.

Given Seb had advised they were seeking repairs, the station’s comm personnel directed them to the bottom of the station where the repair docks were. Any ship too large to fit in one of the docking bays floated on the outskirts of the outpost’s borders, where maintenance crews shuttled to and from the station.

As Vi guided their ship to their dock, two massive metal doors opened upon their approach. Small sparks formed where the doors ground along their path. The gears that pulled the weight glowed with a slight orange tint that didn’t fill Seb with confidence.

Once Vi flew the ship through the green barrier that separated the interior from space, they got a better look at the maintenance area. The metal walls were a discolored brown from the culmination of oils, exhausts, and fumes. Interior ceiling lights flickered and sparked with most of the wandering staff wearing body or head mounted flashlights. When the ship settled on the ground, the Amnesty’s landing gear alerted the crew that it was sitting on uneven terrain which shouldn’t have been possible on an outpost of this size.

Let’s just hope the rest of the station is in a better condition, Seb thought.

After putting the ship into standby, the captain spun in his seat and stood. He yawned before stretching side to side, loosening up his limbs for what was likely to be a long day ahead. Once he finished, he reached down near his chair, grabbed his helmet, and secured it around his suit’s collar.

He waited until his HUD boot-up sequence finished before he spoke into his helmet’s comm. “Syn, can you open a tunnel between my comm and the ship’s?”

“Completed, Captain,” Syn said. “You may speak when ready.”

Seb opened his mind to Iris before he spoke. “Crew of the Amnesty, this is Captain Warhawk speaking.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Eni said, snidely.

Seb looked over at Vi, who was rolling her lips under her teeth in a poor effort to hide her smile. He shook his head before continuing. “We’ve arrived on Timura Outpost. Anyone who wishes to disembark should meet me down in the ship’s cargo bay in the next five minutes. If you don’t, then ask one of the crew for a spare skinsleeve. I’ll provide instructions once I’m there.”

“Seb, I won’t be able to leave,” Nalla said, her voice full of concern. “Before you leave can you meet me down on the crew level in Roja’s room?”

Seb waved Vi to follow him as he marched to the back hall. “Yeah, we’ll be down there in a second.”

Rather than wait for the elevator to arrive, he passed through the emergency stairwell that was built in case of an operational failure. He descended it, with Vi close behind, until he opened the door into the crew quarters. Sister Mischa and Iris shuffled into the elevator as they passed by, with the nakai suited in an extra all black skinsleeve.

When Seb entered the room they’d converted into a temporary infirmary, he froze. The woman he’d met on the snowy wasteland of Inoi 3 was not the same. Francisca, who was now known as the bounty hunter, Roja, looked more beast-like after her hybridization transformation.

She took on traits of the feline. Her human ears were gone, replaced with top mounted furry, pointed lugs that stood tall. Two top canines protruded from her mouth, overlapping her bottom lip. Her hands and feet looked slightly enlarged, with her nails extending into sharp claws. A single brown tail hung lifelessly out from under the side of the white bedding. Her jade-green eyes were now vertical slits that constricted as Nalla shined light directly into them.

“How is she?” Seb asked, stepping into the room.

“She’s… stable,” Nalla said, standing from the side of the bed and turning around. “For how long, I don’t know. As I had told you before, the level of cybernetics installed in her is unlike anything I have seen before. The majority of her core systems have been replaced.”

“You said the hybridization process she went through was likely due to counteracting the rejection of the implants, correct?”

“That’s just a theory, but I’m not a biochemist or biomedical engineer. This is cutting-edge technology in her, including the control chip, which, by my assumption, she’s been fighting in some capacity ever since she was released.”

“That would explain the way she reacted to me before. One second, she acted like she recognized me. The next… not so much.”

“Based on the short time Eni took a look at it with me, we believe it’s disabled, but this is technology we’re both unfamiliar with. I have no idea how she’ll act once we pull her out of the medical coma we have her in. The mind is a complex thing. She might not be the same person we knew once we pull her out.”

Seb sighed and slowly nodded. “We’ll just have to see how she reacts once that time comes. If she’s combative or insane, we can decide the next steps then. However, we owe it to her to at least try.”

After Nalla nodded, she grabbed her nearby data pad and swiped it toward Seb, putting a notification on his HUD. “The only option I see as a way forward is the nanomachines in the Crichton Liquid. We need a new healing tank, along with the replacement of all our medical supplies lost when Iris destroyed the infirmary.”

Seb scrolled the list on his HUD. It was extensive, meaning it was expensive. He’d held hope Eni would have sold the information they had to Vlad by now, and Zara would come through with their back pay. Without the needed cash infusion, they didn’t have enough capital to repair their ship back to its original state or get them the supplies they desperately needed.

Once he finished looking through the list, he turned to Vi, who was leaning in the doorway. “Do you think you and Eni could do a bit of shopping today?”

“I don’t see why not,” Vi said, shrugging.

“It would be helpful for us to cover more ground. I need to take care of the ship’s repairs.”

“It’s fine with me. We can take care of it. If Eni gives me any shit, I’ll just—” Vi made a smacking motion with her backhand.

Seb laughed before he sent the message to Vi’s WICI. He watched the tentacle-haired orlindrian look at the hologram projected from her wrist. Once she acknowledged the details, Seb turned and backpedaled out of the door as he addressed Nalla. “If we can’t get you what you need, we’ll let you know.”

“If you can’t, I need to know as soon as possible,” Nalla said with pointed brows. “I can’t keep her like this. If we can’t get what we need before we depart, we need to take her to a medical facility.”

“Why don’t you just take her now?”

Nalla twisted her lips. “I’m worried about the questions we’ll be asked. Once she gets put into a system, there’s no telling how long it’s going to take her former owners to find her. Her best option is to be with us until I can get her healthy.”

“That’s a good point. Even in the galactic core, we all need to keep a low profile. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find everything.”

“I’ll call if I run into any issues,” Vi said.

Nalla smiled and waved. “You two be careful.”

“You know me,” Seb said with a sarcastic tone as he backpedaled out the door. He and Vi took the elevator down to the cargo hold. When the doors opened, the rest of the crew stood waiting in the center of the room. Everyone was dressed in their armor or skinsleeve. All heads turned at the sound of their approaching footsteps, but the large laser minigun and grenade launcher combo known as Boom Boom Betty, that Eni held, drew his focus.

“Eni, what are you doing with Betty?” Seb asked, placing his fists on his hips.

“What?” the white-haired pracovi said, shrugging. “We’re walking into a self-regulated outpost. Everyone is going to be packing.”

“Yeah, it’s one thing if you’re packing something small, like a laser pistol or a submachine gun. No one’s walking around with shotguns and rifles except station security.”

“Mischa’s bringing a power sword,” Eni said, nodding toward the red-horned assassin.

“Yes… but Sister Mischa is a Sister of Nimora. No one’s going to question her walking around heavily armed. They will, however, question the pracovi carrying the weapon larger than she is.”

“Aw come on. I never get to use her.”

“We’re trying to keep a low profile, Eni. Go put her in the armory and grab something smaller.”

Eni groaned before shuffling toward the hallway.

Seb turned back to the group and addressed everyone. “Okay, before we all depart, I want to talk about logistics. What’s everyone’s plans?”

“If I’m to stay aboard this vessel, I need to acquire some new clothes, toiletries, and a few items to make me feel at home,” Zara said.

Seb cocked his brow. “No one is forcing you to stay. You could take the next shuttle back to Merovingian headquarters.”

Zara grimaced. “Taking public transportation? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemies. Besides, being away from the office has been… a breath of fresh air. I wouldn’t mind staying a bit longer. I’m sure you could use the help,” she said winking at him.

Seb was certain if she could see through his helmet, her smile would fade at how hard he rolled his eyes. “Our crew is full. If you’re sticking around longer, then you’re going to be doing so as a passenger. Meaning you’ll be paying the transportation fees.”

Zara crossed her arms. “And how much is that going to cost me?”

Seb shifted on his hips as he thought about a number. He wanted something high enough that would make keeping her around worth it, but not so high she wouldn’t pay it. “A thousand credits every galactic week.”

“Done,” Zara said with a firm nod.

Seb raised his hand. “Hold on, you didn’t let me finish. First, you still owe us our back pay. Until we receive what we’re owed, you’re staying here.”

“Didn’t your assistant already tell you? I transferred the funds as soon as I was able to get a holonet link after we dropped out of FTL. Since I transferred the money from the same bank, they should already be in your account.”

“Syn, is that true?” Seb said, in his helmet’s comm.

“That is correct, Captain. As of twenty minutes ago, an anonymous transfer of one point two million credits was dispersed to our account. With the remaining balance from Zara’s previous payment of one hundred thousand credits, we’re just under one point three million credits.”

Seb had to clench his jaw to prevent himself from shouting. Having that much money finally gave him some breathing room. They could make all the purchases they needed, and wouldn’t be reliant on doing grunt work for Zara. They were one step closer to having control of their lives.

“Syn,‌ disperse all the payment owed to the crew’s accounts,” Seb said. “That should hopefully lift everyone’s spirits.”

“Transfers have been initiated, Captain. Fifty thousand credits have been issued to everyone in the crew, including your personal account. The remaining balance is just under one point one million credits.

“Everything checking out?” Zara asked with a smug grin. “I sent you a little extra as an apology for the delay.”

“Seems like you kept your word,” Seb said. “Fine. You can stay as a passenger… for now.”

“Like I said, I’ll be doing some shopping today. I need to make the place a little more quaint. Speaking of… how would you feel about me knocking down a wall to give me a little more space?”

“You’re not destroying my ship, Zara,” Seb said coldly.

“Okay, it was just a thought,” the golden-eyed beauty said, raising her hands. “But having an office area to work in would be ideal.”

Seb immediately regretted his decision. He turned around, glancing at both hallways that extended the length of the ship, knowing there were suitable rooms they used for storage down on the bottom floor. When he faced Zara, he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “If you can find a room on the bottom floor that isn’t in use by the crew, you can repurpose it temporarily.”

Zara clapped her hands together before leaning forward and kissing the side of Seb’s helmet. “I guess I’m going to go do a bit of exploring.”

“Don’t move anything until I say so!” Seb shouted as the red-haired princess disappeared down the hallway. “Syn, can you watch her and make sure she doesn’t break anything or move anything important?”

“Of course, Captain.”

Just as Zara disappeared down the hallway, the white-haired shortstack reappeared with a small shotgun slung around her shoulder.

“Eni…” Seb groaned.

“I don’t own any small weapons, okay!” Eni shouted, throwing up her hands. “This is the smallest one I have. I can’t grip a pistol your size, and I gave Vi my submachine guns.”

Seb looked over at his pilot to see the compacted weapons sitting in their underarm holsters. He turned back and waved the pracovi over. “Fine. Just try to keep a low profile, yeah?”

“You got it, boss,” Eni said with a fake salute. “What was the princess doing down the hallway, anyway?”

“Looking for office space.”

Eni’s eyes widened. “You’re letting her stay? After everything she’s done to us? What about all the money she owes?”

“She just paid us the back pay, and she’s going to be paying us just like a normal passenger. A thousand credits a week.”

“Damn… okay, then. It seems like you’re finally working your magic.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, you ass,” Seb jested. “Speaking of payment, did you talk to Vlad?”

“He’s looking for a buyer for the Yorion data now. He’s not sure how much he’ll be able to swing for it since the company is already under, and it’s yesterday’s news, but there are still active execs floating around so he was confident he was going to be able to find a buyer.”

“Good, because we need all the credits we can get. Let’s talk about priorities. I need to get the infirmary repaired, get a new battery for the T-Gauss, and a new electrical converter for the ship. With the infirmary, Nalla gave Vi and I a list of everything she needs to fully furnish it. A key component being a new healing tank and operating table. What were you planning on purchasing?”

“Well, since we’re flush with credits… new processors and storage for the servers,” Eni said. “Processors will help with the speed. Storage is needed for the data we pulled and continue to pull from your glove. I also need to buy all the hardware to build the custom comm device for Iris so we can all communicate. I’ve got most of the fabrication tools already. I just need a microprocessor and PCB that’s small enough to fit inside her ear canal.”

“Okay, sounds good. Vi, anything you need?”

“I just need to refresh on some personal items. I wouldn’t mind doing some personal shopping, though.”

“Oh!” Seb said, raising his finger. “You all did get paid your back pay as well. I had Syn disperse the funds to your personal accounts as well.”

“And we got paid?” Eni shouted before tapping Seb’s thigh. “Look at you, Captain, coming through for your crew. Did it include all the personal funds we used keeping the ship afloat while the dragon princess held our throats?”

“No… but if you all want to send Syn expense reports, we can get that reimbursed, no problem. I just want to be careful and not blow all of our funds at once. At least until we can get stable employment.”

“That’s fair. Having a bit of disposable income is nice, though. What about Syn?” Should we source her a new body?”

“I would appreciate another drone, Captain,” Syn said over the ship’s comm. “We could continue our lessons.”

“Lessons?” Eni asked. “What lessons?”

Seb let out a nervous laugh. “Just a few things she was teaching me. If you can find a similar model from before, that would be good. Otherwise, just get us something that can help around the ship.”

“I’ll see what I can find,” Eni said before smacking Seb’s ass. “What about Iris, since she’s part of the crew now, yeah?”

“Do not worry about her,” Sister Mischa said, her voice sounding foreboding, spoken through her helmet’s comm. “Since she’s under my care, the church will provide.”

“So the church is going to foot the bill for everything?” Seb asked.

“Within reason. Sisters are given access to a stipend account we can pull from and use for our missions.”

“No offense, Sister Mischa, but it’s probably best if she comes shopping with us,” Vi said.

Sister Mischa stepped forward, slamming her fist to her chest. “Where Iris goes, I go.”

“I think you misunderstand me. I don’t have a problem with you coming. I’m talking about her look. If she’s going to blend in, she needs to look the part. Your taste… isn’t the greatest.”

“Yeah, the only thing I’ve seen you wear is body armor and workout clothes,” Eni said. “She needs a bit more flair.”

Sister Mischa looked down at her body, twisting her legs, before looking back up. “You may have a point. We shall accompany you.”

“We should get Iris a helmet as well,” Seb said. “Even though it's unlikely someone would know what she is, the fact that she doesn’t look like one of the core species will draw some looks.”

“We still have that projection helmet we can use,” Eni said.

“It’s in my room from the race,” Vi said before heading toward the elevator. “I’ll go grab it.”

“Thanks Vi.”

As everyone waited for Vi, Zara returned from the hallway. She pointed over her shoulder as she approached. “There’s an equipment storage halfway down the hall that will do.”

“Hey, that’s where I keep all my spare parts!” Eni shouted.

“Not anymore, now it’s my office,” Zara said, crossing her arms.

“Karasaur piss it is! I have everything organized exactly how I like it. If I need a part, I know exactly where it is.”

“Can’t you move that stuff into your room, so you have quick access to it?” Seb asked.

“No… there’s not enough room in there,” Eni said. “I’d be drowning in totes and plastic boxes.”

“Just move it across the hall in the larger storage room. There’s plenty of space in there.”

“But then it’s going to get mixed with everything else in there. Why can’t she just use one of the other available bedrooms in the crew's quarters?”

“I did suggest tearing down the wall…” Zara said, looking off to the side.

“No one is tearing down any walls,” Seb said, swiping his arm. “The ship is damaged enough, as is. We’re not adding remodeling to our list of fixes. Either you two work it out or Zara, you’ll have to find another room.”

The princess gasped and brought her hand to her chest. “But I’m a guest.”

“And I’m the crew,” Eni said, stepping up to her legs. “This is our home. You take what we give you, or you can get your ass off our ship.”

The two women glared at each other. At that moment, Seb thought he’d have to break up another fight. However, Zara formed a thin smile and leaned upright.

“Very well,” she said. “What’s the closest available room next to Eni's?”

“There’s a small maintenance closet next to her server room,” Seb said.

“I’ll take that then.”

“Huh?” Eni groaned with a curled lip.

“You do realize it’s smaller?” Seb asked.

“Oh, that’s okay, any reason to be close to my favorite pracovi,” Zara said, glancing at Eni.

The white-haired hacker turned and shouted at Seb. “She can’t!”

“It’s basically empty except for cleaning supplies,” Seb said. “I don’t see why she couldn’t.”

“I don’t want her anywhere near me!”

“Well, that’s not a good enough reason,” Seb said before looking up at his former employer. “You can have it.”

Eni growled and pointed her finger up at Zara. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but it isn’t going to work on me, princess.”

“We shall see…” Zara said, scrunching her nose and smiling down at her rival.

Not a moment too soon, the elevator doors opened and Vi returned holding the holo projected helmet. She walked over to Iris and clasped it around her neck. Iris looked over at Seb with wide eyes and a frowning lip.

“What’s she doing?” she asked inside Seb’s mind.

“It’s a collar that connects to your clothes,” Seb thought back. “When you activate it, it will project a hologram around your face so people won’t recognize you.”

“You don’t want people to see my face?”

Seb shook his head. “Not right now. Powerful people want you, for reasons we don’t know. But most likely to contain you and use you for your power. For now, we need to keep you hidden to keep you safe. Does that make sense?”

Iris slowly nodded and allowed Vi to continue. When she finished, Seb took her place and grabbed Iris’s hand, guiding it to the button around her collar.

“This will activate and deactivate the projection,” Seb said into her mind. “Go ahead and press it now.”

When Iris did as he asked, the projection formed a solid black helmet with a non-transparent visor. Because of the length of her tendrils, it swooped back to a point like a horizontal water droplet. When she pressed it again, the helmet deactivated, revealing her soft pink skin and yellow eyes.

“Got the hang of it?” Seb asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Iris said.

“We’re going to give this to you for now. When you’re out in public, always keep this on. It’s important for your protection.”

“Okay, I understand.”

When Iris activated the helmet, Seb passed the crew and walked to the cargo bay doors. He grabbed the door’s controls before turning around. “Is everyone ready?”

The Amnesty’s crew and passengers all gave signs of approval. Seb held the button to lower the cargo bay door. A silver haze filled the room once the seal broke.

“What on Varanidae’s breath is that smell?” Zara said, waving her hand back and forth.

“It might benefit you to activate your helmet,” Seb said, chuckling

As the princess did, the right edge of the ramp hit the ground first, indicative of their platform's unevenness. Six inoran people sat patiently on nearby crates at the edge of the dock. They all wore loose-fitting clothes that were full of holes. The grime on their bodies nearly covered any yellow on their carapaces. When Seb and his companions descended the ship’s ramp, they all jumped to their feet, followed by an inoran woman who towered over the rest.

She rotated her four arms before swiping back her dreadlock-like hair and tying it in a ponytail. She picked up a transparent datapad and marched across the platform. When she reached Seb, her men stood back, waiting for instruction.

“Fuel and drain?” She asked, pointing at the ship.

Seb looked back, taking a moment to think about what she said. When his understanding clicked, he nodded. “Yeah, refresh all our liquids and drain the septic, please.”

“The work radio said you also needed some repairs?”

“We had an interior explosion that destroyed our infirmary. I need the old one cut out and a new one fabricated with walls, a window, and an electronic sliding door. Similar cabinets installed on the interior.”

“Can do. Anything else?”

“We also had some electrical issues. I need a ship-wide converter and a military grade high capacity battery used for a weapons system. Both of which I can provide model numbers for their replacement.”

“We can handle all of that. If you send me the model numbers, I can check the station’s stores and see what we have.”

Seb flicked the details off of his HUD to the inoran’s datapad. “Oh, sorry, I’ll do the battery and converter replacement myself. I just need the parts.”

“So just the room demo, fabrication, and hardware install?”

“Yup.”

“Is this going to take much longer?” Zara asked, grimacing as she looked about the grime of the room. “Because I’d really like to get out of here.”

The inoran maintenance worker smiled. “If you’d like, I can have one of my men show you all to the station’s elevators.”

“Please, for the love of Varanidae.”

“Grutta, can you please show these lovely people the way to the elevators so they don’t start smelling like the rest of us?”

“You got it, boss,” the worker said, waving his hand.

“Thank you.”

While the rest of the crew departed, the head maintenance worker cursed under her breath as she typed into her datapad before pointing at the open cargo bay. “While we wait for my acquisition chief to come back to confirm if he can get the parts, why don’t you show us the room so we can get some measurements and get you a quote?”

“Yeah, follow me,” Seb said, waving.

The captain led the maintenance workers into the back of the ship. The inorans pointed to the trash that lay in the room's corner, to which Seb confirmed he’d like it to be removed as part of the demolition. He guided them down the side hallway before walking into the open doorway that used to be Nalla’s infirmary. Seb spent the next ten minutes pointing out where all the shelves went, all the electrical and plumbing that needed to be run, and what his plan was to refinish it.

With the details in hand, the head maintenance worker calculated up the total and presented her findings. “So the fabrication with everything we discussed is going to come out to thirty-fifty thousand credits with parts and labor. With my team, we should be able to slice the walls out and fabricate the new room in a couple of hours. Then we’re looking at another few hours to install the fixtures and clean.”

“So four hours?” Seb asked.

“Plus or minus one. It just depends on how much of the existing wall we can use. But we won’t know until we start taking the metal cabinets out.”

“What about the converter and battery?”

“Let me check,” she said, checking her datapad. After scrolling for a few seconds, she looked up and smiled. “So I have good news and bad news. Good news is we have a converter in stock, same model and everything. Bad news is on the battery. We could probably order you something similar, but it's coming off station, so who knows when it would get here. Supply lines have been shit since the war between the sepix and sectorum broke out. Especially anything military grade.”

“Oh, trust me I know,” Seb said. “I almost wouldn’t have been able to finish this ship because I was waiting on engines to come in and then the war broke out. I was almost stuck with a ship that couldn’t fly.”

“She’s a fine piece of honey,” the maintenance worker said, sliding her hand along the bowed walls. “I’ve never seen something quite like her.”

“She’s one of a kind. I designed her myself.”

“Really? Good for you. You don’t find many captains who can tell their tail from their asshole when it comes to their own ship.”

“That right?” Seb laughed. “Well, that’s certainly not me. I’ve always dreamed of building my own ship one day, and the Amnesty is her.”

“Must have cost quite a lot of credits.”

“It did,” Seb said, crossing his arms, his tone lowering. “I had to take some jobs that I’m not quite proud of to afford her.”

“You won’t get any judgment from me,” the inoran said, shaking her head. “We all have to claw and scrape to get what we need from this damn galaxy. Good on you for making your dreams come true.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that. What’s your name, by the way?”

“Essix,” she said, smiling.

“I’m Seb,” the captain said, raising his arm.

When she clasped his hand, her grip tightened.

Too tight.

Everything fell apart in an instant. Shouts and gunfire from his crew echoed into his helmet before being silenced. The surrounding maintenance workers all drew hidden pistols from the loose fitted clothing and pointed them at Seb.

“Oh, I know, Captain Sebastian Warhawk of the Amnesty. Everyone in the galaxy knows who you and this ship are. Your face is plastered all over the bounty boards and galactic news. You’re the galaxy’s most wanted.”

“Most wanted, huh?” Seb asked. “What’s my bounty up to now?”

“Ten million.”

“And you’re looking to collect?”

“Oh, not me. I’m just a lowly grub, clawing and scraping to get what I need. No… you have a meeting with the station queen herself, Madam Hurona.”