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Screaming Metal (Part 022)

Hidden in the mountain forests, the crew of the Alley Cat watches carefully over the pit...

By Made in DNAPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
1

Shake Hands was a planet on the cool side, occupying an outer position of its sun's circumstellar habitable zone. While cold at times, it wasn't completely intolerable. Even overnight.

Wrapped in heavy blankets that drew heat from a porta-gen, the three had set up along a tree-lined ridge overlooking the vast plains stretching out below.

Aside from the massive junkyard that she and her crew had been eager to plunder, the planet was still relatively pristine.

Great swaths were covered in natural wilds outside the seven small cities and the farmlands surrounding them.

While predators existed, no species larger than beasts akin to the dogs of Earth or the kinuu of Nesca had been recorded.

Fortunately a good light source and a few anti-pest sonics would keep them at a comfortable distance.

Priyanka periodically watched the old warship from afar, a portable optical array enhancing the distant view.

After settling over the junkyard rather than giving chase as it had, the junk-merc had been confident the warship wouldn't bother to search for them.

She'd been right. Whomever was running the show wasn't interested in the Alley Cat crew.

It was the one thing Priyanka was grateful for in this whole damned situation.

Being run off their marker was one thing, being chased down and taken into custody, or worse, was quite another story.

Now all she had to do was hold out and hope for a little luck that whomever was down there wouldn't pull Il'on's braincore.

"Il’on…"

Priyanka looked over at a Suen's sleeping form. The orange-red glow of the porta-gen illuminated the woman's features.

Priyanka had never mentioned the Metal's designation to either Deshel or Suen, and yet, Suen had clearly said its name, even referred to it as "him".

An uneasy feeling settled over her. More than ever, she just wanted to be done with this job.

It wasn't too late to pull out, but the money she'd invested in Il'on's recovery – fuel, food, crew pay, courier licenses, administrative fees…

It would put the kibosh on her cash flow, force her to let her crew go, and, in all likelihood, send her ship to mothballs.

On the other hand, with all that had happened, letting the crew go might not be such a bad idea.

And yet, despite all that had happened, it wasn't an easy decision. She had honestly grown fond of Deshel and Suen.

To think that one or both of them might have betrayed her…

Priyanka shook her head, mentally admonishing herself. Enough. She was going to give herself an ulcer.

She returned once again to the display of the warship.

It hovered over the pit as the Alley Cat had, floodlights illuminating the crevasse directly, and yet no one stirred around the gaping hole where Il'on lie.

With the wattage they were poring over the area, they had enough light to shine even to the depths Priyanka had explored to.

They could have dug it out in a few hours. Were the waiting until morning? Why? It made no sense to her.

Were they not receiving the same broadcasts and pings the junk-mercs had picked up?

If the voices she'd heard were Il'on, and not some crazy scheme to frighten her off, wouldn't it broadcast to anyone who'd listen?

Maybe they couldn't hear it. At least not aboard the warship.

Deshel had said they were using old radio waves to broadcast on the ground, but the warship might not be equipped to pick them up.

Or the crew didn't know how, because they weren't trained to use the warship. They had simply put it on auto-pilot and pointed it in a direction.

This further supported the idea that these people might be clueless as to the braincore's location, or even its existence.

That they were just opportunists – simply seeking whatever treasure they thought the crew of the Alley Cat was after.

In other words, the warship had been a bluff, a show of potential deadly force in the face of an unknown and potentially dangerous enemy.

Pretty ballsy gamble.

Be that as it may, they'd fired on her. Twice. The first time, nearly killing her.

Now that Priyanka and her crew been chased off, there was no reason to pretend they were here on delivery runs.

So as long as they weren't detected, they could hide out in the mountains for a few weeks before they themselves needed supplies.

If what she was beginning to suspect was true, the next few days would be telling.

If the locals pulled something out of the junk, Priyanka's crew might have to resort to a little theft to retrieve their property.

On the other hand, if these claim jumpers came up empty-handed, they might just leave, and she and her crew could get back to work.

Hopefully they would finish before they attracted any further attention. And if wishes were fishes, she'd be swimming in an ocean about now.

"Anything?" Deshel's voice rose from the darkness behind her.

Priyanka shook her head, "No. They could have had the braincore dug out by now if they wanted it so badly they were willing to fire on another ship for it."

"Unless they're just desperate," he returned.

"And how would you know about their desperation?"

"Nothing. Just an open ear picking up the obvious."

True. In all the bars on all the planets she'd visited, an open ear often paid off far better than greasing palms.

More often than not, palms were dirty and disingenuous.

Still, she wasn't going to let him off that easily. "You get buddy-buddy with the locals?"

Deshel sat down beside her and made a face. "A beer or two. C'mon, you know the game."

She nodded noncommittally. They fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Deshel spoke, "Take over for you?"

Priyanka glanced at the chronometer on the optical array. Deshel still had a little less than an hour before his shift.

She sat silently, suddenly feeling the weight of the day come down on her.

"It's yours," she said flatly before moving aside and lying down. She was asleep within moments.

**"Screaming Metal" – All Parts**

science fiction
1

About the Creator

Made in DNA

The not-yet bestselling, non-award winning author of work you haven't read yet!

Work spans various genres -- scifi, weird, non-fiction, life in Japan.

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