Chapter One

THE GREAT SPACE PIRATE RETURNS

SHARON FEINSTEIN
IN SPACE

I shot out, all the speed I could get, then began slowing in tiny bits. That's the trick; open the throttle and you can go beyond measure, but to stop has to be in tiny bits, or else, you blow.

I've done this before, and it's like breathing me, and I'm dropping in fractions until bordering light speed. Crossing and uncrossing the light bar I'd get scans of under and over.

I had to be in front of the Gautier; even if they had the speed of a modern Class 10 it'd take them least an hour to reach my position.

The veDak had a scan of approximately 250kk. Transcribing a circle, maintaining that distance from the 'centre'. The Gautier would pass through some part of the corridor I was mapping.

To say I loved what I was doing was an understatement. I was born to do this. Every second of my life, every time I took out a flyer, every maneuver I had ever done was dress rehearsal to this moment.  

No one, not human, not Zee could think as I did, do as I was doing.

With the veDak on auto I pulled on my outside suit. Though for Zees and standard size humans the cockpit might be small, it wasn't for me.

I kept to the grid and I got a ping. I swung up, took a check. Sure enough, it was a manmade object; The Gautier.
I'd found them. I was the only one who could have. I knew it as I knew my 'eyelashes' as they would say, and checked that was why Daktoy sent me.

Maybe they are right, maybe in this place at this time, I am the Sakari.

I decided to keep myself just beyond the '40' mark range of their scanner guessing they got clarity up to about 90,000 kilometers.

Considering how small the veDak and how it would ping as stone as long as I kept the engines off I was fairly safe.
Keeping the Gautier just beyond the mid point of my scan range I sent messages to iKhyarm, iMindak, to the erssavi. I didn't know where anyone was. I transmitted my prog so their coms could match it.

I let the Gautier pass far below me, tailed, waiting for my team, sending messages every few minutes.

It took about an hour for iKhyarm to get into the grid and then we followed the Gautier about twenty minutes before iMindak showed. We chatted, then I thought, shit, why bother track them anywhere? I'll cut off their engines.

I put on my helmet, secured the fasteners of my suit; "Kay, I'm going in." I say.

I take a hit of vizho, begin the atmosphere retract, until the inside of the flyer at balance with space. I set the com, up, over, until directly above the Gautier, matching their velocity, just beyond their scanner range.

Flying on inertia, I begin to circle like a lazy johncrow, coming down in curls. It was the kind of thing only me, The Great Space Pirate would think of. Softly, moving slowly, I set down stuckers. My craft now sitting on the Gautier.

I doubt they'd seen me, if I pinged it would be as a 'natural' object as I wasn't letting out fuel traces. I take the rivet gun, open my canopy, float out of the veDak.

I love this. I remember in crystal clarity every other moment of my life when I danced in space.   I let myself move more by 'thought' than action as the slightest wiggle had enormous effect.

I got my feet on the skin of the Gautier onned the magnetic soles of my boots, careful to keep in the safe space between the weapons which went around the ship like a belt, began to walk.

I fired on the near cameras as I moved to where engines were attached.  

I forgot this ship could land, so the engines'd be screwed on extra secure.

I cut off a few flaps, as the ship was made in little rectangles. Of course, one flap would be on top of another and another, but after the most exhausting ten minutes, I'd expose the guts.  

iKhyarm shows up, like if I do something he has to do it too, and I showed him what I'd done; that is opened a space in the skin of the Gautier about ten inches by six inches.

He reaches in, grabs like a rubber pipe, yanks it out. It's jerking around like a wild thing. He takes my gun and rivets it to the shell, pointing up, then moves to the other side, to do the same thing with another engine.

I'm impressed; always had him as just a pretty face. I move back to my flyer, have the com do a check; the Gautier is slowing.

I climb into my VeDak, bring environment up, so I can pop my helmet, and drink water. I rest and , after a little minute put back on the helmet, take another hit of vizho, down environment, go to find iKhyarm.

He's on engine number three, I let him finish, take the gun, send him to his flyer.

The danger of Outside work is that you don't know you're exhausted, you just pass out, and that's a little too dangerous in the current situation.

I'm thinking of going on to the next engine when I see

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 26.02.2022
ISBN: 978-3-7554-0851-2

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