Honestly, when I wrote that bit I'd forgotten she existed in Fenspace. The last Gauntlet update came after I'd put it down, and I decided not to change it because it makes it funnier.
Anyway... tweaked scene ending to include Rob's contribution. Tweaked a little, and it feels a little rough.
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
Anyway... tweaked scene ending to include Rob's contribution. Tweaked a little, and it feels a little rough.
Quote:They left just as the fight began with a shattering glass.________________________________
Ford was half running back to the Wagon.
“If one of tho other five gets the ‘bird...” Anika called after her.
“Then we don’t get paid. Then I’m going to have to find a way to pay him a couple of grand, or I lose a good contact and my good name.”
The Dragon Wagon was still waiting at dock where it’d been left. Something about that surprised Anika... she’d half expected it to get stolen while they were away. The boarding tube seemed longer heading back, each step loaded with the anxiety that she’d get to see the Wagon slip away from it’s moorings without them aboard.
It was a relief to be back aboard in that wonderful fresh atmosphere. The hatch shut behind her - with the push of a button no less - locking itself shut. It was right beside the main bridge. Ford had already managed to begin preflight checks.
“Gil!” Ford barked. “Rig for an immediate departure. I want to be out of here within five minutes. Anika. Get us clearance,”
“I understand,” the AI answered back.
“Right, I’m on it,” Anika near dived into the second seat, fumbling with the headset for a few moments before finally slipping it over her head. “Greenhavel Control, Greenhaven Control, this is Dragon Wagon, request clearance for immediate departure.
“Main reactors are at operating power. Full engine performance is available,” Gil intoned.
“And that’s why I love combat rated propulsion systems,” Ford commented with a smirk.
A voice Anika’s headset tickled her ears. “Dragon Wagon, Clear for departure and good hunting,”
“We’ve got clearance,” she called out.
“Releasing mooring clamps,” She stabbed at the touchscreens with her fingers. Distant thumps seemed to bounce off the hull.
“Mooring clamps released. We are free and clear to navigate,” Gil announced in the usual dispassionate monotone.
“We are out of here,” Ford pushed the throttles forward. The engines roared. The dock structure in the windows seemed to rocket backwards, as if the whole station had been punched backwards around them by an unseen force. “Now lets see where to,”
It took a few moments for Ford to get the jumpdrive inserted. It was flash scanned for malicious files, before the contents popped up on the displays in front of her. She took a deep breath.
“Looks like Hickory was on the level.”
“Which means we have to pay him?”
“Yup,”
Anika had an idea. Some way she could possibly be actually helpful rather than just a hanger on..
"I’m friends with Miyuri Akisato, maybe I could ask her for a loan, if money’s tight?"
The eager grin on her face dissolved as Ford shook her head. "First, if I get a loan from Miyuri, I’m really getting a loan from Noah Scott and we're only acquainted with each other - Jet knows Scott better than I do, and she doesn't know him well enough to borrow money from him either. Second,”
And she held up two fingers as if Anika couldn’t count.
“I overheard him say that if somebody wanted to be paid for bringing in criminals on Stellvia, they should join the Space Patrol, so I don't think he really likes us bounty hunters anyway. But there's something even more important than either of those reasons."
Anika thought for a moment. She remembered something, an argument over independance. "You don't want him to own a piece of you, even in the short term?"
"I wouldn’t have put it so politely, but you're right. I need to do this on my own. "
She stopped. Anika stared a little, wondering for a moment. “But Miyuri is my friend, and we’ve loaned things to each other before,”
“Well,” Ford shrugged laconically, “If you trust her.” Ford’s expression shifted to a comfortable smile, “But I still don’t need a loan from you or anyone, I can handle it. But Thanks.”
Ford was just being a little paranoid, Anika figured. Maybe a little too much.
“I’ll start scanning for the ‘bird,” she offered.
“Sure. Sensor patterns should be loaded into the system already. ”
Ford pitched the ship over and around onto its new heading. The hunt was on.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?