Chương 21: Unusual Things

"I need you to explain something to me." Gavin had returned after taking a break from the command deck and asked the question as he settled into his chair. Kyra had followed him in, delivering a fresh cup of coffee for Felix before taking a seat for herself in Misty's vacant chair. The Operations officer, as Felix had come to think of her role, was back in the Taggart's quarters getting some rest.

"One moment, Gavin." He took a sip, looking toward Kyra.

"Shouldn't you be off now, too?" The sour-sweet tang helped urge him awake, before the caffeine buff hit; of all the command crew, Felix had been present nearly the entire time since the fight. The pirates had left the crew on edge and felt it wise the only person who could fly the ship remained close at hand, leaving for only the most essential of reasons. They'd even delivered his dinner, as the ship skirted the edge of the Halifax system. Kyra smiled, leaning back and making herself comfortable.

"Figured I'd come sit up here for a bit, watch the rings go by and keep you company. Maybe even let Gavin get a nap with his wife before he takes another shift. Talk a bit, perhaps."

"I appreciate that," Gavin said, but remained seated at his station and turned toward the captain's chair. After the brief dance around The Entrapment, Gavin had begun to loosen up around him again. Things weren't settled, at least for Felix, but they were good enough for now. They could work together. Felix took one more sip, then settled the mug into the holder. It hissed as it accepted the drink and sealed the lid over it.

The flavor had grown on him, but again he was reminded he hadn't shared the freeze dried coffee from Earth with Kyra as he'd initially promised. One of these days, he might… but for now, that bag remained sealed in his cabin as a reminder of his half-remembered home. Finally, he turned toward the gunner and navigator.

"Go ahead, what do you want to know?" Gavin gave him a wary look.

"You said right before the ambush that you felt something, like…" he paused as he worked to remember what Felix had said.

"A pinch. Like a pinch in the cruise lane." Kyra shot her own look toward Gavin.

"Okay, you got me, I was here to ask about that too." She twisted in the chair to fully face more toward the other man.

"You remember that Arrowhead that hit us last week? Felix told me while we were out looking for parts that he'd felt it hit the ship, too. That it hurt."

"Hurt?" Gavin's brow furrowed as his expression turned concerned as he remembered something else.

"That's right, when we got to York and we got scanned, you said you felt that, too. You're feeling things that happen to the ship?"

"Yes…" Felix said, slowly.

"I have a pilot ability, Second Skin. I…connect to Magpie, and the ship basically becomes part of me. Or I'm part of her. It." The way the two crewmembers were staring made him uncomfortable.

"Isn't that how Heigel died? Feedback from getting hit by those first pirates?"

"Damn weird glitches…" Kyra leaned back, covering her mouth, presumably to hide the irritation crossing her face. It didn't work; her eyes gave it away, though at least softer than it had been in the past when she'd complained about his issues—something about him specifically got under her skin.

"No, Heigel died because of stress and bad decisions. The man should have been in the hospital, not up on the deck." Gavin shook his head.

"No one else could have flown the ship." Back to Felix, he continued, "That's not a normal pilot skill, to my understanding. At least, I've not ever seen it on the ability charts before. But there isn't a lot of data beyond level 12, so it's possible that's something higher level no one's ever heard of. Rumors, of course, but nothing concrete."

"See, this is what I was warning you about at Al's." Gavin leaned forward in his seat, hands between his knees.

"So you felt the scan, when that fighter hit, and then the lane pinch. What else did you feel?" Felix rubbed his shoulder.

"That last missile from the heavy felt like someone punched me in the shoulder. The railguns… didn't really notice them." Then there was the hunger. The urge Magpie had to hunt her attackers, both times. It came from deep within the ship—Felix couldn't say where—but didn't always seem present when he connected. Usually, the ship just held a sense of contentment. Which in and of itself was strange, now that he thought about it. I'd thought it was just me, but if it's the ship… why?" He hesitated for a moment.

This part would likely make him sound like he was losing his grip on reality, but with all the impossibilities he found himself immersed in, what was one more? As Felix explained the feelings, Kyra and Gavin's eyes met before Kyra gave a small shake of her head, leading to Gavin speaking first.

"This isn't normal. I'm not sure what it is, but whatever this Second Skin is doing, you need to be careful. I don't know what would happen to you if we took a catastrophic hit," he said.

"Kyra's right. We need to keep whatever this is quiet." He paused a moment.

"Do you have any other hidden tricks?" Felix leaned back and retrieved his mug to sip as he thought. If Second Skin wasn't normal, what about the others? Light Touch? Honed Reflexes? He pulled up his ability list. [SECOND SKIN (PASSIVE, LEVEL 4) – THE LINE BETWEEN PILOT AND CRAFT BLURS. PILOT DIRECTLY CONTROLS THE CRAFT AS AN EXTENSION OF THEIR OWN BODY, AND RECEIVES HAPTIC FEEDBACK DIRECTLY FROM THE CRAFT. RESPONSE TIME DECREASED, CRAFT PERFORMANCE INCREASES DRAMATICALLY PER ABILITY LEVEL (MAX 4).] [HONED REFLEXES (PASSIVE, LEVEL 4) – THE PILOT REACTS AT SUPERNATURAL SPEEDS. PILOT'S REACTION TIME IS REDUCED PER ABILITY LEVEL (MAX 4).] [LIGHT TOUCH (ACTIVE, LEVEL 2) – THE PILOT IS A LEAF ON THE WIND. WHEN ACTIVE, FORCES EXERTED ON MANEUVERING CRAFT ARE GREATLY REDUCED PER ABILITY LEVEL (MAX 4). DURATION: 1 MINUTE, 3 ACTIVATIONS PER 24 HOUR PERIOD.] He shared the pilot list with them and Gavin sat back, glancing between the hovering display and Felix.

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"That explains how a freighter could dodge railguns and lasers at close range." Kyra pointed to Light Touch.

"I'm really curious about this one. You haven't pushed us that hard yet, have you."

"Honestly? I forgot I had it." Felix shrugged.

"Haven't needed it."

"I've seen enough," Gavin pushed himself up from his seat, shaking his head.

"I'm going to rest for a bit then, if the offer remains?" Kyra nodded.

"Doc agreed to take a shift too, I already lined it up with him. Mitch's being a baby again and doesn't want to come up front." Gavin waved and made his way off the bridge, leaving the pair alone. The engineer stuck with Felix for another hour, reviewing possible XP-purchase upgrades for the ship. She wasn't nearly as thrilled about additional weapons, but her priority seemed to be tiering up the ship or modifying performance. Whatever the case, no more cargo storage upgrades would be considered.

Despite a couple attempts to ask about her life before Magpie, Kyra always brought the conversation back to the ship. In the end, it wasn't much more than an hour before she was replaced by Doc. He showed up carrying a tablet and a blanket, the latter of which he tossed at Felix before turning down the lights and ordering the pilot to catch at least some rest.

"Doctor's orders," he insisted. Felix, mug long since drained, was willing to obey. After briefly dipping into Magpie to check the lane ahead, he spread the blanket over himself. I've gotta get us a backup pilot, he thought as he drifted off. When he woke again, it was through a nudge from Misty accompanied by another cup of coffee and a pastry. Doc had long since swapped out.

"Things stayed quiet so we didn't want to wake you," she said as she passed him the breakfast before taking her station. Felix nodded in thanks and pulled up the ship's map. The cruise lanes to Ohio's gate bypassed Halifax-A entirely, the only planetoid with any settlements in the system. There were no new discovery notifications, simply an update to Felix's own personal map for the system and cruise lane alone.

That map, in itself, was shrouded in a fog effect everywhere he hadn't been, making it essentially useless for any real navigation. Instead he had to rely on Gavin's own star chart, fed into the Magpie's computer. That map was much more extensive. Felix traced their route, then sipped the coffee, satisfied.

"We're about a half hour out from the Ohio gate." The pastry was flaky and filled with a sweet, fruity custard, similar to…something he'd had back home. He grimaced—the gaps were annoying, with something always hovering just out of reach.

"I know we're moving fast, but not being able to get off of the deck for more than a few minutes at a time really makes it feel slow," he said around the crumbs.

"I suppose it would," Misty said as she listened to the local broadcast channels relayed through the cruise rings.

"It's an awkward place," Felix said, thinking out loud.

"Hiring isn't exactly something we can do, despite really needing two more crewmembers to cover the three of us. I've also got a strict no-Shanghai rule, so we're not going to get who we need that way." Misty didn't even twitch, remaining focused instead on her console; perhaps she didn't get the reference. Felix sighed, then continued.

"Stopping for the night somewhere seems like a terrible idea, and every hour parked is an hour not heading toward delivery and pay…" He shook his head.

"How'd Heigel manage this?"

"He didn't," Misty said, curtly.

"He'd just head back to his cabin expecting that if we did get jumped again, there was nothing we could do. That's why I kept all our trips to busy systems. And why things were getting worse." Felix took another bite, which he followed close with another gulp of the coffee.

"Well, if you know of any ways we could get another pilot that don't involve kidnapping, at the very least, that'll give me some breathing room." Misty did not rise to the bait.

"Only if we can convince someone to fly with us in exchange for room and board, rather than any pay." She stifled a bitter laugh.

"Good luck with that, though."

"Then if we're going to keep this up, I'm going to need a better chair." Felix shifted. It wasn't noticeable while he was flying, but the padding had definitely been worn thin over the years of use. Something with good recline, that could double as a bed. He opened his mouth to share, but Misty held up a hand then cursed under her breath, stabbing one of the buttons on her console with a single finger.

"Gavin, tell Mitch to get ready. We've got trouble."

"What is it?" Felix sat up straight, stowing his coffee and popping the last of the pastry into his mouth. He took hold of the controls and flowed into the ship. Magpie seemed to buzz with nervous energy, but ahead the lane just felt like a normal, open exit.

"I don't feel anything out there." Misty scowled.

"Automated Gate Message. There's a customs patrol waiting. How the lazy fleet morons missed those pirates yesterday…" She prodded the console again.

"Tell him five minutes, Gavin!"

"Five minutes?" She nodded.

"When we come out, they're going to want to scan us. Mitch needs to make sure the cargo's ready for that." Felix raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't think we were hauling anything to be worried about. No questions, but…"

"Are you asking the question?"

"Should I have?"

"Well, ignorance won't help you, at least now." She grimaced.

"Rust isn't a kind planet. Firewater's right on the edge of everything, and they've got a lot of…trouble with the local fauna out there, despite the storm that keeps us from landing there. They keep the big ones away by a disruptor network, which is rather illegal because of the way it tends to scramble the neurons of whatever runs into it." He winced.

"That sounds awful."

"Keeps them from getting overrun, though. Place is too valuable to abandon, but too much trouble to help." She shrugged.

"So everyone quietly lets them keep working, swearing up and down that once the net fails they'll close the place finally. We're bringing spare parts."

"I see…and in exchange, we get the cargo we're taking to New Berlin." Misty nodded.

"Exactly. But again, disruptor nets are illegal, so, we get caught with it…"

"…we lose our payday and probably our ship." She nodded at him again.

"And when did you plan on telling me this part?" Felix asked. Was yet another omission from her maliciousness, or just sheer habit?

"I didn't want to bother you with the details." Her nose wrinkled.

"Everything should have worked out. One of my contacts has the customs patrol schedule—there wasn't supposed to be one for another two days. Something changed."

"These are details I need to know, Mrs. Taggart. I'd like to remind you of our conversation before we left Albany—you all put me out front, so if I'm responsible I need to know the details." He bit his tongue to keep from saying anything else; letting his temper get the best of him wouldn't help right now. Instead, Felix kicked himself. He knew he shouldn't have taken a no-questions job, no matter what other opportunities it presented. One moral compromise, and now he was hip deep in it.

"So, what do we do? Fly through them and make for the gate?" As soon as he said it out loud he knew the idea sounded terrible, and from her expression Misty seemed to agree.

"Never mind, that's terrible."

"I'm glad you saw that before I had to say something." she said.

"It'll be more Lockjaws and another cruiser and we'll be plastered across every watch list in Frieland if we survive. This is where my brother comes in. He'll deal with the scan and then they'll just clear us through. He's a Loadmaster." Misty said the last as if Felix should know what it meant, but there was no more time for questions. A chime announced the approaching end of the cruise lane and Felix leaned into the Magpie.

"Lane departure in five…" He counted down and at zero, the ship exited the lane into the space around the Ohio Gate. Ahead, between the freighter and the metallic flower of the gate itself, a cruiser in the same barracuda-like shape of the one he'd seen back in York waited, station keeping lights blinking around its edges. A trio of the pan-shaped Lockjaws glowed as their engines lit, and the school of fighters approached. Another ship followed, this one a fatter vessel the System designated as a Manta corvette.

It was still much smaller than Magpie, but according to the profile appearing beside it, had some very, very sharp teeth. The same cool-pinprick sensation of a scan swept across the Magpie' s hull and Felix suppressed a shiver. The ships continued to close the distance as the local frequency crackled to life." ICV 601 Magpie, Frieland Customs and Traffic Patrol. We've received your reports on the pirate attack.

Clear the lane exit fully then come to a halt and prepare for docking operations followed by a visual cargo inspection."