Read Privateer Tales 3: Parley Online

Authors: Jamie McFarlane

Privateer Tales 3: Parley (10 page)

BOOK: Privateer Tales 3: Parley
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A wide rock path led to the doors of the visitor’s center and before I’d made it to within twenty meters, Tabby burst through the door and ran toward me. She was wearing a beige uniform and still sported the buzz cut she’d left Colony 40 with. We hugged fiercely and I lifted her as we spun around.

She whispered in my ear, “No kissing in public while in uniform.”

“Do you have a bag?” I asked.

“Let me grab it.”

I took her hand and let her lead me back to the visitor’s center. She’d left a small bag by the front door. I carried it for her and we jogged back to the waiting cab.

Privacy mode
. I instructed the cab.

“Do you even notice it?” she asked.

I looked her up and down trying to find some detail I’d missed. Her skin was tanned and her face had a harder look than I remembered but mostly she was covered by her uniform. She picked up on my confusion.

“No, you dork. Your foot. I can’t tell you’re wearing a prosthetic at all. Do you notice that you’re wearing it?”

“Oh,” I said, relieved. “Almost never. It’s funny, I was sitting on the bed putting my clothes back on when Ada saw me cleaning it and I … “

Tabby interrupted me by slugging me hard in the arm.

“What was that for?” The punch actually hurt. Then I thought about what I'd said. “No … it’s not like that.”

“Then how is it? Is she cute?” Tabby looked at me sternly.

“Oh, yeah …” I caught it before the punch landed and was able to deflect most of it. “Seriously, it’s not like that. Ada just lost her mom to pirates. I’m telling you that was the last thing on her mind.” I dodged a strike. “What …”

“What about
your
mind?” Tabby said. She was actually starting to get pissed. I was in trouble.

“Nothing like that. Ada’s a nice girl …” Tabby started to agitate, “No, listen, I worry about the same thing with you. All the
se good looking Navy guys you hang around. But really Tabby, all I think about when I’m near a beautiful woman is you.”

Tabby looked somewhat mollified. “So you’re saying …”

The canopy darkened and I knew no one would be able to look in at us. I pulled Tabby in close and kissed her. Initially, she was a little hesitant but I wasn’t letting go. Finally, she melted into me. I was more than a little disappointed when the cab started its descent on approach to the hotel.

“This looks nice,” Tabby said.

“The rooms are crazy, Nick set it all up. Let’s go up and see if he and Marny are awake.”

“Are they a thing?” Tabby asked.

“That’d be an understatement.”

“I thought she was an Earther, how’s that work?”

“Just does, I guess. She’s probably half again his mass though. Calls him ‘her little man.’” I led Tabby onto the elevator.

“That’d be funny. Nice view here.”

I palmed my way into the suite.

“Tabby!” Nick ran over and hugged her.

“Morning, Marny.” I didn't want her to feel left out.

“Morning, Cap.”

Nick released Tabby and drug her by the hand over to meet Marny.

“Tabby, this is Marny, the one I’ve been sending you comms about.”

Marny held her hand out to shake Tabby’s but Tabby was having none of that and gave Marny a big hug. I was surprised, since generally Tabby didn’t take right to people.

“I’m so glad to finally meet the woman who has been keeping my guys safe. Thank you, and I’m honored to meet you.” For Tabby
, this was gushing.

Marny smiled, which is what I’d have expected either way, not too much rattled her. “Glad to be part of the team.”

“What have you guys planned for the day?” I asked.

“Too many things, so little time. We were thinking about heading over to Puskar Stellar and checking out the Open Air District,” Nick said.

“How far away is that?” I asked.

“’Bout an hour, they have a super-fast magnetic levitation train. It’s in the same terminal as the space elevator from dry dock,” he said.

I looked at Tabby and she responded, “Works for me, I just need to get changed.”

I didn’t care what we did as long as she was part of it. Two hours later we exited one of the numerous stops the train made in the
city. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was shining, the weather was holding at fifteen degrees. I’d brought my coat along and Tabby had switched to a pair of very tight jeans and a loose sweater.

“Meet for dinner at 2000 local?” Nick asked.

“Sounds good.” I looked to Tabby for confirmation. She nodded.

“Try to stay out of trouble, Cap,” Marny said with a grin.

Puskar Stellar’s Open Air District is the perfect place to walk around when you have time to kill. Interesting old buildings lined the brick streets, and vendor booths covered by colorful umbrellas and tents were set up in front. It all made for an inviting environment and reminded me of when family trading ships would visit Colony 40 - only about a thousand times bigger.

“We should get swimming suits for tonight,” I said.

“I was thinking about getting an earwig communicator,” she replied.

“What’s that?”

“Just about everyone has one - look around. See the little piece of jewelry on that woman’s cheek leading back to her ear?” Tabby nodded in the direction of a woman seated at a small table, chatting blithely to no one in particular.

“Oh, like a vac-suit HUD.”

“Right. We can’t wear them while doing physical training or even in some classes, but other than that they're acceptable. Most people have one since nobody wears a vac-suit down here.”

I pulled out my reading pad.
Find vendors who sell personal communication equipment
. The pad displayed several nearby shops. We read a few reviews and decided to take a longer walk to get to Ballance Electronics, as they had the top reputation in the area.

A woman, several years older than the two of us, watched as we browsed, then headed our way. We’d found a cabinet loaded with several dozen different models of the earwig. Most of them were very thin, but apart from that there was quite a bit of variation.

“Would you like to try one?” she asked.

“Why so many different models?”

“Three things: style, projection quality, and adaptive holding,” she said.

“What’s adaptive holding?”

“It’s only available on the newer models and it’s a nano-adaptive surface that latches onto your skin and molds itself to your contours even as you talk. They are almost impossible to knock off, partly because the edge bevels out with the adaptive surface. ” She took a breath. “Sorry, that’s probably more than you wanted to know. It’s easier to just try it on.” Her face was a little flush.

“Sounds like you really know your stuff,” I said.

“They’re just really cool,” she replied.

“How much are we talking?” Tabby asked.

“Eight hundred is top of the line, unless you get jewel inlay, which we don’t do.”

Tabby whistled. “That’s a lot. What do you have in the three or four hundred range?”

“Lots of good ones. The only real difference is the adaptive feature.”

“Could I try the blue one?” Tabby pointed to one that was the same deep blue color that was part of the Mars Protectorate Navy uniform.

“What year are you?” The girl asked while she stepped behind the counter and pulled out two sleeves with blue earwigs.

“First year.”

“Not from Mars?”

“Perth Mining Colony.”

“Glad you came in. You’ll appreciate not having to rely on reading pads.” She held an earwig next to Tabby’s ear and then put it back in its sleeve. She held another one up and appeared satisfied. “That should do it. Just hold it up next to your ear and then push it in gently. This one has an early generation of the adaptive technology and makes a perfect fit every time.”

Tabby pushed it in and adjusted the earwig so that the fine blue wire led from her ear, along her cheekbone to just in front of her eye.

“It tickles,” she said, with a slight smile.

“You get used to it. That’s because it is held in place entirely by the connection in your ear.”

“You should at least try on the adaptive one,” I said. The woman looked to Tabby, who nodded affirmatively.

They
both looked the same when sitting on the counter, but when Tabby pushed the new device in, the difference was immediately evident. It was as if the earwig melted into her ear and onto her skin. Where the previous earwig had filled her ear, this one simply lined it. Additionally, it melded into her skin along her cheekbone and looked more like a tattoo than a piece of equipment.

“That’s too cool,” I said.

“I wanna see,” Tabby said.

The woman who was helping us pinched at something in her vision and mimed tossing it at Tabby. It was a familiar gesture that established a video link between them.

Tabby ran her fingers over her cheekbone while staring off into space. I could tell she was watching the HUD. “That’s incredible. Any trouble with water?”

“Not at all. Most people never take them off.”

Tabby pulled it out of her ear reluctantly. “A little more than I can afford, student and all.”

“With a boyfriend who never gets to see you,” I said. “We’ll take two.”

“Liam, you can’t. They’re expensive.”

“Think of it as an investment in me being able to talk to you more. Let me do this. Please?”

After a few minutes and a private conference, Tabby finally relented.

“So … since you saved all that money on an earwig, maybe you could get a swimsuit?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have an ulterior motive. Oh wait … I do know you better. I’ll get one if you do.” She poked me in the chest with her finger and looked up at me with a smile. It was a moment I wanted to last forever.

We wandered through the streets holding hands and chatting about whatever came to our minds. We ended up finding a push cart filled with swimwear attended by an older woman. Tabby finally found a two piece she felt she could live with. To my disappointment, she wasn’t at all impressed with the bikinis and their lack of coverage. In the end, it didn’t matter too much to me
.

WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER

 

Dinner with Marny and Nick was a blast. But I wanted to spend as much time alone with Tabby as possible. Marny warned us that the plans she had for us started at 0800, so Tabby finally convinced me at 0300 that we should get some sleep. She agreed we could sleep in the same bed, but insisted that was all we would be doing. I’d like to say I didn’t try to convince her otherwise, because I did, but I also respected her desire to ‘save it for marriage.’

A loud rap on the door caused both Tabby and me to jump out of bed. “Frakking Jupiter, are you nuts?” I yelled at the door.

“0800 Cap, time to lose some of that baby fat.” Marny’s voice filtered through the door.

“What are we doing, anyway?” Tabby was standing in front of me in a white lacy camisole top and matching panties. I had a very difficult time focusing on what either her or Marny were saying.

“Hoffen … you’re staring and you’re not answering.”

I looked up guiltily. “Uh … Cripes, I have no idea. And if you’re gonna wear that, I’m gonna stare.”

“Complaining?”

“Not even close.”

“And …”

“Oh, right …”

Marny rapped on the door again.

“Ten minutes, Cap. We’ve got an appointment.”

“I really don’t know. All she said was that you wouldn’t want to miss it.”

I opened the door. “What should we wear?” Marny was sitting on a tall stool in the kitchenette drinking a glass of orange juice.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Fifteen minutes later we were all headed down the elevator. Tabby and I had to settle for a meal bar for breakfast, but that didn’t bother me too much. I was used to them.

Once we were in the cab I couldn’t take it anymore. “Alright Marny, it’s time to spill. What’s the big secret?”

“I already told you, we gotta all get in better shape, learn to work like a team.”

“What’s that got to do with Tabby?”

“What? I can’t be part of the team?” Tabby slugged me. I kind of wished she’d find a new way of expressing herself.

“Nothing at all, other than I get an extra day of training this way and I guarantee you’ll love it.” Marny smiled sagely at Tabby.
Smart women made my life … interesting.

“Nick? You know anything about this?”

“Nope. Where’d you get those comm units?”

“Found ‘em last night. The HUD projection is super clear.”

“Better than your suit?” he asked.

“A lot. I’ll take you over there if Marny ever gives us a break.”

“Really? We haven’t even started and you’re already whining?” Marny shook her head and laughed at us.

It wasn’t long before the cab slowed over the top of an area filled with large nondescript buildings. We dropped down between two of them and landed next to a gray steel door.

“Anyone carrying any weapons?” Marny asked.

Oddly I wasn’t. I hadn’t even remembered to wear my flechette when we’d gone to Puskar Stellar. We all shook our heads in the negative.

“Good. Follow me.” Marny climbed out of the cab and walked up to the door labeled TAC-10A. We followed her into a room with a rack of blaster rifles and a shelf with wrap-around goggles.

“Here’s the mission. Everybody grab a rifle and a pair of goggles. There are twelve bogies spread throughout the building. There are also friendlies. We get scored on kills and time - negative scores for friendlies and getting hit by a baddie. The good news is if you get hit, your weapon just stops working for thirty seconds. The bad news is you can get hit again during that period of time. Cap, first run through is yours. Each of you will get a shot at this so let the leader set the strategy. Okay?”

“Are there real people in there?” Nick asked.

“Nope. All holographic. Believe me though, you’ll think they’re real
, but I don’t think we’ll get to the point where we want real.”

“Why’s that?” Tabby asked. I was glad that she was engaged.

“It’s a testosterone factory. You have to get one of the other teams to play the baddies and most of the teams here are either private security companies or S.W.A.T. teams. They like to play hard. Anything else?”

“Why aren’t you leading?”

“I need to see what you do under pressure so we can fix what’s broken and enhance what you naturally do well.”

“Last question. What’s a good score?” I asked.

“Try to keep everyone up. That’s what we’ll focus on. Ready?”

We all nodded.

“Team is yours, Cap. From this point forward we’ll follow your lead.”

“Roger that, Marny. Since we don’t have a map of the area we’ll have to build it on the way. I want Tabby in the lead, Nick on her left shoulder, Marny you have the rear, facing backward as much as possible. This will be our base formation. I’ll change that depending on what we run into.” I sounded a whole lot more confident than I felt. I also knew, from playing sports, that your team picked up on a lack of confidence and it affected their play.

Create channel one: Tabby, Nick, Marny and me. Build a tactical map as we discover terrain. Highlight positions of team members using blue dots, red dots for baddies and green dots for those I identify as friendly non-combatants
.

“Tabby, when we approach a blind corner I want you to take a knee and do a quick peek before we go around. If you start fatiguing let me know, so I can switch Nick in.”

“Check,” Tabby said.

“We have no idea what’s on the other side of this door. Tabby, take a knee and keep your body behind the door frame. Nick, cover left through the door and stay real close to Tabby. I’ve got right and I’ll slide around to the right, looking left. Marny, if it’s open straight ahead I need you to cover that. Say 'hold' if you don’t know what to do, otherwise, Tabby, open the door.”

I pulled the blaster rifle tightly in to my shoulder and snugged up to Nick. Tabby swung the door open to expose a narrow hallway leading to the left.

“Nick, we’re going to look down this together. You’re going to slide out until you can see the middle of the hallway as far as it goes. You get everything to the right. If you see something, say 'contact.' I’ll stay on your right and focus on the hallway to the left. GO.”

Nick slid around Tabby and the doorframe and I moved with him. The tactical map on my HUD started to fill in as I gained more visibility on the twenty meter hallway.

“Contact left,” I said. My peripheral vision caught a figure disappearing through a door about five meters down on the left side. It was the only door in the hallway which ended in an L-shaped turn going to the right.

“Tabby, go ahead on point, I saw someone enter the door on the left. Marny, follow on my six.” My heart was hammering in my chest enough that I could hear it in my voice.

“Tabby, when you get to the doorway I want you to kneel and cover right through the doorway without entering it. Nick, stay right of Tabby. Once she gets to the doorway, swivel past with your gun pointed in. You'll use the opposite side as cover. I’m going to cover down the hallway. GO.”

We followed Tabby down the left side. It was hard not to try to get a view through the opening and keep my eyes down the hall. She stopped at the doorframe. Nick peeked and then attempted to cross to the other side.

“Contact!” he said. His gun flashed as he fired into the room. My tactical display filled in with the rectangular layout of the room, including two red dots, both on the right. Nick slid to the other side of the door. I could see his blue dot on the tactical display, he hadn’t been hit.

“Tabby, they’re in front of you. Engage.” Tabby poked her gun in and must have gained visual as she started firing. One red dot blinked out and the second moved quickly to the left, running across Nick’s field of view. He fired and the other dot blinked out.

“Marny, cover forward down the hallway.” I slid up on Tabby’s right shoulder, looking into the room, sweeping from right to left. There was a small amount of furniture in the room and I didn’t initially see anyone.

“Nick, I’m going in. Cross behind me once I do. Tabby, follow on my right shoulder. Marny, use the door frame as cover for down the hallway.” I was exhausted just spitting out all the instructions - there had to be a better way. It occurred to me that combat on the ship was easier, mostly because we all knew our roles.

We worked our way into the room. I wanted to make sure we didn’t have any hidden baddies. We moved around the desks, taking time to look beneath them when …

“Cap. Contact in the hallway.” Marny said. I looked to my tactical display in the HUD. A gray dot appeared at the end and disappeared. Crap, it wasn’t clear if that was a baddie or friendly.

“Clear,” Tabby said.

“Clear,” Nick agreed.

“Marny, stay on the doorframe and cover down the hallway. Tabby, take a knee next to Marny and aim down. I’m on point. Nick, on my six, next to the right wall. GO.”

We fast-walked down the hallway. Seeing Nick’s rifle between me and the wall didn’t seem right but I knew that stopping wasn't a good idea. I hoped he wouldn’t have to fire it. My face was awfully close to the end of the barrel and he had no freedom of movement. That said, he was protected by my body. Ugh, not ideal.

When we reached the corner, I knelt down and crept up. I peeked around quickly and came face to face with a person. “Contact.” I had no idea if it was a baddie or friendly and I popped back. “Might be a friendly.” I spun my rifle around, peeked again and jammed the stock of the rifle into the person’s stomach, grabbing at their shirt to pull them around. My hands passed through their clothing and they disappeared.

The advantage of my two peeks around the corner was that I now had a tactical perspective of where the hallway led. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing to have slugged the person who disappeared, but I put it out of my mind as something we'd cover later. There were two doors, five meters down, one on each side. So much for being able to deal with them one at a time. Ten meters beyond that the hallway ended in a ‘T’ with a railing that obviously overlooked a lower level.

“Marny, Tabby, advance to our position. There are doors on both sides across from each other. We’re going to clear these rooms simultaneously. I want Marny and Tabby on the right side. Nick and me on the left. If the doors are open, we will aim across the hallway into the opposite doorway until we control the room. If we contact before getting to the door frames, front people will take a knee and concentrate fire on the contact. Back people will cover and help if possible, but we are in the open. Take your room as quickly as possible. First person in, sweeps the room from opposite side to close, second person crosses behind to the opposite side of room. Questions?”

It seemed a lot to communicate and I was proud that no one had any questions and moved out like I’d directed. I was in front of Nick so I slid over to the left side of the hallway, I could see his rifle pointed down the hallway. Nick and I would be able to see the doorway on the opposite side of the hallway before we got to the one on our side. The door was open so I aimed into the room. I saw the end of a blaster sticking out.

“Contact, right side.” As soon as I could see further into the room, a second figure appeared. “Second contact, right side.” I took a knee and fired off three rounds. I missed but the figure didn’t move quickly enough and I finished him off. Tabby was in front on the right side and took a knee, Marny looked over her shoulder down the hallway.

“There’s one more on the right side hiding behind the doorframe. Let’s move forward. Nick, you cover right when I reach our doorway. I’ll have to clear our side. Tabby, Marny move forward with us, your baddie isn’t moving yet.” The blaster rifle still hadn't moved. Before I made it to the doorway, a third contact appeared on the right, inside the room.

“Contact.” I fired at the figure and it blipped out. Four down
, eight to go. I was sweating profusely.

“Contact,” Tabby said. She fired across my line of sight.

“Tabby, you clear?” My tactical display showed that she had dropped the baddie.

“Roger.”

“Let me clear my opening. You have a baddie right behind your doorframe.”

I moved up to my doorframe and peeked around. There wasn’t anyone directly across. I swept from right to left, stepping into the doorway. There was another baddie, but I brought him down, barely feeling the small lance of fire in my back. I spotted a third baddie in my room and tried to fire. My gun did nothing.

“Frak!” I jumped at the baddie, I would tackle her. She fired at me again, clearly hitting me. My arms passed right through her and I fell to the ground sort of at her feet, sort of behind her.

Nick entered the room and brought her down. I picked myself up and scanned the room. There wasn’t enough furniture in here to hide anyone. “Clear,” I said.

“We’re clear,” Tabby replied. I looked at the count. We had cleared a total of seven. There should be five remaining. I was dead, although I would be active again in twenty seconds.

“Nick, Tabby, position on the doors, aim diagonally to the end of the hallway. I have fifteen seconds to reset.”

“Contact left,” Tabby said. “Friendly.”

BOOK: Privateer Tales 3: Parley
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