Smuggler's Dilemma (32 page)

If not for our AIs, we'd have had a difficult time getting back to the hospital, though it wasn't more than a few blocks away. The next morning I awoke to a stubby finger poking me in the chest.

"Wake up, slacker. You're going to need to learn to take care of this equipment. If you think the Navy is going to replace this just because you're too drunk to put it away, you've got another think coming."

I opened my eyes to troll breath looking down at me. I rolled off the bed, but landed more gracefully, having had a few mornings to practice the maneuver now. I looked around the room and noticed that we hadn't left the room in great shape last night. My prosthetic foot was in a heap right next to Tabby's arc-jet chair. I vaguely remembered helping her get out of it before passing out.

I knew it wouldn't do any good to defend myself, so I hopped over to the pile and pulled on my foot. If I thought troll breath would give me a break because of my disability, I was wrong.

"Do you ever clean that thing? I'd better not find that's how you're treating the chair," she said.

I picked up the arc-jet chair and hung it back on its rack, next to the bed, feeling proud of myself for not knocking the woman back a few steps. Tabby was up and moving, looking as bleary eyed as I felt. I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

"Tuesday's the barbeque. Can you let me know if we're going - sometime today? I need to tell Tali," I said.

"Oh, she's going," I heard from over my shoulder.

I winced. I should have known better than to say anything in front of this woman. Tabby rolled her eyes at me and I suspected we'd be talking about that later.

"Don't be rolling those eyes at me," Troll breath continued. "You're going if I have to drag you there myself."

"Sorry," I whispered and scooted out of the room.

I found Nick and Marny seated at the mess table in the central habitation dome. They looked up expectantly when I came through the door.

"You want some eggs, Cap?" Marny asked, as I walked through on my way to the head. The very thought of eggs made me nauseated. I mumbled "No," shut the door, and stripped out of my civvies. I dropped my suit-liner into the freshener and stepped into the shower. The hot water made me feel better - if not substantially.

After showering, I grabbed a cup of coffee in the mess. Nick had a bemused look on his face and Marny couldn't stop from asking the obvious question.

"Cap, you hung over?"

"Margaritas turned into shots of tequila last night. My head is pounding."

Marny opened a cabinet, pulled out a med-patch and handed it to me. "You need to drink more water," she said.

With the patch applied and a few minutes sitting with my head in my hands, the cacophony finally subsided.

"Nick tell you what's going on?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to read your dad in or not," Nick said.

"Where is he?"

"Visiting some friends. Said he'd be back in a couple of days when your mom and Ada got back," he said.

"Have you talked to the shipyard?" We were past the planning stage and needed to get on with our preparations.

"Belcose sent me the pattern for the
Hotspur's
armor last night. They'll be done by Thursday."

"Navy's not getting their hands on it, are they?" I asked. Last time our ship was at the Navy's shipyard they'd installed all manner of spyware on it.

"No, but maybe we should ask Bit to sweep it before we take off," he said.

"Any ideas on how we're going to keep track of Xie Mie-su?" I asked.

He gritted his teeth. This wasn't going to be a fun trip. "She'll be restrained, we're putting her in cuffs."

"We won't need a brig?"

"The ship will monitor her and if she gets close to any person or control surface, her movements will be substantially restricted or she'll receive a shock. Apparently, they're pretty effective," he said.

"Can we up the voltage?" I quipped, causing Marny to chuckle. "Marny, can you work out what we need to get those suits fully operational? M-Pro said they'd provide ammo and I think we need to take advantage of it."

"Aye, Cap. Can do," she said.

"Tabby's being released from the hospital at the end of the week," I said. "I was thinking she could come along. We could modify one of the pilot's chairs.

"Is she recovered enough?" Nick asked.

"I think so and we could use help with watches. I don't want to tell her about any surgeries until it's certain. I'll talk to her about it tonight, if you're good with it. I also think there's a pretty good chance she'll come to the barbeque on Tuesday."

"I'd really like to see her," Nick said.

It was early afternoon when I got back to the Veteran's Hospital. Tabby had pinged me to let me know her physical therapy had finished early, but Patricia (aka troll breath) was requiring her to go out again. Apparently, I'd earned brownie points by taking Tabby to the restaurant last night. Unfortunately, I'd lost a lot of those points by getting her drunk.

Tabby was seated in a chair, working on picking up small items with her prosthetic when I walked in.

"How'd it go today?" I asked.

"We spent a lot of time working on getting in and out of the chair, it's really frustrating. Patricia says I need to spend more time working with my prosthetic arm."

"So, about the barbeque tomorrow. I'd really like us to go. Jack will be there. He's had a rough time with it all. I think he'd really like to see you."

"What about Nick?"

"Of course, he'll be there."

"Okay. You have to promise you'll bring me back right away if I ask, though." Tabby wasn't scared of much, but her eyes told me this trip might be too much.

"You have my word," I assured her. "Have you thought much about where you'll stay after they release you?"

"I have a stipend for housing. I figured I'd get an apartment here in Coolidge," she said.

"Would you consider taking a trip with us? M-Pro wants to send us on a wild goose chase."

"Let me think about it, okay?" she said. I couldn't wait until she regained her confidence. Tentative Tabby broke my heart.

"Of course," I said. "But, one more thing."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. We're going shopping this afternoon. I thought it might be a good warmup."

She looked down at the table and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I can cancel it. You've already agreed to the barbeque. Let's leave it at that," I said.

"No, it's okay. I know you're doing it for the right reasons. It's just hard, Liam. I've always been large and in charge, and now I'm… well… I don't know what I am," she said.

"You're the same person you've always been, Tabby."

"That's not true. I'm not. I can't do the things I used to. I'm not whole."

"Maybe I'm looking at this too simply, but we'll get through it," I said. "So, are you ready to get going?"

"Now?" she asked.

"Trust me," I said.

I hailed a cab and it took Tabby a couple of tries to get in successfully. She could have allowed the AI to do the work, but she was more interested in gaining skills.

The cab dropped us off in the Open Air District.

"Where are we going?" Tabby either loved or hated surprises, I wasn't sure which it would be in this case.

"This way," I said.

The brick streets of the Open Air District were lined with small shops, all with colorful awnings to shade shoppers from the afternoon sun. The shop we approached had a simple sign that read 'Kathryne's Boutique.' An elegant, middle aged woman sat outside in a comfortable chair and watched us approach.

"Are you sure this is right?" Tabby asked.

"Of course he's not," the woman answered for me as she stood up and approached. "Such a beautiful girl, you remind me of Natalia when she was younger. I'm Kathryne. Please come in."

Initially Tabby resisted, but in the end it became obvious that Kathryne wasn't to be trifled with. I wondered who won arguments between her and Tali.

"Hold this." Kathryne handed me a bag after she emerged from a back room that I'd been banished from for the better part of an hour. "Come on out dear," she called. She back-handed my shoulder, "Stand up in the presence of a lady."

Tabby glided out. She was wearing a blue dress with a v-neck that plunged deeply, but still elegantly. Her long copper colored hair had grown back and sat braided over one shoulder. I gasped involuntarily. I'd been so worried about survival, missions, and everything else, I'd forgotten how beautiful she was.

"You're gorgeous," I said. Tabby, for the first time I could remember, blushed.

"It's not my hair," she said.

"Hush, child, of course it is, I matched it perfectly. Do not ruin the moment," Kathryne scolded gently.

"I don't know how to thank you, Kathryne," I said.

She winked at me. "Well, financially, of course."

I swiped the signature pad. "Thank you for this."

The next day started like every other, with troll breath barging in before I was ready to wake up.

"Up and at 'em," she said. "Today's the big barbeque, we need to get started early." I wasn't sure why she was so focused on this barbeque, but I appreciated the help.

Nick kept us busy the entire day, picking up supplies and delivering the crates we'd brought back from the outpost to the auctioneer. We'd originally thought we'd have time to sell the stock more slowly, but as usual, we were rushing on to our next mission.

I picked Tabby up from the hospital that afternoon. Troll breath, aka Patricia, had worked with Tabby to get her dressed in her new clothing.

"I'm totally overdressed for a barbeque," Tabby worried out loud in the cab. I smiled. She was worried about what she was wearing and it was great.

Tali met us as we walked from the cab.

"We're over at the pit," she said. "And don't you look beautiful?"

"Thank you," Tabby replied. "Kathryne is so nice."

"That has to be the first time I've heard that," Tali said, laughing. "Boys. Get over here and meet a real hero."

Tali introduced Tabby to her team; Ben 'Jammin' Rheel and Jordy Kelti. Like Tali, Jammin and Kelti were both in amazing physical shape. Where Jordy was tall and athletic, Jammin was average height, thickly muscled and, though he was quiet, he had a quick smile.

One of the great things about ex-military was their understanding of disabled vets. Instead of treating Tabby as a fragile doll that would break at any minute, they accepted her as one of their own. It was a bond I was jealous of, but grateful for all the same.

By 2300 the fire was dying down and we'd all drunk more than our share. All in all it had been a great night.

"I'll go with you," Tabby said. She'd been dozing on and off, giving into the warmth of the blankets we'd been snuggling under.

"Perfect," I said.

"What time is it?" Tabby asked, rousing from her nap.

"It's getting late, how about we sleep in my bed tonight." I said.

"Patricia will be pissed."

"It'll be worth it."

ALL DRESSED UP

Early Thursday morning I received a comm from the shipyard, they'd finished work on the
Hotspur
.

"So this is it?" Tabby asked.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm scared, Liam," she said.

"I've got a surprise for you," I taunted. I missed playing with her.

"What? You have to tell me."

"You'll see," I said.

I grabbed the large case holding her medical attendant robot. It was heavy enough that there were arc-jets in the case to keep it aloft.

"Nick, the ship's ready and we're on the way to grab her," I said.

"Yup, we'll be waiting for you," he replied.

We grabbed a four-seater to the Coolidge terminal and I changed into my vac-suit, strapping my flechette into its chest holster. Kathryne had manufactured a vac-suit for Tabby. It was a big step that she could put it on with help from the attendant bot. While Tabby hadn't said it, I'd suspected that if that process hadn't gone well, she would have backed out of the trip.

The space elevator was busy, so we waited twenty minutes for a car and then rode up with a group of what I suspected were local manufacturing workers. Their suits were well worn with an unfamiliar logo.

We grabbed a shuttle over to the shipyard and were met by Priyanka Lanka, the original rep who'd walked me through the changes. It surprised me a little, as I'd expected he was more of a front man than someone who would be able to walk us through the work that had been done.

"Welcome back, Liam Hoffen. Who's your friend?" he asked.

"First mate Tabby Masters," I said.

He shook both of our hands. I was impressed that he didn't even bat an eye at Tabby's arc-jet chair.

"We've had good success with your repairs, better than I'd originally promised." He led us down a hallway and through a blue energy barrier into a repair bay.

I was taken aback when I looked at my girl, sitting in the brightly lit bay. The light absorptive armor made it difficult to pick out individual details, but the dark gray outline stood in sharp relief against the bay's white walls. The turrets had been retracted beneath their protective cowls. Her stubby wing, no longer a kludged mass of welds, had been restored. She, once again, aggressively bragged and begged to be let loose.

"That's better," I breathed.

"My crew does fine work," he said. "You know, we'd be interested in licensing that armor recipe from you."

"I'm not sure we have enough ownership for that."

"It'd be worth a lot," he prodded.

"I'll take it up with my partner."

We walked around to the back of the ship after inspecting the bottom side of the wing. The change to the cargo hold was immediately obvious as we walked up the open ramp. A long rectangular bump-out spanned the back wall with a new door a little right of center.

"We converted your old exterior hatch to a single portal style. The airlock there, was no longer necessary. Think of the new hallway as an extended airlock," he explained, sliding the new door open. I heard the door lock with a click.