Cyber Dreams 4.31 - Intimidation

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“That’s right, she’s working on the drive. Should have it operational shortly.” Nick’s voice was calm, lethargic, even, and Juliet wondered if he’d self-medicated or something before getting on comms with the pirates. She hadn’t listened to the whole conversation, but as their ships grew near and the comm light kept flashing, she figured she should know what was going on.

“So why not just be happy with the ship and your lives? We’ll take the cargo.” The pirate spokesperson had a nasally, somewhat androgynous voice, making it hard for Juliet to picture the speaker.

“I already told you . . .”

“Yeah, you’ll blow the reactor and give us a run for our money. Listen, we’re willing to bargain here. After all, you did all the heavy lifting. You willing to follow us back to our base? We’ll need to board and put jammers on each ship.”

“Yeah, right, so you can put a bullet in the back of my head?”

“Listen, Simon, if we want you dead, we’d pop that little ship of yours from here. Think you can outrun some Yamaha Hawks?”

“Angel, what are . . .”

“Missiles. Very fast missiles.” Suddenly, Juliet heard and felt a clunk reverberate through the hull, and then a red light flashed on her AUI. Angel spoke up again, “Nick just undocked the Sharp Lady.”

“You wanna try me with those missiles? I can promise you that I won’t be the only ship to go down.”

“Nick, what the hell are you doing?” Juliet asked in their private comm channel.

“Trust me.”

“Easy, Simon.” The pirate’s tone had lost much of its earlier sharpness. “We all want to make some money here. No one needs to get blown to bits. Now, you know how these things go. The crew of that cargo ship didn’t want to lose their payload, and now you don’t want to lose it. Might makes right out here, though, eh? We recognize talent when we see it. You took out two escorts, and you’ve got a fast-looking ship there. You popped this little convoy before we even caught wind of it, so yeah, you deserve a cut. Now, I just got word from base authorizing me to promise you the ship and twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the payload. We’ve got the channels to move that stuff, do you?”

“I have your word that me and my partner are cool? No shenanigans? I swear to Christ, if you try to snatch us up, we’ll blow both reactors.”

“Okay, now, Simon, that’s no way to build trust—threatening to blow up ships and getting all suicidal and melodramatic! How about you spool down that drive and let one of us come aboard so we can install a jammer? It’s not ‘cause we don’t like you. It’s ‘cause we don’t trust you. Yet. To answer your question, yes, you have my word. Better, you have Hereford’s word; he’s the one who authorized the deal.”

“All right. What do I need to do?”

“Power down your drive and hold position. We’ll EVA someone over to your interceptor after we dock with the cargo ship. We need to make sure you guys are legit, you see? Need to sweep the big ship, confirm the payload, and install the jammers. Patience will go a long way with us right now, Simon.”

There was a long pause as “Simon” apparently deliberated the offer. Just before Juliet started to get nervous and prompted him on their private comms, he said, “All right. My partner will meet you at the airlock. Don’t do anything stupid—she’s a little jumpy.”

This time, Juliet spoke up, “Are you trying to get me killed?”

“No. Listen, they need to think we’re both on the edge. We just committed mass murder as far as they’re concerned, and we need to play the role. I’d rather they’re a little nervous and afraid of you than cocky, trying to come on board, bossing you around, right? We need to maintain autonomy at their base if we’re going to pull this thing off.”

“If you say so.” Juliet stood up from the pilot’s seat and walked down the access corridor away from the bridge. “What airlock are they approaching?”

“The bigger ship is positioning itself near the one I vacated. The starboard one. Their two escorts are flanking me. I just spooled down my drive. Now it’s my turn to feel nervous.”

“Okay, well, take your own advice: Stay cool.”

“We’re making the final approach to the docking collar. I hope you and your partner don’t try anything stupid, Simon.” The pirate didn’t sound nervous, speaking again with that sharp, almost angry tone. Juliet hurried through the ship, still following Angel’s guidance on her mini-map; the corridors all looked similar, and she hadn’t come close to memorizing the layout. With Angel’s leading the way, though, she got to the airlock ahead of the pirates, and when she felt their ship make contact, she began to regulate her breathing, taking deep, easy breaths, trying to calm her nerves.

Juliet held her auto shotgun before her, sideways, with the barrel pointed down. Still, she had her fast hand on the grip, ready to bring it up and go to town if things seemed off. She stood in front of the inner airlock, about two meters away from the door, and waited, listening. When Angel opened the outer door, she felt the vibration through the plasteel floorplates. While the pressure equalized, she opened her mind and tried to pick up nearby thoughts, much like she’d done back on the cruise ship in the restaurant.

. . . better not try anything stupid . . .

If I say shoot, you shoot! Juliet recognized the mental “voice” of the pirate spokesperson and tried to focus on it, but another one crowded in, making it difficult.

Another day, another chance to get blown to bits. Ain’t life grand?

. . . walking into a goddamn floating bomb . . .

. . . wonder what they did with the crew. I hate dealing with hostages . . .

Before Juliet could get back to the spokesperson’s thoughts, the inner airlock clicked and began to slide open. She stood there, gun in hand, mirrored visor facing the airlock, and waited, nerves on fire, ready to spring into action. She tried to be cool, tried to steady herself, and the easiest way for her to do that was to think about the coolest operator she’d ever met—not the toughest, not the meanest, the coolest. The face that came to mind was White’s, and it wasn’t a happy memory; it was him speaking clinically, slowly, methodically, annihilating a kill squad from two klicks away with his gauss rifle.

When the pirates stepped out of the airlock, they found her leaning against the wall, the shotgun in hand, watching them through that mirrored visor in the scarred-up baby blue helmet. She looked bigger than usual in that battle armor, and she was gladder than ever that she hadn’t bought it brand new. She looked like someone who’d been through a thing or two, and her posture clearly said she wasn’t worried about the four armed individuals who’d just stepped out of the airlock.

“Lacy?” a tall, very thin woman with short red hair asked in a voice that matched that of the spokesperson. Like the other pirates, she didn’t wear a helmet, but she was armed, holding a well-used automatic rifle painted in a desert camo pattern. The other three pirates were similarly armed, and they all had backup weapons, from pistols to sawed-off shotguns. Juliet didn’t speak, not sure when she’d made the decision not to, but going with it. She just nodded her helmet and waited.

“Not a big talker, huh? We’re going to search the ship.” Again, Juliet nodded, then stepped back and gestured down the corridor with the muzzle of her shotgun.

“Just stay cool.” The spokesperson nodded to the others, and they all started walking right past Juliet, avoiding looking directly into her mirrored helmet. Had she really intimidated them so much? They were all armed, most had some cybernetic augments visible, and they were notorious pirates! Why were they so stressed out? “Are you going to follow us? I’m Allie, by the way. Well, it’s short for Alejandra—nobody likes to call me my whole name. God, I’m babbling. Anyway, we’ll split up to make this faster.” She looked over her shoulder at Juliet, who nodded again and began ambling behind the four pirates.

Even if they planned to split up, they had a long corridor to walk down before the first junction. While she kept pace behind them, Juliet focused on the back of Allie’s head and opened her mind. When she started to hear her thoughts, she smiled grimly behind her visor.

Why the hell do I feel like I’m about to get canceled? Something about that chick . . . I can feel the ice coming off her. Jesus, I got the heebies just having her behind me.

Allie looked over her shoulder and gave Juliet a nervous smile when her eye, an implant with a heart-shaped iris, made contact with her visor. She quickly turned away. Juliet was about to try to tune back into her thoughts when Nick spoke up on their private channel, “That pirate just contacted me. Wanted to know if you ever talk.”

“Tell her I don’t. It’s intimidating the hell out of them.” Juliet was torn between focusing on her silent, deadly, White-inspired persona and laughing as she spoke to Nick. She clamped down on the humor and kept her focus.

“Uh, all right, but don’t push ‘em too far. No need to start a gunfight . . .”

“I’m not an idiot.” As Juliet spoke, they came to the first intersection, and the pirates broke into three groups. Two went left, one went right, and Allie pointed ahead to the lift.

“Can you show me the cargo, Lacy?”

Juliet nodded and also pointed to the lift, indicating that she’d follow Lacy. The woman frowned, highlighting a deep scar at the corner of her mouth, but she nodded and stepped onto it. Juliet followed, and when they were both aboard, she pushed the button for the floor level of the cargo bay. “So, I get that you don’t talk much, but can you?” When Juliet didn’t answer, Allie looked away, then quickly said, in a tone nothing like the acerbic one she’d used over comms, “They have implants for that, if it’s an injury or something . . .”

Again, Juliet didn’t speak, and Allie got quiet. When the lift stopped, she was quick to exit, and Juliet followed her, pointing the way toward the cargo bay. While they walked, she tried to listen some more to the woman’s surface thoughts.

God, blood everywhere! She massacred them? Her tone changed, and Juliet recognized the difference she’d heard before when someone went from thinking to themselves and subvocalizing. Anyone find any bodies?

“Did, um, did you kill the crew? Any prisoners we need to know about?” She looked at Juliet, watching, and then Juliet shook her head.

“Um, no prisoners? Or no, you didn’t kill them? Shit, let me just ask a simple yes or no: Are they all dead?”

Juliet nodded. Allie turned away quickly, speeding her steps, and then Nick spoke through comms again, “She wants to know where the bodies are. Wants to know what was wrong with the ship, why we didn’t take off before they arrived.”

“Tell her the bodies are in the airlock, but it’s not working. Tell her the drive had a software lockout I had to get through.” Juliet tapped Allie’s shoulder, and the woman flinched but turned to look at her. Juliet pointed to the junction ahead, then to the left, and Allie nodded, hurrying forward. “Her nerves are shot. I don’t think these guys are going to mess with me.”

“She just asked me if you’re a psycho and if she needs to worry about you murdering people at their base. Said something about them being criminals, but not lunatics.”

“Good.”

“This is all very interesting to me, Juliet,” Angel interjected. “Your equipment, your silence, and the state of this ship all add up to an intimidating image, but I feel like there’s something more to it. We’ve speculated that your latent psionic talents, you know, your ‘gut feelings,’ might be impacted by the lattice. We know it enhances how you perceive people’s intentions and certainly their thoughts. We also know that it allows you to project psionic energy in the case of your burgeoning telekinetic abilities. Do you think there’s any possibility that you’re projecting your intended persona, your mood?”

“Maybe, Angel. I was listening to her thoughts, and she said she could ‘feel ice’ coming from me.”

“Well, don’t push it too far. Some people, when driven to a panic, will respond with violence rather than fear.”

“Don’t worry.” Juliet watched Allie stop before the orange cargo door, then stepped forward and pressed her palm to the lock. The door hissed open, revealing the massive cargo of wine pallets.

“Holy shit! Your partner wasn’t lying!” Allie beelined for the two boxes Juliet had taken off the pallet and fished around in the open crate. She lifted one of the wine bottles, whistled softly, and asked, “They’re all like this?” She looked at Juliet for an answer but frowned when all she got was a shrug. “Can’t you just message my PAI or something? I hate playing charades.”

“Okay, Angel. Let her know we think all the wine is the same, but we only opened those two crates.”

“Ah, better. Thanks.” Allie nodded and sat down on a crate, her eyes going distant as she did something on her AUI. Juliet tried to listen in to her thoughts.

. . . a really nice score. Lots of good wine; should be easy to move outside the Jovian system . . . Uh, yeah, I guess she’s good muscle, but I think we should just deal through the other guy. Let him handle her. She gives me the willies . . . Roger.

“Okay, Lacy, you can fly this thing? We’ve got our jammers installed.” Juliet nodded, and the woman frowned, her eyes narrowing in her hard-boned, narrow face. Juliet could tell she was working herself up to something. “Listen, I know you’re a hard case. We get it. There’s a lot of tough assholes at our base, though, and if you try anything stupid, you’re gonna get put down. Understand?” Juliet waited a solid five seconds before she nodded again. “Good. Hey, let me get a look at your face. Do you mind? My boss is going to be pissed if I don’t at least confirm you’re . . . ah, hell, I don’t know what. I just want to look into your eyes once. Can you humor me?”

Juliet stepped toward the smaller woman, still trying to project that icy demeanor she’d seen in White when he went into combat mode. When she stood right in front of her, looming over her in her combat armor, she reached up and touched the side of her helmet, sending the visor up and back. She glared down at Allie, her weird, black eyes with their golden star irises locking onto hers. Rather than play the mute any longer, she growled, in the raspiest voice she could muster, “This what you wanted?”

Her words sent a visible shiver of shocked surprise through the other woman, and she took a rapid step back. “Yeah. Yeah, that does it. Thanks.” She turned and started toward the door as though she couldn’t get away fast enough. Juliet touched her helmet, sending the visor back down, then followed behind her, listening as the other woman spoke aloud into her comms. “Meet me at the airlock. We’re escorting these two ships to base.”

Juliet walked behind her as she went, contemplating what Angel had said about her projecting a kind of feeling toward the people around her. Was it possible? Was it another facet of the psionic lattice, another thing it amplified? It was no secret that a person’s mood could have a palpable effect on the people around him or her. Was the lattice amplifying it? Was it taking Juliet’s feelings about White when he was in stone-cold-killer mode and somehow sending those chilling thoughts and images into the minds of the people around her? Was it even something she could control? Perhaps she’d never noticed it before because, when it came down to it, Juliet was someone who tried to make the people around her comfortable.

She’d certainly butted heads with a few people since she’d gotten the lattice, but by and large, she got along pretty well with most people. Looking back at her time on the Kowashi, when she’d first taken the job from Shiro, though, she remembered when she’d “channeled” Ghoul and how effective that had been. She remembered dealing with the pirates on that icy rock of a moon and how the crew had treated her differently after that. Had she been affecting people’s feelings more overtly than she’d thought? It was certainly something to bear in mind going forward, something to be cognizant of.

She watched silently as the four pirates departed through the airlock, and then she went to the bridge and took the pilot’s seat. “Well, it went okay on my end,” she announced in her private channel with Nick. “How about you?”

“Yeah, all good. Jammers are installed, and I’ve got my nav computer synced up with the pirate’s main ship. They want you to do the same.”

“Angel?” Juliet was sure she could figure out how to do it, but that was something most pilots would leave to a PAI anyway.

“Locked in and ready to go. Drive’s warming up.”

“Okay, Simon.” Juliet chuckled, using the fake name. “We’re locked in. Tell them my drive will be ready in about ninety seconds.”

“Okay, Lacy. Buckle up; we’re heading into the lion’s den.”