Cyber Dreams 4.4 - Goodbyes or Not

Hope you all have a great week ahead of you! Happy to hear your feedback :)

-Plum

“So, you guys are heading out?” Juliet shifted on the plasteel crate, picking up a rag to wipe her forehead; she’d built up a sheen of sweat removing the casing and mounting bolts from the gunship’s main gun. Aya was pacing in a little circle, hands clasped behind her back, her short hair bobbing as she moved her head up and down in a nod that radiated nervous energy.

“Yeah. Just a quick trip over to Mars. Shiro’s got a line on some scrap he wants to try to dig up and bring back here for a profit. I’m sure we’ll also visit our family for a few days. Bennet’s sticking around, though! He’ll keep making progress on the gunship.”

“Well, I guess you have to make a living while we’re waiting for this big girl to get ready for action. Can’t blame you for that, can I?”

“Exactly. But,” Aya stopped pacing and turned to face Juliet, her yellow eyes big and full of emotion, “we’re going to miss your sendoff! I wanted to throw you a party before you left.”

“Oh, gosh!” Juliet chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. I hate attention.”

“Well, then, why’d you get such pretty hair and eyes?”

“Argh!” Juliet mock fainted, holding a hand over her eyes. “Angel, make my eyes and hair primer gray!”

Aya’s eyes widened further as Angel, either playing along or taking Juliet literally, changed her hair and eyes to a flat, sheenless, gray color. “That’s . . . not attractive! I liked it better the other way!”

“Hah! Well, this is more my speed, probably. Oh, sheesh,” she sighed, watching Aya’s frown deepen, “put it back, Angel.”

“Better!” Aya smiled, baring her teeth, white but endearingly crooked on the bottom. “How are the books coming?”

“Oh great! I just read a bunch of short ones by that L’Amour guy.”

“Those are fun . . .”

“You want ‘em back?”

“No! I mean, yeah, but there’s no rush. You won’t take ‘em all with you, though, right?”

“No, no.” Juliet stood and gestured toward the rear ramp of the gunship. “I’m traveling light. Well, as light as I can if I take some body armor and guns. Anyway, I’ll leave the books in my room on the ship. You have access.” Changing the topic, Juliet asked, “Hey, have you ever met this friend of Alice’s?”

“Nope—never even heard her mention him. What was the name again?”

“Nick Grant.”

“Yeah. He’s from her old life; I guess before Shiro met her.” Aya shrugged. “You leave this Friday, right?”

“Yep. On the Sunset Star Runner. Cost me a pretty penny, but at least I’ll be flying in style—get my own suite, access to the lounge, a fitness room, and even a ‘starlight pool.’ You ever flown on one of those passenger liners?”

“Nope. Anytime I left a planet or moon, I was on the Kowashi.”

“Hey!” Bennet called from the other side of the ship. “You got that main gun off? We gotta get those barrels to Ralph before he closes today.”

Juliet flicked her wrist and made a whip-cracking sound. “He’s no fun.”

“Hold on, Bennet! I’m talking to Lucky!” Aya called, her usual cheerful expression darkening to a scowl. “We’re leaving tomorrow, so . . . I might not see you again!” In an obviously impulsive move that made her very nervous, Aya rushed forward and grasped Juliet in a tight hug. Juliet laughed at first, but she could tell the salvage tech was feeling emotional, so she hugged her back, pulling her tight.

“Shh. It’s just for a few months. I’m gonna kick some ass around Jupiter, impress Alice’s friend, and then we can work together on the regular. Cool?”

“Shiny as chrome,” Aya murmured, her face in Juliet’s chest as she sniffed.

“All right, all right. Keep Shiro in line, will you? This isn’t goodbye; it’s just see ya later, right? Come on, now; I better get this gun off before Bennet has a fit.”

“I’ll keep Shiro and Alice out of trouble.” Aya performed a rather silly salute, then, cheeks flushing, turned and hurried around a crate piled high with boxes toward the hangar’s pedestrian door. Juliet watched after her until she heard the heavy metal door bang closed.

“She’s always so sweet,” Angel said as Juliet returned to her job under the gunship’s nose.

She got back to work on the bolts holding the barrel assembly in place, grunting as her cybernetic arm applied the torque needed to loosen them. “She’s sweet, yeah. I think she sees me kind of like a big sister, you know? Like, she thinks everything I do is cool, but if she were in my shoes, she’d know I was faking it half the time. When I was nine or so, I used to look at Emma like that.”

“Is it stressful? Worrying that you’ll let her down?”

“Hey!” Juliet chuckled. “You’re not supposed to be so insightful.” Before Angel could reply, Juliet hollered, “Bennet! I’m down to the last two bolts; I need you to bring the lift over here. I know I’m tough, but I think this gun weighs a couple of tons.”

“You can’t just hoist it down with that fancy arm?” Bennet hopped off the port wing with a clomp and a grunt. “Sec—I gotta unload a pallet from the lift.”

Juliet sighed and set the big ratchet down, leaning against the gun with its badly bent barrels. Bennet had lined up a shop right there on Luna that claimed they could melt and recast them. Bennet was skeptical, but he’d decided to give them a shot—in his estimation, they had nothing to lose; the barrels were shot, and payment for the recast wasn’t due until he picked them up. They hadn’t found any used parts for the gun on the market. Of course, that didn’t mean there weren’t any. Not every salvage yard had good records for every item in its inventory. Some listed them in lots or had entries like “60’s era fighter with most non-engine parts.” It would take years to scour all the yards in just a handful of cities on Earth, let alone the greater solar system.

After a few minutes of cursing accompanied by the crashing of boxes or crates, Juliet heard the forklift whine to life, powering through the hangar toward the front of the gunship. A minute later, Bennet was positioning the forks under the big main gun assembly, and Juliet began loosening the last bolts. “Lift it just a centimeter, will you? There’s too much weight on these last bolts.”

“Got it.” The forks twitched ever so slightly, and then Juliet found herself able to turn the bolts again. Before long, she had the last one out, and Bennet lowered the gun toward the concrete floor. “We gotta get the barrels off now.”

“Yeah.” Juliet let herself get lost in the process, taking apart the rest of the gun’s housing, exposing the rotating firing chambers, and taking out half a dozen pins that finally allowed the barrels to slide free. Bennet had a box labeled “Main Gun Parts,” where she carefully taped all the little parts so they wouldn’t slide around or get bounced out when it was moved. They already had around a hundred such boxes filled with everything from drive components to control panel LEDs.

When she had the barrels loose, she called Bennet back over, pointed to the three heavy, incredibly dense tubes, and said, “You good to take these? Wrap some tape around them and strap ‘em to a dolly.”

“Yeah, no worries. Why? You got plans?”

“Promised Cel and Rissa I’d swing by before I leave. They wanna show me their apartment.”

“How they doing, anyway?” Bennet knelt and as if by magic, produced a roll of thick electrical tape. He began to wind it around the three barrels, making one heavy, black-wrapped bundle.

“Good. Rissa’s due soon, but Cel got a job with that friend of Shiro’s. The electrical component reseller. Somehow, he got her on an insurance plan that covers Rissa as her partner.”

“Cool of you to help with their IDs.”

“Wasn’t a big deal. A few k and a bit of work on their PAIs. Plenty good enough to hide ‘em from that research corp on Titan.”

“EvoGen, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, gives me the creeps thinking about what they’d have done with Rissa’s baby.”

Bennet grunted his agreement and then snapped off the last strip of tape. “That ought to do it!” He gave the bundle of barrels a slap, then stood up, looking around, likely for the nearest dolly. “You’re outta here in two days, yeah?”

“Yep, cruisin’ toward Jupiter.”

“Man, the last time I rode on a passenger cruiser, I was so drunk all the time I only remember about half the trip. Watch out if you visit the casino on board; they’ll get you wasted on free drinks.”

“You have an unhealthy relationship with food and drink, Bennet.” Juliet laughed, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

“I’m a little compulsive, yeah.” He grinned, rubbing his chin and shaking his head. “Well, shit, Lucky. I’ll miss you. It’s been damn good having your help on this thing. Still, I’ll try to make as much progress as I can before you get back. Won’t it be badass if they really can fix these barrels?”

“Way too cool—nuclear!”

“Yeah, for sure. Well, I’m probably gonna go see Lavonne tonight, and I might not make it back here tomorrow. I guess what I’m trying to say is this is goodbye . . .”

“Oh, brother! Don’t start crying on me! Want me to tell that new girlfriend of yours to distract you with a good dinner?”

“No need, killer, no need. We’re going out—one-month anniversary!”

“Oh? My goodness, Bennet! Does that make this your longest relationship?”

“See? That’s why I shouldn’t drink with crew mates; they learn too much about me.” Bennet winked at her, then held up a meaty palm, fingers open and thumb up. “Anyway, see you soon, right?”

“Right!” Juliet slapped her palm against his, wrapping her fingers around the back of his thumb. He returned the grip, and they smiled at each other for a minute before letting go.

“Yep, well, anyway, I’m gonna get this loaded.” With that, he turned and shuffled off, taking his quest for a dolly further afield. Juliet sighed and turned, following Aya’s earlier path toward the door.

“You have a cab coming? I’m telling you: if I weren’t leaving in two days, I’d buy a bike or something. Cabs are getting old.”

“Your cab is three minutes out. If you buy a bike, I will insist on a good helmet and some protective gear. You don’t want to be covered with scars if you slide on the concrete!”

“You didn’t say anything when I got that bike in Tucson!”

“I was still absorbing things, still getting used to you.”

“All right, well, let’s go see those girls. We can talk about helmets and such when we cross that bridge.”

Her visit with Cel and Rissa was quick and low-key. They showed off their one-bedroom apartment, pleased to actually have a bedroom. Cel had prepared one of Juliet’s favorite dishes from their trip to Luna. It was a tofu lasagna with lots of basil and cashew cheese. Juliet’s favorite part was the way Cel chopped up walnuts and mixed them with the tofu to add a different mouthfeel to the gooey richness. They laughed and joked, reminiscing about how they’d all teased Bennet or about the time Shiro refused to eat because Cel cooked with mushrooms. And then Juliet had left; Cel had to work early, and Rissa needed her sleep.

On the long ride back to the hangar, Juliet leaned her head against the glass of the cab’s window and subvocalized, “Do you think I’m being dumb?”

“About?”

“About chasing wild dreams like flying a gunship. I could be happy living like Cel and Rissa, couldn’t I? I could get a job. Heck, I could get a hell of a lot better job than she has; I mean, with you in my head, helping me out. Even without your help, I could make a decent living with my welding credentials here on Luna. I could get a place, meet someone, have nice dinners, and not worry about anything other than what I had to do for work the next day. That wouldn’t really be any kind of worry at all, would it?”

“You’d grow bored and listless and wonder what you were missing. You’re just feeling some ennui because you’ve been idle too long and saw how happy those two are. You aren’t like them, though. You crave excitement, and you enjoy improving yourself. One month of reporting for work as a welder, and you’d be planning a heist.”

Juliet snorted a short laugh, surprised by Angel’s immediate dismissal of the peaceful fantasy. Though her words had caught her off guard, Juliet couldn’t argue with them. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Even so, I’m a bit jealous. I mean about how they have each other.”

“I know it’s not the same, but you’ve got me.” Angel sounded so sweet that Juliet felt tears start to pool in her eyes. She blinked them away, a smile pulling her cheeks tight.

“You’ve got me too, Angel.”

She spent the next day packing, trying to pare down her belongings so they’d fit in one bag—her big black backpack. She began by rolling up her flight suit, amazed at how compact it became as she squeezed it into a tight roll. She put two shrink-ties around it and wedged it into the bottom of her pack. She stowed her ballistics vest on top of the flight suit, along with several changes of clothes, her tennis shoes, data deck, and a box of spare needler ammo; the cruise liner would only allow small caliber pistols, no SMGs or rifles, even with her SOA license, so that made things easy when it came to packing her guns. Her helmet, battle-scarred as it was, she hooked on a strap to the side of her pack.

When her bag was packed, she looked around her room, a small smile playing on her lips as she took in the space. She likedit. She liked the idea that she had a cozy space inside a spacecraft. She liked her room on the Kowashi in the same manner, but this one felt more . . . personal. She saw her Zelazny book in its case, sitting on her built-in shelf, and then her eyes fell on the monoblade, hung on the wall with some magnetic clamps. Part of her wanted to take it, but she knew that would be a mistake. Only experts in sword fighting would carry a sword like that, not a novice like her, not if she wanted to live very long. A weapon like that attracted attention, and she didn’t have what it would take to back eager challengers down; they’d sniff her inexperience out.

A short laugh at the thought escaped her. “Have I been reading too many Westerns—too many pulp samurai fictions?”

“Are you thinking about what you said the other day? How you aren’t ‘ready’ to carry that sword?”

“Yeah. You agree, right?”

“Yes. Such a weapon is dangerous for a novice. You practiced a lot with Honey, but you have a great deal more to learn. Of course, I could accelerate your learning and step in until you’ve mastered the . . .”

“No, no. I’m good with trying to master piloting for now. I’ve got enough on my plate.”

When she got dressed to head to the spaceport, Juliet wore a pair of tight, stretchy blue jeans, a black, vintage T with a faded green dragon sitting atop a hoard of gold printed on the front, her well-worn work boots, and of course, her brown, faux-leather motorcycle jacket with the silky pink lining. Hair pulled back in a ponytail, needler under her arm, she slung her pack onto her shoulders and locked up the hangar. Ten minutes after that, she was well on her way to the port, riding in the back of yet another cab.

For some reason, she felt nervous, even though the passenger liner would take a solid six days to get to Io. She sort of wanted to call Honey, but another part of her, a louder, more insistent part, wouldn’t allow it. She’d tried to meet up with her friend for lunch several times, but Honey constantly threw up roadblocks. Lilia had an appointment, or they were vacationing in one of the recreation domes, or Honey was working on her teaching credentials—something she claimed to be doing simply so she could better tutor Lilia. Why the hell did an AI need tutoring? The whole thing was bizarre to Juliet.

All the excuses finally made even Juliet, naïve as she was, recognize that she was being strung along. The last time, when Honey had canceled a meetup in the park because of a music lesson opening up with an ‘exclusive, fully-booked tutor,’ Juliet had decided to stop reaching out until Honey made an effort first. “Is the Kowashi too far to call?”

“They’ve been traveling about twelve hours, and, knowing Alice, they’re burning at more than a G. I’d guess we’ll have about a five-minute delay.”

“All right, well, record me. I’ll send ‘em a message, and maybe they’ll get back to me before I leave. It’ll distract me from thinking about pilot tests and embarrassing myself in the cockpit, at least.”

“Ready.”

“Hey, Shiro, Alice, and Aya. I’m heading off, totally bummed you didn’t have a going away party for me. I was expecting Shiro to sing some karaoke, and Alice, you were supposed to bake cupcakes! Put it this way: you all owe me big-time. When I get back from the Jovian System, I’ll be expecting something totally electric. I’m talking shiny like chrome, Aya!” Juliet had begun to grin, her cheeks stretching further and further with her words. “Well, I’m off. Heading to the spaceport as we speak, and, all kidding aside, I’ll miss you guys. Hope things go well on Mars. I’m sure Bennet gave you a list of parts to look for while you’re there, so here’s hoping you find something good. Maybe the control board for the main drive, huh? Bennet swears that’s all it needs now. Be safe, and don’t take on any dangerous jobs while I’m gone . . . bye!” Juliet abruptly cut the message.

“Sending . . . done.”

“Did I sound too manic?”

“No, it was sweet.”

Juliet continued to ride in silence, thinking about the people she’d met since that fateful night in the scrapyard when Angel had fallen into her hands. She’d certainly met her share of characters, even from the very start—Dr. Tsakanikas, Vikker, Don, Ghoul. Ghoul! She shook her head, thinking of her, wondering when the next message would come through, pretending to be from her friend. She let her mind drift back to other people she’d met, a few standing out more than others—Mags, Hot Mustard, Sensei, Charity, Doc Murphy. The sting of betrayal made Juliet scramble for something else to think about, and she reckoned it was a good idea—the next set of remembered people revolved around the Grave Industries job, and even more sadness and betrayal would accompany those thoughts.

“I’m glad we’re going to see the crew again,” she said, trying to summarize her feelings for herself if not for Angel. “I’ve left a lot of people behind, and I’d rather that wasn’t the case with them.”

“That’s good, Juliet. It’s good to have connections, even though your enemies might exploit them.”

“Angel!” Juliet groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead and briskly rubbing it, trying to remember Angel had good intentions. “That’s definitely something I’m bringing up with Dr. Ming.”

“What?”

Juliet watched the view beyond the expressway tube. They were skirting around the main Luna City dome, heading for a connection to a vast parking structure with a direct pedestrian transit to the spaceport. The city, as always, looked beautiful from a distance, especially when the sun was shining brightly, reflecting off the shiny, silvery towers with their mirrored windows. She thought about explaining to Angel that the last thing she wanted to think about was how WBD or other people she’d pissed off might use the crew of the Kowashi to get at her. She considered explaining that she’d been sad enough about all the people she’d left behind, all the betrayals she’d encountered.

Instead, she sighed and said, “Nothing. I’ll talk to Ming, but you don’t need to worry. I was just feeling bad about all of the friends I’ve made and lost.”

“Well, as you told Aya, this isn’t goodbye. You’ll see them again soon.”

“Right.” Juliet tapped her head against the cold glass of the window. “Right. We’ll see ‘em again soon.”