Dane struggled with pulling on another shirt over a thick longsleeve, trying to get it smoothed out. Hair still wet from the shower, the hot water had brought a lot of life back to his limbs. Heat always seemed to restore him. The slightest bit of cold sapped his strength, made him stiff, slow. Probably because of growing up in tropical weather on a beautiful world - a world of summer, all year long.
He walked out of the bathroom attached to his hospital room, with a mock whistle from Ashley accompanying him. "You clean up good!" She said, with a big smile. Dane, dressed in jeans that probably hadn't been washed in a while, wearing a t-shirt with its band merch logo long since faded, and it self longing for a clean - he just gave her a look that said yeah right before it broke into a smile of his own.
"Tch, yeah, good thing, I was gettin' pretty rank." He stretched his arms over his head, working the last of the stiffness from his joints. It felt good. There was still a slight chill to the air - Cambridge was going through its early spring cycle, and the snows had given way to rains. While his room had an excellent heating unit, he hadn't bothered to fiddle with it. Ashley was wearing a jacket over a button up blouse and t-shirt combo, with long thick jeans.
"Feel better?" She asked, looking him over.
"Yeah, I think so." He looked out the window at the morning, realizing he was incredibly hungry, and pretty thirsty. Fiddling with a few keys on an end table next to the window, he projected a small holographic menu for the hospital services, and eventually, its room-service menu.
"I'm hungry as hell, you want anything?"
"Yeah, I could eat, but not here, these kinda places charge too much - Probably find something cheaper in the city."
"Heh, yeah, true enough - probably better food too. Sigh, fine, I guess I'll just have to suffer so we can pinch a few pennies..." He added a bit of mock drama to his voice, and turned around to give her a look suggesting he was wilting from starvation. She just stuck her tongue out at him, and they both chuckled.
"You think they'll let you out of here?" She asked, serious again. Dane just nodded, closing down the menu. "They should, from what I gather, I'm here till I'm fine, which I guess I am."
"Why are you here, anyway? What happened?"
Dane's mouth opened to say, but caught himself - the story would naturally be a psychotic episode from years of repressed heartbreak, resulting in an emotional breakdown. Not incredibly flattering. Not something he really wanted her to know.
"It's ok Dane, you can tell me..."
He shut his mouth, took a deep breath...
"I kinda lost it. Guess I'd uh...been...I dunno...crazy or something. Forgot all that stuff...that happened with me and you. Ya know when I left, the navy?" She nodded "Yeah well, I left to get away from the bad memories. I guess I invented some weird thing about me not being able to sleep, only in space or something." He looked at her, trying to compose the rest, trying to see what her reaction was. Hoping it wasn't disgust, or hatred, or fear.
Instead it was thoughtful. "Ya know..." she said "Your sleeping problem...you didn't make that up."
"I didn't?"
"No, you haven't been able to sleep since...forever. Your dad got us a tour on the Yukon, and you fell asleep on the transport up, were sleepy the whole time, and dead-weight the whole ride back."
"Huh...I don't remember that..."
She just nodded and gave him a reassuring look. With a bit more confidence that he wasn't completely insane, he let out a breath and continued.
"But yeah...I forgot what happened. I guess I just...repressed it. I dunno. Something on Canaria made me homesick, and I just...started remembering it all again. That with everything happening with the station...I dunno, things get hazy. But I guess I lost it." He gave a weak shrug.
Truth was, he was embarrassed and scared by what happened. While he had been thinking about this whole time, now it started to really hit home. Dane always saw himself as kinda invincible, nothing had really fazed him. But the last week, and the month that preceded it, was hard to acknowledge. Even now, he wondered if he really was crazy...
He hadn't noticed that she had gotten up, till her hand was on his shoulder. The touch was comforting. It reminded him of the fact that...since he had left Los Angeles, he hadn't really had human contact with anyone. It was all ships, and comm boards, and air waves. A backslap, a fistbump, even a hug...how long had it been?
He took her hand and enveloped her in a hug. He didn't realize he was doing it, but honestly thought he'd worry about personal boundaries, and offended feelings later. He expected her to push him off, slap him, run from the room screaming. Instead he felt her arms wrap around him. This close, he smelled the perfume in her hair, and beneath it, the slight sweat of a long travel, It had been years since he smelled that scent. Lots of memories...
but for him, right now, it was the contact. To feel another persons warm body. It made him feel...not alone.
"I'm scared Ash..." he whispered in her ear. He didn't know why. He never wanted her to think he didn't always have things under control.
"Why?" He voice was also a whisper. This close, there was no need. For these few moments, they felt a hundred miles from anyone, no matter that a glass window and wooden door separated them from the world. This was the first time, ever, that Dane had let down his walls to her. Even when they were in love, he always projected what he wanted people to see.
"I'm scared that I'm crazy...that I lost my mind..."
He breathed in, and realized that he was gonna regret saying that...
Her arms squeezed tighter, and she whispered to him "You are crazy Dane, you always have been" her voice was soft, and she chuckled, letting him know that she was playing with him. In spite of himself, he smiled. "Your alright Dane. Everything is gonna be alright. I promise."
At this moment, at this time, he felt like the sun was rising on his life. He hadn't ever put it in those terms, but, really...the winter was over. The winter of his life, or at least, of recent events. The last few months. It meant that spring had come.
Dane had been called off to another examination room, to be checked over by a doctor prior to his discharge. He was told that his stay was voluntary, but that they wanted to gauge his condition before allowing him to leave. Half of it was liability, the other half was concern the afflicted person wouldn't do something that could have otherwise been prevented. Ashley sat alone in the room, waiting for him to come back.
She checked her comm, a little glassy handheld thing, essential in Los Angeles, and Liberty beyond. It drew off the Bretonian neuralnet, which still charged a bit extra then she would've gotten back home. A nmber of messages were bright, demanding attention. Most of it was general questions of location, health, etc, from various friends. Ashley had never traveled far beyond LA, and most of her friends hadn't either - so it was something of an exciting adventure. Someone like Dane, who had chosen to make his life in space, and more then that, straying far beyond the beaten paths of the trade lanes, was something most people she knew couldn't understand. Ashley herself had trouble understanding it, but it made sense now.
It was still scary as hell though. At Jim's wedding a couple years ago, Dane had made an appearance. Crowds and work had kept them apart, and even from noticing each other, but she had heard from other sources all about his time there. A very formal event, and Dane shows up wearing a t-shirt and jeans, like he would ever wear anything else. Telling stories of far off planets full of monkeys and robots, about how he had almost been killed by nomads, and other such things. His brother asked him to leave, and it was a catalyst for Dane just forgetting to ever contact his family again. Ashley knew most of them pretty well, enough to know they worried sick about him, even if they never showed it - work always seemed to come first. Ageira always seemed to come first.
And of course, two messages were from Ageira, about assignments she was expected to complete for her internship. Both of them were from Dane's mother, under whom Ashley was interning for. No word about her son, no question about his health. Just damned reports and numbers. She had taken 3 days off from work to come see Dane, at his parents request. She knew they were worried, but it was all buried deep. And despite being here, halfway across Sirius, the work followed her. After Dane admitting how scared he was for his sanity, it just seemed offensive that the one thing that shouldn't be important at all, was clamoring for attention, as if it had any right. As if numbers and reports had any right to overshadow a scared young man who had done more, and experienced more, then his own parents.
Angrily she deleted the messages, instantly regretting it. Not doing the assignments would hurt her position, and would threaten her continued internship. Yvonne Summers would not just let it slide, no matter the circumstances.
Ashley let out a sigh, and looked around. Dane's things were all in a worn out duffle bag, recently opened for some clothes that he was wearing now. Propped next to it was a guitar. It wasn't the one she remembered him having - that one was khaki wood, with a couple stickers on it, This one, the wood was darker, more red, and looked brand new. Getting up, she sat on the bed next to it, and picked it up. The leather straps hadn't been broken in yet, and the strings were stiff. Strumming a few notes, it sounded in tune (as much as she could tell).
Years ago, Dane had taught her a few chords, a song or two. She could only really remember one. Strumming the strings, and trying to get her fingers in the right place, it took a bit before the sound was right. Once she had it, she switched notes, did it over till it was as she remembered, and finally had the tune. The rich tune filled the hospital room, and gone were the thoughts of Ageira, and Yvonne, and the millions of miles that separated her from everything she called home. The words came back, and they started as a whisper.
...Trees...oh trees....
...Do you remember me?
...Trees...oh trees....
...Do you remember me?
...From before...
...From before...
...And birds....oh birds...
...Can you recall my song?
...And birds....oh birds...
...Can you recall my song?
...Like before...
...Like before...
...Fire...oh fire...
...I can still feel your warmth...
...Fire...oh fire...
...I can still feel your warmth...
Although relatively short, the interview with the doctor seemed to have taken for hours. It was the nature of the questions, and the gentle, yet professional, prodding of his sanity. It was creepy, uncomfortable, but necessary. However, with a clean bill of mental health, for the most part, Dane was on his way back to his room, and off to parts beyond.
He noticed that Katz was gone. A hollow pang of guilt ran through him. The Premier had taken a considerable risk to come here, to talk to him. Katz must have thought a lot of him, even trusted him. And while Dane had ultimately decided not to accept his offer (for now), he still felt guilty for turning him down.
His experiences with the Coalition had been a stumble from day one. They defended his station during the Omega War, but he had denied there support later, when he needed Rheinland's aid against Bretonia. That act had cooled there opinion a lot, and things had just been left to silence. However, they gifted his station a planetary shield, making Freeport One the most well protected station in Sirius - but clashes over the NFZ policy had left two Coalition destroyers broken, and a number of fighters along with it. After that, everything had again gone back to silence. Dane had no idea how Savage would handle them from now on, but that was her problem now.
Approaching his room, he heard soft guitar music, and singing. He recognized the song, and the voice. Ashley, singing "Trees and Birds and Fire" with his guitar. Opening the door slowly, he came inside as she was lost in her song, her eyes closed. The sun was shining outside, the cold grey having finally dissipated, and the sunrays lit up the room.
Watching her, Dane still wondered exactly what was happening in his life. The skeletons in his closet seemed to have cut there own parole, but instead of making his life a spiral of hell, it seemed to be looking up. Truth being, he regretted a lot that happened over the past few months. Ever since he opened his comm to Freeport One, and offered to help its beleaguered Administrator. The whole series of events afterward just got darker and darker. There were still physical scars on his body from when Endless-Summer blew up around the station orbit. Losing it had hit him more deeply then he knew. And everything else with Freeport One had seemed to make him old before his time. It had changed him, and he wondered if the change was a good one.
And then there was Ashley. Listening to her music, an echo of the feelings he once had overlayed his thoughts. It would be an easy thing to give into them, a temptation almost too good to resist. Love of that kind was like an old warm blanket. But just as quickly as he thought about, the heartbreak was there, a dark cloud over everything. The first time it had happened, drove him nearly insane. The thought of it happening again was terrifying.
Truth was, he was happy with things right now, the way they were. He stood on a precipice of a binary choice. He could attempt to undo the mistakes of the past, and might just end up making things worse. Or, he could let the past be, and finally forgive himself for it. There was no doubt that all that had happened was his fault. But there was only so much you could beat yourself up over things, before you had to let it go. There was also the danger that if he tried to go back to the past, with her, that she would leave.
He had spent too long flying space alone. The feel of her touch just a while ago had finally convinced him of that. He didn't want to just go back to the way things were. Because, back then, he was always running away from something. He needed her to stay.
And the best way to do that was to let things be, and to let the past go.
Her song had finished, and opening her eyes, she saw Dane looking at her. He had that stare that said he was deep in thought, but one he noticed her eyes, he smiled. Ashley blushed, and while she expected someone to walk in, notably Dane, public spectacle was still embarrassing.
"Niiice, I see I taught you well..." He said. He didn't clap, or anything. He just smiled. Anything else might have been taken wrong.
"Heh, its what I could remember. Glad it kinda stuck with me. I hear learning guitar is pretty tough, yeah?"
"Pfft, nah, not really. No one taught me. I just kinda worked at it. Lots of screech and scratch till something nice came out of it.
"You know, your brother Jim tried to learn playing guitar..."
Dane burst out laughing. His brother Jim was never seen wearing anything but a suit. He was older then Dane by two years, and already rising fast within Ageira's Los Angeles branch. He was stiff, practical, and not possessed of a whole of warmth. He had managed to marry a woman who had all the traits he didn't, so they seemed to make an excellent pair together. He imagined him bent over a guitar, trying to learn by some instructional program, and making a complete fool of himself. It made a hilarious mental image.
Ashley just gave him a piercing look. "C'mon Dane, its not that funny"
The laughter died down to a chuckle. "Yeah it is, i'm guessing Renee pushed him into it, eh?"
She smiled "Something like that, yeah. She heard you play at the wedding, and of course, before that."
"Ahhh, she likes me, eh?"
"No, that she most certainly does not, but she'll at least admit that you can play guitar. She happens to think Jim will be better at it then you."
Dane laughed again, but didn't carry it out quite so long this time. It was amazing sometimes, that he would inspire some sort of envy from anyone.
"Heh, you never know" he shrugged, "He just might. I'd love to see that, maybe I'll teach him some stuff, it'd be fun. Hell, might even send him some chords, or maybe some help"
Ashley raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "What?" he asked her, puzzled.
"I'm surprised. I figured you'd be all like 'tch yeah right, he'll never be as good as me.' Didn't expect you to actually be interested in helping."
He shrugged again "Eh, I may not like my family, and they not like me, but really, things have gotta change sometime. Besides, I doubt Jim would accept my help. He'd probably be offended."
"You forget he helped you buy your first ship? That Rhino freighter?"
"Nah, I didn't forget, but he did that more out of self-interest then my interest. We both agreed it'd be best if I got outta LA."
"Yeah, but still..."
Walking over to the window, the rays of sun felt good against his skin. The heat wasn't much, but it still seemed to bring him back to life.
"I hear ya Ash, and your right. But I think my family is just as happy with me gone as I am to be gone."
She nodded, and really couldn't see anything but truth in the words. Glancing at her comm, and remembering the messages, the sense of mild neglect the Summers family had for its black sheep was very evident. The frustrating part was that she knew them, and they did care a lot for Dane. They just refused to show it.
"So I guess that means your not going home then..."
He shook his head "Wheres home?"
"Los Angeles. Liberty."
"Nah, it hasn't been for a while. No, Ash, home for me is out there. It kinda always has been."
She nodded slowly. She felt on the precipice of a binary choice that might just decide her entire life. She knew what she wanted, but the idea was crazy, and no matter what, it was impossible anyway. Unlike Dane, she still had a life on LA, and a promising career. A career in Ageira. That thing that seemed to swallow lives.
"What about you, heading back to LA?" She looked up at him, while he leaned with his back against the window, soaking in the sun. Something in him seemed different from just an hour ago. From six years ago. He was neither the man she had known so long ago, nor the man she saw when she opened his hospital door. He stood tall, leather jacket in hand, hair ragged, clothes faded, but somehow unfazed by it all. The clothes seemed like armor, and nothing could hurt him.
"I dunno yet."
"Aren't you working for my mom? Interning or whatever?"
She looked down again and nodded. Nothing had changed, but everything had changed.
Six years ago, she remembered Dane as kid who liked to smoke weed, play guitar, have fun all the time. He surfed, and he swam in the ocean, and nothing seemed to matter to him. She was young enough that all she wanted in her life was fun, and someone to share it with. And along came this guy who totally understood that - rich, but with a soul of someone untouched by the things that corrupted. She was in love.
But the longer she knew him, she found that he did care about something - he cared about her, and her place in his life. Enough so that he couldn't bear to lose her. The fun had disappeared, and all that was left was a love that had waned. Dane wasn't what she wanted in her life. Not then.
The years since, she had completed her schooling, with top marks, and begun an internship that would be her career for years to come. It was easy to see herself in twenty years, and she looked exactly like Yvonne Summers. She wondered if she would have a son too, and put her job before any sense of caring.
Looking up at him, whoever he once was, that kid, was gone. Dane still had that idealism about him, that gleam in his eyes, that pursuit of the soul. But whatever he had been through these six years had aged him. He wasn't a kid anymore. She wondered if in his life so far, if it had been more fulfilling then the lives of his family. If he was pursuing his heart, and if that was somehow more worthwhile then a job and salary.
And here he stood, his eyes saying everything that she wanted him to say - his adventuresome spirit was calling to her, and she wanted to give into it. Nothing back on LA seemed important anymore. Not now.
She wanted to go with him, to where ever he was going.
Looking up at him, she let out a breath, and again, felt like she was standing on a cliffs edge, about to decide her entire life. So, she took a leap of faith.
The gleaming colours of the Cambridge skyline flashed past, a rush compared to the placid blue afternoon. The cold grey rainy morning had burned off almost completely in the sun, leaving whispy white clouds that swirled amidst the azure sky.
Dane sat in the passenger seat of a car as Ashley piloted it deftly through the civilian sky-ways. They were on the hunt for a good place to eat, and all the while, Dane couldn't remember a time when he was this hungry. A soft electronic melody played through its radio, as he stared out the window at the city.
"So, whats our next move?" Ashley kept her eyes on the vehicles ahead of her, occasionally glancing at the MFD's displaying rear word views, or the holographic readouts keeping track of speed. But the look on her face betrayed an insatiable curiosity. She had agreed to leave everything she had known, or even cared about, to journey into space. Dane had to wonder if she had lost her mind, but he wasn't going to say otherwise - he didn't want her to reconsider.
"Food first."
"Yeah, I know, duh, I mean after that?"
He smiled. "Well, first thing we have to do is buy a ship."
"You mean you don't have one?" She sounded a bit forlorn. Glancing at her, he saw some of the excitement ebb.
"I did, a while ago. But right now? No, nothing."
"What about your old Rhino, the one Jim helped you buy, what happened to that?"
Dane watched as they passed a crossroads in town dominated by a large sculpture constructed of gleaming steel. From this distance, it looked almost like smooth liquid, as if an entwined fountain of quicksilver. He thought about his old Rhino, that old creaky thing that didn't even have a name.
"Sold it, years back."
She was silent. Looking over, she was flipping through screens of navigation directions, and having settled on a location, began descending the car toward a cluster of streets, lit by neon signs. One of them was displayed a holo-sign flipping through various plates of food, all looked delicious. Most notable was the prominent Liberty Flag worked into the logo, and the whole place had the look of a retro diner.
"I checked, it's the best place on Cambridge you can get Liberty food - close enough to the University, so this whole area is pretty international. Used to be some good Kusari restaurants but they got torn down a while back."
Dane frowned "How you know all that?"
"I asked around in the hospital before we left."
He grunted his ascent. As the car came to land and the engine shut down, he hopped out. The air still had a brisk bite to it, despite the sun. The smell in the air was exhaust from vehicles and that light tinge of wet pavement after a rain. Overpowering it all was the scent of cooking meat over a broiler, and the rumble from his stomach competed with the last whines of the engine powering down. A button press on handheld control set the car's locking and security features, and together they headed into the diner for some food.
The smell was thick and heavy inside. Only a few patrons dotted the tables and booths. A bright holographic sign greeted there entry, informing them to seat themselves, so Ashley them to a booth next to the large floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the city street, and skyline beyond.
The next few minutes revolved around a holographic menu, and perky waitress taking there orders. Ashley ordered coffee, and a side plate of pastry's, still wondering what she actually wanted for a meal. Dane wanted something with sugar and ordered a cola, then picked out the largest burger on the menu "The Mammoth Burger" that contained two quarter pound beef patties, tons of cheese, slices of roast beef, lettuce, tomato, and any assortment of condiments one wished. After the waitress left with Ashley's order, and they both had their beverages, she started in with more questions.
"Ok, so, buying a ship. Do we have the money for that?"
Dane took a long pull from his coke, and let out a long breath with all the carbonation.
"I do, a bit anyway - and I've got some folks who can help me out. Really, it depends on what we buy - I doubt I could afford something big and heavy, but most anything else...yeah, it's doable" He nodded thoughtfully and looked around impatiently for his food. "But really," he said, after seeing no sign of it appearing, even though he had just ordered a few minutes ago, "thats not the important question."
Raising an eyebrow, sipping her coffee, "It isnt?"
"No, the important question is...what are we going to use it for, and thats only one of the important questions to ask. What were gonna do with a ship determines whats the best to buy - I've flown just about any kinda ship there is."
"Ok, so what are our choices?"
He picked up a plastic bottle of condiments, this one was red and had a big synthpaste logo on it. He gave it a dubious look and set it down, to go about fiddling with his silverware, all while composing his thoughts. "Well, you ask anyone whose a real spacer, and theyll tell you, there are two main things you do with a ship - make money or fight. Im not interested in fighting,"
"Me neither."
He nodded "So, making money would be the only thing, yeah?" She sipped her coffee, and made to nod, but saw he was smiling. "It isnt?"
"Nah, there's other to do out there. For one...exploration."
That got a response. She smiled ever so slightly, but the look in her eyes said it all.
"There's a lot out there you haven't seen, and hell, me neither. But I ain't as rich as I used to be, so we'll have to do something to keep us running, some kinda way to make money."
She set her coffee down. "So I guess that would mean running cargo? Passengers?"
He nodded and was again looking for his food. "Pretty much, but cargo hold determines the amount of money you make. If we wanted big payout's, we want a transport. Best we could hope for under an independent licence, and that I could afford, would be around three thousand to thirty six hundred cargo. Honestly though...not what I'm suggesting. Transports make good lane flyers, but poor as hell once you make way off the beaten path."
"So what do you suggest?"
"We go smaller. Freighters."
She raised an eyebrow dubiously, and was about to protest when there food had arrived. Dane's burger was huge, and layered with greasy beef and melted cheese. A plate of crispy fried potatoes was piled next to it, still gleaming with the frying oil they were pulled out of. In contrast, Ashley had ordered a salad interspersed with breaded chicken. She gave out a chuckle and pointer her fork at his plate, "You know thats gonna kill you someday, right?"
Dane smiled, taking the burger in both hands "Then I'll die happy!" He bit into it with gusto, and could not look more content.
"So, why do you wanna go Freighters? There only designed for inter-system travel..."
He smiled, wiping grease from his lips. "Thats what they say, and in some cases, its true - My old Rhino was great for making way between Liberty and Kusari, but I remember I tried to run through the lower omega's once - got cut up pretty bad."
She nodded emphatically, spearing so more salad. "Exactly."
"Yeah, but not all freighters are like that." He started counting off fingers "For one, there small - some are barely bigger then fighters - gives it a combat edge, since big transports tend to be flying targets for pirate ships. Two, there fast - in essence, they have a transport engine plant, which gives them cruise speeds past three fifty. Three, guns, and they can mount the same stuff as snub's - large transport guns have a hard time hitting speedy fighters and bombers. And last, compared to transports, their agile, so with the guns, they can actually fight off pirates fairly well. All this makes for a great exploration craft. Large enough to be a home, small enough to squeeze past a three, armed and agile enough to fight, and a large enough hold to make some money...depending on what we haul."
He took another huge bite of his burger while she thought about it. "Plus," he said, still chewing out the last of it, "Freighters are cheap."
"Ok, so what are our choices?" She was starting to get excited again. Dane was too honestly. All the ships he had flown had kinda come around naturally. The Rhino because of price. His old BWT, The 101 Express, because Lyle had one, and he was envious. He found the Summer, and when it was destroyed, he flew a Roc bomber because thats what was at FP1, and most everything else came from that. This was the first time since...ever really...that he was choosing a ship completely at random, from a long list of whatever he wanted.
His burger was half eaten, and he could already feel fullness in his stomach. Switching to the fries, and already holding up his empty glass for a refill. Pulling out his portable neuralnet pad, he brought up a list of known ship classes around Sirius. Sorting by freighter class and performance, he was surprised to see a few ships he hadn't seen before, and didn't recognize.
"Hmmm..." He clicked through a few, beeps of new pages followed by noises of thought, or his face twisting in appreciation or lack thereof. Scanning through spec's as well as looks.
Coming through the middle of the list, a new ship he had never seen came up, and his mouth slowly curled in a smile...
"I found it..."
Ashley perked up, finishing up the last of her salad. "Lemme see..."
Keying in a few commands, he displayed his search page through the diner's holographic menu projector.
It sprang to life with the image of the vessel. Suspended in midair, rendered in a ghostly three dimensional image, it looked even more beautiful then it did on the screen. Keying in another command, he set the image of the fuselage to rotating. It hung between them.
"What do you think?" He said, with a wide smile. She stared at it, taking in its lines, and looked at him through the image.
"It looks expensive."
Dane laughed. "No, it looks perfect. I've already flown two GMG ships - Karasu, their Heavy Fighter, and the Kaichou, their bomber." He ignored the quizzical looks from her when he mentioned fighting vessels. It must have come as odd to think of him at the helm of something that dispensed death. Maybe thats what made her face so hard to read.
"Gotta imagine this thing has the same sorta interface...it would be easy to fly..."
She let out a deep breath, and then smiled, "I gotta admit...it does look very pretty."
"Oh yeah...I think we have a winner. Now, I just got get in contact with the GMG and see if they'd sell me one..."
If there was one truth in life that Danny knew...Life was good.
It was coming on to a beautiful red sunset on the planet of Cambridge, a dusty afternoon, and from all the looks, a nice cool one too. Turbulence buckled through the hull as he descended through layers of warm and cool air. He lounged back in his pilots chair, and flipped the comm's array to the local air-waves. Flipping through stations, he finally settled on a nice song to fly by, as the ship made way for the star-port in the capital city.
It had been nearly 6 months since Danny had left the Renegades. Facing a crisis of conscience over the death he was causing, he decided to re-evaluate his life - truth was, he felt old before his time, and he was worried over his future. The idea of living fast and dying young seemed romantic, that is until you realized you were having trouble sleeping, and you couldn't figure out why your hands were shaking. All troubling questions that Danny didn't want to ask, and didn't want answered. But a change was needed.
So, he cut ties with King Rorry, sold his bomber, spent some of the money on a hitched ride to Barrier Gate, and spent several months just slumming it. He did some odd jobs, but money was never really a problem. In that time, he wasn't bored, and he could sleep at night. That alone was worth it. In time, he felt the wanderlust, and then sitting still became unbearable. A sturdy ship, and a star to steer her by was just the solution.
And so, Danny California became a smuggler. He found an Anki freighter, and was now shipping a hold full of small arms for some criminal elements on Cambridge - a planet of learning, museums, art, culture - and a whole lot of folks who found crime easy work for easy money, even despite the law. Danny didn't care - they paid good, and he was getting an honest dime for honest work - well, honest compared to piracy anyway.
"Freelancer Gamma 7-1, come to heading Zero Nine Nine, VFR Beacon One One Seven Six, do you copy?"
Music cut out, and flipping a switch for his comms, he dialed in the new heading and had his autopilot home in on the landing beacon. "Copy tower control, im inbound, all dialed in - Requesting permission to set down on, uh..." he checked a piece of scrawled paper "...Revetment Alpha Two Eight - Copy Sunshine?" That was the codeword - letting him dock at an out of the way landing pad, so his cargo could be moved fast and discrete before local customs had time to search his vessel.
He was descending, but the comms were still quiet. He should have gotten the counter-sign, and clearance to park at Revetment A28 - but still nothing. He got a little nervous, but he still had time to break the autopilot and shoot for space. They could scramble interceptors after him, but with the regular response times of the Bretonian Police, he was fairly certain he would be long gone before they were out of atmo'.
"Copy Sunshine, your cleared to Revetment Alpha-Two-Eight - Good Hunting, out." There it was, the counter-sign, and Danny let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Lights on the ground changed from blue, to strobing green indicating his new path. He cut out the autopilot, took hold of yokes, cut in some hovering thrusters, and followed the landing lights - strobing an easy to follow line off toward the far off landing pads. With a gentle rumble through the ship, it touched down nicely, resting easy on the anti-grav landing thrusters. The next hour saw a group of twenty men, and a few loading walkers, unload over five hundred cargo units of small arms, all in under 20 minutes.
Danny was just checking his neural net account, showing a lot of new money, just as a stuffy looking customs inspector was making his way across the windy pad, looking sour and bored. Easy to bribe then, heh.
Yeah, life was good.
---
The truth of getting somewhere without a ship was very new to Dane.
He had always had some sort of transportation amidst Sirius - the first ship he got, he hitched a ride to Erie with his Brother - after that, it was him at the helm for all the years since. Back when he was in the Navy, he had no real reason to go anywhere, so it was never a problem.
But now, with nothing, trying to get all the way to Okinawa - from Cambridge, no less - was proving to be frustratingly difficult. Plus, with money involved, and not a whole lot of it after the wired ship sale, he couldn't afford multiple trips - it was trying to find one way or no way. And that...was proving to be impossible.
Since the Gallic invasion up north, the Tau lines were split - While that effectively ended the Bretonia\Kusari war, it did leave Bretonia facing Gallia pretty much alone. The Gallic's weren't too partial to having unknown ships flying in what they considered their turf. That pretty much meant that any travel between Bretonia and Kusari, was just as dead as it had been - however, even Freelancer's were weary of making the trip, now that the Tau's were pretty much a parking lot for super heavy battleships, with no qualms about shooting first, and asking questions never.
Dane and Ashley sat on the ground in a packed port terminal on Planet Cambridge. They had been here for the last hour, running from gate to gate, looking for any flights heading up to the Sigma's, or at least, Frankfurt. Most ships heading that way were not taking on passengers, and definitely not for the money offered. There was an OS&C Luxury yacht heading for Hawaii, but with the kinda scratch they had, asking for passage would just get them laughed at. So, here they sat, waiting for something to clear up, and Dane, hoping his luck would get them there fast. Every day they spent on Cambridge in hotels, would just eat up the money they were hoping to use for passage.
Ashley had her computer open, a holo display hanging in the air, showing a list of all the ships docked on the port, and the lists of their destinations. The info was pretty precise, updating faster then the public boards, and showing a lot of ships not showing on the public boards. He'd ask where she was getting the feed, but it was pretty obvious. He had to smile about that.
"Found one." She said, rising to her feet.
"Really? Where, who?" He jumped up too, and felt a tingle in his legs - he had been sitting for a while.
"Indie Freighter, Freelancer Papers, dock A28 - heading for Nagano" Without word, she started jogging off toward A28, which, as it figured, was a ways away.
Dane stood there for a second trying to remember where Nagano even was, knowing only that it was in Kusari, because of the odd sounding name "What the faa....where the hell is Nagano?" Only to realize she had already run off, and with a shake of the head, ran off after her.
It was a ten minute jog, and by the end of it, Dane was outta breath. Normally he would say something about being outta shape, but he can't remember when he had ever been in shape - not like being a pilot demanded some crazy physique. Ashley wasn't even phased, and as she looked at him, she smiled.
"Yeah yeah yeah, save the criticism for later..." He said, trying to get breath under control.
The day had long since crawled from afternoon into evening. The last rays of sunlight were stretching across the horizon, setting the clouds on fire with vivid pinks, oranges, and reds. The air was getting a bit of a nip to it, and Dane, still wearing only a t-shirt, found the bit of cold seeping into his flesh, creeping towards his bones, very annoying. They stood among a crowd of about two hundred people, of all types - mostly just regular folks. Some young, some old - some looking like young adventurers, some looking like this was a trip to the grocery store. Others looked a little better, just by the expense of the clothing they wore, while others seemed to be wearing only the clothes on their backs. It was a diverse group, with Dane and Ashley fitting right in. All of them were huddling together in a rough line, waiting to board the ship.
The ship itself was interesting, and one Dane had never seen before. It had smooth lines, marred by huge boxy cargo pods. The outer hull was scored with char, either from hasty re-entry's or weapons fire. Probably both. Despite that, the ship looked well kept, even if the captain didn't care about looks. An indented Renzu logo was splayed on the side of the main hull, while under that was painted on "Ventura Highway", complete with art of a leggy half-naked blonde lounging on the letters.
Dane smiled, and started laughing. Ashley looked at him "What?" He just pointed to the ships name. She smiled too. Ventura was one of the many suburb towns that Dane and Ashley knew growing up. While both of them had lived in the rich suburb of San Fernando, Ventura was just a few minutes away. It's main attraction was all the highend bars, nightclubs, arcades, clothes shops, diners, and hangouts - both trendy, and lived-in. "Ventura Highway" was the term for the main strip, which had everything anyone could need, from one end to the other - "cruising the highway" was local slang for the teenagers, who would start at one end, usually by noon, and end up at the other by nightfall, drunk, penniless, and passed out - but since the end emptied out onto the beach, passing out in the sand and surf was actually pretty nice. In a word, Ventura was a paradise for the young, and a headache for the old.
Dane could tell no one here got the name. Which was fine. It made him feel good that it was somehow for him and Ashley alone - it did make him want to know who the owner was, however. A freelancer still yearning for the young days of home, probably - just like him. However, as people started shuffling into the small open port on the cargo containers, he didn't see anyone that looked like the captain. A holo-sign was displayed showing destination, and a neuralnet account to transfer funds into - each person that shuffled to the door was given a green light if their payment went through, otherwise the dock official shoved them away. The cost for the trip was steep, since the destination was Luxury Liner Makinac.
When it was their turn, Ashley sent the payment, and they got the green light - moving into the cargo compartment, which was actually pretty big, lit by industrial grade flood lights. The "Passenger Seating" was just benches, that look like they had been pulled up from built-in slots on the floor of the compartment, set lengthwise, so your back is either to the wall, or too other passengers sitting opposite you. Shuffling past people, trying to stow their packs, most holding on to them with a death grip, they found seats. Ashley went back to her computer, and started going through spreadsheets of info. He couldn't make out what it was. Instead, he just leaned back, let out the air in his lungs, and settled in for a long flight.
After about twenty minutes, everyone had gotten settled in. The big port official, previously shoving people off who didn't make payment for passage, had walked in standing by the entry hatch. Music started to play over the speaker in the cargo bay, followed by the overlay of the Captains voice.
"Good evening ladies and gentleman! This is your captain speaking, the intrepid Danny California!" The voice was upbeat, and he could tell the speaker was smiling while talking. A few people chuckled at the name, and Dane smiled too. "Alrighty folks, I'd like to welcome you on board for our non-stop flight to Nagano, and the Luxury Liner Mackin'crack, because hell if I can pronounce it. All you folks on board, thanks for your payments...except for those deadbeats we had to physically boot...and oh yeah...Roger Clayborne, Sammuel Fitz, Alley Rorgen, and Cristen Salls - you think your smart, but I always double check things - nice hacks though. Mr Port Monkey? Yeah? Boot them off please, yeah, thank you" The port official obviously didn't like the name, but carried out the order - the four people were removed roughly, and thrown from the ship bodily. "Yeah, bu'bai now!" the captain chuckled, "Now that weve gotten rid of those bad apples, were all ready to go. For those of you who signed on for the beautiful sights from here to there...I don't have windows...I lied. Sue me."
Dane burst out laughing, and got more then a few harsh glares. Not everyone on board was happy, but no one got up to leave. "So, sit back, enjoy the ride, and I promise you, that the safety features work. Last time I checked. Honest." No one looked happy. A few folks thought it was a joke, but even then, they were a little concerned. Dane grinned, he liked this pilot, and was glad that the trip would be fun, if at least interesting. Ashley had barely noticed the announcements, still going through data. Some of it looked like data on the Garanchou, cargo specs, stress ratings, performance reports. It was all deep science with starship engineering, and more then Dane had ever cared to know when it came to ships he flew, despite having been a former mechanic in the Navy.
The Port Official's shadow came over him, and Dane looked up. "Captain wants to see you in the cockpit."
"What, me?" he stood up, and saw he only came to the shoulders of the big man. "Yeah, you, your name is Dane Summers, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Then its you, Captain wants to see you." Without a further word, the big man moved off, and out the hatch, sealing it behind him. He pointed toward an opposing hatch, set in the opposite wall from the exit. With the view from the outside, Dane knew this was only half of the cargo space, so that hatch must have led to a connecting corridor between the two. The Hatch sealed, and Dane, still standing, wondered what to do. Looking down at Ashley, still absorbed in her notes. "Hey, I'm gonna go see what this crazy captain wants." She nodded, but said nothing. There was a moment where he wanted to pat her head as he left, but hesitation stopped him. He worried about whether it would breach personal boundaries, if she would be pissed at the interruption, or creeped out by his touch. In the end, he wavered, and the moment was lost - he let out a breath and headed for the hatch, gritting his teeth in regret.
The Hatch led into a very small corridor, connecting the cargo compartments with the main fuselage. It was small enough that he could barely walk abreast. Moving down it, he saw adjoining corridors heading for the engine access, and a ladder well heading down, that he had step over. He passed an open sliding door on his right, that contained a small cabin - with clothes of all kinds scattered every which way, and the whole thing stank like body oder - ahead of him, was an open sliding door, and he could see the cockpit beyond.
The Cockpit was setup thin. It had two stations, set staggered from one another, The pilot sat in the front, with the co-pilot in the rear station. In a way, it was setup like a combat cockpit, and Dane remembered from flying a Roc, that it wasn't too different.
The captain was sitting in the front, with his feet up on a console. He was going through a preflight checklist, and looked bored as hell. He still hadn't noticed Dane. "Hey, you wanted to see me?"
The captain looked up, and grinned wide. It had been about as many years since seeing Ashley, that Dane had seen any of his old friends on Cali. Back then, his mind was always wrapped up in her, and afterwards, everything else had kinda washed away. But all of that seemed a distant memory now, and Dane couldn't help but smile in amazement - its a funny feeling to see your best friend again, and wonder why you had ever forgotten him.
Both of them embraced in a back slapping hug, laughing. That feeling was like a wake up call. The last few days had gone from the bleakest they had ever been, and Dane having hit rock bottom - to now seeming like everything in his life was coming back to him in one go. Hell, he woke up this morning from being at his worst - as the day was ending, things had changed so dramatically, that it was literally moving at lightspeed.
"Man, it has been ages - how the hell are you?" Danny said, now that the hug was over. Looking Dane up and down, he had always expected to see him out here again, but it was a still a surprise that it had taken so long. When his best friend had left for the Navy, Daniel Callahan hadn't had much reason to stay either. Unlike Dane, he didn't grow up to wealth and privilege. He had grown up in Riverside, a bit of a ways from the lush San Fernando - it was a housing district for blue collar workers - the men worked the ports and businesses, while the women usually worked as house keepers for the rich folks. Danny's parents were neither. His dad was a drunk who worked as a janitor for the local richkids school, and his mom had, allegedly, moved to Denver. Either way, Danny had grown up fending for himself. The difference between the two, is that Dane had been wealthy but never showed it - Danny had never had wealth, but had never needed it. When Dane left, Danny did too - it was pretty easy to join up as a crew-rat on some big hauler - after that, it was one adventure after another.
"I'm doing good. How'bout you? Last I heard you were with King Rorry, yeah?"
"Yep, that was me, ridin' around blowin' stuff up," Danny smiled, but there was a hint in his eyes that said there was a lot more to it. Unlike himself, Danny had a poker face to rival a statue - if it was showing, it meant he wanted it to be seen. "Last I heard you were running a Freeport, heh, how was that?" Dane just nodded, and had to look away for a second. There wasn't a whole lot of mirth in his smile either. Truth was, in thinking about it, he wondered if running that Freeport was really a benefit to his life, or not. After a few seconds, he finally decided that, as much as it was a terrible experience, it was definitely a heroes trial - something that made him a better person in the end. "It was ok - I'm not anymore though - gave it up, wanted to do other stuff, ya know?"
"Yeah, I heard that, same for me and the Renegades - got tired of hurtin' folks, ya know? Does things to your mind."
Dane nodded, he knew all about that. He had never liked pulling triggers. Even thinking back to the state of mind where he almost took Katz on his offer to be a revolutionary, he was glad he didn't - Dane wasn't a soldier. He wasn't a revolutionary. He fought to defend himself and people he cared about - but too many times he just couldn't come to grips with being that person. He hated fighting, and he hoped he'd never have to do it again.
There was a moment of silence. For Dane, he realized that his friend had changed. Not on the outside, but there was a lot on the inside that would never be the same. In a way, it was similar with him - he figured he had changed a lot. Neither one of them were kids anymore. They had taken lives, or at least tried too. Been in fights, lost things that meant something to them.
Danny smiled again, and slapped his old friend on the shoulder. "But enough of the dark days, what say we get this crate in the air. You co-pilot for me?"
Dane nodded "Hell yeah, just like the old days, I'll keep you from getting lost."
Danny fell into his seat, and started flipping switches. A rumble went through the fuselage as the engine ignited. Although he was halfway through the checklist, it was apparently not important. "Tower, this is Freelancer Gamma Seven Dash One, on departure, requesting clearance, over."
"Bull, I never get lost."
Dane took the second chair, and brought up air-traffic info, so they didn't accidentally fly into a landing heavy transport. "Like hell, that one time we needed to Galleria? You took twenty minutes in the opposite direction."
"Copy Freelancer Gamma 7-1, you are cleared for departure - safe travels, port tower out." With that, Danny yanked back hard on the flight yokes, which pointed the nose to the sky. Gravity immediately started to re-assert its control, since the hovering thrusters only pointed straight down. An alarm went off about ground proximity, and mere inches from scraping the rear of the cargo pods on the tarmac, Danny cut in full power and shot skyward like a bullet. The inertial field's over the cockpit and cargo holds stopped anyone from feeling the effect of the maneuver, but in the cockpit, it was damn reckless. Dane let out a breath he was holding.
"No, that was you driving." Danny said, smiling as he looked over his shoulder. Out front, he passed within several meters of a police vessel, while going above-and-beyond safe port velocity. The police craft didn't even have time to activate its lights before it was far behind in there wake.
"Would you keep your eyes on the sky please?" A new feeling, being the 'responsible' one. Dane felt like an old man. It made him laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just change the subject." Danny laughed as the atmosphere spilled away, and they found themselves in high orbit. Flashing green lights around a large ring marked the trade lane...and parts beyond...