“I’m sure, Naoko. I grew up in places like this, and I’ve got at least five different ways to navigate without locator beacons. I can wander around all night, and still find my way to anywhere I want to be. Now come on. These flowers bloom in moonlight, so the next few hours are our best time to find some.”
She sighed. “Alright, Alice. I’ll trust you. Please, take good care of me.”
Gaia, but she needed a lot of taking care of. I had to point out every root and hollow in the forest floor as we walked, or she would have been tripping every few feet. She’d walk right into the bushes if I didn’t keep her on a safe course, like she couldn’t even see them, and every time some animal made a noise she’d flinch and hide behind me.
Then we got into the marsh, and she thought the mud was trying to eat her.
“Are you going to panic again when you see a hexagator?” I asked.
“A what? There are predators out here? I thought you said this was safe?”
“Hexagators are big six-legged lizards that live in wetlands,” I told her. “Sort of like alligators, only bigger. They don’t normally eat people, but if you start flailing around next to one it’s going to think you’re attacking it. So take a deep breath, and calm down.”
She gasped. “Something just bit me!”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Yeah, there are mosquitoes in the marsh. They’re annoying, but they can’t really hurt you.”
“Why are they biting me, and not you?”
“Because I’m secreting a chemical that keeps me from smelling like food. I’d offer you some, but my feedstock reserve is just about empty.”
“It is? Are you going to be alright? You aren’t going to collapse, and leave me lost in the middle of this terrible place?”
I rolled my eyes. “Naoko, get a grip. I’m fine, and so are you.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Everything out here confuses me, and I get all skittish and stupid when I don’t know what to do. Are you certain we’ll be alright?”
“I’m sure, Naoko. Just stay calm, don’t make loud noises, and do what I tell you to, alright?”
She took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.
“Very well, Alice. I’m shutting down most of my planning functions, so they’ll stop glitching out and making me panic. I’m going to seem half asleep until I bring them back online, but I should be able to walk and follow simple directions. I shall rely on you to see me safely back to the port.”
Wow, that sounded scary.
“Alright, Naoko. If that’s what you need to do. I promise, I’ll get you back to your shuttle safe and sound.”
Chapter 3
I was about ready to strangle Naoko by the time we snuck back into town. My cheap dress was muddy and ripped, we were both soaking wet, and I had a long scrape on my arm from a hexagator she’d somehow managed to step on even after I’d warned her away from it. I was carrying all four of the loaded boxes even though they were kind of heavy, because otherwise she’d have tripped and dropped them a hundred times on the way back from the marsh.
Naoko’s smart matter dress was spotless, since it automatically cleaned itself whenever it got dirty. The mud didn’t stick to her skin either, and somehow having her hair all messed up made her look even prettier than before. I was so jealous. But I was also glad I wasn’t an android. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be so helpless.
The moment we were back in town Naoko’s body language changed completely. She stopped in the little alley next to the overgrown warehouse, and took a deep breath.
“That was the most terrifying experience of my life,” she said. “Thank you very much for your help, Alice. I could not possibly have accomplished that by myself, but I couldn’t bear to fail my captain so soon after my own rescue.”
“You’re welcome, Naoko. Just tell me you’re better at flying a spaceship than finding your way around a marsh.”
“My shuttle is perfectly capable of flying itself back to the ship,” she told me. “But yes, if an emergency should arise I am a fairly capable pilot. I’m sorry you had to see me in that state, Alice. I must have been horribly annoying.”
“You couldn’t help it,” I said charitably.
“Well, I still feel that I should make it up to you somehow. Come, let us hurry to the shuttle so we can get cleaned up. I feel like I could shower for a week.”
Even though I was tired, I couldn’t help but pick up the pace as we crept through the dark streets towards the landing field. In just a few minutes I was going to be on board a spaceship. By the time dawn came we’d probably be on our way. Leaving Felicity behind, and heading out into the wide universe.
Freedom. It was so close I could taste it.
Naoko led me to a dark opening that turned out to be an underground street, leading out under the landing field. It was lit by dim red lights, and here and there we passed doors with signs like ‘Landing Pad A-4’ or ‘Fuel Pumps - A Bank - Authorized Personnel Only’. It seemed like no time at all before we were climbing a flight of steps up to landing pad B-11, where her shuttle was parked.
I paused to look up at the sleek black shape. It was a good forty meters long, which seemed like an odd size. Too small to carry much cargo, but kind of big for one person. The hull was strangely contoured, too, with all kinds of bulges and projections.
Something in the back of my head woke up, and starting pointing out what they were. The long bulges along the sides of the ship were the main thrusters, mounted that way to leave room for a loading ramp at the rear of the ship. The dome under the bow was a light mass driver turret, probably for ground support. Those near-invisible ports forward of the drive tubes would open to expose four missile launchers, each with a magazine of a dozen or so short-range missiles. The hull was obviously armored, probably ten cems thick on the belly and three or four everywhere else. There were emitters for a beefy deflector shield, and a lot of point defense lasers.
“Naoko? That’s not a cargo shuttle. That’s a military drop ship.”
Naoko laughed.
“Your background is showing, dear. The Square Deal does most of its business with smaller colonies, and you can’t count on some government to protect you out in Dark Space. Tramp freighters are always armed, and my captain is more prepared for trouble than most. But I’m surprised you can tell.”
I shrugged. “Apparently mom thought I needed a database of military hardware in my head. This is neat, Naoko. I’ve never seen real weapons before.”
A hatch in the belly of the shuttle opened. “Come inside, and I’ll show you the controls once we’ve cleaned up.”
She stepped under the hatch, and a lift field snatched her off the ground and up into the shuttle. Sweet! I hurried after her, and giggled when I was suddenly launched into the air. I landed in a little airlock room, with just enough space for three people.
The hatch slid shut with a satisfying thunk, and then we were being scanned.
“We try to be careful about decontamination,” Naoko explained. “I think the ship has had trouble with creative rivals in the past. Are you sensitive to UV? There’s going to be a bright flash in a moment.”