and
the cross hairs lined up on the man’s head. No second chances. He squeezed the
trigger.
“Got
him. Hopefully that’s the last one,” Cass said. She sounded calm and neutral
about it.
The
faceplate of Burke’s helmet released with a hiss. It extended forward and
raised above his forehead, revealing his face as he walked toward Pond. She
backed up away from him until she hit the wall behind her. She pressed her back
against and glared defiantly at him. He marched toward her unperturbed.
“Whatever
they’re paying you, I’ll double it,” she growled.
Under
normal circumstances, he would have laughed at the mismatched angry expression
she wore and her begging tone of voice. This woman had stolen people and given
them a fate he considered worse than death. He had spoken with their families
and heard about the children she had stolen along with the adults. She had
shown no mercy and neither would he.
She
opened her mouth to beg again but Burke was already swinging his fist. His
armored hand was heavy and smashed into the center of her face. Her nose
erupted in a spray of blood. He must have punctured something in her mouth—he
hoped it was her tongue—because she spat out blood when she opened it.
“Just
kill me.”
“I
would, but they want you alive.”
“Idiots,”
she spluttered.
Cass
opened the compartment at his waist where a grapple line was usually stored.
They had removed the hook for this bounty and Burke used it now to tie her
hands and legs together. Pond struggled wildly when she realized what he was
doing. It took two more blows to the back of the head before she was stunned
enough to be properly restrained. He left the guards. He only had room for one
prisoner.
On
his ship, Burke threw Pond into the single holding cell without untying her. He
left her to struggle on the floor but still locked the cell door as a final
insult. He turned the lights off when he left the room. He was angry that he
wasn’t allowed to kill her.
“She
deserves worse than this,” Burke muttered as he removed the pieces of his
battle armor.
Cass
had already transferred herself from the suit and into the ship. She started
the launch procedure and they were undocking from the space station.
“I
know,” her voice came from the walls in Burke’s room. After he had removed the
last pieces of the suit, he pulled on some clothes and walked out into the
corridor that lead to the ship’s helm. It was at the front of the ship and
Cass’s voice changed to emit from each room as he stepped into it.
“The
people who hired us want justice,” she continued. “Just hearing about her being
killed far away won’t bring them closure. Seeing her in prison will bring them
more peace.”
“But
they’re wrong. She’ll get out.”
“I
know,” Cass said. Her voice was as clear and smooth as a human’s. She could
convey emotions as well as Burke. She sounded sad.
He
sat down at the controls to the ship. There were three chairs in the room but
the other two were blocked with boxes of supplies: guns, ammunition, food, and
water. The ship was smaller than he was used to even after living in it for
more than a year. He had had a better ship once and a human partner, Adam,
instead of an AI. He had lost both in the previous year. He missed his old ship
but not his old partner. Cass had filled that void and became more than the
interface for his aegis.
“Can
you send a message to the families that wanted Pond? And call Geoff. I need to
let him know we’ll be back sooner than we thought. A few more days to drop her
off and then back to him.”
“I
already did,” Cass replied. The command room’s display screen changed from
showing what was in front of the ship to a bright, uniform blue. It was waiting
for a connection. “He’ll be a few minutes.”
“Thanks.”
Burke
set a hand on his right leg and absentmindedly rubbed at it, as though it were
a sore muscle. He had lost that leg at the same time that he lost his
the cross hairs lined up on the man’s head. No second chances. He squeezed the
trigger.
“Got
him. Hopefully that’s the last one,” Cass said. She sounded calm and neutral
about it.
The
faceplate of Burke’s helmet released with a hiss. It extended forward and
raised above his forehead, revealing his face as he walked toward Pond. She
backed up away from him until she hit the wall behind her. She pressed her back
against and glared defiantly at him. He marched toward her unperturbed.
“Whatever
they’re paying you, I’ll double it,” she growled.
Under
normal circumstances, he would have laughed at the mismatched angry expression
she wore and her begging tone of voice. This woman had stolen people and given
them a fate he considered worse than death. He had spoken with their families
and heard about the children she had stolen along with the adults. She had
shown no mercy and neither would he.
She
opened her mouth to beg again but Burke was already swinging his fist. His
armored hand was heavy and smashed into the center of her face. Her nose
erupted in a spray of blood. He must have punctured something in her mouth—he
hoped it was her tongue—because she spat out blood when she opened it.
“Just
kill me.”
“I
would, but they want you alive.”
“Idiots,”
she spluttered.
Cass
opened the compartment at his waist where a grapple line was usually stored.
They had removed the hook for this bounty and Burke used it now to tie her
hands and legs together. Pond struggled wildly when she realized what he was
doing. It took two more blows to the back of the head before she was stunned
enough to be properly restrained. He left the guards. He only had room for one
prisoner.
On
his ship, Burke threw Pond into the single holding cell without untying her. He
left her to struggle on the floor but still locked the cell door as a final
insult. He turned the lights off when he left the room. He was angry that he
wasn’t allowed to kill her.
“She
deserves worse than this,” Burke muttered as he removed the pieces of his
battle armor.
Cass
had already transferred herself from the suit and into the ship. She started
the launch procedure and they were undocking from the space station.
“I
know,” her voice came from the walls in Burke’s room. After he had removed the
last pieces of the suit, he pulled on some clothes and walked out into the
corridor that lead to the ship’s helm. It was at the front of the ship and
Cass’s voice changed to emit from each room as he stepped into it.
“The
people who hired us want justice,” she continued. “Just hearing about her being
killed far away won’t bring them closure. Seeing her in prison will bring them
more peace.”
“But
they’re wrong. She’ll get out.”
“I
know,” Cass said. Her voice was as clear and smooth as a human’s. She could
convey emotions as well as Burke. She sounded sad.
He
sat down at the controls to the ship. There were three chairs in the room but
the other two were blocked with boxes of supplies: guns, ammunition, food, and
water. The ship was smaller than he was used to even after living in it for
more than a year. He had had a better ship once and a human partner, Adam,
instead of an AI. He had lost both in the previous year. He missed his old ship
but not his old partner. Cass had filled that void and became more than the
interface for his aegis.
“Can
you send a message to the families that wanted Pond? And call Geoff. I need to
let him know we’ll be back sooner than we thought. A few more days to drop her
off and then back to him.”
“I
already did,” Cass replied. The command room’s display screen changed from
showing what was in front of the ship to a bright, uniform blue. It was waiting
for a connection. “He’ll be a few minutes.”
“Thanks.”
Burke
set a hand on his right leg and absentmindedly rubbed at it, as though it were
a sore muscle. He had lost that leg at the same time that he lost his
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