Star Trader Update .008

I apologize for the late posting. Too much holiday revelry at the Snyder house. LOL

Now on with the story...

.008.01

“I think you’ll be comfortable in here.” I padded the door open to my guest quarters. Kayo, Jake’s protect Dar-dolf, almost knocked us over trying to get in the door first. He started sniffing around the baseboards. I reassured myself that he was ship trained and would use the cargo deck for his business and not the carpeting of my lovely guestroom.

They are nice rooms. Cassie and I fixed them up when she came onboard a few years back. I picked Ma-rye-a for the layout of these rooms anticipating transporting people as well as cargo. The rooms are side by side with a bath in between however, the sound deadening wall that divides the rooms retracts into one of the sidewalls to the bathroom if you would like one huge room. And, it is huge - lots of luxury, like what you would get in a high-end Space port.

“This is sweet,” Jake said in admiration. “If I wasn’t so fond of the Calpernia I might be tempted to do a trade in.” He tossed his duffle on one of the beds. “I got dibs on this one.”

Kayo followed Jake’s bag onto the bed.

“Down,” Jake commanded. Kayo didn’t move. Jake reached over and grabbed the animals halter and dragged the reluctant Dar-dolf back to the floor.

Arr placed his duffle on the floor beside the other bed and immediately started to dig in it. He pulled out a pair of soft leather knee high moccasins. He shucked out of his spacer boots and slipped on the leather as I gave Jake the rundown on the amenities of the room.

“And, there is a wall here,” I padded the sensor to activate the wall closure part way. “So, you guys can share or if you like, you can divide the room.”

“Is the barrier soundproof,” Arr asked without looking up from lacing his leathers. I thought I heard a bit of taunt in his voice.

“Completely,” I answered proudly.

Kayo had stuck his nose in Arr’s open bag and grabbed a glove. Arr nonchalantly removed the glove from the animal’s sharp tooth filled mouth. “That will come in handy in the evening,” Arr replied, again without looking up.

Jake picked up a pillow and threw it at Arr’s head. The henu moved so fast the pillow didn’t have a chance of contacting. He moved like a cat, lithe and nimble. “I don’t snore,” Jake assured me. As if I cared.

“Of course, not,” Arr said with a smile. “He just breathes heavy.”

Jake tossed another pillow at Arr. That one missed too. I could see this was a long running gag between the two. Kayo decided to get into the game and started tugging on Jake’s pitching arm. He growled, sounding fierce to my untrained ears. I stepped back, but Jake just twisted his arm loose and pushed Kayo down on the head. “Down,” he instructed the Dar-dolf. Kayo ignored the order and went over to nose in Arr’s bag again.

It was not going to be dull having these three aboard for a week.

*****

.008.02

The four of us were sitting at the table in my galley playing CU. Arr and I sat across from each other with Jake at one end and Kayo at the other. The huge Dar-dolf had his chin lying on the table top just a few inches from the bowl of red raspberry goo chews. He was slobbering in anticipation of Arr or my next tossed goodie. Arr flicked him a chew high over his head. He lunged up to catch it. When he came down his butt hit the metal cabinet behind him making a loud bang as the door struck hard on its hinges. The galley really wasn’t big enough for three people and a Dar-dolf.

“Stop spoiling him, Arr. He’s not going to be worth shit if you keep it up,” Jake said, in an exasperated tone. “You’re making a pet out of him. He didn’t even growl at 3su when we came aboard.”

“He’s met her,” Arr defended Kayo. “He knows she’s a friend.”

“Kayo! Down!” Jake ordered.

The Dar-dolf’s head slipped below the edge of the table and came to rest on Arr’s foot under the table. He might not be worth a thing for Jake, but I was sure he would kill for Arr and his supply of goo chews.

Arr reached over with his napkin and wiped the table top of Kayo’s drool. I saw him deftly palm a goo-chew on his way back to his lap. He handed it to Kayo under the table.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that,” Jake said. He met the kids smile with a resigned shake of his head. “Play – it’s your turn.”

Arr dropped two chips on the pile in the middle of the table and then added a third. “CU,” he said and the play passed to me.

I tossed in three and added another to sweeten the pot. “CU,” I said.

Jake didn’t even look at his cards. They lay face down on the table in front of him. He threw four chips in the pot and raised another two. “CU”

Arr stared at Jake for the length of a long slow breath. Jake stared back. The pause in the game grew. I felt like I was in one of Jake’s favorite old westerns, in the middle of a showdown. Their eyes were locked.

Arr shoved the remainder of his pile of chips to the middle of the table. “CU,” he said with a satisfied smile.

“Not fair. You’re cheating,” Jake said and threw in his cards. “I fold.”

I am sure I had a look of puzzlement on my face. It wasn’t even his turn and he had given up. Jake was known in our circle of friends as one of the best and luckiest CU players in the verse.

“Tell her what you’re doing,” Jake said to his partner.

“I’m not cheating,” Arr assured me. “Jake just doesn’t like it because I can read him, unlike his regular competition.”

“Damn it. He can hear my heart rate,” Jake explained. “I can control my expressions, but damn if I can control my heart rate.”

Arr smiled. Kayo had lifted his head to lay it on Arr’s knee and the henu leisurely stroked it. “I can’t help it if I have good hearing.”

“You can’t pass the hours playing CU with Arr on a boring job unless you’re willing to lose your pay before you even collect it.”

“Must come in handy when you’re listening for the approaching enemy though,” I commented.

“Must admit, it is good to have him around then,” Jake said with a grin. “I just got to remember not to play CU with him.”

“I’ll suggest something else next time,” I said as I rose from my chair. “Let’s go watch a vid. I picked up a copy of “High Noon” off the NET for you Jake.”

Jake grinned like a kid. “I knew I liked riding with you.” He stood and threw his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go.” He looked back at Arr. “Come on kid. You are going to see one of the best westerns ever made tonight.”

“What’s a western?” Arr asked. I knew some of his background and his culture didn’t include vids, much less westerns.

Jake just rolled his eyes at me like ‘what am I going to do with him.’ “You’ll see,” he said. “Put the goo chews away so Kayo can’t get into them.”

Arr came to his feet, unfolding like a lithe cat. He stretched and then picked up the bowl and put it in the cupboard, but slipped Kayo one last treat.

“I saw that,” Jake said over his shoulder without turning around.

Arr just patted Kayo’s head and followed along behind.

*****

.008.03

I pulled up with a start when I turned around from my console to find Arr standing behind me. Someone else might have screamed, but I’m not a screamer. “You’re quiet. Good thing I didn’t have anything in my hand. I would have hit you with it.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. He had on his leather knee boots and he was silent - real light on his feet.

“Next time whistle or something before you get close enough to be in striking range,” I said with a smile.

He smiled back as he curled up in a chair on the bridge. His beautiful china blue cat eyes followed me around as I continued to work on my communications system.

“Where’s Jake?” I asked as I slipped back down on the floor under the open control panel with a tester in my hand.

“Cleaning his blaster,” Arr answered.

I was fumbling for a tube of weld beyond my peripheral vision.

“To the left,” Ma-rye-a couched over the com system. She was always watching over me.

I could feel the baby fine hair on the back of Arr’s hand as he placed the tube in mine. I had a fleeting desire to pet him. It was not the first time since he had come aboard that the thought had crossed my mind. His body, except for his face and the palms of his hands was covered with a soft red/gold fur, but fine like hair.

“Thanks,” I told Arr. “I would think he would have you doing the maintenance of the equipment,” I said to make conversation. “I thought the new guy always got the grunt work.”

“He doesn’t trust me,” Arr said.

“He trusts you with his life,” I countered.

“Yes, but his blaster came first.” I could hear the smile in Arr’s voice even though I wasn’t at an angle to see his face from where I was lying.

“How long have you been with Jake now?” I scooted out from under the controls and fastened the panel back in place. I turned around and sat with my back to the closed panel on the floor.

“Three seasons on my planet. Almost a year by ships time,” he answered.

“Do you like being a mercenary?”

He didn’t even hesitate, “I like being with Jake.”

“That’s good, cause I think you’re stuck with each other. I haven’t seen him in this good a mood for ages.”

“Have you known him a long time?” Arr asked.

“I met Jake through Tim. I helped them transport a shipment of seized quillanium they recovered years back. We’ve been friends ever since.” I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. 

“What’s quillanium?” Arr asked.

I kept forgetting I was talking to an alien that had lived all alone on a planet practically his whole life until Jake came along and found him. Just because he seemed to have adapted so quickly and learned languages just by listening to them did not alter the fact that he had huge gaps in his knowledge of the verse.

“It’s an alloy used to reinforce our ships. Very valuable and very heavy in a raw state,” I explained. “One of Andrew Daily’s shipments had been high-jacked. Tim and Jake were hired to get it back. The smugs had already off loaded the shipment and sold Andrew’s ship by the time they arrived. The guy’s ships weren’t heavy duty enough to carry all the goods.”

“I’ve met Daily and his daughter,” Arr said quietly as he looked out the viewport ahead of us.

“Yeah, I heard Jake’s dad and Andrew were good friends. I figured Jake would keep in touch with him.”

“Not anymore,” Arr said softly.

“Really? Why?” I asked. I’d just done that transport of the pair of those God awful Golden Screamers a free months back. Sarah had said she met Arr, but didn’t say there had been any trouble. In fact, I had almost forgotten about her asking about Arr. Too much party with not enough memory of those days.

“Sarah was kidnapped by the Hydra,” Arr started to explain. “Andrew sent for Jake.”

“Did you guys get her back?” The Hydra were known all over the verse as a slaver race. They picked up victims wherever they found them and sold them to other cultures like meat from a market. Damn, I had just seen her on her birthday. She hadn’t impressed me as that likeable, but she didn’t deserve the fate of a Hydra kidnapping and sale.

“We found her.” Arr answered.

“And she thanked us be getting her father to offer to buy Arr for her menagerie,” Jake said from the doorway. “I had no idea he was so humanid.” Jake almost spat the words out. “Arr pretty near gets killed saving his precious daughter and they both thank him like that. I felt like dusting them.”

I couldn’t imagine being on the receiving end of a ‘Jake Rage.’ I’d seen him angry before and it wasn’t pretty. Jake was almost always for the underdog. His being a mercenary didn’t prevent him from loving small animals, children and the oppressed. His daily tolerance of Kayo’s often rash actions proved that.

All the mercenaries I knew were good men. They helped the Galactic Officials keep peace and settle disputes that the Galactic Forces could never manage with their limited coverage. The mercenaries were bound by a Galactic code of conduct and were held accountable if they failed to abide by it.

I rose to my feet and put my hand on Arr’s shoulder. “Don’t judge us all by Andrew Daily. We humans are very diverse creatures. There are many of us that are down-right likeable.” I squeezed his shoulder.

We all three turned at the sound of a loud bang down the corridor off the bridge as though something enormous had slammed into the bulkhead. Kayo came running in at breakneck speed. He slid to a stop at Jake’s feet.

“Woke up and found no one there, huh?” Jake asked the Dar-dolf. “Some protect mutt you are.” He scratched Kayo’s head. “Come on Arr. Let’s see what kind of damage repair we need to do.”

“There is a corridor panel in Zone 3 damaged,” Sam announced over my com system.

“I know, Sam. We’re on our way.” I picked up my tools, including a straightening mallet and headed out to catch up to the guys.