She waited for Ruce to leave and sighed, letting her shoulders relax a little. For all their back and forth and unanswered questions about the Expanse, their last drop and the presence of the Hundu Zephyr, she figured that both Ruce and herself were ultimately thinking the same thing: what the fuck is going on? Although he sometimes acted like one, she had to concede that her Captain was not an idiot and she knew that he must be sharing the uneasy feeling in his gut that she felt in hers. She tried to push the thought away, after all, there was nothing she could do for now. The Valkyrie was grounded and in dire need of some repairs. She glanced around the cargo bay, scanning every inch of it.
Don’t worry, old girl, I’ll get you fixed up soon.She walked slowly towards the access lift. Running her fingers over the ground floor railings and the control module, she found a kind of zen balance. Not for the first time, her heart beat fell into harmony with the pulse and idle resonance of the ship. She’d been on other ships, kept most of them in the air in some form, but never like this. There was something about Valkyrie that she loved. Perhaps it was the slightly eccentric nature she’d been forced to adopt under Ruce’s command and Tes’ creative engineering that made her stand apart from the others. More likely, although Tes would never be the first to admit it, is the fact that, due to Tes’ background, she and Valkyrie shared a common trait...being the last remaining member of a lineage.
As she reached the access lift, she turned around and looked out into the cargo bay. “Be good.” She said simply before stepping into the lift and descending to the surface. As she walked underneath the ship, she raised her arm and allowed her finger tips to skitter across the underside of the hull. She made her way through customs, being stopped only once to declare Laverne before they allowed her to pass. She jumped in the turbolift and took it down. Through the glass she watched the swell of life ebb and flow through the streets. Vehicles and people whizzing past, each one with their own agenda, feelings and ambitions. For a moment, she felt terribly alone.
She pushed it away with thoughts of Earth. Even now, having seen sights like this a thousand times, they still humbled and amazed her. She wondered, if she could bring one of them here, what an old human, one from Earth before, would think of this. She wondered what Nikola Tesla, the one for whom she bore her nickname, would make of it all. She wondered if he ever dreamed of anything like this. All too quickly, the lift reached the bottom. She strode out, she knew where she was going and who she was going to see.
She picked her way through the bustle, past throngs of people moving to and fro, the clamour and noise, all around her. There were stalls selling food some of which she didn’t even recognise, the smells and sights were magical. She withdrew her IMP from her pocket and cast it. It’s orbit was managed by motion sensors so she knew there was no way it would collide with anything or, more importantly, anyone. She managed to pick up the Captain’s transmission.
“For fucks sake…” She hissed. Switching her IMP to outgoing comms, she tuned into Ruce’s frequency and left a message.
Chief,
Thanks for the fucking consulation.
Tes
She was not in the best of moods but she drew on her game face as she ducked inside a merchant building on the right of the thoroughfare. The man behind the counter was haggard beyond his years. His dark hair was thin and a tattered eye patch was slung over his right eye.
“Argo, you ugly motherfucker.” She said, approaching the counter. The man looked up with a start and an expression of offense and anger quickly softened.
“Well if it isn’t the woman who wants to be a man.” He responded sarcastically.
“If it means looking and smelling like you, you belligerent fuck, I think I’ll be fine the way I am.” She smiled.
“How you been, Tes?” He asked, returning a smile which revealed a tarnished and incomplete set of teeth.
“Not seen you around here for a while.”“Just finished a drop and got some D.T to kill. Thought I’d drop in and see if you were still alive.”“Just about, aye. What can I do for you?”“Fuse clusters for a brake servo, about 12 feet of coolant pipe and two multi-purpose relay diodes.” She rattled off her shopping list.
“And here was me thinking you just dropped in to say hi.” Argo replied, turning and walking to the back of the counter. A few minutes went by and he returned with a battered box with a collection of assorted parts inside.
“Fuse clusters and diodes.” He began.
“The pipes are just behind you on the shelf there.” He pointed.
Tes made her way over to them and quickly found the correct diameter and length she needed. Returning to the counter, she placed it down and rummaged through the box of parts. For all his bullshit, Argo always seemed to have what she needed. She pulled out 3 fuse clusters and placed them next to the pipe. She then pulled out a diode she was looking for.
A small metal housing with lightweight but high tensile wire protruding from one end, with a bevelled edge at the other, they were unassuming items. She noticed that, where there should have been a serial number, there was an abrasion.
“Fencing some dodgy parts, huh?” She flicked her gaze up to meet his. He simply shrugged. She found another diode and placed it down on the counter. As she began to push the box back towards Argo, she paused, reaching in again. Pulling out a small circular object, no larger than her thumbnail, she held it up to the light. It was a metal circle with two fixtures on one side and a magnetised portion on the other. The two fixtures on the one side were a small fibreoptic sensor and a recess into which wiring could be fed. She found four more of them and placed them all down in front of Argo.
“Didn’t expect you to have any Full Spectrum Frequency Sensors. Nice work.” She nodded.
“How much for everything?”The dishevelled merchant rubbed an emaciated finger across his chin as if deep in thought, casting his one good eye over the collection in front of him.
“Well, the fuse clusters are 2,000 each, and the diodes…” He began before Tes cut him off.
“Are you fucking insane?” She barked.
“2,000 for a fuse cluster? I could make them for less than that. I’m telling you, there’s no more than 4,000 credits there, all in.”“I’m insane?” He sounded legitimately offended but Tes knew better. They always did this dance and she found it amusing that Argo still continued even though she always won.
“There’s at least 8,000 before I even count in the length of pipe.”“Listen, you slimy bastard, I’ll give you 5,500.”“7,500.”“I’m either paying 6,000 or I’m walking out and you lose my very valuable custom. And I’m going to go to a bar after this and who knows if I might drop loudly into conversation about a great little shop I know selling untraceable, stolen ship parts.”They looked at one another and Argo knew he was beaten, it was written on his weathered face. He sighed, not being able to contain a small smile.
“Anyone ever tell you, you’re a complete bitch?” He asked, drawing out small handled case from below the counter and placing the assortment of gadgets inside. He withdrew a datapad and laid it down on the counter top.
“Never with as much bitterness as you, my friend.” She smiled, hovering the credit chit over the datapad to complete the transaction.
“Always a pleasure, Argo.” She said, picking up the carry case, turning and heading for the door.
“Next time you’re in town…” He said. She turned her head as she reached the door.
“Don’t feel the need to stop by.”She smiled again and ducked out of the shop, back into the fray.
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