3 - TOREV

3

TOREV

          The air was hot, and thick with moisture, despite the sun only recently breaking the horizon, guaranteeing misery for any being that preferred cooler, dryer climates.  A rancid smell hung in the air, permeating even the best of purificators with foreign and unpleasant stenches.  To top it all off, the air was completely stagnant, there wasn't even a soft breeze circulating the air to provide some substance of relief.

          Torev almost preferred the coldness of space to this, and wondered how anyone could withstand living here as he surveyed the area around his ship.  He then imagined that the entire world couldn't be one massive swamp, only he just had the cruel misfortune of landing here.  It wasn't his choice to do so, of course.  If he'd had his way he wouldn't have come within a light year of this place, but a mid mission altercation with what he believed to be a rival smuggler had forced him here.

          His boots sank into the soft mud as he walked around the Infinite Horizon, his freighter, his pride and joy, wincing at the various pock marks and plasma burns that ornamented his hull.  He silently swore to himself that if he ever found out who his attacker was he'd destroy their ship and strand them on a planet far worse than this.

          But now was not the time to dwell on such things, as he had far more important problems to deal with at the moment.  First and foremost his ship needed repairs, and possibly a new jump drive.  Without this he'd never get to Cadmus, where he needed to unload his very delicate cargo and collect a large payday.  His employer wasn't the type to appreciate being delayed, and their relationship was a shaky one at best.  Jakko had made it all too clear that if he had any more problems from Torev, he would terminate any possibility of future employment with him and any of his associates.  Needless to say, this delay was probably going to cost him more than he desired.

          A faint beep emitted from his regulator, which was attached to a small air canister that hung on his hip.  He turned back around and quickened his pace as best he could through the mud towards an airlock door.  Hopefully by the time he got back inside Dardan or Zyro had some good news for him, because at this point he'd take any he could get.

          It didn't take long for the airlock to pressurize and fill with breathable air, as the planet's atmospheric pressure wasn't that much more than inside the ship, although Torev's ears did pop slightly.  Within moments he was navigating the tight corridors of the freighter in search of his crew mates.  He headed to the bridge first which was empty except for Boom, who was scrolling through one of the navigation monitors.

          "You seen Dardan or Zyro?" Torev asked her, gravel in his throat.  Boom started at his voice, not quite startled, but excited none the less.  A dark ponytail flapped about as she turned her head to face him, and light eyes met his brown ones with a genuinely happy look.

          "I don't know about Dardan, captain," she was somehow cheerful, "but Zyro's down in the drive bay I think."

          "Great, thanks," he turned to head down the corridor again, but checked himself, poking his head back into the bridge room.  "What are you doing?" 

          "Nothing major, captain, but since there wasn't any damage to the weapon systems and I don't know anything about shields, fuel lines, or jump drives, I thought I'd check and see if any of the settlements around here are linked with any kind of network.  You know, in case we need to source anything, it would be easier than going from town to town and praying-"

          "Alright, alright," Torev cut her off, "just let me know if you find anything.  And give one of the others a hand when you're done."  He headed down the corridor once again, thinking to himself.  Boom, her real name Kora Lerae, was the newest addition to Torev's crew.  Not long ago his old gunner had quit on him, but shortly after that Zyro had found her stowed away in one of the cargo holds, with barely a rag covering her malnourished frame.  Prior to that she'd spent most of her life as a slave of one of the wealthier Red Moon clansmen, and Torev had heard of the Red Moon's propensity for derangement and sadism, so the term "slave" was applied very loosely.  So naturally, after she was clothed and fed, she asked to become a crew member, a proposition that Torev had reluctantly agreed to.  She spent weeks after memorizing user manuals and maintenance publications for the various weapons and countermeasure systems, and during the altercation that stranded them here, proved that it was time well spent.  Every missile and probe that their assailant had fired upon them she effortlessly blew away, some even with dumbfire ballistics, and every time she hit her mark, she'd yell the nickname Dardan thought fit to bestow upon her shortly after.

          Speaking of which, shortly after leaving the bridge Torev ran into his Hadaran first mate, who was busying herself tracing various cables and pipes that lined the corridor's bulkhead.

          "Looking for something?" he brought Dardan out of her frenzied trance.  

          "Hmm?" She slowly diverting her attention from what she was focusing her mind on to Torev.  "Well, we have a fuel leak.  It's minor but needs to be isolated quickly.  It's along this line at some point but I don't know where exactly.  Hopefully we won't have to replace too much."

          "Alright, keep it up, D." Torev patted her on the arm as he walked past.  Dardan had been his first mate for years, and a crew member of the Horizon for far longer, almost as long as he had been.  She was very useful, not only at being a co pilot but also at aiding with ship repairs, her long, thin limbs and fingers proving most helpful at reaching hard to access spaces.

      Torev continued down the corridor towards the drive bay, and as he approached he heard the sounds of Zyro hard at work.  Torev came across a hatch in the floor, which opened to a deep lower area, the walls of which were haphazardly lined with cables, wires, and other circuitry.

          "Zyro!" He called, stooping to one knee and peering deep within, barely able to see a shadow move about as Zyro performed his maintenance and inspections.  A face appeared, half of which was covered in metal plating, a red eye glowing next to a human's blue.  His face also sported several burn marks and scars, and short, light brown hair peeked out from unmarred skin.

          "Yeah, boss?" Zyro looked at his caption with one of genuine concern.

          "Got any good news?" 

          "Afraid not." Zyro ducked back out of sight and returning with a steaming object clutched within his gloved hand.  "Got a bunch of fried jump cells just like this one.  Seems that last jump did her in."

          "Guess there's no chance you can fix them?" Torev was somewhat less hopeful than before.  Zyro didn't answer, he merely laughed histerically and disappeared from sight again.  "Guess not," Torev grumbled to himself, burying his head in his knee.  Those drive cells would have to be replaced, and they didn't come cheap.  That was, of course, if they came at all on this backwater world.  They could patch the fuel leak and top off what they lost all they wanted, but without those cells they would never leave this star system, the nearest stellar neighbor floating in space over ten light years away, and their destination, Cadmus, sitting over twice as far away.  And every minute they spent here Jakko back on Tlyr grew more and more impatient.  After a moment, Zyro returned to view.

          "Got about three more of them cells need replacing," he wiped grease off his hand with a dirty rag, "might be able to salvage the rest."

          "Alright, do what you can." Torev stood back up and let out a deep sigh.  His assailant, whoever it was, would pay dearly for this affront.  At least as soon as he found out whoever it was.  

          Suddenly his earpiece vibrated.  Someone was calling him, and he pressed a button on it to answer.

          "Go."

          "Captain, I may have some news for you if you wouldn't mind returning to the bridge."

          "Alright I'll be there in a minute." He disconnected the earpiece.  Torev couldn't imagine that there would be too many settlements on this rock.  From what he understood, the world was once considered for terraforming, but for some reason the federation long ago changed their minds.  Now all that was left here were scattered settlements, the ruins of such respective world sculpting facilities, and those few individuals who were left behind or had later settled here to scrape by a quiet living.

          He moved through the corridor back toward the bridge, his knees starting to grow sore from the gravity.  His usual destinations were orbital stations and Cadmus, which was actually a moon, not a planet in its own right, so the increased gravity was taxing for him.  It was just one more reason to spend as little time as possible here and get back to civilization.  He didn't run into Dardan again on his way back to the bridge, and he hoped she'd located the source of the fuel leak, if not by now then soon.

          "What is it?" Torev walked into the bridge and over to the station Boom occupied.

          "Hello, captain," she greeted before continuing.  "I've been able to get into contact with one of the locals in a settlement about a hundred clicks from here.  He says he can get us some fuel but he can't get us any drives."

          "Great." Torev let out an exasperated breath.

          "Don't lose hope just yet, captain.  He says there's another settlement we might be able to get some from, but it's on the other side of the planet, so I think-"

          "We get the fuel from him with a speeder and fly the ship to the other settlement for the drives."

          "My thoughts exactly, captain," she said, a full faced smile stretching across her face.  Torev then pressed a button on his earpiece.

          "Dardan." He spoke, and within seconds had a response.

          "Yes, Torev?"

          "Have you found the leak?" 

          "I have, and I'm patching it up now." 

          "How much fuel did we lose?"

          "About three kilos," she answered after a short pause.

          "Alright thanks.  Let me know when you're finished."

          "Copy."

          Torev refocused his attention to Boom and her news.  He felt he should go to this settlement, but knew he shouldn't go alone.  Dardan and Zyro were both busy with their own repairs, so that left one other.

          "Kora?"

          "Yes, captain?" She didn't hesitate with her reply, having never taken her eyes off of him and maintaining a look of eager longing.

          "Gear up and meet me outside of the speeder bay in five minutes."  It was painfully obvious how excited this command made her, and although she was almost successful at hiding it, Torev could tell.  Her positive attitude was a curious thing, especially in light of the life she'd left.  He wondered how long she would be so cheerful and eager, for smuggling and piracy wasn't the easiest or illustrious trade.   However, seeing her become jaded and bitter like others he knew wasn't something he was sure he wanted.  She was too good for this life, he felt she deserved better than the hardships such a trade guaranteed.  Perhaps he should release her when her life debt was paid, but the question was whether she would accept. 

          "Right away, captain," Boom beamed, then leapt out of the chair and bolted from the bridge down the corridor toward her and Dardan's quarters.  Torev stared at the doorway, momentarily lost in his thoughts, then turned and looked out of the large bridge windows to the outside world.  He ran his light bluish-gray fingers through his thick facial bristles as he thought about the events leading up to this point in time, and started to wonder how events would play out from here.

          "I saw that," came a voice from behind.  Torev turned, and saw Dardan leaning against the bridge doorway, a look of contempt upon her face.

          "What do you mean?" he was genuinely bewildered. 

          "That look on your face when Boom walked away."  Dardan smiled.

          "I don't know what you're talking about," he crossed his arms.

          "Oh, please, don't try to deny it. You think of me a fool?"

          "Of course not, I was just-"

          "I've known you for far too long, Rev.  I've seen that look before.  Just don't do anything rash, you may not be very successful having children."

          "That's enough, Dardan!" Torev yelled, his arms stiffly at his sides.

          "My apologies, I sometimes forget non Hadarans don't appreciate our frankness." Dardan looked to the floor with her large jet black eyes.  Torev allowed himself a moment to cool off before responding.

          "I usually do but not on that subject, Dardan." He said, calmly.  "But there's nothing going on with Boom and I, and I have no such intentions."

          "If you say so.  Also, I'm done patching the fuel leak.  I was going to go check on the systems and see if I could give Zyro a hand."

          "That would probably be best." Torev moved towards the door as his first mate turned around and headed down the corridor.  He still felt bad for yelling at her like that, the stress of this whole predicament and her prodding had pushed him to a point he usually avoided.  He was sure in her own way she was just trying to help, and he was glad to know that she was thinking of his best interests.  It still stung when she brought up the sore subject of his heritage and childhood, even though she didn't directly mention it.  

          There weren't many cases of humans and Elyrians successfully giving birth to a child, and even among those, few survived.  Torev was no exception, coming close to death many times as a young boy.  An enzyme in Elyrian blood in high enough doses wreaked havoc with human immune systems, meaning children between the two races was nigh impossible.  Somehow Torev survived into adulthood, despite the usual life expectancy of such people was at best a few years.

          Knowing all this, he doubted he'd ever be able to have children of his own, and didn't need Dardan to remind him.  He shrugged it off, walking down the corridor in the opposite direction his first mate had, deciding not to think about it.  Still, she was right about one thing.  Kora was indeed very attractive, and he probably wouldn't find any difficulty starting a relationship with her if he wanted, being her savior and all.  But that was not something he should be thinking about at the moment, for there were much more important things that required his attention.

          Minutes later Torev stepped out of the airlock and walked toward the rear of the ship, a breather upon his face and an air canister on one hip, his sidearm on the other.  Boom was already there waiting for him, patiently, having already removed the speeder from its hold.  It had two seats and plenty of cargo space, which they would need to transport the fuel they hoped to get from the nearby settlement.

          "Ready to go, captain?" she stood there, resting her flechette gun on her shoulder haphazardly, her voice sounding in his earpiece since her words would become muffled through her breather.

          "Yep, let's get going, we don't wanna be here longer than we have to."

          The speeder was called so for a reason, as the hundred kilometer trip did not take very long at all.  It didn't take long to get out of the swampland and onto open plains.  Boom drove, and the two didn't speak much, her attitude growing serious with the task at hand, most likely trying to be as professional as possible while representing her captain.  This left him a little more uneasy than he thought it would, but he didn't mind, since after his conversation with Dardan, he preferred some time to think to himself.  All in all he was surprised, not with Kora's behavior, or lack thereof, but the fact that Jakko hadn't yet attempted to make contact with him, wondering why the shipment hadn't arrived yet.  As much of a hard time the slimeball had given Torev before they left, he thought he'd have gotten at least an angry message by now.  But there was nothing, and Torev didn't know if that was a good thing or not.  But before he could dwell on it for long, signs of intelligent life rose up over the horizon, and a small settlement came closer and easier to view.

          It was almost pathetic.  Very few large structures stood, many domes and buildings long having succumbed to decay and salvaging, and those that still stood the chance of being occupied didn't look much more appealing.  Torev felt that if he were to live here he'd quickly become depressed or insane.  It was just a bit too quiet for his taste.

          Boom parked the speeder in front of one of the still standing structures, the speeder lazily hovering just a few feet above the ground, and hopped out, her scattergun at the ready.  Torev followed, never allowing his hand to be far from his hand cannon, and looked around.  There was no movement anywhere, if he didn't know better he'd assume this place was completely abandoned.  He hoped putting faith in Kora wasn't a mistake, as he was growing more uneasy by the second.

          "This way." Boom made her way around the building.

          "You're sure?"

          "Uhm, yeah," her answer wasn't very convincing.  As they walked, Torev made out a door, alongside of which a small box with a built in speaker.  Boom reached it first, pressing a button on it with her thumb, and Torev could hear a buzzing sound from within the dome.  The door opened, and the two gingerly stepped inside, Kora's weapon still at the ready.  They came into a room with only one other door and the one behind them shut, within moments the room pressurizing.  Finally the door before them opened, and they stepped into a large, dimly lit chamber, within which stood a single occupant.

          He was human, and thin, yet strong looking, and of age similar to Torev, or maybe older.  His hair was graying and his clothes were tattered, but his eyes were still sharp as they eyed the two strangers that nervously entered.

          "I was wondering when you would arrive."

          "Wensel?" Boom asked.

          "Aye, and you must be Kora?"

          "Yes.  This is my Captain, Torev Aear." she gestured toward him.

          "Sir." he nodded respectfully.  "I realize that self preservation is likely at the forefront of your thoughts, but if you would have your underling lower her weapon, me and mine would be much appreciated."  He indicated a woman and a small girl that nervously stood several feet behind him, the child clearly much more nervous than the two of them.  Kora lowered her scattergun before Torev even had to say or do anything, the sight of this man's scared wife and child as they looked upon two fearsome individuals making him feel somewhat ashamed.  This wasn't at all what he expected.

          "Thanks much, would you like something to drink?  I take it you've been through quite alot these past few hours."

          "Um, sure, thank you," Torev was taken aback at the hospitality.

          "We have water and some juices, but perhaps you'd like something a bit stiffer?" Wensel winked.

          "Water's fine."  Wensel gestured to his family, who broke from their nervous trance and began shuffling about to carry out the order.

          "So what can I do for you?" Wensel approached the two.  "I hear you might be in the need for fuel and some jump drives?" he continued as his wife walked up to him and handed him a glass.  She was plain looking, with brown hair, yet still pretty in her own right.  But the look she gave him was anything but, clearly she wasn't happy about her visitors.  The child, an adorable girl of age seven at most trailed behind, eyeing the two with looks of curiosity, clutching at her mother's clothes and some sort of stuffed doll.  Torev smiled at her as she walked past, and she beamed back at him for a moment, before being pulled away after her mother had finished filling their cups.

          "Well, I've no drives, but I'm sure I can round up a bit of fuel to get you across world.  How much do you need?"

          "Three kilos should do it," Torev diverted his attention from Wensel's family back to the man himself, taking a sip from the surprisingly refreshing and crisp glass of water.

          "That shouldn't be a problem.  We've alot in reserve from an old fuel depot.  You know, back when this place was a bit, eh, busier."  Torev looked at Boom as Wensel spoke, catching her take a deep drag from her glass and allowing a bit of water to flow down her chin.  She quickly wiped it off with her sleeve, then turned red when she noticed Torev watching her.  This didn't prevent her from having a look of satisfaction on her face, obviously proud of herself for doing well for her captain.  He wanted to tell her how proud he was, but dared not here.

          "Excellent, how much?" Torev turned back toward Wensel, reaching into one of his pockets to pull out a bundle of coalition merits.

          "Bah, I don't even know what the going rate for fuel is out there, anymore," Wensel craned his neck upward as if to look upon the rest of the galaxy from within the dome.  "Probably alot more than when me and mine started out.  Any rate, we don't really need money, anything we can't make or grow we trade with others that live here on Nostir." he looked back at Torev.  "And there isn't much I can't make or grow," he grinned slightly.

          "You're sure?"  Torev was shocked.  Wensel's wife looked like she might protest, but changed her mind.

           "Yeah, wife might have a fit later but she'll get over it.  Must be my charm."  Both him and Torev chuckled at his words.  "Alright," Wensel moved toward the door from which they entered, and placed an older looking breather on his face, "let's get you loaded up."

          Minutes later the speeder was laden with fuel canisters and Torev and Boom were on their way back to the ship.  Torev couldn't believe how nice those people were.  They must not get visitors very often, which got him thinking that maybe a place like this wasn't such a bad place to end up after all.  All he needed was someone to spend time with and something to focus his time on, some trade, and the quiet life could be something he could get used to.

          Infinite Horizon's engines roared to life within an hour of their return, and they left the swamp behind.  Within minutes the ship was parked just outside of a larger settlement halfway across the world.  Torev and Zyro entered a similar structure Boom and himself had been in earlier not too long after that, and, while the man who greeted them there, a larger man by the name of Magre, wasn't quite as generous as Wensel, they still were able to get the drives they needed for next to nothing.

          "Alright," Torev said as the two of them re-entered the ship, "get these installed so we can get off this planet already.  I want us jumping to Cadmus within the hour."

          "You got it, boss." Zyro headed off towards the drive bay.

          Torev headed toward the bridge, where he hoped Kora was.  Dardan was there instead, going through a pre-flight checklist yet again.

          "It seems fortune smiles on us," she didn't even have to turn to see who had walked in.

          "Yeah, well, it looks like we picked up a good luck charm on Coriolis." Torev said, just as Kora walked into the bridge.  "Speaking of which."

          "Welcome back, captain." Kora smiled.  "Get those drives alright?"

          "Sure did, thanks to you."  At those words, stars erupted into supernovae in her eyes, her cheeks turned red, and he could tell that it took every ounce of strength she posessed to remain professional.  Dardan turned in her chair to observe the scene, and, if Torev didn't know any better, he could have sworn he saw her smiling as well.  "Now go help Zyro get them installed so we can get the hell out of here."

          "Right away, captain." Boom nearly sprinted through the doorway and down the corridor.

          "Do my eyes decieve me?" Dardan asked.

          "Shut up."

          "Torev, the 'Reverend' Aear, feared pirate captain of the Infinite Horizon, actually being nice to a new crew member?  And looking happy doing so?"

          "Stop it.  I just made her week."

          "Did you?  Or did that little gesture of kindness make your own?" Dardan took him aback at her questioning.  "No matter, it's a good look on you.  You should wear it more often."  She turned back to her checklist, leaving Torev standing there having clearly lost that particular battle.

          Within the hour, just as he commanded, the four crew members had each taken their place on the bridge, readying the Horizon to take flight.

          "Set course for Cadmus," Torev sat in the pilots seat.

          "Setting course," Dardan implemented the proper commands into her console and the Infinite Horizon left ground.

          "Take us home," Torev ordered, and they left Nostir IV forever.  But he would never forget the kindness of those who called it home.  No matter what he thought of the planet when they first arrived, he decided it wasn't such a bad place to be.