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“Well, in review of your past record, we'll keep you on contract. At least the ship was insured.” said the corporate monkey.
“Ok, thanks, I guess” I replied.
It was absolutely ingratiating having to look this pencil neck in the face after what had happened. I'm a damn capsuleer and he pushes a pen. He has no right to sneer at me!
Well, he can. I royally screwed up.
With the last forms signed and my new body passing all the needed med tests, there was nothing left for me to do but leave the med clinic and return to my quarters.
The walk through the station was agony. I took the long way, through the commerce levels, hoping the displays and music would pick up my spirits before I returned home.
The door slid open and I hesitated before stepping across the threshold. My wife sat at the table in the dining room reading the latest paper. She glanced up as I passed through the entryway and to the dining room, the front door sliding closed behind me.
“Hi hon.” she called from the table.
“Hi babe.” I returned, as simply as I could manage. It didn't work. She knew something was wrong.
“What happened. You didn't get into structure this time, did you? You know corporate doesn't like that kind of repair bill.”
“No, not into structure.” I said as I walked up to a chair.
My wife paused, waiting for me to explain, a blank look on her face.
“All the way through structure. I lost the ship, and the crew.” I blurted out.
My wife's mouth dropped open in shock.
“What? You lost the ship? And the crew?” She'd put the paper down now, her full attention on me.
I pulled the chair back and sat down. I continued slowly. “Yeah, she went down so fast I didn't have a chance to let the crew abandon ship. It just happened so fast. The bubble, the web, the ECM. The damage was incredible.” I waited. She was a capsuleer too. Better to have her figure it out on her own than me having to tell her.
Her eyes glared at me. She wasn't going to let me off the hook. The brewing storm on her face said she intended for me to explain it all. I paused, trying to figure out how to get out of this confession. Minutes went by.
“Yeah, I know, I know. I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have taken that job in a point four syst-”
She cut me off. “You did what?!”
“A job in a point four system. I got jumped by pirates. And podded.”
The look on her face fluctuated from anger to sweet victory. I'd never been podded before, she neither. Now I couldn't tease her anymore about me being the better pilot.
“Well,” she said as she returned to her paper, “the company will put you in a new battleship.” Her tone became matter-of-factly. “The instructors were right. You don't have that killer instinct needed to deal with pirates. It's best if you forget about the lawless low security systems and stick to Empire patrols and damping out Guristas flare ups.”
My stomach turned upside down. She didn't know. I hung my head down, wanting to curl up and be forgotten.
“I'll be flying a cruiser for a bit. I was flying with an out of date med clone.”
She stood up, ripping the paper in two, screaming “YOU DID WHAT?!?!”
Excellent story! Loved how you got the expression in twice!
ReplyDeleteThanks Namkha. Getting podded with an outdated clone is my worst fear.
ReplyDelete