"
It's a great plan, isn't it?"
Daiya didn't care if the Shistavanen thought so, too. He seemed busy nudging his transport ship into the ancient vessel's hangar, and the air in the cockpit hung quiet.
Too quiet. The teen thought she remembered that line from a holo-flick somewhere, in between her efforts to fill the space with something comforting. "
I was on this ship before, like way before, you wouldn't believe how fething creepy it was. And now it looks brand, spanking new!"
If she squinted, at least, it looked newer. Less shabby than most of the ships the young shadowrunner had flown on before. Which wasn't many, and even fewer could count among those she had
wanted to fly on. Daiya had been apprehensive about the flagship before putting her plan into motion, and it took a few shots of the local rotgut plus the anti-nausea meds to settle her stomach for the death trap rattling beneath her feet.
At least it was almost over.
"
I heard about all the renovations and changes, the ship got a real glow-up. But it's totally lacking..." She paused, wondering if this was the moment when their wolfman pilot would finally speak up. He'd barely said a word the whole flight, pointing out the seats and facilities when they'd boarded, and gesturing to answer any questions. When she mentioned it to Cartri, he said something about the pilot's species keeping to themselves. Daiya wasn't convinced, the big, furry pilot reminded her so much of another companion she once had, and she easily settled into the same routine with him. "
I know you were going to ask, but you're concentrating. That's okay. It's all part of this plan, starting with the cargo container you've got strapped to the hull. When I saw it on the planet, it already had its cover stripped off then, it was just full of a buncha junk and chit. And the junk dealer, Grecky or something, asked if I wanted to fill it with soil and start a garden."
She wrinkled her nose at the thought, leaning in to reassure the Shistavanen. "
I'm not that kinda girl."
Daiya giggled to herself, leaning back into her seat when the pilot turned his snout toward her, blowing air through his long nose. Her heart quickened for a moment before it slowed to a calm again, unafraid of the Shistavanen. He wasn't showing teeth yet, or making noise. Just reminding her where the boundaries were. She swept pink hair out of her face, tucking it back behind her ears again. "
You're not so scary, you know? I don't get why anyone would think you are."
He didn't say anything to that, and Daiya didn't mention anything more about it.
"
Anyway, you get my plan, right? Once we get the cargo container in place, me and Cartri, we're gonna fill it with water." Daiya bounced on the edge of her chair, the meds and alcohol layering their effects on her. Her head buzzed and her palms itched, impatiently waiting to get over this part of the trip and onto the fun part. "
And then? We're gonna go swimming! It's the one thing this place was lacking, I talked to, like, five people who've been on it and they were all over the flagship. There's no fething pool!"
The teen wasn't certain that the pilot would see it her way. His matted fur seemed covered in the same layer of dust like everything else on Altier below them. It was a wonder Daiya hadn't sneezed her whole lungs out when they were planetside. "
It was the rain that made me think of it. You'd think I'd be used to it, a girl from Denon, where the clouds rain down acid half the time? But nooOOOooo, it had to be rain on the day of the concert! What the absolute feth?!"
She was still wearing her Jonny and the Digi-Tones shirt, the consolation handout at the gates when they finally abandoned the concert with the rest of the crowd. Daiya didn't feel so annoyed about it anymore, though her tongue kept its bitter edge. "
We came all the way to Altier to see this new alt-synth guy, he's supposed to be really good. He had this whole novel synthwave setup with junk and jury-rigged chit, it sounded a-mazing! And then it started raining, then pouring, and the ground turned straight from mud to a flood. That's when the little Kubaz ran off the stage and the music stopped, and it was all over. We ran over to this junk peddler who had his shop up on a hill, and the rest is that chitpile known as history!"
Her bones rattled as the ship touched the hangar deck with the bottom of the carried cargo container, still strapped to the underside of the hull. Daiya winced to hear the shrieking scrapes of the metal on metal for a moment, before the transport ship settled into a halt. The teen folded her arms, grumbling at the pilot's heavy landing. "
Oh my stars, when I said 'it was a steal' I didn't mean I literally stole it. You can be a little gentle with it, I didn't pay too many creds for it or something."
Daiya stood up, unhooking herself from her seat. The pilot pointed to some light his head, but she ignored him. He flipped a switch on his display, making the light flicker, and she felt a little more ire tickle at the back of her throat. "
Oh come the feth off it, I'm just gonna walk to the back. Promise I won't sue if I smash my head on your next landing."
They weren't going far for that one, anyway.
She left the pilot behind in his cramped cockpit, leaving him with a grateful smile for having brought them this far. Daiya hated space flight, and hated the vertigo it gripped her with. This pilot wasn't the type to try to comfort her with platitudes, or tell her to stop talking. Oddly enough, the Shistavanen's presence was calming, and her chance to see the landing up-close was doubly so.
"
He's fething good." Daiya indicated her thumb to the pilot back through the bulkheads ahead of her, sliding into the seat next to Cartri. She leaned into him, her mud—and whatever else that floated free from those junk piles—caked knees knocking into his, and she gave him a peck on the cheek. Her fingers found one hand of her boyfriend, lacing themselves between his longer digits. "
But I'm more glad you're along. I almost feel better than when we left Denon!"
When they landed again, this time without the cargo container underneath, Daiya let out a long sigh. She laid her head back in the seat, slipping down the cushioned back to let herself pool onto the transport's deck. It poked at her back, but the teen didn't care. Her stomach finally felt at ease, enjoying the bliss that came from the gigantic starship's gravity plating.
Daiya felt she could lay here for
hours.
Prying herself up off the decking, with Cartri's help, the teen managed to get back on her feet. Daiya gathered up her gear, and when Cartri was ready, made her way down the ramp with him. She turned back to wave at the pilot, a lopsided grin on her face as the teen told him. "
Next time you come, bring your swimsuit!"
She giggled as they entered the hangar bay of the
Samhain's Derelict, the giant cargo container staring back at them from directly ahead. It was huge, big enough for the pool she envisioned, but Daiya knew it was going to have to move. "
Hey, is that one of those maintenance cranes?" She nudged Cartri, pointing at the repulsorlift vehicle equipped with a long crane arm and legs with old-fashioned magnetic clamps. "
Think you can operate it? I wanna get the container into one of those ship stalls."
Daiya pointed at one she meant, the many parking slots for smaller ships. Some of which were just big enough for the cargo container. "
This pool is gonna be a-mazing!"
Johnny Diamonds
and comin' your way
Ivory Stroud
