Evan

  “Now dis be da good stuff. Muh speshul reserve.” Louey said to me as he brought me and the Hounds to an unassuming door that seemed more likely to lead to a supply closet than a special section.

  Louey approached the door and lightly rapped on the wall next to it, causing a keypad to pop out. The keys displayed symbols that were foreign to me. He deftly entered a combination so long I doubt I could have repeated it even if I had a recording. A single high-pitched ping sounded, after which the door slid open. The gator entered and motioned for us to follow him.

  Inside was another deceptively large room. Though this one lacked the holograms, it made up for it by having all of its parts and even a full fighter physically there.

  “Now mos’ oh da tings cha see back chere are ovaclocked. We do ‘ave a few oh dos refracted lasers, but mos modern shields be makin does quite useless.” He said lazily, motioning over towards a group of lasers on display.

  Most of us ignored it, though Ratchet, who had finally caught up with us back in the store along with Nia, split off to go take a look. Louey saw this and took up a smug grin, likely concluding he had already made a sale. Which, to be fair, knowing Ratchet, he probably did.

  Nia let out a huff. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t get lost.” She then followed him while giving a half-hearted wave to us.

  Emerald and I kept following the gator, who kept walking as we passed the odd yet slightly familiar-looking fighter, though he did nod at it.

  “Dat be a strange one. Looks like an Alis, but it be much olda. Da thrusta pattern looks like it be all ova da place. But if ya looks closely cha see dat each thrusta has independent movement.” He explained.

  I turned to look, and indeed each thruster seemed to be on its own joint. I counted twelve in total and wondered what kind of movement that enabled.

  “A few of muh mechanics think it meh be a late precursa model. But who know?” He said this last bit with a shrug.

  We followed him further into his “special reserve.” The walls now gave way to kinetics of all kinds. He stopped near a multi-barreled contraption.

  “Dis here be a chain gun. Ol’ tech it be, but works just fine in atmosphere or a vacuum. Good at air ta groun, infantree o’ vehicle.” He explained.

  Reminded me of a minigun from an old video game or cartoon. Except much bigger.

  “Anywhere I could see it in action or field-test it?” I asked, genuinely curious, grateful for my helmet hiding the childlike wonder no doubt in my eyes.

  Louey smiled at dat question. “Sho do. Wan’ me ta get one of muh boys to set it up for you?” He says with the tone of someone who just hooked the biggest catfish in the pond.

  I nod, to which his smile only grows.

  “Louey, I think he’d be interested in some of your more unique weapons.” Emerald says from my side.

  Louey raises an eye ridge. “Well now, I got a very unique offerin tah show him then.”

  Louey started heading towards the very back of the room. Emerald wrapped her arm around mine and I once again let myself be dragged off, enjoying the sensation and the attention. Emerald, for her part, wore one of the widest smiles I’d ever seen on the white fox.

  In the back of the room I saw Louey standing in front of rather large blade. I felt my enthusiasm fall almost immediately.

  “Now dis here be a Void-blade s—” He began his explanation of the item in question.

  A void blade, something many eastern fringers enjoyed putting on their ship for dogfights. It was utterly useless in an actual fight, and any attempt to use it was tantamount to suicide.

  As I let him drone on, my peripheral vision picked up a familiar weapon. One I hadn’t seen in a long time. I walked over to the table, causing Louey to trail off from his diatribe.

  “Oh, those. I be honest, I ‘ave no idea what dey be for. Bought ‘em from a regular client who swore they were some kind of drone. Didn’t say where tey was used fo security, nor did he say how to use them.” Louey shook his large reptilian head. “Sorry to disappoint cha.” He said with a shrug.

  I ignored him. I walked over to the drones and tapped one. My power armor then made a trill, before a confirmation for syncing appeared on my HUD.

  Sync Funnel Drones to Power Armor Frame: Confirm/Deny.

  I hit confirm and all 8 of the drones began to rise. To my disappointment they were older models with only automatic mode available. Which was somewhat of a shame.

  “Well, I’ll be.” Louey said, watching the drones flutter around me.

  “I’ll take them.” I said with no room for debate.

  Emerald watched the drones with fascination. I sent one of the drones to scan her and put her on safe list, meaning the drones would never target her even if the AI read a threat from her. Emerald tapped the flowerbud-shaped drone as it floated in front of her. The drone itself made no reaction before the lights dancing up its barrel and sides flashed green for a moment.

  “Well les nego—” Louey started to say before I pulled out my credit strip.

  “Thirty thousand Zorkmeds.” I said, listing off a price made the gator’s eyes grow.

  “Well, I think that’s a good star—” He began, but once again I felt the need to interrupt him.

  “No, we’ll end there. You could go a lifetime before you found anyone else with the training and equipment needed to use these.” I said with finality.

  The gator seemed to mull that statement over. His idle ticks were novel to me as he ran a claw down his jutting teeth like a stick down a washboard. Finally he nodded.

  “Fine, but you bettah be serious about dat chain gun. Takes fo’eva ta sell dem killin machines. Dey just like us gators, everyone likes em from a distance but no one wants ta get close.” He said ruefully, emphasizing the gun in question.

  I gave the man a pat on the back as I sent a recall command to the drones, which returned to the table and deactivated. “Send those back to the Gamma Ray.”

  About 15 minutes later we found ourselves at a private firing range all the way to the back of the store.

  “Surprised they let a shopkeep build a firing range in the commercial district so close to the hull.” I say absently as I watch two smaller gators rig the chain gun to a fighterless gunmount.

  “What firing range?” Louey says coyly.

  This earns an eyeroll from myself and Emerald, while Nia sports a grin at that statement. Ratchet, for his part, has been creeping closer to the gators installing the gun.

  “So why don’t these sell very well?” Emerald asked as we watched Ratchet start correcting the gators, joining them on the installation process. I actually knew the answer to this question.

  “Because while effective, the ammo usage makes the gun prohibitively expensive unless you’re well off enough to afford and maintain enriched Argon blasters, in which case you’d just go for those.” I said, to which Louey nodded approvingly.

  “Ya know ya weapons. Though you still seem interested. So either you got moolah like a prince or ya know how ta use em.” He said with a large grin.

  I nodded. “The later, trigger discipline with high rof kinetics was something I learned very early on.”

  Nia and Emerald both gave me appraising looks as I said that, but I didn’t acknowledge them.

  Emerald then pivoted and asked a different question. “How much does the ammo cost? Old kinetics can’t be that expensive.” She says as Ratchet and the gators seem to finish the setup, shaking hands. The two gators nearly knock him over with hearty pats on the back, but I can’t pick up any malice from here.

  “Oh sha, it ain da bullets dats expensive. It’s how many ya need. Dis ding right chere fires 1000 bullets every 10 seconds. At 3 Zorks a bullet, well it’s about 30000 Zorks a minute.” He says with a belly laugh before snapping at the bulletproof booth Ratchet and the other two gators are behind.

  A large metal plate was hanging from the ceiling. “Now that’s a standard non-mp Argo haul plating panel.”

  The mounted chain gun began to spin. At first nothing happened as the barrels rotated at full speed, that is until a buzz erupted. Rather than a hail of bullets, it looked as if a molten beam erupted from the chain gun. Within 2 seconds the hull was reduced to scrap metal.

  Louey smiled brightly at the display.

  “How much.” I asked as the others looked at the weapon with trepidation, as if imagining a hole in their pockets forming just by looking at it.

  “I’d say about ten thousand Zorks outta cover it.” He said easily.

  My current funds gave me more than enough to cover that, so I easily agreed.

  “I’ll also only charge you half price for the bullets used in that display.” He said with a laugh, holding out his hand.

  When I refused to shake it, his laugh took on an awkward tone. “I be pickin o’course the display was free.” He corrected himself. With that I shook his hand.

  “Just don’t use all that money you got put away paying for the ammo Evan.” Nia said, which caused me to give her an appraising look. I don’t think I’ve ever discussed my personal finances with them. I thought to myself.

  As we got ready to leave I saw Ratchet still talking with the two other gators and waved him over. When he saw the gesture he shook each of their hands and laughed at some joke I wasn’t close enough to overhear. Sprinting over to us he arrived with a smile.

  “That was a blast! Tell me you’re getting it.” He said excitedly.

  To which I nod. “Sure am, tell you what, you can even use it if you pay for your own ammo.” I jokingly say.

  Though when he easily agrees I realize he wasn’t around for the conversation of ammo cost. Welp, some people learn lessons the hard way. I thought deviously to myself.

  Having paid for everything and given instructions to the delivery crew, we finally left the store. I never did ask about who the hell Stanley was if Louey was the owner. But it was a question for next time.

  For now we were finally making our way to the restaurant. As we walked by street food vendors and other dining establishments, I lamented the filter in my suit’s helmet as I was unable to take in the aroma.

  Ratchet was currently being hauled by Nia, who held him by the back of his shirt like a handbag. While he had protested at first, he now seemed to be enjoying himself at least as he observed everything we passed.

  Emerald was at my side again telling me all the places in the area she had eaten before. I had noticed far earlier in the day that she was being particularly physical lately. Since leaving Stanley’s she had almost constantly had a hand on my armor, an arm locked in mine, or was dragging me by my own hand.

  Another reason to hate my armor, as I’m unashamed to admit I really wanted to feel her soft fur. I blushed under my helmet, thinking back to when she found out about my supplements, the soft touch of her pawpads on my chest, and the subtle pine needle scent that seemed to follow her.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “…Evan?” She asked, breaking me out of my stupor.

  “Sorry, what?” I asked.

  “Oh, I was just wondering what your home was like.” The unexpected question felt like it came out of left field.

  “What brought this up?” I ask, suddenly guarded, as flashes of memories I’d rather forget begin to bubble under my surface thoughts.

  She presses herself closer. “I just thought you knew more about me than we know of you. I know you have secrets, but you can open up to us.” She said sincerely.

  Now I suddenly found myself grateful for the armor, as her physical contact would have sent me over the mental edge.

  “I…” My feet stopped moving as waking nightmares came unbidden.

  I threw open the front door, hoping against the odds they would be there. To my relief they were. The power hadn’t yet cut out, despite the lack of working power production for at least 30 miles. The lack of power in so many other parts of the city likely meant they had a sizable reserve on this side of town.

  Dad sat there with his coffee mug gripped tightly in both hands, while Mom held an old cross tightly to her chest. The TV in front of them was turned on with the broadcast bar of a popular news station displayed on the bottom, but above it was the colored bars indicating no signal.

  The sound I made as I entered the living room stirred both of them as Mom and Dad looked up at me. A fear bloomed in my father’s eyes as he saw someone enter, and he reached for the pistol on the coffee table. Though the look passed the moment he recognized me.

  “Evan, you shouldn’t be here. You could have…” He started with relief and frustration evident in his voice.

  “Doesn’t matter, I’m not just gunna leave you and Mom. I got the truck packed up and more than enough space for both you. I installed a new air filter for the trip.” I explained as I showed Dad the large bags I brought in for them to pack. “We don’t have enough space for everything, but we can bring the most sentimental things.” I saw as I hold a bag out to him.

  The static on the TV suddenly ended as a newscaster came on and seemed to be mid-announcement. “…the colonies are still sending aid to the remaining free standing cities in the western hemisphere. Satellite footage leaves little hope the eastern hemisphere. As sickness continues to spread current air fi……”

  A the sound of knocking on metal pushed the thoughts back as I suddenly saw my vision taken up by the face of Ratchet. He was currently knocking on my helmet with one hand while he held on with the other, all the while bracing his feet against my chest.

  “You in there, buddy?” He asks, still knocking.

  I reach up and gently grab him, lifting him off of me and hold him out to Nia, who takes him though concern is written clearly on her face. When I look down at Emerald I see the same.

  “Sorry, I got lost in thought.” I said unconvincingly.

  “Evan, you spaced out for a good 30 seconds there. Should we go back to the ship? Because that shit’s not normal.” Emerald says in a serious tone, her captain mode starting to rear its stern head.

  I shake my head. “No, we don’t. I just haven’t thought of family or home for a while.”

  I quickly decided to give a more general account of my family and home life. “But lets answer your question. I grew up with a relatively normal home life. Middle class mom and dad who were way too protective of me growing up. I also had an older brother but we lost contact. My childhood was pretty uneventful, consisting mainly of school, sports, and video games.” I say, giving the most general account of a middle class human possible.

  Emerald nods, but I can tell by the side-eye she’s giving me that she knows I’m holding back most of the details.

  “Were you close to your family?” She asks as we continue down the street, a few passersby recognizing the other Gamma Hounds as they stop to point at Emerald, who ignored the fanfare, instead continuing to give me a sympathetic look I felt was unearned.

  Sighing silently within my helmet, I gave a little more. “We were very close.” I said, my melancholy bleeding through my shitty speakers. I tried to say more, I really did, but the words died on my tongue, leaving the aftertaste of ash and regret.

  Emerald

  Evan didn’t continue after that. Emerald was grateful that they soon arrived at the restaurant. It was a rather stylized building with a large stylized fish on the sign Obon-Sushi. It was a strange word, from a dead language. All anyone really knew was that it stood for a certain way to cook fish. Nowadays it was associated with a minimalist preparation of seafood that allowed the ingredients to speak for themselves.

  Emerald licked her lips as her stomach let out a small growl. She fought to keep her ears from flattening at that. Thankfully Evan seemed to have not noticed.

  “Feels like it’s been forever since I last had sushi.” Evan said, his voice taking on a lighter note, much to Emerald’s relief.

  Entering the restaurant, they were immediately greeted by a black felanid hostess standing behind the podium. “Welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you at Obon this evening. Do you have a seating preference.” She asked in a practiced, but welcoming tone.

  Nia was the one to answer. “Private dining for four. The VIP lounge with an ordering kiosk.”

  The hostess picked the small tablet off of her podium and seemed to tap in a few things. “Our VIP section is reserved for monikered hunters. Do any of you have a monikered license?” She asked politely.

  “We all do.” Emerald said, producing her hunter’s, an action which the other three all repeated.

  After examining the cards, her eyes widening at both Nia’s and Evan’s, she gave a small bow. “We are honored to be hosting the Gamma Hounds this evening and have a private dining room on available on the top floor. Please enjoy the food.”

  This was met by dismissive thanks from most of the team. Evan, however, stopped for a moment to look at her before tapping Nia on the shoulder and nodding towards the black-coated felanid. Nia turned to look at her and saw the other felanid seemed to want to say something.

  “Yes?” She probed, to which the felanid responded. “I would just like to say I’m personally honored to meet you, Ms. Nia. It’s unprofessional, but would you be willing to sign my notebook. I have a large collection of signatures from my favorite felanid hunter’s.” She then turned to Evan. “I would love to get your signature to Mr. Shadow!” She said with a bit too much excitement in her voice.

  This caught Evan off guard, and he was about to correct her, but Nia cut him off. “We’d both be happy to sign.” She said, which earned an enthusiastic little clap from the hostess, who bent down to presumably grab her notebook from the podium.

  When Evan turned to give Nia the best questioning look he could through his helmet, she simply winked at him. When the girl stood up, she held the notebook out to them.

  A few minutes later the Gamma Hounds were now seated in their private dining room after having been led there by a very happy hostess.

  “Once you’re ready to order you may do so through the tablet on the end of the table. Appetizers and drinks will be delivered remotely via the hatch on the side. While the chef will personally bring up any main courses you order.” The felanid explained as she showcased the room. It wasn’t very large and was occupied by a single elegant square table.

  “Oh, we do request that anyone who wishes to enter knocks before doing so.” Emerald added politely as the hostess finished up.

  “Oh, of course. If you have any other request, please feel free to send them via the tablet. Please enjoy your dining experience.” She gave another quick bow before leaving the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

  The four hunters then took their seats. As they settled, Evan reached up and unlatched his helmet. The locking mechanism audibly unclasping as he did so. It was only after a stream of gas visibly was released from the back of the helmet that he finally was able to take it off.

  Emerald was happy to see his face again. He took a deep breath through his nose. His face then broke into a content smile. Emerald examined his teeth as he did, noticing his teeth were similar to those of a polaxi. The flat front teeth followed by rather dull canines made her wonder what his people evolved to eat.

  “God, it’s good to smell again. You don’t realize how much you miss smell until you’re deprived of it.” Evan stated.

  This caused the rest of the table to look at him in mild shock.

  “Wait, you mean you can’t smell in that?” Ratchet asked, cocking his head to the side.

  “Not a bit. The air filter keeps pretty much all airborn toxins. Don’t get me wrong, it’s like I’m breathing fresh air all the time, but man, sometimes you just miss the aroma of things.”

  Nia cocked her head. “Such as?” She asked.

  “Well, for one, walking through near all those restaurants without being able to smell anything was practically torture. You even start to notice the absence of the little things. Like Emerald’s perfume. I dunno why, but the cinnamon and pine needle mix is very calming.” Evan said casually, causing Emerald’s fur to stand up in embarrassment and the other two to look at Evan in shock at his lack of courtesy.

  Ratchet almost spoke up to call him out but was stopped by a kick under the table and a subtle headshake from Nia. Emerald was grateful to her friend and did not want to explain to Evan that perfumes were something mostly confined to Polluxi due to the races making up the empire generally having a weaker sense of smell.

  “W..why don’t we go ahead and order some drinks?” Emerald said with a slight stammer.

  Evan turned to look at her, caught off by her slip of the tongue. But when she refused to look up from the menu to meet his eyes, he shrugged and opened up his own menu using the provided tablet.

  Soon they had all placed their orders. Only a few minutes later the food lift dinged and opened up to reveal their drinks. Ratchet and Nia both had beers, while Emerald had a margarita. Evan, for his part, ordered one made from a fruit grown in the system.

  Everyone went ahead and took their first sips. As they finished, they each let out a sigh, releasing the pent up tension. For a minute or two they all simply nursed their beverages.

  “So what else did you buy Louey? I only saw the chain gun, but he swiped your credit strip twice.” Ratchet asked in between sips of his proportionally oversized beer.

  “I bought some drones from him.” Evan said casually, drinking from his bright blue beverage.

  Emerald put her emptied drink down.

  “Downed that a bit fast, Em.” Evan said, to which she waved him off.

  “Those were not just drones, Evan. They were these little flowerbud-shaped things and there were at least eight of them. Louey didn’t even think they worked, and Evan got them on within seconds of laying his eyes on them.” The fox said as she bragged on her teammate.

  “Oh?” Ratchet said, his interest starting to peak.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Those things were made with power armor like mine in mind. You need the neural implants and the onboard command signals to even use them.” Evan explained.

  Ratchet’s tail flicked behind him in excitement. “You’ll have to let me get a look at those and see them in action.” He stated, to which Evan replied with a nod and a grin.

  “Another round?” Nia said, reaching for the tablet.

  “Why don’t we order some food first. I don’t want to load up on carbs before we get even more carbs.” Evan said as he grabbed a menu.

  “So? Just don’t order carbs with it.” Emerald said with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s sushi, you need rice for a sushi roll, kinda hard to get it without carbs.”

  Now Nia gave Evan an appraising look. “Evan, sushi is just free fish.” She stated plainly.

  The Thall looked a bit put off by that statement. “Well, I’m not one to turn down good seafood, but that is a bit disappointing.”

  Everyone at the table gave Evan an odd look.

  “What was sushi like where you’re from? You mentioned a roll.” Nia asked probingly.

  “Well, typically it’s raw or lightly cooked fish rolled together with either crab, a type of sea crustacean, shrimp, veges, or roe. Rice is what we use to roll it together.”

  A rumbling sound came from Nia’s stomach as she looked directly at Evan, licking her lips. Evan’s eyes darted from side to side.

  “You ok there, Nia?” He asked tentatively, which seemed to break her out of whatever had come over her.

  “Yea, yea I am. Do you think you could try to make us some sushi like you remember sometime?” She asked with a fervent intensity that surprised everyone at the table.

  “Uhh, I can sure try. I think I have some instruction videos on my old ph… compad.” Evan said cautiously; Emerald could tell he was being careful not to overpromise.

  “Hey, not to interrupt but, I’m pretty hungry now, and we got some top tier seafood at our fingertips. Lets wait until tomorrow to talk about tomorrow’s meals.” Ratchet said, pulling the menu back up on his compad.

  An hour and a half later they were all 3 servings of alcohol deeper, except Nia, who agreed to remain sober enough to help Evan get his helmet back on if he blacked out and be able to call a taxi. They were also one large meal fuller, with appetizers to boot.

  Nia had ordered a large carnivorous fish that was mostly cartilage. But somehow the chef had prepared the creature to melt when inside the felanid’s mouth. Ratchet, for his part, got a large plate of fried fish and somehow managed to clean his entire plate despite the plate in question measuring out to half his size. Emerald got a blackened fish pasta. While Evan followed Ratchet’s lead and got some fried pawns, a shrimp-like creature native to the solar system Horizon’s Retreat was stationed in.

  They were all a little tipsy at this point, but Evan seemed to have held his alcohol the worst, as he was already hiccupping. He was much more talkative and had been regaling them with some of his more memorable solo hunts.

  While Emerald was enjoying herself and had first grown interested in him over his prowess as a pilot, she wanted to know more about him. Seeing this as an opportunity, she took a chance.

  “So you said you were close to your mom and dad…” She started to say, but Evan’s mood seemed to flip on a dime at their mention, and he quickly switched from an upbeat jovial attitude to a morose and depressed one.

  “I was, and not a day goes by I don’t miss them. You know, before they… passed I had a falling out with them. I don’t even remember what it was about, probably pops telling me how to be a man for the umpteenth time.” Evan let out a hollow sigh at that. “We made up, but I stopped talking to them for half a year over that. If I’d have kno…. If…. If…” Evan trailed off as he became lost in painful memories.

  Emerald looked to Nia and was thankful to see the girl was averting her eyes, giving Evan some measure of privacy in this moment of vulnerability.

  “This is getting too heavy, dude. Why don’t we get one last round an.an.and head for the road.” Ratchet stuttered out.

  “I think I’ll… Hic…. I think I’ll pass while I can still think straight.” Emerald said before turning to ask Evan. “What about you, big guy?”

  Evan ran a hand down his now red face. “Yea, I think I could use one for the road.”

  Emerald patted him on the shoulder. “Sure, let’s get something on the tamer side though. Here, this one’s a local special.” Emerald said as she ordered a Purple Sunrise.

  A few minutes later another beer arrived for Ratchet and the aptly named purple drink with it. Emerald reached over and grabbed the drink and offered it to Evan. She felt awful for ruining his mood, but hoped the drink would at least help make up for it. She tapped his arm to get his attention as he was still leaned over deep in thought. He absentmindedly reached for the drink, but as he brought it to his lips he took a look at it. Then he shot up, tripping over the chair and dropping the drink on the table.

  He sat on his rear, staring at the spill, and began to hyperventilate.

  “Evan, are you ok?” Emerald asked, but he continued to stare at the liquid now leaking over the edge of the table as he quickly yanked his foot back to keep it from hitting his armored boot. Slowly he crawled backward, grabbing his helmet as he went and slamming it on as if his life depended on it.

  Nia looked at him with concern and reached out to touch his shoulder. Unfortunately, the moment she did her eyes shot wide. She then looked at their crewmate in horror before she began to violently vomit.

  Ratchet jumped back, avoiding the splash zone, but tripped over the arm of his chair and hit his head on the ground, knocking himself unconscious.

  “I’m calling a taxi. We need to get him on the ship now.” Emerald, now shocked into sobriety, looked at her friend.

  “Nia, what did you—” She began.

  “I don’t know.” Nia shook her head as she answered, her face a mask of horror and pity as she looked at the near catatonic Thall.

  Quickly the sober Hounds cleaned up the mess as well as they could. Nia contacted a taxi service on her compad and they went to the Gamma Ray as fast as possible.

  Soon they were all on board with Ratchet and Evan sleeping in the med bay. Evan had passed out at some point during the ride, which resulted in Emerald and Nia having to use a grav-lift to carry the man and his heavy power armor. Scanners showed neither was likely to wake up until tomorrow morning.

  Emerald ended an otherwise good day laying in her bed, staring up at the metal ceiling. As she drifted to sleep, she couldn’t help but wonder what had caused Evan to break down like that. With nothing left to do, she hoped he would be better tomorrow.