Chapter 18: Chapter 6.3: Reward

      “Now what do we have here?” Reward Cotte asked while looking at the small memory stick. He sat back in his Raptor’s leather seat with his jumpsuit unzipped all the way down. His bulging pectoral muscles glistened with sweat, and was matted in dark brown chest hair. He just spend the past four hours scouting the Star of Argon’s intended path through the outer regions of the system. 

      Unlike the Izmis system, plagued by piracy, and corrupt colony’s, the Eridani system was tame by comparison. Whoever named it had a sense of humor, for it was an old word for ‘spirits’ or ‘liquor’ in an older Sihnonian dialect. 

      A single red star gleamed in the distance, populated by sporadic asteroid belts, and the occasional barren planet. An old listening post had been stationed above one of the smaller gas giants, only to be abandoned following a catastrophic meteor shower. The only element of significance, was the bright white string of frozen ice that had barreled through the solar system. At its head was a massive celestial body, sent hurling through space millennia ago, and destined to find itself traveling well outside of the Eridani system in another hundred years. 

      One would think the collection of asteroid belts would prove a haven for pirates, but Reward found only deathly cold, and foreign radio beacons broadcasting messages several decades old. He explored much of the intended route for the Star of Argon, and made a pass over the long dead listening post. He was a little disappointed for not finding anything substantial. 

      Looking out his viewport, at the silver bow drawing a line through the system, he regretted not installing a camera on his void fighter. Such images might’ve earned him a tiny fortune on the net. At the very least, he could send the details to some mercenary friends he knew. They might pay him for the intel on the system itself. 

      Now that he was back in the cargo bay, his engines running cold, he couldn’t help but feel exhausted. Four hours of constant scouting, his awareness hyped on narcotics, had finally come to haunt him. He had precious little sleep before that, and decided it was better to get some rest while in his craft. That way, if something were to happen, he wouldn’t have to get out of bed and rush to the cargo bay. 

      His skin crawled as he felt the symptoms of withdrawal. Desperate, he took out the small pouch of dust that he had acquired from the smuggler at the beginning of the voyage. He broke its seals long ago, and enjoyed the occasional pinch of stardust every so often. He had to pace his usage, so that it would stretch out over the length of the trip. 

      It was damn good stuff. A little strong, perhaps, but better than anything he ever tried before. Reward had to be careful, not to ingest too much of it.

      After six months, he had used up more than half of the package. He had never cared to notice the tiny memory disk near the bottom. The cylinder was coated in stardust, making it easy to mistake it for a small clump of powder. Reward fingered the hardened material, and then dusted it off to expose the smooth plastic. 

      He gazed at the tiny cylinder for several minutes before storing it in his jumpsuit pocket. Whatever the smuggler had been hiding, it must’ve been worth something. Few would hide data in a parcel of contraband, especially when the contraband itself was fairly expensive. It would’ve been easier to hide it in something entirely worthless, so as to not gain any attention. It made him curious, but he could study it later. 

      He leaned back in his leather chair, letting himself enjoy the high. His thoughts drifted to better times, and things not having to do with war and death. The tattoo on his right shoulder stung as he curled to the side. He was just about to enjoy a relaxing dream when an alarm beeped. 

      Reward cursed, and got back up in his seat. He was quick to zip up his flight suit before sealing the hull. Data scrolled into his heads up display, including a series of flight checks and mission briefings. 

      Something was sighted on long range sensors; whatever it was, it was big. He couldn’t help but feel afraid. 

      Did I miss something? He wondered to himself as his Raptor’s engines were brought online. Could they have mistaken the listening post for something else? The idea wasn’t ludicrous, it wouldn’t have been the first time the Star of Argon mistook a dead station as something else. Granted the last time it happened, the station was still very much operational. 

      Reward looked over the data as he reported ready for launch. The Raptor was gently lowered into the launch tube, carrying a surplus of ammunition, fuel, and armor piercing ordnance. He doubted they would do any good, especially if the data on the size of the anomaly was correct. If they were, it was easily the size of a cruiser. 

      There were no visuals, so he could only guess at what was triggering the sensors. As the last flight checks finished, and the Raptor locked itself into the launch tube, he prayed it was a false alarm. 

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