Chapter 2: Chapter 5: Rise and Shine

“Rise and shine, kid.”

Wesley’s eyes twitched, like he didn’t want to. Dash gently shook him, twice, then once more.

The medtech opened his eyes. Dash stared down at him. Wesley blinked, then swept his gaze around the suite—the medical sponges stuffed into Dash’s nostrils, his belt medkit lying open on the floor, Tinker still lifeless next to the removed hacking kit, Osric’s limp body on top of Kashara, her blood pooling beneath them, and Gaius on his back, mask removed and grinning like a fool.

“I never figured you of all people would pass out at the sight of blood,” Dash said with a hint of a smug smile.

“It never happened before,” Wesley said. He touched his face, then checked his hand. It was free of blood.

“I cleaned you up,” Dash said, and helped Wesley sit up. The medtech eyed the deceased contacts again.

Dash said, “Don’t worry, they’re dead.”

Wesley almost retched. Dash saw in Wesley’s eyes the same disconnected stare he’d seen in fellow soldiers fresh from intense combat. “I get it. Problem is, they tried to kill us, and the guild will find out soon enough. We need to leave or we’re going to end up on the floor next to them,” Dash said. When he received no response, he snapped his fingers in front of Wesley. “Can you stand?”

“I think so,” Wesley said. He lifted himself from the ground. Dash guided the wobbly medtech to the desk. Wesley sat. “Maybe not.”

Dash followed Wesley’s gaze to the pool around Kashara. “Lords, she’s a bleeder.”

“The headset cut the carotid artery. She never had a chance without a tier one trauma bot standing here,” Wesley said, his tone flat and scholarly as if a professor giving a lecture.

“See? There’s nothing you could’ve done for her anyway. Now snap to. I need you to wake Gaius.”

Wesley turned to the pilot. The cloudiness in his eyes dissipated as the task gave him focus. He pulled the injector from his medkit and examined Gaius, reporting the pilot’s state. The gaseous ingestion method gave one clue, as did the hazy eyes and shaking tongue. He dialed in the antidote to his injector, then pressed it to Gaius’s neck. The medication dispensed and an empty cartridge popped out. Wesley gently shook his shoulder. After several seconds, the pilot snapped awake and shouted, “Watch out, it’s a trap!” He bolted upright, his head swiveling around the room. “Oh, shit. This isn’t good.”

“Welcome back. I need you to fix Tinker so we can get out of here,” Dash said.

“On it,” Gaius said. He shook his head to clear any residual wooziness, then crawled to the bot.

Dash placed a reassuring hand on Wesley’s shoulder. “We’ll be leaving in a minute. Hang tight.” Then he shifted his attention to the dead contacts. He lifted Kashara’s arm off the floor and tried to pull her out from beneath Osric. She didn’t budge. He pulled again, harder, and finally Kashara popped free of Osric’s bulk. He knelt next to the contact and searched her jacket. “How’s the bot look?” he said to Gaius.

“They were trying to hack it, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gaius said as he tapped on the datapad. “Either way, looks like they had no idea what they were doing. The system is a complete mess. We’ll have to do a total rebuild. But I can reboot in debug mode and walk it out manually.”

“Do it,” Dash said. He scoped Kashara’s datapad from the floor and opened the original contract. “Bye bye, jackass,” he said as he replaced Captain Bania with himself as the assigned contractor. It prompted for confirmation, and he pressed his palm to the display. It then asked for employer approval. Dash grabbed ahold of Kashara’s wrist. 

“What are you doing?” Wesley said.

“Finalizing our agreement,” Dash said. He pressed her hand to the datapad. The contract icon flashed green. A confirmation appeared on Dash’s PD, stating the cargo—a pallet of valuable minerals—would now be loaded onto his ship.

“I don’t understand. We just killed these people so we wouldn’t have to take the contract.”

“First of all, it was self-defense. And technically, they killed each other. Point is, the only way we’re getting off the station is if they think we’ve signed a contract. After that, we’re not coming back.”

Wesley’s hands hovered in front of him. “We cannot justify sin with sin. We should go to the authorities. Explain what happened.”

Gaius snickered. “Are you kidding? There’s no way security isn’t in on this little scheme.”

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“Gaius is right,” Dash said. “We have to run. We don’t have a choice.”

“I suppose felony theft wouldn’t hurt after all we’ve done,” Wesley said.

“Comeuppance for breaking my headset,” Gaius said as Tinker’s eyes lit up.

Wesley stared at Gaius, mouth agape in disgust. “We’ve taken life and you’re upset about your stupid toy?”

Before Wesley could go off on the pilot, Dash grabbed him by the shoulders. “We’re walking out that door in under a minute. Pack your medkit now, or it’s getting left behind.”

Dash released Wesley. He ran his hands through his hair, leaving it a wild mess. “I cannot believe what I’ve done. I’ve committed sacrilege against the Lords,” he said through trembling lips. “Jo, I’m so sorry, I’ve failed you. Failed myself.”

“He’s lost it,” Gaius said.

Dash said to Wesley in a hushed tone, “I know this is hard for you to understand, being trained to save lives and all. But some people are bad, and the galaxy is better off without them.”

Wesley’s voiced pitched higher. “We could ask the guild for forgiveness. Surely they’d understand.”

“They won’t. But I hope you will,” Dash said, and gave a remorseful nod to Gaius standing behind Wesley.

The medtech had a second to be confused by the gesture. Then Gaius wrapped Wesley from behind, pinning his arms to his side. Dash scooped the mask from the floor and pressed it to Wesley’s face. The device suctioned to his skin. A small display on the outer face showed a thirty-second countdown.

“Oh crap,” Dash said upon realizing the effect wasn’t instantaneous. 

Wesley’s eyes burned with an intensity Dash wouldn’t have thought possible. The kid gave off a muffled shout and kicked Dash between the legs. Off balance, Wesley and Gaius tumbled to the floor.

Dash moaned, curling into a ball. Thankfully his inner thigh absorbed the blow, but it still hurt. Next to him, Gaius held on for dear life, Wesley writhing with unbridled strength. He growled, the mask rendering it a robotic tone. 

“It’s for your own good!” Gaius said through gritted teeth.

Wesley strained, his neck muscles bulging. His forearms curled toward his face. Gaius held tight, hands interlocked. The medtech’s fingertips grazed his chin, millimeters from the mask. 

Dash lunged, grabbing Wesley’s elbow. The mask display flashed. Wesley’s body loosened. His strength deflated like a balloon leaking air. Then he went limp.

Gaius waited a moment, then let go of Wesley.

Dash raised himself on all four limbs. He took shallow breaths, fighting through the dull, lingering pain. “Is the bot ready to go?”

“Yes,” Gaius said. “Problem is, we’re going to look suspicious in our current state.”

“Maybe not,” Dash said as the pain subsided. He procured his flask, opened the top, and splashed it over his shirt. Then he did the same to Wesley, and lastly Gaius. “Now we’re another hauler crew coming in from a rowdy night.”

“What about Doc?” Gaius said. He wiggled his gloved fingers. “I need to control Tinker.”

“I can barely walk myself, let alone carry him,” Dash said. He looked at Tinker, then Wesley’s sedated form. “But I’ve got an idea.”

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