Mitchell's Revenge

“Are you finished yet?” Tim asked.

Lauri stood looking at his boss on the vid screen in the control room.

“Very nearly,” he replied. “We’ve got a couple more things to do on the Guardian Angel and both ships are done. Jake’s tested Mitchell’s Revenge and everything’s fine. They’ll be ready to go as soon as Bolter’s finished with the Angel.”

“Good,” said Tim. “Baryon Mining has recalled their two freighters fitted with the BSC product. You can fit the new FTL to the Citrix at the shipyard, but the Baux could be another matter.”

“Why?” asked Lauri. “We’ve got enough room for both of them.”

“The Baux is carrying toxic waste,” replied Tim. “Once they learned about the FTL fault the Captain decided he’d prefer to return to the Karhu system. You may have to moor the ship away from the yard while you do the repairs. Mitchell’s Revenge should be able to dock against the freighter for the duration.”

Lauri nodded. “I’ll speak to Jake about it.”

“The Citrix is due in system sometime today,’ said Tim. “The Baux is a bit further away. They’ve been advised to take the slow way back. Just get started as soon as you can. These two are the priority because of their FTL’s. The other ships have lesser issues that can wait. Thanks.” Tim severed the link.

As soon as Tim signed off the Captain of the Citrix appeared on the vid screen. They made arrangements for docking the heavy hauler in one of the large outer repair pods and signed off. Lauri could see that the Captain was relieved to be safely at the U.S.E. shipyard. He instructed Irene and Fred to get over there right away. Bolter would join them later.

Lauri crossed to the observation window and looked down at the Guardian Angel. She was still ugly, but no longer quite so banged up. Bolter was finishing the last of the circuitry issues that Lucy had identified. A hardened exterior coating was now being applied to her surface as the last stage of the repairs.

A crew was working carefully around the new antennae and coms dishes that stuck out from her skin. He could see one of their youngest techs working on the salvage pod, turning it from vivid fuschia to a nondescript dark grey. Bolter had redesigned the attachment protocol for it so that it would sit snugly against the hull once they left the shipyard.

He saw Lucy and Em disappearing through the access door into the shipyard. Moments later Flick emerged from the ship with a large handipak slung over her shoulder. She followed Lucy and Em from the repair pod and re-emerged in repair pod one where Mitchell’s Revenge was moored. Flick climbed the stairs and disappeared into the ship. Jake’s replacement co-pilot had arrived.

Lauri nodded with satisfaction as he stood at the window. Flick was just as competent as Lucy. He thought it would be good for Jake to work with someone else for a while. Just as his thoughts turned to Lucy, she appeared at the rear of the control room. Em trotted in behind her, tail high in the air. Lauri turned to face them.

“That was your idea, wasn’t it?” Lucy said. Lauri looked questioningly at her. “Asking Flick to co-pilot. I’m not happy about it.”

“I know that,” said Lauri. “And no, it wasn’t my idea. Flex suggested it. You have other priorities.”

“Mmph,” Lucy muttered.

Em wove around her legs and nudged her with the top of her head, begging to be scratched. Lucy leaned down to the big cat and rubbed the top of her head. She felt her tension draining away.

“The Citrix is docking now,” said Lauri. “So Bolter and the repair crew will be busy for a couple of days. Rufus is on his way up here so you two can start making a training plan. I suspect he learns fast so it might not take you as long as you think. Then you can go to Covington and learn to dance.”

Lucy grimaced at him. Lauri winked at her as Rufus ambled into the control room. He was wearing long khaki shorts with pockets all over them, and a grubby grey T Shirt with the words “space invaders” stencilled across the front. Heavy soled boots and red socks completed the ensemble. His long blond hair hung loosely to his shoulders. His blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“You’re going to have to look the part, you know,” said Lucy as she looked him up and down. “You can’t compete dressed like that! You look like a homeless creature from the alleyways of Tiberion. And you’ll need a haircut.”

“It’s my best gaming get up,” Rufus said. “I concentrate best when I’m dressed like this. And no touching the hair!”

Lauri shook his head and laughed at them. “He’s all yours Lucy. I’m going down to oversee the work on the Citrix. See you later.”

“Clothes first,” said Lucy. “Come on. You’ll concentrate even better when you look like you’re a pilot. Follow me.”

She headed from the control room to the staff robing room three levels down. Rufus protested all the way. Em trotted behind him, nudging him whenever he paused to voice another excuse not to change his clothes. Finally she growled at him and he shut up.

“He’s impossible,” her voice sounded in Lucy’s mind. “Are you sure he’s up to the task?”

“Oh yes,” Lucy replied. “He certainly is.” She disappeared into the robing room. Rufus decided that the big cat made him nervous.

“I’m not having that cat anywhere near me when we get started,” he whined. He turned to face Em in the passageway. “Don’t you have anything else to do?” She growled at him again and nudged him towards the robing room door.

“Alright, alright,” he said. “I’m going.” The door slid shut behind him, leaving the panther behind. He stood still and looked at Lucy. She was holding up a navy blue ship suit with a pattern of silver stars across the shoulders. His eyes widened.

“You have got to be joking!” he said. Lucy shook her head.

“I wore something very similar whenever I competed,” she said. “You’ll be amazed at how it’ll make you feel. It’s a costume, a tool for competition. As soon as I put the suit on I became Lucy Savage, fighter pilot. Brave, invincible even.” Rufus looked sceptical.

“Believe me, it works.” Lucy smiled at him. “Come on, try it. If this isn’t the right one, we’ll find something else. You’ll need different footwear so that you can operate the controls more easily. Get your boots off. You can keep the socks on underneath if it makes you feel better!”

Two hours later Lauri returned to the control room satisfied that the work on the Citrix was going to plan. He stood looking down at the repair pods and noted that the crew working on the Guardian Angel had packed up and left. Then he saw Lucy heading across the tarmac of docking bay one towards her pylon race craft.

She was followed by Rufus. He was dressed in a fluorescent green ship suit, with small black objects across the shoulders. He grabbed a magnifier from his desk. As he looked at the pattern, Lauri could just make out the eight tiered figure from the ancient space invaders video game. Each figure had silver eyes which glittered back at him.

The boys’ long blond hair was now pulled back into a tight pony tail. The outfit was completed by soft black rubber shoes with fluorescent green soles. Lauri could see his red socks peeping from the top of the shoes as he walked. He chuckled to himself as he watched Lucy hand him a green flight helmet with the space invaders motif on the back of it.

“The best ones are always slightly odd,” he thought to himself as he watched Lucy run through the pre-flight checks with her charge.

Rufus climbed into the little craft as Lucy made her way back to the control room. A short while later, Lauri and Lucy realised they were watching sheer brilliance on the pylon course. Rufus was remarkable. They agreed that bets would have to be made on this race.