Scarlet Steel

“Don’t bother changing.” Juno says only a few seconds after Richard and the rest of them depart. “He’ll be back soon.”

“Really? How do you know?”

“You learn to read people eventually. Luna! How much info did you let them skim?”

 “Everything we discussed!” Luna yells as she comes down the stairs. I guess she doesn’t have a nice outfit. “I really thought it’d be harder to get them to take the bait.”

“You didn’t make it too easy, did you?”

“I was supervising.” Janus says. “She did well. They have no reason to be suspicious.”

“What kind of bullshit did you feed ‘em?” Graff asks.

“A lot to corroborate our stories, and a little unimportant personal information we wouldn’t share with them to make it seem more realistic. Who wants scrap chops?”

“I do!” I instantly speak up.

“For breakfast?” Janus asks.

“Yeah, why not. Scarlet, do you still like mashing potatoes?”

“Sure!” I head for the pantry and grab a handful of our fresh potatoes. 

I get started cleaning and cutting them while Exa sets a pot of water to boil. Juno gets to work seasoning and cooking the scrap chops. By the time I’m done, the pot is already heated up, and I toss in our food to cook.

“Anyone want anything else?” I ask. 

“I think it’s just you two eating.” Janus says. “I’ll put together my own breakfast.”

“Speak for yourself.” Graff says. “Make enough for me.”

“I’ve got plenty.” I reassure him, and glance at Juno. She only responds by tossing another scrap chop into the pan.

Breakfast takes a while to finish, but we get it done. I grab a plate, fill it up, and take a seat on the couch. The first bite explodes with flavor and blends with memories. I slam my eyes shut and reach up to wipe away the tears trying to get through.

“You alright?” Exa whispers.

“Something’s in my eye.” I insist.

“Probably an eyelash.” She offers.

“Yeah.” I force my eyes open and pretend to blink out something stuck in it. “I haven’t had scrap chops in years.” I whisper. “Traders never brought them.”

“Juno should have stopped by sometimes.”

“I didn’t want to see her.” I should stick to the mashed potatoes. I take another bite of scrap chop. “I don’t even know why.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” She says. 

“Probably not.” I shrug.

“She wouldn’t even look at me when I dropped off the chiral mesh.” Juno interrupts from her chair.

“I did eventually.”

“Because I made you. And you said four total words after seeing me.”

“Yeah.” I take a bite of the mashed potatoes.

I eat in silence, and afterwards end up just hanging out with everyone. There’s nothing to work on with the mechs, and if Juno’s right, there’s no point in getting sucked into working on my projects before having another meeting.

It’s a six hour wait before Janus gives us news. I could have got a lot done.

“Richard is requesting permission to dock once again.”

“Excellent.” Juno drops her hand of cards onto the table. Oh, wow, yeah I had no chance of winning. I thought she was bluffing this whole time. “Send them up.”

“Docking permissions granted. ETA twenty minutes.”

Juno glances at all of us, taking us in.

“Scarlet, you stained your jacket.”

“What? No I didn’t.” I glance down and find a dull brown stain staring proudly back at me. Ugh, I knew dip was a bad idea. “Can we clean it? I can’t hide my pistol in my pants.”

“Andromeda, if you would.”

“Order confirmed.” One of her bodies steps out of her hidden compartments built into the wall. I hand her my jacket, and she walks towards the blank wall beneath the stairs. The floor beneath her begins to descend.

“Since when do we have a basement? How much crap is there in this ship that I don’t know about?”

“Where did you think your laundry gets done? Just dunk it in the toilet?” Graff asks.

“I don’t know. I mean, yeah in retrospect it's pretty obvious we would use that space for something.” I head over to the missing portion of the floor and look over the edge. There are whole tunnels running beneath our feet, the walls packed with machines and storage areas. “Wait, is that where we store our extra food?”

“Scarlet.” Juno pinches the bridge of her nose. “You’ve been here for five months.”

“To be fair! Most of that was spent in the warehouse!” It takes everything I have to not jump down and check out the area right now. 

“And below us is just an extension of the lower storage compartment.” She says.

“Crap, really?” The top storage can’t extend the length of the ship on account of our bedrooms, but I don’t know why I assumed the bottom storage couldn’t either. I make a mental note to explore it later. “I’m guessing Andromeda’s compartments in the walls connect to the basement?”

“They do.” Andromeda confirms for herself.

“Huh. How many bodies do you actually have? I always assumed that you just kept one in each compartment.”

“I do not have enough bodies for that. I move them near you as you move though the ship in case I am needed.”

“I guess that makes sense.” I step away from the edge and return to the couch. “Anything else I need to know about this place?”

“A few things.” Juno says, and a small platform, just big enough for a single person to fit on, descends from the ceiling.

“What the hell!” Based on where the elevator comes down, there’s only one place that can go. “Why do you get an elevator into your room?”

“Perks of being the boss.” She laughs a little to herself. “I got it installed when I shattered my hip and couldn't walk up stairs for a few months.”

“Why not just replace it?” I definitely would.

“I’m proud of my organic parts and prefer to heal naturally, after surgery to ensure it won’t leave any lasting damage at least. It has its advantages.”

“That must have been some injury. You didn’t even use the elevator when you were in a cast.”

“It was.” She confirms.

“Your jacket is ready.” Andromeda makes me jump. I didn’t even hear her come back up, how’d she get behind me? And how’d she clean this thing so quickly?

“Thank you.” I take it from her and put it on. My pistol, magazines, and a few tiny tools are still in my pockets. That’s good, but I probably should have remembered to remove them before giving her the jacket. Oh, and the stain is completely gone. That’s probably important too.

Our conversation is interrupted a while later by the shuttle docking to our ship.

Juno stands up and walks towards the blank wall. We all stand behind her, getting in place just before the door opens.

Richard and his men step through, bringing along an AI in a bulky, humanoid body. At least Richard has dressed up a little. He’s wearing the same military uniform as the rest of his companions. 

“It’s good to see you again.” Juno reaches out to shake his hand.

“Yes, with you being in such a hurry, it’d be rude to make you wait. We can skip the pleasantries." He shakes her hand for just a moment and turns towards our holographic table. “May I?”

“You have access.” Elara confirms. 

“Thank you.” Richard signals to the AI, and the table displays tons of information in what must be close to a hundred files. We all crowd around the table. “First, my commanders have a concern. Do the Mnemosyne know you stole from them?”

“It’s unlikely, but possible.” Juno admits. “The relics we recovered, we did so undetected. When we fought, we were protecting a friend, not assaulting their armies. And besides, even if they do, we still hold leverage. It won’t get in the way of whatever op you have in mind.”

“That’s the problem. We wish to buy out your leverage and use it for our own benefit."

“Then the risk is on us. For how much and what do you want from us?” Juno asks. How did she get to be such a good actor? I know she already knows exactly how this conversation is going to end, but she’s not letting anything show.

“Five million.” Richard lets the offer hang in the air for just a moment. “We had a man in a nearby Mnemosyne station, slowly growing in power in the human half. He was collecting information on them before he went dark. We have reason to believe he was taken alive and is being held hostage. We want him back.”

Juno furrows her brow and shuffles through files, her eyes flicking quickly across the text.

“Five million before haggling?” Juno glances at him. “I don’t like that.”

What? This is exactly what she wanted, right? She knows what she’s doing, I just need to trust that. I grab a file and begin to read just to keep my face blank.

“We don’t haggle. You’re dealing with a government, not an individual you can throw around. We’re offering what’s fair.”

“I doubt it.” Juno reaches for another file. “I said I wanted to get into trouble, not trade for a single man.”

“Recovering our man would be the first step in doing a lot of damage. He was our single biggest source of information on the aliens. Even the limited information he was able to safely send back was enough to give us a leg up on those bastards. Get him back and we can plan from there for something to really satisfy your bloodlust.”

“Well now it sounds like you’re underpaying, not overpaying.” Juno grabs another file.

“We don’t bargain with mercs. We offer a fair rate and you either take the job or leave it.”

Juno stays quiet for over a minute, continuing to flick through the provided files. 

“Pay in advance or on completion?”

“On completion.” Richard confirms.

“Standard provisions? Injury and gear insurance?”

Richard grabs a file and tosses it to Juno.

“You treat your mercs well.” She says after a few seconds.

“They don’t stick around if you don’t.”

“Fair enough.” She waits for another minute. “We’ll take it. And I’m looking forward to working with you in the future.” She reaches out to shake his hand.

“Likewise. We’ll be waiting.” Richard nods and turns on his heel. Him and his group march back to their dropship.

A small message appears in front of me just as the door closes.

Say nothing. They left behind a bug.

“Expected take is looking to be three hundred thousand each.” Juno announces. “Could be more if we don’t use many resources on this. Andromeda, ensure extra armoring will fit in Scarlet’s survival suit. I want us all in heavy armor for the meeting with the Mnemosyne. We’ll be ready when they try something.”

“Order confirmed.” Andromeda says. 

“Good. Graff, get Scarlet in the range. Janus, with me making a plan. Luna, Exa, Xenia, set a course and get us moving. After that you’re free.”

“Copy.” Janus responds.

“Come on Kid, let someone who knows what they’re doing teach you how to shoot.” Graff heads directly for the warehouse.

“I told you not to call me kid.” Exa and I both end up following him and Xenia.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!