Page 51 of Sol Survivor

Vic folded her arms across her chest, trying not to smirk.“She could be bumped while crossing a bar, Deets.”

“Vic’s right.”Tiny reached out to sense her changed surroundings and encountered his hands, arms, shoulders, and neck.She clung to him while she rocked onto her knees, her face in line with his, and her lips but a breath away from his chin.

“Why the farg would she go to a bar?The men there are assholes.”Dieter leaped to his feet and scooped Tiny into his arms.“Stop giving her these ideas, Vic.You’re done.This is…done.”

Smirking, Vic waited until Dieter’s footsteps faded, wishing she could eavesdrop on the conversation to follow.She’d been right.Hedidcare.The good old jealousy trick had worked.

Dusting her hands, she sauntered out of the gym to the airlock.Time to get to the boring part of the day.She chuckled.Peaceful was what she meant.After suiting up, she holstered her blaster, tucked an all-tool into her belt, and pressed the button.“Computer, activate tether.”

“Tether activated, Vic.”The thump on her back confirmed the successful attachment.

She vaulted out, caught the edge of the door, and clicked her heels, landing with a gentle thud-thud before striding to the bow of the ship.Each inch by quadrant had to be checked.Some days, when she finished early, she’d find a ledge to sit on and stare into the endless ocean of stars.

Today, she tightened a loose panel, exchanged a few fuses, and informed the computer of a busted light.Then she squatted and ran her gaze across the galaxies.There was something timeless about it all.She was but a speck of dust and as meaningless.Often ships traveled near enough for her to read their branding.Unless it was military, then a moving void marked their passing.

This ship was closer than usual, painted a bright red instead of sleek gray.When the Carne logo blazoned, she gasped and snapped to her magnetized feet.Nikko was manning the bridge, surely he wouldn’t ping Carne in greeting?She leaped across theMula Pesada’sside, sticking to the shadows while aiming for the airlock.Adrenaline and the deafening roar of panic masked the fear of her boots not sticking.

“Computer, patch me through to Nikko.”She huffed as she tried to jump farther, her momentum hindered by the catch and release of her boots and the tether whipping behind her.

“Patch complete.”

As she rounded the aft, Nikko answered, “What’s up, Vic?”

“We have a not-so-nice ship passing by.Don’t ping it, don’t hail it, just let it fly by.”

Nikko paused.“Is it military?”

She hesitated.Why would Nikko worry about a military vessel?“Worse.It’s Carne.”

“So?They often do pleasure cruises to the moons of Jupiter.”He laughed, but it sounded odd, as if he was trying for casual.“Besides, if we don’t ping them, they might think it curious.”

She winced.“What do you normally do?”

“Ping away.”

“Farg, first get Grunt to hide my details and life marker, Nikko.I’m on my way and will explain it all.”She slipped into the airlock and hit the depressurize button, waiting those precious seconds for the door to seal and air to return.As soon as she could, she unclipped the tether, flipped her visor back, and ran.

“Am I hidden?”she asked the second she careened onto the bridge.

“Yup, now spill.”Nikko leaned his ass on the console and folded his arms across his chest.

She tugged off the helmet.“I’m Victorious, former champion of the Carne Ring.”

Nikko scoffed.

“Picture me with red hair and eyes.”She waved a gloved hand across her face.“Whether you believe me or not, it doesn’t matter.They wanted me to serve more time.I refused.”

“If what you claim is true, you won the deca-match and your freedom.”

She had been so naïve, believing that was all she needed to do.“If I owe them, I serve.”

“What debt could you have incurred?”He straddled the chair and rested his arms along the back, spinning it side-to-side as if she was telling him an entertaining story.

“They caused an accident that took my arm and leg, then replaced both with cybernetics.State of the art, so expensive that there was no way I would ever be able to repay them.”

He paused in mid-swing and ran his gaze over her.“What did you do, Vic?What aren’t you telling me?”

“I may have pretended to kill their representative.”She shrugged, remembering peering out the shattered window to the balcony below.The poor man’s legs were twisted into odd angles.

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