Ray Gun Revival magazine, Issue 53

least by human standards, though
none of her lovers had ever seen fit
to complain. Her eyes were gray like
the ocean under a stormy sky, and
her hair, which was naturally a deep
red, hung in thick curls that fell just
past her shoulders.
Down her arms and back were
tattooed thin swirls of black, red,
and blue lines, the result of a drunken
stay in a strange port. It was the
only thing she and her father had
ever shared cross words over. Two
weeks after the argument, an accident
in the forward cargo hold took
his life. In his will he’d left everything
to her, including his stake in the ship
and its business, which amounted
to just over half of the freighter’s
total worth.
I can’t believe it’s been so long
since he died, she thought. How is it
possible to feel this young and this
old all at the same time?
With a shake of her head she finished
disrobing and stepped into
her shower. A hot water shower on
a small ship like hers was a luxury
she rarely allowed herself. Lathering
up was a delight, but it was nothing
compared to the joy of hot water
cascading down her skin to wash
the suds away. Next she washed
her hair, and then she brushed her
teeth. When she was done she felt
like a new woman.
On a hook next to the shower
was a towel, which she used and
then threw onto the rest of the dirty
clothes in her chair. For a moment
she toyed with the idea of reading
her latest email download, but the
warm water had drained the last
reserves of her energy away, so instead
she collapsed onto her bunk
and sank into several hours of much
needed sleep.
***
“Are we ready to broadcast?”
Boo asked from the command console
as the Breaking Dawn reached
the outer edge of the Proxius asteroid
belt.
Jessica, her nap still fresh across
her pink face, reached out, grabbed
the engine throttle, and pulled it all
the way back. In space there was
no such thing as a true stop, but so
far as the rest of the Proxius system
was concerned, she was as good as
parked. “We are now.”
Boo tapped a series of buttons on
his communications panel that sent
an encrypted transmission burst
into the asteroid field. Several seconds
later, a beeping sound came
through the bridge speakers, and a
light began flashing.
“Looks like the package is where
Jack said it would be,” he said.
On her nav screen, Jessica saw
an indicator icon slowly pulsing at
the very edge of the display. “We’re
lucky it’s still in range. The belt isn’t
too crowded out that way, but I’m
not taking any chances, so get Cam
to man the guns. I want him ready
to fire on any stray rocks that get too
close. And then go get some sleep.
We’re nearly on the home stretch,
and I want you frosty.”
Nodding, Boo stepped back from
the command station and said, “I’ll
have him right up.”
She waved her hand and yawned.
“I’ll call if an asteroid hits us.”
The Kleeetan laughed as he exited
the bridge. Once the door closed
behind him, Jessica tapped her nav
screen and set up a series of checkpoints
that formed a route through
the asteroid belt to their target. The
navigational computer checked her
course against the drift of all the asteroids
detected and found it to be
a sound flight path. As she finalized
her preparations, the bridge door
whisked open.
“Ready for some target practice?”
she asked Cam over her shoulder.
“I don’t require practice, Captain.
My skills are constant.”
She shook her head and grinned.
“It’s just an expression.”
“I know, ma’am.” As he spoke, the
android settled into the tactical station
and plugged himself into the
ship’s sensor and weapons grids.
Within seconds he and the ship
were one. “Tactical is ready.”
Knowing they were as ready as
ISSUE 53
they possibly could be, Jessica nodded
and hit a button that activated
the ship’s intercom system. “Everyone,
we’re about to go swimming
with the rocks. Start praying to
whatever gods you find comfort in.
Bridge out.”
With that done, she grabbed the
throttle and slowly pushed it forward.
The ship’s engines throbbed
to life, and into the asteroid field
they flew.
To be continued...
Tales of the Breaking Dawn © 2009
by Justin Macumber.
Page 50