Chapter 2
The crew of the Reckless Curiosity were assembled around the central table when Artemis entered the mess hall. It had been several hours since they had finished their salvage of the Bea Arthur and the run in with the Longnose and while Artemis and Janna had cleaned themselves up, Isabelle had gotten to work going through the personal boxes Artemis had found, while Zen had gone over the engine components Janna had brought back. Now, the crew were all together, ready to decide on their next move. Artemis entered the room and went to pour himself a cup of coffee from the automatic machine. The mess hall was small, with the central table taking up most the room. Isabelle, Doc and Janna were sat at the table, while Zen stood leaning against a wall. Artemis took a long sip of his coffee and looked over his crew one by one. Isabelle was sat leaning forward, a wide grin on her face as Janna whispered something to her. The ships pilot and his sister was small and thin, with her brown hair scraped back into a ponytail she was wearing her jumpsuit, despite the casual attitude on the ship. Janna was sat slightly more upright, resting her elbows on the table, with her hands clasped in front of her face. Janna was big, Artemis and Doc had a bet that she had a childhood dream of being a body builder; but neither were brave enough to ask her about it. She was Khan, a nomadic group who lived in giant ships that never stayed at port. They were raised as warriors in many disciplines and harsh environments and it was extremely rare to see one traveling alone, it was their way to always travel as a unit. Both of this made having Janna on his crew a blessing; because their were few who could stand up to her in a fight, and a curse due to the attention a lone Khan brought. Next to them, but clearly making an effort to stay out of their conversation, Doc Keeper; not the Captain of the Avalanche Destroyer as he claimed earlier, but the ships medic. The old man looked as grumpy as ever, clinging hard to his ever present flask. The flask was filled with some combination of alcohol and narcotic, Artemis wasnât going to be drinking from it any time soon. And finally, stood behind the other three was the ships engineer, mechanic and computer expert Zen. They were the largest member of the crew, not all muscle and tone like Janna, but not fat. Zen was built like bear and Artemis was sure hit like one as well. Zen was Techno-Medative, some religion or way of thinking that led them to believe they could be one with machines, it Zen was anything to go off they just might be right. Zen was far more at home down with the engine than here with the rest of the crew, and Artemis could see how uncomfortable they were. Artemis finished his coffee before taking a seat at the table, putting the empty mug in front of him. The crew stopped any chatter and put their full attention on the captain. Artemis was slim, his head shaven a long time ago, but kept that way to remind him of his previous life. âZen, Isabelle; hows the judgment? can we retire?â he asked, flicking his eyes between them both, Isabelle was first to speak. âNothing major in the boxes, a few nice pieces of rock that might fetch a bit. But nothing more than 40 totalâ âThe parts are fairly standard. 100 total Iâd thinkâ Zen quickly followed her up, sounding almost unsure but that was just the way she acted. They all knew how sure she was. Artemis took a moment to consider it, picking up his empty mug and going to take a drink before remembering it was empty. â140 for the lotâ He said quietly, almost to himself. He lazily threw the cup between his hands a few times and leaned back in his chair before continuing âWe head to Kirria. I have a merchant there, take a day or two to stock back up and head back. Any repairs needed?â He asked Zen as he got up from the table. He put his mug in the washer and started to head out the mess hall, stopping by the entrance way âNo, sir. Just refuel and resupplyâ âAlright then, send me a costing for that. Isabelle, get us on route and get us there as quick as, shouldnât be more than a day. Thatâs all.â And Artemis left, making his way back to his quarters, while the rest of the crew started to make their way out of the mess themselves. Isabelle made her way back to the cockpit with Janna following, both of them laughing like teenagers. Zen went back to the engine room without saying another word to the rest of the crew, but offered a nod and a smile to Doc as she walked passed him. Doc stayed sat at the table, leaned back in his chair and took a big gulp from his flask and closed his eyes, folding his arms as he lowered the flask from his mouth. âDonât know why they drag me around on this ship. None of the bastards ever need fixing up.â
Arrival at Kirria was uneventful. Docking procedures was almost the same for any planet or station and they managed to get the Curiosity away in port with no issues. Kirria was a United Authority planet, but operated its own security forces, so the dock officials and local police all wore uniforms with the Kirria flag on them. This made life a little sweeter for Artemis, while his crew werenât outlaws or currently wanted for any crimes, UA security were always a little stricter and not as easy going as local teams, and Artemis always liked things to go easy. Kirria itself was a warm planet. It was closer to the sun than the human body liked it be, but decades of terraforming and atmosphere adjusting had made the planet liveable. It was close to desert in terrain but more rock than sand, which meant large buildings could be erected but many areas were unsuitable to build upon. Most people here were covered with large shawls than kept the sun off their bodies, some of the areas with less people living in were popular with tourists, and a few people in shorts, with their skin burnt from the sun were scattered around the ship port ready to leave. The gigantic silver and black glass United Authority building sat in the centre of the city, it didnât match the rest of the local architecture and Artemis knew this was on purpose. The heads of the UA wanted their buildings to stand out, be the first thing you noticed, and remind you that the eyes of Centralus were always watching. Most of the crew left the ship to spend some time on solid ground, Zen stayed aboard but asked if they could pick up some parts that would be useful. They supplied Artemis with a detailed list of Makes, Models and suitable pricing. Artemis, Isabelle, Doc and Janna made their way into the main city, renting a cargo-car to help move all their items into the city. Once there, Doc made his way to a bar he had visited a few times before and Isabelle set out on her own quest, with a bag filled with one of the picture books and some personal effects that were found on the Bea Arthur, meanwhile Artemis and Janna made their way to the merchant Artemis knew on the planet. They got a few dirty looks from several of the citizens of Kirria, but this wasnât anything new. Scavengers, or Scrappers, were seen as dirty grave robbing people; picking apart the bones of the deceased for profit. There were some groups throughout the system that wanted to make Scrapping illegal, but it wasnât a big priority for the UA, so currently it remained legal. Immoral, unethical, dirty and horrible, but legal.
The main dock city on Kirria was named Dawn, its original settlers were big on that kind of imagery. The idea that arriving on Kirria was the start of a new journey. The city was dusty and uneven, the roads were filled with people walking everywhere, market style stall were set up outside of a lot of the buildings and people bounced from one to the other without much care fort the cargo-car and other vehicles on the road. Dawnâs reputation as a tourist hub and popularity as a starting point for peoples first experiences off their home worlds meant that many people looked lost and barely noticed the vehicles before they hit them. Artemisâ merchant contact was a man named Newton Bancroft and he owned a bar and gambling establishment on the far end of the city. As they made their way through, the crowds and stalls started to thin out and until it was almost silent with just a few people walking the streets. Eventually they came to a stop outside of a large building with two men in light body armour stood outside. Artemis gave a nod to Janna as he jumped out of the cargo-car and one of the men approached âYou lost visitor?â the man asked putting a hand on Artemisâ shoulder which stopped him in his tracks. âNo. Here to see Newton. Got some scrap he might wanna look at. He knows me.â Artemis replied. He took a step back to get out of the mans reach and put his hands up slightly. The man nodded and began to search Artemis, checking his pockets and running his hands along his limbs. When he was done, the man nodded and Artemis walked past him into the building. Inside the cargo-car, Janna allowed herself to relax and let the pistol fall back into the compartment by her side.
As soon as Artemis walked inside the building, every sense was hit hard. The dusty smell of the desert planet was replaced by hundreds of perfumes and smokes all mixing together, so strong he could taste it, the music made it hard to hear and the flashing lights made it even harder to see. As he walked through the throngs of people dancing or waiting at the bar, he felt them several pushing up against him and each time he checked his pockets for his com-unit and other valuables and felt relief when he made it past them all to the quieter side of the room. He reached a door, with a guard dressed similarly to the ones outside, he stopped a few steps away from the door and held his hands up in front of him, the man gave him a quick look up and down before opening the door and nodding his head, allowing Artemis to pass. Artemis walked into the room and felt the door close behind him and with it all the sounds and energy of the room he just left disappeared as if Artemis had walked into a vacuum.
Unlike the main room in the club Newtons office was almost devoid of furniture, but decorated with paintings lining the walls in a variety of styles and several sculptures were dotted around the room. Against the far wall was a large painting of Kirria, with Dawn at the top, highlighted with a large star symbol. Under the painting was a small group of people sitting on a large collection of cushions, Artemis walked towards them, about half way there he noticed that most the people were almost naked or in very few items of clothing, in the middle of the group was a small table with some beverage in a large transparent container and several smaller copper style cups. Newton Bancroft was in the middle of the group, lounging across several cushions. The main was wearing only a silk robe that was loosely open, his long hair was tied into a bun atop his head and shaved on the sides, a style that was currently popular among young people on Kirria. Newton noticed Artemis approach and hushed his guests who were talking as he stood and closed his robe, an act Artemis would silently thank him for. âArtemis, how are you my boy! Care for a drink? Kirrian tea is the best in the galaxy!â Newton said as he poured some of the beverage into a cup and stood over the table approaching Artemis and thrust the cup into his hand, putting another hand on his back and turning him away from the rest of the group, and causing both of them to walk away from the other people in the room. âI have some things to sell Newtonâ Artemis said as they walked back down the hallway. âAlways business with you my boy. One of these days you will have to join me for a party, I think youâd be popular. Do you have a list?â Newton said as Artemis pulled out his com-unit and pulled up the list of parts they had managed to get from the Bea Arthur. Newton looked through the list and let it a big sigh before handing the unit back to Artemis and rubbing his face and pressing index finger and thumb against his brow. âAlright my boy, for that I can give you 70 for the lotâ â70? Newton you know these parts are worth more than thatâ âSure maybe a few year back, but its war time Arty. I got scrappers pulling in military grade parts every other week. 70 is generous my boy.â Newton had a hand on Artemisâ shoulder and was looking at him with an almost pitying look. Artemis knew he couldn't argue with Newton on this, but the crew wouldnât be happy with such a dip in their cut and money was already running tight. âYou are good at this Artemis, but you are playing it safe. This is war time! There are clusters of ships being left all over the place, buy you gonna go out there and spend a bit of time off land. It sounds hard but if you arenât willing to take the risk-â âAlright Newton. 70. My second is out the front with a cargo-car. Iâll leave it with youâ Artemis answered and started to pick up the pace leaving the room. âAnd the room is always open my boy! Come join a partyâ Newton shouted after him as he turned back to his group, opening his robe and letting it drop to the floor.
Outside the club Janna was waiting outside the cargo-car, lying across the windshield when Artemis came out. She jumped down and made her way to meet him when he stopped and nodded to her. She went back into the cargo cars cap and grabbed the pistol she left in their, holstering it in her side holster and they started walking down the street they originally drove down as several men came out of the club and started to check through the contents of the cargo-car. They walked in silence for a while as Artemis thought about what Newton had said, and with the war currently going on, if Artemis was willing to put his crew in such a risky position than if they were caught near an active fight, or worse, caught by another military vessels as they scavenged one. It left him with a lot to think about, and a need for a stiff drink.