EliteCommander

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Jess blinked in near-disbelief as she looked over what Light had uncovered. “Yeah, that’s...traces of tritium, deuterium, a bit of helium. That’s a reactor leak, alright.” She had helped him pour through the sensor data, but even she had to admit it had been mostly him. Even though they had the flight path of their target to narrow their search, it had still been a lot of empty space for them to cover. Jess clearly had not expected results nearly this quickly. “Damn, Light, just snatch the needle right out of that haystack, why don’t ya?”

Jess leaned back from the console she was at and just looked out of the window into the void. Without any spectrum filters to show light outside the visible spectrum, the neutron star was hardly even visible at this distance. With no significant sources of light to drown them out, their view of the stars was spectacular. “I think you’re right, and I think we’ve got the story of what happened here. The freighter pilot’s course brought them just a bit too close to the pulsar at just the wrong time. Something hit the star, asteroid maybe. And with a neutron star, an impact on that superdense degenerate matter causes some violent backlash. They pass through a huge burst of high-energy radiation that pulls them out of FTL and overloads some of their systems. Uncontrolled deceleration from FTL can be accompanied by unpredictable spacetime warping that can cause internal and external hull damage, so...probably more than a few, really. At minimum, they get a reactor leak. Might have even been operating purely on backup power, with the amounts I’m seeing here. They headed for that planet, which might suggest their radiation shielding was compromised. I think you’re right; they probably headed for the far side of the planet to shield them from the cosmic rays.”

There was a moment of pause from Jess, accompanied by a look of concern. “Honestly, I expected the freighter to be dead in space. That’s usually what happens when you’re ripped out of a warp bubble. They got lucky to be able to go anywhere after that. Or maybe unlucky depending on your perspective. It would make their deaths take longer. Their only sanctuary here is still a dead rock in space, I...doubt they could have survived this long.”

There was worry in Jess’ voice, but one could not say if she was afraid that the freighter crew might have had long, painful deaths, or if she was actually worried they may be alive.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Jess was certainly not a bad pilot herself. Above average, by any definition, but that just meant she had a better appreciation for what it took to make it look as easy as Light did. She probably could have handled getting a ship into position close to the star herself, but there was a world where she could have made a mistake. With Light, she had a feeling that would never have happened even on his worst day.

Now that the ship was out of FTL and heading steady, Jess unstrapped herself from her seat so she could move around the cockpit. Already, she floated around behind Light so she could get a better look at the sensor readouts. The mechanics of FTL meant that inertia was not too much of a problem while traveling in it, but when moving at sublight speeds, a ship’s crew had to be ready to handle acceleration. When moving at anything other than a steady motion, loose objects had to be contained, and any crew members could not be far from somewhere they could be strapped down if the pilot was planning any maneuvers.

“Okay, we’re looking for any trace of the ship. If it was damaged here, then there’s plenty it could have left behind. Debris, radiation trails, whatever we can find. Also need to keep watch for any other scavengers in the system. I know they frequent this place for the same reason we are, but hopefully the fact that we know our target’s exact flight path means we’ll still get to it first. The star’s radiation beams are pretty and impressive, but also very predictable. I doubt even our freighter’s pilot would have been stupid enough to plot their course through them. No, it probably wandered close enough to get clipped by some other emission, or maybe it’s magnetic field. Neutron stars can put out a lot of energy.” Jess said.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen gave a close look over Light to try and see if he was lying. He may not have been a Tekeri, but QV were rather terrible liars in general. “It’s already unfair that organics aren’t immortal. I had this cute little alien pet once. Mischievous little thing, but she seemed happy. I was able to take good care of her, give her good medical care, but it was only like seventeen years before she died of old age. Just gone in the blink of an eye. You’ve got to tell me you have more than that, or that there’s something we can do…”

When they heard the beep from the cockpit, Jess cut short her workout and was quick to interrupt Senjen. “Look, let’s just keep our eyes on the prize right in front of us. Focus on getting through the next few days. Screw up too bad on this job, and we could all be gone in the blink of an eye. Come on, I’ll help you patch up that wiring for good this time.”

---

The ship came to a relative stop when it exited its FTL envelope at the edge of the target system. To the naked eye, the star at its center was not even a visible point of light. Pulsars, and other neutron stars, were tiny on an astronomical scale, being only about the diameter of a city, and they did not emit much visible light. Or at least, this one did not, as it was not an optical pulsar. Looking into other wavelengths, however, would reveal the two beams of electromagnetic radiation being emitted from its magnetic poles. They were what gave the pulsar its name, as the magnetic poles were not aligned with its rotational axis, so the beams moved with the star’s rotation in a very regular, predictable pattern. The beams of this pulsar had a heavy presence of x-rays and gamma rays, so it would be particularly dangerous to be caught in them. They did need to get much closer if they wanted to trace the likely path of the ship they were looking for, which would require a few microjumps in FTL while avoiding the paths of the more hazardous radiation.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Jess stopped again, taking a few, long breaths after Light tried planting a bit of rubble into her pocket, which she just managed to notice during her exercise. “Well, let’s see. On my homeworld, I think I’m nineteen this year, though most Humans where I’m from give their age in Earth equivalent years, which puts me at twenty-eight.”

While Jess did not seem to be bothered, Senjen had to take a moment to process Light’s answer. Once it dawned on him, his eyes widened and his head raised up. He reached out and grabbed Light in both hands, sounding almost panicked as he spoke. “Wait, what? A few years? What do you mean? I thought the treatment was going to save you! A few years is nothing! I...I mean, come on, there has to be something that can change it! Some way to age...slower, maybe? Some way to fix it? You have to have more time than that, you just have to!” He shook his head and muttered. “It’s Prowler all over again...”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

While Jess was rolling her eyes and starting another set of leg extensions, Senjen let out an exaggerated scoff. “Oh, I see how it is. You’ll wish her luck, but all your years of wisdom tell you I shouldn’t bother finding anyone.”

“Really...did you just watch a movie ‘bout a robot finding love...and decide to copy it?” Jess remarked between reps.

Senjen tilted his head. “Are you trying to offend me?”

“Yes.”

“Fair enough. Anyways, I’ll have you know Utaysi partner up just like many other species. We’re not machines asking existential questions about what love is, or something.” Senjen said.

“No, you just ask stupid questions...tryin’ to prod into an old man’s personal life.”

Senjen raised up his hands. “Alright, alright, I get it.” He said, though as they were talking, another thought had crept into his mind that had been bothering him. “But um, Light...I know we don’t talk about it much...really, but how old...are you, exactly? How much...time do you have left?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Hey, bodyguard I might be, but I can’t always be around. If I really want to keep you safe, then the best way to do that is going to be to make sure you can protect yourself too.” Senjen said. He moved from the ceiling back down to the floor, reorienting himself to match the others. “I might be able to give you some shooting lessons, of course, but I don’t think even I can protect you in every way? I mean, what could I ever do to save you from heartbreak?”

With a chuckle, Senjen started to stare down Light particularly closely. “Could it be that Light here is out seeking a mate? Now that you’ve conquered your disease, is that the next goal on your horizon?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Jess hummed a moment. “Vibrating suit? Really? That’s a...way to do it. I guess.” Light would find that she gave a light chuckle at some part of what he said, though mostly she was just in the middle of catching her breath from her workout, and now was spinning slightly from the bit of torque his tentacle put on her, until she caught herself on the wall.

In quite a strong contrast to Jess, Senjen maneuvered around with ease. He had come floating in quickly and halted himself fluidly by grabbing the ceiling with his feet. “Well it’s not my fault you can’t help but to get yourself into trouble anytime I leave you alone for five minutes.”

Senjen pushed himself lightly off of one wall until he floated up directly above Light and Jess. He stopped himself inverted above them, then gave the top of Light’s body a few light slaps. “Or maybe it is? Maybe I coddle you too much? I half expected you to have a few fires I would have to put out when I left you alone with that saleswoman yesterday. What was her name? Symphony? You seemed pretty eager to meet with her, if I remember.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

As far as interstellar travel was concerned, the trip was a short one, which felt merciful for Senjen. This part of their jobs was always his least favorite. Day in and day out, trapped in a ship with nothing changing. The destinations were usually much more interesting. He loaded up his storage drives with enough shows, books, and games to keep himself occupied, but he still preferred actually doing things. He had gone through this countless times with Light, but this time they at least also had Jess with them to mix up their dynamic. She had been in space before, as she was not from Korit, but she still did not leave the planet very often. Certainly not nearly as much as Senjen or Light. The feeling of weightlessness had not even grown mundane for her yet, which Senjen made sure to tease her about when he caught her jumping around the cargo bay.

It had been about a day and a half, Korit time, since they had departed the planet. Senjen pulled himself along the ceiling as he entered into the crew quarters to find Light and Jess, oriented upside-down relative to them. He did not catch whatever it was Light was doing when he entered, but Jess had secured herself against a wall and was using a long elastic band for resistance to help her exercise her legs. Her generally disheveled appearance made it look like she had just woken up, but the fact that she had looked the same all day made him think she was just not bothering with her appearance for now.

“How are you adjusting to space life, Jess? Everything you hoped for?” Senjen asked.

With a grunt, Jess paused and took a quick break to catch her breath. “I think...putting in all this effort into working out just to lose less muscle is bullshit. I’d at least like to get somethin’ out of it. Next time, I’m just buyin’ a few injections, whether I ‘need’ it or not.”

Senjen shrugged as he floated by. “It’s your money. Me, if I want more muscles, I could just install them. What’s it like anyway? I mean, your whole ‘exercise’ thing works because you end up tearing them so they grow back stronger, right? Isn’t that painful?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

There was a firm silence between the two for a short while longer. Jess stared back at Light, motionless, though it was hard to say if she was actually studying him, or just matching his intensity. Regardless, after a few moments, her attitude flipped and she gave a shrug. “Good enough for me. At least there will be more space this way...sort of. Get the ship prepped. I’ll load a box with my things and I’ll be ready.”

---

It did not take long for Jess to get her belongings aboard, and for Senjen to get her set up in the crew quarters. She was already quite familiar with their ship, though she had never made it a secret that she was not particularly fond of it, or most Tindrel designs. She knew how they worked, and how to work on them, but their cave-like interiors could make them feel smaller and more claustrophobic than they actually were. Humans, and especially Tekeri, could feel uncomfortable in them for long journeys. Jess might have preferred her own ship, though she was honest in trusting Light’s judgment.

Fortunately, this was not going to be an especially long trip, all things considered. It would be about two days and a few hours that they would spend in transit to their destination, and Jess was not planning on them spending more than a day searching for their salvage, one way or another, so they would probably be back in between five or six days. It was a short enough journey that she and Light would not need to worry too much about muscular atrophy, as long as they kept up with exercise, so they would not need to spend anything on treatments.

Among the belongings Jess had brought on board was an adapter to help her fit more snugly into the unused co-pilot seat in the cockpit, so she could actually strap herself in properly for takeoff. It was designed for a Tindrel, but as Senjen did not help with flying, and a QV did not even care if there was a seat, they had never bothered to modify it. Once secured, Jess connected to the ship’s computer and made a request to access the astrogation system. “Here, let me upload the coordinates. There shouldn’t be anything too special about the trip, but given the destination, you’re definitely going to need to take direct control once we get close.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Jess was generally happy to play along with most jokes and quips, which is why it stood out when she stared Light down sternly without a hint of a smile. “This is serious, Light. We’re going to be dealing with high-intensity cosmic rays, and potentially pirates or other scavengers. We need to be ready to either avoid them, or take them down. If you are choosing this ship because you think it is the best option, then fine, but make sure you think long and hard about about it. No games on this one.”