Chapter 2
Chee
“I really don’t think this will work.”
“So doubtful.” Hyde chuckled. “Relax a little. It will be fine.”
Chee made a noise in her throat, pursing her lips. Though the man – male – on the other end of the call couldn’t see her face, the sound was enough to portray her disbelief.
She was curled up into a ball, arms around her legs, ginger red hair loose and trailing in front of her face as her body spun in lazy circles.
Zero gravity was super fun at times and super comforting at others.
It was the closest, she imagined, to being back in the womb an adult could possibly feel.
When she wasn’t bouncing around, laughing and enjoying the lack of gravity, she was just floating in it, meditating, relaxing in the weightlessness.
She was coming up on Yenfir-5. The fifth planet of the Yenfir system.
A totally lifeless star system that held nearly nothing of value on any of the planets and was not yet claimed by any corporation for mining, harvesting, or terraforming purposes.
Not that rare of a situation. There were thousands, hundreds of thousands, of star systems that were exactly like that.
And more than enough that were rich in resources.
More than enough for even the greediest of conglomerates. Too many to claim.
Because this one was currently unclaimed, unowned, and previously abandoned by the ones who did once have a stake here, it was completely empty.
The planets weren’t even named, just numbered.
Chee was alone in a lifeless solar system.
It was a very hollow sort of feeling. And as she got closer to the planet, that feeling only worsened.
There was still time before her little starship started its descent, so she was just floating, waiting, trying to get more comfort out of the lack of gravity. And getting in one last conversation with her… boss? Client? She wasn’t exactly sure what to call Hyde.
Two weeks ago, Chee had been going through just another ordinary day.
She didn't love her job, nor did she hate it. She didn't find any purpose in being an event coordinator for the town’s event center, but it paid enough to take care of her bills, and she had a good work/life balance. She was planning out her weekly trip to see her father. Her mother had invited her out to get their nails done just as a fun little splurge. Her friends were all plotting with her to throw a going away party for Dororthy – the old lady who worked the front of the building who was finally retiring to live out her golden years with her grandbabies. Chee’s almost-boyfriend had taken a job in another city, but she couldn’t move away from her father, so they’d ended what hadn’t even had a chance to start on amicable terms. She truly wished him well.
She had a class reunion in a few months planned, and no one would be there that she felt any animosity towards.
She had a few close friends and a dog that she loved.
Sweet, simple; nothing special, nothing unusual. She wouldn’t call it an exciting life, but she was content with what she had. Mostly.
And now she was floating in space, wearing a fancy but uncomfortably skintight space suit, talking to the guy who had brought her all the way out here after being given a job that, frankly, she believed was completely impossible.
She knew how she got here. She didn't regret being here. She missed her dog. She missed her parents. She even missed the easy, familiar routine of her job.
But…
“What if this doesn’t work?” She asked, looking at the console of the spaceship.
It was small, big enough for just herself, but was comfortable for its size. She didn't have to fly it. The flight path and landing protocols – or whatever they were called – had been programmed for her. All she had to do was get to the seat and buckle up when the computers told her it was time.
And then try to do something she was pretty sure was a waste of time.
“Our deal is not dependent on your failure or success. All I ask is that you genuinely try.”
“Right…” She mumbled.
She didn't really know much about Hyde. She’d met him briefly on the stopover from Earth to here. She had already accepted his deal at that point. Even then, she’d doubted its possibility, but this close to it, she felt even more that it wasn’t going to work.
But she had to give it her all anyway. She had too much riding on this. If it made Hyde keep his end of the deal, she’d do whatever he wanted. The prize was far too great for her to decline.
However, the doubts plaguing her were getting louder and more reasonable the closer she got to this nameless planet. The nerves were twisting up and eating at her belly. She knew what she had to do, Hyde had planned all this out for her, but that didn't make it easy to actually complete.
“You’re so pessimistic, Chee,” Hyde chuckled at her good-naturedly.
“That’s just what optimists call realists.”
“That’s just what pessimists lie to themselves about being,” he countered. “Have you considered at all, Lady Realist, the possibility of this working?”
“The odds are absolutely abysmal.”
“Not when you know all the things that I do.”
“I don’t know all the things that you do.”
“Exactly, so have some faith. Trust me, Chee, I’ve been planning and plotting this for years. This will work, I assure you.”
She made another sound in her throat, much more non-committal, but still portraying just how little she believed in this venture.
The computer beeped, and a robotic, feminine voice told her to take her seat, that the ship would soon be entering the atmosphere.
Chee knew the entry wouldn’t be as bad as portrayed in movies.
Unlike human spaceships, aliens and the Coalition had the technology for controlled, comfortable reentry back into a planet’s pull.
It was going to be smooth and safe and fast.
But her stomach immediately dropped with nerves.
Unrolling from her ball, she reached out with her foot and pushed against the ceiling, sending herself floating towards the only place to sit. She took hold of it and swung herself around, hovering her butt over the seat as she buckled herself in.
“Now, go over your instructions again,” Hyde ordered calmly.
Chee looked through the windows of the starship at the golden, lifeless planet taking up the entirety of her view. Her heart pounded with nerves and anticipation.
“I’m landing outside the entrance of an abandoned recycling facility. Use the override tool you gave me to gain entrance. Once inside, make contact with the Humble Delivery crew. Make them your deal. Get them to accept it. And once they have your stuff, bring it and them back to you.”
“Very good. Maybe with a bit more enthusiasm though, hm?”
“Woo,” she waved her finger in the air.
Hyde laughed. “You’ll thank me one day, Chee, I assure you. Keep in contact with me. I won’t be able to offer you a lot of help yet, but if this goes well, I will. And good luck, my dear. You’ve no idea how much this means to me.”
With that, the line cut and Chee was left alone, hurtling towards the unknown. She grabbed the helmet of her suit and gathered her hair, pulling it up so she could slip the thing on and seal it in place.
“This stupid thing you want better be damn impressive,” she mumbled as it sealed in place to the rest of her suit.
The air below, she was assured, was breathable, but it wasn’t recommended that anyone do so for long periods.
Once inside the recycling facility, it was a different story, as all that air was clean and scrubbed. But she wasn’t taking the chance.
She knew a little about the crew she was going to meet.
The Humble Delivery Service was a crew of slightly reformed ne’er-do-wells that had made new identities for themselves so that they could escape what was apparently the shittiest hole in existence.
They took on delivery jobs no one else was willing to do – those that were dangerous, delicate, or downright stupid.
They could charge practically anything they wanted, since their clientele had no one else to work with, but they were fair and honorable in their dealings.
By all records and accounts, they were normal, hardworking males with sparse pasts that just wanted to live peaceful lives.
Except they were murderers, thieves, butchers, brutes, and criminals. The crimes associated with the names they’d killed to make their current lives sent chills down her spine to read. Chee considered herself rather open-minded, understanding even, but all of that was a bit much even for her.
They had been blown out of the sky – quite literally – and were now stranded on Yenfir-5.
How they survived a literal explosion, she didn't know. If they were even going to be open to taking the deal she brought, she also didn’t know.
They might even shoot her on sight, she couldn’t guarantee one way or the other.
She was putting a lot at risk here. If they decided to kill her, absolutely no one could stop them. Help was too far away to lend a hand, and now that the line with Hyde was cut, she didn’t even have a way to try to ask for it. She was completely at their mercy.
She knew that going into this though. She had agreed to it.
But that didn't make her feel any better about what she was potentially walking into.
Gravity slowly grabbed back ahold of her as she came into the embrace of the planet’s pull. Her butt connected back to the seat as she grabbed onto the arms, clenching them tight, biting her lips as she tried to think of what she would say. How she was going to make this work.
She hoped she didn't die. Her parents would be miserable if she died.
But if she succeeded…
The reward was worth it.
She gathered her courage, steeled her nerve, and took a deep, calming breath. Then another. She was going to do this. Hell or high water, she was going to do this.
No matter what she had to give up to make it happen.