Chapter 267

267 Armed and Deadly

Eva and Lucifer both walked out of the small clinic, satisfied with her enhanced anonymity. She played around a bit with her false identities, then picked one to inhabit for a while. Then she connected to FreeNet, and subsequently to SolNet.

And the data that belonged to the galaxy once again flooded her brain. Ads along with them.

“Don’t message the Ravens,” said Lucifer. “Or really anyone you know. Only message me through my personal network.”

“Wait. Why?” Eva protested. “What’s the point of doing all this to my DI if I can’t even send the Ravens a hello?”

“Anonymity isn’t equal to unidentifiable. If some rando at the edge of the galaxy starts messaging them, the Feds are gonna notice. And it won’t take them long to put two and two together.”

“Can’t I send any kind of message at all? Like some sort of hidden, encrypted, private way?”

“Yeah, definitely. But still, don’t do it. They have their instructions, and you messaging them might mess that up. All we have to do is stay hidden until they’re done with their part.”

Eva grumbled loudly as they walked further into the outpost. She desperately wanted to reach out to the Ravens. She wanted to tell them that she was alright, and wanted to know how they were faring. Instead, she couldn’t send a word.

She was deeply frustrated with being repressed so much. It seemed freedom came with too many caveats, no matter where she looked.

.....

Though she lamented her fate, she ultimately understood that such was life. All of humanity was trapped with those limitations, and true freedom only came with pure solitude. But that too, was a prison in and of itself.

There simply wasn’t such a thing as a truly free life.

The pair walked out of the medical district and into the market district. It seemed to Eva that the entire vibe changed. Where medical was much more subdued and serious, the market district was bustling with energy.

The market was filled with people – most headed into the various shops up and down the streets. There were also street vendors galore, most of whom were lined in between the shops, or just off to the side. They were often simple tents and makeshift structures.

And the goods all the shops and kiosks sold varied greatly – fresh produce and heavy intoxicants and even slaves.

Eva found the goods they traded were of relatively equal quality to the colonists – usually a generation old. Some were completely outdated, but as long as they worked, they were put to use.

The two of them walked into a seemingly well-stocked armory, where multiple suits of armor lined the walls on simple stands. There were many racks in the middle that held a variety of weapons.

Most of them were rifles, which was considered one of the standard armaments. But there were a number of nonstandard weapons as well, such as melee and nonlethal weaponry.

“Pick out a good suit,” Lucifer told Eva, “weapons, and so on. Gotta rearm you asap. For self-defense purposes, of course.”

Eva nodded, then immediately went to shop. At the same time, Lucifer chatted up the shopkeep and laid down the charm. Not that ze wanted to flirt with anyone, but rather to get the discounts that only a silver tongue could pry out.

Eva noted that the suits of armor were also like the rest of the tech – at least a generation old. A few were even older than that. But for the most part, they were still highly protective and worked well enough.

At least, for more basic threats.

There were also some kitbashed armor sets on the stands. It was as though they were put together with the scraps the armorer had left. Their colors were completely off, and in some cases the designs simply didn’t match.

She supposed it was better than nothing.

Almost all of the armors – really all of the equipment in the shop – were completely beat up and dusty. Most were scratched up a bit, and were worn at the edges. Clearly, they had all seen great use in their lifetimes.

A thorough cleaning and polishing would certainly have been necessary for every single thing in there. But Eva found the grime part of the appeal. She reasoned that it was a good idea to armor up in something “authentic” to help blend in.

She ultimately decided on an all-black suit of environmental armor. It was light and gave her an incredible amount of mobility. And although it was a generation old, back then it was top of the line equipment.

Lucifer added it to their open purchase sheet then began to assemble a variety of swords and pistols. At the same time, Eva began to strap into the armor itself.

She found it a little challenging to get into, simply because its design was older than what she was accustomed to. But despite a few stumbles, she ultimately got herself into the various pieces. The armor’s automatic fitment mechanism adjusted the rest of the way and held snugly onto her body.

At which point, Lucifer pointed her to the assortment of weapons ze had laid out over a counter. Eva glanced at the choices, and noted just how well they were made.

“You definitely know my style,” she said.

“Like I mentioned earlier, research is key,” Lucifer replied. “It makes jobs go so much smoother.”

Eva picked up a heavy slug gun and weighed it in her hands. Although it was hefty, it was nowhere near the size of her Handcannon. But it certainly had more shots in the mag, and that was a big plus.

She quickly shoved it into its holster, then strapped it on her thigh. The weight of it on her hip immediately gave her great joy.

And although Eva was tempted by the swords, she decided not to pick any. Simply, she felt that the Ra’ventrii blade was already the perfect sword. It was made specifically for her, so picking any store-bought sword over it felt... cheap.

Instead, she picked out an auto-folding buckler and strapped it to her left forearm instead. She connected to it through her DI, and extended it. It spun outward in thin segments until it turned into a flat disc, about 50 centimeters in diameter.

And with a thought, she retracted it back into a single thin “pie slice”. They all compressed against each other, then sat nearly flush with the housing strapped to her arm.

Among the other miscellaneous weapons, Eva found a rather small cylinder. It was about the size of a roll of large coins, and sat nicely in her palm. At first, she thought it was a simple fist brace, but once she connected to it through her DI, realized it was another morphing weapon.

The moment she activated it, the cylinder shot out from both sides and extended out to a metallic javelin. Both points were incredibly sharp, and she didn’t doubt that it could easily pierce through armor.

At least, with enough force.

She quickly retracted it and slipped it into one of her armor’s storage slots, then turned to Lucifer.

“All done,” she said.

“That’s it?” ze asked. “I expected you would have loaded up more. And with better stuff.”

“Yeah, I like keeping things light. Oh! Wait!”

Eva then reached for a simple hunting-style knife, and strapped it to the small of her back.

“Also,” she continued, “I wanted to look more like your nondescript merc in lawless space. Figured it was good camouflage. I mean, it isn’t like I need armor in the first place.”

“Armor’s always necessary,” countered Lucifer. “Even if you think it isn’t.”

Eva grimaced as she looked Lucifer up and down.

“I don’t see you wearing any armor or weapons,” she said.

“Doesn’t mean I’m not wearing any,” ze replied.

Lucifer then turned towards the shopkeep, cashed in on all the flirting ze did, and paid a ridiculous amount less than the ticket price. Eva was utterly astounded at how easily ze haggled the price down.

It was certainly something she could never do.

Once the open purchase sheet was closed, Eva owned the equipment. Or at least, one of her identities did.

–

Fireborn Defense Systems “Jaguar” AntiRiot Defense Suit [B]

Ballistics Inc. “Aequitas” Heavy Magnum Sidearm [B]

Grevatia Armory “Solstice” Folding Buckler [B]

Myrmidon Technology “Starpiercer” Liquid Javelin [A]

Outland Supplies Survival Knife [C]

–

“How do I look?” she asked Lucifer.

“Like a nondescript merc in lawless space,” ze replied with a grin.

To which, Eva couldn’t help but laugh.

Now that she was fully equipped again, the pair went through the outpost with much more confidence in their steps. Eva being armed simply meant they could better handle anyone who stepped up to them, whether they were lawful or lawless.

They then made their way outside of the outpost itself, towards the landing pads and star harbor. Eva was rather impressed with what she saw. There were multiple trade ships on the landing pads, certainly more than warships.

That meant that these raiders had a healthy economy and also robust trade routes. Maybe that meant they traded with other lawless bands like themselves. And maybe they traded with a few colonies as well. At least, any that they didn’t raid outright.

They specifically headed towards a cordoned-off section to the side, where a number of ships were up for sale by their owners. It was as though they had formed a makeshift, community sales lot.

“Why’re we here?” asked Eva. “Isn’t your friend’s ship good enough?”

“Yes and no,” Lucifer replied. “I was only really allowed to use it to break you out. More importantly, we can’t use it to hide or run with. It’s too... conspicuous. Every Peacekeeper’s gonna keep an eye out for it.”

The two of them went up and down the shipyard and looked at the dozen or so ships on the landing pads. There weren’t too many to begin with, but certainly enough for them to choose through. More than half of them were single-seater craft, and were automatically out of the running.

Some were a little too junky and unreliable. All were at least a generation old. Not that Eva minded – Amelia was also an old bird, and she never let her down.

In the end, they were left with three they could use. The largest was a frigate hauler, the smallest a heavy fighter with two seats and cargo space. The third was a beat-up transport corvette.

It was boxy and inelegant. More than that, its armor had been lightened, and weapons stripped out. Not that they could even be replaced – where the ship’s turrets should have been were covered over and sealed by armor panels.

“This one,” said Eva. “We need this one.”

“Seriously?” Lucifer scoffed. “It’s falling apart! It barely has any armor, or structure for that matter. And it doesn’t have any weapons! We wouldn’t last a single skirmish, if it can even fly.”

“Don’t be so negative! Just look at those thrusters! We don’t need to be in a skirmish if we just fly our asses out of there.”

“And what’s wrong with the two-seater? It’s small, quiet, and actually has defensive and lethal capabilities.”

Eva looked at the fighter up and down. She saw what Lucifer was talking about – it certainly looked powerful enough to stand on its own. But she couldn’t get past the port module.

No fighters ever had port modules, but this one did. Or rather, it was grafted on. Whoever had modified the fighter was forced to remove multiple modules in order to fit a port module in. The most important among the missing was the repair module.

“No way are we getting in that,” Eva said. “It’s a deathtrap. Whether or not we get into a fight, everytime we port, we risk blowing up. And if we survive that and do get into a fight, there’s no way we can repair it ourselves! We get a single breach, and we’re popsicles.”

Lucifer furrowed hir brow. There were no good choices in front of them, but ze strongly felt that the fighter was the best one. It had the most versatile loadout, and was the most maneuverable. It also had the lowest signature and would be the easiest to hide.

“You do recall I’m in charge of your rescue, right?” said Lucifer.

.....

“What I don’t recall is signing away my agency,” Eva replied. “My instincts are telling me that if we use that two-seater, it’ll blow up in our faces. And I’m telling you right now that I’m never going to get in it. Not even if Peacekeepers start landing in the next hour.”

This time, it was Lucifer’s turn to be vexed by Eva. Ze found her impulsive, free-form attitude a bit destructive. After all, it was her carelessness that got her into this mess in the first place.

But, it was true that Eva didn’t sign away her agency to hir, and ze had watched her powerful intuition at play on her ‘Cast. In the end, ze relented. They could always find a better ship elsewhere.

“You’re frustrating sometimes, you know that?” ze said

“Pot, meet kettle,” Eva shot back.