The Whorls of Jupiter

Chapter 20 Oddie the Conqueror

August 9th 2521 Waxing 2

"State your name please?"

"Jorge... Baker."

"Occupation?"

"Uh... Ass kicker!"

"Occupation fuckwit!"

"Crewman."

"What ship did you serve?"

"I uh..."

Claudette Rousseau spoke up for him, "He was on the Dillinger before she went down. My people picked him up and brought him back to the Bourbon Fleet."

"Are you fucking kidding me Claud? He's been with us that long and he never even registered?!"

Claudette winked, "Madeline... You know how it is... When I met my baby here we were a little... busy."

Madeline, the accountant of the Onoda due to depart Yari Station apologized, "I'm sorry Claudette but he's gonna do real hard labor for this. Evading registration, not reporting for duty, not paying our taxes. Who the hell's been feeding him? You?"

Jorge tried to speak but Claudette placed a finger over his lips to shush him, "Listen here you stupid, insipid little bean counter. I did not serve the Bourbon Fleet for over a decade to be penalized just because I found happiness! Jorge is a good man and he's a strong, hard worker. So mark this as an accounting error and push us through."

"If Bush knew about this he'd chuck us all out the airlock."

"Bush is dead and he was a shitty records keeper anyways."

"Don't say that too loud. You know he was popular with his crew. His son took over the Patriot's Parlour and is a major influence in the Bourbon Capitol now."

The face of Judge Ronald Bush Sr. flashed in Jorge's memory and he could still hear him screaming moments before the Kirin claimed his life in a chamber of scarlet clouds. That prick had a son? Fuck.

"Well it's a good thing we're shipping out on the Onoda before Lil' Ronnie tries to fill his father's shoes."

"Get on board, both of you. But know that we run a tight crew around here. You both need to pull your weight."

"Aye aye Ma'am," Jorge said saluting sarcastically while Claudette planted a boot in his ass and shoved him aboard.

"That really necessary sweetheart?"

Claudette grasped him and threw him into an open mechanical shaft of the Onoda and locked the door behind them.

"Remember our deal? I didn't save you in that airlock so you could stonewall your secrets now. Or would you rather I go out there and tell them Jorge Murillo, the Scarlet Hunter, the Bridgemoor dog, the man who captured a Kirin is on their ship with an agent's armor?"

Jorge reflexively grasped his luggage and sighed, "Fine. The Kirin wasn't what we thought it was."

"Go on."

"The fucking thing can read minds. It possessed a Bridgemoor agent and left for Earth. But those reports coming out of Earth aren't the whole picture."

"What do you mean?"

"Adam La Trois, our captain was a Kirin."

Claudette's spine chilled at the thought, "That's not possible is it?"

"He took a hit from some debris across his eye when we reentered the atmosphere. There was a 13 point star over his iris. The same pattern the Bridgemoor agent had when one possessed him. He was hiding it with contact lenses."