The Star Pirate's Folly

Chapter 38: Treasure

Bee opened the locker to see her own reflection gaping back at her from the golden-yellow visor on a fully armored black nullsuit helmet. The rest of the pieces were nestled into recessed areas in the locker. The torso and gloves hung on the back wall under the helmet, the arms and legs took up the side walls, and the boots rested on the locker's floor. Stripes matching the warm yellow of the visor marked the connecting edges of each piece.

"Armor," she whispered.

"It's for the unlikely event that we're boarded by any of the more... murder-oriented folks out here," Truly said. "Or if we end up taking a walk out on one of these rocks we're after. First one's pretty close now."

"It's beautiful." Bee traced her fingers along the helmet's slick nullsteel coating.

The First Officer snorted. "You're easily impressed. It's military surplus. Captain keeps a couple of spares in storage for parts. He fixed this one up for you."

"It's mine?"

"Long as it fits. You just gonna stare at it?"

Giddy with excitement, Bee removed the straps holding the suit's armored torso in place. She remembered the order Truly always suited up in and mimicked him by starting there first. He'd be waiting with some kind of verbal jab if she didn't do it right, she was sure.

"Wrong," Truly said. "How many time have I geared up in front of you? What you missing?"

Wincing at her mistake, Bee let out a sharp sigh and furrowed her brow as she ran through Truly's usual process. Torso first every time, that was always it. Then legs, boots, arms, gloves, and helmet. Missing what, there were no other pieces. She looked over the locker, touching each as she tallied it off her list.

"There's nothing else," she said finally. "I don't know."

"Check the drawer down there."

Bee looked below the locker door in the drawer he spoke of, and folded up inside was a stack of folded fabric undersuits like the ones Truly constantly wore. She pulled one free and shook it out, the legs flopping to the floor. "I see."

"Undersuit. That's the first layer. Regulates your body temperature, captures moisture, and monitors your health for your armor. Go put that on and you can do the rest."

When Bee returned in the skintight black undersuit she felt naked. It ended at her neck just under her jaw and covered every other inch, but it felt unnervingly like wearing nothing. She set about putting on her armor without pause, confident this time that she'd do it right. Twisting the torso at the waist separated it into two parts-the chest and a "pelvis" which she stepped into like underwear. Bee slid into the chestpiece and reattached it at the waist to the pelvic piece, the hard sleek armor settling on her shoulders. She felt it contract for a snug fit.

"Feels good," she said, moving on to the legs. Already she was lighter with most of her body mass inside the gravity-nullifying suit. Once she got everything but the helmet in place she gave Truly a twirl for inspection. "Well?"