Pass The Baton: Part 1

Chapter 3.5: Golden Opportunity

Deegan led Redha to Nika's gold ship and snuck past Nika's crew along the way. They were easy to recognize. Thick, gold chains dangled from their necks, their gilded sunglasses glinted with diamonds, and their clothes were trimmed with gold. Everything Nika touched turned to gold, and usually, for the worse.

Deegan and Redha neared Nika's ship. Three guards sat watch at a table, playing holocards.

"I'll handle this," Deegan said. He swiped his hand over his face, a holographic sparkle shimmered, and in an instant, his face changed. Deegan looked like a gaunt, malnourished street urchin, and before he explained what happened to Red, he hobbled to the guards with his duffle bag.

"Puh-puh-please," he stuttered for pity, "can we siphon just a few drops of fuel? We have nothing, nothing, we just need to start our ship."

The guards laughed and looked at each other.

"Beat it kid. Nothin' in this world's free."

"I can trade."

"Trade? You?"

Deegan dropped the duffle bag at the guard's feet, fell to his knees, and unzipped the bag. Two guards watched him while the third looked in the bag.

"What's in here?" The guard leaned in and didn't believe what he saw. "LINKs?"

The guard grabbed a LINK from the bag and confirmed it was real. The second and third guard were impressed.

"Burner LINKs would be nice," the third guard said. "We could get outta Nika's sight for once and not be tracked."

"Yeah..." the guard mulled over and snatched Deegan's duffle bag. "Make it quick beggar." He pocketed the LINK for himself. "And do it before Nika's back."

"Of course," Deegan bowed his head graciously and took his siphon from the duffle bag. "Of course!"

The guard led Deegan to the ship's struts. He tapped a key at the side, and Nika's vaulted ship lowered to the ground, no longer propped above the rest. Deegan bowed his head graciously and shuffled to the ship. The guards stared at Deegan for a moment, then returned to their game and toyed with their new bounty of LINKs.

Deegan waved for Redha to follow before they noticed. She skirted over to him and he whispered.

"Key."

"How'd you change your face-"

"It's my augment," he interrupted in a rush. "Now, the key."

Redha passed it into Deegan's hand. He found a small keyhole behind the ship. With a quick twist, a small service hatch opened.

"UH-hem," Redha interrupted and held her hand out. "I swiped the ship's key. I keep the key."

She needed some leverage over Deegan.

He smiled and threw the key back to Redha. "Sure, and since you swiped the key, ladies first."

Redha stepped through the service hatch and entered Nika's ship. The lights flickered, then illuminated the hull.

Nika's ship was the opposite of Tobias's. His ship was bare metal essentials, while Nika's was a hoarder's paradise. Dense, overgrown vines crept along the ceiling and blotted out the lights. They slithered down the shelves overflowing with Nika's golden knick-knacks. Gold plates, gold rings, gold chains, and gold knives were part of Nika's glorious golden collage. The walls beamed radiance, and Nika's ship was a swathe of green and gleaming gold.

"Woah." Redha marveled at Nika's dense patchwork of spoils. She nosed through the shelves, until she came face to face with a golden skull.

"A ship tells a lot about a person," Deegan said as they walked to the cockpit.