a little more juju

Saturday Snippet #3

You’d think that this would be getting easier and easier to do, but it’s not. Sigh. Oh, well. Maybe it will at some point?

This snippet is actually a deleted piece that I did that I’d like to incorporate at some point just because I like the interactions between the characters and honestly, I feel like I was channeling Fan when I wrote it without realizing it.

Anyway, here you are!

“Come on, you piece of shit,” Mercy hissed at her sputtering motorbike. She rotated the throttle as far as it could go with barely any results; it was moving as fast as it could, and the increased wind speed wasn’t making it easier.

She glanced at her side mirror to see the massive dust storm behind her, much closer than it had been even just a few minutes before. The rapidly approaching sunset behind the giant cloud only made it look more ominous with cobalt and deep indigo forming a halo around it. It had seemingly popped up out of nowhere, a common occurrence on Mars, making it difficult to prepare for any type of long-distance travel. While her suit had plenty of air, it would only get her through a much smaller storm, and add that to the sheer amount of dust clogging her only form of transportation, she was rightly damn near fucked.

The desolate landscape before her presented a single bright flicker of hope: the nearly transparent bubble surrounding a small town, a mere two kilometers away. Her imminent doom would have to go to the back burner of her mind for the moment.

“Rachel, open a channel,” she said flatly.

“Will this be an automated or personalized message?” the virtual assistant chirped.

“Personalized. Signal as urgent.”

“Channel open,” the vaguely feminine voice said. “Broadcasting.”

“This is Mercy Figgis. Anyone there? Over.”

She waited, darting her eyes to her side mirror again. Damn, that storm was huge.

“Rachel, cycle channels.”

“Done.”

She’d been in worse situations than this and had survived, but there weren’t too many places worse than a surprise dust storm in the middle of nowhere on Mars.

“Repeat, this is Mercy Figgis. I am in dire need of assistance. Is anyone reading this? Over.”

“Should I attempt to strengthen the signal?” Rachel asked. She certainly didn’t sound worried, even if Mercy’s death did mean her own existence was in peril.

Before she could respond, Mercy heard a click, followed by a bit of static that hadn’t been there a few seconds ago.

“We read you, Mercy Figgis,” a man answered. “What business do you have in Amber Grove?

Amber Grove, Mercy thought sarcastically. Who named this town?

“No business, actually. Just need some shelter from this storm heading your way. Over.”

A backwater town this far out rarely attracted much traffic, so it was natural their sentries would be curious as to her intentions, but her agenda wasn’t any of their concern. She wasn’t really lying to him, of course; she just wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

“Would you submit your ID? Over.”

“Are you serious right now?” They’d let her in, of that she had no doubt, but his adherence to what was most likely protocol in this scenario was downright irritating. “You’d let me die out here?”

“Positive identification is required for entry, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes and lightly touched the side of her helmet to turn off the outgoing microphone. “Rachel, would you do the honors?”

“Of course,” the VI happily chimed. “Sending identification.”

 The ID would work, she knew. She had tested it exhaustively prior to landing on the planet, but that didn’t stop the sharp pinch of anxiety she felt in her abdomen.

“ID recognized, Mercy Figgis,” affirmed the sentry. “Please proceed to the main gate. Our guards will meet you there. Over.”

“Roger. Over.”

They were at least predictable, she admitted. She was expecting the resulting pat-down and interrogation that would follow her arrival, but she had come prepared. She knew these people better than they could understand. She smiled, and with a quick flick of her wrist, she pushed the motorbike just a bit more and sped toward Amber Grove.