Sol II, somewhere between New Chalcedon and New Indianapolis. 04:27 NC time
"Really Don?" I huffed and pushed my shades up to keep my hair out of my eyes. As AI Droid assistants go, Don (AKA DB585) is usually pretty reliable. Don's predecessors typically answered to their number, but as the robots became more self-aware, they often chose names for themselves. Don chose his own name after consuming Don Quixote in a late night raid of his library. I don't think he actually understood that Don Quixote lived in an imaginary world and wasn't really a caballero andante, but whatever. Don did harbour delusions of grandeur, so I guess the name fit it.
I digress. As I was saying, Don is usually reliable for tasks like making sure the ship is fueled, stocked, and on course. Today, however, there's something in the wiring that causes it to randomly whisper information about this mission. It's just me and Don on this one, so it's not like anyone can hear, but if it keeps talking, I'll have to do something drastic to shut it up. Pity, though. It can be good company.
The mission this time was supposed to be simple and straightforward: drop a package for a guy named Bergenz in a NC stockyard and return to New Indianapolis. It seemed a little strange to use The Peach as a vehicle for such a small thing, but the coin was enough to give me a vacation in a quiet garden in outer Eden for a couple of months. The Peach was fast. Really fast and stealthy. The name was a joke that stuck. The central energy core was supposed to look like a brain without folds, slick and smart. It did look like a brain without folds, just like a peach. Dumb name, but the vehicle was special, which was why I didn't get why the Boss wanted me to use it for this task. I know better than to argue, so I loaded up and navigated out of Eden orbit, flipped a quick turn, and landed in New Chalcedon, just in time to drop of the package to a dead guy. Swell.
I comm'd the Boss, told him my contact was unable to sign for a package, being dead and all. His face when white and he told me to "get out of Dodge, pronto." I wasn't clear on the reference, but jumped into hyperdrive and back into space. Against every code of order, Don scanned the package. And then he started the whispering. "Files of payment to the Chancellor's son. Receipt of transfer from Stockyard to Lonardo Enterprise. Mode of transport: Peach."
"Shut it, Don! I don't want to know what's in that package and you don't need that informati…wait, did you say 'Mode of transport: Peach'?"
No longer whispering, Don acknowledged, "Mode of transport: Peach." Oh no.
"Don, my dude, I really wish you hadn't said that."
Apologies to
This was wonderful!!! Thank you so much--this is my very first fan-fiction! I AM HONORED BEYOND WORDS!