Takes place between chapter 28 and chapter 29

During the trip to Earth, Jett and company take a small vacation at an orbital elevator city.

I clean the dust out of my gun. Valerie keeps telling us that the dust will affect the actions of every gun; even mine. The damn sniper rifle is taller than I am. It’s so magnetic that if I were to walk by any random person on the street it would erase every credit card within a meter radius.

The most disconcerting thing is the silence. It’s so quiet here. It’s maddening. I have to keep telling myself, “It’s space, Ryyn. Remember, Ceres has almost no atmosphere. Silence is expected.”

It doesn’t help at all. I can’t tell the difference between night and day. We’re supposed to be sleeping right now but I can’t help but write everything I think down. I don’t know what we’re doing here, only that we’re supposed to hold this rock until the rest of the Belter fleet arrives.

One thing we all have in common that the soldiers from the other ships don’t have is we’re not praying. I can look over and see someone holding a rosary or if I switch channels I’ll hear something Arabic or Yiddish flow over the mic. The only thing we pray to is the Alekhine’s Gun. It must look so strange to the outsiders to switch to our channels and hear us praying to our ship. If they only knew….

Out here, the only god is the Alekhine’s Gun. The only thing that answers any prayers thrown her way. Still, I’m not superstitious but tonight I’m gonna pray to that damned ship and her damned captain.

Daniel, Annika, you guys better get here quickly because I don’t know how much longer we can hold out for. Even Valerie is starting to get worried.

Pacific Ocean.

Japanese Seaport: Apollonis

“Jett… Jett… Jett…” Spitfire moaned, “Jett!”

The android looked up from his book with a glare, “What? What already?!”

Spitfire frowned and sat up on her bed, “I’m bored.”

Jett sighed, “And I’m supposed to rectify that for you?”

She leaned forward, “Yesss. You’re the one looking out for me here so that makes you my guardian. What are you reading over there anyway?”

Jett let out another sigh and sat up, holding up the book, “Alekhine’s Gun. Book 2: The War Congress. By… well the author didn’t really put a name; just a series of initials. I’m sure you can read them from there.”

“Yeah, but there’s one problem with that book.”

“What’s that?” Jett asked already knowing the answer.

“You’re paying attention to it and it’s not me.”

He placed the book on the nightstand, “Fine, what is that you’d like to do? Dane and Gin are out doing god knows what so our options are a bit limited.”

“Why’s that? We can EASILY have fun without them,” Spitfire licked her lips.

Jett placed down the novel, “No. We could go check out the Pillars of Aquarius.”

“Ugh, boring. Those are just the five space elevators that’re sitting in this place.”

“They’re not SITTING in this place. They take up the corners of the city.”

“Yeah, and one doesn’t even work anymore.”

“So? We can still go check them out.”

Spitfire let out a childish moan, “Why can’t we just have sex?”

“I refuse to dignify that with a proper response.”

“Too bad, you just did,” she said sticking her tongue out.

“I said proper response, not any response,” Jett said standing up and walking towards the window of the hotel room. Outside it was raining. True the city itself wasn’t much to look at but if one was inclined to be Dane or Gin you could always find something interesting. It was the dark kind of street life sort of interesting.

In the background there were a cluster of five orbital elevators. All five of them were connected to a massive asteroid in orbit and anchored to the sea floor below. The interesting aspect about this city other than it being basically backwater on the richest planet in the system was that the city itself extended far underwater to the bottom of the Pacific. If one wanted you could take the elevator from the top of the station down to the bottom of the sea in little over an hour.

Of course there was one elevator that wasn’t working. Due to improper maintenance one of the cars lost its grip going up the cable and rapidly descended down the elevator, taking a few pieces of the terminal with it as it fell before sinking into the ocean, leaving an useless tether in the middle of the city. It was around that point someone got the idea of use the cable as a support structure and to construct a building around it. Genius idea in theory and it was put into practice with… mixed results.

“Can we at least go out and do something fun?” Spitfire moaned again.

Jett sighed as he tore his gaze away from haphazardly shaped conical structure, “Fine, we’ll go out. But don’t expect to find anything. Wasn’t even my damn idea to come to this dangerous place.”

“It doesn’t seem so bad. The hotel’s nice.”

“Do you know how much I had to flesh out to get this suite for us?” Jett sighed, “And this is the nicest room they had. With only ONE bedroom.”

“And because you were so indecisive you lost it to Dane and Gin. All you had to do was fuckin’ say, “Hey, Spitfire and I would like that because Spitfire gets cold at night, and Spitfire would like to have a warm place to sleep since Spitfire isn’t an android or an augmented human like you three and is susceptible to things like the cold.” That’s all you had to say and we could’ve got the bed instead of the couch.”

“You have the whole couch to yourself, what’re you complaining about?” Jett asked putting his prosthetic to his face.

“I’m still cold at night,” Spitfire fumed lightly.

“So I’ll get you some more blankets. Hell, I’ll go to the store and replicate you a thermal blanket if that’ll make you happy. I don’t even know how you’re cold at night since we’re at the fucking equator.”

“It’s been raining like balls here for the past week and this building’s air conditioning makes it so it’s like a freezer in here. How the fuck do you NOT notice this?”

“I guess it’s because I’m an android.”

“Humph, you still need to do something about that.”

Jett sighed, “I said I would get you another blanket, what more do you want from me?”

She sighed, “Never mind. Idiot.”

Jett sighed himself, popping open the panels on his arm before closing them; “I thought we were going out.”

“I thought we were.”

“Fine. I’ll go get the damn umbrella.”

Jett grabbed his coat, strapped a belt to his waist, and a scarf. Spitfire grabbed her flight jacket.

“Here,” the android sighed, throwing the scarf over Spitfire’s neck and tying it into a slip knot, “Will this suffice?”

Still fuming lightly she touched the scarf, refusing to look at him, “This is nice. Is this yours?”

Jett walked towards the door and grabbed an umbrella, “No, it was Cat’s.”

Spitfire lightly gasped under her breath, “Really?”

“Yes really.”

“Then why give it to me?” Spitfire asked tentatively.

“Because you needed it.”

“But it was Cat’s…”

“So? You said you were cold. The scarf rectifies that. It’s not like I wanted you to be uncomfortable when we go out.”

Spitfire smiled. A warm fuzzy feeling washed over her like a wave.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“It’s not like I was gonna listen to you complain all day,” Jett scoffed.

Spitfire grinned, “Sure; that was it.”

Jett placed the umbrella on his shoulder and cracked open the door, “You coming or not?”

Shaking her head she followed him out the door. The inside of the hotel was clean enough; like any normal hotel Spitfire had stayed in on her tours with the Wonderbolts. Nothing seemed too out of place from the top floor. The pair stepped into the elevator. The doors closed behind them as the car descended. The opposite wall of the elevator consisted of smart glass, exposing the two to one of the best views of the twisted Halloween town money could buy. From this height the streets were barely visible, appearing as only glowing channels among a forest of buildings. Up above rain fell from a ceiling of clouds as lightning arced from the clouds to the support rings of the closest orbital elevator they could find. A few air vehicles buzzed through the skies but those were a rarity. The spires approached the elevator as it approached the floor.

The doors opened to the main lobby of the hotel which at the moment appeared to be the most orderly part of the city which was saying something. The hotel receptionist appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown as she dealt with a screaming drunk at the desk; apparently upset by the fact the entire hotel was occupied.

Jett sighed, “Why did I ever let Dane talk us into going here?”

Spitfire turned, “Why didn’t you speak up when we came here then?”

“I was outvoted,” Jett deadpanned.

“Well then who was the deciding vote?”

“You were.”

“Oh… whoops?”

“Ha, ha.”

The rest of the lobby was an odd mix of high class modern interior decorating combined with pieces of debris littering the floor. The receptionist appeared close to grabbing something hidden under the desk when Jett walked up and pulled the man from counter and tossed him to the floor.

“Hi, we’re from the suite upstairs,” he said, “We’ll be back later today. You know the drill already right?”

The nervous woman nodded as Jett reached into his pocket and removed a small card and tapped it to a touch pad on the desk.

“Just keep everyone out of our room.”

He turned to leave and found himself face to face with the drunken man he’d previously tossed to the floor. He detected the heavy odor of alcohol on the man’s breath. A quick scan aimed at his cranium confirmed he was indeed impaired beyond most forms of hope.

“You little fucker,” the man said in a patronizing high pitched voice that was mixed fifty/fifty with drunken slurred speech.

Jett blinked, “Yes.”

“You tried fucking with me back there didn’t you?” He continued.

“You tried fucking with the nice lady behind the desk didn’t you?”

“I’m asking the queshtons hea!” the man slurred.

Jett sighed and blinked, “You don’t appear to be in the condition of doing anything.”

Spitfire watched from across the room. Something was clearly going on. In her mind, throwing the man to the ground probably wasn’t the best idea but it wasn’t really concerning her at the moment. Suddenly the drunk man took a swing at Jett only for him to miss and fall to the floor on his ass.

“It’s alright if I leave now right?” Jett asked, “Yes? Alright then.”

Spitfire grinned, “I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t beat him up.”

“I could if you wanted.”

“Wouldn’t that be illegal?”

“Yeah but if I said I was standing my ground I could shoot him to death and get away with it.”

She blinked, “Yeah, let’s get going.”

They walked out of the hotel. Jett opened up the umbrella and held it above Spitfire as she held his arm as they walked. The city was eerily Blade Runner in appearance with a modern high tech spin to it. The streets were only a few years old and yet they looked old while retaining their modern look to them. Various chameleons of questionable character roamed the streets. Many glanced Jett’s way but soon looked away when they noticed the sharp blades forming on his prosthetic.

“So where are we going?” Spitfire asked.

“Hell if I know,” Jett responded, “I’m just walking here.”

“What was on that belt you grabbed?”

Jett opened his coat revealing the black grip of a certain metal object, “This? Oh, it’s one of Gin’s guns.”

Spitfire twitched wildly, “Uuuuhhh, why do you have that?”

Jett stared at her, “What? This city is dangerous.”

“Doesn’t seem that way.”

“You’ve rarely left the hotel since we got here. Just last night, when you were loafing on the couch watching god knows what, I was doing grocery shopping.”

She blew a raspberry, “So? How dangerous can getting ice cream be?”

“On the way there I almost got hit by five cars, almost got mugged once, got caught in between a gang war, got shot in the head twice, and was almost killed when a window washing rig broke free during high winds. And that was just on the way there.”

“You got shot in the head?!”

“Yes I got shot in the head,” Jett said pulling up his hair revealing a white X on his forehead. He pulled it off to reveal the silvery grey surface of his skull. A skin colored circuit pattern was forming as his head repaired itself.

She sighed, “Fine, I see your point. Just don’t go losing your memory again.”

“No promises.”

“So you said that was just on the way there? What happened at the store?” Spitfire asked.

He put a hand to his chin, “Well I picked up the groceries, got a pack of gum for the road and I made it to the checkout line. Between when I entered the line and made it to the cash register two fights broke out over who was in front of who and a man’s liver failed after he began testing the product on the way out. Then when I got there the shady asshole running the place tried pulling an extra hundred credits out of my card as I paid.”

“That doesn’t sound too good.”

“Yeah well my dad also signed on the thing when I got it so that didn’t go over too well.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not.”

“So what happened on the way home?”

Jett cringed, “Don’t ask.”

A naughty look appeared on her face, “Oh now I want to know.”

“Please don’t press it.”

“Come on! Tell me!”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Tell meeee…”

“No! Drop it alrea-”

“Hey robot boy!” a group of voices called.

Jett’s eyes flew open, “If there is a god please let her kill me now.”

Spitfire turned towards the sound of the voices, “Uh, robot boy?”

Coming down the other side of street were two very drunk women and two very drunk men. They stumbled across the road, nearly getting hit in the process. They didn’t look at all pleased with the android.

“Come on,” Jett said grabbing Spitfire’s hand, barely registering a gasp, and running down the street.

“Hey! Where you running robot boy? Where’s our money?!”

Before Spitfire had much time to register the situation, she found herself bolting down the rain soaked streets, being led by Jett. Jett, still gripping her hand, tapped a button on his umbrella. The umbrella swiftly folded up before retracting into the handle. Up above, sky scrapers reached up and pierced the ceiling of dark clouds and lit up the stormy night as rain poured down upon them. Spitfire smiled.

“Hey, what’d you do that for?” She asked.

“What’d I do what for?!” Jett panted as he stomped through a puddle.

“Retract the umbrella. I was using it.”

Jett sighed, “Sorry but I can’t run with you and hold the umbrella at the same time!”

Spitfire grinned, “So let go of my hand. I can run just fine you know.”

He cringed. Spitfire laughed.

“Sorry,” he said letting her go. She increased her pace to run side by side with him.

“So where are we going?” she asked excitedly.

“Stop fucking running you fuckin’ robot freak!” A slightly slurred voice called.

“I don’t know you!” Jett replied.

“Huh, so where’s that again?” Spitfire asked.

“Away from those idiots!”

Spitfire shook her head and laughed as Jett picked up the pace. Spitfire followed as he turned into a park. The park was several terraced levels consisting of rain soaked stone brick walls. A trail connected them and led up to one of the city’s upper levels. A series of playscapes decorated the area.

Jett ran up to a set of monkey bars and flipped up on top of them before jumping up to one of the first tiers. He landed with a click as his shoes tapped the stone. Spitfire was right behind him and didn’t even bother using any available equipment and simply threw herself into the air before landing gracefully next to him.

“The hell was that?” Jett blinked, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes.

Spitfire shook her head, water flying out of her hair like a wet dog, “What? I jumped up and caught up to you.”

“That’s about a three meter jump,” he said monotone.

“What can I say? I’m light on my feet.”

“I call bull Mrs. Extradimensional female.”

“Mrs? Why Mrs? Is there something you’re not telling me Jett?” she grinned and licked her lips.

Jett turned red. Something about her triggered something in his software. Her hair was soaked with rain water and had fallen down from its typical candle flame and was now splattered about her head. She pushed some locks away from her forehead and gave the android a wide grin.

A light flicker ran through his systems and he gave a small smile, “You’re adorable.”

Spitfire blinked, “Whoa. Where’d that come from?”

Jett blinked, “Listen. I’m just giving you a compliment so don’t wet your panties over it.”

She grinned, “Oh but they’re already soaked Jett. You really know how to get a girl going.”

“That’s nasty,” he said unfazed, “We’re in a fucking storm right now. I’m soaked to the bone just from rain water.”

“Aren’t you made of metal?”

“Hey don’t patronize m-”

“There he is! And his red head girl too!”

Jett sighed, “Aw fuck, I thought we lost them.”

Spitfire shrugged, “Hey, no one said hard living was easy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jett asked as he took off running. He ignored the trail and bolted up the next terrace wall and jumped, clearing three meters and landed atop it. Spitfire followed. The gang chasing them clambered up the wall after them. The pair continued on, jumping wall after wall, Jett using his super engineered endomuscular system and Spitfire because… well Jett had yet to figure that out. Meanwhile their pursuers continued on behind them.

They were almost out of the woods, literally and figuratively. Jett jumped and landed on the last wall. He stared out at the open city lights. Directly in front of him was the decommissioned orbital elevator lit up like a Christmas tree. When Spitfire failed to show up a few seconds later he turned and gasped.

Spitfire was sitting on the trail clutching her ankle. A grimace of pain was on her face.

“Spitfire?! What’s wrong?!”

She seethed, “I don’t think I did that last one correctly!”

Jett jumped down and landed right next to her, “Do you know how bad it is?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s sprained or dislocated.”

Jett frowned, “Roll up you pant leg.”

She complied. Jett quickly scanned her ankle.

“You’ve pulled a muscle in your calve and your ankle is certainly sprained. If I can ge-”

“There! Get em!”

“Aw fuck,” Jett moaned.

“Damn it,” Spitfire groaned, clutching her leg.

“Come on,” he said pulling her to her feet, “Let’s get you out of here.”

She hobbled to her feet and turned, “Here they come!”

Coming up the trail were the four gang members. Two of them pulled knives.

Jett sighed and gently placed Spitfire on the ground and got in front of her, “Why knives? Why do they always bring fucking knives?”

“Give us our cash, fuckin’ robot freak,” the leader said. He wore a bandanna around his head. A weird type of Mike Tyson looking tattoo ran down his face. Two spiked gauges in his ears complimented an eyebrow piercing. The rest had similar get ups with both the females sporting nose rings.

The other 20 something year old guy stepped up, “And while you’re at it let’s see your girl over there as well.”

Jett turned and stared at Spitfire still clutching her leg before turning back, “What do you people want?”

“Our shipment and our money you owe us!”

He rolled his eyes, “How many times do I have to say this?! I don’t know you people! I never stepped foot in this city before this week!”

“Bull. The guy who stole from out boss had a metal arm, black hair and blue eyes and that describes you pretty well!”

“Do you know how many people have black hair and blue eyes?!” Jett asked.

“How many have that arm?!”

Jett seethed. Once again he found himself hating his synthetic body and his mechanical arm. He glanced down at his hands. Right was a normal human looking hand. Left was a plated metal device. He flexed both sets of fingers and stared up at his aggressors.

He fixed a gaze at Spitfire who simply gave him a small nod. All he needed.

“Look. I didn’t steal any of your worthless shit,” he said, “And even if I did, what makes you people still think I even have it?”

“If you don’t have it then who does?!” one of the girls snarled.

“Notice how I didn’t even admit to stealing anything, mainly because I didn’t. In fact, I think all four of you should turn around before you get into something you can’t walk away from.”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?!” the leader growled.

“Look wolverine, between your incredibly tiny brains and the fact you are all completely incompetent with even the most basic of human functions as well as your contributions to gang related violence as well as your apparent distribution of neural degradants such as the chemical know commonly as Mist shows just how much of a hazardous waste of resources you all are as well as the danger you all pose to society. So for the good of the small piece of something I would call remotely human lingering inside of you I suggest you turn around, head home, rethink your lives.”

“The fuck you say?”

One of the girls stepped forward and cracked her knuckles, “Think this little fuck needs a lesson in manners. Then we can find out where he hid our shipment.”

Jett cracked his knuckles, “Try it cunt.”

“Excuse me? What the FUCK did you just call me?” she growled, exposing her teeth. Jett cocked his head; interesting. They were sharpened to razor points.

Jett sighed, “You’re a cunt. Have I made myself clear?”

The leader stepped forward, “I think we’ll kill you.”

Jett laughed, “Oh that’s cute.”

“Why’s that?!”

He grinned, “Because I’m never going to be killed! I don’t care what your little degraded mass of cells thinks.”

The two with knives flipped them in their hands.

“Get him.”

Jett sighed and quickly reached into his jacket and pulled out the gun Gin left him and quickly aimed and fired off four shots. The blades of the knives each shattered as the rounds exploded against them. Fragments of metal showered all over the park, cutting the two knife wielders. Jett grinned, still keeping the gun aimed at his attackers.

“Bang,” he said.

***

Spitfire smiled happily as she wrapped her arms around Jett’s neck as he carried her to a nearby medical clinic. The rain was still falling and the umbrella was still put away but she didn’t mind. She was warm as could be as she rubbed her head against his chest.

“Geez, would you stop that? Are you a cat or something?” Jett asked.

“I can purr if you want,” she grinned.

“I think you do enough of that as it is.”

“Humph.”

“Be nice,” Jett said, “I am the one carrying you here.”

Spitfire glanced at her ankle, “And I’m thankful. So what did you mean back there when you said you wouldn’t mind killing those people? Were you serious?”

“That? That’s from a movie. Or a collection rather.”

“What movie?”

“Robot Club and Other Stories. It’s a sci fi series all taking place in the same world just covering different stories. It’s one of the lines from Terrorists on the MagLEV. One of the students is getting annoyed with another and he finally turns to him and says, “You know Andrew, I really wouldn’t mind killing you right now,” with the most serious look on his face. The rest of the story is serious but that part was kind of funny.”

“I see.”

“In this kind of city you have to be a bit of a Blade Runner to stay safe.”

“Blade Runner?” Spitfire asked.

“Old movie. REALLY old movie. But the term has come to mean someone with the right stuff to survive hostile environments like this. Knowing the streets, cityspeak, your way around guns, things like that. Dane and Gin don’t have to worry as much about that because Gin has some powerful connections here.”

“But you wouldn’t really kill a person would you?” She asked.

“Not like that. But in self-defense if the situation was extreme enough and to protect the people I care about.”

“Really?”

“Well yeah. Is there anything you wouldn’t do to keep your family safe?”

“I don’t know…”

“Well regardless, the thing I treasure most about my friends is their continued existence. Why do you think I put myself between those freakazoids back there and you?”

She gasped.

“Regardless of what you might think, you’ve become like a sister to me and I’d really hate to see any harm come to you so… yeah.”

Spitfire gave a toothy grin, “You’re an idiot Jett.”

“A ‘thank you’ would suffice too you know. And just because you have hollow bones doesn’t mean you aren’t heavy.”

Spitfire blinked, “Uh, speaking of which, how’re you gonna hide all my… well you know, stuff from the medical people?”

He grinned, “Don’t worry about that.”

The approached the clinic. It looked mildly rundown but compared to most street level buildings it was the Taj Mahal. A flickering red cross sat above the door.

“Are you sure about this place?” Spitfire asked holding the android a little tighter.

“I have a medical database at my disposal so if they start fucking up you’ll know about it. Plus the head doctor here is a ‘family friend’ as it were according to Gin. Just the receptionist is apparently a racist bitch to deal with.”

“Why doesn’t the doctor fire her then?”

“Because he’s not the boss. The City owns this place and right now people who can actually do their job are hard to come by so they keep her, bad attitude and all.”

Still carrying Spitfire the android pushed open the door to the clinic. The lobby was unoccupied at the moment so Jett found a nice spot to set Spitfire down at before approaching the desk.

“Hello, I was wondering if I could see Dr.-”

“Oh you! I know you’re kind! You’re one of those belter scum bags! We don’t serve your kind here! Especially if you’re some cyborg freak,” the lady rasped.

“As I was saying, I was wondering if I could speak to Dr. Gar-”

“I said we don’t serve you off worlders here! So take your stinking whore and get out!”

“Can I speak to a manag-”

“Get out!”

“Look, I’m sure someone high-”

“Take you’re cyborg ass and scat!”

“I’m beginning to lose my patience here,” Jett’s left eye twitched rather violently; enough for Spitfire to raise an eyebrow.

“I said you’re not welcome here!”

Jett reached into his pocket and removed his gun, “How ‘bout now?!”

The woman paled. Jett smiled.

“Thank you. Now what I was trying to say before you opened your mouth was that I was wondering if I could speak to Dr. Garret about my girlfriend over there? See?”

Spitfire gasped. The woman scowled and shot a quick glare her way before tapping a button on her keyboard.

“Dr. Garret, there’s a… KID and his GIRLFRIEND here to see you.”

“Tell him I’m friends with Grace.”

“He says he’s Grace’s friend.”

…

“Yes, sir.”

…

“Alright.”

She turned and scowled at the android, “He’ll be right over.”

Jett smiled warmly before placing the gun back in its holster, “Thank you… Cunt.”

He took his seat next to Spitfire.

She nudged him, “Girlfriend?”

He turned, “Couples get in easier. And why is that the first thing you ask about?”

“What do you mean?”

“I flashed a gun at that lady.”

“Oh that. Well I figured you wouldn’t do anything too rash. I’m starting to soften you up.”

Jett laughed, “Yeah, I guess you are.”

She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

A moment later, the door opened and a rather disheveled looking man in a white coat stepped in. He turned and glanced at the receptionist who aimed a glare at the android. The man turned and grinned.

“Jett! You must be Jett!” the doctor smiled.

Jett stood up and grinned, “Dr. Garret I presume?”

“Yes, goodness yes, you must be that young boy Grace told me about,” he grinned looking Jett over, “My, my, Admiral Halsey’s son. Never would have expected Military royalty to come walking through my door.”

Jett cringed, “It wasn’t easy, let me tell you.”

The doctor frowned and glanced at the receptionist, “No need. So what brings you here my boy?”

Jett turned, “My, uh, girlfriend here, Spitfire, sprained her ankle and could use some help.”

The pair walked over to where Spitfire was seated, “Well let’s just take a look at you.”

Spitfire pulled up her pant leg, giving Jett a slightly nervous look. Garret removed a small scanner and held it up to her leg. Jett cocked his head lightly. For a brief moment Spitfire’s hollow bone structure appeared on the scanner before being replaced by a normal looking human leg bone.

“Well, yup, you sprained your ankle little lady. And you pulled something as well by the looks of it. No matter though. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time.”

Jett helped Spitfire to her feet.

Garret turned, “You know my boy, last time I saw you, you were just a little tike running around the house.”

Jett frowned, “I’m sorry, I don’t recall.”

“Oh I never met you personally. However your sister Cat would always come down here whenever she got enough leave. We’d always catch lunch together or something. She always gushes over you boy. About how smart you were, about your interests and things. You’re lucky to have her. Speaking of which, how is she?”

Spitfire gasped.

Jett frowned, “She’s uh…”

He gulped, “She’s dead. Died a few months ago. It was all over the news.”

“Oh my gosh. Boy I’m so sorry. I’m even sorrier for not knowing about it until now.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Spitfire asked.

“Not everything is sunshine and rainbows down here. Whatever you hear out in the belt, you’re more informed than I am. Not talking much about what’s going on this close to the action keeps people from getting too worried. Also keeps the economy stable for the most part though I can’t say I agree with the information black out. But enough about that, let’s see about your girlfriend here.”

The doctor led them into an examination room.

“Best room we have,” he said.

Jett helped Spitfire onto the examination table. The doctor walked up with what looked like a leg clamp. Spitfire passed a glance to Jett whose eyes simply flashed white before returning blue.

“Alright missy, just hold your leg up.”

She did and he attached the device to her ankle. He tapped a few icons on it before leaving it to do its work.

“Just keep that there for a few minutes,” Garret said, “I’ll be back in a moment. More patients to take care of.”

With that he left the room. Once the door closed Spitfire turned and glanced at Jett.

“Jett I’m sorry.”

The android turned, “What for?”

“He… you… he mentioned Cat.”

“So?”

“You still miss her.”

Jett frowned, “Of course I fucking miss her! You would too wouldn’t you?!”

Spitfire reeled back slightly, “Of… of course I would. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

Jett sighed and ran his prosthetic down his face, “Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you. It’s… it’s just been rough knowing she isn’t… that she isn’t coming home this time.”

He held his head in his hands and stared at the floor.

Spitfire stared at him for a few seconds before leaning over and taking his head in her arms, running her fingers through his rain soaked hair. She felt Jett jump in what felt like a combination of surprise, a sob, and a laugh all at once.

“Cat used to do that whenever I had nightmares,” he laughed sadly, “I guess any intelligence, even robots, aren’t prone to the simplest of emotions, human or otherwise.”

“Sshhh, everything will be alright.”

Jett laughed, “You’re an idiot for befriending me, Spitfire.”

Spitfire smiled and pulled his head up, “You’re a bigger idiot for finding me.”

He smiled and wiped his eyes, “That was blind luck and you know it.”

She gave him a toothy grin and cocked her head, “Then that makes it dumb luck.”

The door opened and Garret entered again. He blinked and stared at Jett and Spitfire.

“That’s so cute! Boy you certainly scored with this one here. Be good to her.”

Spitfire turned and gave Jett a sly grin, “Yeah robot boy, be good to me.”

Jett couldn’t help smiling before he lightly pushed her away from him.

“Alright girly,” Garret said, “Let’s see how your leg looks.”

He walked up to the clamp and stared at the display for a few seconds before tapping a few icons on the device. It quietly detached itself from Spitfire’s leg.

“There we are. All better.”

Spitfire sat up and felt her leg before rotating her ankle. Thoroughly satisfied, she grinned.

Jett stood up, “So she’s all set?”

“Yup. Just don’t injure that leg again Missy and you’ll be perfect.”

Spitfire gleefully jumped to her feet, “Awesome!”

Jett turned, “Well it was nice seeing you, Garret.”

Garret reached out and shook his hand, “Always a pleasure.”

The pair walked out of the medical clinic, Jett flashing a pair of murder eyes at the receptionist on the way out. They continued down the street towards the cable tower in the center of the city. As they approached, the density of people increased as well as the frequency of screens and advertisements. Suddenly Spitfire tugged on the android’s arm. Jett turned.

“What is it?” he asked.

Spitfire pointed at a large screen. On it were a few graphics and text in a language Spitfire couldn’t understand. But the main event was something she could easily get behind. A camera was circling a large race tracks with long jumps and loops, as well as a variety of twists and turns. The track was also marked by what appeared to be booster pads as well as holographic powerups and even off shooting ramps that led to shorter if more risker routes. A group of craft was zooming along the track. Steam was emanating from their bodies as they went as rain continued to fall on the track. An announcer was busily announcing a series of unheard statements about the race as the vehicles went. The camera zoomed in and focused on the lead vehicle. It was a sleek black craft with white racing stripes painted along it that turned to blue flames along the vehicle’s rear. A series of six engines were stacked in two groups of three and attached to craft by two horizontal pylons. A rounded dome of a cockpit was situated near the wedge shaped nose of the craft. The camera continued to zoom in on the cockpit. A figure wearing a black suit with a black helmet and silver visor sat at the controls.

Jett grinned, “Oh that. Now I remember why Gin and Dane wanted to come here.”

“What exactly is it?”

Jett turned, “I thought you would have figured it out by now. It’s a race.”

“What kind of race?”

“The awesome kind. That track is magnetized as well as the ships going around it. They’re all quantum locked to the track once they’re on it so they can even go upside down and remain attached to the track.”

“What are those engines?”

“The engines? The closest comparison that I can make that you would understand would be that they’re jet engines but that would technically incorrect. Suffice it to say they shoot the ships along really quickly without the effect of jet wash. There are also magnetic booster pads that can accelerate your ship for a while as well as certain power ups from holographic missiles that will slow a target ship down to a holographic shield to protect you from it. There are also personal boosters as well that one can use for their ship. The track also has nets that can slow your ship if you run into them.”

“What are those other tracks for?”

“Those are shortcuts one can take but they are more risky, littered with more traps and things like that. But if you can get through it you can bypass a large part of the track.”

The screen pulled up a profile of the black racer. The racer was still in their jumpsuit in their picture and their helmet was given a better view. It had a silvery white V stripped visor as well as a stripped pattern running down the suit itself. The racer’s epithet was listed next to them as well as their stats: Apsis. Apsis was listed as at the top of the game; 100s or 90s in nearly everything. In fact, the only thing where they appeared to be lacking was caution. The camera changed from Apsis to a clip from a previous race where Apsis and their ship, apparently named the Accelerator came a little too close to another racer when attempting an overtake for first. The Accelerator’s starboard engine grouping nicked a loose plate on the first placer’s ship, detaching the small piece of metal from the ship and sending flying down the track where it was sucked into the engine of another ship. The engine promptly burst into flames forcing the pilot to eject.

“What’s it saying?” Spitfire asked.

“Oh, uh, Apsis was suspended for five races for the accident. Uh, though the accident wasn’t ruled Apsis’ fault, a committee still said that if the Accelerator hadn’t touched that loose plate the accident wouldn’t have happened. The other guy was fined a couple thousand and suspended for the rest of the season for improper maintenance.”

The camera changed to show Apsis again. The Accelerator flew towards a rather steep ramp and jumped off it, performing a back flip before landing at the other end and accelerating towards the finish line. A supermodel waved the checkered flag as the ship flew past.

“And Apsis wins with room to spare,” Jett grinned.

Jett removed his phone from his pocket and stared at the screen for a second.

“Awesome.”

“What?”

“I had placed a bet. And I won.”

“How much?”

“Ten thousand. And I’m getting something from Dane.”

“Why? Who’d Dane bet on?”

“Some guy called Flash. Apparently he’s supposed to be the up and coming talent but the way Apsis flies, he won’t be getting to far any time soon.”

The screen changed to show Apsis pulling up to the pits and gliding onto a platform. The platform rose to a stage that was erected on the North side of the stadium. A group of people were waiting with a trophy, champagne bottle, as well as a whole bunch of cameras. The platform stopped and the Accelerator released its landing struts, locking it to the pad. The cockpit opened and Apsis climbed out and removed their helmet.

Silky white hair spilled out of the helmet accompanying a decidedly feminine face. The racer was clearly female with milky white skin, a cute button nose, pale lips, and a pair of piercing grey eyes. She removed her gloves and pulled out a small hair tie and tied her hair back with it. Her hands were white and soft yet betrayed nothing of their strength. Her finger nails were rounded and were the same color as her skin. The inside of her wrists concealed a small scar that contrasted with the beautiful color of her skin. With her face and gender revealed her suit appeared to give off more feminine overtones with as she walked towards the committee. She was clearly athletic with a body that would even give Spitfire a run for her money. The girl’s age however appeared to be her defining factor as she appeared to be no older than 17; Apsis. Her name was displayed on the screen as she walked: Kona Haydée Wakahisa.

Spitfire blinked, “She’s a GIRL?!”

Jett smiled, “Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that?”

Spitfire turned, “I’m still prettier than her.”

Jett shook his head, “Of course you are.”

“Humph.”

“And if you must know, she doesn’t get out much which is why she looks so pale.”

“And why is her hair white?”

“It used to be black. It went white when she was 13.”

“Why’s that?”

“Just the way the DNA is expressed.”

Spitfire turned, “Alright fine, I’ll admit it. She’s good.”

“How would you know? You’ve barely even seen the races.”

“Flying is my job, boyfriend.”

Kona reached the stage and stepped up and accepted her trophy and a bouquet of flowers. The crowd watching all broke out in applause and cheered her epithet.

“Apsis! Apsis! Apsis!”

She stood with a bored expression on her face before placing the trophy and flowers on the ground.

A barrage of questions was hurled her way. She answered with a similar bored monotone voice that matched her facial expression. Her voice was mildly tomboyish and had a slight scratchiness to it. Finally the last question came her way.

“And do you have any answers to all the challenges and the challengers and naysayers that go along with them?”

Her face changed instantly. A predatory grin spread across her face.

“Try it!” she said, “I’m on a whole other level, guys! You kids think you can come up here and attack me and take MY title?! Haha! Keep it coming and I’ll keep knocking you all down the ladder. Cross that damn finish line and I’ll always be there waiting with two birds sitting at the ends of my hands. Me and my team are the best in the business. So if you think you can beat them and more importantly me, then BRING. IT. ON.”

Spitfire grinned, “You know what? I changed my mind. I like this girl.”

“Her record is flawless. Why do you think I bet on her?”

“Humph.”

Jett turned and looked towards the tower before looking at his phone again, “Shall we get going? Dane wants us to meet him at the tower.”

“Sure.”

The pair continued walking, heading towards the conical shaped structure.

“You know, there are a lot of people who would love to see her fail.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she’s that good. When she showed up four years ago she’s won almost every race she’s raced in and won every possible title. She’s a monster on the track. And that makes her a target. Not that she minds. She’s like you. She knows how she looks and how good she is at her craft and gives no shits if people hate her for it.”

“I’d be all over her if I liked girls,” Spitfire grinned.

“You have such a dirty mind.”

“I know you find my brain attractive.”

“I have to find something attractive to put up with your antics.”

“Are you sure it’s not something else you find attractive?” she grinned.

Jett shook his head, “Being a computer makes me find brains more attractive than anything else you have under your shirt missy.”

“Don’t challenge me robot boy ‘cause you may not win that bet.”

“Believe me. Your mind is the most attractive thing about you. I promise you that.”

“”Don’t make a girl a promise if you know you can’t keep it.” Is that the quote?”

Jett smiled, “Oh this is one promise I will definitely keep.”

“You’re no fun sometimes.”

“I’m plenty fun. However my talents are not focused on the sexual.”

“Whoa! Sexual? Who was being sexual here?” Spitfire grinned.

“Don’t give me that one less flirty girl routine.”

“I’m not. You’re the one implying things were getting sexual here.”

“Oh please. You’re full of sexual innuendos and perverted thoughts.”

She leaned her head against him and gave him a quick kiss, “And they’re all pointed at you robot boy.”

“Well point them at someone else.”

She scoffed and shook her head, “You are an ass.”

“What?”

“You are an ass!”

“I don’t think that’s what you should be calling the person who saved your life earlier today.”

“Please. I could’ve handled them.”

Jett laughed, “Oh? With what army?”

“Me, myself, and I.”

“Headstrong to take on anyone, eh?”

“I’m a hard bitch.”

“Yes you are.”

The tower had gotten considerably bigger as they approached it. An entrance was visible. A series of tall doors opened up to the hastily built interior. A series of ramps led to a parking garage “underground” or what passed for it in this town. The building itself built itself up like a cone into the sky high above the city. Lightning cracked and struck one of the many lightning rods along the tower.

The duo stopped and stared up at the Cyberpunk center of the city. Spitfire herself grinned and wrapped an arm around the android’s prosthetic.

“Have I ever thanked you?” she asked.

“For what?”

She turned, “For giving me a little bit of forever every single day. I swear every day here has been a little infinity. No small part thanks to you.”

“I was just being me.”

“And I thank you for that.”

“You’re something else girly. Come on, Dane and Gin are probably waiting for us.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Spitfire asked.

“What do you want me to say?”

She scoffed and shook her head, “You damned good natured asshole.”

“Call me names later. Right now we need to find Dane.”

“Suurrre we do,” Spitfire purred following him.

“We’re crossing the street, Blanche, so watch out for some street cars.”

“Excuse me? Blanche?”

“What? Oh I forgot, you don’t appreciate theatre,” Jett said as the pair crossed the street heading towards the large tower.

“What? Yes I do!”

“Sex and the City The Musical isn’t good theatre.”

“Well excuse me sir. Do forgive the attitudes of a common girl,” she mock bowed.

“Quit that. We’re in the middle of the road here.”

“You do have a stick up your ass, don’t you?”

“I just want to get across the street without getting hit by a car.”

“Fine. And for the record, I did see a recording of Les Misérables.”

“Oh?” Jett raised an eyebrow, “I’m impressed. Who was your favorite character? Mine was Enjolras.”

“Éponine easily.”

“Why’s that?”

Spitfire smiled, “Because I can relate to her in a strange way. Her story was so tragic. She’d fallen in love for her best friend since childhood and it went unrequited because stupid Marius fell in love with Cosette in classic Walt Disney fashion. Oh, you know I’m just stalk a random blonde girl I just saw earlier today to her damn house and fucking marry her, you know because love and shit. That’s not how that shit works man! And in the end, poor Éponine gets fucking shot and dies and Marius is sad for like ten minutes and then gets shot himself and marries the blonde girl at the end. Fuck that man. Justice for Éponine!”

They reached the other side and stepped up onto the sidewalk and headed towards the building.

“So can you relate to her because you like Soarin’ and he ended up dating someone else? I assume you two have known each other since you were kids, right?”

Spitfire cringed and turned, “What?! Why I don’t even- Why would you even suggest that- Just no!-I… What?!”

“What? It’s pretty easy to figure out!”

Spitfire’s face contorted into a scowl before slapping the back of the android’s head, “Ugh! You may be a machine but you are like every single man I’ve met!”

“Ow! In what way? Jeez, the hell was that for?”

“You’re all STUPID!” She said and stormed off towards the building.

“Hey where you going?” Jett called after her as his eyes followed her. Dane and Gin were leaning against the concrete foundation of the structure staring at the rain soaked android. Dane simply shook his head as Spitfire walked up to him. Jett scowled and flashed a piece of sign language before walking over himself.

“You are a fucking idiot, Jett.”

“Shut the fuck up, Dane.”

Dane simply snickered before following Gin and Spitfire with Jett close behind.

***

“This isn’t what I thought you meant when you said we were going to a music club,” Jett said.

“Quit your whining!” Dane called.

“I don’t think it’s whining if there’s a possibility that I fall to my fucking death.”

“Maybe it would be good for you!” Gin called from slightly higher up, “I mean you did run into fire bird here because of it!”

“Well fire bird is angry at me for some reason.”

The gang were climbing up the outside of the superstructure. By now the conical shape of the building had tapered off to a diameter a little larger than the cable and the support rings. A variety of other structures had been built along it ranging from clubs to houses to stores to even restaurants. At this height, there was only one "street" and only metal panel sidewalks that climbed higher into the sky. Up here, the city looked like a semi organized grid of primarily blue lights with neon mixtures dotting it. Speaking of neon, a variety of signs was flashing a variety of services in a language Spitfire couldn’t read. Fortunately the two androids could decipher them all perfectly.

“There should be railings up here,” Jett frowned.

“Railings are for pussies,” Dane replied.

Jett sighed and stepped up behind Dane before shoving him off the edge of the metal plate that served as the sidewalk, only holding him by the back of his shirt. Dane let out a scream.

Jett frowned as he held the android by the collar of his shirt and watched him flail about.

“I thought railings were for pussies.”

Gin smiled, “Yeah Dane, I thought railings were for pussies.”

“I changed my fucking mind! Now pull me back!” he yelled.

Jett pulled him back and patted his shoulders, “There we are. So should railings be installed in this place?”

“Yes alright? Geez, I almost had a fucking heart attack!”

“Shall we get going already ladies?” Spitfire called.

“Yes mom!” Dane called before turning to Jett, “What did you do to that girl?”

“How the fuck should I know?” Jett asked as they continued walking, “Where the hell is this place anyway?”

“Just a little farther up,” Gin called.

Sure enough, a bright, neon lit entrance was coming up. It was a hexangular shaped opening with a sign above it. It was written in a series of Japanese kanji characters as well as little bits of English. A bouncer stood in front of it. Gin walked up and flashed an ID. The bouncer stared at it before looking past her at the two androids and the girl.

Jett took the time to walk up to Spitfire, “Hey, are you alright?”

She turned and put her nose up at him.

“Look, whatever I said that upset, you I’m sorry alright? You know how well I understand half the things that go on in your head.”

She turned, aiming her orange eyes at his, “You’re an idiot.”

Jett rolled his eyes, “Yes we’ve established that already. Do you want to tell me what I did that’s pissing you off so much?”

She turned, “No.”

Jett sighed and turned, “Fine then.”

He reached over her shoulder and pulled her close.

“Ah! Hey! What the hell are you doing?” Spitfire whispered.

Jett grinned, “I’m your boyfriend still remember?”

He trailed a finger lightly down her back. Spitfire tensed up.

“What the hell has gotten into you?!” she whispered again, her voice cracking lightly.

“Oxygen deprivation,” he replied, “At this altitude the O2 is running a little bit low. Guess it’s having some kind of effect on me.”

“That’s a load of crap and you know it!”

He burst out laughing, drawing attention from the bouncer and Gin.

“Sorry! Just doing something a little out of character.”

The bouncer turned to Gin, “So these people are with you?”

“Yes,” the bartender nodded.

“And him with the arm?”

“Do you have a problem with it?” Spitfire asked taking a step forward.

The bouncer frowned and stared at her through shaded eyes, “No, I don’t. Just don’t cause any trouble, Fire Bird.”

He turned to Gin, “You four are all set.”

The four all stepped into the club and were greeted by the hard vibrations of loud music. It felt like the music, if it could be called that, would shake the entire tower apart. They continued to walk through the tunnel until they entered the club that took up the entire level. They were greeted by a series of tables and chairs that encircled the dance floor in a horseshoe like pattern. At the other end of the horseshoe was a stage where a DJ was playing music. Two platforms flanked either side of the stage where two exotic dancers, with heavy body modifications, were putting on a show. Two staircases led up to another level with more tables and chairs and two balconies that led off into the night sky. In the middle of the dance floor, a thick column structure ran right up through the middle where a series of cat walks connected to a large platform centered on the structure. They soon realized that this was the elevator cable that was running up the middle of the club. A series of TV screens was attached to the cable displaying a variety of sexualized images that even put a blush on Spitfire’s face. The club itself was crowded with dancers and partiers as well as those simply having conversations at the table.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEA7YFDGumY

Gin grinned, “Oh yeah, this is my kind of place.”

“You own this kind of place,” Jett said sarcastically.

“Yeah well this place is two kilometers up in the sky.”

“I’m starting to question the wisdom of having a club built around an orbital elevator cable.”

“Really?” Dane asked, “That’s what your questioning? Because there’s an entire building built around this elevator less than a kilometer down.”

“Dane I swear I’m going to throw you off a fucking balcony.”

“Okay, Michael Grimm.”

“Well Gentlemen and lady,” Gin said, “I’m gonna go meet up with a colleague of mine. Have fun and whatever you do, don’t fall off.”

Jett turned to Spitfire, “Are you still mad at me?”

She turned and put her hand over his face, “Shut up.”

***

“All I’m saying is that sex is weeiiirrrd!” Jett laughed in a mildly slurred manner.

“Dude, it’s not weird! You’re weird. I think this is the first time you’ve let yourself get even slightly fucked up,” Dane replied.

“Not my fault! Spitfire wouldn’t stop being mad at me if I didn’t.”

“And you listened to her?”

“I figured I could handle it this time,” The android hiccupped.

“And I can’t believe you went along with it!” Spitfire laughed.

The three were sitting at a table on one of the upper levels that offered a perfect view of the stage as well as the dancers. Dane had taken the liberty of ordering whatever he didn’t know the name of on the menu and having everyone try it when it got there.

“If I have to ssshhhare a bed with you I’d rather not do it when you’re angreeey with me.”

“So wait, wait, wait, wait a minute here,” Dane said, “How is sex weird again?”

“Oh puleeeze! How have you of all people not thought about this? Fine, I’ll explain it to you. You take your fucking man part and you put it inside of a female.”

Spitfire laughed with a hiccup.

“You just take it and you put it inside her. Physically put it inside of her body. Right in the spot between her legs. Right up there. And for some reason, that’s supposed to feel good for both parties involved, excluding extenuating circumstances.”

“Heh, you said circumstances,” Spitfire laughed.

“Hop off me pervert. And then after you you’re done fucking fucking her, and after you’ve shot a wad of genetic material right up there, nine months later you have another human being. And to top it all off, people do that for fun, minus the other human being part. That doesn’t strike you as weird?”

“Dude, people do it because it feels good. It doesn’t matter if it’s weird or not. If licking doorknobs felt good I’m pretty sure people would do that too.”

“Again, all I’m saying is that it’s fucking weird. Sex is weird. And that’s why you’ll never convince me that there’s a god.”

“Because of sex?” Spitfire asked.

“Because of that and vaginas. The human reproductive system looks like it was designed by a group of priests.”

“Well then maybe there is a god!” Spitfire laughed.

“If you’re going to sell me on the intelligent part of ‘intelligent design’ then the human body wouldn’t come with a sewage system right on top of the entertainment complex.”

Dane sighed, “Well biologically it makes sense.”

“Hey I don’t think I’m asking for too much here. Just keep things separate. I mean dolphins and whales breathe and eat out of different holes. You’ve never seen a dolphin choke to death. I don’t think it’s a stretch to ask for a little bit of the same below the belt.”

“This sounds like something Dane would say,” Spitfire said.

“Yeah! This sounds like something I would say!”

“Then why aren’t you saying it?”

“I don’t know!”

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“I think someone’s gone back in time and stepped on a butterfly or something like that!”

“What?” Spitfire asked.

“The butterfly effect?” Jett asked, “Theory that if you go back in time any minor alteration to the past could have a vast domino effect later in the future. I.e. if you went back in time and killed a butterfly you could potentially stop a hurricane a few weeks in the future. But by killing the butterfly you remove its genetic material and that of its descendants from the gene pool potentially altering the future hundreds if not millions of years into the future. In short, the Butterfly effect states that any small event can have an effect on a larger event or group of events farther down the road. Which is why John Titor will always be wrong.”

“You can’t prooove that!” Dane said in a sing song voice.

“By the man’s own ramblings I can!” Jett said slamming his glass on the table causing Spitfire to jump lightly, “Sorry.”

“You said man’s,” Dane said smugly.

“You know what I mean nimrod! Anyway, he postulates that the many worlds interpretation of the universe is correct and that since he supposedly time traveled from the year 2036 to the year 2000 that things could turn out differently because he merely changed world lines as he put it.”

“That could have easily happened.”

“Really? You’re going to say to me that events such as a nuclear war, a civil war, an end to the Olympic Games and a computer crisis were all just whimsical changes from his world line into ours?”

“It’s a possibility!”

“It’s unfalsifiable! It may be “POSSIBLE” but the many worlds interpretation ensures that everything is possible! What you’re asking me to do is to prove that a man didn’t time travel from a parallel universe to this one which I CAN’T DO! What I can do is point out the inconsistencies in the story as well as the many more plausible explanations as to the identity of John Titor as well as many of the contradictions he brought up. If you put me back in the year 2000 I could EASILY come up with a far more valid time travel story than that one.”

“Alright Guildenstern, how would you do it?”

“Through the magic of nanotechnology, as well as the fact that quantum dating won’t be invented until the year 2233, rendering radiological dating obsolete, I take a book and write generally ambiguous but still potentially specific predictions into a diary as well as some thinly veiled time travel story and then I bury it somewhere where it is likely to be found after modifying the molecular structure of the book making it appear to be as old as it needs to be.”

“And what predictions would you make Doc Brown? Remember you can’t use your knowledge of the present to help you.”

“Easy. If one examines history properly you can determine a general outline of world events for the next 30 years give or take.”

“Like what?” Dane crossed his arms.

“I’m getting there Rosencrantz. With climate change reaching a head it’s a simple calculation to predict sea level rise as well as the fact that storms will be increasing in intensity. Certain things, like Hurricane Sandy were only a matter of time as many scientists had predicted it as a worst case scenario. Looking at the political scene in 2000’s would make it easy enough to predict what the next 20 years would bring. And going with the joke that fusion is only 20 years away, the first functioning fusion reactor goes online in 2020, in line with when it actually went online in the year 2025. Game. Set. Match. Checkmate.”

“Okay, now do it without nanotechnology.”

“Okay, I go on the internet and perform a John Titor like stunt using an untraceable computer or using public library computers. It would also be very easy to hide my face and to move with something resembling a motive to get the job done. Anything that is properly researched enough can be done well enough to look legitimate.”

“Wow, that doesn’t sound a little deterministic of you.”

“Deterministic?! My, my, who would have thought you even had the faintest inkling as to what that school of thought was/is!”

“Uh, don’t mind me for butting in on this conversation but what is determinism?” Spitfire asked.

“Uh, determinism is the idea that no matter what we do everything was determined for us 13.82 billion years ago. Determinism states that there is no free will, that if we had enough data we could explain everything from what your next thought would be to what you were going to have for lunch tomorrow to even predicting what the author was going to write down next,” Dane replied.

“What?” Jett stared at him.

“You heard me.”

“Anyway… For the most part quantum physics has for the most part kind of proved it wrong/up for debate at the moment.”

“So what do you believe?” Spitfire asked.

“I don’t subscribe to any particular belief,” Jett replied.

“Why?”

“Because the effort would be futile. I like to wait until I have enough data about a situation before I make a choice, well, most of the time.”

“Oh?” Spitfire said, “You require data before you make a choice?”

“Of course I do. In the end that what it all comes down to: choice. I like to make the most informed choice I can.”

Spitfire put her head in her hands and stared across the table at him, “What about guessing?”

“Guessing?”

“If you can’t make a well informed decision? What do you do when you don’t have enough data and you have to make a choice regardless? Do you guess?”

“Are you asking me if I believe in luck?”

“Maybe. It’s kinda late and I’m not sure what I’m asking. I guess if that’s what you want to call it then yes.”

He grinned and stared back at her, leaning across the table, “I believe in probability.”

“Probability?”

“Yes, probability. Luck is far too subjective. After all, one man’s good luck is another man’s bad.”

“How so?”

“Say you were about to be framed by a dirty cop. If the cop was killed it would be good luck for you. Now assume that this cop, aside from being dirty, happens to be a loving family man who is just trying to provide for and keep his family safe. His death would be horrifically bad luck on their part, even though you were spared from being framed for a crime you didn’t commit. Luck is subjective.”

“Then why do you believe in probability?”

“Because probability of all kinds, no matter how small it may be, allows for everything to be possible.”

“Aren’t you contradicting yourself there?” Dane interjected.

“No. Because probability is an abstract concept rather than a theory. Nothing stops me from flipping a coin a hundred times and having it land on heads ninety nine out of a hundred times. It’s improbable but not impossible by what we know. Your many worlds interpretation of the universe is unprovable and unfalsifiable at the moment making it a null.”

“So what makes probability so special?” Spitfire asked.

“Well it gave me you, hot girl, didn’t it?” Jett hiccupped, “Whoops, did I say that out loud?”

Spitfire blushed, “W-what do you mean by that?”

“Well, speaking from a strictly statistical standpoint, girlfriend, there’s nothing stopping me from falling out of the sky and stumbling through a rain forest to find an exceptionally hot and attractive female passed out on the ground,” Jett grinned, “It’s entirely improbable, yes, but there is nothing that prevents it from happening.”

Spitfire stared at him. Jett leaned in closer until their noses were almost touching.

“And that is why I like probability.”

The two continued to stare at each other intently. Spitfire with a blush burning across her face like a wildfire and Jett with a confident grin that did nothing but betray the fact he was impaired to some degree even if present company couldn’t figure out just how at the moment.

Suddenly he burst out laughing and leaned back in his chair as he howled at the ceiling.

“Oh my god! The looks on your faces was priceless! Fucking… If I had a fucking camera I’d have taken pictures!” he laughed.

“Uh…” Spitfire mumbled.

“You’re an asshole dude,” Dane scowled.

“You’re just mad that probability gave me a hot girl to hang out with!” Jett laughed.

“Uh… you find me attractive?” Spitfire asked meekly.

“Really, that’s what you’re asking him?” Dane said.

Jett flew forward and stared at Spitfire, “Why of course I do! Just because I’m pissy all the time doesn’t mean I can’t see what’s right in front of me! Even if it is only software based on primitive biological urges as well as a reproductive system that makes fuck all sense!”

Dane started to crack up, “Dude, quit laughing like a son of a bitch! It doesn’t fit you!”

“Why? I think it’s funny! And I think you’re just mad that I’ve gotten to sleep with Spitfire all vacation!”

“Like you’d touch her anyway!” Dane laughed, “She’s the hottest girl in the school and you share a dorm with her and you two haven’t done shit!”

“Well fuck, I have nothing to say to that!”

“I’m kinda interested now. You said you find her attractive. How so?” Dane asked.

Spitfire, still blushing, managed a grin, “Yeah Jett, tell us, how do you find me attractive? Don’t hold anything back just because I’m sitting here either because I wanna hear this!”

Jett put his hands together, “Alright, here it goes. No holding back.”

He took a deep breath.

“Spitfire… Your eyes glow brightly like the rising sun. Your hair is the color of every bon fire and every jovial campfire that has ever hosted a gathering of well-meaning people. Your lips are so perfect that I kinda wanna kiss you. Your arms, legs, and neck are all perfectly shaped as if sculpted by Michelangelo. Your hands are simply divine as if stolen from the gods themselves. Your skin is the fairest of them all and softer than a baby’s. Your feet got me feeling some type of way because, what can I say? I like a nice pair of feet on a hot woman. Your tits look nice from what I can tell by the way your shirt raises away from your chest and… You’ve got a… GREAT ASS!”

Dane and Spitfire both stared at him before both began cracking up and outright laughing.

“OH MY GOD! Well done Shakespeare! Great ass? What are you, Al Pacino?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been complimented like that before!” Spitfire howled, “So that’s how you feel about my ass? You can always ask! I’d be happy to show it off to you!”

“In the words of Al Pacino: Ferocious aren’t I? When I think of asses, a woman’s ass, something comes out of me.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact you’ve downed like three rum bottles already? As well as leaving that software on? You’re getting careless.”

“Ah bite me. I get to share a room with this wonderful female,” Jett laughed nudging Spitfire who simply blushed.

“Keep your pants on. It’s not like I’d think of stealing her away from you. You two are the OTP of the fanfic called my life.”

The pair stared at each other. Jett laughed.

“You know, I may be really fucked up right now, but… staring at her, I would have no problem with that.”

He wrapped an arm around Spitfire’s shoulder and pulled her close and gave her a light kiss on the cheek causing her to gasp.

“Here’s to you, doll face.”

***

13 Hours Later.

A painful throbbing was the first thing to manifest itself. It was soon followed by the sound of high speed wind gusts as well as the blinding light of a 1 pm equator sun burning in the sky with the intensity of a thousand screaming girls whose ovaries just exploded because Justin Bieber fucked a squirrel or whatever the cock happened.

The next feeling to grace the android’s net was a weight on his chest. He rotated his head and found the source. Spitfire was sleeping with her head resting on his chest and her arms wrapped around his prosthetic like it was a teddy bear. He then remembered his head and put a hand to it before carefully meandering his way out from underneath Spitfire and rolling over.

Immediately he reeled back. His head was hanging over the edge of a balcony and staring straight down the side of a several kilometer tall tower.

He rolled to his feet and scooted back away from the edge. He stared at the offending railing that had gaps in the bars large enough to allow a human head to fit through.

“Fuck I hate heights sometimes,” He muttered.

He stood up and looked around. He was on one of the balconies in the music club. There was no one else out on the balcony except for himself and Spitfire. He walked back into the club and looked around. A few other people were passed out at tables, on tables, under tables or just on the floor in general. He looked towards the bar. Gin was sleeping with her head on the counter with the bartender sleeping across from her. Carefully stepping over sleeping people, he searched for Dane.

He stepped down the stairs and onto the dance floor and found him. He glanced up at the platform where one of the exotic dancers was sleeping with her head in the lap of a certain white haired android leaning against the pole.

Jett shook his head and walked towards one of the tables and picked up a half full beer glass and dumped it before lightly tossing in the air and feeling its weight as it landed on his hand before throwing it like a football up at the android. The glass exploded against his skull, the crystal shattering as it was supposed to into tiny cubical pieces of glass.

Dane barely stirred but awoke when another glass impacted his head. He jumped lightly and looked around before focusing on his brother standing a few meters below him. Jett held up his wrist and made a motion with his hand.

Time, he mouthed.

Dane rolled his eyes and held up his hand making a jabbering mouth with it before removing the head of the dancer out from under him and jumping down to the floor.

“What?” he whispered.

“It’s 1 in the afternoon,” Jett replied holding his head, “Ow, my head. The hell happened?”

“You’re complaining about your head?” Dane said slapping him, “You threw two beer glasses at me!”

“I know,” Jett replied nonchalantly, “Fuck I have a hangover.”

“Good. Serves you right.”

“Why did you let me get drunk last night?”

“Why did you let yourself get drunk last night?”

“I don’t fucking remember!”

Dane sighed, “Well whatever happened last night, it appears to have been savage. So what’d you wake me up for?”

“We have a flight to catch at 5 to the mainland United States. And considering how long it takes to climb down this bean stalk, I’d like to collect our things from the hotel before grabbing something to eat before we leave.”

“Fine,” Dane muttered before staring back up at the dancer, “Wish I could’ve said goodbye.”

Jett sighed, “Just leave her your fucking number and let’s go.”

Dane removed a small piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled some information down before jumping up and tucking it into the dancer’s bra.

Jett rolled his eyes, “You’re a pervert. Go grab Gin and let’s get out of here.”

Jett ran up to the balcony and found Spitfire still curled up. He smiled and scooped her up in his arms. She wrapped hers around his neck and rubbed her head into his chest.

“Five more minutes mom…” she muttered, “I hate getting up at 6:00 every day…”

He found Dane waiting for him with Gin hefted over his shoulder.

“Really? You couldn’t hold her in a more comfortable way that doesn’t look like you’ve just roofied her?”

“You wanna carry her?!” Dane scowled, “Fucking woman weighs as much as truck.”

“Shut up and let’s get going.”

A few minutes later they were making their way down the tower. Every now and again they would have to move to the side of the path as a car or motorbike of some kind drove up or down past them. Still, they continued their climb down, enjoying the view.

“Do you have any memory of what happened last night?” Jett asked.

“Dude I don’t even remember five minutes ago.”

“I think I got really fucked up and I don’t remember why or how.”

“Well maybe someone took pictures.”

“Hopefully,” Jett said sarcastically.

Spitfire stirred. She rubbed her head into the android’s chest.

“Heh,” she moaned still asleep, “Jett likes my ass.”

The two androids stopped and stared at Spitfire. Even Gin in her unconscious state seemed to register something happened. Dane‘s gaze slowly rose up to meet the android before he burst out laughing.

“What the FUCK was that?!” he laughed.

Jett moaned, “This is why I don’t drink.”

“You were definitely drinking something if those words came out of her mouth!”

“She could simply be having a dream, moron.”

Dane grinned, “This time… I doubt it.”

Jett rolled his eyes, “Come on Stein’s Gate. We have a flight to catch.”

They continued walking.

Dane turned, “I hope you know I’m not letting you hear the end of this one.”

Jett sighed, “Fine. But this stays between you and me.”

Dane grinned, “I think I can handle that this time.”

“I’m sure you can.”

The wind continued to blow offering a comfortable reprieve from the heat of the equator as they continued their way down the tower. The city was alive with activity as ships of all sizes zipped through the skies. Elevator cars zipped up the remaining functional elevator cables.

“So just what about her ass do you like?” Dane asked.

“Dane!”

Author's Notes:

I'm back, bitches. And if you can find every reference in this chapter you will get an infinite supply of cookies.