Half Cocked - Backwoods Station - a sci fi adventure
HALF COCKED
– BACKWOODS STATION
“Sterling,
you want to come on in here?”
Shit, he
wondered. What the hell did I do now?
He ignored
Madge from the desk by the door, her sniff of disdain and displeasure bouncing
off the only wooden walls in Backwoods Station.
His worn
boots made clip clopping sounds as he marched along the plank flooring like a
man headed to an ass chewing.
“Know what I
did?” he whispered out of the side of his mouth to Dominique at her simple
board desk.
She pursed
her beautiful full lips and shook her head, eyes glinting with a hint of
mischief.
“I have no
idea,” she practically purred.
“You’re
taking too much pleasure in this,” he kept walking.
“Don’t I
know it,” she kept her voice low as she called after him.
In a normal
Galactic Marshal office, the Chief Marshal has a separate office partitioned
off by soundproof glass, so that during said ass chewing’s, others in the
office could watch but not hear.
In Pete’s
case, the continued burning of the Fenix office in Backwoods Station had rendered
such novelties excessive.
Pete had a
desk of four boards across two sawhorses instead of the two planks the Deputy
Marshals were forced to use. But the excess stopped there.
His cloth
chair was second hand and reconditioned, the boards weighed under a half ton of
printed paper, a novelty on Mars since everyone else used tablets. The powers
that be didn’t want to invest in more electronic devices that could get burned
down once more after the forth station went up in revenge fueled flames.
His desk was
at the back of the same long open room the other three Marshal’s used, almost a
straight line from Madge who was part receptionist, part guard dog placed in
front of the door to the street to keep bad people away.
Sterling
removed his hat and rested it on his leg as he looked for a place to lean. He
settled for cocking his hip to one side and waited.
“You know I
don’t go in for all this favoritism bullshit,” Pete started.
“I believe
you have let your feelings on the subject be known,” Sterling answered.
Pete held a
piece of paper in his hand, but waved it back and forth. All Sterling could
make out was faded ink that let him know the decommissioned and requisitioned
printers needed a cartridge exchange. He wondered where on Mars they would find
it, since Fenix was the only Marshal station who used it.
“And yet
here you are going over my head for special consideration.”
Sterling
crinkled up his face in confusion.
“Pete,” he
said. “I know you love a good rant, but let me get this out there before you
get a full head of steam going.”
“I don’t
love a rant,” Pete answered. “I’m damn good at them. Maybe I’d date a rant,
take it to dinner, try to feel it up, but love?”
He blew a
sigh between his lips.
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about,” Sterling told him.
“Dating a
rant, Sterling. I’m being facetious.”
“I meant the
paper,” Sterling pointed. “If that’s what you’re referring to when you say
special favors. Or are you just using it for effect.”
“This?” Pete
waved the paper back and forth. “This is the bullshit I’m talking about, and
yes, I am doing it for effect.”
“I don’t
know what it is.”
“You didn’t
ask for a special assignment?”
Sterling
shook his head.
“I’m in
exile, remember. Even if I made a request, who the hell would approve it.”
Pete turned
the paper over to examine the print again.
“And yet
here it is, in hand. Signed. Sealed and delivered.”
“Who
delivered it?”
“Madge,
straight from the printer.”
“I was the
one being facetious that time.”
“Don’t do
that,” Pete scowled. “You’re not that good at it.”
He held the
paper still and in Sterling’s general direction. He took that as a sign to
accept the paper and grabbed it from Pete.
“There’s not
much here,” he said.
“You know I
thought you’d move your lips more when you read,” said Pete.
“I grew out
of that after high school,” said Sterling.
He dropped
the printed orders on the desk and leaned across it.
“All this
says is I’m to take the train to a docking station and await transport.”
“Yes,”
agreed Pete. “It’s bare.”
“You heard
of the guy who signed it?”
“He’s the
one who signs our bosses boss’ paycheck.”
“Shit,”
Sterling sighed.
“Yeah,
you’re up to your neck in it,” Pete grinned. “Again.”
“I promise
you Pete, I didn’t ask for this shit. I’m out here, doing my time and trying to
keep my head down.”
“Yeah, your head
down has got you called up to the majors. I just hope while you’re gone I can
get my body count back to zero.”
Sterling
waved him off.
“You had
murders out here before me. These miners would kill each other over a cross
look even before I showed up.”
“Alright,
half the body count. Hell, so long as my numbers go down, I’m gonna consider it
a win.”
Sterling
reached down and spun the paper around.
“When does
it say I go?” his eyes searched the page.
“Today,” said
Pete. “Now.”
“The morning
train leaves in five minutes,” Sterling huffed.
“Then you
better run,” Pete called after him.
He wasn’t
sure if the Marshal heard him or not over the sound of his boots pounding
across the wooden floor out onto the poured plastic concrete boardwalk beyond.
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JAKE BURBANK
-MYSTERY THRILLER SERIES
DRINKS
AFTER WORK
TWO
FINGERS OF JUSTICE
DEEP
END OF A DIVE BAR
HONKY
TONK AVENUE
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SHADOWBOXER
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ASSET – a Brill
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OPERATIVE – a Brill
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DECREED - a Brill
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IN THE DARK – a Brill
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Webb of Lies – An action
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Whiskey Bent – The Dipole
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Love Machine – The Dipole
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Planet
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Half
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Berserker
Brigade – The Dipole Series
Apogee
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Apex
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Backwoods
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Backwoods
Station – Martian Roulette
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Pyrrhic - Invasion Earth
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Riki Tik- Invasion
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The
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The
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CRESCENT CITY
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Release
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Fort
Smith - Carried by Six
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