{"id":98,"date":"2008-10-05T00:01:13","date_gmt":"2008-10-05T04:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/?p=98"},"modified":"2022-12-14T14:25:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T19:25:23","slug":"better-than-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/better-than-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Better than Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

B<\/strong><\/span>eto Rivera rested his cheek against a wind-polished lump of sandstone in the darkness. The smooth surface of the rock was warm in the cool, windswept night. He momentarily closed his eyes against the blowing sand and the screams and gunshots that the wind brought to his ears.<\/p>\n

Miramar was a desert planet where the lives of men were often worth no more than the nickel it cost for a cartridge to end them. It had been prosperous once, with sprawling wastelands rich in ores and heavy metals, but with no oceans washing the sandy surface of the planet. The collapse of the far-off, galactic government brought an end to the prosperity of Mirimar. No more starships came to collect ore, no more supplies were delivered from greener, lusher planets.<\/p>\n

The fireball from a rupturing fuel tank lit up the valley below him. Beto took a deep breath and opened his eyes. It was not his fight. He was ashamed to realize that he had been prepared to leave, when the piercing scream of a woman echoed in the night.<\/p>\n

Beto gritted his teeth. If men wanted to kill each other like dogs, it was their own business, but no man who was a man would allow such treatment to be visited upon a woman.<\/p>\n

He crept back through the sand to the low depression where he\u2019d parked \u2018Gitana\u2019 and gave the trailer hitch lever a kick with the pointed tip of his boot. As the tongue of the two wheeled trailer slammed into the sand, he was already climbing aboard the bobbing hover-cycle. He pulled on his goggles and tugged the stampede-string of his wide-brimmed hat up snug under his chin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, ni\u00c3\u00b1a,\u201d he said as he switched off the vehicle\u2019s auto-pilot and took control with the knee switches. \u201cIt\u2019s time to go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The beep of the control panel was his only answer.<\/p>\n

He touched an actuator and the primary thrusters came to life with a rumble. His hand grasped the imported walnut stock of a revolving scatter-gun and he slid it from its scabbard as he bumped control-spurs against the vehicle\u2019s side-panels. At that, the hover-cycle bounded forward leaving a billowing plume of dust and smoke behind it.<\/p>\n

Clearing the crest of the hill at high speed, the cycle sailed a full ten feet over its rated altitude before plummeting back down to cut a groove in the sandy hillside. Beto let out a wild yell and drew a .44 revolver with his left hand.<\/p>\n

The raiders had been busy plundering and savaging the travelers they\u2019d ambushed. There was no defensive perimeter set up, no scouts watching for any counter-attack. Beto roared through the scene of destruction and misery like a fireball. He let blast into the hydrogen tanks of both the raider\u2019s vehicles as he past and cut a man down with a third, quick shot.<\/p>\n

One of the raiders ran off into the darkness and he let the man go, promising himself, \u2018later\u2019. Another dusty raider\u2014a woman he thought\u2014loosed a shot in his direction. He fired in return before his natural aversion to shooting at a woman stopped him. Logically, he knew that a battle against wasteland-raiders was no place for ethics. He would regret the shot after the fighting was done, but not during the battle.<\/p>\n

A rocket wushed<\/em> close across his path and impacted explosively into the hillside a quarter of a mile away.<\/p>\n

That was too close! Beto spun Gitana and looked frantically for the marksman. He prayed the raider didn\u2019t have a multi-shot tube and he\u2019d have a moment while the man re-loaded.<\/p>\n

\u201cGitana!\u201d he called, \u201cAuto-scan, where did that come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

A red dot flashed on the Head\u2019s-up Display in his goggles as his wildly searching gaze past over one of the crippled vehicles. He threw a quick shot at the ID\u2019d location to make the gunner duck. Spinning his cycle in a roaring half-circle, Beto drove directly at the cowering marksman while unleashing a fusillade of shots. A second rocket careened wildly into the night sky, and then the raider was up and running. Beto cut him down from behind and blasted back to the ambush site.<\/p>\n

Another raider was running, dragging a prisoner by her slim, pale arm. Beto caught a flash of a narrow waste between a flowing dress and long, blonde hair. Running was a stupid act. On Mirimar, there was nowhere to go. Beto sheathed his empty weapons and drew his right-hand revolver as he pursued.<\/p>\n

As he closed to within pistol range, the raider spun and clamped the woman to his chest as a human shield. Beto raised his cycle\u2019s nose to break, and pulled up about sixty yards from the pair. The woman held out her hands, warning him away while the raider snarled his defiance and kept an automatic pistol pointed his direction.<\/p>\n

The tableau held for only as long as it took the raider to cock back the hammer of his pistol. Then several things happened almost at once: Beto ducked and raked his cycle with silver-mounted spurs, the raider began firing at him, and the woman vented a piercing, drawn-out wail of terror.<\/p>\n

Beto crouched as a bullet glanced off Gitana\u2019s low windscreen. He gritted his teeth in anticipation and kicked again with his control-spurs to engage the after-burners. There was a bone-jarring jolt, and he was ripping past the pair in a blast of flame. He chanced a single shot, and the couple was left rolling upon the ground in his wake.<\/p>\n

He wheeled and returned at a more controlled speed to find the woman screaming and flailing in the sand. The Raider never changed from his position as a crumpled heap upon the valley floor.<\/p>\n

Shrieking curses and crying hysterically, the woman was slapping at her smoldering hair and clothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right?\u201d Beto yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right? All right?\u201d she shouted. She pulled her hand away from her head and it came away with a fist full of blackened, frizzled hair. \u201cYou almost killed me you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost is good enough,\u201d he spurred Gitana and left the woman venting curses in his wake. He re-loaded his pistols as he circled the area scanning for life. Finding none, he rode off into the desert to track down the raider who\u2019d run away.<\/p>\n

There was no justice in the wastelands of Mirimar, only the crude, violent cycle of action and reaction.<\/p>\n

Beto returned with the raider\u2019s weapons tied across Gitana\u2019s rear seat. The body was left to feed the buzzards and ants.<\/p>\n

He found the woman busy applying burn salve to the side of her face from a scavenged first aid kit. She was sitting next to the single vehicle that wasn\u2019t burning. It had been a plush limousine before the raiders had crippled its engine pods with careful rifle-fire.<\/p>\n

Beto pulled up and kicked off Gitana\u2019s main thrusters. \u201cHow\u2019s the face,\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurned!\u201d she snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cHair and skin heal,\u201d he replied with a shrug. \u201cA fellow parts your hair with a bullet, it\u2019s more permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks!\u201d she snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome,\u201d he replied, though he could tell by her flashing eyes she had not meant it in gratitude. \u201cDid you transmit an emergency signal when they hit?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no time,\u201d she told him. \u201cWe were just passing through the valley and then rockets were raining down onto us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone else left alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t checked\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Beto left her to work on her burns while he searched through the corpses. He couldn\u2019t imagine anyone who wouldn\u2019t check to see if their friends needed first aid. It was completely foreign to him.<\/p>\n

He found no one alive. There were a dozen bodies, all young men, all well dressed and packing guns. They were armed, but not prepared. They had died inside the comfort of their air conditioned vehicles. The raiders had made a good ambush of it. Beto decided it wouldn\u2019t surprise him if they\u2019d had inside information.<\/p>\n

Inside information meant money, big money.<\/p>\n

The woman was mid thirties and fashionably dressed. Probably someone important. Her good looks didn\u2019t mean much to him. Surgical enhancement was too cheap. Too many hollow, miserable people had their looks vetted thinking it would hide what they were inside. The crude, hookers that worked every spaceport were some of the most dazzling women he\u2019d ever seen, and some of the worst thieves and murderers.<\/p>\n

The woman he\u2019d saved was someone important enough to be sent out with an escort of guards she didn\u2019t care about losing. That made her someone it would be good for a miner to get rid of before he became entangled with wars over oil, minerals, or corporate subterfuge.<\/p>\n

Beto dug through luggage, tossing most of it onto the sand, and came up with a pair of OD mechanic\u2019s coveralls and a large, white shirt.<\/p>\n

As he walked past the woman, he tossed her the bundle, ordering, \u201cPut these on, se\u00c3\u00b1orita.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you insane?\u201d she argued looking at a grease stain on a dangling sleeve. \u201cWhy would I want to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTraveling clothes,\u201d he told her. \u201cWhoever arranged this ambush is going to come looking when no one delivers you to him. We\u2019d best be long gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just radio for help\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRadios are burned up or dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my hand set.\u201d She held up a palm-sized transceiver. \u201cThe reception isn\u2019t very good, but if we just get to high ground\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSay, is that one of those new YZ-44\u2019s?\u201d he asked taking the item from her hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it\u2019s\u2014 What are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Beto pulled the battery and tossed the phone into one of the burning vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust keeping us alive,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could\u2019ve called my\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever you called would\u2019ve tried to kill you, or sent men to try and kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever are you talking about?\u201d Her anger vanished and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re off the Darry road,\u201d he explained. \u201cNo reason for your drivers to have turned into these hills except to get themselves far off the beaten track. And raiders, they don\u2019t just rocket passing vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRaiders will shoot at anything,\u201d she argued. \u201cEveryone knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no salvage reclaimed from a vehicle hit by a 50mm Lancaster!\u201d he began to lose patience with her inability to understand the situation. \u201cFor a raider, that would be like cooking the goose who laid the golden eggs. So, why did they blast your escorting vehicles, but only disable yours, Se\u00c3\u00b1orita?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I suppose\u2014\u201d she began slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause they were sent here for you<\/em>, of course!\u201d he cut her off. \u201cRaiders kill for loot. These banditos killed to wipe out your bodyguards. Someone was after you<\/em>. After you alive, I think, but those sort of ideas change upon a whim. So if I were you, I\u2019d get dressed so we can vacate this location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere can I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPush some bodies out of your vehicle there if you\u2019re shy,\u201d Beto nodded at the disabled goundcar.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you ever let people finish what they\u2019re saying?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo time for rambling, Se\u00c3\u00b1orita, we\u2019ve got to move!\u201d Beto suddenly had a very bad feeling about the ambush site. Someone was liable to follow up and be sure the job was done right, and that someone would be a lot more professional than wasteland-raiders.<\/p>\n

He waved at the woman to approach. \u201cGet on the back. We\u2019re going to move out now!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you just told me to change\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m leavin\u2019.\u201d He threw a leg over his cycle and floated it up about six inches off the ground. \u201cBring the clothes, but get on now unless you want to walk back to Carbon Canyon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWalk?\u201d she snapped. \u201cIt\u2019s eighty miles! I can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

He revved the cycle and let it begin to coast away. She ran after him and jumped onto the long seat behind him, fighting with her dress and cursing under her breath.<\/p>\n

As soon as she touched the seat, he accelerated up the hill and out of the valley. As they left the burning vehicles behind them, he called out, \u201cGitana, give me an active scan of the area.\u201d The cycle gave an audible beep and a holographic image flashed up before him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing,\u201d the woman called out, looking over his shoulder at the image.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t matter. They\u2019ll be coming soon enough. Best we aren\u2019t here when they arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He drove them back to where the trailer waited and backed up to the hitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis would be a good time to change your clothes, Se\u00c3\u00b1orita,\u201d Beto suggested as he hooked up the cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ll just\u2014just face away,\u201d she said with the clothes clutched to her chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Se\u00c3\u00b1orita,\u201d he said with a sigh of resignation.<\/p>\n

He heard clothing dropping and a zipper being closed. He gritted his teeth at the foolishness of it. All she had to do was walk off ten steps and she\u2019d be completely invisible in the darkness.<\/p>\n

He heard the \u2018clunk\u2019 of his trailer hitch and turned to find her sitting astride his hover cycle. She was dressed in the coveralls with the shirt draped over and knotted at the waste. She also had a captured pistol pointed at him in a competent manner.<\/p>\n

Beto raised his hands and scowled at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, but I\u2019ll travel faster without you,\u201d she apologized without any real regret. \u201cI\u2019ll send back help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose scooters can be a little wild out here in the wastelands,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve driven a model three hover-cycle before,\u201d she informed him. \u201cJust back off there. Go on, get back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Beto backed away while she started the cycle with her left hand. She turned and pulled on the throttle in a single motion. It was clear she had experience on a cycle.<\/p>\n

Beto watched her roar off into the night. He put down his hands and watched the lights grow smaller and smaller in the darkness. Then there was a wild flash and a sharp noise. The beam of the headlight blazed up into the sky, illuminating the cloud of dust that swirled around the wreck.<\/p>\n

Beto began walking toward the light. About halfway there he saw the beam swing back and forth, as though someone was righting the cycle. Then there was a roar and the lights began to dwindle in the distance once again. Beto continued to walk. It wasn\u2019t more than fifteen seconds before the crazy sweeping of the headlight told of another crash. This time there was no more movement. The light just blazed up into the dusty sky again, marking the location like a beacon.<\/p>\n

Beto walked on and approached the wreck carefully. He could see the woman struggling to get her leg out from under the fallen cycle. The heavy piece of hardware wasn\u2019t moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeed some help?\u201d he asked calmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t I look like I need help?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh,\u201d he replied. \u201cToss the gun over here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did so with a curse under her breath. He brushed off the weapon and shoved it into the cargo pocket of his trousers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Se\u00c3\u00b1orita, it doesn\u2019t seem like you need me at all,\u201d he said sarcastically as he flipped on the counter-grav generator and then the gyro-stabilizer. The cycle floated upright immediately. \u201cA real expert on a hover-cycle, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour gyros cut out!\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re working fine now,\u201d he said with a shrug.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell they failed on me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe Gitana, she don\u2019t like you,\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrazy dirt-miners!\u201d she grumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019d better give her a test.\u201d Beto gave the cycle full throttle and left the woman choking in a cloud of sandy dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey! You can\u2019t just leave me!\u201d He heard her yelling after him.<\/p>\n

\u201cC<\/strong><\/span>an\u2019t I ride on the back of the cycle with\u2014ouch!\u2014with you?\u201d the woman requested between the bumps as the trailer bounced over rocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Beto drawled. \u201cI think I\u2019ll keep you beyond arm\u2019s reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could move faster without this trailer, \u201c she griped as she moved around the canvas covered gear she was sitting on.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be,\u201d he agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why don\u2019t you drop it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFaster isn\u2019t always the way a man needs to travel,\u201d he replied. Besides, the gear is mine. I\u2019d hate to lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll cover the replacement cost,\u201d she offered petulantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have the money to pay for what\u2019s in that trailer.\u201d he called back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have got to be kidding,\u201d she sneered.<\/p>\n

Beto just laughed and continued to drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, don\u2019t tell me this grip has \u2018deep sentimental value\u2019, to you?\u201d she said. \u201cWhat\u2019ve you got under here, a tent and a shovel? Maybe a couple of gas and water cans? No more than any other hardscrabble miner on this ball of dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe, but it\u2019s mine and I don\u2019t want to lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, look,\u201d she told him in exasperation. \u201cI\u2019m Tyrana Westlen, owner of the Eastern National Mining Corporation. I\u2019ll pay you 20,000 Mir<\/em> to dump this trailer and get me to San Paulo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beto looked back at her for several, long seconds, then turned back to driving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, I\u2019m headed for Fort Lee,\u201d he replied finally. \u201cWe get there, I\u2019ll explain what happened to your escort. We\u2019ll get you military protection back to San Paulo or wherever you were heading. I\u2019ve got to report this ambush to the authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s a full day in the wrong direction!\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be time well spent if they think you\u2019re heading back to the main road.\u201d he told her. \u201cBesides, such a sweet, polite, well mannered se\u00c3\u00b1orita as yourself is such a bright companion on a dry trip. I\u2019d hate to lose your witty conversation as we travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gave Gitana a small spurt of power and heard Tyrana curse as she fell back onto his gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cP<\/strong><\/span>ackaged rations?\u201d the woman tossed the foil-sealed package back at Beto. \u201cI\u2019d rather starve!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSuit yourself,\u201d he said with a shrug.\u201d He watched her pick up his canteen and start to walk away.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, where are you going with that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to take a sponge-bath,\u201d she replied tersely. \u201cSince there\u2019s nothing fit to eat or do out here. And no, you can not watch!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPssssss, as though I\u2019d want to.\u201d Beto scoffed. \u201cIf you want a bath, you dig your own water. Give me that!\u201d When she didn\u2019t immediately pass him back the canteen, Beto rose and took it from her startled hands. \u201cIdiota!\u201d he grumped. \u201cNo water for ten miles and you think you should take a bath?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it\u2019s not fit to drink. Your canteen\u2019s rusty. Besides, I\u2019m hot, and I\u2019m tired, and I\u2019m sweaty!\u201d she railed. \u201cJust because you\u2019re a filthy animal\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSurviving isn\u2019t being an animal,\u201d he retorted. \u201cIt\u2019s just using common sense. You can soak in a tub for one whole week once we get to Fort Lee, but out in the desert, city-girl, you don\u2019t waste water!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be at Fort Lee in the morning!\u201d she argued. \u201cThere will be plenty of water!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you can wait till then for a bath,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell why don\u2019t we just keep moving until we get there. It\u2019s only a few more hours?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause in about one hour we\u2019ll be in the middle of the biggest storm you\u2019ve ever seen! That\u2019s why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a look!\u201d he pointed toward the sunset. That haze on the horizon isn\u2019t man-made.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just a little haze!\u201d she snapped. \u201cWe\u2019re holding up because there\u2019s a little haze on the horizon? Of all the stupid, superstitious people I\u2019ve ever seen\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cH<\/strong><\/span>ow strong do you think these winds are?\u201d Tyrana asked nervously over the wind that screamed and battered Beto\u2019s tent. \u201cWill the walls hold up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, we\u2019ll be fine, I think,\u201d he replied. \u201cGitana and I have weathered plenty of storms before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I know you\u2019ve named your cycle, but do we have to have it and the trailer in here with us?\u201d She banged a hand on the side to the trailer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I don\u2019t want them all sand-blasted,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s no room!\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of room outside,\u201d he suggested pointedly.<\/p>\n

She sat pouting for several minutes before she suggested, \u201cYou could let the wind blast your cookware clean,\u201d she suggested. \u201cYour coffee tastes rusty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBest coffee I ever had,\u201d he looked at his cup with supreme satisfaction and told her. \u201cYou can do without if you don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you always treat women this way?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, you mean risk my life to save them then give them a ride to civilization?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I mean are you always this sarcastic and condescending?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly when it\u2019s deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n

She glowered at him for several seconds before saying, \u201cI could be a good friend. What would you say to an executive position at Eastern National?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say that I\u2019m already the President<\/em> of my own mining corporation,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat corporation? You, a trailer, and a shovel?\u201d she scoffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019d also say that you are no friend to me or any other miner on Mirimar,\u201d Beto continued. \u201cEastern National is like an octopus, trying to buy up or choke off every other bit of competition on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you know that I can crush you like a bug,\u201d she said smugly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you are small-spirited enough to try,\u201d he retorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou independents are all such an arrogant lot,\u201d she told him. \u201cI just offered you a good position with me, and all the protection of one of the biggest corporations in the world and you turned me down flat. Why should I concern myself with someone too foolish to accept my gratitude?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTyrana Westlen,\u201d he said as if prophesying her doom. \u201cYou owe me your life. You were ambushed and dragged off like a piece of meat. You\u2019ll have nightmares about that in the years to come, and you will remember the lone man who risked his life to save you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I\u2019m back in my office,\u201d she retorted. \u201cI\u2019ll never think about this again! Not about the ambush, and not about you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you\u2019ll think about it all right,\u201d he warned. \u201cYou\u2019ll flinch every time a Champaign cork pops. You\u2019ll think about it every time you see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you? Ha! When this is over, you\u2019ll just ride off into the wastelands. I know your type.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you say so,\u201d Beto replied with a chuckle. He lay back and pulled his hat over his eyes to sleep. It had been a full day.<\/p>\n

B<\/strong><\/span>eto awoke to the warm, morning sun streaming in through the wide-open tent flap and the roar of Gitana\u2019s thrusters from outside. He took a slow, deep, breath and stretched before sitting up and settling his hat upon his head.<\/p>\n

When he walked outside, he saw a rising cloud of dust that marked Tyrana with his overturned cycle about fifty yards away. The woman was kicking Gitana\u2019s seat and cursing vehemently.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just can\u2019t stand not being in control of every little thing,\u201d Beto grumbled as he checked his guns, adjusting their weight upon his hips. \u201cI should have left her with the raiders. They deserve each other.\u201d He pulled his trailer outside by the hitch, then walked around the back of the tent to relieve himself. He heard a roaring of thrusters again and looked around the tent to see that Tyrana had managed to muscle the cycle upright, which was quite a feat, and was trying to drive away on her own once again.<\/p>\n

As he watched, the cycle flew off while canting drunkenly to the left and forcing the course into a half circle to head back toward his tent. It was almost back, with Tyrana cursing and fighting the controls, when it made a quick bound, as though it had gone over a bump, and spilled over, its rider tumbling onto the sand.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut for a little morning ride?\u201d he asked amiably.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis damned cycle is a menace!\u201d Tyrana shrieked as she tried to shake the sand out of her face and fire-frazzled hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you,\u201d Beto said as he wandered over to the cycle. \u201cGitana don\u2019t like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStupid, rattle-trap!\u201d she railed in blind fury. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen such a dangerous piece of junk!\u201d She got up and began brushing off her clothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cLikely you\u2019re right,\u201d Beto stretched a leg over the cycle and re-started it. Gitana floated up perfectly off the sand, and Beto gave her a spurt of power to glide back to the tent.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to junk that trash-cycle!\u201d Tyrana shouted as she followed along on foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Beto said as he pulled up next to the tent. \u201cShe\u2019s never let me down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to get you kil\u2014\u201d Tyrana stopped talking as Beto stepped off and reached out a hand. Without any sort of command the cycle\u2019s side-pack lid popped open and he removed a claw hammer to pull the tent stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s\u2014\u201d she stepped forward, scowling at the cycle as Beto pulled up the stakes. She stood, with a quizzical look on her face, but not saying a word until he\u2019d made the full circuit and tossed the hammer toward the open side-pack. The arc of his aim was about five inches short but the cycle closed the distance on its own and the lid snapped shut after the hammer clinked into the pouch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a model twelve<\/em>?\u201d Tyrana whispered. She walked to the cycle and reached out to touch the seat but the Gitana drifted away from her hand. \u201cWhere would a miner get a model twelve? A sentient-robotic model twelve costs about two million Mir!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou were<\/em> informed that Beto was the President of a mining corporation,\u201d a calm, female voice came from a speaker on Gitana\u2019s control console<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it talks?\u201d the woman said with a scowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, not so often,\u201d Beto told her. \u201cOnly when she has something to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were making fun of me,\u201d Tyrana mumbled with wide eyes. Then her look became ugly. \u201cYou two were making a fool of me<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo need to assist you in that,\u201d Gitana told her. \u201cYou\u2019ve been doing a marvelous job all on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyrana swung a flailing blow at the cycle, but Gitana simply drifted out of reach. She swung again and the cycle drifted further. It was only a moment before the enraged woman was chasing the retreating cycle, flailing the air with her fists.<\/p>\n

Beto looked up from where he was carefully folding the tent and shook his head, muttering, \u201cMean tempered sort of woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

T<\/strong><\/span>hey pulled into Fort Lee at noon. Tyrana was sitting in the trailer, arms folded across her chest, as it bounced along behind Gitana.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Beto!\u201d the gate guard called and waved as they approached. \u201cLong time no see. You got a prisoner there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope,\u201d Beto replied, \u201ca refugee. Ambushed in the hills. I\u2019ll drop her by the S-2 shop for de-briefing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell Captain Stanton you\u2019re coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure she\u2019s all right?\u201d the soldier asked looking at her singed hair and grubby coveralls. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t look too good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyrana merely clenched her jaws and looked to the front.<\/p>\n

\u201cAwwww, she\u2019s okay.\u201d Beto assured the guard. \u201cShe\u2019ll be back in an office barking orders in no time. You\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The soldier nodded as they past on by.<\/p>\n

They pulled up to a low, concrete building and Beto dismounted. He kicked the hitch release for his trailer and Tyrana was surprised out of her grumpy silence as the front of the trailer tipped down and hit the ground.<\/p>\n

She took his hand as he helped her down, but hissed under her breath, \u201cI\u2019ll be so glad to be rid of you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a pleasure for me to render that service, at least,\u201d he said with an amused smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cTyranna! Tyranna!\u201d a voice called. \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for you everywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n

A man was approaching from another building, but when she would\u2019ve gone to him, Beto held her arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little convenient, your amigo meeting us here, so far off course,\u201d he whispered to her. \u201cMakes you wonder how many folks he\u2019s brought with him to finish the job they started out in the desert?\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated, but told him, \u201cDon\u2019t be paranoid. It\u2019s just Deke Wild, he\u2019s the Vice President in charge of\u2014 you\u2019re right.\u201d Her face clouded with a scowl. \u201cWhy ever would he be out here? They couldn\u2019t even know I was missing until this morning. They should be searching for the ambush site about now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I know how to separate the wheat from the chaff,\u201d Beto whispered as the man approached.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere it is, compadres!\u201d Beto suddenly shouted to the various hanger\u2019s-on that were milling about the street. He reached into his trailer and dragged out a water can.<\/p>\n

\u201cGather \u2019round. Gather \u2019round, amigos.\u201d<\/p>\n

A crowd gathered and Beto opened the can and dumped water into a cup. He passed the cup to the nearest miner and the crowd looked on while the man peered into the cup of water intently.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a sip of pure gold, amigo,\u201d Beto encouraged.<\/p>\n

The man smelled it, then tasted it carefully. He made a wry face and sucked at his teeth at the bitter taste while the other men looked on expectantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s got more iron than a horseshoe,\u201d he said definitively. \u201cThis ain\u2019t no distilled water. It\u2019s ground<\/em> water!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t,\u201d someone else argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know ground water when I taste it!\u201d the man argued. \u201cWhere\u2019d it come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI pumped it up at the base of the iron hills,\u201d Beto told them. \u201cSensor scan says that there\u2019s a whole ocean under there.\u201d A roar of excitement went up from the crowd. \u201cI\u2019ve got two crews out drilling now, but there has to be more pools to the East that no one\u2019s filed on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn ocean of untapped water?\u201d the miner said. \u201cDamnit, Beto, you\u2019ll be the richest man on the planet!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear that?\u201d someone in the back of the crowd shouted, \u201cBeto Rivera\u2019s struck water<\/em>!\u201d The mob was suddenly a tumult of activity. Men scattered to get their gear and rush for the site of the strike. In a matter of hours it would be all over the planet and miners would be heading there from everywhere. The crowd all cleared except for the man who\u2019d hailed Tyrana and three others who were closing upon their position from other areas of the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now we know who doesn\u2019t belong,\u201d Beto told her. \u201cThere\u2019s a rifle under the tarp in the cart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyrana didn\u2019t hesitate to grab the barrel of the rifle and begin dragging it out of the cart. That prompted the approaching men to grab under their suits for guns.<\/p>\n

Beto was quicker though. His right-hand .44 whipped up and roared in a simple, sweeping, left-to-right motion that punctured Deke Wild and his gunmen with lead. Three fell without getting off a shot. The last kept his feet under him and raised his pistol. Beto fired until his revolver was empty. The man reeled, but just would not go down. The gunman\u2019s wicked automatic barked, and a round fanned the breeze next to Beto\u2019s ear. Beto side-stepped to throw off the gunman\u2019s aim and flashed up his second pistol, praying he could hit something vital before the dying shooter killed him. Tyrana fired first, and it was a lethal shot. The rifle bullet spun the man around, and he crumpled. Succumbing to the hail of bullets at last, he fell into the sand with a final, desperate bullet going into the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood shot.\u201d Beto commended her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy next one will be better,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

Beto turned his head and found himself looking down a rifle barrel.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you out of your mind?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest water strike ever made on a planet with limited usable water?\u201d she mused. \u201cAnd you think I\u2019m out of my mind to take it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in the middle of an army post,\u201d he reminded her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the best lawyers on the planet, to sort out little things like that,\u201d she told him smugly. \u201cIn court it will just be a deplorable accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but you know what they say about lawyers?\u201d Beto told her seriously, not daring to let his eyes follow the shadow that was closing behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat they\u2019ll smile while they tear your guts out?\u201d she answered with a gloating sneer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. They say\u2014\u201d Gitana\u2019s thrusters roared and Beto dropped as the rifle fired over his head. Tyrana screamed, her feet being knocked from under her and falling hard onto her back. Beto stood over her prostrate form and put a foot on the barrel of the rifle. \u201cThey say, \u2018they\u2019re never around when you need one\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t say that about Lawyers!\u201d she corrected angrily. \u201cThey say that about police!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that a fact?\u201d He took the rifle away. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t see any of them about either.\u201d So saying, he left her lying on the dusty street, cursing like a sailor.<\/p>\n

B<\/strong><\/span>eto made his report to the Fort Lee Intell Officer and officially recorded the specifics of his \u2018water strike\u2019, then left the post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m surprised you didn\u2019t meet with Tyrana Westlen again before we passed through the gate,\u201d Gitana told him as they headed back for his crew\u2019s encampment at the foot of the Iron Mountains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I did hear rumors she\u2019s been temporarily detained in \u2018protective custody\u2019, pending a military investigation.\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it is helpful to have friends in the Army,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill she try again?\u201d Gitana asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect she will,\u201d he drawled. \u201cA bitter person like that, she just can\u2019t stand to see anyone else have something she might be able to get her hands on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve got lawyers too,\u201d he added. \u201cGood ones. She must think I don\u2019t have a brain, or something. Like I haven\u2019t got that claim legally protected by my own corporation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all right, Beto,\u201d Gitana consoled. \u201cShe didn\u2019t think I had a brain either.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beto Rivera is a prospecting on the lonely planet of Mirimar when he rescues a woman that he wishes he hadn’t. — ed, N.E. Lilly<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5],"tags":[194],"media":[299],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1133,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions\/1133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98"},{"taxonomy":"media","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?post=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}