[Cheyenne/Artim] "Jumping Tracks"

[Jeremy Reynolds]

"Jumping Tracks"

 

Cheyenne, Bounty Hunter

Lieutenant Artim Shivar, Chief Scheming Officer

 

* * * * *

I M/V DarkStar. En Route to Elstat's Domain...

 

After being stuck in a box for awhile Artim really had to go to the bathroom. Though the one on this boat wasn't quite as nice as the one on the Galaxy after the box a hole in the ground would be plenty. After coming out of the head he wandered back to the bridge. When he did so, he mused to Cheyenne, "So, you followed me around for what, a couple weeks. I'm curious, did I seem like the dangerous smuggler that would be worth 300 bars to a slimeball like Elstat?"

 

"Actually, 300 bars is my standard fee for any contract that invoves me going into the Federation since your Fleet is nothing but problematic when it comes to boarder crossings." She said nonchalantly as she continued resharpening her nails without even looking up at Artim. "That covers the standard wear-and-tear on my ship along with any bribes that I have to make along the way." She blew off the residue and checked out her handiwork. It was so good to have her regular body back after an undercover job. "Elstat paid me the 300 up front along with another 300 on delivery." she gave him a pointed look. "Which I still intend to collect just on the sheer principle of the matter."

 

"For all the trouble I gave you? I'd ask for a bit extra. He might not give it to you but that's no reason not to ask." Artim said with a bit of a smirk. "Though I have to wonder, I'm thinking you didn't simply bribe the real Marshal Cooper."

 

"Nope." Cheyenne said simply.

 

Artim suspected what the answer was but he had to ask. "So...what exactly became of her."

  

She rolled her eyes and let out a huff of breath. "If you simply must know; I killed her. Disintigrated her with a transporter beam. No muss, no fuss. Totally humane."

 

"Not killing her would have been more humane." Artim replied.

 

Cheyenne shrugged. "What? Did you really expect me to keep her around on the off chance that she might get loose and blow my cover? Seriously?" she looked at him dubiously.

 

Artim closed his eyes and shook his head. "I was just a smuggler and occasional chauffeur of your types. I don't mettle in the affairs of assassins for I am squishy and can be stabbed."

 

Cheyenne shrugged. "One does what one has to." she said simply.

 

"Now that all that unpleasantness is out of the way, lets get down to business. How to solve a problem like Elstat. First thing you need to know about him is that he's very particular and more than a little paranoid and I doubt four decades in a penal colony did anything but enhance the later. Has he sent instructions as to how I'm to be...packaged for delivery? I'd expect it's very specific as to everything from the type of restraints to the footwear he wants me wearing."

 

"Oh you know, the usual for bringing someone of your caliber back: Full chains, whips, and of course the Orion Gauntlet with Klingon Painsticks as you're walking to his office." she let out a bark of laughter when she saw him pale a bit and swallow hard. "Actually, his exact wording was that he didn't care so long as you were alive and relatively unharmed by the time you got to him. So I can either walk you through the front door under your own power or cart you in inside of the crate."

 

Actually he fully expected some sort of torture to come out of all this but hopefully Elstat would be dead before it got too bad. "Hmm, not like him then. You might get a more specific list later but I know one thing for sure, he's not going to give me any face time until I'm all trussed up. So sticking me back in the crate with a disruptor is probably out. You're the expert in this stuff though. As I said before, the closest I ever got to a job like this was as the getaway driver."

 

"I already have something in mind." Cheyenne said. "I have some presents tucked away in the cargo hold for just such an occassion." she said with a feral smile.

 

"I'm not sure whether or not to be reassured or terrified by that statement." Artim answered. "What sorts of toys are we talking about?"

 

"Oh come on, you can't expect a girl to give away all of her secrets in one night, do you?" she said teasingly. "Now, I imagine you're tired. I'm sure you'll want to get some rest before we get to Elstat's. So now the question is; are you going to be good, or are you going to make my life difficult?"

 

Artim blinked a second again now that he recognized she did know how he made people's lives hellish at times. "Hey, I don't make *everyone's* life difficult. Ardek's a special case.So yeah, I'll be good."

 

She nodded. "Good." she said, standing up. "I have some guest quarters. Since you're more of a business partner for the time being, the brig simply won't do." she beckoned for him to follow her once again.

 

* * * * * * *

Later that night...

 

After Cheyenne showed Artim to his guest quarters and locked him in, she wasn't going to take any chances just because they happen to have similar interests now, Jeeves piped up. "Mistress, I have a confession to make. Your kill of the Federation Marshal isn't entirely accurate."

 

Cheyenne paused, jaw bunched in anger once again, as Jeeves explained himself rather quickly. Her initial anger bled away and she actually smiled. "Oh Jeeves, you certainly give me the best presents." she said as she continued walking back up to the bridge. "Now I know why I keep you around; you always anticipate my wants and needs."

 

"I thought that you'd be pleased with this, Mistress." Jeeves said happily in his soothing voice. "So I take it that my indiscretion is forgiven then?"

 

"Totally." Now humming to herself she sealed the bridge after the door closed behind her, checked to make sure her internal security was running in top order, and then went into her quarters where there was now a nude blonde human curled up in a deep sleep on her bed. Cheyenne sat down next to the woman and gently stroked a stray lock of her straight hair from her face.

 

"Hello Elizabeth..." she cooed.

 

TBC...