In The Grand Scheme Of Things

[Distance_warrior@hotmail.com]

"Four... hours you are four hours late"

Sarah gave an exasperated sigh. If this man was any indicator of behaviour across the Hackers, then her stay would be short indeed.

"So?" She snapped. "It's difficult to be on time when you're so sketchy with details."

"Don'€™t tempt me it'€™s bad enough that you managed to get your face plastered across Sirius but to be four hours late in the process why I ought to...'€ The man shook his head disbelievingly.

'€œGet in your ship." he said while taking long purposeful strides towards his own. '€œAnd take that gas mask off you look ridiculous"

Sarah frowned, staggering to her feet to follow the hacker. The girl made a deliberate effort not to dislodge her mask; the heavy seals muffling her speech. She halted at the door of the Harmless, defiantly crossing her arms.

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me where we're going." She made note of the man'€™s self-assured demeanour. "Talk about ridiculous...."

Artemis paused at the insolence in the young girl'€™s voice. Rather than the anger that most normal people would feel at the display Artemis merely regarded it as amusing. He straightened his back and took a quick glance at the cockpit of the Harmless.

"Such defiance is that what made you do it... run away from Daddy. I mean; left you poor mother and baby brother behind'€¦ is that why you insist in parading about with those rouges even when you have no interest at all in their major activities? Is that why you stole a ship left your perfect life behind? I wonder what your dad would think of some of your other actions'€¦.'€ The man smirked innocently.

'€œI doubt he has told you brother about the news broadcast'€¦ I wonder how the rouges would feel if they found out that their newest recruit has never even taken a life,'€ Now his voice had taken on a condescending tone. '€œAnd has in fact gone out of her way to save some of their worst enemies.'€

The talk of her family hit the girl like a series of hammer blows. She'd simply shut her kin away in some park corner of her mind; that this man, this stranger, could simply rattle off the facts of her life shook her to the core. It was a moment before she reminded herself that this man was a hacker.

It was their job to know. They probably had files on everyone. She probably wasn't anything special. Probably.

Still; the girl composed herself admirably. She eyed the man suspiciously; attempting to infuse her words with a nonchalant air; while inside she frantically calmed her rushing heart.
"Huh. You've got me at a disadvantage here. You still haven't told me who you are, or where we're going."
She took a breath, looking the man in the eye.

"And until then. I'm not leaving this station."

Sarah composed herself well thought Artemis but the impact of his words was plain to see; especially for someone as adept at reading people as he was. Satisfied that he had won this round of verbal combat he relented if only to get the stubborn engineer moving.

"We are going into the ice fields so you can take care of some bounty hunters for me. I would do it myself but why should I when i can have people at my beck and call? Now are you satisfied?'€

The girl chuckled, the motion bringing renewed dizziness to her damaged skull. This man truly seemed to think that she would just obey... Still, she hadn't met a Bounty Hunter before, and a local guide through the ice field would be helpful. She hadn'€™t felt quite comfortable around asteroids since the Buffalo incident.

Sarah gave a curt nod and swung herself into the Harmless' cargo bay. She groaned when she remembered the ladder to the pilot's seat. In her present state, climbing it would be anything but fun.

A voice, distorted by masks and metal made its way to the hacker:
"You still haven't told me your name."

"Quite right" he said before climbing into his own ship a heavily modified dagger that despite its extensive refit still gave off an aura of class and sophistication. He knew that Sarah still wasn'€™t truly obedient yet but sometimes manipulation comes in the subtlest of forms. She would aid him in his tasks set by the hackers and that'€™s all he needed her for.

Climbing into the fighter'€™s cockpit he returned to the ever burning question of if it was worth killing her afterwards.