NOVEL FROG Chapter 2: The Deal
GG's ride was an export model of the Döbian Fledermaus stealth transport helicopter that had been converted to civilian use. It had a single rotor up top with four blades and a ducted tail fan.
The cockpit was fully enclosed, coffin style, with no visible windows. The pilot's wetware allowed him to interface directly with the aircraft through his chair so there was no need for physical controls. It was all electric and completely computerized anyway. Anything bad enough to disrupt the main link wouldn't be helped by a vestigial thing like a manual cyclic pitch control.
How she had gotten ahold of current generation military aircraft was a mystery but her reasoning was strangely practical. "It's a stealth helicopter, that means it's quiet. Add a little extra sound dampening inside and it's about as loud as a normal car. Plus, it just looks cool."
"Does your company have a shooting range?" I asked, half joking but genuinely curious. After all, they had at least one helicopter.
"Of course." GG said dramatically with a wave of her hand as the side door opened and a set of steps unfolded. "I couldn't let Simon one up me."
"He does have a space ship." I reminded her as I strapped in and the door closed behind us. It was dark for a few seconds before the visual overlay kicked on and the walls seemed to fade away. I still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of hanging suspended in space that it gave me. I looked out over the courtyard. It was all the same as ever.
Our home was on a hill outside town surrounded by gardens. Technically it was more of a villa but I tried not to think about that. Originally it had belonged to Aunt Nemeria but Simon bought her out when she left.
"We will be lifting off shortly." Said a disembodied male voice in Dansk. Her driver was a massive hund named Gigot that she had picked up in Coven. The Dansk were some of the largest but also gentlest people on Homeworld and Gigot was no exception.
The tan and white hund continued his announcements in a pleasing baritone from his place in the cockpit. "Estimated travel time to King Aerospace is twenty minutes. The weather is nice and mild so it should be a smooth trip."
GG looked at me as the helicopter began to ascend. "He has a spaceship, but does he have a Gigot?"
"No." I conceded, "He does not."
"Aha!" GG shouted triumphantly with a smile. "So I am once again claiming victory in our little pissing contest."
I decided to twist her tail a bit. "He does have André." I said, turning my palms up and miming a pair of scales teetering back and forth. "And André is quite large."
"He is giant, yes. But can he fly like Gigot?" GG asked.
"Probably." I said with a shrug. "I haven't found anything he can't do." André was my father's personal bodyguard. Standing at nearly two meters tall, the imposing Döbian from Rottweil was also almost comically muscular. His arms were thicker than my torso and once when someone parked in Simon's spot I watched him get out of the car and politely, but firmly, shove the offending vehicle out of the way.
"I could take him." Gigot said confidently over the speaker.
I looked at GG and raised an eyebrow. She seemed to think about it. "Gigot has better wetware but André is significantly larger. It certainly would be interesting to see."
Something clicked in my head and I was curious. "Gigot, do you think you could beat Simon in a fight?"
He laughed. "Eden, even if I was starving I would not tangle with your father for the last scrap of meat on a desert island. I've seen how he moves and I want nothing to do with it."
I considered this new information. I had never thought of Simon as particularly imposing or threatening. He was confident and moved well, but that didn't make him dangerous. Did it? How much did I really know about his past and what was he like before I came along?
GG noticed the look on my face and shrugged. "Hey Gigot," she called out. "Would you fight me?"
"I wouldn't mess with you for all the gold in Katzenlund." He replied.
"As you can see, Gigot is not only an amazing pilot but he's smart too." GG put her palms up and mimed the scales tipping in her favor. "I clearly am the winner."
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, beginning to lose my patience. "What's the point?"
"Point?" GG asked innocently.
"Your cadence of speech has changed since we got in the helicopter. Before today you've never brought up the subject of wetware or shown any particular skill or interest in combat. You also used the term 'pissing contest' which is out of character. Something is up." I explained, laying the evidence out for her. "This all seems like a performance and I want to know why."
"Perhaps you wouldn't be totally wasted as a police officer after all." GG mused, half annoyed and half proud. "I suppose you could say that I'm testing you. You want to be a cop and I know that I can't stop you from going through with it so I'm getting a feeling for your strengths and weaknesses."
"I graduated top of my class in the academy. I'm more than qualified to do the job." I shot back, injured that GG was still treating me like a child even though I was over twenty years old. Most of the hund recruits were half my age and nobody was giving them shit for it.
"But are you as good as you could possibly be?" GG asked with a half smile that was clearly a challenge. "You're good enough, but are you great?"
"Yes." I said confidently. I had aced every physical and written exam the police academy threw at me. The instructors and fellow students had made it hard on me because they didn't want a human joining the force, but I had shown them. There was no way I was going to let some fashion designer who had never worn a badge tell me I wasn't one of the best.
"Well then, if you are so confident in your skills why don't you prove it on the shooting range. If you win I'll back off. But if I win I want a hundred pushups, right when I ask for them, no complaining."
"Deal." I replied, eager to make my aunt eat her words. GG didn't know that I had come in second in the academy shooting competition. This was going to be fun.