Free Voyages of the Solar Wind 1: A Fire in Heaven by Michael Erickston

raised.
    His helmet told me who he was. I'd met him before. "Sup, Bili?" I asked conversationally.
    Bili the Bullet was one of the few people left in the galaxy that still used projectile percussion firearms and ammo. We'd had a long conversation about the benefits of Rails vs. Percussion. He was a good guy, but sometimes took the bounties without double checking.
    "Not much, Dex. Jen sent me, in case you were wondering." He shrugged and answered.
    "Man, she sent YOU after me? She must really want me dead." I brought my hand to my forehead. "At least let Rilar go? She has nothing to do with this, except she got shot when Jen boarded me illegally."
    Bili's helmet cocked to the side. "Rilar's clear, Dex. The bounty's just for you alive. Did you and Ri finally...?"
    "Oh, Lord! YOU figured it out before I did?" I started laughing, as did Rilar and Bili. He holstered his pistol.
    "Dex, how dense can you be? Ri's been in love with you for as long as I've known you!" Bili was having way too much fun.
    "Bili, man. Can you walk away, just this once? Jen is going to answer for what she did to us yesterday. You don't want to get caught up in that when the Confederacy brings the hammer down on her." I wouldn't call Bili a friend, but he's a decent guy.
    "Dex, I'll give you a week to get it all straightened out. If she's still operating and the bounty is still open then, I'm coming for you." Bili nodded.
    "Bili, you're cool. I don't care what Humanity Prime says about you!" I nodded to him. Bili's wife is a Chali Blade, which got her ostracized from her society, and got him a death warrant in Chal itself. He hates Humanity Prime as much as I do.
    "You should hear the stuff they say about you and Rick with Rilar and Jeka!" Bili shrugged. "I hear Harrana's already left dock to go after something Humanity Prime related."
    "Bili, you're a good guy. Thanks for the week's grace period." I thanked him. He always completes a job. That's his rep. Unlike other Bounty Hunters, however, he doesn't kill his quarry if the bounty expires before he can deliver. He lets them go in a civilized area.
    "No problem, Dex. You're a good man, and if she hadn't offered so much for you, I wouldn't have taken the job." Bili turned to go.
    "Wait! How much did she offer?" I asked. I had the stirrings of an idea.
    "Seventy-five K," he answered. Rilar and I looked at each other. That was a fuckin' FORTUNE!
    "Wait. She can blow seventy-five THOUSAND credits on ME? How the fuck, man? Shit, my ship only cost seventeen K when ALL my modding was done!" I'd saved a ton of credits by doing the installs myself with Rilar helping.
    Bili shrugged. "I don't know. I don't get paid to ask questions. I'd always had you as pretty much off limits unless it's enough to retire on."
    "Bili, my man. I have an idea. Would you be willing to split it with us?" I grinned.
    "I like you, Dex. But I don't like you that much." He chuckled.
    "Hear me out. You call up Jen and tell her you took a shot, but Rilar rescued me. It's plausible, since Ri here is the best damn shot in the galaxy, and Jen knows it. Anyhow, ask her to up the ante for Ri too, and see what she says. If not, then no harm, no foul. If she says yes, we get Ri's bounty after you collect on us. We escape, and everybody wins, except for the Wicked Witch of WesternStar." I finally took a deep breath.
    Bili thought for a minute. "Give me a sec." He tapped on the comlink on the side of his helmet and talked quietly for a moment. He listened, then nodded once and tapped off.
    "She's offering twenty five K for Rilar now. Do you two have holdouts?" He asked, meaning our holdout Rails onboard.
    "Yeah. Bili, can you give us about an hour? Jeka has us grounded, so we're not going anywhere. But we need to... you know. In private for a bit." I grinned, and he got my meaning.
    "Sure, guys. No problem. I'll go have a few at the Roger and be back in an hour or so." He nodded and turned to go.
    Ri and I sprinted up the ramp and into our quarters.