I got out of the car and instantly ordered some of the crew to help me get the barista out of the car and to the small medical facility on the ship. While they did that I hacked into the car and removed every possible way for the authorities to track it, and by extension track us, then I headed to the medbay. The barista was laying on a cot with our medical officer tending to his wound.

“Mr. Colt, what the hell is this?!” Dr. Trenton asked as I entered the medbay.

He tossed a bullet fragment onto the table next to the cot and glared at me intensely as I came to stand next to him. The doctor was a tall, lanky man with a stern, weathered face, probably in his late fifties. His hair was an organized mess of graying dark hair, and he had a nicely trimmed goatee. His eyes were pale blue, and always seemed intense. He was rarely seen outside of emergencies where medical attention was necessary.

“As far as I was aware, we were supposed to be losing several passengers on this trip, not dropping some off and picking up another,” he stated as he went back to work on the wounded barista, “what is the meaning of this?”

“He got hit in the firefight, he’s the only one of the people who got shot who survived.”

“AND?!”

He put his tools down on the unconscious barista’s chest and looked at me angrily.

“Doctor, calm down,” I said as I stepped back and grabbed the hilt of my sheathed knife, “we wouldn’t want any accidents here, would we?”

He glared at me again then went back to work, quickly finishing his job. Once he was done, he glared at me again.

“You know, just because you’re Maria’s golden boy doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want,” he stated more calmly than before, “these missions have a set plan and order to how they need to be done in order for Chronos to stay in the shadows, you bringing this young man onto the ship is a danger not only to us on here with him, but to Chronos as a whole. Maria will definitely want to speak with you about this when we get back.”

“Then I’ll speak to her when we get back.”

He sighed and shook his head before instructing me to stay here and call him if the barista’s condition changed, then left without another word. I went over to a chair that was here in the medbay for when and if someone needed to stay here with a patient and sat down. I pulled the two pistols from my pockets and started to clean the weapons while I waited.

“All personnel strap in, we’re about to enter the Pluto-Earth Wormgate,” the pilots voice came over the intercom, “things are gonna get a bit bumpy as we enter, then once we’re inside it’ll be smooth sailing for about an hour until we have to exit. I’ll come back when we’re about to exit and warn you to strap up again.”

The intercom cut off with a static crackle and then the only sounds were the slow breathing of the barista, whose name was Ryker according to the name tag I finally read, and the clicks and buzzes of the medical equipment. I quickly strapped Ryker down to the cot and then strapped the cot to the wall so that he would be safe while we entered the Wormgate then strapped myself into the chair.

The turbulence of the Wormgate entrance lasted about a minute, then everything got smooth again. I unstrapped myself and then unstrapped Ryker and sat back down to finish cleaning the pistols. I was almost done with what had been Norm’s weapon when I heard a moan and some shuffling that got my attention. I looked up and saw Ryker’s eyes were open and he was touching his side where the bandages were covering his injury.

“That was a first,” he mumbled as he looked down at the bandages, “hope that’s also the last time I ever get shot.”

I chuckled slightly which got his attention, he quickly looked over at me and his face went pale.

“Y-you’re the one that killed those people… why am I with you?”

So clearly, he didn’t realize who he was talking to when he was bleeding to death on that sidewalk.

“Yeah, I am the one that killed them… well some of them, the Plutoan Mob lady killed the others.”

“Yeah… sure… Plutoan Mob lady, makes sense,” he muttered as he looked around curiously, “doesn’t explain why I’m here with you though, you’re a dangerous criminal just like the mob.”

I winced at his description of me. People tend not to survive when I go out on missions like this, so nobody has ever told me that I’m a criminal, other than myself, and I’d never been compared to a mob before.

“Well, you were dying, and you weren’t who I was there for. You were just an innocent civilian who got caught in the crossfire,” I explained as I looked away from him, “I may be a criminal, but I don’t let innocent civilians die because of me if I can prevent it.”

“Uh huh,” Ryker said, sounding very unconvinced, “and… where exactly are we?”

“Well… we’re on my ship in a Wormgate headed back to Earth.”

“I see,” he responded, “so you not only got me shot in the first place, but you kidnapped me as well, and you’re taking me to a planet that I’ve never been to using not one, but two forms of travel that I’ve never done before… I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Immediately after saying that he leaned over the edge of the cot and threw up on the floor of the medbay. Luckily, I wasn’t in the splash zone. After he finished vomiting onto the floor, I scrunched my nose and cleaned up the mess.

“Yes… that’s the gist of the situation I guess,” I responded as I finished cleaning the floor, “I’m gonna go get the doctor.”