Ant and Four 22 - The Metal Orchard
by Winter

There was a small truck parked next to the Morning Calm when they got to the parking lot, its flatbed filled with junk and burnt wires. A look of distress crept onto Four's features, and when Tow stepped down the cargo hold ramp carrying more, he dashed over.

"I'm so sorry for all this. I promise I'll pay for it, though I don't know if my money card works anymore. With all the radiation and the cold and all, it's probably as broken as the rest of the Fourtitude." He turned back, his eyes brimming with tears. "Ant? Ant, please say there's some way I can access my money even without the card."

"It's no problem," Ant replied. "Just use my card."

"But that's your money."

"It's the same bank account. I thought it'd be easier that way."

"The same...?" Four frowned. "So whenever I paid for something, I spent your money?"

"Our money."

"But..."

"No need to quarrel, boys," Tow said, patting Four's shoulder. "Honest truth, we've been putting off repairs for quite a while. This way, it all gets done, and more thoroughly."

"I don't want you to go broke."

"We won't. I can't say the Calm is a rich ship, but we're not exactly ailing."

"I never paid for the radiation damage," Ant said. "Let us cover this."

"Are you still on about that?" Rader said as he came down the ramp, and dumped a boxful of charred circuit boards onto the truck. "I keep telling you, that wasn't your fault. These are the last, Tow. I'll take them to the recycling place."

"Good. I'll see how Knife's doing with the replacements."

"Anything we can do to help?"

"I'm not sure," Tow mused while the captain drove off. "Can any of you solder."

Ant said nothing, merely grinned and rubbed his hands.

* * * * * *

They worked well together, it turned out. Four held the wires in place, while Ant attached them to relays or circuit boards or breakers. Niklas completed them as a handyman, fetching Ant whatever he needed from Tow's extensive toolbox. The mechanic himself stood back, happy to direct them what should go where.

"My eyes aren't what they used to be," he told Ant when they took a break for sandwiches and juice. "Comes with old age, I guess."

"What are you talking about?" Ant laughed. "You're not that old. Mrs B runs an inn all by herself, and she's, like, what? Thirty years older than you? Forty?"

"It's not polite to discuss a lady's age," Tow chastised, but with a humorous glint in his eye. "Or a gentleman's, come to that."

Ant gave him a smirk, which earned him a deep, rumbling laugh. And a swat aimed at his backside, which he nimbly avoided.

As soon as the work was done and all the tools cleared away, the Morning Calm took off for a star named Nath. It was, according to the charts, home to three small rocky planets, all uninhabited. According to Calm, though, one of them housed a domed village, a kind of frontiers town. Ant felt in two minds about bringing Niklas to such a place, but, he had promised.

In the end he decided that the boy would be safe. Between himself, Four, and the Calm crew, nothing bad could happen.

* * * * * *

From the outside, Taurus Three looked like a twin to the dome inside which Ant had grown up. A piece of curved see-through material, covering row after row of low buildings. The biggest difference was colour. Back in the Mining Belt, everything had been a drab, dull grey. Here there were bright lights, some flashing as they promised things Ant didn't want to think about. Those were places he definitely wouldn't bring Niklas. Or himself, for that matter.

The Calm hovered just above the centre of the structure, waiting for clearance to park inside one of the two hangar-like buildings just outside the dome. Apparently, whoever counted as authorities, were reluctant to let newcomers in without a thorough check. Where Ant stood, right next to Four and Niklas, his nose pressed against one of the bridge's porthole windows, he could hear Raeder's agitated voice as he argued over a commlink. It sounded like an increasingly infuriating conversation.

In the end, though, a section of roof slid aside on the largest hangar, and Calm expertly steered the ship down. As soon as they had landed, something clanged against the hull, and scraped into place. A click followed by a hiss told Ant that the crew quarters' ramp was now pressurised.

"Good thing we postponed the paint job," Raeder muttered as he donned his flight suit jacket. "Everyone coming?"

"Yeah!"

Niklas's exclamation was the only verbal response, but they all gathered inside the mud room. The boy looked a blend of excited and apprehensive, and Ant was just about to reach out for him, when Four beat him to it. Hesitating just for a second, Niklas took his hand, and smiled. It warmed Ant's chest, to see the two of them connect further.

They walked down the ramp, into a plastic-smelling tunnel, through a set of pressure doors, then entered the settlement. Immediately, Ant's mind was transported back in time. The air was slightly stale, and had that used and re-used scent that he had known his whole childhood. In the background he could hear a faint hum from recycling fans, and all other sounds were muted by the closed space. Even were he to wake up from deep sleep in the dark, Ant would instantly know that he was inside a dome.

* * * * * *

It was tailwags time. It really was.

Before Ant lay row upon row of vehicle after vehicle, all in a state of disrepair or in the process of being pulled apart. Most were small; motorcars, electric cars, trucks and busses, light aircraft and smaller spaceships. Including, to Ant's amusement, a water boat, even though there were no lakes in the entire system. There were large things as well. A couple of transport ships lay half dismantled in the back of the junkyard, and something that looked like a passenger liner was little more than a hollowed-out hull.

Part of Ant wanted to start picking apart engines, gearboxes or steering mechanisms, just to find out how they worked. He quelled his curiosity, though. They were there to find parts, not to play. That would have to wait for another time. Unable to contain his excitement, he turned to the others. Knife looked bored, Raeder and Tow smiled at him, and Niklas was busy taking everything in. Ant's eyes set on Four. Ocean blue eyes gleamed with amusement, as his friend nodded.

"Go."

"Rah!"

There was a tang of electricity in the air, and from somewhere came the sound of someone either welding or cutting. Ant grinned; he could do both. His fingers itched. With so much raw material, there was so much he could build. Wanted to build! And the prices he had seen at the entrance to the yard would make it difficult not to go overboard.

He paused in front of an automated lorry that was missing all its wheels, and took a deep breath. They were there for things with which to finish repairing the Calm. His own quest for electronics was secondary. There was no way he could clutter up the whole cargo area with other junk as well.

Even though it was tempting.

The workers did the usual double takes, but they soon accepted Ant, and didn't seem too bothered as he fired away question after question about their operation. A middle-aged, dark-haired woman who introduced herself as Mizzi, offered to show him around, and told him where to find the finer electronic supplies he wanted. Niklas came with them, while the others went to get parts for the ship.

Ant's tail started wagging again, when Mizzi led him to a place where electric cars were broken down to their base parts. The bare shells were calling to him. If he pounded the metal thin enough, imagine how many tin cars he could make! But, he settled for wires, relays, circuits and tiny computerised control units. Nothing that would be even remotely sentient, but might still help to build his games. Exactly how he would accomplish it all, and make sure it worked, Ant didn't really know. Not yet. Trial and error would be steadfast companions in his near future.

That was something the foremen, back in the Belt, had encouraged him to do. Failing meant learning. Ant didn't much like to think about those days, but he had to admit that he had learned much. The pups who showed technological promise had been allowed to try and try and fail and fail, until they got things right. Much unlike miner training, where failure or slowness to understand was more often than not rewarded with a slap across the muzzle.

That particular part of learning, Ant told himself as he helped Niklas strip a car dashboard of wires, his young ward would not experience again.

They spent the rest of the day inside this forest of metal, hauling several carts filled with junk back to the ship. Every time Ant stacked away his findings, he couldn't help but glance at the Fourtitude. They would fix the little ferry, he promised himself. They had to. Even if Four could now function without it, the PTV had been his origin. To leave it in its sorry state would be unbearable.

When it was time to pay for all they had bought, Ant beat Raeder to fishing out his money card. The captain argued for a little while, but in the end he relented. Just as well, Ant thought as he scanned the invoice. His mind, once set, would not budge.

* * * * * *

"I had fun," Niklas said, stifling another yawn. "Lots of fun."

"That's good." Ant was sitting on the edge of the guest room's bed. "I had fun, too."

"I could tell. You were smiling the whole day. An' your tail was doing that thing it does."

"Wagging. Well, I liked rummaging through all that junk. We're gonna make loads of toys."

"We are." This time, the yawn did escape. "Will you stay with me 'til I fall asleep."

"Sure. But I'm no good at bedtime stories."

"That's okay." The boy grinned. "Tell me 'bout the fleas instead."

"You did not just say that." Apparently, Ant's pout looked funny, because Niklas giggled happily. "Watch it, funny boy!"

"You can't scare me with that growly voice. I already know you won't hurt me."

"Soon as you're better," Ant said, poking the boy's nose with a finger claw, "I'm gonna hold you upside-down and tickle you."

He did stay until Niklas had fallen asleep, then he stayed a few minutes more. Just to watch his little friend draw deep, restful breaths. It was as if his world had clicked into place, and everything that had been wrong was now as it should be. Ant couldn't quite name it, but he felt it, as he brushed a tuft of hair out of the boy's face and tucked it behind his ear. He had all he would ever need.

And he would fight to keep it, tooth and claw, if need be.

The smile that had been on Ant's lips when he gently slid Niklas's door shut, was still there when he entered his own room. If anything, it grew wider. Four was lying on the bed, on his stomach, reading a comic book. He looked up when Ant lay down beside him.

"Tired?"

"Not yet." Ant glanced at the colourful pages. It was an issue of Masked Hero that he had already read. "Are we ready for our talk?"

"I am. The captain said they'd be waiting in the main room."

"He's not really a captain, you know. Even though he reads a lot about the military, he's never been in it."

"Well, he is the captain of the ship." Four closed the comic, and sat up. "That has to count for something."

"Hmm."

"You do trust him, don't you?"

"I know he's my friend. I know he wants what's best for me. For us. For all of us." Ant sighed. "But I'm not sure he knows what he's doing. With the pirate thing."

"Talking about it won't hurt."

"You know what you are?" Ant huffed. "You're far too reasonable."

* * * * * *

"We have half a dozen gunboats," Raeder said, pointing at a list that lay on the coffee table. "Including the Mourners' Lament, which is an old-style battleship. And all the merc ships are armed, including us."

"You have lasers?" Four's eyes widened. "And machine guns and cannons and space torpedoes?"

"Nothing fancy," Tow chuckled. "Only defensive measures. We'll bring up the rear."

"You'd better stick to that," Ant muttered. All the talk of war and battles did not sit well with him. "I'm saying this one more time, we will not go into the fray."

"Wimp." Knife huffed, and she used the tip of a small blade to touch the list. "Sign me over to the boarding parties. If I have to sit out again I might start cutting up y'all."

"I trust you with Niklas." Ant met her steely grey eyes, and to his slight surprise she broke their stare after only a few seconds. "I expect you to keep him safe at all cost."

"Yeah, whatever."

"You get him and Four to the ship, then stay there with them."

"You have my word," Raeder said, reaching across the table. "Deal?"

Ant said nothing, he just stared at the captain's hand, wondering whether to grasp it or bite it. In the end he did shake it, albeit reluctantly. They had been talking for hours, and now he was tired. He had a slight headache, and he had a feeling that he was heading for disaster. To his dismay, Raeder shuffled his papers and started going through things one more time.

"So, you know what to do?"

"Yeah," Ant sighed. "We go in. Me, Four, Niklas and Knife. I start betting and gambling, high stakes, until I draw out the bad guys."

"I still don't fully understand it," Four admitted. "Why would pirates have a casino planet?"

"Not a planet," Tow said, "Just a small space station. Do you know what a front business is?"

"You told us. And I know what money laundering means. I just don't understand it all. Isn't money just money?"

"What they do," Raeder said, unrolling a schematic of the entire space station, "is that they use these rooms."

"The upstairs ones?"

"Right. Downstairs is like any other casino, mostly legal. That's the front." The captain tapped one large room that had been marked with a red X. "Up here is for members only, and with members I mean bad guys. All the games there are rigged, according to our intel. If you owe the pirates money, or if you deposit stolen money, you bet on machines that only lose. If they owe you, or if they're paying you bribes, you bet and win."

"Surely that can't be legal?"

"No, but it's difficult to check. Especially since we're pretty sure they bribe the people who are supposed to do it. So, everything looks legit. Once the contraband is inside the business, it does spend like any money."

"So," Ant continued, "when they do come for us, what happens?"

"Our guys move in." Tow's voice sounded unusually flat, and Ant didn't quite like the grim expression on his face. "And take them out."

"And if the big guy shows up?"

"Nothing indicates that he's there." Raeder smiled, but it was a cold smile. "They're going to run, and when they do, our ships will be waiting."

"I don't like it." Ant shook his head. "I don't like being in the middle of it."

"You won't be. Ant, we've been over this. Soon as they make their move, Knife will bring the three of you back to the Calm."

"I don't want Niklas and Four to be there."

"Well," Four said, hands on his hips. "Fortunately, you can't tell me what to do. I'm a person in my own rights, remember?"

"Sassy..."

"You bet!" Four grinned. "And remind me, how did it turn out when you told Niklas to stay back?"

"Four..."

"Exactly. Hey, don't pout." Standing up, Four moved around the table and sat down in Ant's lap. "I won't let anything bad happen to him."

"All right." Still not feeling convinced, Ant rubbed his nose against Four's neck, ignoring the noises of disgust coming from Knife. "I trust you. But only you."

"Ant..."

"Raeder, you better be right about this. Because if he gets hurt, if either of them get hurt, I will rip you open."

* * * * * *

Ant spent the next day sitting on the main room floor, surrounded by heaps of electronic junk. The Calm crew had started early, repairing or replacing bits of the ship. Four had gone to clean up the Fourtitude, and had rejected all offers of help. That particular mess, he insisted, was his and his alone to fix. Niklas had returned to his role as handyman. He had stayed with Ant for a while, watching him work, but when try after try failed, he got bored and went to find Tow.

It was tricky. Ant didn't really have a clue what he was doing. Working with electronic toys was one thing, but this was about making things happen on a tiny screen, which in theory the player should be able to control. Only, it didn't work.

Once he got the tiny dots to move around the screen like they were supposed to, the controllers failed to interact with them. He wanted a crosshair to move across the screen while he manipulated a small joystick, then a fire button would shoot the moving dots. But either the joystick froze, or the fire button failed to fire. And when all of it seemed to work, the counter that kept score showed nothing but zeroes.

Still, he kept at it, barely noticing anything that happened around him. After a few hours, a very dirty Four passed through, berating him for skipping lunch. A little while later Four returned, freshly scrubbed and wearing nothing but a fluffy towel. This time he hand-fed Ant neatly cut pieces of a sandwich, while Ant, barely even tasting the food, complained about crumbs inside his electronics.

"Just chew with your mouth closed!" Four huffed. "What am I to do with you?"

"You could give me apple juice." Ant looked up, smiling as innocently as he could. "Or grape soda."

"Come to the table and sit down, and I'll make you something proper to eat and drink."

"But I'm so close! This time only half of the moving dots failed to disappear when I shot them."

"You are so stubborn."

"You knew that already."

Muttering under his breath, Four stomped off. Where he went and what he did, Ant didn't know. His eyes were back on the tiny screen.

* * * * * *

That night, after they had both said good night to Niklas and tucked him in, Ant and Four lay in bed, talking quietly. They had shared more of their time apart, and it had been emotional. Four lay with his head on Ant's out-stretched arm, which had become soaked with tears. Ant didn't mind, not one bit.

"I kicked at him with all my strength." Four's voice was subdued, and his face twisted with grief. "While I wriggled the ship. I mean, my screen self did. I know now that we were always one and the same, but back then it didn't seem that way. We really argued some times, did you know? I'd get so mad and then he'd get so mad. Do you think I was mad at myself? For leaving I mean?"

"It's possible."

"Anyways... Where was I?"

"You were kicking at that settler guy." Ant's voice had started out quiet, but then it turned growly. "Then one who grabbed you."

"Yeah, I remember." Four sighed. "It worked, and he let go. But then he fell. We were so high up, and he... he must've... died. I didn't even stay to help, I just ran."

"It's okay," Ant whispered, giving his friend's face a couple of gentle licks. He tasted salt. When had Four started crying real tears, and not just water from his internal storage tank? That repairs robot must have done a more thorough work than anyone knew. "He shouldn't have grabbed you. You had to defend yourself."

"But I'm not alive, and he was. It's not fair."

"He attacked you. I'm sorry he died, and I'm sorry you feel so bad about it. But when all's said and done, you did the right thing."

"But..."

"Would you have done the same to save me?" Four nodded, vigorously. "And Niklas?"

"Of course. But..."

"Same thing." Ant nuzzled Four's cheek, and licked him again. "You had to save yourself."

"I guess, but..."

"No more but." Flexing his arm, Ant pulled his friend into a tight hug, enticing a soft giggle. "You said before, you're a person in your own rights. Including the right to self-defence."

"I mostly said that just to be cheeky." Ant laughed. "And so you wouldn't leave me behind."

"I won't." A finger traced Ant's scar, and it felt both familiar and new. Four was a grown-up now! It nearly did Ant's head in. "But you'll have to excuse me for when I get protective of you. And Niklas. I can't really help it. I love you both so much."

"Oh, you!"

"Are you done with cleaning up?"

"Mhm. Captain Raeder helped me get rid of the couch. It really stunk." Four sighed. "Pretty much everything else is gone as well. I'm sorry, Ant but I gave away a lot of stuff."

"It's okay."

"And poor Trevor died. And Li'l Ant fell out. And all the paintings and the pictures you gave me for decorations, they were too damaged by the cold."

"Hey, don't cry. It's okay." Ant peppered Four's face with light kisses, then settled back to just hold him. "It's just stuff. We can always get more stuff."

"Trevor the Second?"

"Absolutely," Ant chuckled. "And you'll see, that workshop's gonna be as cluttered as ever, before long. I might even steal some tools from Tow."

"He said he'd help us fix the ship. Mr Tow did, I mean. The repairs robot is already working on the engines. I asked it to take a look at the viewscreen when it's done. It broke, you know. The viewscreen, I mean."

"I know. You told me. I haven't been in there yet."

"You can now, if you want. It looked a mess before." Four sighed again. "Back after I left, I was kinda out of it. Mentally. I didn't clean up after myself, and I didn't stock up or anything. The fridge and the freezer are empty. The workshop is pretty much empty. I even gave away your... your books. You know, from my holdspace. Please don't get mad, though you probably should be."

"Don't worry. You know how Raeder and them had to burn their stuff? After I got it all contaminised?"

"Uh-huh."

"They all went and got new stuff. That's what we'll do, too." Ant grinned. "As if I ever needed an excuse to buy more books!"

"How come you always know what to say to make me stop being sad?" Four sniffled, then let out a giggle. "We're gonna need a bigger couch. 'Cause, you know, you got really big. When the repairs robot rebuilt me, I asked it to make me as tall as you. Then you went and got even taller!"

"Yup." Ant smiled proudly. "Not a runt no more."

"Maybe we could put a cot behind the couch. For Niklas to sleep in, I mean." Four's face fell a bit. "A comfy one with pillows and blankets. If... if you guys wanna travel with me..."

"We'll talk about that later. I want to, but it's not my decision to make alone. Not anymore. I promised Niklas I'd always let him have a say."

"Just like you did with me." Four kissed Ant, right on the lips. "You're so sweet."

* * * * * *

In the morning, Ant was up early. Really early. The coffee maker was on, though, and Ant's nose twitched. Raeder had just been there. If the captain were on the bridge, or in the shower, he didn't really care at that moment. The junkyard was calling.

The temptation had become too great to resist.

Mizzi was happy to help, when he explained what he needed, and why. Together, the two of them picked apart an old bus, then Ant stood back while she ran sheets of metal through something that looked like a heavy duty mangle. Well back. His tail wasn't going anywhere near such a dangerous-looking contraption.

By the time the others came looking for him, Ant had enough raw material for more tin cars than he could make in two month's time. And as an added bonus, he had pried off the rubber insulation from the bus's doors, for tyres. Four smiled at him, as he dragged a heavy cart up the cargo hold ramp, while Niklas bounced excitedly. Fitting wheels onto Ant's cars was the first toymaking task he had mastered, and it was obvious to Ant that the boy was looking forward to get to work.

First, though, there was the little matter of the pirates, to get out of the way.

* * * * * *

"I want a tuxedo," Ant proclaimed once Nath lay behind them, and the Morning Calm was making towards the mercenaries' rendezvous point. "A red one. Coral or maybe ruby. Definitely not rufous."

"It's not that much of a formalwear place." Raeder was gathering up all his papers from the previous evening, sorting them into folders. "A good long-sleeved shirt and dress pants would be fine."

"I still want a tux. For Niklas and Four as well. Emerald for the kid and I think, royal yellow for Four."

"That would be pretty," Four said with a smile. They were all gathered in the main room, except for Tow who was manning the bridge. "Matches my hair. But how do you know so much about colours?"

"I had to learn." Ant's return smile did not quite reach his eyes. "After I lost my painter."

"Oh. Oh, Ant."

"It's okay. You're back now."

"But..."

"Everything's fine. As it should be." Ant ran a finger along Four's cheek. "As it will be."

"Go to your room," Knife huffed, and she made a hand gesture that Ant didn't understand. "If you're gonna..."

"Kniife!" Four shrieked, his face turning red. "That's so rude!"

"What's..." Ant's mouth fell open as it dawned on him exactly what Knife's fingers had been implying. His ears pressed flat against his skull. "Th-that's not..."

"Everyone, calm down!" Raeder said. "We don't have time for this, and you shouldn't be wasting your energy."

"But we weren't gonna..."

"Not that!" The captain held up his hands, as if to shield himself. "I meant arguing. So, right, tuxes. Don't worry, Ant, we'll get it done. We've got a pretty solid budget on this. What do you want for dress shoes?"

"None for me. For the others, whatever they like."

"You're gonna get a hefty credit at the casino. You remember what chips are, right?"

"You told me yesterday." Ant huffed. "Gambling coins."

"Right. Just keep on betting. The more you lose, the better. They're bound to come check on you."

"Can I gamble?"

"No, Niklas. There's an eighteen-year limit. They'll let you be there, but not to bet."

"But Ant's not eighteen neither!"

"No, but I have my fake passport." Ant patted his back pocket. "Not my New Mérida one, but the one Tow's friend's friend sent us."

"Hmph!"

"What about me?" Four asked. "I've already downloaded all the game rules, I know the strategies."

"You're there to lose, not win. Besides, if they see you counting cards or something like that, they'll throw you out."

"Maybe that would be good," Ant mused. "Cause a scene."

"And get me back on the ship." Four frowned. "No thanks!"

"Knife, you know what to do?"

"Sure, cap. Watch their backs." She sighed, and slumped on one of the couches. "Then run away when it gets interesting."

"Right." Ant sat down across from her and caught her gaze. "No improvisations."

"You never know what's gonna go wrong." She grinned. "Bloodily wrong."

"Nothing will go wrong!" Raeder stated. "Nothing whatsoever."