Chapter Six

Macro's sleep had been oddly dreamless, and as he woke up it took a moment or two for him to actually remember getting to his room.

That pachirisu...

Faint light penetrated the curtain and he kicked the sheets off and snatched up his small, pocket computer. Nine AM. He'd slept the whole night away.

Muttering under his breath, he strutted over to the door while fastening his belt back around his waist. Somehow, he'd managed to fall asleep with his goggles on and they pressed uncomfortably against his horn. He shunted them about until they felt a lot more natural and tripped into the cockpit.

"Careful, Cap'n." Anchor lifted the wooden panel and propped it against the wall beside the door. "Still trying to get things straight in here."

"Where is she?" Macro scanned the small room until he spotted Download Database huddled inside the splintered box.

"She's been in there all night," Anchor explained. "Shut herself down shortly after you went to bed."

"Well... about twenty minutes after," added Matrix. "Apparently she's programmed to obey orders."

Macro reached behind the small squirrel pokemon's neck and flicked the power switch. Her antenna flashed blue and she looked up groggily.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart," he scoffed.

She blinked up at him and rubbed a paw across her eyes. "Are you Socket?"

Despite looking tired, her voice came out with as much energy as it had the night before.

"No, I'm not Socket," he spat. "And you're gonna answer me some questions."

"The first pokemon I see is meant-"

"Yeh, I know. You're meant to see Socket. Whatever." He crouched down beside her and frowned into her brown eyes. "Now, tell me. Why did they remove your identity? What were you made for?"

"I can't divulge that information without a password."

"Yeh I know. Let's see." He scratched his head thoughtfully. "How about 'password'?"

"You're meant to start it with 'the password is'," she told him.

He sighed and ran his paws over his face. Never simple.

"Fine," he said. "The password is 'password'."

"Incorrect."

"The password is 'Socket'."

"Incorrect."

"The password is 'number one'?"

"Incorrect."

Macro stood up and threw his paws in the air. "The password is 'Socket rules'?!"

"Incorrect."

He roared and tugged at the long fur on his head. "This is impossible!" He rounded on the ribombee. "How are your hacking skills?"

"Virtually non existent," answered Matrix. "Why?"

"Because I want to know why this pachirisu was killed and had a computer installed into her brain!"

"Oh, I have not been killed," said Download Database. "All my identity and memories have been removed safely and are stored in an undisclosed location."

Macro stared at her, dumbfounded. "You don't even care, do you?"

"Care?"

"Yes, care." Macro folded his arms and inclined his head on one side. "What else did they do? Remove all your emotions as well? You're just some... emotionless, empty, pathetic husk used as a stupid computer?"

Her nose crinkled. "I understand your words are intended to hurt."

"Yeh." A small smirk spread across his face. "Feel anything?"

"I'd have to see my facial expression to discern that." She looked around the wooden crate. "Does anyone have a mirror?"

"All right, I've had enough," said Macro. "I'm going to get some lunch. Anchor, refuel. Matrix." He pointed a claw at the pachirisu. "Watch her."

"You want me to watch her?" Matrix glanced from Download Database to Macro and back.

"It's either that or I leave her with Anchor and you can go and be fawned over by your fangirls."

"Fangirls. That word is new to me," said Download Database. "Deciphering... A formerly derogatory term now widely accepted in fandom communities. Used to describe a girl who acts in an excitable fashion when engaging in, talking about or nearby their obsession. Often enjoy shippings and writing fanfiction."

The three space pirates were quiet as they stared, blinking, at the pachirisu.

"Wait," said Matrix. "You think they write stories about me?" He stared down at his paws then shrugged. "I hope I'm still cool."

Macro blinked a few times then waved the pokemon away as he marched from the room. "I'll be back after breakfast."

Cookie poked his head out of the kitchen door as he passed. "I already made us breakfast."

"Sorry, I need some air. And I need to find someone." Macro gave the chocolate-scented slurpuff a nod. "Save me the leftovers for lunch or something."

Cookie gave him a weak smile. "I'll try but I can't promise anything."

Pulse City was as busy as it always was, although the neon signs weren't as dazzling in daylight. Smells of alcohol were replaced by baking. Bread, sweets and meat filled the air and the store fronts were teaming with hungry pokemon who were ready to begin their day.

Macro's destination was the Moonlight Lounge. Their bar grub was one of the best in Pulse City and they made a killer nutpea and occa burger.

As he strolled through the lounge, cheerful expressions turned to ones of hunger when eyes fell on him. The tyranitar he'd seen the day before sat by his usual table and sipped at his drink. The other two pokemon who'd accompanied him were no longer present, but it didn't change the expression of self-confidence behind the monstrous pokemon's eyes.

Macro shrugged it off and climbed onto a bar stool where he waved down the mienshao. The fighting pokemon gave him a nod of acknowledgment and continued serving his current customer.

"Good morning, Macro." Worm's familiar voice drew his attention.

The sewaddle sat on the bar, holding a small shot glass in a stubby paw. He gave Macro a sleepy smile and took a swig of his drink.

"Morning, Worm," Macro replied. "Not at your stall today?"

"Day off." The caterpillar pokemon dropped his empty glass onto the counter and lowered his voice. "I dunno if you've noticed, but there's been a little change that concerns you. A lot." He paused. "A big change, actually."

"Oh?" Macro looked around at the lounge again, noting the glares fired his way.

"It don't concern us pirates though, so I wouldn't worry your little self," Worm went on. "But that bounty on your head, it's gone up."

Macro stared down at him and raised an eyebrow. "By how much?"

"Double."

"Double?!"

Macro covered his mouth and looked around again. Most of the space pirates were still watching him, but it became clearer what it was. It was jealousy and anger. The higher the bounty the more revered the space pirate. Well... revered was a funny way of putting it. It meant competition. A pirate with a higher tag was doing better than those with a lower one, and despite how much was on their head, a pirate could never turn another one in. Every single one was wanted, whether they had a poster saying so or not. If they turned one in, they'd only be handing themselves over in the process. That meant certain death. Every one who was turned over found themselves on death's row, that's why 'dead or alive' applied. It was the only instance a pokemon was allowed to kill another, and the lower price for a dead pirate was meant to deter that and leave it to the officials. The high marks sparked jealousy and anger because it was still coveted, and the only way to get it would be to hire a mercenary and split the cost in a way that often went against the pirate's favor.

Worm laughed and shook his head. "What did you do to cheese Socket off so much that she cranked up your bounty?"

"Can't say," said Macro.

He watched as the mienshao moved along to serve a pokemon who'd arrived after him. Great, even the bar tender was jealous of him. He leant his head on his paw and wondered if it was worth just going back to his ship and eating some of Cookie's pancakes.

"Well, it must have been pretty bad," said Worm. "I mean, twenty thousand was pretty high as it was. To increase it that much... wowzers, Macro. Even turning you in dead would rack up a hefty price!"

The sewaddle chuckled and waved his tail for the mienshao.

"Well, if it isn't the most wanted pirate in System." Two hairy arms landed on the bar beside him and Macro looked up into the grinning face of a female zigzagoon. "Good morning, Hunter."

Macro's brow furrowed and he pushed himself back from the bar. "I think I'll have breakfast on my ship, Worm. See you around."

"Hang on, mister." Surge grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat. "I haven't bought you a drink."

"I don't want a drink," he answered flatly.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna spore it. Sit down."

Macro sighed and fell back into his seat. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what you did to land yourself on Socket's red list." She helped herself to a bowl of dried nutpea berries and nudged the bowl towards him.

Macro stared up at her, his mouth slightly ajar. Red list wasn't a term pokemon commonly used. It wasn't necessarily known outside of hacker circles, and whether or not someone was on that list was definitely not made public. He frowned.

"What makes you think I'm on her red list?" he asked. "Are you just assuming?"

She chuckled and popped a nutpea into her mouth. "I have my ways."

"Hacker, hey?" He laughed and turned so he was comfortable in his seat. "Maybe you can buy me that drink."

"Maybe you can buy me one, too!" Worm waved his empty shot glass.

"Interested now, huh?" Surge smirked and locked her light brown eyes onto Macro's. "If you want to know more, I should tell you I'm not comfortable talking about sensitive matters in such... crowded... situations."

Macro glanced around at the bar again. He really didn't like where this was going, but if he wanted answers he really needed to use her hacking skills, or find another hacker. With the looks he was getting and all the pricked ears around him, finding another complying hacker wouldn't be easy. He turned back to the zigzagoon and lowered his voice enough that even Worm couldn't hear him.

"If I did want to hire you to do some hacking," he said, "how much would it cost?"

"Depends," she said. "But I think a date should suffice."

Macro suppressed a sigh and leant his head on one paw. "A date?"

"Yes. You know. A quiet restaurant where we can talk things over, flirt a bit, and you pay."

So things had taken a turn from being bought a drink to having to pay for a meal. The amount of fuel Wildcard Gamma used was hardly trivial, or cheap, and they'd burnt through a full tank in less than twenty four hours. Could he even justify a meal with this sly zigzagoon? He let out that sigh and brought up his account balance on his optical display. Just over thirty thousand credits, not excluding his crew's wages.

"All right," he said. "One date. And I choose."

"Remember, it has to be quiet, or I tell you nothing." She finished with a smirk.

Macro flashed his canines. "I'm not taking you back to my ship."

"I'm not suggesting that. But I hear Moonlight Lounge has some private booths."

His heart sank. They were hardly cheap, but he really needed a hacker if he was going to get any answers out of that pachirisu. And if he shelled out for a booth he could still get his burger. Win, win. At a price...

"Fine." He slid off his stool and kicked it aside. "Come with me."

"Oh! Oh!" Worm wriggled over the bar towards him. "Can I join you?"

"No," said Macro. "I don't really need a third wheel."

"Dang." The sewaddle sank onto his stomach. "Gets pretty lonely here."

Macro turned his back on him and slipped past Surge, whipping his paw out of her reach as she tried to grab it. He stayed ahead of her as he made his way around to Moonlight Lounge's restaurant. A scrafty wearing a red and white waiter's uniform leant against the entrance and his eyes narrowed into a leer when he spotted Macro.

"I'd like to book a booth," Macro told him.

"Fourty thousand credits," the scrafty replied.

Macro sneered and the fighting pokemon raised his paws and laughed.

"I'm kidding!" the waiter said. "It's two thousand for a booth plus a thirty percent tip on all dishes and drinks."

"I'll make it fifty percent if you stay away after you've delivered our meals," said Macro.

"Deal."

The scrafty grabbed two menu tablets and led them across the restaurant. The red and white theme continued on with checkered floor tiles and red wooden frames around the individual booths, each with their own door. They all had windows, but Macro understood they were meant to be sound proof. Pirates often booked them out to make deals they didn't want prying ears to overhear. It didn't stop lip-readers trying, however.

They stopped by a booth two down from the back of the restaurant. The waiter opened the door and let them inside before whipping out his notepad.

"Drinks?" he asked.

"Watmel juice," Macro replied.

The scrafty snorted but he didn't look up from his pad. "It's customary to let the lady order first, but I'll ignore that."

Surge laughed and shook her head. "I'll have the same."

"All right." He popped his pad into his uniform pocket. "I'll be back shortly."

After the door closed, she gave Macro a sly smile.

"Not very courteous, are you?" she said.

"I am where it counts," said Macro.

"And a date doesn't count?"

"I'm only here with you because I want information," he said. "I want to know, first, how you found out I'm on the red list."

"I found out this morning," she said. "I saw a new wanted poster demanding double your previous bounty and wanted to know what you'd done to annoy Socket so much. So I poked around her wanted lists."

"So you are a hacker?"

"Yes. It's one of my many talents."

"Many talents, eh?" Macro folded his arms and sank down against the red leather seat. "So you ain't no ordinary pirate?"

"Pirates can have more than one talent," she said. "But if you must know, I'm a mercenary."

Macro's muzzle creased into a frown. "A pirate mercenary?"

The warning laced into his tone didn't phase her in the slightest. "Just a mercenary."

"And you're hanging around Pulse City?" He sat up straight again and jabbed a claw into the table. "If you're a merc, wouldn't you rather be turning me in than demanding I take you on a date?"

"Oh, it's tempting."

"Then what's stopping you?"

The door opened again, revealing the scrafty balancing a tray on one arm. Surge didn't take her eyes off Macro as she accepted her drink. He met her eyes with a steely stare, the pair of them sitting in silence until the scrafty shuffled uncomfortably from the booth.

"A mercenary can take on more than one job," she said. "And you seem rather interested in my hacking skills."

Macro took a sip of his drink as he mulled her words over. He placed the glass back on the white table with a clatter and leant back in his seat.

"You're gonna ask for more than forty K," he said.

She chuckled softly.

"Well, I hate to let you down," he said. "But that's more than my current bank account."

Surge swirled her drink around in her glass, keeping her brown eyes locked onto his violet ones. "You do leap to assumptions, don't you?"

"Well what else do you want?" He picked up the menu tablet and scrolled through it until he found his nutpea and occa burger.

"It depends what you want," she said as she copied him. "I'm guessing you've got yourself into something rather sticky."

"You could say that. Given Socket's reaction, at least. I happened to steal something that was intended to be delivered to her."

"You stole government property." A seductive smirk curled across her lips. "Talk about going too far."

He snorted and set his menu aside. "You have no idea what it is. If you did, it'd make your skin crawl."

"Try me." She met his gaze again and leant back in her seat.

"All right. It's a living computer." He stared back at her blank expression. "Every single ounce of personality has been removed from this poor pokemon and replaced with a computer. In my opinion, that borders on murder."

Surge made a thoughtful noise.

"She even has an antenna sticking out of her head," he went on. "I know cybernetic modifications aren't exactly uncommon in System, but still. What was she planning? That's what I want to know."

"So you want me to poke around the government's confidential project files?"

"Yes. I want to know everything. What this 'Download Database' is supposed to be designed for, why, and what the passwords are to get this 'living computer' to co-operate with me."

"You're not delivering it to Socket, then?"

Macro snorted at her playful smirk. "Not in the slightest. My original plan was to sell it on the black market, but doing that to a living pokemon who hasn't the faintest clue is almost as bad as selling a child into slavery."

There was a pause as the waiter came in carrying their burgers. Once he'd left, Macro cast a glance at the closed door then turned back to Surge, watching as she picked up her fork and stabbed it into a fry.

"So what's your price?" he asked.

"What you're asking me to do is incredibly risky," she said. "Poking around government files could land me on the red list myself."

"So you're not a professional hacker?"

"I never said that. I get hacking requests quite frequently, but it's not a safe job, Macro. One mistake and I could end up with a bounty on my head that rivals yours."

"Hah. That'd take some of the pressure off me."

She grinned and stuck the fry in her mouth.

"So what's your price?" he asked again.

"Forty thousand credits."

"I told you that's more than my bank balance," he growled. "How about twenty thousand? That's what you'd get for turning me in dead."

She nibbled on her fork and gazed up at the ceiling. "How about twenty thousand and you take me on another date?"

Macro sighed and picked up his burger, taking a huge bite. This zigzagoon was on his last thread.

"Besides." She gave him a sly smile. "You've not upheld your side of the bargain for your first request yet. I thought I said this date was meant to have some flirting involved."

She really was on his last thread.

"Listen, Surge. I might be a space pirate, but I'm still a gentlemon."

She scoffed and popped another fry in her mouth.

"Flirting messes with feelings," he said. "Especially when you don't mean it."

A small smile tugged at her lips. "Humor me."

He sighed again and shook his head. "It's a dangerous game you're playing, Surge."