Fiction Fragment Friday
Like quite a few of my Fiction Fragment Fridays this story was inspired by a dream. In the dream the test drive was of a car, but being me I wanted to spice it up a bit and transitioned to a space ship. How much of it was straight from my dream vs something I came up with while writing the story? I’m the only one who will ever know.
If we were test flying ships for me why was dad piloting, I asked myself a moment before the g-forces pushed me back into my seat. It was a ship I was interested in, but not my first choice. I wanted something reliable and didn’t need anything quite so flashy. The retractable port cover above the cockpit had to give an incredible view, but dad didn’t seem to even notice it. “You’ll have to be careful with the power on this one. Easy to break regulations without even meaning to,” he said from the front seat. That’s right I wasn’t even in the copilot seat he had me in the back while the salesman sat next to him.
“If it’s going to be mine, shouldn’t I test fly it?” I asked not really expecting much of an answer. I could practically feel the enjoyment radiating off him. He was having the time of his life.
“I’ll pull us into orbit around Mars and you can bring us home from there,” he said in answer to my question. This was a trip around Saturn and back. Mars to Earth orbit was the tiny last leg of the journey. I wasn’t even sure how much I could learn about the ship in such a straightforward part of the flight plan. It was good to see him enjoying himself for a change though, so I decided to just go with the flow.
I looked towards the salesman. “You know this ship caught my attention, but I was concerned about the price since it was a bit dirty and would need cleaning. That could be a sign of poor maintenance if they didn’t care to keep it clean.” He turned back to face me, but dad interjected before he could reply.
“Don’t be ridiculous son. This baby flies like a breeze. So smooth,” dad said completely destroying my first attempt at bartering the price down. I tried to hold back my sigh but needn’t of bothered. Neither of them was paying attention to me anymore.
I decided to take a different tactic. “You know I had a ship kind of like this. The Sr-43 before my last ship.”
“Oh, the Sr-43 can’t compare to this beauty.” The salesman completely dismissed my comment, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had lost any opportunity to save money in this transaction. That is the part that was frustrating me most. I was paying for this ship not my father. It was my money and my decision. As much as I wanted it I couldn’t afford the price listed and a part of me wanted to pick a different ship out of spite.
Dad pulled the ship into a parking orbit around Mars and unstrapped his safety belt. “Check this out, you can disable the gravity plating,” he said as he hit a button on the dashboard. I watched him float out of his seat weightless towards the back row of chairs. “Remember to take it slow at first. This has more power than anything you’ve ever flow.”
I unbuckled my own belt and floated to the pilot seat without saying a word. In that moment I was afraid of what might come out of my mouth if I did speak. Once strapped back in I turned the gravity plating back on and started adjusting all the settings to my own personal preferences. Before I even finished adjusting the display screen orientation, I hit the button to open the upper port. By default, the only view out from the cockpit was through a front port. I looked up as the entire ceiling of the cockpit retracted back revealing the largest viewing port I had ever seen. The view of Mars through it was spectacular and, in that moment, I fell in love with the ship.
“Huh, I didn’t even notice that was there,” my dad said, but I was too speechless to respond. I knew in that moment I had to have this ship despite the price. I made me final few setting adjustments but found it difficult to actually start my flight. I didn’t want to leave the view. Finally, I hit the button to close the larger viewing port above us leaving only a smaller rectangle port in addition to the front port. It was time to see what the ship could do for myself.
I started the engines and was immediately startled by how much acceleration was provided. The ship really was more powerful than anything I had ever flown before, but I was able to make the transition smoothly and pull away from orbit. Though it was difficult I managed to hide any indication of surprise from my face. I might have lost a lot of ground on the bartering front, but I wasn’t going to give away my thoughts or admit I was impressed by any aspect of the ship.
Halfway to Earth I knew that any reservations I had were gone. This was going to be my ship no matter how much it cost. That didn’t mean it was perfect though. The ship did need a cleaning and the chair was not the most comfortable I have been in. “The price still seems a bit high,” I said quietly towards the salesman in my copilot seat. I didn’t want Dad joining in this conversation.
“What do you mean I haven’t even set the price yet,” he replied.
I brought up the basic info the ship was broadcasting in the docking bay salesroom. “It says here that it’s 5,800 credits.”
He read the details and did an excellent job of pretending he had never seen it before. I’m sure the act would have fooled most people, but being able to see through lies was part of my job as a reporter. “I’m not sure where that came from, but it certainly does look to be in the right ballpark. I am open to counter offers of course.”
“3,200 credits,” I said giving him a lowball offer I knew he would never accept. Of course, dad was listening and once again undercut my negotiations.
“Come on son, give him a real offer. Do you feel how she responds? Maybe you didn’t notice the maximum acceleration settings.”
The salesman could not keep the smile off his face. “Well said Mr. Pohl. I’ll tell you what. I thick with some aggressive accounting I can get the price down to 5,600 credits for you.”
I knew any leverage I had was gone, but I had to keep trying. “4,000 credits.”
“Please don’t waste both of our time. You have felt the power and seen the view. You either understand the value or you are not the right customer for this fine vessel. 5,200 credits and that is my final offer.” He gave me a smug smile.
“4,800 credits and you have your people clean the ship prior to my taking ownership. That is my final offer. You are just the first stop of the day and I have plenty of other dealers who would also love my money.” I had to push down my bitterness. I knew I could have gotten him down under 5,000 credits if Dad had not undercut me. I just hoped he would come down one final time because after flying it I knew I needed this ship.
“You drive a hard bargain. How about we meet at 5,000 credits and call it a day?” He smiled knowing he had won and was selling the ship for much over his actual lowest acceptable price.”
“Deal,” I said, and I could not keep my annoyance out of my voice. Eventually I would just be happy that I had such an amazing ship, but in that moment I felt defeated. He had won and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.
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