The Gig Economy

Unable to slow her momentum, Danielle slammed against the side of her ship. Punching the access button, she was greeted with a chipper voice saying, “Facial recognition failure. Access denied.” Swearing, she wiped blood from her face, and tried to force her swollen eye open, but the lids refused to budge.

Glancing back, she saw dark forms wheel into the shipyard. Returning her attention to the ship, she opened a lower panel, exposing a key pad. After punching in a long sequence, the ship’s voice chimed, “Access phrase required.”

“Fuck you, let me in, now!”

After a few long seconds the ship replied, “Access phrase, and voice pattern match successful. Welcome back Captain Fisk!” A tall panel slid open, and she half stepped, half fell through it. Her left arm hanging limp by her side, she pulled a lever to seal the craft, and yelled, “Ship! Leave! Now!”

“Destination?” replied the irritatingly cheerful voice.

“Up! Out! Anywhere! Just go!”

Danielle felt the space around her compress while her battered body was pushed hard into the floor. The ship groaned as it received weapon fire before settling into a calm silence while it pulled away.

As exhaustion overwhelmed her senses she hoped her next gig would be a little less exciting.