by Petra Landon
“Commander Jeryn, what a pleasure” the InnerWorlder passenger said as the woman moved to greet him.
She was a Commander in the Five Year War — not an ordinary Renegade.
Novi’s jaw slackened as the man jumped down from the vehicle. It was a familiar profile, one on numerous advertisements on Idriko and all over the Inner Worlds.
“Mr. Ventini” greeted the Commander.
Zufon Ventini was of medium height, with a shock of gray hair and an air of vitality that gave him the appearance of a much younger man. The flashing eyes and charisma that had made him a StarVision celebrity all over the Inner Worlds was still in evidence years later.
As the Captain strode into view, Novi took note of the flasher strapped to his thigh. She frowned. He’d not been armed in his chamber or in Cruiser Control. The two RimWorlders with him unloaded cargo from the four-wheeler. One carried a beautifully carved box to place it by Zufon Ventini. Something about the way the large RimWorlder moved had Novi suspect that this was Kali, the skilled pilot who’d navigated the Cruiser expertly in the Badlands. He too had a flasher strapped to his thigh.
The faint whine of a cargo crane permeated the air as it deposited a pair of enormous crates into the hangar through the open space door. Kali and his fellow RimWorlder strode to the cargo to hook them to the Bay’s robotic arms.
“Jerik” Kali called to the InnerWorlder on the console platform. “Go, beron.”
The robotic arms hefted the crates up to stack them neatly in a corner of the Bay by the access to the maintenance duct. For the next half hour, more crates were deposited into the hangar by a crane from outside the Cruiser. These were neatly stacked with the others, the operation coordinated by the two RimWorlders, with Jerik manning the robotic arms from the console platform. Novi counted twenty supersized crates.
All the while, Zufon Ventini exchanged polite pleasantries with the Captain and Commander Jeryn. He seemed to know the two Renegades well.
“I hope the Captain and you will join me for the evening meal, Commander Jeryn. We celebrate the success of the expedition.”
The woman glanced at the Captain. “Ryf?”
“Nowhere to be, Zin.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ventini” she accepted graciously. “A pleasure to celebrate with you.”
“Shall I send transport, Captain?” Zufon Ventini inquired.
Soren shook his head. “We’ll make our own way, Mr. Ventini. I know the way to camp.”
Ventini gestured at the box by his feet. “I hand this into your care, Captain. Zedak will take possession at Headquarters.”
“All done here, Cap’n” Kali announced as a third RimWorlder strode into the Bay to join the other two.
Two men in Ventini livery followed him in. “Ready when you are, Mr. Ventini” said one of the men.
Novi noted that the bright livery was dusty and marred with streaks of dirt and grease. The Cruiser’s crew, in their serviceable clothing, were more suitably attired for this dusty planet than the Ventini personnel. Though, Zufon Ventini, as snazzily dressed as his son, looked pristine.
“Until tonight, Commander.” Ventini took leave of the woman, before addressing Soren. “Please extend the invitation to your crew. They are all welcome.”
The Captain waited for Zufon Ventini to exit with his liveried personnel, before he gestured to the carved box at his feet.
“The usual nook, Kali.”
To Novi’s consternation, the pilot hefted the box to stride towards the access hatch. She scooted back behind the crates hastily. It seemed the box was to be stored in the maintenance duct. Getting clear of the duct had been a good call, she realized, frantically trying to remember if she’d left behind any incriminating signs of her stay. In her hurry to abandon ship, she had not taken care to hide the evidence, assuming herself to be long gone before anyone ventured into the maintenance duct.
The flame-haired InnerWorlder strode into the Bay to hail the Captain. “You have two messages, Cap’n. One marked for your ears only. The other’s a job offer.”
Soren arched his eyebrow. “Someone bit. Already?”
“It’s your illustrious name, Cap’n” she said cheerfully.
“Is it a bounty contract?” Zin asked the flame-haired girl.
“No, Commander.” She shook her head. “By the sound of it, it’s security work.”
The Captain turned to the others. “Ventini has extended an invitation to the crew for a feast. Zin and I leave at seven.”
“You keen to feast, Kidani?” Kali, the RimWorlder pilot, strode into view.
Novi breathed a silent sigh of relief. She was safe for now. The pilot had not detected any signs of a stowaway in the maintenance duct.
“Naah.” Kidani shrugged. “I can cook my own feast.”
“Are we invited?” he inquired with a grin.
“Only if you’re on your best behavior, Kali” she retorted cheekily.
“In that case, how about a game of benkitok? I might even let you win.”
The flame-haired girl scoffed. “As if. I’ll kick your butt under my own steam, Kali.”
The pilot grinned. “You can try, Fire Hair.”
“I’ll join you, Boss.” Jerik sauntered into view. “I’m keen to see how the other half lives.”
“Anyone else?” the Captain asked.
Novi couldn’t see the others, but by their silence, she guessed that no one else was interested. After a day aboard the Cruiser, she knew the crew complement was eight, including the Captain — six RimWorlders and two InnerWorlders. Only Jerik addressed Ryfkin Soren as boss. The others all called him Captain, with the uniquely syllable-shortened version of the moniker. Except for the beautiful Commander Jeryn who addressed him more familiarly. Novi strongly suspected that the RimWorlders were all leftover from Ryfkin Soren’s Renegade days.
“We take off at first light in the morning” Soren announced. “Till then, feel free to stretch your legs, feel the sun on your face and explore this world.”
“What’s it like, Boss?” asked Jerik curiously.
The Captain smiled, silver eyes flashing. “Never ask a RenWelder about an Invun Weld, Jerik. To us, all the worlds here seem barren and parched, unlike our lush rainforests.”
“There’s decent game, Jerik” Kali chimed in. “If you’re a mind to hunt. I spied deer and rabbits and plump gamebirds.”
Jerik looked mighty interested by the prospect.
“A walk, Zin?” invited one of the RimWorlders from beyond Novi’s sight. “It’s not a Ren Weld, but the sun is warm on the skin.”
Novi’s eyebrow arched silently. The man was certainly more familiar with the Commander than the other crew on the Cruiser.
Commander Jeryn shrugged noncommittally.
“Go on, Zin” the Captain urged. “You’ve been cooped in here long enough. Kidani will help me sort the job offer.”
“Zin” the RimWorlder male, Novi couldn’t see, appealed persuasively. “Do us both good to get off the ship for a few hours.”
This time, the Commander acquiesced silently. As she turned to go, the Captain stopped her. Unstrapping the flasher from his thigh, he threw it to her. Without missing a beat, she plucked it deftly from the air to strap it to her thigh.
“If you bring back game, Commander, you’ll have fresh stew” the flame-haired girl pledged.
“Kidani’s stew is to die for, Commander” Kali added. “Catch us something please. If you leave it to Yukon, I see no stew in my future.”
“Hey” protested a young RimWorlder voice. “You steer the Cruiser, Kali. And leave the hunting to me.”
“I would, beron. If you hit something for a change.”
The RimWorlder countered with something rude that had the pilot chuckling.
The Commander flashed a singularly attractive smile that lit up her face before striding away.
The Captain and Kidani strode into the Cruiser, while the others busied themselves in the Bay. Novi waited patiently. After about t
en minutes, the massive space door slid shut, plunging the hangar into darkness. When the floor lights winked on, Jerik exited the Space Bay. Now, the hangar lay silent and dark, Novi’s eyes having a hard time adjusting to it after the abundance of sunlight. Of the other crew, there was no sign. Novi concluded that the others had seized the chance to stretch their legs. One thing was for sure. There didn’t seem to be any settlement on this world. And hence, the prospect of escape via a Shuttle Vestibule unlikely. This was merely a planet one of Zufon Ventini’s expeditions had set up temporary camp on.
Climbing hastily back into the access hatch, she made her way cautiously into the duct. Though the carved box had been hidden under the walkway in a specially designed nook, Novi could tell exactly where it lay. Some kind of energy emanated from the box. It seemed to draw Novi irresistibly. The pull was strong and unmistakable. Since she’d sensed nothing similar from any of the expedition’s oversized crates in the Bay, Novi concluded that the box had been stashed in the duct precisely because of its unusual contents. From deep in the maintenance duct, the crew would not feel the box’s extraordinary effect. But Novi had to fight against every instinct to steer clear of the box. If it had not been padlocked, she might have thrown caution to the winds. But she was reluctant to draw attention to her presence by breaking open the old-fashioned lock on the carved box. Especially, since she was to be a stowaway on the Cruiser for longer. If anyone checked on the stashed strongbox, a broken lock would be a dead giveaway. Then, she’d be in a world of trouble.
Tearing herself away from it, Novi made her way to Cruiser Control. The Captain and the flame-haired girl stood directly under the access hatch, in conversation with someone on the Vista Screen. By the sound of him, it was a man, an InnerWorlder.
“The last two times, our cargo has come under attack from brigands, Captain” the man’s voice explained. “Our guards are not trained to handle heavily-armed pirates.”
“What kind of cargo will we be guarding?” the Captain asked.
There was a short silence before Soren spoke again, his voice soft.
“You came to us for a reason, Mr. Benito” he reminded the InnerWorlder.
“You have a certain reputation, Captain Soren” the stranger admitted. “We’re confident you can keep our cargo safe.”
“If you’re aware of my reputation, you know my word is gold” the Captain countered. “I cannot do my job unless I know what I’m to protect.”
“It’s cash” Benito confessed, somewhat reluctantly. “Transported from the bank to our ship to be taken off world.”
“A lot of cash, Mr. Benito?”
“Payroll for Deziti employees, Captain. We do the run once a month.”
“The same day every month?”
“Like clockwork. But after the last attack, we decided to change it up. This month, our withdrawal will be a day early.”
“Where’s the withdrawal to take place — what world?”
“Zubiko Ethera, in the Panthera sector.”
The flame-haired girl made for the Co-Pilot Seat to enable the console.
“It’s close, Cap’n. A couple of hours away” she confirmed.
“That is very good news, Captain.” The man on the screen sounded pleased. “We plan to transfer the payroll tomorrow.”
The girl shot the Captain a glance.
“I’m afraid we cannot make it tomorrow” the Captain said. “The earliest is the day after.”
A frown puckered Novi’s brow as she listened in intently.
“I don’t understand.” Benito seemed as confused by the Captain’s recalcitrance as Novi.
“We have a prior commitment, Mr. Benito” the Captain explained.
Novi wondered what had changed since the Bay. He’d assured the Commander that they had nowhere to be.
“You may name your price, Captain Soren” the man insisted. “We are desperate.”
“And I’m happy to take the job, Mr. Benito. Just not tomorrow.”
In the silence, Novi peered down, angling her head to catch a glimpse of the stranger on the panoramic Vista Screen.
“I keep my word, Mr. Benito. A commitment is a commitment. As a potential employer, you must appreciate that” the Captain reiterated quietly.
There was something about the man, Novi mused. A presence, almost a magnetism that drew others. She’d felt it, even at a distance as she watched him from behind the vent in his chamber. After observing him for over a day, Novi had an inkling of why the RimWorlders had followed him into what must have seemed a hopeless battle against the Guild Coalition.
“I do, Captain.” The man sighed. “When we heard that you were available for security contracts, we couldn’t believe our fortune. It was too good to be true.”
The flame-haired girl spoke up, addressing the man on the screen for the first time. “Can you not push it back by a day, Sir?”
“We could, Miss. But that would put it on the same day we usually do the transfer. The brigands will anticipate it.”
The Captain said nothing for an infinitesimal second, before he assured the man on the screen. “If you push it back by a day, Mr. Benito, we’ll get your cash past the brigands.”
An insignificant delay but Novi caught it. She’d been observing him for a while now. The flame-haired girl seemed to come to the same conclusion for she cast a sidelong glance at the Captain.
There was another short silence.
“Alright, Captain” Benito agreed. “We transfer the payroll the day after tomorrow.”
“We will be on Zubiko Ethera at sun up the day after tomorrow. Please transmit the details, Mr. Benito.”
“I will, Captain Soren. We’ll see you at sun up.”
The flame-haired girl turned away from the screen to face the Captain. Novi guessed that Benito had signed off.
“He offered a lot of money, Cap’n” Kidani remarked.
Soren shrugged. “He’s taking a huge risk by agreeing to meet us. There’s no money in the world to tempt me to give up the chance. We might not get another one.”
Novi’s eyes widened. Something had changed since the Bay, she realized. It must be the message marked for his ears only.
The girl said nothing.
“Unfinished business, Kidani” the Captain admitted to her, his voice soft.
She nodded, changing the subject. “Can we make it to Zubiko Ethera by sun up, Cap’n?”
“Without access to the Labyrinth, it’d be impossible. But if we sail through the night, we’ll make it.” He was confident.
“Sounds like a new job lined up, Cap’n?” Kali inquired, striding up to join the two, with another RimWorlder in tow.
“And a meeting in the Badlands at noon tomorrow” Soren said.
The Badlands?
Kali whistled. “Be cutting it fine, Cap’n” he noted, his tone casual.
The pilot was laid-back with an outgoing personality. The rest of the RimWorlder crew were more reserved, from what Novi had observed. The most extroverted on the Cruiser were Jerik and Kali, who seemed to reserve his wittiest comebacks for Kidani. The RimWorlder pilot and the flame-haired girl had an interesting relationship. Kidani was less reticent than the RimWorlders, but not as extroverted as Jerik.
“It’s Vedino” the Captain explained. “He’ll be in the Badlands tomorrow, right where Kintano answered our hail.”
To her astonishment, Novi realized that the Synth with the bounty on his head had agreed to meet the Captain. This is why the Captain had pushed Benito for an extra day.
We’re headed to the Badlands again.
“He agreed to meet, Cap’n?” Kali seemed intrigued by the possibility.
“He’ll wait for a half hour, Kali. Can we make it?” the Captain asked, his confidence in the pilot clear.
“I can do a stint in the Pilot Seat” he offered, surprising Novi who hadn’t known that Ryfkin Soren could pilot a Star Cruiser.
“You’ll make the meet, Cap’n” Kali assured him confidently. “Jerik an
d I will cover it.”
“Change of plans. We sail after the feast” Soren announced. “I’ll make it an early night.”
“Have we received the information for Zubiko Ethera?” he asked the girl.
“Aye, Cap’n.”
The Captain turned to the second RimWorlder, silent so far. “Go over the details with the others, Vizir. Flag anything that requires my attention. Tonight, we make a plan.”
Novi wished she could catch a glimpse of the crew just once before she disembarked this ship. After her time aboard the Cruiser, she was starting to feel like she knew them. She’d seen Kali in profile in the Space Bay. He was a big man and moved with the same loose-limbed grace that marked Ryfkin Soren. But the other RimWorlders were amorphous faces to her. Except the beautiful Commander who she’d observed in Soren’s quarters.
“What kind of job is it, Cap’n?” Vizir inquired.
“Security detail for a payroll transfer from the bank to their craft. Goes through some rough country, from what I hear.”
“Hostiles?”
“Land brigands, well-armed.”
“I’ll go over the information with a fine comb” the RimWorlder assured the Captain.
“What do we know about Deziti, Kidani?” Soren directed at the flame-haired girl.
It was clear that the girl was the one with contacts on the Inner Worlds. Novi surmised that Kidani was also the one with the most knowledge of the corporations that controlled the Inner Worlds.
“Not much, Cap’n. It’s not a major player. According to StarWeb, it controls a few rustic, mostly agrarian, planets. Zubiko Ethera is one of them.”
“They control the planet.” The Captain seemed nonplussed. “Then, why the trouble with pirates in their own backyard?”
“Perhaps, their private forces are not trained to handle brigands, Cap’n” Kali interjected. “Not all militaries are the Guild Corps.”
“Perhaps” Soren murmured.
“Or perhaps, they want to hire us for something bigger” Vizir chimed in unexpectedly. “And this job is merely a test to see how we do.”