Starfade

by Gary Swaby

  Chiaki wanted to be careful how she responded to Pearson here. She didn’t want to clearly own up to such a crime. “If what you say is true, then why am I not locked up?” she asked.

  “We knew the time would come when we’d need you.”

  This was exactly why she despised the Alliance. They knew about the dirt that happened in the galaxy but instead of acting on what they knew, they would leverage it for their own gain. Chiaki would prefer they break down her door and arrest her than using her in this way.

  “Whatever,” she said, losing the will to argue. “I charge five-hundred-thousand credits for such a job.”

  Vraxen grunted from beside Pearson. “There will be no commission,” said the Commander.

  “Then there’s no deal,” she said, clutching her SMG. “Bring me back home and release my people.”

  “I’m under strict orders to not commission you,” he said. “But how does this sound?”

  “Go on.”

  “We have information on your brother’s murder, and I will share what we know after the job is complete.”

  Chiaki processed this for some time. It only contributed further to her dislike of the Alliance. But if there was one thing she couldn’t dismiss, it was the chance to bring peace to the memory of her brother. “Understand that I hate you for this; but we have a deal, Commander.”

  Pearson extended his hand and Chiaki shook it.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  WITH THE LAPWING ripping its way through space, Chiaki now had access to the network via the ship’s router. She’d already attempted to hack into the Alliance network to obtain some data. She’d hoped to find the information on her brother that Pearson had spoken of. Unfortunately, they had been wise enough to cut the ship off from the Alliance mainframe. The only data she could find was the Lapwing’s local files, which mainly consisted of diagnostics and logs of no interest.

  She resorted to looking up anything she could find about the Thundercloaks online. She made sure to plug her VPN module into her Comm-link so that nobody could find out what she was browsing.

  “Sorry, Nova, all I can find on the Thundercloaks is a series of space operas. If you like, I can read them to you,” said Tobi.

  “That’s fine, try to find all known locations of Galactic Alliance data centers,” she said. The A.I returned a list of locations to her Comm-link display. Reluctant to record any of this information, she committed it to her memory for later use.

  Chiaki then slept for hours in her quarters; ignoring all invitations to eat in the kitchen. Though she was hungry, Chiaki refused to eat anything provided by the Alliance.

  The Alliance ship had level five FTL travel, the fastest level of FTL available in the Milky Way. This meant that the Lapwing could get from one side of the galaxy to the other in a matter of days. On Chiaki’s own ship, it would take her a couple of weeks to go from one corner of the Milky Way to the other because she only had level two FTL installed. Even with the Lapwings speed, Chiaki still had enough time to enjoy her nap.

  When she woke, she played one of her favorite music artists, Minmi, and practiced her Wing Chun. Eventually, Pearson’s voice made the announcement that they would reach New Yoy in two hours. He advised Chiaki and Vraxen to ready themselves and invited them to request equipment from the armory. Chiaki’s lack of trust for the Alliance extended to the use of their weapons. She remembered reading somewhere that the Alliance was beginning to implement chips into their weapons that would prevent guns from firing on anyone associated with the Alliance. Even if it was meant as a safety measure, she knew that such a thing could be manipulated.

  With her SMG and her hidden blade, there was a chance she may be under-equipped for the job, but she would make do. She squeezed herself back into her skinsuit. The suit was all black on the outside, with synthetic padding all over to protect herself from knocks and bumps. The suit had a magnetized waistline that would keep her SMG within reach without holsters or any kind of binding. She had customized the skinsuit by sealing in strips of neon lights that she could switch on and off at will. She could re-program the color of these lights with her Comm-link anytime she wanted. Not only did the lights help to display her personality, but they also gave her some relief when it came to her fear of the dark.

  Chiaki popped the Comm-link back on her wrist and pulled on her gloves. She then equipped a visor on her head and placed a breather around her neck so it was ready when she needed it. The breather was a standard piece of equipment that every traveler in the Milky Way needed; in case they found themselves in areas where no oxygen mills were set up. The breather was a synthetic elasticated material that fit around the nose and mouth. Chiaki’s breather was customized so that it displayed the image of a skull’s nose and mouth over where her own would be.

  The voice of Commander Pearson beamed through the speakers once more, causing Chiaki to jump. “Would Miss Nakayama and Mr. Komraz please report to the conference room for a final briefing.”

  Chiaki entered the conference room once again to find Commander Pearson and Vraxen. “You must arm yourself, Nova,” said Pearson.

  “I am armed!” she snapped back. “What do we need to discuss?”

  “There are a number of powerful modded weapons in the armory for you to use,” he said.

  “I will do my best to protect you,” Vraxen added. “But you must prepare for the worst.” Now that Chiaki’s Comm-link had Vraxen’s language and voice sample, his speech could be translated in real-time.

  “I appreciate the concern, but I’m capable of looking after myself. And I don't need the Alliance’s overpowered artillery to do it. All that crap is designed for people who can't be civil,” she responded. Vraxen blinked at her.

  “Let me be clear, Miss Nakayama, failure is not an option here. The Thundercloaks are no joke, please take this mission seriously.”

  Chiaki’s eyes thinned. “Did you take my people back on Flade seriously, Commander?” There was a pause. “Exactly, so don’t tell me what I should take seriously. Until you’ve let my people go.”

  “It’s alright, Commander,” said Vraxen. “I will take extra precautions to ensure her safety on the mission.” Chiaki disliked the idea of having someone breathing down her neck while she worked.

  “Indeed, Vraxen, and that was one of the things on my list. You must stay close together at all times, and never separate under any circumstances,” said Pearson. “If you run into any Thundercloaks, report to me immediately if the situation allows it. We would prefer if they never even knew you were there, but we don’t know the extent of their precautions. Our Intel shows that this building isn’t heavily guarded, as they have moved to a new data center. They did however; leave many records behind at this one. There was somewhat of a fallout between parties, so much of their data hasn’t been transferred to the new location. But even with this facility being the old one, you should still expect to come across drones and android sentries.”

  “Those things are toys to me,” said Chiaki.

  “Indeed; this makes you even more suited for the job.”

  Chiaki chose not to let the comment boost her ego. The last thing she needed was to be complimented by the Alliance. “Once everything is good on the ground level, how do we get inside the data center?” she asked.

  Pearson cleared his throat. “We suspect that the front door is digitally secured. It shouldn’t be a problem for you, but be warned that the door is likely programed to send a notification when the door is opened. You’ll have to prevent that notification from being sent.”

  “Noted,” she said.

  Commander Pearson walked over to a cabinet and removed a small round device. “Take this,” he said, passing it to Chiaki. “It’s an infra-red sensor that you can place on the wall once inside. Pair it with your Comm-link to get an idea of any threats lurking inside. It will also show you the locations of all electronic devices. Look for the server room, that’s where you should find the mainframe.�
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  “Sounds good,” said Chiaki.

  Pearson removed an SD card from his pocket and handed it to Chiaki. “Download the data to this, and hand it over to Vraxen on completion,” he said. Chiaki’s lip curled at the order to hand the card over to Vraxen. “Be advised that on ground level, the building looks around three stories high,” he continued. “But to access the data archives, you’ll actually need to go a few levels below the surface.”

  “You mean the building goes underground? That’s pretty smart,” she said.

  “I’ll be standing by for communication over the Comm-link; should you need to ask anything.” Chiaki secretly hoped there would be no reason to contact him at all. “Are there any final questions?” asked Pearson.

  “What about landing and extraction?” Chiaki asked. With it being a stealth mission, shuttling in could easily catch someone’s attention.

  “You’ll have to parachute in, unfortunately,” said Pearson. “But don’t worry; I’ll have an Astrid shuttle to extract you both with.” An Astrid was a weaponized shuttle used for entering hostile territories.

  “What about oxygen mills?” she asked. Oxygen mills allowed organics to breath air on planets that didn’t have a natural output of the element. If a planet didn’t have oxygen mills set up then you would need to rely on breathers to keep you alive.

  “There are oxygen mills in place, so no need to worry about breathers,” said Pearson. He looked down at his Comm-link. “We’ll be there in forty minutes now. I need a private word with Vraxen here. Feel free to make any last minute preparations, Miss Nakayama.”

  “Thank god, I’ve had enough of you, Goldilocks,” she said, dashing for the exit.

  With every new job, came a level of excitement. Chiaki loved a challenge, but something about this job was making her feel uneasy. She wasn’t sure if it was the thought of having someone breathing over her shoulder, or the fact that her employer was the Galactic Alliance. Maybe it was both those things; but one thing was for certain, and that was that Chiaki had to know why this mission was so important to the G.A.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  COMMANDER PEARSON LED CHIAKI and Vraxen to the shuttle bay on the Lapwing’s lower level. It was here where Chiaki caught a glimpse of the Astrid that would be extracting them. It was a long vessel with rotor wings and four sloped legs. Machine guns were attached to the vehicles front legs.

  Commander Pearson pressed his palm against the security panel on one of the other shuttles to activate it. “Open up,” he said. Immediately, the shuttle doors rose to admit them. Chiaki and Vraxen stepped inside and began strapping themselves in.

  “The shuttle will carry you to twelve-thousand feet above ground level. From there you’ll need to free fall and activate your chutes, which can be found beside your seats,” said Pearson. “Don’t forget to put them on before you jump.”

  “You think I’m an amateur earthling or something?” Chiaki asked.

  Pearson smirked. “Well, this is it, good luck. Please send word once you’ve landed.” Pearson’s face disappeared as the shuttle doors closed.

  There was momentary darkness, until the shuttle lights blinked on. Vraxen’s midnight blue eyes were locked onto Chiaki, making her uncomfortable. It didn’t help that the Stowyth’s entire sclera was blue, giving him a menacing look.

  “Something you wanna say, Vraxy?” she asked.

  “It’s Vraxen,” he breathed.

  “Duh!” she rolled her eyes. “Which planet are you from anyway?” She asked, because the Stowyths weren’t restricted to any one planet in the Milky Way. They had colonized a number of planets, long before humans had made first-contact with them.

  “That is not relevant to the mission,” he said.

  Chiaki sighed. It was going to be a long day. Being sent on this mission against her will and being stuck with a Stowyth that lacked any social skills was enough to send her over the edge. The only thing keeping her sane was the curiosity of finding out what kind of data the G.A were after, and why they needed it so badly that they’d hire her. More than that, she wanted to know what Pearson had on her brothers’ murder. She needed a new lead, and now Pearson was handing it to her on a platter.

  “Utrion,” said Vraxen, now blinking frantically. “I used to live on Utrion.”

  Utrion was a planet colonized by humans, Stowyths and Garrues. It was looked at as a planet where the lowest of the low in each of the races went to make a life. It was a poverty driven cesspool, with a thriving underworld. Things were so bad there that the Galactic Alliance found it a waste of time to police the planet. Instead, the planet had its own corrupted lawmakers.

  “It’s not often that someone from Utrion ends up working with the Alliance,” said Chiaki.

  Vraxen’s eyelids locked together for some time. “Pearson saved my life,” he said, slowly opening his eyes. “I owe him.”

  “You mean that lameass was able to save your life?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You seem way more competent than he is.”

  “He didn’t do it physically,” he said, rubbing his neck. “He struck a deal with a loan shark that was out to kill me. Pearson paid off my debt for me.”

  Chiaki knew that loan sharks ran rampant on Utrion. “Why’d you even go to a loan shark on that planet?”

  “I do not wish to speak about this,” said Vraxen, inhaling air sharply.

  Now approaching twelve-thousand feet, said the shuttle.

  Chiaki unbuckled her restraint as she felt the shuttle slowing down. She grabbed the parachute beside her seat and placed it behind her.

  “Here, let me help you,” said Vraxen, reaching for her parachute straps.

  “No, I got it,” she snapped, reluctant to let him touch her. Vraxen’s eyelids reduced to slits at the rejection.

  The Stowyth stood and threw his own parachute over his back, quickly fastening the straps over his chest. “We must jump together, holding each other by the arm. We cannot risk being separated.”

  “How about we just stay close; there’s no need to hold hands, honey,” said Chiaki.

  “Just don’t get lost. I don’t want to babysit you through the mission.” Chiaki’s nose wrinkled at his words. “Pop down your visor. You humans have fragile eyes; I don’t want you to injure them during the fall.”

  Chiaki slid the eye guard on her visor down.

  We have reached parachute level; now opening the doors. Please watch your step.

  Chiaki and Vraxen walked to the door and stood side by side. When the door opened, they were hit with a blast of wind that had them stumbling back. “Whoa, Pearson wasn’t kidding about the thunder here,” said Chiaki, as she watched bolts of lightning rip through the skies.

  “We’ll have to be careful. Stay close.” Vraxen looked over at Chiaki. “On the count of three,” he said, holding three fingers in the air.

  “Three,” he dropped one finger.

  “Two,” another finger fell.

  Before he could drop the third, Chiaki nudged him aside and threw herself out the shuttle doors. The wind whipped against her face as she descended through the skies of this planet that she didn’t know existed. She was happy to finally steal a moment alone; it had been her plan, to try and separate from Vraxen as soon as she got a chance. She didn’t need him ruining her fun.

  Chiaki admired the wet autumn leaves on the fast approaching trees.

  “Lean to your side a little to stay on path,” Tobi said, through her earpiece. She followed his instruction until she found herself nearing parachute activation level. She moved her hand over the switch, readying herself for the landing. For a moment, she felt lost in time. She thought about her brother Kura and wondered if he was able to fly like this in the afterlife. And then a thought occurred to her—if she didn’t use her parachute, she could see her brother again. All she had to do was endure the momentary pain of her body colliding with the ground. Perhaps she could aim for a tree to break the fall slightly. But the
n there was the possibility her breaking her neck instead and suffering immensely as a result. She wasn’t sure she had the guts to go through with it.

  She would never know if she would have gone through with the idea, because just then, she felt something grab her by the arm. Vraxen had found his way to her and he slapped her activation switch aggressively with his other hand, causing the parachute to rip out of its pack behind her. Chiaki was then lifted vertically and she felt the pace of her descent slow. Vraxen activated his own parachute and was gliding beside her, his eyes locked on her and his nostrils flared. “What were you thinking?” he yelled.

  “Maybe I wanted to see how good you were at your job.” Chiaki smiled.

  “This is not a game,” he said, “come, swing right, our location is to the east.”

  Within a minute, they’d both landed, just a few feet away from one another. They were in a forest, full of fallen autumn leaves. The ground was plastered with mud. “It’s so beautiful here,” Chiaki said, “reminds me of Earth.”

  “I’ve never been,” said Vraxen.

  “You kidding me?”

  “Humans are too inquisitive; I’d rather not be on your home planet.”

  “Hey, don’t make generalizations, kiddo.”

  Vraxen sneered at her, before raising his left arm and tapping his Comm-link. “Commander, we’ve landed,” he said, “sending you our co-ordinates now.” He then reached into one of the many pockets on his space armor and pulled out a Stowyth earpiece. He placed it on a curve behind his head, which was where Stowyth’s received sound.