by Z D Dean
“It’s a long story, but after hearing about my father killing a bunch of officials because they put me in harm’s way, I decided it was time for a change of scenery.”
“He did what? I was on that mission. Any dangers could not have been foreseen by the planners. This news has to get back to the clan.”
“I would appreciate it if you let us leave the system before you sent any information out,” Zade said quickly. “I’m supposed to be dead, and if they find out she’s here, the Unity will probably try to kill me again for kidnapping.”
“I’m Sorry you mourned for me, Axis. I didn’t mean to cause you pain,” Samix chimed in. “I just couldn’t handle the way my father was treating people because of me. I just wanted to get away and make my own life.”
“Later we need to have a very long talk about the way you should have done things,” Axis started, a frown across his face. “But now, we need to celebrate.”
The little guy almost ignored them completely as he began preparations for the party he was planning for them. Zade and Sam excused themselves and made their way back to their ship to pass the time. Sam brought the ship back down to the settlement where the crew disembarked. She wanted to see if there was any equipment the miners were willing to part with, and Zade wanted to find Mara.
After wandering around for a while, and asking a few crew members if they had seen the Baast woman in the black armor, he was directed to the living quarters deep in the mess of interconnected ships. He knocked on the door he had been directed to and waited for an answer. Max answered, and invited Zade inside.
“What brings you to my quarters, captain?” he asked as they took seats in the cramped space.
Max sat on his bunk and turned the chair from the desk around for Zade. He hadn’t thought about why he had gone to see them, and it took him a second to find an answer. Mara had been leaned against the wall working on her pad when he had entered but had stopped and turned her attention to him.
“I think I have found a solution to the miners’ problem. The commander of the Settlers is having a party tonight, and I wanted to invite you two and Karn.”
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful,” Max began, “but, in the Unity, the Baast and the Settlers hold very different stations. Did your friend specifically ask for us to be there? If not, our presence would be unseemly.”
“They better be able to work with you if you expect them to be the patron of this operation,” Zade said under his breath, wishing he knew more about Unity politics. “Hold on.”
After putting his helmet back on, he had Ann patch him through to Axis.
“I’ve got two Baast on my crew, and the person representing the mining colony is a Baast. Is there a problem if I bring them to the party as my guest?”
“Absolutely not. If my time with you has taught me anything it’s that even simple species, although uncivilized, can make good company.”
“You’re an asshole and thank you. But, don’t judge all of mankind based on my actions. I wasn’t exactly high society amongst my own. What time is this thing getting underway?”
“Let’s have the festivities start at seven o’clock Settler standard time. I would have both you and the miner ambassador here at five, though. I’ve been reading through the reports that have arrived from the scout ships I sent out. I think we will be able to come to a very lucrative solution for both parties.”
Before he could ask how Settler time related to the time on both his ship and in the colony, a countdown timer appeared in the corner of his visor. He silently thanked Ann as he finished the conversation with Axis. He took off his helmet to find the brother and sister staring at him expectantly.
“You guys are in. Mara, stay in your armor, and Max, wear the fanciest guard costume you have,” he said as he made his way to the door to find Karn so he could fill him in on what was going on.
“Who are you?” Max said, reaching out and stopping him. “Nobody talks to a Settler chief like that without repercussions. We have heard stories of planets losing their terraforming equipment for far less of an insult.”
“I’m the last of the Groz.”
He had tried to think of something witty or badass to say but chose the more mysterious route. The reality was he and Axis were friends, and he was the only of his kind wandering lost through space, but Max didn’t need to know that yet.
He walked out of the room and made his way to Karn’s office. As any great leader usually was, Karn was sitting behind a desk so covered in papers and reports that it looked like it might collapse. As he paged through one of the reports nearest him, he spoke to someone on his communicator. Zade watched from the door, careful not to interrupt. When the man finally finished, he waved to Zade and motioned for him to sit.
“What brings you to my office this afternoon?”
“We have a meeting with the commander of the Settler fleet that just entered the system, followed by a celebratory party.”
“Pretty arrogant of them to schedule a celebration right after an initial meeting isn’t it?” Karn grumbled.
“I hate to burst your furry ego, but the party isn’t for you. It’s for me. The commander and I have a history, and he is happy to see me.”
“The only thing the Settlers are happy to see is money.”
“The meeting is in two hours. Meet at my ship in an hour and a half. Keep that attitude and you’ll be the only one who’s sad at this party. Do you have a place where I can look at excess ship equipment? I need a few things for mine.”
The round dismissal caused Karn to be short while directing a crewman to lead Zade to one of the equipment stores. Although his ego had been hurt, he knew better than to try and pull weight with an individual who could easily wipe out his cause. As a professional, instead of focusing on the reprimand, he focused on the good that would come by Zade’s involvement.
In route to the musty storage area for used ship equipment, he explained to Ann what his plan was. He could use the forge to make any equipment needed for the ship at the forge, but he was reluctant to use up the stores of energy. Instead, he planned on getting the ship fully equipped now, and he would replace the equipment, one piece at a time, with the much better Groz tech later.
He began to understand just how irritated Karn was at him when he opened the door that he had been led to. As the lights came on in the warehouse, he found himself face-to-face with the filth that only years and years of storage in a cargo bay could create. Every piece of equipment was damaged to some extent and covered in layers of mining dust.
There’s no way I’m going to find anything in this shit heap, Zade thought.
As he stood trying to figure out the best way to sort through the mess, pieces of equipment began to highlight green in his visor. He made his way to the first glowing piece of equipment and learned it was an older version of a medical diagnostic unit. He dragged it to the cleared isle in the center of the room, deciding to figure out how to get it back to his ship later. He spent the remainder of his time before the meeting sorting through the equipment and identifying the pieces he would need to get his ship to a full compliment.
As the countdown timer on his visor neared zero, he made his way back to the ship. Approaching the docking bay where Ann was stationed, he saw Karn and a small security detail waiting for him. The first thing he noticed was Max and Mara were nowhere to be found. After waving for Karn and his men to follow him, he passed through the airlock and found the brother and sister waiting for him in the cargo bay.
“We’ve gotten all of Max’s things moved into the room next to mine,” Mara said. “He will be ready to go when it is time to leave.”
“What is this?” Karn asked as his hard eyes bored into Zade’s. “Poaching one of my men?”
“Max said he goes where his sister does. Mara is indebted to me because of the raid you authorized on her ship. So, it’s kind of your fault that you’re losing Max. I didn’t get a say in the matter,” Zade said slyly, changing his focus as h
e continued. “Speaking of that, I’ve set aside some new equipment for the ship. As my engineer, I need you to bring it back and get it installed. It’s mostly stuff that needs to go in the medical bay.”
“I’ll get to it as soon as the party is over,” Mara said eagerly.
Sam made her way into the cargo bay while he spoke to everyone. She poked her head in and asked if they were ready to take-off. He gave her the go-ahead to take-off, followed by instructing Karn’s security detail to stay in the cargo hold. He didn’t want anyone on the bridge other than the crew, but he didn’t want to make the leader of the miners feel slighted.
The two Baast crew members retreated to the engine room while he led Karn to the bridge. He took his usual seat in the captain’s position and Karn took the seat next to him. The man looked, wide-eyed, around the bridge.
“I’ve never seen any ship like this before. What species made it?”
“I don’t know. It was a relic given to me by the chancellor to get me home,” Zade responded, deciding the truth would cause too much attention.
The quick jaunt to the large Settler ship was uneventful. He divided his attention between focusing on the ship and working through new ideas related to his forger work. Karn stayed silent the entire trip, focusing on trying to decipher the unknown tech that surrounded him. Ann was given the same docking spot that she had had earlier, and within the hour they were walking towards Axis’s office.
On the way, they walked past the conference room in which they had their reunion, and Zade was dumbfounded by what he saw. The well-appointed, semi-professional meeting area had been opened up and reappointed. Huge tables lined the walls and were covered in dishes ready to be used in what was sure to be a crazy celebration. The seating area they had used in the corner had been replaced with a dining table large enough to dominate the space.
The Settler that had been escorting them stopped in front of a door and politely knocked, his hands dropping to his side while waiting for a response. Before one came, Zade got a message from Axis on his HUD telling him that the meeting needed to be completely professional. It was signed ‘Lord Axis’.
Zade filled Karn in on who he would be talking to and how he should address him. The door buzzed and began opening just as he had finished. The room on the other side of the utilitarian metal door was grand. When Zade entered the conference room earlier, he thought it had been flamboyant, but it had nothing on Axis’s office.
Their escort stepped aside allowing them entrance. Zade knew a dog and pony show, so he immediately marched up to the desk and formally greeted Axis, making sure he used the man’s title. Taking his cue, Karn introduced himself in the same manner and stood silently, trying not to fidget. Satisfied with the tone of the meeting, and recognizing that he was making the Baast just the right amount of uncomfortable, Axis instructed the parties to sit.
“Mr. Karn, my friend Zade had informed me that there may be a potentially lucrative opportunity for me if we can come to an agreement and work together. Because this does not involve him directly, he will only act as a witness to these negotiations. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you for taking the time.”
For what felt like forever, the men negotiated. All details about what the Settler faction could deliver and what the miners needed were hashed out thoroughly. Zade sat silently, taking in the entire conversation. Karn loosened up significantly when the conversation turned to mining operations, a topic he was extremely familiar with. The Settlers would provide material aid to the colony, which would be paid for from the miner’s share of gold profits. The miners will be able to keep all of the profits from the gold, which would be bought by the Settlers. The only strange component of the discussion was the fact that the Settlers wanted all scrap mined from the asteroids to be brought to their refinery ships, not just the gold ore.
After they came to an agreement, Karn was dismissed and led to the party while Zade remained. The door closed behind the leader of the miners.
“Why the hell do you want to keep the scrap from the mining operations?” Zade asked.
“These rocks are full of gold ore for sure, but they are also loaded with platinum ore,” Axis replied, a beaming smile breaking across his face. “I found it when I sent my scout ships to do an analysis. With the profits from just ten or so rocks, we could buy this system one thousand times over.”
“Isn’t it kind of shady to keep that from the people doing the work? Don’t get me wrong, it seems like they will do fine with just the gold profits.”
“Karn knows about the platinum, but his people don’t have the capacity to refine it. I do. Plus, these miners will become rich beyond their wildest dreams in under a cycle just from the gold, so I don’t think he cares.”
“Well as long as everyone is happy. Are we square? With the favor, I mean.”
“How did you say it back on Sam’s ship? Not only no, but fuck no. You don’t just drop the largest concentration of platinum in known space in my lap then act like I’m doing you a favor. If anything, I owe you another,” he started seriously but couldn’t restrain a grin.
“I could use some medical equipment for my ship. All Karn was willing to part with was beat up, outdated junk.”
“Consider it done. I’ll have my men give your ship the most advanced set up we have. Now, I’ve got part of the fleet dropping habitation units next to the colony so the ships they’ve been living in can go back to mining. In a few days, they will be completely set up. Let’s go enjoy the festivities.”
They made their way to the party and grabbed themselves plates of the fine delicacies Axis had provided for the group. He took the seat in the center of the head table with both Sam and Zade beside him. Just as they were about to dig in, a siren blared and emergency beacons began to flash.
Crew members scurried to the table to give the commander updates on what was going on. Multiple cloaked ships had made their way into firing range and were charging up their weapons, their targets were the colony and the Settler armada.
“It would seem Brax corporation doesn’t appreciate us being here,” Axis said, standing up and leading the team to the bridge of the ship.
Another crew member fell in beside him and gave him one of the strange headsets that allowed him to “see” the battlefield.
“Jesus, we just can’t catch a break, can we?” Zade asked just before clipping his helmet in place. “My ship isn’t equipped for a space fight. If you can handle the ones attacking you, we can go back and help the colony.”
“Oh yeah, we can deal with these guys. They were relying on a sneak attack to cripple us. I don’t think they expected us to pick up their weapons charge. Plus, I don’t think they know about the rest of the fleet that is scouting the system. If they did, I would be getting reports from my other captains,” Axis said, his voice nothing but cool confidence. “We’ll provide cover while you get to the surface, then support when we are finished here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Zade said as he headed towards the door with his crew in tow. Just before he exited, he turned back to Axis. “I still plan on trying that delicious wine from your people that you were bragging up at dinner.”
The crew made their way back to the hanger from memory alone. The corridors, filled with merriment and laughter just minutes ago, were now deathly silent. In an instant, the well-disciplined crew had transformed from happy goofballs to cold, efficient professionals.
They entered the docking bay just as a crewmember was moving the stack of medical equipment away from their ship, giving them full maneuverability.
“Sam, I need the quickest route to the surface,” Zade ordered as they rode up the cargo lift. “Put us down just outside the colony. Mara, we need speed and protection. When that is handled, work with Sam to figure out where the Brax mercs are consolidating on the surface. Max, you’re with me. We need to get armed.”
A chorus of “affirmatives” was the response to his instructions. Before the lift even lo
cked into place, Mara darted towards the engine room and Sam towards the bridge. Max began to follow him before veering off towards his quarters.
“I’ve got to grab some gear from my room. Meet you in five.”
As he entered the armory, he realized he was far more excited about the upcoming conflict than he had any right to be. Realizing it was the Groz influence, he tempered it enough to keep himself focused on the task at hand. He wanted to make sure he didn’t become a monster that was driven by bloodlust, but he left enough to ensure he made the upcoming harvest worth his time. As he finished loading, he heard Max walk in behind him.
“Are you familiar with how grenades…” he started, but when he caught sight of the man the words died in his mouth. All he could do was stare at him.
“Like the duds, huh? It’s not as pretty or shiny as the guard armor, but it’s way more effective.”
The Baast was clad from the neck down in mottled dark grey armor. The gear was covered in dents, abrasions, and burn marks, signifying how often it had been used. The most striking feature were the shoulder guards. The left guard extended up to protect the wearer’s head while the right had two anchor bolts for the massive rifle he had propped on his shoulder.
“Seems a little well-worn for a simple guard,” Zade said.
“I wasn’t always a guard following my sister around Unity space,” he replied with a smirk as he turned to the bench to load up.
When Zade saw the back of the man, he saw another unique feature of the armor. Max’s armor had a spot for his tail, which ended in a nasty looking barb. As he watched longer, he could see that the armor wasn’t restricting Max’s movements at all.
“I’ll have to get the specs off the armor so I can change up Mara’s. I completely forgot about her tail. Do you have what you need?” Zade said as he clipped the last few grenades to the front of his kit.
“I’m glad you brought her up,” Max said. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about my sister.”
“Is this really the time? We are getting ready to face an unknown number of trained mercs in a moment.”