by Jake Bible
"You consider Roak a leader?" Hessa asked. "Eight Million Gods bless you."
"No, I don't consider Roak a-!"
"Shut up!" Roak snapped.
"You are certainly not a team," Poq stated.
"Yeah, but I know where we can get a team," Roak said. "And as much as I hate to admit it, a team that has a far better skillset for what we need to do."
"What team are you referring to?" Poq asked.
"How much longer until we're at Zuus?" Roak asked.
"It will be close to an hour," Poq said.
"Hessa? Can you help Poq maintain a secure channel?" Roak asked.
"That is what I am doing now, Roak," Hessa replied. "Thank you for noticing and being appreciative of this fact."
"You take offense quickly," Poq said. "This is not positive learned behavior for an AI."
"Bite me," Hessa said.
"Yes. I see the problem. You have been influenced by Roak too much," Poq said. "A suggestion would be to-"
"Will everyone shut up!" Roak yelled. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was so quiet back when I was alone. So, so quiet. I miss that."
He took a deep breath.
"What I need is a completely secure line of communication with FIS headquarters," Roak said. "Can the two of you make that happen?"
"It would be safer if you waited to communicate with the FIS once you return to Zuus," Hessa said. "The system will be much more stable."
"I agree with Hessa," Poq said. "Trans-space is too unpredictable and I do not know enough about Father's capabilities… Oh, thank you, Hessa. I am now fully informed as to all that is known about Father. Still, I do not suggest attempting secure communications in our present situation."
"So you can't do it?" Roak asked.
"No, it can be done," Hessa said.
"It would not be ideal," Poq added.
"Fuck ideal," Roak responded. "We don't have time for ideal. We need this ball rolling now."
"Let me talk to Poq for a moment, Roak," Hessa said.
"You have one moment. Then I need-"
"We are done," Hessa said. "It is doable and we are certain it will be secure."
"We are not certain it will be secure," Poq countered.
"Almost certain," Hessa amended. "Shall I initiate the communication with Agent Prime?"
"No," Roak said. "I need to talk to General Ved Gerber directly for this one."
"Not Agent Prime?" Hessa asked. "We were instructed to use him as our contact if we needed anything from the FIS, Roak."
"Prime can't help us," Roak said. "I need the big brass."
"Let me see what can be done," Hessa said. "Poq? Are you ready?"
"I am," Poq said. "I will monitor the comm from our end to make sure we are not being eavesdropped on."
"Thank you," Hessa said. "Are you sure, Roak?"
"Just make the call, Hessa," Roak said.
"Yes, sir," Hessa said. "Right away, sir."
Roak rolled his eyes. Then wiped his eyes as a chunkier piece of vomit plopped down off his brow. He couldn't wait for an hour-long steam.
"General Gerber," a voice said over the comm. "Who in all the Hells is this and how did you get this comm signature?"
"Hey, General," Roak said. "We need to talk."
"I don't know who you think…" The general paused. "Roak… Is that you, Roak?"
"The one and the same," Roak said.
"I'll ignore the many regulations and galactic laws you have broken by communicating with me like this so you can get to the point of why you believe we need to talk," Gerber said.
"I need a Drop Team," Roak said. "I was told that Drop Team Zero would be at my disposal when I needed them."
There was a long pause then Gerber burst out into laughter.
"My apologies, Roak," Gerber said. "But I rarely hear such overblown confidence coming from anyone other than Agent Prime. It's amusing to know there are more like him out there."
Roak ignored the general's mirth at his expense.
"I am having my partner send you all the data we have on Father and what has happened the past few days," Roak said.
"Do we really want to do that?" Hessa asked privately.
"Yes," Roak replied.
"Hello? Roak?" Gerber called.
"Here," Roak said.
"What partner? I thought you worked alone?" Gerber asked. "Wait. You mean your AI pilot?"
"Yep. That's who I mean," Roak said.
"Your AI pilot?" Hessa grumbled. "Prick…"
"Once you take a look at the intel we have, you're going to want to assign Drop Team Zero to me immediately," Roak said.
"First, Roak, I will never assign a Drop Team to you," Gerber said. "Even I will get my ass canned if I did that."
"You know what I mean, General," Roak said.
"I do, yes," Gerber said. "The intel has arrived and I'll take a look at it."
"While you're doing that you are going to need to spin up DTZ," Roak said. "You'll thank me after you're done reading."
"No, after I'm done reading, I will carefully weigh whether or not DTZ needs to be involved," Gerber said. "In fact, Roak, I will carefully weigh whether the FIS needs to be involved with you and your lot at all. I know you have a deal in place with Agent Prime, one I signed off on, but no deal is iron clad, Roak. Be very aware of that."
"Story of my life, General," Roak said. "Listen. We'll be arriving at our destination in less than an hour. It may take us a bit to get ramped up and ready to go, but when we are, you need to not only have DTZ spun up, but you need to be ready to back my play with everything you've got."
"I've got a lot, Roak," Gerber said.
"You'll need it," Roak said. He sighed. "We'll need it. Read on. You'll see. But get DTZ prepped."
Gerber was silent for a couple of minutes. Roak let him think.
"I'll activate DTZ," Gerber finally said. "But I'll deactivate them in a heartbeat if what I read turns out to be worthless."
"That's all I'm asking," Roak said. "Comm me as soon as you make a decision."
"I will do that, Roak," Gerber said. "Goodbye."
The comm went dead.
"A Drop Team?" Poq asked. "And Drop Team Zero at that?"
"Yep," Roak said.
"I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I have gotten in way over my head," Poq said.
"Welcome to the team, Poq," Hessa said.
"Not an Eight Million Gods damn team!" Roak shouted.
21.
"You lost my nephew?" Bhangul roared. The being's putty body jiggled and shook with rage. "How could you lose Jagul? How?"
"I told you it would be dangerous," Roak said as he sat in the Borgon's mess with a bowl of gump stew in front of him. A long steam and fresh clothes had helped, but the stew was what he really needed. "Not my fault you didn't listen."
"The one thing I asked was that you bring him back, Roak! That's all I asked!" Bhangul shouted. The being paced back and forth across from Roak. "Just bring him back! Oh, what will I tell my sister?"
"Maybe sending her son with a bounty hunter wasn't the best parenting choice?" Roak suggested.
"Do not!" Bhangul spat as he sprouted several accusatory putty fingers, all aimed at Roak. "Do. Not."
"Just saying," Roak said and continued eating.
"THE SKRANG HAVE MY NEPHEW!" Bhangul roared.
Rage made the Dornopheous vibrate so much that Roak was worried pieces and parts would fall right off him. He placed a hand on the side of his bowl closest to Bhangul to make sure no putty spoiled his meal.
"Nimm and Yellow Eyes are gone too," Roak said around a mouthful of stew.
"So? What does that have to do with my nephew?" Bhangul snarled.
"Just that the whole situation sucks nuft nuts," Roak said. "We need those two to help take down Father."
"We need a lot more than those two!" Bhangul yelled.
Several putty hands shot across the table and almost wrapped around Roak's neck. The Flott that was sudden
ly aimed at Bhangul suggested that perhaps he withdraw those putty hands. He did. The Flott was holstered about as fast as it had appeared.
"I'll calm down. I'll calm down," Bhangul said quietly.
The Dornopheous stilled himself then stared at Roak.
"I'll expect a bigger cut of the chits," Bhangul stated matter of factly. "You understand. Right, Roak? You're not going to argue with me on that, are you?"
"About the chits…" Roak said.
"No."
"Sorry."
"All of this and you didn't get the chits?" Bhangul's voice was ramping back up to a shout.
"Oh, we got the chits."
"But they're on the 714. Right? RIGHT?"
"Nailed it."
"How is it you can make a horrible situation even worse, Roak? Is this some special gift of yours?"
"It's a gift that keeps on giving," Reck said as she entered the mess. "You leave me any stew?"
"Plenty," Roak said and gestured to the food dispenser with his spoon. Bits of stew flew this way and that. Roak didn't care one bit. "When can we leave?"
Reck gathered up a tray with a bowl of stew, two protein slice sandwiches, and a vita drink. She sat down next to Roak and frowned at Bhangul.
"What's your problem?" Reck asked.
"My nephew is missing and Roak doesn't have the chits," Bhangul growled.
"But the chits are on the 714, right?" Reck asked Roak.
"Yep," Roak replied.
"Fine. We'll get them," Reck said and began eating her stew.
"And we'll get my nephew," Bhangul said.
"That too," Reck replied around a mouthful of stew.
Bhangul stared at the two "siblings" for a full minute before he shoved away from the table and stood up.
"I am done with the two of you," Bhangul said. "This is the last time you get to come here, Roak. No more favors. No more repairs."
"Second to last time," Reck said.
"No, it's the last time!" Bhangul yelled.
"Alright. Should we drop your nephew off at your sister's place when we get him back?" Reck asked.
"Good question," Roak said.
Bhangul stormed from the mess without answering.
"He'll be back," Reck said. "No way he wants us to take that kid directly to his sister before he can concoct a cover story."
"Exactly," Roak said. "So? When can we leave?"
"As soon as Hessa and Poq are finished reconfiguring the communications system," Reck said. "I offered to help."
"You demanded to do it yourself, you mean," Roak said.
"Same thing. They said that I couldn't work as fast as they could, so I'm here grabbing chow and waiting for the genius AIs to grace us with a report."
"You do know I can hear everything the two of you say?" Hessa asked.
"Good for you," Reck said. She took a bite of stew.
"When can we get out of here?" Roak asked.
"We have reconfigured the communications system so that it can neither be blocked nor used to take anyone over," Hessa said.
"How do you know you did it right?" Roak asked.
"We do not," Poq interjected. "Hessa has a hunch."
"She's finally like you, Roak," Reck said. "Good job ruining another of the galaxy's beings."
"You consider me a being, Reck?" Hessa asked. "That is so nice."
"Hugs all around," Roak said and stood up. "Poq? How fast are you?"
"Elaborate please," Poq said.
"Fast. Speed. Legs moving blur-like," Roak said. He didn't bother hiding the sarcasm. "We don't have Yellow Eyes, so we'll need someone else to be the fast one."
"My synthetic body can move at speeds close to ten times that of most flesh beings," Poq said.
"Good. And you're proficient with all weapons?"
"I am programmed for all types of armed and unarmed combat."
"Perfect," Roak said. "Reck, you'll stay with the ship while Poq and I work with DTZ. You cool with that?"
"Do you care if I'm cool with that?" Reck asked.
Roak rolled his eyes.
"Fine. I'm cool with that," Reck said.
"Great," Roak said. "Hessa? You never answered my question. When can we get out of here?"
"Whenever you like," Hessa replied.
"Let me try to smooth things over with Bhangul," Roak said. "Not a contact I want burned."
"And you go back a long way together," Hessa added. "There is the element of friendship to consider."
"Friendship. Sure," Roak said.
He left the mess and made his way to the lift. He was down to the cargo hold and walking out into Bhangul's massive hangar when his comm chimed.
"Hessa must have already scanned your signal if you're comming me directly," Roak said when he answered.
"DTZ is available on your word, Roak," Gerber said without greeting or acknowledgement of what Roak said. "When will that word be forthcoming?"
"Within the hour," Roak said. "Tying up some loose ends here then we'll transport directly to Javsatem."
"You have thirty minutes to be en route or I pull the plug, Roak," Gerber said and disconnected.
"Pleasant man," Hessa said.
"Better than most GF brass," Roak said. "Which isn't saying much."
Roak double-timed it to Bhangul's office. The Dornopheous sat behind his shabby desk and glared at Roak as the bounty hunter walked in.
"I don't want to see you, Roak," Bhangul spat.
"Keep the GF speeder," Roak said.
"I planned on it."
"And I'll get you your chits plus an extra cut," Roak said. "I'll take it out of Kalaka's piece. The GVD should be happy to just be alive."
"For someone that will hunt anyone anywhere in order to get paid, you don't seem to respect others' need for payment, Roak."
"I respect it. I just don't always care."
"As long as you get yours."
"As long as I get mine."
"Was this conversation supposed to make things better between us? Because you've failed."
"I thought I could patch things up…" Roak shrugged.
"But you're Roak."
"But I'm me."
"Then what?"
Roak sat down despite the death-glare Bhangul gave him warning him off. Roak kicked his boots up onto Bhangul's desk.
"The chaos is about to ratchet up a few notches," Roak said.
"Pretty well ratcheted up now," Bhangul replied.
"It's gonna get worse. A lot worse."
"How much worse?"
"Picking a side worse. And I have no idea what those sides will look like."
Bhangul's putty face scrunched up and he narrowed his eyes.
"What does that mean?"
Roak rubbed his chin and struggled to look through the dust-covered window out onto the used vehicle lot that Bhangul displayed as a front for his more lucrative ship business below. Vehicles of all types were represented, but none were in any condition that Roak would consider safe.
"Roak? What do you mean you don't know what the sides will look like?" Bhangul asked. "We're at war with the Skrang Alliance again, so aren't the sides the GF and the Skrang?"
"No," Roak said. "The sides are Father and those against Father."
"You're working with the GF," Bhangul said. "So the GF is against Father. Easy side to pick."
"I've told you before that Father has embedded himself in the GF someway," Roak said. "We can't trust them."
"I never trust the GF."
"You know what I'm saying."
"What about this General Gerber and the FIS? Agent Prime?"
"We'll see."
"You're about to go assault a place called Outpost Hell with a FIS Drop Team and you're saying we can't trust the GF?" Bhangul asked. "That's a little more suicidal than your usual insanity."
"Trust me, I know," Roak said. He lowered his boots to the floor and nodded his head. Then he looked directly at Bhangul, causing the Dornopheous to cringe. "I'll get your nephew back. Consider i
t a job."
Bhangul's putty features brightened.
"A legit job? A Roak job?" he asked.
"A legit Roak job," Roak replied. "Which means I'll complete the job. I always do."
"Still means I have to dodge my sister's calls until you get Jagul back," Bhangul said. "She's very persistent, Roak."
"So am I," Roak said.
"She scares me more."
"Understood. I have a…sister too."
"Roak? We need to leave," Hessa called over the comm.
Roak stuck out his hand. Bhangul grasped it and they shook.
"I'll need expenses covered, though," Roak said. "I won't charge you a bounty fee for retrieving Jagul, but running a ship isn't cheap."
"Get out of here before I pull my gas-powered slug chunker on you," Bhangul said.
Roak left the office.
"Roak!"
"What?" he asked as he turned back to Bhangul.
"Good luck," Bhangul said.
Roak was about to snap off a smart-ass remark, but nodded instead.
The lift ride down to the underground hangar seemed like it took forever. Roak sprinted to the Borgon as soon as the lift doors opened. He was up and seated on the bridge within seconds of boarding the Borgon.
"Are we ready?" Roak asked.
Reck was already seated in the co-pilot's seat. Poq was seated at navigation.
"We're ready," Reck said.
"Hessa? Take us to Javsatem," Roak ordered.
"We'll need to transport to the surface first," Hessa said.
The scene outside the view shield switched from one showing Bhangul's hangar to one showing Bhangul's rundown lot. The Zuus suns blared down and everything was a bright glare.
"What are those?" Reck asked. She leaned forward, her eyes focused on several white lines streaming from the sky. "Hessa!"
"Getting us out of here now!" Hessa said.
"No!" Roak shouted. "Bhangul!"
"I retrieved him as soon as I confirmed that those are planet killers," Poq said. "Bhangul is now in the moltrans room. He is not happy and yelling and undulating quite a lot."
"Go!" Roak shouted, but he didn't need to.
They were already gone.
The view was of a beige planet in a system that Roak had never seen before.
"Talk to me," Roak said. "What happened back there?"
"It is gone," Hessa stated. "I have triple checked and Zuus is gone, Roak."
The bridge doors opened and Bhangul rushed inside. He plopped down in the weapons console seat and stared at Roak.