"The time I spent with your father was some of the best time of my life. He would always speak of you, about your growing up. The failures and regrets he had, his hopes and dreams. He was a great light in this sea of darkness. He shall be greatly missed."
"It seems that sentiment is echoed amongst everyone I speak to. It is a pity we never got to spend more time together, what with me on one mission or another, and him always trying to save some poor soul. I always felt like he had the most time for the people who were not his blood. Maybe he was trying to right some... Anyway," Florin said, brushing his hand over his face, "what seems to be the matter?"
"The Council have called an urgent meeting. They want you to attend immediately. It's to do with The Eye."
23
"How the fuck did this happen?" Lord Aurum said, slamming his fist on the table in front of him.
Florin took his seat, noting that he was the last to arrive as he looked around the room. The expressions on the faces he could see hinted that something had caused them all great concern.
"I'll tell you how it happened--because we allowed it to happen. We allowed this threat to grow to an astronomical level that now impacts us all. Do you know what he could do with that ship?" Lord Aurum said, looking at the faces around him.
"If word of this gets out... What am I saying? When word of this gets out, the markets will crash!"
"I wondered when we would get to that topic," Lady Richor said with a roll of her eyes.
"The markets keep all of you in power. They keep all of you fed and clothed, and give your soldiers weapons to fight. Pray tell, how will any of you pay your men when the market goes belly up?"
Silence fell as they all did their best to avoid each other's gaze.
"Do you think your men will fight for free? Do you think they won't leave and form an alliance of their own? Be it outlaw or pirate gangs?"
"Maybe your men show you such little loyalty because of the leader they follow, but my people would never do such a thing," Lady Richor said.
"Would you bet your life on it?"
"What do you know about life and death, bureaucrat?" Lady Richor spat as if it was poison. "I have bet my life on smaller things, and I am still alive. I shall still be alive when one of your men sticks something in your back."
"Luckily I have the credits to ensure that never happens, and I will continue to have it no matter what happens," Lord Aurum said with a cold smile. "Lord Sou, how did your men not discover this intel? How could something like a starship being stolen without a trace not reach your ears sooner?"
"What!" Florin said, leaning across the table.
"Get here on time, boy, then you shall not miss what has already been spoken of," Lord Portendorfer said.
"How? Where? Who?" Florin uttered breathlessly.
"We believe it was The Eye," said the gravelly voice of Lord Sou. "How they managed to obtain the information about the whereabouts of a starship, I do not know. By all accounts, the research lab was well hidden."
"None of this makes sense," Florin said, his hands splaying wide at his sides. "Why was a research lab building a starship? The designs have been outlawed for a generation or more. A law was passed by the Council that no such ship shall be built or owned by anyone!"
Lord Jaro let out a chuckle that was all teeth as his tongue flicked out of his snout. "Come now, do you honestly think I believe that no family has a starship? That any family who came to power such as us would allow ourselves to be so defenceless?"
"I pray that what you say is just talk," said Lord Portendorfer, "and not fact. Otherwise, we will need a serious investigation. The consequences for any family in possession of such a ship would be grave indeed."
"If I am not mistaken, it was because of your actions in destroying certain planets that such laws had to be passed."
"My actions? You mean the false rumours about me? I am only grateful that the courts saw fit to throw out such outrageous claims."
"Of course, the ship that had the only witness aboard it getting lost amongst the stars had nothing to do with it," Lord Jaro chuckled.
"Space is vast. It wasn't the first ship to get lost and I doubt it will be the last," Lord Portendorfer said.
"That still doesn't answer the question of what a research outpost was doing building a star ship. Who did it belong to?" Florin asked, looking around the room.
Lord Sou shrugged inside his dark clothing and his hood turned towards Florin. "We do not know much. Most of the outpost was destroyed. The only reason we came to know of its existence was because a distress signal was sent out while it was being attacked. We found evidence of what they were building in the ruins. But..." Lord Sou's hood shook as he let out a sound between a sigh and a growl. "But the way the evidence was left indicates that it was tampered with for our benefit."
Silence once again fell inside the hall. Florin buried his head in his hands as a million thoughts tried to ride to the surface.
"Putting aside the problem of someone building a starship--that's an issue which we shall come to later--the bigger issue is how to find the ship and destroy it," Florin said.
"You don't think we have discussed that?" Lord Aurum said.
"The outcome?"
"Err..."
Florin slammed his hand down on the table and shook his head. "This issue needs to be resolved sooner rather than later. If it is not, the planets in our fold shall lose faith in us. Once that happens, it's a slippery slope that we may not recover from."
"Then what do you suggest, boy?" Lord Portendorfer said.
"Lord Sou, have your men continue to search out any information that they can about the whereabouts of The Eye. Lord Aurum, see if you can monitor any large credit amounts transferring between accounts--"
"What you are asking me is highly illegal," Lord Aurum said.
"I am sure this won't be the first time you have done something illegal," Florin said, raising his hand to stop Lord Aurum interrupting. "We do not have time to argue! Just do it. The rest of you, see what you can find. If we pool all our resources together and still can't find this ship, then we do not deserve to be at this table."
"And what shall you do?" Lord Portendorfer asked with a half smile.
"I have men on the case as we speak. Trusted men," Florin said, looking around the table. "Let us be blunt, here. This ship has the capability of destroying planets. This kind of ship was outlawed for this very reason. We need to find it... We must find it, otherwise we are all in grave danger."
24
Phoenix descended a wide flight of red-carpeted stairs dressed in what he hoped no one he knew back on Earth would ever see him in. The hems of his loose-fitting leather trousers fell over a pair of suede boots. A frilly white shirt with black ruffles adorned his torso and, to cap it all off, a hat one size too big sat on his head. Feathers erupted from its top, making him look like the world's worst bird smuggler.
L met him at the bottom dressed in a flowing gown that seemed to change colour whenever it moved. It matched her hair perfectly.
"You look beautiful," Phoenix said, kissing her on the cheek.
"You look..."
"Like a dick," Phoenix said, finishing off the sentence.
"No, no. I wouldn't go that far. More...err...gentlemanly," L said, clapping him on the shoulder. "This palace is amazing, Phoenix. The engineering it must have taken to build this place... Do you know, no one knows how many rooms it has! The royal family is made up of multiple tribes, each between twenty to a hundred strong, and they all need their own rooms. Plus you throw in servants, chefs, teachers--this place is more like a city than a palace."
"It explains the anger outside."
L's hair, as well as her dress, started to turn light grey.
"Come, there's no time for sadness now," Phoenix said, flicking her nose. "We have a job to do."
He stuck his elbow out to the side and L circled her arm around it. They walked past women in ball gowns and men who appeared to have wal
ked straight out of a Renaissance play.
"At least I'm not the only idiot wearing frillies."
Servants lined the walls on either side of them, holding trays laden with glasses and finger food. Phoenix went to pick up a glass of something bubbling, but was stopped as a small hand grabbed his own. He looked to L, who gave him a small shake of the head.
"Come on!" he said in exasperation.
"We must have a clear head tonight."
Phoenix placed the glass down with a thud, spilling its contents on the floor, and moved on. They followed the crowd and came to an open hall that stretched out before them. Phoenix looked up to find the ceiling was lost amongst dancing lights; golden beams lined walls polished to an ungodly shine. Chequered stone floors were barely visible under the hundreds of feet that danced along them.
"Where do you think Saoirse would be?" Phoenix yelled over the noise of the brass band.
"What?"
"Saoirse," Phoenix said leaning in closer, "where do you think she is?"
"Midnight? Oh, she left a little before me. She said she needed some time to think. To cool off. Really, I think it's best if you gave her..."
Whatever else L said Phoenix didn't hear, as his eyes were drawn to a vision that took his breath away. Saoirse was dancing with someone that Phoenix didn't recognise. Her white dress with an oval cut out at the front left just enough to the imagination. The dress flowed behind her as she smiled and laughed.
"Yeah, she looks really upset," Phoenix said, nudging L in the side and nodding at Saoirse.
"I... Oh, doesn't she look beautiful?" L said, hands clasped in front of her.
"Who's that fool she's with?"
"I have no idea. It's bound to be some sort of prince or lord. You can't not bump into one; this place is littered with them."
"Well, while she has fun, I guess I'd better get to work. Keep your ears open and see what you can find out. Holocom me if you need any help," Phoenix said, moving off into the crowd.
Small groups were knocking back drinks and throwing bits of half-eaten food into bins. Some members of the crowd pushed and poked the members of staff that were serving them. One group kicked the legs out from under an elderly servant, who collapsed to the floor face first, a tray flying from his hands.
"Now look what you did," said the leader of the group, his pale skin flushed red with drink. He swayed slightly on his feet as his goons laughed behind him.
Phoenix walked forward and helped the servant up, and the man looked at him with a wide-eyed stare. The servant began to shake his head violently as he tried to untangle himself from Phoenix.
"It's all right, it's all right. Let me help you," Phoenix said, picking up what had been dropped.
"No, no, sir. You mustn't. You mustn't! It will bring great dishonour to me. It was my fault. I am always clumsy, I must look where I am going, really I must."
"He's right, you know," said the leader of the group, spittle flying from his mouth as he spoke. "Fucking low-born scum like him are always fucking shit up. Spilling shit, not looking where they are going, not understanding simple orders. I personally think it's because their brains are underdeveloped."
"Is that so?"
"You wouldn't know it by looking at the poor bastards, they look just the same as us. But trust me on this, they are inferior to us."
Another drunk, rich, entitled asshole. Walk away, Phoenix, walk away. Remember what happened last time.
"You okay?" Phoenix asked, brushing down the servant. He received a small nod as the elderly man scuttled away. "Well, it was nice meeting you," Phoenix said to the gang leader as he turned his back and began to walk away.
"I don't know why you're bothering," the leader shouted at Phoenix's back. "We will still have to punish him. Teach him a lesson for being so clumsy."
Phoenix stopped in his tracks and moved his jaw side to side.
"After the beating I gave that bastard son of his, you would think he would learn his lesson, eh, boys?"
Phoenix took a deep breath in and felt his fingers drum against his thigh.
Just walk away...
"It's such a delicate balance between beating a servant and killing a servant. It really does take--"
"What's your name, friend?" Phoenix said, turning around.
"My...my name? It's Rownan Nascheck. Fiftieth cousin to the king, fourth grandson to the Lord Nesput, third son to--"
"You're beginning to bore me, Row...whatever your name is," Phoenix said, walking steadily towards him. "You're beginning to bore me and get on my nerves. Now, I know all you high lord assholes think you were forcibly ejected from some god's left nut, but let me give you some advice.
"Treat people how you would want to be treated. Especially people who cook your food, clean your clothes, and know every little detail about you. Otherwise, one day, when you're clawing at your throat wondering if you're choking on a bone or have been poisoned, and you're shouting for help, no one may hear it. Even though the room is packed with your staff."
Rownan blinked slowly, looking left to right at the men at his sides.
"But anyway, I must be off. It was a pleasure to meet you," Phoenix said, sticking out his right hand.
Rownan grabbed it and his face began to lose the redness from his cheeks as Phoenix smiled his way. Rownan mumbled under his breath as a small bead of sweat made its way down the side of his face.
"I...urgh," Rownan groaned, dropping to his knees.
A pistol appeared in Phoenix's left hand as if by magic when Rownan's men began to advance his way. The smile never left his face, even as he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Now is that any way to treat our hosts?"
Phoenix looked over his shoulder and saw Sindee wearing a stunning red dress and a matching shade of lipstick.
"Oh, I apologise," Phoenix said, releasing his grip on Rownan. "Bionic hand. I sometimes forget. No hard feelings, eh, old chap?"
"I, err, hand, my hand," Rownan mumbled.
"That's the spirit. Shall we?" Phoenix said, extending his hand to Sindee.
"It would be my pleasure."
25
Phoenix and Sindee walked through the crowd, neither saying a word. From her tight-lipped smile and the slight squeeze she applied to his arm, Phoenix could tell that she was angry. Being a representative of the Council, she had an image to uphold. An image that she wouldn't shatter easily, not even for the likes of Phoenix.
As they walked past men and women of the royal family, heads were nodded her way and drinks were tipped in her direction. Phoenix ignored them all, as a green looming figure next to the drinks table caught his eye.
Plowstow was surrounded by guards and men of similar bulk. His booming laughter echoed like a foghorn. The crowd around him laughed too, and backs were slapped in merriment and drinks were spilled. Phoenix didn't need to ask what the conversation was about; Plowstow began humping the air while making strange facial expressions.
As the Orcian took another drink that was placed in front of him, Phoenix tried to catch his eye, but it was of no use. Plowstow was so engrossed in his story that Phoenix doubted the Orcian would see him if he were right in front of him.
Phoenix shook his head and allowed himself to be steered onto the dance floor.
He looked left and right, but couldn't find any sign of Kai. He knew that the young man would be all right, but it still worried him, like a misplaced set of keys.
"Always the parent?" said a silky voice in front of him.
Phoenix looked at Sindee but didn't say anything. Taking her hand lightly, he moved with her to the rhythm of the band.
"You surprise me, Phoenix Jones. I thought you cared little for anyone but yourself, but here you are, trying to keep an eye on everyone in your crew. The concerned parent role doesn't best suit you."
Phoenix let out a small sigh as he twirled Sindee around. He couldn't remember the last time he had danced. He couldn't remember the last time he was carefree. Always the friend, he
lping someone in trouble. Always the older brother, saving the helpless siblings.
After he lost his parents, he travelled far and wide. Trying to forget. Trying to forgive. He had loved travelling before they passed and had thought he would rekindle that fire once he was back on the road again. But it was never the same. It could never be the same. Things had changed. He had changed.
"How little you know," Phoenix said, bringing her close to him so their bodies pressed together as one. "How little you think of me."
He spun her away again, catching her by the hand at the last moment.
"So the rumours are not true, then? That you are a hot-tempered mercenary who fights for nothing but money? Who fights for nothing but to see the Council fall?"
"Is that what they're saying about me?" Phoenix asked with a laugh.
"If it isn't true, why are you here?"
Phoenix opened his mouth but nothing came out.
Why am I here?
"You really want to know?" he asked, bringing her close to him, her warm breath caressing his neck. "I wanted to save my family at first... Then, I needed to give a friend a helping hand. After that, I wanted nothing but revenge, plain and simple. To clear my name after the bombing that killed Florin's father. Now..."
Phoenix closed his eyes as he held Sindee close, her heartbeat acting like drums against his chest.
"Then it transformed into wanting to get paid, so I can travel the stars and see all the wonders that the galaxy holds..."
"But now?" Sindee whispered in his ear.
"Now...it's because I like Florin, and I believe he may be able to make a difference. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no freedom fighter for the people. And I don't know how long this will last, till me or my crew are tired of doing this, but while it does, we'll try and have some fun and see what happens."
"Fun?" Sindee said with a raised eyebrow. "You do this for fun?"
"What else is there, in this vast universe, but fun?"
"You are crazier than I thought," Sindee said. "As to my cousin, his intentions are noble, but I fear that it is a hopeless case. He has always had a soft spot for the less able--the less fortunate, as he puts it. But I believe that it is misplaced."
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