The Corrupted Star

by Martin HC

  “Is everyone OK? Oh no, Jill hasn't killed anyone has she?”

  “Your friends are fine, they haven't been harmed and will all be released back onto the Ophelia if you agree to meet,” he took a second to compose his next answer. “Jill hasn't killed anyone, yet, she broke free of her bindings and tried too... but luckily we managed to stop her.”

  “Right then, well that's good then, and don't take it personally, she tried to kill me too. Why are you sitting so close to each other? You're almost on his knee Damon.”

  “You built the room Haydn, why did you build it so small? And this seat, I'm afraid to relax in case it disappears somewhere very painful.”

  “I didn't build it, Tiralyn did, why did you make it so small Tiralyn?”

  “You never specified size when you asked.”

  “But it still has to be ergonomic.”

  “I can redesign it.”

  “Yeah OK, she can redesign it when we get there.”

  “Here? You're going to come here?”

  “Yeah, I thought your friend there wanted to talk to us?”

  “Yes but not here, or... is here OK?” Damon asked the uncomfortably close colonel.

  “Beside this cartel controlled space station, which is crawling with spies from all nations, no that wouldn't be a good idea.”

  “Right, well you can come here if you like?” Haydn told them.

  “Where is here?”

  “I don't know, I've just woken up, where are we Tiralyn?”

  “According to Damon's star maps, Zirnet region, Axciom province.”

  “Zirnet region, that's past the fringes and just inside the uncharted territories, well outside Mergence controlled space,” Brice stated, raising his greying eyebrows.

  “Is it? OK, well we can meet you here, how long do you need?”

  “From here I'm not sure, seventeen hours just to reach the border, why should I believe you're there? How could you have gotten there so fast? At that distance there should be a lag in communications.”

  “With you're comms maybe, but we're here all the same, Tiralyn can you send our position to Serena?”

  “I've just updated her, she's confirmed a plotted course and is powering up her drive.”

  “Wait, what? When did you tell her?” Damon asked.

  “Right now, I made a link through our chat connection, she's estimating twenty six hours travel time and transmitting the coordinates to the Mergence flagship.”

  “OK cool, you can meet us here then, I can get some more sleep and something to eat too, anything else?”

  “How do I know you're telling us the truth? How do I know you'll be there when we arrive?”

  “It would be easier for me to turn off the comms than go through the effort of thinking up lies.”

  “True, very well, we'll meet you there.”

  “Wait, Damon... when Jill gets back, can you ask her to call me?”

  He didn't answer, his look was intense though, and as he slowly shook his head in reply, the screen went blank.

  “Why the request to speak with Jill?” Brice asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “Kids will be kids,” he answered gruffly.

  “Oh, I see, will you tell her?” his eyes widened again.

  “I'm not sure he's good for her.”

  “Hmm, well you can't keep her under your wing forever, she'll just act out if you don't tell her and she finds out.”

  Damon didn't answer as both the aged men thought over what Brice said, instead he huffed and indicated to the door which Brice awkwardly opened, letting them both clamber out.

  Disappointments and Opportunities

  The cartel contacts had ruined everything, they didn't extract the targets as instructed resulting in escape, he'd spoken with their leadership personally, females all of them which left him unsurprised at their failure.

  He was promised the head of the one who allowed the escape to happen, they knew he would have taken this anyway, it was a more diplomatic move on their part to prevent him taking more than one.

  They were aware of their allowed existence by his hand, which didn't stop their arrogance in the beginning, it wasn't until he told them where they all currently were that they began to cluck in fear. His reach was long and they knew it now, his fleet would tear through their poultry defences like paper, this they'd always known.

  Graciously, he spared them their death sentences and in return, the one who'd lost him his prize would now be responsible for finding it again.

  His rage could not be kept in control, and the loss of his quarry was deeply upsetting, resulting in the death of his favourite. He would not take the offered head he thought, now that a replacement was required he would take her everything.

  Despite the failures, an unknown, masked individual appeared in a plain unarmed and small ship claiming to hold knowledge of a Mergence meet point, he provided the required clearances to validate his credibility as a Ferren spy, then confirmed the location to be within the shadow of a gas giant and what they would find there. It was an unexplored region too far out to be anything but suspicious.

  Making their way there now, Babaidou would arrive behind the Mergence fleet. The small turn of luck was welcoming and would provide them a chance to catch the Mergence off guard.

  “Sir,” an insect to his side spoke, breaking his train of thought.

  “What?” He roared, his eyes meeting the insect's own, almost promising its death if the interruption was in any way unwarranted.

  It swallowed nervously before answering.

  “The second hunter fleet is not in any of our active registries, they were Ferren built ships, but decommissioned and sold off after they became redundant.”

  “You choose to interrupt me with such trivia, that much is obvious you fool.”

  “Yes sir, however sir, we've traced back the purchasing parties.”

  Perhaps the interruption may not be unwarranted, knowing who fired upon the Mergence would be of benefit, if he could identify the perpetrators, perhaps they could be caught and punished. There was no anger towards the actions taken against the Mergence fleet, the fault lay in their unwarranted and cowardly use of civilian targets as shields to escape, actions like these sullied the Ferren name and honour, this he could not allow to go without answer. Babaidou gestured for the insect to continue.

  “The ships were purchased by a third party, the funds at the time were tracked back to multiple systems within the Sciesin Protectorate.”

  “The Sciesin,” he spat, “why would they strike at the Mergence? They're allies.”

  “There's more sir, although it could not be proven, it's believed the Mergence provided the funding to the Sciesin for the ships,” the insect explained. “We also believe this false hunter fleet to be responsible in part for attacks inside our own borders, some key shipping lanes have been getting harassed, that's all we have so far commander.”

  He waved away the insect.

  This was a development he hadn't expected but it did make sense, the Ferren republic had grown strong again and now it would seem someone fears that strength, enough to instigate a conflict, which he would welcome.

  He longed for one, the honour was empty in hunting down pirate fleets, mercenaries and bringing fringe systems to heel, they were all weak and undeserving of death or subjugation by his hand. Now he had a chance at true honour, real glory, and Babaidou himself would help it to flourish however he could.

  A Nest of Crones

  “We'd gone to great lengths to hide the artefact, the weapon.”

  “Like the generations before us.”

  “And now you've lost it.”

  “You let them steal it from us.”

  “Now the Mergence are aware of it.”

  “We took you in, protected you, sheltered you from those that would kill you after what you done.”

  She'd heard these words repeatedly throughout her life, the elder sisters of her syndicate would always use them against her anytime th
ey could, and the way they jumped onto each other's statements was irritating, each trying to throw in their penny's worth.

  They were on the top floor of a large corporate building, one of the many syndicate controlled facilities. From here they would control their illegal empire, and launder it's financial resources through the many business faces they wore as masks.

  The six elder sisters lounged on sofas and chairs of the finest leather, a window ran behind them the entire length and height of the wall, it was over forty metres wide at least and slightly concave, outside was an endless landscape of trees and hills. Drinking glasses of varying types sat atop antique wooden tables and the remaining walls were adorned with beautiful art and tapestries, stolen in all likelihood.

  Like a scar on the face of a child, guards stood around the walls, their shambled presence ruining the beauty of the displayed art and natural scenery. Two of her fellow sisters sat off to one side with shark like grins adorning their faces.

  “You will retrieve the weapon again for us, you will track its location along with the hunted ghost ship.”

  “The weapon cannot be wielded by any of us and there is no taking it from them.”

  “Do you claim we are too foolish to figure it out? Now we know what it is, it's just a matter of time.”

  “Or is it fear, are you afraid?”

  “I have witnessed the power they control, they took it from the room in front of me, they opened a doorway of energy, swept it over the relic and after it was gone, they walked through another just like it,” she recounted to them. “I have never witnessed or even heard of a technology capable of this.”

  “Excuses, you don't deny your fear?”

  “It is not fear, understand, this is a fight we cannot win, there is no way to beat them by force.”

  “Then use the shadows, use deception, or use that body of yours for once if you need too, but bring it back here all the same, we will learn to use it and turn it first on the Ferrens.”

  The women of the syndicate were just as nasty as any male controlled group, there was no binding protection of sisterhood. The elder would often force their younger counterparts to use their bodies, it was expected of them, and an age old method of control.

  “You will be accompanied this time.”

  “Sisters.”

  “Two of them.”

  “For support of course.”

  She looked at her two indicated sisters after they finished speaking and knew it was a set up, it was obvious and they were doing nothing to hide it. The arrogant old crones, were they too taken in by their own lies of loyalty and trust to think she wouldn't strike first.

  The shark like grins never left their faces, her view refocussed to the scene behind them through the massive window, only reminding Feissa of how much she hated being planet side.

  Despite trying hard in the past, they'd never been able to put her into a situation she couldn't over come with her mind, and many were envious, now they would demand she sullies herself for the unattainable. Feissa had always known the truth, there is no honour amongst thieves, nothing but cavemen with a flashlight she thought.

  Can You See Me Now

  “This system's stars are throwing out far too much interference ma'am, we're seeing the larger stellar bodies but not much of anything else.”

  “Are we sure they're here, can you find the gas giant we've been directed to?”

  “We can see the gas giant but as before, the solar output is limiting our radar, it's interfering heavily with our local comms too, we're struggling to coordinate with the fleet ships.”

  “Get a message to the Ophelia, ask Brice if he's been in contact with our target?” Y'Riell had no trust for the situation, only her professional respect for Brice allowed her to take it this far.

  “Yes ma'am.”

  Haydn was lying on the floor and staring at the scenery when Tiralyn interrupted him, the star system where they'd taken up their temporary residence was beautiful. On one side, the system's three stars performed a dance of energy and colour, reflecting the intense red and greens of abundant local gas clouds. On his other side the gas giant dwarfed them while also basking in the light of the local suns.

  “They're here Haydn, Brice is wanting to know if the meet point is still as directed.”

  “Tell him we're here, we'll meet him on the Ophelia when he reaches orbit of the planet.”

  “Each time we come to this system, you spend a large amount of time looking at it, why?”

  “I can't help it, the first time you showed me this view I'd never felt so small, in the face of how big everything is I mean,” he explained before asking. “How long will it take them to get here?”

  “I only picked them up seven minutes ago already in system, they should be here within forty minutes.”

  “So close, why did you not see them before now?”

  “This system's stars puts out an unusually high amount of solar radiation and electromagnetic interference, the gas clouds and the massive planetary bodies also add their own effects.”

  Haydn hadn't ever known Tiralyn to have issues with her sensors, they'd been here a number of times in the past and she'd never mentioned it. He wasn't bothered, it only meant that if she was having issues, everyone else would be too.

  Issues which Damon and Brice were trying to work through now.

  “We must be on top of them by now, are you still seeing nothing?”

  “It's a stealth ship, Colonel. We won't see them at all, we're barely even communicating with the fleet ships. Just as well those shuttles have been deployed as relays.”

  It was a good call by the fleet admiral's comms staff, they deployed out the smaller craft to act as a small communications and sensor network, effectively keeping the fleet tied together.

  “He's here somewhere, he told me he would be,” Jill told them all while her eyes scanned the external displays intensely, they all were.

  Only Brenn was minding his own business in the corner, apparently uninterested by events, so it was only Brenn that noticed when Haydn walked through the door. Serena knew the moment he entered the ship of course, but she was enjoying the moment too much to ruin it.

  Haydn walked up between them and stood for a good ten seconds looking at the same view they all were before opening his mouth.

  “What are you all looking for?”

  There was a mixture of responses, at first they all looked at him, it took a second for the realisation to kick in then Jill's hair flashed a pinky purple as she lit up, but quickly suppressed herself again to a more serious look and darkened her hair. Brenn caught her eye and gave her a teasing kissing face, she disliked this and moved her hand to her side. Brenn was aware of where Jill kept her daggers, Brenn dropped the kissing face, deciding not to find out which part of his body she would throw it at.

  Brice almost reached for his side-arm, almost, he caught his movements at the last second as he tried to relax himself.

  Damon was the first to speak.

  “We were looking for you.”

  “Out there? Why would I be stood out there?”

  For the most part he was correct, what were they hoping to see by staring so vigorously at the outside view, space was large after all.

  “Oh I don't know, perhaps because when we first met, you were just out there and in your stupidity nearly got us all killed.”

  “No I didn't, we were matching your speed, besides Jill, you were the one that nuked yourself.”

  “Ohhh, how about I nuke your face... with my fist?”

  “You don't mean that, you wouldn't hurt me,” the smile that followed was more of a hopeful one.

  “You're right, I'd never abuse an animal,” she failed to completely hide her own smile.

  There was a moment of silence between the two, Damon had put his fingers over his eyes by this point, but Brice figured now was his best chance to intervene, breaking the momentary silence.

  “I hate to interrupt a touching moment like thi
s, but let's all not forget why we're here... so you are the infamous Haydn?”

  “In person, and you're Colonel?”

  “Correct, now that we're all friends, would you be willing to accompany me to our flagship? The Fleet Admiral herself has been quite keen to meet you.”

  “I, can't see that being a problem.”

  “Damon will of course be accompanying us and we will also withdraw our security presence from the Ophelia.”