Firefly/Serenity Fan Fiction ❯ Genesis ❯ D-34 ( Chapter 2 )

Genesis - D-34

 

The governor of the Rabanast was a smoking corpse, and High Inquisitor Bharic was in a foul mood. The theft of the Governor's Yacht and subsequent disappearance of the test-body whilst he was in the vicinity did not look good on his record - he'd need to clear this up. That, coupled with the possible copying of the test-data on the subject body, left him with three serious security leaks and possibly billions of credits worth of research down the pan. The Council of the Overmind would have him….replaced if he wasn't careful.

 

“Was it the ancient that stole the Rood?” Bharic asked as he paced about the command centre, his cape trailing behind him.

 

“We've established from DNA scans on the decking that he did make it to the Dream of the Rood - luckily he was barefoot. However, we've discovered the source of the power loss. Corridor B-5, one of the ocean tubes was breached and a pair of E-suits were found. Further on down the arterial line was cut, somewhat primitively. We've also got security footage of a pair of Humans, one male and one female, both in nondescript spacer's garb from the cameras - however we lost this when the power was cut. I've run their faces through the Libraries and we've identified them as a Captain Marcus Lae and Elise Hyperi. Both have a questionable past and have been linked but never apprehended for several smuggling charges as well as a fair number of other petty crimes.”

 

Bharic spun around at the mention of Marcus Lae.

 

“Bring me up a full profile on this Marcus Lae and the woman.”

 

“Oh comman-der!” one of the tech analyst's voices was a sing-song as he called out to the newly minted flag officer.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I've gone back through the operational logs from the Hangar - the Nav Computer was locked on one location and without some specialised gear they don't have any way to change the course - there's only one possible location: back to the facility on Igo.”

 

“I want that man promoted.” Bharic said as he swept from the room, his two bodyguards trailing after him.

 

-=[]=-

 

“So, you clear on the plan?” Marcus asked as he shut down most of the controls on his station and stood, stretching languidly.

 

“Yeah, however if we're ditching this barge, maybe we could dump anything of value on it first and come back later with our prize.” Elise suggested as she matched his actions.

 

“You see, this is why I pay you to put up with me. You take the top two decks, I'll take the bottom two: we'll get an inventory of anything of value.”

 

“Roger that.”

 

-=[]=-

 

He padded through the engine room, his vivid blue eyes flashing past the pipes, flinching at the arbitrary pulses of steam that stabbed into the walkways' space. It was warm, dank and gloomy here, but it was the only area he could be sure that there wouldn't be any crew wouldn't stumble over him. He'd not expected the yacht to have been launched this quickly, and his time on the upper deck had been eerily silent - perhaps the Federation could only afford a skeleton crew?

 

There was a male voice up ahead, as well as the heavy foot steps of a tall man. The youth ducked down, making sure to keep low and out of any obvious illumination, at least until he got a look at the other being. It was not what he expected.

 

Stamping down the maintenance catwalk was a human in his early twenties, clad in a worn jumpsuit and equally shabby vaguely military jacket with a high collar and dark blue piping. He had a pistol strapped low on his hip, but it wasn't drawn, and he seemed to be talking into a wrist-comm.

 

“The engine looks pretty old, nothing new in here, maybe the gel packs for the neuronics on this scow, but… to be honest, we wouldn't get the money out of them worth the labour needed to remove them.”

 

A muted female voice returned, but the youth couldn't make out what was said. He waited until the older man drew level before hefting around the heavy duty piece of spare piping he'd appropriated, and brained him about the side of the head. The larger man dropped instantly. Grimacing, he stepped over the larger man and yanked off his jacket, pulling it on himself. He then disarmed the smuggler and pulled off his wrist-comm.

 

He didn't have much time. Pirates tended to notice when their own were taken out,.

 

-=[]=-

 

Elise broke through the lock on the captain's cabin not with some clever wire splice or guessed password, but with the butt of her carbine brought down heavily onto the handle. The antiquated (but insulated) wooden door swung open, and a large, expansive cabin. The centrepiece of the room was not the huge bed, but the low table in front of it, and the katana resting dormant in a cradle atop the table. The smuggler strode in and picked up the weapon carefully. The saya was a lacquered black wood inlaid with silver metal details - they glowed a neon blue as soon as she gripped it - a trait mirrored on the handle of the exquisite weapon.

 

Overcome with curiosity, Elise drew the blade slightly and gasped at what she saw. The blade was a blinding silver, and just visible over the dull glow of the metal were a pair of wych runes.

 

Blue Rapture.

 

“Cap'n, you've gotta see what I just found.” She breathed into the wrist-comm.

 

He didn't reply.

 

“Marcus?”

 

There was a stony silence to answer.

 

Swearing to herself, she left the cabin at a jog, heading straight fro the cockpit. She had her carbine out and swept the cockpit, making sure that nobody had entered. When she was confident the coast was clear, it took her less than a minute the reconfigure the two door locks and seal the cockpit. Her next stop was the security salon, which contained the emergency override for the yacht. Once she was satisfied the ship wouldn't be taken from her, she pulled a pair of bronze ball-bearings from a small pouch at the small of her back.

 

It didn't take long to get down to the engineering level. She slowed her pace, lightened her steps and kept her carbine aimed high as she proceeded down the gantry, her knees slightly bent, her head level to the carbine's barrel.

 

There was a very, very slight shift of shadows that caught her eye and her foot bounced off something soft - Marcus's thigh. A flickered glance reassured her that he was still breathing. Then she saw him. He looked naked, blonde, and young. His eyes widened upon seeing her but she lowered her carbine immediately.

 

“I'm not going to hurt you!” She lied.

 

He paused, looking a little confused but yelped out in pain as she hurled the two bronze spheres at him, catching him about the thighs and calves. Two tendrils of orange electricity ran over his skin, and he dropped to the floor next to Marcus, equally unconscious. It was then that Elise realised that she'd have to shift both the captain and the boy to the upper deck. She swore again and got to work.

 

-=[]=-

 

“Stop squirming!” Elise chastised as she peeled off the lacost patch from Marcus's head. He ignored her and flinched away, casting another glare at the unconscious half-naked being wearing his coat in the restraining field on the other side of the small med-bay.

 

“I'm going to kill that little droyk.” He said darkly. Elise hit him on the arm.

 

“You're just pissy because you got laid out by a kid.” She chided, casting a look of her own at the unconscious blond adolescent lying on the bio-bed.

 

“How the hell did he even get on board? All of the staff were supposed to be off-ship.”

 

“I'm guessing he wasn't meant to be here, else he'd be old enough to have enlisted, or been conscripted, and probably had a uniform.”

 

Marcus frowned.

 

“What do we do with him now?” Elise asked, standing up and throwing the wad of sodden bandage into a waste chute.

 

“Well, we could leave him. Or, maybe, if that's a little too harsh, we could leave him, and if you'd prefer to be totally crazy and take a risk, we could leave him.” Marcus replied as he deactivated the holding field and pulled his jacket from the unconscious being.

 

“Come on Captain, he's obviously running from something, who are we to hijack his getaway? It's always nice to have some new faces on board.” She pouted.

 

“We know nothing about him! It's not our fault he chose the same ship we did to steal! I'm not risking my neck on someone who lamped me around the head with a kriffing pipe!”

 

Elise laughed, unable to hold it in.

 

“Capt, we both know that you'll take him along - you're not a bad person deep down else you'd be running contracts for the Feds.”

 

Marcus sighed, but nodded in resignation.

 

“Fine. Wake him up.”

 

-=[]=-

 

The first thing he saw was a blinding bright light and he thought he was dead, however an accented voice asking him to not make any sudden moves. He completely disregarded this and hopped into a crouch, his legs bent ready under him, his arms by his sides steadying him, his fingers splayed on the cold surface of the bio-bed. He glanced up and around, squinting because of the bright light. He absently flicked his blond hair from his eyes with a twitch of his head. As soon as the light dimmed, he found that he was staring once more down the barrel of a Colt Single Action Spacefarer Special.

 

He threw himself backwards, rolling off the bed and his bare feet lashed out, sending the bed circling towards his assailants. His head spun around searching for any weapon to turn against the gun wielder, but saw nothing.

 

“We're not going to hurt you! Steady kid!” A female's voice shouted out as she stepped forward and knocked his assailants' weapon hand down. He yelped out in pain, but didn't raise it again.

 

“Who are you?” He demanded, staying behind the bio bed, keeping crouched.

 

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing, kid.” The man replied.

 

“I'm Elise Hyperi, and this is Captain Marcus Lae. We're…entrepreneurs and no friends of the Federation. We stole this yacht, and are on our way to steal more from them, as they took from us our ship.” She said simply.

 

“Now you know our names, how about you return the favour?” Marcus said, holstering his pistol.

 

“I'm…” He trailed off, a look of perplexion overtaking his young, serious features.

 

“I…don't know who I am.” He finished.

 

Marcus and Elise exchanged glances, but said nothing.

 

“You know where you're going?” Marcus asked, already knowing the answer.

 

“I just needed to get out of there, the destination doesn't matter.” He replied, looking down, obviously upset.

 

“Stand up, let me get a look at you.” Marcus ordered. The youth complied, and let the captain cast an evaluative gaze across his lithely muscled form.

 

He shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, but covertly returned the favour. The `captain' was about 6'2, built but not overly so and wore a faded military jacket and an equally faded jumpsuit. He had dark brown shaggy hair and hard, soft brown eyes, but this was off-set by a lopsided ever-present smirk that could be both charming and infuriating. He made no effort to hide the holster strapped to his right thigh with the special-forces issue pistol contained within, and likewise the knife strapped around his right calf was almost proudly displayed. He had a belt on that had several pouches - their contents unlabelled. He also wore the collar on the jacket up, which, depending on the direction one approached the Captain, would mask the lower portion of his face.

 

Elise however, was not as encumbered by heavy clothing. Her porcelain skin contrasted sharply with the tight-fitting black jumpsuit she wore, and was further offset by the vibrant black tribal tattoo that dominated the left half of her face. About her waist, a tool belt ran and across her back she let a vicious sawn-off carbine rest. Her smile was similar in nature to the Captain's, but it had a sultry, come-hither element to it that caught the youth's eye.

 

“You look strong enough. You're not touched, are you?” Marcus asked, tapping his temple with the first two fingers on his hand.

 

“Other than not knowing who I am or how I came to be here, no.”

 

“Good. We're going to be having a little action soon, and could always use another hand to help out. If you want, we can let you tag along.”

 

“…I'd like that.” the youth replied, looking Marcus in the eye, who nodded appreciatively.

 

“Well, we need a name for you until you can remember it.” Marcus said, leaning against a counter.

 

“How about Maxi?” Elise ventured.

 

“Why Maxi?” Marcus asked before the blond youth could answer.

 

“It was the name of a guy I got with once. Looked a lot like him.” She replied with a glint in her eye. The youth blushed, but nodded.

 

“That works.”

 

“I can't help but notice that you're less than fully dressed.” Marcus said dryly and Maxi's blush deepened.

 

“Why don't you give him your jacket until we can get him some decent togs?” Elise suggested, grinning. Marcus shot her a dirty look, but shrugged off his great coat and threw it over at Maxi.

 

“Don't get it dirty, kid.”

 

“I'll go find you some boots and pants.”

 

-=[]=-

 

Kai looked across the table at the slumped form, still twitching. Foam bubbled from the corner of his mouth and ran down his cheek, pooling on the table. His eyes, nose and ears bled - even the bubbling foam dripping from his mouth was tinged pink. A sheen of moisture covered his face and scalp (freshly shaved). He smelled of his own faeces, sweat and desperation.

 

Kai got up, not looking too good himself and turned to the mirror that dominated one wall of the cell. His features were pallid - his once tanned skin a sickly white, his black hair a greasy mess and his strong green eyes glassy.

 

“He was indeed with the Splicer Cell. However, they did not traffic or have any interaction with the BV-68U2 File to his knowledge. The subject will require incineration - He won't be of any further use to society in his current mental state, and there is little chance of repairing this mind without costing the taxpaper millions of credits that they worked hard to give to us.” Kai's was flat, monotone.

 

Without waiting to be dismissed, he stalked from the cell and headed to his quarters on the small research station.

 

Once there, he sat down heavily in front of the vanity stand and stared at his reflection. He did not like what he saw. He poured himself a large glass of malt whiskey and downed it. He winced, coughed slightly and poured another glass.

 

-=[]=-

 

The Dream of the Rood decanted back into normal space just inside the Station's sensor range. Once again, Marcus sat at the pilot's station, Elise beside him and they worked as a close-knit team. Maxi looked on from the gunner's station, though he wasn't controlling anything - the two crew-mates had everything in hand.

 

“Dream of the Rood. You aren't on the arrivals schedule. Transmit the override clearance code immediately.”

 

“Not likely.” Marcus muttered to himself as he began switching on the automated systems.

 

“Here they come. Two Assault Transports and a flight of Tanto fighters.” Elise said sharply, and brought the sensor feed onto the holographics.

 

“Right, five minutes. Let's get into character.” Marcus said, standing abruptly.

 

-=[]=-

 

For the third time, Kai's communicator beeped. He stared dumbly at the mirror, lost in his own green eyes. A fist pounded on his door, and the door chime cut through his train of thoughts,

 

It always gets like this after I perform a link. It always gets worse when they resist…I'm going to have nightmares for weeks. And for what? I lobotomised someone to remove them as a suspect. It's as bad as the Salem witch hunts, only I'm the one practicing witchcraft. I can't be a part of this anymore.

 

His hand slowly went for the special operations blackvenge pistol on the vanity counter. With a well practiced ease, he checked the charge of his pistol, pressed it up against his temple, and closed his eyes. He saw white, but didn't remember pulling the trigger. It was almost irritating to have his final moment of collection snatched from him by negligence, but then the white overtook him.

 

-=[]=-

 

The Yacht was brought to a halt by a pair of disabling conner wires fired into the engines and a minute later, both sides docking hatches were activated. The search crews exploded through the docking bays and met with no resistance. They fanned out through the ship, searching for any sign of a crew or passengers. Two smugglers disguised as special forces agents stalked back along the main corridor, one holding a large hold-all. One went for the first assault transport, the other went for the transport docked on the other side. They nodded to each other and shot the sentry posted by the bay doors square in the throat, before entering the two transports and dispatching the unprepared crew with similar ease.

 

“Okay Maxi, come on in.” Elise said as she de-activated the internal comm system linking the crews and the station together.

 

The youth stepped over the bodies and entered what seemed like a very organised cockpit. Both Marcus and Elise were hard at work readying the transport for a swift departure. Maxi sat down, feeling somewhat redundant but kept quiet lest he disturb the smugglers.

 

With a surge and a scream of protesting metal the transport pulled away and shot towards the installation. The pair of Tanto fighters immediately responded by falling into formation and shouting over the communicators for the transport to report in. Marcus flicked it off with a tut of irritation and grinned over at Elise. She nodded and depressed the countermeasures switch.

 

“Hang on, kid.” Marcus said over his shoulder, and the transport swung abruptly to the left. From somewhere behind there was a clunk and a moment later Maxi saw on the sensor readout one of the fighters listing away.

 

“What did you do?”

 

“Launched a flare. Blinded the pilot momentarily, he'll be dazzled and disorientated. Wanted to get the other one but no luck there. Elise?”

 

She nodded again and grabbed ahold of the autocannon's control yolk, swinging the weapon around and getting the Tanto into her sights. It banked abruptly away, anticipating the counterfire and launched a missile in response.

 

“Chip away.” She reported sharply.

 

Marcus snarled and hit the countermeasure button again, launching a flurry of flares away from the transport.

 

“Five clicks `til the station. This pilot's persistent.” Elise commented as she swung the autocannon around to fire. A stream of projectiles peppered the area around the fighter, but none managed to land.

 

“Doesn't matter. Get me a light on the nearest open hangar and put it up on the screen.”

 

“Oh not that again. Capt, last time we tried that the Longshot was out of action for months!” Elise protested.

 

“What're you going to do?” Maxi asked, some alarm in his voice.

 

“He's going to burn it into the hangar and hope the collision prevention safeties stop him from smashing into the far wall and turning us into a fine veneer.” Elise answered for her captain.

 

“Oh, alright.”

 

The transport rocked as cannon-fire from the Tanto fighter smashed against the rear, but the trio ignored it. Alarms started sounding, and the Hangar loomed larger and larger until it filled the viewscreen, and with a claxon of warning lights, the emergency netting dropped down and immediately tensed. The transport's nose pushed against it and fractured the viewscreen with the impact. Foam was poured out and instantly solidified, cushioning the blow and preventing any fires from catching and with a final screech the engines were shut down by a hasty ion blast.

 

“Everyone ok?” Marcus asked groggily as he unstrapped his restraints. Elise and Maxi both answered in the affirmative and clambered out through the viewscreen remains. There were now station personnel around as they'd have been cleared out on the collision warning, but that wouldn't last for long.

 

“Where are we going?” Marcus asked Elise and she pointed to the right.

 

“Looked like the largest drydock was towards the left end of the station - only a few bays down from here, but we'll have to be quick before they work out what we're up to.

 

-=[]=-

 

Reiko swore. Her fighter was thus undamaged and her wingman had since regained consciousness, but the transport had made it to the station and the best soldiers the facility had on staff were currently stranded on the yacht as the other transport had been sabotaged. The pilot grimaced as she yanked her craft about and powered down, shutting down all nonessential systems. Tanto fighters were renowned for their ability to play dead and drop off sensor nets, only being visible to the naked eye when they powered down, making them brilliant ambush craft, however their lack of armour made them somewhat unreliable as superiority ships. They had to leave the station sooner or later, and he'd be ready for them.

 

-=[]=-

 

The drydock doors slid open with a hiss of hydraulics and Marcus stopped in his tracks. He'd seen the schematics of this new experimental cruiser, but nothing prepared him for seeing a 450-meter long state of the art H/K cruiser. The name of the ship was beautifully fitting.

 

“Fenrir.” Maxi read, sounding distinctly nonplussed.

 

“She's a beauty.” Elise breathed.

 

The hull of Fenrir was curved, smooth and coated in a stealth material and no cannons or torpedo tubes were obvious - there were also very few viewports. She started at an exaggerated point and tapered back, a pair of wings curled underneath the main superstructure and flared out - the smooth line of the main hull carried on above the wings and stalled down to a point, with the underspace vane housing ready to be deployed where it would provide the most thrust and momentum for the craft. Her profile was menacing, predatory and distinctly unseen in anything the Federation had designed thus far - most of their ships were ugly, jutting affairs built purely for functionality. Whoever had designed the Fenrir wasn't just a ship architect, he was an artist.

 

“Well, let's not just gawk at this thing - let's get moving!” Marcus proclaimed as he started clambering up the service ladder to the gantry connected to the main airlock. Elise followed, grinning manically as she surveyed the craft.

 

The airlock was obligingly open and the lights slowly came into being along the floor, lighting the way to the bridge of the ship - a mere deck up.

 

“Whoa, look at these controls, not a single lever - all holographics. Do you even know how to work them, Cap'n?” Elise asked.

 

“I do.” Maxi said before Marcus could answer.

 

“You?” They chorused.

 

“I don't know how, but I can tell you where all of the stations are - but I think you wanted to go now.”

 

“He's right. We can catch up later.” Elise chimed in before Marcus could impose his displeasure at letting a relative newcomer take the helm.

 

“Can you even fly this bird on your own?” the Captain asked sceptically.

 

“Sure. Only needs a helmsman in an emergency, however it really needs a core crew of about fifteen people to operate at full efficiency.”

 

“How do you know all of this?” Elise asked, true curiosity layered into her voice.

 

“Not a clue.” Maxi replied curtly as he said down at the helm station and immersed his hands into the points of air with light dancing around them. All of the holographics changed colour to a luminous blue and behind them all the rear holographic display changed to a schematic of the Fenrir.

 

“Right… we look good to go.” Maxi said, half to himself.

 

“Welcome aboard the Fenrir. Please state your identification.”

 

“Uhh, what the hell is that?” Marcus asked in response to the AI voice sounding over the intercom.

 

“That's the Fenrir's AI. It hasn't been configured yet - probably the honour of the ship's first captain, and since she hasn't been commissioned…” Maxi trailed off, looking pointedly at Marcus.

 

“I love this job. Fenrir, I am Captain Marcus Lae.”

 

“Welcome aboard Captain Lae. You have been granted executive command of this craft. Will you be requiring orientation at this moment?”

 

“Err, no, we'll save that for later. We need to hastily depart, so please seal all airlocks and power up the main drives.”

 

“Sealing in progress. It is noted on the schedule that we aren't due for departure for another two weeks, is there a specific reason for the hasty alighting from the Station?”

 

“Uhh, yeah. The station is soon to be under attack. We need to get you out of danger as soon as possible.”

 

“The troops on board just before you entered didn't mention anything about this.” The AI continued and Elise froze.

 

“..How many people are on board other than us three?” She queried.

 

“Just Operative Kai Gabranth in the brig.”

 

“Marcus, we'll sort that out later - if he's locked in the brig he's not going anywhere - we'll dump him once we're free of this nest.”

 

“Yeah that works. Maxi, let's jet until we see lines.”

 

-=[]=-

 

Reiko swore. She was right on the money: they were trying to steal the Fenrir. The elegant new frigate moved from the hangar, her graceful curves belying her true intent.

 

“Pan, you ready for this?” She asked her wingman as she gave the thrusters a gentle nudge closer to the Fenrir's trajectory.

 

“Sure. Manual targeting is fun.”

 

As soon as Reiko could sight the frigate with her naked eyes, she brought up the targeting reticule and armed two EMP charges. Muttering a prayer, she depressed the trigger and watched the two Ion bombs sail forward, clamp onto the hull and detonate. Arcs of electricity played across the front of the hull, however the bridge and most of the avionics were located at the rear of the craft, saving any significant damage from the critical systems.

 

“That's two misses from me. Sorry, Commander.” Her co-pilot reported in and she swore.

 

“I've got no choice. Going EV.” She responded back and sealed her suit up before popping the canopy of her fighter. She clambered out and hurled herself into the blackness of space.

 

-=[]=-

 

“Did you see that?!” Marcus exclaimed “They popped two shockers on my new ship!”

 

“It only knocked out the PDLs…I think.” Elise chided as she stared at the ship schematic at the rear of the bridge - several areas were flashing red near the front of the craft, however they seemed to only be subsidiary systems.

 

“We're getting a jump singularity point forming ahead and to starboard, on a vector of…. .05.” Maxi reported sharply and Marcus's head swung around.

 

“I'm guessing someone followed us from Rabanast.”

 

“We clear of the station's grapple beams yet?”

 

“30 seconds. I'm deploying the jump vane now.”

 

“Here we go, singularity widening - looks like it's a big one.” Elise, now at the navigation console sounded out.

 

Sure enough on the forward viewscreen a point of space abruptly widened, red tendrils of energy arcing out revealing zerospace points behind it - and then the Eye of Odin was through. A massive Destroyer of nearly three kilometres in length, it wasn't a ship to be messed with, even by an experimental Hunter/Killer frigate.

 

“Maxi, we'd like to leave now.” Marcus suggested, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

 

“Hold on…” He said as he depressed the vane control board and a singularity opened up before them, letting the Fenrir and her new crew jump into underspace.

 

-=[]=-

 

As soon as the ship was put on autopilot, Marcus grinned triumphantly.

 

“Bet you they never saw that coming.”

 

“Yeah, this ship is pretty sweet, but what do we do now? We don't know how to operate it properly, it'll need a crew, supplies, and a fake registry - not to mention that we can't set foot in Federation space again with this thing.” Elise pointed out.

 

“Okay, the basics. Maxi here can fly the ship in the short term, and also give us lessons on how to control the basic bridge stations. As for Federation space, yeah I agree. I think it's time to visit the Dominion.”

 

“As in the syndicate's dominion?” Maxi asked incredulously.

 

“There's no real law out there, no central government to chase us down, plus we can get a crew together out there as well as some nice semi-legit techs to look her over and give us a run-down on what this bird can do.”

 

“Actually, I can tell you everything you need to know about the Fenrir.” Maxi replied, looking unsure of himself.

 

“How do you know all this?” Elise asked quietly.

 

“I don't know! I just do.” He replied, looking more agitated than anything.

 

“Okay kid, give us the run down.” Marcus said, sighing in frustration at the situation.

 

“It's a prototype frigate with a highly advanced AI - the Fenrir is the only one of its kind and a black project run by the Federation high council - not attached to Intelligence, the Navy, the Army or even R&D. It was originally intended to be the mobile base of operations of a cell of `Extractors' - adepts with strong biot abilities and a unique specimen that was a descendent of the ancients that had been genetically manipulated. The Flux cannons can make a Destroyer of the line think twice and the secondary armaments are hardly anything to sneer at. Her sensor network can be augmented by launching a series of stealth probes, making her easily able to slip through a variety of security screening, also she has a fully working two-way cloaking device. Her reactor is experimental, making her overdeveloped engines able to deliver at full capacity (a rarity among capships) and she has enough room in her hangar for a full blade of fighters and two shuttles. She has 7 decks, requires an emergency crew of about 15 and was also designed with an AI Avatar in mind, not a VI synth-mind. Oh, and her crowning achievement - she can navigate in underspace with some sort of new sensor node - basically she could come to a full stop in underspace if she wanted to and just hide there as no other ships can `see' whilst zerospace surrounds them. There's more, but I'm guessing that's enough to start with.”

 

“…We've got one hell of a ship here.” Marcus surmised dryly.

 

“Wait, what about that guy in the brig?” Elise asked.

 

“Let's go meet him.” Marcus replied, yanking his pistol from its holster.

 

-=[]=-

 

The brig had six cells (3 each on opposing walls of the chamber) lined up to face each other, each with a force field blocking the way out and a series of monitors above the cells to display the vital statistics of the in-mates above. Only one of the cells was activated, and the readouts above the cell listed a `psychic inhibitor' was activated, as well as a stasis field. Clearly, whoever had put the prisoner in here was taking no chances. Inside the only active cell was a tall, pale human that looked dangerously underweight. He was clad in a nondescript black tunic with a hood fitted, however the latter wasn't currently pulled up. He lay on the pallet and looked almost peaceful. Marcus gestured over to a pile of effects on a bench by the cell.

 

“A pair of reinforced gauntlets, one with a comlink and with a mono-filament wire, the other with a stinger - short range needle blade that stabs out when the hand is flexed out a certain way. Also, a Blackvenge pistol. He's an intel operative for the federation.” He surmised grimly as the captain ran through an inventory of the in-mates possessions.

 

“So why's he in the cell?” Elise asked, hefting her carbine down off her shoulder and holding it loosely.

 

“You could query the computer.” Maxi suggested.

 

“Good call. Fenrir, why is an intelligence operative locked in your brig?”

 

“Operative Kai Gabranth is on charges of dereliction of duty and attempted destruction of Federation property. He failed to report in for cooling down after an extraction and subsequently attempted to commit suicide. He was placed in my brig because of the unique equipment installed to contain adepts - in this case to prevent him from harming himself more than attempting escape.”

 

“Attempted destruction of Federation property? He tried to kill himself, not break their toys.” Marcus muttered half to himself.

 

“Adepts are property of the Federation, since they `gifted' their subjects with the telepathic and telekinetic powers they have.” Maxi said and received a funny look from Elise and Marcus. He merely shrugged helplessly in reply.

 

“Maxi, you stay over by the door. Let's crack this walnut and figure out what to do with him.” Elise said, aiming her rifle at the cell whilst Marcus moved to deactivate the stasis field.

 

“You handled adepts before?” Maxi asked, stepping back towards the main doors.

 

“I figure they die when you shoot them, just like anyone else.” Marcus said ferally, yanking his pistol from his holster once more.

 

As soon as the stasis field was released, Kai groaned. Everyone flinched, but there were no objects flying about the room, no storms of telekinetic outrage. It was entirely anticlimactic.

 

“Spoon-bender. Wake up and look at me when I'm talking to you.” Marcus demanded and the operative responded by glancing over at him, his light green eyes all the more shocking - they were tormented eyes, eyes that had seen more than a lifetime's worth of suffering.

 

“Not exactly the executioner I expected.” He muttered to himself, his voice grating slightly as he moved into a sitting position, not at all perturbed by the two heavily armed smugglers bearing down on him.

 

“Why'd you try to kill yourself?” Elise asked, narrowing her eyes - to most it'd look like a glare, but Marcus knew better: she was genuinely confused.

 

“Because I'm not a person - I'm an implement of a corrupt government and if I had a choice in death, it'd be the first I'd ever had. I was sick of being told to lobotomise people for no other reason than abductions having a slow month.”

 

“Huh. Buy any of that?” Marcus asked, turning to Elise, who shook her head.

 

“Slicker than owl shit, but still a metric tonne of crap. I say we vent him.”

 

“I wouldn't do that, he's telling the truth.” A female voice behind Maxi announced. She didn't waste any time and moved swiftly behind the blond youth, resting a pistol against his temple.

 

It was a blur. One moment, the female in the jumpsuit had Maxi in her grasp, the next he was twisting her arm around in an angle it wasn't supposed to go. He applied pressure to her wrist, loosened her grip on the pistol, kicked the back of her knee mid twist and had the pistol aimed at her head with her on the ground in less than a second. As soon as he blinked and realised what he'd just done, he dropped the pistol in shock but Marcus took charge of the situation.

 

“Move a muscle and I make your face a veneer over the back wall.”

 

Elise wisely kept her carbine trained on Kai, however the pilot chuckled to herself.

 

“You're stealing a federation warship, and that is punishable by death. It's better if you turn yourselves over to me, I can try and get you a lighter sentence.” She said, obviously still in pain from Maxi's ministrations.

 

“Stow it. Now how would you know the spoon bender is telling the truth?”

 

“He's my brother.”

 

Kai looked up at this and smiled faintly at his sister, looking rueful.

 

“You know your precious Federation had sentenced him to death for trying to top himself?” Elise mentioned, and idea springing to mind.

 

“You tried to kill yourself, Kai?” The pilot sounded hurt more than anything.

 

“The lengths the federation will go to to maintain order…it's sickening. The things they used my powers for would never let you sleep again. I couldn't stand it anymore. You know they bombarded Requilex a week ago?”

 

She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

 

“They're saying they're cordoning off the planet because of a dangerous natural disaster that's released a poisonous gas, but I saw the files. I sliced into central division myself, and it's a massacre. No survivors.”

 

“Mom? Dad?” She said quietly.

 

Kai shook his head and even Marcus grimaced. He had experienced Federation brutality firsthand, but it always appalled him when he heard of the fresh atrocities they committed in an effort to shape the galaxy how they saw fit. Luckily, they only controlled an eighth of known space.

 

“It was to stop one adept. He snapped under the training and killed an instructor with a pulse. Anyone that got near him experienced an aneurism and the locals started dropping dead too - he had remarkable range. To prevent him from escaping the planet, they bombarded Requilex city: it also kept quiet that the Federation can't always control adepts.”

 

“I…had no idea.” She said quietly, looking utterly defeated.

 

Kai shakily got to his feet and crossed the chamber unopposed, pulling his sister into a tight hug. After a minute of silent sobbing on the sister's part, Kai let her go and turned to the smugglers.

 

“Perhaps some introductions are in order. I'm Kai Gabranth, former Extractor of the Black Reach. This is my sister, Reiko Gabranth, squadron commander of Research Station D-34.” He said, smiling hollowly.

 

Marcus shifted uncomfortably, but answered “I'm Captain Marcus Lae, this is my XO Elise Hypori, and the kid is Maxi.”

 

“Smugglers?” Kai ventured.

 

“We take whatever work we can get.” Elise answered simply.

 

“I doubt my sister and I will be returning to the Federation anytime soon, Captain. We'd very much appreciate it if you could provide us with shelter until you reach the next civilised system.”

 

“Uhh, sure. Elise, Maxi: bridge.”

 

-=[]=-

 

It had taken Elise next to no time to track down a drinks machine in the mess hall and bring up a trio of coffees to the bridge, and when she got there it was a welcome relief - Maxi seemed troubled and Marcus couldn't seem to stop staring out of the front viewport which only showed the red and black maelstrom of underspace.

 

“People go mad looking out there, you know.” She chided.

 

Marcus grunted in reply and took the offered mug.

 

“Okay, order of business. Where do we go next, exactly?” Marcus said, visibly tearing himself from his reverie.

 

“Well, we need to figure out how to fly this thing, which means getting some expert technicians that are reliable and likely not to talk to look her over - we also need a crew.” Elise said.

 

“We can't go anywhere near federation space with this thing, like, ever…so that means risking it over in one of the hegemonies or trying out the Dominion.” Marcus answered.

 

“What about Kai and Reiko? Could they be crew-members?” Maxi suggested, sipping his drink.

 

“We don't know them, one of them's had a gun against your head and the other is a known adept with suicidal tendencies - I really don't think they're ideal choices.” Marcus replied.

 

“I get where you're coming from, Cap'n,” Elise ventured “But… they're both going to be well trained, and since that little breakdown in the brig, I'm guessing neither of them has any love for the federation. They could be useful.”

 

“I'll think about it. Before we move on, Maxi; what the hell was that little flip you did on Reiko? Where did that even come from?” Marcus asked incredulously, recalling the swiftness of the blond's counter.

 

“I'm getting bored of saying this: I have no idea - I just remembered her grabbing me and the next second she was on the floor and I was holding her gun. Like I don't know how I know how to fly this ship - I just do.” He answered tersely, obviously uncomfortable.

 

Elise sent Marcus a warning look and swiftly changed the direction of the conversation.

 

“Well, next planetfall, we'll get you looked over by a doctor, see if we can figure out what happened to your memory.” She suggested.

 

“I guess it'd be a good idea…but I'm not sure I want to know everything I knew before. I mean, what kind of guy can fly state-of-the-art warships and take a trained soldier to the ground without thinking?” He replied, looking genuinely upset.

 

“The useful kind, kid. Don't worry, we don't care who you were - you've already proved yourself, let's just go from here. Fresh starts or something.” Marcus replied, looking a little uncomfortable at the overt display of affection.

 

“Thanks.” He smiled genuinely for the first time since the two smugglers had met him.

 

“I hate to throw another spanner in the works, but…what do you actually intend to do with this ship, Cap'n? It's not like we can use her as a smuggling ship - her armament will set off warning claxons as soon as we enter any civilised system. And the cloaking device alone will be a huge drain on power - it'll cost money to keep a cruiser like this running. A lot of it.”

 

“I'm figuring initially we can hire out our services as a Mercenary force to planetary defence forces that have pirate trouble or something. In the short term however…bank job.”

 

“Oh crap, not again Capt, remember the last time?” Elise moaned.

 

“You've robbed a bank before?” Maxi asked.

 

“Not exactly. We tried to, but our getaway van broke down.” Marcus replied, grimacing slightly.

 

“Where do you have in mind? Most of the rich corporate worlds aren't in the dominion, and we'll need a lot of ready cash to get a team of techs we can trust get her up and running.” Elise asked.

 

“The bank job will be after we debug our new toy. I think we can get some technicians to crawl all over her for free.”

 

“How-ohhhh, Marius?” Elise grinned.

 

“Marius.” Marcus confirmed.

 

“Who's Marius?” Maxi asked.

 

“He's the head of a… private technical concern that owes us a favour. We reckon with the right application of persuasion, he'll do it for free.” Marcus answered evasively.

 

“He's the head of a high-tech chop shop in the Dominion who owes us big, and he likes blond guys.” Elise translated.

 

“Wait, you think-No. Not a chance.” Maxi answered, downing his coffee.

 

“Come on, kid! We're not asking you to sleep with him, just flirt a bit!” Marcus called after him.

 

“Maxi, if you do this, it'll pretty much guarantee that we can get this ship operational and make it into a new home - for all of us. If you don't, then we have to chance it with the other technicians and engineers, who we don't know. They could sell us out. I know it's not pretty, but I promise you, you'll get rewarded. Marius is rich. Ridiculously rich. He will undoubtedly try to buy your affections.” Elise soothed, moving close to Maxi and catching his arm.

 

“I'm not some cabana boy he can buy off.” The youth replied angrily.

 

“So we sell the shit he gives you and go shopping, buy stuff you actually want, I mean you didn't even leave wherever you came on with a shirt on your back - you badly need some basics. Hell, we all do.”

 

“We won't let him force you into anything.” Marcus promised.

 

“Fine, but I want to have some sort of…guarantee that he won't get too close.”

 

“Oh!” Elise suddenly exclaimed and started rummaging through the knapsack that had been left by the door of the bridge upon their arrival. “I found this on the Dream of the Rood in the captain's cabin. I was going to fence it, but you might like it.”

 

She produced a beautifully detailed katana sheathed in a saya and handed it to Maxi, who's eyes lit up. He ran his hand carefully along the silver details, and they strobed blue rather than silver. He blinked slightly and drew the katana from the saya, mouth agape as the blade turned from a blinding silver to the same neon blue as the saya briefly, before returning to normal. All that was left outstanding on the perfect blade were the two wych runes, still glowing blue.

 

“Blue Rapture?” Maxi asked, reading the small symbols.

 

“You know how to handle that thing, kid?” Marcus asked.

 

Maxi adopted a grip and tried a few experimental thrusts and slashes. His body automatically went into routines learned by flash-roting, allowing him complete control over the weapon.

 

“I guess so. Feels familiar.”

 

“That's a Sanada blade.” Kai said as the doors opened and he sighted the katana.

 

He walked onto the bridge looking a little more confident with himself, his gauntlets now attached and the pistol nowhere in sight. Reiko followed, looking more like her former self - tall, confident and almost cocky.

 

“They're the best bladed weapons you could get in known space and unique. Sanada was killed when the Consul demanded he make him a blade to surpass the Sanada Blade series. Sanada told him that he couldn't, as the blades he'd created were the pinnacle of his skill, and turned the Consul down. He was executed on the spot, and the Galaxy lost one more treasure on the whim of a child playing god.”

 

“Hauntingly poignant.” Reiko commented mildly as she took a look about the bridge.

 

“Well, it's the kid's now…just don't lose it - it probably costs nearly as much as that reactor downstairs.” Marcus replied, looking concerned that such an item of value was being given to a relative stranger.

 

“Oh, lighten up.” Elise chided.

 

“Captain Lae, my sister and I have decided that there is nothing left for us in the Federation, and we'd very much appreciate it if you could provide us with passage to your next destination.” Kai said somewhat formally.

 

“We'd also like you to consider us as potential employees. We know Federation policies and procedures better than most and possess valuable skill sets you might find useful, as I can't see you'd continue smuggling with this boat.” Reiko added.

 

Elise looked at Marcus pointedly.

 

“Uhh, we can definitely get you transport out of the Federation - we're headed to Helios as it stands.” Marcus replied, looking a little uncomfortable. Elise rescused him.

 

“If you would like to be part of the crew, then we'd need to have a trial run, just to make sure you're playing for our side.” Elise started, convincingly able to look unconcerned.

 

“What have you got in mind?” Kai asked carefully.

 

“Can you sense people's emotions passively?” Marcus asked the adept.

 

“Yes, however to read their thoughts I have to be less than a meter from them, able to make eye contact, and undisturbed for up to half an hour. Also, crawling through someone's mind is abhorrent for me. I'd rather never do it again.”

 

“You won't have to.” Elise said, looking once again at Marcus pointedly.

 

“Does reading emotions passively cause you any mental strain?” Marcus pressed, ignoring her.

 

“No.”

 

“Excellent. We're going to need you to make sure a contact of ours isn't trying to screw us over when we reach Helios.”

 

“I thought you said you could trust this guy!” Maxi exclaimed.

 

“We can trust him more than indie techs in the hegemonies, I just like to be sure.” Marcus hedged.

 

“It'll be fine, we're not going to leave you alone with him, we'll have Kai with you to make sure he's not going to double cross us, and I'm going to invest in a little summin' summin' to make sure we have lots of insurance.” Elise said, putting an arm around Maxi's shoulders and squeezing affectionately. He seemed the appreciate the gesture.

 

“What's the job, then?” Reiko asked briskly, sitting down at the tactical console.

 

“We need a team of technicians to go over this baby and remove a lot of the Federation's fail safes so we can use it, and we also need some basic supplies, since all of us are runaways as it stands. Elise and I know a guy in the Dominion that owes us. With the right application of leverage, we're pretty sure we can get him to do this for free, however he is a gangster in the Dominion, and as such I wouldn't put it past him to screw us.”

 

“What do you want me to do?” she asked, picking at something in her teeth - she'd definitely spent more time around men than women during her service in the Federation's military.

 

“I need a spotter.” Elise replied shortly. It was obvious that she didn't trust either of them with roles of importance yet, but Reiko couldn't turn her down without risking Marcus and Elise's ire.

 

“Okay, kid, set a course for Helios and get us there pronto.”