Firefly/Serenity Fan Fiction ❯ Genesis ❯ Lyarna ( Chapter 4 )

 

“Are you sure of this?” Bharic asked the twitching form before him, a weasley little informant who's nervousness was visible even over the long range com feed.

 

“Yessir. A frigate matching the descriptions you sent out was seen at Baron Marius's citadel for nearly three days, until it blasted its way from the docking station. It cloaked and was lost from view, however almost immediately following this there was a catastrophic series of attacks at the local Guild Garrison - there were reports of a high level Adept battle before the majority of the Garrison was destroyed by orbital fire from one of the four flux cannons on this frigate. The frigate then jumped to zerospace.”

 

“Were you able to determine a destination?”

 

“No. Their heading was seemingly deep space - no local drop out point that we could detect.”

 

Bharic grimaced, the flicker of emotion hidden from view by the ornate helmet he constantly wore.

 

“Very well. Keep me apprised if you have any further sightings. The usual amount will be transferred.” He cut the com before the informant could reply - he hated dealing with fringe scum, but it was essential.

 

“Shall we rejoin the fleet, my Lord?” The Captain of the Eye of Odin asked carefully.

 

About them moved the quietly efficient bridge crew of the massive destroyer, all giving the High Inquisitor a wide berth.

 

“No, not yet. Set a course for Koh'hun.”

 

“We have business with the Black Reach?” The Captain ventured.

 

“Indeed we do, Captain. Make haste.”

 

-=[]=-

 

Later that evening the crew met in the med-bay.

 

Amongst them was Kai, now devoid of clothing but in an effort to preserve his modesty he'd drawn the sheets of the bio-bed up to his chest. His feet were heavily bandaged, and Reiko was fussing over him. Similarly, Marcus now sat on an empty bed with his jacket next to him and the jump suit bunched about his waist. Fenrir was applying a bandage around his ribcage and the Captain winced in pain, which evoked a chuckle from Elise.

 

“It's not funny.” He hissed through gritted teeth.

 

“Oh stop being such a baby, you didn't even realise you'd broken your ribs until Fenrir pointed out that your altercation with the hangar wall would have probably done some damage.”

 

“Adrenaline numbs pain, you know that.” He retorted to his XO.

 

“Yeah, and men just love blowing their injuries out of all proportion.”

 

He threw his arms up in exasperation and winced, immediately regretting the move.

 

“Keep still.” Fenrir chided as he finished tucking the bandage in.

 

“So how about we recap on what happened at Marius's? Why was he trying to kill you, Kai?”

 

“He's altered Maxi, somewhat. I'll let him explain that in full, however after you left Maxi was summoned to meet with Marius. I went with him. Marius insisted that he speak to our pilot alone and made myself and Theban wait outside. When I heard shouting from inside his office I decided to intervene, however Theban, as you've probably guessed, is a formidable opponent. Maxi actually ended up saving me from him. After that we had to shoot our way out of the Citadel and realised that Marius's next step would be to try and harm you, which probably meant by tipping off the Governor, so we came to rescue you.” The Extractor summed up, seeming oblivious to the pain he must've been suffering from his injuries.

 

“Okay. Well, thanks for trying to rescue us, but don't sell Elise and I short; we can handle ourselves.” Marcus reminded.

 

“I doubt you could fend off an entire Garrison.” Fenrir commented as he busied himself putting away the various medical apparatus that he'd been using.

 

“You've not seen him shooting, yet.” Elise said, breaking from the mockery to defend her closest friend.

 

“Yes I have. He was quite impressive, but that wouldn't be able to-“

 

“I wasn't shooting shooting, I was just shooting.” Marcus chided, waving the avatar into silence.

 

“That makes no sense. Perhaps you suffered a concussion as well?” Fenrir reached for the cerebral scanner, and Reiko couldn't help but burst out laughing.

 

“Laugh all you want - I wasn't even practicing in there.” He bragged.

 

“Then perhaps the next time my feet get crushed by an ancient you could step it up a notch?” Kai mused, smiling to dispel any malice from the jibe.

 

“I didn't have my guns with me.” He said defensively.

 

“Speaking of which, we need to pick up some specialised kit when we reach Ravouin. It's a trading planet, and we're heading to the big station floating above it, called Cernun. We'll need a shopping list.”

 

“First and foremost, We need a set of spare parts in case anything breaks down, because I have literally no resources to draw upon if we take damage. We also need several maintenance units and general utility bots.” Fenris said bluntly.

 

“Well, this all depends on what we can get for Maxi's kimono.” Kai observed

 

“That's worth several hundred thousand to collectors - it shouldn't be an issue. I'd also suggest setting up an independent account here where no governments can touch it, as the Lyarna system is unaligned.” Fenrir replied.

 

Marcus thought for a moment as he eased his jumpsuit back up over his shoulders and zipped it up to his chest “Good call. We all also need to get some basics: clothes, food that doesn't suck, weaponry...”

 

“I'd also look into paying off a few informants to keep an ear to the ground - the Lyarna system is the home of the Bounty Hunter's Guild, and they're bound to have sources second to none.” Elise pointed out.

 

“Yeah. Ok, let's all get some rest. Fen, how long until Kai's on his feet again?”

 

“About a week. Until then he's confined to the medbay or a hoverchair with supervision.”

 

“Then Kai, you've just volunteered yourself for security duty when we're in-system.”

 

“It's a hard, thankless task, but someone has to do it.” He intoned solemnly.

 

“You're just going to sit around and drink caf, aren't you?” Reiko guessed, ruffling her brother's hair.

 

“I also plan on slicing into a few local networks and finding out what the fallout of us stealing their new toy was.” He said, somewhat defensively.

 

As the crew said their good nights, Marcus brushed past Maxi and muttered into his ear “Bridge, ten minutes. We need to talk.”

 

-=[]=-

 

The disturbing red tendrils of light and energy coursed their way through Zerospace as the Fenrir carved her way towards the Lyarna system, slipping through the tempestuous storm between dimensions that was still dangerous even though it had been the established form of faster-than-light travel for over two hundred years. Ships still occasionally went missing and it was rumoured that if you stared out at the unending maelstrom for too long you'd go insane. There were so many rumours and legends of spectral shapes moving through the darkness, though no proof had ever been found.

 

Marcus sat in the captain's chair, watching the forward viewscreen when Maxi came in, for once looking a little nervous.

 

“So, how can a kid take out someone even a Black Reach Extractor struggled with?” Marcus said without preamble.

 

Maxi swallowed slightly and sat down simply on the floor in front of the Captain's chair. “Marius called me an `ancient' - he explained that Theban was one as well. I think Theban must've concocted some sort of potion that…'activated' my abilities, as they were previously inaccessible to me on a conscious level. As I understand it, Ancients are powerful beings that can easily handle Adepts, and they're usually elemental in nature. For example, Theban seemed to focus on the working of sand, whereas I have an affinity for…lightning, I guess.”

 

“Lightning?” Marcus echoed, frowning.

 

“Yeah. That shit Marius made me drink also cured a fair bit of the amnesia I was suffering. Back on Rabanast I was being transferred in a cryo-stasis unit to another laboratory to be studied by the Federation. The Fenrir was built to transport me around as their superweapon - and I imagine there was a whole team of Extractors being trained to work with me. However, when you cut the power it shorted out the cryo-stasis tube and I was able to break out, but the shock activated my abilities and I basically fried everyone in the lab.” His voice cracked slightly as he struggled to block out the images of the people he'd killed.

 

Marcus slid off the chair and sat down on the floor in front of Maxi, mercifully silent as the blond continued.

 

“I don't have much control over the abilities, I still don't know what I'm fully capable of, but it's not a subconscious thing anymore, I assume that they'll automatically kick in when I feel threatened.” He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

 

Marcus's heart went out to him. He placed a hand on Maxi's knee and squeezed. “Nobody will ever exploit you, I promise. You're just my helmsman - you're not some messiah or whatever, you're Maxi. Your life started when you brained me with that fucking pipe.” He grinned as Maxi managed a slight chuckle at the memory.

 

“I mean it though. You're safe whilst you're travelling with us.”

 

Maxi looked up, his eyes shining with emotion. “Thanks, Marcus.”

 

Abruptly, Marcus stood up to dispel the tension. “How long until we reach Lyarna?”

 

Maxi took the hint and sat down at the Helm station, glancing briefly over the readouts.

 

“Eighteen Hours.”

 

“Then let's get some rest - we've got a busy day ahead of us when we reach Cernun station.” He said, smiling in anticipation.

 

-=[]=-

 

With a flicker of pseudo-motion, the Fenrir decanted-

Into a scene of chaos. The space around Ravouin was crowded with a myriad of ships moving two and from the surface of the planet, and that was before the crew could even begin to take in the sheer scope of Cernun Station, floating majestically above the surface of the planet - a huge self contained city within its own right.

 

“Always takes my breath away.” Elise murmured, grinning at the sight of the `Jewel of Lyarna' (A common nickname for the planet Ravouin) and the huge spiked disk floating above her with a spire leading down from the centre of the disk towards the planet, like a tail.

 

“Awful busy here. This a good idea for us to be around here when we need to be keeping a low profile?” Reiko asked.

 

“This is an independent system - no government would dare attack Lyarna. This is the home system of the Bounty Hunter's Guild, and Cernun alone would be enough to repel half a Federation Assault Force.” Marcus commented, grinning to himself at the thought of half a Federation Assault Force being picked apart by a rag-tag group of pirates, mercenaries and bounty hunters.

 

“Unidentified Frigate, state your classification and reason for journeying to the Lyarna system.” A bored voice grated through the com.

 

“Lyarna Space Traffic Control, this is the private yacht Fenrir here to resupply. We request permission to berth at Cernun Station.” Elise answered promptly.

 

“Permission granted to berth at docking bay F24. How long will you be with us?”

 

“No more than a week.”

 

“Understood, Fenrir. A Cernun Representative will meet you at the primary airlock. Enjoy your stay in Lyarna.”

 

“That was easy.” Marcus commented, sounding uneasy.

 

“Yeah, that was easy. Is it always that easy?” Reiko asked.

 

“No, we usually have to spend around half an hour negotiating a price up-front.” Marcus replied, his hand unconsciously brushing the grip of his pistol.

 

“So…trap?” Elise asked, grinning to herself.

 

“Trap.” Marcus confirmed. “Bring us in, kid.”

 

-=[]=-

 

High Inquisitor Bharic was an intimidating figure. He was clad head to foot in an armoured power suit that gave him an almost superhuman bulk. The black panels across his torso gleamed darkly in the underpowered lighting of the Black Reach's headquarters, and the Blue Mist elite honour guard marching behind him were also a force to be reckoned with. He needed a powerful show of force when dealing with the `mystic mob.'

 

The blandly clothed attaché leading them to the conference room seemed entirely nonplussed, but then again he was probably a lethal weapon in his own right. The walls were uniform polished black marble, as were the floors and ceilings. It was an entirely unremarkable décor designed to infuriate escapees or intruders, as only the members of the Black Reach would be briefed on the layout. After what seemed like two whole circuits of the entire facility, they reached their destination.

 

The doors parted and Bharic swept in without waiting for an invitation.

 

“High Inquisitor Bharic! It's always a pleasure. I've been hearing all sorts of interesting reports about the incident at Rabanast, and subsequently at D-34. I'm surprised the Council hasn't summoned you back to Terra.”

 

He pierced the Matriarch with a glare and pointedly ignored her open barb.

 

“I'm sure those reports have also mentioned something about a rogue Extractor.” Bharic retorted, taking a seat opposite the elegant woman in a plain black suit opposite him.

 

She was perhaps 5'4, yet her jet black hair with a line of white running from one temple belied her true age. Around her eyes there was some scarring and raised vein tissue, and her eyes themselves were both milky white. It was wholly unsettling.

 

“Unsubstantied. This is your mess, Bharic. You can clean it up.” She answered, her tone icy.

 

Bharic held out his hand and one of the Blue Mist dropped a datacard into his waiting grasp. The Inquisitor slotted the card into the table's projector unit and a moment later a flatscreen recording was shown of Kai demolishing the rec-room of the Guild Garrison on Helios. An uncomfortable silence followed.

 

“Have you ever seen a unit of Sazen Commandoes in action, Inquisitor?” She asked eventually, pouring herself a glass of water.

 

“I can't say that I have.” He replied, smiling in triumph behind the mask of his helmet.

 

“Extractors aren't field units, usually. We train them to defend themselves, as they have access to…considerable sensitive information, however they're mostly kept away from the line of fire. Sazen Commandoes are what the Black Reach reserves for highly dangerous foes. They'll be able to handle our Extractor and your little play thing. They'll also be able to bring that frigate back intact.” The Matriarch explained, sipping the water intermittently.

 

“I hope so, because if they fail, then we will have no choice but to inform the Council, and we'll both face their ire.” Bharic responded, his heart racing at the thought of their retribution.

 

“They will not fail.”

 

-=[]=-

 

This time when the crew (minus Kai, who was still confined to the ship due to his injuries) of the Fenrir alighted there was a welcoming committee. Three security personnel stood hefting rifles menacingly in rough approximations of a uniform, and an equally unkempt port official stood amidst them, laughing about something, one hand prominently resting on the grip of his pistol, almost proudly displayed in a holster slung low on his hip.

 

“Are you the Captain of this ship?” The official asked as Marcus approached him.

 

“I'm Captain Lae.” He replied, meeting his gaze evenly.

 

“Are you aware that the weapons on your ship are illegal, even by Lyarna's lax regulations?” He drawled, grinning easily.

 

“No, I wasn't. I'll make sure they're suitably downgraded next time I return to Cernun.” Marcus answered, glancing at Elise.

 

“That won't be good enough, Captain Lae. We're going to need to impound your ship.”

 

At this, Marcus openly laughed.

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.” Marcus replied as he calmed down slightly.

 

“Furze.” He replied, looking a little disappointed that his blatant display of intimidation hadn't worked.

 

“Mr. Furze.” Marcus said, putting an arm around his shoulder and leading him away from the three security guards.

 

“Mr. Furze, the purpose of our visit is to fence a very, very valuable antique item. Whilst I don't have anything to show you currently, I can give you my word that you will be handsomely…compensated for your discretion.” He suggested, his voice unconsciously changing tone to a more conspiratorial, friendly pitch.

 

“Are you trying to bribe me?” Furze asked, his tone unreadable.

 

“It's that or have to kill you, and your friends, then bribe the guys they send to get us for killing you.” Marcus chuckled, making sure Furze couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

 

“How much are we talking, here?” Furze asked, his tone now matching Marcus's.

 

“Around the region of ten thousand.”

 

 

“In that case, Captain, I think we can reach an understanding. However, I will be locking out the docking bay until you come back with money.” Furze said, gesturing for the guards to head out of the bay.

 

“That was quite a bribe. Usually it shouldn't take more than a thousand to shake off the small-timers.” Elise commented as the crew followed Marcus down the walkway towards the Concourse proper.

 

“Yeah, well this way we've got a line into Cernun for life - we can get information on recent arrivals or departures and I'm sure we'll be able to work him to get us a regular docking bay.” Marcus explained as they passed through the doors into the concourse.

 

Maxi stopped dead as he gazed about in wonder. There was a massive tunnel running around the perimeter of Cernun's disc-like body with a honeycomb of docking bays of a variety of sizes to accommodate a whole host of different craft. The concourse linked all of these docking bays together was a criss-crossing spider's web of walkways, gantries, promenades and cluster-points with escalators, elevators and small stalls selling more items than even Marcus could hope to name. Filling these walkways and clusters was a small city's worth of people all rushing about their business. It was a lot to take in at once.

 

Marcus and Elise blended into the throng of pedestrians seamlessly, completely unfazed by the crush of people and Fenrir had to guide Maxi back into motion before he was left behind. Without looking back, Marcus called out “Close your mouth, kid. You're getting funny looks.”

 

It didn't take long for Marcus to lead them into a dingy bar tucked away under a large walkway, however the flickering sign above the stairwell leading down that read `Catch-22' was misleading - the bar itself was massive. A haze of murk and smoke prevented the Fenrir's crew from seeing the far side. Music was piped through some speakers, however the sound was indistinct and overrun by the mrmur of many hushed conversations.

 

Fenrir and Maxi sat down in a large circular booth whilst the others got drinks and joined them.

 

“The first matter is to sell that Kimono.” Fenrir observed.

 

“I know a fence down in Trenchtown, that's no problem.” Marcus answered, taking a sip of his drink and wincing.

 

“What about the rest of us?” Reiko asked, not even bothering to taste the contents of her dirty glass.

 

“Maxi, Reiko, you're both on clothes and food detail. We want to have some decent changes of clothing, and something better to eat tonight.”

 

“Got it.” They said in unison.

 

“Elise, I need you to go set up a bank account and also start…liaising with some informants that'll have their ears to the ground. If we can get a good handle of what's happening in Lyarna, then we'll have access to a wider information network.” Marcus said, knowing how easy that job would be for the stunningly beautiful XO.

 

“I take it I'm to source the raw materials, spare parts and droids?” Fenrir asked.

 

“Right on the money.”

 

“I'll see what I can do.” Fenrir responded, already accessing Cernun's mainframes via the ship uplink to find out if there were any transports to the shipyards departing Cernun on a regular basis.

 

“Okay, let's get this over and done with. We'll meet back on the ship this evening.”

 

-=[]=-

 

“Whoa, did you feel that?” murmured the youth with short, spiky black hair, dark eyes and an almost regal look about him.

 

One of the three dogs sitting around the legs of the table perked his head up, his ears flicking back.

 

“Codah did.” The older brother answered, taking a long drink of the beer in front of him.

 

“What did you feel?” Asked the only female at the table, who didn't bother looking up from the gadget she was fiddling with.

 

“Strong-assed adept.” Answered the younger brother, scratching the ear of the more attentive dog.

 

“Possibly an ancient?” asked the sister, flicking a bang of hair away from her face.

 

“He's the right age for a third seed.” Rumbled the lizard.

 

“Who? The blond with the former Marshal and those other three?” Asked Mikel, the older brother. He lounged in the chair, one leg up on the corner of the table as he squinted slightly through his unruly mop of hair and reached down to the foot of his chair where one of his three canines rested.

 

“That's the one. Think they're here for the Cadre Games?” Asked Irfan, clicking his fingers, letting a little puff of smoke trail from his hands every so often.

 

Jurai batted at his hand to make him stop, then briefly glanced up at the object of interest. “Want me to find out?” she asked.

 

“Let's use it as a warmup exercise.” The old lizard intoned, standing up.

 

 

-=[]=-

 

“This is why I hate Port Royal.” Marcus thought disgustedly to himself as he stalked down one of the lesser thoroughfares of the lawless city. He'd been back in the Lyarna system less than a day - the engines of his new Frigate were still warm. The Smuggler's fist balled in frustration -he'd wanted to avoid exactly this sort of situation; having to go from vendor to vendor trying to sell the Kimono.

He didn't break his pace as a pair of N-Spartans headed towards him, and grinned tightly as the spacers moved aside at the last second, a show of deference to the now physically intimidating human. Clad in a sleek black jacket that brushed his thighs (just low enough to hide his gunbelt), he had changed the brown jacket and grey jumpsuit that he was renowned for and seemed…darker somehow. Troubled. Definitely older, and definitely with an agenda.

The Captain trotted down a short flight of steps and without pause swept into the dingy little antique shop. The familiar scent of `old' assaulted him - moth balls, aged wood and rusting. He brushed past it and wound his way through the cluttered, crowded tables full of trinkets and ornaments, dodging the myriad of furniture until he reached a counter of sorts. He coughed audibly and a startled wheeze was heard from behind a faded tapestry hanging over a doorway.

From the depths of the shop emerged an unusual sight: A tribal. The elderly little alien was a particularly ancient specimen and moved about with the aid of an antigrav-chair. His oversized eyes focused on Marcus, widened in surprise and murmured something incomprehensible in his own language before cackling out a reedy laugh.

“Master Lae! I had no idea you were back in town-“

“Liar.” Marcus cut him off. He didn't have time to mess around in here, especially since the spider's web of overlapping spying and information networks spread across the Lyarna system would be rippling with news of his return. He had to move quickly.

“Fine. We had you under observation since you set down with your new plaything. Might I recommend getting a less conspicuous mode of transport to at your earliest convenience?” the intelligent little shopkeeper said, dropping the act of being pleased to see the former Marshal.

“No you may not. I left something in your care and paid you handsomely to protect it. I need that item back.”

The aging aliens' smile faltered. With a curt nod, he floated back through into the back and emerged a moment later, clutching a strong-box almost protectively. Placing it so that it would open before Marcus, his eyes glittered expectantly as the smuggler placed his thumb on the scanner and didn't flinch as the small needle rose up, pricking him and taking a sample of his blood. A moment later, the scanner flashed green and the lock clicked off.

With a hiss of hydraulics, his most prized possession was revealed. A pair of scuffed, unpolished blasters that looked positively antique, however to Marcus they were like seeing a long departed lover or dear friend - they were his Wayfighter pistols. One an exact replica of the gun Kilik Erinos used (one was recovered from the depths of Rabanast and had been entrusted to the smuggler) - they made up the base pair that all the others that the Kahn Industrial Weapons had diligently produced for the elite of the Guild. They were priceless and had the blood of countless bounties etched into them. He'd had the blasters since he was still a mere child of 16 - before he'd been admitted into the gentry of the BHG and were a sign to him of his rising through the ranks despite adversity to rub shoulders with the best Lyarna had to offer. If he was to be truly back in Lyarna, he'd need his guns.

“Thank you, Hkrik. I'll be back if I ever need something else looking after.” Marcus said, taking the strong box.

 

The nasty little tribal wheezed out a laugh and nodded his understanding.

 

“However, I was also hoping you'd be able to take this off my hands.” Marcus continued, unfolding the nondescript black garment carrier from the roll under his arm. He spread it out over the counter, showing the beautiful Kimono in all its resplendent glory.

 

“My my my my my!” Hkrik exclaimed, his fingers twitching with delight.

 

“So you'll be able to help?” Marcus asked, grinning inwardly.

 

“Two-fifty.” The tribal snapped, not bothering to look up at the Captain.

 

“Try nine fifty. You and I both know that's more along the lines of what it's worth.”

 

“You're crazy! Four hundred, max.”

 

“Nine Fifty and we'll have a deal.”

 

“You're not bartering, shaved ape; you're making an old sentient poor! Five hundred is the absolute highest I can go.”

 

“He must really be desperate.” Marcus thought to himself, trying to hide the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth.

 

“My associates and I went through a lot of trouble to bring this choice item to your attention, and we will not be short changed. Nine Hundred.”

 

Hkrik's eyes flashed as soon as Marcus dropped the price ever so slightly, and he pushed relentlessly on.

 

“Six fifty then, just because it is you, my Marcus! If I bought it for any more I'd be coming out with a loss.”

 

“Eight Seven Five.”

 

Hkrik sighed in exasperation and stamped his warty little finger down on the arm of his antigrav chair for emphasis “Six fifty. No more.”

 

Marcus rolled up the garment carrier, picked up the strong box and turned to leave. He'd gotten halfway across the shop when the reedy, exasperated voice called out “Seven Hundred!”

 

He stopped, paused so that he could mask the smile of satisfaction from his face and turned around “Eight Fifty. You say anything else and I'll find another fence - I'm sick of bartering.”

 

Hkrik sighed in defeat and nodded. “You've made me a very poor man, Marcus.” He admitted as he picked up a datapad and started tapping furiously onto it.

 

“And just think how much you'll be able to make if you sell it at a collector's auction. Don't give me that kicked puppy act, we're both now very rich men.” Marcus commented as he took a pair of unusually constructed gauntlets from the strong box and pulled off his jacket.

 

“The money is transferred to your usual account. Will you be entering the Cadre Games again this year?” Hkrik asked, watching the Captain attach the gauntlets to his bare arms and slide the two pistols into the specially built cradles that nestled up against his forearms.

 

“Has registry finished?” he asked, pulling his jacket back on. It was impossible to tell that he had the sleeve holsters on.

 

“Nope.” Hkrik answered, clearly wanting him out of his shop now that the transaction was concluded.

 

“Huh. Might have a look in on that, then.” He commented as he walked out of the shop, glancing at the light haired canine sitting by the door's outside, watching him intently.

 

-=[]=-

 

Kai's eyes flickered open.

 

“Fenrir, is anyone back?” he asked, sitting up in the infirmary.

 

“You're the only crewmember left on board.” The AI answered promptly, his face appearing on a nearby screen.

 

“There's someone else on board.” He said, frowning. It wasn't a mind he recognised, but there was no malicious intent.

 

“Are you sure?” Fenrir asked, his voice dubious.

 

“Near the rear of the ship. Are there any access points down there?” He asked, trying to stand but unable to move his legs.

 

“You shouldn't move. And yes, there's a maintenance hatchway down there to get at the jump vane. However, it hasn't been opened.” Fenrir replied, sounding ever so slightly testy, probably at the suggestion that someone could sneak on board the frigate without raising any alarms.

 

“She's down there.” Kai said shortly, hauling himself off the bed and landing on the floor with a grunt of pain.

 

“Oh, so now this mythic intruder is a she?” Fenrir asked, not even bothering to hide his irritation.

 

“Can the attitude, Fenrir.” He retorted as he dragged himself up into the antigrav chair next to his bed.

 

“If you insist on hurting yourself, I'll lock down the area and call back the Captain.” Fenrir conceded with strained patience.

 

“No. If she got past your outer hatch without triggering any alarms then some blast doors won't stop her for long either, plus you'll let her know that we're aware of her presence. Call back the captain if she incapacitates me, but that shouldn't happen.”

 

“For a man without the use of his legs, you're remarkably confident about taking down an unknown assailant.” He remarked as Kai moved from the medbay with the aid of the chair.

 

-=[]=-

 

“Elise, we got the money.” Marcus said through the commlink.

 

“Nice. “What did you get for it? Six fifty?” She replied, smirking.

 

“Eight Fifty.” Even over the commlink, she could tell he was insulted that he'd get under its value for it; however eight fifty was a…considerable amount. They were all very rich people.

 

“Well done, Capt. I've got a bad feeling…” Elise said.

 

“Yeah. It's all going too well for us. Something's not right.” He agreed, sounding as disturbed as Elise - they'd never had it easy and for everything to simply fall into place was suspicious.

 

“I'm pretty much set here, I'm going to swing by the ship and make sure Kai's ok.” She said, the feeling in her gut intensifying.

 

“Good plan. Don't forget the bribe for the delightful Mr. Furze.”

 

She smirked at this - the docking master had completely slipped her mind.

 

“I'll swing by an ATM on the way there and pick it up.”

 

She signed off, pocketed the device and whirled around, aiming her carbine at the nondescript figure that had been tailing her for at least five minutes.

 

“You want to turn around and walk away quickly before I turn you into a belt, scaly.” She warned, her aim not wavering from the large Vorion's forehead.

 

The lizard was large, at least seven feet in height and wore a large burgundy jacket that had a collar covering the lower portion of his face and muzzle. Covering his reptilian eyes were a custom pare of reflective shades and a massive sword was balanced over one shoulder. About his waist was a wide belt that had a large bottle hanging from it as well as several beads and a few shorter knives.

 

Without a word, he nodded ever so slightly, turned and left, his tail smacking the ground behind him rhythmically as he walked. Elise shuddered to herself in response to the creepy lizard and carried on her own path, making sure she doubled back on herself twice as she made her way back to the ship.

 

-=[]=-

 

Kai decided that the antigrav chair was even better than walking because it was absolutely silent. The mind he could sense was in the cargo bay, and as far as he was aware, had no idea he was approaching. The door was almost certainly gimmicked to raise an alarm if he entered.

 

“Fenrir, what's in this cargo bay?”

 

“A few crates of emergency rations, some spare parts for my avatar and lengths of power cables and convertors.” He answered, sounding resigned.

 

“Have you got visual in there?”

 

“Yes, and nobody's in there.”

 

“That you can see.” Kai replied tersely, and thumbed the activation. There was no response.

 

“Fenrir, the door's jammed. Can you override it, please?”

 

“That's odd, it shouldn't be jammed…” Fenrir commented as the lock clunked open.

 

“Probably because there's someone in there that jammed it…” Kai muttered in return as he slipped through the door-

 

A cable shot out with a skeletal hand attached to one end and grasped at the air above Kai's head - where his neck would have been had he been standing.

 

He didn't think. A blast of telekinesis knocked the cable away and he stared up at a confusing, writhing mass of cables and skeletal AI parts patched together in a roughly humanoid shape. It was easily three meters tall.

 

“Please tell me you're seeing this, Fen.” Kai urged as he jutted his other hand out, catching the other incoming cable/arm mid motion as it swiped for his anti-grav chair.

 

“I'm calling the captain.” Fenrir said shortly.

 

The chair zipped backwards as the first fist slammed into the ground once more, and it was only then that Kai took stock of what was attacking him.

 

Behind the monstrous collection of spare parts and cable was a small, wiry woman with dark hair and a datapad in her hands: she was controlling the hastily constructed robot.

 

Instead of the arms coming at Kai again, several cables with attaching connectors shot from the `chest' of the construct. With a surgeon's care, Kai grabbed each of them and pulled. Hard.

 

With a groan and a shudder, the chest of the makeshift robot came apart - a scavenged power core clattered to the floor without the wires to hold it up.

 

Kai then turned his attention to the slight woman, who looked a little crestfallen that her machine had been so easily swept aside.

 

“And who might you be?” he said, moving forward at a leisurely pace.

 

-=[]=-

 

“Well, at least someone had fun today.” Marcus commented dryly as Reiko and Maxi strolled into the Rec Room, their arms heavily laden with bags.

 

“What's wrong?” Reiko asked as she caught sight of Kai's expression.

 

“We had an intruder. She's locked in the brig for now, but she was trying to splice into the ship's communication modules and plant a tap. She hasn't spoken yet, and I'm not recovered yet: I can't perform a link and get the information from her - plus, that might kill her.” Kai answered, moving himself over to the kitchenette.

 

“We're still talking over what to do with her.” Elise explained.

 

“She'll keep. What did you guys get today?” Marcus asked, sitting down heavily in one of the many comfortable chairs.

 

“Clothes for everyone. Lots of clothes.” Maxi said happily.

 

“We're having a fashion show later.” Reiko warned, evoking a groan from Marcus.

 

“Shut up, Captain. It's happening.” Elise said, smiling wickedly.

 

“Please tell me you got food.” Marcus pleaded.

 

“It's being delivered in the morning, along with a few necessities for the kitchen and some other little bits and pieces.” Reiko answered.

 

“So we're starving tonight?” Marcus retorted.

 

“Got ya covered.” Maxi pulled a few paper takeout menus from his pocket and flicked them at Marcus.

 

“Kid, you're an absolute genius. Have your fashion show as long as we order Japanese.”

 

The rest of the evening was spent with the crew (apart from Kai, who was still confined to the chair and Fenrir, who still wasn't back from the shipyards above Cuero) eating take-out food, parading Maxi and Reiko's choices for the crew. Fenrir arrived late into the evening with reports of success at the Shipyards - again deliveries were coming in the morning. As the evening wound down, Marcus called for quiet.

 

“Ok, I'm going to have a chat with our little tech-ninja. Kai, Elise?”

 

The trio proceeded down to the brig, and Marcus couldn't help but grin at what he saw - the little technician had managed to escape from the cell and was halfway through shortwiring the main brig doors with a multi-tool that was built as a prosthetic hand.

 

“Nice try.” Marcus commented, levelling his pistol at her.

 

“You can't hold me in a cell. You might as well let me go.” She remarked, eyeing the pistol warily.

 

“You wanna tell us why you were on our ship?” Elise asked amiably, falling effortlessly into the good cop role.

 

“My squad were curious about our competition for the CGs.” She answered as Marcus gestured for her to move to one of the vacant cells. Elise and Marcus stayed with her, whilst Kai simply sat by the door, looking at her without blinking.

 

“We're not going to be participating in the CGs.” Marcus said shortly.

 

“Are you kidding? You're the former Marshal! You and Xanamis have always been the main crowd grabber for the Games, we thought you'd been gone all these years assembling the ultimate squad to beat him…and now you have an adept!” She exclaimed, forgetting her predicament.

 

“She's got a point, Capt'.” Elise murmured, and Marcus shot her a warning look.

 

“Don't contradict me in front of the captive, please.” He chided. Elise raised her hands up in mock surrender.

 

“But the winning prize this year is a unique transport as well as the Cadre Blades!” the technician pointed out.

 

“Shut up. What's your name?” Marcus asked, taking aim once more.

 

“Jurai. I'm a member of a Cadre planning to participate. We were just investigating the competition.”

 

“I will kill you with my mind if you lie again.” Kai interjected, spearing Jurai with a glance. She visibly flinched.

 

“Ok, ok, I was planting a tap on your communications to keep tabs on you, find out if there was a bounty for information regarding your clearly stolen government prototype and handing you in for cold hard cash.” She answered instead, looking pointedly at Kai for approval. He didn't even blink.

 

“Should we kill her?” the Captain asked Elise.

 

Jurai's eyes widened and her arm shot up.

 

“Look out!” Kai said sharply, moving his chair forward, but it was too late.

 

A thin wire shot from the tip of her index finger no wider than a piece of straw and angled in at Elise. The XO moved faster than Kai had realised she could, raising the stock of her carbine up to intercept the wire and prevent it from catching her in the eye. Marcus let a shot off, however a strange energy field caught the bullet, sending it ricocheting around. Kai's eyes hardened into a glare as he spiked Jurai with a strong psychic needle, however a mental barrier erected itself faster than he thought possible - he blinked in surprise.

 

Her eyes flashed a neon green and her pupils seemed to dilate rapidly. From the blacks of her eyes shot two acidic purple lines of liquid. It was impossible to dodge. Marcus moved backwards, yanking off his jacket as he turned with his back to the spray. The jacket caught the sprays in mid-air and dissolved through the materiel. However he'd stepped out of the jacket - Kai was impressed.

 

A pair of shots rang out from Elise's carbine, but again an energy field shimmered into place from the palm of the technician's hand, catching the bullets once more.

 

“Another time, Captain.” Jurai intoned as she shimmered before vanishing.

 

“Don't be fooled! She's still there!” Kai warned, indicating that Jurai had merely turned invisible, not somehow teleported from the brig.

 

A spark shot out from the partially dismantled console next to the brig doors and they jutted open. Kai once again tried to send a psychic needle at the technician, however he was physically repulsed, the antigrav chair banging against the wall.

 

“Fenrir, lock the ship exits down. Maxi, Reiko, seal off the bridge.” Marcus ordered sharply into the comm. as he scooped up the smouldering remains of his favourite jacket with the barrel of his pistol.

 

“I probably shouldn't have been so brazen with the bad cop routine…”

 

“You think?” Elise remarked, her voice heavily laden with sarcasm.

 

“We've sealed ourselves in the bridge, Captain. What happened?” Reiko asked.

 

“The captive was a tricky little shit. She had some implants and was able to fight her way out of the brig.”

 

“Sorry captain, but the auxiliary airlock was forced open. It's jammed open so we won't be going anywhere until it's repaired. I'm guessing she got away.” Fenrir cut in, sounding subdued.

 

“No problem, Fenrir. None of us knew what she was capable of - be thankful nobody was hurt and that she didn't cause more damage.” Elise soothed.

 

The rest of the evening was spent with Elise, Marcus and Reiko trying to fix the auxiliary airlock doors, whilst Maxi and Kai relaxed in the rec room. Eventually around midnight local time the three `engineers' joined the other two in the rec room, looking greasy and exhausted.

 

“We're going to be here a little while yet, Captain. We might as well make some money while we're stuck here.” Elise reasoned as they walked in.

 

“What're you talking about?” Maxi asked, picking over the remnants of some wasabi octopus.

 

“The Cadre Games. It's a series of competitions for small teams of Mercs ranging from 2-4 members. The winners get some pretty significant coinage and a lot of fun trinkets.” Marcus answered.

 

“Sounds fun!” the ancient exclaimed.

 

“No, it's dangerous. Very dangerous. Plus, it'd attract undue attention.” Marcus said flatly as he sagged down into one of the many comfortable chairs.

 

“We're hardly defenceless and as for the undue attention, the Fenrir isn't exactly low-key.” Elise retorted.

 

“I don't want to put the newbies in danger.” He murmured.

 

“Captain, we can make our own decisions. If it pays well…” Reiko interjected.

 

“Trust me. Money is not an issue for us.” Marcus grinned despite himself.

 

“Actually, it is. It costs roughly forty thousand a month to keep me running, and that's not counting salaries for yourself and your crew. Or unexpected maintenance requirements, as we'll probably be getting into more than our fair share of fights, then there's the fact that I've spent around eighty grand today on your shopping list-“

 

“What?!” Marcus exclaimed towards the AI's screen.

 

“Yeah, I spent around twenty five on bribes and informants, not counting the ten grand you so generously gave to Mr. Furze.” Elise added.

 

Marcus's eyes widened even further.

 

“Add about ten onto that from our little shopping spree.” Maxi said sheepishly.

 

“So that's one hundred and fifteen thousand credits spent inside a day.” He said weakly.

 

“While we're on the topic of money, we might as well sort out crew wages.” Fenrir observed.

 

Marcus visibly shook himself, then nodded, his head still in his hands.

 

“Okay, I've been thinking about this. Five grand a month each sound good? That's sixty a year. All accommodation, food etc is paid for, however the hours are lousy.” He said dryly.

 

The others looked among each other, surprised that Marcus had even thought about giving them a wage.

 

“We were under the impression that shelter was our payment.” Kai said at last.

 

“Well now you get shelter and a job.”

 

“That sounds good, Capt.” Reiko said, grinning.

 

“I'll get some official contracts sorted out. I take it we're not informing the tax office?” Fenrir commented dryly.

 

“Thanks, Fen.” Elise said - it was such a small matter however they suddenly felt like a crew; not just a collection of individuals forced together by circumstance.

 

“Well, with overheads of around seventy thousand a month, that still leaves us needing a little insurance, and if these Cadre Games pay well…” Fenrir tailed off and Marcus sighed in exasperation.

 

“Fine! We'll sign up in the morning. When do they start?”

 

“Tomorrow evening. The first round is the Killing House.”

 

Marcus grimaced to himself.

 

“That's not too bad, Captain. The Killing House used to be our specialty event.” Elise pointed out.

 

“We'll need to declare another two Cadre members. Fenrir, I'm sorry but they won't allow `droids into the Games: unfair advantage. Kai, I'm guessing you won't be able to participate either, what with you being unable to stand…” Marcus thought aloud.

 

“So me, you, Reiko and Elise?” Maxi surmised.

 

“Kid, you're not going to be put in the line of fire. We'll just have three of us, and I'm not even sure we should have Reiko involved - you're a pilot, not a Merc.”

 

“If it came down to a fight between the two of you, I'd put my money on Maxi.” Kai stated evenly, provoking a glare from the Captain.

 

“He doesn't yet know how to control his abilities, and I said we wouldn't exploit them. I meant that.”

 

Maxi had that earnest expression on him once again that Marcus found impossible to deny “I can speak for myself, and you're not exploiting me - I want to help.”

 

“Before you sign yourself up, let me explain what happens in the Cadre Games.” Marcus paused, gesturing for everyone to sit down. “This is the national sport of the Bounty Hunter's Guild - it's a series of events that wouldn't look out of place in the arenas of Rome. They test all of the abilities expected from the best Bounty Hunters in the business - outright combat, stealth, investigation, subterfuge, melee fights, duels, and races. There are no safety precautions; it's the real deal. You get shot in the Killing House and you're dead, unless you have some heavy-assed armour. The competition will be fierce - these will be the best combatants out of literally thousands of career mercenaries and bounty hunters. The buy-in is more than most hunters make in a year, which restricts the entrants to the cream of the crop, however the rewards are prodigious. For simply passing the first round we'll get fifty grand…which covers the buy in.”

 

“…Captain, I can shoot fucking lightning from my finger-tips.” The room erupted in laughter and even Marcus had to grin - Maxi was coming more and more into his own.

 

“Don't get cocky, kid. These guys are hardened veterans of a fair few wars that have since lost their morals and gone Merc. You've barely been in a fight.”

 

“I think he's made up his mind.” Elise murmured and Marcus nodded, resigned.

 

“Reiko, no offence but basic training won't save you here - you sure you want to sign yourself up?”

 

“Keep me out of the line of fire and in a cockpit and I can beat any of these second rate stick jockies. I wasn't just basic trained with fighter craft - I set a lot of records back at the academy.” She retorted, smiling tightly to herself. It wasn't a warm expression.

 

“Ok then, let's get some sleep, because we've got a busy morning ahead of us.” Marcus announced, standing with a tight smile. Try as he might, he couldn't help but feel that chill of thrilling anticipation at the thought of entering the Cadre Games once again.

 

-=[]=-

 

The four gathered back in the bar after closing. Of them, only Jurai looked ruffled.

 

“They weren't planning on entering the Cadre Games.” She stated flatly, looking down at the table.

 

“The woman spent the day flitting between bars, just talking to employees there, presumably bribing them to keep her posted on any significant happenings in Lyarna. She caught me following her and challenged me. I decided it might be more prudent to leave her to her devices.” The Vorion rumbled, his tinted glasses shining dully in the dark light.

 

“The captain went down to Port Royal, then Trenchtown to chat to Hkrik. Koda couldn't get in the shop without raising suspicion, so I don't know what he was doing there, however he must've either deposited or sold that garment back he had a hold of.” Mikel, the oldest brother said, sounding unusually focused.

 

“The other two just floated around retail districts, buying clothes, food, general living items. They spent a fair bit as well. I'm sure now that the blond is an adept and that he doesn't know how to channel his powers beyond simple self defence. An easy mark.” Irfan, the youngest of the three siblings grinned.

 

“Their ship is state of the art. Definitely government made, I'd say Federation, but they're not agents of the Federation. They probably stole it and don't have any idea how much danger they're in. They also have an injured adept dotting around in there, and there was a dedicated AI computer with an avatar.” Jurai surmised.

 

“Well, let's focus on the Games for now. They're not an easy mark but they're not going to be in the Games, so they don't concern us. Besides, we need to decide who's going into the Killing House tomorrow.” Irfan urged his two siblings and their Vorion ward.

 

“I'll go.” Steiff said, shifting in the uncomfortable seat which didn't cater to his tail.

 

“Me too.” Mikel answered, rubbing the ear of one of his four pack-wolves affectionately.

 

“Do not die.” Jurai instructed them both, evoking a chuckle from Irfan and Mikel.