******
Seven shadows danced across the hull of the large vessel. The seven small ships traversed across the top of its hull in a wide delta formation. Merciless Errands led the squadron of ships, guiding them above the Sea Wolf.
Inside Merciless Errands, Julius looked across his capital ship’s hull, examining the details he rarely got a chance to see. The saucer shape of the Sea Wolf was more visibly prominent from this angle. He saw running lights illuminate the hull plating, exposing what he realized were imperfections in the hull, undoubtedly caused by the ad hoc repairs done to it following their numerous battles.
As he descended closer, he could see spots where the once shiny silver paint had now turned to various shades of black. Even the Jolly Roger emblems that adorned the port and starboard sides of the ship were now fading into a barely recognizable blemish. Despite having enough money to buy a new ship, living as pirates made obtaining parts for the ship difficult. The Sea Wolf had to be kept afloat through patchwork and cannibalizing of parts.
Julius pulled his ship up and pointed the squadron to their destination—the dorsal section. The dorsal hull was a long cylinder that ran along the center of the ship. Emblazoned on the hull was the name Sea Wolf in red lettering.
“Hey, boss, we’re getting awfully close,” Reece said over the link. “We going to crash into the thing or what?”
Julius moved a hand over a panel and keyed in a combination sequence. Ahead, on the back of the dorsal hull, a transparent, blue force field appeared. Beyond it was the entrance to the landing deck.
“Huh, look at that,” Reece said. “I thought only carriers had fighter bays.”
“Carriers and the Sea Wolf,” Murdock said. “It’s the only cruiser to have them; as far as I know.”
A blue light inside the shuttle cockpit lit up and a soft chime sounded, signifying that the cruiser’s computer was ready to begin remotely auto-landing the squadron. Julius ignored the indicator, instead taking the ship into the bay manually.
“Why do you always have to do things the hard way, Julius?” Murdock said.
Julius ignored the comment, instead concentrating on the launch bay ahead. The squadron of ships dove down into the force field, their delta formation changing to an abreast formation. The inside of the launch bay was divided into multiple lanes, and each fighter picked a free one to land on.
Julius could see his ship passing over the trigger line on the landing lane, and at that moment he felt a jolt as the tow beam emitter took hold of the ship and began to slow it down.
He deactivated his engines, allowing the emitter to take control the ship. The emitter guided the ship away from the landing lane and put it down a few meters away in a parking spot. The procedure was repeated for the other the ships by their own lane emitters.
Julius and Murdock both exited the shuttle. On Julius’ order, Murdock walked off with a couple of crewmembers to disarm and remove the remote detonators from the other ships.
A crewmember in a pilot’s uniform walked up and stood by Julius’ side. Both of them waited on the flight deck for the new recruits to assemble. Reece and the rest of the pilots soon filed up.
“Okay, recruits, I’ll keep it short,” Julius said. He gestured toward the crewmember next to him. “This is Ensign Jacobs. He will be orienting all of you on what you need to know. After you are settled, you can accompany the last wave out to New Las Vegas for a day. If you have any questions, Jacobs should be able to answer them.”
The pilots looked at each other, then at Reece expectantly. Reece raised his hand.
“Yes?” Jacobs said.
“Is there any way we can get an advance payment?”
“Advanced payment?” Jacobs said, turning to Julius and looking dumbfounded.
“Well, uh, none of us have any credits left,” Reece said, looking down at the deck. “We blew it all at Deimos.”
Julius frowned at them.
“We don’t need much, sir,” one of the other pilots interjected.
“I am not a bank. Perhaps you can ask your new brothers at arms for a loan when you get to New Las Vegas,” Julius said. “Assuming you still want to go. Jacobs will handle the rest of your questions.”
A rumble of questions erupted from the group as they surrounded the ensign. Julius turned away from the pilots and headed back into his shuttle. Once inside, he retrieved the metallic space debris and took it with him to the main elevator.
“Deck nine,” he said to the elevator.
He half expected it not to work, but this time the elevator began to move; probably just luck. The doors soon opened and he exited near Laina’s suite. He pushed the panel to the suite, the door opened, and he entered. Inside, he could see Laina hovering over a pile of artwork on the floor.
“Running out of room, dear?” Julius said.
Laina half turned to him, an annoyed expression on her face—she hated to be called “dear.”
“Just trying to organize, honey,” she said, a little sneer on her lips. “I don’t suppose you have any desire to trade up for a nicer ship? Perhaps something with accommodations suitable for a civilized human?”
Julius stepped into the room.
“Here,” he said, tossing the metal plate at Laina as he walked all the way in. Laina reached out to catch it, fumbling with it before getting a grip.
“It’s not heavy,” Julius said.
Laina turned the plate around, examining it.
“Oh…,” she said. “Surprisingly light.”
“It’s duratanium,” Julius said. “Same stuff the hull plating of the Sea Wolf is made of.”
“So what are you going to do with it?” she said. “Use it as a kite?”
Laina reached out to hand it back to Julius.
“No, it’s yours.” Julius said. “A gift for your collection.”
“Come on, Julius, I don’t need any more junk.”
“No, it’s not junk—it’s a piece of history. It’s hull plating from the UES Vindicator. I ran the codes through a database. Vindicator was part of the task force accompanying the UES California before it was destroyed by the A.I., just like in your portrait over there. It might have even been the one that captured the image for it.”
Laina brightened somewhat and began re-examining the plate.
“Oh, that’s different,” she said. “How did you get it?”
“Oddly enough, it was floating out in the debris field. The gravity must have attracted it long ago. Who knows what else is floating out there.”
Laina nodded slowly.
“I guess I’ll have to find a place for it,” she said. She then set the plate down near the pile of artwork on the floor.
“You do know it’s your birthday, right?” Julius said.
Laina walked away from the pile and poured a drink from a liquor cabinet. She sat herself down on a couch with drink in hand.
“Yes, of course,” Laina said. “I’m old, but my memory is still intact.”
“Wish I could say the same,” he said.
Julius walked over and sat on a couch opposite her.
“So then, what’s the matter with you?” he said. “What’s going on?”
She silently stroking her hair and gazing up at the ceiling in thought. After a moment she finally spoke.
“Have you ever had any second thoughts about the path you have chosen?”
Julius stretched back in the couch.
“Never! Life is too long to torture yourself with trivial things like regret.”
“That’s just a knee-jerk response,” she said. “Really think about it. Have you ever wished you were in a… different line of work?”
Sighing, Julius rolled his eyes.
You’re thinking about retirement again. You do this every year.”
“No,” Laina said, glaring at him. “It’s not that. I mean, yes, it is something I have considered—but not for the reasons you might think.”
“And what reasons are those?” Ju
lius said.
“You think it’s because I consider this lifestyle beneath me,” Laina said, motioning to their surroundings. “But that’s not it. As far as I am concerned, the corporations are the lowest form of life on the galactic totem pole and our operation is several notches above them.”
“No argument there. So what are your reasons then?”
Laina paused. “Our operation has made a good deal of profit and avoided bloodletting in the process. We have even managed to donate to charities and the needy occasionally. We recruited those who needed to be saved from ultimate demise at the hands of Enforcement, giving them homes and a purpose of sorts.
“But probably most importantly, we have done it our way, not succumbing to the temptations of a dark enterprise. We have reached every goal we set forth—you and I—all those years ago. But now, as I look at us, I realize none of it really matters. We may well live forever and continue, but the fact is we don’t make a difference.”
Julius crossed his arms over his chest. “Laina, you’re looking for a hint of reason for what we do, but you won’t find it—so quit looking. You think what we have done is some part of a grand plan, but there is no grand plan. The universe is just a pot of chaos and we are just one of the ones stirring it.”
Laina took a sip of her drink. “Perhaps. I suppose the evidence would seem to suggest you are right. Yet, there is so little we know. Take for example the events that took place over a century ago during the A.I. War. There is so little documented about those years—why is that?”
Julius glanced up at the portrait of the nanobots attacking the UES California.
“There are some valid reasons,” Julius said. “For one, many of the databases that housed information about the time were inadvertently destroyed in the process of killing the A.I. There was also a need to destroy many records about the A.I. to prevent the technology from resurfacing. When the laws to eradicate any A.I. technology were passed, a great deal of information pertaining to the era was outlawed.”
“Yes, I understand all of that,” Laina said. “I just find it almost surreal to think of a life like the one they lived—the one you lived. I mean, you were there. A life where no one really had to work, a life where all the difficult and important decision making and chores of mankind were done by a superior intelligence, a world where the corporations did not rule. It is as if we were given the Garden of Eden. But something happened to change it.”
“It’s hard to remember that far back,” Julius said. “I only have vague memories of the time.”
“Don’t you find that unusual?” Laina said. “Everyone I talk to can’t remember anything concrete about that era.”
“No, not really,” Julius said. “Even though we are, for all intents and purposes, immortal, our minds still can only retain so much. Probably the most vivid memories I have of the era come in dreams.”
“Dreams—really?” she said. “What are these dreams like?”
“Well, I had one recently that was extremely vivid. Probably more vivid than any conscious memory I can recollect of the time. What are you getting at, Laina?”
“I’m not getting at anything,” Laina said. “I just don’t understand why such a utopia could have been destroyed like that. It was a tremendous loss.”
“We had no choice,” Julius said. “The A.I. wanted to become too independent. It was too powerful as it was. If we had allowed it to reproduce like it wanted, it would have made us humans obsolete. We were defending ourselves.”
Laina took a sip of her drink, finishing it and setting it down on a table.
“Have you ever thought,” she said, “that we were meant to become obsolete—and like the stubborn people we are, we chose to destroy our successor instead?”
Julius took in a breath.
“You weren’t there,” Julius said. “You didn’t see what I saw the A.I. did with its nanobots-- entire cities filled with people, burnt to ashes before my eyes. Random attacks from space, destroying stations, civilian transports, anything it saw with humans on it, it killed. The devastation was… horrible.”
“Interesting,” Laina said. “It seems like your memories are more vivid than you lead on. What else can you tell me?”
Julius felt a surge of anger inside.
“You are too young to understand what happened and what we went through. We had to live like savages to survive, something you could never relate to.”
Julius stood up to leave.
“You just keep on drinking, Laina. Perhaps you will manage to have a revelation of some grand purpose that will justify your existence before your next birthday.”
Laina’s eyes grew wide as she jerked her head back. Saying nothing else, Julius left her quarters.
Chapter 6: Profitable Errands
Dagiri looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a jet-black suit with cape hanging down his back, which had crimson red highlights. The elegance clashed with what he held in his hands—a stun whip in one and a severed leg in the other.
The whip gave Dagiri control over his pet beast behind him. He turned around to face her. Nellie was her name. She seemed to spot the whip and growled. He snapped it in her face, stopping short of actually striking her snout. The electric crackle sent her jumping back, and she let out a gurgling sound that would pass for a yelp.
He stifled a smile, not wanting to show any positive emotion to Nellie, but God, the beast was always a remarkable sight. A genetically engineered toy of his—part tiger, part lizard—Nellie’s scales and serpentine tail hinted at its reptilian pedigree. Around its neck though, it had orange fur with black stripes. Its face was like that of a tiger with fangs protruding from its snout.
Dagiri motioned with the whip to a corner of the office. Nellie cautiously skulked over to it.
“Very good!” Dagiri said, tossing the severed leg to her. “Good girl!”
Nellie caught the snack with her paw and then shoved it into her jaws. The bone crunched with an audible snap as she chewed on it.
“Now stay!” Dagiri said.
He laid the whip on his desk and walked over to a holographic projector in the center of the room. Minutes went by, surpassing the agreed-upon meeting time.
How dare they make me wait?
Eventually a man’s face materialized in the air. The man paused for a moment before speaking, and when he did, he did not even have the curtesy of an introduction.
“I am sorry, Mr. Dagiri. Although your mining operation is profitable and has maintained a positive cash flow, you do not have enough total assets on file to warrant a loan of this magnitude. There is simply too much risk for such an outlay. And without the loan you cannot afford to buy the controlling stake in my company.”
Dagiri had waited hours for this decision. It even cut into his Elation time and for that, sorry was not good enough.
“Mr. Kravis,” Dagiri said. “I am sure if you put forth enough effort, you could make this happen. I have a great deal of influence in various circles of both business and government. I think it would be beneficial for you to reconsider. Even if it means a loss on your end initially, it is still something you need to do.”
Kravis chuckled. “Who the hell do you think you are, Dagiri? I am a businessman; if there is no profit in it for me, then there is nothing more to discuss. Profit is everything. Unless of course, there are undeclared assets you wish to put on the table now?”
Dagiri held silent a moment.
“No,” he said, projecting a sneer.
“Then I’m afraid there is nothing more to discuss,” Kravis said.
Dagiri began to turn away from the hologram, and then stopped halfway, looking thoughtful.
“You should know, Mr. Kravis,” Dagiri said. “There are things in life that even you may find more important than profit.”
Kravis gave a bemused look.
“Really, Dagiri? And would could possibly be more important than profit?”
“Your health.” Dagiri said.
>
Kravis’ expressed turned sour.
“Good night, Mr. Dagiri,” he said, and the hologram vanished.
Dagiri walked over to his desk and sat down. The meeting had not gone as he had hoped. His entanglements in the drug syndicate clearly made it difficult to diversify into legitimate operations.
He really wanted to get his hands on MK Enterprises; they were a former defense contractor now manufacturing 30 percent of UEP Enforcement’s vehicles and arms, and 10 percent of the Martian Confederation’s. He had inside information that they were on the verge of securing a contract with the Martian Confederation. This was likely the reason Director Kravis was holding out on a deal.
Dagiri heard a chime at his office doorway; he pushed a button on his desk and the doors opened. Steve walked in, with a data pad in hand. Nellie let out a growl and Steve stopped cold.
“Don’t worry,” Dagiri said. “That’s a fat leg she’s chewing on—even fatter than yours.”
Steve gulped and quickly took a seat across from Dagiri—his eyes never turning away from Nellie as he sat down.
“H-h-how did the meeting go?” Steve stuttered.
“Not well. Director Kravis rejected my offer. I will have to keep working on him. It would certainly help if I had inside information on him. How are the hackers doing?”
“That’s why I wanted to see you. I’m happy to report that they are doing well. They have taken control of various government systems and some smaller corporations. Unfortunately, the larger corporations have proven to be more elusive. They seem to employ much tighter security controls.”
“Well of course they would,” Dagiri said. “They hold the biggest treasure troves of information. Who of the big ones are they targeting?”
“Omega Research, Luna Interstellar, and Cyberwave. They believe they have hit an obstacle with regards to quantum encryption and are requesting the addition of a specific member to help. They have someone in mind—calls himself ‘The Doc.’”
He handed Dagiri his data pad. Dagiri inspected the information.
“I’ve had him checked out,” Steve said. “He was just recently released. He committed many notorious cyber-terrorist acts.”
“Why would they release him then?” Dagiri said.
“That information was harder to come by,” Steve said. “But I managed convince the right people to volunteer that information. Apparently, he provided information to the UEP on how to hack Martian Confed waves. For that cooperation, he was released. To hack the Confed, he must be good.”
“Not good enough to avoid being caught.” Dagiri handed back the pad. “Recruit him anyway. The UEP is likely monitoring him, so we will need to arrange his death. Clone him and dump that body in a river somewhere.”
“Should not be a problem,” Steve said.
“I would hope note,” Dagiri said. “One other thing, I want one of those top three corporations under my control. I need something to use as ammunition against Kravis. We are going to make our first steps up the corporate ladder, and we’re not going to make it by being meek. Make it happen.”
“Understood,” Steve said.
“I want to make sure you do,” Dagiri said. “If we don’t get results from this bunch, start eliminating the least talented ones and fill their spot with fresh meat. They are not the only talent in Thyle.”
Steve looked a bit uneasy.
“Well, yes, if it comes to that,” Steve said. “I think it’s too early to start thinking that way; they are making good progress. It could take a lot of time to get anyone new up to speed--”
“Shut up,” Dagiri said, waving his hand. “I need tangible results. They have a week. If they haven’t taken control of at least one of the top three, we start eliminating.”
“I think you underestimate the complexity of this, Jack. We need to be more patient; this can take time.”
Dagiri motioned him away.
“Get out of here,” Dagiri said.
Steve pursed his lips. He then silently stood up and scurried out of the room.
If Steve did not get the desired results from the hackers, it would be bad for his future. Perhaps if Dagiri hooked him an Elation, he could be more productive. If he still proved useless after that, he could always feed her to Nellie. His portly flesh would make a fine meal for her.
Sighing, Dagiri rubbed his temples. He felt the sharp pains of a headache, and his muscles ached. Definitely time for his fix. He reached into a drawer and pulled out his Elation gun. He pressed it again his neck and injected himself.
The rush of the Elation made everything feel right: the soreness in his muscles disappeared, as did the headache. The room spun for a brief moment and he felt bathed in an invisible aura. The aura went through him and mixed into his core. It seemed that his blood boiled and that time stood still for that moment. His skin felt as if it was made of armor and nothing could hurt him; his limbs felt light as a feather.
The initial rush left him, but the invigorating affect and effect were still there. His mind felt sharp and his resolve strengthened. Nothing would stand in the way of his destiny.