The Call

by Istvan56

Meet the team of Sword Recovery Services, a private police force sanctioned by the United Empire of Earth to augment the limited law enforcement the UEE provides its citizens. Members of the Bounty Hunters Guild they execute special warrants termed bounties on commission. Whether you are new to Star Citizen or not you will enjoy this, the first in a series of stories.

Please note that this is a work of fan fiction, set in the Star Citizen universe. The marks and properties, 'Star Citizen', 'Squadron 42', 'Cloud Imperium Games', and 'Roberts Space Industries' are property of Cloud Imperium Games Corp. and Roberts Space Industries Corp ("RSI"). All rights in content, including places, characters, concepts, and ships produced and created by RSI relating to said marks and properties belong to RSI.

Author: Istvan56, Copyright 2017. This is a work of fiction, any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. All Rights Reserved.

The Call - Part 1

My mobiglas vibrates indicating I have an incoming call. I roll over and sit up groggily, the last few nights had been long stakeouts without success. It is getting obvious my target has flown the coop. I rub the sleep from my eyes and tap my Mobi to answer the call.

"Istvan, you available for a meet?" It's Brayun Rickard, a guy I served with in the UEE Navy back when we were both young officers. After our navy stints we went our separate ways. I became a cop on Severus while he joined corporate security with Microtech in the Stanton System. When my life took a twist and I became a bounty hunter in the Stanton System I looked up Rickard again. Over time I've cultivated the relationship as you can never have too many contacts in law enforcement. Each of the worlds in Stanton is owned by a single mega-corp, with very unoriginal names for them. Stanton IV is simply called Microtech after its owner. Rickard's job with corporate security is the equivalent of mine when I was a Severus cop since the corporation is the government for each of these worlds. Except Brayun Rickard has risen to far higher rank than I did as a mere detective, he is the Security Director of New Babbage, the equivalent to a chief of police.

"Do I have time to head back for a change of clothes first? I've been on a stakeout in my Herald." The Herald isn't very luxurious; in fact the word luxurious isn't part of the vocabulary of Drake Interplanetary. They make utilitarian ships that are favored more by those who operate on a tight budget, or from an intermittent income stream like mine, as they are easy to maintain. Add to the fact there are a lot of them around and you can pick up reasonably priced used parts from any scrapper when you can't afford factory new replacements. It also means that I have been living in my flight suit for days, only getting out of it to give myself a sponge bath or to use the toilet. I do have a pair of civilian clothes in my locker, a set of warm utility overalls to blend in if I had to land on Grim Hex and work among the locals. Unfortunately they are totally out of vogue with the fashions on Microtech and I like to dress for the company I keep.

Brayun screws up his face. "No, there isn't time. Meet me at these coordinates as soon as you can. When you are an hour out give me a heads up. I'll make it worth your trip."

I nod and look at the coordinates as they come in, a small landing port in a residential habitat outside of New Babbage, which is unusual. I was expecting a meeting in his office. "Got them, I'll see you soon!" I reply. With my response he breaks the connection.

Going to the sink, I brush my teeth and rinse my mouth out. Looking at the face in the mirror I can see why he winced at the prospect of meeting me as I am. I look a mess, a middle-aged man who had spent too much time in harsh environments, with crow's feet from squinting in a desert's sun or in the glare of an icy moon, worry lines on my forehead and dark bags under my eyes from too little sleep. Add to that four day's stubble on my face and it makes me look nearly a decade older than I am.

Shaking my head I go forward to the pilot's seat and power the ship up. While on stake-out I have everything powered off or as low as I can get it to reduce my ship's electronic and infrared signatures. I bring in my antenna arraywith which I had been monitoring the local chatter in and around Grim Hex. I'll go over that data later with a program that's designed to key in on certain names or words for any clues on my mark.

An old mining station turned criminal habitat, Grim Hex is where my mark has been reputedly been conducting a fencing operation for the Nine Tales gang, a bunch of self-aggrandizing pirates who think they are hotter stuff than they really are. Rumor has it that he shorted the Nine Tales once too often, which is why I want to collect on his bounty before they get to him. It is apparently too late, either he has fled or they caught up with him. Either way, he isn't around for me to collect on and I need to cut my losses.

When I power up my systems I get a radar signature of an approaching Cutlass, another one of Drake Interplanetary's ubiquitous designs. The Cutlass series is nominally sold as a militia suitable patrol ship but we all know that outside of the Red and Blue models the majority of them are bought by those on the wrong side of the law. This "Black" model is no exception as I am immediately hailed, "What are you doing in Nine Tails territory?"

"Apparently I'm looking to race you!"I reply as I strap in and light off my thrusters. I adjust my vector slightly to clear the asteroid field and push the throttle to the stops. The force of increased gravity shoves me back into my seat, my flight suit compensating for the increased g forces by squeezing my thighs and arms to increase my blood pressure to my vitals to prevent blacking out. Without my helmet on, my neck is pushed against the hard mating collar of my flight suit which is more than a bit uncomfortable. The momentary discomfort is nothing compared to be blasted apart by a pirate's guns.

As soon as I reach the maximum acceleration my body can handle the g forces decrease as I cut the throttle back to cruising speed. There is no way any Cutlass Black can keep up with my "Fugly Duckling." In fact there are few ships in the universe as fast as my upgraded Herald. Even the top racing ships would have a hard time getting a bead on me now though in any sort of practical race they would run rings around me as my ship really can only go fast in a straight line. My radar shows the Cutlass breaking off pursuit and heading back to Grim Hex to likely brag about how he chased off a snooper.

Once I clear the asteroid field around Crusader's moon Yela I set a course for Microtech and put the Fugly Duckling into a quantum jump. From where I was staked out I have to first clear the orbit of Crusader, the second planet in orbit of Stanton, to jump out to the fourth planet in the system. Since the planets aren't aligned at the moment it is going to be a long flight. Unstrapping myself I head back to strip off my flight suit and get cleaned up. I can even manage to scrape off that graying stubble and hopefully wake up enough that the bags under my eyes will disappear.

For the rest of the trip I wear my utilities. I'm as clean as I can be within the limitations of the Herald. And speaking of my Herald, I've stowed all my gear and cleaned up the deck where empty ration packs had littered the area around my computer workstation. I even have time to munch a protein bar and brush my teeth again before I insert myself in the proper orbit for New Babbage approach and check in with Microtech's flight one hour before touchdown I call Brayun to give him the head's up that I'm about in. "Okay, I'll see you at the landing pad. Don't disembark, I'll come on board."

The air of mystery around his summons out of the blue has me wondering what is up. Whatever it is, it's off the books of the Bounty Hunters' Guild. This meeting is as out of the way as you could get and very unusual behavior for a mega-corporation executive.

I no sooner touch down on the designated landing pad and shut off my thrusters when I see Brayun accompanied by two non-descript men all bundled up in heavy clothing heading my way. Microtech is out on the fringe of Stanton's green zone and due to the cold climate the residential area where I was told to land is under a bio-dome. The landing pad is outside the dome in an attached cavernous hanger bay whose clamshell roof no sooner closes when heaters come on blasting warm air onto the pad. When I crack my hatch it doesn't seem to have made any difference as I hit by an icy blast that sets my teeth chattering. Brayun climbs the ladder and I move aside while watching what the other two are up to as they move amidships. One starts to remove the data pod with my intercepted Grim Hex communications and I shout at him to stop. "Not that one, the second one over."

The tech shrugs and changes to the second data pod while the third man stands there holding a replacement for the one they are swapping out. I pull my head in and slam my hand against the button shutting the hatch. Then I hit the environmental controls to reheat the cabin as Brayun sits himself down at my computer console. He's watching the monitor showing the data pod being removed, then the replacement inserted. When it is done he brings up the directory for the pod. "I need you to sign this non-disclosure agreement before we proceed any further."

Now I'm very curious as this confirms this is an off the books operation but I sign as you can't refuse and ever do business with Microtech again. As much as I need to keep my guild license I also need clients like Microtech, who can deny me permission to even operate on their planet, so I sometimes have to operate in the gray at the fringe of the Guild's code of ethics. "Okay, Rickard, what gives? Is this going to land me in jail or just get me kicked out of the guild?"

"Neither, if you fill the contract." He replies. Then he pulls up a photo and a document on my monitor. "Here is all of the background I have on your target, Herzog Gloe, along with the terms of the contract."

"I don't like the sound of that, I collect legal bounties, not execute contracts on targets. I'm not that kind of gun for hire." He frowns and just nods at the document on the monitor. I move close behind Brayun to get a look at the legalese and the face of the man Microtech wants. I'm surprised at the amount they are willing to pay for what on the face of it seems to be a simple skip trace and live return. There is even a generous per diem and expenses for fuel. "What's he wanted for, murder of an executive?"

"No, nothing that simple, and yet potentially a worse crime to Microtech, let's just say that it is for his own good as well as the company's he returns to Microtech alive," Brayun replies cryptically. "The man has certain proprietary information that he is contractually obligated to keep secret and right now he's in danger of falling into the wrong hands, hands that will have no problem with squeezing everything of value out of him."

"So this is a rescue?"

"Yes and no, Gloe may not want to be rescued and may think he has the situation well in hand. We think that he has no clue who he's dealing with and how far they will go to make an example out of him."

"Really? In whose drink did he pee?"

"Do you know Cuong Minh Tran?" Brayun asks.

"Tran the Bloody, the Red Cobra gang boss?"

Brayun chuckles, "The very same."

I swear. The Red Cobras are a ruthless bunch of thugs who are based on ArcCorp. They run drugs, prostitution, gambling and loan sharking but their territory was limited to just Stanton III, at least as far as my sources have told me. "What does this guy have to do with Tran? He doesn't operate on Microtech now does he? And what is this Gloe to him anyway?"

"A nobody, a worthless soul to be snuffed out as an example to the system that you can't cheat the Red Cobras and get away with it. And you don't have to physically operate on Microtech to make book, you just have to be in communication range."

"Yeah, but something I don't get. How did one of your employees cheat Tran the Bloody?"

"It's all right here," Brayun says pointing at the data files. "And he isn't just 'one of my employees,' this guy is a wunderkind, the former boy genius who has given the company a marked edge over our competitors for the past two decades."

"What competitors?" I joke. The mobiglas or simply "Mobi" has replaced nearly every other brand of portable communicator in the empire. There are a few rivals, especially now with the influx of Xi'an products but the Mobi still dominates as both an excellent product and a sterling example of Human engineering.

"Exactly," he replies. "So you can see why we want him back in one piece with everything in his head intact."

"And what if I'm too late?"

Brayun looks hard at me, "Pray that doesn't happen. A lot of people could get hurt, everyone Microtech looks to blame for this fiasco could lose their careers or worse."

I am still feeling the chill but the cabin just dropped several more degrees. "I don't take threats lightly."

Brayun raises his eyebrows, "You don't get it, I don't mean just you. My head is on the chopping block here, as are a few others who were supposed to be keeping Gloe in check. In fact there is one notable executive who has just found out that his services are no longer needed on Microtech and won't find it easy to find a job anywhere else in the galaxy, at least not at any type of job that he's used to. He might find a job as a janitor on Levski scrubbing toilets. We don't recover Gloe all of our careers are over."

I whistle, "Well, time is a wasting. Let me look at what you have on Gloe and I'll see where I think he's gone, unless you have that data in there as well?"

Brayun laughs, "If I knew that I wouldn't need you. I have half a dozen teams out looking at every nook and cranny in the system but I think he's jumped out of here already. The thing is that it doesn't matter how far he runs, Tran will not let him live to spend what he took from the Red Cobras."

With that Brayun hits the open hatch button freezing me yet again as he climbs down the ladder and out into the cold. I don't bother with waving goodbye as he hurries back into the bio-dome. I close up my ship and get ready to launch back into orbit. The one thing I can be sure of is that Gloe is not on Microtech or he'd already be in either Rickard's hands or apparently Tran's. Once I get out and away from here I'm going to pore over the background information to see what happened and how Gloe got into this mess.

The Call - Part 2

My office on Orison high above Crusader is a far cry from the cramped cabin on the Fugly Duckling. The floating habitat over the gas giant has a magnificent view of its orange creamsicle clouds as they colorfully swirl in storms below, or it would if I hadn't turned on full tinting to darken the room so I could use my holotank effectively. I bring up a 3D likeness of our target and begin the briefing for my team. "Meet Herzog Gloe, former boy genius and mind behind the architecture of the mobiglas."

Terek Tabrizi snorts, "He doesn't look like much boss."

I have to agree, time and the life of a nerd hasn't turned out well for Gloe. At 45 he looks positively unhealthy with a double chin, sagging gut and receding hair. The mustache he sports is well trimmed and his comb-over is the best one can make of a problem men have been battling since the dawn of time. His teeth are perfect, expensively so, as are the clothes he was wearing at the time this likeness was captured.

"I'll bet he does better with women than you do," Sara Peretto says while jabbing Terek in the ribs. He grunts and retorts, "Only with the gold diggers. Real women can see past the petty trappings of wealth to value a man's soul." Then he flexes his muscles ruining the moment, "And these babies also do the trick, don't they Sara?"

Peretto snorts, "Only in your dreams Tabrizi, only in your dreams."

"Okay you two, back to the case." Terek Tabrizi is one of my best trackers and an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He claims to be a pahlwan, a practioner of the ancient Persian and Indian martial arts but I know better. He was a street urchin who grew up on the tough streets of New Junction on Lo in the Corel System, nowhere near an ustad or pahlwani master. Still his mix of martial arts and street fighting means he can take down a man silently and without any crutches like stun batons that can give away one as a bounty hunter. He's also not bad with conventional weapons and a man I have trusted time and time again with my life. The fact that he's tall, dark, handsome and well-built means he doesn't lack for female companionship when he's off work.

Sara Peretto is something else again, a tiny blonde beauty who prefers big guns, though not just the kind Tabrizi is showing off. Strap her into an agile fighter and she can hold her own against any ace in the UEEN's elite squadrons. Her specialty is taking down ships with her Aegis Raven so we can capture the wanted man or woman inside alive. Take her out of her ship, put her into an evening dress and she's the perfect eye candy to distract a mark from the Mickey Finn of Maze she's slipped into his drink. She has the grace of a dancer, the reflexes of a cat and the claws of one too. The two are half of my team of experts that make up Sword Recovery Services. Oh, I have a secretary and a bookkeeper but they just mind the office. The two are an old married couple that I trust implicitly but would never put into the field. As for Tabrizi and Peretto, they are like oil and water, they don't mix well but it is all friendly banter, in the field they would each take a hit for the other.

The other two team members are grinning at the exchange. Jack Kurito is my expert astrogator and computer whiz-kid, really, his diminutive size and boyish features belies his 19 years. I "rescued" Jack while out on a bounty mission five years back. I saw talent going to waste, or worse, going to prison, so I brought him on board the team. His mentor, Orin Chomba, is Jack's opposite number, an engineering genius. Chomba is tall, with a dark-skinned African complexion to Jack's lighter Asian looks and old enough to be Jack's father at 39 years. He's also as protective of the kid as I am. Orin's specialty is with all things mechanical, he's the man who keeps my fleet of ships flying at their peak of performance.

"Seriously team, we have a ton of information to shift through as to where Gloe has run off to and exactly why." I continue, "We know he cheated the Red Cobras so let's dissect how that happened."

I pull up the background file Microtech Security gave me on Gloe. "Herzog Gloe, born July 18, 2902 on Terra, graduated magna cum laude in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Persei at the tender age of 16. He got his masters degree six months later and his doctorate the year after that. Microtech beat out the competitors, namely the University of Persei Analytical Research and Quantification or "UPARQ" think tank, in hiring Gloe in 2922 even before he finished his, Gloe didn't really start doing research for them until after he got his doctorate."

"So we should be calling him 'Doctor Gloe?'" Kurito asks. "I mean he's not a medical doctor but he has a real degree and what he has done with the mobiglas is amazing!"

I don't want my computer geek to get too full of hero worship and have that come in the way of the mission. "You can call him 'the mark' or 'the target' for that is all he is. If we don't find him he's going to be 'the dead mark.' And he has his flaws, especially when it comes to dealing with people. From what his file shows, Gloe has a 'Grade A' ego and no tolerance for his intellectual inferiors."

"Being an asshole didn't get him in trouble with the Red Cobras," Chomba interjects. "Although I'm sure it didn't help. What scam did he pull that made him 'Numba One Enemy' of Tran the Bloody?"

"He figured out a way to beat the house at their own game, Sataball," I tell the team. "You know how sports bookies work, if you aren't in the system where the game is played you must place your bets before the news reports on the games gets to your system. At the moment the first courier ship jumps into system and broadcasts they are carrying the news all bets are closed. Bookies like the Red Cobras use a fleet of Heralds to run the news ahead of conventional couriers so they can adjust the odds to their favor, paying out only the minimum on any game. Dr. Gloe figured out a way to somehow beat them."

"What did he do, invent 'sub-space radio?' I thought that's strictly science fiction," Peretto quips.

"I bet he did," Kurito spits out. Chomba tussles the boy's hair, "Not likely, Jack. He'd have made more money patenting it and putting his name forever in the history books. A man with an ego like his wouldn't have passed that opportunity up."

Kurito looks defensive, "What if he couldn't take the credit or get paid for it? He probably signed away all rights to any new patents to Microtech as part of his contract. So he keeps the secret to himself and cashes out the best way he can. It would explain why he's on the run from Microtech as well as the Red Cobras!"

I shrug, "You may be right but I doubt it as there usually is a simpler answer to issues like this, like somebody got paid off. However he did it is a mystery that everyone wants to know, but he made a fortune off of the game between the Ferron Lancers and the Croshaw Jumpers. You know the one where Duncan Mellen was injured and Thudder Gaterson fouled out? Even a stellar performance by Haruto Eiffinger couldn't save the Jumpers. The odds were all heavily on Croshaw winning soundly but somehow the Imperial League's underdogs beat them. Then the Red Cobra's Herald was mysteriously'delayed' till after the news courier broke the news of the Jumper's loss leaving the payout pretty large for those few who bet heavily on Ferron's team, like Dr. Gloe. Tran had to pay out but suspected something was amiss. It was confirmed when the biggest winner suddenly up and disappeared. Tran had been making good money off Gloe for years. He even won the keys and registration to Gloe's Origin 300i a few years back."

Tabrizi speaks his mind, "Gloe probably took that loss pretty hard. That was likely the catalyst for his plot to get revenge on them. So what do you think his exit strategy is, boss?"

Peretto chimes in, "I know what I would do. Look at what he was flying after he lost his 300i, an Aurora LX, quite a step down from anything Origin Jumpworks makes. I would dump that LX at the nearest dealership and head to Terra to buy the latest and greatest ship I could afford from Origin and go out to cruise the universe."

"That makes sense," I say as I pull up Gloe's financials. Rickard gave me a limited time access to company records via the local Orison office. There is some lag time as the data request is sent up to a communication satellite and relayed across the system to Microtech and back again. "Yes, he sold the LX before the game, likely for funds to place the bet, so he had to have some plan to leave since he had no ship. But there are no bookings on any flights off of Microtech using his name or bank account."

Kurito gives me the answer to that one, "Boss, he practically invented the mobiglas. A man that smart has to know how to make up a new identity. And cash talks, somebody was paid to take a passenger out of the system without it being recorded."

"Okay Jack, let's run with that. Check all ships leaving Microtech in the past two days that had room for a passenger. That means anything with a bed on it from a Herald up through the largest ships."

Kurito enters the search parameters into the Microtech database and after a long wait looks at the resulting list, "That's a lot of ships that went off world, boss. Care to cut it down some for me? Like give me a destination?"

"Run with Sara's guess, out of system such as to Terra." I turn to Peretto and tell her, "Sara, there is a virtual survey of Gloe's condominium in here. I want you to use the VR headset and start looking for clues as to what his plans were when he left Microtech. You find anything interesting put it up on the holo viewer."

Kurito clears his throat and begins to read his filtered list. "We have a Microtech corporate Hull D with three escorts, two Vanguard Wardens and a Vanguard Sentinel from a local security company that left for Terra right after the game news broke. I don't think Dr. Gloe would've had time to collect his winnings to be on those ships."

"Yeah, skip them," I order. He nods and continues, "Okay, there is an independent Hull C, two escorts, a Hornet Tracker and a Super-Hornet, that left seven hours after the Hull D."

"Check the crew and make sure all berths are accounted for on the Hull C." While I wait for Kurito's response I go over more of Gloe's background. I have to admire the guy's genius, though personally I agree with Chomba that he's a Grade A asshole. There are complaints by co-workers, write-ups by supervisors that just went nowhere, even the record of a pay-off to a female colleague that Gloe groped in an elevator. The woman was quietly promoted and moved to another division far away from Gloe.

"Everyone from the freighter's crew checks out," Kurito replies. I counter with, "How about the crew of the Super-Hornet? Could he have replaced the gunner?"

"No problem," he says while running the search. After a short time he answers,"Pilot and gunner are both registered with the mercenary guild. Both show on the ship when she left."

"Okay, what's next?"

"This next one is a Banu ship," Kurito continues,"And don't even try to get me to pronounce the name. It had two escorts, both Defenders, and there is no listing for the crew of any of the ships as they didn't go off ship to pass through customs during their stay. The Merchantman captain's name is Halito 'Mule'or something like that, out of a trade souli from Yulin."

"Yulin?"Peretto asks as she takes off her VR glasses and brings up an image in the holo viewer. She explains, "Gloe's condo is full of Sataball memorabilia, posters, signed balls, even globes with encapsulated DNA of famous players from decades ago whose images are above the samples."

Terek Tabrizi quips, "That's a bit morbid."

Peretto nods agreement as she whips through the rooms with dizzying speed until she takes us to Gloe's bedroom. "And above his bed is this poster of the Buloi Sataball Arena."

Tabrizi asks, "I take it that's in Yulin?"

I confirm what Peretto's showing us, "Yes, it is the only Sataball arena the Sataball Professional League plays in that is outside of UEE space. If I loved Sataball as much as Dr. Gloe does and yet wanted to be beyond the reach of the law I'd head to the Banu Protectorate. The problem is that Dr. Gloe isn't wanted by 'the law'per se and neither Microtech nor Tran the Bloody care much for borders."

Chomba pipes in, "So we are off to the Protectorate again. Are we taking the Banu Merchantman like before boss?"

"No," I shake my head. I want to get there faster than that. Gloe has a two day lead on us." I turn to Kurito and ask, "Go ahead and plot the route a Banu Merchantman has to take back to Yulin."

Kurito brings up navigation charts on his Mobiand plots the route, "No can do, boss."

"What do you mean you can't?" I ask, puzzled. Kurito looks at me equally puzzled, "There are no large jump points recorded to Yulin. But the ship hails from there so there has to be one. Freaking secret Banu nav charts, we have to get one."

"So what is the quickest route we can take to Yulin?" I pose to Kurito.

"We can go by a mix of small and medium jump points through Pyro. That's only eight jumps in total though there is quite a bit of a risk going that way," He answers.

"Show us," I ask him. He brings the star map up in the holo viewer replacing the poster Peretto showed us. I shake my head, "Going through Pryo will put us too close to that damn pulsar. Let's look at longer routes then. What about going through Magnus?"

Kurito traces out the new route, "Stanton to Magnus, Magnus to Ellis, Ellis to Nexus, Nexus to Hades, Hades to Nemo, Nemo to Fora, Fora to Banshee, Banshee to Yulin. It is 162.93 AU with only nine jumps. It is actually much longer than the 41.15 AU route through Terra that requires 14 jumps."

Jumping through a wormhole is like bending the fabric of space to put two points close to each other. So the time spent going through the wormhole is dilated and the distance shortened allowing travel between stars. What slows space travel down is the time it takes to travel between jump points in a star system. So while a shorter number of jumps may seem like a good idea, the vast distance to travel at sub-light speeds between jump points can make a route not worth it. "Okay Jack, find us a short and safe route that will make up the time we've lost."

Kurito plots it out aloud, "That's through Terra but only to Fora where we switch to a small jump point to Banshee and then to Yulin bypassing four systems."

"Show us," I order and Kurito does. "Crusader to Terra System, then we jump to Goss."

Chomba stops him, "Cassel's orbit is near to our route so we can fuel up at a truck stop there."

I nod for Kurito to go on, "From Goss we jump to Tyrol, then to Charon, followed by Genesis and the Corel where I think Terek can point us out where we can get supplies."

Tabrizi points out the hot spots on the route, "Of course Tyrol is home to several pirate bands who like to take a toll from any passing ships, Charon has a bitter civil war so we will have to be careful not to run low on fuel or need any supplies while passing through those two systems. As for Corel, yeah we can get supplies from any of the stations in Lo or Castor's orbits so long as we don't waste our time dirtside on Lo. I never want to go back there."

Peretto chimes in. "What, don't you miss the old homestead, the taste of silica in your food and the sand fleas in your pants?"

"Nope, not one bit." Terek Tabrizi shrugs as if shaking off a bad memory, "And you would be well advised to stay off there too. You wouldn't want to see what the sun and wind can do to a fair complexion like yours. Let alone a lonely settler mistake you for some mail order bride and kidnap you to the interior for a life of hardship bearing him a crop of kids to work the moisture farm. Then again, once we get to Banu space it'll be time to hire local escorts or pay for ransom insurance if we all don't want to end up on the Kins slave market."

"Huh, let some dirt farmer try to lay his hands on me and I'll cut them off," Peretto whips out her ceramic bladed boot knife and slashes the imaginary farmer before sheathing it again.

Tabrizi laughs at her demonstration, "You'll probably just chip the blade on his tough, boney wrists with that thing. It may be good for sneaking through customs but you need a real blade, old school carbon steel like mine, for hacking a man's hands off." He pulls his long single edged combat knife and shaves a few hairs off of his the hairs off of his blade at Peretto she responds by sticking her tongue out at him.

I sigh at the lack of professionalism they are showing. They act like a couple of teenagers much of the time yet while in action they are both pros. It is the only reason I put up with their shenanigans is that I know that when the chips are down, they can be depended on to get the mission done."Put those things away and focus on the mission," I order. "Jack, please continue with the route."

"From Corel we jump to Nemo, then to Fora, Banshee and then take the small jump point to Yulin. We can get fuel in Nemo, Fora or Banshee," he concludes.

Chomba has a suggestion that sounds good to me, "So boss, we go all Drake ships and fool them pirates into leaving us alone?"

"Sure, Orin," I agree. "We'll take three small jump point capable ships, the 'Dirty Bird' (my own Cutlass Black), the Fugly Duckling and the "Cardinal" (a Cutlass Red) as Dr. Gloe may need some doctoring of his own by the time we catch up to him." My team all have some medical skills, more combat medicine than real doctoring, but the auto-doc on board will make up for what we lack. At least until we can get Gloe to a better facility back on Microtech. I just hope we don't really need it.

"Sara, you'll take the Dirty Bird with Terek as your gunner."

"Right boss," they both answer. I point to Kurito, "I want you on the console of the Fugly Duckling going over everything we have on Gloe in case we've missed the mark. If you have time I also want you to review the recordings I have from Grim Hex, see if you can crack the encryption the Nine Tales are using."

Turning to Chomba, "You'll be flying the Fugly Duckling. You'll need to restock her and rearm her as I had her stripped of heavy weapons. I want us looking like freelancing mercs so put that Mantis GT gatling gun on the nose to make the ship more intimidating. I'll fly the Cardinal and I'm going to make sure we have some trading goods on board both Cutlass variants, medical supplies on my ship and a few crates of the latest versions of Mobi's my friend Rickard can scrounge for us. We may need either cash or 'gifts' to grease the wheels in the Protectorate."

Sara Peretto looks at me quizzically, "You are telling him where we are going?"

"I have to as it's part of the contract. But I also can get some advance travel credits out of him for the med supplies and the Mobi's we'll use to get into close with the Banu. I'm also asking for all of Gloe's Sataball memorabilia to be crated and sent with us. It may come in handy. You know how crazy Banu get about Sataball."

"I don't like telling Microtech," Peretto comments. I can see from the faces of the rest of the team they are in agreement.

"I agree with you, it sucks, but it is what it is. However, I don't have to tell Rickard anything other than Yulin, which is technically where we think Gloe is going to enter the Protectorate. Let him guess our route there and back."

"Right boss!"Peretto beams, "let's get going."

The Call Part 3

Orin Chomba has done an excellent job at a quick make-over of our ships. A few fake scorch marks, some inappropriate graffiti, and upping the Fugly Duckling's firepower to all ballistic cannons help to do the trick. The "Dirty Bird" was pretty intimidating to start with. While not the fastest or the most maneuverable combat ship the Cutlass Black is no slacker in the gun department. I have four fixed Panther laser repeaters on it, not as fast firing as the Mantis GT gatling on the Herald but when combined have a much greater output. The turret can be slaved to the nose also but I prefer a gunner have the choice of tracking a second target and not missing a shot. So I have two Pyroburst plasma shotguns mounted there. Not long range offensive guns at all but close in they'll devastate a ship's shields and can quickly follow up to wreck an opponent.

My ship, the Cardinal, looks less piratical and more simply stolen. The former Search & Rescue ship's name and mascot, a red bird from old Sol, has been sloppily painted over, nothing that can't be undone later. I don't need a turret gunner as the Cutlass Red sacrifices the turret for an advanced sensor suite. Normally used to track distress beacons and to find life pods among a scattered debris field it doubles as an early warning system for this trip. Meanwhile I still have the same four Panther laser repeaters as Peretto has plus some Rattler cluster missiles to mess up anyone's day.

No sooner than we jump into the Terra System, we need my long range sensor array. I pick up a UEE Customs boat on patrol. I have the team alter course to avoid an encounter before we jump to our next nav point. I don't want to explain our cover or mission to the Advocacy. The Hammerhead never gets a sniff of us and we dodge that problem.

Our next issue is when we are smack dab between jump points in Genesis, of all systems. I catch a ghost signal for a moment and then it is gone. Suddenly we are pulled out of quantum. There are four Cutlass Blacks and a Drake Caterpillar in a loose formation blocking our path.

"Who the hell are you?" Comes the challenge instead of a hail. "We don't want you in our turf."

I open up a video channel as I'm wearing my light armor with a UEE Marine helmet on just for effect, "Just some hired guns, and we aren't looking to settle down here. We are on our way to do a job. You move and we are gone. You don't move you become the job." My smile looks like I'd rather they didn't is tracking the closest Cutlass while Peretto's got the main guns pointed at another one. I have my target lined spins up the gatling on the Fugly Duckling without firing a shot but the message is clear, we're ready to rumble.

I figured the truth won't hurt us so long as they don't know the details of who we really are and what the job is. Meanwhile everyone is ready to fire off everything we've got before running for our lives. We are outmanned and out-gunned. Our only hope is that we appear to be too tough to mess with and not profitable for them. At least Chomba had sense enough to use shielded crates to hide the signatures of factory fresh Mobies inside. As far as these pirates can tell, we are only hauling ourselves and some medical supplies on the Cardinal, the Cutlass Black has nothing of interest except the guns and missiles pointed their way.

"Give us your med supplies and we'll let you go," comes a new voice, again with the video disabled so I don't see who I'm dealing with. I don't like that there was a ghost of a signal, like a stealth ship out there. Now there is this guy, likely the leader, calling from one of those ships and I can't tell which one.

"Nothing doing," I reply. "While we don't usually take prisoners, we occasionally need to patch one of us up when some dreck gets lucky with a shot."

"You got extra, and there ain't that many of you to need all you've got." He's got a point, I brought extra as trade goods, and right now trading some of them for getting out of here unscathed sounds fine.

"Half then," I answer. Bluffing I add, "We are only one team. We have friends meeting us. You haven't seen them as you are still alive."

The faceless voice chuckles, "Big talk, we don't see your friends here now so we'll take all but one crate of medi-pens. Dump the rest out your cargo bay doors."

I stand firm, "Half. And you won't see the others until too late. You ever hear of the Bloody Moon crew?"

"Yeah, what of 'em?" The voice asks puzzled.

"We're the bunch that took them down." This is the truth, at least mostly true. I tracked the notorious smugglers and pirates to Front Row in the Tyrol System. I used my status in the Executive Justice organization to bring in a heavy hit squad that cleaned out Front Row for the time being. I'm sure that as soon as we left some more scum and villainy filled the empty habitats on that lunar base around Tyrol's innermost planet as that is all that dying system attracts. The bounties we collected that day along with the loot more than repaid the costs the organization occurred. However, we aren't on a mission with E.J.'s help or backing today so evoking them is a risk.

"Oh so I'm, what, supposed to be scared?" The voice chuckles.

"I don't care if you are afraid of Executive Justice or not," I remark casually. "I just want you to know who you're interfering with and what we do to those that piss us off. We didn't take any prisoners on Front Row. Like I said, it's not our way when we do a job, and we are thorough. We were paid to take down the Bloody Moon and we did, no matter who got in our way. As I see it, if you get greedy, you are getting in the way of our job and we'll deal with you accordingly. Also as I see it, I was being generous with half as I have a timetable to keep. The more of my time you waste my generosity will diminish in value."

"Up yours," the first voice is back. "Do as the chief says!"

The second voice, the chief, responds, "Enough! Dump half out now and we'll let you pass. But don't try that crap on me again. And if I see you pass through here without your 'friends' I'll rip you a new one."

I cut the connection and unstrap myself. Going to the cargo hold I depressurize the medical bay and begin dumping crates out the back hatch. While working I get a message from Peretto, "Incoming Dragonflies from the Cat, eight of them."

That figures as the Caterpillar makes a great drop ship for pirate boarding parties and Dragonflies, another "civilian" aimed space bike made by Drake, is well armed and can carry either two riders or one rider and one cargo crate. I don't worry about how many there are and just keep dumping crates until half of the sixteen med crates are out the hatch. Then I close and lock it as the first of the bikes reaches the back of my ship.

As soon as I make my way back to my seat I open a comm link to the pirates, "Payment made. Clear the way so we can jump."

I don't get an acknowledgement;they simply widen their formation so we can get through them. At no point do we stop tracking their movements and Tabrizi keeps the turret guns aimed on one ship after another as the Dirty Bird passes them by. Once clear we quantum jump together for the next nav point on our journey.

The Call Part 4

As soon as we transition the small jump point between Banshee and Yulin systems we are detected and intercepted by a flight of Banu Defenders. The security souli or guild guarding the Protectorate waste no time in hailing us, and in loud, badly accented Standard Imperial, what was once simply called English back on Sol, demand to know what our business is in their space.

"Trade," is my simple answer for them. "In fact we are in need of a proper security escort, please guide us to your essosouli so we can negotiate a fair price for your services."

The tall purple skinned Banu are very expressive and I can see that my answer satisfied the pilot who hailed me. One ship breaks off from the formation and leads us inbound to the Yulin Flotilla.

Transitioning between UEE and Banu Protectorate space means going through a customs checkpoint, just like on any other border. Compared to uptight professional Xi'an customs agents the Banu are a lax group of incompetents more bent on getting the process over with than seriously looking for contraband. In fact there isn't anything that is prohibited from being imported to Banu space, so long as it isn't leaking toxic material posing a threat to the Banu. And I'm not sure that for the right price the Banu wouldn't look the other way on something that was leaking toxins. "Let the buyer beware" and all that stuff. Less a few trinkets from Gloe's Sataball collection and a couple of new Mobi's to the customs agents and we are on our way to doing business, Banu style.

Once we are through with customs on the Yulin Flotilla one of the two crewmen of the Banu Defender leads me to their souli's offices while the other guards our ships. The din and smells of a Banu marketplace assault my senses. With my past experience in Banu territory I am prepared and I have ear plugs in to prevent hearing damage. Banu lack an outer ear so they yell at full volume trying to lure me into their shops to buy their wares.

In the security souli's offices I am escorted into the elderly guild chief's or essosouli's presence. He is an elderly Banu with a military bearing and fancy uniform made to impress. From the rows of ribbons and medals you'd think he was a veteran of several campaigns but I know better. The Banu abhor war as it disrupts trade. Well, I take that back, the Banu abhor going to war but see others at war as an opportunity and will gladly sell weapons, food, medicine, etc. to both sides in the conflict. They are notably neutral and will defend their neutrality with the loudest protest even as they run one side's or another's blockade loaded with munitions. Regardless of this clan chief's alleged veteran status, he is the Banu I have to deal with to get around Yulin.

First comes the exchanges of pleasantries and the adding of offerings to the slomaddon, or brewing vessel for the celebratory sloma toast for when the deal is sealed. Each party member is expected to put in something and with there being only one Human and a couple of Banu donating at least I am not going to be terribly overwhelmed by the mixture. My donation is some peach tea, flavorful but not intoxicating like what the essosouli pours in. His young aid adds something from a small flash that smells fruity and backs away. I've heard that some sloma mixtures can be mighty potent and knock the unwary Human out, something I can't afford on our timetable.

The essosouli begins speaking in Banu, a tongue I've not yet mastered and if it isn't for the presence of his young interpreter, a Banu teen named Arye, I wouldn't know what he is asking. Regardless, it is rude and considered quite foolish to accept the first terms offered in any deal so I decline and counter-offer. The joy for the Banu is in both the bargaining and the scoring of little points in the contract.

The wheeling and dealing goes on for about an hour before we reach what I consider terms that areboth reasonable and affordable. I've asked that Arye's services be included as our interpreter. The essosouli gestures in agreement and the deal is concluded. All we need to do is sign the contract and deliver the payment of more Sataball trinkets and medical supplies, saving me the Mobi's for future deals. I glance over the contract, which was written in both Banu and Standard Imperial, before I sign it. Everything appears in order and we turn to the slomaddon to get a cup of sloma. I sip from my cup and am glad I didn't add any alcohol to the mix, the drink is like peach and something akin to mango flavored paint remover. I gasp and when done choking the concoction down I smile thanking the essosouli for the honor of dealing with him. He chuckles and says something to Arye who bows and takes off, presumably to get his gear together for our departure. Then he calls to the pilot who guided me there and barks out orders to him in a full parade ground voice. While he is distracted I dump most of my sloma back into the slomaddon. When he turns back to me I sip the rest and smile while waiting for the Banu to get ready to leave.

Once the pilot and Arye are back we troop to the landing bays and rejoin our ships. I really only need a small security force, just enough to keep slavers away. Banu slavers will mess with unescorted Humans, particularly around the Kins slave market, as we are desirable as revenue generators from our ransoms or insurance since we really don't agree with the whole being a slave thing. However, with our path only going to Yulin II and then back to Banshee for the return trip I don't see the need to have more than a token sole Banu Defender protecting us. If I could've gotten away with it I'd just have hired an interpreter from another souli and skipped the Defender crew that is flying lead before us.

Arye is talkative at first, asking me questions about who we are and what souli we belong to. I explain that I am the owner of my own company and he is pleased to be working for an essosouli. When I tell him that he is to just strap into a jump seat on my ship and be quiet he looks crestfallen. Frankly, I don't want the loud kid yelling into my ear the whole trip and I use the excuse that the copilot seat isn't made for a tall Banu's frame as an excuse to put him into the cargo hold with the medical equipment. I suppose I could've just let him use the spare bunk in the cabin but I want peace and quiet.

The rest of the team thinks it's funny that I have to put up with the Banu kid. And I say kid, he's younger than Jack Kurito but in Banu years, he's more physically mature since the race has a shorter life span. I'm older than the essosouli or guild master we met, in fact I'm older than any Banu I've ever met since they only live to an average of about 50 years of age. It is an interesting dichotomy, the Banu are far more resilient to various environmental conditions and can breathe atmospheres that are toxic to Humans. But that resiliency comes at a cost, their metabolisms are much faster than ours as evident by the extra food I had to bring on board to keep the Banu teenager going. His consumption of fasa, the favorite snack food of Banu, is amazing. While we are on the quantum jump to the nav point for Yulin II I go back to check on Arye to find a mess of crumbs and empty fasa bags. "I was bored," he says. "When bored I eat."

"Well, now you have a chore, clean up this mess!" I yell at him. Since yelling isn't a sign of displeasure among Banu he just smiles and starts doing what I ask, no offense taken. I sigh and get back to the cockpit. It is going to be a long flight.

It gets a whole lot worse later on when Arye comes into the cockpit to use the portable toilet. Again the design is not made for a Banu and he can't figure out the instructions on how to work the thing. I don't know what else the teenager ate besides fasa, but it is foul. After explaining how to work the toilet I have him clean up where he missed. Meanwhile I don my helmet and go on suit air till the ship's life support system can scrub the odor from the cabin. Arye is not dismayed at all, and seems cheerful as if this is all somehow exciting. I am ruing the moment I set eyes on the tall purple-skinned Banu lad and I vow to myself not to mention any of this to the rest of the team or I'll never hear the end of it.

We fly from the Yulin II nav point to the Buloi Sataball Arena only to find out there wasn't any point in going to it right now as there are no professional league games scheduled there for the next five days, just local teams. It doesn't bother the Banu as they love the game regardless of who plays so long as there is action to wager on but for a die-hard fan like Gloe, only the pro games matter. The essosouli, Buloi Satu'kal, is an over-dressed Banu matron in a "looking like an empress wearing all her finery" kind of way. A genteel hostess, she accepts my proposal and payment of fees, after the requisite negotiation, to operate in the arena since we are there to capture someone wanted for cheating on Sataball. If Gloe had gotten away with being undetected at his cheating she'd have had no problem with it, as that is the Banu way to admire spunk. However, since he evidentially hadn't gotten away with it as proved by us being there she has no problem with us taking him back to face the music, so to speak, for failure.

Back we fly to Yulin I which is where the Yulin flotilla orbits, and which is where most Banu in the system call home. That's where Captain Halito Mu'ul, I looked up the name Kurito was trying to pronounce, hails from along with his trade souli. And that is where he will be bringing Gloe through whatever hidden jump point the Banu have in the system.

Upon docking and powering down our ships we all don our flight suits, grab our gear and head inside the flotilla. I pay for extra security to guard our ships and have the remainder of our cargo unloaded and put into bonded storage until I can trade it. I have the team pair up and go "shopping" while Arye and I pay a visit to the good captain's souli. It takes a while to find the right shop, built into the hull of an old cargo ship like the rest of the flotilla. Once there I find we have beat the captain and his ship load of Mobi's, which is great news on two points. First and foremost, Gloe hasn't gotten here and either skipped or disappeared into the maze of attached ships. Second, there is a still a profit to be made off the bulk of the factory new Mobi's we have.

Since the souli will shortly be a prime sales outlet for Mobi'sI head off to find an equally savvy competitor. It doesn't take long with Arye's help to find who is selling Mobi's in the bazaar. What I see are an assortment of older models and even a few cheap knock-offs. After some serious negotiations with another overdressed essosouli and another stomach ache from drinking sloma I am happy to have scored some credits to which I'll share with the team after the mission if they aren't spent on informants and the like. When I rejoin the team Chomba is really excited and tells me what he found, "Tevarin shields, much better than the ones we have on the Fugly Duckling. They use them on the Defenders along with Xi'an thrusters. And they are making the ships for Humans now!"

"Uh, okay." I reply. "As much as I'd like to add another Banu ship to my fleet I don't have the credits with me and we are using all of our pilots at the moment. You're not suggesting I sell off one of my other ships, are you?"

Chomba blurts out, "Jack can pilot the Fugly Duckling, I've been teaching him."

"He doesn't have a pilot's license. Wait Orin, who was in the pilot seat when we met those pirates in Genesis?" I ask.

Chomba looks chagrined, "Genesis is normally so quiet I let him fly for a while. He did okay though, boss, for his first time facing pirates."

"Uh, yeah." I am thinking how close we came to having that situation blow up on us with the kid holding the trigger to that Mantis GT. One slight wrong move and he'd have started our last fight. It is one thing for me to bluff with the veterans but the kid hadn't proven himself in combat before this. Well, he had to be tested at some time. Meanwhile I have to get Chomba back on track. "Like I say, Orin, I don't have the credits with me. After this job, sure, but right now let's focus on finding Gloe."

After renting rooms for us I set up a rotating watch of the docking bays from the reception chamber just inside from customs so we can get some rest between shifts. We have secure comms on our factory new Mobi's, courtesy of Microtech. My plan is simple, we are going to stage a "medical emergency" to spirit Dr. Gloe out to the Cardinal and off of the flotilla. We've done this before and when done right keeps local authorities from delving too deep until after we've disappeared with our "patient." I have a medical pod staged inside of a service closet, access to which I have paid the local Banu authorities after establishing that among the services we provide are emergency medicine for any Human visitors. This I am willing to do, for a price I'll provide concierge medicine as much as the auto-doc can handle. Since the local medical souli is primarily focused on Banu care we didn't get a lot of complaints from them especially when I tell them we are here only for a short term and will defer all long term care of patients to them.

Anyway, I've set up watches and everyone except for Arye will stand a shift wearing white outfits I purchased with the standard Banu medical patch on the breast and the shoulders so Humans, at least, don't get suspicious about why they are hanging around the reception area to the landing bay. When it is Peretto's turn to get into her white uniform Tabrizi goes into his usual banter with her, "Hello-o-o, Nurse!"

Peretto brandishes a tranquilizer medi-pen and quips, "bend over and I'll give you a shot to boost your libido."

Tabrizi waves his index finger back and forth, "Tisk-tisk, that's not very nice. And besides, my libido needs no boost, just some of your love."

"Terek," I break in. "I agree that your libido doesn't need a boost. It also doesn't need to come out at this time. In fact, you can take her shift to burn of that excess energy you have."

Peretto chuckles, "Thanks, boss!"

Tabrizi troops into his room to change while Peretto goes to hers to get out of uniform. When they both come back into the common room Peretto laughs at Tabriz as somehow his uniform smock was purchased one size too small. He looks like he can split it out just by flexing his muscles. "Well, this won't do at all," I conclude. "Sara, back into your uniform you go. Terek, I'm sending you back to the shop where we got this with Arye to get it straightened out."

Tabrizi salutes with a smile and Peretto gives him a dirty look as she turns back to her room to change outfits yet again.

Later, while Tabrizi is out in the bazaar he messages me on the team channel, "Boss, we have a problem. I've got a pair of goons in my view, possibly Red Cobras."

Peretto gets in on the conversation, "Same here, I can see two more who are hanging out in the reception area trying to look inconspicuous and not succeeding. They couldn't blend in worse if they tried. What passes for fashion on ArcCorp marks them as alien as that 'Hawaiian shirt' you like to pull out on Traveler's Day, boss."

I swear under my breath, at both the luck of having the goons show up and at Peretto's remark about my real, Sol imported, Hawaiian shirt. I was really hoping that we would beat the competition to Gloe instead of having them waiting for him right beside us. Still, I've been ready for this moment. "Terek and Sara, tag your pairs. Orin and Jack, set up the tracking on the Fugly Duckling. Let's see where they go and what they are up to."

"Tagging" used to involve a brush pass where you had to make physical contact with the target to plant the tracking device on them. That gave away to a simpler system, a small pen gun that silently shoots the tracker onto the target's clothing where it blends in. It is a short range device, it only shoots about two meters, but it beats making physical contact. The tag can be tracked at close range by a Mobi app or at longer range, albeit less precisely, from a powerful receiver set such as I have on the Herald. I just want to find out where the gang is staying while I work out a plan to neutralize them.

Both agents report back when their marks have been tagged and Kurito soon reports that he's tracking all four goons. "They've split up boss. One is staying in the reception area, the other three are fanning out through the bazaar. It looks like they don't know if Gloe's here or not."

"Okay, team, we have a slight advantage on them. They don't know that Gloe's not here yet and also that we are so let's not tip our hands. No direct surveillance, Sara will maintain our cover as medical responders. Orin and Terek will rotate through as Sara's relief. Jack and I will switch off in the Fugly Duckling keeping track of our friends."

"What do you want me to do?" Arye asks. I turn to him. "Arye, this might get dangerous so I want you close to me. But if it comes to direct action against these criminals you will stay with Jack and help him, is that understood?"

Arye agrees enthusiastically. I can't send Arye back to his souli, the kid would talk about what our team is up to so we are stuck with him for the duration of the mission. And he has no real training that I'm aware of, Banu tend to be very specialized and Arye's strictly an interpreter as far as I can tell. So I put him where he can do the least damage even if that means I have to smell his crap again that's the life of a bounty hunter.

The Call Part 5

It takes us a couple of days of playing cat and mouse with the goons but we know all we can about them now. Meanwhile, Captain Mu'ul hasn't shown up with our target. From tracking them we found their rented rooms and that they came in as the crew of a Constellation Andromeda, the ubiquitous "Connie" that is a favorite of small trade organizations, legitimate or illegitimate, throughout the empire. It is well armed and even carries a snub fighter, a Kruger P52 Merlin. Right now that Merlin has an added package in it, a remote controlled bomb that Chomba rigged and Tabrizi inserted after Kurito cracked their ship's security system. When we leave, should they prove to be a problem I can, at the flick of a switch, blow the Merlin and take out the Connie's engines with it. With a pair of airlocks between the Merlin and the cabin the goons should be fine until rescued. We don't kill unless we have to defend life or when sanctioned by the UEE, such as with the Bloody Moon pirates on Front Row. Besides, nobody here wants to really have Tran the Bloody out for them like Gloe does.

I also had Kurito run the goons' faces through the latest version of the Hot Sheet, the official Bounty Hunter Guild's wanted list but they are all clean of bounties. It would've been icing on the cake to collect a bounty while bringing Gloe back but then again, it might have raised some questions about why we were all in the Protectorate to begin with. This recovery is not on the guild's books and should some ethics panel decide that we violated guild rules it could become ugly for us. Especially since the NDA I signed on all of our behalf means that we couldn't give a proper defense to any charges against us.

Chomba is the one on duty in the reception area when Capt. Mu'ul's Merchantman finally makes port but it is my turn on watch in the Fugly Duckling so I'm the one who sees the ship approach the flotilla and dock with it. Arye is with me, munching fasa as usual, while I watch each person disembark from the big Banu ship. There is not one Human in the lot, they are all Banu, and they begin the process of unloading cargo and going through customs. I alert the team that Gloe wasn't on the Merchantman and tell them to stand by for further instructions. Thinking what our next move will be I turn to the Banu beside me. "Arye, I need to ask you to do something for us."

The kid's eyes light up and he stops munching his fasa. "What is it, essosouli Istvan Kardos?" he asks pensively.

"I want you to go alone and negotiate with Captain Mu'ul for some information. In fact I want you to not just buy information from him but also to pay him to give out false information as well. Can and will you do that for us?"

"Sure thing, boss!" Arye replies imitating Kurito.

I wince at the imitation. Using the kid like this is risky but we can't be seen approaching Captain Mu'ul without giving away ourselves to the Red Cobra goons. Arye, on the other hand, is just another Banu and from his attire a low level one at that. He could be a messenger from the captain's own souli as far as they could tell. I spell out what I want Arye to ask the captain, basically, where Gloe went, and to tell anyone asking the captain the same question to say that he went to the Bacchus Flotilla to lay low. I provide Arye with what I think are more than sufficient credits and send him on his way with a prayer to the Banu god of luck to keep the kid safe.

Meanwhile, Chomba reports that the goons are meeting in the reception area talking about what they are going to do next now that Gloe's ship is here without him. "There seems to be some disagreement on what to do next. The head goon just back-handed one of his lackey's, knocking him to the floor, and then stomped off leaving the rest standing around their companion. I'm going to go over and offer first aid for the lackey and see what I can overhear."

"Be careful," I add needlessly. I have two people, and I count Arye as one of my people now that he's running a risk for us, in harm's way. I wouldn't have Chomba offering these guys anything in the way of aid but it may delay them from talking to Captain Mu'ul and they might slip up and say something around Orin. I spend the next twenty minutes nervously waiting for one of the two to give me some indication they are all right. Chomba is the first one back on the team channel, "Boss, I got nothing out of them. They were all speaking Vietnamese. They're afraid of their boss though. He really slapped that guy with a ring on and it knocked loose some teeth. I did what I could but told him to eat soft foods and to keep his mouth cleaned out until they heal. They even gave me a tip for the service."

It is another forty minutes before Arye shows up and he's a bit tipsy. It is the first time I've seen a drunk Banu. If it wasn't for the fact that I've been worried about the kid I'd be laughing at him.

"Too much sloma," is all he says when he sits down on the Herald's bunk. He belches and stretches out, "Gloe leave ship in Terra, say he no need Banu to take him where he fly on his own. Goon leader come and talk to Captain Mu'ul. I just Banu, goon ignore me. Plan work perfectly. Captain Mu'ul tell goon Gloe hiding at Bacchus. I go to sleep now."

"So is Gloe coming here or to somewhere else in the Protectorate?" I try to ask the kid before he passes out. All I get is a long fart for an answer and then what passes for a snore. Again I question why I brought this kid into our midst. I share Arye's intelligence to the rest of the team. Peretto pipes up, "I told you he would head to the Origin dealership first thing."

Tabrizi retorts, "You also said he was coming to Yelin to watch Sataball and here we are while he's not here."

"Well there hasn't been a league game yet either," she responds. "Give him time and he'll be there."

"I need to make sure he is and the goons won't be there," I say exasperatedly as Arye lets out another long fart. "Orin, you and Jack are going to head to the Bacchus Flotilla in the Fugly Duckling following the goons and make sure they are going there. If they look like they are going anywhere else or are returning here I want you to transmit the signal to blow their ship's engines to smithereens. Take the Banu security team with you. I'll make sure it is good with their essosouli."

The cabin is starting to smell like ripe Banu. A Herald is just too small of a ship to have a bulkhead dividing the cockpit from the rest of the cabin so I have to put up with it. When Chomba and Kurito show up with their gear and I pop the hatch they both wince. Jack asks, "Boss, what have you been eating?"

I thumb back at the bunk where Arye is lying in an odiferous cloud of his own making. "Orin, go get the gurney. We need to haul this kid to his bed and let him sleep it off."

"Right boss," he replies and then turns to his sidekick. "Jack, stay here and help rouse Arye. There is no way to get him out of that bunk and off the ship without him at least helping a little."

"Ah, sure." Kurito remarks with uncertainty. I wave him up the ladder and into my world.

Two days later Chomba and Kurito return in the Fugly Duckling with their security escort. In the mean time I've had the Tabrizi and Peretto keep up the concierge medicine and they actually had a case come in where a tourist got some intestinal parasite from who knows what she ate in the bazaar. The auto-doc fixed her right up and I put Arye to use cleaning up the Cardinal afterwards. I have to admit the kid is growing on me a bit. Despite the volume of obnoxious odors he can create he has been trying very hard to fit in and be helpful. He was very apologetic when he learned he had just about made us gag after his drinking binge. Arye's promised not to drink like that anymore. I had to go back to Arye's essosouli and further negotiate on his contract. The security team with the Fugly Duckling's term is up when they return. I'm going to need Arye for longer than that and he's agreed to keep working for me.

Chomba and Kurito report in person rather than over their Mobi's. Chomba gives the report, "We followed the Connie at a safe distance through the jump point to Leir and then through to Banshee. There they detected us trailing them and doubled back to see who we were. I had Jack talk to them since they had seen my face. He pulled it off claiming to be a junior intern sent by the research team at Heller Station in Garron for some 'recreational supplies' not available in the UEE. Since we were headed to that jump point it gave credence why we were on the same course as claimed to have scored a bit of Neon which they decided they wanted but as soon as they got frisky I popped the Merlin. If they are lucky someone from Lorona will pick up their distress beacon. If not, well, that's the price you pay when you play the pirate."

"Not what I had in mind but it removes them from the picture," I respond. "Tomorrow is the Terran League semi-finals game between the Stanton Knights and the Goss Bucs. If that isn't cause for Gloe to show his face at the Buloi arena then I don't know what will bring him out of hiding. I don't want to go to Terra and start over trying to pick up a cold trail."

The Call - Part 6

I am not in the habit of being caught off guard. However the sheer number of ships going to Buloi Sataball arena blows my mind. Despite the fact that I planned on us getting there ahead of the crowd by more than six hours the amount of traffic is staggering. And it looks like half the Yulin Flotilla is going to be following us there. Ships I thought were derelicts and permanently part of the flotilla are getting ready to detach and move carrying fans. Arye confirms that is not unheard of. "Every ship can and must be able to move if we abandon Yulin. But do not worry, Boss. That will not happen today."

"That doesn't reassure me much, Arye." I point at the bedlam surrounding the flotilla, "I'm just glad to be on the move before they are."

And we are on the move along with a few dozen other early birds. The team was more than a little pleased to learn we were going to the game. Then they found out that we might not be seeing much of the game itself. If we can nab Dr. Gloe before the game we can be on our way while most of the system's population is distracted by the game itself.

"How are we going to find Gloe in this place," Kurito asks anxiously over the team channel. "There are too many ways into the arena for us to watch them all."

"Yeah, but there are only so many seats for fans of the visiting teams," I reply. "Banu cheer for both sides and are so loud that most Humans won't sit with them. So the bulk of the seats will be general admission for the Banu and only the two ends will be Human fans who accompanied the teams here. We only have to put two pairs into position to watch those areas. Once we locate Gloe we can stage a medical emergency and pull him out."

It is a modification of the plan we had on the Yulin Flotilla. I'm going to have to clear it with the essosouli to join her medical staff for the game. Before we left I got Arye fitted with a medical uniform to match the rest of the team's. He was thrilled when I told him that he was to play my aide at the arena. Chomba and Jack will watch one side disguised as fans while Tabrizi and Peretto will cover the other. Both pairs have dart guns, similar to the tagging pen guns, that will inject Gloe with "Drift," a refined version of the Xi'an drug "Maze" that is less toxic and when used in controlled doses, simulates a Human having a stroke with reduced body functions if not full unconsciousness. The mind of the victim will become totally disconnected with reality and will go on a wild trip into fantasy. Properly monitored the victim will revive without ill effects though with an enviable tale to tell. However, Drift is highly addictive though typically not from a single use. Drift is also illegal in the UEE though not impossible to get as Xi'an criminal syndicates have been fully exploiting the increased trade due to the HuXa Trade Treaty to smuggle in all sorts of contraband. In the Banu Protectorate it is simply and over-the-counter drug that anyone with the right amount of credits can buy. And buy it I did with no intent of getting caught with it back in the UEE.

After docking with the arena the team gets ready while Arye and I go meet with Buloi Sata-kal at her office. She is annoyed to see us. Arye translates for her, "You were to take care of this already. Now he is here and he brought Tevarin mercenaries. You will not fight in my arena! You will not be allowed to disrupt the game!"

I apologize profusely and offer to fix the situation so there is no disruption or embarrassment to her.

"How you can promise this? The game begins in six hours. Already there are many people here shopping and dining." After translating this Arye asks me, "Yes Boss, how do we do this?"

Pointing to a diagram of the arena on the office wall I ask the essosouli, "Is there any way I can rent one of the sky boxes?"

Arye doesn't understand what I am pointing at so I have to explain the term to him. Once he gets it he excitedly asks the essosouli. She seems puzzled by this but answers cautiously in the affirmative as that much of Banu speech I understand. I ask her how many are with Dr. Gloe, how many Tevarin mercenaries does he have? The reason for this is that Tevarins are tough fighters with a mean reputation as lacking any mercy for a foe. While I am limited to less lethal means, they are most certainly not.

She gives a number, then corrects it. Arye asks her another quick question and then translates her answer, "She says there are three with Gloe, but only two are Tevarin. One is a Human female companion."

"How are they armed?" I ask her. Arye gets a terse answer and begins apologizing again. "She does not know, she is not a warrior. She says to ask her head of security. She wants to know how you plan on taking care of this."

"If I may invite Dr. Gloe and his party on behalf of the essosouli to upgrade their seats to a sky box I can prepare a trap to neutralize everyone in the room without disruption to the rest of the arena."

Buloi Sata'kal gives me a gesture that I take is approval. Then we begin negotiating for the sky box. The amount that I have to pay for a VIP suite for a SAPL league game is staggering. It takes up all of my credits that I made from the sale of the Mobi's and more. I think that part of what the expense includes is to make up for the annoyance of the essosouli which I accept as costs of doing business. When we are done and sipping sloma I ask the essosouli for her permission to speak to her head of security. She calls out to her aid or secretary, I'm not sure which, who indicates that I'm to follow him. As I turn to do so the essosouli bides me to stop and gives me a final warning, "If you fail in your plan or disrupt the game your ships will be seized, your assets taken and you will all be sold on Kins for whatever your lives are worth. Do you understand me?"

I nod and say that I do. Arye nervously translates. The essosouli dismisses me with a wave of her hand.

The head of security is a very professional Banu with a crisp uniform that doesn't have all the fake medallions and ribbons the security essosouli that I met before had. Arye explains that the head of security is not an essosouli but merely an employee of the arena despite his position. I nod in understanding as Ayre is starting to get Human gestures and ask about how Dr. Gloe got to arena. Arye translates, "In a ship of his own. A large white Origin ship, a 600i he says."

I whistle low, Peretto was right on. Dr. Gloe got himself a major upgrade from the Aurora LX he had and even the Origin 300i he lost. "Ask him how the Tevarin mercenaries are armed and armored as well as about this female Human, is she armed as well?"

Arye gives me the low down, "He says the Tevarin are well armored in a mix of styles, both Human and Tevarin. Their weapons are different, one carries a Kas-tak Kay-twelve and the other a MaxOx Pee-four," he stumbles over the nomenclature but I know instantly what their weapons are. Arye adds, "And both wear long knives, he says, not pistols."

Again I get what he means. The Tevarin were Humanities' first alien opponents and they were tough fighters with a code of honor that meant they fought to the death rather than surrender. When Imperator Messar II finished the last of their warriors off he used a tactic straight out of ancient Sol, from the Romans of old when they defeated Carthage after the Punic Wars. The Romans leveled Carthage and then sowed the ground with salt so no crops could ever grow there again to support the rebuilding of the city. Imperator Messar II went one step further than the Romans, he terraformed every known Tevarin planet so their species would have no world to call home. Furthermore he destroyed nearly every temple, every library, everything held dear by his defeated foes dooming not just their culture but their species to a slow death as he dispersed them through-out the empire in a diaspora. Then he built a new city, Gemma, on their renamed homeworld of Jalan as a memorial to Humanity's triumph.

Tevarin survivors live in the UEE as refugees, unable to breathe the atmosphere of Human worlds they go from birth to death living in their suits or in their specially modified habitats not able to freely walk underneath the stars. That was until the hidden fortress world of Kabal III was discovered, long abandoned by the Tevarin. It is off limits for terraforming but also as a home for the Tevarin. This despite that they abandoned their warlike ways in 2610 when they threw out their code of honor in what they called, "the Purge." Yet despite that abandonment of the warrior code, those who follow the way of war still carry a left over symbol of their warrior past, a sword, with which they finish off any wounded foe as well as use in close combat.

As for their primary weapons, I know them all too well. My own arsenal includes many weapons I've picked up from criminals who no longer had a use for them. These include the Kastak Arms KS-12 "Devastator" shotgun which fires either an electrical charge at medium range or a plasma round at close range. The other merc has a cheap rip-off of the UEE standard light arm, the Behring P4-SC submachinegun. But instead of a ballistic weapon the merc has an energy weapon, the MaxOx P4 SMG known in criminal circles as the "room broom." In close quarters combat, such as what we have here or aboard a ship, these two weapons are exactly what you need to clear hallways and rooms.

What the security chief has to say about the woman accompanying Gloe surprises me. I was expecting Gloe to just pick up some gold digger but I hear she is more than that. Arye translates, "The female is the boss of the bodyguards and is the pilot of the ship. She has an Arclight pistol, he says, though she conceals it in her purse."

The Klaus & Werner Arclight Mod II energy pistol is a mainstay among the fashionistas. Ever since a handsome star carried one in a very popular vid show they have been a mainstay among the socially hip. However, despite the fact that the PS-10 power cells gives you sixty shots before needing to reload they are sixty weaker shots than my old standard Gemini L-86 ballistic pistol with its 13 round magazine of armor piercing ammunition. Still there are times, and environments, where ballistic weapons just don't cut it so I have several Arclights in my collection. Both Peretta and Kurito prefer them as their sidearms of choice.

Despite the fact that these mercenaries are all armed, and I count the woman as a merc, they are not wanted by the UEE so I can't in good faith take them out. Especially since they are trying to protect the doctor from harm, not like the Red Cobra goons we dealt with. But I can't just tell them that their job is over as I took out who they were hired to defend might see me as just as much of a threat to his new lifestyle as the goons were. I'm going to have to be careful and only as a very last resort use deadly force.

"Chief," I address the head of security. "Here is what I want your men to do," as I begin to layout my plan of attack.

"After the flashbang grenades go off, Terek and I go in with RSS stunners and nail those mercs." I point to Peretto and Chomba, "You two follow us in and if any of them can't be brought down by the stunners, take them out. Jack and Arye will be standing by outside with the medical gurney to haul Gloe back to the Cardinal. We evac as planned using the medical emergency as cover. Arena Security has been fully briefed and will clear our path out to our ships."

Arye asks about the stunners. I pull one out of the weapons rack and show him, "The Roussimoff Rehabilitation Systems personal stunner is one of our preferred weapons. Hit a man, a Tevarin or rumor has it even a Vanduul and they go down paralyzed for a while. How long depends on how high I set the charge and what they are wearing. Since these mercs are in armored suits I'm going to up the charge quite a bit."

Kurito asks, "What will it do to the woman?"

Shaking my head I answer frankly, "On this high, I don't know. It's not supposed to kill but there are warnings from RSS about using the higher settings on unarmored people. It is a risk we are going to have to take."

We are assembled in the medical center listening to the roar of the crowd. The game has been going on for thirty minutes, enough to get the good doctor distracted and letting his guard down. I highly doubt his bodyguards are doing the same but I do want them to relax as much as possible before we hit them. The chief of security comes in and tells me through Arye that his men have pulled back from the sky box and are keeping everyone clear of it.

"This is it team," I prompt them. "Let's roll!"

With a pass code I unlock the door. Chomba and I each toss in a grenade and pull the door shut. At the last minute I decided to mix the load and use a Behring "Radar Net" as well as a flashbang grenade. The mix should overload the guards' suit systems as well as confuse them. As soon as the muffled bang goes off we are in the door again and moving to our targets. I hit the Tevarin with the Devastator as he turns towards me. He drops but his hand spasms on the trigger and he fires one round into the floor. Chomba hits the other guard and when the woman grabs for a concealed pistol he hits her with the stun baton as well. Gloe just stands there in shock screaming, "Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!"

Quickly Tabrizi and Peretto move into the room and disarm the downed Tevarin guards then apply restraints to them. They'll be freed by arena security after we are long gone. Chomba is checking on the woman, who is having seizures. I grab the doctor and pull him into a corner away from the big window of the sky box. The air is acrid from the odor of the flashbang. Shaking Gloe with one hand I demand his attention. "Listen to me, we are here to rescue you. Your life is still in danger. You need to come with us."

Gloe begins to stammer and protest. "No, I have protection," he says weakly. "I'm not going to go back to Microtech. If I have to I'll go to the Xi'an."

Chomba interrupts me, "Boss! This woman is not going to make it if we don't get her to the auto-doc."

I look over to see what he's talking about. Dr. Gloe knows how to pick them. The woman is of mixed African descent with a light chocolate complexion, tall, curvaceous, with short nappy hair as befits a pilot who has to wear a helmet. Right now she's in a black evening dress that's hiked up to reveal a thigh holster that Chomba's emptied of its pistol. She's gorgeous despite the fact that her eyes have rolled back into her head, drool is coming from her mouth and she's shaking uncontrollably. I get on my Mobi and call in Kurito. "Jack, get up here right away, we have a real emergency."

"Right, boss!" he responds and is in the room within seconds with Arye right behind as wide eyed as I've ever seen a Banu. Kurito hands Chomba the med kit, and Orin administers a sedative that stops the seizures. Together with the rest of the team they load the woman onto the gurney. I grab Gloe and threaten him with my stun baton. "If you don't want to end up like her, come along and pretend to be concerned about her life. We are taking the both of you to my ship and getting out of here."

"What about my ship? I paid a fortune for it," he whines.

The asshole cares more about his ship than his pilot's life. I wonder if he was sleeping with her or not, then dismiss it as irrelevant. "Give the codes to her," I point to Peretto. "She'll follow us."

Sara nods and walks over to get the codes from Gloe. I know she'll love flying the 600i but more than that, she's the most familiar with Origin ships. "Terek, you'll be flying the Fugly Duckling." I direct my attention to Kurito next, "Jack, you okay with piloting the Dirty Bird?"

"Sure, but what about Arye?" Kurito asks me. "Are we leaving him behind?"

"No," I answer. "Already arranged, he's going with us and you are taking him on your ship. He's a licensed pilot, at least by the Banu Protectorate, which will be good enough if you get stopped in UEE space."

Kurito is all smiles and slaps Arye on the back, "Welcome to the team!"

Chomba brings Kurito back to the matter at hand. "Pay attention to the monitor on her vitals. You're dressed as the medic. Arye, you guide us as planned."

I have Tabrizi stash all of our weapons into the luggage we brought them up in adding the guns of the mercs with them. I leave them their swords, I have no use for them and figure they might be some family heirlooms or something. I have the pilot's pistol which is in my jacket pocket while my other hand guides Gloe out the door. We follow the gurney, Arye in the lead, Kurito walking alongside the medical pod monitoring the patient, Chomba pushing the thing. I follow with Dr. Gloe, Tabrizi and Peretto trailing behind.

Arena Security has the path clear but frankly, there aren't many Banu in the corridors while the game is in full swing. We get to the dock to find our ships and realize we have a problem. The mass of Banu ships that came after us have made leaving virtually impossible. We head to the Cardinal first to take care of the pilot. Kurito is looking worried about something, "Orin, she's fading fast. What do I do?"

"Run!" Chomba's answer is simple and to the point, he starts running with the gurney to the back of the Cutlass Red. "Hurry Jack, unlock the ship and lower the ramp!"

We race up the ramp into the ship with me pausing to close the ramp leaving Tabrizi and Peretto outside. The pair take off the other way to their respective ships as planned, each pulling a piece of wheeled luggage. I order Gloe to sit in a jump seat while I aid the rest of the team in loading the woman onto the auto-doc. Chomba gets to work on the equipment that will save her life while I try to explain Gloe's new reality to him.

"It's like this, Herzog. You are going back to Microtech. The corporation will ensure that Tran the Bloody won't touch you and that you won't be prosecuted for whatever lawbreaking you did to rig the results of that game. You may forfeit your winnings, the ship may belong to the corporation as compensation, but you will still have your pay and benefits. Got it?"

"What are you talking about?" Gloe asks me. "I didn't cheat but won fair and square. I left because I'm sick of the corporate politics, backstabbing and sucking up you have to do to get ahead. Sure I broke my contract but Microtech doesn't own me, just my creations and I'm done, I'm retired."

"Maybe you thought you 'won fair and square' but Tran the Bloody wants his money back," I inform the clueless genius. "He sent a hit squad after you and Microtech was afraid you'd give them company secrets in exchange for your life. Which wouldn't be worth anything either way, Tran has a habit of making very messy examples of those who cross him."

Gloe looks nervously around. "A hit squad, where are they? Why aren't you getting me out of here?"

"Relax, we took care of them but you can be certain that Tran will send more after you. We have to wait a bit for the game to end and most of the ships to leave so we can too. Not a problem."

Turning to Chomba, I ask, "Is she going to be okay?"

"I think so. Hey Doc, what is your pilot's name?" He inquires.

"Felicia Meriweather," Is his reply. "When she wakes up tell her that she's fired."

Chomba flips the doctor the bird and turns his back to him. "'Grade A' asshole, just like I said boss."

I tell Kurito and Arye to take off for the Fugly Duckling but to keep in contact. Then, pulling Gloe to his feet I give him the bad news, "Come on, we are going home. We might as well go on your yacht. It will be the last trip you have with her."

We leave Chomba with his patient. He's armed but not likely to need it as she's going to need to rest for quite a while. I'm wondering what to do with her. I have an idea but it depends on what she wants once she hears that her services are no longer needed by the not-so-good doctor.

"Sara. Where are you parked?" I ask her over my Mobi.

She replies, "Stay there, it'll be easier for me to come to you and guide you than for you to find me. There is no moving this ship until a fat Merchantman decides to decamp."

I wait at the back of the Cardinal keeping an eye out until Sara arrives. Then, taking Gloe in tow I follow Peretto back to the 600i. I'm impressed by the size and beauty of the ship, even more so by the armament as Peretto points them out like she's a salesperson on the show room floor. The thing is a missile boat with sixteen missiles on the racks, plus the three Behring M6A laser cannons as main weaponry and two remote turrets covering close defense. When we go aboard the inside rivals my company offices in size but is more luxurious by far. Peretto tells me, "I've searched the ship and secured all of the weapons. Those Tevarin had a small arsenal and the captain was no slacker as well."

She holds up a Custodian SMG, another energy weapon by Kastak Arms, gun maker for the poor and downtrodden, or criminal, throughout the empire. "I think I'll keep this one for myself, if that is okay with you, boss?"

"Sure, take your pick." Her eyes light up. I look at her a bit suspiciously, "Okay, what else do they have that you want?"

"Oh, just a Scourge, is all." She hunches her shoulders and bats her eyes at me acting coy. "Pretty, please?"

I turn to Gloe who doesn't seem amused by this at all. I doubt he knows what a Klaus & Werner LR-620 "Scourge" railgun is or cares. I tell him, "See what I have to go through? You give a girl a gun and then she only wants more."

Turning back to Peretto I question her choice, "You sure you can handle a weapon of that size?"

"If I can't I know someone who can," she states. I nod yes and she claps her hands. "Okay, get the ship systems up and watch for trouble. We'll divvy up the rest of the weapons later."

Gloe goes over to the bar and pours himself a drink. "Mind if I just sit and enjoy this?"

"No, go ahead." I don't care much what he does so long as he stays within my sight and doesn't cause me any trouble. While I don't feel the job is over the worst part of the job, locating and securing the target, is done. Now we only have to deliver him and while that is much easier when you have a prisoner secured in a holding cell, once we are in space Gloe won't be going anywhere. Gloe walks to the holo tank and selects a vid to watch. I decide to join him from the couch opposite his seat. While I do so I pull out the pilot's, Felicia's, Arclight pistol out and examine it. It is a compact model, all sights cut down so it is easier to conceal, all edges rounded off so it won't snag when pulled from concealment, though it sacrifices some range with the shorter barrel and sight radius. It has been customized by a real pro and from the wear on it, it has seen some use. I pocket it again and halfheartedly watch the vid while waiting for the game to end.

I am just about to check in with the rest of the team when I hear something I don't recognize. "What was that?" I ask aloud. Gloe ignores me and Peretto is distracted looking over ship's systems. Standing, I go and peer down onto the lower deck when I catch movement by the stairs. "Sara! Tangoes!"

The two Tevarin mercs come racing up the stairs with swords in hand. I pull the pistol and begin to fire but the little gun has little or no effect on the armor the Tevarin are wearing. As the range diminishes I switch for the face plates on their helmets. I double tap the first just as he starts his swing at me. Before I can switch targets I hear the Custodian SMG fire and see the second merc crumple. Sara swears, "Damn, boss, you okay?"

I lower the pistol and check both mercs' vitals. They are very dead. Gloe gets up and I see he's pissed himself. "Go to your cabin and change," I order him as I gather the two swords I foolishly left them. If I had only taken them these mercs would likely be alive, or would they have tried this unarmed? I wonder and am sorrowful for lives that didn't deserve to be ended over a guy like Gloe.

"We're going to have to space these bodies once we get away." I tell Peretto matter of factually. She nods and goes to the crew berths to get sheets to drag the bodies on. The carpet is soaked with their blood, fitting for when we give it to Microtech. After we secure both bodies in the cargo bay and do the best clean-up we can I get the word that the game is over. We are going home.

The Call – Part 7

Our first job is to untangle ourselves from the mess of traffic that the outgoing fans have created. It is a wonder that there aren't more accidents than what we witness. No catastrophes though more than one ship limps off venting atmosphere. I fear for Kurito and Arye, two novice pilots in this mess. If Jack can pilot through this I have no worries he pass his pilot's test and get his license. I'll have to arrange for that first thing when we get back.

We rendezvous at a nav beacon I placed on our way over. With everyone on the team net I go over our exfiltration plan. "As you know, we can't go back the way we came. There are several routes we can take, shorter and longer, to avoid trouble. The route that Jack and I came up with is through the Leir jump point, then to Banshee, Fora, Rhetor, Idris, Ferron, Davien, Killian, Ellis, Magnus to Stanton and home. Except for Leir it is all solid UEE space. In fact, one of our worries is that we may be targeted for boarding and inspection due to flying Drake ships with an obvious "victim" ship, Dr. Gloe's yacht. Before we jump I want you each to go over your ships and make sure there is no contraband. All illegal substances need to be spaced before we go to Leir. Is that understood?"

Everyone acknowledges the order. I don't want to risk losing our licenses, ships, etc. because someone forgot to get rid of the Drift pen guns or anything else shady they picked up in the Protectorate. I ask Chomba, "How's our patient?"

"She's sleeping off the sedative. As far as I can tell she'll recover fully but I can't be sure, I'm not a neurologist." Chomba shrugs hopelessly.

"Yeah, we've had enough needless deaths this mission. I'll be holding a memorial service once we get to Leir, then we'll space their bodies." Everyone heard about the mercs' attack and its outcome though nobody is blaming me for it I feel the weight of guilt for the deaths that should not have occurred. Going through their personal effects I found that the Tevarin were brothers, literally as well as brothers in arms. I have no idea of their next of kin, I'll have to report their deaths to the Mercenary Guild to see that they are properly notified and the dead merc's personal effects sent on to them. Their weapons and armor, what is left of it, won't be sent and I'll be sending them armed with their swords and still suited with as much honor and dignity as I can give. I don't know what rituals Tevarin use so I'm falling back on my UEE Navy experience and the common prayer book. I chose Leir as it is not UEE or Banu space, it is free of the taint of conflict between the UEE and Tevarin or between us and them.

We make the transition to Leir without trouble. I take us off the direct path and trade route a ways and have all the team link up with my Mobi for the ceremony. Dr. Gloe didn't want to come but I threatened him reminding the jerk that these were his employees who died trying to rescue him from us, thinking we were the bad guys. I swear that if that guy wasn't needed alive I'd be spacing him with them. Felicia Meriweather is up and about. The first thing she did was nearly take Chomba's life with a laser scalpel he forgot to secure. He fortunately got her to back off and explained everything. She's watching too on Orin's Mobi as I prepare to give the prayer:

"Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in his wise providence, to take out of this verse the souls of our deceased brothers, we therefore commit their bodies to the deep, looking for the general Resurrection in the last day, and the life of the verse to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ; at whose coming in glorious majesty to judge the verse, the deep shall give up her dead; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in him shall be changed, and made like unto his glorious body; according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Amen"

After everyone who wants to says "amen" I signal to Peretto and she opens the outer door to the airlock, venting the bodies out. I had her bleed off the air to .1 bars of pressure so we'd not be losing too much air and the bodies wouldn't be violently ejected. Each body is wrapped in the bloody bed sheet from their own beds that we used to move their bodies in. As they float gently away I dismiss the team and have Chomba keep Felicia on the channel so I can speak to her. "I'm sorry for you loss," is the first thing I tell her.

"Orin explained what happened." She shakes her head, "And I hardly knew them. We were thrown together by this job and they kept to themselves. I had the feeling they didn't like Gloe and only barely tolerated me because I was the captain of the ship."

"I still can't get why they went back for him," I tell her. She shakes her head, "I doubt they went back for Gloe, they were bested by you and wanted revenge. That and their gear, they weren't about to give up their weapons as that was their livelihood. By the way, Gloe hadn't paid us yet. He owes their kin and me both."

"Ah, well, one more debt the fat man has to pay." I remark. "We'll see that you and their next of kin get what is owed. Do you have anywhere that you prefer to be dropped off at, any ties to one place?"

"No, just at the nearest Merc Guild office to find work," she replies. "Aren't you worried that I talk about your rescue mission?"

"Ah, well, about that," I stammer. "I know this is kind of awkward, since we ruined your last job and all but I'm not just asking this because I feel I owe you but I could really do with another pilot, especially one who can shoot."

"Why Mr. Kardos, are you propositioning me?" She smiles revealing a mouth of perfectly white teeth framed by two dimples. She's no longer in her "little black dress" but is wearing a pair of the ubiquitous overalls I keep in lockers on all my ships. She left it open at the top, very revealing and distracting. The overalls are embroidered with "Sword Recovery Services" above the left breast.

"Well, you are already in the company uniform on one of my ships. I think it might be fitting to pay you to stay on." The heat that rose to my cheeks is starting to fade. The last thing I want is a sexual harassment complaint. It is one thing for Terek and Sara to bait and tease one another, as their boss I could shut it down but workplaces aren't as uptight as they once were in the empire and so I let it go. But for me to be "propositioning" or flirting with any employee could be disastrous. Besides, I've notice how much Orin has been taking care of Felicia, I don't want anything to come in way of his chance at happiness. Now I'm thinking like friend and not a boss. I have to get myself squared away. These people are my employees and while I care for them like family, I have to be able to put them into harm's way. "Please don't confuse me with Gloe. I have no expectations of any 'special favors' or anything other than a proper working relationship."

"Oh, I get that. You aren't the pig Gloe is. You care about your people and even for people who tried to kill you. How long have you been a bounty hunter and how did you survive this long without becoming jaded? Sure, I'll work for you and we can sort out the details later. It isn't like I'm going anywhere else or have another job offer waiting for me."

"Okay, welcome to the team. Orin will answer any questions you might have. He's my senior, right hand man and chief mechanic. As soon as we can get to a truck stop we'll get your luggage to you so you have more clothes. That and better accommodations if the Cardinal is not to your liking."

"It's a Drake ship, after being on that yacht it is quite a bit of a step down. At least here I don't have to worry about Gloe crawling into my bed with me. Orin snores is all, I can live with that. Besides, you know how narrow these Drake bunk beds are, there isn't room for two, let alone for fooling around."

I hadn't considered it and now I'm really glad it's Orin over there with Felicia. "Yeah, it could be worse. Jack is hot bunking with Arye and can that kid stink a ship up, let me tell you!"

"TMI, uh, what do I call you, Istvan? Mr. Kardos?" She asks.

"Mostly everyone calls me, 'boss.' Occasionally they call me by Mr. Kardos, if they are mad at me or something. Arye calls me, 'essosouli' which is pretty much the same thing as calling me 'boss' or 'chief'."

"Gotcha, chief!" she smiles one of those dangerous smiles again. She's going to have Orin eating out of the palm of her hand, I can see it.

Ending the connection we get on our way. The next jump point takes us to Banshee again, the first system besides Fora we passed through on the way here that we have to go back through to get home. And that was where Chomba stranded the goons. I want us to be frosty when we go through there.

The Call – Part 8

Just before we jump through the Leir-Banshee wormhole I have a change of crew. I have everyone suit up except Peretto and Gloe. I no longer want Jack and Arye on the Fugly Duckling, especially if we run into trouble. Besides, I have to do something about Arye as he's miserable with that short Drake bunk he shares with Kurito. The beds on the 600i are much nicer. Arye can keep Sara company and share in the piloting,that helps her watch our mark as I don't trust Gloe one bit. I'm also redistributing the weapons as I EVA to take over the Herald. I want everyone armed, even Arye has a pistol now.

Tabrizi is piloting the Cardinal with Kurito in the second seat while the other two switch with them to the Dirty Bird. Meriweather can pilot while Chomba takes the second seat or the turret as needed. I make sure Felicia gets her luggage, and her Arclight pistol too. All my ships already have a full arms rack so I don't have to worry about divvying up the weapons from the dead mercs, they stay on the 600i under Sara's control.

After we make the jump into Banshee system all's quiet for a long time. Kurito didn't mark the location where they were challenged by the goons so Chomba guestimates the distance to the spot. There are no distress beacons and my Herald's array isn't picking up any unusual chatter on the comms. The star is a pulsar which causes some interference but at the range we are from the star it barely affects us. Routes between the jump points are set far out due to that and there is no going to the only settled planet, Lorona, unless you want to run through the heavy radiation. All Lorona's habitats are underground for that reason and if it wasn't for the mineral deposits the system would be uninhabited.

Finally Tabrizi tells me that he's picking up something on the long range sensors. Not much later I hear chatter between a pair of ships. I can barely make it out but it sounds routine. Then I hear something that chills me to the bones, "Yeah, they hijacked Sal's ship and murdered both him and his crew."

"No, Sal was there to rescue them!"

"I know, the damned pirates took off and we don't have a clue where they went so be careful out there."

"Roger that, you too!"

Tabrizi calls me up on the team channel so everyone can hear, "Boss, I have a large ship and a debris field up ahead."

"Copy that, everyone be careful," I warn them. "Apparently the goons hijacked the first ship that answered their distress call and killed the crew. We are going to offer help since we know their identities. We may get a 'kill on sight' warrant for them."

Everyone acknowledges the warning. This is what is frustrating with law enforcement and bounty hunting. I knew these goons are bad guys who are out to kill someone but don't have the proof or the legal justification to take them out. Now they have killed a pair of innocent bystanders, worse, two guys who make a living at helping others in distress. Yet until I get a legal bounty on them I can't sanction killing them except in self-defense.

I hail the ship ahead, "This is Sword Recovery Services ship the Fugly Duckling calling. We heard your broadcast about the pirates and may be able to help. Are there any UEE or Advocacy ships in the area?"

"This is the Salvage Vessel 'Boxer II', thanks for your offer of assistance. No UEE or Advocacy ships available at the present. Authorities on Lorona have been notified."

"Copy that," I respond. "We will rendezvous and provide information and aid. We may be able to ID the criminals and apprehend them. We are licensed bounty hunter guild members."

"Sure, come on in but do us a favor and don't bring them back alive. Sal and Jersey were good guys, the best and didn't deserve what they got."

"Roger on that," I answer. We stay in formation till we drop out of quantum and then open up a bit with all our sensors watching for signs of trouble. As we approach the wreckage of the goons' Constellation I am able to identify Boxer II as an Aegis Reclaimer, busy at work salvaging as much of the wreck as possible. I have us maintain our distance and hail the Reclaimer's skipper.

"Boxer II, this is the Fugly Duckling."

"This is Boxer II, go ahead Duckling."

"If you are ready I will transmit the records on the murder suspects. They are known members of the Red Cobra Gang from ArcCorp, Stanton III. Unfortunately when we ran into them we were unable to take them into custody as they had no wants or warrants at that time."

"What? You had them in your sights and you didn't do anything?"

"Roger that, Boxer II. Legally, we couldn't as they hadn't yet committed any new crimes. They all have records and yes, it is very frustrating for us seeing bad guys walking around wasting oxygen but if we'd touched them we'd be in jail and they would still be out there murdering folks. You ready for their files?"

"Go ahead and send them. Okay, we copy on their files. Only we have one of them already. His body was recovered from the wreckage of their Connie."

"Which one was it, Boxer II?"

"Phuc Huu Vo from what is file says. Is that a real name? Who names their kid, 'Phuc Huu?'"

"Roger on that, Boxer II. That is his real name and you can verify for me that he has a golden dragon tattoo down his left side and a red cobra above his heart?"

"Let me check and get back with you. He's a corpsesicle right now in our freezer. We're going to feed him to the chipper now that you gave us the ID. No need to haul his frozen ass back to the Advocacy."

After a little delay the skipper of the Boxer II confirms that the one dead subject is Phuc Huu Vo, a Red Cobra soldier and not the leader of the goon squad. That bastard is Tai Van Le, aka Big Le, one of Tran the Bloody's trusted lieutenants. With a stolen ship they will be heading home as fast as they can trying to stay ahead of the news of the hijacking and murder. Once they dump the ship, either into a chop shop or a convenient star, they would be getting away Scot free if we hadn't ID'd them in Yulin.

Once we get to Lorona, or Hyperion in Fora system, or Persei in the Rhetor system, any one of the settled planets that may be close to our route, depending on where they are on their orbits, I'm going to visit the Advocacy Office and see that a bounty is put out on all three remaining hit men. Lorona's Advocacy Office has jurisdiction and would be the easiest to deal with. I pull up a system chart and look to see how far out of our way it will be to go to Lorona. It isn't too bad but it means putting up maximum shields since the planet's orbit is well within the pulsar's range. I can go alone or with the team, I put it to them. The only one who objects is Gloe and he doesn't have a vote. Then I explain it to him, "You realize that if we can get a bounty on these guys and take them out they won't be coming after you any longer?"

"You told me you took care of the hit men," his voice goes up in pitch and volume as he is panicking. "Now you want to waste time dealing with the authorities. What are they going to do? Nothing! You should've let me handle this. You kill my bodyguards, you kidnap me and take me where? Right back to where the hit men are! I demand you get your people off of my ship and let me go!"

"Herzog," I say with a low, calm voice. "Herzog, can you hear me clearly?"

"Yes," he replies, gulping in air as he's so worked up.

"Herzog, we let you go you are a dead man. There is no place for you to hide. They nearly found you in the Banu Protectorate but we led them away and stranded them here. Now they are on the run but once things cool down they will be out hunting you again."

"But I can go to the Xi'an Empire," He protests weakly. "They'll take me in."

I don't mention that would be a direct violation of his contract with Microtech and a legal nightmare. The Shellbacks would extract everything he knows and put him to work in one of their R&D facilities whether he wanted to or not. Instead I point out something he's not even considering, "Tran can reach out and put a price on your head that any Xi'an crime syndicate will be glad to collect on. We are in a new age of cooperation with the Xi'an and that goes for organized crime the same as for corporations and the government. We are your only hope for life. We get a legal 'kill on sight' bounty on these murderous scum and it will be all over for them. After putting you in protective custody on Microtech I personally will lead my team down to ArcCorp to collect their heads, instead of them collecting yours. I will deliver a message to Tran the Bloody that you are not to be messed with or there will be repercussions. Do you understand me?"

"I do, but I have no faith in you or in Microtech corporate security. I was able to slip off the planet right under their noses, I'm sure an assassin could get in just as easily." He sniffs and then blows his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. The man is disgusting but he is who we have to keep alive only until I turn him over to Rickard. I intend to keep my word, not because of Gloe, but because of the lives lost on this mission due to Tran seeking revenge. I have an idea about how to get Tran to accept a settlement but I'll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile we have to follow a course through a pulsar's waves of radiation until we can get close enough to Lorona to request permission to land. The landing pads are all underground, we have to have the shield doors opened, then one by one descend to the designated ledge where our pads are. The man-made cavern is huge, big enough for a Banu Merchantman to fly down safely before moving sideways into a landing niche. I'm sure glad Peretto is flying the Origin 600i, that thing is 93 meters long and as wide as a space whale. Well, maybe not that wide, but it is a bitch to land and park. Sara does it like a champ.

Once all the ships have landed the shield doors are closed and we can disembark. After the typical customs check I get directions to the Advocacy Office while telling my crew to get some much needed rest and relaxation by shifts as two of them are keeping Gloe in check on his ship. For Arye and Jack, they are paired up with Terek and Sara respectively so I don't have a pair of rookies guarding Gloe. Orin is watching Felicia for any ill effects or signs of betrayal so they are not on guard duty. He wants to trust her, as do I, but we need some time to build that trust. In the mean time he's escorting her to the medical clinic to get a full check-up.

Now I have to give the Advocacy a carefully edited version of what happened and why we are here. I hate NDA's and I hate lying to the authorities. But I'm between a rock and a hard place, sometimes a half-truth is the best I can give.

My time spent in law enforcement means that I can speak their language and usually gain their cooperation. However, this is not one of those times. I can see that Lorona is so far out on the fringe of the empire that it is a dumping ground for those who couldn't cut it elsewhere. The Senior Agent in Charge (SAC) is none other than Willum Heathcroft, a prick who couldn't find his navel without help. I lay out the case for him and present the files along with the photo the skipper of the Reclaimer took of Phuc Huu Vo. Heathcroft thinks I'm insulting him when I give him the criminal's name and almost doesn't believe the file when I bring up the man's mugshot in 3D with his name clearly printed on it.

"You still haven't convinced me that it was these Red Cobra's responsible for the hijacking and murder. How do you know, you weren't there! And why would criminals from Stanton be in my system?"

I have to keep my cool no matter what, "As I explained, sir, these criminals were going from one part of the Banu Protectorate to another, from Yulin system to Bacchus system. We were on a case in the Yulin Flotilla when we bumped into them. My team recognized them as gang members and when we ran their images through facial recognition we got confirmation as to who they were. Unfortunately they had no wants or warrants on them so we followed the law and let them go on their way. One of my ships did stumble across them while going to Bacchus separately, they were attacked and my team was forced to flee for their lives. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for Salvatore Pesci and Joseph Jersey, my ship was able to jump to safety. The gangsters apparently had a major malfunction, their powerplant must have blown up, and they put out a distress call that Sal and Jersey responded to. Two good men doing their jobs were killed and Sal's ship stolen. All you have to do is sanction the bounty and since I'm going to where they like to hide out I'm sure I can bring them to justice."

"Just like that you are going to bring them to justice? That's the problem with all you bounty hunters, you think you are so much better than us cops. We do the real work and you just collect the rewards."

Now I'm seeing the reason for Heathcroft being dumped so far out from Sol or Terra or even where there is a working Big Benny's machine. "Sir, as you are aware there is no Advocacy Office on ArcCorp, all local law enforcement functions are performed by corporate security. While they are good at what they do for ArcCorp, they are not real concerned about what occurs in your jurisdiction. I'm only offering to go in and help you get the animals that killed your local citizens. Of course, if I'm wrong and they aren't in Stanton system, you'll be able to still investigate further and track them down."

"Right, I'm able to leave my post and go chase criminals across the galaxy. Why are you so sure they headed back to Stanton? Why didn't they go on to hide out the Banu Protectorate in Bacchus, as you claimed they were headed to?"

"Sir, that's a good point. And again, that is somewhere I can go and retrieve them from that the Advocacy can't. That's my job, to go do those things that the Advocacy doesn't have the means, or is even legally able to go and bring these criminals back to face Advocacy jurisdiction. I'm not trying to take your job away from you, sir. I'm trying to help you get the case closed."

Heathcroft sighs and looks at the evidence again. "All right, I'll have my clerk file the affidavits for the bounties. But I want them alive to stand trial, these aren't licenses to shoot on sight!"

"I agree sir, which is why I always try to take them into custody without using gunfire. My staff are trained and equipped with less lethal means of apprehension. I took a similar oath to you sir when I was a police detective and I still consider that oath binding on me. I know there are bad bounty hunters out there but I'm not one of them."

"Then why are you not still wearing the badge?" Heathcroft asks, "You screw up so bad they gave you the option of firing or quitting?"

I am seething at the implication but at the same time, I'm wondering if the question is being tenured by one who's had a similar deal made to him. "I lost my partner to some stupid punk who just got lucky. He wasn't even on duty, he just walked into a situation where the punk shot before even realizing he shot a cop. That was enough for me. I left the force and did something completely different, I started working security on an independent freighter, a good job, good pay, with a captain that treated me like family. But you can't walk away from evil, it is everywhere. One day we got jacked, like Sal and Jersey. My skipper was put into an airlock and they kept lowering the oxygen, playing with him, until he signed over the title to the ship. Once they were done they just opened the outer doors into the void. The rest of us were spaced in life pods at least, marooned in space. That's when I turned to bounty hunting. I'm still looking for those pirates. I found who hired them, they've paid for it with life sentences on Quarterdeck."

"Huh, well, I hope you find the bastards that got your skipper and my people." Heathcroft opens a desk drawer, pulls out two glasses and a half filled bottle of scotch. "Screw it, it may be early but let's raise a glass to those gone, but not forgotten."

We drink to friends absent and are quiet in our thoughts for a bit. Heathcroft breaks the silence and says, "Let me expedite the affidavits or we'll be here all day. I call you when they are ready and you can download them to your Mobi. Good hunting."

I rejoin the pair watching Gloe on his ship. Getting a bounty is not simply going to the Advocacy and filing paperwork. There is such a thing as "due process." The case has to be presented with the proper affidavits and evidence to a magistrate who signs off on the bounty, or as they are more properly termed, the warrant. If it is not executable by the Advocacy then a reward is set by the matrix set up for bounties that was negotiated between the empire and the guild. The reward may be raised by private funds, such as if a corporation or a wealthy family was the victim, but the government rewards are all the same, whether it was a senator or a simple miner who was the victim. At least that is the way justice is supposed to be, blind. In reality corporations and the wealthy usually find the door to justice a bit more welcoming than the poor and downtrodden. From what I've read of history, it's always been that way, whether as a republic or empire, money talks.

It takes a full day before I get the call from Heathcroft that the bounties are ready to download. By then we are rested and had our time on planet. Lorona doesn't have a lot of amenities to offer, not when you aren't a local. However, when the locals found out that we are going after the killers of Sal and Jersey, it was tough to buy a drink, we were getting whatever whetted our whistles bought for us. Apparently the boys were well known and generally well thought of. Even Sal's ex-wife was crying and telling us how he wasn't all that bad of a husband, just worked too hard and was gone too long for her to stick around. I round up the crew and listen to their stories.

I made sure Arye knew not to overdo it and get drunk again. He is a bit of a curiosity to the locals who usually only see Banu traders in their fancy garb and not young, lone Banu as part of a Human crew. I had a strong chat with him before I let him go off ship about what he could and couldn't say about where we've been, what we've been doing and where we are going. He didn't get the ancient saying about "loose lips, sink ships" and thought it was funny when it was explained to him by Chomba. Ayre managed to pick up some snack food he liked, Wasabi flavored biscuits of all things. I guess that anyone can tire of fasa. Felicia taught him, "variety is the spice of life" which he loved so much he was using that line with everyone on Lorona. It nearly got him in trouble with one young lady whose boyfriend thought Arye was trying to pick her up. Tabrizi explained to the fellow that Arye might have been parroting a line he heard without understanding all of the connotations. The miner was not getting it so Terek put it another way. "The kid isn't kinky, Banu don't mate with Humans, they aren't compatible. Besides Arye isn't that mature to be looking for a mate anyway."

Chomba told me Felicia checked out okay. Both she and Sara were a hit with the local menfolk who called them the "salt and pepper twins" though they look nothing alike and are about ten years apart in age. They danced with a lot of the miners but didn't make any promises to any that they couldn't keep. We ended up with quite a send off committee since we are after the murders of two guys who have risen to the status of martyred saints. I'm sure in life they would've laughed at the comparison.

After lift off we jump to the wormhole and out of the Leir system.

The Call – Part 9

The trip through Banshee, Fora, Rhetor, Idris, Ferron, Davien, Killian, Ellis, and Magnus was wonderfully routine. Being in secure UEE space lowered our risk though there are always going to be the chance of running into a small pirate group the presence of the UEE Navy and the Advocacy makes a big difference. The problem is we have to leave UEE space to return to what is essentially corporate space in Stanton. Not one to waste money where there is no return the four major stakeholders in Stanton limit their security patrols to the space immediately around their own planets. Travel between wormholes, moons, and the planets, is more of a gamble than it should be if the Advocacy were based in the system. It is what it is and we call it home.

When we break through the wormhole into Stanton System we have a pest waiting for us. Another Nine Tails gangster wannabe is there watching for the unwary. Unfortunately for him, we are much too powerful a group and the Cutlass Black jumps away before we can stop him. Now the Nine Tails know there is a 600i inbound and what the escorts are. A 600i always means a rich owner who is worth a lot in ransom. They'll be back in numbers and we have to prepare. I call a war council, "Run or fight?"

Chomba is the sensible one, "Boss, we have our guest to protect. I say we make a run for it. It is about 5 AU to where we can send a signal from the Herald to Microtech Security for help."

Tabrizi chimes in, "They could jump us anywhere between here and there, it just depends on how many ships they have in the area."

"If they do jump us, this baby will make mincemeat of them," Peretto says with a smile. "While she's built for speed she's got 32 missiles. That size of missile swarm will mess up anyone's day."

Gloe speaks up, "Just run, I don't want my ship damaged and those missiles you are talking about are expensive."

Sara dismisses him with a wave of her hand, "Yeah, yeah, but if we have to fight, give me room to get a lock and I'll screw them over good. Besides, you may not have this ship much longer so why worry about it?"

"I agree, then, if we have to fight kill them all!" Gloe's head bobs up and down emphatically. The man's a coward but even a mouse will fight if backed into a corner.

"Jack, plot us the most direct route to where Microtech is going to be in its orbit. If one of the moons is closer, plot to it for our next jump. The pirates don't know for sure where we are going but it won't be hard for them to guess that we'll run to the nearest planet for help. Too bad that also happens to be our real destination."

Mictrotech's moons Calliope (eloquence), Clio (history), and Euturpe (music), are uninhabited except for the odd science, mining or emergency habitat but they are patrolled by Microtect Security. From there I can contact Rickard to arrange for the delivery of Gloe. We just have to make it the odd 5 AU in one piece. Why is it the last stretch is always the worse part of any journey?

I make one final personnel change. Peretto needs a good gunner for the remote turrets so I have Jack move to the 600i and Arye take his place as copilot of the Cardinal even if he has difficulty sitting in the seat. Meriweather still is at the controls of the Dirty Bird with Tabrizi as her gunner. Every ship has every station manned and ready. I'm still solo in the Fugly Duckling, fitting since I'm the one who has to make the call to Rickard when in range to arrange for the transfer of Gloe. In case of a fight I'm going to blaze right through to make the call for help while the others guard the 600i with our prize. We are lacking any nimble fighters so it will be a lopsided fight if that is what the Nine Tails brings to the party.

We jump. We are two thirds of the way to Clio, the second moon, when we are intercepted and pulled from our quantum jump. The Nine Tails went all out, there is a Caterpillar, no doubt full of boarders, along with the Cutlass Black we met earlier and two Buccaneers. I hit the throttle and go for broke leaving my team to do their jobs right as the demand for surrender comes across the Mobi.

One Buccaneer is on my tail and trying to get a lock on me as I pull maximum burn and am nearly blacking out from the gees. A Buccaneer is the fastest interceptor Drake makes and can nearly keep up with me. He gets his lock and I hear a whoop of success as he fires two Rattler missiles at my ship's very large flaming ass.

Nova Pyrotechnics makes the Rattler which is an infrared seeking missile perfect for locking onto a heat source the size of my two main thrusters. Worse yet the missiles are cluster warheads, when they get close enough the main missile disgorges six smaller IR missiles which will hit sequentially knocking down my shields and then impacting the hull of my ship. With the engines being the target it will leave me helpless, if it doesn't blow me to kingdom come outright.

I punch my countermeasures button and start laying flares. At the same time I begin to broadcast an SOS to Microsoft Security. I'm too far away from Microtech itself, even with my powerful transmitter array open pumping out the signal but hopefully there is a patrol ship somewhere out there that will hear and help the team, even if it is too late for me.

The flares do their trick, fooling about a third of the cluster warheads but that still leaves twelve to hit the Fugly Duckling. If I had been able to drop flares and maneuver into another vector I might have been able to break lock but I had to keep pointed at Microtech to broadcast my SOS. The Fugly Duckling is rocked with hits and my shields go down under the barrage. The engines are hit, thrusters blown apart and I lose all power and life support. There is the shock of cabin depressurization and I'm adrift in a derelict. My suit gives me an alarm of a pressure leak and I jab a medi-pen into my left arm as I feel the cold numbing it as a small tear lets in the cold of deep space. My suit self-seals and I check my oxygen levels. I have about twenty minutes of air left, and no way to even call for help beyond the range of my Mobi as I drift strapped into what is now my coffin. My left arm feels deaden, I'm hoping that I don't lose it but then laugh at myself for having that worry. I'm a dead man and I just pray that my team survives.

I'm floating there ten minutes when I see the lights of the Buccaneer in front of my drifting cabin. The pilot is checking on me. I flip him the bird with my good hand, my left not responding to my brain's commands. His head snaps back, and as I see him move to aim his guns when all of a sudden he veers off and hits the throttles. Either he got recalled or figured I wasn't going anywhere and could just die slowly.

I'm alone with my thoughts and try to figure out if I balanced the evil in my life by the good that I tried to do. The one regret that I have is that I'm not closer to my son, who lives with his mother. My ex-wife never could handle being a cop's wife and certainly didn't understand my later return to space. Why didn't I get enough of that in the navy, she'd ask me. Why couldn't I be closer for our son's sake? She couldn't see how much it hurt that he had become addicted to Widow, something I blamed her for since she was so permissive and open to stim and drug abuse herself. The drugs, the sex, the booze, that was my ex' way of escape after dumping me for a younger man who was anything but a cop. She was the one who took up with criminals and let that lifestyle into our son's life. As much as I tried, and tried I did to be a good father, the gap grew between us as he choose the dark life over the light. If I could right now, I'd message him that I still love him.

I check my air supply, I have three minutes left. Just then I see a bright light shine into my cockpit and I figure it is the Buccaneer pilot, come to finish me off. I reach down and pull my pistol, if the pirate will just get close enough I'll give him something to worry about. Whomever is out there sees the movement and the light moves off. Just then I get a call on my Mobi, "Boss, boss, you're alive!"

It is Arye. Never have I been so glad to hear that Banu's voice. "Yes, but not for long. Get me out of here as my suit was tore and I lost a lot of my oxygen!"

"Okay, boss, calm down." It is Chomba, "You get excited and you'll use up the last of your air sooner."

He's right, I have to calm myself. While I was thinking about dying I was perfectly relaxed and accepting of it, which helped to conserve my air. But now that I'm facing rescue, I'm doing the opposite. I close my eyes and concentrate on slowing my breathing and relaxing. I calm my heart rate, take slow breaths, and remain focused on my inner chi. It is an ancient method of meditation I was taught when I studied martial arts. The point of focus is one's center of gravity, which is near the diaphragm anyway so breathing is important to control. I lose touch with what is going on outside of the ship until hands grasp me and pop the release on my safety straps. An emergency bottle is hooked to my suit and I feel the inrush of fresh air. Looking up I see Orin's smiling face and then looking out at the Cardinal I see Arye waving at me from the pilot's seat. I ask, "Everyone okay?"

Chomba nods, "Yes, we're all good. I'll let Sara tell you about it later."

I feel a stick of a sedative through my suit and pass out. Waking up in what feels like ages I'm aboard the Cardinal in the autodoc. Chomba is there along with Arye. My left arm feels all tingly and then the pain shoots up my arm like a thousand hot needles are being stuck inside. I stiffen and scream. Arye screams as well. Chomba adjusts something and the pain stops. "Good, you won't lose the arm. It was severely frostbitten and for a while I thought you might need it amputated. I'm sure I could get you a nice bionic arm but hey, then you'd want me to keep tuning it up so it performed better than the original."

"Screw you, Orin." I say without meaning it. He smiles and gives me a light smack across the chin. "You had us all worried, boss."

"What? Leaving you to fight off all those pirates and you were worried about me?"

"When I saw that Buccaneer light off after you and how fast he was moving, yeah, I was worried. He had that baby fully optimized for pursuit. Too bad though, it's scrap now."

"Huh, how did you guys pull that off?"

"We had help," he explains. "Someone got your message and came in the nick of time."

"Really? Microtech Security?" I ask.

Chomba shakes his head, "No, better, mercs from a private outfit. They were out hunting down the Nine Tails for a contract so they were only so glad to come in and wipe them out. They are still there collecting every bit of DNA and useful scrap for the reward."

"Ah, gotta love the guilds. You thanked them?"

"No, Felicia did though. She knew a couple of them and they were real happy to have helped her. I guess she's popular in some circles," Orin had a shy grin when he said that which I had to chuckle over. Now for my last question, "How soon can I get out of this thing?"

"I'd like you in there a couple of days but if you can stand the pain I can get you thawed and up in three hours or so. It might be better if I just sedate you for the whole time. While Arye can stand the screaming it's not something I want to put up with." Now Chomba had a wide grin on his face, at my expense.

"Put me back under, maybe I'll dream up some way to get back at you." Chomba laughs and sticks me with another sedative.

I wake to Arye shaking me, "Wake up, boss. Orin says to wake you up. We are at Clio and need you to talk to Microtech Security."

"Oh, they are here?" I roll off the bed and feel my left arm which, other than a bit tender, feels normal.

"Yes, boss, and they sound angry!" Arye looks concerned.

I walk into the cabin feeling a bit unsteady, likely the leftover effects of the sedative. Chomba is talking to Rickard on his Mobi. I see a Polaris corvette through the canopy of the Cardinal and that we are in orbit of a moon, likely Clio. I step behind Orin so Rickard can see me. "Oh, there you are. Where's Gloe?"

"On his 600i," Chomba replies. "As I told you."

"And did he at any time speak to anyone else besides your team?" Rickard inquires. I'm not sure how I like this tone of questioning so I answer for Chomba. "Yes, he was on board a Banu Merchantman, then he was in Terra where he bought the 600i. He hired bodyguards, they're dead, but how many others he spoke to before we caught up with him in the Protectorate is anyone's guess. And it is a good thing you sent us, we ran into Tran's hit squad. Also, Gloe talked about defecting to the Xi'an."

"He did?" Rickard asks incredulously. "That traitorous bastard!"

Personally I don't equate quitting one corporation to work for another as the equivalent of treason but I get where Rickard's corporate mind is going on this. And the Xi'an are the biggest competition to Microtech. "Well, you're going to have to keep a tight leash on him from here on out."

"No kidding," Rickard replies sarcastically. "He's turning into a liability."

Again I don't like the hidden meaning conveyed by someone who should be upholding the law. I just want to get the deal over with and be on my way. I have an insurance claim to file on the Fugly Duckling and a few bounties to collect on ArcCorp. "Send a pilot and a security officer to the 600i and I'll pick up my people. I told Gloe the 600i is going to be forfeit, mind you there are some blood stains on the carpet that aren't going to come out. But it will make some executive a nice toy."

Rickard smiles at that, "Yeah, I think I know who I can present that to. That might square some things."

"I'm sending you a list of expenses, less the amount you forwarded us in Mobi's and medical supplies. Even Gloe's Sataball collection came in handy, he got most of it back and it is in the cargo bay of the 600i."

"Alright, I have your expense list and I am sending my officers over to take custody of Gloe. You can pull your people now."

I signal to Peretto that it is time to open the elevator and to Meriweather to pick up Sara and Jack once the two security officers are on board. The two officers take a Dragonfly over to the cargo bay and once inside, my people EVA out of it to the Dirty Bird.

I call Rickard back, "You have your man, let's conclude our business."

"Sure thing." He says, "I value discretion and so there is a little bonus in there for you on top of the agreed bounty. Make sure that your people keep the NDA and we'll have business for you in the future."

"My people know the value of a contractual agreement and will keep silent." Looking at the "little bonus" and I'm flabbergasted by the bribe money. While the money is good I still feel a little dirty about it since Gloe wasn't a criminal and didn't want to go back. I get that we are saving him from being stupid and getting himself in legal hot water or killed but there is a matter of free will and he definitely didn't want to go back to Microtech. The fact that Gloe is a "grade A" asshole still doesn't make it right. I have one final question for Rickard, "How much did Gloe win from Tran the Bloody? I know it was enough to buy a 600i, which is impressive, but how much more?"

"I don't know or care," Rickard says while shrugging his shoulders. "You should've asked him when you had the chance. Do you think Tran will still come after him?"

"Hopefully not once I have a chat with him. I'm going to make sure he knows that it will be too expensive. I have bounties for three of his goons now, I'm going to ask him how many more men he's willing to lose for a matter of pride. Gloe assured me he had nothing to do with the Herald getting delayed and won fair and square. Regardless, this incident has cost Gloe nearly all of his winnings so there is no paying Tran back and I'm sure not going to buy him off. You pay well, but not that well and that's not what I am in business to do anyway, at least not squaring that kind of debt."

"All right, we'll be on our way then. You did well, Istvan." Rickard concludes.

"I'm glad you're satisfied. I still have some unfinished business to conclude with Tran and the Mercenaries Guild." I answer.

"Oh, for those dead bodyguards." He responds. "Those are the breaks when you take a job like that. Bad luck for them."

"Yes, those are the breaks and it was bad luck all the way around." I have Chomba cut off the connection. A man like Rickard has no idea what it is like to make life or death decisions in a split second. He's had a cushy corporate cop job where most of what he's had to handle is employee theft or sexual harassment complaints. That's not to say there aren't real crimes on Microtech but I doubt he's ever had to pull the trigger, or not pull the trigger, under any conditions except in training on the range. I pull up the team channel on my Mobi and tell everyone, "Let's get out of here and head home."

The Call – Part 10

Back at my offices on Orison, home sweet home, with the team all in one piece and with two new prospective members. There are formalities that have to be followed and payments made for this mission, notifications to the Mercenaries Guild, and personal effects to send with a letter of condolences. I settle my expenses with my faithful book keeper and catch up on messages from his wife my secretary. And I introduce them to Arye and Felicia Meriweather. With the latter I have to have a private discussion.

"Felicia, please step into my office." I ask politely. The others look at each other and their eyebrows rise in curiosity. "Sure, Mr. Kardos," which formality is due to the situation.

After I close the door and invite her to sit as I pour us both a glass of my personal stash of Palinka, Hungarian plum brandy. "Felicia, I would like to invite you to come on board the team permanently. I know it means transferring from the Mercenary Guild to the Bounty Hunters Guild, but I could use another pilot of your skill."

"Why thank you, Mr. Kardos," she hesitates for a moment.

"There is a but?" I ask.

She nods as she looks down at the brandy swirling around in the sniffer. "I have a daughter, she's back on Terra in private school and I don't want to be too far from her."

"Ah, that could be an issue if we were only limited to this system. You see that we go as far afield as the Banu Protectorate. Terra is only one jump away from the Stanton System, you can go there often enough. How old is she?"

"She's 13 going on 19, if you get my drift. And I was hoping to get enough from this last contract to be at home for a while."

"I see. And her father, where is he?"

"Stationed on Gen, he's in the UEEN," she replies. Gen is Terra IV, just as the planet Terra is actually the third planet in the system. Terra IV, or Gen, is home to the UEE's military for this section of the empire.

"Oh, what is his rank?" I ask.

"Commander, he's in the Bureau of Personnel, BuPer." She replies.

"Oh, a bureaucrat," I reply. She nods, "Exactly why we didn't always get along. I'm a pilot, he isn't. His career advances on proper reviews and audits, not on skill or daring. He never understood my need to be where the action is."

"And sitting at home waiting for your daughter to come home from school is going to be your forte?"

"She needs her mother," She sets the glass down and wrings her hands together. "And her father is seeking custody of her."

"Ah so, the man with the regular schedule thinks he can be a better parent?"

"And with a stay-at-home wife," she says bitterly.

"Oh, so he's remarried and you being single, and having a dangerous career, makes you an unfit parent?" I've been down this road before with my own ex-wife. It didn't end very well for me or my son. Just because one parent is home more than the other doesn't mean they are the better influence. "So what we have here is a conundrum, one that I think I can help sort out."

Felicia looks at me sideways, "How can you help? And why? We only just met."

"First off, I'm impetuous, just ask the rest of team. Also, I've been under similar circumstances and I don't want to see you go through what I went through." I tap on my Mobi and call Chomba, "Orin, come in here please."

It isn't but a couple of seconds and Orin sticks his head in the doorway, "Yes, boss?"

"We have a problem, come in and sit down." He does and looks nervously at Felicia who doesn't meet his gaze and then he looks back at me.

"Orin, do you remember Marcus Fleming?" I ask him. He looks puzzled for a minute and then brightens up, "Yes, the lawyer you had back when you were going through your custody battle."

"Yes, he's retired now but his old firm is alive and well. See if you can get them to refer you to an affiliate on Terra that is the top attorney in family law. I want you to accompany Ms. Meriweather back to Terra to get a custody challenge sorted out. As an employee of Sword Recovery Services there are legal benefits as well as medical, dental and retirement, right Orin?"

"Sure boss," he nods and looks at Felicia. "We can get this sorted out for you."

"But I didn't say yes!" She protests. "And what about my daughter's schooling?"

"Oh, well, there are some fine private high schools here on Orison. Besides, it might make daddy not so accessible. Sure, he'll have summer vacation and every other Traveler's Day, or some such visitation schedule but she'll be here with you." I take a sip of my brandy.

"She won't want to leave her friends behind."

"No, but if she was to live with her father on Gen she'd be leaving her friends behind too. And at the end of the school year she'd be moving on to high school anyway. By the time this gets sorted out will be about time for that change."

"Do you really think a judge will go for this?" She asks desperately.

"Does your daughter want to live with her father?" I counter.

"We've talked at length about this." She folds her hands, "No, while she loves her father she doesn't want to live with him and his new wife. Particularly since she takes after me and wants to be a pilot. He's really, really against that."

"Okay, it is settled," I conclude. "You join the team. Orin goes with you to sort things out on Terra. As soon as the school year ends you enroll your daughter here in whichever of our fine educational institutions you feel suits her best. You help me keep the system safe from people like Tran the Bloody."

"Ugh," she gulps. "That's another reason Terra looks good. Stanton is full of characters like Tran. And those Nine Tails we encountered, that was a mess that I hope she never sees."

"Yeah, I heard about Terek yelling, 'Pull' every time he blew a pirate off one of their Dragonflies with the pyrobursts. Just remember though, she's better prepared for surviving in the universe knowing the dangers out there rather than being sheltered from them." I turn to Chomba, "Right, Orin?"

He reaches out and takes one of Meriweather's hands. "The boss is right, Felicia. The 'school of hard knocks' is still a school. Ask Terek, Sara or Jack. We've all been there and I think you have too. I think we all are better people for it."

I add my two cents, "Not everyone graduates with honors, I do admit. But for those that learn not only how to roll with the punches but to recover, move on with dignity and compassion are better for it in the end. And we are better prepared for whatever other surprises life throws at us. What do you say?"

She looks at me, then at Orin, squeezes his hand and says, "Yes."

"Great," I reply. "Orin, let me pour you some Palinka!"

Just then Tabrizi opened the door without knocking and announced, "Dr. Gloe was just killed in what they are calling a 'laboratory accident.'"

The Call – Part 11

It has been a long, difficult, three months but I'm finally ready to face off with Tran the Bloody. We were able to collect on the two henchmen's bounties first, after all, they had no idea we were even hunting them. But Big Le got wise and has been sticking close to Tran ever since. The money I made from the previous two bounties has all gone after information from snitches and data brokers to make this meeting a reality.

I land my newest company addition, an Anvil Hawk, on the roof top pad of Tran's exclusive headquarters building. On the exterior it is just one more high rise building in a sea of skyscrapers making up Area 10 on ArcCorp. It is one of the many urban centers on what is basically an overcrowded world of arcologies, individually lacking names but simply numbered as they cover the planet. It is rumored that Tran considers ten his lucky number so that is why he is centered in the tenth arcology though he has his fingers in many more. In this building there is a casino and hotel where Tran lives in luxury in the penthouse suite. Big Le is in charge of the casino floor and has run much of the book making for Tran both on and off world. My meeting with Tran has been costly to arrange and there is no guarantee that I won't just disappear, my body never to turn up again. My team is dispersed, monitoring things as best they can from nearby buildings or from a high pattern above but they are too few, too far, to be any sort of back-up if I run into trouble. I don't expect to and am carrying only a single pistol and a pair of handcuffs along with an archaic version of my warrant, printed on paper.

The pair of landing pad guards have me strip out of my flight suit, frisk me and take away my pistol and handcuffs. I tell them, "Be sure to hold on to those. I'm sure your boss will be giving those back to me."

They smile and chuckle at that. They think I'm a fool, an opinion that is shared by my full team. As I step aboard the elevator and ride up to the pinnacle of the building I'm flanked by another one of Tran's goons and Big Le himself, who is smiling like a predator ready to devour his prey. "You are a dead man," He whispers into my ear. "I'm going to cut out your heart and liver."

"Oh, good." I reply. " I thought you'd say you were going to cut off my balls but that's my ex-wife's line."

That gives him a laugh, "Oh, you're funny." Then his face turns hard, "But you won't be laughing much longer. My boss is going to make you pay for taking Khanh That and Phat Tan. And for killing Phuc Huu!"

"I've been meaning to ask you about your names. I know they are Vietnamese and all, but who names their kids 'Phat Tan' and 'Phuc Huu'?" Instead of an answer I get a punch to the gut and a back handed slap across the face. I wipe the trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth and spit into Big Le's face. He pulls back for another punch but then the elevator door opens and he straightens up, wipes his face with a hankie, adjusts his tie and tells me, "Soon, bitch, you'll be mine."

With that I step off the elevator and am ushered into the presence of Tran the Bloody. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe an Oriental themed room with lots of red and golds, some paintings of dragons or cobras, something harkening back to the roots of the gang's image which traces back to the continent of Asia on old Earth. Instead I'm asked to take a seat at a conference table in a very stark corporate type office, little different from any number of those found on ArcCorp. Tran sits at the head of the table like a CEO of a vast enterprise, which I suppose he is, only criminal in nature. Big Le sits on his right hand, to his left is his second lieutenant, Hiep Van Nguyen, rumored to control the drug trade of Tran's empire. The guard from the elevator stands behind my left side while another flanks my right.

Tran himself is not very impressive. An older man, small in stature, in his eighties at least, though well preserved due to modern medicine. His grey suit is perfectly tailored and his nails long for a man, each manicure nail is inset with diamonds. His head is perfectly bald except for a small goatee. He seems busy scanning some figures on a holo viewer that is set into the table. Looking up at me he asks, "Why would you come here to speak to me in person? Are you that desperate to die? Look around you, you could simply jump from any tower and never hit the ground, skewered on a spire some architect thought would distinguish his bit of concrete and steel from all the others. You would not be noticed except for the carrion birds feasting on your corpse. Why annoy me enough to be your executioner? I fail to see the point."

"I came to execute this," reaching into my jacket for the warrant triggers both guards who pin my arms to my side. One reaches in and pulls out the folder paper. Puzzled, he slides it down the table when Tran motions for him to pass it on. Tran unfolds it and reads it. Frowning, he asks, "And why would I allow you to do this? Tai Van Le is a valuable member of my organization."

"He is also a traitor, and a murderer." I reply. Big Le jumps to his feet pulling an Arclight pistol, "Liar, I will kill you for this myself!"

Tran lays his right hand on Big Le's arm and motions for him to sit back down. "In a moment, I want to hear what this dien cai dau has to say."

Big Le sits and bows slightly in deference to Tran. Tran gestures for me to speak. I lay out my case, "Tai Van Le has been over your book making operations for years and has been looking at a way to feather his nest without you knowing it. He found that way by manipulating the odds on Sataball games so there would be a big score for someone to win. Only what they actually took away in winnings and what you paid out would be two different numbers with him pocketing the difference. All he needed was a patsy, someone who could take the blame for 'fixing' the game and be skilled enough to be believed by you. Then he would personally shut the person up for good by going and killing them. Of course that person would have spent most or all of the winnings so you'd never miss the amount he skimmed."

"Do you have proof of this?" Tran asks very low while stealing a glance at Big Le. For his part Big Le looks angry and says, "Kill him, he's only here to try to divide us so he can collect on a bounty. I would never betray you, Tran. You know I am loyal to the death!"

"Oh, I'm sure of that." Tran points at me and says, "Where is your proof?"

I raise my Mobi and activate it. I pull up a file and send it to the holo viewer in front of Tran. "Here is the amount that Herzog Gloe had in his bank account before the Ferron Lancers and the Croshaw Jumpers game. Then below that is the amount that he netted after selling his Aurora LX. Since you didn't loan him any money, not with his history of losing, Big Le gladly took his bet at the odds given and then figured that he would be the perfect pasty for his little scheme. You can do the math, how much should he have won on the game with a bet that size versus how much you paid out? Where did the difference in the bet come from? And who is over the fleet of Heralds you run the game results in? Do you see the pattern forming here? Who was it that suggested Gloe cheated using his technological skills? Who benefits and who was the one who volunteered, I'm guessing, to clean up this stain upon your honor?"

Big Le leaps up knocking his chair backwards onto the floor. Pulling his pistol he aims not at me but at Tran but it is too late. A gun fires from under the head of the table right into Big Le's crotch. He screams out and grasps his broken manhood while the guard on my left tackles and disarms him. Hiep Van Nguyen stands, his Kastak Arms Raider pistol still smoking and walks around to stand over Big Le.

I raise up my right hand slowly and get Tran's attention. "I came here to right a wrong and to seek justice for both Gloe and for two innocent men that Tai Van Le murdered in the Leir System. To do this I merely need proof that I collected on the bounty, whether dead or alive. I would like his body."

Tran nods, "You can have his body, though when I'm done it may not be recognizable."

"As long as there is DNA for the identification, I'll be satisfied."

"Well enough. Now leave me to do my work. After I have cleaned up this problem I'll notify you to come and collect the remains."

I nod and rise, accompanied by the guard on my right I head back to the elevator. As the doors to the room close I hear screams from Big Le. For the first time since I've entered the lair of Tran the Bloody I smile.