Four weeks later, the fleet docked at Stormhold. Forty-five ships of a size that matched the largest warships in the Republic. Equipped with enough firepower that nothing on the planet could have matched us. Idly, I toyed with the idea of conquest. It would only have taken a single message, and we could have been fighting the defenses of the whole planet, and probably won. Before I could touch the comms though, we got the typical message, actually sounding bored about my warfleet, asking for the typical 'docking fee', read bribe. I decided for now to just land, my ships falling into the assigned berths easily.
"All captains, you're free for the day while STAR checks the ships over one last time. Rest well tonight, we'll be going into Korath space itself tomorrow," I ordered, and heard a few acknowledgements.
"Commodore, Bandit and I are going to visit a cafe nearby for some quick food that's not ship rations. If you're up for it, we'd like you to join us," offered Monkey Joe, and I considered it for a moment, then shrugged.
"I'll be right there, Joe," I told her, and got a happy chitter in return. I then went over the typical checks with STAR to make sure everything was stepped down and we were at rest state, before walking out of my bridge. Once outside, I turned a moment to look as my ship, and its sisters, shimmered in the early morning sun. Small patches of silver dotted the hulls as STAR reinforced or repaired sections, and I smiled at that, before joining the Quarg and Hai women at a nearby bus stop. We exchanged a few pleasantries, but I got the impression they wanted to discuss something deeper, so I let them hold their silence, until we were all sitting around a table.
"What is this about, ladies?" I asked at last, sipping at my drink, and the two turned to each other. It was, if I were honest, amusing to see the oddly human Quarg, and the not even close to human Hai having almost duplicate expressions, but I was struck a bit by how serious they appeared.
"Commodore...Sage, I know why you're planning on doing this, this other human, James, meant a lot to you," began Bandit, her one arm gesturing emphatically towards me.
"I don't know about that, honestly. I knew the old man for only a few weeks, but it was nice to find a friendly face. So many on New Boston, my homeworld, were not very nice due to some issues with my family. James treated me like...like an apprentice I'd suppose. Without him I'd probably have wandered a lot more south, and probably never found the Hai at all," I explain to the pair, and they seem to take a moment to process that. I hadn't actually shared much info about James after all, but still, I think the tone of my voice told the two aliens enough.
"Still, he trusted me with this, and I want to see the duty he gave me through to the end. Even in three weeks, defeating almost four dozen Korath ships, we haven't found the one that got him," I say this as the food arrives, and I quickly jam a breadstick into my mouth, chewing it very deliberately so the pair can have a moment. They speak in that chittering Hai language for a moment before Joe turns to me.
"So you're planning this venture merely for vengeance?" she asks.
"Not merely, though that's a lot of the reason. Even more, I want to see if the Korath have any more toys we can steal, and hopefully convince them to stay out of human space," I say at last, swallowing the mouthful.
"We have not lost a ship yet to this quest, but Korath space itself...If they have jump drives, it is not certain what defenses their worlds might have. We believe, given this, it might be best to contact the Drak instead. Allow them to deal with this," said Bandit, and I mulled that over for a moment. The Drak, the legendary, oft mentioned 'Guardians of Peace'. Stories of them were common among aliens, but to date, no human had seen one. Still, their influence was felt, as several worlds were in states that spoke of having great civilizations on them once, reduced to ash with weapons humans simply couldn't conceive of.
"And how would we go about getting their attention?" I asked, considering it. I was a free spirit, a man of a line who wished to roam the stars forever. The idea of the Drak telling me where I could and could not go sounded horrible, and yet, I knew that sometimes limits did need to be set. If I could speak to one, I would at least listen to what it had to say. I might not go along with it, but I'd listen.
"The Ring in Hai space is capable of establishing a communication line with some of them," suggested Bandit, and I raised an eyebrow.
"There's a Quarg Ring in Hai space?" I asked, curious now. I hadn't adventured far in Hai space. I wanted to, mind, but at the time, I'd also hoped to run into Bernard and his crew, so I'd rushed to the wormhole. Then the bombings had happened, and then this quest. I still planned on doing the adventuring, but for now, I had other priorities.
"Yes, why else would a Quarg have been nearby?" she countered, as if the idea of not being near one of their Rings was unthinkable. I would have questioned that, but then I figured it might really have been that way. After all, One Armed Bandit hadn't given me much of her personal story. I didn't even know how she'd lost her arm, which I'd figured was the reason at the time for her being away from her people.
"Alright, and what would the Drak do in this case?" I questioned, moving the conversation back on track.
"It depends. Jump drives are forbidden to certain species, with the Korath being one of those. Either someone is supplying them, which means the consequences will fall on them, or the Korath are somehow stealing or producing them. In the former, likely the Drak will destroy their fleets. In the latter, whatever shipyards they have," said Bandit, and I nodded again, starting on my meal again to give me a moment to think. The ladies, after a few seconds, did likewise, and we ate in silence as I ran over everything in my head.
"Alright, I've made my decision," I said at last, as I downed the last slice of my pizza, and the two looked at me expectantly.
"We're going to go to Korath space, just a quick look, with the whole fleet in tow just in case it gets dicey. We know where one of their systems is, Kor Zena'i, right off the Polaris system. Shangri-La is in that system. If we have to jump out quick, that would be a place to fall back to. If the Korath pursue, they have the best chance of helping us. If what we find is bad enough, we'll hightail it to this ring, and call in the Drak. Otherwise, we fight until we find the ship I'm looking for. I want to be the one to strike them down, not some mystical space gods," I tell them, and what followed after was silence, as they both seemed to consider my words, before finally, Monkey Joe rose.
"That is the best we can hope for, and it allows us to inform the Drak of what's going on in more detail. I believe it is acceptable," she said at last, and Bandit soon stood with her, nodding, before striding off in that loping gait of her's. I watch the pair leave, and climb onto a bus. I know this isn't the last I'll hear of this, but it is probably the best outcome I could hope for. Paying our tab, I soon follow the pair, so I can return to my ship. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day after all.
