Date point: 4y 11m 2w 2d AV
++0019++: Numbers that are much more important than you are now monitoring this situation closely, Sixty-Four. Is everything in place?
++0064++: Yes, all ships are in place. I am prepared to attack the station at any time. May I begin?
++0019++: No. We have become far too exposed in our most recent dealings with humanity. The single digits want this to be finished in a way that provides the least possible blowback and attention. This has to be done so that Earth thinks it was the work of pirates or Hunters.
++0064++: So, how do you propose that I proceed? I see no obvious measures that can be taken while the humans are still aboard the station.
++0019++: This particular station has had trouble with humans in the past. The Human Disaster has visited it multiple times, causing his usual amount of madness, along with the Blzhti Galactic Bank being robbed multiple times. But, one human in particular by the name of Cameron White caused fear and terror the likes of which the galaxy had never seen. Use that fear to turn the station against them. Force the humans to leave and have our new asset follow them in order to relay their FTL heading. Have the scans revealed anything useful about the ship?
++0064++: Yes. Given the speed of their FTL Drive, and their likely heading, I am confident that we can intercept them at a prearranged location of our choosing.
++0019++: Both of us are on the line now. Do not forget the cost of failure.
At the Blzhti Galactic Bank, a Corti overlooked the Vzk’tk clerks doing their jobs.
The surveillance equipment that had been installed, along with the security mechs, were all state of the art. After multiple robberies, the banking board had been adamant on human-proofing this particular branch.
Nearly all of the employees that had been present at those heists had been severely punished for their idiocy. Many of them would not forget the cost of losing the money of their employers until the day they died.
Making sure it never happened again is where Turik came into the picture.
It was his job to be smarter than all of the idiotic Vzk’tk’s that worked there, and to lock down the bank if another robbery attempt was made.
He’d had many ideas about how to make sure another human didn’t outsmart the police force and clerks.
For instance, every employee was required to remember the dates of all routine inspections, and had to repeat several times every day that ‘surprise inspections’ never happened.
In addition, three separate buttons sat in front of Turik, each with a plastic cover placed over them to prevent accidental activation.
The first of these buttons locked down the entire bank, both physically and electronically, cutting all connections to the outside world and preventing the transfer of any form of currency. Only Turik would be able to communicate with the rest of the galaxy, using his workstation.
Second in line, which was marked ‘Physical Security Measures,’ unleashed upgraded security mechs that were armed with lightning guns. The weapons had proved remarkably well suited for subduing or killing nearly all forms of life, which was especially useful, and had become very prolific.
Last of the three, with warning signs placed around the outside of its plastic cover, was the ‘Lethal Measures’ option.
Should the option be necessary, the atmosphere would vent from all sections of the bank, except for Turik’s office, killing anything not wearing a vacuum suit.
In the event that the thieves were wearing such suits, the police force would be required to get involved, though Turik thought that would be unlikely.
Who wears vacuum suits wherever they go?
As he watched with boredom at the clerks going about their day, a message notification popped up on one of his monitors.
Such a thing was uncommon, and he felt a faint curiosity as he opened the file.
While his eyes traveled down the page, he felt a sharp and metallic fear increasing in him steadily, though he did not allow it to show in his demeanor.
When he reached the end of the anonymous message, without missing a beat, he flipped open the covers of the first two buttons and pressed them.
Alarms went off, screeching loudly and scaring the wits out of the patrons and clerks. All doors closed and sealed themselves, locking everyone inside. Sliding panels in the walls opened, revealing heavy mechs which charged their lightning guns menacingly.
The mechs did not attack anyone, yet.
With a calm that only a Corti could maintain, Turik opened a voice channel to the Irbzrkian Police Force.
“This is the head security officer of the Blzhti Galactic Bank. I have just received word that there is a ship of mentally unbalanced, mass-murdering humans on board the station. They are armed and extremely dangerous, and have taken hostages in an attempt to remain unknown and acquire medical care. My information indicates that they intend to rob my institution soon, but are not yet ready for the attempt. The humans are in a private hangar not far from my location. Gentlemen, the Galactic Bank expects you to act accordingly.”
Loud grinding noises filled the air as the ship builders did their work, using large machinery to bend metal back into place and replace sections that could not be repaired.
Under the watchful eye of an extremely grouch and sore Frank, they worked in silence, understanding the terms of their employment.
These were certainly not the best tradesmen that money could buy, but they were the best that could be trusted to keep their mouths shut in return for a disgusting amount of money.
Ted had gone a bit overboard in his interpretation of Frank’s instructions, but the old man was far from complaining.
The Reclamation had been resupplied with alien food pills, medical equipment and weaponry. For at least the next three months, they could travel without needing to stop for anything.
Having a high end 3D Fabricator was certainly a plus as well, and they had enough raw materials to build most anything they needed.
Jason and Chanuck’s bodies had been sent out several hours ago, overseen only by a stoic Frank as Ted worked to get the ship repairs underway.
Two automated ships, if you could even call them “ships” as they were only large enough for a person each, had headed out of the large hangar port, jumping to FTL before Frank knew that they’d gone.
Cimbrean would be receiving an unexpected delivery, with a request that they make sure that Chanuck got back to Gao.
It had been hard to see the bodies go in such an undignified way, without anyone but an old man to bid them farewell. He had to keep forcing the image from his mind as he worked.
While preparing the ship for a diagnostic, Frank heard beeping coming from behind his chair.
Turning to investigate, he saw every Vzk’tk and Rrrrtktktkp’ch holding a communicator and reading a message that they had all received.
All at once, every set of eyes was upon him as they finished their reading.
Shit. There’s no way that things didn’t just go to hell.
One by one, every worker began to back away from him, moving back towards the cargo bay.
“Hey! What’s going on?” Frank called.
At the sound of his voice, panic erupted everywhere. The workers broke into a flat-out run, fleeing from the human as if he intended to slaughter them all.
Following quickly and feeling a pit forming in his stomach, he rushed out after them and spied Ted on the far end of the hangar, speaking with his Vzk’tk friend.
“TED! Something’s happened! We’ve got to go, NOW!”
From a distance, Frank saw the crease in Ted’s forehead as he took in the words, but not comprehending the meaning of the crowd of workers fleeing for their lives. Beside him, Ted’s friend was reading his own communicator.
The Vzk’tk dock worker looked up in horror at the human he’d been helping, and began backing away quickly.
“YOU’RE A LIAR! YOU’RE A MURDERER! THE AUTHORITIES ARE COMING TO KILL ALL OF US!”
Across the room, the words were clear as day.
Fuck. I knew it.
“TED, GET THE FUCK BACK HERE! WE’RE LEAVING!” Frank roared, causing his head to throb sharply.
Finally understanding the situation, Ted broke out into a run, moving as fast as his long legs would carry him.
Already inside the ship, Frank was sprinting to the flight deck as alarms went off in the hangar.
As he sat down in his chair, he saw Ted approaching the ship. Behind him, three doors in the hangar wall had opened to reveal at least a hundred aliens, all carrying weapons.
Crackling energy began to scream through the air as soon as they saw Ted, focusing all fire upon him.
Groggy and unsteady, Tricko and Ryst both entered the flight deck quickly, screaming, “What’s going on?!”
“I don’t know, but they’re trying to kill us! We’re getting the fuck out of here!” Frank shouted.
Ted made it into the airlock, miraculously unharmed, and Frank slammed his finger onto the button that sealed the ship.
Before Ted even made it to the flight deck, Frank had them in the air and moving quickly to the hangar exit.
His insides turned cold as he saw what waited for him. At least ten large ships hung suspended outside the exit, all weapons ready.
Frank felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.
“Turn on every bit of the Electronic Warfare Suite. It should make it impossible for them to shoot us, even at point blank range. At least for a few seconds. They won’t be expecting the energy spike, and it’ll freak out their targeting sensors until they turn down the sensitivity.” a very groggy Robert said.
“Kid! I didn’t expect you to be up for at least another day!” Frank said, shocked that Robert was awake. The Corti had said that he would be unconscious for at least another day.
As Frank activated every part of the EW Suite that they had, Ted ran onto the flight deck, shouting, “What the fuck is going on!?”
Without bothering to answer, Frank rocketed them into the midst of the police ships that intended to destroy them.
Coil-gun fire began to cross in front of them from every direction, some coming within feet of the hull.
“Turn the ship towards the stellar nursery and punch it!” Ted shouted.
The projectiles were getting closer to their mark with every shot. Irbzrk had been host to human mayhem several times, and they seemed to be getting better at adapting to the unexpected. Sensor jamming or no, they would soon get lucky.
“I can’t! We need to enter the coordinates first! Robert, you’re the navigator! We’ve got less than ten seconds!” Frank bellowed.
As Robert groaned and moved to the second chair to begin entering the information, a poorly angled coil-gun projectile glanced off of their kinetic barriers. Being made only for space junk, the barrier was overpowered at once.
“KID, WE DIE ON THE NEXT ONE!” Frank screamed.
“I’M DONE! GO!” Robert shouted.
Slamming his whole hand down onto the button, Frank sent the ship into FTL.
Jubilus celebration was heard over every channel of Irbzrk’s police force as the human ship jumped out of the system.
They’d repelled a human attack without a single casualty or loss of equipment.
Already, the leadership aboard the station was calling to congratulate the officers which had defended them so skillfully. The humans had escaped, but that could not be helped. Surely they would not be stupid enough to return.
The original tip-off had come from a bank security official, but that individual wished to remain anonymous to the public.
As such, the inhabitants of Irbzrk simply put it down to exemplary tactics learned from the authorities many interactions with humans. Due to the fact that no one died and no damage was done, they largely forgot about the affair soon after.
Sixty-Four thought that he’d used the station’s inhabitants rather skillfully.
Five crew members were on the flight deck, staring at nothing in particular as they digested what had just happened.
Speaking softly, Robert asked, “Why did they try to kill us? We hadn’t done anything to deserve an execution.”
No one had an answer for him, so none of them spoke until Tricko walked into the hallway outside the flight deck and picked up a communication tablet that had been dropped by a ship worker.
“It’s an anonymous message. ‘The humans are murderers and pirates. They will kill all of you when you are finished with your work. A police force is on their way to kill every human in that hangar. Run…’” Tricko said in a hushed voice.
Silence passed around the room as they absorbed the information.
“Do you think it was the same people who tried to kill all of us? The ones who took over Rob and… and Chanuck?” Ryst asked, leaning against a wall for support. His limbs still felt weak after the surgery.
Frank answered for Tricko, “Of course it was. Guys…the secrets have gone too far. There are things I need to tell all of you. You deserve to know.”
All eyes turned to the old man, studying him.
“You know what’s going on?” Ted asked, incredulously.
“I know parts of it. I certainly don’t know why this is all happening, but I’ve got a few pieces of the puzzle.” he said, aware of the accusing looks coming at him from all angles.
Robert’s voice was particularly fierce when he said, “Did you know what they would make me do, Frank? Did you know that they would turn me into a puppet to kill all of you?”
Looking at the kid sadly, Frank said, “No, Robert. I had no idea that things would get so bad. But, I knew that it was a serious problem for you to have an implant. That’s why I told Jason to have you take it out as soon as possible.”
Collective understanding washed through the crew as they remembered the arguments about the implants, which felt like a lifetime ago.
“But,” Robert spluttered, “Jason said that I could wait until we got to the station! If he knew that something bad could happen, why didn’t he make me do it immediately?”
A long silence passed as Frank chose his next words carefully. It was an ugly thought, and he wasn’t sure if it needed to be said to the entire crew.
Jason’s decisions had led to his own death, as well as Chanuck’s, and jeopardized the lives of his entire crew.
Choosing tact, and to not speak ill of the dead, Frank replied, “He was worried that the surgery would kill you. You and the others hadn’t shown any signs of issues, and my info was shaky at best, so he chose to wait.”
Quietly, Ryst said, “I wish he’d forced Robert to do it, then locked us all up. Everyone would still be alive.”
No one answered him. Knowing that he was right, but not wishing to say it aloud.
Still sitting in the second pilot chair, Robert said softly, “Frank, tell us everything you know. Tell us what you told Jason.”
Leaning back against his headrest, the aged man took a deep breath.
Then he began to speak.
It took nearly ten minutes to tell them everything he knew; about the disappearing ships, the implants, Byron’s secrecy, and his secret mission.
As his story drew to a close, they merely looked at him, the humans shocked at all the lies, and the Gaoians at the real reason that the humans were in the Far Reaches.
After a few seconds, Ted spoke.
“It was me, Frank.”
“Excuse me?” Frank replied.
“I was your partner. Byron spoke to me before we left, telling me that at some point I might have to back up one of my crew members. Whether it be a mutiny, an execution, or outright crashing the ship into a star. He said that it might not be safe to bring the survivors back to Earth, and that if one of you said a phrase in Latin, that I was required to believe that person, no matter how crazy they seemed or what they’d done.”
The old man didn’t know how to respond, so he merely nodded.
“Something else, since you’re all here.” Frank said. “Byron sent word through the FTL relay while we were still docked. I’m in charge of the mission now. I didn’t want it, but when I asked him to reconsider it, his reply was rather harsh.”
“That’s fine, Frank.” Robert said, speaking in a dull tone that said he simply wished to not be here anymore.
After a moment, Frank replied, “The ship is resupplied, it’s mostly fixed and we don’t need to recharge for at least a day. Everyone go get some sleep.”
Grunting as he stood, Robert vacated his seat and left the room before anyone else.
As the other three left, Frank said, “Tricko, Ryst, stay here for a moment please. There’s something I need to ask you.”
Ted hesitated to leave the room, but exited without speaking as the Gaoians remained behind.
Taking a breath, Frank asked, “You have no obligation to, but, will you stay on this ship and help us? We have credits left over from the ship repairs if you are still worried about being paid. There are few people that we can trust right now, and you two are on the short list.”
Both Gaoians looked at each other, gauging the other’s expression.
Ryst was the first to speak, saying, “My best friend was killed by my own hand on this ship, because your enemy turned him into a slave for a second time. I will hunt them to the ends of the galaxy. I will stay until they are all dead, and no longer.”
And he walked out of the room without another word.
Watching his only remaining companion leaving, Tricko said, “Then, I guess I’m staying too.”
Only two people were still awake that night, both haunted by the events of the last few days.
Frank, unable to sleep, sat in his chair on the flight deck, staring out at the stars as they moved slowly by.
He wasn’t sure who to blame anymore.
Byron should have been straight with everyone from the beginning. But, Frank shouldn’t have waited so long to tell everyone the truth.
…And Jason should have been smart enough to take proper precautions.
Frank hated admitting it, but Jason had known about the problem, and done nothing about it except let Frank check for sabotage. He hadn’t even been wearing his sidearm when he’d died.
Did he not take my warning seriously? Or was I not clear enough about the danger?
The thoughts raced around in his head, spiraling into a terrible guilt that left him feeling older than he could ever remember.
In a poor attempt to escape his thoughts, Frank left the flight deck to try sleeping again, only to notice that Robert’s light was still on, shining through the slightly cracked open doorway.
Curious, he knocked on the door.
“Come in.” a voice called.
Opening the door, Frank saw Robert sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall of his room.
His face was expressionless and his eyes were bloodshot and shadowed, as though he hadn’t slept in days.
“You alright, kid?”
Robert looked Frank in the eye and said, in a dead sort of voice, “I’m fine.”
Both men stared at each other, aware of the lateness of the hour and that both men were unable to find sleep.
“Bullshit, kid. You’re a long fuckin way away from fine.” he muttered.
Robert closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, still wearing the metallic cap that was healing the trauma to his brain and numbing the pain in his skull.
“It doesn’t matter, old man. There’s nothing you or I can do about it. Go to sleep, Frank.”
For half a second, Frank almost let it go, but he remembered something that he’d been meaning to ask the kid.
“Why are you here, Robert?”
Surprised at the question, Robert opened his eyes and obviously didn’t understand what Frank meant by it.
Clarifying, Frank said, “I mean why did you come on this mission? Why did you come to space? All of us had a reason. What’s yours?”
A long moment passed as Robert considered the man in front of him, unsure if he should answer or not.
Slowly he said, “I came to space to protect people from myself… The story I told you about beating the shit out of the kid who bullied me?… That rage hasn’t gone away since. It scares me. The few people that I was close to aren’t safe around me. So…I left.”
“Byron let you onto the mission with something like that hanging over your head?” Frank replied in a conversational tone that deceived neither of them.
With a bit of a sheepish grin, Robert said, “I lied about my reasons for going into space. I think they might have known a little bit about it, but not everything. My issue isn’t something that I’ve told a lot of people about.”
Motioning to the unused bed, Frank wordlessly asked if he could sit.
As Robert grunted an assent, the old man sat and said, “Is that why you hide away sometimes? Or avoid joining into most conversations?”
Nodding, Robert said, “Yeah, that’s part of it. But, my highschool years really fucked my social skills. I did so little of talking and interacting with people that social cues may as well be a foreign language. But, a big part of it is that I’m scared I’ll hurt someone I care about.”
They sat in silence together, Frank musing over what the kid had said.
As Frank opened his mouth to speak, Robert muttered under his breath, “Just like with Jason. He got close to me, and I killed him. I actually killed him, Frank.” Looking up with red eyes that were now full of tears, he said, “How can I let anyone get close to me now? How can I ever look any of you in the eyes, and not know that you’re thinking about how I’m a murderer?”
“You are not in any way responsible for Jason’s death. That monster that took over your body is the bastard that deserves our hatred, not you, Robert.” Frank said emphatically.
Looking in between his knees, Robert said, “…It was horrible, Frank. It was like being chained to the floor again, while watching my friends being hurt. I almost killed you too! You’re wearing that ridiculous helmet for something I did.”
A deep sadness was forming in Frank. He could see that Robert would likely never get over the last two days. He’d experienced trauma that didn’t go away, and would probably haunt him for the rest of his life.
Coupled with his experiences in the mines, Robert would be lucky to ever truly connect with another person again.
“I can’t force you, kid. But please, for your own sake, try to forget about this. More than anything that’s ever happened to you, it will destroy you. The kind of guilt you’re feeling has driven men insane. It will tear out every part of you that makes you the person you are, and, if you let it change you, you won’t recognize yourself in a year’s time.”
Robert merely continued to stare in between his knees, avoiding Frank’s eyes. “You should get to bed, old man. It’s late.” he said in a flat tone, indicating Frank’s dismissal.
Sadness etched into his face, Frank stood and made to leave the room.
As he closed the door, Frank whispered, “Don’t let it control you, kid. You’ll be dead before your next birthday if you do. Either in body…or in spirit.”
When the door had closed, and he heard footsteps moving away from his door, Robert stood and turned off the lights and laid down on his bed.
Staring at blackness, he knew what he had to do if he was to retain any form of sanity.
You don’t get to wish for friends anymore. You’re too dangerous. You’ve seen what you’re really capable of when you lose control. And, you owe them for Jason and Chanuck. From now on, you protect everyone on this ship.
Sitting up and opening the top drawer of his dresser, he pulled out a long fusion blade. It was the length of a sword and exceptionally light, having been made for someone of lesser strength than himself. The black handle with inlaid silver felt smooth and comforting under his hand as he gripped it. He wasn’t great with guns, but he could fight with this.
It wasn’t what Frank wanted, but it was the best that he was capable of.
From now on, not one more person dies.
Alarms went off all over the ship as the gravity spike forced them out of FTL.
Frank had broken out in a cold sweat at what the sensors were telling him.
He’d known sleep would be impossible, and resigned himself to staying on the flight deck for the night, determined to find sleep when morning came.
It had saved their lives.
The gravity spike had forced them out of FTL near a nameless star system, and warnings began screaming from every corner of the control console.
A net of gravity spikes had been set up to catch them.
Hundreds of gravity spikes had been placed into a massive latticework, making sure that anything that passed through the entire system was stopped dead in its tracks.
But that wasn’t what was worrying Frank.
As soon as they’d been forced into sub-light travel, ships had begun moving towards the energy signature of their exit from FTL.
Dozens of ship, of every make and origin descended upon them.
If Frank hadn’t been on the deck, they’d have died within the first ten seconds.
He veered downward, away from the face of the gravity wall, as coil-guns began to fire from behind them, locked onto the minute energy signature.
Everyone who had been asleep was now rushing onto the deck, trying to find out what was happening.
Ryst was loudest as he said, “Did they find us!?”
“Fuck yeah, they found us! They sent a fucking fleet after us!” the old man shouted.
Things were bad.
Their ship wasn’t as fast as the ones pursuing them, and without FTL they were dead in the water.
Frank knew what had to be done.
“Ted, get on the Electronic Warfare Suite and throw out as much power as you can and disrupt their communications and sensors. Robert get back in engineering. I want as much power as this ship can give us to get us away from the gravity wall. Divert everything that isn’t mission critical. Tricko, Ryst, you two are going to be manning the ship’s pursuit defences.”
Robert broke the spell of panic and sprinted from the room, rousing everyone to their tasks.
Ted sat in the second pilot chair while Tricko and Ryst moved to secondary workstations set into consoles to the left and right of the two command chairs.
Muttering under his breath, and saying a prayer for the first time in decades, Frank said, “The girl who built it said that the Reclamation was made to escape attacks. Let’s put that claim to the test.”