“Is that a Dreadnought?” Mack asked.
“It looks like it,” he replied. “It’s not shooting at us so far, which makes it the nicest Dreadnought I’ve encountered so far in the Animus.”
“We’re being hailed,” Lancia stated.
Kaiden folded his arms and his visor closed. “Chief, bring it onscreen.”
A holoscreen appeared and displayed an older man with a salt-and-pepper beard in a black and gold uniform and hat. “This is the Enyalius. Identify yourself.”
“Hmm… Do you wanna take the reins here, negotiator?” Kaiden offered Lancia.
She nodded and slid the screen to her side. “Greetings, I am Lancia Guðmundsdóttir, a negotiator here on behalf of the World Council to negotiate a ceasefire with the Io Marauders.”
“Ah, splendid.” The helmsman smiled. “We were worried that you wouldn’t make it after reports of trouble at your last known location.”
“There were some difficulties but nothing that my comrades couldn’t handle.”
“Very good. We will open a docking bay as soon as you send us your ship’s information.”
“Hop to it, Chief,” Kaiden ordered.
“I can’t. That requires pilot input.”
“Seriously? You can fly the thing, but you can’t transfer a file?”
“I’m not flying it, remember?” Chief reminded him. “You simply have to click a few buttons unless you wanna go ahead and use that talent point.”
“Will it be enough?”
“To fly this jalopy? It’ll be plenty. This isn’t a bomber or fighter, merely a shuttle.”
“Go ahead and load it in then,” Kaiden requested. He leaned back and took a deep breath. A string of information and instructions appeared in his head as if it something he had grown familiar with over time came back to him in a rush. He exhaled, rolled his shoulders, and leaned forward to punch a few buttons on the screen. “Sending the ship’s navpoint and model to you now, Helmsman. Which bay should we head to?”
“Usually, it would be on the lower decks, but the ‘delegates’ from the marauder band are already here, and some of my people say they have grown restless. We’ll give you clearance to access the fighters’ bay and will light the barrier green to make it easier to spot once we send you a navpoint.”
“I appreciate it.” Kaiden turned the shuttle’s auto-pilot off and took control of the throttle. “We’ll be there soon.”
“Acknowledged. Prepare yourself, Negotiator. This may be…problematic for you.”
“That’s what we do, Helmsman. We solve problems,” she said crisply. The man nodded as the screen disappeared. Kaiden guided the ship to the navpoint destination.
“Do you normally have long talks with moon mercs?” Mack asked and leaned against a console in the back to steady himself.
“Technically, marauders aren’t mercs,” Kaiden stated. “More like tribes or settlers that simply said ‘fuck it’ for one reason or another and became scavengers or hunters. They often go to war with other marauder clans and the WCM.”
“But there have been over a dozen cases where peace was achieved between warring factions, so there is precedent that this can work,” Lancia explained.
“Is that your mission? To bring peace between two marauder clans or something?” the vanguard inquired.
“My objective is to negotiate peace between the Io marauders and the WCM. Apparently, there aren’t multiple marauder tribes on Io, only one large one. The others were wiped out.”
“I suppose when you’re the big dog, you get to say you own the planet.” Mack chuckled.
Kaiden drifted the craft slowly to the side of the Dreadnought. “We actually studied some of their history in Ace strategy class. The Io marauders ain’t as bad as some of the Phobos clans or even some of the merc groups in the area, but they make up for it by being crazy hostile, especially to the military. Apparently, they harbor a grudge due to the fact that the first settlers were stranded there for some time due to a mutiny that happened on one of the supply runs. That led to the creation of the Omega Horde, one of the only merc companies with an active line of battlecruisers.”
“Sheesh, I can’t blame them for being a bit pissed but becoming a marauder tribe seems to be an extreme reaction. It’s not like they did it on purpose.”
“Hunger and disease on a lonely planet will drive you to some radical choices,” Kaiden reasoned. “But hey, if they are here to bargain, it can’t be all bad.”
“There was an attempted negotiation with the actual Io marauders a few years ago, although that one ended poorly,” she admitted. “I should also mention that ‘stay alive’ is still in my list of objectives.”
The ace looked at Mack for a moment before he turned to her. “Yeah, that would be good to know. We’re not in the homestretch just yet.”
“Normally, these negotiations are for tests and trials to see how to deal with situations where one party is less interested in peace than the other. This could end up as a disaster.”
“It’s time to flex your throat muscles,” Mack quipped and went silent for a moment before he continued. “That sounds wrong—”
“I assume you’ll be able to have a bodyguard with you?” Kaiden asked.
“Well, yes, but that could put the other party ill at ease.”
“Not that I think these guys have a hell of a lot of common sense, but a little wariness is warranted when you have the reputation as a pack of raving lunatics from the stars.”
“I can work something out. If I bring one of you, I could say that you represent the kind of soldier or technology we offer if they come back under the jurisdiction of the WCM,” she suggested.
“If we’re gonna go that route, take Mack. He’s not packing like I am, and considering how big he is, he’ll probably make them less likely to try anything stupid. Plus, his barriers will catch them off guard.”
“I imagine that most of their weapons are energy based rather than kinetic. Even if they do attack, it’ll be useless against me,” Mack concurred.
“That sounds good.” Lancia nodded and peered through the cockpit window. “Look above, Kaiden.”
“I see it,” Kaiden acknowledged and glided the ship easily into the docking bay. The green light of the barrier shimmered around them as they coasted in. He drifted to the left of the bay and followed the directions of large glow strip signals to an open space. Without conscious thought, he activated the landing gear, lowered the ship carefully into place, and set it down gently before giving the okay signal to his companions.
“Nice work. It’s almost like you’ve done it all your life,” Mack congratulated him.
“It kinda feels like it too,” Kaiden said and flexed his fists. “I don’t think I’ll trade my guns for a pilot’s license, but at least I have a fallback plan now.”
“Please allow me a moment to change,” Lancia requested as she stood and opened her loadout screen. She pressed one of the options, and her body was engulfed in white light. Once it faded, she was once again dressed in the dark formal suit she had worn when they first ported in.
“You still have your weapons, right?” the ace asked.
The negotiator nodded and moved her coat aside to show her Servitor attached to her upper thigh. She also revealed a bracer on her left hand that hadn’t been there before, and she flicked it quickly. Her blade popped out, and Kaiden nodded approvingly.
“I had to ditch my gadgets, but this is better than nothing,” she admitted. “For now, I’ll rely on you two if this takes an unfortunate turn.”
“We’re always ready for that,” Mack assured her. “But hey, take this as your moment to shine.”
“I am quite confident in my talents, thank you. But I have seen how you fight, and it’s not exactly subtle.” This earned a shrug from Mack. “And I know about him—specifically that things tend to blow up around him.”
Kaiden raised a hand in protest. “In my defense, something else generally makes the first move.” He dr
ew his Tempest. “That noise we hear could be a merc with a chain gun or a Cleaning droid making weird noises.”
“Well, this is a replication of a top-of-the-line WCM Dreadnought. I doubt we have to worry about the Cleaning droids rioting.” She chuckled and pressed the button to open the exit on the side of the ship. “Ready, gentleman?”
Mack knocked his fists together. “Let’s go negotiate the hell out of these guys.”
Chapter Nine
The trio exited the shuttle. A group of Marines waited on the ground with the helmsman they had spoken to at the front of the group.
“Good day. Nice landing.” He tipped his officer’s cap. “Welcome aboard, but as much as I would like to go through all the proper pleasantries, we must get going.”
“I understand.” Lancia nodded. “Our apologies for the delay. Which way to the meeting?”
“These men will escort you.” He looked at the group of six guards behind him. “It’s up the hall, out of the bay. We can leave immedi—”
“Just a moment, Captain,” one of the guards said and walked up to Kaiden and Mack.
“Captain? I guess we had that wrong.” Kaiden shifted his attention to the guard, who seemed to assess him. The ace shifted slightly, and his finger slid closer to the Tempest’s trigger. “Can I help you, or is this a greeting you guys do since you probably haven’t seen anything this good-looking in a good few months?”
“Your weapons. Please relinquish them,” the guard asked as two others stepped up behind him to help.
“Hell no.” Kaiden balked and lowered the machine gun to point it at the guard’s chest. “I don’t remember any one of us agreeing to that.”
The two other guards aimed at him while their leader raised his hands. “It’s standard procedure. You’re on a military vessel. It would be foolish of us to allow someone like you to walk around among the personnel with weapons on your person.”
“And it would be foolish for someone like me to be stuck on a military vessel—which currently also houses murderous marauders—and not have my weapons on my person,” Kaiden countered.
Although he couldn’t see the guard’s face behind his mask, he could hear his breathing speed up. “Will we have a problem here?” he growled.
“I thought we already had one. If so, what should we escalate this to?” he asked. “You know, I have to say I’m not impressed with your boarding party manners. I would have thought you would at least be as decent as the boy scouts, but you seem to be—ow! Hey!” The ace looked at Mack who had hit the back of his helmet with the broadside of his palm. He made a motion to tell Kaiden to quiet down as Lancia stepped forward.
“Please forgive my comrade, gentleman. It’s been a long flight. He does raise an excellent point, however, considering the potential dangers inherent in having marauders aboard. Also, we are in unfamiliar territory and this vessel is in hostile space. Perhaps it is best that they retain their weapons. I’ll surrender mine as I am here to negotiate, but they are both experienced soldiers and are only looking out for our team.”
“This one’s a soldier?” One of the guards snickered. “He’s got shit discipline if that’s the case.”
Kaiden fought the urge to retaliate and held himself back. Instead, he shrugged and looked away from the guards as he raised the Tempest back into the air.
“Yes, I see your point negotiator.” The captain nodded. “From my side, I should have advised you about our safety protocols, but I didn’t think it would be an issue. I had no expectations that your teammates would surrender their weapons, and I should have explained that to the lieutenant,” he muttered and glanced at the first guard. Kaiden noted two blue stripes on the side of the man’s helmet as he turned away, something the others didn’t have, and wondered if that was a symbol of rank or merely a personal touch.
“You may keep your weapons, but I assure you that nothing will go wrong,” the captain promised. “Even if the marauders plan to betray us or cause harm, they only have five members on board—their leader, his assistant, and three bodyguards.”
“That isn’t too much to handle,” Mack affirmed. “To eliminate five guys who probably have the equivalent of pointy sticks compared to what we have won’t cause too much trouble.”
“Again, I assure you that nothing of the sort will happen,” The captain assured them. “It would be suicide for them to try anything on this craft. Not only is it crawling with over thirty-five hundred crewmen, even if they by some miracle escaped, they have no way to make it back to their planet.”
“Why’s that?” Kaiden asked.
“It’s part of the negotiation agreement,” Lancia explained. “The hostile party, in a show of trust, will either board the craft where the negotiations will take place or they will be taken to said location. In this situation, the marauders were taken aboard at another point and the Enyalius will jump to another point in space to evade any potential pursuers or ambush parties.” She turned to the captain. “Correct?”
“Exactly.” He nodded. “We frisked the marauders before allowing them on board and found no trace of any tracking equipment, and we are now well away from their home planet.”
“Fine, fine, I getcha,” Kaiden grumbled. “That means we're on the home stretch and we can get this done without a hitch.” He turned to the negotiator. “Are you ready, Lancia?”
She nodded and looked at the guards. “Please take me to the meeting. I will attempt to complete this as quickly as possible.”
One of the men nodded. “Please follow me.” He turned to lead the group out of the bay. Kaiden stood beside the shuttle for a moment and glared at the insolent guard for a moment before he shrugged and followed.
The guard stirred an unease in Kaiden, an instinct he couldn’t quite pin down. He wondered if he should let it go as he was simply an Animus creation, but the thought didn’t settle him.
They approached the doors to the meeting room. Four guards stood at the end of the hall, while the remaining guard and the one Kaiden had argued with before turned and walked away. This second man had the same blue lines on his helmet as his teammate. Lancia removed her gun and handed it to Kaiden. “I’ll let you hold on to this.”
“It seems kinda pointless to give it away,” Kaiden mused as he examined the pistol. “It’s supposed to be for your safety. My pistol is more than enough for me.”
“I know, but I want to make a good impression. That’s difficult with a pistol strapped to my thigh.”
“At least you’ll know if they’re paying attention or not,” Mack pointed out and she flashed him a quick look. “Either way, she has me. And like they said in the dock, I doubt they are gonna try anything, not while they’re at such a huge disadvantage. All we have to do now is make them sign on the dotted line or whatever and we’re out.”
“If you feel that confident, then by all means.” Kaiden held Lancia’s Servitor lazily in one hand as he leaned against the wall and slid down. “I’ll keep watch.”
“You can’t even pretend to stand at attention before we go in?” Mack jeered.
The ace pointed at the guards. “They’ll make up for me. Besides, it’s not my gig. I’m an ace, sure, and starting to learn what it means to lead a team after a year of this. But that doesn’t mean the old habits will go away all at once. I don’t expect you to bow every time I walk into a room—although to be fair, that is mostly because I’m worried you’d fall over and crush me if I was too close.”
“Where did all that come from?” Mack chuckled. “Being in a military vessel really has you on edge, huh?”
“I’m still grumpy from dealing with that guard.” Kaiden sighed. “Don’t mind me. I’m ready to be done with this. You do your thing, Lancia, and we’ll be back to reality in no time.”
“I’m not so sure. If it was that simple, I wouldn’t need to go to a school as advanced as Nexus, would I?”
“What does that mean in terms of time?” he asked warily and craned his neck to look at her.
&nbs
p; “Well, we could be done in short order—thirty minutes to an hour if this is mostly a formal affair—but I doubt that.”
“Give me an estimate. How long do these things last on average?”
“Usually four to six hours. I’ve had higher level ones take days and have to save my progress and return to it several times,” she explained and counted her fingers as if recalling her longer sessions.
Kaiden shook his head and glanced at Mack. “Maybe flex that muscle and pulse a little energy. It might speed things along.”
“Unless lasers and explosives happen, our part is done, buddy.” Mack shrugged. “It’s all in her hands now.”
“Great,” Kaiden mumbled.
“I’m sorry for the delay,” the captain apologized and hurried down the hall as the guards saluted. “I had to check in with the bridge before we entered. I’ll act as both a witness and your advisor in the negotiations.”
“I see. Thank you, Captain,” Lancia acknowledged. “We are ready to begin.”
“Very good. The marauders already await us.” He approached the keypad beside the door and pressed four buttons in quick succession. The door unlocked and slid open. “Let us get this underway.” He held a hand out, inviting Lancia and Mack inside.
Kaiden caught a small glimpse of one of the marauders before the doors closed. The man was dressed in tattered clothes, and his only armor was a chest plate and the top part of a helmet. His skin was an odd, ashen gray, and his eyes had bizarrely large pupils. Kaiden was unnerved by the thought that they were human.
The door closed and the ace looked at the guards who stood at attention a few yards away. They didn’t seem to be a talkative bunch. He would have to find a way to entertain himself for the next few hours at least. That single brief sight of the marauder suggested that they wouldn’t make Lancia’s task easy.
“Hey, Chief, so you mind looking something up for me?” he asked.
“Whataya looking for exactly?” the EI asked. “I should mention that certain sites aren’t available during missions, at least not without getting into a lot of trouble.”
Animus Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-4): Initiate, Co-Op, Death Match, Advance Page 99
