by J. N. Chaney
“We decided apprehending Evelyn and retrieving the neutronium was worth possibly losing this asset and a team was sent to intercept. Unfortunately, she was a step ahead of us and did not arrive to the meet. At the time the meeting was supposed to start, Fernall was destroyed by unknown means.”
Shaw paused and looked to me then Dorian, as if waiting for us to ask questions. When neither of us spoke, he gestured to a large space station. “Rose has not made a sale, that we know of, in the last thirty days. This breaks her selling pattern for the previous eleven. Additionally, our assets monitoring the dark parts of the gal-net have uncovered a bidding war for an upcoming auction. Which brings us to Taurus.”
Taurus station looked to be a bustle of activity and was in much better shape than Fernall.
He produced an overlay of the station and pointed to one highlighted section.
“Is Rose on Taurus?” asked Dorian, his eyes sharp and calculating.
Shaw shook his head. “No. There is, however, an RBO.”
“What’s an RBO?” I asked, somewhat confused. I usually excelled at remembering acronyms, but this one didn’t seem familiar.
Neither Shaw nor Dorian looked bothered by my lack of knowledge, so I didn’t dwell on it.
“Renegade Bounty Office,” the Vetus supplied before fixing his attention on Shaw.
His answer didn’t really clear it up for me though. I could logic out what an RBO was for, I just didn’t see how it pertained to Evelyn.
“Correct,” agreed the older man. He must have seen my confusion because he added to Dorian’s explanation. “RBOs specialize in finding all manner of information.”
“Ah,” I said. “I see now. He knows something about Evelyn’s whereabouts I presume?”
Shaw shook his head again in the negative. “Not quite, Tiro Malloy. He has information regarding the location of the sale, where she will be.”
“You’re sending a Constable to act as buyer,” guessed Dorian.
That made logical sense and I felt somewhat juvenile for not having reasoned that out already, though I had to admit the photo of Evelyn had distracted me. I also wondered if Shaw had wanted me here solely to ask for insight into Evelyn. He had yet to mention my mission and it was possible I wouldn’t get that assignment tonight.
“No,” he said with an unreadable expression. “I’m sending two Constables. You two, in fact, provided Tiro Malloy agrees.” The older Constable didn’t give me time to react before moving on. “In conjunction with the neutronium, we’ve also been alerted to the fact that Rose has begun to deal in rare artifacts. There is a link between the two, but it isn’t important to the mission.”
“Sir, what exactly is the mission?” asked Dorian.
Now Shaw leaned back in his chair and studied us. “Make contact with the RBO agent on Taurus and find out exactly where the auction is going to take place. Then you’ll go there and pose as buyers.”
On the surface it seemed like a good plan, but there was at least one glaring issue that I saw.
“Evelyn will recognize me immediately,” I said, unable to stop myself.
“Yes,” replied Shaw, unmoved. “She will. That will be your first hurdle to figure out as a Constable. Evelyn Rose is out in the world because you helped her. Now it’s up to you to catch her.”
I couldn’t deny what he said was true, so I inclined my head. “As you say, Mr. Shaw. I accept responsibility for my actions and look forward to redeeming myself in any way that I can.”
The wheels were already moving, the synapses in my brain firing as my subconscious tried to come up with solutions while I listened to the rest of what Shaw had to say.
“That’s good to hear, Tiro Malloy. Keep in mind that if successful, this will complete your training and earn you the title of ‘Constable Malloy.’ Moving on. It would appear that Rose is in possession of an artifact that the Union has a vested interest in. They would like you to retrieve it.”
So, this was the mission. I had to admit I was a little surprised at this turn of events. I had never entertained the idea that I would be hunting Evelyn for my mission, but I liked it. I didn’t have long to ponder it though as Shaw tapped his pad again and brought up another image.
This time it was of a man—a Constable, to be precise. He had thick brown hair and sharp eyes with a nose to match. He was a little on the trim side, not unlike me, and wore glasses that gave him a sort of bookish air.
“This is Constable John Lacroan. Because of his extensive background in the subject, he posed as a seller and long-time smuggler with expertise in ancient tech. Lacroan has been a vital asset in our archeology and reclamations operations for decades.”
“Has he met with her yet?” asked the Vetus, putting notes into his datapad.
Shaw’s expression turned grave. “Our last communication from Lacroan said he had planned to meet her three days ago. We haven’t heard from him since.”
Now Dorian looked up, though his eyes didn’t widen in alarm at the news. He had more of a calculating look with the way his brow furrowed.
“You think Rose killed him or took him hostage. So, she likely knows more will be on the way.”
He presented a telemetry trail exiting the planet. “Prices for the weapons skyrocketed in the final day before the event. Numerous bids for the converter pod were made and threats started to surface. We had to stop several parties from launching raids on the event. In the resulting chaos, the pod, the artifacts, and Lacroan all vanished in a ship along this heading.”
He pulled up a chart of numbers. “The amount of credits Evelyn has received so far are enormous. She’s only parted with less than fifteen percent of the material. As you can see, her resulting bankroll is starting to make her a player in galactic politics. She could buy influence over an entire planet soon and begin shaping it to her own agenda.”
He waved his hand and the charts were replaced with a holo feed of Evelyn in motion. “Six days ago, we caught her on a holo camera on Din. She’s left Union space and entered the Deadlands. As of now, I’m officially ending the analysis of her agenda and sending you in to determine her ultimate motives.”
A star chart appeared, depicting the location of Din in relation to the core Union-governed planets and the contested zone near the Deadlands. “We can’t risk sending a large force into the area without breaking the Androsia Convention and fanning the flames of several currently cold resistance movements. We also can’t allow Evelyn to continue to provide such a valuable resource to our enemies nor to amass more power for herself while we have no firm idea of her goals.”
Vetus Tribal remained quiet until the presentation ended. “You think this is an appropriate mission for Tiro Malloy? His insight into Evelyn Rose is undoubtedly valuable, but as you said, she knows him. It’s not like we can put him close to her without arousing suspicion.”
Shaw nodded confidently. “Mr. Malloy does have a history with Rose, a history that will drive him to use everything he’s learned to piece together the crumbs she’s been leaving across the galaxy. At this point she doesn’t know he’s been training to become a Constable. I’ve leaked information that one person escaped our raid that day and left Rose to draw her own conclusion. However, your job, as his Vetus, is to know your Tiro, make calls, and guide him in the field. If you don’t believe he’s ready, tell me now.”
“I don’t need a show of rank or to be protected from myself or the mission.” I stood up, incensed and unwilling to lose my mission when I was this close. “When I accepted the offer to come here and train, I did so unconditionally. I’m committed to this and no one knows Evelyn as well as I do.”
Vetus Tribal laughed and got to his feet with me. “Guess that answers your question, Shaw.”
Shaw nodded, apparently satisfied by my answer. “See that she doesn’t get away this time, Malloy. The Union needs Evelyn Rose dealt with to protect galactic stability.”
I released the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. “What about La
croan? Do we have an obligation in this mission to find him or determine his whereabouts?”
Shaw turned off the displays and walked around his desk to stand with us. “Mr. Malloy, this will be a learning experience for you. In the field, with little to no support from your superiors, you’ll be making decisions on your own. Focus on reclaiming the neutronium first and dealing with Rose. If you encounter Lacroan, your Vetus will help you to make the right decision. I’m trusting you both. Go to Taurus and see if you can pick up her trail.”
Dorian chimed in. “Identities, funds, and passage all ready to go?”
Shaw walked to his office and opened it. “Everything is waiting at the Depot. You’ll receive it when you check out. Per protocol, as of now, you are both outside of the Constable service. If you return successful, your status will be restored, and Mr. Malloy can finally call himself a full Constable.”
He gave a wave of his hand to usher us out. “I expect the best results from you.”
4
“Priority message. MikroTrek proceed for departure,” said an automated voice over the shuttle’s internal comm.
Dorian punched me lightly on the shoulder. “You excited, Malloy?”
I’d noticed he had stopped referring to me as Tiro and kid but wasn’t sure if that was an opening to do the same, so I tested it out.
“Yes, Vetus. I’m looking forward to this.”
Dorian made a face. “Call me Dorian or Tribal, but you don’t have to call me ‘Vetus’ anymore. Especially now. You’re going to have to blend in and look more like my friend than student.”
“I’ve been working on a different speech pattern to make me sound more approachable,” I said in response.
My new colleague sent me a genial nod. “I noticed. Could still use some work, but much better. Okay, here we go.”
He took the ship out of the hangar and up into orbit. It was the middle of the night for the Red Keep and air traffic was light.
I stared through the viewport of the ship we’d been given for the mission. It was much bigger than the short-range shuttle Dorian had taken me on for our earlier jaunt. That seemed like ages ago even though it had been barely hours.
This would be my fourth trip through a slip tunnel and I still found it as fascinating as the first time. A small thrill rolled through me and I watched avidly when the ship opened the rift that would take us inside.
It was strange to think of calling Vetus Tribal by his first name, Dorian, even though that was how I would refer to him while on the mission. As he’d mentioned, the formal title was an obvious giveaway to our nature. It almost seemed ridiculous to call for so much protocol in training to have it be a death knell in the field. Still, there was a purpose to separating the elements of service. I had learned much in my time at the training facility, but now it was time for real galaxy application and experiences that would elevate my knowledge even further.
I found it exhilarating in a way that my former heists had only hinted at. There, being caught or failing meant arrest or maybe death. Failing within the Constables made such a death even more severe, since my name would be kept classified. It would be like I never existed at all.
The MikroTrek was a light freighter that had been purchased by the Union specifically as an undercover ship. The inside had been retrofitted accordingly and featured a large cargo bay suitable for transporting goods, illegal or otherwise. It had enough quarters to comfortably sleep a five-man crew or passengers, or ten uncomfortably.
We passed through the rift smoothly and slid into the green tunnel with walls that seemed to dance chaotically like waves of lightning, which I found both mesmerizing and horrifying at the same time.
Dorian gave me a grin. “Your file said you hadn’t traveled much. We’re going to get some space legs on you by the time we make it to Din.”
I frowned, not feeling green at all. “I’ve travelled before. Just not extensively. And I aced all the training sims.”
My former Vetus chuckled. “No need to get defensive, Alph. What?” he asked, noticing my reaction to his nickname.
“Alph is not me,” I replied stiffly.
He raised his hands in an appeasing motion. “No worries. What do you want to be called?”
I took a moment to think about that. “How about Al? I’ve been called that before and I don’t mind it.”
He nodded. “Al it is. Well Al, we’re in the throes of the tunnel stream. You can get up now. We’ve got about three standard days of travel until we hit Taurus, and you need to use that to study up on the dossier.”
Dorian’s voice had lost some of the overt friendliness and he’d gone into teacher mode. We might be posing as friends, but he was still very much my Vetus, at least until this was over. Unbuckling my safety harness, I nodded briskly at him and set off for my quarters.
The ship hummed and trilled quietly as I made my way through it, and just like during my initial boarding, I took in everything around me. It was my first time on a vessel of this size and used for this purpose, and I wanted to learn everything it had to teach me.
It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but it was still nicer than anything I’d been on previously. There had been something surreal about sitting on the bridge with Dorian as he sat in the captain’s chair manning the controls. The MikroTrek had a limited artificial intelligence to pilot the ship but Dorian said he liked to do things manually if at all possible. I supposed that life as a Vetus had been much less exciting than whatever he’d done previously, and he saw this as a sort of field trip.
The rumpled grey-green excursion suit I was wearing chafed and smelled a little of some chemical remnant. The walk to my quarters was a short one, and there I changed into a more suitable jumpsuit. We didn’t bring any Constable clothing at all, not even the more casual tees and tactical pants because they were a dead giveaway to our identities. If the ship somehow got boarded or taken away from us, we wouldn’t want a room toss to give away our affiliation.
Since I didn’t have anything but uniforms and clothing with Union insignias, Dorian had loaned me some ill-fitting spares. He’d said something about buying some on Taurus and I wasn’t particularly looking forward to that. My only experience in buying clothes had been on Meridian when I was looking for information on my friend Remi. Well, he hadn’t been my friend yet. That came later.
Pushing thoughts of the dead man away, I exited my room, picking up my datapad and a portable holo display on the way out. The short hallway forked around a ladder headed down to the level where the kitchen and dining area were. On either side were the other cabins. Dorian’s rooms were in the captain’s quarters and closest to the bridge.
I entered the kitchen to see Dorian already there. He grabbed a pair of ready-rations and waited for them to warm up. “Hey, Al. Take a moment to consider this. I know it seems like we’ve got all this time to kind of kick back and relax, but we don’t. Downtime isn’t empty. Ever. Downtime is the safest you will ever feel. This is the moment between steps of a mission when you can evaluate and reconsider. Once a plan is in motion, you are committed, and everything becomes forced and urgent. Learn to identify these moments and capitalize on them.”
I held up my pad and tapped it ceremoniously. “Already on it, Dorian, though I appreciate the advice. I know there’s still a lot for me to learn.”
Dorian collected our meals after a beep signaled they were done and added them to the table. I stepped over to the galley and made some tea.
By the time I returned to the table, Dorian had already started his meal. “Glad to see you’re taking it seriously,” he said around a mouthful of the synthesized cuisine.
I smirked. One more of the inherited traits of the former military was they could eat anything in half the time necessary, and three times faster than I could manage.
“It’s a tell, you know. The eating.”
Dorian accepted the tea I offered. “Doesn’t matter. Ex-military is half of all cover IDs anyway. There is no disguising a lot o
f the way you learn to carry yourself and the response to danger. Better to play into it than hide it.”
As I sat down and began eating my own helping it struck me how astute and sensible the man could be. He’d certainly mastered the ability to appear as one thing and many. “I’m not looking forward to pretending to have killed a hundred men on distant worlds.”
Dorian laughed and slapped the table. “Between the way you stare and your lack of stubble, you’re not passing as an ex-anything.” He narrowed his eyes. “Never pretend to be something you can’t be. Especially in combat. If you fake something you can’t back up, you’re going to be in real shit if someone decides to challenge you.”
“That’s an excellent point,” I conceded, only mildly disappointed that my background would be a little less exciting.
I thought of the variations I had seen between people like Dorian and Remi and the ease with which they carried the suggestion of deadly force. Then there was the Max Shelton type who were good at showing others a mask. In my opinion, those like Max and Dorian were the ones who made the best Constables and I hoped to join their ranks in terms of ability and execution.
Dorian had already cleaned up his mess by the time I finished eating. “Time to get down to it. What’s your plan with this Evelyn? I heard you give the party line in Shaw’s office, but I want to know more.”
I gripped my hot mug of tea and watched the wisps of steam rise into the slightly cold cargo pod. “I have nothing to add, at least right now. I want to see her face justice for her crimes. I want to be there to help stop her and rectify the harm I started, but I need to understand what she’s doing.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a mentor if I believed any of that. That woman betrayed you, killed your friend, and left you for dead. There’s bound to be resentment there, and I don’t blame you. What I want to know is how you plan to put all that aside.”
I considered the gruff, definitive quality of his statement. “I’m not emotionally detached but I am able to be objective. Yes, she hurt people I knew, and she wanted me to die alongside Remi, but that’s just”—I waved my hand in the air, unsure how to word it—“a catalyst, for lack of a better word. It’s not about me, it’s about the big picture. Whatever she might be doing to Lacroan, assuming he’s been captured, may have ramifications we can’t foresee. She uses and manipulates people, wielding their skillsets for her purposes, and a Constable is quite the catch.”
