On Galaxy's Edge: Ascendance

by Alex T. Kolter

  “Don’t worry, Nero, I won’t mention you to him. Not that I know what it is you do, anyway,” she said, a faint smile on her lips.

  The waiter returned at that moment, to ask if they wanted anything to eat. Nero ordered his usual orange protein mousse, with slices of real vegetable, whilst Ami had some fruit. They settled down, determined to enjoy the evening, and Nero offered Ami a red pill. She refused, but Nero was already starting to feel the slight pangs of withdrawal, so he slipped a couple into his mouth. Immediately, the world became a little brighter, and a little clearer.

  ****

  Abia walked along the street, under the harsh lighting cast down from the one of the nearby Scrapers. He had his head down, trying not to attract too much notice. This wasn’t the sort of area you wanted to stand out in. He glanced up the street, thankfully seeing only a few people around. There were no big gangs around, waiting on the street corners.

  After making his way through a few alleys and larger streets, he came upon a particularly run-down building, squatting at the side of the street, looking like it could collapse at any moment. Abia paused at the doorway, and shrugged to himself. This was the correct place, with the illuminated letters above the door proclaiming it to be ‘Z’s Finest Bar and Club’. Abia could think of a few other examples of clubs that topped this place, but he wasn’t about to mention that to whoever owned this place.

  He stepped inside, and was hit by a smell that only manages to exist in places that are very rarely cleaned. It didn’t look too bad, though, mainly because the lighting was set so dimly that it was hard to see anything. Abia made his way over to the bar, and ordered a drink, not really caring what particular variety he got. As long as it came with a kick.

  The bar was pretty deserted, with just a few patrons sat on their own, either at a table or on a bench seat by themselves. Most wore clothes that couldn’t really be called clothes anymore. Rags would have been a better description, and Abia began to wonder whether the smell actually came from these people, rather than the bar itself.

  The barkeeping machine delivered Abia his drink. It was a small glass, filled with a thick yellow liquid. It looked interesting to Abia, and besides, a drink was a drink. He downed it in one, just managing not to shudder. He returned the glass to the bar, for it to be removed by the automated machine.

  One of the customers in the place stood out from the others, mainly on account of his clothes, which were fine enough to draw notice. He was sat at a table, nursing a large drink as if it provided some sort of protection from the other customers, and kept looking around, as if he really didn’t want to be in a place like this. His back was ramrod straight, giving him an entirely uncomfortable air. Abia smirked, and walked over to the man.

  “I guess you would be my contact then, mate,” Abia said by way of greeting, giving the man a very obvious once-over. The man looked at Abia, a mixture of contempt and nervousness managing to fill his eyes at the same time.

  “That would make you this ‘Abia’ chap then, would it?” he said, pronouncing his words very clearly. Whether this was for Abia’s benefit, or was just how he normally spoke, Abia couldn’t say.

  “It would indeed my friend. Mind if I take a seat?” Abia sat down without waiting for an answer. “So, I hear you have some information for us.”

  “Yes, I do have some information for you. But...”

  “But you want paying first,” Abia said, finishing the man’s sentence for him. “Fair enough. Here’s a taster - you get the rest once I’ve heard your information.” He handed the man a small pouch of bonds, which the man quickly looked at before secreting it below the table.

  “Well, you know I work in the Governatore’s office.” Abia nodded. “And all the talk recently has been regarding a large shipment of new medical supplies and augmentations, direct from the central systems. I understand that a lot of these have only just been developed, and are a huge improvement on what we have already. They are worth a huge amount to the governing body. And they are also worth a lot of money.”

  “Which is where we come in,” Abia said with a slightly sinister smile.

  “Quite. The supplies are being delivered in exactly one week’s time, but they are not going to be delivered to the spaceport, as usual. Instead, because of the high-value nature of the cargo, the ship will not land, and will instead hover over one of the Scrapers. Don’t ask me which, because I don’t know yet. In the top of this Scraper is a vast safe, taking up the top few floors of the building. The cargo will be transferred directly from the ship, into this safe.

  “Once in the safe, it will then be protected by half-metre thick metal walls, and security guards will stand outside the entrances at all times. Inside the vault are a number of security systems, the details of which I am not privy to. So there you have it. I hope that was useful.”

  “What time will the ship be due to arrive?” Abia asked.

  “Four in the morning. And it will be protected almost as well as the vault will be. Teams of security guards, and maybe even an escort.”

  “Well, that sounds like a fun challenge. I thank you for your time,” Abia said, retrieving the second pouch of money for the bent official. “Buy yourself another drink, stick around here for a bit. I hear it really livens up later.”

  “I think not,” the other man said, taking the money and standing up. Once he’d checked the money was there, he veritably ran out of the bar, heading back to his cosy life of luxury in the Scrapers. Abia sighed. He’d never met a Scraper person whom he could stand for more than a few minutes. And this one hadn’t been any different. Just as disdainful as the rest.

  He got up, and headed towards the door himself, pleased to be getting away from the smell himself.

  ****

  “What’s life without a few challenges, eh?” Nero said, once he’d heard the report from Abia.

  It was the following morning, and Nero had just returned to their base. He and the more senior members of their group were sat in one of the smaller rooms, off of the main factory area. At this early hour of the morning, not much activity was going on in the main area of the base, and most of the shuttles were parked up along one side of the room. However, a few people were in already, some getting to work on their duties, others just joking around until things kicked off later.

  Sevi was currently to be found secreted in a small air vent, listening intently to the conversation taking place in the meeting room. She had spent the last few years learning from Nero and the rest, improving her already-impressive infiltration skills. Now, at age twelve, if she didn’t want to be found, she wouldn’t be found; something she was very proud of, and enjoyed making good use of. And at the moment, she really wanted to listen to this conversation.

  “Attacking the vault isn’t an option, then,” came Talyah’s voice through the air vent.

  “No,” replied Abia’s voice. “It sounds like that’s very secure. Impossible to break into.”

  “Which leaves us with the ship, then,” said Nate

  “Or, potentially, during the transfer from ship to vault,” said Onon. Sevi liked Onon. She was always the friendliest.

  “I think that will be very difficult as well,” replied Nero. “That’s when they’ll expect an attack, and they’ll be so many guards around then it will virtually impossible. Besides, there wouldn’t be much of a window from the supplies leaving the ship, to entering the vault. Any mistakes, and we lose the chance forever. No, I think Nate is right. We need to focus on the ship.”

  Sevi was beginning to get a bit bored with this conversation. It was important, sure, and she wanted to play some part in proceedings, but this planning was getting dull.

  “Which leaves us with just the one option, really,” Nate was saying. “We need to--” A loud noise echoed from the air vent, as a metal communicator fell out of Sevi’s pocket as she was trying to turn around. “Shit!” she whispered, annoyed at herself for such a simple mistake.

  Before she could retreat, the air
vent cover was pulled away, and Nero’s head could be seen staring in at her.

  “Hello Nero. Nice to see you again,” she said, giving him her most winning smile.

  “Nice to see you too, Sevi. Having fun?” Nero asked, a smile on his face. Sevi smiled even more. She knew she wouldn’t be in any trouble.

  “Yes, thank you. Would you mind?” she asked, offering up her hand for Nero to help her out. She climbed out of the air vent and stood up once she was in the small room, seeing Onon grinning at her from across the table the others were sat at. “So...” Sevi started. “Can I come on this mission? It sounds like fun.”

  Nate burst out laughing. “You want to help? Ha, well, I don’t see why not. It’s not like she’d get caught, eh Nero?”

  “Well that’s true,” Nero replied. “But this is going to be a risky mission, Sevi. I don’t want you getting hurt, and there will be plenty of other missions in the future, that you could help with. Aren’t there, Onon?” he said, turning to her for support. He knew Onon got along with Sevi the best.

  “Nero is right, Sevi. This one will be too dangerous. Maybe when you’re a bit older, okay?”

  Sevi looked down at her feet. “Okay. Maybe next time. Can I go now?” She looked back up into Nero’s eyes. Nate laughed. “You’re going to have to be careful with this one, I think.”

  “Don’t I know it. Alright Sevi, you can go. And no more sneaking around in air vents, okay?”

  “Okay Nero.” Sevi turned around and ran out of the door. Nero watched her go, knowing he’d have to check air vents more thoroughly in the future.

  ****

  It was dark, and it felt very much like the middle of the night. The sun wouldn’t come up for a couple of hours yet, and the clear sky meant the concentrated streak of stars was clearly visible in the otherwise pitch-black night sky. Nero stared up, lost in thoughts of other worlds.

  “Day dreaming, Nero?” Nate asked, who had come to stand next to him.

  Nero turned to look at the man. He was dressed in his usual combat outfit, but with a number of weapons holstered on his belt. He looked ready for a big battle. “Technically, I think this would be night dreaming, but yes.” Nero looked at the time. “We’ve still got a few minutes, anyway.”

  They were stood in the cockpit of Nero’s latest shuttle, a stunning matte black vehicle, large enough to hold thirty men at a push, and powerful enough to make extended deep space trips a possibility. It was a much more advanced design than Nero’s old shuttle, destroyed by the Nostra years ago.

  Currently, the ship was hovering steadily in the air, hidden behind a building on the outskirts of the city, waiting with another of Nero’s other shuttles. Waiting for a sign of the deep space cruiser that was due to arrive.

  Nero turned around from the cockpit’s viewing window, and walked back down to the main lounge. Arrayed before him, some sat on seats, others pacing around the room, were fifteen of his best fighting men. These included Jerad, Abia and Koegan, as well as Onon and Talyah. All were dressed in combat clothes, and carried at least two weapons, along with a few other surprises.

  “Everyone ready?” Nero asked, himself itching to get on with the job. The waiting, as ever, was the hardest part.

  Most of them nodded, some patting their pockets as if that would alert them to any unpreparedness.

  “Looks like it’s here,” came Nate’s voice from the cockpit. Nero ran up the steps to see for himself. Sure enough, in the distance, a bright blue speck of light had appeared in the sky. Nero sat down in the pilot’s seat, and took over control of the ship from the AI computer.

  He pressed the button to communicate with his secondary ship, which would act in a defence and support capacity for the one he was on. “We’re moving out,” he said, and with that, accelerated upwards, heading straight for the blue speck.

  The immense speeds of both the incoming ship, and Nero’s shuttles, meant it was only a couple of minutes before they neared the decelerating space cruiser. Up close, Nero could make out some of the details of the monstrosity. It was by far the biggest vehicle he had ever seen, dwarfing the other space cruisers that sometimes visited the planet, and it was also the most high-tech ship he’d ever seen. And unlike most ships that were longer than they were wide, this one looked a bit like a gigantic black boomerang, with a wingspan many miles across.

  “Shit... that thing is a monster,” said Nate from the co-pilot’s seat. “How the hell are we going to find our loot in it?” That gave Nero a momentary pause for thought.

  “Shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied. “They should have the stuff ready to be lowered into the vault, which means it must be near the main cargo doors.”

  “I hope you’re right, man.” Nero hoped he was right too.

  He brought the ship closer, and together with the other shuttle, they flew up and above the space cruiser. It had slowed down dramatically now, vast flaps on the wings of the boomerang shape rising to increase the air resistance. They had already started to glow orange from the friction of the air, as Nero flew over.

  “What does CSG stand for?” Nate asked, having read the giant gold lettering plastered on the top of each wing.

  “Central Systems Government, I would say,” Nero said, bringing the ship down closer to the space cruiser. It was difficult, even with the electronic aids, to fly the ship whilst being buffeted by the wake of the cruiser.

  “I thought so. And it’s wise to rip them off, is it?”

  “Don’t see why not. They won’t care what happens out here. That’s just a transporter ship, after all. It’s not like it’s that important.”

  They were almost on the cruiser by now. Nero glanced at the displays in the cockpit, seeing the other shuttle following close behind. With a final bit of maneuvering help from the AI computer, he extended the magnetic legs and landed on top of the space cruiser. The ship shook hard as it settled down. The other shuttle stayed in the air for the moment, ready to use its laser cannon to provide any defence they might need.

  “Helmets on,” Nero ordered, pulling down his own from the wall in the cockpit. Nate and the others did the same, sealing their helmets to their jackets, ready for the reduced air pressure outside. They made their way through the main lounge, and through the short corridor that led to the boarding ramp at the rear of the ship.

  With everyone in the disembarkation room, Nero closed and sealed the doorway to the rest of the ship, and hit the button to open the boarding ramp. A siren began to sound, and an orange light flashed. After a moment, the ramp began to descend, and the air immediately rushed out of the room, buffeting them all around. They were still high up in the atmosphere, and oxygen levels were low, making their rebreather helmets all the more vital.

  When the air pressures finally equalised, Nero led them down the ramp, magnetic boots keeping them from being blown off the surface of the space cruiser.

  “Make us an entrance, Tal,” he said. He needn’t have bothered. Talyah had already set off. She walked a good few metres from the shuttle, and retrieved a roll of soft, orange, plasticky material from her pack. She bent down, and pressed the material onto the black surface of the cruiser. Forming it into a ring a few metres in diameter, when she was done, she inserted a small metal chip into the material.

  “Are we all ready?” she asked, her voice coming across in the comm units.

  “As we’ll ever be,” Nate replied. They formed up into a ring around the orange material. Talyah then pressed a button on her wristband, and for a moment, nothing appeared to happen. Then the orange material began to emit a dull light, and very quickly, smoke started to come off, to be rapidly blown away by the wind. The chemical reaction soon sped up, and the orange material was lost from sight as it sank through the outer metal of the ship’s skin.

  Everyone edged forward, looking down into the newly-formed hole. The orange material had cut through about thirty centimetres of solid carbon-weave metal, before reaching the metal framework, wires, ducts and other structural m
aterials that made up the ship’s inner skin. A few metres below them, the floor of a room could be seen, covered with the remains of the orange compound, no longer glowing and smoking.

  “Well, after you,” Nate said, glancing at Nero, as he tossed down a flashbang.

  “Always,” Nero said as he jumped into the hole after it. His stabilization augmentation, built into his hands, kicked in as he fell, slowing down his descent and softening his landing in the corridor.

  ****

  She watched Nero jump into the hole, and she also watched as Talyah attached a small cable to the metal of the cruiser. Talyah then threw the cable down into the hole after Nero, and climbed down into the massive cruiser after him. The others quickly followed, leaving just two men guarding the new entrance to the cruiser. Sevi didn’t recognise either of them from behind, stood with their helmets on.

  Once she felt sure that those in the cruiser would have started to move off, she ran from her hiding place in the shuttle’s disembarkation room. Before the guards could react, she jumped into the hole, grabbed hold of the cable, and slid down into the cruiser. She looked back up once she was down, to see the two helmeted figures peering down after her. She gave them a cheery wave, and wandered off down the corridor, following some retreating backs she could see in the distance.

  ****

  Nero walked at the head of the group along the corridor. A quick 3D scan of their surroundings had identified a very large space a few floors below them, which was presumably the main cargo and loading area, and it was to this that they were headed. Not far ahead, according to the overhead signs, was a bank of lifts that would take them there.

  He looked around, still seeing no sign of movement. It was strange. He had expected the security to be more obvious. But then it was a massive ship, and it would have required a huge security force to patrol the whole of the cruiser. He didn’t expect to be alone for long, though.