by R. E. Graham
The pirate lord looked around the bridge as he continued. "We have bloodied the Republic's nose, but they will be back. We must ready ourselves for that moment, and I will make damned sure that each of you will receive a reward for your efforts. Right now, we are headed for Ko'Bac. There we will Finish our preparations, and I will meet with each captain as we assess our needs moving forward."
He paused again giving everyone a moment to process all that he had said. "Stick by me, and we will all be paid well. Stand against me…and you'll burn."
The speakers made a clicking sound as the microphone's button was released, cutting the connection. Mikhail eyed Captain Deimos who stood there confidently. He then looked about the bridge, and most of everyone looked determined to cooperate. Only one seemed out of place, a tall skinny man at the pilot's station.
I don’t like the look he’s giving me. But for now, he gets a pass…
“Deimos.”
“Lord?” he replied.
“Walk with me,” Mikhail said as he made a beeline for the bridge door.
The door slid open with a whoosh, and the two men exited into the hallway.
“First things first, I want to meet with the WarMech pilots that survived. Especially the two that gunned down the Lawman’s ride.”
“Yes, Lord. They should be down in the repair bay,” Deimos said as he matched Mikhail’s walking pace.
“First we need to make a stop.”
Mikhail managed to navigate the twists and turns of the corridors until he reached his new personal quarters. The Midnight’s Captain wasn’t sure what was going on and was further confused when the pirate lord pulled out two bottles of alcohol from his cabinet.
“Could you carry these for me?” Mikhail asked as he held out his arms.
Deimos grasped both of the bottles and looked at the labels of each. “These are very expensive brands.”
"Yes, they are. Personally, I like the cheap stuff. Speaking of which," the pirate lord said as he motioned with his arm towards the rest of the room. "All of this is much too flashy for me. When we land on Ko'Bac, I would like to do some minor renovations if we have the time."
“That can be arranged, Lord.”
“Excellent,” Mikhail said as he clapped his hands together. “Please, lead the way to the hangar. Still getting my bearings on this ship. And actually, that raises a good point. You’re the Captain of the Midnight correct?”
"Aye. It was my father's vessel back in the day, and I inherited it when he died. I brought it along with me when I signed up under Yondo."
Mikhail waved his hand to clear the air. “I have no interest in taking it from you. In fact, I want to make sure that you are back in your proper position. I saw how Yondo treated you. In my opinion, it seemed like he enjoyed treating you poorly. The captain’s chair is for the captain.”
Deimos allowed the smallest of smiles on his face. “Thank you, Lord.”
“I would like a chair installed on the bridge, but I want to more be there as a big picture role, not as the direct captain of the Midnight.”
“That can be arranged when we arrive home,” Deimos said quickly.
“Home…” Mikhail said as he thought about Largo.
“My apologies Lord, I didn’t mean to draw up painful memories.”
The pirate lord shook his head. “No…it’s fine. Anyhow, let’s go to the hangar.”
Deimos backed and headed for the door. Mikhail closed the cabinet and followed.
Several minutes later they were back down in the very active hangar. Some of the salvage had been processed and was being laid out to be checked while some were tossed into different piles depending on condition. One man shouted at another technician as a mechanical arm was being used to hoist what remained of the Inquisitor's Spade into the repair frame.
“Toni!” Deimos shouted loudly. “Toni where are ya!”
Mikhail jumped slightly from the sudden volume. Up ahead a man covered in grease handed one of the other techs a datapad. He spotted the Captain and hobbled over.
“Yessir?” he said with a bit of annoyed tone.
“I want you to meet Lord Mikhail Tarvus,” he said nudging his head toward the man beside him.
Realizing his mistake in not properly greeting his new lord, Toni wiped his hands on his dirty clothes.
“My sincerest apologies Lord, I hadn’t had a chance to see what you looked like before.”
Mikhail waved away the concern and extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Before accepting the handshake, Toni examined his own hand and realized it was still extremely grimy. He hesitated on what to do, but the pirate lord reached out the rest of the way and shook the man's hand regardless.
“Toni Baxter is the master technician on the Midnight,” Deimos said proudly. “He’s served on this ship longer than I have.”
"A long-term tech is hard to come by," Mikhail said approvingly.
"What can I say, I was built for it." Out of the corner of Toni's eye, he spotted something that instantly irritated him. "If you will excuse me, sirs, I need to berate a member of my team before he breaks a costly piece of equipment."
Mikhail stood aside. “By all means.”
“Thank you, Lord,” Toni said as he stormed off. “Mali, how many times have I told you…” his voice faded into the overall noise of the hangar as someone operated a handheld drill.
Deimos looked around the hangar and noticed his targets were standing near their respective mechs. “This way Lord.”
As the two men approached the mech pilots, Deimos called out, "Iso! Daena!"
The two looked over at their Captain and set down the tools they were carrying.
Deimos nodded to both of them then motioned with his arm towards the man next to him. “I want to introduce both of you to Lord Tarvus. Lord, this is Iso Toan, the pilot of the Sierra and Major Daena Wer of the Sentry.”
Both of the pilots looked shocked as well to be introduced to the man who killed the previous lord.
“You’re the man who killed the Lawman in the middle of the battle,” Iso said startled by the coincidence.
“I am. But that was thanks to the two of you for bringing down his Spade,” Mikhail said with a smile. “I wanted to personally thank both of you for your valiant efforts with a gift.”
Deimos handed each one of the bottles and tucked his arms behind his back. Daena accepted her reward and grinned when she read the label. “Thank you, Lord.”
Iso wasn’t quite as thrilled but was still grateful.
“Daena here is the Midnight’s lead mech officer. She oversees their repairs and refit along with ground tactics.”
The pirate lord studied the woman’s face as she stared back at him, completely unafraid.
“I look forward to working together in the future Major.”
“Thank you, Lord,” the Major said as she stood up straighter.
Mikhail looked about the hangar at the vacant repair gantries where some of the mechs had not returned. “Major, how many pilots did you lose in the battle?”
“Three. Two other pilots were uninjured after the fighting, but one other is in critical condition.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“As I am for your own losses,” the Major said respectfully.
The pirate lord's head shot up at the mech pilot's acknowledgment of his casualties. "I appreciate that Major. When you have the time, as I am sure you have extensive work ahead of you, I want a full report of the mech parts we recovered along with the status of every machine we own, including which ones are or can be made operational. I feel that our WarMechs are going to play a pivotal role in the coming months."
“Aye, aye, Lord. I will have it to you by tomorrow.”
Mikhail nodded, and Deimos and he left the technicians and pilots to continue their work.
“I would like to know how large Onyx’s domain is,” the pirate lord said as they climbed the metal stairs leading to the next level of
the ship.
“Yes, Lord. We can use the interstellar room so that we’re not bothered.”
Deimos led the way through the ship. Some of the crew began to realize who Mikhail was and would whisper to one another as they went through the corridors.
At least my face is being seen. I just don’t want someone to get the bright idea to gun me down too…
The door of the command room slid open, and a stale smell wafted past their noses. A large holotable rested at the center of the space with metal chairs organized around it that had been bolted to the floor.
Deimos activated the table and a burst of blueish pixels appeared on top of the display screen and formed into a map of worlds in the Corre Republic and the Outer Rim Colonial Alliance.
“Currently, Onyx operates on six worlds. Horizon, Gallirae, Eden, Starspin, Noire and Ko’Bac.”
“What about Dusk?” Mikhail asked as he got situated in one of the chairs nearest to the table.
"Each of the lords of the Five Skulls is required to recognize Dusk as a vital world for the organization as a whole. However, only Opal is openly permitted to conduct any sort of business on the world."
“Why is that?”
“Seeing as it is illegal for any lord to conduct business on a world controlled by another, Opal has been positioned where it has no further room to expand. For several generations they have been tasked with being the protector and Enforcer of Dusk, so the Five Skulls has a safe place to meet and coordinate from,” Deimos said as he typed onto a keyboard and the map expanded to reveal the other domains of the other four lords.
Colored regions overlaid the nation and worlds that the respective lord controlled. Mikhail studied the map carefully and pursed his lips in thought.
“So technically speaking, Onyx looks to be the second largest branch in the Five Skulls.”
Deimos nodded at the remark. “Yes, Lord. Opal has three worlds, Emerald and Topaz both have four and Ruby has twelve.”
“That’s quite a difference.”
“Indeed,” the pirate captain said with contempt in his voice.
“I wonder, why has Ruby organized itself on so many border worlds of the Republic and the Union of Stars? I feel like that would make his efforts difficult.”
Deimos appeared as though he had never considered the thought previously. “I…don’t know, Lord. That is a good assessment. Perhaps he has figured out a way to overcome trade obstacles that are commonly found on border worlds within the Republic. Ruby wasn’t always this vast though. Prior to Redbeard taking charge of them they only had operations on five worlds.”
Mikhail’s eyes widened. “You mean to tell me that he was able to secure that much territory in only a few cycles?”
“Yes, Lord. He has had remarkable success.”
The pirate lord tried to lean back in his chair but realized he couldn’t as the seat was all one molded piece. “Hmm. It seems odd to me that he could do so much. Maybe there is room for our two branches to work together to grow.”
“Doubtful,” Deimos said soberly. “Redbeard in my experience has always been very aggressive with the other lords. Worse than Lord Nadia.”
“Ugh. She is a disgusting woman.”
“Agreed,” Deimos said as he nodded.
Mikhail analyzed the map further. “So, Ko’Bac is our main base of operations?”
“That is correct. It has been the primary location of Onyx since the Shattering.”
“The what?” Mikhail asked as his eyebrow arched up.
“After the Synthetics were beaten in the machine war, several worlds around the Republic decided they had enough of the Republic and its laws. One by one they broke off and formed their own governments and other worlds eventually joined them to form new nations.”
Mikhail nodded. "Right, that was during the Reformation Age of the Republic."
"During that time the Five Skulls saw an opportunity to do the same. Lord Fang of Ruby was able to unite the lords, and they took over Dusk. It wasn't long before more worlds succeeded from the Republic so that they could join in the newly formed nation of Loberia. The Republic decided that they couldn’t allow another nation to form and launched a campaign to crush Loberia into the dirt.” Deimos smashed a fist into his open hand for effect.
"After the war, Loberia's planets were absorbed back into the Republic, and the Five Skulls became a shadow of their glory. It has taken generations to regain the power that Onyx and the others once had."
"Sure, seems like Redbeard is making up for lost time. When we arrive at Ko'Bac, I want a report of every single man and woman that works for us, along with info on every ship, WarMech, and anything else important."
“What about financial assets?”
“Oh, that too,” Mikhail said as though he had overlooked the obvious.
Deimos gripped the back of the chair he stood next to as he looked at the pirate lord.
“Is something on your mind Deimos?”
“I don’t want to seem too forward, Lord.”
“We may not have met in the best of circumstances, but so far I have seen you to be an honorable man considering we are pirates. When we are alone, please speak freely,” Mikhail said as he brought his hands together.
“It seems to me that you are very occupied with learning about the combat units you control and not very much on the monetary operations we have going on in the realm.”
"That's for a straightforward reason," the pirate lord said as he stood up. "I have plans that will require warriors. There will be plenty of money for everyone, but we will have to defend what's ours. I can't imagine that the Republic is going to forgive what happened on Destiny. They are going to come looking for us, and when they do, we may have to fight again."
Deimos stared back at the other man as if he had a thought percolating in his mind.
I hope he isn’t looking at the obvious solution to this problem…
“Is there a problem with my answer?”
“No, Lord. You are very different from Yondo. I will serve in whatever capacity you require of me,” the pirate captain said confidently.
“Thank you. Together we will accomplish big things for Onyx. First, we just need to get to Ko’Bac and fix up all the damage we took on Destiny.”
Chapter 4
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Day: 12
Corre Republic Space
Prefecture: Siimon
Planet: Gallirae
Location: Prism, capital building
Arcanum Lin waited for the doors of the monorail car to open. He held his hands behind his back and checked his reflection in the glass of the doors.
There was a soft ding, ding just before the doors slid open and a rush of warm air caressed his smooth face. His polished black boots clacked against the marble floors of the capital building with every step. Up ahead was a line of citizens that were waiting to go through security checkpoints. One of the Praetorium guards saw the Arcanum and waved him forward.
He used a small handheld device to scan the intelligence officers ID badge then stepped aside to let him through. Lin nodded appreciatively to the guard and continued on his way. The inside of the government building was quite a sight to behold. After the war with the Synthetics over four hundred cycles ago, the capital of Gallirae, which sat like a jewel of the Siimon prefecture, had been rebuilt to have a more modern look.
Massive marble columns, granite floors, gold laced through the expertly crafted decorative walls and railings. It exemplified the status of the Corre Republic’s dominance among the stars and their willingness to use it.
The Arcanum made his way to a lobby that contained eight different doors for lifts. He pressed the "Up" button and waited patiently. Within a few seconds a lift arrived, and he stepped inside. The doors slid shut as he pushed the button to take him up to the Prefect's floor.
Lin knew that Prefect Haines would not be particularly excited for the news he had just learned. But being part of the Bureau of Central Intelligence meant
that the Arcanum knew the truth that would mentally breakdown the average citizen. While the Republic represented itself as though it was strong and in control, the secret reality was that it was hanging by a thread at any given moment between mass chaos from within or all-out war from the neighboring nations.
Despite the peace of the past few decades, war with several nations seemed like it was inevitable. Generations ago all the worlds of mankind had been under one unified government, the Corre Republic. For many cycles, the citizens enjoyed a golden age of development and progress. Every area of life from science, art to medicine thrived. However, once the powerful artificial intelligence known as The Collector was given autonomous control, it wasn't long before it led a hunt against humanity. The war had become so vast and so devastating that it became a fight against extinction.
By the time the machines were defeated, dozens and dozens of worlds had been scrubbed of human life. It took many decades to rebuild what was lost. In fact, some planets still had the remains of lost cities scattered about their surfaces while others had them knocked down so that they could start anew.
Gallirae had been one of the worlds to have all its cities destroyed in the war. The Synthetics purged the forest world of all human constructs. Previously the planet Horizon was the world that the Prefect of Siimon operated out of, but after the war, the capital had been moved to Gallirae as it never again was able to build back to its former glory. At one point in time Horizon was a beautiful planet that had amazingly blue oceans and had been a place of splendor. Nowadays it is more of a shadow of its former self. It still is part of the Core worlds, but it is nothing like it used to be.
The Arcanum exited the lift and was greeted by two more Praetorium guards. Despite Lin visiting this office many times before, the guards still stopped him.
