they're not sharing, sadly.”
“Too bad, the secret of making Kerisite has been lost for a couple hundred years. It would solve a lot of problems.” A ship was moving into place, getting ready to traverse the passage to the planet surface and large docking facility below. “That's either very close or very large,” she said.
“That's a United Core World Confederation aid vessel. About five kilometres long, three across. Not the first, and probably not the last. The Confederation is leaving, and they’re taking as much raw material, equipment and as many citizens as they can before their time is up”
Ayan soaked in the engineering wonder above her for another moment, watching as the massive aid ship passed the even grander elongated western station ring. Light flashed up one side of the station wing as stabilizing thrusters fired in sequence, righting a misalignment of the gravity ladder that she couldn't hope to perceive. She tore her eyes away and regarded the man beside her. “Again, sorry, I've just never seen anything so outstanding, in an engineering sense.”
“No worries, I've been here so long I forget about it sometimes.”
“So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why aren’t the Confederation sending more ships to continue fighting for this system? There must be dozens of mining operations, and we read about several colonized worlds.”
“I'll tell you, but only as part of a trade.”
“I didn't know your order were traders,” Ayan teased with an upraised eyebrow.
“We adapt, and here everything is traded. In this case, I'm looking for information. I'm curious about your arrival, the nature of your people. Some of the people you rescued at Enreega have already reached Drifton and they had stories that lead me to more questions.”
“I'll answer what I can.” Ayan started walking away from the Clever Dream at a leisurely pace, observing the settling camp all around. The Clever Dream was at the centre of their relatively small section of the shanty port. The air was pleasantly cool, and it carried a faint, burnt scent that wasn't overpowering but persistent.
“Is it true that you are led by Jacob Valance?”
Ayan's eye reflexively looked to where he stood in the distance, getting ready to move supports under the rear section of the Samson so they could move it into the hangar. His armoured hood and darkened faceplate were up. There was no way of telling who it was, especially since he’d removed all identifying markings from his vacsuit. “I’m the voice of my people, and he’s one of them,” she answered, deciding that hiding the fact that he was somewhere on or near Tamber was pointless.
“Ah, I was just curious. Anyone who saves that many souls so shortly after an Eden Fleet attack might be able to help here.”
“You're not concerned with Regent Galactic's allegations that he's responsible for the Holocaust Virus?”
Ugo shrugged. “What motivation would he have? Regent Galactic's allegations make little sense, especially when they are the only party to benefit from this disaster. I'm not going to ask you to inform my opinion of the situation, in fact, I'd rather you didn't. From what I heard in Drifton, he's done more good than harm recently.”
“I hope that knowledge spreads.”
“It may, but not if you keep him hidden from sight too long. The longer he shies from the light of day, the more people will suspect him of having something to hide.”
“You have a point.” Ayan thought before asking the next question on her mind. If there was any doubt in their guest's mind that Jake was somewhere in their encampment she would be dismissing it. She watched as a group of crewmen walked under one of their ships with hand lights, visually inspecting the outer hull for damage. Her companion was patient, and looked around the landing site in silence. “What do you think would happen if he came out into the open?”
“You might have a few more visitors. The Carthans would most likely want to speak to him, but not about Regent Galactic's allegations.”
“What about bounty hunters, or under cover Confederate agents?”
“That’s the problem with being new here, you haven’t gotten the whole picture yet. Before long there will be just as many warrants out for Confederate agents, known patriots, well known criminals and the price for prisoners of war will be written into law by the Carthan government. From what I hear it would be easier to capture a Regent Galactic Officer and hand him over to the Carthans for a reward than it would be to hunt down Valance and transport him across enemy lines. His value as a bounty will wane as other opportunities come up.”
“He’ll always be at some risk.”
“Not if he’s the first hero of this new war. I have seen the footage of him urging people to sign privateering agreements, he is a fantastic speaker, and his reputation as a bounty hunter gives him great credibility with the right people. To see that go to waste at a time like this would be a shame. We need warriors now more than ever, and he’s the kind that can bring fighters together, give them the right focus.”
“I’m sure the Carthans can find their own poster boy. He’s content to work in the shadows, that’s how he survived so long as a bounty hunter, by moving on before most people even knew what he was up to.”
“Funny that you mention poster boys. They're only hiring human mercenaries. Out here the purists have the power, and as I understand it, Valance doesn't discriminate.” Ugo made a mild gesture towards Alaka, who was casually carrying a crate of supplies that must have weighed half a ton. He folded his hands into his sleeves and continued. “But I don't think the Carthans are worth as much attention as you might think. As the new masters of this star, and the ones who will most likely draw the first line in the sand, they have greater concerns.”
“So you’re trying to tell me that Jacob could attract the other races. I think you give his name too much credit.”
“Oh? Didn’t he save an entire cargo ship filled with nafalli and issyrians not long ago? I have met three of them, they are here, and they are going to offer their services very, very soon. They don’t come because they expect him to protect them like some shield. No, they will enter your camp seeking him out like a battle standard.”
“You're just trying to convince me to arrange a meeting,” Ayan retorted with a smirk.
“To what end? I believe that you would be much more convincing than I could ever be if I show you why Valance coming out into the open could work to your advantage, to everyone’s advantage. He's probably listening in on our conversation right now.” Ugo replied simply. His tone was mildly dismissive, but light. “I do have a few more questions about you and your people before I bring up the central matter behind my visit.”
“Ask away.”
“Is it true that Triton is a stolen Earth ship?”
“There are no easy questions with you, are there?” Ayan retorted with a chuckle.
He nodded and smiled back. “People come to me for help and information. If I have the answers they keep coming, and those that have something to trade keep trading.”
“ Triton was stolen by Lucious Wheeler then captured by Jacob Valance, as far as I know. The Aucharians recognized his claim on the ship as a war time capture.”
“Fair enough. Your turn, what else would you like to know?”
“Do the Carthans have allies? What kind of chance do they stand in this war?”
“Carthan territory spans across sixty solar systems, most of them are only days or weeks away, and yes, they have many allies in the core worlds. Over the next few weeks I’d be surprised if you didn’t see representatives from several worlds located near the Eden solar system on the Stellarnet announcing their support. As it stands they have hundreds of military capital ships here, and I think Tamber is taking a deep breath before the soldiers from those ships start visiting.”
“Visiting?”
“For leave, of course. There are over a million pilots, soldiers, and officers up there, and what’s more inviting than a busy port and hundreds of kilometres of sparkling quartz beaches. This,” Ugo raised his arms in a grand gesture, “is Port Rush on a quiet week. The Confederation just finished moving out.”
Ayan looked skyward at the never ceasing traffic above and shook her head. “Well, that’s a thought.”
“If there’s anything you should take away from this meeting, it’s the knowledge that this moon is about to become a hub of activity, and not only because of the soldiers. The call has gone out for freelancers across the galaxy. Criminals have the opportunity to get full pardons, to become war heroes, and crusaders with too much money and too little sense will buy the best fighting tools to engage in this war so they can say they were there. Someone like Valance, and someone like you can take advantage of that, make them all your allies and show them
