Rufus looked suitably chagrined. “Okay. You make a very good point.”
“Thank you. Now, I really want you to ask who’s willing to come over to the Uprising. I don’t expect masses to flock over because apparently I'm not well liked, but hopefully a few will want to.”
“Not well liked, Shaun? You’re damn-near worshiped. We’ll be fighting them to stay,” Rufus said.
“Oh? Genuinely, that’s surprising. If that’s the case, I’ll let you both be the judge of who’s the best to send over. We should try to balance all our numbers out in terms of supplies and fighting capabilities. If anyone has any ideas on the best way to transport people between the ships, I'm all ears. For now, keep in touch, and good luck organizing people's preferred placements.”
“While it’s certainly going to be odd having new crew members, it will definitely shake things up a little,” Astrid said. “I’ll put the word out for people who might wish to come over to you. I’ve a feeling I’m going to lose Mick and Gus in this, and that will leave us without our best technology expert.”
“Some of my people will be more than up to the task of filling in for Gus,” Elyek interjected.
“I’d second that. The four who helped us with the folding drive were amazing.”
“I look forward to having their expertise on board,” Astrid smiled.
“I'll see if the Veiletians here with me would be happy to either stay or move over to the Seshat,” Elyek said.
“That’s great. We’ve four Veiletians here who’ll definitely be staying, but I'll make the offer of transfer to the other seven. We want, what? Eight Veiletians on each ship? I'll speak to the Torax, too. But I won't be a dick about it.”
“This I have got to see,” Ember added.
“What?”
“You not being a dick,” she grinned.
“Thanks, Ember. Anyway, moving on. Tell me what and where this new contract is.”
Rufus got excited now. “Yes! I’ve managed to negotiate an excellent deal. Although the job is far away, we will be paid handsomely. We are traveling to the Perseus system. There is a space station, Beler 3103, that is under attack from some sort of rebels. They were unclear on the exact details, but the long and short of it is that they’re assembling a fleet to retake the station and then defend it.”
“Rebels? Sounds interesting. I wonder who’s rebelling?” I said.
“It’s more than likely just a territorial dispute between two different races. The Empire must be taking a side in the conflict. It is not uncommon,” explained Elyek.
“It’s a job at least. How much are we being paid?” Ember asked.
“Ten thousand per fully-manned ship, per week,” Rufus replied proudly.
“Ten thousand?” Ember said. “That’s not great.”
“Not great! It took a lot of negotiating to bring them up to that number,” Rufus said, outraged.
“If I may speak,” Elyek interrupted, then continued on anyway. “Considering the distance to the Perseus system and the high potential for damage to our ships, ten thousand is on the low side.”
Rufus began to bluster. I could see his face going red with embarrassment.
“However,” Elyek added, “as a new, unheard of mercenary group, we would never be offered a decent rate. Not until we had proven our worth and have recommendations. Luckily, we have enough senlars to cover any damages, so we can afford to do this. Nonetheless, we should be careful to protect our assets.”
“Fair enough,” Ember said, “I suppose the main point in doing this is to build the Uprising’s profile and attract more members, so well done, Rufus.”
“Um, thanks,” he answered with uncertainty.
“Yeah, good job,” I added, “We have a clear plan, so all’s good.”
“If that's everything, we should get on with sorting out our crew numbers and getting moving. We’ve sat here long enough,” Ember said, pushing things along.
“Ah, just one more thing,” Astrid said, sheepishly.
“Yes, Astrid?” My curiosity piqued.
“We're in a really dangerous position out here; outnumbered and outgunned. I could do with your help.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Astrid?” Ember answered. “We’re helping you!”
I noticed Rufus had perked up and was looking extremely interested in what Astrid was asking for.
Astrid’s face clouded in anger. “I want to fucking transcend!” she shouted, taking us all by surprise. I don't think I'd ever heard her swear.
“I don't know how you both did it, but I'm begging you to show me. I worked under Ogun for so long and never felt like I was getting any closer, like he was almost hiding the secret from me… us. But he's gone now, and our people need to become stronger. Can you teach me?”
She was so desperate, and I could tell Rufus was begging to ask the same question too, only the intensity of the situation held him back.
I looked at Ember, who looked at me. We both had stern expressions on our faces. She winked at me on the side that couldn't be seen by the video screen, then turned back. “I’m really sorry,” she said to the desperate Astrid, “we think it's just too much power for you.”
“What?” Astrid said in deflated disbelief, “But…”
“I mean, what if your head explodes?” I jumped in before she could say any more, a serious expression on my face. “It can happen you know.”
Rufus had a downcast expression now, “Really? How?”
“Ha, ha! Your fucking faces,” Ember laughed, “Of course we’ll help you to transcend!”
“Ideally, we want all the humans with us to transcend, if they can,” I added, laughing along.
“You pair of shitheads,” Astrid huffed, but she had a wry smile, too, “I'll be coming over when we ferry crew around between the ships, so prepare yourselves.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, saluting Astrid, who just beamed.
“I'll come as well?” Rufus said, but phrased it as a question.
“Of course, mate. Hopefully, what I did with Ember will work for you guys. If it does, you can try to transcend the rest of the crew on your ships,
