From the Black (Free Fleet Book 4) Page 3

  Ship parts coming in from another source was like having a competing currency come onto the stage.

  The merchant's accompanying Cheerleader had done what they did best and drummed up a quick business with the Kuruvians, there were ships coming in from all four systems held by the Empire.

  “So how long do we wait for?” Werv, her second in command asked the question that her whole fleet had been asking.

  “One week,” she said, raising her voice “Onur, send a message to the pursuer, tell them that we will be returning to Parnmal in a week. Tell her to have all of the plans finalized with the Kuruvian merchants interested.”

  “You got it.”

  She had confirmed that the Kuruvians were alive, now it was a job for the merchant fleet and Min Hae’s people embedded into its core to gather more information. Then the relations team would drum up an agreement between the Free Fleet and the Empire.

  ***

  “We're getting hundreds of ships ready, all types. All of them Union types,” Sensors called out to Boot.

  Well looks like we ran right into the damned hornets’ nest. Boot thought. He had separated from Cheerleader a week and a half ago on his mission to find the Sarenmenti home world. He had jumped to what was supposed to be another empty star system. It seemed that the star-maps weren't as accurate as he'd hoped.

  “Emergency jump to system Kova,” Boot said. He didn't have the forces to engage the fleet assembled in what looked to be an uninhabited system.

  “Looks like we've found Rosho station, the biggest station in the known universe, and home of every damned ship that Fairgate didn't take with her,” Boot's second in command Dlai said.

  “Looks like it,” Boot said through gritted teeth.

  “We're ready for emergency wormhole generation on capacitors,” Helm said.

  “Good. Have one of the corvette's start their journey to Parnmal as soon as we emerge,” Boot said.

  A timer started up giving twelve minutes as relays were switched over and wormhole projectors spun up, draining the massive energy stored in the capacitors.

  A wormhole appeared in front of Boots fleet, the ships moved as one, powering their drives up as entered right into the event horizon, there was little time for orbiting the wormhole before passing through it.

  Then there was no trace of them, except the light that had hit them and was bouncing back to Rosho. A few hours later six corvettes set out from Rosho on different trajectories, the station and the fleet of warships stayed where they had been found.

  No one would mess with a stronghold like Rosho, and soon Fairgate would come back and restore them to their rightful place.

  Some were still continuing age old debates over who owned what in a system, or bartered parts for slaves. The Universe be damned, the Syndicate did as it pleased.

  ***

  Min Hae was sometimes surprised with the results gathered from his intelligence department controlled merchant freighters, with his operators littered across them.

  He had his fingers in seventeen systems. He had infiltrated governments, agencies, secret militaries, guilds, and whatever institutions held power on a planet. People had become wary of those that said they walked with Merchertevak on their shoulder.

  He found what planets really needed, making relations teams talks easier. Eight planets had signed under the Free Fleets protection, including Daestramus. The planet’s networks were run by Narvu the customs officer that Min Hae had first talked to when he came to the planet under guise as a trader.

  The man now knew who he was, but cared little. He was working to clean up his planet. He and Min Hae worked together to end the secret military, punishing those that deserved it and giving the people the opportunities to do as they wanted. Without someone there to punish them for every unregulated action, the planet was growing and exporting a lot of people to the Free Fleet and its training schools.

  Though Min Hae's focus on the planet Avapor didn't have anything to do with the native residents. Rather it was with the strange rumors that had come from the place. Operatives had reported a network similar to Min Hae's at work.

  Min Hae would have thought the network was under the control of the planets government. Gogs, his Ershue sidekick who had been under the command of Kelu until the second battle of Parnmal had got into their computers and found out differently.

  Gogs surmised that the Kalu were operating

  While some had suggested that the government computer system was a cover-up, Min Hae didn't think so. There was too much information, especially records of dealings that certain companies and bureaucrats wouldn't want out in the open on that network.

  He had a suspicion and he didn't like it, at all.

  It's what I would do. He stood, a decision made.

  “We're going to pick up that woman that is believed to be the head of this network. I want to know everything she does. Prepare for a quick dust off if things go south, have the second merchant hang around. Get them into long talks, if a ship bolts we'll follow them. The other ship is to remain here and leave in a few weeks, unless something suspicious happens. In that case they can do as they deem fit,” Min Hae said.

  It would take a few days before he was standing in front of the woman that all of the spy networks seemed to expand from. She was a Klerdite, she had deep blue scales and eight sets of limbs for moving. She was amphibious, the spines that jutted from her joints had been contained with foam, those spines would leave about eighty percent of know creatures disabled or dead. Some had their poisons modified just to remove that sticky twenty percent.

  Now those spines weren't extended in anger, they were bowed in fear, but not confusion Min Hae guessed.

  They had picked her up at home, knocked her out and transported her to the warehouse where he was supposed to be moving his goods. It also happened to be rather insulated and far away from the other warehouses. The Free Merchant Fleet might be making a new purchase on Avapor in the near future.

  Her eyes were wide and scared as she looked up at Min Hae. He took a seat, her attention solely on him. He had become used to that look, that wasn't to say he liked it. He understood it and recognized its use in getting the information he needed.

  “Who is your master?” He asked gently.

  “I don't know, I just do what the drops tell me to do,” she said, her eyes pleading for him to understand.

  “Tell me what you did for your master,” Min Hae said.

  “He'll kill me,” she said scared.

  “It's a he is it? Well I want you to think about the rumors you've heard about the Syndicate KaaOrv,” Min Hae didn't even raise his voice. If he could get away with it, he was going to pose as one of the Syndicate's eyes. So far out the Free Fleet was nothing but a wild rumour, but here the Syndicate was a very real threat. It also gave the Fleet some protection.

  She visibly shook her mane at the thought of being turned over to a KaaOrv.

  She told him about how she had been sleeping on a sidewalk when one day she discovered a message and a key waiting for her when she woke up.

  It told her an address and that she could expect to be rewarded for being a simple runner.

  She went to the address, it was an apartment. There was no one around and there was food.

  Messages appeared in the apartment and she was given multiple drop points around the city to get items and pass them off to other people, or she was told to tell them what the messages said.

  She was rewarded with more food, credits, and people started respecting her.

  She followed whatever the messages said, they were the best thing to have ever happened to her and she didn't want it to end. Then Min Hae's crew mates had kicked in her door and brought her to an abandoned house at the limits of the city.

  Min Hae pulled out a data pad, typing a message to operatives on the planet to get more information on these drop locations as well as the apartment.

  He knew the likelihood of finding anything useful was slim, but it w
as worth a try. He looked at the woman, he would release her. Maybe he would give her an opportunity to escape in order to lead him to her employer, it bared some thought.

  “What were the specifics you gave your master in terms of Syndicate forces?” Min Hae said. Might as well and try to hit two birds with one stone.

  ***

  “Where is she?” Ashota asked his ground operations leader.

  Ashota had gained little information of worth to him and his battle brother, war-leader Edvasho. He wasn't going to get much more time to find out more about the Union, or this Syndicate that seemed to have taken over.

  His body had been mangled in the last teaching war, or the Union-Kalu war as these creatures called it.

  He had been a great Kalu warrior, he had been part of the honor guard of three planets, before the Union started driving the Kalu back. He and Edvasho had been rushing towards battle when their star-warrior was hit. Ashota had set the ship towards Kalu space as the Union annihilated the Kalu fleet. Edvasho had sworn to destroy the Union while Ashota had been trapped in the body of a cripple.

  What had crippled his body, had grown his mind. He had been the moving force behind Edvasho. The only reason he was getting the time to see what had become of the Union was because Edvasho understood that Ashota's help had propelled him into his position as war-leader of all Kalu clans.

  “We do not know, we assume she is dead or captured,” the ground leader said back.

  “Very well, we prepare to leave then. If she has been compromised then this planet is not of use to us. We have found out what we need. We know our biggest opposition is this Syndicate, we still need to find their base Rosho, and gather more information on Worshun, the planet that used to be the Union's seat of power,” Ashota said.

  Kalu started moving to run through final checks. Ashota paid them no notice as he watched the main screen. It seems that the Syndicate are not the dull pirates they present themselves as. While rumours of the Free Fleet had reached him, he had thought them ridiculous, there was no way a group of slaves could become a space-warring group to be reckoned.

  He had himself two more months until Edvasho made his move. By that time there would be no stopping the Kalu.

  Chapter A few last minute additions

  “Commander!” Sensors squeaked out as Monk turned from talking with a Commando who was on duty.

  “Well that is definitely interesting,” Monk said sounding amused as sensors pinged a massive wormhole depositing Super-carrier's Dreadnoughts, regular carriers, and something that made even Monk feel a tickle around the nerve ports in his back.

  “Resilient is contacting us,” Comms said.

  “On screen please,” Monk said calmly, taking his seat.

  “Hello Commander Monk, I thought it would be best if I introduced the newest applicants to the Free Fleet. They call themselves the rearguard, others call them the AI warriors. They are led by Devastahli, who occupies war station, I don't think I have to point out which one he is,” Resilient said in a tone that made Monk think she was rolling her eyes.

  “Thank you, this does make my job a bit easier. You say that they want to be in the Free Fleet?” Monk asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Could you stay connected if they join up, I want to verify that they are in fact sworn to the fleet with their coding. They could do a lot of damage if I let them continue without that,” Monk wasn't making a threat, he was the bulwark for the Corridor against incoming attackers. He would lay into anything he deemed a threat to the corridor.

  “Certainly,” she said, appearing in holographic form next to Monk.

  “Comms, open a channel to the mobile station. Address it to the AI that resides within it,” Monk said.

  “Commander,” Comms nodded, Monk looked around the room. More than one face had a look of disbelief on it.

  “Do I need to tell you to sound readiness?” Monk's voice had a bit of steel in it. People turned from staring at the plot to shutting Parnmal down, reading the defences, patrol fleet, and the fleet that was getting overhauled.

  “They're connected,” Comms said as the screen went from the star-plot to a creature of smoke with twin shining eyes and a cloak.

  Monk straightened in his chair.

  So did the hooded creature on the screen. While Monk was lit, the incoming image was dark. The throne looked to be hew from obsidian, lights from consoles on either side of the creature illuminated the brown cloak which hid the massive form of some humanoid looking creature. The only discernible feature other than its size, was the two orange orbs, which Monk knew had to be eyes. They were looking straight at Monk. They seemed to indicate their lack of care at the weapons platforms that were coming online and turning in its direction.

  “Commander Monk, I am Devastahli of the rearguard. I wish to join your Free Fleet,” he said, his voice as heavy as an Orvunut's but flowing as a Dovark's.

  “Did you have any terms in mind, with the abilities that you and your fellow AI's bring to the battle that would be a large recompense from the Free Fleet coffers?” Monk said.

  “I am transmitting terms,” Devastahli said in that same deep rolling voice that seemed more suited for yelling a call to arms than simple conversation.

  “I have them,” Comms said.

  “If I may?” Resilient asked.

  “Please,” Monk said.

  A highlighted report appeared on Monk's personal screens a few moments later. It summarized everything the AI's wanted in return for joining the Free Fleet.

  “Do you accept the terms?” Devastahli asked.

  “I do, now, if you repeat after me. From this point on, until the end of my service with the Free Fleet I will uphold the rules and regulations of the Free Fleet. I join of my own will...”

  ***

  A part of my mind thought of the times I had played in a much bigger mecha, fighting in the kind of hand-to-hand combat I was now engaged in with the commander of Resilient's Commandos and ex-commander of Chaleel’s military forces, Carsickle.

  The electro-static field that kept the plasma contained in a plasmid blade sparked off of my armor, reminding me to focus on my opponent. I didn't flinch from it as I had in training, instead I turned my blade, bringing my strength to bear as I upped the power to the exoskeleton driving the offending plasmid blade away. Using the momentum to get clear pushing off of my left foot as I crossed over my opponent’s front, snapping my right foot up.

  Carsickle turned, getting his head out of the way. His helmet was larger than a humans to accommodate for his larger mouth and snout that looked similar to an alligators.

  My armored foot came within inches of his face.

  A flick of my finger balls and magnets in my boots powered up. This did two things, it disrupted the helmets electronics, and it drew my opponent’s helmeted head to my boot, dragging them to the floor as I fell. I disconnected before I hit the floor with them, I rolled, turning to face my opponent, my sword up. Carsickle used his strength to throw themselves backwards onto his feet.

  Carsickle's eyes were wholly focused on me, he'd already written his helmets electronics off as faulty and gone with his own optical sensors.

  I panted in my suit, a mix of air and stims keeping me combat effective.

  I need to work out more. I thought, just a little pissed by how winded I'd gotten in a few rounds.

  I used that annoyance to focus my efforts. I charged, hoping to get past his guard with the sudden change of tactics.

  He turned my blade and me. I allowed myself to fall, bashing the floor with my arm while coming up behind him, my blade landing a hit on his side. The plasmid blade didn't hold plasma but its electro-static field buzzed with the hit.

  He pivoted with the speed of a veteran powered armor user as I came in for another attack.

  He brought his blade up and across his body, hitting my blade away. I tried to turn around him, my visor alerted me to his blade, I blunted the blow slightly but he still snagged my bigger armor
ed shoulders.

  I grabbed his leg with my left hand and pulled with all my strength, grunting in my armor as I pulled him off balance let go and made him crash to the ground as I whirled my sword in front of me. He twirled his legs and pushed off with a hand getting him vertical before coming at me again.

  Blades rang as plasmid spat across our armor. We traded blows, fighting in a blur of reactions. I threw in kicks as he turned and dodged. As we separated, my diaphragm burning, Carsickle looked barely winded. I forced myself to take small breaths to make it look as if I was just studying him.

  He moved his sword to ready, I lowered myself as I rotated my blade upwards. He charged, me following a second later. I tossed my blade sideways. He smacked it away, leaving himself open as I launched myself with all of my mecha’s strength. I wrapped my legs around his shoulders over balancing him and driving him to the ground. I held my fist a few inches from his visor. He looked up at me, having closed his eyes when he fell to the ground.

  I felt the tension go out of him. I grinned and pushed off of him. I turned, giving him a hand up as I took my helmet off. The cool air from the circulator system was replaced with the smells of Resilient's shuttle bay.

  “Damn I'm out of shape,” I admitted as he took off his helmet.

  “PT is required,” Krom said in his professional tone.

  “Thanks Krom,” I said sarcastically, the big Avarian's teeth lifting in a glimmer of amusement.

  “Still got me down,” Carsickle admitted.

  “Yeah, by bending the rules slightly, and taking one hell of a risk,” I said, I wasn't pleased with the victory not by a long shot.

  “A win is still a win,” Carsickle said non-committedly, hearing my less than happy tone.

  “A last ditch effort is still that,” I said. “Gonna have to step my game up,” forcing a lighter tone and a small smile.