Into the Black

Alok Paxisys was surprised to see us so soon, it seemed. Especially since our ‘other business’ had eventually resulted in a navy cruiser blasting a building from orbit. The fact that our heist hadn’t made the local newsnets was a definite plus, since it proved we could do a job that didn’t leave a station in ruins.

The knelfi looked at me appraisingly across the table at a local bar we had met at to cover the exchange. “To be honest, I expected to hear that you had blown up half of Shadara Station, and were returning to Charybdis with half the quarantine force on your trail. Especially given your activities within the Empire. It is pleasant to see myself proven wrong.”

I chuckled, and said, “So, you’ve been checking up on us, then? Not surprised. But yeah, there was that little incident on Choson Ring, where a couple people were upset and wanted things that didn’t belong to them, and when their friends caused problems, I endeavored to make sure that they never caused problems for me or mine again.”

“Yes, you’ve certainly gained a reputation amongst certain groups for a rather… emphatic method of problem solving. Which does bring up questions about why you are in the Confederation.”

I leaned forward across the table, and said, “There are always questions. Some deserve answers. Some don’t. Suffice to say that the Empire as it stands is no friend of mine, but I see no reason to further antagonize them. Staying out of their way seems to be the simplest course. So I’m going to do a bit of trading and exploring, see where things take me.”

“So you are putting truth to the title of Nomad, then?”

I chuckled, and said, “Well, if people are going to call me that, might as well have fun with it, no? Plus, things get dull if you’re not seeking out new experiences.” I took a drink of the whiskey in front of me, and then said, “Of course, being your own boss ain’t bad, either. Well, as much as any man is his own boss when there’s women in his life.”

Despite himself Paxisys smiled at that. There were some truths that were universal, held deeper than even physical laws like gravity. “Very well then. Since this job is completed, I will take my leave. Until the next time, Captain Mollen. Perhaps we’ll be in touch again.” And with that, he rose from the table, and left the bar, but not before he passed me a digital card.

Kiki showed up at the table moments later, and said, “You know, Captain, you deal with a lot of shady folk.”

“Oh, that guy wasn’t shady. He was a spook.”

“Really? He just said that to you?”

“Hah! No, but check this card he gave me.” I showed her the card, which had Alok Paxisys’s name, and some contact information on it. The company given was Confederate Industrial Systems, or CIS.

Kiki looked at the card and groaned, bringing one hand to cover her forehead. “That has GOT to be the most in your face cover I’ve ever seen. There’s no way the Confederate Intelligence Service doesn’t know about that.”

I shrugged. “If I were to lay a wager, I’d bet that the CIS set it up for some plausible deniability. The company may even be legit (or as legit as a front gets), and just have a few agents in places where they can use ‘business contacts’ to get things done in grey areas, instead of the black spooks like. Having a front makes recruiting easier, for instance, since ‘job interviews’ are common, and when you’re going into a ‘new market’ you can use that to find the people you want.”

Kiki nodded. “So, what is the plan now that you’ve done your heist?”

“Well, how far have you come on the custom weapons the crew asked for?”

“Already did one for Jaynie, like you know. She’s real happy with how Vera handles, and has been treating her right. Cali, on the other hand, wanted something so crazy I had to spend extra time on it to make sure it worked right, and wouldn’t break her hand when she fired it. Crazy bitch wanted a goddamned minigun with an attached flamethrower and bayonets.”

“That… sounds like extreme overkill.”

“It is, but there are times when you just can’t wait for backup, and need to kill everything around. Setup eats ammo like a homeless man at a buffet, but anyone that’s downrange will still say that it doesn’t run out near soon enough. And those fucking spinning bayonets!” Kali shuddered. “Remind me never to piss that girl off. She’s clearly known too many marines in real life.”

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Thinking back to the times we’d had marines on board while I’d been in the Navy, I nodded. “Yeah, they do tend to bring refined mayhem to whole new levels. And you haven’t gotten to any of the others?”

The gunsmith chuckled at me, and said, “Well, I did get your ‘Special Order’ done. Getting materials was easy. Figuring out how to make it happen? That was the tough part.” And with that, she handed over a pair of pistols for me to examine.

They were a matching pair of beautifully made heavy pistols, each with ivory handles and four barrels in a two over two design. They were made in what we’d call the Metal Storm design back in the real world with the barrel being the magazine. But it was the ‘special features’ of these guns that really made them shine.