Amateur Author

A hooded man stood in a corner of one of the hangar bays of Auracar station. He thumped his foot impatiently and although his face was kept from sight, his posture revealed irritation.

Another man, dressed in the same garments rushed into the hangar bay and dashed towards the annoyed mystery man. He stopped directly in front of him and greeted him with a respectful bow.

‘Sir, we have just gotten word; the package has been delayed. They are unsure when it will arrive. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow morning. Maybe even later.’

‘Damned!’ the apparent leader of the cloaked men hollered and immediately lowered his voice, realizing he might be drawing too much attention to himself. ‘We need it now! I have reason to believe our enemies know where we are. If they intercept the package, capture us, or even worse; both, all will be in vain.’

‘We will not go down without a fight. I would rather die than…’

His superior didn’t let him finish his sentence. ‘Shut up, I know the drill. I will contact our leader and ask him for advice. Stay here, take my place and warn me when the package arrives or when you see anything suspicious. Stay alert. If you fall asleep, I will kill you myself.’

‘Yes sir!’ the subordinate stated proudly, honoured to been given such an important task. ‘For the glory of the Brotherhood of Ragnarok!’

‘Shut up, you freaking idiot!’ the superior screeched and smacked him with the back of his hand. ‘Do not mention that name here! We are supposed to remain covert during the course of our mission.’ Without saying anything else, he walked away, back to his room to contact their leader to learn how he would wish them to proceed.

By noon, Jaydon had rolled out of bed after a good night’s sleep and used his room’s facilities to cleanse himself thoroughly. After that, he went back to Luccai Bar and asked the waiter for a trader by the name of Natika Nevar. The bartender pointed her out, and because she didn’t seem to be doing business with anyone else at that particular moment, Jaydon asked the bartender to supply the woman with a glass of her favourite beverage. The waitress brought Natika the drink, told her who was offering it to her, and her acceptance was the signal to Jaydon she was interested to hear his business proposal. Jaydon walked to her table carrying a glass of his own – still juice, but now not disguised as a stiff drink – and sat down at the table.

‘Who do I have the pleasure of doing business with?’ Natika asked.

‘Jaydon Octar,’ Jaydon stated.

‘Any relation to Jacob Octar?’ she asked.

He cracked a smile. ‘My grandfather. I don’t mean to offend you, but you seem a little too young to have conducted business with him.’

‘You are not the only one who went into the family-business, mister Octar. My grandfather conducted many deals with yours. I remember the name because my grandfather often spoke very fondly of your grandfather. He admired his skill and professionalism. He even considered him to be a friend to some degree.’

‘You’re Elijah Sepatim’s granddaughter?’ Jaydon asked her, remembering only one name that could possibly fit the description of the relationship mentioned by Natika.

She nodded. ‘I am. I asked around when I heard you had docked yesterday. It seems you have managed to build up quite a reputation, Mr. Octar. If you are even half as good as the rumours I heard about you, I can only assume you have an interesting proposal for me.’

‘Only if you find four metric tons of barillium interesting,’ Jaydon calmly stated. He watched her closely for any noticeable responses he might be able to turn to his advantage, as was she.

‘What quality, mister Octar?’

‘Level fifteen, certified by the Carillian Resource Authority.’

‘Barillium from that region is in reasonable demand these days,’ she admitted.

Jaydon knew she was not telling the whole truth. He had overheard several conversations yesterday evening letting him to believe resources as such were actually in high demand. The Federation of Worlds was building a new line of cruisers which had boosted the demand for high-grade raw material. ‘Well, why don’t you tell me what that amount of barillium is worth to someone with your contacts.’

Nakita kept a straight face and stated: ‘Twelve thousand.’

Jaydon kept an equal straight face. ‘I was thinking along the lines of twenty thousand myself.’

Nakita squinted. ‘You obviously take me for a fool if you think I am going to pay you almost twice as what I am offering.’

‘And you must be taking me for a fool if you think I don’t know that shipment is worth a lot more than twelve thousand credits,’ he ricochet.

Nakita cracked a smile. A worthy opponent. The haggling began and two drinks later, they had managed to close a deal satisfactory to both sides.

‘I will send for a few men to retrieve your cargo from your ship. Is it possible to schedule this sometime during the next few hours? There is a vessel filled with resources to one of the Federation’s refineries that will leave this afternoon. It would be more… efficient if your barillium is loaded too.’

By `efficient` she meant `more profitable`, a distinction not lost on Jaydon. But he had no reason for not granting her request, so he nodded in consensus.

‘I will contact my men immediately. Is it possible to meet them outside your ship after we finish a final drink?’ she suggested, quickly adding: ‘My treat of course.’

‘Gladly, Miss Nevar,’ he confirmed.

Clearly pleased, Nakita signalled the waitress to bring them another round of drinks while opening a channel to a local cargo loader. It took her only a few short moments to make arrangements, so she quickly was able to rejoin Jaydon at their table.

‘So, how come I haven’t seen you on Auracar before?’ Jaydon asked.

‘I used to conduct most of my business from Quazinc station in the Beladian system, only visiting this station on rare occasions. But it was hit by an ion storm a few months ago. Since then, I have taken up residence on this station. I am still looking for a secondary base of operations.’

‘You might find the station in the Felarian sector to your liking. It’s a bit near the rim, but there is a lot of trade going on. It’s mostly local, but far from uninteresting to someone like you.’ He saw by the flickering in her eyes he had caught her attention. ‘If you decide to take a look, go to the bar – the station only has one – and ask for a Felarian by the name of Fenzine. He looks a bit shaggy, but I assure you he knows about every good deal that can be made on that station. Mention my name and I am sure he will be more than happy to keep you posted on anything interesting passing by… for a percentage of course.’

Nakita smiled gratefully. The ion storm had been a big setback for her and she was looking for a way to rebuild her business. ‘Thanks a lot for your information. But I hope you don’t mind me asking what’s in it for you. No one shares this information out of the kindness of their heart, definitely not a keen businessman such as yourself.’

‘I would be doing both of you a favour. And I am sure you would think of me the next time I could be of some service to you,’ Jaydon grinned contently. He had enjoyed doing business with Nakita and could use trustworthy source for some regular freelance work. Nakita Nevar might be just what he had been looking for.

‘Naturally,’ she confirmed. ‘If your information is correct, I would be more than happy to contact you for certain jobs that require someone with your specific skills.’ A euphemism for `difficult and dangerous jobs`; Jaydon’s speciality.

Jaydon emptied his glass. ‘Good. Shall we go meet those cargo loaders and finalize our agreement?’ he proposed.

They both got up and walked to the nearest speed lift, taking them to the hangar where Jaydon had parked his ship. When they entered the hangar, the loaders where already waiting for them. Jaydon accessed his ships systems and opened up his cargo bay The belly of the ship opened and a confinement beam slowly lowered sixteen sealed resource crates; two piles of eight crates, neatly stacked and bound together. The loaders targeted their own beam at the crates, pulling the first stack towards their loading vehicle with both skill and caution. When they started bringing in the second batch, the Concordon disengaged its confinement beam and closed its hold as soon as the crates were clear.

As the loaders rode off with the sixteen crates, Nakita confirmed the transaction of the agreed amount to Jaydon’s station account. On departure, the surplus of his account would be transferred to his vessel, to a bank of his choosing or a combination of both. Jaydon traditionally choose the latter.

‘My business card,’ Nakita stated as she handed him a data slip. ‘Contact me in a week or so, I might have a job for you. If you’re interested of course.’

Jaydon accepted the slip and quickly glared at it. ‘Maybe I will,’ he replied, but both knew he would. It was all part of the game of trading. A game they both loved and enjoyed more than anything else. ‘See you around, Miss Nevar.’

‘See you around, Mister Octar,’ she said as she walked towards the exit of the hangar. ‘Fly safe.’

Jaydon grinned as he took a last look at her behind. ‘Such a lovely ass,’ he murmured to himself. His interest in her was purely professional, but that didn’t stop his natural urge to look at her physical features as well. Besides, he had noticed her doing the same thing as he had gotten up from their table. She thought he hadn’t noticed, but she forgot about the reflective properties of glass behind a pitch black background, in this case the outer windows with the vacuum of space beyond it. Even so close to the galactic core, it was still dark enough to act as a mediocre mirror. Good enough for him to see her eyes wonder up and down his body.

‘Nice female, isn’t she?’ Ror’Kall hissed him from his musings. ‘By your standards, off course.’

‘Yeah, not bad. Not bad at all,’ Jaydon grinned at the man he considered one of his few real friends. ‘Want to join me for a celebratory glass after your shift, Ror’Kall?’ he suggested.

‘You did good business today, huh? I hear good things about that one. Good at the game, but fair to those she plays with. We checked your ship by the way, and only had to recalibrate your hyper drive a bit. Was only off by 0.05 percent. My men managed to bring it back to 0.0182 percent.’

‘Good,’ Jaydon nodded as Ror’Kall handed him the work slip and bill. Jaydon signed and added a 5 percent tip for the workers. ‘Relay my compliments to your men. Looks like they did a hell of a job as usual.’

‘Thank you, Jaydon. I get off at four. The Serpetine at four thirty?’

‘A filled glass will be waiting for you, my friend,’ Jaydon smiled. Then he remembered he wanted to ask about the strange vessel in the cargo bay He glared towards its parking spot, but another ship had taken its place; a Porillian corvette. Seeing no point in asking about a ship that was no longer there, he greeted his friend and walked back towards the speed lift.

Jaydon manually landed his ship in the docking bay. Most pilots let the station’s control tower handle it, but a rare computer glitch in one of those systems had almost caused his ships’ hull to rupture a few years ago. It had taken days to repair the damages. Even though that particular station had paid for the repairs, Jaydon was not keen on going through that again. Since that day he always landed his ship manually.

His vessel, the Concordon gently touched down on the anti-gravity field which was preventing his vessel from crashing onto the rigid floor below. Jaydon shut down his engines and powered down everything else, except the permanent systems such as life support. He gathered a few of his belongings and walked to his teleportation pad. A simple vocal order to his ships computer was the start of a procedure where his molecules were rebuild on the deck next to his ship. When the last shimmers of the teleportation sequence faded, Jaydon walked towards the dock master – a man by the name of Ror’Kall. The Indiri – a creature that resembled something that was a cross between a centaur, a monitor and a weasel – knew Jaydon fairly well, because Auracar Station was one of his regular stops. Being the station closest to the nearest galactic hub, a focal point of several very important hyperspace routes, many traders and adventurers like Jaydon thought of Auracar of somewhat of a second home, most of them considering their own vessel as their first and foremost place of residence.

‘Jaydon! Long time no see,’ Ror’Kall hissed.

‘Good to see you again, Ror’Kall,’ he replied. ‘It truly has been too long.’

‘What have you been up to that has taken you too far away from us to even allow you to make a brief stop at our lovely station?’

‘I have been conducting several very lucrative trade runs for a few clients on the outer rim. Nothing illegal, I assure you, but very risky territory. I have been navigating more dangerous natural phenomenon and ambushes by rivalling clans then ever before in my life,’ he explained.

‘Well, they couldn’t have hired a better pilot to do it. At first glance, the Concordon seems to be in excellent shape,’ Ror’Kall nodded with a frown. He was an admirer of the vessel for reasons unknown to Jaydon.

‘I wouldn’t mind a technical crew taking a closer look at her, just in case,’ Jaydon winked. ‘She will also need to be refuelled and I think it would be prudent if someone were to take a peek at the integrity of the hyper drive chamber. She took quite a pounding on one of the last runs I made.’

‘Anything else?’ Ror’Kall asked, referring to the presence of any cargo he should know about.

‘Four metric tons of barillium ore. All stored in sealed containers and firmly secured. You wouldn’t happen to know if anyone is on the station that might be interested in such a cargo, would you?’

Ror’Kall chuckled, or at least produced an array of sounds that was considered chuckling amongst his people. ‘Try the Luccai Bar on level 10. It’s the place where most of the resource trading takes place these days.’

Jaydon nodded, gave Ror’Kall the codes he would need, and said his goodbyes. As he made his way to the hangar bay doors, he noticed a strange unmarked vessel parked a few ships down the bay from his. He never saw anything like it, but was to tired to put a lot of thought into it. He made a mental note to ask Ror’Kall about it at a later time. He booked a three star room for two nights at the station’s services manager on the main deck, and after checking in, made his way to promenade deck 10 to find a quiet table in the bar his friend had suggested. He would first observe the patrons before even thinking about opening negotiations with one of the traders. It was a rookie mistake to be to eager and uninformed when trying to sell resources – or anything else for that matter, and Jaydon was no rookie. Despite his age, he was a seasoned trader and cargo runner, according to some that knew him even one of the best in the Milky Way. But Jaydon never let his ego get the best of him. He knew there were literally billions of billions sentient beings in the galaxy, and he did not believe he was one of the best in a certain profession amongst those numbers. He was as down to earth as his father and grandfather, who had the same occupation as he had, and had taught him everything they knew. If anything, he was the product of two generations of space trading.

Once inside the bar, Jaydon ordered fruit juice in the glass of an alcoholic beverage to let the people around him believe he was intoxicated to some extend. A generous tip to the waitress and bartender ensured their discretion. While sipping his drink, Jaydon glared around him, pretending to loose himself in a drinking spree, but carefully monitoring all activity around him. He was able to understand the four most common languages in the galaxy, and was able to follow several conversations at the same time. This enabled him to make educated guesses on current prices, supply and demand, and the latest gossip.

After a few drinks, he slipped the waitress a few additional credits, and asked her who would be the best merchants to approach for a shipment of a few metric tons of resources. The waitress mentioned four names, and one in particular. Jaydon assumed the latter was a merchant that was as generous with tips as Jaydon had been, for similar reasons. Jaydon also knew that the waitress would never endorse someone unknown to the bar or a swindler; anyone that had gotten screwed over by such a person might also take it out on her for advertising the scammer. It also told Jaydon this particular person was likely to have enough monetary assets to give him a reasonable price for his stock. His potential buyer was not in at the moment, and the waitress assured him she would be in the bar the next day, so Jaydon decided to linger a bit longer and gather information in the way he had done before addressing the waitress.

Jaydon enjoyed another few drinks and was just about to call it a night when he overheard a conversation a few tables behind him. A few keywords made him divert all of his attention to this whispered talk between two figures he could only see in the corner of his eye. They were hiding in the shadows and the volume of their conversation made it clear it was not meant to be heard by anyone but themselves. Jaydon even perceived the gentle hum of a blocker, a device designed to counteract surveillance-equipment. They probably hand-picked the table they were sitting at for at least two reasons; the shade keeping their faces from prying eyes and the only living being nearby a human, a race known for having an average hearing; not nearly enough to overhear them. What they couldn’t know is that Jaydon had undergone genetic surgery several years back to boost his hearing. Before that, he used devices to overhear conversations in bars – a vital part of his profession – but the increasingly popular use of blockers and other similar methods created the need for him to look for an alternative solution. Because of this, Jaydon could understand the conversation with perfect clarity, and without the two shady figures even realizing it.

‘The package will arrive tomorrow,’ one whispered.

‘Do our adversaries know about it?’ the other replied. ‘Sources within their ranks claim they know and plan to intercept it.’

‘It is unlikely they know we are going to transfer it to you on this station. We have set up many different false leads, and they will probably assume we would not make such a vital trade on such high profile grounds.’

‘Are you sure about that? Surely they must realize one of the reasons we chose this station is proximity to dozens of possible escape routes. Do not underestimate their determination to retrieve the cargo. They will stop at nothing to take it back and we will stop at nothing to keep it in our possession.’

‘The transfer will go down without a hitch, trust me on that.’

‘I don’t trust you. But I can assure you I will personally collect your head if you fail us, and I will make it hurt beyond your wildest imagination.’ With those words, one of the men got up and walked out of the room. He kept his face hidden underneath a cloak.

The other person slowly got up with a sigh, deactivated the blocker and left just enough credits to cover the bill on his table. As he walked by, Jaydon took a quick peek at his hands. They confirmed what he had already suspected, based on the accent of the creature; it was a Eluvian, a member of a race best known for their outstanding medical abilities. This led Jaydon to believe that whatever this package was, it would probably be biological in nature, or possibly medical equipment of some kind. Whatever it was, it was probably something illegal, judging by the way the two had gone about themselves. To avoid causing suspicion with any of the two men he had just eavesdropped on, he ordered another drink, emptied it and then pretended to waggle out the bar, back to his room.

Religion has always been an important factor in the lives of many sentient beings. And in this day and age, the House of God is by far the faith with the most followers in the galaxy. It is originally from the Terran home world and reveres the wisdom and teachings of the Great Prophets; Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed and Oricar. With the coming of the Great Prophet Oricar, the followers of the previous Great Prophets were united and formed one great and fast-growing religious movement. Now, every year, thousands of men and women learn to become preachers, and billions visit the temples of the House of God for their daily prayers.

One of the most important places of worship of the House of God is the Shrine of Serendipity. The Shrine is a vast structure build on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Wisdom on the outworld of Nousmas. From the top of the cliff to the surf below is a four hundred meter drop, making the convent only that more impressive. It is common knowledge that this is the home of the Seer of Truth and Future; the Lady of God. The Lady is someone blessed with ‘the Eye of God’ that is said to work as a window to God. God shows her what he wants her to see; visions of present, past and future. There is only one Lady at a time, separated from her parents at birth, trained in her powers by the House, and in service of the House until death. Some claim she is even more powerful than the Man of God, the spiritual leader of all in the House of God, but that is merely speculation.

***

The Lady of God, the Seer, calmly walked from her chambers to the largest structure of the complex. She was an old woman, and her legs had increasing difficulty to carry her weight during the past few years. But she had a sense of pride about her. Many of the nuns where anxious when she would prophetize the identity of the next Lady of God, because her time on this level of existence was almost up; she had confirmed this herself many times in the past few months. But her lips hadn’t revealed her successor yet. The Archbishop of Nousmas had called the Lady to him this morning. He was said to be waiting in the office of Mother Superior. The Lady had let him wait for a little while before leaving her chambers to meet him. This Lady had always been known for her strong will, but never had she been this daring in her daunting of the Houses’ authorities.

As she approached the office, two sisters on either side of the door jumped into position, and bowed respectfully. One of the sisters, a young girl by the name of Sister Angela quickly opened the door to let the Lady into the office, and closed it firmly behind her. The Archbishop said nothing, and stood with his back facing the door, glaring into the warm flames of the fireplace.

‘Have you gone out your mind? How dare you let the Archbishop wait for you! You may be an important icon to the outside, but never ever forget who really is in charge here!’ Mother Superior huffed.

The Lady just smiled calmly.

‘How dare you laugh at me!’ Mother Superior screeched and slapped the Seer in the face.

The Lady turned her eyes back towards the head of the convent and laughed, now out loud.

The Archbishop jumped in. ‘Do not think you are too old for corporal punishment. It has served us very well in the past to tame you, and we will resort to it again to keep you in check if we must, even so close to your death.’

The Lady still laughed, her eyes reflecting the fire burning up in her soul behind them. ‘You never tamed me. I simply allowed you to believe that.’

‘Lies! You have been with us for eighty years. You perhaps could have fooled us for a little while, perhaps even a few years, but not for so many decades,’ the bishop hollered in fury. There was a spat of doubt in his voice.

‘You forget who I am. I have known the course of my life since the day I was born. I know what has been, I know what is and I know what will be. I know my time is at hand. Very soon now, my time here will end, and the rest of my life will truly begin.’

‘You speak in riddles, wench!’ the bishop sneered.

‘It is how you have taught me to speak, Your Eminence,’ she smirked, veining submission as she had done for so many years.

‘Well, tell us who your successor will be,’ Mother Superior said impatiently.

‘I have foreclosed my successor many decades ago. I have used my years as Lady of God to set up the chessboard to serve my purposes. I am unable to see how the game will end, except for a few small fragments, but I do know, things are about to change very radically.’

The Archbishop lost his temper and took a swing at the Lady. She was knocked on the floor and the bones in her hip snapped. Despite the pain she laughed out loud. Then, the sound of her laughter was suppressed by a large explosion somewhere on the grounds of the convent.

‘What was that?’ Mother Superior cried out.

Not being able to even come up with an answer, the Archbishop hurried past the Lady and yanked the door open. He saw nuns running in all directions, being consumed by blind panic and fear. For centuries, the convent had been a peaceful and serene place; now it had been turned into a war zone within seconds. The Archbishop glared at the other side of the courtyard, trying to make sense of the movement in the shadows. Several synaptic patterns in his brain fired up, and he slammed the door shut, his eyes wide with anxiety and dread. ‘We are under attack,’ he stammered with his back pressed to the door, barely being able to believe his own conclusion.

‘I wouldn’t stand there,’ the Lady grinned almost malevolently.

Before her comment had a chance to sink into the panic-stricken brain of the Archbishop, the door behind him exploded. The blast combined with the pieces of wood flying around ripped his body to shreds. The Lady was right in the blast path and was hit by several fragments too, one piercing her heart and killing her instantly. She closed her eyes with a pleased smile on her lips, for reasons only known to her. Mother Superior had been clear from the blast, but could do nothing but holler in fear and confusion. No one had dared to attack the House of God or it’s buildings for centuries. Such an act was unheard off and completely inconceivable. There hadn’t even been any indications of any form of hostility towards the House or this convent. She yammered and wailed for mercy as three armed men walked into her office, their guns pointed in all directions.

‘Men. You know why we are here,’ one of them stated without a hint of emotion and the two others opened fire on the unarmed nun.