The simulated morning rays beamed directly into my face, waking me up. I groaned, rubbing my eyes gently. I didn’t get up for several more minutes because the couch was too comfy. After I finally shook off my torpor, I scrambled around for my tablet to check the time. A little bit before noon. After checking to see if I had any messages (I didn’t), I opened the Maralu news feed. I liked to get information about nearby events and whatnot to get an early grasp of potential jobs coming my way. Stuff like pirates holding up trade routes, or political happenings within Maralu, and even Haivu activity. The latter was actually featured on the main boards of every news feed. The Haivu were becoming more and more of a threat. They were starting to close the gap between their territory and our inhabited systems. In fact, they were starting to get dangerously close. I opened an article from a local news station that talked about recent Haivu movements.
The Haivu are slowly expanding out of their territory. Maralu Station is relatively close to Haivu territory, and recent reports from scouts say that Haivu ships have been seen as close as 500 light years away. Their strategic goals are unknown, but Maralu officials have put in a request for the Galactic Union military to reinforce us. An attack on Maralu itself is unlikely, but the GU military is planning to set up a base of operations in nearby systems to prepare a new front for the imminent war. The Haivu has disregarded requests to stand down, and Commander-In-Chief Comwa has put the entire military on high alert. Maralu’s request for reinforcements has been approved, and a GU warship is currently on its way to Maralu. Maralu is a vulnerable target for the Haivu, but it is a low value one. A Haivu attack is not predicted, so Maralu residents should stay calm. However, keep your emergency plans ready, just in case. Maralu currently has no plans to conduct an evacuation drill.
Now, for a background on Haivu aggression. The Haivu have been poking our territory for the last couple decades. They have been shoring up their fleets, colonizing more planets, and expanding their influence. The Haivu have no allies, and are a single species power. Their military might is impressive, but ultimately no match for the GU military. However, their logistical prowess is incredible, and are capable of organizing more efficiently than the GU. In the small battles that we’ve had with the Haivu so far, 90% of them have been a decisive victory for the Galactic Union. The Haivu are picking a fight they have no chance of winning.
Military experts say that the upcoming Haivu war will not weaken the GU. Our other enemies are not expected to capitalize on this, as the Haivu have not allied with them. Our main goal for this war would be an unconditional surrender from the Haivu, along with the return of several of our planets. Reparations would include a lot of the territory that the Haivu has taken over the past couple decades, along with pushing the Haivu back to their home system. Our economic experts say that winning this war would cause an economic boom and more job opportunities. The Haivu are a scourge that we will use to fertilize the Galactic Union.
Overall, all Maralu residents should stay calm. An attack is unlikely, and the Haivu will not match up to our military might. Stay safe, Maralu, and have a good day.
Oops. I accidentally opened a website that had a lot of propaganda. A lot of what they said was true, like how the GU military was much stronger than the Haivu, but I doubted it would go as smoothly as that article claimed. I didn’t like how they kept reassuring residents about how safe it was, though. Sure, an attack on Maralu was unlikely. But the Haivu were good at unorthodox attacks and made generally unpredictable decisions. And they were alarmingly close to Maralu. I needed to convince Yori to take a small vacation and leave Maralu with me until the situation settled down. But deep down, I knew the stubborn Aeon wouldn’t listen. And I didn’t want to leave them here. So I was going to stay in Maralu until a Haivu attack was imminent, I guess. By that time, the GU warship should be here, anyways. Once that happened, we wouldn’t have anything to worry about.
As I finished reading the article, Noah started to stir from his slumber. He unbundled himself from his blankets and let loose a massive yawn, stretching his arms into the air.
“Good morning, Saka.” Noah said. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, like a rock. What about you?”
“Pretty good. Not the worst sleep I’ve had, for sure.” Noah got up. “Mind if I use the shower first?”
“Go ahead.” I waved my tail dismissively. “I’m still reading up on the news, anyways.”
I continued to scroll through news feeds as the sounds of water pitter-pattering started flooding out of the bathroom. Other news about Haivu involved events on the other end of Galactic Union space. The border with Haivu territory was long, and the Haivu was shoring up more offenses someplace more important. Otherwise, the feeds were normal. Another political scandal. An advertisement for a tropical planet. Same old, same old.
My turn to take the shower eventually came. I scrubbed my body clean, washed my hair, and filed my claws, all while humming an old tune engraved into my memory. Once I was properly clean and dried off, I changed into my usual casual outfit. I was a huge fan of the “big pants big jacket” look. Made it really easy to conceal weapons.
I stepped out into the living room. Yori was still asleep, so I spoke quietly.
“Noah, do you mind running errands with me? I’d like to drop off some supplies for the ship.”
“Sure. I’ve got nothing else to do.” Noah got up and put his suit on.
I patiently waited. I considered putting mine on too, but it was honestly embarrassing to wear in public. Wearing spacesuits in Maralu was normal, but spacesuits with armor plates on them weren’t. I wouldn’t get caught with my pants down, like before, but also I’d look silly. I opted to not wear my suit, again. I’d managed without it during a raid on a gang clubhouse.
Noah and I stepped out of Yori’s store. Once we were at a main street, I hailed an auto-taxi and we hopped in. We headed towards a ship supply store I was a patron of. I usually bought their stasis food, water, and arranged for fuel, among other things.
Once we were in the cab, I struck up a conversation with Noah.
“Hey, did you see the news? The Haivu are pushing up near Maralu. They’re pretty close.”
“For real?” He asked. He turned towards me. “How bad is it?”
“Well, the higher-ups say that an evacuation isn’t necessary because Maralu isn’t a valuable target. We’ve got a Galactic Union warship coming in for protection, though.” I shook my head. “I think they’re being too lax.”
“How so?”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“The Haivu shouldn’t be messed with. They’re hard to predict, who’s to say they won’t attack a fringe station like this? They’re nearby for a reason, after all. I don’t think it's safe here at all.” I said.
Noah stroked his chin. “So, what are you planning to do? Are we going to leave?’
“Yeah, we’re going to leave for a bit. Go deeper into GU space. I don’t want to get caught out on the border when the war breaks out, and we can find more work deeper in.” I replied.
Noah tilted his head. “That sounds good to me, but what about Yori? Do they know?”
“Not yet. I’ll tell Yori when they wake up. I think they’ll try to stay here, but I’ll drag Yori kicking and screaming into my ship if I have to. We can return when the GU warship gets here. The Haivu wouldn’t mess with a warship this early in the game.”
“Yeah, I don’t think Yori would be too happy about leaving Maralu.” Noah replied. “They seem like the type to stay in one spot forever.”
I laughed. “You’re right. Yori’s been at Maralu for years. I can’t even remember the last time they left. Let’s take Yori on a little vacation, as a break from work. They’ve been working hard recently.”
“I’m all for sightseeing!” Noah exclaimed. “There’s still a lot of stuff out here I haven’t seen.”
“It’s settled, then. It’s partially the reason why we’re out for this errand.”
I peered out the window. We were heading towards the docks, where the pilots, captains, and commanders of Maralu dwelled. Most of the station’s ship repairs, maintenance, and upgrades happened here. Of course, ship supplies, cargo, and trading also happened there, due to ease of access. It was the station’s most important business, since a fringe station like this required many shipments and supplies from other systems and sectors. My ship was currently locked on the fringes of the docking area, but we had to go deeper in to get the supplies I wanted. Only one shop was reliable enough for me. It was easy to get scammed with cheap supplies, diluted fuel, and stolen cargo. Sure, you can risk getting scammed if you want supplies for cheap. But out in the dark, you really didn’t want to risk running out of food and fuel. On top of that, running out of fuel meant running out of oxygen, so you couldn’t even drift while waiting for a savior. You’d be dead after a few days.
“Hey, Saka?” Noah interrupted my train of thought. “We haven’t really talked about this before, but how are you going to get me back to Earth?”
That was a tough question. “Well, I can just fly you there, but there’s a lot of issues with that. First off, I don’t know where Earth is. The location is off-limits, and the only people that know it are poachers that stumbled across it and shared the information with other poachers, and the Galactic Union government.”
“Is it hard to get that information?” Noah asked.
“Yeah,” I continued. “It’s hard. I have to either buy the information off a poacher, which is unlikely. It’s likely that the people hiring the poachers and the captains of the ships actually know the coordinates of Earth. The easier one to access are the poacher captains. But they’re strangely elusive, and they’re hard to be paid off. They’re getting funding from someplace better, of course. And threatening them is tough. I assume they’ve got a far worse punishment if they rat out the coordinates. It’s worth a shot, though.”
“So our first goal is to look for poachers?” Noah concluded.
“Definitely. We can wait until I get a job concerning poachers again, or we come across them some other way. Anyways, the other issue with getting you back to Earth, is Earth itself.”
“What do you mean?” Noah asked.
I twirled my fingers against the tip of my tail. “Well, there’s no way Earth’s governments don't know about poachers taking humans. You guys have technology that’s good enough to detect spaceships, right? Even without that, there’s still a lot of poachers. Some of them should’ve slipped up. So your governments are aware that there is a non-Earth entity that’s coming in and taking humans. If I go in there with my ship, and drop you off somewhere, there’s a good chance the government finds my ship while doing that. And after that, it’ll be easy to track you down. You’ve been missing for a while, then suddenly you reappear nearby after some spaceship enters the atmosphere. I don’t know much about your governments, but I’d assume that’ll put you in hot water.”
Noah stroked his chin. “You’re right. I’d rather not deal with all of that hassle. I don’t know if the government would act maliciously, but it’d get me unwanted attention, for sure. So how are we going to prevent that?”
I thought for a second. “I’d probably need a ship with some stealth or cloaking technology. I’m not sure how those work, but they erase all of the ship’s telltale signatures. They’re expensive, and hard to come by, so we’ll have to figure out a way to get our hands on one of those. But most importantly, if we can land on Earth and stash the ship, I can step foot off the ship, too!”
Noah smiled. “Right. I owe you a tour on Earth, of course.”
“And you owe me real steak from your real animals.” I insisted.
“Naturally.”
----------------------------------------
A gigantic, brown, rectangular cargo ship lifted off from a docking pad nearby, roaring over our heads. The thrusters were deafening, if the sound dampening system in the taxi didn’t activate. Noah and I were spared from hearing damage. The deafening noise of thrusters was constant at the space harbor, so most of the business was conducted underground. Our taxi went down a ramp, and the dim lights of the underground dominated the view. We were almost at our destination.
The cab pulled up at a nondescript kiosk. That was the shop. It was a simple metal rectangular box with a protruding countertop. I walked up to the kiosk and greeted the keeper.
“Hey, I’d like to put in an order for my ship.” I asked.
“Your name, please.” The keeper asked. I didn’t know his name, but he’d worked here for as long as I could remember. He was a lanky Maneri with bright orange hair. He always wore a mask covering his nose and mouth, probably to ward off any fumes emitted by the ships.
“It’s Saka.”
The keeper tapped away at his tablet. “Saka, captain of the Leviathan. Is that correct?”
“Yes.” I confirmed. The keeper did this every time I ordered from here. After years of patronage I’d expect him to remember. But it was probably part of a procedure, or something.
More tapping on the tablet. “And what would you like to order today?”
I ran through my mental list. “I’d like stasis food, enough for two weeks, for three people.”
The keeper echoed my sentence while typing into his tablet. “Stasis food…. Two weeks… three people.”
“Extra fuel, five barrels’ worth. Give me the B-grade stuff.” I continued.
The keeper mirrored my words once again. “Extra fuel… five barrels. B-grade. Is that all?”
I thought for a second. Would I need anything else? I didn’t want to laden my ship with too much weight.
“That should be all of it, thanks.” I finished.
The keeper tapped away at his screen once more. “That’ll be 50k credits.”
I transferred the credits over. Both of our tablets emitted a small beep.
The keeper finally looked up from his tablet. “You’re all set, Saka. Safe travels.”
“Thanks. See you around.” I replied.
Noah and I walked away from the counter.
“That was pretty fast.” Noah said. “I thought it’d be more complicated.”
“Nah, this place is really efficient.” I replied. “They should have the supplies sent over and loaded into the Leviathan by tonight.”
“Damn, that’s fast. When are we leaving?”
“Tonight, maybe tomorrow morning. Depends on how Yori feels. Everything else is ready. The new ship weapons are about to be ready, too. The mechanics worked a lot faster than usual.” I said.
“Can’t wait to see the new turret.” Noah said. “By the way, do we have anything else to do over here?”
I scratched my ear, thinking. “Nope, that was the only errand I had. I don’t have any other plans for today either. Why do you ask?”
Noah twined his fingers together. “If it’s not too much trouble, can we walk around and look at the spaceships? I’m still in awe of them, and I’d like to do some sightseeing.”
“Absolutely. We’ve got time to kill. Here, let’s go up to the surface.” I replied.
Noah and I walked into an elevator and rode it back to the surface of the space harbor. An assortment of ships were currently in the air. As we walked around, Noah pointed at ships and asked me about them.
“What’s that thin, needle looking ship?” He asked.
“That’s a Piercer class ship. Those things are insane. Y’know the tunnels, the wormholes we traveled through? Piercers can make smaller versions of those, big enough to fit a medium sized ship. The tunnel it makes is temporary, and disappears after about a day. They’re used to escort ships without warp drives really, really fast. I think they’re mostly used for aid, urgent missions, and occasionally the military uses them. You don’t see those often.”
“What about that one? The round one?”
“Oh, that’s the Disk. I forgot what the actual ship model is called, everyone just calls it the Disk. As you can see, it’s flat and round. That ship is basically a turret boat. Stick a lot of big guns on it, and now you have a tank. It’s slow as fuck, but it’s got impressive firepower. I personally wouldn’t ever fly one, but I can see the appeal.”
“Okay, last one. I swear. What’s-”
A chrome, sleek, and rounded ship shot through one of the station’s semi-permeable force fields. Another one quickly followed. Then another. A couple more burst through. All of these ships were identical. All of these ships were well known. All of these ships were dangerous. A siren started to blare. The Haivu were here.