“I know you.”

The voice often spoke these words in a dream that haunted Freja's mind. A deep voice, calmed, yet strained by the lack of air in the speakers lungs. He had the tanned skin of a northerner, with long coiled hair that hung well past his shoulders. His face never visible, but always recognizable. This dream recurred in Freja's sleeping mind. She wondered if she shared her mother's abilities.

Freja exited her tent to see a man outside. Her father, Amun. Amun was training Freja to take over his job as the trade overseer of the Ythaa e Ma'atia Coalition, an agreement for the two countries of the Asterian planet Kroth to trade resources, but not be allies in war. The two countries had a history of injustice. Blood had spilled on both sides, but Amun was content with their status, and in a weeks time, he would leave home to pay a visit.

Amun and Freja began to walk toward a small building far ahead of Freja's tent, near the other buildings at the town center. An old wood structure which rested within the light of the hard beating sun. The towns barroom.

“You seem quiet today,” said Amun, taking slow steps while Freja followed next to him, “What's bothering you?”

“Another dream.” Freja replied. She wasn't particularly frightened by the dream, just intrigued. Who is this man, and how could he know me? She thought to herself as frequently as the dream came.

“Was it that man again?” Amun asked.

“Yes,” Freja responded, furthering from her tent, “I could make out words this time.”

“Well, what did he say?” Amun asked, eager to know.

“He said 'I know you'. He mumbled something else, but I couldn't make anything of it.”

“Well,” Amun began, “I wouldn't stress about it. Dreams could mean anything. Before your mother and I wedded, I had a recurring dream that I tripped at the ceremony.” Amun said, Freja laughed.

“Did it ever happen?” she asked, curious.

“Twice it happened, but it's no matter.” he said. Freja chuckled more, “But my point is, and I suppose that's a bad example, is that dreams are just tales your mind tells you. Images created from a ghost of a thought we have in our sleep. There's no need to get worked up because of it.”

“I know, but mother had dreams that would come true.” Freja said, hesitating slightly, “She dreamed of her last moment weeks before it happened.”

“I remember that.” said Amun, “But the man in your dream walked away from you right? I think you'll be fine even if your paths do cross.”

Freja thought to herself.

“Yeah, I think so too.” she responded.

“Now, enough seriousness. This is a good day, and were getting a celebratory drink.” said Amun, as he began to walk faster toward the tavern. Freja moved faster as well, gravel crunched under their boots as they walked.

They arrived at the tavern doors. Old, creaky, broken down, wooden doors. Shorter than Freja, who was tall, like her mother was. Amun pushed in the swinging doors as he entered the tavern, held it open for Freja, who followed shortly after him. The wood floors creaked as they entered, but the sound was buried under the voices of the crowd that was in the building. Amun waved to a man seated at one of the tables.

Javier was a tall man. As tall as Freja and Amun, but more built than both of them. He wore clothes similar to Amun, dark jabbayas draped over him with a hood on his back, and a large strip of cloth around his neck like a scarf. Strapped to both legs were small holsters, loaded with munition free pistols.

Javier stood as Freja and Amun approached.

“It's about time, I've been sitting here for an hour.” said Javier, as he leaned in to embrace Amun.

“Blame your sister,” said Amun, as he patted Javier's back, “She woke up late.”

The two separated, and Javier turned to greet his sister.

“As she typically does.” said Javier, embracing Freja.

The three took their seats at a small, round table.

“I forget, do our watches have alarms?” Javier joked.

“I'll order us some drinks.” said Amun as he stood from his chair.

“Make sure not to get Freja anything with too much root. We want her to be able to drive.” said Javier.

Amun walked away from the table and approached the bar.

“Are you excited to start?” asked Javier.

“I'm excited to be paid,” said Freja,”But not for father to be in enemy territory.”

“The Ma'atian houses are allies now. When father expands trade to the north, they'll help the entire country.”

“Yes, but history shows their hospitality is not to be trusted.”

“With the other races breathing down their necks, they have no choice but to honor the coalition.”

“What makes you say that?”

Amun began to walk back to the table, holding 3 glasses filled with a dark liquid.

“If they even think to betray us, the north and south will attack. They can't afford to halt trades with the Gha'Luut.”

Amun took his seat, placed the glasses at the center of the table.

“Enough politics,” he said, holding a glass up to drink, “Today we celebrate. I'm making new strides with the Kalaraja, and my children are no longer jobless gremlins. Just for one day we won't worry.”

Amun took a large sip from his glass. Freja and Javier followed shortly after. The lightly bitter drink was a beverage of great commodity. A plant psychedelic known as tranqroot, when taken in small doses, boosts mood and mind clarity. Tranqroot oil could be fermented, removing the psychedelic effects, and mixed with fruit juice, creating a fragrant drink, that lifted the mood of the drinker.

“We leave in an hour for the trade drive,” said Amun, “Javier, you'll follow behind Freja and I. You know this path so I trust you can run it without my supervision, though Arthur will be with you as well. Until then,” Amun lifted his glass up, “Let's just drink.”

Freja and Javier lifted their drinks to his. The glasses rung as they collided, and they all took a drink.

Freja stood in the hangar by a small ground vehicle. The pill shaped vehicle, a land glider, was a small, light, hovering vehicle. The graviton manipulation system provided smooth driving with no noticable bumps. The vehicle was commonly used for cargo transportation, as it could easily pull large containers at high speeds.

Amun entered the hangar, with Javier walking next to him. Arthur stood close to a nearby glider. Behind each vehicle was a large pallet, full of small cargo containers. A metal cable ran between the gliders and the cargo carriers, attaching the two together.

“Is the carrier plugged in?” asked Amun as he approached Freja, who stood by the driver's side door of the vehicle.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“It was 5 minutes ago, when I plugged it in.” Freja responded.

Javier walked toward Arthur, who was entering the passenger seat of the neighboring vehicle. Amun walked to the passenger side. Freja gripped the door handle, pressed a small button on the handle with her thumb. She pulled the door upward, and it swiveled open. Freja stepped into the vehicle, and pulled the door shut.

The inside of the vehicle was rather cramped. A light tan leather covered the seats. On the center console between Freja and Amun was a knob which shifted up and down, controlling the throttle. In front of Freja was the steering wheel. A small ingot, which was attached to the swiveling bar, with 2 semicircular grips on the left and right sides.

Freja inserted a small key below the throttle, and twisted it. The vehicle began to hum. Below the key hole, rested a small red button, which started to give off a faint glow. She pressed the button, and the glider began to hover, as did the carrier behind the vehicle.

Amun watched carefully, making sure Freja executed each step of the vehicle handling perfectly, mentally checking off each stage of the vehicles operation. Above the center console, hanging from the ceiling of the vehicle was a screen, which displayed a list of options. Freja scrolled through the list using the touch screen, and opened a map of the nearby areas. She selected a shipping site at the Marathonj peninsula, where cargo would be taken to be sent across the Mulfail River to the southern region of Selga.

Javiers Landmaster lifted soon after Frejas. Freja slowly pushed the throttle up, holding the steering wheel to guide the vehicle out of the hangar. As the vehicle glided forward, the tension of the cable between the glider and the carrier tightened, pulling the carrier behind the vehicle.

Freja turned onto a path, which went straight to the peninsula. The path went through the black sand dune, into a forest that went along the beach.

“I know you said no politics today,” said Freja,”But how do you know Kalaraja will deliver?”

Amun let out a short, quiet sigh.

“He has no other choice. With the Gha'Luut watching his every move, he can't jeopardize the trilite trades, and that's a resource he can't get anywhere except us. If we stop, he's punished, but for now, there's nothing that would make something like that happen.”

“He could still take over without any halt in the trades.”

“If he somehow grows the intelligence to do so, I'll applaud him.”

“Well he has his Lord Minister, allied planets, the entirety of the federated systems at his disposal. We're the outliers.”

“Not entirely. The royal houses were against the wipe out of Isyria. They'd have him executed for any drastic measure he attempts to follow through with, and worst case scenario, we can make a deal with the Northern Forces”

“The Northern Forces want you dead just as much as Kalaraja does.”

“Hassan can only make it so far without us as allies. He'll have to put his differences aside eventually if he wants to live.”

“I just don't believe it'll work how you think.”

“And I will do whatever I need to provide for my people. Even if they don't appreciate it, and even if there are consequences. Hassan has military, he has weapons. We just need to work on a proposition. A deal we can both agree on, so the north and south will no longer be at war.”

A light tap came from the driver's side of the vehicle, qeuiet, but loud enough to vibrate throughout the vehicle.

“What was that?” asked Freja.

“I don't know.” said Amun, looking around.

They had just entered the trade path in the forest along the black sand beach, when the screen of the center console blinked off, and the vehicle fell to the ground with a loud crash. It slid forward through the dirt, and with the cargo carrier behind it, it slowly came to a stop.

Raiders.

Javier's glider lay in the sand behind Freja's carrier. Amun pulled a pistol out of his holster.

“Get your knife.” Amun said to Freja, quietly.

Freja drew a large blade from a sheathe on her shin. A ceremonial knife, with a long, dark blade, engraved with prayers in the old Ythani tongue. The two reclined their seats, ducking below the windows. The EMP round fired into the side of the vehicle, which was stuck on the outside of the door, created a kind of shield around the vehicle, shutting off all electronics within it. There was no digital communication.

They sat in wait. Amun and Freja had been trained in raider tactics. Raiders took their time when they attacked. They watch from afar, examining the cargo, deciding if it's worth taking at all. If it is, they wait. They watch and wait until they know they'll win the attack. Sometimes they wait overnight, making their victims believe they've left, so that when they exit the vehicle to repair it, attacking becomes that much easier.

The gliders sat in the middle of the path, trapped in the opening in the forest. The raiders could be on either side of the vehicle. Likely both. Amun kept watch, peeking through the window.

They sat until sundown, with Javier and Arthur following the same procedures. Ducking below the window, and peeking out every few minutes.

“Our cargo is valuable. The serial numbers are written on the outside of the containers so they can be identified and sorted. There's a heavy black market presence in the north, where stolen goods are sold.” said Amun.

“We can't just step outside quickly to remove the EMP shield?”

“No. We'll die.”

Freja peeked out from her window, the foliage stood still. Not a single sign of human life apart from her own reflection. She kept looking, until a fern seemed to be pushed aside. She ducked back down.

“There was movement.” she said to her father.

Amun turned his head, lifting himself to look out the opposing window to see a man standing between the trees. He was covered in lightweight fabrics, light jabbayas draped over him. He wore a shemagh, a long fabric covering his head, and wrapping around the bottom of his face, showing only his eyes through a small opening. His gaze was directed at Amun, who was lifting his head lightly to peek over the window.

The man carried a large rifle of northern make. Behind him, another man in similar apparel stood up, this time pointing his rifle at the glider. The first man to stand began to walk toward the vehicle. The other sidestepped toward Javier's vehicle.

The raider continued toward Freja's door, while lifting his rifle. He fired a round at the handle. An explosive round, which penetrated the metal, destroying the lock, and leaving the door ajar.

He approached the door, pulling it open, and removing it form its hinges. He reached into the vehicle and pulled Freja out of it. Amun aimed his pistol, when a man broke through the window on his side. The raider pulled Freja out of the vehicle, and dragged her by her hair out of Amun's view.

The man drew a long blade out of a sheathe on his leg, and pointed it to Freja, before lunging it forward. Freja blocked the man's arm, with the blade barely an inch from her neck. He pushed harder an harder, the blade now drawing blood. Freja griped her knife, jabbed it into the side of the man's neck. His eyes squinted, however, he was not any less tense afterward. He continued to push the blade toward Freja, who struggled to fight it.

Freja pulled her knife out of the man's throat. A steady stream of warm, bright blood flowed out of the wound and onto her hand, before she lifted it, and thrust the blade into his temple. The blade sank deep into his skull. The man stood, his grip loosening on the handle of his blade. He looked at Freja, dropping his knife, and falling to the ground. As he fell, Frejas blade stayed in her hand, removing from the body as it fell.

Freja turned to look at Javier, who stood with a body in front of his as well. He turned around to look at Freja, before quickly turning his head to Amun. He was not visible, but the raiders that circled around him were.

Javier and Freja ran to the other side of the glider, where 4 men stood around Amun, who lay on the ground, sitting up with his back to the vehicle. The men shouted, beating Amun. One picked up his pistol and raised it, firing into his abdomen.

The man looked up, noticing Freja and Javier, who stood frozen. Before the man could react, 4 loud bangs came from behind the two. Bullets flew past, dodging them where they stood. Each one twisting through the air to find its place in each raiders skull. A mist of crimson filled the air, as the bodies thudded to the ground. Pools of blood filled the cracks in the ground around them.

Javier turned to see Arthur standing with one of the raiders' rifles. Freja's gaze was fixed on her father, whose skin was stained with a bright, glossy red. He struggled to breathe. Arthur and Javier rushed toward him.

They bent down, pulling off the shemags that covered their necks, and stuffing them into Amuns wounds to stop his bleeding. Javier picked up Amun's pistol and slid it into his pocket.

“Get him into the glider,” said Javier, lifting Amun by his legs, while Arthur did so with his arms, “You're going to drive him back, Freja.”

“You're not coming with?” Freja asked.

“Arthur and I will finish the delivery, you need to take him to Aaliyah.”

“I'm not leaving without you.”

“You have to,” Javier yelled, as he lifted Amun unto the vehicle, “We can't have a late delivery. Not now. Kalaraja will kill us himself if don't get this shipped on time.”

Javier shut the door and walked toward Freja.

“Shoot anything that moves.” said Javier, as he handed her Amun's pistol.

Freja took the pistol, and turned to walk away.

“Arthur, detach her cargo.” ordered Javier as Freja approached her door.

She stopped, stepped back to examine the vehicle. There was a small dent where the EMP round hit. She looked closer. In the center of the micro-crater, was a small disk, with 3 arm-like extensions, holding itself to the metal. Freja plucked the disk off, removing it's power negating effects on the vehicle. The terminal blinked back on. Arthur disconnected the cable from the back of the glider, freeing it from the burdening of the cargo carrier.

Freja entered the vehicle, powering on the suspension. Amun lay in the passenger seat, wheezing. She increased the throttle, and turned to face the other side of the path, before speeding off, leaving behind a trail of dust.