Incoming Press Report, Zero Light-Years Away (Cryesa System Network Relay, Independent Controlled).

Mass layoffs in the State of Lucynthia! The Central Committee of Lucynthia has now announced another mass subsidy package to every failing Lucynthian major business. Production of consumer goods from Lucynthian factories has dropped after eight corporations closed the doors of their industrial bases due to shipment losses from trade convoys passing through Outer Cryesa. The current crisis in the State is expected to worsen further, with the Lucynthian State Navy still engaged in a protracted anti-piracy campaign.

- Sector Updates

+++ Jonathan Jones +++

Cryesa System

Lucynthia City

I thought a cafe was supposed to be peaceful and quiet. Oh, it wasn’t. Just in front of the counter, a man was raving drunk at everyone, creating a commotion that distracted the customers. Even Juliett retreated a bit.

“Huh? What do you mean that shit costs that much?” His voice was strangely familiar. “Is this the damned FEG? I thought crap costs less here because there are no taxes? Am I lost?”

That was when I facepalmed. Oh…it’s Harold. Harold Percival, one of our sleazy informants back in Loran before the Von Wicht Gang went sideways. He left before it all fell apart, and disappeared without a trace. Not exactly one of my closest friends, as this man had a flare for being too flashy and aggressive, but damn…I didn’t expect a fellow Von Wicht boy down here.

I went ahead and approached him, tapping his back. “Oi, look back here. Now, Harold, where in that rotten brainfuck of yours did you find the idea of roughing up a damned cafe a good one?” He looked back at me, and I could see the surprise rise in his drunk-up eyes. I pointed my finger at one of the terrified waiters. “Look, she’s turned white you moron. Just order your damned order and get the fuck off here.”

“Wait a minute…” He paused. “Is that you? Shit man, I thought all of you are gone dead.”

“The heck are you on about? Me? Dead? Well, sure. Mr. Von Wicht definitely. But not me.”

“Brother! I was searching for you you damned rut!” He almost tackled me. “Business has been booming for me. Honest to god business. With all the legal backing. You should have followed me, you moron.”

“Stop that shit, are you gay?” I tried pushing him off, and everyone was already looking at us weirdly. I gave a glance to Juliett, telling her to stay out. “Come on, detach yourself from me, you manchild.”

“I missed you, you asshole! I knew Mr. Von Wicht and you all were stupid for carrying out that plan, but I didn’t expect you’d follow them. But no matter. You’re alive, brother. This is an excuse for celebrations.”

“Ah, for fu—” I looked around at the people staring at the both of us. “Carry on people! Ignore this bum. The situation is…is stable. Yes. Go on. Carry on. Nothing to see here.”

With tired sighs and scoffs of annoyance at Harold’s braindead display, people turned back to their business, while Juliett approached me just as Harold ceased his “brotherly hug” of his.

“So, I see that you have an old friend here,” Juliett said, oddly calm and amused this time. “Who’s that guy?”

I looked back at him, and he nodded. Seemed like he still used his old name. “Harold Percival. Just another wanker to add to your growing list of nobodies.”

“Is that really how you introduce your old friend to your new partners—”

I shoved him. “No need to contradict me.”

“Oh…wait, is she an aristocrat? She seems like one of those upper-class women from, I don’t know, the Union or the FEG?”

I sighed. Juliett smiled and placed her hands behind her back, almost leaning to Harold. Naturally, Harold retreated a bit, until Juliett giggled. “Jonathan, this friend of yours seems intoxicated by alcohol. It’s fascinating to see humans that way. Is he also ordering something here?”

“Uhh, yeah. Most likely.” I answered while Harold frowned.

“Weird. She seems weird.”

“That she is.” I turned to him. “Not that you and I are much better.”

“...Point taken.”

We both watched as Juliett was forced to take the initiative, after we both stepped to the side, giving her the cue to approach the counter. Especially since we both kinda, or well, straight up intimidated (in the case of Harold) the counter lady. Her steps were almost slow and awkward, and there was a few seconds of pause before she rapidly and almost robotically recited her orders.

“Three parfaits please!”

Naturally, that wasn’t exactly what I wanted. It was too sweet for my mood today. I looked at Harold. “I just wanted a coffee.”

“Me too, brother. Me too.”

+++

+++ Jonathan Jones +++

“Mhm…” Juliett’s cheeks almost turned red in her enjoyment, as she took spoon after spoon of her parfait. “This…this is what I wanted. Ah…I can’t believe I didn’t bother to do this ages ago.”

I looked away. “So, bounty hunter, huh?”

“And a security contractor!” Harold excitedly said. It seemed his drunken state dissipated rather quickly after meeting me. “The vessel I bought usually joins up these ‘escort groups’. Essentially, we go in and protect a trade convoy, and they pay us after the trip. The money we were making back in Loran? Pfft, nothing in comparison. A mere drop in the bucket even.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Well, obviously.” I laughed him off. “Spacefaring businesses are more lucrative. Quite frankly, I wonder how you even managed to nab that destroyer of yours. What was that again? A Gallant-Class? Quite impressive. I could hardly imagine the Union Navy selling one of those to you.”

“Of course they didn’t,” Harold said. “I bought it in installments from the Republic of Saint Cruz after I did some high-profile jobs for them.”

“And by that, you mean?”

He whispered to me. “I sold them the security codes. You know, back when we infiltrated the Loran Southern Orbital Defense Base?”

“Oh, great. You absolutely slimy wanker. Knew it.” I laughed at him. “And that netted you enough SCs?”

“Not exactly. The ship I bought was roughed. Filled with several permanently damaged subsystems. Hell, even its reactor was half-compromised. But through bounty-hunting, and my strangely competent new crew…” He smiled. “We carved enough money to slowly repair and replace all the damaged subsystems of the ship.”

“And now?”

“Now, we’re a part of Roll-McHover Escort Flotilla. We’re just a small group, three ships strong, but we’re a good one.” He laughed. “Just last time, we earned around twelve thousand SCs from a major escort mission. I mean, can you believe that? Shit, back in Loran, that was millions of Loran Royal Bills. We busted our asses just for a few hundred thousand bucks, and now? I’m telling ya, honest business? It pays better.”

“So you’re a mercenary now?”

“I suppose.” He smirked. “It beats being the reverse. It’s much more respectable. More money too. And protecting all those convoys from pirates rampant in the trade routes…it’s like we’re doing something more meaningful.”

I noticed that Juliett already emptied her own glass, and she was eyeing mine. Well, not like I want it anyway. I wanted coffee. Or more accurately, I’d have preferred water or nothing. I mean, she was the one who dragged me here anyway, so, I subtly pushed my own share into her side of the table. She almost shied away from it, but I pushed it further, and it seemed that whatever emotion regulators she was packing collapsed and she took it faster than the FEG forcing a random independent colony back into the fold.

“Heh, I’m glad you find that life meaningful now.” Subtly, I took my own I.D. and showed it to him. He read out my new name, and he received the message quite clearly. He sighed at me.

“I guess things went much more awfully bad for you, no, Jonathan?”

“Not as splendidly well,” I smirked a bit. “But of course, I’d have to turn that around. And I’m trying to turn it around. No surrender after all.”

“Amen to that, brother. No surrender.” He also subtly pushed away his own glass of parfait to Juliett. It seemed that we both didn’t really want it at the moment. Juliett looked at me, almost as if asking for permission. Just take it, you tin can. And she received the hint and snatched it in light speed.

“In any case, I can see that things are going well for you. You have a new ship, as you’ve said?”

“Yup, a Reaper-Class Corvette. The story’s pretty long, and I’d rather not say it.” I looked back at Juliett. “Also met her on the way. She’s just as much as a nutjob, I should say. She may act like an eight-year-old right now, but, she’s a good spacefarer.”

“She is?”

“Of course I am.” Juliett arrogantly hissed, before returning to her more important business of tackling the local Lucynthian delicacy while mumbling something under her breath. Something about, ‘he’s so rude’, and ‘why is he making it sound like I’m a child’ and ‘he’s such a jerk’. And apparently, I’m the insufferable one here?

“Yeah…I can see that.” Harold said. “So, are you both up for some convoy security job?”

“I’d have to modify my Corvette for that.” Juliett wouldn’t, of course. I mean, at this point, I would bet money that she could probably take entire flotillas alone. Actually…considering the debris field of that Union expedition in Lubola, I bet she always did that on a regular basis. Doubtly, I remembered her cryptic words about her duty in the Outer Sector.

Has she been…has she been fighting something over there? Save the sector? That kind of a mission statement wouldn’t really just come out of some nobody. Perhaps, she was a bigshot nobody all this time. But who knows?

“Oh. Yeah, I suppose the Reaper-Class isn’t exactly known for combat. But it’s a fast ship. With good sensors and a stealthy build.” He smirked. “You could still be our scout or something.”

“Well, I’ll see. I’ll see. But, for now, I still have my own business matters to attend to.” I gave him something, a card that contained my secondary identification tags that I forged. “Search for this in the Cryesa System if we lose contact. You’ll find me somewhere.”

He took it and placed it straight into his own wallet. “Sure, Jonathan. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I wouldn’t mind being your partner again. This time, up there.”

“Well, it would be nice for me too. I’m looking forward to whatever arrangement we can set for ourselves.” I took a glance at Juliett, who still seemed to be silently enjoying her…things. “And, well, seems like my partner is almost finished too. So, erm, have a good day, Harold. Or Mr. Percival, if that’s how you like to be addressed? Like the old days?”

“Too formal. Plus, that was just our old stupid style, Jonathan. I mean, you wouldn’t want to be addressed by this asshole as ‘Sir Jones’, don’t you.”

“I’ll murder you if you try it.”

“Exactly my point.”

He stood up, and we both shook hands. “Well, have a good day. And don’t fucking rough up another establishment like some dumbass. Keep an eye on your alcohol consumption too. You’ll get yourself in trouble with that nonsense.”

“Yeah, yeah, brother. I’ll keep that in mind. Have a good day too.” And with that, he packed up and left the both of us. I sighed, relaxing down on the chair, just as Juliett emptied the last glass of parfait. She leaned forward.

“Well, if that wasn’t the interesting conversation you two had.”

“Yeah, he’s an old friend. Didn’t exactly expect to see him.” Certainly didn’t expect to see him alive. But, then again, perhaps the sentiment was mutual.

“Huh. I get the feeling that whatever your old group was…you all must have been quite the risk-takers.”

“You have no idea.”

“And I do wonder, Jonathan. I do wonder.”

“I…I don’t want to talk about it.”

She looked down. “No, don’t worry about it. I won’t poke at things that shouldn’t be poked. I suppose we’re just in the same situation, no?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t poke on yours too.”

She clapped. “So! Are we going to search for where we will stay? Oh, and, and dinner. And proper food!”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll do.” I sighed, thinking back about the state of the Jukebox. I really didn’t want to stay here for too long, just enough for their refits to finish. But, I suppose I shouldn’t be too worried. Juliett did say that she was watching over the Jukebox closely.

I wonder, what really must be going on to her core. How could she even communicate with it so…fluidly and perfectly when she was this far away from the VSS Radiant? It boggled my mind, but she seemed to be perfectly working. As far as I can tell.

“Then let’s go!”