When he was a teenager on Solomon, Luka Belloti had wanted to become a firefighter. His father had been one, and his mother had encouraged him to follow his dreams. He’d volunteered in his local fire station as a helper, and the local firefighters had assured him he would make a great fit.

Unfortunately, the kingdom robbed him of that dream.

He’d been a penal miner for more than a decade, breaking up asteroids using equipment older than himself and returning ‘home’ to a cell-like room and food even pets wouldn’t eat. That would’ve probably been all he would have in life, had he and his comrades not managed to escape.

During his imprisonment, he’d dreamed of going back home and finally becoming a fireman. Maybe he’d rescue some pretty woman out of a fire, like in the holos, and then have some wonderful children who he’d take to the low-g amusement park on his days off.

Now he was a free man…and a miner once more.

Many would think he’d been forced to go back to mining by the resouce-hungry akritan dynasty, or simply joined the trade he’d learned over the years. The first was false, and the second hardly played a role. Luka had no problems with mining itself; it was the living and working conditions that gave him nightmares on some nights.

When the Duke gave him and the other captains of the refugee ships -a funny title, even now- the chance to run their own mining company, Luka had almost rejected it. He wanted to help people, not run a business.

The declaration of war had changed his mind. The dynasty was now on the warpath against his former oppressors, and for that they resources; ships, missiles, bullets and rifles. Luka realized that he could do much more for his people mining the raw materials those would be made from than rescuing victims of fire on Domusec.

Accepting the offer had been easy, and finding a crew simple. He grabbed those among the work crews he knew and trusted, and they brought along their own buddies and friends. It wasn’t exactly a professional affair, but within a few days Haven Mining Incorporated was born.

While their mining barge underwent repairs in Bridgehead’s dockyards, the three hundred and fifty miners underwent retraining with their new gear at the hands of akritan colleagues from Valeria Mining. While the ‘front-liners’ trained, Luka and his cadre of ‘officers’ were assisted by dynasty representatives in setting up the more sophisticated aspects of running a company.

Honoring their deal, the dynasty paid a non-insignificant sum hiring lawyers, accountants and experienced merchant marine officers and ratings, to run the ship and train their replacements from among his people.

Within a month, the AMS Rough Diamond left the dockyards under its own propulson, and HMI truly began operations.

…

In the following months, the refugees of C3 integrated into the akritan economy and society. None were left without work, absorbed into the ever-growing industries around Bridgehead Station and Domusec.

Industrial growth had already been great before the refugees arrived, and with the declaration of war came greater need for military goods. The ‘tra became miners, dockworkers and factory techs. Many, who’d missed the planetary enviroment, moved along with their families to Domusec to join the growing agricultural industry.

While many feared alienation as the minority, they were proven wrong. The ten years’ war with the Vogdi had driven many refugees into the arms of the Akritan Dynasty, which immediately integrated them into the war economy.

Nothing was perfect, unfortunately.

The abysmal education infrastructure of the penal colonies meant that almost all children -who’d spent their entire lives ‘in prison’- had difficulties adapting to the meritocratic educational system. More schools were being built, and special integration programs were coming into effect. Alas, it would take time.

Thankfully, those with secondary or even just primary education among the adult population found job-hunting easy. Companies were quick to rush prospective workers into technical schools and training courses that would teach them the core aspects of their work. With veteran techs on top of them, accidents would be kept at a minimum and they could be trained on-the-job.

Exceptions, however, were a certainty. Everybody was tested on a standard IQ test, with the top performers sent on fast-track educational programms that arm them with the knowledge to become doctors, engineers and scientists.

…

Luka stepped off the gangway, unto the dockyard and into the arms of Amy. Smiling, he swooped in for a sweet kiss.

“Excited much, are we?” The beautiful redhead chuckled, blushing.

“Just happy to see you.” He enveloped her into a hug.

The pair quickly walked away from the dock, letting the ‘ground crew’ manage unloading the Rough Diamond. The ship and its crew of miners and techs had just come back from the Inner Belt, where they’d spent five days breaking rocks in the company of several other mining vessels and patrol ships.

After fifteen years in the shitter, Luka’s life was on the up. The company was doing well, work was easy, and above all he had found himself a girlfriend. Or more like she’d found him. He thanked his lucky stars for that, because they knew his ability to flirt was worse than an asteroid’s.

The Rough Diamond spent five days a week, three weeks a month out in the belt. The rest was spent in the docks, while its crew rested, spent time with their families and went about their education. By Luka’s standards the schedule was absolutely amazing, and the average miner’s was hardly worse. Ten hours’ work a day for fifteen days a month, with short leave on the weekends and every last week of the month off.

Today was the beginning of one such week, and Luka had made plans for the entirety of the next seven days. On the weekdays he’d signed up for evening school along with many of the other nimbians, so he could finish his highschool education. Math was necessary for his job, which he wanted to get better at, and everything else was mostly interesting. And on the weekend…

“You have your weekend off, right?” He asked Amy, tensing up.

“Mhm.” She nodded with that heart-warming smile of hers. “You want to spend it at my place?”

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“Actually…I was thinking of something more interesting.” He slowed down, pulling out two shiny tickets from his jacket.

Hardcopy tickets were a novelty, and shipping them from the tour company’s offices on Domusec via express mail to the Rough Diamond had been a pain in the ass…but the look in Amy’s eyes made in all worth it.

“You didn’t…” She mumbled, taking them in her hands.

“Oh, but I did.” He chuckled. “Two tickets for a weekend safari on Domusec, all—”

He didn’t get to finish, Amy jumping on him with tears of happiness.

—

Halfway into the week, Luka was woken up by banging on the door of his apartment. The clock read four in the morning, which meant he’d slept little more than three. There was a math test in two days and the former penal worker and mining company CEO was feeling his brain turn into mush. As much as he loved his newfound home, sometimes he wished the education system was just a bit laxer.

“Who is it?” He asked, putting on a pair of pants and his slippers.

“It’s Jim, mate, open up! You need to hear this, now!” A male voice shouted.

Luka rushed to the door, opening it to reveal the face of one of his fellow captains. He hadn’t known Jim all that well before the escape, but in the months since they’d grown into friends. It helped that both were in the same class in evening school -the class all ‘captains’ were sent to- and they both sucked at math.

“What’s up, mate?” Luka asked, seeing an absolutely shaken Jim. Here was a man in his late twenties, who’d served nearly a decade in hard labor, and he looked ready to explode with shock.

“It’s all over the news.” Jim walked into his apartment. “The invasion was a success!”

“What?”

“Yeah, man! They liberated the system, all of it! The Duke himself was commanding the fleet, and they kicked some serious royalist ass!”

…

The day went by without Luke even realizing it, still profoundly shaken by the news. The entire station was. For the akritans, it the first in what was hoped to be a long line of victories. To the nimbians, it was so much more.

He himself had expected the liberation to take years. That’s what he was taught during his teenage years about space combat, in history class; wars were grinding slow processes of attrition where he who lasted even a second longer claimed total victory. The fleet had only departed two weeks ago, and yet in that short timespan an entire system had been liberated from royalist oppression.

It was the joy of such an occasion that drove him to Amy’s apartment that evening.

The pleasure was mutual…but rudely interrupted.

Luka had just walked out of the shower when the door bell rang. He moved into the bedroom and looked for some clothes to put on while his girlfriend, already dressed, answered the door. Seconds later, he heard her voice.

“Babe…it’s the police. They are here for you.” She said, sounding nervous.

“I’ll be out in a sec, let me get some pants on.” He replied, putting on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

Walking out, he saw four men and women in black suits standing just outside the apartment while Amy stood just inside, shifting between staring at them and him.

“Is something wrong, officers?”

“No, Mr. Belloti, though this is a rather…confidential matter.” The closest of the four answered, staring pointedly at Amy.

“She can listen to whatever this is, I’m not holding any secrets from her. Come in, and close the door.” He gestured for them to come inside.

As the door clicked closed, the lead officer pulled out a strange ID badge from his uniform.

“Mr. Belloti, I’m senior special agent Horus Blacke, state bureau of investigation.” The man said, raising his palm. “Believe me when I say you and your loved ones are not under investigation, arrest or suspicion of crime. Right now I’m simply convenient go-between.” The special agent said with a bitter smile.

“Go-between for whom?” Luka asked.

“His Grace, Duke James Akrites.”

…

It took minutes for Luka to get dressed once everything had been explained to them. The four SBI agents whisked him off to the authorized-only section of the ring, where a shuttle was waiting for them.

The trip to Domusec was short, and silent. Luka had nothing to say to the agents, his mind struggling to grasp the offer. Why had the duke chose him? Why not some other, more competent guy? Surely there were individuals trained for specifically this role by the dynasty.

Whatever the truth may be, he didn’t know. He was just a businessman, an ex-penal worker earning a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.

Arriving on Domusec, he was put in a waiting armored car and sent straight to Governor House, in the administrative district of ever-growing Cradleton. There was no pomp, no ceremony and certainly no smiling; there was a distinct difference between the dynasty’s core and the rest of the duchy.

At last, almost two hours after leaving Amy’s apartment, Luka arrived at the office of Governor Moore in the suit he usually wore on business meetings. The thing was itchy as always, hardly contributing to his shaken mood.

“Mr. Belloti, please take a seat.” Governor Moore said without preamble, urging him to take a seat in front of the wooden desk.

There was not a hint of humor on the governor’s face. Luka had never met the man before, but he felt stone-cold expression was due to his own presencee.

“I believe you’ve already been told what you are here for.”

“I have.” Luka nodded.

The governor nodded, picking up a thin disk from one of his desk’s drawers. Pushing it ever so gently towards Luka, he pressed a button. “This message was sent from Nimbus aboard the ANS Bete. Recorded by the Duke himself, for you.”

Without warning, a full-color hologram materialized over the disk. A holographic projector, Luka realized. Duke Akrites looked just like the day he’d met him almost a year ago, smiling ever so slightly and looking absolutely unyielding,

“Mr. Belloti, I hope this message finds you well. Not too well, however, because I have an offer for you. I doubt you care much about honor, and I don’t care much for pleasantries and ceremony, so let’s get straight to the facts.”

“I’ve liberated Nimbus. As of this recording, all penal colonies in the system are under marine occupation with minimal casualties.”

Despite knowing it, hearing the fact from the man himself made Luka’s breath hitch.

“You might be wondering what I have planned for the future of the system. The are plans in motion, but you as a civilian are not privy to them. However, you would be…if you were to accept the position of Governor.”

Despite the fact it was only a hologram, Luka wanted to argue.

“Yes, there are other men who might be more capable than you. Good, experienced administrators whose loyalty is unshakable. But the local population requires special handling by men and women who have experienced life as a penal worker. The list is rather short, and you’re the first name on it. Refuse, and you can go back to whatever life you’ve managed to build knowing that somebody else replaced you. Accept, and be the first to witness as your system joins my dynasty. You will receive all the assistance you need in managing the finer details”

Luka stood frozen, staring blankly at the frozen hologram. After a minute of silence, he shook his head and moved to get up. “Thank you for this offer, really, but I’ve got a—”

The governor chuckled, the smile never reaching his eyes. “Oh, her. We know.” He pressed another button on the holo-display disk. “His Gracy believed such an eventuality was likely, so he recorded this additional piece.”

“Mr. Belloti, in case you’ve found somebody you’ve become rather fond of, you have my heartfelt congradulations. Rest assured that Governor Moore and the Office of Employment will do their best to find a suitable posting.”

As the recording ended, Governor Moore pushed a file forward. Opening it, Luka found a…profile of Amy. The sight made his hairs stand up, leaving him stunned. They knew…everything. Things even he didn’t know.

“I—” His words were cut short, the governor giving him no time to speak.

“Ms. Vickers is a nurse by trade, with multiple years of experience. The provisional government of Nimbus will require a dedicated medical staff in excess of what is already available according to most recent reports.”

“How did you even—”

“Mister Belloti.” Moore paused, wearing a knowing smile. “Please do not insult the abilities of the Dynasty’s security services. They are more than capable of gathering a person’s work experience and family status.”

Luka didn’t even know how to respond.

“Anyhow, Ms. Vickers has no immediate family or dependents aside from you, which makes her an excellent candidate for long-term deployments outside the Pollux system. Rest assured, we can certainly find a well-compensated and secure post for her to work at.”

“I…I see.”

“Good.” Moore nodded. “Now, do you accept His Grace’s offer?”

Luka wasn’t the smartest man, but he was smart enough to realize he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“I…serve at His Grace’s pleasure.”