Gaylen led the trio of himself, Jaquan and Kiris inside, where they each bought a light drink at the counter, for the sake of renting space. Then they walked up to the man who no doubt had many names, but introduced himself to them as Fredrak.

Just as Gaylen remembered, the guy looked entirely unremarkable: Short dark hair, average build, a face that was probably somewhere in its mid-thirties but left room for doubt, and clothes in muted colours. Everything about him seemed designed to be overlooked. Because it was.

“Hello again,” Fredrak said, with a polite smile, in a tone that matched well with his overall appearance. “Gaylen. Jaquan. Kiris.”

“Hello yourself,” Gaylen said, and kept his own voice neutral.

“I did reserve a side-room,” Fredrak added, and pointed. “Shall we?”

This conversation certainly wasn’t going to be about things one let random bagel-eaters overhear, and so they followed him into a room that was really more a booth with a door in front of it. He took out a little scrambler and placed it on the table, for the sake of safety from electronics.

Gaylen and Kiris each sat down opposite the man; he for the talking, and her for the watching. Jaquan sat down a bit to the side. He wasn’t much for talking, and he didn’t have Kiris’s gift, but he was the co-owner of the Addax.

The agent gave Kiris a little nod and a smile. He understood her role perfectly well. And as a secret agent he couldn’t exactly complain, and he wasn’t dumb enough to make the attempt. He then focused on Gaylen.

“You’re not thrilled to see me, are you?”

“It is as I said to that alliance commander, whose name I’ve edited from my mind, and to Pietr, whom I keep running into for some reason: I don’t want any part in an ongoing catastrophe.”

“You just want your own catastrophes? From what I can tell, your life isn’t exactly boring when I’m not in it.”

“The Nearer Fringe is a dangerous place. I try not to seek out needless trouble.”

“Oh, there’s nothing needless about what I do,” Fredrak told him.

“Why don’t we cut to the part where you tell me what you want?”

“Alright. Let us do that.”

The man did not shift his pose or face or voice, but Gaylen could still detect a certain shift. The preamble was done with, and the man was launching into the start of his pitch.

“You aren’t stupid. Any of you,” Fredrak added, although his focus remained on Gaylen. “There are things I am not allowed to tell you, but you traverse the lanes and hear the news. Things are shifting in the Nearer Fringe. The battle for Ciinto Res was a turning point. It damaged the Authority to a degree that it cannot recover from. All wars end, and we are watching the gradual collapse of the brutal bastards who thought they would be the galaxy’s new power.”

“All true,” Gaylen said, but kept his guard up against whatever Fredrak was trying to pull him into.

“I am also not revealing anything new when I tell you that the Hegemony has been backing the Authority from the start.”

“From before the start,” Gaylen said. “That is how this got started in the first place.”

“Quite. And you all know the Heg’s overall character. It is an empire built entirely around fear and cruelty and relentless propaganda. It is a society where the only acceptable virtues are strength and obedience. It doesn’t take advanced sociology degrees to understand that it is at its core a corrupt and sick society, and only nominally held together by fear of outside groups. Its leaders can’t not be belligerent troublemakers on the galactic stage. They would lose their positions otherwise.”

“The Heg is garbage, yeah,” Gaylen said more succinctly.

“I am also not revealing anything when I tell you that there is a shadow war being waged underneath it all. That is just how things work.”

“Agents fighting agents, yes,” Gaylen said.

“Yes. And while the Authority may be crumbling, the Heg isn’t willing to let such an investment go entirely. They benefit from chaos beyond their borders, almost as much as they would have from a strong ally. The war is tilting the right way, but let’s make sure the pieces land as they should.”

“Should to whom, FedCom man?” Gaylen asked.

Fredrak gave him a patient smile.

“Civilised values. Democracy, human rights, rule of law. The future, Gaylen. While other powers try to cling to the past.”

“Hm. The idealistic black ops creep…” Gaylen mused.

“The cynical Feddie boy,” Fredrak replied, not the least bit put off. “But to continue making my point: There is an ongoing effort for the Alliance to come out of all this with a new handle on the Nearer Fringe. There is also a counter-effort to just break up the Authority structure, and then go home.”

“It would take up less resources, and lives,” Jaquan pointed out.

“Indeed it would,” the agent replied. “So of course it is the tempting option. But that’s what was done the first time around, during Volkan Vol’s war. But his warlords built their forces back up and coalesced around a new leader. If this is allowed to play out again, the Nearer Fringe will see an infestation of glorified pirate kingdoms, equipped with state of the art technology from the Heg. That does not make for a rosy future.”

“And hence a shadow war,” Gayle said. “To prevent this.”

“Or to make the problem less acute, if this comes to pass.”

Fredrak had a sip of his drink, then gave all of them another look.

“None of this is some sort of state secret. It’s all stuff intelligent people can find out or surmise for themselves. Less public is my own personal involvement with all of this, but of course you already know what I do. So, with that in mind… and feel free to really watch me on this one, Kiris… I want to get into my recent work.”

“Go on,” Gaylen told him, though his guard remained up. It was made of cynicism, and the survival instincts he’d developed by necessity. But it felt just a little bit shaky, and he had an awful feeling that he would agree to whatever was to come.

Fredrak tapped the underside of the table, but the hits felt more metallic than plastic.

“Oh, and I have a scrambler active,” he told them. “No one can record us, or even hear us clearly, from more than a few feet away. Anyway; I have a new set of duties. I am to coordinate different cells of spies, aid in setting new ones up, and filter their information back to FedCom.”

“And I assume there are others like you around, doing the exact same thing,” Gaylen commented. “Since there’s only so much filtering one man can do.”

“I cannot comment on that,” the agent replied, with a small, professional smile. “But you are a smart man, Gaylen.”

“There are,” Kiris stated for a fact.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Fredrak looked at her.

“We spent days together,” she told him. “I have your entire map in my head.”

“I would hire you in a heartbeat, Kiris,” he told her.

“No.”

“I know. But staying on course: I am rather new to this particular role, and I am still piecing my new network together. There is a particular thoroughfare; not so important on its own, but leading to many places that are. I need someone to get in contact with my agent there, and bring back his information.”

“And a small freighter was your first thought for this?” Gaylen asked.

“People who have a reason to go all about are ideal for this kind of work,” Fredrak told him. “Moreover, you have proven trustworthy. In my game, that is worth more than any other factor.”

“Solid points, all,” Gaylen admitted. “But… I can’t help but reflect that the business with the keeper proved us trustworthy and capable. Now, why don’t you look Kiris in the eyes and tell her, flat out, that you don’t expect any complications on this job.”

“I did not think to state any such thing,” he said, and did indeed say it to the Chanei. “My biggest problem with this particular run is a dearth of information. I caught some whispers about a Heg operation to disrupt this particular cell. This hint is recent, and travelled some distance before reaching me, so I really do not know if it is true. But IF there are complications on-site, then I want people with a proven record of winning fights and outwitting secret agents.”

Gaylen crossed his arms.

“Heg agents, you say?” he said through his imaginary armour.

“Heg agents,” Fredrak repeated. “Plentiful, vicious, and devoted. But still… ultimately, they are just people. Do not let the aura around that empire of evil unsettle you.”

“Kiris, is he trying to prod my ego?”

“No, Gaylen,” the agent insisted. “Here is what I will prod you with: For one, I will pay you and your crew the amount you originally got for delivering me the keeper. And for another…”

Gaylen saw another shift in his demeanour, and heard it in his voice as well. This was where he got sincere.

“You are well travelled, all of you,” the man said with gravity. “You have visited all sorts of societies, and you understand how people work. You understand what the sort of chaos the Heg benefits from means for the people living it. Unstable governments, violence, tyrannical despots and the horrors they unleash for the sake of staying in power, cut off trade routes and the scarcities those cause. And of course the inevitable scapegoating, directed at neighbours or internal social groups who break the mould in some way. This dance has played out again and again, all across human history. It can happen on its own easily enough, but it can also be induced by carefully picked assassinations, sabotage, or by arming the wrong groups.”

He fell silent for a couple of seconds. Gaylen assumed it was for the sake of adding weight to his next words, and try as he might he could not see any disingenuousness in the man.

“Let’s avoid all that. It is strange how much good a small number of people can accomplish, if correctly placed and informed. I know news of the Black Tiger operation reached the Nearer Fringe. You know how many people were liberated, how many lives were saved, because of that record keeper. This is not as dramatic, admittedly, but it will, in the long run, have no less of an effect.”

“Potentially,” Gaylen pointed out.

“Potentially, yes,” Fredrak admitted. “But when it comes to the future, I generally choose to be an optimist. Now… what do you all say? Gaylen? Kiris? Jaquan?”

“I say this conversation isn’t over yet,” Kiris replied.

“It’s a good speech,” Jaquan told him. “But we need more information about the factors and dangers before I can say much of anything.”

“And I need to discuss this with the rest of the crew,” Gaylen said.

Fredrak gave Kiris a quick glance, in search of a response of some kind, but she just kept her impassive mask up as she continued to do her part.

“Tell us where, and who, and how,” Gaylen said. “I’m sure you’re not supposed to, but types like you work by breaking rules and cutting corners to begin with.”

The man gave the demand consideration that Gaylen suspected was for show. He had surely considered this possibility ahead of time.

“I will hold you all to secrecy,” he then said. “No gossiping with your fellow freelancers, or any such thing.”

“These two barely talk,” Gaylen said. “And I can keep my mouth shut about the right things. Like I said; I don’t want needless trouble. And come on, man. If you didn’t trust us, this conversation wouldn’t have happened.”

“The planet is Tsukima,” Fredrak said. “I am sure you know of it.”

“Yes. I’ve been there several times.”

“Then you understand the basics.”

Gaylen looked at Kiris, who to his knowledge had never been there.

“It’s a bit backwards, and not that important on its own, but it is a stop between many different more important places.”

“Indeed,” Fredrak said. “And on it is a man I got to know shortly before my little adventure with Ayna. For the purposes of the job, he goes by Windflower. He tends to a lesser version of my task; staying in touch with various people, none of which you three need to know about.”

Fredrak activated a small hologram of a face. The man was about Gaylen’s own age, baseline, and red-faced.

“If you accept, you are to meet him in one of the city cores and bring back either a sealed message cylinder, or the man himself. He will decide that himself, depending on conditions on the ground.”

“And all this about a Heg team?”

“As I said, it was just a whisper that carried my way. A moment of a loose tongue somewhere out in the great, dark web that is intelligence work, carried down the threads. Or perhaps it is just a rumour, kicked off by idle ruminations. But the standard for a Heg team like this is four to six individuals, all men, and all baseline, of course. They’ll be combat trained, equipped for light fighting, and travel with enough of a fund for a fair amount of bribes. Now, have I satisfied you?”

The man had already turned off the hologram, but Gaylen looked at the bit of empty air it had occupied.

“I will discuss this with my crew. Real quick.”

He stood up.

“It won’t take long.”

“Of course. I will be right here.”

The three of them walked back outside, still holding the drinks that were their tickets to seats.

“A third good deed, boss-man?” Ayna exclaimed at the sight of him. “What has gotten into you?”

“Consider bringing you back on board a fourth one,” he told her. But levity passed quickly. They all saw it on his face. Even Bers, despite the hard stuff in his system.

“We need to make a decision,” he said in a low voice. “We have the opportunity for another big payday. An identical big payday, in fact. But there is a chance of danger. So, what with everything that has happened before, it seems fair to offer you a chance to… well, hang around here for a month or so, if you want. Although…”

He turned to look at Bers.

“In your case, I want a promise to not trigger a big fight if it isn’t necessary.”

The man flashed a toothy grin. The one that put Gaylen in mind of a predatory animal.

“Fight finds you, dagi.”

“Sometimes.”

“Many times.”

“Yes, well…”

“Are we talking about airstrikes and warships?” Ayna asked.

“No?” Gaylen replied, somewhat confused.

“Then… it would still be the step down that I promised myself.”

“Just what have you been getting up to?” Herdis asked the Dwyyk.

“I already said you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Moreover…” Gaylen went on, before things could derail. “It…”

He felt a bit embarrassed, but pushed on.

“Well, it would all be for a good reason. Beyond making us money, I mean. Although I’ll hear expert opinion first.”

He turned to Kiris.

“He was sincere about all of that,” she told him. “I have never really sensed any duplicity in the man, strangely enough. A bit of manipulation, perhaps, but people just do that.”

“Hm. And what about the image?”

“Like I said, a bit of manipulation, from what I could tell. Not some sort of trump card, but a bit of a prod at your empathy.”

“You really think so?”

“Well, he sure wasn’t prodding at mine,” she replied. “But it had a stronger effect than he may have realised, didn’t it? What gives, Gaylen.”

He looked away and stroked his chin. What odd timing this all was. And odd coincidence, given the vastness of known space.

“Windflower’s real name is Mardus. And he saved my life a long time ago. So… I will be doing this for a personal reason. If you want off the boat, let me know right now.”

“I’m staying,” Herdis said. “The money I earn on these flights is good for my family. And another big one like that is worth a risk.”

Bers just held Gaylen with a fierce, excited look.

Gaylen merely gave Jaquan and Kiris each a quick look. He knew they were with him. That just left Ayna. He was surprised to find her eyes distant and thoughtful. In the time he’d known her she’d never seemed one for introspection.

“A bunch of good reasons…” she mused, half under her breath.

She tapped her fingertips together, then visibly reached a decision.

“Yes. I’m in. I’ll come along. Maybe… maybe I’ll do a bit of good. Who knows?”

Gaylen nodded at his crew.

“Alright then. I’ll go tell him.”