Killian Gray was in high spirits as he stepped out of the small side shower that was connected to the Captain's Quarters of his ship, Persephone, whistling a tune from his homeworld as he dried himself off. He loved taking showers after missions, feeling the scalding hot water cascading off of his aching and scarred body, inhaling the steam that filled the room, feeling it seep into his very being. It was as if the act itself was washing his sins away, lulling him into a dreamlike trance that would often keep him in there for hours on end, becoming somewhat of a ritual of decompression and relaxation. It was something that he valued so much, that there was a standing order aboard his ship that anyone who interrupted this period of self-care without good reason would find themselves on the wrong side of an airlock.
So explicit was his order and so absolute was his power aboard his ship, that he found himself feeling more surprised than furious when a gentle knocking broke him from his meditative state.
"What?!" He snapped, throwing the door open and revealing one of his maintainers standing before him, looking terrified and casting his eyes everywhere but in Killian's direction. He was a new join to Killian's group by the name of Gerrick, barely more than a boy when the crew of the Persephone had taken him in on their last furlough planetside. He was little more than a twig with arms, despite the best attempts of the ships cook, with straw colored hair and dull green eyes that belayed a sort of intelligence more suited to the trades than that of academics.
"Th-There is a call for you S-Sir," Gerrick managed to get out, "Over your emergency line via your Captain's Code."
He fumbled noticeably through his words, stuttering repeatedly until he was finally able to recount the message. Whether that be the nervousness of speaking to the Captain of the ship, or fear of what that Captain might do, Killian didn't know. Hell, he still wasn't sure if this kind of action should go unpunished.
"From who?" Killian barked, "Hurry up boy, out with it!"
The boy jumped from the sudden onset of Killian's overtly aggressive tone, looking back down the hall and then quickly back to him, "Th-They didn't say sir! Only that it was about the last job and it was urgent! I was just told to bring it your attention!" The boy said, eyes wide in fear as he pleaded his ignorance.
"Ah," Killian said, nodding in understanding, "Those fucks."
He paused for a moment after this, turning his head to the side to ponder something, "Tell me, boy," He said, "Who told you to deliver this message?"
"D-Darrow Sir, he's my team lead in engineering," The boy said, throwing a thumb towards the direction of the hangar where the bulk of Killian's mechanics and maintainers were set up.
"Aye, I know Darrow," Killian said with a nod, before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Gerrick right?" He asked, not bothering to give the boy a moment to correct him on if he'd pronounced it right or not, "I want you to do me a favor, yeah?"
"Sir?"
"I want you to go find Darrow, and tell him the firstly, he's no longer team lead. Congratulations you're promoted. Second, I want you to tell the rest of the team the next time they send me a boy to deliver a message, just cause they're to chickenshit to do it, I'm going to put a bolt of plasma through each of them and use their skulls for the ship's hood ornaments."
Killian watched as Gerrick's eyes grew so large, that he thought they may pop out of the boy's skull, as he visibly trembled at his nonchalant attitude towards extreme violence.
"Think ya can do that for me, Gerrick?" He asked in an encouraging tone, like a father would use when teaching his son how ride a bike for the first time.
The boy didn't answer audibly, choosing instead to rapidly nod along, causing a cheeky grin to flash on Killian's face.
"That's a good lad, also be sure to forward that call in here to my personal quarters. Be quick about it, eh?"
The boy shot off in a flash, already halfway down the hall before Killian had fully shut the door.
***
It took another ten minutes of Killian hastily dressing himself before he would approve the Captain's Code transmission to come over into his personal line, clicking a button on his coffee table as a beam of light was summoned from the bottom, bringing forth the projection of Prince Seprith Caustos from the ether to stand before him now.
"You kept me waiting," Caustos said matter-of-factly, "I'm not one used to such a concept."
"Apologies, Your Majesty," Killian said, flashing a grin, "I had some post contract business to attend to."
Caustos's eyes widened every so slightly, but it was enough for Killian to catch. Still, the prince recovered quickly enough, clearing his throat before pulling his hands behind his back in an authoritative manner.
"Then I take it my... issue has been solved?"
"You don't need to talk around the subject here, Your Majesty. It's an encrypted line. And yes. It's solved."
"So you saw him die? Confirmed it?" Caustos asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't have a chance to open his hatch and watch the jelly spill out, if that's what your asking." Killian said, starting to feel slightly offended that his work was being questioned, but professional enough to keep it to himself.
Caustos, on the other hand, was in no such mood to hide his true feelings. A scowl appeared on his face in an instant, replacing the regal nature before with an air of irritation and anger.
"Then how... do you know... he's dead?!" Caustos barked, his golden canines shining bright as they caught the light of whatever room he was projecting from.
"Don't raise your voice at me, you backwater hillbilly," Killian snapped back, "And I KNOW because I stabbed him through the chest and shot him with a fucking EMP!"
"That means nothing to me if you don't have a body."
"Oh really?" Killian scoffed, "Please, tell me the last time *any* pilot survived an EMP blast?! Go on, I'll wait..."
"That's not the point-"
"That is the point!" Killian shot back, "Now tell me when was the last time a pilot survived an EMP?!"
Killian could practically feel the anger radiating from the other end as Caustos seethed, clenching his fist as his chest heaved, working hard to try and calm himself down. After a while, the prince spoke in a slow, measured tone.
"I can't recall," He said, over enunciating each word.
"That's because no one has," Killian said, "At least no one from the Free Space registry. Why do you think these things are considered war crimes? You fire the thing, the mech shuts down and skewers the poor fuck with their own threads."
Killian watched as Caustos's face went through a series of changes. Anger quickly way to skepticism, then to curiosity.
"One moment," The Prince said, holding up a finger before stepping out of the frame. Killian could here the muffled sounds of conversation occurring, likely between Caustos and an aide in order to confirm Killian's statement. Those suspicions were confirmed when Caustos stepped back into frame a few minutes later, looking much calmer than when he'd left.
"Perhaps..." He began, "I was a bit too hasty in my anger... You're sure you shot him?"
Killian nodded, "I'm positive. Skewered the kid through the back and put a blast straight through the cockpit when he fell. I have footage to prove it."
"You recorded a war crime?!" Caustos shouted, sounding more shocked at the absurdity than actually angry.
Killian, on the other hand, merely shrugged, "It's on a local database with no connections to the EarthGov of Free Space networks. I keep recordings of all my jobs. Contracts, dossiers, et-cetera... for insurance purposes. If you were to ever make an anonymous tip to the Galactic Marshals, I'll be sure I'm not the only one to face the firing squad."
Caustos growled but slowly nodded, "Begrudgingly... I can understand and respect that. Though I am concerned about... Leakage."
"You act like you're the first person I've done something like this for," Killian said, scoffing at the absurdity of the thought, "If anything, I'd say you're quite a bit tame compared to a few of my clients... even if the target was a former noble."
This actually did cause Caustos's eyes to widen, as well as a knowing smirk to form on Killian's face.
"What did you say?" Caustos asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"You heard me," Killian shot back, "And drop the tough guy routine Caustos. You and I both know you're not going to do anything but scream and bitch. But at the end of the day, I'm a lot harder to get to and have a lot less to lose than you do."
Caustos grinded his teeth, growling out his response, "You weren't supposed to know about that."
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"Funny how that works isn't it?" Killian said, cackling softly, "I wasn't supposed to do my due diligence in researching a target, you weren't supposed to be putting a hit out on a Free Space citizen. I wasn't supposed to use and EMP, you weren't supposed to use his death in order to invade his home planet. Now we've both fucked around and did things we weren't supposed to do. And the galaxy keeps spinning."
Caustos's eyes were bulging with anger as Killian continued to speak. His fists balled so tightly that Killian thought he could see a few droplets of blood dripping from his knuckles. Still, he managed to keep his composure somewhat in check, but just barely. Still, Killian found it amusing as he heard Caustos's voice shake with rage as he spoke.
"...What do you want?"
Killian couldn't help but to smirk, "Simple... I want to renegotiate."
Caustos sneered, flashing his golden canines once more as he bared his teeth and growled out a response, “The payment for the service has already been rendered, mercenary. Do not think yourself untouchable simply because you outrank me.”
Killian laughed heartily, though to Caustos it probably came off as an arrogant cackle, which would explain the reason his form flicked as he spat, but Killian was quick to raise his hands in a placating gesture, smiling wolfishly as he spoke.
“Poor phrasing on my part, Your Majesty,” He said, waiting for Caustos’s anger to fade from a raging inferno into a mere boiling simmer before continuing, “Perhaps a more accurate term would be, I want to discuss some future work you, with all your power and influence would be willing to bequeath little ole me.”
This gave the prince pause and Killian saw his eyes narrow in suspicion, letting the pregnant silence stretch on for minutes before he responded with a guff growl, “And just what use, pray tell, would you assume that I could find you and your “crew”” He asked, putting emphasis on how loosely he considered the last word.
“Simple,” Killian said, ignoring the insult, “You’re planning on invading the pretty little port planet in your system are you not?” He watched as Caustos’s eyes widened, his irises shrinking to near pinpricks as his fury redoubled, and his mouth fell open to rebuff him, but Killian was quick to cut him off.
“There’s no need to deny it, Your Majesty. The way I see it, you already committed treason twice; The first was targeting a Free Space citizen, the second was the method being used. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re gonna go that far, you may as well go all the way, no? And to be honest… I don’t blame ya. No disrespect, but your planet is, frankly speaking, a shithole.”
“YOU DARE MOCK ME?!” Caustos bellowed.
“Calm down, man!” Killian shouted back, “Set your pride aside for a minute and try to tell me that I’m wrong! You can’t!” He sighed, and leaned against the wall crossing his arms, waiting once again for the Prince’s fury to abade before giving a weary sigh, rubbing his temples with a thumb and forefinger as he continued.
“Look, all I’m saying is that I get it. But be smart man, Amreith is part of a barely developed system. How many units can you field?”
Caustos glowered, his jaw moving back and forth as he grinded his teeth, before answering, “We have over five hundred squires broken out into-”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” Killian interjected, “How many actual A.R.M.S. units?”
Caustos sighed wearily, grumbling to himself as if he was embarrassed to say, but he eventually acquiesced, acknowledging the truth in Killian’s words, “We have two units. My Turbine and Aylim’s Blacksmith… both of which are Gamma class.”
“And what of the port world? What’s its strength?”
Caustos’s lip upturned slightly at this question as he scoffed, “They outnumber us in Squire strength by half our number, but the only A.R.M.S. unit is a mere Beta class Warden.”
Killian nodded at this, “Makes sense then that you’d feel comfortable in an invasion. There’s only so much a Squire can do at the best of times. Even with two hundred and fifty of them, there’s no way they could possibly take you both down.”
“Exactly,” Caustos said, flashing another predatory grin.
“However,” Killian said, causing that grin to falter slightly, “What’s your plan if EarthGov finds out what you're doing and sends a kill team? As annoying and hands-off as they may be, EarthGov is not going to sit idly by and let you defile a planet it controls. They’re going to respond in the only way they know how, overwhelming force. I can almost guarantee that even if it’s a ten pilot team, none of those will be lower than a Gamma Primus in rank. If anything they’d probably have a Sigma leading the charge just to prove a point.”
If this seemed to take the prince by surprise, he didn’t show it, not even taking a minute to contemplate his words before responding, “I figured when that time came, a more… delicate hand would be needed, and not one I necessarily possess at this time… but it is one I can acquire. Though I’ll confess, politics has never been my strong suit, it’s rather easy to negotiate with an enemy when you have a blade to their throat.”
Understanding flashed across Killian’s face and he couldn’t help but crack a grind at this kindred spirit of underhanded barbarity standing across from him.
“Why you shrewd sly dog,” He said with a chuckle, shaking his head, “Nevertheless, what if you could guarantee a certain bulwark of protection while you fleshed out the finer details of the invasion’s aftermath? A little breathing room can go a long way while you’re busy… politicking.”
“Get to the point, mercenary,” Caustos begged with a sigh. Still he was willing to hear Killian out and that’s all he needed to hear before going in for the kill.
“Of course. It’s simply a matter of needs and wants. You want to take over that port world. You need an army of pilots actually worth a damn. I want to help your plight, as any employee would, and for my own personal reasons. But I need the funding and material to do so. If you find that our needs and wants align, then I can help facilitate both of those things for you.
“And you think your crew would be willing to be that army?” Caustos asked, raising an eyebrow and letting Killian know that his hooks had started to sink in. Still, the deal had yet to be struck, and he needed to remain impassive for now, resigning himself to shrug and plaster a look of confidence across his face.
“Most of them would be yes. Naturally we’d lose some on the way, but that’s the way things go in our line of work. But even more than that, I have a few favors I could call in from some old friends.”
A derisive chuck left Caustos’s lips, “Am I to believe that anyone could possibly be friends with you, Killian?”
He gave another shrug, “I don’t expect you to believe anything other than my abilities.”
“Fair,” Another long silence followed as Caustos nodded at his words, stroking his chin as he contemplated. Eventually though, he looked up, eyebrow raised appraisingly.
“Just what do you get out of this?”
“Why, the joy of seeing another satisfied customer of course,” He said, giving a mocking low bow, “And twenty-five percent of all profits from the system's economy.
“Outrageous!” Caustos howled, not in a furious rage, but cackling at the absurdity of the number, “Five percent maybe, but a quarter of the system's GDP is bordering on extortion!”
“Oh it is extortion, your majesty,” Killian said, cracking a smile, “But surely you can do better than five hm? Think about it, the whole system is yours and it only costs you a few million silver a year.”
Caustos grumbled at his words, but the faint nod told Killian the prince was at least considering it.
“How about ten percent?”
“How about twenty?” Killian shot back, earning another raucous guffaw from the ruler.
“Never. I’ll do twelve.”
Now it was Killian’s turn to grin wolfishly, sensing the closing of a deal, “If you’re willing to do twelve, then surely you’d be willing to do fifteen.”
Caustos’s eyes narrowed, his brows furrowing as he looked hard into Killian’s eyes. There was no more amusement in his body language, nor his voice as he silently regarded the Mercenary.
“Are you sure that you can do this?” He finally asked after several long minutes of silence.
“I wouldn’t be suggesting it if I wasn’t confident that I could, Your Majesty.”
This brought another pause in the conversation as Caustos contemplated, pacing slowly back and forth in a silence that seemed to stretch on for hours. Killian was about ready to give up and cut the feed before Caustos finally spoke up.
“Deal. I can do fifteen percent. Now tell me what you need.”
Inside, Killian felt an ecstatic flood of euphoria, his heart threatening to explode as he thought of all that money, all that glory that was about to be his and, though he struggled to do so, he contained his excitement enough to remain neutral as he spoke.
“I’ll send you a list.”