An endless ocean of ice and snow stretched before them. Nicole could barely perceive movement on the visual for a half hour.

“Are we going in circles?”

“Do you have a better idea?” Fade asked.

“Anything’s better than wasting time. Especially when one of the drive systems has been disabled.”

“Does anyone really know what the crystal looks like?”

“You want to try giving him a fake, don’t you?”

“Wouldn’t think of it.”

“Don’t be so suspicious. I’m on your side.”

“Really?”

“Stop being such a cynic! I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it. Anyone who wants to rip off Soel is a friend of mine.”

A wrecked hover car stuck in a snow dune appeared first on the scanner and then the visuals. The S119 made a harsh landing parallel to the front lights of the stranded vehicle. A young man with a serious acne problem hunched over the wheel, half asleep, moaning for help. Fade snatched a wallet from the young man’s pocket. The identification card of Paul Payson was inside, along with three hundred Haricons. With eyes glowing a faint red, Fade pulled the guy out of the car and threw him into another snow drift. That woke the guy up and he pulled himself up. He grunted as he ran forward and attempted a clumsy punch. Fade dodged it before slamming a foot into his stomach. The young man became a shivering, submissive mass of clay.

“What do you want man? I don’t got no problems with you.”

“Then you don’t know who I am. Where’d you get this wallet?”

“I found it lying around.”

“Strike one!” Fade lifted him by the collar, “Who do you work for?”

“I don’t work for nobody man, honest.”

The revolver came out of its holster.

“Strike two! Where’s your boss hiding?”

“Tigo and the gang are going to thrash you if you kill me.”

“Tell me where they are.”

“The warehouse complex at 123 Newton Square, but it’s probably been destroyed by the bombing. Do you have some kind of death wish?”

“I’m not the one who’s stranded,” Fade dropped the man by his vehicle before jumping back into the transport.

“Keep warm,” Fade said.

He fired a round into the disabled hover vehicle’s engine for measure. The acne faced man shook his fist as the transport flew off.

“I hope Tigo slices your freakin’ head off. You’re a dead man. You hear me stupid, a dead man!”

-----

Back on the Neimun, some aesthetic changes had been made to the former controller’s office. The Buldethian flags were replaced by banners of white with the stripe of imperial purple. The carpet had been cleaned, and the large screen behind the main seat showed space from various angles. A captured Buldethian technician typed at a small desk. He transferred the Neimun’s files to a personal computer as Lieutenant Soel and the doctor watched impatiently. The communication console’s video device announced an incoming signal from fleet headquarters. Lieutenant Soel stopped the work and pushed the tech aside.

“Stay out of sight.”

General Dispaer, looking a bit ill, appeared on screen, “Congratulations on your promotion to Colonel. You performed admirably. We’ll rendezvous in thirty-five standard hours over the Dofu Space Station. The changing of the guard will take place at the thirty-sixth hour. Would you like the privilege of renaming the Neimun?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I’m sure it would be more appropriate if the Imperial Fleet handles that. I’m more concerned about future assignments.”

“We plan to rest and refit your group. I’ve recommended that your company be upgraded to brigade strength, so you’re going to need time accepting and getting acquainted with new volunteers. It’s a good thing the Imminent Destruction stayed loyal. Is Captain Defacto dead?”

“No, I took the liberty of rescuing him in payment for his loyalty. He’s been dispatched from the Neimun. I need his skills to deal with a common enemy, the drug cartels that are corrupting my soldiers. Since he is without a cruiser, the new assignment suits him perfectly.”

Dispaer’s mood lightened, “Sounds like a difficult task. You’ll have to pay him on your own. There’ll be no further monetary compensation for any mercenary; unfortunately, not even Captain Defacto. The Imperial Senate has officially disbanded the Independent Battle Fleet. They would have offered him a post in the regular fleet, but there’s the unfortunate matter of the conviction for a previous desertion. They don’t want to take any more chances.”

“Interesting. I didn’t know he was ever in the military, much less a deserter. Though I don’t have any doubts concerning his performance.”

General Dispaer smiled, “I see an understanding has developed between the two of you. That’s heartening in this age of bitter hatred.”

“You could say that. Is the Empire still paying the private bounty hunters?”

“They don’t require loyalty, so I see no reason such a bad move would be made. They’ve been of great service.”

“Good, I hope to get some use out of him, as a bounty hunter, before he dies.”

“That’s a cynical way to speak about a comrade.”

Soel smiled, “I’m a cynical person. And don’t get the wrong impression, he’s not a comrade.”

“Good luck with your hunting then.”

General Dispaer’s picture blinked off. Colonel Soel adjusted his computer before terminating the communication. The technician went back to work, deleting any sign of his presence in the Neimun’s computer system. Soel used another computer to access a tracking device inside the internal structure of the S119, which approached Grand Hakkunia, the planetary capital of Hakkut.

“How’s the hostage?” Soel asked the doctor.

“Resting. The micro-robotics will keep her in a state of induced hibernation for as long as a month, or until you command them to dissolve. Whether she’s still alive after the bots terminate is completely up to you.”

“Do you have anything that could force total obedience? Some hypnosis parlor trick wouldn’t do.”

“We do. However, fifty percent of the subjects disobey commands they find most objectionable and ninety-nine percent die within the first two days through massive cerebral hemorrhages. Total obedience remains an abstract concept. The judicature must rely on limited obedience, cultivated through the intelligent use of force and proper education.”

“Too bad. I could’ve used something like that on the mercenary. Once I give the girl back, I won’t have any collateral. And I’m not sure he’s simply going to forgive and forget.”

“Once you have a crystal, the collateral issue will be moot.”

“And what if the mercenary fails?”

“He won’t. He’s a product of your guild. But if he does, he’ll be the least of your worries.”

-----

They neared the edge of Grand Hakkunia. The dome shaped buildings that characterized the capital of Hakkut came into site along with the battered imperial cannons and the craters that used to be launching stations. The blue sun shone brilliantly and the outside temperature registered a cool five degrees. The communication screen activated with a call from Colonel Soel.

“What’s your progress, Mercenary Defacto?”

“You’ll have your crystal one way or the other. I still have some business to take care of, then I’ll head out for the Jovian sector of the Sol system.”

“You better be quick about it. I don’t know how long I can keep my hands off the collateral.”

Fade almost dove the vehicle into the ground.

“He’s holding her hostage!” Nicole gasped.

“I was trying to be diplomatic. My good sweet soldier didn’t know the full extent of our deal.”

“Don’t touch her,” Fade rolled the chamber to make sure his revolver was loaded, “Or I’ll make sure you eat your fingers for breakfast.”

“I haven’t, though I’m quite tempted. She’s been in the care of my doctor, for now. For her sake, you better not fail.”

Nicole leaned slightly on the control panel, watching the buildings outside the window take shape. Only a few remained standing. The city smoldered in ruins from the Buldethian bombardment.

“If he hasn’t done anything, it’s only to prevent pissing you off,” Nicole said, “The Lieutenant is a sick man. It’d be nothing for him to take advantage of your girlfriend if she’s just a provincial.”

“Sergeant Payson is not my girlfriend,” Fade said, swerving the S119 over a snow bank. “Nevertheless; he’s going to eat his fingers for breakfast if he does anything. Helpless or not, she’s part of my crew, and he better respect it.”

“He made a deal with you. He won’t touch her unless you fail.”

“I don’t give a flying damn,” Fade snapped.

“What are you even on?! Where’s Bert?”

Fade switched over to the main road, keeping low. Newton Square wasn’t a square; it was a back alley in a mostly abandoned industrial sector of the city. Some of the once large warehouses, refineries, and factories were now piles of wreckage, but most of the area had been spared. Fade lowered the transport onto a still functioning parking pad, deposited a ten Harnicor note into the meter, and received a five in change. Bert and Nicole were right behind him.

“One of you has to stay and watch the vehicle,” Fade said, “I’d suggest you flip a coin if you’re both so eager to help me.”

“There’s one in the transport, I’ll get it,” Bert said.

“This really isn’t our fight anyway,” Nicole protested as she looked after Bert. Before they realized it, Fade left.

“Sneaky bastard!” Bert exclaimed.

The crystal scanner activated without warning. Bert and Nicole leaned over the console to stare at it.