Hydrex Banking stood proud in the middle of the city of the Wealth District. Several wealthy Vaxorians swarmed around it. Depositing money in a Hydrex account was a regular activity for the numerous wealthy Vaxorians who lived in the heart of the city. The glass double doors swung open. Jir'kov and Vir'dix thudded into the bank in their Hyper-Titan suits. Cain stalked along behind.

Between the three of them, they carried a large metal casket which contained more credits than Cain had ever seen in his life. Ben'din's parents had paid up to the Kaarzee clan when their son's finger arrived at their doorstep.

The trio marched along the pristine tiled floor. The people around them scattered. As if to stick around would make them a direct enemy of the Kaarzee clan.

They passed a long line of Vaxorians who were waiting to get their business done and headed straight to the front of the queue.

"Hey! Get in line!" shouted a disgruntled old Vaxorian with faded purple fins. His face shrunk when Vir'dix rounded on him and he spotted the crest attached to the mech suit. He held up his hands. "I didn't mean--"

The Hyper-Titan released the metallic fist which flew through the sky and smashed the old man's nose. He clattered to the floor. The fist rebounded back into place.

Just like that, Vir'dix turned to face a female Vaxorian member of staff at the front. "Rutan Kaarzee's private vault, please."

She didn't dare question. She pressed a button which opened the gate behind her. The three of them made their way through and followed down the steps. They arrived in a large white room with two podiums in front of a big metal safe which was welded into the wall. Cain walked over to the designated podium and placed his cybernetic hand upon the panel. Jir'kov did the same with his Hyper-Titan hand.

Blue lights surrounded the panel and made their way along the ground. They clicked as they reached the door of the vault. The doors creaked open.

Jir'kov shoved the casket into Cain's arms. "Empty this in there, rust bucket," he said. "We'll keep watch."

Cain sighed. These two morons enjoyed all the violent work. Tedious work, like emptying money into a safe, was apparently out of their limited skill set.

He took the casket and walked into a room that glistened like an emerald cave. Stacks and stacks of credits stood like buildings. To the right of this was a collection of purple plasma bullets. Some of the most powerful ammunition this side of the galaxy.

He walked past the line of cabinets that held the keys to various spaceships. They opened up to another room. More stacks of credits. This one had an area for him to add the recently collected money. He typed in the code to the casket and loaded all the credits out.

The thing about a family like the Kaarzee clan was they had more money than they would ever know what to do with. Not paying them back in their eyes was a sign of disrespect. They cared more about that than getting it back in the first place. Most people understood not to mess with the clan. Occasionally, some impulsive fool thought they could get away ripping them off.

If there was one thing Cain knew for a fact, it was that they didn't count their money. Which is why he slipped some extra credits into his pocket whenever he was down here.

After checking both ways, he slipped a couple of extra credits into his black jean pockets. Then continued on with the job as if nothing had ever changed. It only took an hour but, by the end of it, he was feeling exhausted. It wasn't the physical work, it was the tedium of the job.

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A knock on the metal doors of the safe got his attention. Jir'kov poked his head into the room. "You about done, human? Rutan needs us to accompany him in his meeting."

Ah yes, the secretive meeting Rutan had told them they needed to attend. During his time working for Rutan, the closest thing to a conference he attended was at the Kaarzee Casino. He could sense that something big was about to go down but he wasn't sure exactly what.

Cain dropped the credits and followed them back to their hover van. They ventured through the marketplace and parked up outside of Rutan's quarters. The little Kaarzee member was waiting for them with a sly grin on his face.

"My boys," he squealed. "I hear celebrations are in order. Tell me, did the little lad cry when he had his finger removed?"

They all looked over to Cain.

"Yes," he said. His heart stung in shame.

Rutan broke out into a manic giggle. "Oh, I do love it when a story comes together," he said then his face turned serious. "Now then you lot, you know the rules in this meeting."

"Stay quiet, hear nothing," said Vir'dix like the good little lap dog he was.

Rutan nodded. "This is a private matter but if things go south, someone might need to step in. These people aren't to be messed with, alright."

Cain couldn't help but wonder who would be so formidable even a member of the Kaarzee clan would be nervous.

"Come along," Rutan said and they followed him as he waddled into the building and called the elevator.

They stood in silence as they shot up to their destination. They walked into a long conference room with comfortable chairs. Rutan took a seat at the head of the table and Cain and his two Vaxorian colleagues stood in a line behind him. They were the first to arrive.

Nobody said a word as they waited for the doors of the elevator to open again. Rutan tapped his claws on the table. Cain sensed that even he wasn't used to this kind of thing. For the first time in his life, Rutan Kaarzee was out of his comfort zone.

Whatever was about to happen, Cain was going to stay out of it just as he had been told. It didn't matter where the spoiled little man child led him, if he wanted to stay safe this was his place. Now and potentially forever. He shuddered at the thought.

The noise of the elevator moving broke their silence. Rutan shifted himself into an upright position. The lift pinged and the metal doors trundled apart. A humanoid figure wearing a long black cloak stepped out. It fell in a bulk around its waist. Their hood was up and their face bowed.

Rutan cleared his throat. "Welcome to this planet. I hope you found it well?"

The hooded figure didn't reply. Cain saw a flash of their red hand as they reached into their robe and placed a box on the table.

"Thank you for meeting us like this," said the hooded man. "As agreed, this is the data bank about our people. We appreciate you allowing us to join you."

"Your message was something I couldn't quite refuse," replied Rutan. "Tell me more about your proposition."

"Exactly as my message detailed. We wish to propose an alliance with your clan."

Rutan gritted his sharp little teeth. "I am aware. But what I want to know is who exactly are we dealing with?"

"We are not a people you will have seen before," said the man with the red skin. "We are to be the new leaders of the galaxy. A galaxy we intend to share with the Kaarzee Clan."

Cain's heart started to pound. Just who was the person behind the cloak?

"You know that, while we are subject to certain...pardons, the Kaarzee's do not own this planet or any of the planets in the system?" said Rutan. While this might have been true, they may as well have owned them all. Their influence meant they had all of the control and none of the responsibility.

"I am aware of this. This is why we propose an alliance," said the man. "Join us and your clan can continue to thrive."

Rutan didn't reply.

"Our invasion of this planet is about to begin," said the man. A tingle shot up Cain's spine. "We don't intend to destroy your property. We will need confirmation of your alliance before we decide our next move."

Rutan slammed a scaly fist on the table. "Is that meant to be some kind of a threat?"

The person stood up to their full height. They towered over even the Hyper-Titan suits. The robe fell away to reveal their features. A man with shiny red skin and bulked out muscles. Four arms stretched wide to reveal the true strength of the brute. A vein twitched in his face and Cain looked away from his yellow glaring eyes.

"We don't work with threats," said the man.

Rutan cowered beneath him. Vir'dix looked over to Jir'kov with concerned eyes. Cain continued to glare at the floor. He tried to stop his human hand shaking.

"I am the High Leader Zvuurg," said the man. "I am the one who is guiding my people to a new world. I want you to be a part of that world. Don't decide against this."

Rutan brought himself back up and attempted to calm his nerves. "Yes. We are happy to come to some kind of a conclusion," he said, his voice wavered. "Now, when did you say this invasion was due to happen?"