41:03:25

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Taz went to the wall panel and dimmed the lights. Lyra tipped the shell and the gel disk slid into the water with a soft plop. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then as the surface settled, softly glowing images began to resolve. A dark shape approached the colony, coming to rest over one of its spiral stacks. It had a rounded, elongated form. Light spilled out of windows on a spherical pod at the front of the submersible. A collar extended from the vessel's underside and sealed itself over the stack.

The recording shifted. A group of humanoids wearing hardshell pressure suits emerged from the stack into the colony. Rayeth guardians converged with their spear-like zhads. The long weapons discharged coherent electrical arcs and sharply-delineated disturbances in the water. The former seemed to do little damage; the latter punched through the armored suits, leaving clouds of blood mixing with the water.

The attackers responded, raising slender rifles that fired long darts. The humans jetted through the water with ducted turbines attached to the back of their underwater suits. One of them moved more nimbly than the others, without any obvious means of propulsion. His suit was different, too, some kind of close-fitting soft armor with a hard carapace that covered his head and upper chest. He gestured with his hands and Rayeths were flung aside with great force. He stretched out his hand and violent blue streaks of energy crackled from his fingertips. Each Rayeth that was hit writhed in agony and shriveled.

"Slag me," Taz swore, "that looks like the Force!"

"What?"

Before he could answer, the man in the recording reached out with his other hand. A Rayeth sped toward him, pulled by unseen means. His hand clamped over the Rayeth's smooth head. It uttered a scream, then spasmed a few times before floating limply in the water. The combat wore on, but it was clear that the Rayeths were getting the worst of the encounter. They continued firing as they retreated, the Humans in close pursuit.

The image faded and a new recording started. The Humans were speeding back up the stack, only each one had a struggling Rayeth strapped to the back of their suits, and another held fast in their armored hands.

"They're using them as shields," Lyra snarled, enraged and sad at the same time. The guardians hung back, aiming their zhads but fearing to fire. Several times they charged, jetting through the water with incredible speed and agility, too fast even for the Humans to target them. The thrusts with the barbed end of the zhads were useless against the armored suits, and their Force-wielding leader swept most of them away with a gesture when they got too close. The Rayeth guardians were reduced to screaming impotent war cries. Nevertheless, they pursued the Humans as they retreated into their ship, detached from the colony's stack, and sped toward the surface.

Guardians swarmed around the ship as it ascended, but their shots bounced off its thick hull. It surfaced near the shoreline and hovered on repulsors. Six Humans stood at the water's edge and opened up on the Rayeths with blasters. With no hostages to get in the way, the Rayeths returned fire, their zhads emitting concussive blasts. A ramp lowered from the ship and the shore team boarded, firing as they went. Then it rose into the air and dashed out of sight.

The scene shifted again. Dead Rayeths floated with the surging tide. A Human lay in the surf, blood oozing from his nose, eyes, and ears. A Rayeth that Lyra recognized as Gan was searching the dead man, putting everything he found into a bag. She saw the glass vial that he's shown them. A few seconds later, the recording ended.

Taz turned up the lights, looking grim. "Did you see Mr. Ugly on the shore?"

Lyra unclenched her fists, only then realizing how hard she'd been squeezing them in her fury over what she was seeing. She made a taut nod. "The cyborg from the cargo transfer on Enarc, the one who knew Rendix."

"That's the one." Taz sounded as disgusted as she felt.

"That's solid proof that Sykes and her organization are up to their eyeballs in this." She pounded the table, splashing the water out of the bowl. "Rutting hell!" It took her a few seconds to get her anger under control. Inusagi had its share of crime like any other planet, but the idea that an enterprise as destructive as the Zann Consortium was operating on her homeworld made her seethe. "What were you saying about the Force?"

"That bluish lightning, or whatever it was. Master Roh described something almost exactly like that. He claimed it was a skill that was used by Dark Jedi and Sith Lords." He screwed up his mouth. "It's a given that he's the one making that drug."

"And those poor Rayeths are involved somehow."

Taz tapped the table. "That ship. It went hundreds of meters underwater. No normal starship could do that."

"The design looks like something from Dac's shipyards."

"You think the Mon Cala supplied it?"

"Could have been the Quarren or Nautilans, though more likely it's stolen," Lyra replied with a shrug. "If it's in orbit, maybe the Royal Defense Force can track it."

"If they're not abetting them."

Lyra scowled, but she couldn't discount the possibility. "Still, we should take this to the royal authorities."

"Take what?" Sera entered the lounge from the boarding ramp. Reiko came right behind, the droid trundling beside her with a low hum of its motorized traction roller.

"Tetris?!" At the sight of the squat droid, Lyra leaped from her seat and rushed to him, her dark mood forgotten. "By the two moons, it's Tetris!" she repeated as she bent down and patted the astromech's head, a huge smile on her face.

The droid let loose with a happy cacophony of chirps, trills, and beeps while he orbited around her.

"Tetris?" Rei asked with a tilt of her head.

Lyra nodded joyfully. "T Three Seven R One Five." She drew the characters in the air with her finger, but she reversed the three, tracing an E, and drew the five like an S. "Allegra didn't like all those letters and numbers. She started calling him Tetris one day, so that's his name."

"Oh, the same way I named Ariel!"

"Mm-hmm," acknowledged Lyra. "What have you been doing, Tetris? I didn't see you when we boarded the Navata."

Tetris hooted and whistled an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Tetris, I don't have my pad to translate," she frowned.

"He said he's been in storage for a few years," Reiko translated.

"You understand Droidspeak?"

"Sure. We had dozens of astromechs on the Old Ghost. It was easier to learn than looking at a transcription screen all the time. A lot of people have trouble with Binary, but it's never been a problem for me."

"Of course not," Taz joked with a lopsided smile.

"I guess Uncle Shin didn't want him to be lonely when I went away to the academy." Lyra took Taz's hand. "Tetris, this is Taz. Say hello."

"Pffzzzt!" responded the droid.

Reiko grew red-faced and Sera chortled, "Bet you don't need a translation for that, Doc."

"Now, Tetris, that's no way to treat our guest," Lyra chided. The droid made a grumbling sound, followed by an apologetic whistle, and snuggled up to her.

"He's like a puppy," Reiko observed.

"A jealous one," Sera added with a smirk at Taz.

"Uncle Shin programmed him to be a playmate after Allegra took a liking to him when we were young. He used to go everywhere with us."

"Why didn't you take him to the academy with you?" asked Taz.

"Personal droids weren't allowed." She patted the droid's head again. "I missed you while I was away, Tetris." He beeped a happy arpeggio.

Reiko introduced him to Kalli, Ariel, and Yuzu. He reluctantly agreed to leave Lyra's side, and Rei led the astromech on a tour of the ship.

Sera reviewed the video that Kallista had uploaded to the ship's main computer. Her eyes dilated when she saw the tall man in the fur-mantled coat on the shore, but she made no other reaction. When the recording ended, she said, "What are you going to do?"

"We were just discussing that."

"I told the Revered Mother we'd help them with the royal authorities," said Lyra. "This record could give them more of a push to act, but Oktos thinks they might be compromised."

Sera nodded. "In Zann's pocket? Wouldn't surprise me. Unless they have some kind of stealth tech, they'd be showing up on traffic control's sensors if they're in orbit."

Lyra looked exasperated. "Well, somebody has to look into this. I can't stand the idea that those chuff-suckers can just dive down there and take the Rayeths' children whenever they want!"

"I don't like it either, Lyra," Taz commiserated, "but if we start poking around, it could put us on someone's scanners, and not in a good way."

"Doc's got a point, Nimor. Attracting the Zann Consortium's attention is a good way to get dead, fast."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Lyra uttered a disgusted sound. "Rutting hell!"

Taz scratched his cheek. "We need someone who could investigate for us, someone who isn't tied to Inusagi, but has the authority to dig into this."

"The Rangers," Sera proposed. "This kind of thing is in their mandate."

Lyra wore a glum look. "Sure, but they'll just laugh us out of their office. They won't even start a file without solid evidence."

"What about the recording?" suggested Taz.

"I doubt they'd have any way to verify its authenticity."

"Unless they talk to the Rayeths directly."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Lyra scowled. "After the brush-off we received, there's no way they're going to take more off-worlders down there."

Sera drummed her fingers against the table. "Well, we do know a ranger who could help."

"Absolutely not!" Lyra protested. "That libido-crazed lynx isn't getting anywhere near this sector!"

Sera burst out laughing. "Listen, I know she punched your buttons on Lantillies, but she'd probably hear us out. You did save her life, after all."

Lyra opened her mouth to object, but stopped at Taz's imploring look and Sera's 'get-over-it-Nimor' face. Finally she crossed her arms. "Son of a bantha!"

Sera took Ranger Renosi's card out of her pocket and aimed a droll smile at Lyra. "I'll give her a call."

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Agonis strode along the catwalk with a swirl of his long robes. HL-0T clanked beside him on its rearmost legs while the middle pair held a bulky control box and its two heavy forelimbs manipulated switches and dials with incongruous dexterity. Garish red light bathed scores of Humans and a smattering of other beings shuffling in the pit five meters below that had been converted from one of the ship's smaller cargo holds.

"I am ready, Master," droned the droid in a hollow-sounding, digitized contralto.

Agonis released his hold on the subjects with a focused thought. Almost immediately the poor creatures fell upon each other, shrieking in rage and fury. Sounds of ripping flesh and breaking bones punctuated the scene of unbelievable chaos in the pit.

After a few moments of the brutality, Agonis flicked his hand. "Engage the control circuit, helot."

HL-0T flipped a switch. Nearly all of the subjects fell silent and stiffly immobile. A few continued their rampage, loping through the long pit and flinging others aside in a mad dash toward each other.

Agonis's jowl tentacles twitched unhappily. "Increase tau wave frequency by 60 cycles."

The droid turned a dial. Through the steel grating in the catwalk, they could see the remaining attackers grind to a halt. A handful of subjects began screaming in agony, clutching their heads. Three of them fell to the floor, wracked by spasms. An angry glow began inside their naked bodies.

"Modulate amplitude by twenty-seven mat-xik," ordered Agonis.

HL-0T manipulated the controls. The screaming turned to miserable whimpers, but two of the glowing subjects became bloated grotesqueries. They detonated seconds later, filling the pit with gory shrapnel of flesh and bone.

"Enough." Agonis reasserted control with a sharp command issued through the Force. The effect was immediate and as total as the silence that filled the pit. He issued mental orders and the subjects who were still able moved to the cells around the periphery of the pit. Ray shields shimmered into place. "Analysis."

HL-0T reviewed the data stream from the test run. "Control using the electronic command module varies between ninety-two and one hundred eighteen mat-xik, my lord."

"Too much," Agonis snapped. The Sith alchemist's tentacles twitched even more. "Absolute control is required. Prepare the next formulation to be administered to subject group six."

"By your command, my lord." It touched a series of controls on the panel bolted to its spindly thorax.

"How many in group six?"

"Forty-eight, Master. Unfortunately, we only have isolate for ten doses. It will take five hours to finish synthesizing the rest." The droid's tone was unmistakably frustrated. "Analysis predicts the half-life of the synthetic isolate at only seven standard hours, with addictiveness and physical augmentation at only fifty-eight percent, terminal detonation likely in only thirteen percent of subjects, and energy conversion at seventy-four percent, compared to the pure isolate."

The Sith waved his hand. "For now, I'm concerned only with enhancing neural control."

"Still, our research is hampered by the limited supply of pure isolate."

A grumble issued from Agonis's stiff lips. "Our supply, yes, that is the problem. Those witless Rayeths, alone among all the races in the galaxy, can produce the isolate. But we would need more ships— dozens, perhaps hundreds, and thousands of troops to scour the creatures' colonies."

"Nevertheless, your plan to usher a new Sith empire into the galaxy is imperiled by the shortage, my Master."

Agonis turned his annoyance on the droid. "You're an analysis unit, helot! Analyze the situation and find an alternative! Otherwise you're useful to me only as scrap."

HL-0T seemed to shink from its master's ire as the droid computed based on all of the current inputs. "If we're unable to obtain more organics from which to harvest the pure isolate, perhaps we should focus our resources on sustaining the ones we have, Master."

"Perhaps." Agonis stroked his tentacles. "I have felt a presence on the planet below, recently arrived. It is strong but unrefined, even childish."

The droid looked intrigued. "What does it portend, my lord?"

"I sensed strong potential for healing and an abundance of compassion." The word came out like a curse. "If we turn this man to our cause, he could sustain the Rayeths; rejuvenate them after the extraction process. With the power of the Force, our current livestock might produce all of the isolate we need, for Tyber Zann's idiotic scheme as well as my own great plan."

"As always, my lord is most perspicacious," said HL-0T with a flourish of its arms. "What of these?" The droid pointed toward the carnage below. "Subject group five was a failure. Shall I terminate their life functions, my lord?" One metal digit hovered over a guarded switch in the corner of the control box.

"No, but send in the cleaning droids. Miss Sykes wants us to demonstrate results. We will oblige her with these subjects."

"Understood, my lord. What is your plan?"

"We will unleash this group upon the populace of Inusagi. Show them all the kind of crude corruption that Tyber Zann has in store for the Mid-Rim."

"A most excellent plan, my lord. A global festival begins tomorrow, culminating four days hence. Shall we disrupt it, Master?" The droid sounded almost eager. "Unleashing the subjects at the climax of the festivities would produce significant slaughter— twelve to eighteen thousand according to currently available data."

The Sith's eyes were even more sinister than usual under the bay's sanguine lights. "An attractive notion, but the festival is off-limits."

"Off-limits, Master?"

"A condition of our allies' cooperation." The alchemist didn't look happy about it.

"They are mere Humans, Master, surely not worthy of forbearance from such greatness as yours."

"They are nothing beside the grandeur of the Sith, it is true. But even vermin may serve a purpose, helot. For now, I shall tread lightly upon their sensibilities."

"Understood, my lord. Thereafter, then. Shall I target the capital? An attack there would make a most effective demonstration."

"The collateral damage might impact our allies. Choose a different target, one that will demonstrate the drug's capability without drawing undue ire. A population center in one of the prefectural territories."

HL-0T bowed at its mid-segment and splayed its arms, bowing low. "It shall be as you command, my lord Agonis."

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"Captain Rendix!" As soon as she saw Sera, the sleepy Naktiya Renosi perked up in the blue-tinged and rasterized holo image from halfway across the galaxy. Behind her, Sera glimpsed Tolfer, the young officer, leveraging himself up to recline against the padded headboard.

The Neablu knelt at the foot of a big bed, quite naked. "How nice to hear from you. Are you calling to tell me you're coming for a visit? I know a great place to party—"

"Renosi!" Over Sera's shoulder, Lyra fumed, her face flushed.

"Not quite." Sera elbowed her pilot and smiled into the video pickup. "My crew says hello, by the way. As it happens, I'm calling on business."

Naktiya's feline face puckered and her tufted ears drooped. "Well that's too bad." She slipped gracefully from the bed and shrugged into a diaphanous robe that really didn't conceal much. "What kind of business?"

"The drug-smuggling kind. We think we might have a lead on the drug you found on that Hrakian."

"Oh?"

"Looks like the Zann Consortium might be involved, like you suspected."

"What makes you think that, Captain?"

"We're sending you a recording. It concerns the abduction of some Rayeths, but one of the men in the recording works for Zann." She manipulated the controls and began transmitting the data stream.

"What's a Rayeth?"

"They're a sentient species indigenous to Inusagi. That's where we are now."

Renosi scratched her cheek with a clawed finger and tapped briefly at a terminal out of the frame. Behind her, Tolfer fidgeted and ran a hand through his unruly hair. "That's Miss Nimor's homeworld, isn't it?" Naktiya asked with a smile.

"Yes," quipped Lyra.

"How do you know the Consortium is involved?"

Sera asked, "Have you received the recording?" In the holo, Renosi nodded. "Near the end you'll see a man wearing a long coat trimmed in trantawolf fur. He works for Anais Sykes."

"Sykes? She's the one running the— what are they calling it— Zephyr Combine."

"At least somebody's keeping up with the news," Lyra mumbled.

The Neablu was silent while she reviewed the recording. After a minute, she looked into the camera. "What's your proof of this man's connection to Sykes and the Zephyr Combine?"

"The cargo we picked up on Lantillies was ceraglass. Sykes was the customer. Both of them were at the cargo exchange on Enarc."

"We think the ceraglass shipment included some of that Breeze," Taz put in.

Naktiya's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "So you were smuggling drugs?"

"Of course not!" snapped Lyra angrily.

Sera placated her with a raised hand. "Not wittingly, Officer Renosi. Customs even scanned our ship and cargo when we arrived at Enarc. You can check with them if you'd like."

"This man, the one in the coat. Do you know who he is?"

Sera's casual countenance faltered for an instant. "I'm not sure but..." A brief, harsh struggle played over her face. In a flat, tight tone, she uttered, "Zorath Rawl. Try that name. Cross-reference with the Amberdyre Syndicate on Corellia."

Lyra flicked a sober look at Taz.

"I'll do that," assured the ranger. "Why call me, though? The local authorities or the Ranger's office in your sector are the places to start, Captain Rendix."

Taz stuck his head into the camera's frame. "The abduction on that recording is only one of several that's happened over the past few months, Ranger Renosi, but the authorities here on Inusagi are unwilling to investigate. We think they're being paid by Sykes to look the other way."

"It's not just Rayeths," Lyra put in. "Humans are being abducted here too, and there have been attacks... like that Hrakian." She shivered, then drew a steadying breath. "If the planetary authorities are in Zann's pocket, the sector authorities might be too. Plus, the recording you saw was made using Rayeth technology. The Rangers won't have any way to verify it."

"So you came to me because..."

Sera grinned into the pickup. "Because we trust you, Officer Renosi, and you said we should call if we needed help." Behind her, Lyra grumbled something inaudible. Sera frowned at her before turning back. "We were hoping you could look into the abductions. If they're connected to Zann and the illegal trade in Breeze, it might help to expose their operation and shut it down. If they're not, the involvement of Rangers from outside the Chommel sector might spur some action, even if the Consortium has bought off the authorities here."

"I see," said Naktiya. "Well, I'm awfully far away from Inusagi and I'm restricted with respect to what I can do outside of my home sector." She tapped her chin. "There was a memo a few months back... A joint drug interdiction operation between Customs and the Sector Rangers. It's being run by a Special Enforcement Officer, a Ranger with cross-sector jurisdiction. What was his name again...? She consulted her terminal for a few seconds. "Naveen! SEO Armin Naveen."

"Naveen?" Sera repeated with a raised brow. "Any relation to Jereeda Naveen?"

"I've never met him, so I couldn't say. Who is that?"

"She's a woman I know," Sera responded with a disappointed look that faded after a second. "Listen, I know we haven't presented much in the way of hard evidence but a lot of threads seem to be coming together here. I don't suppose there's any way you could contact this Ranger, maybe convince him to pay a visit to Inusagi?"

Renosi's projected image looked skeptical. "I don't know. I'd like to help but—"

"We need to do something, Renosi," said Lyra. She stared into the camera looking earnest. "Please, the Rayeths don't leave the oceans. They're no harm to anyone, but they're being preyed upon by awful people, and no one here seems to care. They could really use your help."

Taz settled his hand at the small of Lyra's back and gave her a sympathetic smile. "We'd be grateful for any assistance you can provide, Officer Renosi."

Tolfer came closer and put his arms around Renosi. In a low voice he said, "You should come back to bed, Tiya. Shift starts in three hours."

Renosi seemed to consider for a minute while she leaned against the young man. "Well, I do owe you. I'll see what I can do. No promises, though!"

"We're grateful, Naktiya. We'll let you get back to your companion."

"Thanks! You know how needy Human men can be!"

"Not really, no," Sera answered with a grin and ended the call. Renosi waved goodbye as the holo faded.