Anywhere Is The Place To Be! – Chapter 8

Galienta sector, neutral space

Inside of a small transport going in the direction of the meeting point, general Grant was with the Aeons sisters and his trusted subordinate major Thamor. The two sisters were walking along the hallways in direction of the command room.

“Finally! It’s been two hours since we’ve left the cruiser! Why have we taken such a long detour to get here! According to the coordinates of the location from the ‘Justice’, the trip should have taken maximum thirty minutes.” Complained Javera.

“Must I explain again that this is a secret meeting for the consolidation of the team? You know that some measures need to be taken to assure that nothing wrong happens, right?” answered Thalyana.

“I know… I just find it pointless since we are going to announce it publicly sooner or later.” Retorqued Javera. “I’m just puzzled on what we are fighting that is so dangerous that it needs both galactic powers to join up together…”

“You will not have to wait long since we are going to be fully briefed when we arrive at… Well, ‘Anywhere’.”

Both looked out of the window seeing the mobile mega-station ‘Anywhere’ becoming bigger as they approach. It was the size of a small planet and was an impressive looking fortress. It was a safe heaven for outlaws and criminals of all sorts. Javera had heard of it before through her underworld channels, but to gain entry, you had to be in the known and very deeply linked to the underworld. It was a den of thieves, but ironically, one had to gain the trust of these thieves to gain access.

Incredibly, this station has been operating for more then two hundred years and started as a freighter. Many modifications overtime has made it grow exponentially and its functionality has had a complete overhaul. The station has also been under the control of many different owners. The tradition in the underworld was that the person who has sole possession of the station will be known as the ‘Pirate King’. He would act as king of the galactic underworld and be an impartial ruler of the mega-station.

Many have had the title and it has shifted hands so many times that knowing who was king could change by the week. Once, there was a king known as Tamarac the ‘One Second King’… I’ll let you guess how long his reign lasted. Tamarac was a cunning bandit who was able to ally multiple bandit clans through diverse negotiations and promises to different clans… Of course, these promises clash with other clans and his plan was to let them all fight it between themselves and be the simple ‘impartial’ ruler of the station. However, his plan was seen through. The clans killed him right after they took out the king before him and that he self-proclaimed himself the ‘Eternal King’.

What ensued was the ‘Eternal Underworld War’ that lasted for one hundred years where all the underworld major clans didn’t stop unleashing massive resources for the war and the war seemed endless. Millions have died to the conflict and it even reached out of the underworld and implicating the Democratic Republic Alliance and the Avalon Empire. It was only sixty years ago that the war stopped with the arrival of the man named Borkhan who became the ‘Pirate King’. He was known as Borkhan the ‘Ugly King’ and that wasn’t because he was ugly.

He was quite gorgeous even according to man standards and many fawned over him, however he was vicious and traitorous. Cunning and ruthless, he was able to do what Tamarac couldn’t: allying all the underworld clans together and gain complete control of the station with full support of the clans. He had massacred any leader that was opposed to him or was to difficult to deal with and replaced them with pawns of his own that were loyal to him only. For approximately fifty years or so, his reign was uncontested, and he reign with an iron fist. Taxes were put in place and he even had an administration inputted to regulate the mega-station that was now acting more like an artificial planet that could move through hyperspace.

It was an impressive feat to do in the underworld, but his reign was a brutal one and people were getting more and more frustrated from being suffocated by the taxes and laws. Many complained that Borkhan had forgotten his roots and was becoming less of an outlaw and more of a bureaucrat, becoming disconnected with the underworld and its people. The mega-station was supposed to be a heaven from the other powerful factions dominating the galaxy and where freedom reigned. Yes, it was chaos at times, but it was theirs and no one could take it from them.

However, ten years ago, one man and his crew changed everything. None know where he came from or know his identity even up to this date, but he singlehandedly started to destroy the Ugly King’s regime. Transaction being sabotaged, supply line getting pirated, pure vandalism; name the poison and the man used it. Soon, the underworld started to call him the ‘Devil’s Hand’. The name came from the fact that people though that Borkhan had made a deal with the Devil to get into power and that now the Devil was back to collect.

The fact of the matter is that the ‘Devil’s Hand’ didn’t do much, they simply stole and did random acts against the Pirate King that none would dare do, but, since he was successful, the underworld smelled blood. Showing weakness in the underworld was the worst thing to do and this spurred other sharks and vultures to attack the king too. In a matter of months, the underworld was in chaos and Borkhan was unable to stop it. Inside of three years after that he was push to the brink by the ‘Devil’s Hand’ and was then killed by him. The man in question became the new Pirate King; the Underworld ‘Devil King’ had risen through the blood of his predecessor. However, the ‘Devil King’ decided to stay anonymous and only his crew was seen in public. His crew announced that the he would let the thing ‘flow’ and that freedom was essential for the underworld, but mutual communication was also important. At that point, the station became a neutral ground and some level of administration was still in place, but the outlaws would also work together to keep it like that. The Pirate King was still important for major events and decision making and he would act as mediator in disputes, but for everything else, the people had to deal with it themselves.

However, the mystery behind the king’s identity still stirred the minds of some. Some theorize that the Devil King is the whole crew or that he is a major player in intergalactic affairs, while other frankly didn’t give a shit: the outlaws were simply happy of their freedom and the chaos that it brought. It was their home and anyone who would fuck with them would face the end of whatever weapon they had on hand.

Javera and Thalyana were fascinated how such a society could still function in this mayhem. Because of her work, Javera was more used to it and found it quite charming at times, but she still preferred an ordered society. For Thalyana, it was unthinkable to live in such a society, but she took the time to contemplate such a sight and started to think of studies she could do to understand it more thoroughly. Such massive society existed outside the alliance and survived which was noteworthy.

Still walking towards the control room, Javera then gazed in front of her and saw the general Grant speaking to the major whom seemed to listen while doing a last-minute check-up on his weapon. The soldier was clad in some sort of black full body heavy armor. The armor seemed to have two symmetrical yellow lines spanning both his arms, one in the front and back of his legs and two side by side on the top of his helmet. He had a full-face helmet with two openings for his eyes which was closed off by black tinted glass. The helmet seemed to resemble and expressionless face which seemed ominous, most likely use for intimidating the enemy. He also had a yellow shoulder guard on his left shoulder which was bigger then the black one on his right shoulder. The armor was intimidating, but the man himself was huge. At least a head higher then Javera who was five foot eleven. He was large and under that armor he would probably be very muscular.

She also noticed that his weapon was a heavy automatic laser-rifle, a DL-5. This weapon was known with having heavy disintegration laser shots, high recoil and was considered quite heavy for normal infantry soldiers. It was used against tanks and would shred light-vehicle like they were paper. The weapons heavy recoil and heavier built forced the soldier to shoot it only in prone position on a tripod or mounted somewhere for better stability. The advantage of this weapon was that it had very high ammunition capacity, easy to make and maintain and, of course, its power was reliable. One could fire it without relenting for three hours before he had to reload a new cell cartridge, which was fine since each cartridge weighed twenty-five pounds each even thought they were palm sized. The major was handling the weapon leisurely like any other normal rifle weapon, not minding the weight and had at least five other cell cartridges on him with multiple other devices and explosives. Not mentioning the weight, one would wonder if he was preparing to wage a war by himself or something?

Javera seemed disturbed by this man because since they met him, he hasn’t said a word apart from greeting them. Thalyana didn’t seem to mind and even felt that the man seemed nice if not a bit anti-social, but Javera was on high alert. She felt that death was glued to the man and alarm signals were going off in her head, telling her to run away. Even when she faced the emperor himself, she didn’t feel as afraid then now.

‘I can’t let him get too close to Thalyana.’ She thought.

“We will be docking the transport soon after we get clearance. Have you come up with a plan?” general Grant asked.

“The meeting first, then planning.” Said the low rugged voice under the helmet.

“True. We can’t construct anything if you only have half the tools.”

The major lifted his head after finishing his check-up and simply nodded at the general. Even though the conversation was brief, you could feel some sort of appreciation coming from the general towards major Thamor.

“Hello general Grant and major Thamor! May I ask why we are here? Is this the so-called mega-station ‘Anywhere’? Are we allying with outlaws in addition to the empire?” asked Thalyana.

“We can say that. The Devil King himself has noticed the threat and has concluded that helping with the meeting and negotiation between us and the empire would be more beneficial to him then letting this new threat grow. He volunteered this station as a middle ground for both of us. He doesn’t want to get more involved then necessary between the alliance and empire stating his neutrality but will still help out with whatever supplies we need to make this joint effort work.” Explained Grant.

“So basically, what you are saying is, he wants us to clear out the troubles without getting involve but doesn’t mind making a profit from us while we do so. Can’t argue with his business sense even though it rubs me the wrong way seeing we are doing the heavy lifting.” Javera understood where the man came from, but it still felt like she is being cheated. If something threatens the whole galaxy, the normal conclusion is that everyone should get involved with maximum effort to solve it, but she knew otherwise. Her travels gave her the experience that not all life forms see and act on events in the same manner.

Stolen novel; please report.

“The man assured us that we would get a discount as show of goodwill. The fact that he is lending us some space and selling us wares is already more then I was hoping for from the Underworld Pirate King.” Honestly said General Grant, “Anyway, let us just be thankful we have already this much offered to us.”

The intercom activated, “We have been cleared to dock, general. We will be able to access the docks in five minutes.”

“Thank you, captain. Keep the ship secure until our return. I also suggest keeping the engines warm for a hasty exit.” The general was preparing for any event.

“Don’t worry general. I don’t intend to stay in this pit of scum and villainy for long.” Said disdainfully the captain.

The for of them moved towards the airlock of the ship where they were meet with an escort party. When the locking mechanism were finally attached to the ship, they walk out to the docks of the spaceport. They were docked in an isolated area, away of preying eyes, so the area was mostly quiet as they advanced.

After a few steps of the ship, the general turned and faced the major, “Your mission is to acquire the target safely by any means possible and make sure to bring him to the meeting. The host guarantied our safety and measures have been put in place to keep the meeting a secret so make sure you aren’t followed.” The general paused and then added, “If you happen to make a scene, which most likely will happen, lose any pursuers before joining us.”

Thamor nodded and took off the safety on his weapon which emitted a light ascending sound, broadcasting to everyone present that he was going in gun blazing. He turned around and started running and quickly disappeared in the darkness of and alley close to the docks.

The two sisters looked at each other with worry written all over their face.

“What exactly is the major doing, general? He seems to be going in a warzone with the atmosphere he is displaying. Who is this asset he is going to get?” asked Thalyana.

“Yeah, your guy has his bolts screwed way to tightly. With all the arsenal he has on him, I am more worried for the people living here!” Javera added.

“Major Thamor has been here before and should be well known enough to not have too much trouble. On this station lives a man who will be part of the Arbiter team and his name is Slyborg-Jones.” Grant saw the startled look on Javera and then asked, “Do you know him by any chance?”

“Well yeah, a bit. I heard of him in the underworld. He is some sort of famous smuggler with crazy piloting skills and uses unsanctioned hyper-lanes with ease, which either makes him one of the luckiest or most crazy pilots out there. He has been on the smuggling business for ten years or so… However, he is only slightly more renown then others which is why I was surprised to hear him be part of the team.”

Today, most ships had the capacity to jump to light-speed without problem, however one must be able to calculate the right hyper-lanes that let you pass through without any problems. Unsanctioned hyper-lanes where lanes that were riddled with problems: one could have a dark hole in the middle of it, the other was close to a Cican’s nest or the hyper-lanes would lead you right inside an asteroid field. So, most 1would simply take a detour and spend more fuel for safety in their passage. The problem was that some people didn’t have the fuel, time or simply didn’t care. The lanes also shifted according to environmental changes and time. Electro-magnetic storms were one of multiple events that could affect a hyper-lane, while others could change by themselves in regular intervals and had set times. Of course, these set times where dependent on the fact that nothing else affected the lane.

Slyborg-Jones was a mix of all the above but was mostly crazy. However, inside his ten years of business, he traveled through unsanctioned hyper-lanes numerous times and came out unscathed… Well most of the time.

The general started to walk, and the sisters followed with the escort of ten soldier, “There is a lot more then meets the eyes with the Captain. He is extremely skilled and even the Avalon Empire were ‘impressed’ by him and accepted him being the pilot of the team.” Announced the general.

“Even the empire?!” exclaimed Thalyana.

“Yes. According to sources, he managed to evade imprisonment by exerting his talents for explosives and evading imperial authorities in a three to one space battle.”

“Bah! That was a small team of enforcers, many could evade that…” said casually Javera.

“He was on Meridian Station when he was approached by authorities…” specified the general.

Javera was flabbergasted and Thalyana’s became pale.

 “What the fuck?! Wait, how is he still alive!” shouted Javera clearly agitated.

“It would seem he got in a bar fight.” Said the general calmly, but a smile was on his face. He too was astounded the first time he heard about it.

“A bar fight…” Thalyana repeated.

“Yes. He was highly intoxicated and started a fist-fight, which then crew to a fire-fight and when he had some ‘sense’ come to him, he decided to leave… but not before exploding multiple installations inside the station, then grab his ship and escaped. All this while still drunk and alone.”

“… And the empire only said they were impressed?” asked rhetorically Thalyana.

“Yeah. Those dudes in the empire are so weird sometimes…” Javera had given up on common sense and just accepted it.

“Normally, I am sure they would have pursued such an outlaw causing such chaos, but seeing that he will be part of this team, they seemed to let it slide… For now, at least. I would suggest you prepare yourself because the people that you will be cooperating with will be of the same kind of ‘out of the ordinary’ individuals.”

After a couple of blocks, they entered some sort of shabby store. When the clerk recognized the general and was shown a special pass from him, he brought them in the backroom. Inside a lone portal device was installed.

“I’ll activate it, just walk on through after. It will be the big shiny door at the end of the hall. Have fun!” said the clerk.

He had a huge grin while looking at the two beauties in front of him. They tried the best they could to not be disturbed by his creepy giggling. His laughter and staring only manage to anger Javera, while Thalyana was trying her best to cool her down. The squad of soldier stayed at the shop and waited for them to return, while the general and the sister went forward through the blue portal.

They were transported inside a hallway which had many doors on each side and approximately a hundred meter from them was a gaudy looking door. For a ‘shiny’ door, it was beyond luxurious to the point at being displeasing to the eyes, however, when they opened it, a very spacious room appeared before them with extravagant decoration. In the middle was a very large golden table while in opposite corners was two bars. Luxurious couches on opposite sides were facing each a fire place. Among all these lavish decorations, people were already present, enjoying the installation.

However, there was no warmness in the room, some could even say that once they entered, the temperature of the room even lowered another notch while they were stared at.

At the bar on the far-left corner was what seemed to be a heavy armed Ratadwan mercenary which seemed odd to Grant’s group. He seemed to be talking to a human woman, but hurriedly grasped his helmet at their sight. Closer to them, sitting in front of the fire place, a robed man with a gold mask was sitting face to them and in front of him seemed to be an old man with white wax like skin.

However, next to them was a sygonian that Javera knew from an earlier encounter. “Chief High Guardian Rav Talok…” Javera had said the name with contempt. She knew the man and even exchanged some blows. She knew him as a powerful foe and a hated one too.

When Talok heard his name and title, he turned his head slightly towards them. For a fragment of a second, intense hate was sensed, but the man restraint it and turned his head back like he saw nothing. The Rav Talok she knew would have jumped her directly and fought furiously. She was a hated enemy who had directly assaulted the emperor himself! His post demanded retribution, but something was holding him back.

“Oh! Ho! Our friends have arrived! Such delight it is to see you at last, but I feel like we are missing few friendly faces no? Where is that pilot and monster? Don’t tell me you are holding out on me my dear Grant! Bahahaha!”

“My men went to get the pilot. They will arrive shortly. We can advance ourselves to the table to talk further, Ziban.” A stern voice matching his face rang out. Grant didn’t lose in presence to his compatriot’s little jabs.

Ziban, High Councilor of the Avalon Empire, one of the founding members of the empire still alive. The sisters were astonished to see such a high-profile member of the empire here, but the same was said about the other side. Seeing the great general of the Democratic Republic Alliance army present seem to surprise them. The only one unfazed was the man with the golden mask. He turned lazily, looking at the fire place which seem to interest him more than anything else.

However, Rav Talok, seeing the missing people, jumped on the chance to strike, “So the alliance can’t even organize its forces in time for the meeting. I must say that I am doubting if you all are taking this seriously.” A wicked smile was etched on his face, viciousness was clearly seen in his eyes, waiting an opportune moment to strike.

Surprisingly, it was Ziban who answered him, “Oh! Just let it slide this once. They most likely having difficulties with the pilot. He is a tricky one to hold on to.”

“But still…” persisted Talok.

“How about this: Grant, your team will be the first to buy drinks to soften the mood. Alcohol always had a talent to bring people together, am I right?” a weird blatant wink came from the councilor.

“I see, there is no helping it.” Grant got up himself and went to the bar to grab the alcohol.

Everyone, especially the sisters were shocked. The general, leader of millions upon millions of soldiers, who spread fear to his enemies and awe to his allies… was going to serve them personally some alcohol. At this sight the mercenary went directly to the bar and offered his help.

“A Ratadwan, you must be that famous bounty hunter Mobek Kaan. You have cost us many loses… and many victories. It’s such a shame the DRA doesn’t want to spend the money for experts like yourself.” Declared Grant.

“Ah!... I-I don’t know what to say, sir-mister Grant. You are kind of putting me on the spot.” Grinned wryly Kaan. “Plus, there are people far stronger them me, especially biomentalist…”

“A modest man I see. Just be certain that you do not go too far with your modesty: some could think it to be an insult. Take for example your successful capture of one of my most elite commando unit, the ‘Vanguards’, a unit that no biomentalist was ever able to fight against, was finally captured by yours truly. Telling me it was done by a simple normal man would be hurting my pride a little bit.”

Mobek froze, he didn’t know what to say. The fact is that general Grant was a kind of a legendary figure among none-biomentalist like himself. He was a man who can fight toe to toe against these biomentalist that could be superior to everyone else. He knew he was good, but not at his level.

In the back, still gazing the fire, the hooded man with the golden mask sighed and seemed to be nostalgic as he said, “That was money well spent…”

“OH! HO! So, it was you who bought this fellows services?! My apprentice, you should have shared that information! Why did you do it Vickrein?!” Eagerly asked Ziban, excitement in his eyes.

“mhmm… For science.” He said monotonously. And just like that, he shut himself up.

The sisters were stunned while the general furrowed his brows. They knew who Vickrein Noxus was: a genocidal maniac, a murdering machine that only chassed what he wanted, unconcerned of the world around him and seemed focus only in his research. He was a death god of the battlefield and the only solace they had was that he stayed cooped up in his research most of the time and rarely went to the frontlines.

If he did, numerous souls would be taken by him. What gave him such a notorious reputation was that the worst thing to happen to someone was to become one of his experimental specimens and even worse was he did care who it could be. Enemy or ally, they would still pass under his scalpel.

The most shocking thing though was that he was a shockingly powerful biomentalist and an even greater scientist who has advanced the science on the amelioration and development of biomentalist which both the empire and alliance applied.

He had also brought multiple theories that became taboos by the Temple of Aeons and the Imperial Institute of Korbanis. The fact that both institutions agreed on banning some of his researches when both had complete opposite views about biomentalism said a lot about how controversial his research was.

Suddenly when people thought he was going back to his corner, he stood up, visibly agitated. “This feeling, it can’t be…” excitement could be clearly heard in his voice. Everyone braced themselves: they knew that having an excited Vickrein meant something extremely dangerous was about to happen.