The jump ended with a bright flash.
A few seconds passed.
A few more.
Ha.
We breathed a sigh of relief as the tension dissipated.
The worst we had expected that would come, hadn't.
We had managed to slip through the net.
We knew from the energy signatures, that something, someone was controlling the star lanes in and out of Srtken. They were either pirates or something, far, far worse.
We planned accordingly.
We had enough confidence to slip past anything with our superior cloaking technology but you could never know. You never wanted your sides exposed in this galaxy.
Everyone slowly started loosening their grips on their respective stations as we looked at the Srtken Spaceport. If we had slacked in our information gathering we would have most likely been ambushed right about now.
But I felt something was wrong.
I looked right and left, it was a unanimous feeling.
We all felt it.
The garrison was too lax.
Most of their weapon systems weren't on active duty and their patrol vessels were all sitting around in their hangars.
How had they not been annihilated yet?
How had our besiegers not obliterated the station already?
As we slowly made our way toward the Starport I theorized.
And if what I had come to expect was the reality of the situation, things were about to get messy.
We were all still on high alert, combat-ready.
If the garrison tried anything funny, we would empty most of our silo before engaging cloak and running away. Slowly drifting in, we waited.
They made the first move.
An incoming transmission.
Cautiously, we opened the communications channel:
''Welcome to the Srtken Spaceport, identify yourself and disengage your weapons systems.''
Said the fat sealman as his hologram popped up.
Hm. Alright.
I motioned for my crew to cautiously do what the spaceport said.
We only needed to act naturally, surely it would all be unraveled before our eyes.
''Disengaging now, we will forward our information to your systems shortly.''
I look at the patrol vessels and port systems. Still powered on low.
I motioned for my men to share our files and slowly power down our weapons systems.
The garrison sent their own information available to the public.
I trimmed the lines to see if anything was out of place.
Nothing worthwhile came from their public data.
We needed to get inside the Starport.
Would they accept us?
A few stone-cold minutes passed, we got our answer:
''You're good.''
''We will send some ships to help you taxi towards hangar bay [15]. You should see the giant blue paint in Galactic Numerals at the top of the mentioned hangar-’’
The fat seal man in the hologram laughed to himself and got as close to his camera as he could without tipping over in his chair.
''Though, if you don't know Galactic Common, I can help you with visual cues instead. Captain, Suleiman.''
I didn't bite the bait.
Just blew the frustration out of my nose with a deep exhale.
Great. Just what I wanted to deal with today.
We could die any moment, both of us, and this son of a seal was trying to bait me with anti-human prejudice.
My fucking god.
''I know galactic common perfectly fine-''
I checked the public data we had gotten to find his name.
''Lt. Shaeer.''
''Why don't we drop these unnecessary provocations and just get it over with it? Surely neither of us wants to waste their precious time here.''
The seal man looked into his camera and grumbled.
I thought for sure that I would have to listen to this man go on and on about gardenworlder race theory and how barbaric we deathworlders were.
But that didn't happen.
''Well when you put it that way captain, I guess I was being a little unfair.''
He huffed and puffed for one final time before adding:
''You sound prim and proper for a Human, I'll give you that.''
''The looks could use a little bit more effort, but I am no Human to judge.''
''Officially, Welcome to the Srtken Starport. Enjoy your stay."
He said before he ended the transmission, his hologram disappearing with his voice.
Weird motherfucker.
Man. Why must I be tested like this?
I tried to clear my head as the bridge broke into chatter as people speculated about what could be going on.
I turned my eyes toward the computer screen once again.
From the malware we had managed to sneak into their systems while the transmission was going on, it didn't look like there was much.
The only abnormality we could find was a transmission sent from inside the Starport outwards by a personal device connected to the Starport's main frame, however, it was heavily encrypted.
We had to give up on cracking it after we realised the only way to crack it would be to get the encryption key. When did gardenworlders learn intrigue and sabotage?
It was probably a government document or something.
Other than that, it looked as if nothing abnormal had happened here at all.
No contact with anything other than passing ships for the past few weeks.
But we knew that was a lie.
To find out the truth, we have to go in, into the spaceport.
We don’t have another choice.
I called upon the crew:
''We are going with Plan B, infiltration. Handle the 'cargo' and leave as fast as possible while I handle the system governor. The closest Joint Galactic Patrol Fleet is around 5 systems west in the Sarla Cluster.''
‘’Get them on your tail and come back to clean house.’’
The stakes were getting higher and higher.
We needed more firepower in case the station turned hostile.
I wasn’t going to get captured and die inside this station.
''Sure thing Cap. You can count on us to deal with that.''
Said John.
Which was followed up by the crew who had been listening on the bridge, giving tones of acknowledgment.
They were jumping at the chance to flex their sore muscles, riling each other up to do the same. The bulls had seen red.
I gave them all a weak, encouraging grin:
''Then get to work, lads. Let’s finish this shit before dinner!’’
The cheering and shouting didn't stop for a good 5 minutes as I got words of encouragement from every man, woman, and Xeno on the bridge while I tried to make my way out. These fellas.
I was just about to get out of the bridge when-
''CAP! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!''
Someone shouted as I had finally gotten to the door.
Oh?
I rushed back in, towards the man who had shouted.
He was with the information division.
''What happened!?''
The man started speaking in disbelief:
''Remember that encrypted communication that was sent by someone inside the spaceport? I found the decryption key in the Starports systems! It just got connected to the spaceport so our malware managed to reach it.''
''It is inside... a personal device?''
It took us a hot minute to dock, as we got delayed for a few minutes due to some unexplained reason.
How wonderful.
Cargo was unloaded, files were signed.
There was no ambush, no betrayal.
It really looked as if the Starport was functioning normally, oblivious of their situation.
I was right to go by Plan B.
A suicidal frontal assault wasn’t needed after all.
So, I left the ship to the remaining crew inside and watched it fly off.
They'd be back in a couple hours along with the JPGF in tow-
If they didn’t get blown up on the way outside!
If John gets that ship damaged I'm cutting the repairs from his paycheck.
After watching the Ark depart I made my way deeper into the spaceport.
Which was a pleasant experience.
The hallways were clean with potted alien plants, and the guards were on standby in case I tried anything funny.
Pretty sure they even had the equivalent of guard dogs here, I saw something like an animal on a leash jumping around as I made my way to meet with the governor.
The place could have been livelier, but other than the lack of people on the spaceport, it was top-notch.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
There were no glaring issues and the maintenance was being done regularly. Someone had been keeping this place running and clean.
Either I had a competent governor in my hands, or some rich Xeno who had money to flounder was treating this place as their space mansion.
Why else would this normally unimportant starbase be so well off?
Though it was nice to finally see something that resembled professionalism, I was getting bored from having to look at the same design and layout I had seen so many times before due to the standardized building plans that the GC used for its Starports.
I switched trams.
Whoever invented these things was a genius, they were super fast which made it possible to transport people inside huge space structures without requiring people to walk for 10 hours.
Ding!
Ah, Finally! The governor's office.
Walking up to the desk I started talking to a seal woman who introduced herself as the secretary for the governor of this system.
I knew that this request of mine to meet such an important figure would be disregarded and instead handled by her if I didn't have solid evidence to present about the existence of a major problem.
We talked a bit, I exchanged the usual polite pleasantries to present myself as a more sensible man and showed her our scan reports of ships getting picked up where they were not supposed to be, on the rims of the FTL lanes.
I watched as the secretary went through a few emotions, and finally settled on being concerned.
From her perspective, I could have been lying.
But the data wasn't, this needed more investigation and time to make a decision.
Which gave me confirmation.
Not even the secretary knew about this situation.
If she had been I would have probably read it from how she acted.
Information was being suppressed, and the truth was being hidden.
She said that she would forward this to the governor soon as a priority, and would grant me a meeting. However, said meeting would take place only in about 2 hours.
Apparently, there was urgent work, more urgent than the possibility of pirates or Nalshians coming to raid this system, so I was told to wait. Crazy.
Not having a choice, and not wanting to anger the people whom I would have to talk to, I did my best to not grumble as I accepted the offer with a fake smile and started walking inside the space station again, looking for clues.
It would be fine. The timing of my meeting probably aligned really well with when a Joint Galactic Patrol Fleet would supposedly arrive.
At least this gave me time to think.
Try and think.
Connect the dots.
Someone was going to great lengths to keep the matter out of the public discussion, even the spaceport personnel had no idea!
This was a relatively isolated system, with only some select ships using it as a fast route if they wanted to get to the edge of the Nalshian Empire.
The ships that made their way through here were mostly Human ships bringing in medical aid, supplies, and goods to capitalize on the collapsing Nalshian economy due to the ongoing civil war.
Were the pirates targeting Human merchandise?
Or was this a Nalshian faction or bandit group?
Those were the only options that made sense.
There was nothing else to pirate here.
Unless the garrison-
''Hey, can you hear me, sir?''
I stared dumbly at the seal soldier as he poked me with his fluffy seal-like hands.
I think I stared at him for a solid 3 seconds until he waved his hand in front of my face which brought me back to reality.
I stole a glance at a clock that I could see from where I was sitting, it was indeed the time the secretary had told me.
''The governor is waiting for you inside her office. We will wait outside the office until your meeting is over, but we have to do a final check to make sure you aren't carrying any weapons or [contraband]-''
The guard explained with a look that I could only identify as 'not feeling very safe right now'.
''Safety procedures, you know.''
I had a sneaking suspicion that this was not a routine check.
I could see around 30 guards, all carrying different types of gardenworlder-grade weapons from the edge of my vision.
All ready, fingers on the triggers, hands gripping to their lifelines in case the Human decided to no longer play nice.
There were probably many more hiding outside this small waiting area…
I complied to his orders by holding my open hands in the air.
I had nothing to hide.
Their paranoia, I had also expected.
This was the usual caution you had to put up when dealing with us Humans. It's the reputation that came with being a species that used nukes on its home planet, I knew.
The search, to its credit, was thorough.
Fully checked under my shirt, made me remove my shoes.
They eventually asked me to fully empty my pockets, and so I did.
The only thing that caught their attention then was my pen.
But suspicion and fear quickly dissipated when I showed them that it was an actual working pen, not a secret weapon after I used it to write on some paper and had it scanned by some sort of device.
The guard's faces got more and more relaxed as time went on.
Their hands gripped lighter, and their search became less rough.
By the end of it, they were less stressed and more satisfied.
''You have been cleared. You may make your way in.''
Said the guard, now smiling.
I quickly glanced at him, tip to toe.
Eh, a fine lad.
More gardenworlders should aspire to be like him.
I gave him a good handshake explaining all the while that it was a human gesture of goodwill in case he didn't know, being careful to not hurt his fluffy hands out of respect.
The man did take the job of making sure the Human wasn't here to kill them all after all.
He had seal balls of steel.
After finishing my handshake I made my way towards the office door.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Let’s get this shitshow over with.
So I knocked on the door twice, waited for an affirmation, and then made my way inside when I got it.
''Captain Suleiman, I presume?''
Said the seal lady as I made my way in and closed the door behind me.
''You'd be correct. ‘’
‘’Pleased to make your acquaintance, Governor Pala?''
I said as I made my way over to her desk and sat down on a chair.
The GC's policy of sharing personnel names with ships was coming in handy.
''You may call me [Miss] Pala, [Mister] Suleiman.''
She said as she took a sip from a drink on her desk while sorting some documents.
''Any problems you might have encountered, during your short stay?''
Playing the long game are we?
Sure. I’ll entertain you.
She was probably referring to my run-in with the Lieutenant.
Let's see.
''No problems Miss Pala. I am well aware of my species, reputation.''
I did have an issue, but I didn't dare say it out loud.
Not about the Anti-Human sentiment among her personnel-
It was about my shoulders barely making it above the table.
Didn't help my case for what I was aiming to accomplish here.
''I am used to dealing with your peoples [Mister] Suleiman.''
She stopped fiddling with the documents in her hands, putting them down.
''Some of the [mercantile] Human ships going towards the Nalshian domain do prefer the solitude of this route, which was what I thought you were here for.''
I nodded my head as I looked around the office a bit more.
A desk full of papers, some potted plants in the corners.
A giant window into the endless abyss behind her-
''But I was deeply concerned when I heard of your report.''
''Something about unknown energy signatures from ships. Near my system?''
She said in a questioning voice, filled with the implication of doubt more than anything.
Cunning bastard.
She was trying to take hold of the conversation flow.
So I leaned forward and upwards, taking a more serious stance.
Dropping the act in turn, I was going to wrestle back the flow.
Who would I be now if I didn’t?
''I heard rumors.’’
’'Rumors about ships disapearing, just under the nose of your station.''
A questioning look.
She didn’t seem convinced.
She probably thought I didn't know the truth.
I will see your true face in a bit.
''We thought that in the worst-case scenario, you would be fighting a raid on the station by the time we got here.’’
I studied her reactions when I dropped the bombshell.
I needed to be sure of what was happening.
Leaned back into my chair.
A flash of curiosity, of fear.
Maybe sadness, but not shock. Curious.
If she was playing, she was playing really damn well.
Keep pushing.
''But from what I could see with the lax state of the station, you do not seem to even know of such a thing. Quite concerning.''
Everyone here seemed to have no clue of what was happening.
I needed to dig straight at the top.
So I studied her. Straight through her soul.
Her face went through a variety of expressions.
A rollercoaster of emotions.
But they settled on stiffness.
Bingo.
''[Raiders]? Here?''
''What could you be talking about [Mister] Suleiman? I can assure you that such a thing is impossible.''
She said in a panicked tone that one would have missed if they were only relying on their translators. But I wasn’t that kind of man.
I had been watching her limb movement, her face, and her body language the entire time. And she had just messed up.
A lead.
Follow it.
Run for the open doors before they close.
''I have evidence with me, Miss Pala.''
''Not only do we have those radar signatures, we also-''
Ping!
Shit. I can't let her open that!
Just as I was about to push her further, her PDA gave a ping.
Not being an idiot, she saw the way out and tried to go for it.
She could not only pause the conversation but also call for security-
The possibilities to fuck me over were endless.
I wasn’t just going to allow it.
I got up from my chair and SLAMMED my fist on the metal table, stopping her in her tracks.
''Put your hands back where they were, and answer me, Miss Pala.''
I took a pose as threatening as possible.
This was, of course, a gamble in itself.
If she called for the guards outside, I would be losing my only lead, and possibly, my head.
''What do you know about the situation?''
She complied and opened her mouth.
Whether it was an actual decision or instinct to follow orders I don't know. But she surrendered and bowed down to authority.
''I-.''
She clearly wanted to continue but she was hyperventilating too hard to speak.
I sat back down on my chair and fixed my appearance to be more neutral.
There were a few reasons why I believed that she would just not scream for the guards.
I was a Human, they weren’t. I could kill her with my bare hands before the guards could shoot me from the outside.
To her, a great nightmare had just appeared out of nowhere and was questioning her, studying her.
The facade was crumbling.
She looked like she could collapse at any moment.
More flashes of sadness, body language full of burden.
''The, the [pirates]-''
''Y-You don't know!''
She blurted out before snapping her mouth shut with one of her hands.
I raised my eyebrow, a signal for her to continue.
I had hooked out the truth, and it hurt her.
But we had to trudge on, didn't we?
I could only offer my condolences after she told me what exactly was happening.
It took a few more gasps, but she managed to collect herself.
She went for her cup, took some big sips, and gulped them down.
''I hope you k-know what you are getting yourself into [Mister] Suleiman.''
She said as she wiped her mouth.
The distress was visible, and the shakiness in her voice was now apparent.
I nodded my head, of course, I did.
It was why I was here.
And now it was her turn to study me.
She looked like she was comparing the options that she could take.
Would she chase out this stranger?
But he seemed to know something, and he appeared to be offering help. Such was probably her line of thinking.
If she called for the guards I was done for.
If she sent me away I would be losing my only opportunity.
But in the end, the voice telling her to tell the truth won, to ask for help.
Because I got my answer.
So with a sigh admitting defeat, leaning back into her chair, relaxing her posture, she told me:
''They have been threatening our station for the last few weeks. And they have the firepower. I saw them firsthand, raiding the last few human cargo vessels I mentioned when they got out of our system.''
I gave it a quick think.
That was certainly impressive, but human cargo vessels generally didn't have ship-to-ship combat capabilities. Noting it down as bias for overexaggerating human capabilities.
''I don't know how you managed to make your way in but we are under an effective siege. If they decided to attack our station we would be [dead meat]! Your ship has probably already been destroyed while trying to make its way out.''
She gulped in fear as her words poured out.
''But that doesn't make sense Miss Pala.''
''If there is such a threat to our lives, how can the garrison afford to be so lax? You could be dooming us all right now!''
I said with a panicked and irritated tone.
And I thought you were at the very least smart.
Puh.
''It, it's b-because they are [blackmailing] us. They attack ships only when they are leaving the system when they drop their guards. If we were to transmit a word about this to the other stations or [man our guns], we would get [blasted to bits] by them first.''
She said in a distressed tone.
This didn't look too good.
My worries had bloomed, not even a flower, they had grown into a full-on fruit tree.
I murmured:
''That does make sense. This way they could continue their operations without being hunted down by the JGPFs. Clever.''
Sure, let us say the pirates don't want to attack and stay on the backdrop because it wouldn't make sense logistically to reveal themselves. But why didn't the garrison intervene?
''But what of the defense fleet docked in? Why, how is that still standing? Why did they not cripple you?''
I said as I got up on my feet once again, putting my hand on my bearded chin.
I had to show my sincerity and willingness to help otherwise, none of this would pan out the way I wanted it to.
''My guess is that they didn't want to trade blows. They must have decided that both sides losing ships would not be worth it for them.''
Pala said.
That was a good call.
It was probably true.
''What about you? Why didn't you try to attack them?''
I asked, to learn more.
I needed to know.
''My people...''
...
''Your people?''
She looked at me dejected as if I had no clue what was at stake.
''How many people do you think would die, if I were to send them out against a pirate force that matches the garrison in power? You deathworlders never did value life.''
Ah.
''You, you are scared of losing your men's lives. So you just sat back and did nothing...’’
I said, my voice getting quieter as the sentence went on.
I realized too late that I was spilling out what I probably should have kept to myself.
Well. Fuck.
In return the woman just looked at me, looked at me with eyes full of pain.
The floodgates of guilt and sadness had finally been opened, despair was on the horizon.
She looked like she would break if I were to say another word.
The proud and diligent woman I had seen when I first made my way in was gone. I had to think and turn it all around before panic fully took over her.
Thinking about my options I decided to lean on the desk separating us, checking if there could be anything that could be of use.
I needed her reasoning.
For all these lies.
The cup? Filled with some red liquid.
Documents? Full of numbers and details in seal-tounge, unrecognizable.
I thought there was nothing useful, so I considered getting up, accepting that I was empty-handed.
Then, I spotted a picture, a frame.
From where I had been sitting, I couldn't see it before, I had ignored it.
But never in a million years could I have guessed who would be in that picture frame.
''Your husband, Miss Pala?''
I gestured to the picture of her standing next to another sealperson.
She slowly nodded her head, eyes weary and tired.
It was truly tragic.
Because the framed man staring back at me was Lieutenant Shaeer.
Anger swelled up in me as the final place fell into place.
How, how pathetic.
These pirates and their puppet.
All this blood, wasted blood.
There would be hell to pay.
''Don't worry Miss Pala. I swear to get us all out of this mess alive if that is the last thing I do!''
I said with determination.
I wouldn't let this, this catastrophe slide.
All she did in turn was give me another measly nod as she finally lost her strength.
The stress, too much to bear.
A tear.
Another.
And another swelled up in her eyes.
She began tearing up, but she was trying her best to look calm and collected in front of me with those teary eyes, to keep what was left of her dignity.
But I didn't care, so:
I signaled her to cry, cry her heart out.
It took a while.
Around a minute.
But she seemed much better when she was done.
It must have been tough for her, all this time.
Not feeling comfortable with the tears in her eyes, she closed them before hanging her head down to wipe them with her hands.
I smiled and gave a sharp exhale through my nose.
I would have laughed if it wouldn't have brought her attention to me.
It indeed must have been tough-
-to be such a fucking failure.
A hand.
A painfilled screech, muffled by the other.
In mere moments, the solemnity of the office shifted to panic and terror.
She struggled as hard as she could, but she was no match for a human.
She screamed as hard as she could, but her voice could barely escape her mouth before the hand on her throat squeezed, her efforts were in vain.
As the seal lady choked on her spit, I watched her fruitless attempts to free herself.
To shout, to scream, to call for her guards.
To do anything.
But it was all for naught.