We waited by the front portside airlock as the onboard automated computer brought us in for docking. Haru and I heard a loud bang as an umbilical tunnel connected with the airlock and made a low hiss as the pressurization process began. I tugged on my leather jacket, which I retrieved from my confiscated items, straightening it out and pulling out the three-inch diameter diamond. Then the hissing stopped, and I mentally opened the airlock and walked into the umbilical, leaving Haru behind.

The umbilical tunnel had titanium walls that felt ice-cold, with small lights illuminating the path to the station. Once I reached the other side of the umbilical, the airlock opened, and I saw sleek, black guns with glowing blue highlights shoved into my face. I slowly raised my hands and looked past the ten men holding the guns, ignoring them mostly since they weren’t a threat to me, and saw Okiri standing in the airlock door wearing a grey Yukata.

“Hey, Okiri! I brought the goods as promised,” I chirped.

“I need to confirm that for myself,” Okiri said in Japanese after one of the men beside him translated my words.

Before the translator could relay what Okiri had said, I cut him off, “Of course, you may confirm the cargo, but I would like to discuss some business beforehand,” I said, revealing the diamond between two fingers.

“What kind of business?” Okiri asked.

“Just some simple repairs and cleaning to my new ship. Overtaxed the life support, you see, and I’m not sure I got all the bodies out of here. Plus, since this was a federation vessel, the onboard tracker will give away our position if we travel without a check-in before long. Would that be agreeable for the price you’re already receiving?”

Okiri shook his head, “No, I would not. Life support repairs are expensive, and your diamond doesn’t cover all the labor either.”

“Well, there are plenty of weapons on the ship. That’ll cover the rest of the expenses.”

Okiri fell silent for a moment as he considered me. Then Okiri raised one hand, signaling his men to lower their weapons, and said, “Fine, we’ll do that as well.”

“Excellent! Oh, Hana!” I exclaimed and yelled back down the umbilical.

A minute later, Haru walked up the umbilical, the lights failing to do her justice. She wore a black yukata with green flowers, a golden obi around her waist, and arms crossed in front of her, concealed by her long sleeves. Her hair had been tied in a bun with two green yaazi hairpins sticking out the back of her hair. Okiri’s smile grew wide as she approached that he looked like he should be committed to an insane asylum.

Once Haru reached the end of the umbilical, she gave a polite bow and said in Japanese, “Hello again, Okiri-sama.”

“Hello again, Hana-san. Let us go,” Okiri said, then walked into the station.

Haru followed him, and I followed her but got stopped by one of the guards. “Hey! The hell, I’m with her,” I protested.

Haru stopped and turned to look at me, then back to Okiri and translated. Okiri turned around and said, “You are not allowed on my station. That is a rule I intend to keep. Besides, we need someone to oversee our workers. Wouldn’t want them stealing anything now, would we?”

I crossed her arms, “Fine. Just make sure the work gets done.”

“I will,” Okiri said, then opened the airlock door and left. Haru followed, but not before pulling one arm out of her sleeve and flipping me off as she left.

Then several groups of people began filing into the umbilical, forcing me to return to the ship. I cursed and made my way back to the bridge. A few people wearing hazmat suits followed me unbidden to the bridge, and as I took a seat, they got to work cleaning up what blood had been spilled around the room.

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While they cleaned, I thought about what I would have to do. All I knew had already been told to me. Start a war with the alien races. I needed more details, so I stood, picked my way past the hazmat team to the short-range communications console, and called Okiri.

The man who translated for Okiri answered, “Hello, Okiri-sama is currently indisposed. May I take a message for him?”

“No, I need to talk to the woman he’s being indisposed by right now. Put her on,” I asked.

“Uhmm, okay. I don’t think-”

“Do it!”

The man sighed and said, “A-all right,” then walked off-screen.

A moment later, Haru came into view with her yukata haphazardly wrapped around her like a bathrobe, exposing the partially unzipped leather suit underneath. “What do you want!?” Haru snapped in hushed tones.

“Which console is the long-range communications console?” I asked, smiling.

Haru stared at me dumbfounded, then rubbed the bridge of her nose as she asked, “So, you stopped me from this shit deal so that you can ask me that question instead of looking for the console yourself?”

“Yep.”

Haru sighed, “It’s the same console you’re on now. Just access the communications setting to long-range in the options menu. Now, I got to go and get this thing over and done.”

“Okay, by the way, how’s it going in there?” I asked, then Haru hung up. I turned to look at the hazmat team, who all stopped to watch the conversation. “What? It’s not like the rest of you know how to operate the equipment,” I said, then turned and began tinkering with the console while everyone returned to work.

After a few minutes of tinkering, I set up the long-range comms, and the hazmat group left, the bridge spotless and blood-free. And I dialed the number for the commanders of the central order. An old phone symbol came on the screen and began shaking as a ringing sound came from the console. I took a pair of headphones from a hidden compartment on the console and put them on. The console’s speakers turned off, and the ringing went to the headphones.

After about thirty seconds of ringing, an elderly woman answered the call. She had dozens of wrinkles on her face, wore a black dress that showed no skin, and had glasses so thick that her green eyes looked magnified. “Hello, thanks for calling Sol Federation military core council. My name’s Kati, and I’ll be assisting you today. How may I help you?” the old lady Kati asked in a bored tone.

“You can’t,” I answered immediately.

“Please hold,” Kati said, then a ‘please hold’ picture came on screen, and Fantaisie-impromptu in C-sharp minor, opus sixty-six by Fredric Chopin, began playing.

After three renditions of the song, I felt sleepy and hungry. Then a man finally answered the call with no video, and he used a voice changer to give himself a deeper voice, “Hello, Violet. I’ve been trying to contact you for a while now.”

“Yes, I figured,” I said, making my voice as deep as possible to mock him.

“Stop mocking me. Why have you called?”

“Well, I heard about the job you want me to do and need details,” I answered, still using a deep mocking voice.

“What would you like to know?”

“I want to know what I’m up against and where I could do the most damage. I would also like to know how much I’m making with the job and what the end goal will be for you?”

“Will you stop talking like that!”

“I will when you do.”

I heard a voice changed sigh, followed by a click, “Fine. I’ll tell you what you need to know,” the man now sounded like a computer nerd who never went outside or cared for himself. “I’ll answer the questions in chronological order. Ask if you need anything for the job, and I’ll get it. Plus, I’ll make a private account for you to withdraw money from and for the expenses. The goal is to weaken both the S.F.M.C. and the aliens to gain control of them. And as for when and where you can do the most damage. It will take about a year, and I don’t have all the details yet.”

“A year for what?”

“A year till the meeting happens. That has been set, but not the location. It will happen on the fourth of July, thirty-one forty-one.”

“HAHAHA!! The independent year of Pi!” I guffawed unable to contain it.

“Yes, yes, very funny. Will you be able to do it?”

“Yeah, I can do it,” I said, recovering from my mirth, “I’m going to need some people, though.”

“Well, you know I don’t have many people to spare, but-”

“None of your people are needed,” I interrupted, “I need specialists. And specialists are hard to find.”

“Ah, I see what you’re getting at now. Who do you need to find?”

“Well, for starters, I need someone good with tech. Zander would be perfect for this job.”

“Zander died three years ago.”

“What!? What happened?”

“Caught in a burning building. But his apprentice is now the best in the known galaxy. Her name is Alexandra, and she’s working for Okiri right now.”

“Oh, good to know. I’ll have to track her down then. Is there a faster way to get in contact with you? So, I can get the account and track down everyone else.”

“Of course, I’ll send it all to Haru. She’s easier to contact than you.”

“Thanks,” I said, then ended the call. I spun around in the chair excitedly, throwing my arms in the air and screaming, “BEST JOB EVER!!!”