CHAPTER ONE 

On the planet, Sicra lived the Stone family. No one knew much about them, and that’s the way they liked it. They were secretive to the point no one in the family left the planet. The only people who did leave the planet were Boaz and Reva Stone.

They were the Patriarch and Matriarch of the Stone family. They were married for thousands of years and just found out that Reva was pregnant. When people found out that the matriarch was expecting a child, they were extremely happy.

Reva gave birth to a baby boy with the blackest hair and eyes. They named the baby Markas but called him Mark for short. As the baby grew, people would swear that he could look right through them. 

Mark was a calm and happy child. So when the Patriarch and Matriarch were going off-planet, they decided to take him with them. When they finished business and were on their way back to their ship, Mark was kidnapped.

They looked all over the place, but they could never find Mark. They put a large reward out for his return, but still, nobody brought Mark home. After they didn’t get any responses to the reward, they put out for Mark. The Stone’s went home to the planet Sicra. But they always hoped for the return of their son, especially because Reva couldn’t have any more kids.

Mark was sold into slavery quickly after he was kidnapped. He was passed around a lot because of the reward that was being offered and because of rumors about the Stone family. That was until he ended up in the hands of Gazaet. Gazaet was one of the overlords of crime. There were a few overlords, but nobody knew how many.

Gazaet’s office 

“So what have you bought me.” Gazaet asked Osev, his second in command.

“I got some new slaves, and I found this boy that looked like in a few years he would be a good fit for the organization,” said Osev.

“So let me see this boy,” said Gazaet.

“Give me a moment. I left him outside,” said Osev.

Osev brought Mark before Gazaet. Gazaet inspected Mark like he was a piece of meat. Then he asked Mark his name. Mark didn’t answer, so he turned to Osev and asked the same.

“He was moved and sold a lot of times. On one of the moves, he hit his head and lost his memory,” said Osev.

“So little one, you don’t know your name. We can’t have that you look like the name Wolf would be good for you. Yes, your name is Wolf. You understand that boy,” asked Gazaet?

“I understand that,” said Mark, but it was Wolf now. 

“Good, now you go with Osev while he shows you around. After that, come back to me, and I will show you who will be taking care of you from now on,” said Gazaet. 

“Ok, I will comeback,” said Wolf. 

Osev showed Wolf around, then sent him back to Gazaet. When Wolf got back to Gazaet, that was when the abuse started. It continued for a while until Wolf left Gazaet. They started teaching Wolf how to steal. Wolf got very good at stealing, so the abuse stopped. But if Wolf messed up, he knew that there would be a beating later. 

That was how it was for four years. When Wolf was eight years old, Gazaet called him into his office.

“Come here, Wolf, and tell me, are you ready to live on the street doing more important jobs,” asked Gazaet?

Wolf said yes because he didn’t want to get any more beatings.

“Ok, so this is what you have to do to move up in this organization. You have to kill a man. Are you ready to kill a man?”

“I don’t have any training,” said Wolf 

“I will give you a crystal, and you will learn what you need from there. Then you will kill the man I tell you to kill. Is that understood,” asked Gazaet?

“Yes, that is understood when will I go,” asked Wolf?

“You will go tomorrow morning, so you have from now to tomorrow morning to get used to this new crystal. Here is the crystal. Now push your essence into it,” said Gazaet.

Wolf picked up the crystal and pushed his essence into it. He learned basic firearms skills. Wolf knew that wouldn’t be enough to get the job done, but he wasn’t worried because the plan he was working on would be implemented, and he would not have to kill this person. 

Wolf left Gazaet and went to his room and went to sleep so the crystal would have an easier time intergrading with his physical and mental systems.

When Wolf woke up the next morning, he ate some breakfast and then went to Gazaet to get his gun for this mission. Gazaet gave Wolf a gun and told him who his target was and not to return until the target was dead. So Wolf went and gathered the few things he would need and left the stuff that he wanted to be found and left.

Wolf knew that he had a week to put the finishing touches on his plan to escape, but the problem was he had nowhere to go. So Wolf started thinking about that as he got on one of the transport buses to take him to the neighborhood of his target. The more Wolf thought, the more some things started falling into place until he had the beginning of a new plan. With this plan, he would be free to do what he loved, and that was to acquire knowledge and understanding. That was why he read all the books that he was able to access from his room on the database at the compound, which were not many.

When the bus stopped, Wolf got off and headed to the restaurant that he knew his target liked to go to after work. He sat down in the back and waited for a waiter to take his order. When the waiter showed up, Wolf ordered a meat sandwich and waited for his target to come. When Wolf finished his sandwich, and the target still didn’t come, Wolf got a refill on his drink and continued to wait. 

Wolf was lucky that his target liked to eat in this restaurant because it was the type of place where it was a restaurant and lounge at the same time, so people regularly stayed for a while, so Wolf was not spotted for staying too long.

Intelligence services 

His name was Karnas, and he was not stupid. He was a smart person. He just didn’t know when to stop, and that was his flaw. Karnas liked to know everything. He liked to know stuff, so he joined the Royal Intelligence Agency. When he applied and eventually joined the Royal Intelligence Agency, he was put to work as an analyst. As an analyst, he excelled and got his wish of getting information that other people didn’t have. That included what neighboring empires were doing to what the newest technology was. 

As time moved on for Karnas, he moved up the ranks without ever actually getting promoted. It was known if you wanted to know something, you went to him. He was happy in his little office reading all the intelligence and writing reports about what it could mean. He was never very good at figuring out what it meant, but he still knew all of the information. Because of this, his reports were never given much attention. Except as references because he only quoted facts.

Karnas knew this, and that is why he was surprised when his superior called and asked to see him about one of the reports he had written. As Karnas walked to the office of his superior, he thought about why it was that he was called to the office of his superior. The thing he kept coming up with was the report that he wrote this week. When he realized that was the only thing that would cause his superior to summon him.   

So to make sure he could answer any questions that he got asked, he started going over the report. After going over the report, he didn’t understand what he could say in person that wasn’t covered in the report.

As Karnas walked into the outer office, the secretary told him to go right in. When he walked in, his superior told him to sit down. Then started a very subtle interrogation that Karnas missed until it was too late.

So tell me about the report asked the superior.

Karnas started talking, and before he realized he said everything. When he finished telling his superior everything, his superiors sent him back to his desk. After the day was over, Karnas was running a little later than usual when he stopped at his usual place and picked up dinner.

When Wolf saw him leave, he followed him until Karnas reached his house. Then he watched as Karnas ate dinner, and when he sat down on the couch, Wolf rang the bell. 

When Karnas opened the door, he saw an eight-year-old boy, but before he could say anything, the boy asked if he could come in. Not thinking that the boy was dangerous, he invited the boy in.

“Come in. Would you like something to drink,” asked Karnas?

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“No, but I was wondering if you could help me out,” said Wolf.

“I will try to help you if I can. But I would have to know what it is you want, so why don’t you tell me what you want,” said Karnas.

“Well, to do that, I would have to start with my story first, and that will take a few minutes, so you might want to sit down. When I was about four years old, I was sold into slavery. I got sold a few times. One of the times, I hit my head and lost my memories. But that is not important right now. What is important is that I ended up in the hands of one of the overlords. He sent me on the test of fealty, and that test is to kill you. But I don’t want to, but if you can’t arrange for a way for the both of us to disappear, then I will have to kill you. Otherwise, the overlord will kill me, so can you help me,” Asked Wolf?

“First off, what is your name, and which overlord is the one that wants me dead,” Asked Karnas?

“I don’t know what my real name is, but everyone just calls me Wolf. The overlord that wants you dead is Gazaet,” said Wolf. 

“Ok, I think I might know a way for us to disappear, but I will have to speak to some people, so give me a few minutes,” said Karnas. 

Karnas went to the other side of the room and sat down, and started thinking about what could be the thing he did that would make Gazaet want to kill him. When he could think of nothing except money, he decided he would call his brother. 

On the flagship of one of the most respected mercenary companies sat Kalnas. Kalnas was a wolf and a warrior, and under his leadership, the mercenary company he started grew and expanded. But so did their reputation for getting the job done. They were so good that different governments and empires had contracts with them. If someone found out that Kalnas was after them, then they knew it was a matter of time before they were caught or killed. But at the same time, Kalnas was very careful about the jobs the company took. The reason for that was his company was truly one of the only ones that didn’t take sides.

Since they didn’t take sides, they tried to run a clean business. That meant that they didn’t get involved in slavery and the kind. They made their money in a few ways. One was escorts. They escorted ships through dangerous territory. A second way they made money was through bounties on criminals. The third way they made money was through covert operations for different empires and kingdoms. The fourth way they made money was by providing protection for individuals. 

So when the leader of the mercenary companies brother called, he got put right through. Kalnas was sitting in his office when his computer asked if he would like to take a call from his brother. He said yes a moment later, he was looking at his brother, and he knew there was something wrong.  

“What is wrong, brother,” asked Kalnas?

“I think I pissed someone off, and they are trying to have me killed,” said Karnas. 

“What makes you say that,” asked Kalnas?

“That fact that an eight-year-old showed up and told me he was here to kill me,” said Karnas.

“Why would that eight-year-old want to kill you,” asked Kalnas?

“You know how some of the overlords have a test of fealty. Well, apparently, this was his test of fealty,” said Karnas.

“So if this was his test, why didn’t he do it,” asked Kalnas? 

“He said he would do it unless I could arrange for a way for him to disappear,” answered Karnas.

“Ok, just as a side note which overlord is it that was contracted to kill you,” asked Kalnas?

“The kid said he worked for Gazaet, “answered Karnas.

“That is interesting,” said Kalnas.

“Why is that interesting,” asked Karnas?

“It’s interesting because I have been hearing rumors for the last year that Gazaet was having problems with his dealings,” answered Kalnas.

“What is it that you have been hearing,” asked Karnas?

“You know how the overlord’s work,” asked Kalnas.

“No, I don’t know how the overlords work. Could you explain that first please,” asked Karnas?

“The overlord system works like this. There is a council of five overlords, and they settle disputes between overlords. Divide up new territory and, in general, make sure nobody does anything that would be bad for business. Every fifty years, there is a vote to see who will be on the council. The overlord could be on the council indefinitely as long as he gets voted in the next time.

“One of the other things the council of overlords takes care of is if an overlord starts affecting business. When that happens, they hire a mercenary company to kill the overlord. The reason they hire a mercenary company is they don’t want the overlord that has been marked for death to find out from a spy. Or for the people, they send to be bought off.

“There aren’t many mercenary companies that would be trusted to kill an overlord. There are about five that would be trusted to take care of it, and I’m one of the five. Recently I have been hearing rumors that the council of overlords might be looking to kill Gazaet.

“But there is a problem that comes with killing an overlord and that is a lot of his territory becomes unstable. There is a lot of fighting till the council appoints a new overlord. Because of this, they don’t like killing an overlord. But the ramifications of the fighting are that some of my businesses in that area might get affected. So when I heard that the council might be looking to kill Gazaet, I looked into the rumors.

“From what I found, it is only a matter of time before they put out a contract on Gazaet. But while investigating, I noticed some things that made me think there was more to the story. But now it also makes me think I might want to speak to your friend. I will send you the information about how I will get you off-world in half an hour,” said Kalnas

After speaking to his brother, Karnas started packing a bag with the stuff he didn’t want to leave when he left. When he finished, Karnas checked his personal computer that was connected to his phone. After checking his phone, he went and woke up Wolf.

“I have a way for us to get off this planet, but we have to leave in five minutes so go use the bathroom take a drink, and let’s go,” said Karnas.

After taking care of what he had Wolf left with Karnas, they made their way to an industrial area of the planet they were on. Once they got to the industrial area, they found the warehouse they were looking for. Karnas rang the bell and waited for someone to open the door.

When the door was opened, he was asked for a password. Karnas told them the password, and they were let into the building.

“Ok, we are going to leave in ten minutes; it’s going to take a week till we get to where we are going, so let me show you guys your room.” A few minutes later, Karnas and Wolf were aboard a transport ship headed to the emporium. And Karnas’s brother.

The emporium was a place that was considered free space by all the governments. It had about ten planets and twenty-five moons. In general, each planet or moon was owned by someone else. It was considered the underworld of this sector of space. Backroom dealing in the black market was very common in the emporium. Killers, mercenary companies, and people that wanted to hide or make money that wasn’t all legal came here to do business. 

The top of the warehouse retracted, and the ship started climbing. When the ship was high enough, it increased speed and headed for space. Wolf and Karnas spent their time in their rooms except for meals.

Wolf felt like he was going to have a new life. With that new life, he would finally be able to be himself. That meant he would be able to do what he loved, which was inventing stuff. While he was a slave, he always tinkered with the stuff in his room to see if there was a way to improve it. Wolf didn’t know how right he was in some ways and how wrong he was in others. Because where he was going, he would find another passion, and this passion would help him throughout the rest of his life.

On the seventh day that they were on the ship, there was an unexpected person at the door, and he was the captain of the ship.

“We are going to be reaching our destination later today. So I came by to give you both a bag to help you carry the stuff that you picked up while you were here,” said the captain.

Wolf and Karnas packed the extra clothes they got while on the ship. After packing their stuff, they pretty much just spent the day like any other, and that was in their room.  

The ship descended into the orbit of octor three. Octor three was the moon that was home base to Kalnas’s mercenary company. But they didn’t take up the whole moon, so Kalnas rented out the parts that he didn’t need. One of the places that got rented was a big warehouse. That a transport company used and this is where the ship landed.

When Karnas and Wolf got off the ship, they were greeted by a man.

“Hello, I’m Kalnas’s assistant if you would come with me I will bring you to him.”

They got into a hovercraft and started heading to a nice size building that was a few miles away. When they got to the building, the assistant landed the hovercraft. Then they went inside the building and headed to Kalnas’s office. When they got to the office, the assistant pressed a button on his desk and said your guests are here. A voice answered and said to bring them in. The assistant opened the door to Kalnas’s office. When Wolf and Karnas went through the door, the assistant shut it behind them and stayed outside. 

“Good, you got here, ok I assume,” asked Kalnas?

“Yes, it was a bit boring, but we got here just fine,” answered Karnas.

“Sit down. Is there anything I could get you, perhaps a drink or a snack,” asked Kalnas?

“Maybe something to drink and munch on,” answered Karnas.

“Ok, let me get it,” said Kalnas.  

Kalnas got them something to drink and something to munch on. They spent five minutes relaxing then the conversation started.  

“Ok, let me tell you guys what I was able to find out. A few days after you left on the transport ship, someone leveled Gazaet’s compound. So Gazaet won’t be coming after you, but you will stay here like that. Whoever put the contract out on you stays away. 

“But there is something very interesting in how Gazaet’s compound was leveled. Do you remember I told you there are only five mercenary companies that would be considered for a contract on an overlord? Well, none of those five companies were used to go after Gazaet. So I did some checking, and you know what I found out,” asked Kalnas?

“No, I have no idea what you found out. But would you please tell me,” asked Karnas 

“I found out that the council of overlords took care of Gazaet by themselves,” answered Kalnas.

I “thought you said that the council liked using trusted mercenary companies,” said Karnas.  

“I did, and since the council had never done this before, I wanted to find out why. So I looked into why they did it themselves. I found out something I never knew before. I found out that each overlord pays some of their profits to the council. The reason for that is the overlords on the council lose money because their entire focus isn’t on their business. So they get a little bit of the profits from all the other overlords, and this makes up for the lost revenue,” said Kalnas.

“Ok, I still don’t get it,” said Karnas.

“Well, apparently, Gazaet was stealing from the overlords by not giving them the proper cut. He was also taking jobs that the council didn’t want to be taken. Since it was against the council, the council did it themselves. The reason for that was to send a message not to steal from the overlords. But there is a slight problem with this, and that was Gazaet never stole a penny from the overlords. He paid them what they were due, and the extra money from the contracts that weren’t sanctioned got put away. Nobody is sure where that money is. It seems to have vanished. That is why it is a big deal,” said Kalnas.

“Ok, I’m still not sure what this means for me, so Gazaet is dead. I will stay here with you, so nobody comes after me,” Karnas said.

“Wolf could you do me a favor and wait outside while I talk to my brother,” asked Kalnas.

Once Wolf was out of the room, they continued speaking.

“So if I remember correctly, you are very good with intelligence. Would you like to work for my intelligence branch, or would you like to teach classes on intelligence,” asked Kalnas?

“I think I would like to do a little of both,” said Karnas.

“Ok, and what about the Wolf? Do you want to take care of him, or should I make arrangements,” asked Kalnas?

“If you don’t mind taking care of him, that would be perfect,” Karnas said.

“Ok, why don’t you leave, and my assistant will show you to your apartment and send Wolf back in,” said Karnas.