Intermission Flashback~ Evan

  Bright light cut through the small opening in the roof of my tent, causing me to squint my eyes in pain and annoyance. Rumbling, I turn off and take a deep breath. I find my nose invaded by a sweet smell that causes a slight burn. I ignore it at first as I try to go back to sleep. It only takes a few additional moments before my eyes suddenly fly open. I take another whiff just to be sure, my heart now pounding against my sternum.

  “No, no, no, no, no.” I repeat in my head as I scramble uncoordinatedly forward on my hands and knees and try to push through the opening of the tent, only to have it budge but not give way. Seeing it’s zipped, I clumsily grab for the zipper. Gripping it, I yank upward a few times, failing to move it. I pull and pull until I finally force myself to calmly pull the zipper seam taut before pulling it open. Finally exposed to the open air, the smell flooded my nostrils. I began to hyperventilate, tripping as I frantically scrambled out of the tent. My knees touch the ground and painfully slide, but I pay it no mind as I continue to frantically rush to the other tent. Then I see it.

  In a small clearing of dirt, blocked from direct view of my own tent by a single large tree trunk, purple flowers giving off the familiar smell erupted from the fresh tears in the tent my parents had slept in last night. The angle of the growth and scant red stains on the petals confirmed my fears. Pain flared in my knees. It takes me a moment to realize I’ve fallen onto my knees and the fresh wounds from my earlier fall. “Why?” I ask myself and the world around me. Looking down at my hands, I feel bile and rage rise in my throat as I let out a scream from the depths of my soul. Next thing I know, I’m punching the ground, over and over. The force of the blows slowly causing the solidly packed earth to indent. I’m not sure how much later it is when I finally stop my flailing, but my knuckle is actively bleeding when I do. Looking up with dead eyes, I see the sun is the same position in the sky as when I woke up. My gaze drifts down again as I go to push off the ground to a standing position. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see it: an ever so slight tinge of purple reflected from my blood.

  I quickly run to my tent and grab my flashlight, praying to anything that will listen that somehow I’m wrong. Soon I arrive back at my small puddle. I turn the dial on the flashlight to its maximum setting before turning it directly on the puddle, only to have it turn from a dark red to a deep purple. With my suspicions confirmed, I looked back to my parents’ tent with renewed dread. No emotions boiled up as I felt my heart and mind leaden and empty as I carried out what needed to be done like a drone.

  Hours later, I sat in front of the dying embers of a fresh fire. The only small mercy was that the flowers and tent were flammable enough to make starting it easy. I couldn’t help but wince every time I heard a pop emerge from it, unsure if it was from the kindling I added or the splintering of bone. When the last ember began to cool, I crawled wordlessly into my tent and wept as I realized I was truly alone in this world.

  I don’t know how many weeks after that I roamed the ruins of my old home. Every once in a while the radio on my vehicle would catch a signal, people speaking about how they drove back the fields with controlled burns. “Ha.” I laughed to myself as I realized the irony. It was only after I lost everything that the problem was reined in. Part of it, anyway. Every once in a while I would see a convoy or atmospheric shuttle drive or float by, speakers loudly barking messages of hope and asking for signals from survivors. I would turn off my truck and hide as well as I could when they came close. Unfortunately, there were a few times when they saw me and selflessly came running to aid me, forcing me to act like some sort of raider as I would pull out my gun and fire wild, purposefully wide shots to scare them off. Most of them backed off. The actual raiders pressed their luck.

  I focused my vision on the blackened splinters at the bottom of the most recent fire. As I tossed another piece of kindling into the flame, I took a moment to look at my arm. It had become toned in the recent weeks. I was able to admire myself whenever I went in an abandoned house to perform basic hygiene.

  The high-pitched ring of nearby thrusters brought me out of my contemplation. I cursed to myself as I saw that night had already descended, meaning my fire drew the attention of the search parties, even as it had started to die down. I saw the shuttle in question for a brief moment. I saw that it was much larger than those I was used to. Before I could get a better look it descended past the tree line.

  My mouth curved into a frown as I realized things weren’t looking good. I could run, but that would lead to confusion and if one of the people onboard happened to be circling around, the results could be disastrous. My best bet would be to wait where I was and call out to them.

  A few tense minutes passed as I sat by the dying light of the fading embers. Then I heard a twig snap. I acted immediately. “Hey, get away from here, it’s not safe! There’s nectar everywhere!” I half-lied. I listened for a few more moments before I heard a voice.

  “Target idling near the fire, sir. Yes, he doesn’t seem to have made contact with any of the enclaves.” Soon a figure in red power armor stepped into the clearing, his gun leveled at me.

  “Hands where I can see them!” he said, voice raised and tone steel.

  I raise my hands as a show of surrender. “Get away from me now, or this won’t end well for you.” I warn, the menace in my voice drowned out by the arrival of three more power armor-clad soldiers.

  “What’s your affiliation?” the original soldier says as he slowly walks toward me.

  “I’m affiliated with myself. Now fuck off, I don’t want any part of what you are doing.” Again, I try to voice an angle where either they or I walk away.

  The speaker picked his hand up to his ear again. “No sir, he says no affiliation.” He pauses for a moment before nodding. “Understood.” He reaches behind himself and pulls out some handcuffs before tossing them in front of me. “Put those on. I’m taking you into custody on behalf of the Martian Sovereignty. You will be brought put into three years of hard labor in return for your safety, at the end of which…”

  I kick the cuffs at him, cutting him off. “I don’t need your safety, get away from me be…..”

  THWACK

  I see stars as my vision begins to blacken. One of the soldiers had snuck up behind me to deliver a savage blow with the butt of his rifle. I then feel myself get tackled from the side.

  “Throw him in the brig with the other labor we’ve grabbed. We’ll head back to base camp.” The speaker says.

  My last thoughts before I black out are ones of despair and pity for those I wasn’t able to protect.

  Evan ~ present day ~ Exosphere of the Planet Geral

  The days it took to travel to Geral were uneventful. From an external standpoint, anyway. As a team, we all made an effort to distract Emerald. While she was sturdy enough to not show her nervousness, it bled into little things, from forgetting her turn to cook dinner to sleeping in. My fox was a regimental woman. I shook my head at the thought and chuckled slightly.

  “Something funny, big guy?” Ratchet says from near my waist as he holds a hand out.

  Rolling my eyes, I grab two bowls from the shelf in front of me, handing one to him before I walk over to the Gamma Ray’s pantry. Inside I grab a brightly colored tin with a mascot of a spotted hyena with rainbow spots. The words on the tin reading: Sweet Spots. Opening the tin, I pull out a tiny tube and tear it open, pouring the powder into my bowl before repeating the action and handing the second bowl to Ratchet, who mumbles a thanks. I then walk over to the sink and add a bit of water to the powder, which instantly starts to change. Soon the water in my bowl thickens and turns white, while brightly colored rings begin to pop up in the bowl. Soon I’m holding an eerily familiar-looking bowl of sugary cereal.

  Pulling out a stool, I sit down at the counter and dig in. The taste is both nostalgic and different. Soon Ratchet joins me.

  “So how are things going with Em?” He asked with a mouthful of cereal, which caused me to let out an annoyed sigh.

  I swallowed the mouthful of sugary grains before turning to him. “What are you on about, Ratchet?” A slight frown on my face as I ask him.

  Instead of answering verbally he wiggles his eyebrows at me. A flick to an oversized ear causes him to yelp. He then blows raspberries at me before picking his bowl up and downing the rest of it. He then stands up on the stool and jumps down, but not before he slaps me on the back of the head, causing me to choke. I beat my chest with a closed fist for a moment before forcing the food down. The angry look I send after Ratchet has him laughing as he bolts out of the room.

  As he left the kitchen, Emerald walked in past him.

  “Evan?” She asked, a slight concern in her voice as she immediately noticed how short of breath I was.

  “I’m fine, cereal just went down the wrong pipe.” The words formed in between breaths. Behind her I see Ratchet’s head poke around the metal door frame at waist level. He doesn’t say a word, but looks from Emerald to me a few times before bobbing his eyebrows. The look I sent him afterwards promised retribution. It didn’t go unnoticed by Emerald, who turned just in time to see Ratchet’s oversized ears leave the door frame.

  “The hell was that about?” Emerald questions, eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she pulls out a stool next to me.

  A snort escaped my nose before the answer. “Nothing, just Ratchet being a nosy bastard.” I say without heat. Emerald gives a slight smirk at this answer, though it’s quickly replaced by the flat expression she’s worn recently whenever she brings up anything related to our upcoming bounty.

  “Looks like they’re done waiting for everyone to show up. The briefing will be this afternoon. Though there isn’t a set start time, they said everyone needs to be there by planetside noon.” She explained as she pulled out her compad. She swiped the screen a few times before one with two times showed up. One showed 0633, the other 0333, the former being Universal Standard Time, the other Geral time planetside.

  Swallowing the last bite of my cereal as I let out a hum. “Gives us a bit of time at least.” I said, only to be laughed at by Emerald.

  She then shakes her head in the negative. “It gives us no time, Evan. It’ll take us about two to three hours to go through the spaceport and take the elevator down planetside. Then it’ll take another two hours to get from the elevator platform to Central Senate.”

  “Noooo…….” I hear Ratchet moan from the hallway, which is quickly followed by a “Really?” that no doubt comes from Nia.

  Emerald shot to her feet with a snarl. “Cat, what did I tell you about eavesdropping on my conversations?” Emerald yelled at Nia, using the term I now know felanids consider a slur when used to refer to them. The felanid entered the room with ears down and an awkward smirk.

  “We were just passing by, Em.” Nia said, trying to placate Emerald. Ratchet enters the room behind her, trying to make himself small as he slinks over to one of the stools. Unfortunately for the small fox he doesn’t go unnoticed by Emerald.

  “Don’t think I forgot about you, you little shit.” The arctic fox whirls on Ratchet, causing him to jump. She uses her pointer finger to gesture at both of them. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you two snooping around Evan and I all week. This shit better be wrapped up before we make it planetside. I want us looking professional enough to where those pompous pricks have less points to goad us with. Understood?”

  Two timid nods are the only response our leader gets.

  Three hours later and our group is sitting in a private car on the space elevator down to Geral. An attendant sent by Central was waiting to escort us. Looking to kill time, I decided to ask the team some questions. “So the mission is from both Central and the Crown, correct?” I asked.

  Emerald nodded but didn’t take her gaze away from the honestly breathtaking view of the planet as we slowly descended.

  Seeing she wasn’t going to add anything else without prodding, I decided to prod. “So want to explain to me what the Crown is? I’m not really big on Federation politics if you couldn’t tell.” I flatly stated.

  “Oh, well the Crown refers to the Gerallian Senate and the Queen Regent.” Nia says, not picking her head up from its limp position hanging over the several-inches-too-short headrest. A problem I sympathize with, though it’s a bit exacerbated for me as the headrest comes to about halfway up my thoracic spine. Thank god for power armor being able to posture lock my back, allowing me to relax.

  I did turn to raise an eyebrow at Nia’s answer though. “I thought Central was the senate?” My response comes out with a confused tone.

  Emerald then turned to look at me, with that appraising look she always holds when I fumble what should be common knowledge. She holds her gaze on my visor for a few seconds before responding. “Central is the Federation senate. The Crown is strictly the Gerallian senate, though some members overlap.” She spouts the last bit with enough venom to make the attendant look awkward.

  A bit surprised, I raised my eyebrows. “Well that’s uhhh, not caused any issues, I’m sure.” I say half sarcastically, for all I know it may not have.

  Emerald gives a high-pitched yip in laughter. “Are you kidding me? The self-serving pricks in the Crown are the cause of about eighty-five percent of all bureaucratic issues in the Federation.”

  The fox said with disdain. An irritated cough came from the attendant. Emerald leveled a glare at the man. “Oh piss off, what are you, their PR guy?” She snapped, causing the Akita man to wither.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  I go to scratch my chin before realizing I have my helmet on and instead take on a thinking pose. I had other questions, but most of them probably shouldn’t be said in front of the attendant.

  It wasn’t long before the elevator finally touched down, the journey from the space station to the surface taking— the trip down taking two of Emerald’s three projected hours. We all grabbed the few things we brought planetside and stood up.

  “I’ll go ahead of you and get a ground shuttle to ferry us to Central.” The attendant announced, before giving a slight bow and scurrying out the door.

  All four of us took a moment to stretch before making our way out the door. The ground terminal wasn’t too different from most space stations I’d seen. Crowds of Gerallians, felanids, and a few races I was unfamiliar with milled about, embarking and disembarking from the elevator in near equal numbers.

  More than a few stopped to look at or take pictures of our team. By now I’m used to children pointing at me and have even signed a few pictures and models. As for why I was so popular with kids, it seemed like a no-brainer. Power armor was cool no matter the gender or culture. Had we stopped to do that today, we would no doubt be late for our meeting, but luckily our attendant soon returned on what I could only describe as a floating hoodless golf cart.

  “As guests here by official request we are going to go past a special security checkpoint. It should fast track you out of the building.” He stated as he pressed a button, lowering the side rails to bench-like seats.

  Our team got on without complaint, and I at least was grateful for the reprieve of what would have been a long and annoying process. The ride to the special checkpoint wasn’t very long, and while there was a line it wasn’t large and those in it were practically walking without stop. After getting off, the attendant informed us he would be waiting outside with the shuttle to Central.

  Everything went smoothly until we reached the checkpoint. They waved everyone through with very little concern, merely taking a look at their faces. I guess the assumption was that if you were in this line you weren’t going to cause trouble.

  This changed when our squad rolled up to the security booth. For the first time since we arrived the German Shepherd held up a paw. “Wait. ID please.” I turned to focus on him, only to find that it wasn’t me, the 6’6 man in power armor he was talking to. No, it was Emerald.

  Our leader turned to him and cocked her head, staring him down for a moment before complying. The dog took it, but instead of looking at it put it in the drawer at his desk and went to press a button. “Please wait over there, Madam Strauss. Senator Strauss has requested that you wait to speak to him. Your teammates are welcome to head forward, of course.” He said while wagging his tail.

  We had been planetside for less than an hour and already her problems were rearing their head, and while my immediate reaction was to do something drastic I took a deep breath and turned to Emerald. “Em, is your father a Crown or Central senator?” I asked calmly, my voice level, even, and reasonable.

  I looked down at her to see her fist clenched and shaking, no doubt enraged at the turn of events. “My father is a Crown senator.” She spits out.

  I nod in response before turning to Nia and gesturing at the security guard. She perked up and nodded before approaching him and saying, “Sir, hand her back her ID, and things will go smoothly for you.” The guard looked perplexed at the sudden command from the felanid. “Are you threatening an officer of the Crown?” The man demanded, a self-assured mixture of anger and pride entering his eyes.

  “That depends. Are you impeding bounty hunters not only on official business, but also reporting to the Crown Senate? If so, let me remind you that both the Association and Central supersede planetary governments. Even Geral’s.” Nia generously informed the shepherd of this as I stepped forward, looking down at him. He averted his eyes, looking anywhere but at me.

  “I’m sorry sir, but here on Geral Crown Senators….” He began before Nia held up a hand, and I leaned forward, propping myself up on the counter, the only thing separating us a thin layer of plastic.

  “Can still be censured and called before the Association. I may not be an expert on Federation politics, but I am well versed in the Bounty Hunter Association’s reach, authority, and ability to punish uppity little guards trying to earn a bone.” Nia said with a mocking tone and while she openly jeered at the man.

  Once again pride flared in his eyes. “Now listen here, I am here under the authority granted by…..” The sound of wood splintering ended his speech as both he and I looked down. In my annoyance I ended up gripping the counter far too hard, which was exacerbated by my power armor causing me to accidentally crush a chunk of the wooden booth’s counter. The shepherd looked at the crushed wood for a few more seconds before opening his drawer and pulling out Emerald’s ID.

  “Please report to Central at your earliest convenience. Have a nice day.” He said, directing us to the location we had already intended to go.

  —-------------------

  The ride to Central felt eerily similar to my work commute back home. The familiar architecture and featureless gray buildings did not make for good sightseeing like the view from the space elevator had. In fact the ride was mostly silent as Nia and Ratchet fell asleep, not that there was much else to do.

  The seating arrangements had me sitting next to Emerald, who every once in a while would point out a particular building. Most of them weren’t very interesting. At one point we did pass a large boxlike building whose architecture wasn’t just familiar, but invoked a sense of déjà vu. It was also the largest building we had passed by. It also must have been a rather important place as there were rows of gaudily decorated guards posted at every one of its odd-looking entryways.

  Em must have seen my curiosity. “That is the Crown Senate. If our luck holds we can avoid that shitshow entirely.” She said this with a sigh and averted her gaze to look at anything else.

  “Looks oddly familiar.” I said as I continued to stare at the now shrinking building, the distance between myself and it growing as we sped down the road.

  Emerald nodded. “It’s a precursor facility and one of the oldest on this planet. A large amount of the inner areas won’t open unless you have noble blood.”

  It suddenly clicked for me. I had been wondering how a nobility system would be retained in a society of meritocracy and advanced science. It had felt out of place ever since I had met Simmy. My polluxi caretaker and friend is also a noble like Emerald and there were many facilities her guards could not follow us into. I had assumed this was simply because of etiquette, but sometimes Simmy was called over by a timid guard who needed access to a certain room or area. Though with the information she had just provided, I now understood why the doors only opened for Simmy and myself.

  Before I could delve deeper into that rabbit hole (I need to ask Harriet or Harriot if that’s offensive.) the vehicle stopped. While the advanced shuttle didn’t lurch like a car back home, you could just tell when outside movement ceased.

  Getting out of the vehicle, I was half expecting Central to be held inside of a precursor facility as well. Instead the building was perhaps the largest I had seen since coming planetside. The outside was a massive sphere that almost seemed to be a giant screen. The surface of the building displayed a rotating globe of a planet I recognized as Felnis. Soon it swapped and the world changed to depict the one we were currently on, Geral. As we approached the building on foot the image cycled through four more planets before once again going back to Felnis.

  While there was no crowd near the street we did start to see others as we approached the building. The flight suits and squad uniforms telling me that these were other hunters who were called in. Though something felt off.

  “I thought this mission was for nobles and their squads only. There has to be at least two hundred people here.” I said in disbelief.

  Ratchet snickered. “That’s because these are nobles. You think these posers fly in a proper squad of three to five? Try ten to fifteen.” Ratchet said with clear disdain and condescension.

  Nia nodded in agreement. “I bet if you check their mission logs the noble in question takes a ‘leadership’ role.” Of course, our lazy felanid takes no heed of those around us and earns our team a few stares, though the ones that recognize us soon avert their gaze.

  I can’t help but chuckle; it’s so spontaneous that I forget to mute my vox, broadcasting it to those around us as we continue to make our way to the building, weaving past the meandering nobles and their hangers-on. “Not much of a bounty hunter, then. More of a bounty middleman. Though last I checked you needed to fly a certain number of missions a year to retain your license.”

  “Says the coward too scared to show his face.” A mocking voice jeered behind me. I turned to the speaker only to see a chihuahua Gerallian, the man nearly as small as Ratchet. I take a moment to stop and crouch down.

  “Ratchet, come here a second.” I said. My friend responding by walking up to me, tilting his head in confusion. I hold my hand flat right over his ears, then make a motion comparing his height to the chihuahua’s. The man is actually smaller than Ratchet. Seeing this, I burst into full-blown laughter. The Gerallian’s fur starts to bristle.

  “Listen here, you low-born cur…” He said, raising a finger, causing me to laugh harder.

  Ratchet finally gets the joke, and eager to dog pile and take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity joins my mocking laughter. “LOW BORN!” The fennec said as he pointed and laughed at the shorter pilot. He then squatted down and held a hand a few inches off the ground before pointing at the chihuahua and belly laughing. “I don’t think I’ve met anyone closer to the ground than you, buddy.” He said in between gasps.

  “HOW DARE YOU? I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM LEONARD ED..” He said, taking a step forward, trying and failing to appear intimidating.

  “WAIT!” I said, my vox flaring as I held out a hand to stop him. He stumbled, startled by my outburst.

  “Finally learning your place?” He said haughtily as he tried and failed to look down his muzzle at me, but instead was just leaning back uncomfortably and looking at me from an angle.

  I shake my head and point to the slight drop off in the walkway. “No, I just thought we were too mean and you were about to jump off that curb.” I quickly shut off my mic and lock the abdomen of my armor as I slowly die of laughter inside my artificial shell.

  Ratchet falls against my side, grasping his chest as he tries to catch a breath between wheezing. “You… you bastard. You’ve been saving that, haven’t you?” The fennec asked with a large smile, looking up at me with glee.

  All I give is a small. Before deciding it’s time to ignore the petulant chihuahua. As I turn I see Emerald desperately trying to keep a professional appearance, her cheeks puffing and deflating as she desperately holds in her laughter, while Nia has her face buried into Emerald’s shoulder as soft, restrained snickers escaped her. The observers were of similar minds, the nobles openly laughing at the chihuahua while the non-noble pilots averted their gazes.

  The chihuahua sputtered for a moment before steeling himself, his raised lips and hackles lowering. He then sneered at me and Ratchet. “This isn’t over.” He said before storming off. Which honestly left me to wonder where he was going as the meeting was still taking place in the main building.

  I looked down to Ratchet and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. “Come on, Ratchet. We got places to be.” I said as I walked towards our other two teammates, Emerald shaking her head in exasperation while Nia slinked up next to me.

  “If your arm gets tired I’ll take him off your hands.” She offers with a smile. So without a word I pass the fox to her, surprising her and causing her to almost drop him. Her grip changes as she quickly adjusts him to a bridal carry so as not to drop him onto the metal walkway. She then shoots me a glare as I whip out my compad, snapping a picture of her holding the small fox, one which I quickly sent to Emerald.

  “Evan August! Delete that right now!” Nia said, her typical laid-back expression morphing into a scowl.

  Emerald holds up her phone and shakes it gently. “Too late.” A smug grin on her face as she says so.

  “Em, come on. Please, don’t save that.” The felanid begged while Ratchet, who had since regained his breath, looked mortified, though whether it was because of embarrassment or by Nia’s reaction, I’m unsure.

  Emerald just shook her head, smile still on her face. “Quid pro quo.” She stated haughtily, before she sent a wink my way, no doubt happy to finally get some counter ammunition to all of their recent teasing.

  It’s right after this interaction that a Furo woman ran up to us. The ferret-like lady panted as she stopped a few feet in front of our confused leader. She then looked up to Emerald. “Please tell me you’re Gamma Hounds.” Emerald flicked an ear and tilted her head but nodded.

  “Oh thank the precursors. I apologize for the late notice, but your team has a private meeting scheduled at the request of Rear-Admiral Oscar Lumid and the Vice Chair.” The furo stated. I’ve seen her kind before, but they tend to congregate among other mustelids and furos.

  “If you would follow me, I’ll take you to the meeting room. Don’t worry about the larger briefing, this won’t take long.” Without waiting for a response the furo turned and started back in the direction she came from. Emerald motions for us to follow and we do, the lack of hesitation on her part likely having something to do with Oscar’s involvement in the meeting.

  We pass by numerous government workers, most of them with their heads down looking at some document or the other on larger tablet-like compads. There are numerous smaller buildings dotted around the large sphere, which the workers in question scurried to and from.

  We were led into one of these buildings which had all the color and vibrancy of a monochrome rainbow. The hallway juxtaposed to the hustle and bustle we had just escaped, in that it was nearly empty, with only a few employees who scurried about their tasks. The rest of the Hounds and I continued down the hallway for a few more minutes before arriving at a nondescript door. The furo woman opened it, then stood aside for us to pass by.

  Inside I saw the familiar face of Oscar along with a bear-like hulk of a man. They talked quietly to each other at a volume I couldn’t overhear. The bear-man, an Ur I think, turns as he sees us.

  “Ahh, the Hounds arrive. I hope your journey planetside was free of obstacles, comrades.” He said with a large smile and thick accent, his brown-furred lips rising dramatically.

  Emerald’s flat expression was unchanged, but she responded with an edge in her voice. “For the most part.” She said simply, causing the Ur to look at her with a frown, one which Oscar copied, though his spoke volumes more than the Ur’s.

  “Elaborate.” He asked, his jovial tone replaced by a neutral one as he motioned with a large hand for her to continue.

  I decided to spare my fox from recounting that annoyance and stepped forward. “We were stopped at the special checkpoint. They tried to hold Em’s ID to force her to wait for her father. Nia and I convinced the guard in question not to do otherwise.”

  Oscar had a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk on his face. “Taking the initiative to speak is not something I ever imagined you doing, Evan.” The old fox said to me with a bit of pride in his voice. “I also want to thank you for stopping whatever her father was trying to set up.” He stepped forward to offer a handshake which I reciprocated. I immediately recognized that may not have been the smartest idea when Oscar’s nostrils flared for a moment. His eyes dilated as he turned to Emerald.

  He then looked back at me before a large genuine smile dawned on his face and he reached up to clap me on the shoulder. “HAHA, I admit I did not foresee that when recommending you for her team. That outta raise some hackles.”

  Taken aback, I looked back at Emerald in moderate confusion, only to see the inside of her ears were bright pink. A memory suddenly came to me unbidden.

  Women will smell me through your power armor by the time I’m done.

  Oh, apparently that applied to men as well.

  “Not to disrupt happy reunion, but let us cut to the chase, dah?” The Ur said jovially.

  Oscar looked a bit embarrassed as he stepped back. “Of course, sorry about that, Victor.”

  The Ur waved him off before turning to our team. “The reason I have requested you here is to make an… off-the-books request.” Victor straightened as he said this, standing to his full height and taking on a more dignified and less laid-back appearance. “Now, you may know me, but I am one for manners. I am Victor Osgrul Ironclaw, Vice Chairman of the Federation Senate.”

  We responded in kind as we each introduced ourselves. “Yes, I am aware of each of you. Though it is a pleasure to meet you finally. In the briefing you are about to attend you will be told that the Gault trade lane has been besieged by pirates. This is known to the whole system.”

  The name Gault sounded familiar though for the moment I couldn’t place it.

  Viktor walked over to the table he and Oscar were previously whispering over to pick up a paper file. “But, it is not full story. You see right outside the Gault trade lane lies an asteroid belt. On the far side of that belt a little-known planetoid rotates.” Victor placed the now open file in front of us, revealing a stellar map of the Geral system. It also included a date: Two days from now. “That planetoid is a classified research facility owned and funded by the Queen Regent herself. By sheer luck or careful planning the pirates’ siege of the trade lane coincided with the orbiting position of the research station coming within scanning range of the trade lane.”

  Emerald rested the tip of her muzzle on her knuckle as she leaned forward to look over the map. “Pirates being pirates, I take it they took the opportunity to capture the research station?” She asked, to which Victor nodded.

  “Dah.” Victor confirmed, then rummaged through the pile of paper on the desk pulling out another file. This one bore the mark of the Bounty Hunter’s Association. “The Crown believes the researchers stationed there have been taken hostage. In response it has sought and received support from Central in both liberating the trade lane and saving the researchers. This aid will be done through the funding of a bounty mission. However, using their seats as leverage they have made sure only specific individuals may accept…”

  A look of understanding dawns on Nia’s face as the felanid speaks up for the first time in the meeting. “Only Gerallian nobles and their squads may accept the bounty.”

  Oscar responded this time rather than Victor. “Yes, this stipulation was added in order to ‘protect classified research.’ Research they refused to share with Central.”

  Now it was my own turn to have an epiphany. “You want us to find out what they’re researching while we rescue the researchers.”

  Oscar nods. “This will serve as a separate bounty from the one to retake the lane and rescue the researchers.” Victor shuffled through the papers again for a moment before pulling out four identical ones, mouthing the words “Aha” as he did so. As I watched this display, I found it odd to see this much paper again, the scene reminding me of my old office job.

  As we looked over the contract Victor once again addressed us. “I have reached out to you on behalf of the Federation Senate, with the recommendation of the Rear-Admiral. I have taken time to look into each of your backgrounds and prior accomplishments. I believe your team will be up to the task. Will you accept this bounty, Gamma Hounds?”

  I relaxed my posture as I already knew the answer my leader would give. “We do, Vice-Chairman.” Emerald said with conviction.

  Soon all the papers were signed and we were stepping out the room to once more be escorted by the furo woman, this time to the main meeting. As my foot crossed the edge of the room a hand caught my wrist. I turned to find Oscar. The interaction was not quiet or subtle, drawing the attention of my favorite arctic fox who raised an eyebrow at her uncle.

  “Just need a word with him, Emerald.” Oscar said with a smile. Emerald gave him a dubious look, but acquiesced when I gave her a nod.

  Oscar and I watched the other Gamma Hounds and Victor until they were out of earshot. It was only then, when we were alone, that he finally addressed me. “I won’t ask what circumstances led to you two… confiding in each other. But I know you carry your own demons, August. I know what a few of them are.” He let out a sigh as he said this, giving me a sympathizing look.

  “While I’d prefer her to stay far away from those, my Popsicle is a grown woman. She can make her own choices. But…..” I saw the steel of the rear admiral melt into vulnerability. “That’s my kit, Evan! Arnald and Leela be damned, she’s mine.” He let out a sigh as he looked up at me. “Take off your helmet, son.” He said as he walked over and shut the door.

  The man had earned my trust long ago, so I did so. His nostrils flared again as my face was exposed. He smiled and shook his head. “Now I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you won’t let a single bastard on this planet lay a hand on her. Be it her parents, Adam, or any other of those schemers.”

  A grin forced its way to my face as I responded. “I’m on her side regardless of what comes, and God help anyone who stands against her.” It was grandiose, sure, but even if the entirety of the Crown and Central went against her, I would be there with her. The Hounds were my family, but that day with her in my arms, she became my anchor, holding me steady against the tides that seemed to beset me on all sides.

  Oscar held my gaze for an uncomfortable amount of time before he finally nodded. “Good.”

  -----------------------------

  Fifteen minutes later I had rejoined my squad in a large auditorium, our seats high and towards the back. Emerald had given me a questioning glance, wordlessly asking about the meeting. I waved it off as unimportant and she simply nodded. As I did so, the lights above the crowd dimmed and the lights above the podium flared. Out walked a well-dressed Doberman with a noticeable scar above his eye. Not the kind one would call ugly, but certainly not one you would forget. Unfortunately everyone on my squad recognized the man either personally, or in my case by way of older videos.

  “Good evening, esteemed nobles and guests of Geral. Thank you for answering this call for aid. I am Adam Gault, but many of you know me instead by my moniker, Ace.” A smug grin dawned on his face.

  The sheer smug arrogance radiating off the man along with what I now knew about him shoved a single phrase to the front of my mind.

  “Fuck this guy.”