Outlaws, Soldiers and Complications - Part 2

SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER - OUTER SPACE – THE KULI’MOEAN

A large, dirty green colored space vessel emerged unscathed from a particularly large asteroid belt, an asteroid slammed into the ships shield and cleared the belt and was dissolved in an instant. The vessel ground to a halt as its engines shut off, it floated just beyond the asteroid belt and dropped a gravitational anchor. Captain Sidren-Tos looked out through the rear window at the asteroid belt he managed to navigate through, he’d never been more thankful for the highly advanced shielding technology that had been so graciously fitted on his vessel by his current client. He figured that the technology he was flying with was way ahead of what ninety nine percent of the species in the Universe had likely seen and it all worked directly from his private quarters, under his express command; the shielding technology was especially effective. He stood up, his tail flicking left and right as he walked back over to where he previously sat, he pressed a button on the control panel as the metal paneling retracted noisily revealing the seemingly never-ending space in front and beneath. He looked out at the cosmos from his quarters; he removed the wriggling cigar shaped object from the corner of his mouth, uttering a grunt of approval as he briefly enjoyed observing the starry expanse. He looked down at the slimy object and his brow creased as he checked his draw.

Down to my last seven Fre’kk, I’ll need to get more soon. He thought.

Sidren-Tos sighed and crushed the object in the palm of his hand as the sounds from outside his private quarters grew louder; he trudged over to the door, rolling his eyes as he punched in the security code; the door unlocked with a slight hiss as he briefly checked that his weapons were on his person. He stepped out into the corridor outside his quarters, the first thing to hit him as he took a breath in was the foul rotting smell exuded by a passing crew member. His face twisted into a grimace as the owner of the intense stench, grinned and nodded in his direction, his tongue sliding out of his face and winding around his neck to lick below his hairline. Sidren-Tos returned the greeting as the crew members tongue swept back into his mouth; he suppressed a shudder at the crew member’s ability to lick the back of his own neck and continued out to the main body of the vessel.

The Captain looked down at his crew, an all-male crew this time, I think…he mused. His crew were usually outlaws, misfits, criminals and dangerous individuals from different parts of the universe brought together for a specific purpose. It’d taken a while but he’d earned his reputation as one of the most reliable job provider for his unique audience. No matter how many times he got sent a crew, he had never encountered more than two of the previous crew on any one assignment. The crew consisted of around fifty individuals mostly gathered on the top deck; the jeering, shouting and laughing sounds they made were much more intense without the protection of the sound-proofing in his private quarters. A tall pair of ears suddenly popped up into his field of vision; he looked down to see, thankfully, a semi-regular aboard The KULI’MOEAN. Tro’ak. The alien’s red skin around his lips was laced with orange lines which seemed to throb as he spoke.

“You need to make an important announcement yes?” Tro’ak asked.

Captain Sidren-Tos nodded, his ears folded into his head, as he had become accustomed to Tro’ak’s interesting whistling ability. Sure enough, the small alien flattened his ears against his skull and pursed his lips as he released a high pitched sonic whistle towards the restless crew below. The sound shot through the ship, momentarily stunning everyone as a mild ringing in their ears caused them to turn towards the captain. Sidren-Tos looked down to thank Tro’ak but he had already wandered off into the large group of crew members who now gave him their attention. He activated the device wired into his arm and watched as it set up the translation system; the display lit up as he pressed a paper-thin translucent strip onto the orange skin of his throat. He braced himself against the railing, his prehensile tail snaking left and right as he waited to address his crew.

“Many of you may be wondering why we’ve stopped here, well, you’re gonna keep on wondering until the business I have here is complete. All crew members are to remain in their living quarters until further notice, no one is allowed anywhere NEAR my private quarters. Anyone who disobeys that direct order will cease to remain physically intact. Is that clear?”

Captain Sidren-Tos looked out at the group of outlaws, criminals and misfits with a serious expression as a series of nods, grunts and looks were traded amongst the group. A few crew members shrugged and left the top deck immediately, others frowned at the captain before following suit. In a matter of minutes the top deck was silent, except for the intermittent flickering of a light fixture. Sidren-Tos sighed and closed his eyes briefly, resting against the railing as he waited for his client to make an appearance.

An hour and a half later, Captain Sidren-Tos awoke with a start as The KULI’MOEAN shook, he reached for his weapon instinctively as his eyes darted around, scanning his surroundings. He stopped as his eyes landed on a peculiar shadow mass forming at the center of the deck below, he stepped back slightly as the mass grew, it swirled around as he approached it; he frowned as he saw it move and continue to swirl when three pronounced strands rose from the mass. The strands continued to rise, fleshing out three hooded figures; the shadowy mass steadily vanished as they took form, solidifying in front of him. The hooded figures raised their heads to him, their eyes glowing purple against the thick shadow veiling their faces; they were all dressed in the same black hooded robes. One of them stepped forward, the beads around her neck rattling slightly as she moved:

“Captain Sidren-Tos of The KULI’MOEAN, we have arrived as promised. We represent…your current employer. You may call me Saal.”

“Yes, I figured. Welcome aboard…even though you kept me waiting...Well let’s get this over with.” Sidren-Tos replied dryly.

Saal’s eyes narrowed slightly at his reply and turned to the woman on her left, nodding once when she produced a disc shaped object from within her robes. Saal took the disc and proceeded up the stairs towards Captain Sidren-Tos, followed by the other two women. She followed as Sidren-Tos lead them down the corridor to his private quarters. He stopped and turned around, his tail curling around and flicking in their direction.

“Back up a little bit, I don’t need you knowing the security codes to my quarters.”

Sidren-Tos tried to see Saal’s facial features through the shroud of almost tangible darkness covering her face; her eyes glowed briefly as he felt something brush his mind, a rush of hushed voices sounded through his head but just as quickly quieted down. He looked around suddenly before settling on Saal’s expression, which seemed almost smug from what he could tell. She stretched her hand forward as she spoke entering the security code on the panel.

“Kratos, Omi, Zebula, Treln, Asteru, Slin, seven, three, two. That is the security code. Each first letter represents the initials of your first ever lover’s full name, Koztas, followed by the amount of days you were affectionate towards each other, seven hundred and thirty two.” Saal stated coolly.

Sidren-Tos shrunk back slightly as he processed what she had said, his tail swishing through the air nervously. Saal revelled in the expression of confusion and shock on Sidren-Tos’s face.

“By Kzrik, how did you know that?” he breathed.

“Believe me Andaarian; you have no idea with whom you are dealing with.”

Saal nodded once and her two assistants walked past Sidren-Tos, stood in the room, facing each other as they began a chant, the beads around their necks rattling and starting to glow as they increased the speed of the chant. Sidren-Tos whirled around as the spell grew in power; he made a move to walk in but was suddenly confronted by Saal.

“Your presence is not required inside; we will call you once my superior deems your presence to be necessary.” she stated.

Sidren-Tos pulled back his cloak, revealing the weapon holstered at his side. He looked down to grab at it but saw nothing. He looked back up at Saal in confusion; his eyes widened as his weapons twirled around in the air behind Saal.

“As I told you before, you have no idea with whom you are dealing. Do as you are told.”

Before he could utter a response, she pressed the inner control panel, sealing the door from the inside. Sidren-Tos cursed loudly and slammed his fist into the door.

Inside the Captain’s private quarters, the air between the two assistants swirled as a bluish portal formed between them; arcs of energy singed parts of the private quarters as it spun. Four armoured humanoid figures exited the portal and stood to attention in front of Saal. Saal sucked in a quiet breath as she regarded the seven foot soldiers; they wore form fitting black armor with glowing stripes of red and orange that formed and ‘X’ across the torso. She frowned as she read nothing from their minds, just static. She dismissed the thought and nodded at her assistants who closed the portal and moved to join her. The three women moved away from the four armored figures as the disc shaped object in Saal’s grasp activated; a beam of light shot up from the center of the disc, widening as the mechanism inside it shifted. The light widened into a discernible hologram; a distinct set of facial features was displayed as they all looked forwards intently. Saal took a deep breath before addressing her superior.

“Lord Krolos, we are in position as requested. What are your orders, sir?”

“Saal, you have not failed me thus far and for that you and your assistants will be rewarded in due course. The soldiers you see before you are known as Graldeshi, they have been cybernetically enhanced by my own…personal methods. As you have no doubt realised, through the wonder of the mystic arts they are now mindless, this is not to combat you but is related to this assignment. They have been informed which two targets they need to retrieve, so orders from you are not necessary.” Elyisaus replied.

“With all due respect my lord, why did you simply not send my assistants and I to retrieve these targets, our abilities are more than capable of taking down any target-” she started.

“You would be dead before you even began. These targets do not fall within the normal distribution of the targets we have been collecting. You are still of some use to me, I do not wish for you to perish without fulfilling your part in my plan.” he stated.

“My Lord, if I may ask…who are-”

Saal and the four soldiers whipped around as the door to the living quarters was blown open, Sidren-Tos stepped through the smoke and looked at Saal, pointing a large gun in her direction. He shouted as he walked in.

“Now, you’d better start talking or else I’m gonna sink several rounds of this bad boy into your sk-”

Before he knew it, Sidren-Tos was pinned up against the wall with a powerful hand closing around his throat and several different weapons pressed against his torso. He looked down to see his own terrified reflection in a black mask looking up at him. Saal’s eyes widened as one of the Graldeshi soldiers had moved with incredible speed, rendering Sidren-Tos defenceless. Elyisaus’ projection uttered a single command and the Graldeshi weakened his grip on Sidren-Tos, the various weapons slotting back into its body. Sidren-Tos weakly grappled with the solider, eventually managing to push him away as he gasped for air. Saal watched with thinly veiled amusement as Sidren-Tos recovered.

“This…this is my…ship dammit. If I’m being employed…I damn sure want to know…what the krutuck is going on!” he wheezed.

“Very well, Sidren-Tos I am using your vessel as a transportation service. Now leave.” Elyisaus sighed.

“I don’t think so. Whatever you’re doing I want in on. Too much weirdness has happened already for this just to be “transportation service”. Be straight with me. If you’ve got a real job to carry out then my boys and I want in.” Sidren-Tos argued.

Elyisaus’ hologram looked up at Saal and nodded, he spoke in a foreign language and she replied in like manner. Sidren-Tos ran his hand over his face as he kept a watchful eye on the disturbingly still soldiers in his private quarters.

>Humor him. Offer him and two of his finest men one hundred and ninety thousand shem’raj each; with an addition of four hundred thousand provided his men succeed alongside the Graldeshi. < Elyisaus said.

>My lord, will his involvement not cause complications?< Saal asked.

> I have foreseen the outcome for his involvement; his men will die in the encounter. You need not worry. I do not need to remind you that a failure at this juncture is not an option. If you perceive that those on board this vessel will become an issue, make them a non-issue any way you see fit. Do not harm the targets in anyway, simply restrain them. I need them intact. Now go, I have matters to attend to.< Elyisaus warned.

>Yes, Lord Krolos. As you wish my lord.< Saal responded.

Elyisaus’ projection smirked as he watched Sidren-Tos and then aborted the connection. The hologram folded into a column of light which vanished as the disc mechanism sealed shut. Saal signalled to her assistant on her right to hold onto the disc as she addressed Sidren-Tos, the veil of darkness obscuring her face lessened as her features became more discernible. Sidren-Tos noticed a small smile on her lips as she spoke.

“It seems fate has favoured you this day. My superior has offered to pay you a hundred and ninety thousand shem’raj each for your involvement via the services of two of your finest. You and the two crew members will be awarded an additional four hundred thousand shem’raj each upon delivery of the two targets. These Graldeshi soldiers will join you on the assignment.” she explained.

“Now, that’s much better than leaving me out. But my outlaw senses are tingling, what are my men going up against? Even though I don’t know most of these guys I’m still responsible for them, we still have some level of honor amongst ourselves. So I’m going to need some specifics.”

Saal’s assistant to her left stepped forward, producing two data pads from the folds of her robe and shoved them towards Sidren-Tos. Sidren-Tos accepted the data pads, activating them as he walked over to his desk and sat down. He opened the draw and lit a fresh Fre’kk, he shoved the slimy end between his lips; it wriggled momentarily as he skimmed over the first data pad. His eyes widened slightly as he switched to the other one. He stood up quickly, almost spitting out his Fre’kk as he turned to Saal, who stood nearby staring at him.

“Is this a krutucking joke?!”

“Whatever do you mean, Captain Sidren-Tos?” she asked.

“Have you read this?” he cried

He shoved one of the data pads in her direction, holding it as she read it. Saal almost allowed her surprise to show but quickly thickened the veil of darkness obscuring her face. Her purple eyes darted back up to Sidren-Tos.

“I have always been aware of what my superior required.” she lied.

Sidren-Tos’s tail twitched violently as he cursed colorfully, withdrawing the data pads from Saal.

“Aside from maybe you guys and the four soldiers over there, I am the most technologically advanced being on this ship. And I am nowhere near equipped to even dream of tackling this. These are not the kind of people you mess around with, even now.” Sidren-Tos hissed.

One of the Graldeshi soldiers broke the formation and unclipped a small cube from his belt, handing it to Sidren-Tos who flinched slightly. He cautiously accepted the cube from the soldier; he examined it for a moment before looking up at the soldier.

“So what the hell is this?” he asked.

The Graldeshi soldier answered in a clear, but slightly mechanical voice.

“That device contains the technology required to hinder our targets. This has to be a clean operation. There is no room for failure or error. As you have seen neither target is to be taken lightly. The gadgetry contained within, are minor upgrades to current weaponry available on our client’s home world. Whilst it is light years ahead of universal technology, I will be on hand to train you which ones to use.” The soldier explained.

Sidren-Tos nodded slowly as he examined the cube, which in itself looked pretty impressive.

“You have an hour to decide who will accompany the Graldeshi soldiers. We will wait for your return. Try not to think of the targets, think more about the reward at the end of all this.” Saal smiled.

Sidren-Tos straightened his back and nodded, leaving the room. The Graldeshi soldier turned to her:

>I am aware of what we’re facing. If this goes wrong, we are equipped to escape one of them at best. Why exactly are we bringing along two organic lifeforms? Surely that is against the best interests of the mission?< he asked.

>We need something to strap the explosive charges to. The targets themselves are not to be killed or injured too badly though. Our superior does not wish to sacrifice one of your men nor my assistants or I. So, two lifeless bodies of lower lifeform outlaws with charges strapped to them in a ship that accidentally heads into a temporarily accelerated asteroid belt will be destroyed so completely that there will be no evidence to contradict this being an unfortunate accident. By the time any other vessel comes across this, for it to make news…we will have completed our tasks and be at the facility.< she replied.

>I see.<

>After all, space travel can be very dangerous.< Saal grinned.

---

Sidren-Tos had spent half an hour running through the on board database, gathering every shred of information he could find about his current crew. So far he had managed to select three possible candidates; he just hoped two of them had the bravery or stupidity to attempt to pull this off. His eyes stopped on another candidate; Shi’nar-Vos, a fellow Andaarian.

“Shi’nar-Vos, Tro’ak, 6XC and Psamm. Four candidates…out of fifty. Good enough.” he muttered.

Pressing his fingers on the screen he selected their names and initiated the call to their separate quarters. Moments later their faces appeared on the screen;

“Sidren-Tos, what’s up?” 6XC asked.

“I’ve got a job and you guys are the most likely ones to be able to pull this off, purely because of your unique skillsets. It’s a kidnapping of sorts. You’ll be working alongside the Graldeshi, never heard of them myself but they have enough gear to let you know they mean business.”

“I don’t kidnap half-forms or really old people, unless it’s for a whole moon’s worth of shem’raj.” Psamm stated.

“There not kids or really old, but they are Xenians…of the ‘XM’ variety.” Sidren-Tos explained slowly.

“Yeah…no amount of shem’raj could make me pit myself against a Xenian, they are crazy. Let alone an XM. And I don’t want an entire planet on my ass because I helped capture one their own. You know how worked up they get about family. I’m out. Good luck to the rest of you though, you’ll need it.” scoffed Tro’ak.

Tro’ak nodded at Sidren-Tos and then cut off the connection, his face vanishing from the screen as the display re-arranged itself.

“How much shem’raj is on the table? If it’s less than nine hundred shem’raj then you can count me out.” Psamm asked

“One hundred and ninety thousand shem’raj is the offer. With an added bonus of four hundred shem’raj upon completion of the assignment. That’s for each one of you, not split between you.” he replied.

Shi’nar-Vos and 6XC shuffled oddly on screen, the number seemed to have captured their attention. Psamm’s expression was complete shock, with a hint of disbelief. Sidren-Tos watched as Psamm’s neural enhancement brightened as he contemplated the number. Shi’nar-Vos and 6XC stayed silent.

“That’s a lot of shem’raj…I-I’m not promising anything…I need specifics first.” Psamm said.

Sidren-Tos nodded and grabbed a cable from the desk to his right. He watched as the data from the data pads was uploaded. Seconds later the upload completed and three simultaneous beeps notified him they had been sent copies. Sidren-Tos watched as the three criminals went through the newly received information. Shi’nar-Vos’ tail twitched as he processed the information in front of him, he whistled loudly and let out a short laugh. 6XC nodded as he looked at the data pads, he slotted his fingers into the cybernetic equipment fixed on the side of his helmet, switching them out for a pair of sleeker modifications. Psamm let out a slightly disturbing laugh as he flicked through the data pads.

“As much as I love using my brain to fight and kill marks…this is one fight I wouldn’t walk away from, physically or mentally if these profiles are anything to go by. I may not give a damn about anyone else’s life but I sure do value mine. I’m out, sorry Sidren-Tos.” Psamm concluded.

Well there goes my hope of having a psychic in the team. Then again, it’s not like I’m joining these guys anyway. Sidren-Tos thought.

He sighed as Psamm’s face left the screen, leaving 6XC and Shi’nar-Vos. Shi’nar-Vos chuckled as he spoke to Sidren-Tos in their native language.

>>You’d better be sure these Graldeshi don’t cross us. I’ll hold you accountable. This isn’t an easy job, a great number of things could go wrong, but you can count me in. Not yet had the pleasure of taking down a Xenian before…this could be fun if it goes right.<<

>> I trust these Graldeshi soldiers and my client’s representatives for about as far as I could throw them, and since I’m not a strong guy that should tell you something. Makes me wonder why he’s drafted us in as well, but it doesn’t concern me, and I need the shem’raj.<< Sidren-Tos replied.

“Both of you meet me in my private quarters, the Graldeshi are probably getting restless. Captain Sidren-Tos out.”

Ten minutes later Captain Sidren-Tos, Shi’nar-Vos, 6XC and the Graldeshi soldiers were crowded around a small table in the centre of the Captain’s private quarters. Sidren-Tos placed the cube from earlier on the table and pushed down in the centre of the top face of the cube. He jerked his hand back as the cube began to grow and then unfold; they looked at the cube as it began to spawn various gadgets. The Graldeshi soldiers smirked at the naked awe on the faces of the criminals and began to run through the several gadgets which had spawned. Another soldier held up a holo-display unit to the right of the first soldier.

“We’ll be in two teams. Team one is with me, the name’s Gristk. Our target is this female, designation Mentella Summerstone. She is an XM mentalist with a primary pool of telepathy, we aren’t aware of any telekinetic potential but that is entirely possible. To take her down we will be using Y Grade portable psychic suppression units as well as Class 10 hypo-sonic grenades. Grenades will give us an opportunity to interrupt her. Our best estimate is that the psychic suppression units will last around ten to fifteen seconds tops before she burns them out. That is our window to knock her out, cold. Once she’s out she’ll be very little threat.” Gristk explained.

A slightly shorter Graldeshi soldier stepped forward as Gristk moved back.

“Team two is with me, the name’s Klow’r. Our target is the male, designation Ed’ran Ramin’ov. Also an XM mentalist but with a primary pool of telekinesis, secondary pool is unknown at this point in time. For him we’ll be making use of these.”

Klow’r placed several cylinders on the desk, pushing them slightly towards the criminals. Shi’nar-Vos eyed the miniature cylinders, frowning slightly. He picked one up, squinting as he tried to examine it.

“What is this thing?” he asked.

“A KVD or in simpler terms, a Krotosmandian visual disruptor. In theory, if he can’t see you, then he can’t rip you into tiny bits. Once he’s blinded, shoot him with these…unfortunately non-lethal rounds. They’ll knock him out. If he manages to even get a sense of what has happened to target one, he’ll tear us apart before we can have a chance to take him down. So to combat this, team one and team two need to work efficiently and as fast as possible.” Klow’r explained.

“In theory?” frowned 6XC

“Sounds good to me. Couple questions though, how are we getting in? And what if they’re together?” asked Shi’nar-Vos.

Saal suddenly appeared beside him.

“You leave those details to me. We can ensure your safe passage. The Graldeshi here are quite knowledgeable when it comes to tampering with on board systems. You can be sure that the two targets will be separated. Now, take the equipment you need and suit up. The targets will be in position in the next fifteen minutes.” explained Saal.

Click here for Part 3