3 Chapter 3: Being a Good Host

The Motley zooms for Central close to the planet Paxes. I walk to the control room and see that Central drifts in front of us already. Titan is piloting from his seat while Knight is on a monitor waiting for Central to ask us to identify ourselves.

The call comes in.

Central Gate Guard (Personal): "Heavyweight space ship, designation Motley, identify yourselves."

Knight (Personal): "HWSS-Motley. Mothership and headquarters of Lux-Roulette. Mercenaries by trade."

There's a pause before the voice responds again.

Central Gate Guard (Personal): "Cleared for hangar bay entrance. Stand by for Oxy-Gate authorization."

Titan stops in front of their gate and waits for it to turn a bright blue before fading into a transparent version. He docks us nearby and begins to head for the Ucellos parked in our bay. We all follow and hop in our own ships, pulling out and parking inside Central's hangar.

We climb out and find each other amongst the numerous parked ships. Titan leads us to the barred window of an officer acting as a guard.

"Hey, Titan here with Lux-Roulette," he tells the guard.

The guard types it in. "Mercenaries? Turning someone in?"

"Getting them out. We wish to invoke the Rat Pack Treaty on a member of Sky Chasers, Semper."

He types more. "You remember the rules? Either way, I have to state them before you can remove him. You have twenty-four hours, and only twenty-four hours to remove another mercenary from incarceration. If you have an intent to never return them, or return them with irreversible trauma, you will be given the same sentence with an extension depending on the percentage of trauma judged by the P.V.D."

"Got it all down in my head. We're just after a few questions, right guys?" Titan looks back at all of us. We smile and nod, I give a thumbs up. The guard doesn't even look at us; just finishes his logistics and presses a button to slide a metal door open.

We walk through and are escorted by another officer.

"Business?" he asks.

"We're here to remove Semper of Sky Chasers."

The officer begins walking down the hallway filled with cells with plenty of perps locked up inside. He stops in front of one that holds a single prisoner; a young man that looks around my age. He hovers his credentials in front of the scanner and the door swings open.

"Semper, you are hereby temporarily removed from Central for twenty-four hours. Get going."

The young man asks, "Wait, who's taking me?" He looks behind the officer's shoulder and sees Titan's face. "You're making me go with Lux-Roulette? I refuse."

"You mercs wanted this treaty, now you've got it. Move!"

The officer steps aside and allows Semper to remove himself from his prison. Titan smiles widely and opens his arms invitingly. "A real Sky Chasers member! Can I get an autograph and maybe a hug?"

Semper looks at the rest of us, rubs his arm, keeps his gaze down, then steps out of his cell and up to Titan who wraps his arms around the jittery young merc.

"You can ride with me, I wanna make sure you're comfortable on the way to Motley."

We all walk back with our new tag-along and pile into our ships, Titan taking Semper with him, and fly back to Motley. Once we land in our hangar, we jump out and surround Titan's Ucello to make sure Semper doesn't try anything.

"Now, now, he's behaving himself. No need to scare him," Titan says while motioning us to back off a bit. He jumps down first and lets Semper disembark uncrowded. "Welcome to the home of Lux-Roulette. Nice, huh?"

"Your ship is falling apart."

"Well maybe if the merc groups thinned out a bit we might actually pick up some jobs. Knight, could you take Semper here to our uh...quiet room? Cheq, make sure they get there safe."

Knight, without saying a word, grabs Semper by the arm and drags him away to our interrogation room. He puts up a small fight but quits when Knight doesn't budge. Cheq trails behind them.

"Why are you being so nice to him?" I ask Titan.

"I don't want him to brace himself for anything that we might try on him. Still, he's not letting his guard down much. If we're really lucky he won't know the rules of the Rat Pack. He seems young enough to not know, you know?"

"I think I get what you're saying. So, how far are we going to take this?"

He rubs his nails on his jacket. "Oh, not too far. We don't even know if Sky Chasers know anything. We're just gonna scare him a bit, maybe he'll let something loose about the jobs he's done or something about his teammates."

"Lead the way."

He takes a turn into the hallway and I follow. We get to a sealed door that only opens with an optical scanner, he bends down and allows the panel to momentarily blind him with a bright light. There's a small "ding" and the door swishes open. Knight is busy cuffing Semper into an uncomfortable chair while Cheq eggs him on about how we're going to make his day a little worse than what it was.

"Well, what do we have here? A legendary Sky Chaser strapped down like a dog getting fixed." Titan allows Knight to finish off the bindings before asking him to step away. "Now I don't want to have to clean up a lot of blood doing this, so I'm asking that you just talk without any hassle."

Semper rolls his tongue around in his mouth and clenches his jaw. The first bead of sweat appears on his forehead. "What do you jokers want with me? Because whatever it is I'm not giving it to you."

"C'mon, you didn't even let me ask first."

"The Sky Chasers have abandoned me and there's no promise of getting released early. I have no reasons to help or protect either of you guys, so you can both rot for all I care."

"Oooh, a tough one. Don't worry, we'll get all that bark out of you soon."

Titan steps away and looks at Knight, giving him a small nod. Knight presents himself, standing tall at 6'3", and cracks his knuckles.

Semper seems unimpressed. "Go ahead, I don't care anymore."

Knight wastes no time in delivering a strong punch to the gut and knocking his air out. "Do you care now?"

Semper's eyes widen as his mouth hangs open desperately trying to suck in air that just isn't coming.

After a few attempts, he finally regains some breath. "So tough punching a guy who's strapped down."

Knight winds up for another punch but gets pulled back by Titan. "This can get ugly real fast, kid. Just let me ask the first question before you decide to put up another fight."

Semper shakes his head and stares at the ground. "I'm screwed either way. What difference does it make if I die here or somewhere else, with ten or fewer fingers? What do you want?"

"Did Sky Chasers take any jobs to wipe out Kroyoza?"

"Contracts are confidential. You can't actually think that I'm going to share that with another mercenary group, do you?"

"I thought you said it didn't make a difference."

"I still have respect for the rules unlike you. We're already in a shallow business, but at least we can secure our secrets and keep a degree of integrity."

"That's commendable. Knight?"

Knight quickly steps in and dishes out an incredible right hook that shakes Semper like a living bobblehead.

"Oof, that one looked like it sent you to another dimension. Now, about Kroyoza, do you know anything about that?"

Semper's eyes don't focus on anybody, they just dart around the room avoiding eye contact. "Sky Chasers got nothing to do with what happened to Kroyoza. We don't have that kind of firepower despite what the rumors say."

"It sounds like you might know something about what went down there. Enlighten us."

Semper locks up and doesn't say anything. Titan waits for an answer and nothing comes. He sighs deeply and rubs his forehead with an open palm. "Look, you got punched twice, that's us being nice, but we're running out of time and you're not being cute anymore. I'm afraid we're going to have to jump to the tools."

Semper perks up at full attention to see Knight and Cheq grabbing actual tools from a small workbench pushed against a wall. Knight comes back with a saw and Cheq holds a hammer. Lastly, Titan joins my side and allows for the other two to cloud up the space.

Knight puts a hand on Semper's neck and brings the saw next to his fingers. "What was that about leaving with fewer digits? Do you really want to live life missing things as helpful as a trigger finger?"

Cheq brings the hammer to Semper's kneecap. "Imagine if I shattered your patella. You'd go the rest of your life walking with a pathetic limp. Think of how the inmates might look at you when they see you can't fight back."

Cheq brings the hammer back and prepares to swing. He quickly descends for the kneecap but stops when Semper screams.

"Wait! You can't do any of that to me, the Rat Pack says you can't return me with permanent damage!"

They both back off and look at Titan. He shrugs.

"Okay, you caught us! We can't return you back to Central with permanent damage. You're smart for your age." Semper begins to slump his shoulders and even fights a small smile trying to get out. "Uh, Cheq, could you go get that new thing you've been working on?"

Cheq scratches his head. "Yeah? All right, I'll be right back."

Titan stands in front of Semper. "You still want to hold on to that integrity you love so much?"

"You know everyone talks about how Lux-Roulette is just a big joke of a merc team. Sure, you're good pilots, but your head for business is laughable. Your tech is primitive and always falling apart."

"Ouch! You make me feel like I'm the one strapped down to a chair," he says, playfully batting Semper's head around with an open palm.

Cheq comes back into the room wheeling in a strange-looking device. It's not too large, but not small enough to just carry around either. It has a barrel that makes it obvious that something comes out of it, but the complicated body in the back leaves me guessing.

Titan points to the device. "This...is an experimental bio-restoration processor."

Semper gives him a curious stare. "A what?"

"It means it can heal flesh wounds rapidly and even regrow severed body parts if given enough exposure."

"Why do I care?"

"We're going to put you through Hell and use it on you so that you show up in Central looking as fresh as when you came out ya momma's womb, but still have the memory of what it's like to lose fingers and toes."

Knight quickly reintroduces himself with the saw and forcefully grabs one of Semper's fingers and holds it out. "Since you're going to grow another finger, how's about you also learn what it's like to eat it too?"

Just as Knight was about to begin sawing, Semper thrashes around in his chair violently. "No! Wait! I'll talk! Let me go, you big ass caveman!"

Knight backs off and lets Titan take over. "He's ready."

Titan comes back with his arms across his chest. "What do you know about Kroyoza's destruction?"

"I can tell you that it wasn't Sky Chasers that blew the city off the grid. We took a job, I took a job, to enter the city and collect the coordinates for an artillery strike. I'm the scout, so it was me that had to do it."

"You son of a bitch!" I shout.

I charge for him as my blood boils to hear that he provided the means to kill several people in a small town that didn't deserve it. The entire crew, including Titan, all whoop and shout as Knight and Cheq grab my arms and hold me back. I struggle hard to get free, but both of my teammates are much bigger than I.

"Nev, settle down. We're getting what we need, you can dish out revenge later," Titan explains.

I breathe in deep a few times before letting Knight and Cheq know it's okay to let me go. They do, and I stand at the wall furthest from Semper.

Titan turns back to him. "You see what you've done? You got Nev riled up and now he wants your eyes out of your head. Keep talking before you learn what that feels like. I need to know who paid Sky Chasers to do this job."

"The Angel Vanguard. Have you heard of them? A giant military coalition that comes from another galaxy? Eioneusi-84E, I think. Paxes Defense Force seems to fight them everywhere and all the time."

Titan scratches his chin. "I don't understand. How could they launch an artillery strike while not even being in the same airspace as planet Thucara? Kroyoza was a Paxes ally, an Angel Vanguard vessel would've been obliterated on the spot if they were caught hovering anywhere near Thucara."

"I can't tell you how it works, but they can send a strike to anywhere from anywhere. It's not just artillery either, sometimes we see ships just lingering around empty sections of the galaxy like they're scouting or something."

Titan moves away and opens a minifridge compartment built into the wall. He pulls out a beer and cracks it open. He takes a sip and comes back to tilt it slightly at Semper. "Want some?"

"You already put your mouth on it."

"Think of it as a small kiss from old uncle Titan."

"Why do you have alcohol reserves in a room like this?"

"I'm sorry, I thought I was the one asking questions."

"You were literally just beating my face in. Now you're giving me a beer?"

"We can go right back to that if you prefer. This is your chance to get a break."

He rolls his eyes and extends his neck while pursing his lips. Titan allows him to drink from the bottle and pulls it away after he deems it's enough. "How does Angel Vanguard view Paxes?"

"They know that they've been hiring mercenaries to fill in the blank spots that their soldiers can't fill."

"That's fair, but private information. It doesn't matter how they got it, but they should know that Paxes is loaded enough to hire as many mercenaries as they need. Why doesn't that frighten them?"

"They don't think mercenaries have the same combat prowess as their trained soldiers."

Titan takes a swig. "Hopefully we've changed their minds over these past few missions. Does Angel Vanguard have a plan to attack the frontline anytime soon?"

"I don't have a clue. I was just hired to scout coordinates of a quiet town. Why would they even share anything with a 'lowly mercenary'? They didn't seem to even care about dealing with Paxes."

Titan shakes his head. "I think you're bullshitting me, kid. Those fallen angels seem the type to have a plan to deal with any thorn in their side. Either tell us the truth or Knight will come back here and roleplay doctor with that bone saw."

As Knight begins to walk closer with the saw, Semper begins thrashing around in his chair. "C'mon, man, I really don't know! The only thing I can tell you is that they've got the firepower to launch a full-scale invasion. Whether they're taking out sections or launching a frontal assault, I don't know!"

Titan holds Knight's shoulder to keep him from going further. "Just one more favor I need from you. Can you point us in the right direction on where to go to find out how Angel is sending strikes from outside of the Omthenis-X98 galaxy?"

Semper breathes deep and clenches his fists. "Hunt down my former associate, Faiyoh. She ran as a hacker with the Angel Vanguard during an espionage run. That means she must've traveled with them and knows how they get around so quickly."

Titan groans and stomps a boot. "Sky Chaser Faiyoh?! This couldn't get more difficult."

"I can get to tracking her right now, Titan. Sky Chasers are in this galaxy last I heard around the job boards," Cheq says.

Titan finishes the beer he started. "Hold on, Cheq, turn on your machine."

Cheq smiles as he presses a couple of buttons to charge up the back of the device. "Of course."

Semper struggles again. "Wait! Why are you powering up the super clinic? I told you everything, didn't I?"

Cheq puts a coffee mug in front of the barrel of his unknown device. After a few seconds, a dark brown liquid begins to pour into the cup at a high temperature. When it's done, Titan grabs it and holds it in Semper's face, then takes a quick sip.

"Ah, now I'm wide awake."

Semper looks on, his lips parted to show his teeth. "What?"

Cheq chuckles. "It's a modified coffee maker, you dolt. The formula is eventually going to let a consumer stay up for days with no detriments."

None of us could hold it in as we laugh in his face. Semper shrinks in his chair and shouts, "You tricked me!"

Titan wipes his mouth and calms down. "Oh come on, be a good sport. Knight, if you could take our friend here back to Central, I'd be grateful. As for the rest of you, let's discuss what needs to be our next step."

Knight begins to undo his restraints. "Make an attempt to escape and you'll regret it."

Titan gestures to both Cheq and me to follow him down the hall. He takes us back to the briefing room and drops the Sky Chasers' file down on the table again. He turns to Faiyoh's dossier and silently reads to himself.

"Do you boys have any idea how hard it's going to be to catch Faiyoh?"

I put a hand on the table. "Why don't we just wait by a merc auction and nab her there?"

"Oh, my sweet Nev, Faiyoh has been doing this dance just as long as I have. Did you notice that her file is the only file we don't have a picture of? That's because she doesn't want pictures of herself to exist."

"I don't get it, is she magical?"

He wags his finger. "Yes, but not in the way you think. She's incredibly smart. If she wants to hide, she won't be found unless she wants to be found."

Cheq spins the file around so he can look at it. "Well, boss, if she's as good as you say she is, then how do you suppose we go about finding her?"

For the first time since I've known him, Titan's cheeks blush. "We...know each other pretty well. I can use an old channel frequency to let her know I want to talk. She won't answer, but she'll contact me later asking if I was looking for her."

I nudge his stomach with my elbow. "I see you're into high-caliber companions."

He clears his throat. "And that she is, Nev. I'll go make the call, you clowns can sit around and watch if you wanna."