|
Always a
Price 2002 short story by Louis Turfrey, Mark Newbold and Paul
Squire Thirty-eight years after Episode
IV – A New Hope The Garyra Station sat gleaming in the distance, a silver
fleck on a velvet backdrop, as the Mon Calamarian cruiser powered down and lay silent. On her
bridge her hooded, armoured commander nodded towards his pilot, commending
him on the piloting skills that had brought this huge vessel so close to the
station without raising any proximity alarms with a well-timed micro jump from
outside the system. “Prepare my
shuttle and inform the station of my arrival.” With that he left the bridge and boarded the small
shuttle that manoeuvred gracefully towards the station, its modified
thrusters allowing it to rotate about its own axis. Two hundred metres, then
one hundred and fifty metres, then a hundred metres separated the shuttle
from the welcoming entrance to the station.
And then she docked. Ryath Centaur looked out of his observation window,
squinting against the darkness and noting the distant black outline of the
Mon Cal cruiser. He frowned. It’s
wise of Lomona to invite the head of the Raven Corporation to the station,
but why would he turn up in a kilometre long attack cruiser? Why not keep his
movements low key and informal? Its black painted bulk partially obscured
the sight of the planet below, a view that Ryath liked. The door creaked and opened as a figure entered. There was a clink of glass and the sound of
liquid pouring. “Jan. Good of you to knock.” Jan Lomona grinned as he took hold of both glasses and
handed one to his long time friend, son-in-law and business partner. “Good of you to
remove the lock from your drinks cabinet.
Going senile or feeling charitable?” Ryath smiled. “A touch of both
I think.” Despite his humour the look
of concern on Centaurs face was unusual and Lomona knew why. “Don’t worry
Ry. I know this guy. You can trust him.” He gave his smuggest
grin and Ryath shook his head, moving to stand behind his desk and
straightening his tunic. “I wish I shared
your confidence. I don’t trust people that hide behind blacked out monitor
screens and secret organisations.” Jan had to smile again at the irony of the remark. “Yeah, right. You’ll work for them quickly enough
though.” Ryath frowned again, remembering past jobs he had
completed as a mercenary-for-hire for the likes of Glann Cipple and others.
He brushed the thought aside; That was the past and Cipple was dead. There was a knock at the door and one of his aides
entered. “Your next appointment is here to see you,
sir.” Ryath nodded and waited as the cloaked and armoured
figure entered the room, stooping to clear the door. Two of Centaurs Iron
Claws followed, their weapons trained on the dark figure. Lord Raven, joint
head of the shadowy Raven Corporation turned and motioned towards the two
men. “In the
interests of security my identity must remain secret. Ask your men to leave
the room.” There was an air of command and inflection in the voice
that Ryath noted, but with the armoured helmet obscuring any features, Ryath
was unable to tell whether or not he knew the identify
of the speaker. “They
remain.” Ryath inclined his head. “My security measures. I’m sure you
understand.” Raven looked at Lomona and folded his arms across his
chest. “You told me
that I could trust this man. I don’t
sense any trust in this room.” “Trust goes both
ways,” interjected Centaur. “And we’re
on my ground.” There
was a distinct ripple of tension in the air, and Jan could sense a stalemate
forming. He looked at both of his
friends and frowned. “If you can’t
take Raven’s word then take mine.
We’re meant to be working together in this. How are we going to get anything done if we
can’t show a little faith?” It was Ryaths turn to cast a frown. “Faith? Faith is for fools. I don’t know this man.” “But I do.” Lomona
and Centaur stared at each other for a few long seconds, years of friendship
and familiarity marking the stare, and obstinance
on both parts melted into understanding.
Ryath glanced at his two guards and nodded for them to leave. Jan
stepped back and smiled warmly as he moved back towards the drinks cabinet. “Anyone for Vineau?” “So I am
offering the Iron Claws the use of three carriers, four heavy attack
frigates and twenty support ships. That includes one hundred and fifty
unmanned SSJ Stealth fighters, fifty per carrier.” Ryath sat back and looked at the impressive list of craft
in front of him. “I take it this isn’t the whole of your
fleet?” Raven smiled, the large canines
clearly visible and extending downward. “Correct. Let’s just say I wish to maintain the
defence of my own organisation. More can be made available if required, but I
need the rest of my fleet for now. There is something I need to
retrieve. But I will be making another
vessel available to you shortly.” Ryath looked out of the port to see a white vessel
cruising into view, five kilometres from the station. “I believe you
remember the ISD Constance?” He
turned to view Ryaths expression.
“Impressive, isn’t she.” Ryath nodded and looked at Jan as a broad A-desandian
grin spread from one side of his face to the other. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” Jan
nodded his head, barely able to suppress his mirth. “Well, I gotta
have some secrets, don’t I?” Nias Derril paced nervously about the polished floor of
the docking bay. I wonder how Ryath Centaur will take the news that me, an
apparent traitor, is commanding his newest attack craft?
Well, he’ll soon know, his shuttle’s docking now. He watched from the cavernous docking bay
as the shuttle approached followed by a brief glow of ion thrusters as the
pilot brought the shuttle to rest. There was a faint clang as the ramp
lowered and Nias took a deep breath as he watched the steam billow, masking
the exiting passengers. He stepped
forward to greet the trio, led by Lord Raven.
Lomona and Centaur exited side-by-side, the smoke parting for them
like a wraith. Jan stiffened for a
moment, memories of being aboard Star Destroyers coming back to him. He’d
been pulled aboard these vessels and boarded by Imperials too many times to
mention. “Welcome aboard
the ISD Constance sirs. My ship
is your ship.” Ryath regarded him for a moment and nodded firmly. “Nias Derril?” Nias nodded in response, unsure of what the broad
ex-Imperial was about to say. “Yes.” “I presume you
have a state room prepared for us.” Nias faltered for a second and regained his composure. “Of course. This way.” Centaur lowered his wine glass onto the gleaming table
and eased back into his seat, eyeing Jan closely as the A-desandian sank his
drink. He had heard much during the
last hour, the majority of which was of little consequence. He was fast becoming irritable but surely,
he reasoned with himself, Raven must be coming towards his point soon? Centaur interjected Derril’s technical ramblings and
raised a hand to speak. “Raven, I understand that you are
entrusting the Iron Claws,” he paused, “me, with a sizeable war fleet. This ship alone,” he waved his hand vaguely
about him, “must have cost millions to refit.” “It must,” noted Raven blithely. “I don’t keep track of all our outgoings.” Nias
eagerly leaned forward and Lord Raven deferred to him. “This vessel was refitted and modified to
provide full close quarters support. She can hold her own against a Ki-Ki
battle platform, and her inherent shielding inadequacies have been erased and
upgraded. Turbo-lasers and ion cannon have been upgraded or replaced.” Lord
Raven chose to break in at this juncture. “And the keel of the ship has been
reinforced. She’s strong enough to ram
another warship if so inclined.” He eyed Ryath closely as the Iron
Claw leader narrowed his eyes. “Why would you
want to reinforce the keel so it can ram another ship?” Lord Raven smiled and looked at Jan, who in turn glanced
at Derril. The cloaked man stood and
moved towards the view port that afforded him a vista of the stars. “I have my
reasons. I told you earlier that I
have need of my fleet to retrieve a certain item that was lost.” Centaur nodded.
Raven continued. “That item
is another starship. A Victory Class
Star Destroyer, to be precise.” He
paused. “I assume you’ve heard of the VSD
Deliverance?” Ryath kept a neutral face and acknowledged in the
affirmative. “Of course.” Lord Raven raised an eyebrow beneath his mask as he
looked again at Nias and then at Lomona. “The VSD
Deliverance joined the Raven Corporation, commanded by an ex-Imperial,
Mendip Khan. The Ki-Ki stole her from
us.” He snarled at the memory of his
lost ship. “I have need of her
again. And with this fleet I have
provided you, I intend for you to steal her back from the Ki-Ki. A small
price to pay for the generosity of my donation” Ryath blinked and couldn’t help notice the look of
innocence that descended over Jan’s face.
He clasped his hands behind his back. “The VSD
Deliverance. You want us to
retrieve her?” “I do.” Ryath
nodded again, uncertain of what to say.
He knew what Lomona was thinking, as surely as if he was whispering it
into his very ear, and turned back to Lord Raven. “I need to confer with my senior command
staff on the Garyra Station. May I use
your communications room?” Lord
Raven nodded and motioned towards a side door. “By all means. Take your time.” “Ry, this is crazy. We’re talking about the fragging
Raven Corporation here. If I changed
from boxers to briefs they’d know about it.” “Jan, half the women in the sector would
know about it.” Jan cocked his head in agreement. “True enough,
but you take my point.” “No, but half
the women in the sector probably have.”
“Knock it off,
I’m being serious.” He lowered his
voice, confident that Raven hadn’t bugged the small briefing room he and
Centaur occupied, but not willing to bet against it either. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Ki-Ki
took the Deliverance, renamed it the Sword of Justice, stuck it
on the front line during the Battle of Zelon and Mendip Kahn rammed it with a
Super Carrier to take out its interdiction field and destroyed it.” Ryath nodded in agreement with Jan’s accurate knowledge
of recent history. “Correct.” He looked around the room, eyes flushed
with thought. “But clearly the Raven
Corporation doesn’t know that. After
all, the only ship they had present was the SSC Intrepid and Khan used
that to destroy the VSD. They
must think that the Deliverance and the Sword of Justice were
two separate vessels and not one and the same.” Ryath waited for Jans next words, which
were clearly not forthcoming.
“So? What do you think?” Lomona looked at Ryath as if he was asking the craziest
question in the galaxy. “What do I
think? I think we take the Raven fleet
and kick some Ki-Ki butt. It’s not our
fault Ravens information is wrong.” Ryath nodded briskly, Jans
assertion matching exactly that of his own. “Alright,
speaking hypothetically, what if the Raven Corporation learn
that the Deliverance was destroyed over Chancai? What then?” “Look, you know as well as I do that Raven
wants that ship at any cost.
Would Raven give us this fleet if they thought the Deliverance was
already space dust?” Jan shook his
head. “I don’t think so. They want that ship, and now that’s to our
advantage.” “Agreed. So, we pledge to get the ship
back. Then what?” Lomona
stood and reached down to retrieve his glass of Vineau as his old friend
stood to join him. “We make like the birds and wing it.” Another hour passed, laced with hard questions and harder
language. Clearly Lord Raven was more
than slightly perturbed by Centaur not eagerly accepting his fleet or his
terms, and for his part Centaur had become angered by Ravens brash assumption
that he would blindly take on such a mission without giving it serious
thought. Ryath stabbed in again. “Why give the “Because as bravely as they have fought
these past years I don’t trust Tannis Rixx.
He’s an ex-Janos Executioner, and despite what I have heard about him
I don’t truly believe you can override that manner of conditioning and
training. You, despite your Imperial background and the fact that we don’t
know each other, I already trust. I know from reputation that your word is
your bond, and if you say you will do something then it is done.” Ryath inclined his head at the compliment as Jan watched
both of his friends closely. Centaur
turned the conversations tide again. “You’ve sat on
the fence for years, watching both sides, passing information to us and the
Ki-Ki. Now Chancai has fallen you’ve
opted to join our cause. Why? What made you finally choose a side?” Raven turned slightly, away from Ryath and Jan, as if
deep in thought. “If I asked the
same of you Centaur. If I asked why
you turned your back on the Empire.
What would your answer be?” Ryath gave a shallow frown. “I left the
Empire out of revenge. I had an agenda
to follow, one that wasn’t conducive with serving in the Empire.” Lord Raven nodded. “Then our
reasons are different but we have our motivations nevertheless. My motivation is profit. Money.
I have seen an opportunity and decided to grasp it. The Ki-Ki is practically bankrupt after you
and Jan robbed the Bank of Zelon, and so Setnin can now afford my
services.” Raven turned back to face
them. “But I digress. You asked why I chose to assist you and not
the S.D.F. The S.D.F. have become a committee, and committees are prone to
inaction. I cannot be sure that they won’t use my vessels ineptly and allow
the Ki-Ki to figure out my purpose. I have spent too long building up my forces
in this sector to allow a disorganised army to destroy years of work. As well as that, if the Ki-Ki captured this
craft then they would know of my involvement and that would not go
down well with the Galactic Alliance. I have too many business ventures
throughout the galaxy, and they don’t need close scrutiny.” Ryath placed his hands on his thighs and pumped himself
to his feet, straightening his back, his face a grim mask. “You’ve made a
prudent choice Lord Raven.” Ryath
Centaur glanced across at Jan, whose face was a picture of
determination. He nodded at his
son-in-law and friend and turned back to Lord Raven. “You’ll get
results. I promise you that.” Always a
Price 2002 short story by Louis Turfrey, Mark Newbold and Paul
Squire Thirty-eight years after Episode
IV – A New Hope Histories – The story of the Raven Corporation finally making more than a gesture and taking sides in the Ki-Ki/Setnin
War. By having Lord Raven Daemon Garr arrive on the Garyra Station, their move to the Setnin camp is
complete. Using his friendship with Jan Lomona to facilitate the dealings, Garr now moves
out of the shadows and into the arena with the other players. But an oversight on the Raven Corporations
part may have repercussions that stretch far beyond this initial agreement.
Cast of Characters
Lord
Raven Ryath
Centaur Jan
Lomona Nias
Derril |