1. The Shimayan Job (Part One)

(used without permission: https://www.deviantart.com/gate-to-nowhere/art/Looking-Towards-Home-75210894)

Bonto ‘Sparks’ Squam spat out a mouthful of dust as he passed the vis-enhancers to the hunched form next to him. Sourly, he looked down upon the small group of Shimayan System Police lounging around a rugged grav-loader. As the SysCops roared with laughter at some unheard joke, Sparks rubbed at the pale skin around the extensive cybernetic implants that covered much of his skull; the coarse sand of Shimaya’s deserts was already irritating his skin. Not for the first time, he reflected that this should have been a simple in-and-out job. But then again, weren’t they always?

Citani, their reclusive but reliable information broker, had contacted them whilst they were aboard the ‘Lazy Susan’ in high orbit above the world of Nightfall in the Brekk System. As they had gathered in the ship’s galley to hear Citani’s pitch, alternating bands of light and shadow played across the galley’s vision port, cast by some of the world’s many moons (the fabled ‘Thirteen Maidens’) against the glow of the main sequence star.

Citani’s pitch was straightforward: the reclusive aliens known as the Sah’iir had requested that the crew escort a xenoarchaeologist named Javierra Gallia from a dig on the desert world of Shimaya in the Brekk system to the planet Indri’s orbital facilities in the Iota system. The crew had already performed several jobs for the Sah’iir, and in return were starting to build a relationship with the nest-mate of the Sah’iir Prime in the Sector, known as Wi 13-Meti. Many found the ebon-skinned alien to be disturbing, particularly given that any verbal communication was conducted via an eyeless, vat-grown slave as was customary for the species. But their Sah’iir patron seemed to be impressed by the crew’s no-nonsense, streetwise approach; in fact, the xeno had assisted them in securing their ship, the ‘Lazy Susan’, although the . This aside, as the custodians of the only viable interstellar communications network, the Sah’iir were incredibly, unbelievably, obscenely wealthy. That fact alone earned them the crew’s attention.

As Citani relayed the details of the job, the crew stood, sat or lounged in the galley as befitted their individual characters. The pilot, Finn ‘Vapour’ Dyson sat quietly next to the ship’s mechanic, Sparks. Uncommonly for a pilot, Vapour was not a loudmouth braggart; instead, he was an introverted young human who only really came alive in the cockpit of his beloved ‘Lazy Susan’. Sparks was likewise a retiring individual, more comfortable when communing with machines than other beings. In his case, much of this reticence was hard-wired into him; the Hegemony categorised him and others like him as ‘Human (Non-Baseline)’, and as such he was often treated with disrespect by ‘Humans (Baseline)’. Still, he always earned their respect when he was all that stood between them and explosive decompression through shipboard systems failure.

Flanking the pair were two warriors who were seemed to be linked in some way yet forever separated. Both were trained in the Way, yet each approached this unknowable, dangerous power from different philosophical directions. Algol was a Baseline with an almost unnatural interest in the Way and the Ur artefacts that seemed to generate it. Although his unhealthy obsession had not yet changed him physically, as was often the case, talking to him was often an unsettling experience; as he spoke, his eyes often seemed to follow the progress of things that only he could see, and the crew sometimes heard him in conversation with things that weren’t there. Still, he was an effective warrior, and the presence of a Mystic aboard ship was often a blessing.

The second Mystic, the charismatic Ruslan ‘The Lion’ Haciyev, could not be more different. He claimed descent from an ancient line traced back to the ‘Families’, those colonists who first left the mythical Lost Earth behind to find a new life amongst the stars. When the Families left the cradle of humanity, they took with them many belief systems: The Lion was heir to an ancient religious order, who interacted with the Way through ecstatic rituals that tapped into what was seen as the Divine. Such views continued to be viewed with suspicion in the Hegemony, and his family had always existed on the fringes of society. This separation was intensified by the finely detailed and archaic robes he wore, said to contain threads from those of those actually worn by his ancestors on Lost Earth, carefully preserved and rewoven anew by his clan.

The final member of the crew stood apart, leaning against a bulkhead. As the only xeno on the crew, Dar knew that he stood out even more than even the Non-Baseline humans in the room. His whole species had been renowned for being able to perceive and manipulate Way forces, although few of them were particularly strong in this ability. However, this was enough to damn the Luxan species in the eyes of the Hegemony, and a crusade against them had been declared by the Church. Whole Chantries of Battle-Brothers and -Sisters had descended on his homeworld and all but a handful of clans had been wiped out. Dar’s clan had fled from the Core Systems to the relative backwater of Procyon, but even here they had not been safe. Although his kind could pass unmarked here amongst the hundreds of other xenos species, the Church maintained an outstanding bounty on the Luxans. As such, his tiny clan had been pursued and all but eradicated by a xeno bounty hunter named Chon-zek. It was whilst escaping from his last encounter with Chon-zek that he had run into the crew of the ‘Lazy Susan’. Sensing a kindred spirit, Dar and Algol convinced the others that Dar would be a useful addition. Since that time, he had proved time and again that their faith had been justified.

And so it was that the crew were spread out on a ridge in the Shimayan desert, looking down upon a group of SysCops that stood between them and their rendezvous with Javierra Gallia. ‘Damn Syscs’ muttered Vapour. The Sah’iir had arranged for the relevant landing permissions for the Susan at Gar Kulon, an out-of-the way landing field, as well as the use of a desert-hardened grav-loader to reach the dig site. The dig site was operated by a Hegemonic cult known as the Seekers; they saw it as their duty to discover new technologies and expand the reach of the Hegemon. 

On taking delivery of the grav-loader, Sparks had given it one look before opening up the grav-drive and making some rapid modifications. Although it was still a piece of junk, it was now a marginally faster piece of junk. Whilst this was happening, the rest of the crew had gone to the local watering hole and carefully pumped the locals for information on the dig site. Most of what they turned up was of little use, but one local haulier had revealed that the local SysCop security had been augmented by what could only be a Priory of Church-Militant warriors. The Church was known to be suspicious of the Seekers, even though they were nominally allies, so these warriors were most likely there to keep an eye on the Seekers as well as protect them. The crew fervently hoped the Church-Militant warriors were otherwise engaged during their mission, as they were known as tough, fanatical warriors with access to high-tech battle armour.

But the crew had a plan to bypass the SysCops; donning the guise of academics from the Khalud Academy on Shimaya, Sparks and Vapour drove up in the grav loader to request an audience with the dig Director. Whilst they distracted the guards and gained access with their vehicle, the rest of the crew would sneak around the perimeter and meet the ‘academics’ once inside. The ruse worked like a dream; so much so that the SysCops called ahead to the Director and arranged for a meeting in person later that afternoon! Thanking the guards, Vapour and Sparks fervently hoped they’d be long-gone before the time came for the meeting.

Rendezvousing with their companions, the crew made the arranged meeting with Javierra Gallia with time to spare. Gallia proved to be a short, intense woman wearing a worn field-suit. Quickly, she escorted them into the building containing the artefact vault, past  the SysCop guards at the entrance. As they entered, the SysCops gave them only a cursory inspection; they looked as though they should be there, and besides it was the middle of the day and they were most interested in staying out of the blazing sun.

On entering the secure building, it became clear that they would have to hack the locking mechanism to get access. Whilst Gallia stood nervously by, the rest of the crew kept watch whilst Sparks accessed the security software. After a short time, the door hissed open; unfortunately, the intrusion software he’d used had fried the system so that the door would no longer close, let alone lock!

The team rapidly entered the Vault and secured the large Ur artefact they’d been requested to extract along with Gallia. The shelves around them were packed with artefacts from the dig site, each of them encased in a seamless, resin-like substance to prevent casual contact. However, as Algol and Lion entered the room, they immediately felt the whisper of ancient voices enter their minds. Algol shook off the beguiling voices but selected one small object for later perusal. The Lion, however, found the lure of the voices to be too much; without conscious volition, he found his hands guided towards an unsettlingly organic-looking artefact that appeared to change shape each time you looked at it. Quickly, he grabbed it from the shelf and stuffed it inside his jacket, his eyes glazed…

Quickly, the crew finished their task inside the Vault and headed for the door. As they reached it, however, they saw a huge suit of white battle-armour stride up to stand directly outside the door. Although it didn’t appear to be looking for them, its presence certainly made things more interesting. Taking a collective deep breath, the crew of the Lazy Susan made ready to open the door the outside…(to be continued)