Stephen Cruz and Elijah Tallwood walked quickly toward the room at the end of the corridor.
“Is he really staying that calm?” Cruz asked as they walked.
“Have you ever seen him get that worked up? Especially over two such insignificant twits as these.”
“They’ve caused quite a bit of havoc already. I just can’t figure out why.”
The door opened and the two men walked into a large room. The far side of the room was completely transparent looking out into space. Jack Crow sat in a plush chair looking at the stars sipping his rum. He looked up as the two men walked in and then went back to staring into space.
Elijah looked at his friend, “What doesn’t make sense to you?”
“What do they think they are doing? They’re Rogues, why are they upsetting the balance of all they are?”
“I guess because they think they are going to take over.”
“Take over what? Who is going to follow them? Rogues and Junkers and have been making tons of money with our current arrangement. They are trying to undermine all of that meaning everyone will make less so they can benefit. Who is going to follow that? Name one thing they have done to gain anyone’s respect?”
Elijah sat down at a table and poured himself a drink. “Well then it won’t take too long to mop this whole thing up will it.”
“How do they think they will ever pull this off? They are going to alienate themselves from everyone. Where will that take them?”
“Well, Crow doesn’t seem very excited about this. What’s your take on all this Jack?”
Jack Crow turned around. He pointed a remote device at a large digital screen. Immediately some data and a few images appeared on the screen.
Elijah put his drink down and stared. “Um Jack……………..how long have you known about this?”
“Long enough, “Crow answered him.
“What are you going to do with this information?”
“What do you think I’m going to do with it?” He raised his glass in the air, “Cheers.”
He rose and started walking toward the door. “Have Jake and Bruiser meet me here. Then call Moka and tell him we need to meet at Fortaleza.” He then disappeared out the door.
The small armored craft made its way through the asteroid field. The pilots moved easily through the large rocks as their destination appeared on the scanner. Jack Crow sat behind them in the command seat. “Any contacts yet?”
“Just the expected patrol craft from Fortaleza sir.”
“Good, just keep an eye on the scanner. They’re out there somewhere.”
“If they are, it would appear they want to stay far away from us.”
As the small craft came to rest in the docking bay at Fortaleza, the ramp quickly lowered and Jack Crow came down the ramp with two large Junkers following him. There was a security crew waiting for them as they stepped onto the deck.
“Thanks for getting us in quickly”, Crow told them, “Can you take us to see Lord Moka now?”
The air is less than healthy in the repair hanger on Alcatraz, so much so the slave turnover is on a three to one scale; Three dead slaves a week. As a result the stench of death lurked in the air, an unfriendly reminder of what Hell should have been and how one just embraced the calming sensation of carbon monoxide poisoning. A kid, barely 15 years old lays sprawled on the floor of the corridor leading from a exhaust vent, chest heaving with the last gulps for oxygen that are all but a dream now. Who knows where this poor soul originated, but what is known is that his life changed for the worse when he crossed the Devil that rules this Rock.
The Lords chamber is in complete contrast compared to the lower sections of Alcatraz, plush carpet and an ancient mahogany desk stolen from a treasure hunter years ago. Various decorations dorned the cavernous main room, with a few doors leading off into seperate rooms. Technology was subtle in the room, with only a large holograph projector in the centre being the obvious modernization of a pre-Sirius fashioned den. Definitely not something you'd expect to find in an asteroid full of the roughest folk this side of the Barrier. A buzzer is heard faintly, and the hologram displays a rotating message: A friendly female voice queries from the inbuilt audio system; "There is an important message, M'Lord. Do you wish for me to read it?"
Moka, freshly out of his shower with a toothbrush in his mouth, wanders into his main chamber and waves his hand out in agreeance.
"The message is as follows:" The female voice replies. "Beginning transmission now. Incoming Transmission from Fortaleza, *males voice is relayed* Commander Briggs here M'Lord. Arbiter Jack Crow himself has just arrived. He requires an immediate counsel with you. What shall I tell him, Lord Moka?"
Moka stopped moving a moment as he removed the tooth brush from his mouth. He replies "Sugar Lips, record and relay this following message: Commander Briggs, assign you highest security detail to escort The Arbiter and his men to my Chambers there and enlighten him that I will be there with in 12 hours. Keep your eyes out for any suspicious behaviour and secure the Arbiter." Moka casually puts the tooth brush back in his mouth and continues his daily grooming ritual.
Jack Crow was led with his two companions through a maze of tunnels. As they walked, he was glad that Junkers had not built many bases inside asteroids. He made a mental note of the things he saw and problems he noticed with their ventilation systems. He would mention this to the engineers at Vieques to see if there was anything they could do to help them. The Rogues had been limited to hiding in large rocks to hide from those that were hunting them down.
They were taken to a large room with better accommodations. He noticed the bar and realized he would be happy there. He walked over and poured himself a glass. Looking at his two companions, he raised his glass. “You can always count on pirates to have good rum, or is that too much of a stereotype?”
Jake answered him, “Maybe, but it’s true. It’s the reason you can never find decent booze at the average dive on Manhattan anymore. These guys steal it before it ever gets there. They’re getting quite good at it. Where do you think we’ve been getting the goods for your bars on the Aristotle?”
Jack sat down and took a data pad from his jacket. He plugged it in and connected to the neural net. He was looking for a report from Elijah Tallwood who had once again assumed his post as captain of the Crow’s Nest. The message he was looking for came up. “Lije is back patrolling Humboldt. He says there’s not sign of Altegra or Cipilan.”
“Are you really surprised?” Jake asked him.
“No. That’s pretty much what I expected. The Rogues, The Hackers, The Hellfire Legion, and us are all hunting them with a vengeance now. They’d be crazy to show their faces.”
“Jack, if they had any common sense we wouldn’t be having this problem to begin with,”
“That’s true enough. You might as well get comfortable. I hear Moka is coming from Alcatraz to meet with us.”
The Liberty heavy transport procured by the Rogues some months ago has had a drastic overhaul, and the LR-Unlawfully.Borrowed was a far cry from what it used to be. Gone are the naval insignias that once adorned its bow and in its place are the rustic Rogue skull and crossbones. Moka was particularly proud of his new heavy hauler, it made an excellent light carrier and still had room to carry more than any other pirate ship available in his fleet.
"M'Lord, we have just entered Humboldt space. Long range scanners detect a minor mining event in the field surrounding Bora Bora. Setting course for Fortaleza, ETA one hour." the lead navigator recited into his comms device.
Moka, relaxing in his sauna with two beautiful slave girls gently bathing him as he takes another long drag on a well lit blunt. "You know girls, only the best stuff will do. This synthetic crap spat out by Cryer is nothing compared to the carefully manicured bud from the Gaians. Want a toke?" He says, offering the lit smoke to the concubines. Both girls stop rubbing Moka down and share the rest of it as the Lord stands up, dripping with soapy water. He climbs out and heads for a towel, it won't be long until he needs to dress appropriately to address one of the most powerful men in all of Sirius, something Moka admires most about the Arbiter.
Fortyfive minutes later, the Unlawfully.Borrowed begins the mooring procedure and Moka prepares to disembark. He barks out some orders to his security detail and instructs his dockhands to prepare to unload the heavy transport as he checks he has everything he needs for the upcoming meeting. The ship finally moors and Moka leaves the confines of that spaceship for the dingyness of the hanger bays on 'Leza. "My god, anyone would think Xenos lived here...." Moka retorts as he screws up his face in disgust. A short but stout man waddles up to Moka, and enlightens him that the Arbiter is awaiting his arrival in his master chambers. With that, Moka makes his way to see the man with such influence who is interested in seeing him so urgently that he comes to a Rogue base.
The doors to the master chamber open and the Lord Moka makes his entrance. "Greetings, Jack. It's been a while."
Jack Crow got up from the table to greet Lord Moka as he entered the room. “It has indeed been a long time. I don’t think I’ve been on this station since I first joined the Congress. Thank you for welcoming us here. We’ve always enjoyed having this little outpost near the backdoor to our home system. You keep a clean house and I like that. In general I like how this system works having you here and I don’t want to see that disturbed.”
He motioned to the table and sat back down. “I wanted to see you so we could discuss the proper as they say. The more I look at what this fools are doing it appears to be one of the more disorganized power grabs I’ve seen in a while. We get these every now and again from ambitious Junkers. I’m not real worried about it. I’m less worried about it since coming here and seeing that this place is firmly under your control and running very well, although we could help you with a few things if you feel the need. Since you’re here, let’s drink to the mischief we all love so well and let me show you something. I think I’ve got something you’re going to enjoy. It will help bring about the demise of these trouble makers as well.”
"I think I’ve got something you’re going to enjoy. It will help bring about the demise of these trouble makers as well" As the words left the Arbiters mouths, Moka paused a moment and looks at Jack. "Really now? These two show ponies are certainly a thorn in my side." He lowers himself into a seat opposite Jack and motions a silent slave to fetch some refreshments for the two allies. "Please, go on"
“Well this is what we have so far.” Crow said leaning back in his chair. “We know they are doing everything they can to confuse people. They have been flying under a variety of call signs and ship classes to get past our guys looking for them. Recently they attacked a ship of the line in the Bretonian fleet and fled back into Liberty space where the Brets chased them and dispatched them. There are still a few trouble makers out there though. Here is the real icing on the cake though. This is what I want you to show all your friends.” He slid a data pad across the table towards Moka. Moka looked at the images displayed there of several ships in space. Crow spoke again, “Anyone who sees those images will believe beyond all doubt that these clowns have been selling information to the LSF. They want everyone to think they are the rightful owners of this base on which you and I are standing now. We’ll show people they are simply stabbing everyone in the back for their own profit. Just let these images get out through the usual networks. I think the rest will take care of itself.”