I finally had some time to do some real exploring in the Aedos. There is nothing better in this universe than the joy of discovery, of seeing sights that perhaps no man has ever seen before. While cruising through the Omegas, I discovered a jump hole that I had never been through before. I prepped my ship and dived through the hole, and found myself emerging from the jump tunnel into a field of blue light. I blinked several times, somewhat dazzled, and then checked my radar. No less than a dozen Corsair fighters were within 1k of me! They hadn't attacked me yet, and were obviously trying to decide what I was up to. Time to talk.
"Um... this is the independent trade ship Aedos. Can I help you boys?"
"Aedos, we are currently running your ship through our identification database. If you value your life, please do not move."
This was odd. Why were they acting so businesslike? It's a good thing there was nothing of value in my hold: just a single crate of small arms that I keep in my ship at all times. Quietly, I prepared for trouble, although I never knew what to expect from the Corsairs. I spend enough time chasing their ships away from undefended traders that by all rights they should probably shoot me on sight, and yet they rarely do. I like to think that they tolerate me out of a grudging respect, but in reality I think they believe I caused more trouble to the Hessians to them, and am therefore worth keeping around. The comm channel sparked to life again.
"Aedos, you may continue. The residents have approved your presence."
The residents? Who the space are they? For now, though, it didn't matter. As quickly as I could without appearing to run, I engaged cruise and proceeded forward into a dust cloud, following the bright ion trail on my nav map. Even inside the cloud, I found myself squinting a bit at the refracted light. The cloud ended soon enough, and I found myself looking out on one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. A gorgeous planet lay before me, blue oceans and green land swirling attractively around each other underneath snowy clouds. For nearly a minute I could did nothing but stare.
When I regained my senses, I noticed that there was a docking ring in orbit around the planet. Someone DOES live here! From the looks of it, I thought, they couldn't have picked a nicer spot. Who were they? I would find out soon, some ships were leaving the planet through the docking ring...
Zoners? Here? How did they find this place? It didn't matter, at any rate, it appears I'd found my "residents." I knew they made deals with the Corsairs, but I had no idea it extended to them providing a front door guard service to the system. I also breathed a sigh of relief that I'd made an effort to be on good terms with the Zoners... no doubt it was their approval of me that prevented those Corsairs from vaporizing me on the spot.
"Aedos, you are cleared to land."
Odd, I hadn't asked for permission to. The flight of Zoner Eagle fighters forming up behind me, though, told me that it would be very unwise for me to not accept that "invitation." I guided my ship through the docking ring, and followed the nav beacons down to the surface. As I descended, I saw that my first impression of the planet had not been mistaken. I passed over green forests of some kind, out of which were here and there thrust towering spires of grey and brown rock. This, I thought, is a world unspoiled. Ahead of me was a small city, and I touched down on a landing pad near the outskirts.
After double-checking to make sure the air was breathable and the temperature comfortable, I opened my hatch to exit the ship, only to be greeted by a trio of helmets and rifles.
"Sir, please follow us."
Again, polite but forceful. I nodded, and they led me across a causeway towards a waiting ground shuttle. The city was as beautiful as the planet, full of tall white arches and gardens brimming with plants both alien and Terran. The shuttle trip was short: I soon found myself being escorted into some sort of office building. That was reassuring: at least it wasn't a prison or detention facility of some kind. Several elevators and corridors later, I found myself in front of a wide desk made of dark wood, behind which was seated a bald man I guessed was in his fifties.
"Welcome to our planet, Mr. Seldon. Please excuse our somewhat forced introduction, but we need to take every precaution. My name is Leroy Fenning. I'm sure you have many questions. First, I want to assure you that both you and your ship are safe and will not be harmed or restricted in any way. I've been reviewing your dealings with our people... most satisfactory."
I suppressed a nervous grin. Not all of those "satisfactory" records were genuine, although they had certainly been expensive.
"Second, you need to understand that your knowledge of this place must be kept an absolute secret. The beauty and tranquility you have seen are made possible by the fact that very few people know about its existence. Even among our own people, the existence of this planet is little more than a rumor."
"The Corsairs really keep this place secret?" I blurted. The incredulity on my face must have been obvious.
"They do. The Corsairs, Mr. Seldon, are extremely good at keeping secrets. Extremely good. So far, we've been able to trust them. And we've needed their help to keep the entrances to this system hidden and guarded."
The "so far" was telling... the straining of relations between the Zoners and the Corsairs was no secret. I wondered how much of that strain was related to this planet.
"But why..." I started.
"...don't the Corsairs just take the system for themselves? Don't worry, we've taken measures to prevent that. One that I can safely tell you is simply that of those who see the planet, many of them choose to remain with us."
That made sense, although I wondered what other "measures" the Zoners had up their sleeve. I knew for a fact that they weren't nearly as peaceful as they looked, and I was willing to bet my ship that they would fight like demons when pressed, especially for a place like this. If the Zoners had a Holy Land, this planet was it. And who could blame them?
"Mr. Seldon, imagine what would happen if the rest of Sirius knew about this place."
I did, and it was all too easy. The Gaians would attack anyone who came near it. Corporations would try to harvest its resources, build trade lanes in the system, and set up mining operations. The houses would squabble over it, and fill the system with the smoke of war. Sirius was full of that already, living down the mistakes made by past generations. This place, however, was brimming with hope. On this planet, there was still a chance to get things right. At that moment, I decided that I was not going to be the one to ruin that.
"Mr...Fenning, right? You have my word. I'll keep this place secret. Heck, if it comes to it, I'll even fight to defend it."
"Thank you, Mr. Seldon. I knew that you would understand."
"Oh, one condition. When I retire, I want to live here."
Fenning smiled. "On, that, Mr. Seldon, you have my word."
My stay planet-side wasn't very long; it was soon time for me to return to my duties in the Navy. The transition wasn't easy: as I spooled up my engines for the flight through the jump hole, my mind was full of visions of the place I was leaving behind...at least for now.
![[Image: aedos_mini.jpg]](http://students.cs.byu.edu/~sushi/aedos_mini.jpg)