“Let’s not fool ourselves here. In this Galactic Century, political corruption still exits. It’s just better hidden.”

--Senator Cygnus Wolf, quoted from a “Galaxy Nine News” interview

Galen Star System Embassy // January 14th, 086 G.C.

Rayet pushed his way through the spirited crowd of wealthy socialites and political elite. Half of them were drunk and the other half high on stardust. Rayet was disgusted by the sight, rich gluttonous men and women, prancing around in expensive clothing and golden jewelry, all pretending to care about the welfare of the galaxy and its people. They didn’t really give a damn, as long as their own prosperity wasn’t threatened. Rayet hated stuffy bureaucrats, living so deep in their glass bubbles that they didn’t have a clue what was actually happening on the outside.

Having commandeered a decommissioned Galaxy Enforcement shuttle and star-jumping to the Galen Embassy on Europa Twelve didn’t exactly bode well for Rayet’s future employment options. He, in essence, took a G.E. transport without clearance, thereby making it a hijacking. The shuttle itself was in such rough shape that, in his opinion, he did Galaxy Enforcement a favor by taking it. The shuttle barely made the star-jump, breaking down after arriving on Europa Twelve. None of that mattered though. Nothing did anymore, not Galaxy Enforcement, not Canis Elnath, and not any promotion. Only one solitary goal filled Rayet’s mind: Orion Darkstarr.

The ballroom was congested with senators, chancellors, and greasy politicians from every star system, all proud, high ranking members of the Galactic Union. Rayet could feel all eyes on him. He was out of his element; even a third-rate politician could tell that he was as out of place among them as oxygen was to outer space. It was fortunate that he wasn’t still wearing his Galaxy Enforcement uniform, or else he would stick out even more.

Considering how much Rayet disliked politicians, the politicians equally disliked Galaxy Enforcement. To them Rayet was a mindless G.E. drone, capable of only taking orders and existing virtually beneath the political realm. On the other end of the spectrum, to G.E. officers, elected officials were simply temporary figureheads who indulged in collecting taxes, spending vast amounts of money, and ‘maintaining’ galactic peace, the latter of which was debatable, at least in Rayet’s mind. There was no chance of war ever happening, anyway, Rayet thought, this peace conference nonsense was just there to give these well-off pigs a job. Even though one of those ‘well-off pigs’ happened to be his father.

Despite the Galactic Union’s political sway, all seven Star Systems held their own sovereignty, and were free to leave the Union at any time. However, segregating from the Union wouldn’t stand as being beneficial, as all of the Star Systems were so interconnected through economic commerce, political affiliation, and linking trade routes that it would be near impossible to do without. This unified network of alliances had lasted for the better part of the last eighty-six years, since the adoption of the Galactic Calendar.

Rayet fought his way through another group of senators, before reaching a butler, holding a platter topped with hors d'oeuvre and champagne glasses. “Hey pal, where’s Senator Wolf?”

“I believe he’s in a conference with the Ivago Chancellor now, sir,” answered the monotone butler while giving Rayet’s uniform a disapproving glare.

“Where?”

“The library hall, sir. But sir, it was his wish not to be disturbed by anyone—”

“I’m not anyone, I’m his son,” Rayet corrected, shoving past the butler and making his way towards the library hall door.

Struggling through the crowd, Rayet reached the door and waited for it to slide open. Nothing happened. Then it came to him. This wasn’t an automatic door. It was one of those old fashioned wooden doors. Stupid things, Rayet cursed to himself. He pushed it open, recognizing that the door itself was on hinges.

Like most of the architecture inside the Galen Embassy, the library hall was an antiquated mix of Victorian and Gothic design. The furnishings were made of wood, the walls built with plaster and, strangest of all, the library was compiled with row after row of shelves, each comprised with old paper books. Even in school, Rayet never had to read actual paper books. It seemed so pointless, when nearly every book ever written was now downloadable on a holopad (or at the least, electronic paper), which put less strain on the human eye and was far more convenient.

Rayet passed a row of shelves and spotted his father speaking with a tall, conservatively dressed man next to a large stone fireplace. No doubt, this had to be the Ivago Chancellor. Rayet squinted at the scene; he speculated that the Chancellor’s suit must be worth at least several thousand credits. Leave it to some snooty official to throw down that kind of money on clothes. At the same time, it came as no surprise to Rayet that someone from the Ivago System had so much money to throw around. Ivago was the richest Star System in the galaxy, the Draxus System being the poorest. But it hadn’t always been like that.

Senator Cygnus Wolf stopped mid-sentence, detecting the awkward presence of someone else in the room. He turned around, combating an expression of uncertainty and confusion.

“Rayet?” Cygnus leaned forward, adjusting his glasses. “Is that you?”

“It’s me.” Rayet stepped forward. He wasn’t thrilled having to come to his father in light of the humiliation he had endured. Still, this was the only person Rayet could turn to, regardless of their somewhat turbulent history. Cygnus Wolf was a proud man, one who had always wanted his son to carry on the family’s political legacy, a celebrated legacy that had spanned generations. Rayet, however, had no intention of becoming some monkey-suited figurehead that spouted refined speeches to the mindless masses. Despite Cygnus’s fervent expectations of his son, he never tried to press the matter in a direct, straightforward way. He didn’t have to.

Rayet knew what his father wanted, and he knew just as well that it was something that he never intended to be a part of. Rayet could see no adventure in the political arena, even with all the white lies, intrigue, and backstabbing that plagued the occupation. Rayet had no desire to fine tune a silver tongue in which to recite scripted dialogue, he wanted real battles, ones that could be seen in the limelight and earn him admiration. People respected the Canis Elnath’s of the galaxy more than they appreciated the Cygnus Wolf’s.

Not until after the death of his mother only a few years ago, had Rayet announced to his father the career path he had chosen. He clearly remembered the day he announced that he was enrolling in Galaxy Enforcment. He could almost hear the sound of his father’s heart breaking. Nevertheless, Cygnus Wolf accepted his son’s decision like any loving father would.

Relaxing, Cygnus smiled. “This is a welcomed surprise! What brings you out here, son? Something wrong?”

It was true, nowadays Rayet only turned to his father when something was wrong. He felt a twinge of guilt, but it was not a difficult emotion to force away.

Rayet glanced at the stone faced visage of the Ivago Chancellor. “Uh, I kinda need to talk to you alone.”

“Sure,” Cygnus replied warmly. “Let me just finish with the Chancellor and—”

“Exuse me, sir,” the butler’s voice cut in.

Cygnus looked passed Rayet to the butler at the far side of the room. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but your presence is needed in the lobby. The Haleos ambassador is leaving and requested that I find you before he departed.”

“Ah, yes,” Cygnus sighed. “Let him know I’ll be right there.”

“At once, sir,” the butler reacted, exiting the room.

Cygnus put his hand on Rayet’s shoulder. “Just let me deal with this first. Do you have a minute to spare?”

“If now’s a bad time, I can come back later,” Rayet shrugged. It was always a bad time for his father. That hadn’t changed and it probably never would.

“No, no, I’ll be right back,” Cygnus continued, turning to the Ivago Chancellor. “If you’d please excuse me, Chancellor?”

The Ivago Chancellor shook Cygnus’s hand. “Certainly.”

“Thank you,” Cygnus said before striding for the door.

The Chancellor shifted his sharp gaze onto Rayet. “The senator’s son, hm? A pleasure meeting you. You’re father is a remarkable man, if he plays his cards right, he may be on his way to becoming supreme chancellor of the Galen System.”

Rayet saw the true meaning behind the Chancellor’s words; by playing his cards right, meant becoming a crooked politician—and if there was one thing that Rayet knew about his father, the man wasn’t crooked. Well, at least not too crooked.

“And you are?” Rayet asked coldly.

The Chancellor grinned, as if the coming introduction would be of some importance. “How rude of me, I’m Tharsis Tholus, Chancellor of the Ivago Star System.”

The name meant nothing to Rayet. “The name’s Rayet Wolf.”

Both men shook hands.

Rayet Wolf, Tholus ran the name through his mind. It sounded familiar, like he had either read it or heard it recently.

“Rayet…Rayet Wolf, for some reason, I believe I’ve heard that name before,” Tholus speculated aloud. “You’re not running for office are you?”

Rayet silently chuckled, running for office, that’s a laugh.

“No, I’m afraid politics bore me. I’m an officer with Galaxy Enforcement,” Rayet paused for a moment. “Maybe that should be past tense. I was an officer with Galaxy Enforcement.”

It clicked. Tholus recognized the name from the classified file he had read not more than one hour ago at Galaxy Enforcement’s Daedalus Base. As difficult as it was to believe, it seemed that Canis Elnath’s accursed blunder had already begun to follow him across the galaxy!

The Chancellor started bitterly, “Rayet Wolf—how could I forget that name, or ever expect you to be Cygnus’s son!” He took a step in, allowing his hot breath to hit Rayet. “How does it feel, boy? Knowing that you may have doomed us all?”

“What?” Rayet was taken aback, not positive he had heard the Chancellor right.

Tholus took another step closer to Rayet, his voice becoming a low, angered whisper, knowing that he couldn’t chance anyone else stumbling in on their conversation. “If you could only comprehend the implications of your failure to guard that cargo shuttle, you might understand my desire to execute you right where you stand.”

“C-cargo shuttle?!” Rayet stuttered. “How do you know about that? That was classified at the top level!”

“You brainless twit,” Tholus exploded. “I was the one who had it classified! It was on its way to the Ivago System, after all. Now, your gross negligence and inability to stop that space pirate could very well be the death knell for every star system in this galaxy.”

Rayet would have been stunned at this chance encounter if he had not been so enraged by the Chancellor’s brazen accusations. The man probably never seen frontline space combat before and he dared to give a lecture on Rayet’s handling of the situation? The young officer’s blood boiled hot.

“Listen here, Tholus,” Rayet shot back, “I don’t know what that shuttle was carrying, but I did everything I could, you got that? Though I wouldn’t expect some desk jockey bureaucrat to comprehend it.”

Tholus thrust a finger into Rayet’s chest. “What are you doing here? Come pleading to your father, hoping that he can pull a few strings and get you back with Galaxy Enforcement? Well, I can promise you this, a future career will be the least of your worries.”

“Screw Galaxy Enforcement!” Rayet roared. “I’m only here for a shuttle. A fast one.”

Tholus sneered. “So, that’s you’re plan, boy? Running from your humiliation?”

“I’m not running from anything! I’m taking that shuttle and using it to find Orion Darkstarr.”

“Darkstarr, you say?” Tholus’s attention was peaked. “And what will you do when you find him?”

“I’ll kill the bastard!” Rayet spat. “That pirate scum will regret the day he crossed me. If it wasn’t for Canis Elnath and those damned idiots he gave me to carry out the assignment, your cargo would be safe and Darkstarr’s corpse would be floating into deep space by now.”

Tholus glanced into Rayet’s rage-fueled eyes, intrigued by the young man’s conviction. If the Chancellor had believed in fate, he would have sworn that the Senator’s son was sent to him by divine intervention. And while he held no such beliefs, his prior experiences involving sudden, auspicious opportunities told him to never look a gift horse in the mouth.

“I see. Well, perhaps there’s still some use for you after all. But it’s not just a fast shuttle you’ll need. You’ll need a shuttle that’s…how shall we say, well equipped.”

Rayet stared at the Chancellor blankly. “And where would I find that?”

Tholus smiled. “I’m sure if we were to arrange a deal, of sorts, I could supply you with such a starship.”