“Lena… Lena? Hello, are you paying attention?” A woman’s voice came into focus, ringing through Selena’s ears, waking her from her daydream with a shiver. It was strange to hear someone else call her that.
“Don’t call me Lena. My good-for-nothing husband calls me that.” She replied sharply. That nickname brought her back down to earth. Or rather, the cafeteria of a large frigate in space. She ignored her friend for a moment longer, listening to the murmuring of the enlisted talking in the cafeteria. Selena’s bright blue eyes darted between her friend and the brilliant view of space. Her and Amelia joined the Imperium Armed Forces at the same time about a year ago. Amelia’s face grew serious, frowning. “Okay… the claws are out today. Sheesh. You don’t look so good. Is something up, Selena?” “Listen.” Selena’s voice fell to a whisper that went unheard among the commotion of the ship’s bustling activity. “I can’t keep up with the smuggling, Amelia.”
Selena sighed, “One of these days I- we are going to get caught. I just know it, but I don’t know what else to do. Lately, it’s the only thing keeping the bills paid. Fucking Andre is twenty-seven years old. The man is five years older than me, and he keeps saying he can’t get a job because of his anxiety. Whatever the fuck that means. He’s got no problem running off with our money to the slots. No anxiety to be found down at the casino.” She grumbled, “And not to mention, you. I’m worried about you. We’re a couple of nobodies, there’s no hope for us if we slip up. I mean, how many times can you mess with the cargo manifests before they realize all that tech and explosives go miss-”
“Shh!” She was cut off by a loud shush from Amelia, who angrily looked around the ship as if someone had caught them. Luckily, no one seemed even remotely interested in their conversation, carrying on the day as normal. Their lack of memorability was a blessing in disguise, the crowded area suppressing and blending them in from security. Not to say the security wasn’t still watching, patrolling. “Calm down, Selena. Don’t get so worked up about the hypothetical. I always take care of us, don’t I? Besides, I have a little present I snuck into your fighter’s cargo hold. It’ll make you feel better! I promise. Dense beam tech. Military grade. You know, the stuff the Indivisible Imperium eggheads made when working with that one Torix-something company? Yeah, you’re welcome.” Amelia proudly exclaimed. Selena heard of that tech before. Dense Beam technology was something the Torix Security Company developed and sold to merchant escorts, police, and military personnel. It was for riot control and self-defense purposes, or so she heard. Some prototype shields were rumored to be on some of the IAF frigates like Selena’s, but for Amelia to hint that she got her hands on one… that would mean she was now buying from their special contacts.
Selena ran her fingers through her cerulean hair, letting out another exasperated sigh. She paused for a moment, a screen behind them catching her attention. Coincidentally, the Imperium News was covering a pirate story. As if the television was reminding her about the dangers of her little side-job. One of the news anchors began speaking about the rise of piracy.
“-The identities of the pirates behind the terraforming generator heist have been confirmed through a recent breakthrough in the investigation. The Imperium Security Forces have identified the pirates as Cortez Ravenshaw and Amos Schultz, two young men from the planet Ruiz. They were last seen in a Ruizian Armored Class Fighter. These individuals are armed and extremely dangerous. Here are two images caught of the culprits.”
The screen showed an obvious screen shot. A pixelated picture of two men, both mid-motion. One of them was a tan man with dark hair. It looked like he had a dyed blond streak. He was wearing a long cloak. The other man had fair skin and light brown hair. He looked more average than anything. The news anchor continued speaking,
“-Hope to swiftly capture the pirates with the release of their names and faces. If you see these criminals or their ship, for your own safety, please keep a safe distance and report it to your nearest Imperium Security Forces officer and-”
Selena began tuning out the anchor that seemed to drone on. She looked back to Amelia. “See? On the news? Those Scavvies you keep making deals with are nothing but trouble. You know that stuff we’re selling to them isn’t going anywhere good.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to risk it any longer. “Selena, honey, someone is gonna do it anyway.” Amelia leaned back, a knowing smile on her face while putting her arms behind her head. “It might as well be us making all those marks from selling it. I get it. I understand why you’re freaking out. It’s sweet that you care, but don’t worry about me.” She leaned in closer. “Look, I’ve got the best deal yet, all set up and ready to go. You’re going to want to hear me out. It’s a clean, easy delivery. You won’t be implicated at all and once we split the marks, heh. Let’s just say we’ll both have enough money to retire young. You can be as lazy as your husband, and I’ve got my eye on a nice place in the Border Worlds. You know there are planets there that hate the Imperium so much, you could flat-out tell them the truth about our smuggling and they’d probably give a discount on an apartment.” She laughed gently.
After pulling out a small tablet, Amelia discreetly typed a number into the calculator app. That number was the amount of marks they’d each get after this one last smuggling mission. Selena gazed at the digits, her eyes hungry. Enough zeros to drive Selena over the edge. That amount would end her suffering. That was a life changing sum. She could finally quit this hellhole of a military and face herself in the mirror. Selena could figure out who Selena Eryn Serafino was and stop drowning in her relation to others. She had lost herself since the day she found out she was pregnant.
---
Her call sign was based off her maiden name, Duvall. Before Andre. She fondly remembered that skinny, stupid teenage girl. The girl who thought it was so cool to date an older guy. Blindly devoted, in love. Before her mother pressured their quick marriage because of the pregnancy.
“This is Sierra Echo Delta 5-9 to Heavy Military Frigate Kaufmann, requesting departure to rendezvous with Foxtrot Hotel Oscar 3-8’s squadron.” The communication Selena sent was received, a man on the frigate’s bridge checking the patrol schedules briefly before replying, “HMF Kaufmann to Sierra Echo Delta 5-9. Your departure is authorized. Good luck out there.”
Shuttering, she let out another anxious breath as she had many times before. Selena wondered when she’d ever get used to lying without feeling anxiety in the pit of her stomach. Amelia assured that this would be the last time. Everything would slip through the cracks and she could sit on that cozy sum of money. Hell, she could even serve the rest of her tour and collect the benefits if she wanted to remain inconspicuous. Selena didn’t necessarily care if she was screwing over the Imperium. She was more concerned about getting caught and torn away from her family. Without her, they’d die. She didn’t trust Andre alone with the kids. Not with his recent habits. How could he ever provide alone? There was no room to think about that right now. None of that would happen if she just quit while ahead.
Now, Selena had to focus on completing her side mission discreetly. If she hurried, she could make it to her squadron leader’s rendezvous point after the smuggling. She was running out of lies. The last time she took too long, she purposely steered her fighter into a couple of asteroids so her ship looked banged up enough to back up her story of being caught in a firefight from a rogue ship. After pressing a few buttons once far enough from the frigate, an automated voice spoke to Selena from the ship. “Transit mode engaged. Transit channel routed. Powering down defensive and non-essential systems. Standby.”
Flying through space every day, whether it be on patrols or to smuggle a few things, Selena tuned out the feminine voice. It was too familiar, she could literally mouth the words and mock it if she wanted to. It always took about half a minute for the ship to go into full ‘transit mode’ which allowed it to jump through space at impossible speeds. Proper transit channels were plotted into every ship’s computer from civilian to military class vessels. As long as nothing blocked their path (like a stray asteroid or a pirate looking for some easy cargo) it turned impossible voyages into five or ten minute journeys.
Luckily, nothing blocked Selena’s path and she safely reached the dingy space station. It was hidden in a debris field run by the Scavvies, a self-proclaimed title derived from their profession. While they were known for illicit activities such as smuggling and drug dealing, their cooperation with the Imperium Security Forces whenever they came knocking kept them from being blasted into space. Still, it didn’t help their criminal reputation much. It was general knowledge that they were the ones to buy from if you needed something that shouldn’t be accessible to the public. Like the gift Amelia got for her.
The scraps of metal were easy to avoid in the slim IAF fighter Selena piloted through the debris field, slowly locating an empty docking station to land her ship. It was clear this station wasn’t sanctioned like home, since it didn’t have the usual formal greeters over the intercom. It was extremely disorganized, the casualty eerie. Once landed and docked, she exited the ship and walked further into the station where all the fencing took place.
“Selena.”
It was the same base every time, but never the same face. Somehow, they always knew her name, and that never failed to creep her out at least a little. Selena spoke. “It’s in the back. Where’s my marks?” These days, it seemed those hexagonal, metallic coins dominated the galaxy more than the strongest weapons in space. But this was no time for her idle philosophy.
“Good, good. I don’t have them yet but-“
Her eyebrows raised. The response from the scavvy fence was not something Selena wanted to hear. The possibility of not getting her marks irritated her. Hopefully, this wasn’t a set up. She knew she wouldn’t make it in a firefight with just her laser sidearm against an entire station, so she stayed her hand. Not to say she didn’t flash the pistol in his direction.
“Don’t screw me, scavvy.”
“Hey! Calm the fuck down, when the buyer gets here, he’ll have the money I promise.”
Selena folded her arms, unimpressed. She didn’t have time to just lounge around, not with her squadron leader waiting on her. It was bad enough she’d have hot money burning a hole in her pocket the entire day patrolling as is. Struggling to keep her voice calm, Selena asked, “If he has the money and I have the stuff, why do we have to deal through you?”
The man looked offended, locking Selena into a stare down as if to size her up. After a moment he tore his gaze, cursed and looked away. “The docking fee- who the fuck cares? I’m doing you and Amelia a favor. Cortez barely likes anyone, I doubt an IAF grunt would do very well dealing with him alone.”
Cortez. The image flashed in her mind, the name from the news earlier that afternoon. He stepped through the middle corridor, Selena recognizing him from the television. He was hardened, despite his age. Voice rough, an intense expression on his face. He had a strong, compelling presence. “I’ve been looking for- God damn it. You scavvies are really stupid, you know that?” He began complaining, “Thanks for letting me know where to meet you, asshole. And uh,” He looked Selena up and down, “I sincerely hope that uniform and ship is stolen. Dealing with an IAF pilot? Tch. Why don’t I just ask the fucking Imperator myself if he can spare some marks or a missile or two-“
In the midst of the complaining, an alarm sounded throughout the station. The three of them turned, their attention drawn to the announcement. “Emergency! Emergency. The IAF are here. Abort any dealings and book it. They’re hostile.” The alarms were shoddy, haphazard as these people. Before the three of them could react, a blinding light flashed through the glass panel that separated the group from the docking bay. The explosion forced their instinct to duck down and shield themselves. When it seemed to be over, they poked their heads back up to look at the damage.
“My ship!”
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