Status: Back for the third time and not planning on leaving again. I'd say any people who have read it before have likely forgotten all about it, but in any case I want you to all know that I've revised most of the chapters and expanded some, as well as continuing to add more. ENJOY!
Arafura
Chapter 4 - Migraine
As peaceful as the Goroesian League appeared to be, in truth it was held together by the most delicate balance of power. Nine confederated Empires acted as the power base of the species. Allied, but not precisely unified. Humanity was as untamable as it had ever been. Crime was still common, as were the usual civil issues that seemed impossibly difficult to overcome. Post particularly were the infamous Trade Wars. Not wars of trade, as such, but rather actual wars of space combat between rival trading companies, guilds and corporates. Fought in border systems where the police were blind, the liquor strong and the money quickly became bloodstained. These wars went above and beyond piratry, threatening at times to overthrow colonies themselves.
And Garj Kennedy had gotten himself in the middle of one. He had a trade alliance with both Beyton Interplanetary and the Var Corporate. Now both were at each other's throats over acquisition of a large Uranium deposit on T-24. To everyone else's distress, both companies had their headquarters in orbit around the same asteroid. T-24 was a name given by the fact twenty four 'Big T' Transporters had been dispatched simultaneously by a Goresian Empire to construct harvesting facilities in the rich asteroid belt, using the rock as a base. All twenty-four had been torn to pieces in the maelstrom of erratic debris. The name had stuck, much to the empire's chagrin.
And where did he fit in now? The Deepwell Corporation relied on Beyton for electronics and Var for foodstuffs. Garj did everything he could to keep both companies trading with him – He needed the resources as much as they needed the money. Neither of them could risk pressuring him too much either as he owned the largest mining company in the region and therefore controlled the largest source of their profit. What a damned mess he'd gotten himself in. He'd even lost the mining vessels he'd sent with the colonisation expedition to Arafura. The Goroesi assured him the Marines would find them, but Garj found that unlikely. No transmission in three days to the orbiting station they had left behind. He was disturbed from his reverie on his station's viewing deck by a flash close by. He looked closer and saw several more flashes at irregular intervals. He activated his console and pressed the image with his index finger. “Magnify.”
Explosions.
Beyton and the Var were really at it now: the alleged Trade War just became public and all-out: The companies both had portions of their security fleets battling it out and more appeared to be joining every moment. This one battle would likely end the war once and for all; the loss of a headquarters made organisation and logistics nigh impossible without a sufficient replacement. While both Beyton and the Var were rich and powerful, they were neither to the extent of being able to survive such a loss. Regardless of the outcome, they were certainly being disruptive. Garj opened up a comm link.
“Hert, you seeing this battle?”
“Yes sir,” came the deep voice of his comms officer.
“Divert our company ship courses appropriately. We don't want to be shot at... or robbed.”
“Robbed, sir? Surely they wouldn't–”
“I wouldn't put anything past them. They might try to steal our ships for their war.”
“Yes sir.”
“And another thing – have we heard from the Goroesi about Arafura?”
“No sir.”
“Very well.” -click.-
Time to find out for himself then.
And Garj Kennedy had gotten himself in the middle of one. He had a trade alliance with both Beyton Interplanetary and the Var Corporate. Now both were at each other's throats over acquisition of a large Uranium deposit on T-24. To everyone else's distress, both companies had their headquarters in orbit around the same asteroid. T-24 was a name given by the fact twenty four 'Big T' Transporters had been dispatched simultaneously by a Goresian Empire to construct harvesting facilities in the rich asteroid belt, using the rock as a base. All twenty-four had been torn to pieces in the maelstrom of erratic debris. The name had stuck, much to the empire's chagrin.
And where did he fit in now? The Deepwell Corporation relied on Beyton for electronics and Var for foodstuffs. Garj did everything he could to keep both companies trading with him – He needed the resources as much as they needed the money. Neither of them could risk pressuring him too much either as he owned the largest mining company in the region and therefore controlled the largest source of their profit. What a damned mess he'd gotten himself in. He'd even lost the mining vessels he'd sent with the colonisation expedition to Arafura. The Goroesi assured him the Marines would find them, but Garj found that unlikely. No transmission in three days to the orbiting station they had left behind. He was disturbed from his reverie on his station's viewing deck by a flash close by. He looked closer and saw several more flashes at irregular intervals. He activated his console and pressed the image with his index finger. “Magnify.”
Explosions.
Beyton and the Var were really at it now: the alleged Trade War just became public and all-out: The companies both had portions of their security fleets battling it out and more appeared to be joining every moment. This one battle would likely end the war once and for all; the loss of a headquarters made organisation and logistics nigh impossible without a sufficient replacement. While both Beyton and the Var were rich and powerful, they were neither to the extent of being able to survive such a loss. Regardless of the outcome, they were certainly being disruptive. Garj opened up a comm link.
“Hert, you seeing this battle?”
“Yes sir,” came the deep voice of his comms officer.
“Divert our company ship courses appropriately. We don't want to be shot at... or robbed.”
“Robbed, sir? Surely they wouldn't–”
“I wouldn't put anything past them. They might try to steal our ships for their war.”
“Yes sir.”
“And another thing – have we heard from the Goroesi about Arafura?”
“No sir.”
“Very well.” -click.-
Time to find out for himself then.
♠ ♠ ♠
I'm writing at a decent pace again, just hope I can keep it up!