Echo Station - Upper Levels

Aden and Julian walked through the wide streets of Echo Station behind their alien guide. Their destination was not far from the shops on the Upper Levels but the pace that Meren set had them them almost sprinting to catch up. Echo Station was already a massive labyrinth but at this speed all the walls passed them by in a silver blur. Aden wondered if Meren had some business of his own he needed to get to.

“Hey can we slow it down some? I’m not exactly old but I can’t march like I used to” said Julian.

Meren stopped and looked back at them. “My apologies Commander Rory, but we must press onward. I was instructed to retrieve you from the Upper Levels to my boss’s residence and intend to do so with great haste. I do not believe it is very safe here.”

Julian flinched at that. Aden knew he hated his last name. “Call me Julian.” He said “But I thought that was why we got new clothes? Doesn’t your boss hold power here? I thought he could just take care of the authorities no questions asked?”

“He can. But I believe the situation has been made a bit more complicated. Come. I’ll explain once we arrive.” said Meren and without warning he led them through another series of streets and hallways.

At long last they stopped under the shadow of four large towers that loomed into the sky. While Meren checked something on his terminal Aden stopped and soaked up the view. Clean windows that glittered in the artificial light of the station. A fountain with crystal blue waters flowed at the entrance of the towers. When Meren gestured them to follow him through the doors they were greeted by a human woman behind a wooden desk. Meren made some gesture and she let them through the lobby where they boarded one of the many elevators. While it began it’s slow descent up with soft music Aden thought about the whole experience. This must be where the rich folk live thought Aden.

Speaking of-

Aden tried to imagine what their contact looked like. He didn’t even know if he was human or xeno. It was Julian who had arranged this. When Aden had called him about wanting a better life it was Julian who found this job and made first contact with this person. Aden did ask his usual questions: where did the job come from? How did they know it was legitimate? But Julian had swatted away all of that. Something about protecting Aden from any blacklash. Truth be told once Aden had met up with Julian again he had forgotten about it himself. They were a squad, and Aden fell into place. Now the image of some criminal boss with an evil smile who wanted to take advantage of them gnawed at his thoughts.

“Hey whats your boss like?” asked Aden.

“Mhmm?” answered Meren. He had stopped watching the screen of the floors for a second and sounded almost surprised to remember he was with company.

“Your boss? Xeno or human?”

“What an interesting question. To me humans are as much xenos as any others.”

Aden had to stop himself from sighing. That was the thing about Khrynau, they loved hearing themselves talk.

“I still don’t know all the aliens in Union space. Just wanted to know if there was anything I should or shouldn’t do.”

Julian didn’t stop himself. He snorted from his side of the elevator. “It’s not like we did this for free. If he gets offended just wave that arm in front of him. I guarantee you he’ll get over it real quick.”

Meren said nothing. There was silence in the elevator that lasted several floors.

“I have worked for my boss for some time now. He has worked many jobs since we first met and I have followed him through everything. His kind are rare in the galaxy.”

At that moment the elevator stopped with a ding and Meren once again gestured them forward. This time they were in a wide plan looking hallway with only a handful of doors. He led them down to a door at the very end.

“And now If both of you will stretch out your arms I need to inspect you”

“But we already have the arm! Look it’s attached to the kid!” cried Julian

The Khrynau shook his head. “Not the arm. For weapons.”

Julian gripped the buttons on his jacket with an iron fist.

“No way. Your boss promised us safe passage onto Echo Station and yet the kid nearly died! Then you tell me we can't even walk around the station because its too dangerous? What the hell is going on here? We've held our end of the bargain, I'm not doing anything else but what we agreed on.”

To his credit Meren did not flinch. He only stared at Julian. “Can I take that as an admission of weapons on your person?”

Aden remembered their little shopping spree from earlier. Julian had said he was going to buy some tech knick-knacks. This is what he must’ve meant.

He readied himself to have to hold back Julian if needed. Part of him knew he was being naive but it didn't matter. He didn’t want the Khrynau to get hurt. They had come so far, for everything to fall apart because of an argument here would be worst than failing at the start.

But they were all distracted when the door behind them opened. An older human man with graying hairs looked at them with surprise and then reached out to put a hand on the Khrynau’s shoulder.

“Meren please! Our guests must be tired.” He said, “Come in! We have a lot to discuss but I prefer not to do it out here in the hallway hmm?”

Considering the job they were asked to do Aden had expected some rich mafioso with a garish lair. Even despite what Meren had said that image had stuck. Who else would ask them to steal secret technology from an interstellar corporation? Walking inside however Aden realized that he knew even less about the whole situation than he thought.

The suite they were in was beautiful. There was no other word to describe it really. They walked into an open living room filled with the comfiest looking black and white leather couches. On the walls were swirling paintings that depicted everyday scenes from some agricultural world. On one side of the room were windows as tall as Aden letting in a warm orange-yellow light. Aden couldn’t help himself and walked towards the opposite wall where the windows were lined up. He was amazed to see that all windows showed an orange tinted sky. But it was bright out when they had entered the building. What happened?

It wasn’t until he finally moved windows that he realized. He had visited other space stations before but nothing as important as Echo Station. This place was a major transport hub. It never went to sleep. All orbital stations had artificial lights but Echo Station must've decided to forgo a night cycle all together. The windows doubled as artificial screens which could project anything or any time of day the user wanted. Aden knew it was fake but after living on a dark spaceship for three weeks the sight of the sunset made him feel alive. Human some could say. Their host had even added drifting clouds onto the scene. Aden looked down and could make out the streets lined up with smaller buildings, each glittering with different lights under the artificial sunlight.

“Like the view?” said their host. “I figured you gentleman might want a small break from bright white”.

Aden turned to try and make sense of their host. His appearance was almost the opposite of what Aden expected. He was an older man, maybe around the same age as Julian, in his early 50s if Aden had to guess. He had a full head of dark black hair with thin grey lines on the sides and wore a dark silky suit. He had sat down in one of the seats with a familiar smile on his face. Aden was sure he had seen him somewhere before but he couldn’t point to it. Was he a former actor? Politician?

This is the guy who puts bounties on corporations? Thought Aden.

Their host gestured to the couch opposite him. Julian had been wandering out the paintings this entire time but Aden caught his eye and saw the slightest eyebrow raise before they sat down. An old signal. Aden knew what that meant. Stay on alert.

“You’ll have to forgive Meren. He can be a bit overzealous over the jobs I give him”

Meren himself made no mention of the comment. He bowed his head and stood behind their host checking his handheld terminal.

“Well.” Said Julian sitting down on the couch. “I’m sure you already know who we are. It was a little jumpy getting here but I’d like to wrap this business up as quick as we can.”

“Yes. Yes. I’m very pleased you made it here in one piece. But please. Lets take a moment to discuss some things.” said their host. “Meren can you fetch us some drinks? Food too. Dinner if its ready.”

Aden was still fixated on their hosts face. Why was he so familiar? He was from money, but that was already obvious. No one could afford this abode without it. Heck Meren even implied that he had enough money to pay off the guards. But then why have them steal the technology? Surely someone this rich could have just bought it outright?

“Look I don’t think we have much to discuss. We brought the arm like you asked. Show him Aden.”

“Oh that’s not necessary. I don’t really need the arm per say.”

“What!? What the hell was the point of all this? We-”

Then it hit Aden. Who else could have this much money and power?

“You’re Jon Azor aren’t you? The guy who owns KhazorCorp?” said Aden.

Their host smiled at him. “Owned KhazorCorp. Past tense. Currently I’m in the process of a new business venture that is- well you'll see”

It all made sense to Aden now. Forget the money, how did someone even know about the technology in the first place. Of course it had to have been someone with prior knowledge. But why steal his own technology? What happened?

Julian had his mouth open. “How did you know?” he asked Aden.

“I did research on KhazorCorp before we infiltrated it. What they did, the history of it. You dig deep in the site and eventually they show his face.” Said Aden. Aden hadn’t known who the job was for but he had wanted to know exactly who he was stealing from.

“And what did you find?” asked Jon Azor.

“Nothing specific. KhazorCorp is involved in a little bit of everything. They made their main fortune with habitats and space ships right? They got really big after Humanity started the counteroffensive against the Beryon forces. They’ve done really well during the expansion.”

Jon Azor sighed. “Yes. All correct of course though I do believe you may be a bit behind on the times.” He said. At that moment Meren walked in carrying a cart of different trays.

“Please. You’ve been cooped up for three weeks without access to the rest of the net. And, if I had to guess, without good food either. Just take a moment to relax and I’ll walk you through everything.” He said.

Dinner was grilled duck with roasted potatoes and at least three different types of wine. Aden was embarrassed to hear his stomach give an audible growl in anticipation when Meren moved a crystal clear glass table in front of them. Azor was right. It had been a while without good food. Julian must’ve have felt the same way as he dug into his food almost immeaditly with the clanking and clattering of plates and forks. Aden assumed they must have looked like animals inhaling their food in front of their guest but to Jon Azor’s credit he did not respond much. In between their bites he explained the story to them.

“I’m sure you must be wondering why someone in my position even bothered with our little request? After all you assume I should just be able to walk up to my company and request any information right?”

The two men nodded in unison.

“Everyone knows that I inherited my company during the Galactic War. My father was the head but he died during the first wave of attacks on Earth and after we pushed the Beryons back I inherited one of the few intact production centers on Earth. You are correct. The counteroffensive was where we made our fortune.” He said.

“Everyone knows we worked thousands of laborers on 24 hour cycles to the bone trying to put those hunks of metal together for the UES Fleets. We made stellar engines, tweaking them to millimeter precision from schematics stolen from our allies. And yes we even made weapons. Weapons designed to specifically tear the brain and nervous systems of the Beryons apart so they couldn’t telepathically communicate.”

Jon Azor looked up to the sky. Aden could almost see the memories play in his eyes like a vid. “I won’t apologize for any of it. It was a war damn it! The Beryons were exterminating species left and right. Earth almost fell! It was do or die in all senses of the word.” He said.

Julian and Aden had put down their plates. Jon didn't need to explain himself to them.

“But the war is over. This new expansion is different. You have to understand” Jon said “That I have no problem with xenos. They’ve enriched so much of our lives. Think about all the alien music and literature and food that we get to experience? New perspectives that humans couldn’t even dream of. I want to be a part of the Union. I want to work side by side with them. But-”

He paused for only a moment to look out the window. The the windows were stuck on the artificial sunset.

“The Board of Directors at KhazorCorp disagreed. They thought that I was stuck in my ways. Can you believe that? They, who thought the future was to keep running the company as if it was still wartime, thought I was the one stuck in my ways. They started to push back against me. Changing priorities and projects on me. Suddenly starship weapons became the core of our business. More than all our other products combined. And then I began to hear rumors. Rumors that they were looking to get rid of me and more.”

“What kind of rumors?” Aden asked.

“Rumors that we began to steal schematics again. Weapon schematics from the one place that we didn’t the couldn’t the first time.”

There’s only one species whose technology we didn’t know

“You mean the Beryons?” said Aden.

Jon Azor nodded.

“Naturally I needed to know.” He said “Before they could remove my access I managed to find documents about ways to reverse-engineer and improve on these schematics. I have reason to believe that the arm in your possession is modified and experimental Beryon technology.”

There was a silence in the air. Aden had too many thoughts he tried to swift through. It was Julian who spoke up. His voice was low and there was rumble to it.

“You attached experimental Beryon technology to Aden?”

Jon Azor waved the air in front of him. “There’s no reason to be afraid. Its harmless. I told you they reverse-engineered and improved on the design specifically for humans to use. You already know the Beryons are telepathic right? Well this technology is an integration of that concept.”

Even more questions to sift through but Aden had enough. “What does that even mean? What does this thing even do? I thought you said its a weapon.”

“That arm is a weapon. But not anything like you or I or even the Beryons had seen. It activates on thought.”

“So what I just think about defending myself and it does it?”

“I’ve never tested it out myself but yes I believe that is the concept.”

“And these buttons on the palm?”

“They do nothing. No one but the highest echelon of KhazorCorp knows that this is modified technology. Not even all the engineers.” Said Azor, “That’s why you were able to steal it when you did in the first place. I was one of the few people who knew that it was being moved to the facility in New York where security was, shall we say, less than ideal. I was lucky that you responded to my bounty when you did. I was removed from my company during your three week trip here. Who knows where it could have ended up then? ”

For what felt like the millionth time that day there was silence that hung in the air.

“So what now?” asked Julian.

“Ah the crux of the matter” said Jon Azor.

“Don’t worry I won’t renege on my deal. If you’d like I can give you a new top of the line prosthetic and send you on a private shuttle to any colony or planet you desire along with a sizable amount of money wired to both your accounts.”

“And KhazorCorps?” said Aden, “Won’t they be after us?”

“Doubtful. They know of two men of your description but not your names. The galaxy is a large place. Doubly so for the Frontier. I myself will go to the Galactic Union Council and, with proof of illegal Beryon technology, I can wipe out the board of directors and gain powerful allies within the Galactic Union should any human politicians want to come after me. We all go our separate ways. That is unless you would like to do me another favor?”

“Favor?” said Julian.

“Yes. I have reason to believe that this goes even further than KhazorCorps. Do one more job for me and I will give you everything I promised before plus a new personal starship and allow you to keep that prosthetic on top of it.”

A personal starship? If it was a joke Aden wasn’t laughing. How much money does this guy have?

“So?” asked Jon Azor. “Are you interested?”