A Simple Mission Read online

  A Simple Mission

  Breach of Faith Book Zero

  Gary T. Stevens

  Daniel Gibbs

  Contents

  Also Available from Daniel Gibbs

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Also Available from Daniel Gibbs

  Acknowledgements

  A Simple Mission by Daniel Gibbs and Gary T. Stevens

  Copyright © 2019 by Daniel Gibbs

  Visit Daniel Gibb’s website at www.danielgibbsauthor.net

  Cover by Jeff Brown Graphics—www.jeffbrowngraphics.com

  Additional Illustrations by Joel Steudler—www.joelsteudler.com

  Editing by Beth at BZhercules.com

  Shadow Wolf 3D Art by Jeff Brown

  Additional 3D Art by Benoit Leonard

  This book is a work of fiction, the characters, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For permissions please contact [email protected].

  Also Available from Daniel Gibbs

  Echoes of War

  * * *

  Stand Firm

  (Free and exclusive to Newsletter Subscribers)

  * * *

  Book 1 - Fight the Good Fight

  Book 2 - Strong and Courageous

  Book 3 - So Fight I

  Book 4 - Gates of Hell

  Book 5 - Keep the Faith

  * * *

  Breach of Faith

  (With Gary T. Stevens)

  * * *

  Book 1 - Breach of Peace

  1

  Shadow Wolf, Approaching Galt

  Galt System

  Trifid Nebula Region, Neutral Space

  3 April 2559

  * * *

  The Trifid Nebula dominated the sky over the planet Galt, just as it now dominated the viewer of the independent vessel Shadow Wolf as it moved into a pre-landing orbit of the world, a trail of plasma flowing from the four engines on the squat, blocky vessel's rear. The system's star shined over the gray and brown hull during the vessel's approach to orbital space and a landing course to enter the atmosphere.

  "Quite a sight, isn't it?" asked Cera McGinty, the ship's helmswoman, her Connaught lilt rich and pleasant.

  Seated behind her, Captain James Henry, the ship's owner, and operator, nodded. Light from the holoviewer beside him played over his face, casting the three-dimensional representation of nearby vessels onto his dark skin. His brown eyes moved back and forth from the plotter to the view displayed by the imager at the front of the bridge. Despite appearances, the bridge had no actual window or canopy, but rather, the internal surface had a liquid crystal surface fixed to the Shadow Wolf's external sensors, showing them a visual of what was outside. The Manual Astrogation Post was built beneath the bridge under a thick bulkhead, should so many systems be down that the Mark 1 Human Eyeball was the only sensor available.

  The nebula was not an unfamiliar sight to any of them, as the Shadow Wolf mostly operated in the vicinity of it. The sectors of space around Trifid were a natural place for people like Henry and his crew, given the majority of the worlds—Human and Alien—were neutral in the ongoing interstellar war between the Terran Coalition and the League of Sol. Neither side of the war dared to send their fleets into the area for fear of tilting the local planets into the camp of their adversaries, offering freedom and opportunities not found in the war zone.

  That wasn't to say it was safe, as the firearms on the hips of Henry and his crew were silent indicators of. The freedoms offered out here included the ability to deprive others of their lives and livelihoods for one's gain. With no interstellar governments, pirates had plenty of places to hide out in the empty systems between the settled ones. And those systems were not always paragons of law and order.

  "It's a shame that such a beautiful world is held by the likes of the Galters," groused Tia Nguyen. Born on the independent world Hestia, Tia was descended from the various Southeast Asian peoples who populated that world.

  "Someone's been looking up Objectivism on the link," Henry noted, sparing a glance to his scowling First Mate.

  "That only explained what I already knew. This place is run by the same kind of people who exploit my homeworld." She gave him a dark look. "I'm sure your friend Felix loves them."

  Henry laughed. Felix Rothbard, one of his oldest friends in the cosmos and a fellow ex-CDF officer, was a devoted libertarian, and often locked horns with Tia over her left-wing views. "Are you kidding? They'd consider him a petty socialist here."

  "That's downright terrifyin', Captain," Cera remarked.

  A light blinked on Tia's station. "We have landing clearance from the spaceport and an approach vector," she said. A disbelieving chuckle came next. "I'm surprised the Galters let them do that. It’s suspiciously close to actual regulations."

  "Well, it's their spaceport; they decide the rules of how people land," Henry pointed out. "The way they see it, if people don't like it, they can go elsewhere."

  "You mean land outside the city in open fields, since there are no other spaceports," Tia noted.

  "Exactly."

  She shook her head while Cera brought the ship in on the approach vector for the planet's capital, Rand.

  Rand was the original landing site for the planet's first colonization team. It was built alongside a river mouth emptying into the world's primary ocean, providing the settlers with plentiful freshwater access and access to aquatic resources. Now the colonization site was a park owned by the Rand Settlement Company, around which the gleaming towers of the Financial District and Commercial District rose into the sky. The city rippled outward from that original foundation point, its grandeur gradually fading until you got to the slums at the outskirts.

  Also on said outskirts was the city's main aerospaceport, protected by walls from the lawlessness of Rand's slums. The port was one of the larger ones in the Trifid Region, given the amount of commerce Rand enjoyed. Landing strips allowed for aircraft to alight as if they were back on Earth in the 20th Century. This suited the great transports bringing in the wealth of the planet's mines for use or transshipment off-world, the primary economic activity of the small settlements not within land vehicle range of Rand itself.

  Spacecraft, built to different tolerances, landed horizontally into waiting hangars with retractable roofs. One of these was open and available for them. It wasn’t one of the more prominent buildings or central to the main cargo terminals.

  Cera brought them in on a standard approach vector. Under her guidance, the ship's maneuvering drives and the graviton decelerators worked with the precision Henry always expected from her. Their landing vector put the skyline of Galt in the background during the final approach, showing a city of gleaming metal and glass that looked more sophisticated and wealthy than usually found in the nearby systems.

  Once they were secure, he and Tia departed the bridge. "I'll work with Yanik and see to the cargo," she said, referring to the big Saurian who served as Second Mate.

  Henry nodded his approval. "And I'll go see what Mr. Lou wants."

  Knowing full well how things worked in Rand, Henry took a taxi into the heart of the city. It cost more credits than the bus company, but there was no need to worry about pickpockets. And either way, he had to endure the
horror that was Rand's traffic.

  But even that was better than the extortionary rates that helicar taxis charged.

  An hour and a half after leaving his ship, the taxi finally pulled up to Commerce Square. The elegantly-designed plaza was bordered by some of the tallest of the Commercial District skyscrapers. The one he was heading to was emblazoned by a company insignia written in Chinese ideographs, marking the property of Lou Shipping and Transport, one of the Trifid Region's most powerful megacorps.

  Megacorporations were not only corporations or even business empires; they were businesses with pretensions to state power. They controlled the economies of entire planets or moons and commanded fleets of spacecraft, along with armies of private security troops. Some even had the equivalent of special forces, and their reputation wasn’t pleasant. Working for a megacorp, either directly or as an employee of a subsidiary, effectively made you a citizen of it, with rights varying by owner. Some were magnanimous, giving yearly bonuses based on stock value or profit margins and providing generously to the welfare of their workers. Others were feudalistic in their behavior, with the ordinary workers seen more like serfs than independent laborers. On some worlds, they even had laws allowing them to police their employees' lives on and off the clock.

  Galt didn't have those laws, of course, since it would defy the individualist aspirations of the founders. Here, everyone had complete freedom to decide their employment or lack thereof, even if it effectively meant picking between being a corporate slave or exercising one's freedom to starve in the streets.

  Entering the Lou Building led Henry into the very heart of opulent splendor. The interior was more of a courtyard than a lobby. A digital directory flashed in bright blue and green to one side of him while a receptionist was directly ahead. Pretty, thin, with her brown hair pulled back into a severe bun and her mocha-toned complexion glistening under the lights. Her suit was immaculate. "May I help you, sir?" she asked, just a slight bit of condescension for his appearance with his brown spacer's jacket, black trousers, and a gray polo shirt.

  "I'm Captain James Henry of the Shadow Wolf, here to see Mr. Lou."

  "Ah." With some disbelief visible on her features, the woman checked her systems. That disbelief visibly grew as the screen seemed to confirm the appointment. "I see. Alright, I will give you clearance to Mr. Lou's private office." She glanced at his belt and the holster there. "And I must ask you to leave your firearm here. It’s company policy."

  I’m sure it is. Henry pulled his holster off and handed it to her. The woman dutifully gave him a receipt and left the gun in a drawer in her desk. He was given a keycard and instructed on which elevator to take.

  He found the elevator marked among the others and swiped the card to enter it. There were no controls for him to use. The card apparently dictated which floor he’d arrive at. He wondered if this were true for all of them or just this elevator. Underneath his feet, he felt a brief rumble. Only a gentle noise followed, telling him the car was lifting up the shaft. A digital display told him which floor he was at. The speed of the car picked up, and every five seconds, he was on a new level.

  Then there was a deceleration, the speed of the marker decreased, and finally, he was at the 180th floor. He stepped out of the elevator and into what looked like an outer office combined with a mansion's foyer. A secretary was waiting. She had a darker skin tone than the receptionist in the lobby but otherwise was dressed in the same way, including the exact hairstyle and bun. It was the age-old "austere business professional" appearance. Without looking up, she said, "Good day, Captain Henry. Mr. Lou will see you shortly."

  The wait didn't last long. Henry barely had time to sit down before he was called into the inner office. Inside were more of the same art pieces and other signs of wealth and power that the outer office possessed. But it was all space-conscious in use; every square centimeter was utilized, and the office was barely a quarter the size of the outer office—nothing at all like what he'd expected.

  At the central chair, Mr. Lou sat in a finely tailored business suit of gray and black. His appearance reminded Henry of Tia in complexion and facial structure. His graying dark hair was combed into place. Gray eyes looked over Henry carefully. "Captain James Henry," he said in a slow, thoughtful voice. His accent was the same as Tia's too, which Henry found peculiar, knowing what he did about Tia's homeworld. "You come highly recommended by Mr. Robinson."

  "I'm glad to hear it. We've done some careful work for him," Henry noted. He didn't bother adding that some of it hadn't been entirely legal. "I admit I was surprised to hear you wanted to see me in person, Mr. Lou. I don't often get invitations from wealthy Galters."

  Lou smiled thinly. "I would imagine not. Nor do I."

  "Ah?"

  Lou leaned back in his chair. "For all of the founders' talk about a world where the productive and capable should be the leading class, Galt has developed other forms of classism. Some of my peers in business don't quite like the fact that a Hestian worker has become their equal."

  "I see." Henry took the offered seat. "So what can I do for you, Mr. Lou?"

  "I have a job that requires some… care. One I can't be directly tied to.”

  "And yet you had me walk into your office in broad daylight?"

  "Yes, well, I never said I had just one job requiring such," Lou remarked, smiling. "The important thing for my competitors is they won't know why I'm hiring you, and I’ve made arrangements to keep them guessing." He took a drink of what Henry guessed to be tea. But his eyes never left their steady gaze, squarely on him. It was clear Lou was assessing him in some way. "Besides, I wanted to see you face to face. The nemesis of Kalling Engineering."

  The name drained any emotion from Henry's expression.

  Lou noticed the effect his words had and chuckled. "After the incident with the Laffey and your so-called court-martial, I canceled my contract with Kalling," he said. "Whatever your superiors thought about the outcome, I could easily understand what was going on."

  Henry still said nothing, nor did his expression change one bit.

  "A sensitive spot. I understand." He sipped again, his focus still on Henry. "I wanted to see you in person, judge your character beyond my reports and Mister Robinson's praise."

  "And what do you think?"

  "I think you're just the man I need for this job," Lou replied. "Have you heard of Yan'katar?"

  Henry let the name roll around his head for a moment. "It's a neutral planet near the frontiers of the Jalm'tar Empire," he said. "To Spinward of here, two weeks’ worth of jumps."

  "Yes. It's the one port the Jalm'tar allow to move goods to and from their space. A multi-species business council oversees the day-to-day operations, but in truth, the Empire's consul is the real power there." Lou finished the last gulp of his tea. "I have a business venture on Yan'katar. A local herb from the Empire with compatible biochemistry to Humans. Studies show it will have great medical benefits on worlds that don't have access to modern medical technology. The Jalm'tar have recently agreed to permit its legal export, and my man on Yan'katar was the first to get a favorable contract."

  "And you want me to pick this up," Henry said.

  "Yes."

  "You're afraid competitors will interfere if they realize you've got his deal? Why don't they know already?"

  "The agreement is secret. I paid a premium for it, and the Jalm'tar place stock in honesty. Or at least being bought honestly, I suppose." Lou chuckled in a low tone of bemusement. "But I have no regular transport contracts to Yan'katar. If I sent a ship in my fleet to pick up the shipment, my competitors would notice. They'll realize I made a deal. And their reaction will be hostile."

  "As in they'll hire pirates or someone else to steal it from you," Henry said.

  "And the Imperial consul will consider me incapable as a business partner and end my deal, yes."

  "Okay, fair enough. Is this just a one-time thing or do you intend to ask me to make this a regular route…?"
r />   "I need to demonstrate I can deliver the product," Lou said. "Establish faith and credit with the Imperial consul and with those awaiting delivery of the herbs. Your shipment should suffice. Once it’s known I can deliver, the need for secrecy passes."

  "Alright." Henry was already calculating his costs in his head. A month away from space with regular Human habitation isn't going to be easy on the grocery costs. We'll have to stock up here. At Galt prices. "How much is the contract for?" he asked, already considering his refueling costs as well.

  Lou presented a digital reader. Henry looked it over. The legal language was regular, with an ironclad non-disclosure agreement attached. And the compensation wasn’t too much, but it was enough to win him over.

  "I pay well for good work," Lou assured him. "You could say it is a… monomania of mine. Good work deserves good pay."

  Henry nodded and affixed his signature. The pad took a thumbprint and geneprint as security for the signature. "Alright, Mr. Lou, we'll be on our way to Yan'katar," he began. "We'll depart this evening, as soon as we get the stores and fuel we need."

  "Excellent," said Lou. "All things considered, Captain, I think you will find that this, in the end, is a simple job."

  Henry's smile turned brittle as those three words echoed in his head and in the very depths of his being. "Mr. Lou, if you know of what happened with the Laffey," he said, "then you should know how little I find the word 'simple' reassuring."

  2

  New Sandhurst Station

  Berkshire System, Terran Coalition