“I’ll do my best.”

  Diamond’s eyes bulged only slightly as he got his first glimpse at the Inthidlon speaker. A small egg-shaped drone with flexible arms hovered beside him.

  The two aliens rose from their seats.

  “Ah, Unity’s crew! Welcome back,” Alzigo greeted. The double jawed, two-and-a-half-meter-tall alien towered over his Inthidlon guest. “I was just having the most delightful conversation with this distinguished businessman.”

  The Inthidlon bowed his head slightly. “Skitter, of the first Inthidlon fleet, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  Skitter, Inthidlon, Level 12, Faction: Inthidlon first fleet

  Path: Businessman → *****

  Warning: Data analysis inconsistent. Obfuscation field detected.

  Diamond didn’t even blink as he stepped forward and offered his hand.

  ‘Skitter’ looked down and slowly reached forward, clasping it with his own. “The name’s Diamond,” the human said. “I understand you asked to speak with me.”

  “Yes.” The alien turned to Alzigo. “I appreciate the time you’ve taken to entertain me as I wait.” There was no mistaking his tone.

  Alzigo nodded. “It was my pleasure. My station is always open for entrepreneurs. I hope you will continue to use my station for future dealings.” The tall alien nodded at the humans and left.

  ‘Skitter’ turned back to Diamond. “It is my honor to meet one of humanity’s leaders.”

  The Diplomat eased into one of the seats. “Not much of humanity is left after the Calamity, but I do speak for one of the largest settlements down there.”

  “Calamity?”

  “You’d call it ‘global infusion’. For us, it didn’t go quite so smoothly.”

  “I understand. Well, that’s exactly why I’m here.” There was no malice in the alien’s voice but neither was there sympathy. “Allow me to get right to the point. Now that your species has joined the enlightened galaxy, we are allowed to interact. Your planet holds an abundance of several minerals—aluminum mainly—that are highly sought after where I come from.”

  “I see,” Diamond replied carefully. “We can certainly discuss trade relations. We could use access to more advanced technology.”

  “Wonderful,” ‘Skitter’ replied. “In that case, I propose the following: I’ll periodically send freighters to your planet which will collect the aluminum you’ve gathered. The freighters will also be used to ship in anything you’d wish to buy with your share. How does that sound?”

  “That depends. How much will you pay us?”

  “Right to the heart of it.” The alien smiled and reached for the hovering drone at its side. One of the drone’s arms instantly drew a narrow glass from his body and offered it to his master. Skitter took a small sip, then held the glass toward Diamond. “May I offer you some?”

  The Diplomat shook his head. “I’m more interested in negotiating the price.”

  “Very well. I’m willing to offer 40 piTec per ton of aluminum. Since each freighter would be capable of carrying several thousand tons, you’re looking at earning close to a hundred thousand piTec per shipment. Not an insignificant amount, I might add.”

  “That seems a bit low,” Diamond said.

  “Well, I’ll be the one who bears the cost of chartering the freighters, provide security along the new shipping lines, handle the buyers, that sort of thing. I believe my offer is quite generous in that respect.”

  Diamond shook his head. “That is still too low.”

  Something passed between them as they locked eyes. Then the Inthidlon expression softened and he chuckled. “I guess I can accommodate a future business partner. I think I can go up as high as 50 piTec per ton.”

  Diamond frowned. “Let’s cut to the chase, alright? We already have a freighter down on the surface that’s loading up on aluminum as we speak. I know the price in Hammerhead is 400 piTec per ton. I see no reason to agree to your offer.”

  “Well, that’s no good. I do demand exclusivity in our dealings,” Skitter said, not seeming a bit fazed by Diamond’s rebuke. “As a matter of fact, the freighter you’re talking about has no business being here in the first place. It was grounded with strict orders to stay where it was. I will be confiscating it, and any goods it carries, of course.”

  The six combat drones moved as one, adjusting in place. Their eyes blazed crimson.

  Everyone tensed and reached for their weapons, Nathan lowered his head and backed away, moving in parallel to the line of drones.

  “Careful now,” Skitter said. “We wouldn’t want to impose on Alzigo’s hospitality. Just for the sake of clarity, my drones have analyzed your combat capabilities. In case of conflict, your complete annihilation is evaluated at 2.3 seconds.”

  “I see how it goes,” Diamond said calmly. “You’re going to use your military strength to force this deal, aren’t you?”

  The alien shrugged. “It would be a trivial matter to bombard your settlement from space and swoop in to claim everything you own.”

  “But that would also mean you’d have to bring in your own people to gather our resources, right?” Diamond said bitterly. “Why waste effort in subduing the natives and robbing them, when you can pay them a pittance for them to do all the hard work.”

  “Excellent. It’s always a pleasure to deal with an individual who has foresight and clarity. I believe we have an understanding.”

  Nathan continued walking along the line of combat drones, frowning as he did so.

  “It looks like you hold all the cards,” Diamond said gruffly.

  “That I do.”

  Nori stepped forward. “Then why the charade?”

  ‘Skitter’ frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “We know you’re from the Syndicate,” Diamond said. “And your name isn’t Skitter.”

  The alien looked at him for a long moment, then smiled. “How did you figure that out? Well, I guess there’s little point for subterfuge at this point.” He lifted his arm and touched his wrist console.

  His information instantly changed.

  NO_ONE, ?? , Level ??

  ??

  “So, I believe the deal is clear, yes? Oh, and I’ll be withdrawing my offer for 50 piTec per ton. I admit that I’m more used to handling a Trader’s bargaining abilities than a Diplomat’s persuasion skills. An oversight I’ll make sure to correct. The offered price remains at 40 piTec.”

  With a final sip from his glass, NO_ONE finished his drink and handed it to his servant drone. The hovering machine arm reached forward … and missed. NO_ONE frowned. “Stupid machine.” The second attempt was successful and the drone deposited the glass back into its body.

  Nori glanced at Nathan who nodded back at her.

  Mollified at his servant’s compliance, the Syndicate speaker turned back to Diamond. “As soon as we sign a Tec contract we can--”

  “Hold on a moment,” Nori stepped forward again, raising her arms as the six combat drones turned their heads at her as one. “Aren’t you curious to know how we know who you really are?”

  “I assume you learned of my presence while in Hammerhead station. The exact source of your information does not interest me. If there was a leak, it will be plugged upon my return.”

  Nori shook her head. “No leak. One of your fellow speakers, another NO_ONE, informed us of your impending arrival.”

  The Inthidlon’s face sombered. He studied the human captain carefully. “Interesting. Which one of my rivals was it?”

  “I have his contact details right here,” Nori touched her wrist. “But that’s not all. He leaked you information on Earth’s existence, hoping to orchestrate your death.”

  “Girl, what are you trying to do?” Bulco asked.

  “I’m sick of us being treated like pawns. We’re caught in the middle of a Syndicate power struggle and I’m looking to turn it to our benefit.” She turned back to NO_ONE. “We were told of your arrival in advance and what you were after. We were told to kill you.”

  To her surprise the Inthidlon smiled. “A rather crude plan that hardly befits my counterparts. Assuming what you're saying is true, how were you humans, with your primitive technology, supposed to accomplish the deed? Your freighter is a leap of technological advancement for you, but it’s still a far cry from being able to oppose my ships.”

  “Agree to leave Earth alone, and I will tell you what I know,” Nori said with a straight face. “Then you can take it up yourself with that NO_ONE and handle your issues on your own. Away from here. Do we have a deal?”

  “You are quite audacious talking in that fashion to someone with the power to annihilate your settlements from orbit,” the Inthidlon said calmly. “Why not just give up his identity instead?”

  Nori eyes hardened. “We have a saying back home. We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

  “Yeah,” Bulco said and cracked his knuckles threateningly. “We kill them instead.”

  NO_ONE tilted his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “I like you! You don’t cave in easily. In that case, I think I’ll simply forgo your offer. We, the speakers, are a bunch of plotters and schemers. Getting the name of an incompetent brazen one is far down my list of priorities.” He looked at Diamond. “Despite my appreciation for your species’ tenacity, you will either sign a Tec contract with me, or I’ll resort to the option of taking the aluminum myself.”

  The shelter leader’s expression was full of disdain. “What the hell is a Tec contract?”

  “It’s rather simple. We each sign a contract, and whichever side fails to uphold it will be have to deal with the local authorities. Since your planet no longer has a central government system, it would fall under the responsibility of the local system lord,” NO_ONE explained. “They are extremely powerful individuals that usually resort to settling such disputes by annihilating anything around them.”

  Diamond scowled “Now you listen here—”

  “Diamond,” Lana said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at the young woman. “We don’t have a choice. If we don’t do this he’ll just bombard us from space, and the Warped will swoop in to pick up whatever’s left.”

  “I’m glad to see there’s one reasonable human among you,” NO_ONE said approvingly.

  “That’s right,” Lana retorted, looking directly into her captain’s eyes. “I’m the Expert.”

  Nori nodded slowly. “She’s right, Diamond. Do it.”

  The elderly leader looked at Bulco. “Are you onboard with this?”

  The large man nodded slowly. “Yeah, looks like it's the only way.”

  The alien smirked. “I’m glad to see you all so enthused about the prospect. We’ll need to establish a few basic rules in the contract: the rate for aluminum procured, guarantees for my personal safety as Earth’s new administrator, repercussions and fines for failing to deliver certain quotas, that sort of thing.

  Diamond scowled at him, then looked at Nori with burning eyes.

  The Navigator-turned-captain nodded. “Do it.”

  “No.” The Diplomat crossed his arms. “I refuse. I won't sign a contract that turns us into indentured slaves.”

  NO_ONE let out a cruel smile. “It’s either indentured or incinerated.”

  “Diamond,” Bulco said to the older man and put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to do this.”

  “Do it,” Cattie said between clenched teeth.

  Nathan nodded reluctantly.

  “This is not what I had in mind for my first alien diplomatic meeting.” Diamond looked at everyone gathered around him, all nodding for him to proceed. “Fine.” He gritted his teeth. “How the hell do we do this?”

  ***

  “Damn it, Nori,” Cattie said once they were out of earshot. “If you’d just let me set up a sniping position somewhere in the upper levels, I could have solved the entire problem with a single headshot.”

  Bulco shook his head. “Not likely. Your rifle wasn’t powerful enough to penetrate the first NO_ONE’s shield, and this one is supposed to be even more powerful.”

  “And the station is neutral territory,” Lana reminded her. “If we had struck, it could have destroyed our relationship with Alzigo, and we need his support.”

  “I’m all for killing our problems with overwhelming force,” the Engineer said. “But if we’d attacked, he would have set his drones against us, and I’m sorry to say that he was right to feel confident. Each one of them is a high grade D machine. Nothing we have can even make a dent in ‘em.”

  “Or control them,” Nori stated as she looked directly at Nathan.

  The young Technomancer took a deep breath and shook his head. “Encryption too strong.”

  “You kids better tell me you have a plan,” Diamond said, still sounding angry. “I went along with you back there, but I’ll be damned if I go down in history as the black man who restored slavery. So tell me you have a plan, or I’ll go right back there and start a third world war. And damn the consequences.”

  They reached their ship and walked toward the bridge.

  “Diamond.” Nori stopped and looked into his eyes. “We have a plan.”

  “Yes,” Lana said. “I told you to go along to buy us time to get everything ready.”

  The older man frowned. “What about those system lord guys that will burn us all for reneging on the deal?”

  The Expert smirked. “NO_ONE only told you half the truth. Luckily, I’ve looked into Tec contracts so I know a little bit about how they work. It’s true—without local leadership the jurisdiction falls back to the system lords who claim that part of space. So all we need to do is to establish a local leadership. Seeing as you and Martin are already pretty much the acknowledged leaders it shouldn’t be hard to form an official ruling body. Even if it's only Haven’s jurisdiction, it should be enough. I’ll walk you through what we need to do on the way back to Haven.”

  “Alright, that’s good news, at least. How are we going to handle that alien psychopath? His ships are bigger than yours.”

  “We have one thing going on for us,” Nori said. She threw a meaningful look at Nathan, then assumed the pilot seat.

  The young Technomancer nodded. “I made contact with the butler drone. With Unity’s help, I can access its feed from afar. From closer range, I can control it.”

  Unity’s thrusters hummed to life. They disengaged from the station and made their way down toward the blue planet.

  Diamond frowned. “How much use is a robot that serves drinks?”

  “You’d be surprised,” Nathan smiled gently.

  “So what’s the plan, Captain?” Bulco asked.

  “We go down to the ground and rally all the forces we have. We need to figure out a way to isolate NO_ONE’s corvette from the two warships escorting him. Once we get him in our sight, we go at him with everything we’ve got while Nathan tries to inflict damage from inside his ship. Hopefully, it will be enough to bring him down.”

  “That’s not much of a plan,” Diamond said dryly.

  The captain nodded. “There’s one more thing we have working to our advantage.” She tapped her wrist and brought the console to her eye level. “It’s time to keep your word.”

  23 - Uprising

  Unity gently touched down on an open stretch of road. Despite the growing darkness, the area around was bustling with activity. Hundreds of people were working side by side, clearing debris, putting up walls, and driving vehicles.

  “Alright, remember what I told you,” Lana hurried after Diamond. “To establish a local ruling body. You need the acknowledgment of at least 80% of the local population. It isn’t really a democracy, it works more like faith. With enough ‘followers’ the Tec should acknowledge you and give you access to new management options.”

  Diamond nodded. “Yeah, I got you the first time, girl. I’ll need to bring in Nicolas—he’s got the loyalty of the guards. Also Gary, who leads our technical crews. But even put together, I’m not sure we got 80% of the people. Not without Martin, and he still isn’t back from his mission in Jakarta.”

  “You have to try,” Nori said, following them to the exit platform. “And bring out all the heavy weapons you’ve got. We need to set up a kill zone. With enough people and weapons, we might just—”

  “Captain,” Unity said pleasantly. “Orbital scans reveal the Corvette is moving. Current trajectory suggests they plan on entering the atmosphere.”

  Lana ran back to the bridge as Nori frowned and tapped her wrist console, bringing up the face of the Inthidlon speaker. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Ah, Captain Nori,” the alien’s smug voice answered back. “I was feeling cooped up here on my own, so I decided to come down to check on my new investment. My freighter’s loading speed is far too slow. I’m sure a little incentive would do the loaders a world of good.”

  “If you harm anyone—” Nori started.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I would be careful with what you’re going to say. We wouldn’t want to make Earth’s new administrator angry or risk violating our contract, would we?”

  Clenching her jaw, Nori terminated the connection.

  “It’s only his ship that’s coming down here,” Lana’s voice came over the comms. “I’m looking at the sensor readings now. The warships are still docked. Looks like he feels secure enough to come down on his own. He’ll reach the other freighter in the industrial zone in nine minutes.”

  “That’s our chance,” Nori said, looking at Diamond. “Our timetable has just shortened. Get that 80% and send all our fighters to the industrial zone.”

  To his credit, the seasoned leader didn’t waste any time arguing. Despite his generous girth, he broke into a quick run, shouting orders to the people around him.

  “I’ll go find a good spot to set up,” Cattie said, grabbing her folded sniper rifle and ran after him.

  Nori turned to Bulco. “How're the mech’s repairs going?”

  “The two auto repair drones we bought were a big help. It's almost back to full working order, but I don’t think it can take much of a beating. A few good hits would probably be enough to destroy it,” the Engineer replied. “Serk is working on the final adjustments now. Should be done any moment.”