[chapter 1]

The cache wasn’t there.

Wer swore. Slapped the console. Lit a smoke. “Keep scanning. A fast one running long and get the computer to start a detail sweep.”

“If it’s not there we’re gonna be out a lot of money?”

“If it’s not there we get a refund for them fucking it up. If it’s just that the transponder is down, we’re gonna get a fucking discount next time for our time that they wasted. Start running a timer.”

“What if they didn’t screw up? Out here anyone could have taken it.”

“Who the fuck is going to be out here Jase?” snorted Mazi, “Out in a deep gap?”

The computer beeped.

They all stared at the ship? thing? god? on their consoles. Wer let out a long breath. “A grown up?”

Mazi barked “Are you shitting me?”

“Why is a grown up out here?”

Wer replied “To take away our toys before we got up to any trouble. That’s not a grown up. It’s gotta be a remote of some sort.”

“Is there a fucking difference for us monkeys?” snorted Mazi.

“Even if it’s a drone” murmured Jase, “it’s creeping me out.”

“You should be thrilled,” Wer sardonically replied, “Think about how lucky you are. How many humans ever get to see anything of the grown ups? We should all buy lottery tickets at the next big hab we hit.”

Mazi snorted. “Yeah, well we still need fuel.”

“Hades is close enough.”

“FUCK Hades, are you crazy? That place is a shithole. A BAD shithole. It’s a fucking zoo.”

“They need commerce. We get what we need, we stay out of trouble, and we get out.”

“Hades IS trouble. That’s where pirates go.”

“They’re not gonna jump us at a station. It’s bad for business. For Hades and pirates.”

“We still gotta get from and to the gravity wall. They could jump us any time.”

“Again, that’s bad for business. Hades is desperate for commerce.”

“Wouldn’t Hades get more from the pirates looting us than from us than us resupplying?” interjected Jase.

“It’s the risk factor Jase, safe money from commerce.” replied Wer, “Plus”, pointedly looking at Mazi, “we don’t even know if there are any pirates there.”

“Don’t you always say to always assume pirates are there?” retorted Mazi.

Wer rubbed his eyes. “Okay, check-and-mate Mazi, you got me. I don’t like it any more than you do, but this whole thing was a risk from the get go. We’re just going to have to keep our eyes open and not fuck up. Like any other risky job.”

Lighting a cigarette Wer got up out of the console. “Jase, get us on a vector away from that thing. Let’s take a day, keep scanning for the cache, and work out plan. If either of you can think of anything better than Hades that doesn’t involves having to run slow and cold let me know, I’m going to go tell everyone.”

At the door he paused. “Always assume that someone is listening.”

-

The Ambassador was knitting. Not even glancing at what they were doing as they looked at Wer with those deep calm wise eyes.

The Jesus eyes, the silky angel down on their skin, the unnatural grace. When the babysitters arrived, when Homo sapiens learned that they were not alone in the universe, and not only that but that the it was manged by gods billion of years old who had decided that enough was enough and the baby might fall out of the cradle or choke on the toys it had made, the fury was widespread when what met us was an Australopith. Offended beyond belief.

That anger never lasted once someone had seen the videos.

The Ambassador’s voice clicked and sang in a countermelody to their knitting “I see a friend was waiting. They appear to be of the Seventh Wind. I’m sorry about the considerable inconvenience.”

Wer nodded. Sighed. Took a deep drag on his cigarette. Tried to ignore his mind screaming at him to question the Ambassador. Tried not to think about the Seventh Wind Ship reading his mind.

“Do you think there’s any chance that if we ask nicely we can get our fuel back?”

The Ambassador did Wer the courtesy of appearing to be deep in thought for several beats, the knitting becoming laconic, before replying.

“We’re not in any immediate danger are we? I understand there is a place of resupply available, albeit one of dubious character, Hades I believe?” It was that inhuman angelic grace that made whatever an Ambassador say not sound condescending, “From their perspective, if Hades wasn’t within reach with our remaining fuel supply, us having to travel at slowdrive in sleepfreeze for a few decades wouldn’t even register as an inconvenience to them.”

Despite himself Wer deadpanned “Parents just don’t understand.” Cursed at himself inside. Is it listening to us? Would it even bother, or need to?

The Ambassador smiled. “If they deigned to think about it I’m sure they’d consider it to be a valuable life lesson.”

“Then I’m not going to chance any further education by trying to talk to it.”

-

Mazi glared at the console. “Why is it that fucking thing still there?”

“Maybe it’s doing something?” Jase replied as they continued the calculations for Hades, “It was just a coincidence, it had something to do here.”

“That’s a big fucking coincidence with how much empty room there is out here.”

“Well, we don’t have any idea how far or fast their sensors can be or what they can see. It could have just walked a few steps to pick up a piece of litter.”

“I think it’s there just so it has wave it’s finger at us.” Mazi raised a hand and gave the console the finger. “Smug fuckers, fuck them.”

-

Everyone was gunned up when the ship bored back into realspace at the gravity wall. Holsters on belts, shotguns and machetes stowed in bins next to the staions. Except the Ambassador, although they graciously allowed a couple of nonlethal devices and a boarding shield to be stowed in their quarters. Mazi was wearing a few pieces of body armor and carried a mean looking combined assault weapon, occasionally toggling the bayonet repeatedly until Wer sighed and asked them to please knock it off.

Mazi had argued for booby-trapping the airlocks. Jase pointed out that it wouldn’t safe if there was an emergency. Wer shut it down, “We’re going to have to dock anyways. I don’t want to be fucking around disarming booby-traps, putting them back in and then disarming them again. That’s how accidents happen.”

Hades hung there, a massive bloated glowering brown dwarf surrounded by a few rogue planets, rocks and chunks accumulated over the past billions of years since it formed.

Not worthless rocks and chunks. There were minerals, chemicals, strange matter deposits. Not enough for a colony or a corporate venture but enough to attract small time independents, and then, this far out, the predators that take advantage of opportunities in the far reaches.

-

“Ambassador, is that our Seventh Wind friends again?”

“I’m afraid I don’t recognize that. My apologies, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Mazi barked “What the fuck is it sending over?”

Swirling block blobs closed the gap between the two ships.

Wer repeatedly hailed the kilometers-long amorphous mass. Silence.

The tumbling black blobs, dust fragments in comparison to their mother body, swirled around The Old Wolfe. Occasionally one of them briefly darting close.

Even Mazi didn’t discuss arming any of the weapon systems. Everyone stared at the consoles.

At one point Mazi glared at the Ambassador. The Ambassador apologetically smiled, nodded, and ceased knitting.

After several long minutes the blobs peeled off and rejoined the receding mass.

“What just happened?” whispered Jase.

-

The hours spent om transit to Hades Station were quiet and tense. They stared at consoles, paced around the ship, checked weapons, ate in silence.

No one was happy about going to Hades, but they had to refuel here or hang a bunch of popsicle years. And now that they were here they didn’t have enough left to do that.

-

Wer handed the station liason a hardcase, “For your inconvenience. Thanks for letting us resupply here.” The liason nodded and placed it on the counter, undid the latches.

A bundle of bills. Cigarette packs. Glass bottles in translucent foam cylinders. Foil-backed plastic envelopes of marijuana, cocaine, pills. Make them happy, hope they keep the scavengers and cutthroats at bay. If they possess any authority.

Wer had handed out small packs of cheap cigarettes to everyone who would be going stationside.

Jase protested, “But I don’t smoke.”

“Open one of the packs now. Someone wants a smoke give them one. Give someone a pack if you want anything from them.”

-

“Do you see that?” hissed Mazi.

“Don’t stare” Wer hissed back, “of course I see that.”

“Those are slaves Wer. They have kids refuelling our ship.”

“I don’t like it anymore than you do.”

“You know I served on Mercury Wer. You know what happened there.”

“We’re not going to be buying any slaves. We came here because we had no choice.”

“Where’s the fucking grown ups now?”

Wer rubbed his eyes. “Instead of getting pissed off, can I give you a job and keep you busy? We might be able to find some good stuff here, there’s gotta be a bunch of black market shit available.”

“Don’t you want us to stick together?”

“No one is going to fuck with you. You know how to stay out of trouble and nobody is going to rip you off either. Buy anything that we can use, just don’t go gun crazy. Food, booze, smokes too. Let’s resupply.” Wer handed Mazi a crumpled plastic envelope. “I know you can take care of it faster than if we all go, lets get out of here as soon as we can.”

-

Wer looked at the two children. Looked at the pallet of shrink-wrapped boxes; at the hole cut in the side of two of the boxes; and then settled his gaze on Mazi.

“I take it that if we ever need to, that we won’t be able to go back to Hades?”

“You said that we weren’t going to be buying any slaves.”

“We’re damn lucky that nobody missed them before we made bore. Someone is going to be very pissed off at us.”

Wer sighed and smiled at the children staring at him and leaned against the pallet. “I hope that you’re going to be able to swear less” he said as he pulled out a cigarette, “because you’re going to be looking after these two until we can drop them off somewhere safe.”

-