Untold Stories of a Galaxy - Kysaek: The Beginning

Everything was under control, everything was going according to plan and time was in the Nebula’s crew’s favour. No one would disturb the crew while they searched the captured transport ship and extracted all possible data. Hours ago, a report had been received that the PGI fleet had been repulsed at Arche. Slightly less than half had escaped destruction and fled that sector of space entirely, pursued by Arche’s ships. The ground forces were less fortunate and were completely annihilated without a single prisoner. Another significant defeat for the corporation, but this was more of a moral victory than a useful one for the crew of the Nebula. What mattered was the contents of the transport ship and the prisoners that were taken. If neither yielded a useful lead or clear evidence, the risky battle would have been a waste.

At least that’s what Kysaek thought, but of course she didn’t want to voice that thought, that possibility, out loud, because she had seen how proud her people were of the work they had accomplished and there was no doubt about that, not even for herself. Any damage PGI suffered was justice and perhaps saved the lives of future victims of the corporation. However, harming PGI was only a patch-up, a stall and not a permanent solution to the company’s machinations. That’s why Kysaek sat in her command chair on the bridge, still in her combat gear but without her helmet, staring ahead, lost in thought.

Galaen stood a little behind her for a while, unnoticed, and waited patiently. However, when the disciplined Palanian realised that her commander was thinking hard, she spoke up. ‘Sorry to disturb you,’ she stepped forwards at attention. ‘But I would like to make a report.’

‘Huh?’ Kysaek woke up from her thoughts and turned her head towards the Palanian. ’What did you say? I was just thinking about the situation.’

‘That’s convenient, since I wanted to update the situation, with your permission.’

‘Sure, I’m not stopping you,’ Kysaek replied, trying to get the palanian to speak more freely, without the military code of asking permission to speak.

The only question was whether Galaen would ever do so, or would do so in the near future. ’The extraction of the data is still ongoing, but the process should be completed soon. The analysts remarked that it was a little too easy, and after an initial overview they thought that the information would probably be of little use. Too vague details, too many code designations and in total there is far less data than we had expected. The ship’s digital storage capacities are not even close to being exhausted, which indicates regular skimming or extensive system cleaning.’

‘Does that mean Skarg is less careless than we’d hoped?’

‘At least he’s not a complete fool, it seems,’ Galaen replied calmly. She did not allow herself to become frustrated. ‘If he were, if I may be so bold as to say so, he would have been stopped long ago.’

‘Miserable filth!’ Kysaek cursed softly. She turned towards the bridge window and wanted to bite her hand. ‘Please tell me you still have something to report.’

’Indeed I do. We’ve identified the two leading science officers and my initial interrogations revealed that they knew exactly what they were supposed to get from Arche - some kind of generator. Continued and more intensive interrogation will certainly yield even more information.’

‘So quickly?’ Kysaek marvelled, looking at the Palanian. ‘Are they that talkative?’

‘I think it’s fear.’

’Fear? Of what? Of a certain stay in prison? Or have you used your sharp edges?’

Galaen looked back in confusion. Word games were apparently not one of her strong points. ‘My sharp edges?’

’You know, rougher methods. Threatened with a little cut here and there?’

‘That’s neither right nor my way,’ Galaen sternly rejected as she glanced at her own body and the sharp edges on it. She understood now. ’No, to be honest, the officers are afraid of you. Apparently, your nefarious move on the enemy bridge was extremely effective. The prisoners now know that you don’t hesitate.’

’Fear and brutality were never my style and not intended. However, where it now affects our guests, we should make use of it.’

’I thought you might feel that way. Do you want to take part in the interrogation?’

‘Yes, that would certainly give the prisoners a run for their money,’ nodded Kysaek. She had personal experience of how Galaen dealt with prisoners. So she thought it would be a good idea for her to take part in the interrogation and complement the conscientious Palanian as a supposedly unscrupulous contrast. The old and still familiar game of good and bad cop. ’Let´s get to work. After you.’

‘At your command!’ Galaen saluted in consular fashion and led the way, which was not just a courtesy.

Kysaek didn’t know her way around the ship very well and was still lost without a map. Only where her quarters, the mess hall, the bridge and the hangar were located was the easiest thing for her to remember. She knew that the most important prisoners were housed in the holding cells. But she would never have gone directly to one of the side wings of the Nebula on her own, which Kysaek and Galaen reached easily via a lift that descended vertically, although there had also been a staircase. A good, quiet moment for her to enquire about another thing that was worrying her a little ‘Any word from our team from Arche yet?’

‘Not yet,’ Galaen replied confidently, pausing the lift. ‘Ark is currently tapping into many communication channels for surveillance and I suspect that Thais and Tavis are also keeping a low profile in the city, for now.’

‘Yes, they’re both familiar with these situations,’ Kysaek said, hoping. She didn’t even want to imagine what was going on in the city right now. A few fires, nervous trigger fingers and all sorts of people who might want to take advantage of the situation. However, she suddenly had to smile. Oh how Kysaek pitied those fools who would want to mess with Thai’s strength and Tavi’s cunning.

‘Stand at ease,’ Galaen instructed the guards at the entrance to the cell wing as they tightened their stance, weapons and all. To get in, the Palanian had to enter a code that her escort didn’t know.

‘Quite cramped,’ said Kysaek, inside the self-contained and narrow wing, which consisted only of a narrow, straight corridor. She saw four cells, two on each side, a metre apart and the bare minimum of space inside. The holding cells were secured by blue energy shields and the steel bars behind them, although the first two cells were unoccupied and without power. Windows or ventilation shafts were nowhere to be found and only one way, to the exit, led out of the wing, while the other ended in a dead end. ’I mean, very, very narrow. With the Alliance, there’s a bit more space when you’re behind bars on a ship and it’s not so bad.’

’That sounds like personal experience. Did you serve time once?’

‘Three days in detention, on a flight from Earth to,’ Kysaek reflected. ’Oh, I’ve forgotten where to. We had a late-night card game after duty, with a few too many drinks.’

‘Off duty, there shouldn’t be any consequences for that.’

‘Yes, unless you’re back on duty the next day and throw up on the captain of the ship when he asks you where you left your helmet.’

‘And where was your helmet?’

‘Filled with booze and confidence in my own hand, bet at cards and lost.’

Was there a hint of fun cause of the story, in Galaen’s face? ‘Undisciplined,’ came from her straightforwardly. No, the fun part was probably a figment of imagination. ‘The captain was right to impose this punishment on you.’

’Minor offence, no record. Luckily I hadn’t gambled away a weapon, because that would have been really bad. Among soldiers in the Alliance, however, this minor offence is called extra leave. I was able to sleep in for a full three days, relax and read in peace.’

‘Well, that’s not why our guests are here,’ Galaen realised at the back two cells and assumed a comfortable military posture with her hands behind her back, although the pain of her injury made her wince fleetingly. She didn’t turn to face either cell, but merely adjusted her head in turn. ‘Prisoners, on your feet!’

One inmate sat in each cell and everyone was on their beds just before the captured researchers stood up. The colours and logo on their scientific jackets clearly spoke PGI and their authority was evidenced by the very high rank insignia and well-padded shoulders of the garb.

At the familiar sight of the clothes, Kysaek joked badly, also remembering poor Jim. ’It reminds me of the old days. Back then, life was simple and I used to just puzzle with my colleagues about what our clever minds were up to behind closed doors.’

‘I hear you still have the same occupation,’ said an aged, feminine voice cautiously from one of the cells. The wrinkled woman was human, past her sixties or more, and had a well-groomed fringe of white braided hair.

‘But life isn’t easy anymore,’ Kysaek countered directly, but she didn’t have time to focus solely on the woman as her ears perked to the other side.

A frustrated Galig, whose slightly yellowish-green skin tone was fading, had a suggestion. ‘You could give up your brute work and let us go.’

‘Vol’Ril!’ the old woman gritted in alarm. ‘Stand back!’

‘To what end?’ replied Vol’Ril indifferently. ‘The trail of death behind that woman shows where we’ll end up.’

‘Hey, hey,’ Kysaek raised her finger as she turned her eyes to the Galig. ’A henchman of Skarg’s evil machinations giving me a lecture on morality? That’s some macabre humour.’

‘Am I wrong?’

‘We have time, but I would like to save myself the trouble of enumerating and discussing necessities and instead talk about your mission at Arche.’

‘We’ve already told your Palanian friend what we should get,’ Vol’Ril said. He turned away and sat down on his bed again. He didn’t exactly seem co-operative. ’And since you stopped our mission, we were unfortunately unable to carry out an investigation and therefore lack the technical data on the object. Too bad for you.’

’That might be relevant for our scientist, but I’m not interested in the details of the generator. You’d better tell me where you should take it and what PGI intends to do with it.’

’You think we know what the generator is going to be used for? I’m going to have to disappoint you.’

The old woman agreed, still slightly perturbed. ’Vol’Ril is telling the truth! Our job was to collect the object. After that, we were to carry out initial investigations and transmit the data.’

‘To whom?’ asked Kysaek. She found that the prisoners were indeed very talkative and that made her sceptical, but she didn’t show it.

’What are you thinking? PGI.’

‘Can’t you be more specific?’

‘If you’re referring to a specific person, there is no such thing,’ the old woman affirmed. Her fingers closed around the bars of her cell and you could see how she was suffering from her current situation. ’We should transmit the information from a specific location on a secure frequency to a PGI communication station. From there, it would probably have been forwarded somewhere else.’

‘Where is this station?’

’Not far from Arche. It takes about six standard hours to reach the station on the next dark route. It’s on the edge of wild space, in the Epedao system.’

Was that the next clue? At least the idea didn’t seem so far-fetched to Kysaek. A station that received such highly sensitive data had to be important, and even if it was just a stopover, it would certainly have a clue to the destination of the transmission, and that had to be more secret than classified.

‘What about this ominous generator?’ Galaen asked without even looking at a cell. Her question was addressed to every researcher. ’I hardly think you should keep it on your ship for any length of time. Where would you put it?’

‘I-I don’t know!’ the old woman asserted stiffly. ’But Vol’Ril knows! He received the orders. I just supervised the research!’

Hastily and cold as ice, the Galig jumped up in his cell. ‘What are you doing, Hannah?’ he accused her. ’That’s a lie! Don’t believe her!’

‘You’ve had more contact with the command centre than I have!’

‘Only a few times and don’t pretend you’ve never spoken to them!’

‘But I don’t know what was to become of the generator!’

’Just like me! Only the commander knew that and he’s dead now!’

‘Don’t tear yourselves apart here!’ Kysaek intervened and tried to calm things down. ‘So none of you know what the destination was?’

Vol’Ril and Hannah shook their heads in the negative. ‘Please!’ the old woman pleaded. ‘Believe me!’

’You’re quite nervous. Do you have any reason to be?’

‘What do you expect?’ said Vol’Ril scornfully. He had probably already resigned himself to a death sentence and showed almost no fear. ‘We’ve heard what happens if you don’t get what you want, and Hannah seems to think her frank chatter will save her.’

‘Your crew had a choice,’ Kysaek clarified. She realised there was probably no way around a small display of her actions. It was a game that would likely be repeated many more times. ’And the soldiers made a whole stupid decision. There’s a lot at stake here and I’m not sure many people at PGI realise that.’

‘You can talk a lot,’ Vol’Ril replied. The Galig was anything but convinced and resisted further interrogation. He turned away. ‘For my part, I’ve said what I know and out of fear for her life, Hannah wants to divert attention from herself.’

Even though she was impressed by the Galig’s attitude, Kysaek’s gaze was now focussed on his colleague. ‘Is that true?’

‘He must know more!’ said the old woman. She backed away from the bars and sank to her knees. ‘Please, I don’t want to die.’

’None of you have given me any reason to harm you yet. If that were the case, I would have disposed of the rest of the captured crew long ago instead of keeping them under guard in the hangar by the dozen,’ Kysaek mentioned before stepping in front of the old woman’s cell and crouching down. ’But there will be a punishment. You only have yourself to blame for that.’

The fact that the prisoner was probably the weaker link did not go unnoticed by Galaen. ‘Kysaek is right,’ remarked the Palanian woman, who also positioned herself in front of the cell, standing upright. ‘We will hand you over to a government we trust, that’s for sure.’

’We have done nothing wrong, ever. We ... have heard from other high-ranking science officers what their experiments involve, but our tasks have always been purely technical.’

’Possessing and studying technology of the First is a crime, and not without reason. Someone of your life experience should know better than anyone else in this galaxy.’

‘We know,’ Vol’Ril interjected. Although Hannah had previously denounced him, the older Galig defended and shared the motives of the two researchers. ’We’ve seen and experienced a lot during the war. But to ignore this technology and simply leave it lying around in the galaxy like rubbish is a mistake.’

Kysaek had no such experience and she heard the sincerity in Vol’Ril’s voice. The fact that he and Hannah were far from greed-driven didn’t change much for her, though. ’And that’s why you work for PGI? Even though you know what’s going on around you? Why?’

‘Progress is rarely without sacrifice,’ Hannah said. She didn’t quite dare to look up from the floor. ’Under PGI, we had a free hand like no other. The alternative was to work for corporations or governments that had no interest in progress. Mr Peeks promised us the opposite, for a better future.’

Galaen immediately followed up. ‘You had direct contact with Skarg Peeks?’

’Y-yes. Yes, a few times. We both had contact, but it was never about specific things, if that’s what you’re hoping for.’

‘What seems like a trifle to you could be valuable to us,’ Galaen probed further. Until now, the Palanian had acted more as a silent supporter, but it was as if she had analysed the situation and now struck. ’If you are telling the truth, you had honourable reasons for volunteering to work under PGI. Helpful and confessing cooperation on your part will also have a mitigating effect on your sentence. So tell us about your conversations with Mr Peeks.’

‘Me,’ Hannah pressed her lips together. She searched Vol’Ril’s eyes, which were hidden between Kysaek and Galaen. By now the older woman had quietened down and now she seemed to be seeking the advice or permission of her colleague, who nodded silently to her. ’There were only two of them. I had a conversation with Mr Peeks three years ago, when I started working for him. The selection process was lengthy and under lock and key, but I had been clearly briefed on my illegal activities, as he then did. We talked about my motives and his. He said it was wrong to let the technology of the First Ones simply rot and that the governments of the galaxy had been too short-sighted even before the war. His company would be a pioneer for the future of the galaxy: better supplies, better weapons, better ships, a better life, but one that will require great and many sacrifices.’

‘The story of every conqueror,’ Kysaek commented. She couldn’t make heads or tails of this talk, but it sounded like something thousands had said before, in the pursuit of power. ‘But it does sound like he’s planning something big.’

‘Yes,’ Galaen nodded, but her thoughts were less centred on a conqueror. ‘I just can’t imagine it’s that simple, though.’ The Palanian could well be right.

How could Skarg hope to stand up to everyone with his company? Solaris had started a war with far more resources and had not only lost it, but also itself, to the First. Was PGI really naive enough to believe that they could do better?

‘We don’t know anything about that,’ Vol’Ril said. ‘Even if we were aware that this could be the case.’

‘Exactly,’ Hannah murmured, lost in thought. Was she thinking about the Solaris War? ’Someone will always start it, but Mr Peeks never fooled us. That’s why we got involved.’

If she disregarded Douglas Phonor and Brandon Lone, this was the first time Kysaek had been this close to other PGI personnel since her escape. The words of the researchers, who knew what they were doing, made her waver between disgust and understanding. Nevertheless, she saw that there were still people on the other side whose character was characterised by what people called humanity.

‘Do you deduce that from your second conversation with him?’ Galaen asked, unperturbed. ‘When was it and what was it about?’

‘About seven standard months ago,’ replied Hannah, whose gaze was at least no longer entirely evasive. ’That was a few weeks before the time they opened the hunt for Kysaek. Mr Peeks had already become more brusque before that, but he put us under more time pressure and the next orders were apparently extremely important to him.’

‘What makes you think that?’

’During that conversation, he had personally summoned me to the company headquarters on Cipi and instead of transferring them, he wanted me to bring our latest data set. At the time, we had just examined an object that, according to him, was part of a larger production machine.’

Now Kysaek pushed herself up from her crouch. ‘What exactly did he tell you?’ she asked emphatically, putting her arms on her hips.

That scared Hannah a little again. ’N-nothing! The conversation didn’t go on for long and he just talked about the next three objects and their importance and that we had to speed up our efforts. The generator was number two on our list and we don’t know anything about three yet.’

‘That can’t be everything!’ said Kysaek. That sounded too promising and yet Hannah wasn’t supposed to know anything? Maybe it was different with her colleague. ‘Are you trying to tell me the same thing?’

‘I only had one conversation with Peeks after my recruitment, two and a half standard years ago,’ Vol’Ril replied dryly. ’And that was like the first conversation he had with Hannah. Since then, I’ve only received our orders through the PGIE command centres and from other senior researchers.’

Again, it was a detail that separated Kysaek from a crucial step and it upset her. ‘But you must have some idea what to do with things like this generator!’

Vol’Ril replied simply. ‘Energy supply?’

‘Do you think that’s funny?’

’What else can I say? Then it’s energy supply, at the highest level. We’re talking about a technology that makes ours look like a child’s plaything.’

‘Knowing that doesn’t do me any good!’ said Kysaek, running an angry hand over her face. Just like this kind of talk, the result seemed to be repeating itself and she couldn’t bear it. Again, it was only going to be a small victory for her, a step in a new direction and not a certainty.

Galaen was more composed. Who was surprised? She hadn’t been on the quest as long as Kysaek and had a tremendous amount of self-control worthy of a soldier. ‘What we’re trying to say is that there may have been an unofficial exchange between you and other scientists,’ she surmised and skilfully jumped in. While Kysaek took a step back, the Palanian took over the conversation. ‘After all, it was through such conversations that you learnt about the repulsive research PGI is still conducting.’

‘Before you were on Trayden, we could have given you that clue,’ Hannah said. She went to her silvery, rough, steel washbasin and took a sip of water with her hand. ‘They’ve made hordes of First creations there, an army, but you already know that.’

’Yes, but unfortunately we don’t have any concrete proof. Statements alone won’t help.’

’Then we’ve told you everything you need to know. PGI is a powerful company, full of surveillance and strict rules. You’ve always been advised not to know too much that you shouldn’t know.’

‘There must be more facilities like the one on Trayden,’ Galaen surmised. But when she only got a shrug from Hannah, the Palan tried Vol’Ril. ‘And if you knew what happened there, it must be the same for other places.’

‘I visited part of Facility A in Auranis a year after I was recruited when I brought a sensitive set of data there,’ the Galig researcher mentioned. His inconsequential tone was understandable. ’But just like Trayden, the facilities on Cipi no longer exist and anyway - what good would that do you? On Trayden, circumstances played into your hands. How can you even begin to hope of infiltrating or capturing other high-security facilities?’

‘So there are more and you know where we might find one?’

‘Far fewer than you might think,’ the Galig asserted. The way he spoke, he seemed to know a bit more than Hannah and saw that as a kind of pledge. ’PGI’s structures are vast and complex and I don’t have an overview of them, but from what I can see, the company likes to concentrate its resources in selected locations. It’s not hundreds of small hideouts, but a handful of select, well-secured and well-camouflaged or completely hidden facilities.’

‘A name,’ Galaen demanded. One of her hands came up from her back and her claws clenched into a demanding fist. ‘Give me a name.’

‘And if i do?’

‘What we do with it will not be your concern.’

‘Exactly,’ Kysaek interjected tensely. She had grown tired from the fight and the interrogation and was leaning against the wall next to the cell. Spill it now!’

Vol’Ril did not reveal his knowledge easily. He didn’t refuse, but he knew the value of his statement and used it skilfully. ‘Not without assurances.’

Kysaek murmured tensely. ‘We could force you.’

‘Just tell them!’ Hannah sighed, rubbing her hands over the sides of her forehead. ’If you negotiate now instead of co-operating, it’s bound to end up worse for us! Please don’t give them any reason for violence so close to the end!’

Vol’Ril remained firm. ‘You’ll thank me for it,’ he replied. ’Because now these space pirates can prove what’s behind their words. We’ll get a fair punishment? I want to know how fair. I won’t say anything before then.’

Bargaining and negotiating, that’s all it was, and Kysaek had no energy for that at the moment. She walked away from the cells with Galaen and talked quietly. ’I think their fear is starting to wear off. What do we do now?’

‘It’s just a question of negotiating,’ replied the Palanian, whose thoughts were already two steps ahead, or she was obliging. ’We’ve already got some information. If you allow me, I’ll take care of the rest. Get some rest and then analyse what we already know with the rest. Maybe I’ll be finished here by then. If not, I’ll join you as soon as I can.’

‘You want me to sleep and leave all the work to you?’

’You’ve more than done your bit here. I’m now more concerned with the step that is probably called dry bureaucracy and endlessly tedious haggling. Nothing you like or are comfortable with.’

‘You always call a spade a spade, don’t you?’

‘Is my assumption wrong?’

‘No, and you put it well,’ Kysaek admitted, lifting one corner of his mouth. After people like Vorrn and Wolfgang, and sometimes even Thais and Tavis, this careful but orderly tone was a change. She had already studied the Palanian woman very well in her short time. Not that Kysaek didn’t like to talk: talk, talk and talk, but that didn’t include the kind of conversation she expected to have with Vol’Ril. ’A few hours sleep is not a bad idea and who knows. If our guests turn out to be a tough bunch until after the meeting, I’ll come back freshly rested and relieve you.’

‘Excellent idea,’ Galaen agreed. She saluted formally and returned to her questioning.

Who knew how long this would take and her own cabin sounded far more promising to Kysaek.