Tartarus Trading Post, Neutral Space
Xenophon’s first impression of Tartarus was not favourable. In his mind, it would have been a cosmopolitan hive of traders and travellers from across the galaxy. The stories he had heard right from being a child was that it was filled with every possible colourful combination of strange and unusual. Tales of odd creatures, epic adventures and mysterious journeys often began at Tartarus. In reality, it was nothing of the sort, and Xenophon felt more than a little disappointed at what he found. The massive space station was little more than a hive of crime, drugs and as best as he could tell, prostitution. Bars and casinos filled the structure on every floor, and groups of armed men prowled the wide-open corridors. Tartarus was big, much bigger than anything he had been on before. Even the Plymouth Station was dwarfed by this metal behemoth.
What am I doing here? He now felt completely out of his depth. Back on Attica he had been a reasonably wealthy young man with status, family connections and an official position. The more recent post of Prefect may have caused more problems than anything else, but it was nothing compared to his self-imposed exile on this artificial world.
This was a big mistake.
He stood in an open plaza that must have been large enough to land a star freighter inside. Trading stalls and dealers filled the area, and thick smoke ran from their stoves and pipes, making vision difficult. The busiest part by far was at the far end and the glowing red lights of the seedier part of the place. It was from that end that a dull throbbing thump of bass came from. Glaucon walked at his side. Any sign of the bruising and trauma he had sustained had now worn off from a mixture of rest and very high strength restorative drugs. He reached out and stopped Xenophon.
“What?”
Glaucon looked towards the less salubrious part of the plaza and leaned in closer to Xenophon.
“I’ve heard some pretty weird stuff about this place. Just remember, it’s independent. Alliance and League laws mean nothing out here.”
“I know, it’s not like we had much of a choice though, is it?
He was about to continue, but the slender forms of two automatons walked past them. These completely artificial beings were the pinnacle of engineering. Created to emulate human life, they were expensive, relatively unintelligent but completely loyal machines. On the outside, they looked like pale humans but slightly shorter and of a much thinner build. Their somewhat ambiguous shape gave them a look that was neither male nor female. Xenophon gazed at the nearest one’s face as it moved away. The skin on the face was almost translucent with a pearl-like quality. He turned backed to Glaucon.
“Automatons. Have you ever seen one before?” he asked.
“There were quite a few on the Sarmatia pleasure ships, remember?”
Xenophon smiled, for a moment forgetting the perilous situation they now found themselves in. Pleasure ships, was something of an understatement. It was more a convoy of black-market merchants that trawled the shipping lanes between colonies. Unlike Glaucon, however, he had not opted to partake in the many opportunities the ships offered on their journey. He did recall the automaton dancers, possibly the most exotic and elegant dancers in the known galaxy. Xenophon shook his head, partially to try and remove the image of the dancers and also to convey that Glaucon has misunderstood him.
“Come on, you know what I mean. The workers, the slaves, like the ones the Laconians use. Like the ones that just walked past?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Well, these are the androgynous ones. Look, they are slightly heavier built for manual work, farming, factories and the like. We’ve been trying to get permission to use them in the Alliance for years.”
Glaucon looked disinterested, even a little irritated.
“What?” asked Xenophon.
Glaucon waved his hand out to point to the large numbers of people moving about.
“We’re homeless, have limited money and are in one of the most dangerous parts of Terran space. Maybe now isn’t the time to gawp at automatons?”
Xenophon nodded slowly at him, and he couldn’t really argue with his statement.
“Fair enough. My suggestion is we find somewhere to hold up for a few days and get our bearings. We need to work out what we are going to do. With all the retribution and anarchy back home, I think we might be away for some time. There are bound to be jobs we can do here.”
“Jobs? What, like cleaning windows?” asked a bitter Glaucon.
Xenophon smiled at him.
“No, I’m thinking of something that might be better suited to our talents.”
He looked about the open space and watched more people walking past them. Each one seemed to have a purpose, and all were in a hurry. It was clear that a good part of the traffic, especially for those that looked as if passing through, were heading to the glowing red lights.
“I don’t know about you, but right now, I could do with a drink. A big drink, and more than one!”
Glaucon nodded in agreement and placed his hand on Xenophon’s shoulder.
“For once, we are in complete agreement. Where did you have in mind?”
Xenophon pointed to the red glow further inside the station.
“Really, isn’t that a little seedy for you?”
Xenophon grinned back.
“We need to get our bearings, and it looks like the busiest place here, so come on.”
They moved off along the open plaza. Scores of people from all lifestyles tried to peddle their various wares. Some sold nothing more complex than cooked snacks while others sold clothing and electronic goods. It took several minutes to push their way through the stalls until they finally reached the middle of the plaza. At this point, they had a much better view of the place, but it was still by the smoke. Outside a small cafe, a group of people were laughing about something. They all wore thickly padded pressure suits, of a similar design to those used by atmospheric pilots.
“Hi, we’re new here, I don’t…”
The largest man in the group moved to within a metre of Xenophon and glared at him.
“Listen, Attican, your kind ain’t exactly popular around here. What do you want?”
“The club at the end, what can you tell me?”
The man started to laugh, and the rest of his group joined in. Glaucon approached and dropped his right hand down to a pouch on his belt. The larger man quickly spotted the movement and took a step back, his own hand dropped to his side.
“Hey, weapons are banned here,” he said sternly.
“Like my friend said, we’re new here. Now, the bar?”
One of the women in the group stepped closer.
“What bar?” she asked.
Xenophon pointed down to the red lights in the distance.
“That’s no bar. That’s the merc recruitment place. They’re taking people on all the time. Why, you looking to make some money?”
She stepped around Xenophon provocatively. He watched her but said nothing in reply. Glaucon moved a little closer and whispered in his ear.
“Mercs? That could be a way to make a few credits. Better than waiting out here. We seem to be attracting attention.”
Xenophon looked to his right and spotted at least a dozen more people that had stropped whatever it was that they were doing and were now watching them. Movement further away showed three security guards, all wearing heavy armour and carrying rifles.
“Let’s go and see this merc place,” suggested Glaucon.
Xenophon recognised the change in tone, and it wasn’t a suggestion. He nodded to the group.
“Thank you, that’s all we wanted to know.”
He turned and moved away, his feet moving as quickly as he dared, but not wanting to look too suspicious. They moved through the throng of people, and passing a dance troupe performing some kind of bizarre dance. As they worked their way through the crowd, Glaucon nodded towards the guards who seemed to be following them.
“Come on, move it!” he said, but this time not bothering to be discreet.
They increased their speed and forced their way through the crowd and to the large, red-lit doors outside the merc centre. There were six armed men waiting outside, each in an odd collection of clothing and armour and all aiming their weapons at them.
“What do you want?” asked the closest.
He was easily two-metres tall and covered from head to toe in worn red armour. A solid metal helmet protected his head, so that only his upper face could be seen through the smoked visor.
“We’re looking for work,” spluttered out Xenophon.
“Work? This is an independent merc contractor. You don’t look like mercs.”
The noise from inside was much louder than either of them had expected, and it was difficult to make out the man’s voice over the sound of the music.
“We’re looking to get started,” explained Glaucon in a conciliatory voice.
The man looked at them both, starting at their feet and moving up to their faces. It took a few seconds before he finally nodded at them.
“Well, lucky for you, we’re always looking for fresh meat. This month is the busiest yet. Head inside, we need all sorts for contracts.”
He paused for just a moment, and then extended his hand to them both.
“Either of you carrying? If you’re caught with a weapon, you’re banned from the facility, permanently.”
Both Xenophon and Glaucon turned their heads. The guard gave them one final look and indicated to one of the large sets of doors.
“Go on, then.”
Xenophon moved first, and as he approached the metal frame, it hissed open to reveal darkness, flashing lights and even louder music. He looked back to Glaucon who looked doubtful. A number of dubious looking men pushed past them and moved inside. Xenophon pointed past him, and Glaucon turned to see the pursuing guards moving towards them. It was all he needed to persuade him. With almost a stumble they both moved inside, and the door hissed shut behind them.
It didn’t take long for their eyes to adjust to the interior of the place, and the first thing that caught their attention was how much bigger it was on the inside. The part guarded by the armed men outside gave the impression it was the size of a large bar. In reality, it was more like a small town. Steps and elevators took people up to at least another two floors, and the large open space near the door was filled with recruitment desks and people. Xenophon leaned in to shout into Glaucon’s ear.
“I heard they recruited lots of mercenaries here. This might be just what we need.”
Glaucon shrugged, still looking unconvinced at their current course of action. They moved to the first desk that was manned by two scruffy looking men, both in suits and doing their best to ignore Xenophon. Even so, he stepped forward and sat down in front of them. On the table was a small headset and sheets of paper. It was all very low tech and very different to what he had expected. He slid the headphones on to find startling tranquillity.
“This is Eureka Security, what do you want?” asked the gruff man. In the headphones, his voice was as clear as it was angry.
“Uh, the two of us are looking for work.”
“You S4 security cleared?” he snapped back.
Xenophon looked down and noticed the sign on the desk. He hadn’t even noticed it before, but it stated clearly that they were looking for experienced S4 cleared candidates for work on a government contract.
“Uh, no,” said Xenophon sheepishly.
Glaucon tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to a large group of new arrivals making their way to one of the staircases. They were an odd mixture. Some wore their old Alliance military uniforms, others just casual civilian clothing. Xenophon placed the headset back on the table and nodded apologetically.
“That looks more like us,” said Glaucon.
They walked away from the desks and towards the large group. As they reached the staircase, a man in a Laconian military uniform blocked their path and glanced over the group. He spotted somebody and indicated for two men to pull him from the group. With a nod, they were then let through. The staircase was long, and it took almost a minute to reach the third level where a line of desks stopped them, each manned by mainly Laconian recruitment officers. They were now far enough from the music downstairs that they were able to speak normally.
“Laconian military? What are they doing here?” asked Xenophon.
“Xenophon?” asked a friendly voice.
He spun around, for a second unable to place the sound. He was confronted by the tall figure of Roxana Devereux, his old friend from Attica and now a well-known Alliance war hero. She was flanked by two hulking Laconian soldiers, both wearing their uniforms, but unarmed. Next to the three of them stood a man in the golden clothing of the Imperial Army, the elite military forces of the Empire. At least he thought it was a man. The officer’s face and skin was pale, not too dissimilar to the automatons, in fact. Xenophon had never seen anybody from the Empire before and was even more surprised to see him standing with a former Alliance officer and two Laconian soldiers. The Imperial Army warrior was far more slender than the Terrans. It wasn’t surprising though, the Terrans were famous for being the strongest but also shortest lived of the known races.
“Roxana?” he exclaimed in surprise.
She smiled and turned to her comrades to excuse herself. Xenophon motioned for Glaucon to follow, and they moved to where she waited. Xenophon was entranced by her, not helped by the more roguish-looking clothing that she wore, a dark brown bodice with what looked like a Laconian bandolier across her shoulder. She had black leather boots that ran almost to her knee and tan coloured combat trousers. It was a far cry from her conservative uniform when they served together in the Alliance Navy.
Wow! he thought, and his pulse quickened at the sight of her.
She looked at him, waiting patiently for him to respond in some way, any way. He glanced over to Glaucon who seemed more amused than surprised. He coughed politely to get his attention. Xenophon glanced at him and turned back to Roxana.
“You’ve met Glaucon, haven’t you?” he asked, remembering his manners.
She smiled. “Of course, who could live on Attica and not spend at least some time at one of his parties?”
Glaucon smiled and bowed slightly.
“What are you doing here, and with Imperial and Laconian warriors?” asked Xenophon.
Roxana raised an eyebrow at his question.
“Well, since the occupation, I’ve been working out here in the private sector. Not all of us have done so well since the installation of the Thirty. Working with them has proven, well, very interesting and very profitable.”
“You’ve not heard?” asked Xenophon.
“About what? The restoration or the contract?” she asked, feigning surprise.
Xenophon looked confused, even surprised at her words. He wasn’t quite sure what to say, and Roxana could see the problem.
“Yes, information gets here fast. You might think Tartarus is a backwater, but it is one of the most vibrant and explosive places I’ve visited in years. I assume you are confused about what is happening back home? Democracy was re-instated nearly two weeks ago. I keep getting messages from the military high command, requesting I return home for debriefing. It seems the public want to avenge the defeat to Laconia,” she said quickly.
Xenophon started to speak, but she interrupted him immediately.
“Wait a second, you both left before the restoration. Are you on the run?”
She tilted her head slightly and looked at them.
“Xenophon, are you in trouble?” she asked coyly.
Glaucon looked to Xenophon, not wanting to say anything incriminating. It was clear from his body language that he was hiding something. Xenophon, on the other hand, wanted desperately to tell her what was happening but was never going to discuss their situation in a public place such as this. He glanced about and spotted a number of men, all wearing Laconian uniforms that were speaking to a military advisor.
“What’s going on here? Is it me, or are there a lot of military types signing up for work?” he asked.
“You noticed, huh?” asked Roxana.
Xenophon looked back at her and moved in closer.
“Can we go somewhere more private?” asked Xenophon.
She looked at him and gave him a look that told him in no uncertain way was she interested in spending private time with him.
“No, you misunderstand me.”
“Do I?” she asked.
“Yes, I need to talk to you about Attica, the Alliance, and us,” he said, pointing his hand at himself and Glaucon.
She waited for a few seconds and turned to her Laconian friends who were busy arguing about something. As she spoke, one of them looked around and sniggered at the two men. It wasn’t clear what he was being so dismissive about, but Xenophon had a few ideas. With a nod, she wandered back and spoke quietly.
“Come on, I’ll buy you both a drink in the bar upstairs, and you can tell me all about it.”
Glaucon looked to Xenophon and smiled. Xenophon just studied the large number of people and tried to count the different nationalities, occupations and even species. If he wasn’t mistaken, there seemed to be representatives from every world he had ever heard of here.