FINANCIAL FREEDOM
A Tech Infantry Novella
by
Edward Stasheff & Marcus Johnston
Copyright © 2011

 

Chapter 12: Repeat Customer
(click here for galactic map)

 

It had been a long, long voyage, but Heth was finally back on his native Nhur colony.  Sure, it was a dark, lifeless snowball in space… but it was home to the Miao corporate clan.  And although It wasn't as vibrant or thriving as Purrfang, for Heth the rough subterranean caverns and tunnels held the comfort one only felt in the place they'd been born and raised.

When Heth was stressed out trying to manage the Jurvain Impossibarium convoys and coordinate smuggling Fed families out of the Empire, he'd take a break, sniff a little nepeta, and gaze out silently over the ice floes that stretched to the horizon.  With his promotion had come an office… with a window!  Sure, it was the one with the least desirable view, but Heth didn’t mind.  Most K'Nes would find the vista of the dark, abandoned spaceport and habitation dome unpleasant, a constant and brutal reminder of the consequences of economic failure.  But for Heth, the view just motivated him to work harder, faster.

When Heth looked out over ice fields, he didn't see a vast, barren wasteland—he saw money.  The Miao literally owned this planet and all its resources—and for space-faring civilizations, water was a very precious resource indeed.  Humans, K'Nes, and Jurvain all needed water to live, not to mention oxygen to breathe and hydrogen to fuel their ships.  Strategically located along the trade routes between the Earth Federation and the capitol of the K'Nes Tor on Urrin—back before the K'Nes Llan was formed and Varrless moved the capitol to Purrfang—Nhur had lots of customers passing through.  Over the centuries, the Miao had grown Nhur from a simple refueling station to a center of travel, trade, and treasure.

But then the Second Vultra War happened.  And the humans came.

In the tragic Battle of Andersvald where the K'Nes Tor was defeated, the Earth Fleet secured their flank in the Andersvald system from K'Nes counter-attack by destroying the jumpgate to Nhur… and just like that, Heth's home went from being a shipping nexus to an isolated iceball in the middle of nowhere.  It was a blow that Nhur and the Miao never fully recovered from.  First the customers left, then the businesses… then, during the dark days of the Occupation, Nhur's main export became people, emigrating to find more profitable lives on Urrin.  The Miao soldiered on, but exporting water was more expensive than having customers come to you—costs rose, profits shrank, and stock prices fell.

That was when their LEO Yawr made the decision that saved the company.  With the humans plundering the K'Nes economy to fuel the Federation's war machine, the supply of consumer goods plummeted—but demand held steady.  For the first time in K'Nes history, a huge black market emerged—and the Miao quickly cornered it.  An iceball in the middle of nowhere, with little strategic or economic value, was of little interest to the Federation… but perfect for smugglers.

They just needed a way to jump in and out of the system without being detected—but Yawr found a solution for that too.  The Nhur system still contained its jumpgate to the Andersvald system… but with the gate on the other side destroyed, the remaining gate in Nhur was all but worthless.  Yawr had it dismantled, and the parts rebuilt into gravity drives for the Miao's three super-freighters—concealed, of course; they were illegal for K'Nes ships under the Human Occupation.  Freed from having to use the jumpgate network (and human checkpoints) of the commercial hyperspace trade lanes, contraband flowed in and out of Nhur like water once had.  The Miao provided the K'Nes (who could pay) with smuggled scarcities and illicit luxuries.  Scat, they'd even supplied the Gurrmew and Yeomurt clans' little guerilla war against their human occupiers in the K'Laek system… back when their clans had been allies, that is.

The new business strategy worked… sort of.  It stabilized Nhur's economy, at least, but Miao Mercantile remained a shadow of its former self.  Economic growth would be more difficult.

Their long-rang corporate strategy was to rebuild the jumpgate to the Andersvald system.  Unfortunately, jumpgates were hideously expensive not just to build, but to maintain.  The power requirements alone were staggering; four hundred nuclear reactors at least.  Miao Mercantile might have enough assets to rebuild the gate on the Nhur side—but it'd be useless without the other jumpgate being rebuilt on the Andersvald side… which was, of course, in human hands.  And with the Earth Federation locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Holy Terran Empire, Heth imagined rebuilding a commercial hyperspace lane to K'Nes space was rather low on their list of priorities.

Which was why, of course, the Miao were trying to foster goodwill with the Federation, hoping to convince them to build it anyway.  It was ironic—of all K'Nes, the Miao had the best reason to hate the Federation… and yet they were the strongest supporters in the K'Nes Llan of a non-aggression contact with them.  Heth smiled.  The merging of business and politics sometimes led to strange offspring…

That was where Heth was floating, what he was thinking, when he got the call that changed his life.

Heth answered it by activating the holoproj .  "Miao Mercantile, Director Heth speaki—oh!"  Heth stared at the image of a uniformed human; he'd assumed it was a K'Nes calling.  "Er… Captain Gergenstein!  Gainful day!"

The Earth Fleet officer held up Heth's clearplaz business card.  "You said to contact you if we needed anything."

"But of course!" Heth purred, eager to accommodate such a powerful human.  "How can I help you?"

"Time is short, so I'll get right to the point: Get to New Madrid as soon as possible, Heth.  Joe wants to talk to you."

Heth kept his face neutral, but behind his tail twitched in irritation.  "Joe?  Who the scat is Joe?"

"Joe Smythe."

"Chairman Smythe?"  Heth blinked in disbelief.  "And you're sure he wants to talk to me… not our LEO?"

"You.  But not over the comm channels, no matter how secure.  Face to face."

"You do realize that I don't have the authority to speak for the Nhur Llan, let alone the K'Nes Llan, right?"

Gergenstein tried to stifle a smirk, but failed.  "I'm afraid you misunderstand, M. Miao.  This isn't about diplomacy.  Joe wants to hire you for a specific job that requires your… skills."

"Of course, M. Gergenstein.  I'll dispatch one of my best ships and crews to New Madrid right away.  I've been promoted to Director, you see… I'm afraid I don't actually do runs in person anymore."

"The Chairman wants you," Gergenstein said firmly.  "That's part of the deal."

"Really?"  Heth cocked his head in confusion.  I'm not that important, he thought.  "But… why me?"

The corner of Gergenstein's mouth twitched with impatience.  "Look, I had a hard enough time convincing Joe to use the K'Nes for this job, and he only agreed if he got to chose which cat to hire, someone who'd proven themselves… you know how military types are.  And he's pretty impressed with how many loyalist refugees you've managed to smuggle safely into Federal territory so quickly.  So he chose you."

"I see."  Heth nodded slowly, flattered and thus wary.  "And what exactly does this new job entail?"

Gergenstein shook his head.  "I'm afraid I can't tell you that.  Not over the comm channels."

Heth was liking this less and less.  "And what is the Chairman offering as compensation?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you that, either."

Heth glanced out the window at the iced-over runway, then back at the Federation Captain.  "M. Gergenstein, I'm sure you don't really expect me to abandon my job duties and run halfway across known space without knowing what I'm being hired to do, or how much I'll be paid for it.  For all I know, it might not be enough to cover my expenses… and that's simply bad business.  No, if you want me to work for the Chairman, I'll need to know significantly more before about the job before accepting it."

For a moment, the Captain stared at Heth in silence, surprised and perhaps a little offended that anyone would refuse an order from the head of the Federation.  Apparently, the thought that Heth might decline the job offer had never occurred to him.  Gergenstein seemed to turn it over in his mind for a moment, then nodded.  "Alright.  Once Joe explains the job to you, the two of you can negotiate the price.  But off the record?  Joe said that…" Gergenstein took a deep breath.  "He said you could name your price."  The Captain winced as he said it.

Now it was Heth's turn to lapse into shocked silence.  Offers like this came along once in a lifetime.  Here it was: one more job to do, and Heth could guarantee he'd have enough assets to win the auction for Miu—and that meant he'd take this job no matter what.  Still… Gergenstein didn’t need to know that. 

"Yes, I see," Heth said, concealing his excitement.  "That's a fair offer… alright, I'll head to New Madrid right away—assuming I get approval from my LEO, of course.  Is there anything else I should know about this job?"

"Yeah."  The Captain nodded.  "Come in the best smuggling ship you've got.  Preferably one of those special cargo ships you Miao have... super-freighters or whatever you call them.  The ones with gravity drives."

Heth narrowed his yellow eyes.  "I wasn't aware the Federation knew about those."

"We didn't.  Not for sure, not until now."  Gergenstein gave Heth a predator's smile.  "It was just an educated guess… but thank you for confirming it."

Heth silently cursed himself; in his excitement, he'd made a rookie's mistake and let himself be tricked into revealing too much information.  He made a mental note never to underestimate Gergenstein again.  Heth attempted a nonchalant shrug and said, "It makes little difference now.  As we're no longer subjects of the Federation, it's no longer illegal for K'Nes to possess gravity drives… luckily for you, in this case.  Now, is there anything else you can tell me before I depart for New Madrid?"

"Yes…"  The Captain hesitated, looking for the right words.  "This job could be… dangerous.  That's why it pays so well… high risk, high reward.  I understand K'Nes mercenary companies have formed since you guys broke away from the Federation?"

"It's a free market," Heth said evasively.  "I believe Varrless is trying to organize them into a Llan Army…"

"And do the Miao have any mercenary companies?"

"Perhaps…" Heth nodded cautiously.

"Good.  We'll need to hire one of those, too… just in case.  Strictly for your own protection, of course."

"Of course."  Heth gave the Captain an empty smile as a chill ran down his tail.  A million bad possibilities ran through his mind.  Is the Federation trying to drag the K'Nes into their war?  Are the K'Nes being hired for a black operation that will earn the aggression of another faction?  Heth didn't like this… but the money was just too good to turn down.  "Even with our fastest ship, it will take several days to reach New Madrid, you know."

"Understood.  Just get here as fast as you can.  This is a… time sensitive operation."

They exchanged the usual parting pleasantries and ended the call.  For a moment, Heth just floated at his desk, thinking.  There was one small problem: the Miao had no mercenary companies.  They were a small clan on a sparsely populated world.  Their labor force was stretched too thin to waste in combat.  Still… Heth thought of McNeilly, and Varrless… maybe the Miao should get involved in the arms race, too… for our own protection.  Unfortunately, Heth was a merchant.  He knew nothing about the military… but he knew someone who did...

He opened a comlink, but it went unanswered.  Heth tried again.  And again.  Finally, when it was obvious to the caller that he wasn't going to stop until he got an answer, the video pickup finally blinked on.

"What?...  Oh!  Hi, boss!" M'Rowr said.

"It's about time!" Heth snapped.  "You're on-call, M'Rowr!  Do I have to explain the exact nature of… um…"  Heth stared at M'Rowr.  His face and chest—all that Heth could see through the camera—were covered in bites and scratches, and M'Rowr was panting.  "What happened to you?  Have you been in another fight?"

"Sort of.  Don't worry, I'm fine.  Whatcha want, boss?"

"I need you to get down to my office, now.  I've got an important task for you, and a tight deadline."

He glanced at something off-camera with a pained expression.  "I'm a little busy right now… can it wait?"

"No, it really can't, it's far too important.  Do I need to remind you of the terms of your contract?"

"Look, I just need a few more—gurrk!"  A fluffy brown tail wrapped itself around M'Rowr's neck and yanked him out of the way.  A brown tabby looked at the camera—Surra, M'Rowr's mate, also scratched and bruised.

"He said he's busy, short-hair!  And so am I!"  Heth saw her paw reaching forward to disconnect the call.

"I'll give him a raise!  If he gets down here now!"

Surra narrowed her eyes and growled at Heth for a moment.  "Alright, fine!  But it better be worth it!"

She disconnected the call.  What was that about? Heth wondered… then pushed it from his mind; he had too much to do, and time was money.  First, Heth contacted Yawr, his LEO, for permission… but didn't mention mercenaries, just an increase in crew size.  The old cat approved Heth's excursion, but gave him a stern lecture about making sure to charge Smythe through the nose for… whatever it was he wanted.  The next part, getting the right vessel, was no problem—Heth's own beloved ship, the Avarice, was one of the Miao's super-freighters.  It was simply a matter of clearing its schedule—reassigning other freighters to do its shipping runs, transferring the cargo to other vessels… the usual paperwork.  He was still at it when there was a knock at his office door. 

"Get in here, M'Rowr!" Heth snapped.  "It certainly took you long enough!"  Heth looked up as M'Rowr floated through the door.  "Stars above… what have you been doing?  Are you alright?"

"Told ya, I'm fine!"  M'Rowr looked even worse than before; one eye was swollen shut, he was missing patches of fur, and his clothes were unkempt and rumpled—but he was also sporting an enormous grin.

"What… did you and Surra get into another argument again?" Heth asked.

"What?  Oh, no."  M'Rowr waved the idea away with his paw, smiling.  "Just the opposite, in fact."  When Heth just stared at him, confused, M'Rowr elaborated.  "Well… heh, heh… it is the mating season, you know…"

"Oh… oh!" Heth said as it clicked in his mind.  "Sorry, I didn't realize mating was so… uh… aggressive…"

M'Rowr's grin faded.  "What… you mean you never…"  When Heth looked away, his tail twitching uncomfortably, M'Rowr actually frowned.  "But… you merged with Miu!  Didn't you two—"

"The mating season was still months away at the time," Heth interrupted, "and she was so busy running MIRADI… I don't know, I guess I just figured I had to be… you know… patient."

"Yeah, but… what about before that?  The last mating cycle?"

Heth shrugged.  "That was just after the First Vulthra War, remember?"

M'Rowr nodded somberly.  K'Nes space, stuck between the warring humans and Vulthra, became their battleground.  Although the K'Nes had managed to successfully avoid getting dragged into that brief conflict and avoid most of its destruction, it had caused quite a bit of chaos and upheaval.

"You and Surra were in the Tor Army together," Heth continued, "but civilians like me were too busy trying to stay neutral, alive, and our assets safe to worry about negotiating reproductive mergers.  By the time the dust settled, I'd missed the mating window."

"Aw, tough luck, cuz!"  M'Rowr gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.  "Don't worry—from what I saw at the Purrfang spaceport, you'll get Miu back.  And remember, Surra's a trained fighter—I'm sure Miu won't be as rough on you!  Besides, you may be the runt, but… scat, the way you stood up to Varrless?  Ya got spirit, Heth!"

For the first time, it occurred to Heth that there was a reason being the runt of the liter was considered a drawback.  His size never seemed to matter in the office… but to survive the mating season… that was different.

"Well, speaking of Surra," Heth said, changing subject.  "Congratulations!  How many conceptions so far?"

"Oh, none," M'Rowr replied.  "Surra won't even be fertile for a few more weeks."

"But… then why…"

M'Rowr gave Heth a lecherous grin.  "Said she wanted some practice.  Can you believe that?  'It's been eleven years since the last mating cycle,' she says, 'and I've gotten rusty!'  I tell ya, Heth, I wasn't about to argue!"

Heth suppressed a surge of envy.  "Yes… I can see why you merge with Surra every time.  What is this, your third merger in a row?"

"Fourth.  And we already got three liters!  I swear, those cubs are gonna bankrupt me!"  M'Rowr deflated, settling onto a guest perch across from Heth's desk.  "Speaking of which… you said something about a raise?"

"Indeed.  I supposed congratulations are in order."

"Congratulations, Heth!" M'Rowr said.  "What, you get promoted again, you lucky rat?"

"No," Heth said, "you did.  I'm promoting you to a Project Manager in the Miao Mercantile Security Division.  And, as I'm sure you know, that includes a substantial salary increase."

"Wow!  Thanks, cousin!"  M'Rowr suddenly froze.  "Wait a minute… what project?  What are you up to, Heth?"

"Your first job responsibility will be to organize a Miao mercenary company, complete with weapons and armor.  Recruit only Miao personnel—we need people we can trust.  Keep this to yourself, and organize it with the utmost discretion, M'Rowr… I want to keep this in the family."

"Uh… alright, sure."  M'Rowr nodded, a little puzzled.  "How many hunters you need?"

"As many as you can recruit in one day.  That's when our ship departs."

M'Rowr's eyes bulged and he raised his head, ears straight up.  "One day?"

Heth cocked his head.  "Should I give the promotion to someone else who can handle it?"

"No!" M'Rowr said quickly.  "No, I just… one day… Sky Father above… and you want power armor?"

"If anyone can acquire old K'Nes Tor power armor in a day, the Miao can.  Black market goods are our specialty.  If anyone in the company gives you any trouble about acquiring it, refer them to me.  Oh, and I also need you to find someone to command this mercenary company—the best you can find, given the deadline.  Don't let money be an obstacle.  No offense, M'Rowr, but you were never more than a cloud supervisor.  I assume you have some old Tor Army contacts?"

"Yeah… I do…" M'Rowr said slowly, thinking.  "Don't know if any of them are looking for work, though…"

"Then find someone who is," Heth ordered as he stood up.  "This is your chance to prove that business runs in your blood, M'Rowr.  You're a Miao, after all.  You've got one day—now go make it a gainful one."

"Yes sire!" M'Rowr said, jumping to his paws.  "I'll get right on it.  Already got someone in mind…"  M'Rowr inflated and sped out the office door with a blast of oxygen.  "Stars above!  Wait'll Surra hears about this!"

 

 

It was almost a day later, and the Avarice was almost ready to sail.  Although he hadn't seen M'Rowr, Heth knew his cousin had been busy; Heth had been approving personnel transfers all day, and was constantly fielding calls and arguing with Miao gun runners on M'Rowr's behalf.  Incredibly, the last-minute mercenary company was beginning to come together.  Of course, no other creatures in the galaxy could mobilize a bureaucracy quite like the K'Nes could.  Still, Heth worried about the quality of this particular product.  He could only hope M'Rowr was recruiting veterans; there wouldn't be much time for training during the voyage.  And… well, K'Nes has never been all that good at warfare. 

Heth didn't even know who was commanding the mercenary company yet—although M'Rowr claimed to have found a good candidate.  Heth trusted M'Rowr's judgment in military matters, but… well, Heth still wanted to interview the applicant himself.  Choosing the right executive officer was crucial for the success of any company.

Right on time, the pair of cats floated into his office.  "Finally!" Heth sighed in exasperation.

"Sorry, boss.  Narrah just arrived from Urrin.  He came as soon as he could, but it's still a day's voyage."

Heth turned to look at the newcomer… and his face fell.  The K'Nes was small and old… sixty-six years if he was a day.  His yellow fur was graying, his face was scarred, and his left leg and tail were clearly cybernetic—synthetic fur had never been able to convincingly imitate the real thing.  His clothes were old, faded, and threadbare.  This cat didn’t look like he could command a dead fish to stink, yet alone a mercenary company.

M'Rowr began the introductions as the pair deflated and landed on their paws.  "This is Director Miao K'Rrowr K'Heth, our boss," he said to the job candidate.  Heth stepped forward and extended his tail to the stranger.

"Gainful day, sire," the grizzled old K'Nes looped his bionic tail around Heth's.  It felt… wrong.

"Heth," M'Rowr continued, "this is Rror K'Gurr K'Narrah.  He was the Praetor of my ujon in the Tor Army."

Heth froze.  He dropped the fake tail.  "Rror?" he asked M'Rowr.  "He's not a Miao?"

"Well, no, but—"

Heth narrowed his eyes and turned to Narrah.  "What planet are you from, then?"

"Urrin, sire," the old cat answered, "but I was born and raised in K'Laek before I sold myself to the Tor Army."

"I see… one moment, please."  Heth grabbed M'Rowr, pulled him aside, and dropped his voice to a whisper.  "K'Laek is Gurrmew & Yeomurt territory—the Miao's enemies in the K'Nes Llan!"  Heth hissed in M'Rowr's ear, whiskers twitching angrily.  "I told you to keep this in the family, M'Rowr!  We need someone we can trust!"

"Heth, I'd trust Narrah with my life—I have!" M'Rowr hissed back.  "Look, Heth, you said you wanted someone good—and Narrah's the best!"  M'Rowr leaned closer and dropped his voice even lower.  "And he's not cheap, either…"

"Oh, he's expensive, is he?" Heth asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

M'Rowr shrugged.  "Hey, quality costs."

"Well, that settles it, then!"  Heth turned and spoke to Narrah.  "Thank you for your time, but I'm afraid you don't fit the job requirements.  Gainful day!"  He turned back to M'Rowr and hissed under his breath, "Get him out of here.  Find someone else."

"We haven't got time for that, Heth!" M'Rowr pleaded.  "Come on, you haven't even seen his resume yet!"

"I don't need to!" Heth spat.  "He's not a Miao!  Besides, just look at those clothes!  He clearly hasn't led a very profitable life!"

"There weren't a lot of job opportunities for hunters after the Tor Army was disbanded," the old K'Nes spoke up in a deep, raspy voice.

Heth spun around, surprised and embarrassed that he'd been overheard.  Narrah may be old, but apparently his hearing was still superb.

"Under the Human Occupation," Narrah continued, "no employer wanted to risk hiring a K'Nes whose only skill was killing apes."  The old K'Nes looked down, uncomfortable and perhaps a little ashamed.  "I've been working as a security guard at Horrath Industries for the last eight years.  It was all I could get… until I got M'Rowr's call yesterday, that is.  Then I quit and came straight here."

"You hear that, Heth?" M'Rowr asked.  "He quit his job for you!  You can at least give him a job interview!"

Heth sighed.  "Oh, very well!"  He pulled out his datapad and glanced at the chronometer.  "Alright, Narrah, I'll give you exactly thirty seconds to convince me to hire someone outside our own clan.  Let's hear your sales pitch."

"Well, I was a Praetor in the K'Nes Tor Army, and commanded—"

"There were many Praetors in the Tor Army," Heth interrupted, "many with no greater qualifications than being wealthy enough to afford their commissions.  You'll have to do better if you want this job.  Twenty seconds."

The old hunter switched tactics.  "I commanded all the ujons in the Second Battle of Midgar during the K'Nes War of Expansion—that was the human's Third Civil War.  Second Midgar was a K'Nes victory."

"Yes, but a victory everyone tries to claim credit for," Heth said, unimpressed.  "Try again.  Ten seconds."

Narrah hesitated, unsure.  Then he narrowed his eyes.  "You ever hear of Alistar Dimiye?"

"No.  Should I have?"

"Look him up."

Heth sighed.  "Alright, but I'm not sure this is most efficient use of your remaining time."  Heth's claws clicked over his datapad.  "Dimiye, Alistar.  Human.  Tech Infantry.  Third Civil War.  Rose from sergeant to brigadier-general in... six months?"  Heth's eyes widened as he read.  "Defeated the Eastern Bloc… hero of the Federation… decorated for valor… ship named after him…"  Heth looked up at Narrah.  "I fail to see what relevance this ha—"

"I'm the only one that ever defeated him," Narrah said.  "And captured him.  And tortured him.  Look it up."

The room was silent as Heth pulled up the records.  He froze.  Heth looked up at Narrah.  "You're hired."

"Well now, I didn’t say I'd take the job yet, did I?"  Narrah bared his fangs in a grin.  "My price is pensions, life insurance, and full medical coverage for myself and my hunters."

"Agreed."  Heth modified the contract and held the datapad out to Narrah.  "Welcome to the company."