Prologue

'So, do you believe him?' Smith asked quietly.
'You must be kidding me.' Ka'eil replied, glancing at his companion.
'He seemed convincing.'
'Oh please, he was so drunk we could convince him the sky was luminous green.'
'He did have those markings.' Smith continued, stopping beside their vehicle.
'Yes, ambiguous tattoos, there's evidence.' Ka'eil rolled his eyes and unlocked the slumbering vessel.
'He was very specific about its location.' Smith added as he clambered inside.
Ka'eil climbed in and hit the activation sequence, 'It is true that no-one has really explored the Ro Tarren belt.'
'See,-'
'-however, I hardly think that constitutes as solid evidence.' Ka'eil gave the rising steering column a nudge and the slender pod leapt into the air uncertainly. After a moment, it decided it rather liked flying and let Ka'eil move off.
The pod sped quickly and silently away from the dark bar and rejoined the city's rush hour.
Well, one of the rush hours; when you had a planet which was 90% city, there was a lot of traffic.
'Maybe we could get some telemetry. Maurice, an old mate of mine is operating the Regin telescope.'
'According to this… 'pirate' it won't be detected that way.' Ka'eil reminded the giant of a man beside him.
Gently, the pod pulled upwards and came to a rest beside a window several hundred feet in the air. The passenger door slid away.
'Jus' think about it, awlright?'
'Goodnight, Smith.' Ka'eil smirked, tapping the close button. Despite his nonchalant manner, this matter would remain on his mind, or in his dreams 'til daybreak.

When Ka'eil stumbled down the steps to his living quarters, he noticed he had been raided. Pots and pans had been strewn about in an attempt to cook the traditional way. His once-pristine floor was covered in what he guessed to be milkshake.
His living room (the two areas were separated only by a change in flooring) was not much better. Cushions and blankets had been tossed in all directions and the [television] was on.
Ka'eil would not have minded, except the hoodlums who did this were still there.
One with long blonde hair, currently nestled on a cushion, waved her hand, without taking her eyes off the screen, 'Hey boss. We made breakfast.'
Ka'eil dreaded to discover what they were eating.
A man, resting on the cushionless couch shook his head. He turned to Ka'eil while brandishing an arm at the screen, 'Do you believe this?'
Ka'eil went to answer frankly, but the man had not finished.
'Firstly, his minister for trade supported them, I mean, come on! These are the guys in charge of the trade embargo on all non [Empire] goods.' The man paused merely to breathe, 'And this morning, his vice president betrays him, saying 'joining the empire would have great benefits'. What a load of crock.'
Ka'eil manoeuvred around to look at the screen. The president of the planet, a tall, proud man, beginning to show his age, was delivering a speech. It cut out a few moments later and became a news broadcaster, 'Earlier today, Vice President Reynold spoke out-'
The man ordered the unit to power down, 'The sooner I get off this place, the better.'
Ka'eil perked up, 'You mean they cleared the Carib?'
'Have they heck. They managed to find a new drawer full of red tape.' The man, Jason 'Eagles' Magellan, had spent the last six months trying to get clearance for his ship, the Carib, to leave. They had been delivering form after form, regulation after regulation for months. It was not the president's doing, but that of his 'advisers' who were all working to their own agendas.
Ka'eil knew his friend was on a rant and decided to remain quiet.
'I haven't seen one ship leave this planet recently that didn't have Empire markings And with that battleship up there -' he waved his arm menacingly towards the ceiling, '- it doesn't look like anyone's getting off this boat.'
A tall brunette, slouching in an armchair said, 'At least you still have your job.'
'Don't, actually.' Eagles corrected her, before adding in a mocking voice, 'Notification: your services are no longer required. Came last week.'
'Certainly are charming dismissers.'
Ka'eil decided to drag them away from their depressing state of employment, 'Well, Smith and I ran into-'
'Smith told us, well, something about a guy,' the blonde haired woman, Rilnae, said, 'It's why we're here.'
'You come here anyway.'
Rilnae took a bite out of her breakfast and paused thoughtfully, 'That's true. At least we're here with a purpose and not just to make a mess.'
'Regarding that-'
'Hey look, Smith's here!' Rilnae jumped up and moved to the front door. It opened to reveal nobody. Rilnae hadn't thought this master plan through.
'I'm not cleaning up again. It's the brat who makes the mess anyway.' Siae, the brunette, grumbled, indicating Rilnae.
'I helped with the milkshakes…' Eagles said, trying to defend the youngest of them.
A man appeared at the door. His bald, tattooed head would nearly scrap the top of the door frame as he would step through. The most unusual thing about him, ignoring his height, was the fact that he was missing his left arm and leg, and in place were thin metal ones. They contained a complex cybernetic network connecting to his mind, giving him total control over the two limbs. The arm also game with a selection of random gadgets that he had been adding to over the years. This man, Lemuel Smith, turned to Rilnae, 'Er, thanks, don' normally get door service.'
He was holding, with his real hand, several rolls of cloth and a plastic material. With his cybernetic arm, he brushed everything off the central kitchen desktop.
'I'll bite,' sighed Ka'eil, as he watched his work tumble to the ground, 'What's with this stuff?'
'Electromagnetic scans of the Ro Tarren belt, as well as several geographical maps dating back decades.'
Eagles stood up curiously and shuffled to the table, 'What's this then?' the question was addressed to Ka'eil, 'Smith told us you met some 'pirate'?'
'A drunkard, you mean. Who, apparently, was a member of the Talmarrick pirates.'
'Oh come on, they haven't been operating for years. Even if they were around, you wouldn't get a member to talk to you.'
Ka'eil nodded, 'Or tell you that the secret base is in the Ro Tarren belt? I know, but Smith-'
'Look, don' condemn 'til I've done me presentation.'
'Oh, there's a presentation?' Siae smirked, rising from her chair, 'Smith you really have outdone yourself.'
'None of your cheek,' Smith grumbled, deciding on what map to use. He spread out one showing the electromagnetic activity in the Ro Tarren belt, 'This is 'ow it is now, right?'
'Nothing,' Ka'eil commented, watching the representations of asteroids amble about.
'Ah, so you think,' Smith tapped a few patterns on the edge of the cloth and a section of the belt zoomed in, 'There is a higher level of activity in this one here. It also happens to be one of the biggest 'roids in the belt. Background activity wouldn't account for it.'
'Fascinating,' Ka'eil yawned.
Smith didn't look dejected, instead he hit a few more patterns and an image showing the year appeared, then started ticking backwards. After it had gone thirty-five years into the past Smith stopped it, 'Now look at the 'roid.'
'That's a lot of activity.' Siae commented, noticing the sudden rise, 'Seems to be focused just a little off centre.'
'Exactly. And the patterns match a reactor core.' Smith shoved the cloth along the kitchen top and unrolled a plastic map, with similar controls, 'This is a layout of the asteroids as they were a hundred years ago.'
The others watched as Smith set the date, 'See the two channels, here-' he prodded a section with his finger '-an' here. Now, watch 'em.'
The date started flicking forward, and a channel began to form in the asteroids, they would get routinely knocked out of the way and held in a near straight line.
'And?'
'Don' you see? The Talmarrick pirates were famous for using giant ships to attack, y'know, big cruisers as well as fighters. Everyone discounted the Ro Tarren as they figured nothing could ever get through, but this ship can shove the 'roids out of the way. It's the only explanation.'
'It is fairly unusual, Ka'eil.' Eagles commented.
Ka'eil sighed deeply, then looked about the faces, 'Okay, supposing it is out there… If we want to go, we're going to have to break into the Port, steal the Carib, my ship and Siae's transport and hightail it to this place. After that, we'll not be able to return here unless we want to be blasted by that battleship, is everyone prepared to leave here and never come back?'
'Unemployed and soon to be homeless. Got nothin' better planned.' Siae smiled.
'Yeah, got nothing here anyway,' Rilnae said.
'Fired and is soon to be implicated in an arson attack on a bar.' Eagles stated.
The others looked at him.
'Which did not have anything to do with me. … Neither did that raid on the betting shop.'
'Of course,' Ka'eil grinned, 'Wouldn't dream of implying that innocent Eagles was anything other than an angel.'
'Vote on it?' Smith asked.
'Those for,' Ka'eil raised his hand, as did the others.
'Those against,' Ka'eil raised his other hand, before being swatted at by Siae.
'Er, Boss, aren't you forgetting Faelnon, Ariea and Mia?' Rilnae quizzed.
'Eh, they don't get to vote.'
'We could probably do with a leader if we intend on doing this and staying alive,' Eagles assessed.
'I'll be leader.' Ka'eil jumped in.
'Shouldn't we vote on-'
'Nope, no need to vote on every trivial little detail.' Ka'eil smirked and ambled around his kitchen to try and salvage some edible food.

The next morning, Ka'eil was faced with a similar situation in his living area. It even had Smith entering with more material rolls.
'These, I, erh, 'accquired', plans to the Port.' Smith explained, setting himself up on the kitchen top again.
Ka'eil cave a cursory glance through the front wall, which was mostly glass. A few hundred feet above them, a massive structure hovered calmly. It was roughly circular, and was protected by a light blue energy barrier. Inside, there were at least fifty patrol vehicles, about one hundred innocent merchant ships and other private vessels that had been locked down over the last six months. This port was just one of hundreds littering the planet.
'Right,' Smith tapped the cloth and it displayed the blueprints of the structure, 'We can't hit it tomorrow, 'cause there's a minister of… oh somethin' or other prancin' around. But, on Thursday, they're getting in a bunch of new recruits and shipping the experienced ones off to Port 56. That works for us, the rookies won' know what hit 'em.'
'That's the plan, hit anything that moves?' Ka'eil asked incredulously.'
'Erh, pretty much.'
Ka'eil paused for a moment, 'It's more thought out than your standard plans.'
'But is still suicidal.' Siae reminded the two. 'This corridor has several bulkhead doors, within seconds of the alarms sounding, they'll slam shut. Beyond them is the control room. We'll need to get their if we want to unlock our ships and drop the field.
'I'm suggesting that we go in disguise. Well, just less conspicuous than gun-toting loonies. Our other main problem is going to be the security gates at the entrance. They'll detect any weapons we bring in and the alarms will sound. So, we need to hit the electricity. It's on top of the building. I can get there and drop it. After that, we'll have a brief gap, of about thirty seconds, before the backup power comes on, the alarms sound and the doors drop.
'When the power goes down, you'll have to get inside, and get to the control room before backup power is restored.' Siae motioned to Smith, then turned to the others present, 'Someone tag with him, the rest of us will go for the ships.'
'Can I be a little disturbed by the fact you know all this?' Ka'eil said, eyebrows raised.
'You may,' Siae smiled briefly, 'I never said what my old profession was.'
'Nor will we take this opportunity to ask.' Ka'eil looked at the blueprints for a second before saying, 'Problem the second, we can't cart a bundle of supplies through the airport without raising an ounce of suspicion. However, if we drop the field, we can take Siae's transport to rendezvous with a pick up point, then high tail it out of here.'
Siae nodded, 'Seems best. We won't have long though, when the alarms inevitably go off, patrol vessels from across this district will be launched.'
'Feeling confident, then?' Rilnae asked.
Siae delivered a half-smile, 'I always expect things to go swimmingly, but reality never lives up to expectations.'
Smith interrupted by looking at each of them in turn and asking, 'We decided?'
Ka'eil glanced at the plans, then nodded silently.
There was a long, tense pause as the group stared at each other.
Finally, Rilnae spoke up, 'Got anything for breakfast?'