safely enter the region and colonized the Carthan system. I think that’s where we are right now - somewhere in the neighbourhood, anyway,” he answered Hatos’ unspoken question. “Six months later, the Petrans showed up. It turned out several of the planets in the system were rich in the various minerals the Petrans’ crystalline technology is based on. Of course, since they didn’t really want us around - and they didn’t want to bother with learning our language, either, let alone trade for the minerals - they tried to force us out of the system. Earth retaliated, and we spent the better part of the following ninety years fighting for these border worlds; our historians call the period the ‘Carthan Wars’ - I guess that’s just proof of how unimaginative they can be at times.”
“Where do the Xargans fit into your story?” Hatos asked, taking advantage of the pause.
“Some twelve years ago, the Petrans held Cartha and most of our worlds along the Petran border, when a large fleet of ‘space monsters’, as they called them - they hadn’t identified themselves as Xargans yet - wiped out Petran outposts near Cartha Six, Daserus Two, Holsen Prime, and a few other worlds along the ‘southern’ edge of the border, closer to where you found me in the Anlaran system. Now, because they only hit the Petrans, they thought we were using some new bioweapon against them, so they fought back even harder. But, eventually the Xargans hit us, too - ripped through our forces in the Lieproi system, which, funnily enough, happened to be the only Petran system we held at that time. Somebody figured out what was going on, so the Terran and Petran forces united to push them back. We’ve managed to take back most of the systems we lost to them since then, but as I explained to you back at Anlara, they’re not exactly losing steam - and if the Petrans pull their forces out of this, we may very well be overrun.”
“And what about Jackson? How do the two of you know each other?”
“I was getting to that part. Some officers on both sides will sometimes ask for help from nearby civilians. Eugene Jackson’s the one who’s had more luck with it than others; he’s a good tactician, good negotiator, and he isn’t unwilling to bend his orders - or the rules - if it means saving lives. I’ve run into him a few times, and it’s mostly been good. Honestly, if I were making a list of people I’d trust with my life, he’d be pretty high on it. The problem is, Jackson won’t outright disobey orders, and because he’s a veteran of the Carthan Wars, he’s a bit distrustful of Petrans. Still, if he hasn’t been explicitly ordered to stop us, and if he hasn’t been compromised, we might be able to get out of this without a fight.”
“Perhaps you should explain the situation to him - he may be more willing to accept it coming from someone he knows than if he heard it from a Tarhedian.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Lanis turned to the comm officer. “Hail them,” he said, turning towards the holoviewer.
Jackson appeared on the screen a few seconds later. “So, is one of you going to explain what that ship of yours is, who your friends are, or why you’ve got all those Petran ships with you?” he asked.
“Well, sir, it’s quite a long story. It started about a week ago, when I took on a job to transport some supplies to… somebody … in the Anlaran asteroid belt. Aside from the part where I had to sneak behind Xargan lines and back again, it looked like a routine cargo run.”
*** Five days ago, Anlaran system ***
The Ivory Eagle dropped out of hyperspace and entered the asteroid belt, maneuvering to the coordinates Lanis’ employer had given him. The dense nature of that particular asteroid belt meant that reaching his destination would not be easy, and there would probably be some Xargans in the area.
Lanis opened a communications channel. “This is the Ivory Eagle. I’ve got your cargo,” he
“Where do the Xargans fit into your story?” Hatos asked, taking advantage of the pause.
“Some twelve years ago, the Petrans held Cartha and most of our worlds along the Petran border, when a large fleet of ‘space monsters’, as they called them - they hadn’t identified themselves as Xargans yet - wiped out Petran outposts near Cartha Six, Daserus Two, Holsen Prime, and a few other worlds along the ‘southern’ edge of the border, closer to where you found me in the Anlaran system. Now, because they only hit the Petrans, they thought we were using some new bioweapon against them, so they fought back even harder. But, eventually the Xargans hit us, too - ripped through our forces in the Lieproi system, which, funnily enough, happened to be the only Petran system we held at that time. Somebody figured out what was going on, so the Terran and Petran forces united to push them back. We’ve managed to take back most of the systems we lost to them since then, but as I explained to you back at Anlara, they’re not exactly losing steam - and if the Petrans pull their forces out of this, we may very well be overrun.”
“And what about Jackson? How do the two of you know each other?”
“I was getting to that part. Some officers on both sides will sometimes ask for help from nearby civilians. Eugene Jackson’s the one who’s had more luck with it than others; he’s a good tactician, good negotiator, and he isn’t unwilling to bend his orders - or the rules - if it means saving lives. I’ve run into him a few times, and it’s mostly been good. Honestly, if I were making a list of people I’d trust with my life, he’d be pretty high on it. The problem is, Jackson won’t outright disobey orders, and because he’s a veteran of the Carthan Wars, he’s a bit distrustful of Petrans. Still, if he hasn’t been explicitly ordered to stop us, and if he hasn’t been compromised, we might be able to get out of this without a fight.”
“Perhaps you should explain the situation to him - he may be more willing to accept it coming from someone he knows than if he heard it from a Tarhedian.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Lanis turned to the comm officer. “Hail them,” he said, turning towards the holoviewer.
Jackson appeared on the screen a few seconds later. “So, is one of you going to explain what that ship of yours is, who your friends are, or why you’ve got all those Petran ships with you?” he asked.
“Well, sir, it’s quite a long story. It started about a week ago, when I took on a job to transport some supplies to… somebody … in the Anlaran asteroid belt. Aside from the part where I had to sneak behind Xargan lines and back again, it looked like a routine cargo run.”
*** Five days ago, Anlaran system ***
The Ivory Eagle dropped out of hyperspace and entered the asteroid belt, maneuvering to the coordinates Lanis’ employer had given him. The dense nature of that particular asteroid belt meant that reaching his destination would not be easy, and there would probably be some Xargans in the area.
Lanis opened a communications channel. “This is the Ivory Eagle. I’ve got your cargo,” he
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