Castaway Planet

Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 154 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 2

Uninhabited Island / Clearing of Escape Capsule # 405

Galactic Standard Time / 1000

As Bradford looked around the packed main chamber, he felt a small rush of pleasure. The work had been done, but the attack took the wind out of every passenger and some of the deckhands. So from his perspective, this was perfect. And to make things even better, that foolish fanatic had left him alone for the last hour!

Once again he cursed himself for backing that group, but it had paid off. With his money, he had hoped to keep them from staging an armed revolt. But the spies had found a group three generations removed from the founder that had turned it into a scam. His people brought him enough dirt on them that he had forced the leadership to pay him under the table. Plus since his public image needed work, so he donated half to charities, the Order included. And that must have been when Jones saw him, bringing part of his bribe back.

“So it was my fault,” Bradford muttered under his breath and shook his head.

“Sir? What’s your fault?” A nearby passenger asked.

Bradford blinked, shook his head and grinned, already working on how to spin that sentence. “Nothing my boy, nothing at all! Just thinking about my past. How a friend asked another friend out. Looking back the first probably thought I would ask the second out myself! Just doing some thinking about old friends!”

“Oh. Yeah, I’ve been there sir. Had something like that happen to me. But keep calm, I think we’ll get through this,” The passenger said before he walked off.

Bradford sighed, barely keeping a scowl off his face. He hatted people like him, they always gave him the most trouble before he killed them off. Still, he seemed to be right. Even with the attack, he thought that they probably would survive. With all the weapons and tricks this capsule had, he saw them surviving for years at least!

Still, that was worrying. He knew that military escape capsules had enough materials to arm a few squads, but this one had half of that. In a civilian model, he would expect at most a third, but this one alone seemed to have half! He had heard rumors aboard the ship, about how they had hosted important beings over time. So maybe the ship had been carrying someone to the treaty with the so-called ‘Ancients’.

He felt a flash of fear, he had done everything he could to stop that treaty from happening. If they gained an alliance with them, they might share all their plans from the last war. Bradford could see how that would give rise to a few questions about how his brother died. And they were questions that he couldn't let anyone ask. He had spent years hiding the cause of his death. If the Federation figured out he hadn’t been a casualty of the war, that would lead to him before too long.

And if that happened, everything he’s ever built would crumble. His homeworld would become a war zone for one. All the fanatics would fight each other and his home system would lose all power it had in the Federation.

Bradford looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what was happening while he was stuck on this plant. He had left instructions for his people to destroy everything that linked him to his brother’s death. All they needed was time, and if anything this crash landing might help get them that.

Bradford sighed again as he leaned against the wall, looking around the room trying to figure out what to do now. The creature that had attacked from the sky was all the people in the capsule were talking about. Normally he would have tried to use it to get power, but the mission Duncan sent out stopped him. With the Yardship in their control, they would be able to get off this planet or call for help.

Plus with the construction of the barricade, Duncan had done it. He had destroyed any reason Bradford could think of to take power. And to make it worse, he knew that Duncan did everything to protect these fools. But still, if there was a chance to take over, he would.

But then there were the other rumors. About how two of the deckhands had gained powers. One was said to be able to kill anything and the other to heal anything. These were rumors, so the truth had to be in the middle. But two pure humans gaining abilities that were even half of what the rumors painted? Then that was an opportunity like no other.

The Ancients were a threat because of their abilities, but if humans could gain then. That changed everything, the entire weapons industry. But if their powers didn’t work because of technology, then that was very interesting. If someone found a way to let humans learn, to gain what abilities they wanted….. then that person would become the most important person in the Federation.

“Mr. Bradford?” A voice asked.

Bradford turned his head and saw a man in a deckhand jumpsuit with red hair walking towards him. Bradford looked at him and felt a strange feeling going through him, but forced a smile onto his face. “Yes, son? Does Mr. Duncan want to talk to me?”

“No sir, I….. I was wondering if I could ask for your help. Chief Duncan wants us to look over the stuff in the back, and well. You might be able to help us identify what we can’t,. The redhead said. Bradford looked around with his eyes, seeing the other passengers look at him.

Bradford hid a wince, that made the choice then. If there was one thing he knew, it was how to ambush someone to get them to do what you want. He didn’t think that Duncan was that smart.

“Of course, I’ll be happy to help!” Bradford said as the deckhand nodded, leading Bradford to the side.

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She watched Bradford walk away, her mind going dark places. When she had met him on the ship, she hoped he would lead her to her target. Maybe become a scapegoat when she escaped, but now she wasn’t sure he was what she thought he was. She liked to use people like she thought he was, one of those scum who stepped over the common man all the time. But the more she looked at him, the more she was getting a feeling that he was even worse. She didn’t know how to explain it, but she trusted her feelings, they never steered her wrong.

But here she was, stuck with the rest of the rich idiots on an unknown planet. She was still debating if she should go and tell the leader, Duncan what she could do. Not everything of course, not why she was here. Just that she had military experience, and could help. Her backstory had enough in the black that she could explain it away, but should she? If it got back to her target, then that was it. But then that was if her target was even still alive at this point.

She couldn’t win, she just couldn’t. One of her personal choice targets had been on the ship, and someone kept her from killing him.! “Girl, you need to think this through.”

“Think what through Vivian?” A blissful voice asked from behind her.

The woman calling herself Vivian for now went still and tensed. She had only been snuck up on a few times, more since she came aboard the Spirit of Adventure. And all those times, the same person was behind it. She took a deep breath before she turned her head. Standing there was a tall woman her height with the same figure as Vivian. The other woman had long brown hair that went down her back in two ponytails. She blinked at Vivian behind thick glasses, her brown eyes giving her a look of sheer peace and calm.

Once again Vivian wondered just how this woman always snuck up on her. She had undergone training to detect people and her nanotech was top-notch, just below covert ops level. She should have noticed anyone well before they had any chance to surprise her!

“Dalila!? You were on this capsule too?!” Vivian asked with a shocked tone. Vivian wasn’t really surprised. She had seen Dalila the other day but hoped it would take another day until Dalila found her. She seemed to try and always talk to her, and Vivian didn’t like it. Once or twice she had seen Dalila near her target and hoped she wasn’t a hidden guard for the slime.

“Yes, I was walking towards the bathroom and I saw you, so I had to stop! I’m so happy you’re alive my dear!” Dalila said with a forceful tone of voice, full of happiness and peace.

“I just…. I just think that this situation must be thought through. The barricade was a good measure, but I think we should watch the forest more,” Vivian said and looked at the woman.

The Dalila nodded her head and sighed, shaking her head. “Yes, well. This is why I stay on civilized planets near the core border area. Plenty of cities and any wild areas are preserves, no way for them to attack any being.”

“Smart. This is the last time I try and choose the mystery prize,” Vivian said with a slight scowl. Her identity’s ‘story‘ about why she was here was she won a contest and chose the mystery prize. In reality, she bought the ticket through another of her identity. She had created the contest so she would ‘win it’. A smart plan to get onto any resort or ship for a job, something she’s done before.

“Well you know what they say, sometimes mistakes are blessings. But how that would be true here, I don’t know,” Dalila said with a sigh before she stretched her arms to the side. “Well, I’d love to stay and keep talking, but I need to go to the little girl’s room. Goodbye Vivian, lovely to know you’re here too!”

“Bye Dalila, see you around,” Vivian said, inwardly hoping that Dalila wouldn’t come back and talk her ear off. With Vivian’s target not in here, and with the capsule under attack from beasts. And to make it worse, Dalila knew she was here! To think, that a civilian like Dalila would keep troubling a master assassin. But then Vivian she a law, she only killed those who got in between her target and her blade, and Dalila hadn’t done that yet. She wondered if a civilian like Dalila could even hold a weapon without shooting herself.

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“We will!” Dalila said as she walked away, keeping a false smile on her face. For a moment she wondered why Vivian had gotten into this capsule, her master wasn’t there. Every time she was close to taking over that scum’s nanites, Vivian was there! She was one of the best takers in the galaxy! She had broken people with her methods and until now, nothing stopped her. But this job, whenever she had a play, Vivian somehow stopped her. And the worst thing was that the little fool didn’t even know! All she had to do was get Bradford alone for a few minutes. Spray a mist of her special nanites and she would know everything he did.

And then she could sell them on the open market or black market, make a killing, and go after the next one. She lived her life going after the worst in the galaxy, and over time she had taken down true scum. From murderers, cannibals, and child rapists, when she had them in her sights they lived in agony for the rest of their lives!

But Bradford’s bimbo was making that impossible!

All she needed was a few minutes alone with him, to try and entice the bastard. Then she would spry her nanites and control him. After making an illusion in his memories based on a past conquest, she would disappear. He would never know she had taken everything from him, only that someone had. And if he was a truly vile person, she would sell the memories to the news services. She thought she had a perfect plan to get Vivian out of her way, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, somehow they crashed landed, and her without most of her tools. Thankfully she still had her emergency bots, and once she was alone she set them to work. Now they were moving around the inner air ducks, sending everything they heard to her nanites. Soon she would have eyes all over and then she could use that information to stay alive! And that was why she had left, one of her babies had something for her.

As she entered one of the bathrooms, she closed the door and went into a stall, sat down, and activated a link nanite. Within moments, she was seeing and hearing what one of her spies was.

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Bradford followed the deckhand into a corridor, closing the door behind him. As the light came on telling them the door had finished sealing off from the rest of the capsule. It in effect, locked them in the ten-foot-long and four-foot-wide corridor.

The deckhand who introduced himself as Jessie shook his head. “I will never understand why this storage is set up that way. You’re company made some like this capsule, know why?”

“Security, that was what I found in the old files. So let’s see what we have to work with,” Bradford said and Jessie looked at him with a sorry look on his face. Bradford walked backwards, looking at Jessie with fear. He couldn’t believe that he had been so stupid! He let an assassin get him alone, and he didn’t have any weapons! And with the lock in place, he couldn’t get away! It took a minute to open again, and that was enough time for Bradford to die! All his killer had to do was position Bradford’s body afterward and he’d get away with it.

“Sorry Mr. Bradford, I did need help but Jones asked me to pass a message to you,” Jessie said and Bradford blinked, his terror dying.

“Mr. Jones?” Bradford said, a sinking feeling going through him. He wondered if this Jessie was a member of that Order as well. But if not, then after all the effort to keep his connection hidden, that fool Jones told someone!

“Yeah, he said this was the ‘Land of Deliverance’. I didn’t understand but he helped me out so I promised to tell you. Don’t understand it really,” Jessie said and Bradford looked at him and blinked.

“The Land of Deliverance?” Bradford muttered under his breath. He activated some of his internal records, sending the term into the file that had the Order’s teachings.

“He said you’d understand, I don’t,” Jessie said with a shrug as he turned and opened the corridor’s ‘luggage area’, revealing boxes within. Bradford came forward and frowned, recognizing the emblem of his company.

“It seems I’ll be able to help more than you thought boyo,” Bradford said. A moment later a text appeared in the corner of his left vision, and he frowned. The bulk of the data with the ‘Land of Deliverance’ was nothing but the kind of trash he expected from the Order. But as his eye went over the words, he noticed a few passages that caused him to go still.

He didn’t listen as Jessie started to open the containers, Bradford’s mind was on other things. He had thought the Order was nothing but a cult for the top to gain power, but this changed it. The two deckhands who had gained power showed that humans can have powers like the Ancients. That means that people could develop the ability to see the future.

If the first generation of the Cult was the real deal, then there might be something in here. And if this was even partly true, then something might be coming towards them.

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She blinked, breaking the connection to her spy. Dalila frowned, not understanding anything about what she heard. She remembered Jones, he was the survivor from the gathering team. She thought he’d escape by the skin of his teeth, but he was connected to Bradford somehow. What did it mean, ‘Lands of Deliverance’? She knew the code words Bradford favored from studying him, and that didn’t seem like anything he’d use.

“That’s the trouble,” She muttered as she leaned against the wall. Sometimes your targets hide things from you. She needed to look into this Jones, she didn’t have a choice anymore. The way that Bradford reacted, it was like he didn’t know what the messenger meant either. And that was worrying. She had tracked the information of her targets, and most of the time she found everything. But the worst targets were those who didn’t know things others thought they did.

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Above the crater, Terra looked around as the team set up the last of the first sensor towers. She had ordered them set up in a line formation for now. She planned on getting the other towers to make a pentagon. That way they would have the best coverage they could get with the number of these things they had. It wasn’t the best idea, but with their supplies, it was all they could do.

As she looked out into the forest, her mind went to what she had seen. Unfortunately, her recorded vision only had a single flash of black chitin. She had seen the after-action report from Jinn, Al, and Sara, so she knew about what they had run into out there. She remembered something she had seen on her homeworld in her youth. A stray cat had been killed by some of the predatory bugs there, only about an inch long. Her father had said that the cat must have attacked the bug's hive. He reasoned that the cat had left survivors that had tracked it down after regrouping.

If these things were like the bugs from her world, then she could see what was going to happen now. The party had driven off their attacker, but they had tracked the party back to their nest. And now all they could do was hold the line until the party came back in flying vehicles, hopefully. She could hold, but only if more of those big insectoids weren’t a part of the attack. All in all, this was as good a position. She could only hope it was enough to handle the possible storm.