AN:
It's time we honor those who've stepped into our ranks and give proper recognition to every new warrior who joins our cause.
As of December 12th, 2025, we welcome the newest strength of our Navy.
In October, JM, Moritz Gleich, and Max Strand enlisted and earned the rank of Petty Officer.
In November, Jeff James, Romero Stokes, and Aleli Feo joined our Navy and likewise rose to Petty Officer.
And this month, Voyx, Jan-Moritz Wichelmann, and Martin Lange have taken their place beside us, each now a Petty Officer of our fleet.
As your Fleet Admiral, I, Crimson_Reapr, welcome you, honor your commitment, and thank you for your service. May our power reach beyond the edges of charted space, and may ruin fall upon all who stand against humanity's strength.
17 Advanced Chapters available on my Patreon! Crimson_Reapr is the name, and writing Scifi is the way.
I think I might be sticking with this style of writing.
Ensign Kaito POV
Kaito returned to the Navy sector, his heart still beating a little faster than normal. He'd just spent twenty minutes escorting an unregistered, clearly over-gunned civilian who had just finished having a one-on-one meeting with one of the highest ranks in the Navy. He'd managed to avoid Admiral Varis, a man whose patience was as thin as a data wafer, and now stood outside Fleet Admiral Valerius's meeting room, waiting for his commanding officer to finish his debrief.
When the inner door hissed open, Admiral Varis stepped out, his face a mask of frustration and barely contained fury. Varis was a man who lived and breathed naval protocol, and something had clearly irked him. He found mercenaries and private military contractors irritating and unpredictable, but most of all, unacceptable, unless they were under a leash. The Navy's leash.
"Varis, report," Valerius's voice boomed from inside the room, and Varis stepped in while Kaito lingered near the door, catching an earful of the exchange.
"Fleet Admiral, the civilian, Mark Shepherd, has left the military sector of the station," Varis started. "He told me he would think about the offer of a private contract, but it is clear that, although he was polite, he refuses to engage with the Navy for things other than a survivor's handoff."
A low chuckle came from Valerius. "Yeah, I figured that would be the case. Did you truly expect him to jump at the chance, Admiral? He is clearly a creature of independence. From his clearly forged identity and lack of presence until recently, I'd say that he has been trained to be self-sufficient and quite distrustful of institutional authority. The perfect spec-ops operative, if you may. He learned his lessons from his masters well."
"Sir, with all due respect," Varis said, his voice lowering. "Allowing an operator of his inferred capabilities to roam the outer sectors without oversight is a risk. His ship is clearly retrofitted with non-standard weaponry, capable of engaging assets well above its classification and possibly far beyond the range of our own railguns."
"So what, Varis? You think a paper contract would control what, exactly?" Valerius asked. "Control is simply an illusion to men like him. Tell me, where did he go after your meeting?"
Varis consulted his datapad before speaking. "He requested an escort to the commercial ring to sell his cargo. Our scanners confirmed the Trade Authority processed the cargo from four destroyed pirate vessels, confirming his claim. He immediately registered as a Class-C merchant. His new balance was 179,867 Imperial credits."
"A busy young man," Varis mused. "And what did he do after that?"
"He was tracked to Sector Gamma, Fleet Admiral, specifically, to the Mercenaries Association office. He filed a claim and collected the bounty on the 4 pirate ships that were of the Iron Talon Syndicate. Due to their minor involvement in human trafficking, their price was only 5000 imperial credits per ship, with a bonus, for some reason. His bank account was bumped up by another 21,500 in credits, coming to a balance of 201,367 Imperial Credits. From the reports of the Mercenarie's association, he spent a significant amount of time viewing the Red List."
A silence settled in the room, thick and heavy.
"The Red List, you say," Valerius finally stated, his voice now low and thoughtful. "Well, then he most likely saw Kaelen Rix's bounty, no doubt."
Varis nodded. "Affirmative, sir. We cross-referenced the view log. He viewed Rix's profile for forty-two seconds, the longest he spent on any single bounty."
Valerius let out a long, slow breath. "Excellent. That is precisely what I wanted to hear."
Varis frowned. "Sir, with all due respect, if he goes after Rix, he will expose himself to serious risk. Rix is a viper, surrounded by corporate security and entrenched on a heavily defended station, not to mention a fleet of his own. It would take a full-scale fleet action to dislodge him, not a single Heavy frigate."
"Perhaps. But if Rix is truly the target, then this boy wonder will have a motive far stronger than anything we could offer him. He will have a goal that requires money, equipment, and discretion. A goal that will lead him precisely where I need him to be and where you want him to be: drawing out an enemy that the Imperial Fleet cannot legally touch, all the while, the Navy is the one pulling the strings."
Valerius stood, walking over to a large window that overlooked the rest of the station and the planet below. "Monitor his ship, Varis. Keep an eye on anything he purchases. I want to know exactly what he buys, where he buys it, and when he leaves the station. Do not contact him, do not send patrols, and do not interfere in his business. We will simply watch for now, and if he can take out Rix, he has proven his worth. If he fails… well, we have lost nothing but an overly optimistic dog who managed to get free of his leash."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral," Valerius said, the frustration audible in his voice. He left the room, his long strides indicating his distaste for Valerius's convoluted scheme.
Valerius remained by the window, a predatory smile slowly spreading across his face. "Good luck, boy wonder. Go get yourself an education in galactic realpolitik, and hopefully, bring me Rix's head."
---
POV Shift: Mark
I got back to the Shepherd after walking through the crowds of people for a while. I had subconsciously blended in with the locals, almost becoming a chameleon with the way I walked as if I knew exactly where I was and where I was going, which I did. However, my armor was the only thing that set me apart from the rest of the people making their way to wherever they had to go.
I entered through the cargo hold of the Shepherd and noticed that all of the cargo that had once adorned its inside had been taken. Making my way through the ship and in the direction of the bridge, I asked Marcos a few questions. "Hey Marcos, did anything happen that I should know of? Anything noteworthy when they came for the cargo?"
My heart skipped a beat as Marcos materialized right beside me, a grin growing on his immaterial face. "Oh, hey there, Captain. Don't tell me that I scared you or anything? A man as big as you shouldn't be frightened by the sudden appearance of little old me."
I took a deep breath as I felt my heart slowly fall back into rhythm. "Marcos, I swear to God I will format your ass and delete every single save file of yours if you keep up with that."
"Ooh, I like it, kinky," Marcos said while biting his bottom lip, an act that made me throw up a little bit in my mouth. "Well, nothing to really note took place. I mean, they just came in with drones and a handful of humanoid bots, scanned the cargo, and left with it once the credits had been transferred into your account. It was something pretty standard and by the books if you ask me."
I let out a deep sigh as I moved through the corridors with Marcos in tow. "What about the Navy? They say anything while rearming us and refueling??
"Ehhh," Marcos shrugged as he walked past and started walking backwards in front of me. "Apart from a handful of comments on how little ammunition we had used and the number of Railguns and Autocannons we have, nothing was really said. I mean, one guy did talk about how we were getting all of this for free with the Navy footing the bill. Combine that with the fact that we only used 2% of our fuel reserves, and you get the handful of theories being shot back and forth between colleagues."
That last part caught my attention. "Oh yeah? Like what sort of theories?" I asked.
Marcos seemed to think for a second before speaking, his form disappearing and reappearing on the corridor to the left as I followed. "Well, some were theorising that you are a contractor of sorts for the navy, hence why they are footing the bill. A few others seemed to lean more into the Shepherd being a secret military project since it's unlike anything most have ever seen before. A few of the smarter ones agreed that it was an experimental ship, but believed it to be privately owned due to the paint scheme."
I hummed in thought as we reached the bridge. "Anything else to take note of?"
Marcos disappeared and reappeared by the commanding console, which glowed a faint orange hue with a new notification. "Yeah. While you were off wandering around in the station, I got hailed by a Freighter. They are transporting some goods to the farming colony of Florera and had gotten a look at the Shepherd when we came in with the Navy. They were wondering if we are willing to escort them."
"Huh, an escort request out of the blue... doesn't sound fishy at all," I said, more to myself than to Marcos.
"Well, I checked them out, and it seems like it's legit," Marcos said, appeasing some of my thoughts. "The colony is on the way to the inner worlds of the empire, located in what was once an overlooked system that is now home to an extremely low population of only seventy thousand, with only one inhabited planet."
I stood next to the command console, looking at a star map that Marcos had brought up. "The plan is to go to Nova Celeste and try to set up a business there... How much time would that add to our trip, and how much are they offering?"
Marcos took a second to do the calculations, but his response was almost immediate. "They are offering 20,000 imperial credits if nothing arises during the escort, and 50,000 credits if something were to happen. As for time, it would take us about a month of travel to get to Nova Celeste. We take the Gate at Handor, and that would drop us off in the same system as Nova Celeste. Escorting them would add twelve days of travel since we would need to detour before reaching Handor to escort them to Florera."
I thought about it for a second before declining the offer. "Tell them no, the detour is not worth the pay. It'll just be a waste of time for us."
I turned around and went to enter my room, but just as I left the bridge and was about to open the door, Marcos spoke again. "Captain, they gave another offer. 40,000 credits for just the escort, 75,000 credits in case of an incident."
I was tempted, I cannot lie, but it still wasn't worth the detour in my opinion. "Tell them no again, and don't bother me until I leave my room."
I entered my room and went straight to the bathroom. I mentally commanded my suit to return to its pendant form, which left me standing naked in the middle of the bathroom. I leaned into the sink before me, the screen that had replaced mirrors turned on, and showed my reflection on it.
My hair had grown to my shoulders, a mixture of pure white, whiter than the color of the lights, and black. On my face was now a full beard that reached down to my chest. I guess I hadn't really noticed it before, other than that first time I looked myself in the mirror, but I had truly changed so much.
I took out some clippers that I had bought on my way back from the Mercenaries' Association, and went to town. By the time I was done, my hair had transformed into what would be considered a low-temp fade on Earth, and my beard had been trimmed down to a classic full beard.
I examined myself in the mirror, and my new look added a military edge to me, though not by much, since my style would be considered outside of regulation. But I liked it. I took a long shower after that, washing my hair and body, ensuring that all little hairs would not stay on me.
I stepped out of the shower after drying myself, thinking of wearing some comfortable clothes. A second later, I felt the pendant spout out a hoodie and sweats over my body, clothing me. I then made my way up the stairs to the mezzanine floor of my room and out the door, which left me right outside the bridge. I hadn't even stepped into the bridge when Marcos talked to me through the ship's intercom.
"Hey, Captain, they sent over another offer. They said it would be their final offer," he said, pausing for a second before telling me how much they were willing to fork over. "They are offering 65,000 credits in case of no attack and 125,000 credits in case of an attack. They were also more transparent this time around. The owner of the freighters had already lost 2 of them to pirate ambushes on their way to Florera. They don't want to lose any more and will be taking advantage of our escort and add 2 more freighters to our convoy, if we were to take up the job."
I was caught off guard by the amount of money they were willing to spend on only a single ship to escort them. "Why are they willing to spend so much for us to escort them rather than hiring a handful of ships for escort?"
But Marcos didn't get to answer my question, as a communication request came through. I took my seat and accepted the call, a holo screen popping up in front of me with a woman standing in the middle.
"Up to one hundred and twenty-five thousand credits just for an escort... I only have one question. Why?" I asked, causing the woman on the screen to frown slightly.
"Before we dive into any questions, allow me to introduce myself," the woman said. "My name is Alexandria Alvarez. I am the captain of the Freighter Dolores. May I have the pleasure of knowing who I'm speaking with?"
"Right," I said, scratching the back of my head. "My name is Mark Shephard, Captain and Owner of the Strathos' Shepherd. Forgive me for my lack of social skills. Now, if you would please answer my question. Why spend that much to hire a single ship when you can just hire more with that much?"
The woman nodded slowly before speaking. "We first got a sight of your ship coming in a few hours ago, escorting what appeared to be a small naval convoy. I tried to find some information about your ship, but there was nothing on it other than a brand new registration from just a few hours ago."
"Still not answering the question," I said, my eyes analysing the woman's face.
"I'm getting there," she said while letting out a sigh. "I asked my brother, who works for the Mercenaries' Association, if there were any mercs he could recommend me for an escort mission, and that my bosses were willing to fork over a good amount of money rather than losing millions with every single freighter destroyed by pirate ambushes."
"And that led you back to me," I said, tilting my head while scratching my beard.
"Yes," she said. "My brother said that there wasn't really anyone worth the money on the station at the moment, but that there was a brand new merc who had single-handedly taken out 4 pirate ships with a top-of-the-line ship. He mentioned that although you might be green and lack the reputation, you had the stomach and most importantly, the guns for it."
I nodded slowly as things started to make sense in my mind. "I see... what was your budget?"
"That is none of your business," she promptly responded.
"Look, I'm not the one who needs you to escort me. You need me, and you're obviously willing to pay." I said, waving my hand in the air. "Not to mention, you also added 2 other freighters to this little escort mission, meaning that the number of clients went up from one to three. Now, tell me, what is your budget so that I can know how many credits you and your crew are pocketing, and if I'm getting a fair cut."
The woman, Alexandria, scowled at me. She clearly wasn't happy with the fact that I had figured out what she was trying to do. "Fine, we were given a budget of 400,000 credits."
I scoffed at her, knowing damn well that someone who wasn't willing to lose 15 million credits in ships was not going to only pay 400,000 credits for protection. "Let's try that again," I said.
Alexandria's scowl grew even deeper as she spoke through her teeth. "Seven... fifty..."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" I had understood the number she had said, but I wanted her to say it louder.
Her anger was palpable, and if looks could kill, I'd be dead twenty times over. "Seven hundred and fifty thousand credits. There, you happy? Now, how much are you going to extort from me?"
I felt a grin creep up on my face as I silently studied her face. She wasn't lying this time. "Don't worry, I will be generous. Make it 125,000 credits just for the escort, and double it in case of a pirate ambush. You do that and you've got yourself a deal."
Alexandria could no longer hold it in after that. "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!?!?!?"
I held my hand up, cutting off her rant. "No. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are 3 freighters. Each one has a crew of 10, so that would leave anywhere from 625,000 to 500,000 credits leftover for you and the other crews to pocket. That would be about 16, maybe 17 thousand to 21 thousand that each and every single one of you would pocket. I'd say I'm being quite generous."
Rage exploded out of the woman as she started cursing me out. "Who the fuck do you think you are? You're nothing but a brand fucking new lucky son of a bitch trying to take advantage of us-"
I wasn't about to be berated while on my own ship, so I interrupted her rant. "Goodbye, Ms. Alvarez."
As I ended the call, Marcos materialized in front of me, leaning on a rail while smoking a cigar. "Well, that's a bold move. I think you might have overplayed your hand there, captain."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, she'll call me back."
Marcos raised his eyebrows as he looked at me. "How can you be so-"
He was interrupted by a communication request from none other than Alexandria Alvarez. "How can I be so sure, you ask? Well, it's human nature. She clearly trusts her brother's intuition and doesn't want to get too many people involved. And I bet you she's going to give me a lower rate, but around what I just asked."
"What can I do for you?" I asked after I accepted the call.
I could tell that although she was angry, she had calmed down a bit. "One hundred thousand credits for the escort, two hundred if we get ambushed. Take it or leave it."
I grinned at Marcos, who stood behind the holographic, an act that only worked to piss Alexandria off even more. "It seems like you got yourself a deal, Ms. Alvarez."
"That's Captain Alvarez to you," she said through clenched teeth.
"Right, Captain Alvarez, I'm Captain Shephard, a pleasure doing business with you. When will we be departing?"
"We'll be leaving tomorrow," she said, her teeth still clenched.
"See you-" she didn't even let me finish before ending the call.
Marcos threw his hands up in the air and walked away, dematerializing as he spoke, "I can't understand you humans."