Corrosion

"What the heck is this?"

Seren stood on a landing platform where the Persephone was berthed and squinted up into the sunlight at the figure of Elena Galewind, who was perched on a hastily assembled scaffold assessing the hull of the ship.

Elena turned and kneeled, "Hello captain. It would be wise for you to join me up here. We have accumulated damage".

"Damage?!" Seren's voice was both angry and curious at the same time "How is that possible?". She clambered up the scaffold and on to the platform. She didn't know if the wobbling was down to the struts or the alcohol but she noticed Elena staring a little too long.

"I'm not drunk if that's what you're thinking."

Elena didn't answer but instead focused on the gaping hole in the Persephone's hull that had exposed the underlying frame, servos and wiring. "As you can see captain, the hull seems to have been corroded in some fashion.", her fingers moved around the hole, "It does not appear to be weapons fire, the corrosion appears to have developed slowly rather than in a sudden burst. I have the droids running scans as we speak."

Seren moved in closer  and orbited her fingers along the rusting hole. Small clouds of dust fell from the hull where she touched. "It's very brittle. What's the extent of this to the whole ship?"

"I am still running diagnostics on that. However, I have noticed additional corrosion on more exposed areas of the ship.", Elena pointed to the rear of the ship and a rusting brown tint. "As soon as I come up with a solution, I shall let you know."

Seren rubbed her face. "This is the last thing we need right now. On top of everything else, we really don't need this!". She sat down on the platform and dangled her feet over the side, looking out towards a desert obscured by the wreckage of the ARPharma complex

"Could that be responsible?", she said as she pointed to the ruined structure.

Elena's head tilted from side to side, a giveaway trait of her training . Seren had always taken it as a sign Elena was thinking particularly hard about something.

"It is not impossible. Given the heavy pounding the city received from the Hoto Nagi during their recent incursion...."

"So the 'Seph could have been damaged in the battle or by something leaking out of the facility?"

"I shall look into it." said Elena, somewhat preoccupied as she tapped away at a datapad, "There is an increased amount of toxicity in the air. I will need to run further analysis and liaise with the authorities and others nearby".

She would have continued with her findings but noticed that it was the Captain's turn to be preoccupied. For a moment Elena seemed unsure of whether to speak as she attempted to judge her friend's mood.  "It is unfortunate we find ourselves in this predicament."

"This isn't your fault, Elena. Not the damage to the hull or....", the Captain paused momentarily, her lips pursed together, "Look, you weren't to know Salome was buying those engines from Gulgus, let's move on as best we can."

Elena nodded but ventured, perhaps unwisely, to comment further.  "It was most unfortunate to hear of Ms Moonkill's premature demise. For all her flaws, she did seem to point towards a future a little less dark. It seems to have affected you more than you have let on?"

Seren nodded and reached for her flask. She put it to her lips and drank a full quart. "Didn't know her Elena, never got the chance. Maybe she could have made a difference. Maybe not. We'll never know". She paused for a few moments before she turned to her companion, "Besides, you think anyone here cares about her or us, for that matter? We're just a  grain in the sand along with the rest of the people on this overblown sandpit. Ready to be sifted by the powers that be or end up being dusted off someone's carpet."

The Captain glared into the setting suns with an air of frustration. "Do you remember the days when this was sorta fun? The days when we stayed in sleazy hotels and drank too much in the bar? How'd we end up here?". The question was rhetorical, the captain had already began to clamber down the scaffolding. Elena had no reason to ask where the captain was going. It was the same place she'd come from. The nearest bar.

Upheaval

The  port at Splintered Rock was brisk with activity. With the blockade now lifted and traffic free to leave the planet, the port was noisier than ever. Freighters docked, loaded and left, replaced with new freighters eager to deliver their goods or load them up for planets afar. The USD military presence was still felt strongly. Their fighter craft patrolled the skies with yet more docked on the platform ready to take off at a moment's notice. The  familiar smells of fuel, livestock, cinnamon and smoke sat heavily on the air.

And yet there was a feeling of change, a fresh outlook. The Laandsrat appeared to have been toppled. The Magistrate and the Leaders of the Great Houses were incarcerated in various places or otherwise under very close observation. The Beit Dawla, the recently formed second chamber of the Araxian government had claimed control of the planet. Powerful members of the Guild had been sent by the Sovereign Emperor himself to personally prosecute the Laandsrat.

Numerous factions had raced to deliver a cure. AR Pharma, the Blue Sun Corporation, Clan Misrim, the Companions of Paquin and numerous others. Some free, some not. Some worked, some didn't.

Yet, there had been much change, and as Seren worked on repairing the 'Seph, she knew the turbulent politics, wargames and posturing on the planet had cost her dearly. Unable to leave the planet, she hadn't been able to fulfil her obligations. Her cargo had rotted or was now surplus to requirements, her customers had now procured new suppliers. There were financial penalties invoked and she'd been liable for them all. Their offices, up on the orbiting High Port station had been reclaimed. The Persephone itself was again in need of repair and she'd used the last of the company's credits to buy and smuggle the parts necessary. The budget for the PTC was a tight one and having one ship out of business was a costly exercise. Even now as the blockade was lifted, she was missing out on important business opportunities. Unable to get the 'Seph in the air, she couldn't take on any work and the Folly wouldn't return to Araxes for another couple of days.

All in all, she thought, whilst she was glad about the changes happening on Araxes, she'd wished it had been a little less harsh on her personally.

"Undercroft!", the grizzled male voice seemed to echo in her ears a little too long. It was a voice she recognised - a voice from the past and one she hadn't expected. Not here. Not on Araxes. She turned to look down from the side of the Seph's hull where she was strapped into a harness.

"Gulgus. Gulgus Machydon", Seren strained to look cheerful as she lifted up her visor, "What brings you here?"

"I'd have been here sooner if it wasn't for this blasted blockade.", he grinned showing a fleet of yellowing teeth within his large jaws, "Have you got my power converters fitted yet, eh?"

Seren's brow wrinkled as she abseiled down the hull to the floor. "Your power converters?"

"Aye. You bought them off me just last week. Not you yourself, not in person mind. A excitable blonde and a very pompous woman. I wasn't sure how you were going to get them past the blockade but I knew you would. Aye, I knew you would. After all, you're versatile in so many ways..."

He eyed her up and down, letting his wandering eyes linger. Unstrapping herself from the harness, she glared angrily at the floor, nodding her head and pursing her lips. She realised what had happened. Why Galewind and Salome had been able to locate the parts so quickly and cheaply. If there was one thing worse than being in financial debt to Gulgus Machydon, it was owing him a personal debt. She knew the comment about versatility was meant exactly as he'd delivered it. Sick, slimey, leering.

She looked up as she undid the final buckle,"So, how'd you find me?"

"I was told you had offices up at the station", he looked up at the stars briefly, "Very unfortunate what's happened to you. Very unfortunate indeed and given your situation....", he walked slowly looking around, "...you'd want safe harbour. Where safer than the capital city itself? Here you can sleep and eat. Out in the desert...", he paused, slowly delivering his words, "that's another story.'"

"Seems like a lot of effort to find me, Gulgus."

 "Oh indeed, indeed", Gulgus's good eye seem to twinkle, "Good happenstance and good business are always good bedfellows especially in my line of work. It appears I arrived not a moment too soon either, know what I mean?"

"No, not really. What do you want?"

Gulgus's brow became furrowed and he stuck his nose into the air taking on a serious, more regal demeanour. Seren had seen this before. Gulgus had a unique way of being sleazy and regal at the same time. "Times are changing in the New Paradigm, my dear. Relationships between the Fortuna Collective and the Promise of Securitas Faction grow stronger with each passing day as old differences are put aside to make way for our glorious new future." He turned to face Seren directly. "But some things aren't so easily forgotten.... "

"Grinch." Seren said it coldly.


Gulgus nodded before continuing "There are voices, important voices, within the Promise calling for his killer to be brought to justice...as a sign of mutual respect and understanding."

Seren turned on her heel and stared grimly into the setting Araxes suns. "You still haven't told me what you want."

"There are ways and means of keeping you out of the Collective's clutches, young Undercroft.", Gulgus walked behind her and placed a large greasy hand on her shoulder, "We'll  come to a mutual arrangement that suits us both, yes?"

"What makes you think I need your help?"

Seren could hear Gulgus's smile in this voice, "You know you do. Without me, everything you've achieved will be for nothing. You, rotting away in a Collective prison cell. No, no....we can't have that. Besides, the wheels are already in motion.....", he moved his head next to Seren's ear, standing uncomfortably close behind, "I'll be in touch."

Hearing his heavy set footsteps walking away, Seren's calmness cracked, her trembling hand nervously ferreting across her face, her eyes narrowing.

All in all, things were not going well.