NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 151: Chapter 151
---Next Day---
Stopping at the Artemis Space Station, after picking up Ahsoka and Bo-Katan, we headed to the Bounty Hunter Association to take a few jobs for the journey. Visiting the Algrand Empire in an official capacity this time around, instead of pretending to be a humble merchant, I could not recklessly enter their territory without permission. Since governmental processes like this took time, I decided to do a few jobs while we waited.
"Something must be going on today. I have never seen this many guards out at once.", Angelica commented, watching thousands of armed men run around the docks. "Do you think a criminal is on the loose?"
"Actually… Only a handful of those men are wearing the right uniforms. I think the rest of them are foreign soldiers.", Ahsoka pointed out, with a concerned look, "We need to check this out and make sure this is not the beginning of an invasion."
Agreeing with her, we cautiously disembarked the ship and made our way up the pier. Looking around for the person in charge, I came to a halt when I recognized a man in a rather distinct skeletal-themed armor. Frantically searching for his charge, the poor knight looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
"LALA-SAMA!!", Zastin howled, "I am begging you, please come back so we can leave at once. Your fiancée is a very punctual man; if we are even a moment late, he will likely cancel the engagement. The Emperor and Empress spent a great deal of time setting up this arrangement; please do not destroy their hard work!!"
"Well, that answers our question.", Lucoa laughed. "Sounds like they are looking for a foreign dignitary's runaway daughter."
"Should we offer our assistance?", Roxanne asked me.
"Absolutely not.", I said, vehemently shaking my head. "The Deviluke Empire is not a nation I want to get involved with. From what I hear, their emperor wants to abdicate his throne as soon as possible. Since he has no male heir and his three daughters are unwed, he wants to marry one off so his son-in-law can take over."
"Oh… they are from the Deviluke Empire…", Bo-Katan remarked, with an uncomfortable look, "I am with Victor on this one, we should stay out of their business. The Devilukeans are a race of monstrously overpowered people. If the rumors are true, the average Devilukean is on par with a weak Space Marine."
"Say what now…", Ionica gasped, her eyes wide with horror, "They are on par with Space Marines?!"
Confirming that they were indeed a terrifying group of people, Ahsoka assured her that they were not an existential threat to the Imperium. So long as the Imperium of Man treated them respectfully, if they ever interacted, the Devilukeans would not attack them. While extremely powerful, they were very laid back and rarely resorted to violence anymore. Relieved to hear that, Ionica hurriedly submitted a report to Terra informing them of this development.
"Where did you say the Deviluke Empire was located?", Ionica asked, wanting to include the information in her report.
"Their galaxy is northeast of ours.", Ahsoka remarked as we moved past the guards.
Grabbing a light snack, as we entered the market district, we made our way to the association building and headed inside. Rising from her seat, our usual receptionist greeted us with an enthusiastic smile.
"Welcome back, everyone. Glad to see you again!", the receptionist said, her tone dripping with excitement. "If you have some time, I have a bit of news to share with you."
"You are very chipper today; did something good happen?", Deidre inquired as we approached the counter.
"Heck yes, something did! I got my first raise in over four years and a job promotion to boot!", the receptionist bragged, puffing her chest out with pride, "As of two weeks ago, I was officially made your personal Guild Receptionist. While I have technically been that for a while, they made it official during their last meeting. Thank you so much for your dedication and tireless efforts to make the universe a safer place for everyone!"
Congratulating her on the promotion, Mylene asked if there were perks or privileges that came with having a dedicated guild receptionist. Confirming there were a few perks, she proceeded to tell us what they were. First, clients could request our group specifically for contracts. Second, the association's training resources were now free for us. Third, our group could now purchase a wider range of equipment and supplies from the association and its partners. Lastly, to take on contracts, we could either come to a branch location in person or call our representative directly. That said, though, we still had to come in to claim completed bounties.
"I look forward to working with all of you for a very long time.", the receptionist said, bowing her head and offering up her business card. "Please feel free to call me directly at this number; it will ring my new office!"
"We will be sure to do that…", I said, looking at the business card, "Amelia!"
Having Jarvis scan the information into his database, I handed the card to Lucoa for safekeeping. Getting back to our original reason for coming here, we requested to see job postings for the border region between the Algrand Empire and the Galactic Republic. Updating her computer with the most recent posting in the area, she slid a tablet over to us with the listings on it.
"Currently, we have over ten thousand job postings for the border region. Most of them are pirate exterminations, but there are a few search and rescue requests in there as well.", Amelia stated, giving us a moment to browse the listings.
"Wow, some of these bounties are ridiculously high.", Clarice commented, pointing out a few hundred million credit contracts. "Why are they so high?"
"Most of the extermination requests were initially opened by individuals within the Algrand Empire. Pirate Hunter Liam Sera Banfield has recently restarted his campaign to rid the empire of all its pirates. In response, the smart pirates fled the country and now terrorize the adjacent galactic nations, which has sent the bounties skyrocketing. As most of our mercenaries are still in the galactic southwest right now, this problem is only getting worse.", Amelia explained.
"What do you ladies think?", I inquired, offering to let them pick the contacts.
"So long as there is fighting to be had, we are happy to leave the choice up to you.", Aela assured me, as the others nodded their heads in agreement.
Picking the top three bounties on the list, I began scrolling through the listing, hoping to find something unique mixed in the usual riffraff. Stumbling across a contract posted by an affluent Rouge Trader family from the Imperium, the Thistlebuttons were requesting assistance locating their recently appointed family head, Ruby Thistlebutton. Having lost contact with her, shortly after her fleet crossed into the Galactic Republic, a two-month-old update had her last known location somewhere near the Algrand Empire border.
'The update says her fleet was severely damaged after a skirmish with space pirates. Unable to find someone to work on them, as they were ancient technology by Republic standards, she scrapped her fleet and bought significantly newer vessels from a shipyard near Eshe V. From there she continued onward until disappearing near the border world of Rietudend.', I read, "Ionica, do you know anything about the Thistlebutton family? They are very well respected among their fellow Rogue Traders, but that is the extent of my knowledge."
"Their lineage goes all the way back to the Great Crusade. The family's progenitor, Absalom Thistlebutton, was one of the first Rogue Traders appointed by the Emperor.", Ionica told me. "They have played pivotal roles throughout the history of the Imperium but rarely ask for recognition for their work. The Thistlebutton family has always sought to keep their name out of the limelight and carry out their duties subtly."
"I see, well then we will take on their contract as well.", I stated, selecting the contract. "Can you please notify the household we are looking into the disappearance of their family head?"
"Of course.", Ionica acknowledged.
With the four contracts accepted, we turned to leave the building when a familiar face called out to us from the dining area. Running over with a sports drink in her hand, Samus gave Lucoa, Mylene, Roxanne, and me a friendly nod.
"I almost did not recognize you, Victor.", Samus laughed, "You are almost three feet taller and are built like a tank!"
"A lot of things have happened since we last met. For one thing, I am now a Primarch of the Imperium of Man.", I chuckled.
"Wait… you mean you grew that big!? I thought you were just wearing a fancy, new suit of armor!", Amelia gasped.
"You are joking, right?", Serana remarked, "His head would be completely disproportionate to the rest of his body if it was just a bulky suit."
"Oh yeah… I did not think about that.", Amelia admitted with a soft laugh.
"So what is the infamous Samus Aran doing here on the Artemis Space Station?", I teased her.
Letting out a deflated sigh, she pulled her tablet off her hip and showed us a series of pictures. Looking at a heavily mangled starship, we looked at her for further explanation.
"My precious ship is in drydock undergoing extensive and expensive repairs.", Samus groaned. "The last job I took was to track down a well-known thief and retake a shipment of goods he lifted from some corporation's warehouse. Unfortunately, the client failed to mention that the shipment he stole contained experimental weapon technology. When I moved in to disable his ship, the punk turned those weapons on me and nearly killed me."
"Oof…", Amallyn gasped.
"Oh yes, a very big oof. My ship was custom-built for me, so parts are not readily available. It will be at least eight months for the parts to arrive, and then another six to reconstruct the hull.", Samus complained, "So for the next fourteen months, I will be out of work. This is what I get for splurging on a damn ship…"
"If that is the case, how about you join us until your ship is fixed?", Roxanne suggested, her tail wagging enthusiastically, "You can teach me all those acrobatic moves you used in the Blackstone Fortress!"
"Haha, you are still on about that?", Samus laughed, turning to me, "I do not have anything better to do right now, so I am onboard with teaming up again. What do you think?"
"That works for me.", I agreed, shaking hands with her. "If you are ready to head out now, we can- "
Before I could finish my sentence, the space station began violently shaking. Turning our attention outside, thousands of civilians began fleeing towards the docks as another tremor shook the station. A few moments later, sirens started to blare, and prerecorded messages instructed civilians to seek safety in designated shelters.
"What is happening?!", Elma asked, looking for signs of a fight. "Is the station under attack?"
"Sure sounds like it.", Tohru stated.
"A rogue robot is on the loose in the Trades District.", Amelia informed us, receiving the update on her terminal. "Can we ask all of you to assist with civilian evacuations and taking the robot down?"
"Say no more.", I accepted. "Cleare, please take Lucoa and Mylene back to the ship. Put the ship on high alert until the threat is neutralized."
Promising to see them shortly, Cleare and my two wives vanished in a flash of light. With my pregnant wives safely out of harm's way, Samus took point and began leading us toward the Trades District.