8th April 3504
Sacred Order of Oda space
Orleans system, Kent Macbeth Station
Airlock of the Corvette Chyad’e
The civilian Corvette had been named after the ancient Vaan’jorch word for Trickery. It had been three months since the Chyad’e was on the station. They had been scouring the un-colonized systems for anything of value.
Raelyn was watching as dockworkers moved out all the stuff they had sold from the cargo hold onto the station. They had mostly found ore and scrap metal, which they had sold to a Nuurian businessman that dealt in junk and seemingly worthless objects. It didn’t pay as well as she had hoped for, but 11,000 credits was decent enough. It was at least an amount that made the haul worth the trip back here.
She removed her red ponytail and let her hair hanging normally as she leaned against a bulkhead. Her silvery eyes tiredly watching the workers unload her ship. She put her hands in the pockets of her brown coat. The workers was a mix of humans, Oannon and even a few Formaddon. The latter was a large amphibian race.
Raelyn’s eyes followed an Oannon female that was activating a hoovering platform used to move cargo. Apparently there was something wrong with the hoover platform since the blue skin 1.2 meter lady started cursing in her native tongue-her voice was adorable to Raelyn. The little lady moved her hands through the dark blue tentacle that was the Oannon’s version of a Terran’s hair. She finally hit her datapad and that seemed to get the hoover platform working properly again.
She saw her friend Sae’na walking into the dock and towards the airlock she was standing in.
Like a typical Vaan’jorch Sae’na had white skin, two horns on her forehead and slick tail dancing around behind her as she walked, glowing eyes and small tendrils hanging under her chin. She had four white tendrils, two of each side. Her gorgeous wavy violet hair was just that, gorgeous. Her athletic body was covered up by her black coat, a long coat similar to Raelyn’s own, just different color.
“Well, it isn’t much but Bulogash paid up,” Sae’na told Raelyn.
“I don’t know why but I somehow hoped for more from the slime ball,” Raelyn sighed. “Once we’ve stocked up on supplies we’ll have like… 6,000 credits left.”
Sae’na smirked and arched an eyebrow.
“How’d you reach that number?”
“Richard told me.”
“Oh. Ok. What’s the deal with the new laser drill?”
“He counted it to at 4-5,000 creds. Doesn’t leave much for us.”
Sae’na put an arm around Raelyn confidently.
“Ah, it’ll be fine. We’ll just scavenge a bigger haul next time. We always pull through.”
Raelyn gently leaned against her friends shoulder and sighed.
“Yeah. Suppose we do.” She glanced up at her white skin friend. “Just…gettin’ tired of it. Just scrappin’ by, ya know?”
Sae’na slowly nodded. She knew what she meant. She actually agreed a bit. But she had no doubt their luck would turn. Their next target for scavenging was the Ares system. It was at the edge between Ork Star Imperium and Solar Illuminate Empire space. Decades ago it had been the sight of a battle between the Illuminate and an Ork Clan hell-bent to loot and ravage Terran colonies. The battle had looked to lean in the Orks favor until the Terran’s sent in their Dreadnoughts and devastated the Ork fleet. At the end of the engagement over 3,000 ship wrecks remained. It had been seven years now and Ares was a system only visited by scavengers, pirates and bands of Orks. There was still a ton and more of valuable items and equipment to find there.
“No worries love,” Sae’na told her Terran friend. “Next haul will be great. Trust me.”
Raelyn nodded. “Right. I’ve never been there before.”
“I’ve been there ones. Long time before we met. Say, six years ago.”
Some months after the battle her former scavenger crewmates checked out the system, but the Solar Navy was guarding it at the time. They had stopped and transferred the guarding ships to other posts. Both of them avoided mentioning the name Ares in public. It was after all a graveyard for tens of thousands of Orks and Terrans. A tomb in space. Most people didn’t appreciate someone looking through the rubble, and understandably so.
The dock workers started clearing out and a male Oannon came up to them. He cocked his head up to look at Raelyn and Sae’na’s faces. They both looked down at him.
“All designated cargo cleared out,” he chipped.
“Thank you,” Sae’na answered. “Tell Bulogash we appreciate doing business with him, and that we’ll come back with more next time.”
“He will appreciate that I’m sure,” the one meter tall Oannon answered in his cute voice.
Raelyn was very thankful over Sae’na’s mental abilities, especially with her own translator banged up and waiting for repairs in their workshop. As a Vaan’jorch Sae’na had the mental ability to translate languages in her head, and translate it to others. Otherwise she would have no clue what the little guy had just told them.
Raelyn would kill to have the ability to just translate another language in her head. As she remembered, it was an ability Sae’na’s ancestors had given themselves using their genetic knowledge…somehow. She had no idea how it worked period.
“How about we find a nice restaurant on the promenade?” Raelyn suggested.
Sae’na answered with a smirk.
“Sounds great. A nice fancy meal after months stuck on a ship sounds pretty good to me.”
The stations promenade was filled with life. It was littered with shops and restaurants and there were people moving everywhere. From Terrans to Oannons, the frog-like Formaddon and a dozen other species. There was even a few slimy blob-like Nuurians. With their tentacles and murmuring voices. Despite their disgusting exterior they were generally a friendly species. There was a Sacred Order of Oda cleric shouting about judgement day. A dozen or so Terrans was listening to him. Sometimes people in the Sacred Order made Raelyn shiver. She couldn’t stand those nut jobs.
“-And thus the gods sent the Orks to punish the guilty!” The cleric continued yelling. To be fair the the official position of the Order wasn’t in line with what this guy was yelling about. She still thought they were nuts though.
Like their name, the Orks was very similar to Orcs from human fantasy and fiction. Green skin, fangs, big, savage, brutal and dangerous. They fought each other as much as anyone outside their Imperium. They were dangerous, but heck, not the most dangerous threat to civilization. That laid beyond the known regions of space.
“Is Kao’s place still open?” Raelyn asked as they moved through the crowd.
“Let’s find out,” Sae’na replied, leading the way through the crowded promenade.
Raelyn followed her to a metal staircase that led up to the walkway overlooking the lower level of the promenade. The promenade had three level to it, the lower one and two walkways above it. The top one had fancier shops, expensive restaurants and clubs.
They passed the weapons store where Raelyn had bought her weapons the first time she came here several years ago. Next was a clothes shop-no belay that. Raelyn noticed the shop was replaced with an area for believers in the mysterious Paragons as gods. Terrans in the Sacred Order, that was. And next was Kao’s restaurant.
It was a comfy little place. There was only room for six tables inside, adding two small two person tables outside they didn’t have a lot of place for dinner guests.
They saw Kao handing plates to a family of four. The mother was eating some fish-looking thing and the father mash potatoes and, some meat Raelyn didn’t recognize. But the two kids both had a hamburger with fries. A personal favorite of Raelyn’s.
Kao was the only friendly Ork she had ever heard of. From what Kao had been telling them over the years, he had never met a friendly one either.
When he saw them his big orange eyes filled with joy.
“Aha! You are back I see,” he exclaimed and gestured at an empty table. “Have a seat. Have a seat.”
He came over to the table with an unintentionally scary smile.
“What can I get for you? Burger and fries?” He presumed looking at Raelyn.
“Yup,” she confirmed with a sweet grin.
Kao turned his friendly Ork gaze to Sae’na.
“I’d like one of those Earth fries Chicken things,” she said, nodding to Raelyn. “She says it’s good.”
Kao nodded.
“You got it. And it is delicious actually. You want fries or potatoes?”
“Potatoes?”
“Oannon, Terran or Vaan’jorch?”
“Vaan’jorch please.”
“Got it.”
The happy Ork walked back to the counter to fix their order.
“Should have picked Terran,” Raelyn argued.
Sae’na shook her head.
“I don’t think so. Vaan’jorch potatoes are bigger and has a sweeter taste to them.”
“Doesn’t go with chicken.”
“We’ll see.” Sae’na folded her arms over her chest.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
