Post by Fukushu on Oct 13, 2022 12:10:23 GMT -5
~7 years ago
Fukushu never expected that he'd turn into a crime stopper. He'd grown up among the many gangs of Hera and had done quite well for himself; most of the time that was. He had his ups and downs certainly, but he did better than most on the whole. It was the life that most of his kind gravitated towards, with the rest taking up mercenary work. Both ways usually ended in an early retirement for the Herans, but crime was usually more lucrative.
And yet that's not what happened with Fukushu. After his betrayal at the hands of Korosu and his fostering with Haji something changed in the young Heran. It happened slowly at first, and in fact Fukushu went to great lengths to resist any sort of change. Why should he fight against his natural urges? What wealth or glory was there to be one as a do-gooder? That was his attitude in the beginning, much to Haji's annoyance, and it took many years of training to work that out of him.
Eventually the young and headstrong Heran came to see the other side of things more clearly, though he never lost sight of what has always driven: the desire to control. Incredibly arrogant Fukushu is, believing that with him in charge everything would be better. Before he fought to dominant those around him for no greater end other than to prove his own strength and to live a comfortable life, but now? Now he has grander plans, that require much grander wealth and resources.
And so by day Fukushu and his crew roam the streets of Hera, mopping up whatever criminals they see in a brutal manor, while at night they would join the criminal enterprise off world. From his point of view it was for the greater good: the resources earned by smuggling, pirating and whatever else they were involved in would help back on Hera. They never committed crime while home, and did their utmost to stop any criminals from getting in. But in space? Well... they needed to make a living.
Generally the job were fairly small time. They'd make contact through his computer expert Wakita and set up a meeting spot. From there Fukushu would hammer out the details and they'd be off. He didn't like jobs that took more than a couple days to finish; being away from Hera for too long made him feel uneasy. They'd pick up one crate of whatever, and deliver it to wherever, killing whoever got in their way. It was simple business that paid enough to keep everyone happy.
Fukushu had no intention of changing how things worked, but then an opportunity to large to ignore came up. It was midnight when Wakita came bursting through his door in excitement, desperate to get the news out. "Fukushu! Wake up! You'll never guess what happened!" Judging by this tone of voice it could really only be one thing, but he decided to humor him anyway. "Well? You gonna tell me or what? I don't like being woken up like this."
Wakita rushed over beside him and took showed him the document. The page was entirely blank but for two words: Red Dawn. "Red Dawn? What the Hell is that supposed to be mean?" He studied the page further, trying to spot what he surely must have missed, but it was just those damn words. "These are guys we've been looking for!" Oh, so that's what it was.
About six months prior Fukushu had received an anonymous job offer. Most often than not these were traps set up by his enemies so he usually ignored them, but this one was different. The job was massive in scale; larger than any mission he'd ever been on, and was backed up with seemingly legit information. But the fact that he didn't know the source was still an issue for him, and so he went to work trying to uncover whatever he could.
It seemed like a simple enough solution, except his right hand man Wakita came up empty. Months on end he asked for more and more resources, and though intrigued to find the source of the offer he also grew increasingly frustrated at coming up empty. And now this? After all that time and all he brought him were two words? He should have been more furious, but at the same time his own efforts had produced even less than that, so he held his tongue.
"So... Red Dawn?" It would be all he had to go off of. A lot less than he'd hoped, but the deadline was coming up. Due to the sheer size of the operation this group was organizing they delivered the offers many months in advance, giving each crew time to think things over. Fuksuhu had left things quite late, and still wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to go through with it.
On the one hand the potential payment was... enormous. It would have been enough to fund their activities for two straight years. He had no idea where or how this Red Dawn could have gotten their hands on such wealth, and a part of him didn't want to know; he just wanted a piece of it. Hera could desperately use that wealth in the hands of someone who actually wants to achieve some good, but did that make it worth it?
He still knew nothing about Red Dawn; who they were, what they dealt in... the details of the job itself had been rather vague, and that worried him too. Clearly these people were extremely powerful, dealing in extremely illegal substances. With such large sums of money being involved he knew high authorities would likely have their eyes on things. One small slip up and they could find themselves in an intergalactic war without friends on either side.
He had to do it. The risk was massive, but the upside on this sort of job was simply too much to pass up. He briefly considered consulting with his crew to see what they would think, but he quickly threw away that idea. Give them too much say in things and they'll start thinking that this is a democracy. All they needed to know was how much they'd be getting paid at the end of this and they wouldn't have any complaints.
"Well? Fukushu? You still in there? What do I tell the boys?" Apparently he'd been day dreaming. "Uh, right; sorry about that. You tell them the captains got an order for them. Everyone assemble on deck; I'll give the rest myself." He dismissed Wakita and got into proper uniform. He knew at this time of the night the boys would be upset about being woken, but he had good enough reason this time. After slipping into his suit he went outside to meet his crew.
There were six of them not including Wakita and himself; nothing major, but they had accomplished a lot in their time together. Most Herans aren't accustomed to fighting for a good cause, and so it was a pretty difficult sell to most. Eventually he was able to lure a few in on the promises of reward; at the end of the day as long as they pay was there they'd do just about anything, which in itself was a little frightening. He always made sure to keep a tight leash on this lot.
"Alrighty boys. I know I've kept you waiting quite long on this one, but that's only because I need to do what's best for us, and what's best for Hera. I know I haven't always steered this ship the smoothest, but we've always made it through every storm. Through my leadership, and your hard work we've accomplished a lot, and this is set to be our greatest accomplishment. The group that contacted us is known as Red Dawn. They're mysterious, powerful and dangerous, but above all else they're filthy rich, and that's why I've agreed to take on the job." The crew went up in cheers; in the end he knew they'd all want it.
He gave instructions with Wakita to give Red Dawn the go. When first being given what little details they had on the job they were also given an eight digit key which they were to enter into a specific terminal. The key was a one time use, and they only way they had of getting into contact with Red Dawn. Four days after Wakita had made contact Fukushu was awoke by the sound of knocking at his door. He assumed it was Wakita and told him to come in, but he didn't receive a response.
Reluctantly he climbed out of bed and pushed open his door, expecting to see one his crew members waiting for him. Instead he found nothing; nothing except an envelope that had been slid underneath his door. When picking up the envelope he notices that one of the sides is weighed down by a circular metal object, and upon opening it he discover a coin. It's an older model though, and has seemingly been modified, with a seven pointed star and a triangle shield on it.
Placing the coin into one of his pockets, next comes the note. "Red Dawn thanks you for accepting our arrangement. You should have found a small coin inside; don't lose it. We're a secretive group, but that's for your protection as much as is it ours. That coin will be required for the continuation of our arrangement. At the bottom of this note you'll find coordinates to a planet. We expect to see you within the next seven days. Upon exiting your ship you'll be asked to present that coin. Should you fail to do so you shall not be allowed to leave the planet. So long."
Immediately Fuksuhu rushed to Wakita's room and kicked in the door. "Wake up, fool! I need to see the security footage from outside my door now!" Wakita is thrown out of his bed and into his seat near the computer. Though dazed and still half asleep he eventually manages to access the logs, and rewinds to the time that Fukushu specifies.
Or at least he tries. To both of their astonishment the logs are completely wiped. Even after fiddling around for another ten minutes Wakita is unable to produce anything. "I... I don't understand. I just reinforced security to our feed a few days ago; it shouldn't be possible to access our data through any computer but this one?!" It was an uncomfortable though, knowing that their security had been bested so easily... but it seemed that now the deal was set. Fuksuhu didn't expect Red Dawn to let them back out of it now. "Do what you can to get things up and running; we're taking off as soon as you do."
An hour later and they were in the air. They couldn't much afford to stick around any longer seeing as the coordinates they were given were for a planet roughly six days away. Just what were they playing at? At least they'd have plenty of time to try and prepare for whatever it was they were getting themselves into.
The details had been sparse. They knew that it was a smuggling job, but what exactly they were smuggling no one could say. It was weapons most likely; they was always a war going on in one corner of the galaxy, and weapons were always needed. Of course they were no details as to where they were moving it to, or who was supposed to receive the goods, but he figured they receive that information after landing.
The next six days were restless for Fukushu, and he attempted to figure out just what the Hell he had gotten himself into, and upon landing on the unnamed planet things only got messier. The first thing that stood out what the planet itself may have been unnamed, but it was far from unoccupied. They counted a dozen ships touching down alongside them, and four dozen had landed before them with even more expected to come in.
He assumed that they were pulling in a few local gangs from Hera to take care of things, but now was when the sheer scope of this operation was really put on display. Upon exiting the ship a dozen men in the same uniform quickly swarmed the opening. The all had a weapon in hand and had no qualms about aiming it directly at Fuksuhu and his crew. "Easy. I've got your coin right here." Fuksuhu pulled out the coin so it could be properly examined.
The central figure moved forward and took a look at the coin. He only seemed to glance at it for a brief second, but whatever he saw made him happy. He smiled and waved away the others, gesturing for Fukushu to follow. The Heran did so, ordering his crew to stay behind while he followed along. "Sorry about that, Green Four, but we have many enemies who wish to infiltrate our ranks, and so we must be quite cautious." Green Four?
"What did you just call me?" The man chuckled. He was an alien that Fukushu had never seen before. Small, with bright pink skin and several horns running from his forehead down to his tailbone. "Green Four. That'll be your name for now. I wouldn't get attached as we'll have a new one for your tomorrow and for everyday that you're with us. Again; this is for everyone's safety. If you're follow me I show you to the cargo."
He didn't know how he felt about the codenames, but he wasn't really in any position to reject them right now. They were well and truly in this together now, no matter how badly he wanted to leave. The two of them walked for about ten minutes, but their destination had been clear to Fukushu the moment he had landed. The colossal warehouse had been impossible to ignore, having been first spotted by the Heran before he had even exited the ship.
The alien who had still yet to give out his name retrieved the coin from his pocket and placed it into a slot. The door opened, and as Fukushu walked through he felt a light pass his body. "The door took a reading of your body. Only captains of ships are permitted to enter; make sure to tell your crew that. We've already have one accident and we can't afford any more." He didn't elaborate.
Upon entering the warehouse Fukushu was flabbergasted. The amount of munitions in front of him must have been enough to supply multiple planets at war. He had no idea how the Red Dawn had gotten their hold on such much stock, and who they planned on selling it to, but something told him that it was better not to ask. At the end of the day this kind of smuggling meant a massive pay out; the number they had promised him might have actually been true.
"I know what's probably going through your mind right now, and the answer is yes: it's better not to ask. You won't ever be finding out where our goods are going, as you'll only be handling a portion of the transportation. By now one of my associates would have delivered more coordinates to your crew. That planet will be the second station along our route where you'll be unloading the cargo so that another crew may take over. From there you'll receive your payment and be free to go."
Multiple stops and crew? These guys were careful. Despite what the alien had told him there was still one question on his mind that needed to be asked. "I was under the impression that this was a smuggling job, not just a transport job. I assume there's going to be some kind of authority who wants to stop us, that we'll have to bypass?"
The man laughed again; it wasn't a laugh that Fukushu enjoyed. "Why yes, of course they'll be. Like I said we have many enemies; some rivals, and others who think themselves on the 'right' side of the law. The original second stop for our train is currently under blockage, and thus we had to make a switch. We don't expect you to have to deal with any direct contact, but the route is likely to have some degree of security along the way. We expect you'll know how to maneuver past them."
Danger was always apart of the job. He wasn't afraid of a fight, but he did fear an enemy he didn't know, and one he couldn't punch in the nose. But like with all the other qualms he had right now he didn't quite feel comfortably expressing any of them. He simply smiled at the alien and told him he'd get the job done. Upon the conclusion of their conversation the man pressed a button on small controller which brought along some sort of manual labor droid.
"This unit has been assigned to you. He's taken in the information that was scanned from the door and will now only take commands from you. You can use him to transport the cargo to your ship. Based on our schedule you'll need to leave with the next eighteen hours." The alien then left the Heran to his work. Fukushu would never see him again.
Six hours later and the last of the cargo was finally hauled in. They had just barely enough room to fit it all in, but that seemed to be a problem that other captains had too. He had heard a few curse words thrown about outside, coming from figures upset at things not moving quick enough. The captains all looked as uneasy as Fuksuhu felt; they should learn to keep that on the inside. Fukushu took a look at the coordinates given to them, but they were completely foreign to him. Somehow the Red Dawn seemed to have a knack for finding planets that every few people knew about.
Looking down at the fields below he could see that the employees of the Red Dawn didn't want them sticking around any longer than they had to be there, and his crew felt the exact same way. They didn't hesitate getting off that planet, and heading to their next destination. The coordinates they had been given led to planet roughly three days away, and considering the deadline they had there wouldn't be any time for rest.
It was twenty four hour shifts for Fukushu and his crew; knowing that there were several different authorities on the lookout meant that they could never be too safe. For the first two and half days everything went fine, though the fact that they hadn't come across any of the other ships that had department the Red Dawn storage facility was a bit strange to him. Space was a very large place, and he didn't expect to come across ships often, but none at all?
He assumed that they would have taken a similar route, though that can't have been the case. He was beginning to wonder whether or not they were actually going to same location, or if everyone had been given a different route? His thoughts were interrupted by a call from Wakita, asking for him on the deck.
"What is it, Wakita?" His second in command didn't say a word; instead pointing out in front of him. It became quite apparent what Wakita was worried about, as dead ahead of them were several unidentified ships. At first he tried to play things cool, thinking that they may been working on the same mission as they were, though Wakita didn't seem as sure. Fukushu attempted to use his computer to make contact with one of the ships, though they found that their communication device was being jammed.
"That's not good... I guess that can only really mean one thing." The captain knew that the only had minutes to make their move, else the ships would quickly swarm. He was surprised that they hadn't already launched their attack, though it's possibly they're waiting to see if reinforcements arrive. "This ship doesn't have the battle capabilities to take on that many hostiles... the only way we make it out of this alive is by playing along."
Fukushu had contemplated trying to make a break for it, but their foes were looking right at them. Space may have been large but it was also open and empty; there was no where near to them where they could have hid. In his eyes that really only gave them one other option: fight, but not with the ship.
Fukushu put a lot of trust in his ship, but he knew it's limitations. He didn't trust it to be able to take on this many threats, but he trusted his fists against anything with flesh. Against the wishes of his crew he ordered that their shields be dropped in an attempt to show surrender, before telling them all to get into position. He took his own position at the door, waiting for the others to dock so that he could formally surrender to them.
The next fifteen minutes were agony as they waited to see whether or not the bait would be taken. The ships slowly inched nearer to his own, but there was still entirely possible that they were simply getting in a better position to fire. He didn't breathe again until he saw the docking signal, which prompted him to allow boarding. Instantly their ship door flew open, with three aliens triumphantly make their way onboard.
The first, who was a green alien roughly the same size as Fukushu, introduced himself. "Greetings, scum. I am Emmray, and these are my associates." The first to step forward was a blue creature about half as tall as Fukushu, while the other was grey and as think as a twig. "You are smugglers clear as day, and we are here to bring you to justice. Your contraband shall be taken to be destroyed while you and your crew are to face proper punishment."
Fuksuhu waited a good while before doing or saying anything. He wanted to make sure that there was no one else coming on board, and no other ships waiting out of sight. Once he felt comfortable that there would be no unwanted surprises he let Emmray and his friends know exactly what would be happening. "I'm afraid that we have other plans. We're being paid a good deal of money to make this delivery, and we have no intention of failing."
Fukushu got a good sense of the men before they had even stepped on board, and none of them were a real threat to him. He leaped forward and with an outstretched arm he was able to grab a hold of the grey one and clothesline him to the ground, instantly knocking him unconsciousness. Emmray was quick to react, but even if he could move at the speed of light it would have been enough to make a difference. Fukushu was easily able to block his strikes while his crew finally attacked.
Emmray's other friend was dealt with while Fukushu dueled for a little while longer; giving Emmray every opportunity to prove Fukushu wrong about his initial estimation. He never did, and so the Heran finished him off by slamming his face into the wall the throwing him out the air lock. "Alright boys; looks like they sent the idiots at us first, but we probably won't get that lucky next time. Everyone get back to work!"
The rest of the journey was actually rather smooth, though there was a sense of dread covering the Heran. He couldn't escape the feeling that this whole endeavor was a mistake, but with them being so close now it would have been foolish to give up now. It was almost over is what he told himself; they get down, they unload, they get paid and then they get out. It was simple enough so long as they simple followed orders.
That idea was immediately scuffed upon landing, as when exiting the ship Fukushu was surrounded by aliens who demanded to know what had happened. Apparently their little scuffle was common knowledge, though Fukushu tried to hush everything up; explaining that they took care of things without any hiccups. Being the suspicious bunch that they were that answer wasn't the most satisfactory, though they left him alone to help unload.
It took about another five hours until they had gotten everything unloaded, and even by then the air wasn't quite clear in the air. No one was permitted to leave the very small zone that had been set up, and he could see that many of the other crews were on edge. Red Dawn workers didn't like it when the other captains spoke to each other either, and he knew that several other captains had been escorted away and never seen again.
When the small, bald stranger approached him he assumed that his time had come as well, though surprisingly it wasn't as dire as that. "The Red Dawn would like to thank you on the work you've done for us. We want you to know that the goods you have delivered will be put to good use. We would be very happy to deliver the payment to you now... but, if you would indulge us... there is perhaps another offer you might like?"
And there it was: the punch in the gut that Fukushu was waiting for. He knew that there must have been some sort of string attached, but considering the circumstances he felt as though he had no choice but to accept, at least for now. "Well, we've come this far; what did you have in mind?" The old man smiled and handed Fukushu an envelope. "We'd like for you to take a second shipment. As you probably figured know this isn't the final destination. The goods will need to be moved at least twice more, and we'd like for your assistance in the matter. You would of course be paid double for performing double the work."
Well... double the pay sounded good, but almost too good. "The other man I spoke to told me that for safety concerns the roles would be kept to a minimum. Everything needed to be a secret or something like that. I appreciate the praise, but are we really so good that you'd risk that?" He could see right away a look of scorn and disgust on the bald man's face; he didn't even attempt to hide it.
"We make a generous offer for you; I suggest you take it." That was all he said before walking away, giving no opportunity for Fukushu to inquire further. He didn't like that tone, he didn't like that man and he didn't like this place; all of it was wrong, and he had enough. Fukushu stormed back into his ship and immediately rushed over to Wakita's room, forcing the door open and practically screaming his order. "Get the ship ready to go; we're out of here."
A look of shock went over Wakita's face. "But... what about the job? Are we really going to pass up on another opportunity with these guys? I think there's still a lot more money to be made here, Fukushu!" That was strange. "Opportunity? What are you talking about?" The look of shock seemed to shift into embarrassment. "Well, I uh... I was watching you speak with the old man. He didn't give you any money and you don't look as pissed as I thought you might be so we must still be on the job, right?"
"What we are is leaving. I'm still the captain here last time I checked and I expect every order I give to be followed to the word. Get your ass out of bed and make sure we're ready." Fukushu left and made his way over to the navigation controls. He waited until Wakita gave him the all clear and powered things on. He figured that Red Dawn probably wouldn't like him leaving like this so he made sure not actually take over until things quieted down.
The entire way back there was an uneasy feeling amongst the crew; Fukushu's attitude was hard to hide, and the others would have figured out by now that there was no pay incoming, but what else could he have done? With the captains and crews disappearing... he just didn't feel right about continuing. There wasn't any point in making money if they weren't alive to spend it, and sooner or later they would come to understand that.
Upon arriving back on Hera the somber mood was still stuck on everyone, but Fukushu hoped that by morning it would have departed. He made his way back over to his room and crawled into bed, desperately hoping that the foul mood would be gone when he awoke. Instead he awoke to screaming.
Fukushu found his eyes force opened at the dead of night, completely unaware of what was going on. He heard screaming coming from outside his door, but from who? And why? He rushed out of bed with his night gear still on and found the deck of ship aflame. "Wakita? Where are you? What the Hell is going on?" No answer other the sounds of his crew burning alive. Some still wriggled along the deck, hoping to do what they could to put out the fires, but most were already gone.
And yet that's not what happened with Fukushu. After his betrayal at the hands of Korosu and his fostering with Haji something changed in the young Heran. It happened slowly at first, and in fact Fukushu went to great lengths to resist any sort of change. Why should he fight against his natural urges? What wealth or glory was there to be one as a do-gooder? That was his attitude in the beginning, much to Haji's annoyance, and it took many years of training to work that out of him.
Eventually the young and headstrong Heran came to see the other side of things more clearly, though he never lost sight of what has always driven: the desire to control. Incredibly arrogant Fukushu is, believing that with him in charge everything would be better. Before he fought to dominant those around him for no greater end other than to prove his own strength and to live a comfortable life, but now? Now he has grander plans, that require much grander wealth and resources.
And so by day Fukushu and his crew roam the streets of Hera, mopping up whatever criminals they see in a brutal manor, while at night they would join the criminal enterprise off world. From his point of view it was for the greater good: the resources earned by smuggling, pirating and whatever else they were involved in would help back on Hera. They never committed crime while home, and did their utmost to stop any criminals from getting in. But in space? Well... they needed to make a living.
Generally the job were fairly small time. They'd make contact through his computer expert Wakita and set up a meeting spot. From there Fukushu would hammer out the details and they'd be off. He didn't like jobs that took more than a couple days to finish; being away from Hera for too long made him feel uneasy. They'd pick up one crate of whatever, and deliver it to wherever, killing whoever got in their way. It was simple business that paid enough to keep everyone happy.
Fukushu had no intention of changing how things worked, but then an opportunity to large to ignore came up. It was midnight when Wakita came bursting through his door in excitement, desperate to get the news out. "Fukushu! Wake up! You'll never guess what happened!" Judging by this tone of voice it could really only be one thing, but he decided to humor him anyway. "Well? You gonna tell me or what? I don't like being woken up like this."
Wakita rushed over beside him and took showed him the document. The page was entirely blank but for two words: Red Dawn. "Red Dawn? What the Hell is that supposed to be mean?" He studied the page further, trying to spot what he surely must have missed, but it was just those damn words. "These are guys we've been looking for!" Oh, so that's what it was.
About six months prior Fukushu had received an anonymous job offer. Most often than not these were traps set up by his enemies so he usually ignored them, but this one was different. The job was massive in scale; larger than any mission he'd ever been on, and was backed up with seemingly legit information. But the fact that he didn't know the source was still an issue for him, and so he went to work trying to uncover whatever he could.
It seemed like a simple enough solution, except his right hand man Wakita came up empty. Months on end he asked for more and more resources, and though intrigued to find the source of the offer he also grew increasingly frustrated at coming up empty. And now this? After all that time and all he brought him were two words? He should have been more furious, but at the same time his own efforts had produced even less than that, so he held his tongue.
"So... Red Dawn?" It would be all he had to go off of. A lot less than he'd hoped, but the deadline was coming up. Due to the sheer size of the operation this group was organizing they delivered the offers many months in advance, giving each crew time to think things over. Fuksuhu had left things quite late, and still wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to go through with it.
On the one hand the potential payment was... enormous. It would have been enough to fund their activities for two straight years. He had no idea where or how this Red Dawn could have gotten their hands on such wealth, and a part of him didn't want to know; he just wanted a piece of it. Hera could desperately use that wealth in the hands of someone who actually wants to achieve some good, but did that make it worth it?
He still knew nothing about Red Dawn; who they were, what they dealt in... the details of the job itself had been rather vague, and that worried him too. Clearly these people were extremely powerful, dealing in extremely illegal substances. With such large sums of money being involved he knew high authorities would likely have their eyes on things. One small slip up and they could find themselves in an intergalactic war without friends on either side.
He had to do it. The risk was massive, but the upside on this sort of job was simply too much to pass up. He briefly considered consulting with his crew to see what they would think, but he quickly threw away that idea. Give them too much say in things and they'll start thinking that this is a democracy. All they needed to know was how much they'd be getting paid at the end of this and they wouldn't have any complaints.
"Well? Fukushu? You still in there? What do I tell the boys?" Apparently he'd been day dreaming. "Uh, right; sorry about that. You tell them the captains got an order for them. Everyone assemble on deck; I'll give the rest myself." He dismissed Wakita and got into proper uniform. He knew at this time of the night the boys would be upset about being woken, but he had good enough reason this time. After slipping into his suit he went outside to meet his crew.
There were six of them not including Wakita and himself; nothing major, but they had accomplished a lot in their time together. Most Herans aren't accustomed to fighting for a good cause, and so it was a pretty difficult sell to most. Eventually he was able to lure a few in on the promises of reward; at the end of the day as long as they pay was there they'd do just about anything, which in itself was a little frightening. He always made sure to keep a tight leash on this lot.
"Alrighty boys. I know I've kept you waiting quite long on this one, but that's only because I need to do what's best for us, and what's best for Hera. I know I haven't always steered this ship the smoothest, but we've always made it through every storm. Through my leadership, and your hard work we've accomplished a lot, and this is set to be our greatest accomplishment. The group that contacted us is known as Red Dawn. They're mysterious, powerful and dangerous, but above all else they're filthy rich, and that's why I've agreed to take on the job." The crew went up in cheers; in the end he knew they'd all want it.
He gave instructions with Wakita to give Red Dawn the go. When first being given what little details they had on the job they were also given an eight digit key which they were to enter into a specific terminal. The key was a one time use, and they only way they had of getting into contact with Red Dawn. Four days after Wakita had made contact Fukushu was awoke by the sound of knocking at his door. He assumed it was Wakita and told him to come in, but he didn't receive a response.
Reluctantly he climbed out of bed and pushed open his door, expecting to see one his crew members waiting for him. Instead he found nothing; nothing except an envelope that had been slid underneath his door. When picking up the envelope he notices that one of the sides is weighed down by a circular metal object, and upon opening it he discover a coin. It's an older model though, and has seemingly been modified, with a seven pointed star and a triangle shield on it.
Placing the coin into one of his pockets, next comes the note. "Red Dawn thanks you for accepting our arrangement. You should have found a small coin inside; don't lose it. We're a secretive group, but that's for your protection as much as is it ours. That coin will be required for the continuation of our arrangement. At the bottom of this note you'll find coordinates to a planet. We expect to see you within the next seven days. Upon exiting your ship you'll be asked to present that coin. Should you fail to do so you shall not be allowed to leave the planet. So long."
Immediately Fuksuhu rushed to Wakita's room and kicked in the door. "Wake up, fool! I need to see the security footage from outside my door now!" Wakita is thrown out of his bed and into his seat near the computer. Though dazed and still half asleep he eventually manages to access the logs, and rewinds to the time that Fukushu specifies.
Or at least he tries. To both of their astonishment the logs are completely wiped. Even after fiddling around for another ten minutes Wakita is unable to produce anything. "I... I don't understand. I just reinforced security to our feed a few days ago; it shouldn't be possible to access our data through any computer but this one?!" It was an uncomfortable though, knowing that their security had been bested so easily... but it seemed that now the deal was set. Fuksuhu didn't expect Red Dawn to let them back out of it now. "Do what you can to get things up and running; we're taking off as soon as you do."
An hour later and they were in the air. They couldn't much afford to stick around any longer seeing as the coordinates they were given were for a planet roughly six days away. Just what were they playing at? At least they'd have plenty of time to try and prepare for whatever it was they were getting themselves into.
The details had been sparse. They knew that it was a smuggling job, but what exactly they were smuggling no one could say. It was weapons most likely; they was always a war going on in one corner of the galaxy, and weapons were always needed. Of course they were no details as to where they were moving it to, or who was supposed to receive the goods, but he figured they receive that information after landing.
The next six days were restless for Fukushu, and he attempted to figure out just what the Hell he had gotten himself into, and upon landing on the unnamed planet things only got messier. The first thing that stood out what the planet itself may have been unnamed, but it was far from unoccupied. They counted a dozen ships touching down alongside them, and four dozen had landed before them with even more expected to come in.
He assumed that they were pulling in a few local gangs from Hera to take care of things, but now was when the sheer scope of this operation was really put on display. Upon exiting the ship a dozen men in the same uniform quickly swarmed the opening. The all had a weapon in hand and had no qualms about aiming it directly at Fuksuhu and his crew. "Easy. I've got your coin right here." Fuksuhu pulled out the coin so it could be properly examined.
The central figure moved forward and took a look at the coin. He only seemed to glance at it for a brief second, but whatever he saw made him happy. He smiled and waved away the others, gesturing for Fukushu to follow. The Heran did so, ordering his crew to stay behind while he followed along. "Sorry about that, Green Four, but we have many enemies who wish to infiltrate our ranks, and so we must be quite cautious." Green Four?
"What did you just call me?" The man chuckled. He was an alien that Fukushu had never seen before. Small, with bright pink skin and several horns running from his forehead down to his tailbone. "Green Four. That'll be your name for now. I wouldn't get attached as we'll have a new one for your tomorrow and for everyday that you're with us. Again; this is for everyone's safety. If you're follow me I show you to the cargo."
He didn't know how he felt about the codenames, but he wasn't really in any position to reject them right now. They were well and truly in this together now, no matter how badly he wanted to leave. The two of them walked for about ten minutes, but their destination had been clear to Fukushu the moment he had landed. The colossal warehouse had been impossible to ignore, having been first spotted by the Heran before he had even exited the ship.
The alien who had still yet to give out his name retrieved the coin from his pocket and placed it into a slot. The door opened, and as Fukushu walked through he felt a light pass his body. "The door took a reading of your body. Only captains of ships are permitted to enter; make sure to tell your crew that. We've already have one accident and we can't afford any more." He didn't elaborate.
Upon entering the warehouse Fukushu was flabbergasted. The amount of munitions in front of him must have been enough to supply multiple planets at war. He had no idea how the Red Dawn had gotten their hold on such much stock, and who they planned on selling it to, but something told him that it was better not to ask. At the end of the day this kind of smuggling meant a massive pay out; the number they had promised him might have actually been true.
"I know what's probably going through your mind right now, and the answer is yes: it's better not to ask. You won't ever be finding out where our goods are going, as you'll only be handling a portion of the transportation. By now one of my associates would have delivered more coordinates to your crew. That planet will be the second station along our route where you'll be unloading the cargo so that another crew may take over. From there you'll receive your payment and be free to go."
Multiple stops and crew? These guys were careful. Despite what the alien had told him there was still one question on his mind that needed to be asked. "I was under the impression that this was a smuggling job, not just a transport job. I assume there's going to be some kind of authority who wants to stop us, that we'll have to bypass?"
The man laughed again; it wasn't a laugh that Fukushu enjoyed. "Why yes, of course they'll be. Like I said we have many enemies; some rivals, and others who think themselves on the 'right' side of the law. The original second stop for our train is currently under blockage, and thus we had to make a switch. We don't expect you to have to deal with any direct contact, but the route is likely to have some degree of security along the way. We expect you'll know how to maneuver past them."
Danger was always apart of the job. He wasn't afraid of a fight, but he did fear an enemy he didn't know, and one he couldn't punch in the nose. But like with all the other qualms he had right now he didn't quite feel comfortably expressing any of them. He simply smiled at the alien and told him he'd get the job done. Upon the conclusion of their conversation the man pressed a button on small controller which brought along some sort of manual labor droid.
"This unit has been assigned to you. He's taken in the information that was scanned from the door and will now only take commands from you. You can use him to transport the cargo to your ship. Based on our schedule you'll need to leave with the next eighteen hours." The alien then left the Heran to his work. Fukushu would never see him again.
Six hours later and the last of the cargo was finally hauled in. They had just barely enough room to fit it all in, but that seemed to be a problem that other captains had too. He had heard a few curse words thrown about outside, coming from figures upset at things not moving quick enough. The captains all looked as uneasy as Fuksuhu felt; they should learn to keep that on the inside. Fukushu took a look at the coordinates given to them, but they were completely foreign to him. Somehow the Red Dawn seemed to have a knack for finding planets that every few people knew about.
Looking down at the fields below he could see that the employees of the Red Dawn didn't want them sticking around any longer than they had to be there, and his crew felt the exact same way. They didn't hesitate getting off that planet, and heading to their next destination. The coordinates they had been given led to planet roughly three days away, and considering the deadline they had there wouldn't be any time for rest.
It was twenty four hour shifts for Fukushu and his crew; knowing that there were several different authorities on the lookout meant that they could never be too safe. For the first two and half days everything went fine, though the fact that they hadn't come across any of the other ships that had department the Red Dawn storage facility was a bit strange to him. Space was a very large place, and he didn't expect to come across ships often, but none at all?
He assumed that they would have taken a similar route, though that can't have been the case. He was beginning to wonder whether or not they were actually going to same location, or if everyone had been given a different route? His thoughts were interrupted by a call from Wakita, asking for him on the deck.
"What is it, Wakita?" His second in command didn't say a word; instead pointing out in front of him. It became quite apparent what Wakita was worried about, as dead ahead of them were several unidentified ships. At first he tried to play things cool, thinking that they may been working on the same mission as they were, though Wakita didn't seem as sure. Fukushu attempted to use his computer to make contact with one of the ships, though they found that their communication device was being jammed.
"That's not good... I guess that can only really mean one thing." The captain knew that the only had minutes to make their move, else the ships would quickly swarm. He was surprised that they hadn't already launched their attack, though it's possibly they're waiting to see if reinforcements arrive. "This ship doesn't have the battle capabilities to take on that many hostiles... the only way we make it out of this alive is by playing along."
Fukushu had contemplated trying to make a break for it, but their foes were looking right at them. Space may have been large but it was also open and empty; there was no where near to them where they could have hid. In his eyes that really only gave them one other option: fight, but not with the ship.
Fukushu put a lot of trust in his ship, but he knew it's limitations. He didn't trust it to be able to take on this many threats, but he trusted his fists against anything with flesh. Against the wishes of his crew he ordered that their shields be dropped in an attempt to show surrender, before telling them all to get into position. He took his own position at the door, waiting for the others to dock so that he could formally surrender to them.
The next fifteen minutes were agony as they waited to see whether or not the bait would be taken. The ships slowly inched nearer to his own, but there was still entirely possible that they were simply getting in a better position to fire. He didn't breathe again until he saw the docking signal, which prompted him to allow boarding. Instantly their ship door flew open, with three aliens triumphantly make their way onboard.
The first, who was a green alien roughly the same size as Fukushu, introduced himself. "Greetings, scum. I am Emmray, and these are my associates." The first to step forward was a blue creature about half as tall as Fukushu, while the other was grey and as think as a twig. "You are smugglers clear as day, and we are here to bring you to justice. Your contraband shall be taken to be destroyed while you and your crew are to face proper punishment."
Fuksuhu waited a good while before doing or saying anything. He wanted to make sure that there was no one else coming on board, and no other ships waiting out of sight. Once he felt comfortable that there would be no unwanted surprises he let Emmray and his friends know exactly what would be happening. "I'm afraid that we have other plans. We're being paid a good deal of money to make this delivery, and we have no intention of failing."
Fukushu got a good sense of the men before they had even stepped on board, and none of them were a real threat to him. He leaped forward and with an outstretched arm he was able to grab a hold of the grey one and clothesline him to the ground, instantly knocking him unconsciousness. Emmray was quick to react, but even if he could move at the speed of light it would have been enough to make a difference. Fukushu was easily able to block his strikes while his crew finally attacked.
Emmray's other friend was dealt with while Fukushu dueled for a little while longer; giving Emmray every opportunity to prove Fukushu wrong about his initial estimation. He never did, and so the Heran finished him off by slamming his face into the wall the throwing him out the air lock. "Alright boys; looks like they sent the idiots at us first, but we probably won't get that lucky next time. Everyone get back to work!"
The rest of the journey was actually rather smooth, though there was a sense of dread covering the Heran. He couldn't escape the feeling that this whole endeavor was a mistake, but with them being so close now it would have been foolish to give up now. It was almost over is what he told himself; they get down, they unload, they get paid and then they get out. It was simple enough so long as they simple followed orders.
That idea was immediately scuffed upon landing, as when exiting the ship Fukushu was surrounded by aliens who demanded to know what had happened. Apparently their little scuffle was common knowledge, though Fukushu tried to hush everything up; explaining that they took care of things without any hiccups. Being the suspicious bunch that they were that answer wasn't the most satisfactory, though they left him alone to help unload.
It took about another five hours until they had gotten everything unloaded, and even by then the air wasn't quite clear in the air. No one was permitted to leave the very small zone that had been set up, and he could see that many of the other crews were on edge. Red Dawn workers didn't like it when the other captains spoke to each other either, and he knew that several other captains had been escorted away and never seen again.
When the small, bald stranger approached him he assumed that his time had come as well, though surprisingly it wasn't as dire as that. "The Red Dawn would like to thank you on the work you've done for us. We want you to know that the goods you have delivered will be put to good use. We would be very happy to deliver the payment to you now... but, if you would indulge us... there is perhaps another offer you might like?"
And there it was: the punch in the gut that Fukushu was waiting for. He knew that there must have been some sort of string attached, but considering the circumstances he felt as though he had no choice but to accept, at least for now. "Well, we've come this far; what did you have in mind?" The old man smiled and handed Fukushu an envelope. "We'd like for you to take a second shipment. As you probably figured know this isn't the final destination. The goods will need to be moved at least twice more, and we'd like for your assistance in the matter. You would of course be paid double for performing double the work."
Well... double the pay sounded good, but almost too good. "The other man I spoke to told me that for safety concerns the roles would be kept to a minimum. Everything needed to be a secret or something like that. I appreciate the praise, but are we really so good that you'd risk that?" He could see right away a look of scorn and disgust on the bald man's face; he didn't even attempt to hide it.
"We make a generous offer for you; I suggest you take it." That was all he said before walking away, giving no opportunity for Fukushu to inquire further. He didn't like that tone, he didn't like that man and he didn't like this place; all of it was wrong, and he had enough. Fukushu stormed back into his ship and immediately rushed over to Wakita's room, forcing the door open and practically screaming his order. "Get the ship ready to go; we're out of here."
A look of shock went over Wakita's face. "But... what about the job? Are we really going to pass up on another opportunity with these guys? I think there's still a lot more money to be made here, Fukushu!" That was strange. "Opportunity? What are you talking about?" The look of shock seemed to shift into embarrassment. "Well, I uh... I was watching you speak with the old man. He didn't give you any money and you don't look as pissed as I thought you might be so we must still be on the job, right?"
"What we are is leaving. I'm still the captain here last time I checked and I expect every order I give to be followed to the word. Get your ass out of bed and make sure we're ready." Fukushu left and made his way over to the navigation controls. He waited until Wakita gave him the all clear and powered things on. He figured that Red Dawn probably wouldn't like him leaving like this so he made sure not actually take over until things quieted down.
The entire way back there was an uneasy feeling amongst the crew; Fukushu's attitude was hard to hide, and the others would have figured out by now that there was no pay incoming, but what else could he have done? With the captains and crews disappearing... he just didn't feel right about continuing. There wasn't any point in making money if they weren't alive to spend it, and sooner or later they would come to understand that.
Upon arriving back on Hera the somber mood was still stuck on everyone, but Fukushu hoped that by morning it would have departed. He made his way back over to his room and crawled into bed, desperately hoping that the foul mood would be gone when he awoke. Instead he awoke to screaming.
Fukushu found his eyes force opened at the dead of night, completely unaware of what was going on. He heard screaming coming from outside his door, but from who? And why? He rushed out of bed with his night gear still on and found the deck of ship aflame. "Wakita? Where are you? What the Hell is going on?" No answer other the sounds of his crew burning alive. Some still wriggled along the deck, hoping to do what they could to put out the fires, but most were already gone.