Agameg and Finn always found a way to connect when their shift started in the morning, despite the nondescript grey worker vacsuits everyone were sealed up in. They were assigned to work on the Samson after a long argument with their new head of intelligence, Jason. At first, Jason had them running around from one random job to another, something different every day, but on day six Jason’s system had Agameg and Finn working on the same trash removal detail.
Finn recognised Agameg when he saw him shift between the two forms he spent the most time in while hiding amongst the workers. There were other issyrians on the detail, but there was something about the way he shifted that suggested it was him. When Finn caught him shifting into the shape of a portly man behind a crate one afternoon, he couldn’t stop laughing.
“Apparently, you find fat people very funny,” Agameg said.
Finn shook his head, then pointed at Agameg’s knees. “I don’t think-“ he took a breath, “-don’t think they’re supposed to waddle below the middle so much,” he managed before another bout of laughter.
With a little help, Agameg shifted into a more convincing portly human. No one seemed to notice that Agameg could shift some of the bulk out of the way when necessary, so it didn’t impede his work.
Separately, they may have never complained openly about being kept away from the Samson, but together they felt fortified enough to approach Jason Everin directly, and tell him they wouldn’t go along unless they were allowed to participate in the Samson project. Finn and Agameg, being two of the new designers for the ship, were given a way to give orders and instructions to other workers using proxies, so no one could tell who the orders came from; all they knew was that they came from someone with more authority.
In the weeks since, Finn and Agameg watched morale plummet. Sealed vacsuits with blacked out faceplates and instructions to keep your identity to yourself made for brutal conditions. Hundreds of people worked on the Samson, and they needed visible leaders who could be present. They also needed each other for support and camaraderie, and to feel like a proper crew. Finn hated Jason’s plan, couldn’t believe it had gone on for so long, but he had to admit he was learning a lot about leadership. He and Agameg used the proxy band not only to issue commands, but after a few weeks they used it to cheer people up with comments like, ‘Your Secret Overlords are highly impressed with worker 1128. Please dance with them for one minute if you see them today. Vigorously.’ One worker on ground duty, or ‘move and pile objects’ duty, was not only surprised but entertained all day, and Agameg never stopped laughing when he saw someone stop and follow instructions upon seeing that worker.
There were others, like making a few kiddie pools out of scrap outside the hangar that were eventually used for their intended purpose, but initially used by the more lighthearted crewmembers. They didn’t use them to cool down, but to take funny holoimages during breaks in their sealed vacsuits. Oz first noticed them when one of the larger wading pools had as many people sitting along the inside as possible. “I think the pretence of so many humans who cannot feel the water relaxing in once place has broken, Oz,” Agameg said as the Commander laughed so hard he had to sit down. They waved, and beckoned for him to join them, making it much worse.
Most of the ‘Overlord Gags’ as they came to be called weren’t as elaborate. Though they did become a daily thing, they could only do so much for morale. Agameg and Finn were careful not to suggest anything that got in the way of the work or put anyone in danger, and Finn was sure that’s why they were allowed to keep it up for as long as they had.
Over several weeks, Finn had the pleasure of watching the Samson get torn down to her skeleton then rebuilt. The design was a collaborative effort between all their qualified people: Ayan, Liam Grady, Laura Everin, Frost, Agameg, Captain Valance, Finn himself, and others. They focused on a design that would be quick to build, and it changed depending on the materials available. The ship was going to be something very different, thanks to her original, multipurpose frame design and the heavy building girders they used to reinforce her.
All kinds of scrap metal was available, thanks to a junk yard that encroached on the nearby forest. Alaka’s team were incredible salvagers. Finn wished he could have gone on more than one ride with them, but after a firefight broke out between them and two other groups of scavengers, someone above Finn’s head removed that option.
“I wonder how Ashley and Stephanie are doing with their rotation?” Agameg asked over a private channel. “I haven’t spoken to either of them in twelve days.”
“I know, this limited communication thing is a pain in the ass,” Finn said, checking the connections on a wormhole generator. It was originally intended for an extended model Uriel fighter, but the Samson borrowed four. “Stephanie said it wasn’t that bad when I got in touch with her last week. Ashley’s learning a lot, but she doesn’t seem to like it much.”
“You spoke to her?” Agameg asked.
“No, she hasn’t spoken to me since this started, but Steph gave me an update.” Finn sighed before going on. “I guess there’s some residual weirdness after our last date.”
“I wish you humans had better senses,” Agameg said. “You’d know if you were compatible right away.”
“That would make dating simpler,” Finn replied. “Can you tell if people are a match?”
“Sometimes,” Agameg said. “I try not to let people know I can smell their mood. I told Bella once, and she said it ‘creeped her out’ so I keep that to myself.”
“Who’s Bella?”
“Oh, I suppose she left the Samson before you came aboard. Very kind human, she enjoyed watching people, so we were a natural pair,” Agameg replied, closing the casing of the wormhole module. They walked down the hallway to a junction and opened it. Hundreds of wires ran into and through the box.
“So, can you do it through a vacsuit?” Finn asked.
“No, not if it’s sealed. Some humans are difficult to read if they have only retracted their head gear, too.”
“How easy am I to read?”
“You are,” Agameg considered his wording for a moment. “More complex than many humans.”
“What about Stephanie? Or Frost?” Finn asked, holding a band of metal up to a cable and punching a bolt through it with a multitool so the power line was secured to the inner bulkhead.
“Frost is almost always very relaxed, but there is a bite to his fragrance that speaks of the warrior within. Of all the humans I’ve ever met, he carries the least guilt. Stephanie reads very differently when she’s on duty. Calm, controlled, confident. When she’s off duty, she’s more like Ashley than I would like to tell her.”
Finn wished he’d had that conversation weeks before, and took the opportunity to ask about the one person he wanted to learn of most. “What about Ashley?”
“She’s very smelly,” Agameg replied.
Finn doubled over with laughter.
Agameg stopped checking the cables running from the junction and looked at Finn. “Smelly is the right word,” he explained. “I just checked.”
“I know,” Finn replied, recovering. “It’s just not the word I expected.”
“Oh,” Agameg replied. “Would ‘pungent’ be better?”
Finn shook his head, “I get what you mean, but she might not like the word. ‘Fragrant’, maybe?” He waited as Agameg looked it up.
“I suppose, it is pleasant once you get over the shock,” Agameg replied. “It’s difficult to put into words, she’s like,” he hesitated, rubbing his hand up and down one arm, something he’d started doing when looking for the right word or phrase. “Like those long meal tables with different foods?”
“A buffet?” Finn offered.
“Yes! Her moods mix and change until she seems to settle on one, then you can’t help but know what mood she’s in. Her influence is greater than she thinks,” Agameg said.
“So it’s a good smell,” Finn said.
“Yes,” Agameg replied. “That wasn’t clear?”
“When you say ‘smelly’ or ‘pungent’ we think about things like trash cleanup.”
“Ah,” Agameg replied, recoiling slightly. “I am understanding why there are so many misunderstandings in your language more all the time.”
Finn began scanning the wiring and nodded down the hallway. “Check the one at frame nine, I can handle this one.”
“You don’t want to know how you and Ashley are together?” Agameg asked as he walked down the hall at a good pace. Checking junctions and cable runs were necessary, but boring. They both wanted to get it over with.
“I’m surprised you remember, we haven’t met up in a while,” Finn replied.
“I’d never forget,” Agameg said. “When you are together, and there is no one else near, there is a calming fragrance. You have that affect on many people, but more so on her.”
Finn thought for a moment, reassured by Agameg’s interpretation. “Thank you, that explains a lot, I think.”
A Stellarnet news alert popped up in the corner of Finn’s visor. He froze at the sight of a shuttle with two people in vacsuits affixed to the front burning through the atmosphere. One was holding his arms up in front of his face, the other struggled to break free of the sealant foam that held him fast to the hull – not a good plan, Finn thought, but the man was obviously panicking. The caption at the bottom of the alert read: JACOB VALANCE RETURNS!
Finn checked the local air traffic and found the shuttle, flanked by a wing of fighters and the rest of the shuttles from the Enforcer. “Agameg!”
“I can hear you perfectly clearly over comms,” Agameg replied. “There’s no need to yell.”
“Captain’s back, and it looks like he’s changing the plan,” Finn said, making sure his scan was complete and the wiring was correct before slamming a panel door and running for the nearest exit.
“Oh?”
“He’s landing now, link up with the main crew channel.” Finn nearly bumped into a crewman as he came around a corner to one of the main debarkation ramps. “Sorry,” he said as he pushed past. He followed his own advice and connected to the main and command channels using his real ident. He wasn’t the only one; he saw Stephanie, Frost, March, and a moment later, Agameg and Ashley popped in.
“- won’t be happy about this,” Oz said over the command channel. “Uh, hey guys, your idents are showing.”
“That’s over,” Captain Valance said. “If they want to operate in the open, like I do, then they’re welcome to. The plan worked for a while, I’ll give Jason credit for that, but the idiots riding on the front of my shuttle found cracks, so I’m calling it.”
Finn came out from under the Samson and looked to the opening in the tall hangar doors. He was treated to the sight of an entire wing of Uriel fighters, and over a dozen shuttles landing all at once. The first to touch down was Jacob’s shuttle.
He stepped outside a moment later, in a grey vacsuit with burn holes at the shoulder, leg, and torso. Finn joined the crowd that gathered around. Someone was broadcasting his landing to the Stellarnet, and the video window on his visor showed that viewership was going up by the thousands per second.
Jacob walked to the front of his shuttle and faced the crowd with the two hanging men behind him. “These two tried to kidnap me and claim the bounty on my head,” Captain Valance announced. “The rest of the bounty hunters that came with them didn’t survive.”
Minh-Chu Buu joined Captain Valance, with crossed arms and a stern expression that made him look much older than Finn would have ever guessed. Finn noticed a new emblem on his chest: a skull with crossed samurai swords on its forehead and lettered teeth that read: SAMURAI SQUADRON. Along the contour of the upper half of the skull was written: FIRST STRIKE FIGHTER SQUADRON.
With a quick check, Finn saw that the emblem change was performed by the other squadron leader, Nathan Kipp, also known as Slick. “Big change coming,” Finn said under his breath.
“I agree,” Agameg said.
“By hunting me, these men put my crew at risk,” Captain Valance said. He only had to put his hand out and Minh-Chu knew to unholster his firearm, a heavy, armour piercing weapon known as the Spectral Dynamics Violator Handgun, and hand it to Captain Valance. He deftly adjusted the settings on the weapon, turned, and without a second’s hesitation, shot one of the hanging men in the head until the rounds burst through the worker’s vacsuit. It took less than a second. The sight and sound of the act was so sudden, so violent, that Finn and many other onlookers flinched. The man’s head was gone in a mist of red, the hull of the shuttle behind sparked and smouldered fitfully.
He returned his attention to the crowd, lowering the smoking sidearm. “I hunted the trash of the galaxy for years, you cannot surprise me. You may be able to catch me, but you’ll regret it every time,” Captain Valance said. His expression was enough to force Finn to unconsciously take a step back.
“Come after me and I’ll make everything you own mine, kill you and your crew, then leave your carcass in the open so everyone knows where I tore you to pieces. That includes every military organisation that seems to be confused about who I am, and what I’m responsible for.”
The viewer counter on the Stellarnet feed had jumped into the millions, and it was climbing faster. Finn had never seen anything like it, and couldn’t help but get excited.
“So there is no confusion, I’ll tell you my story, and what I intend to do next. I was created in a Vindyne lab less than a decade ago, stolen by a woman who is part of a great legacy. Vindyne gave me the name Jacob Valance. For some reason, they didn’t come to take me back after Regent Galactic bought Vindyne, so I continued on, took on a crew, started hunting, and then I found another man’s memories in my head. Jonas Valent. I have all his memories, they feel like my own, but I’m a different man, a more severe man, a killer and a pirate. The Order of Eden likes to call me a terrorist.
"The charges submitted to the courts by Regent Galactic, that Jonas Valent is responsible for the Holocaust Virus that cost so many lives, are misdirected at me. The man they’re looking for is dead. He was also innocent. I’m the last living part of his legacy, and in honour of him, I’m taking his last name. I’m also answering to a calling that I think he’d be proud of.
"My ship, the Samson, may have been destroyed, but I have a new vessel, one that has been built on a promise I made after assisting Holocaust victims in the Enreega system. I cannot imagine that anyone but the Eden Cult are responsible for the Holocaust Virus, and the deaths of billions, yet no one is willing to declare war.
"So let me be the first. You’ve cost me my ship, beloved crewmembers, and the daughter of the Valent legacy: Alice. I will hunt Eden ships, Order of Eden allies, Regent Galactic assets, and disrupt, capture or destroy them whenever and wherever I can. You want to see a terrorist? I’ll show you one.”
Captain Jacob Valent turned and took aim at the last hanging man, who struggled to get free of the sealant that held him fast to the shuttle’s hull. “And my message to the hunters out there is simple: don’t get in my way.” He pulled the trigger, burning through the man’s head.
The transmission ended as some of the crowd began cheering. They were joined by more, and even Finn found himself clapping. Something within him stirred. He’d seen some of the devastation brought on by the Holocaust Virus, and known so many people who lost their entire families. He hadn’t heard from home either, and suspected the worst. It was something he was loathe to face, but he hoped that someone would reply to the transmission he sent home seven weeks before.
Captain Valent walked straight towards him, and Finn lowered his hood, and then retracted his faceplate. The air was warm against his face, and smelled of ozone with a little trash mixed in for good measure, but it still felt good.
Stephanie passed by Finn, taking her hood down and shaking her hair free. “Nice speech, I almost believed we have a chance,” she said, grinning.
“We’re going to do a lot of good,” Captain Valent said. “We’re going to do this the smart way.”
One concern nagged Finn, and he stepped towards them as they hugged briefly. “Sorry, but, Sir?” he appealed.
Jake fixed him with a rare smile and said, “It’s good to see you, Finn, Agameg.”
“Yes, uh, you too, but what’s this about the Samson being destroyed?” Finn pressed. “She’s almost back together, or at least together enough so she can take off , and-“
“I’m renaming her,” Captain Valent said. “So much has changed that we may as well change that too, and it’ll give us the element of surprise for a while.”
“We’re going to make some serious cash,” Frost said as he joined the growing group.
“Jake!” shouted Oz as he ran towards him. He was in full boarding armour, and carried a heavy rifle across his back, but moved with great speed and agility regardless. He stopped and whispered something in Captain Valent’s ear.
“What do you mean, ‘where’s Ayan?’” Jake asked.
“Jason, Laura, and Liam are all on their way back here, thanks to that speech,” Oz said. “They said Ayan met you in some high class hotel in Greydock. They haven’t heard anything from her since.”
Finn could see Captain Valent look her up on a small comm screen he called up in his wrist, and the results darkened his expression. When Finn checked himself, the system reported:
USER NOT IN RANGE.