Set into the tropical forest, about twenty meters back from where the rock ends and the vegetation begins, a massive barrier had been erected. The wire mesh fence was buried twenty-five meters deep into the ground and rose up twice as high. It encircled the entire area controlled by the Terra Unit, which spanned over four-thousand square kilometers. Lights flashed along the top and slashed diagonally down the center of the gate. Next to the gate, a metal tower had been built into the barrier, and a strobe at the top suddenly cast its stark light that was barely visible amidst the vivid sunset onto the oncoming craft. From the glider, it was unclear as to how many guards occupied the tower, but standing near the gate there appeared to be five security officers carrying military-grade energy weapons, their eyes on the approaching craft.

Out of reflex, Jaydi checked the pistol resting on her hip, hidden under her jacket. She glanced sideways at Bo, but his face was masked as he drove on toward the security gate.

As they reached the line of trees, Bo slowed the glider to a casual speed and stopped a comfortable distance before the gate. He kept the glider running. Jaydi took a quick glance at the situation. Five young uniformed officers, each with military-grade energy rifles slung casually over their shoulders and a single pistol strapped around their right legs, lounged in front of the gate. On the other side were two uniformed women around the same age as the officers in front and armed with the same weapons, but were socializing next to an armed hovercraft with a cover thrown over its bulging backend. Jaydi assumed the bulge was an energy cannon mounted to the back of the hover. Up in the tower was another officer, young but seemingly more experienced than the others. He was looking down at them while talking into a communicator. She looked back to the two officers who were now approaching their vehicle, rifles still a forgotten accessory, slung over their shoulders. The first was carrying a clipboard and wearing an earpiece, and he seemed to be listening to what the man in the tower was saying. This must be the first place new recruits are required to stand post, as no experienced officer was going to hang out in a remote area where nothing was happening. Jaydi relaxed, moving her hand away from her pistol. These kids were certainly geared up for an important event, but judging by their relaxed poses they weren’t planning on any action.

Bo smiled and raised his hand in greeting. Jaydi followed his lead, smiling politely. The officer with the earpiece walked to the pilot side of the craft while the other circled them, taking a good mental inventory at what was inside.

“Good afternoon,” the officer with the earpiece said without smiling. He stopped next to the glider and stared down at them with his best attempt at sternness. “First time in Tab Kabelac?”

Their story was simple enough, and easily verified. “Nope,” Bo told them. “I run a small landing port about twenty clicks from here.” He motioned to Jaydi, sitting quietly next to him, “I’m just driving her to her hotel.”

The officer stared blankly at Bo for a second before switching his attention to Jaydi. “And you, miss?”

“Yes, this is my first time here. I’m on vacation for a couple of days,” she said.

“Ok.” He scribbled something on his clipboard. The second officer seemed satisfied with his cursory visual check on their vehicle and nodded his consent before walking back to the gate. The first officer nodded back at him, then turned his attention back to the clipboard. “Your animal – I mean your dog.” He looked at them, slightly embarrassed. “Is it vaccinated?”

“Yep,” Bo smiled casually.

“Uh, ok,” the officer said, looking down at his clipboard for more questions. He read the form verbatim. “Did you land outside of the umbrella, on another landing dock or just a random area?”

He’s really new, Jaydi thought. His uniform hasn’t even been broken in yet. She smiled disarmingly. “I tried to land inside at the main dock, but there was some sort of traffic jam and I couldn’t get clearance. Instead, I was directed to another port outside of the umbrella.” The officer looked down at her, blinking. That response obviously wasn’t listed on his clipboard. She decided to try for some information. “Do you have any ideas about what’s going on?”

“Uh…” He seemed unsure about divulging information to civilians but continued anyway, “I’m not really sure. If you’ve been redirected outside, you’re probably not the only one it’s happened to. Some VIP is visiting today and it’s got all the ports backed up. Security’s been reinforced at all gates and inside the umbrella. They don’t really tell us what’s going on, just that we’re on high alert. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about though.”

“Well, that’s reassuring,” her voice said sincerely. Oh, that’s fantastic, her mind said sarcastically.

“Ok, I just need to see your ID’s for a minute, and then you’ll be cleared to go.” Jaydi and Bo produced their expensive, bogus identification keys, handing them to the officer as if it were as natural as breathing. The officer nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

They watched him walk back to the gate where the other officers were hanging out. Tough job, she thought. The officer disappeared inside the tower. After a minute he re-emerged, talking on his communicator to the man in the tower. He was looking in the direction of the glider as he spoke. Jaydi tensed, her hand moving to her hip where she kept her pistol.

“Relax,” Bo murmured.

The officer began walking back to the glider, apparently listening to further instructions. When he reached them, he looked to Jaydi. “Miss, I’m going to need you to come with me for a minute.”

The ID key she gave him was a brand new cover, and her first thought was that it didn’t check out. She tried to act normal, but her voice sounded slightly strained. Her hand was still resting on her hip. “Is everything all right, Officer?” She asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, you’re new to the planet, so we need you to sign a couple of forms, that’s all. Standard procedure. It should only take a minute.”

Her smile was probably a little more relieved than it should have been. “Of course,” she breathed. New recruits usually followed procedure to the letter. She climbed out of the glider and followed him back to the tower.

As they neared the gate, she noticed a strange track in the ground that she had not seen on previous visits. It looked as if it had always been there, but from a glider it wouldn’t be as noticeable. There were two metal rims in the ground, about two inches thick, running along the outside of the fence for as far as she could see. Between the metal rims was a thick translucent track, about four inches thick. It looked like a shield of some sort. The officer saw her looking down and confirmed her thoughts. “It’s a storm shield,” he told her. “It circles the whole umbrella area on the outside of the gate, but they’re broken up into sections. Each security gate has one, and they span about a hundred miles for each gate.” They reached the tower and he opened the door. “We get sand storms from time to time, so we raise these to protect the populated areas, in case the storm blows too far in. It’s highly unlikely because the Terra Unit would control it, but the government insisted on it anyway.”

Inside the tower were sparse accommodations. In the dim light she could see a small table up against the wall with a few chairs and a small filing cabinet. He handed her a few forms that the officer had courteously filled out for her with her false information. She signed them, including one that acknowledged the local and interplanetary laws.

“Ok, that’s it,” the officer said, handing back their ID keys. “Enjoy your stay.”

Her smile was catlike. “Thank you. I will.”

As she left the tower, the gate unlocked with a loud clang, sweeping slowly alongside the fence. Bo pulled the glider a little closer and Jaydi climbed back in. She handed Bo his ID key. “Let’s go,” she said. Bo nodded, grinned, and hit the thrusters.

Little else was said for the rest of the drive into the inhabited area, giving Jaydi time to mentally prepare for the Exchange. She had never negotiated an Exchange before, although she had accompanied Dowlas Brak to a majority of them over the past three years. Not that she had a large role to play at the meetings; Brak handled all negotiations, leaving her to satisfy the part of the Heavy. As she was not required to say anything, silence only reinforced her deadly guise and that suited her just fine.

A small knot formed in her stomach but she ignored it. Everything was going to go smoothly and quickly, she told herself. If anyone in their organization was capable of handling business in Brak’s absence, it was Jaydi. However, it wasn’t the Exchange that was bothering her – it was everything else. The Skipwing Proto couldn’t have come at a better time. In fact, it was almost too perfect…

“We’re here,” Bo said. “Before we go in, let’s take a quick look around.”

The Exchange was to be held along a strip of shops and restaurants over the lake. Vehicles were not allowed on the strip, so they would have to leave the glider and walk. The areas nearest to the strip were packed with parked transports, and Bo didn’t look happy about leaving the glider too far away.

“Who picked this place?” he asked irritably.

“Brak and the Customer decided on the location because vehicles can’t get near it. The Customer felt that it was a bit more neutral.” She lowered her voice. “Some deals have gone bad just because vehicles were allowed near the meeting site.” She really didn’t need to tell him that. He knew just as well as she did, considering the weaponry he had concealed aboard the glider.

Bo frowned. “Yeah…” He didn’t have to continue that thought. She knew he felt safer knowing that their escape was a little more accessible, but there was nothing they could do about it now.

Jaydi nodded. “Okay, we don’t have a lot of time. This has to happen as quickly as possible and then we need to get out of here.”

Bo glanced at her. “Nervous?”

“No,” she said. “But we aren’t exactly in any position to take our sweet time.”

“Yeah, I hear that,” he said. “We’ll make it. Don’t worry.”

They found a spot near the lake to park the glider, somewhat hidden behind a shop. Bo appeared satisfied about the location and powered the hover down.

Jaydi reached into the backseat for her bag and stepped out of the glider. She held the door for Max, who jumped over the seat and clambered out after her, tail wagging. “Oh, you’re coming too, are you?” She asked him.

Bo chuckled. “I don’t think you could get him to stay put, anyway.”

“Probably not,” she agreed, and checked her pistol again. Stepping out from behind the building, she scanned the parking lot. People were everywhere, and among the crowd she could pick out four uniformed officers. Turning back to the glider she caught Bo kneeling on the ground, grabbing something out from under the vehicle. When he stood, he was fastening a utility belt around his waist. In his hand were two narrow black sticks with a rubber grip in the middle, both about the length of his forearm. He slipped one up his sleeve, and the other, he handed to Jaydi.

“You know what to do with this?” He asked her.

She accepted it with a wry smile and slipped it into a narrow pocket along the inside of her pant leg. “Let’s go look around. Do you want to split up?”

Bo cast his eyes around the area, thinking. “No. We’ve already been seen driving in together.” He looked down at Max, who was sniffing the ground excitedly. “Let’s just go take the dog for a stroll, shall we?”

At this hour in the day, most of the sky was still a dark blue, even though the sun was melting into the lake. When the sun was gone, the second moon, known as the Dead Moon, would rise. Streaks of red and violet along the horizon cast their reflection into the water. Along the lake, an array of shops and restaurants stood on the far side of a wide, white walkway that separated the lake from a bombardment of commercialism. At one point the walkway split and arced out over the water. The shops followed it, packed together tightly on both sides of the ramp, their garish colors blaring out against the sky. Tourists were everywhere, and among them, police officers in their pristine, white uniforms were clearly visible.

They reached the walkway and followed the ramp out over the lake. The amount of people lessened farther out, and once they reached the end of the path, they turned around and began making their way back. A bar on their right with an open storefront and outdoor seating had a holo mounted in the corner for its patrons. It projected a woman who was forecasting beautiful, sunny weather for the planet all throughout the week.

“I thought you said a sandstorm was coming?” Bo said as they passed.

Jaydi shrugged and looked around. “Everything looks clear,” she said softly, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the wind changed direction and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She glanced behind them just as Max stopped in his tracks and stuck his nose in the air. A low growl sounded from his throat, just loud enough for Jaydi and Bo to hear. The sound brought her back around and her eyes met Bo’s. She cleared her throat signaling to split up, and they broke in two different directions. Bo turned sharply to the right, grabbing a table at the bar with the open storefront. From his vantage point, he could see in both directions of the path. Jaydi immediately turned to the souvenir shop on the left and began browsing the overflowing tables of tacky merchandise set outside. Nonchalantly, she made her way around the far side of the table, near the corner of the shop. There was just enough room between the buildings for her to squeeze through. Dropping the trinkets she was holding back onto the table, she stepped sideways into the space between buildings and glanced across the walkway to Bo, who was looking down the path in the direction that they had just come from. His eyes swept casually over the scene and met hers. He relaxed back into his chair and turned his head back to the direction that they had come from, toward the end of the pier.

Jaydi took two steps back and grabbed her pistol from under her jacket. Walking crab-like through the space between buildings, she wondered if there would be enough pathway for her to walk behind the shops or if it just dropped off into the water. Reaching the end, she brought her pistol up, ready. Leaning out into the area behind the buildings, she pointed her pistol to the left, checking for unwanted company, then to the right. It was empty. To her luck, there was about a half meter of walkway between the buildings and the edge of the ramp. She eased herself out from between the buildings and followed along, stopping to check between each of the buildings for whoever was following them. At about the seventh shop, she eased herself into the space between the buildings and made her way to the main street. Poking her head out, she glanced down at Bo, who was still sitting at the bar with Max lying at his feet. He was casually taking in the scene, as any tourist would, but then lingered just a little too long in her direction. Following his gaze, she saw him – a dark haired young man in a green jacket was standing on the other side of the path, two shops down from her, looking back and forth from Bo and Max at the bar to the souvenir shop where Jaydi had been. His back was to her.

Scanning the strip again, it seemed even emptier than when they first arrived. A police officer was heading her way, stopping to talk to a trolley attendant who was pulling his cart of miscellaneous trinkets through the center strip. Checking her pistol, she concealed it again under her jacket and waited for the trolley to reach her. It was only a few seconds wait. She stepped onto the main path, deftly making her way to the side of the trolley, being careful to stay out of view from the police officer and cart owner. A small group of people was passing along the other side of the trolley, heading in the direction of Bo and the man in the green jacket. Ducking out from behind the cart, she mingled into the back of the group and made her way to the other side without being seen. Just before she stepped into the pathway she nodded to Bo, who signaled a waitress for his bill. Backing into the path, she pulled out her pistol and rounded the corner to the back of the shop. It was empty, and she could feel an invigorating breeze coming off of the water. Her pistol ready, she poked her head around the corner and got a good look at the man… What in the hell? Groaning inwardly, she put her pistol back under her jacket. Somehow she wasn’t surprised, but she still didn’t like being spied on. Between modder groups there were unwritten rules of cordiality, one of them being that they didn’t spy on each other. Of course everyone did it anyway, but it was the first time this had happened during one of her Exchanges. She had to find out what made this one so special. Somehow she didn’t want to know, but right now what she wanted was irrelevant.

From her inside pant leg pocket, she pulled out the black stick Bo had given her earlier. Grabbing the rubber hand grip in the middle, she crept slowly, sideways down the narrow space between the buildings. Near the end now but still out of sight, she stepped silently behind the man in the green jacket. Without extending the rod, she flicked it on with a click and a low vibrating sound emitted. Surprised, the man whirled around.

“Hi,” Jaydi said, and touched the Shock Stick to his right arm. His arm went limp and she grabbed it, pulling him into the path with her. “Keep quiet or I’ll use this on the rest of you,” she hissed. He began to struggle, and she tapped the stick on his leg, numbing it instantly, causing him to fall forward, his leg dragging.

“Let go of me,” the man groaned.

She threw his arm across her shoulder, and pulled him sideways through the path. When they reached the end, she pulled him out of view of the narrow alley between the buildings and threw him down on the ground. The Shock Stick extended with a snap under his chin. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The sound of footsteps echoed behind her, and she grabbed her pistol out, pointing it in the direction of the sound. It was Bo and Max. “So, who do we have here?” Bo asked, examining their guest.

Replacing her pistol into her jacket, she turned back to the man on the ground, who was trying to rub his arm back into effect. “I don’t know his name,” she told him, “but he’s with Toraki’s group. He hasn’t said what he’s doing here, but I can take a guess.”

Bo bent over him. Even for his age, he was an intimidating figure. “Well?” He asked.

The man swallowed and looked up at Jaydi. “If you take that thing out of my face, I’ll tell you.”

She nodded. “Fair enough.” With a snap, the stick contracted back into its compact form and she slipped it into the inside of her pant leg pocket. “Although if you don’t mind,” she said, pulling out her pistol, “I’m going to keep this handy, just in case you decide to get cute.”

The man coughed, and sat up on one arm. “My name’s Radcove. I was on vacation here, and saw you walking your dog. I recognized you and thought you’d want to get a drink–”

Bo shook his head. “Wrong.” He snapped his fingers. Instantly, Max was standing over the man, growling. His teeth were bared and his jaw dripped with saliva and foam.

“Okay stop, please,” Radcove pleaded. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.” Max was still standing over him, teeth bared. Bo didn’t make a move, but kept staring at the man. Radcove continued, his voice frantic, “You guys are in a lot of trouble. Your boss, Dowlas Brak – he’s gotten himself into a huge mess with the government. He stole some plans from the military and some people say he killed a guy to get them –”

“No way,” Jaydi said. “Brak wouldn’t kill anyone. He’s a businessman, not a killer.”

The man shook his head, staring up at Max’s bared teeth, “No, it’s true – they found him standing over the body of some government spy or something, and he had taken some top secret plans off of him. Then he took off. Now everyone’s after him.”

“A spy?” Bo snorted. “And what are you doing here, trying to get the plans back?”

“No, we know you weren’t trading the plans. I was supposed to go and get a good look at your Customer – would you please get your dog off of me?”

Bo stood there, thinking about it. After a moment, he called Max back to him. “Ok, so why are you checking out our Customer? That’s frowned upon between groups, you know.”

Sniffing, he sat up and proceeded to rub his leg. “We received a transmission outside of the Sanctioned. It wasn’t for us, really…”

“You hacked into it,” Jaydi offered.

“Yeah,” Radcove nodded. “We believe it was from your Customer. Only our boss, Toraki, and one other person heard whatever it was so I couldn’t tell you exactly, but it made them think that there was something wrong with your Customer.”

Bo frowned. “‘Wrong’?”

“Listen,” he told them. “Sometimes signals can be tracked and it’s possible to figure out approximately where they’ve come from and how far they’ve traveled.” When Bo and Jaydi nodded, he continued. “We think that signal came from the people you’re doing business with, and it originated somewhere deep in space of unknown origin.”

Jaydi frowned. “So?”

Radcove took a deep breath. “We think the signal came from somewhere deep in space, outside of the Sanctioned, outside of known space.” He took a deep breath. “We think it came from the Forbidden Region.”

Bo and Jaydi stared at Radcove for a brief moment, and then they both burst out laughing. “From the Forbidden Region?” Bo repeated.

“Yes. And there’s more: Transmissions are usually coded, and you can tell the difference between Ierki and human codes. Both codes are generally based on some form of complex mathematics, and different codes are usually just complex deviations of each other.” Radcove looked serious. “The transmission we received was coded on a completely unknown foundation. We’ve never seen anything like it. It was completely impossible to crack into.”

Jaydi stopped laughing and shook her head. “That doesn’t mean anything – so they’ve been able to come up with something new. And the Forbidden Region is outside of charted space. Ierki don’t even go out there. It’s so distant that anyone who was out there would take months – years maybe – to travel back and forth between it and the Sanctioned Planets. So even if we were dealing with someone who lived out there, what would it matter to us? They live so remotely that whatever they’re up to couldn’t possibly bother anyone.”

She stared again at Radcove, thinking. His explanation wasn’t right… or at the least, it was incomplete. She raised her pistol and pointed it in the man’s face. “So what, your boss is feeling socially conscious and wants us to do the right thing by not making the Exchange? I don’t buy it. Give me the real reason, Radcove, or I’ll end this conversation in a very unpleasant manner.”

“No, I’m serious – that’s why I was sent here.”

Bo grabbed Radcove by the jacket collar and pulled him up to his eyelevel. “And he sent you out here to spy on us, all by yourself? Do you really expect us to believe that?”

Radcove swallowed hard. “There was no one else to go – everyone else is out looking for your boss. There’s a huge bounty on his head now, you know. I was just supposed to watch and see who you were meeting with… and see if you wouldn’t join us.”

Bo dropped Radcove in surprise. “What? Join you?”

Radcove swayed, trying to regain his balance. “Yeah, face it – your boss is in a lot of trouble. If he’s caught, your group will be disbanded and some of you could be sent to prison. My boss sent me here to see if I could find you – you are Jaydi Tarin, right? Ever since you joined Brak’s group, you guys have been the leading modder group in the galaxy. We know how much of a help you’ve been to Brak, and my boss, Toraki, wants you to join us. Whatever Brak’s paying you, he’ll pay more. And if there’s anyone from Brak’s group that you can bring with you, they can come too. Your boss is going down for what he’s done, and he’s going to take you all with him. That is, unless you want to join us.”

Jaydi still hadn’t lowered her weapon. “Oh, and you think you can offer us some sort of protection? That’s amusing.”

“It’s a better chance than you’ve got now,” Radcove retorted. “You haven’t done anything yet, but if they catch you with Dowlas Brak after he’s brought those plans back, you could be in serious trouble.”

“And our Customer?” Jaydi asked coolly. “There must be a reason you want to take a look, and I’m sure it’s not for humanitarian reasons.”

Radcove shifted uneasily. “We were hoping that if you did come with us, you could give us all of the information on your Customer and we could take over the deal.”

Jaydi’s face remained impassive although her eyes blazed. So the real reason was money. It figured. Jaydi finally lowered her weapon and slipped it back under her jacket. “Well, Radcove, you can tell your boss straight from me that I’m not interested, and neither is anyone else in our group. And tell him that next time, he’s going to have to make up a better story.”

Radcove’s jaw dropped. “B-but –” he stuttered.

Her dark eyes bore into him. “Get lost. I had better not see you anywhere near this lake when I come out of the Exchange.”

Bo grabbed him by the back of the neck. “You heard her; we’re not interested. Now get moving.” He shoved him toward the narrow opening between buildings.

Radcove stumbled, glanced back at them one more time, and disappeared. Bo turned to watch him go, and followed through the opening, watching him walk down the path, toward the parking area.

When he returned, Jaydi was staring out at the lake, scratching Max behind the ears. “So, what do you think?”

Bo stopped next to her, gazing out across the water toward the last sliver of sun above the horizon. “It’s quite a story, but I don’t think we can completely dismiss it all.”

She looked at him. “Brak?”

Bo shook his head. “No, you were right about that – Dowlas Brak isn’t a killer. He’s a businessman. Something must have gone wrong, but I’m sure he didn’t kill anyone. He’s in trouble though, that’s for certain.” Jaydi raised an eyebrow at him and he verbalized her thought. “When is Dowlas Brak not in trouble?” He asked.

Smirking, she gazed back out across the water, wondering they should finish the Exchange and go find Brak, or follow his last order about Tango. “And what do you make of all that talk about the Forbidden Region?”

Bo shook his head and chuckled, “I have no idea what to think about that one. I suppose it’s possible, although highly unlikely. Still, I wouldn’t put it past anyone to try it. Although, why would you want to buy a bunch of small speeder type ships if you were living that far out?” He shrugged. “I guess that’s not for us to decide. The Customer orders and we deliver.” Bo turned toward the narrow path between buildings, Max following at his heels. “Let’s go.”

They slipped back on to the dim path, lit up by lighting from the shops. The commotion of people had died down with the sinking sun. They made their way to a small, dark restaurant at the halfway point over the lake, where Bo loosely tied Max to a post out front. The sun was gone and the Dead Moon had begun to rise. It was time.

From the loading ramp of the Terentia, Jaydi stood listening to the low hum of the engines, her eyes flickering over the landscape. The ship’s motion system would give them warning long before anyone approached, but she wanted some semblance of comfort for her vigilance. Comfort did not come. Closing her eyes, the events of the last few weeks replayed in her head. The Skipwing was becoming more and more questionable. Shaking her head, she dismissed all her mutinous thoughts. In the three years she had worked in the organization, Dowlas Brak had never been known to put himself, the organization, or his people at risk. As far as leaders of illegal modder groups went, he was one of the most decent and honest. Dowlas Brak deserved her loyalty.

A cold, wet nose wiggled into the palm of her hand, bringing her back to the present. She opened her eyes and looked down, but the dog had already trotted off with his head to the ground, sniffing every inch, tail wagging furiously. He was probably sensing their urgency. This dog seemed to have a knack for that.

Bo emerged from the shack, the breeze courteously blowing his hair over the bald spot. He glanced over to Jaydi, who was still studying the dog. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. While Bo had been loading the last of the post onto the ship, she had gone into the cavern beneath the shack and put on her gear. For reassurance, she patted her left hip where she kept her pistol hidden beneath her jacket.

He appeared satisfied. “Okay.” Walking toward the ramp where Jaydi was standing, he whistled to the dog. “Come on, Max.” The dog loped up the ramp and into the ship, tail flogging the air.

Bo reached the ramp and stopped next to where Jaydi had gone back to watching the skyline. “You look nervous,” he told her.

She turned to face the old warrior. The lines on his face had deepened over the past couple of years and his auburn head was peppered with a little more grey, but his eyes sparkled with keen intuition. He was thinking exactly what she was thinking. She broke eye contact, turning away to survey the area one last time. They were still alone and unwatched. For now.

The sound of Max’s barking echoed into the loading bay and down the ramp, relieving the tension. “Time to go,” Bo said casually, jogging up the ramp. Jaydi followed him, activating the ramp mechanism as she reached the top.

Max’s barking stopped as they reached the cockpit. His tail still wagging, he gazed up at them expectantly.

“Incoming transmission,” Jaydi said, taking a seat in the co-pilot chair. A green indicator was flashing on the dash, but she knew better than to pick up any strange communication without checking its origin first. Reaching for the control panel, she keyed up the information on the incoming sender. It was a familiar encrypted code. “It’s base,” she said, alarmed. “Maybe something’s wrong.”

Bo sat down into the captain’s chair and leaned over to take a look at the detail. “Let’s head toward civilization. We’ll talk on the way.” While Jaydi strapped herself in, Bo keyed up the flight sequence and grabbed the throttle. The Terentia groaned as the landing stanchions were upraised into the belly and the hover boosters powered up. The ship moved forward, picking up speed as they went. Max, still sitting between them, slid back into the cockpit door, giving his tail something else to buffet. Bo turned his head around the back of his chair, frowning at his companion. “Sorry about that, buddy. I forgot to put you in your kennel. We’re only going to be moving for a few minutes, I promise.” Max’s tail thumped the door in response. Turning back around, Bo nodded at the holo Jaydi was positioning on the dash, between them.

Jaydi touched the green indicator and the holo lit up. A blonde, good-natured looking young man blinked back at them. “Hi guys. Where’s Brak?”

“He’s not here,” Jaydi told him. “What’s going on, Det?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to him about the Skipwing plans he sent in. I thought he was going to be with you. So you guys are going to the Exchange alone?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Is this your first time partnering up?” he asked.

“Yes,” she intoned and took a deep breath. “So, you haven’t heard from him?”

Det shook his unkempt blonde mane. “Other than those Skipwing blueprints he sent in, no. And it was sent in a very odd code – he must have had Spark transmit it. We were lucky to figure out what it even was. But we got started right away.”

“Started?”

Another young man with dark red hair entered the holo, sitting into a chair beside Det. “Hi guys. Where’s Brak?”

Bo cut into the conversation with an exasperated breath. “Brak’s not here and we’re on our way in to make the Exchange. What’s going on out there?”

Det leaned back in his chair. “Brak sent a message in with the blueprints, saying he wanted us to build another Skipwing. So we got started, and you won’t believe what we figured out –”

“NO,” Bo thundered, “WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?”

Silence followed. Inhaling deeply, Jaydi spoke slowly, enunciating every word carefully. “You two had better tell us what’s going on, and it better be about Tango.” The figures on the holo suddenly froze, staring back in stunned silence. Jaydi looked exasperated. “Who’s in charge out there?” She demanded. “Is anyone monitoring red channels?”

Red channels were used only in highly emergent situations, and usually only initiated by their leader or a second in command, that is to say, Dowlas Brak only. It was highly unlikely that he had not sent the word out to everyone, with their primary base being the first place as soon as he had a secure signal.

“Well,” the red haired man started, “we’ve been really busy with this Skipwing thing. All of us. So no one was in the Comm room… I mean, how often is there an emergency? No one even remembers using red channels around here, except for that one time –”

Det pivoted his chair around for a full view of the communications desk. “Ah, guys,” he started. “There’s a message here, about two hours old…” His voice trailed off.

Jaydi and Bo took notice of the time and stole sideways glances at each other. Bo’s eyes flickered to the blanched images as he said, “Well, you’d better get on it then.” He cocked his head at the holo, motioning for Jaydi to shut it off.

The two young men on the holo stared back at Jaydi and Bo. “So, we’ll see you back at base then?” Det asked.

“No,” Jaydi’s dark eyes glittered. “You won’t.” She switched the hologram off, swung it out of the center dash and back up against the wall as Bo brought the Terentia to a gliding halt. Max, undaunted from the trip, trotted to the front and plopped down in between them.

“We should have been easier on them,” Jaydi said, unbuckling her harness.

Bo grunted in response.

“They’re mechanics and engineers, not fighters,” she reasoned.

Turning around in his chair, Bo’s steely eyes met hers in a look that said, “This situation is much more serious than Dowlas Brak is telling us. Everyone could be in danger.”

She knew it to be true, but the time to talk about it was not before the Exchange. After, when they were back at the ship and in the black, they would talk. But not now.

He broke eye contact and stood up from the captain’s seat. Max followed his lead, standing up and padding to the back door, tail beating the air. “I need to grab a few things,” he said indifferently, “and I’ll meet you down at the glider.”

Her eyes followed him to the door. “Yeah, okay,” she mumbled.

From the cockpit she wandered down to the loading bay, stopping first to grab her pack. The bay was large and dim, with miscellaneous crates stacked up on all four sides and the glider parked on the side opposite to the ramp. She tossed her pack into the glider’s back seat, walked to the ramp and hit the mechanism. As the ramp lowered, the light of the sinking sun filled the bay. Squinting her eyes, she stepped out onto the ramp. The surrounding landscape reflected the same red and brown rock seen everywhere else on the planet, but in the light of the sunset, the colors sang out with rich warmth. Bo had parked the ship smartly on the backside of a curved cliff that scaled upwards about one-hundred feet. From this position, the ship would be concealed from anyone heading out of the umbrella. Although once the sun went down, it would be difficult to see anyway. It was just another precaution.

The sound of spastic footprints was heard from behind and she turned to see Max running toward her at a breakneck pace, his dark coat reflecting a brighter red in the light of the sunset. At the last possible second he turned and ran a couple of circles around her, stopping at her back to grab her jacket in his mouth. He pulled lightly, growling playfully. “Okay,” she smirked, “I’m coming.” The pointer ran two more excited circles around her and pelted back up into the ship.

When she reached the top of the ramp, the glider’s engines turned on with a low growl and rose up slowly from the bay floor. Its triangular, silver body stopped about three feet up and hung in midair with a low hum that echoed across the bay. Max sat calmly by the glider, panting.

“That’s quite a dog you have,” she said to Bo, who was loading a wooden crate into the back of the glider.

“Yeah,” he grunted, heaving the crate into the back. “Sometimes he surprises me.” With the package secured in the glider, Bo straightened up and turned to face her. “Are you sure you still want to do this?” he called across the loading bay.

Suddenly, she felt annoyed. “Do what?” She stopped a few feet in front of him. His face was somber and he was holding something in his hands. “Make the Exchange? Yeah, I’m sure. Brak told me to do it, so that’s what I’m going to do.” She didn’t like having her loyalties questioned.

Bo leveled his gaze at her and when he spoke, his voice was low. “Listen, Tarin. I’m not questioning your bravery or anything. It’s just that neither of us really know what’s happening with this whole Skipwing thing and I think that what we’re about to walk into is possibly more dangerous than we know.”

She stared back at him for a minute, her face impassive, dark eyes glowering. “So are you coming with me or not?” she asked coolly.

He rubbed his hand over his face. “If you decide to go, I’m going. But if you decide that it’s too risky, I wouldn’t fault you for it.” He sounded tired and his grey-blue eyes studied her.

“So I’m deciding for the both of us, is that it?” she snapped irritably.

“Something like that.”

“Why?” Jaydi’s eyes narrowed. “If we go, do you think it would be a big mistake?”

Bo shook his head. “I don’t know,” he told her honestly. “Usually when I go into situations like this, I know who it is that I’m going with. Well,” he corrected himself, “I know you but I’ve never worked with you like this before. And I hear you’re an amazing pilot and all that, but I’ve never really seen you…” his voice trailed off.

“In a heated situation,” she finished for him.

He almost looked embarrassed. “I’m not going to lie to you. You’ve probably heard a little bit about my past. I’ve seen a lot of horrible things, been in a lot of horrible situations. This has nothing to do with your gender, if that’s what you’re thinking. It has everything to do with your mettle. When things go bad and it’s a matter of life and death, some people rise to the occasion. Others don’t. There’s really no way for anyone to know how they’re going to handle it until they get into a situation. Some of the most brave and well trained soldiers have lost their nerve, putting the rest of their team in considerable risk. We don’t know if we’re about to walk into a bad situation here or if we’ll be able to get in and out quietly,” he paused. “So I’m asking you if you still want to go through with this.”

Jaydi’s face remained inexpressive, but her eyes softened. “I understand,” she said soberly. Taking a deep breath, she held it for a brief second and exhaled. “I’m going.” It was her final word.

Bo nodded. “Somehow I had a feeling you were going to say that.” He grinned. “But you know I had to ask, at least for my own conscience.”

She smiled, despite herself. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at the item balled up in his hands.

“This,” he said grandly, “is in case you were still going. And since you are, it will come in handy.”

“So what is it?”

He shook it out and held it up. It looked like a jacket made from a strange, metallic spider web. “This is a Net, and it will save your life. The vest you have on will protect you from the most common legal weapons, but this will protect you from everything else. It goes on under your Protekt Vest.”

“High powered energy pistols won’t penetrate it?” She raised an eyebrow and unzipped her outer coat.

“Not at first,” he told her.

She looked up at him, warily. “Not at first?”

He chuckled. “Well, if you get shot with an energy pistol – say, something really high powered and illegal, you’ll still feel the force of the blast and it will definitely knock you back or even stun you a bit. But it won’t harm you. The Net will store up the energy and eventually will need to ground on something or someone, so you’ll need it to contact something else periodically. The jacket will release the energy.”

“Grounding it on a person? That could kill them,” she told him, removing her Protekt Vest.

“If you’re getting hit so much to release that kind of a charge, someone’s trying to kill you. Better them than you.”

“Okay,” she said, slipping the Net on over her t-shirt. “Is there one for you too?”

Bo tapped his chest. “Already have it on.”

“And you just happened to have these lying around for a special occasion? What are they, special military issue?”

“No, the military can’t afford these. I know a guy.” He smiled. “And I have some extra weapons stashed about the glider for just in case.”

Jaydi nodded, putting her vest and jacket back on. “Of course you do.”

It was about a ten minute drive into the security area of the umbrella. The second moon had not yet risen, although the glowing band of red and purple was now accompanied by a deep orange. The temperature was cooling rapidly, but so far it was comfortable. Max even seemed to enjoy the ride from the back seat of the glider, propping his head up on the door so his ears could stream behind. Bo flew the glider wide around a hill, and the lighting on the security gate was visible ahead.

Jaydi squinted her eyes in the dimming afternoon light. “Is it just me, or do they look a little more heavily armed than usual?” she asked.

Bo frowned. “Yeah, they do. Last chance to change your mind about this,” he told her.

A brunette in heavy make-up and a neon-pink suit appeared on the hologram, wearing her best patronizing smile. “Thank you, Edward. And now, here’s what’s happening in your galaxy.” The music cued overhead and she continued.

“Tensions escalated today on Aris, at the Intergalactic Center of Earth Colonies, as protestors outside the Seat demanded action. Demonstrators are urging for a stronger military presence in the outer rim of the Sanctioned to oppose the rising crime rate among those systems. The Interstellar Military is being criticized by many planetary governments who say the Reserve Forces being called into action are not enough. General Kardern of the Interstellar Military Force will be holding a press conference tomorrow.”

After a polite pause, the neon-pink woman was replaced by a lush, green jungle. Her voice resumed. “A scientific expedition last month to a planet outside of the Sanctioned discovered ancient Ierki ruins. The ruins are believed to be a place of worship, still held sacred today. Ierki officials lashed out at the Intergalactic Center, demanding restitution for defiling their sacred ground. Very little -”

The sound coming from the hologram unit was abruptly muted and replaced by another voice, crisp and genderless, and unmistakably inhuman.

“Sir, there is an incoming message from Tab Kabelac.” The voice on the intercom paused, waiting for a response. “Sir?”

“Yeah, I hear you, Spark.” Dowlas Brak stood up from the captain’s seat, reaching forward to turn off the newspaper.

The voice could not read the palpable disdain in Dowlas’ voice so it continued, “The signal is scrambled on one of our codes, and they have given the proper passwords. As you had been anxious for this transmission, I thought it best to alert you as soon as the call came in.”

Dowlas Brak massaged his temples as he listened to the voice. Someone should order that droid to stop indicating a thought process, he said to himself. “Ok Spark, thank you. Please send it up to me on the bridge and I will pick it up when I’m ready. Check to see if anyone is trying to crack into the transmission, and let me know when it’s clear before I pick up.”

“Of course, sir.”

Settling back down into his chair he gazed out of the cockpit into space, uneasy thoughts flickering to the Skipwing on Tab Kabelac. He should have gone to the Exchange. Jaydi was more than capable, he reasoned, yet his conscience still pricked him.

The droid’s voice broke his reverie. “The transmission is secure, sir. We are clear.”

Dowlas Brak turned his attention to the flashing indicator on the holo and regarded it for a brief second. Leaning forward, he touched the prompt and sat back into the most casual pose he could afford, waiting for the 3D image to materialize. It only took a couple of seconds to appear, and when it did, it grinned. “Hello, Brak. Are you on your way?” it said.

His conscience niggled at him again, but he pushed it away. “Hello, Bo. I’ll get to that in a second,” he told the floating head and torso. “Do you have Jaydi with you?”

“She’s securing the Skipwing underground. On her way in she thought she saw a dust storm heading this way… Is everything all right?”

Dowlas’ people were his family; he was terrible at lying to them. “Everything is fine. I’ll fill you in when Jaydi gets here.”

The floating head was clearly unconvinced. “Yeah, ok,” it said, studying him with intense, grey-blue eyes. Bo Kaydell was not an idiot. His experiences had made him suspicious of everyone, and his intuitions were almost always correct. After a minute of uncomfortable silence Bo’s head turned, regarding something off-camera. “She’s coming,” he reported. “Let me adjust this so you can see both of us.” The head and torso disappeared and the holo view rolled back to show a cavernous room made entirely of orange-brown rock. A convenient, natural shelf in the wall had become a couch and to the left, shoved into the corner, was a worn mat with a standard military sleeping bag tossed casually on top. All other furniture in the room was makeshift from packing crates and trunks.

Bo appeared again, this time as a full body, and sat down on the rock shelf. He whistled, and a dark, reddish brown dog trotted into the scene, lying down at his feet. After a few seconds an admirable brunette also materialized and sat next to Bo. She gazed back at Dowlas Brak impassively.

“Hello, Jaydi,” Dowlas began, and hesitated briefly before continuing. “As you both have probably already guessed, I am not going to the Exchange today.” Jaydi remained expressionless. Bo’s eyebrow rose in surprise but Dowlas continued, “We’re still going to make the drop; Jaydi will do it.”

He turned his attention to Bo. “Bo, I need you to pack up. We’re closing shop on Tab Kabelac.” Bo opened his mouth to interject, but Dowlas continued, “When you’re finished, go with Jaydi to the Exchange. Leave the Skipwing here and dismantle the site. Ready your ship and park it near the umbrella.” Without giving room for Bo to protest, he addressed Jaydi. “You know what to do. Tell them that if they want more, it will cost more. I will contact them with details. Make the Exchange and get back to base, both of you.”

Bo looked bewildered, his jaw still open. Jaydi’s expression remained unchanged, although something in her dark eyes flickered. Her voice broke the silence. “There’s more,” she said, matter-of-factly, her eyes interrogating Dowlas. Bo’s eyes flickered from Jaydi’s deadpan to Dowlas’ culpable expression.

“Yes,” Dowlas said slowly, “there’s more. Two days ago the Skipwing Jaydi flew in there was deemed F-Class by the Intergalactic Center.”

Bo was incredulous. “Fighter class? Without proper armor and a weapons system on those ships, they’re nothing more than flashy speeders. This is a little strange, don’t you think?”

Dowlas nodded. “A bit, although it’s just as likely that someone had the same idea as we did and reclassified it as F. The manufacturer decided to drop the plans for production and will not be making them at all.”

The glimmer in Jaydi’s eyes returned. “And that’s where you’ve been, going after those blueprints.”

“That’s exactly where I’ve been,” Dowlas replied.

Bo raised his other eyebrow. “So, did you get them?”

For reasons that Dowlas couldn’t explain, he looked to Jaydi for the answer. She grinned. “Yeah, he has them.”

“And now I need you to make the Exchange.” His speech accelerated as he continued, “Take a holo of the ship with you so the customer can examine it, and let them know where to find it. If they want more, and I am pretty sure they will, explain to them that because of the circumstances, the price has gone up twenty percent. I will contact them; they are not to contact us. Give them the location of the ship and get out of there.”

Now it was Jaydi’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “If you’re in such a hurry, I can go to the Exchange while Bo dismantles here. He can pick me up after the drop.”

Dowlas twitched noticeably, his voice angry, “No one goes to an Exchange alone, Jaydi. You know the rules.”

She put up her hands in defense. “Okay…”

Suddenly, the sound of the holo was muted and an alarm went off, warning that someone was trying to crack into their coded transmission.

The droid’s voice could barely be heard over the alarm. “Sir, we have multiple signals attempting to crack into the transmission.” Dowlas jumped up, ready to break the connection as the alarm stopped and the sound on the holo returned. Only seconds remained before security was breached.

Dowlas Brak stared hard at the hologram. “Get back to base and I’ll give you both a raise,” he said, and then he issued a coded command that had never been spoken in their organization before. “It’s time for us to tango.”

The transmission ended.

There was a time when terraformers worked relentlessly to create machines that would change entire planets, but there were too many variables involved. No two planets are alike, as no two areas of a planet are alike, and to create a single machine specific enough and powerful enough to change an entire planet – the effects can be devastating.

Multiple Terra Units were created some 25 years ago, to test on an uninhabited planet in a remote system. Scientists worked to create nine different units, each one designed for a specific geographic region, and more importantly, to work together with the adjacent units. Terra Units create an “umbrella effect” over the area they process, adjusting the specific conditions of that particular area. Because a unit is working with different variables than the adjacent terraformer, the units clash on the edges of the umbrella, creating turbulent effects where umbrellas overlap. When scientists were able to create a system of units that work together, they were sent immediately to a remote, uninhabited planet to be tested.

Interest in this technology had not been limited to humans. Ierki had been monitoring the expansion of Earth colonies for nearly a decade before extending a handshake. This was the first contact mankind had with an intelligent alien life, and mankind, eager and naïve to establish a relationship, embraced them with open arms. That is, until the Ierki learned of the multiple Terra Units and decided they needed them a lot more than the Colonies. The Ierki launched a swift attack on the group of Terra Scientists and their small military escort, and stole the units. It was to their own detriment however, as three months later they were activated on an inhabited Ierki planet, causing catastrophic earthquakes that killed two-thirds of the planet’s population. Somehow the blame fell back on mankind, and the next 15 years were spent in war.

When the Terra Wars came to an end, Earth colonies and Ierki abandoned the idea of large-scale terraforming as a moral choice. Single units were still allowed however, with government approval. Tab Kabelac was a desolate rock in the middle of a business system until the approval for a Terra Unit came through. Vast, blue lakes were created with waterfalls, sandy beaches and grassy plains to compliment the new tropical conditions. Shortly after the formation was complete, every entrepreneur and gold-digger in the galaxy wanted in to build a hotel, restaurant, strip mall or bar on any corner they could squeeze one. On the surface, Tab Kabelac is not without its glamour. It also has its seedy side, although the authorities are largely ineffectual. As long as tourism is up and business is good, the government turns a blind eye to everything else. A lot of illicit business is done in Tab Kabelac. Aside from that, it is truly paradise. Many Ierki also vacation here. Their money is welcome. Thousands of tourists visit daily, making it the perfect place for anonymity. It also helps if one can keep their vehicle from being identified and logged, which is why this landing strip 20 clicks out of the umbrella was preferred.

The racer’s engines shut down and the hatch popped up and slid back with a hiss. As if on cue, the door to the small shack at the edge of the landing circle opened and a burly looking man appeared in the doorway, a liver-colored pointer at his heels. He stepped out toward the ship, marveling at the sight.

It was one of the latest models of its kind, and if he had to wager a guess from experience, a prototype. She had a jet black body with a silver streak and judging from the shape, the fastest Skipwing yet. At least, it used to be a Skipwing. There was no telling what they would have modified, and nearly impossible to tell with the naked eye. The pilot climbed out of the cockpit and the hatch slid back into place.

“Don’t get too sentimental, because you can’t keep her.”

The man turned to the pilot and snorted, “You really know how to crush a guy, don’t you, Tarin?” The pilot grinned and nodded.

“So, tell me what you’ve done to her.”

Jaydi Tarin turned toward the Skipwing. “You’ve probably noticed that this is a prototype. She’s faster than the previous Skipwings and a bit different body-wise. We’ve repositioned the thrusters,” she pointed, “to allow for better maneuvering in space. There’s also extra shielding – three different shields hammered together.”

“Three? What’s the third?”

Standard shielding on civilian craft is designed to protect from general space debris and radiation. Anything modified above and beyond standard shielding is illegal, but a very lucrative business. The first two shields were most likely to protect against energy-based weapons and smaller grade mass-weapons such as the Poor-Man’s-Bomb, a wicked solution to strong energy-weapon defenses. Comprised of miscellaneous shrapnel and any explosive substance in the center, the mass-explosive known as the Poor-Man’s-Bomb magnetizes itself to a ship’s hull. When it explodes, the shrapnel rips a hole in the side of the vessel. The size of the hole doesn’t matter, as long as there is one – and as anyone who has lived in space long enough knows, holes and space don’t mix. These mass bombs are usually detonated remotely, although in the past couple of years some of them have been fixed with back up timers, in case your target is able to calculate and execute a jump out of the remote’s range. But these were the only serious dangers to protect against, even outside of the government-sanctioned planets. Unless…

“Tractor beam deflectors?” he asked, incredulous.

Jaydi didn’t confirm it, but she didn’t deny it either. He whistled. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Tractor beams are becoming more and more common, especially outside the colonies.” The military had experimented with tractor beam defenses during the Terra Wars. As far as he knew, they hadn’t abandoned the program when the war ended. High-powered boosters would also be required to escape a beam, something above and beyond what was available to the average consumer. He had no doubt that the Skipwing was cleverly concealing her secret. That, and a sophisticated weapons system he knew was sure to be installed. It was little wonder as to why this group was known as some of the best Modifiers in the galaxy. He turned back toward the small structure at the edge of the landing circle. “Come on inside so we can gear up.”

Jaydi nodded, giving the dog a friendly pat. “We need to check in anyway, before the Exchange.” She turned and followed him into the shack.