Several hours, and a few more hasty introductions later, the motley team stood in a dock corridor several bays spinward from The Par Abadd.
"Whose shuttle are we stealing, anyway?" Charles questioned as he hurried like a pup beside Saul.
"Great question," said Saul, before opening a bulletin. "Taika?"
"Hear you. Busy," Taika crackled back on a spotty connection.
"Busy? Aren't we all a little busy at the moment?" Aiden squawked.
"Taika. Taika, come in? Busy better mean what I think it means," said Saul.
The bulletin fell silent.
"Taika?" Saul pressed, tapping his terminal.
"Taika's gone sweet on us," Luan spat.
"Easy now, easy now. Let this surgeon work. I've got a lot of data to sift through and it would be going a lot smoother if you'd all just have a little faith," Taika affirmed. "– 'sides, the only sweety here is Luan."
Taika continued with a mocking "I'm Luan, I'm in logistics" before trailing off into a mumbled pantomime. Quiet rage washed over Luan's face.
"You earthing little sh–" Luan began to say.
"There!" Taika said, popping up a schematic on the team's terminals. The schematic was of an older federation-made Joma 2K6 class transport.
"Curious," Saul said, noting a certain detail.
"Indeed," Aiden agreed, nodding.
"What is?" Luan questioned.
"Seems this Joma's had some custom features added."
"Yeah? Like what?" Luan asked.
"Extra booster, a set of suspension pods, biolab, and what I find most interesting, seems they've swapped the escape craft for a set of launch thrusters and rift-based gravity dampers."
Luan paused for several seconds. "And why's that curious?"
"Because, brothers," Karl said, having joined the open channel some indeterminate time ago. "Jomas are usually only space freight movers, they normally burn up in atmo. This one's had some special love. This puppy's gonna sing!"
"Earthing hell, Luan," Taika cut in, "what business do you have calling yourself logistical Luan? Wait, hang on…"
Taika paused.
"And how is it that you knew which vehicle he'd pick, anyways, Karl?"
Good point, Saul wanted to say. Instead, he just raised an eyebrow.
"Saw it on the dock schedule. Got my ears to the floor, ya know?" Karl responded.
"And when was it you were going to mention it to us?" Aiden said.
"Just was hoping you lot'd come to the same conclusion I did."
"Well, that's just great. Already keeping secrets amongst yourselves," Taika quipped.
"Tell me, master codebreaker, what did you say your last name was?" Luan prodded, a wick of triumph in his lips.
"Pan," Taika said bluntly.
Luan choked. "You little–"
"Earth to hell," Taika toyed. "That's your name, isn't it? Pan… Logistical Luan Pan. Nope, just doesn't have any ring to it."
Luan abruptly left the call.
"Now you've gone and pissed him off," Aiden said.
"And such a feat it was," said Taika.
"Can we cut it with the schoolyard bullshit and get back to it?" Charles said.
"He's right," Taika agreed. "And besides, you've got a pair of station sec coming up the corridor spinward of you."
"Then you better hurry and open this hatch," Saul said.
"Just a second… and... there. Joma's just through the hatch and down the hall to the left," Taika said as the hatch unlocked with a hiss. "Don't say I never did anything for you."
"Yeah, yeah. Now keep it quiet," Saul said. "That goes for you too, Karl."
"Nothing from me over here, brother. Out," Karl said, signing off.
"Now Charles, Luan, and Aiden. You know the plan. Stick to it and we'll all have our payday." Saul didn't wait for a reply, instead of stepping into the hatch and continuing down the hall, determined.
"Let's just hope Olivio and his guys hold up their end," Aiden said, hurrying behind. "And Soffan… gods, didn't that guy just run you the wrong way?"
"I don't know… he seemed alright to me," said Saul, "though maybe I'm just not as jaded as you."
"You've a point there, cap. Let's just hope this bomb of his works."
"Would you two shut the hell up?" said Charles, pushing past them. "Ray-Di-Oh silence, heard of it? Gods, you two are like a pair of mating gulls!"
Luan followed, passing what seemed like agreement with a sullen shrug.
The group entered the shuttle through a helpfully open loading ramp.
"A-a-a-anybody home?" Aiden called out.
"Earthen hell, just wake the whole station!" Charles screeched.
"Hey, no one's on board. Look," Aiden said, offering up his terminal. A few blips showed in the centre, which was obviously them. Aiden scrolled outward to see the next closest life signs, which was nearly as far as the terminal's scanners would allow.
"See?" Aiden said.
"Yeah, yeah," Charles conceded, "just don't go shouting over bulletin or station will be coming down hard. And where did you get access to the station scan feed from?"
Aiden didn't answer. Ignoring the question, he found a seat.
Finding the cockpit, Saul buckled himself in. These older model shuttles, though robust, this one, in particular, didn't necessarily possess any sort of artificial gravity generators. Instead, the safety of the entire crew rested in good, time-tested, nylon straps holding them in place.
The rest of the crew followed behind, strapping themselves into free seats in the cramped cockpit, or just outside in the equally space-deprived main hold.
"Taika, signal station and let them know we're ready to launch," Saul said.
"Aye aye. These station jerks won't see the wool over their eyes." Taika responded.
"Station control, station control, this is shuttle Joma 2K6, The Herald, requesting permission to break station contact, over," Taika said, changing his voice to remove all traces of his Sun accent and leaving his bulletin open for everyone to hear.
"Joma Herald, can you repeat that? We have you here for a departure not three days from now. Can you confirm?" said a bemused voice from Station Control.
"Yes, oh yes indeed, Control. We've an urgent matter to attend to, if you'll just release the docking clamps," Taika insisted.
"Joma Herald, I know you know the proper procedure. All transit requests must first be sent through for Sovereignty approval. No exceptions. You've already clearance for lift three days from now, what's the hurry?"
"He's getting suspicious…" Aiden leant over and whispered to Saul from the copilot's seat.
Saul typed a quick message on his terminal and hit Taika's icon to send.
Everything alright?
Without breaking his conversation with Station Control he responded;
As Earth was green.
"He's got this," Saul assured the group. A silent Luan shrugged from the hold.
"Control, I realise that this early departure might incur some fees on our part. Why don't you check with your superior? I can wait," Taika said.
"Joma Herald, is that a bribe?" Control said, still neglecting to show any emotional involvement.
"I wouldn't dare suggest such a scenario," Taika said, thinly feigned disbelief in his voice.
"Joma Herald, please hold."
There was silence on the call for close to five minutes before Control returned.
"Joma Herald, Joma Herald, you are clear to begin undocking. Bearing for departure is thirty-two degrees angled spinward. You have yourselves a fine day," Control said before ending the call.
"What was that?" Aiden said, confounded.
"Seems the pleasant gent in Control spoke with his superior," Taika answered.
"And they're letting us lift? Just like that?" Saul said.
"Well, with the proper authorization codes and—" he paused, switching his voice electronically to that of an older woman with a Scottish accent, "the right voice modulation to go along with it, anything is possible."
"Earth be damned," Saul said, impressed.
"Well. Let's get our feet in the water then. Sergeant Aiden, would you loose the docking harness now?"
"It's sergeant now, is it?" Aiden snorted, reaching for the controls.
"Well, Diggory's already got a first mate. And besides, when all this is over, you're going to need a rank," Saul explained.
The Joma pushed off, its manoeuvring thrusters firing in silent cacophony seen through the dash wallscreens. The shuttle pitched, arcing its bow away from the docking tube, and quickly moved to a wider orbit of the station, just inside the shipping lanes full of slow-moving inbound and outbound freighters. Aiden made a small adjustment to the trajectory to nudge them in the direction of the dockyards.
"How is the Diggory's steely first mate, anyways? How is Tidus?"
"As steadfast and stubborn as ever. Gods only know how he's going to take all this. Perhaps it's all better left unsaid," Saul said, only now realising that he'd neglected to consider Tidus' – let alone the rest of his crew's – opinions before the event he found himself in.
"This is all touching, but are we there yet?" Charles barked.
"It should be coming up, just past this next arm of the station, just over the next rise," Saul said.
"There it is. Coming up on the Par Abbad's starboard now." Aiden said, assuming co-pilot duties.
"Well, bring us bow side, then. And try not to be seen."
"Hey Calmos," Charles said, his voice from behind almost too close for comfort. "Know when we'll be arriving? 'Fraid I've gone and forgotten to take a wee break before now."
"You're joking," Luan scoffed with incredulity.
"Could be," Charles said, "want to check?"
Aiden reached into the compartment to his right and pulled out an empty water flask. "This better do it," he said, flinging the flask over one shoulder. It drifted towards Charles in the null gravity.
Charles batted it away.
"Ey! Watch where you're putting things, navy boy"
"That's rich. Not been reactivated for a standard week and I'm already a navy boy!" Aiden smiled sardonically.
"Joma docking in three… Two…" Aiden started.
The Joma slid up alongside the Par Abbad's aft hull, gliding to a halt with an audible thunk. Saul extended the shuttle's docking tube, which made contact with a solid point on the ship's hull.
"From what I can tell, boys, you should have made landfall somewhere between the cargo hold and the ship's crew mess. Pray no one heard that." Taika said over a spotty connection.
"One."
The shuttle's docking tube began pressurising, finishing when the monitor outside the door read: AMBIENT: GREEN.
"That's it," Aiden said, pulling open the outer door.
The crew now faced the standard jet black of The Par Abadd's outer hull. Each ship, military or otherwise, was painted black to blend in with the background of space, making them more difficult to track.
"Olivio?" Saul said over the bulletin, "Olivio, you and yours in position?"
"Just about there, Calmos," Olivio said through a spotty connection. "My boys and I are just getting into position. Should be ready to start this brawl soon enough."
Saul's plan was about to begin. He had asked for more muscle to stage a riot in the main transport hub, just outside the berth where The Par Abadd had docked. Saul knew that the crew of The Par Abadd would rush to watch, even waking their off-shift comrades to join, especially since they had been on this haul for months and craved any distraction.
"There," Olivio said, "Men are just approaching each other now, give it two minutes and you'll have your distraction."
The two groups of men approached each other at the centre of the hub, each wearing jumpsuits and sporting tattoos from rival long-haul crews. Saul watched on the shuttle's wallscreen which was showing a live feed of the hub. Just as the men were starting to get heated, a loud rumble echoed through the station. The men and everyone else in the hub looked around in confusion, as a secondary explosion ripped through them, knocking many of them off their feet and blinding the camera feed.
"What the hell was that?" Aiden said.
"Taika, what did you do?" Luan questioned.
"Wasn't me, though hats off. That's sure one hell of a distraction," Taika admitted.
In his heart, Saul knew who it was.
"Soffan!" he wailed over bulletin.
Soffan's icon appeared on the shared channel.
"You rang?" he said, and Saul could feel the pride emanating through the line.
"Explain yourself!" Saul continued to fume.
"Needed a distraction, didn't you? Brawl idea was never going to cut it. This way? No chances, just success," Soffan gloated.
"You self-righteous bastard," Saul bellowed, "There were people in that hub. Innocents."
"Ain't no one innocent when it comes to the Sovvos, even you," Soffan said.
Saul's heart was about to burst from his chest in rage when he had a sudden realisation. He motioned to Aiden, who let the bag containing Soffan's other bomb drift slowly to the floor.
"I expect by your silence you were thinking of ditching the OMS I supplied you with," Soffan continued. "Not to worry, this one's the same one I brought to our little meeting. You'd have better luck cracking your suits with Charles' wife's shitake malatang than with that."
"Then why give us it at all?" Aiden said, confusion showing on his face.
"Just to see what happens, I suppose," Soffan said, "See if you've mettle enough for what comes next."
"Next?" Saul asked, but Soffan didn't respond.
"You'll think of something," he said instead, before leaving the channel.
"Damnit," Saul said.
"Well we didn't get all dressed up for nothing," Charles said, handing Luan an arclight cutter that was already powered on.
Saul nodded and took up another cutter. It would take them the better part of thirty minutes to cut through The Par Abadd's outer hull and another ten or so of carefully peeling back and rerouting the inner workings of the electrical systems to not set off any alarms.
"Olivio?" Saul said while continuing to cut.
"Here boss," Olivio said, his voice sullen and slow.
"Hail Mary!" Saul said, "How many of you were caught in the blast?"
"Most of mine are down. The blast took 'em out. I've three plus myself left, not that that does much good."
"Can you continue? I need you to get your men to The Par Abadd's bay doors and start running interference."
"That's the thing, Security's on-site. They're scouting through the wreckage. What's funny, is that bastard's distraction worked. It's got the Par Abbad's crew out in full force, tending to the survivors. Even for some of my men. There's irony in that, I think."
"Be that as it may, I need a lookout."
"I'm on it," Olivio said, mustering himself to rejoin the matter at hand. "I've sent two of mine to hunt down that bastard. The rest of us will man the wall, you've my word on that."
Olivio's icon dropped out of the channel.
"And then there were five," Taika said. No member of the team responded and instead continued cutting in sullen silence.
After they cut their way through, they slipped into the man-sized opening and right into the crew quarters. Olivio was right, Soffan's distraction had worked in clearing out the crew. Saul shuddered at the thought of how many had just lost their lives because of him. He tried not to dwell on it, forcing himself back into the moment.
The four moved into a set of rigid, uninspired corridors in an equally unremarkable ship. The Par Abadd had been built from what Saul had guessed to be three mismatched common freighter designs of Federation origin.
Hats off to them, Saul thought. For a fledgling bunch of nomads on the edge of civilised space, those Freddies sure had their hands firmly in the Sovereignty's purse.
After twenty minutes they came to a set of conspicuously reinforced blast doors.
Aiden whistled. "Ever see cargo doors like this on a freighter hauling everyday goods?"
"Better be something big behind these. My children have been wanting a new pony, though they didn't feed the last one," Charles said, and Saul couldn't tell if he was serious. "Made decent hydrogel, though."
Aiden made a get-a-load-of-this-crazy gesture.
"It has to be the diamond. No other place on this vessel they'd be able to stash them," Luan chimed in.
"Glory me, it speaks!" Charles spat. "What, Taika finally let your balls loose?"
"To hell with that guy…" Luan said.
"Cheer up, boys. Payday's just behind this door," Saul said, trying to distract them.
"Taika, can you hear me? We've reached the second access. Mind lighting our way?"
"Sure, sure," Taika said.
"And make it snappy. This hallway is giving me the shakes," Aiden said.
The doors made an ancient thwack, then lurched open as if they were being pulled along by a team of sloths.
"Now," Saul said, checking his scanner. "Can't be hard, but let us find the quell as quickly as possible."
The four of them spread out, walking through gaps in the stacks of magnetised shipping crates.
"I'm not seeing it," Charles bellowed from somewhere on top of one of the stacks.
"Me either," Luan said. "Seems we may have been duped."
"Keep looking," Saul assured them, "It has to be here. The manifest makes no sense otherwise."
"Guys…?" Aiden said from somewhere near the centre of the stacks, notably confused. "Is it at all possible that diamonds were just a clever mislabelling on the Sovvo's part?"
"I suppose. What are you getting at?" Saul said, walking to him.
"It's just that, I've got a few crates here. Matching shipping tags, identical weight once you add it all up. Marked for 'Sovereignty Official's Eyes Only'."
"And what's the problem?" Charles asked, leaping from the top of one of the stacks and drifting down in the low gravity.
"Quell wouldn't be in multiple crates. As I said, it would be formed in solid cubes." Saul said.
"So what? Easier to move now, no?" Luan said. "Don't need that psycho's bomb after all."
"You're not getting it," Aiden said. He grabbed a pry bar from his suit's belt and peeled back the side of one of the crates. Underneath, a glasslike veneer shone through, accompanied by a turquoise glow.
"Earth be damned, I —" Saul said.
"Gentlemen," Taika's voice interrupted. "Been monitoring radio traffic. Seems you've a group of station sec coming for you."
Just then, Olivio's icon popped back into existence.
"Calmos, come in," he said. "We've trouble."
"Report?" Saul pressed.
"Seems a few Sovvos have slipped past us. The count is three, out of uniform, which is why we didn't catch them. They're headed your way."
"Got it," Saul said. "How much time do we have?"
"Not enough." A voice said from behind them near the cargo bay doors.
Saul turned to find three individuals, a woman led by two men aiming the barrels of their hand cannons at them.
Not ten seconds later, Olivio, two of his men, and a battered Soffan being dragged by his torn collar entered, their barrels levelled at the ones before them. One of the men took a swing at an oblivious Luan with the barrel of his gun, catching him above the brow. Luan dropped to the ground.
"Guys?" Taika said, "I don't mean to interrupt, but—"
"Yes Taika, what is it?" Saul said, trying not to make any sudden movements.
"I don't know how, but I think they found me. I —" Taika began to say before his line switched to static.
"Well," Saul said, instructing Aiden to drop his pry bar.
"Looks like you've got us."