Warhawk's Amnesty - Ch. 24 - Pracovi Problems - Beta

Seb looked out of his shared bedroom’s window after hearing the call from the captain that they were approaching ring three. The pracovi home world of Dutza was like a glistening marble floating in the night sky. The planet had beautiful pink oceans surrounded by vibrant blue and green flora that peppered the landscape. There were barely any clouds, giving a perfect view of the terrain below.

But Seb and his companion’s destination wasn’t the planet itself, but the third man-made ring that surrounded the planet. Pracovi was famous for their ship manufacturing skills. Three rings of varying sizes surrounded the dwarf-sized planet with dozens of factories, assembly plants, and warehouses all working together to build the various ships in the galaxy.

For those that worked in the darkness of space, they built communal hubs to house the millions of pracovi who worked on one of the three rings. From what Eni had told him, some pracovi families never even left the rings themselves. With all the amenities provided on the various stations, there was never a need to visit the planet below.

The pracovi people’s ability to build made them an invaluable ally for all the other galactic superpowers. While they maintained a seat on the galactic ruling council, the other systems’ reliance on their production afforded them neutrality in most of the politics. They became a critical part of any war effort.

Seb watched while the ship finished its docking procedures. It’d been several weeks since they’d left the Song of the Galaxy. The ship docked on Hera, a UHC owned planet that was treated as a prime vacation spot that was known for its warm weather, crystal clear oceans, and white sandy beaches. From there, they’d chartered passage on a transport freighter, Mercy’s Caress, to take them to Dutza.

After a vibration rumbled through the ship’s frame, Seb stood from his bottom bunk. He shouldered his backpack and picked up his other bag. Ensuring he left nothing behind, he scoured the room for anything he’d missed. When he was sure he got everything, he opened his room’s door.

Nalla let out a gasp of surprise as the door whistled open. “Oh, looks like you’re already up.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to stay awake with the captain speaking over the intercom.”

“Tell that to Vi,” Nalla smirked. “She’s still trying to get Eni up.”

“It’s been pretty clear that she’s not a morning person.”

“Now that you mention it… I don’t think I’ve seen her up before midday unless we had plans. I should take note of that for my records of her. It’s not good if she’s not getting enough sleep.”

“She’s fine,” Seb said, waving his hand. “She just needs to get to bed at a decent time.”

“You’re probably right. But now that we’re a crew, I worry about her. She still hasn’t let me perform a physical. Well… she has, but every time we start she turns it into something it’s not.”

“What do you mean?”

Nalla looked around her before leaning in to whisper. “She always tries to turn it into something sexual.”

Seb busted out in laughter. “Yeah, that sounds like her. So what did you do?”

“I tried to get her to be serious, but she wouldn’t have it. She started touching my tail and—”

Seb took a step forward and nodded down the hall, interrupting Nalla’s story. They both turned to see Eni and Vi approaching with their luggage. Seb grabbed some of Vi’s extra bags to help with the load.

“Ugh… What time is it?” Eni asked, holding her head. Her ears were drooping forward, and she had large bags underneath her eyes.

“Early morning is my guess,” Seb said. “Maybe 5ish?”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here, then. I need some more sleep.”

“We can pick up some coffee and grub along the way, but we’re all following you, Eni.”

“What? Why?”

“Because we’re here to see your family.”

“Oh, right… shit…”

“What’s wrong?” Nalla asked.

“Nothing… I’ll tell you later. Just follow me.”

Seb gave Nalla and Vi a shrug after Eni passed him. The group followed their sleepy companion as she waddled her way down the hall of rooms that lined the ship. They stopped behind a queue that formed along the ship’s docking bay doors.

“How’d you sleep?” Nalla asked.

“Not too bad,” Seb said. “It was nice having the cabin to myself after the last stop.”

“We should have just moved into your room afterwards,” Eni said. “This old woman would not stop snoring. I was this close to smothering her with her pillow.”

“Don’t do that,” Nalla said, rubbing her back. “They would have found you easily. It would have been better to give her a dose of tarcin. The autopsy would come out looking as if she’d had a heart attack.”

“Damn, Nalla, that’s cold-blooded.”

“Well, I am part sepix,” Nalla smirked.

Eni laughed and leaned into her side. “I knew there was a reason why I liked you. You’ve got this sweet and soft exterior, but on the inside you’re a bit of a freak like me.”

As the two walked further down the hall, Vi and Seb stood back. “Great, that’s just what we need. Another one like Eni,” Vi said, chuckling.

“Yeah, I didn’t see that coming,” Seb said. “She’s always been so sweet.”

“Those are always the ones you have to worry about. Eni’s the one who rescued both of us, remember.”

“Yeah, but she’s almost like the opposite. Chaos on the outside and sweet on the inside.”

“You’re not wrong.”

The two shared a laugh before catching up with the other pair. After exiting the ship, the crew ventured further into the station. The structure was boxy with massive windows edged in a brown metal. It shimmered like bronze with edge patterns similar to Damascus steel. The aesthetic continued throughout the buildings, which were stylized with basic geometric shapes with sharp points.

After picking up a bite to eat and several large coffees, the group followed Eni to the nearby rail station. According to her, pracovi’s trains were the fastest way to get from point to point on R-3. They used powerful magnetic energy fields to propel the suspended trains swiftly across the surface of the structure.

Thanks to their early arrival, the train station was barren. Since they beat the morning rush, their passenger car was nearly empty. Eni and Nalla took two seats in the row in front of the one that Seb and Vi sat in.

The red padding turned Vi’s exposed arms and head a few shades closer to purple. The sudden change heightened the contrast of her yellow eyes. It almost seemed as if they were glowing.

“What?” Vi asked, pausing and looking over at Seb.

“Nothing,” Seb said. “You just look great in red.”

Vi looked down at her arms, glancing between the two to confirm the difference. She let out a laugh and smacked him on the arm.

“What? You do.”

“Thanks, it’s not my natural color.”

“I couldn’t tell. It suits you.”

Vi smiled and rolled her eyes before a slight jerk of the car pulled their attention outside the window. The foreground became a blur as the train accelerated. The massive assembly plants were the only thing large enough for them to get a good look at. Dozens of cruisers, frigates, and even the shell of a lone dreadnought sat idly by while sparks flew from the builder’s equipment. He felt as if he was a kid in a candy store. He felt at home here and couldn’t wait to see what was in store for them.

Seb could feel Vi’s gaze behind him and turned to make sure she could get a clear view. “Is our ship going to be as big as those?” she asked.

“Closer to the smaller ones. With our size, we’re bordering between a light frigate and a frigate. It’s better for us to get classified as the light frigate for insurance, tax, and title purposes. We’ll have to wait and see once we pass inspection.”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

“You and me both. I wonder how much they’ve gotten done since I sent them the money and the plans.”

“It was impressive watching you work. I don’t think I saw you leave our suite once you started.”

“Yeah, I started getting a bit hyper focused. I mean, it’s been a dream of mine to build my own ship. Then, with all everyone else’s input, our wishes and desires, it felt like I was building us our home. At that point it didn’t become about me.”

“Aw… that’s sweet.” Vi said, brushing her tentacles from her face. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“What was that for?”

“I don’t know. I just felt like it.”

The two shared a smile and rode a bit further before Seb overheard Nalla and Eni talking. Their laughter made him feel a bit uneasy when they both looked at him at the same moment. He pushed the thought aside, hoping that he wasn’t the center of their conversation.

Vi pulled his attention when she leaned in close to his ear and whispered. “You haven’t met Eni’s family, have you?”

“No, have you?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t even really know she had family until she mentioned it on the cruise.”

“It never came up?”

“No, not really. Now that I think about it, she didn’t really share much about her personal life. When she found me, I was spilling everything that happened to me. She just kind of listened and helped. Looking back, that’s what I needed though.”

“You two worked together a lot, though?”

“A lot? I wouldn’t call it a lot. When she needed a driver or an extra set of hands, she called me. She always paid well. We’d only started hanging out in more of a non-professional manner a few months ago.”

“Huh… I wonder if there’s a reason why she doesn’t talk about them much.”

“Yeah, it was odd how she was so adamant about getting a hotel when they offered to let us stay. I had to stress how tight of a budget we are on now that we sunk everything we have into the ship.”

“How bad can they be if they offered for us to stay with them?”

“I guess we’ll wait and see,” Vi said, shrugging

The remainder of the ride wasn’t that long thanks to the speed of the train. Seb and Vi picked up their bags when they saw Nalla and Eni begin to stand after their station was called. Their breakfast seemed to do the trick, as Eni was no longer slumping along.

When they stepped out from their exit, they were in the middle of a large atrium. There was no station entrance like at the docks. The train put them right in the heart of the ring. In the center of the structure were several suspended energy rails that the trains used. A suspended bridge was built over it, creating a small park where families gathered.

On both sides of the structure were giant communal apartments that ascended above the top of the atrium. The main level was reserved for restaurants, stores, and entertainment. The area seemed purposefully designed to keep everything contained within walking distance. To the left and right of each building, Seb could see manufactures and assembly docks and he quickly understood how the pracovi citizens could exist in their own little bubble.

Eni pulled up something on her WICI, which Seb could see was the address.

“You don’t know where your parents live?” Seb asked.

“This is the first time I’ve been here,” Eni said, looking up. “They moved from R-1 to R-3 last year. I haven’t had the chance to visit since.”

“It looks nice.”

“That’s because R-3 is brand new. They haven’t even finished it completely. Each iteration of the rings has been a massive improvement. With R-3 supporting more species, I’m interested to see what my family’s apartment is like.”

“We’re going to be able to fit in it, right?”

Eni giggled. “We’ll see!”

Seb wondered if he made the right call not getting an apartment. As they walked deeper into the atrium, he could see the galaxy’s influence among the pracovi people’s culture. Many of the shops included holograms that shifted into various languages, including galactic common. While the pracovi were the majority race among the ring, there were humans, onigaram, and even a few inora scattered among the populous. If the apartment was built inside the atrium instead of mounted on the outside as its own structure, Seb half expected to see families hanging out of the open windows.

Eni led them through the busy common area to a front door of the apartments that displayed a hologram of CA 47. Several children weaved in between Seb’s legs when he opened the door, putting a smile on everyone’s face. After crossing a massive foyer filled with couches and chairs filled with the elderly playing basic hologames, the group found the elevators and headed for the top floor.

Once the door opened, Eni pulled up her WICI again to check the number. “We’re looking for apartment 1522.”

The emerald green carpet guided their way down the hall. They counted their way up until they reached the apartment. Eni stopped and let out a heavy sigh before turning around and facing everyone. She was rubbing her forehead and clenching her teeth.

“Before we go in there, I’m going to lie down some basic rules. First—”

The door sprang open, revealing three pracovi standing in the doorway. The first was a thin man with a long white beard and white hair. He shared Eni’s blue and green eyes. The other two were women. They both had braided, blonde hair and purple and blue eyes. The older woman retained much of her youthful beauty and it was clear where Eni got her looks from. The younger of the two was completely shredded. She had arms, legs, and abs that rivaled his own.

“Trixie!” the pracovi trio shouted before swarming their kin.

Seb looked over at Vi and raised a brow. “Trixie?” Vi’s face was plastered with a grin. She shrugged, and the two looked back down at the family. Eni’s parents and sister continued their loving assault, issuing an endless number of kisses and hugs to Eni’s displeasure.

“Come on, you’re smothering me,” Eni said, trying to wiggle out of their bear hugs.

“Hush now honey,” Eni’s mom said. “We haven’t seen you in a little over a year. You can suffer my love just for a few more minutes.”

“That’s right, sweetpie,” her father said. “We’ve missed you something awful. You really need to visit more often since you never tell us where you are to come visit.”

“Sweetpie?” Seb whispered, leaning over to Vi.

“I can already tell this is going to be great,” Vi whispered back.

“You never call enough either,” Eni’s sister said. “You owe me some more stories.”

“I’m sorry,” Eni said. “I’ve been busy. I’ve missed you all too.”

Seb couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t that he was happy about Eni’s reunion with her family. It was their accents. He could tell the WICI was picking up a foreign language from the mom and dad based on their mouths, not syncing with the words. But the accent he was hearing reminded of the southern states of his planet back home. He tapped on his WICI to confirm the translator was working correctly and didn’t have a mis-configured setting, and it all checked out.

When the three finished with their homecoming, Eni’s mom took a step forward. This time, Seb could tell she was speaking in galactic common based on her slow and forceful delivery. “Wel-come. To. Our. Home. My name is. Minxie. My. Husband’s name is. Marvo.”

“When did mom and dad start speaking common?” Eni asked, turning to her sister.

“These last few months,” Eni’s sister said. “They’ve been bored in their retirement and started taking online classes since we’re getting more and more immigrants.”

Eni turned to her mother and raised her wrist, displaying her device. “Mom, you don’t have to try so hard. We’re all wearing WICIs with universal translators. They can understand you. Where are the ones I bought you and dad?”

“Ugh, I hate wearing that thing. It makes my arm itchy. And we don’t need a translator. What happened to just communicating with each other, naturally? I don’t like the electronic voice it gives me and others.”

“That’s because you don’t use it enough. It gets better over time. It only takes about a week to adjust.”

While the other three bickered, Eni’s sister took a step forward and waved her hand. “I’m Dixie by the way.”

Seb pointed at himself and then to his companions. “I’m Seb, this is Nalla and Vi.”

“Pleasure to meet you. You’re the one who bought the ship then?”

“Yeah, excited to see her. How’s the build coming?”

“Everything is going great. Not going to lie, when you sent the plans over, I thought the design was a little crazy. You crafted a light-freighter around a gauss system sized for a dreadnought. However, when everything checked out in our systems and the payment came through, the team was excited for the challenge.”

“Your sister gave you high praises, so I knew I was going to be in excellent hands.”

“You definitely made the right choice. Nothing beats pracovi engineering. Once we get you all settled, I’ll take you to the hanger and you can see her yourself.”

“Can’t wait.”

By the time Seb and Dixie finished with their conversation, Eni and her parents finished their discussion. Seb introduced himself and his companions in the best pracovi he could muster, earning a smile from both parents. Eni’s family went to each of the women and started helping them with their bags.

“Come on in everybody,” Eni’s mother said, switching back to her native language and waving at everyone to come inside. “I’m sure it’s been a long journey. Let’s get your bags dropped off.”

The front door opened into a living room with a fifteen-foot-tall ceiling that was crested with a massive skylight that opened up into the shining stars of space. The living room was furnished with a large couch paired with small recliners sized for Eni’s parents. Their kitchen was wide and open, yet sized appropriately to their family. It was decorated with stone black countertops and cabinets that matched the bronze aesthetic of the building.

When Seb saw how everything was sized, he worried about the bathroom. However, thankfully that was sized large enough for him and his companions, it just came decorated with multiple touchpads.

Eni’s room was the last stop on their tour and Seb’s jaw dropped when her mother opened the door. It was decorated like he expected to find in a teen’s room. It had lots of black furnishings, tons of holographic posters of human boy bands, and shelves of physical copies of various books.

“Why? Just why?” Eni said, shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?” Minxie asked.

“Why would you redo this room with all of my old stuff?”

“Well, we wanted you to feel comfortable whenever you visited.”

“I think it’s rather sweet,” Nalla said, chuckling.

“Yeah, look at all these awesome bands,” Seb said, walking into the room. “I haven’t heard the rowdy renegades in years. And the Bristol Bad Boys… Eni, you’ve got them all.”

Seb dropped his bags and picked up a nearby hairbrush and started to sing. He completed the chorus of one of their hit songs before kneeling in front of Eni. After the serenade, he received quite the applause from everyone except for Eni.

“Damn Seb, I didn’t know you could sing,” Vi said. “Why haven’t we done karaoke yet?”

“Eh, I was just having fun,” he said, returning the hairbrush to the top of the dresser.

“I see why she likes you so much,” Minxie said.

“Mom…” Eni growled.

“Oh, she likes me?” Seb asked.

“Well, she’s always had a thing for humans, and you’re the first man she’s brought home.”

“All right, that’s it!” Eni said, turning around. “We’re leaving and getting a hotel room!”

“No way,” Vi said, stepping in front of her. “We just got here and I’m already in love with your family. I can’t wait to hear all about your childhood.”

“Did she show you all the fanfic she used to write?” Dixie asked.

Vi hastily clapped and shouted with excitement. “No, she didn’t!”

Eni’s eyes glazed over. She stood there unblinking, muttering to herself. “I knew this was a bad idea, but I agreed to it, anyway. There’s nothing left to be unturned. I’m just going to have to end it and save myself from further embarrassment.

Seb felt bad they were reveling in her torment. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side. Looking up, he addressed everyone in the room. “Even though I don’t want to spoil the wonderful time we are all having, I do want to get a good look at the progress Dixie and her team has made working on our ship.”

“That’s a good idea,” Nalla said.

The group dropped off their bags in Eni’s room before heading back to the front door. Minxie shouted that she would have lunch prepared for them when they got back. They followed Dixie out of the apartment and marched behind her. When they exited the building, Seb noticed everyone gathered around a nearby news terminal.

“What’s going on?” Seb asked.

“I don’t know,” Dixie said. The group jogged over to the hologram that was displaying Breaking News in a floating circle.

“Galactic War,” the news anchor began. “Is upon us. GRC diplomatic efforts have failed to come to a peaceful agreement between the Freelight Syndicate and the Sectorum. The Allmother’s fleet has been seen traveling through Assembly space and reports of engagements on the two superpower’s borders. The Pracovi Alliance is stuck in the middle. GRC orlindrian councilwoman Yaralai Srivali has committed to sending GRC peacekeeping forces to protect the critical system. We’ll present more news as the situation develops. May the Maker watch over us all.”

Seb turned to look out the nearby window. Flashes of light speckled off into the distance before a large cruiser flew over the station. The light flashed more frequently and Seb realized what they were. They were FTL discharges from ships arriving in the sector. In a matter of minutes, hundreds of ships entering the nearby space hindered their view. UHC, Liolai Collective, Assembly, Great Hive, and Reborn fleets moved to create a physical blockade around the planet.

Seb jerked up when yellow lights descended from the ceiling, presenting some kind of alert around the station. A calm voice echoed over the intercom, recommending all non-employed staff to return to their homes. His companion’s shout pulled his attention.

“Seb come on!” Vi yelled. When he turned, he saw his companions were already running down the atrium, opposite of where they had been. He rushed to Vi, and the two sprinted to catch up with his other companions. By the time they reached the hangar, they were all panting heavily.

Dixie badged everyone in through the front door. When they reached the front security officer, Dixie exclaimed they were with her. Seb and his crew followed her down winding hallways, passing many of the workers who scampered in the opposite direction, determined to make their way home.

When the doors opened, Dixie darted down the hallway with Seb and his companions in tow. She unlocked a room with her WICI opening up to a room where all the walls were transparent. It was the hanger’s control room.

Seb walked to the furthest point in the room, placing his hands on the glass as he looked outward. Dixie and her crew had already completed the shell of the ship. He could see it was missing its exterior pieces, like the defense turrets, sensor antennae, and communication dishes. However, outside of his present company, it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“It’s so big!” Vi shouted. “She’ll still be agile, though, won’t she?”

“Maybe not as the hypercore ships, but she’ll do you justice,” Seb said. He felt Nalla’s arm wrap around his waist and he rested his arm onto her shoulder.

“That’s our new home, isn’t it?” Nalla asked.

“It will be once she’s finished.”

“A lot of decisions I have made have been the wrong ones. But this one… it feels right.”

Seb wrapped his arms around the women next to him and pulled them in close. He looked back and forth between their eyes and smiled. He was so close to having his dreams come true, he could taste it. But all that feeling was short-lived when Dixie started cursing.

“Karasaur cunt,” Dixie said, slamming her fist down.

“What’s wrong?” Seb asked.

“We’ve got a big fucking problem.”

“Well, don’t just leave us hanging. Tell us what’s wrong?”

Dixie twisted in her chair, facing the group, and took in a deep breath. “Our process for custom orders is to order as we go. We break the build up into various milestones. Once we get close to the next milestone, we place the order for the next phase and continue down our track. We have an ordering system that estimates the total cost of the build. When we initially spoke, the total I gave you was for all the parts at the time. When I just checked, it was as I had feared. Prices have skyrocketed.”

“How much we talking?”

“The estimate is double.”

“Double?!” Seb shouted. “Where the fuck are we going to get that much money?”

“I can pitch in,” Vi said. “I’ve got about 100k put away.”

“I’ve stowed away what little I have,” Nalla said. “But you can have it all if it means building our home.”

“I have an emergency fund,” Eni said. “We’ll have to physically go get it, but depending on how much the others have, it may cover everything we need.”

“I can’t ask you all to do that,” Seb said, lowering his head.

“You’re not asking, we’re offering,” Vi said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We want to do this. For all of us.”

“What about your racing team?”

“I don’t mind waiting a little longer. Besides, I know we’ll earn it back.”

“Yeah, with my brains and your brawn, we’ll be swimming in credits in no time,” Eni said, smiling.

“All right, let’s focus on getting the money and then we’ll be back.”

“That’s not all of it,” Dixie said softly.

“What was that?” Seb asked, taking a step forward.

“The engines we were going to use are all gone.”

“What do you mean they’re all gone?”

“They’re sold out, and so is every other manufacturer that will fit the build.”

“Can’t you find a used one?” Vi asked.

“Maybe, but the used market is going to be just as inflated. It might take me weeks or months or source one. The engines designed for this craft have to fit a specific category for the size and weight. Unless you are friends with an engine manufacturer, we’re limited on options.”

“Maybe we can steal one,” Eni said.

“Trixie!” Dixie said, her eyes wide. “You can’t be serious.”

“I mean we have to have them for the ship to fly.”

“You don’t just need one. You need two. And who are you? The sister I grew up with would never do something like that.”

“There’s a lot about me that you don’t know.”

As the discussion turned heated, with Vi and Nalla trying to calm the two sisters down, Seb paced around the room. His mind raced, searching for any option to solve their problem. When he found it, he smiled and shook his head. Fate was a cruel mistress. He needed help from the last person he ever wanted to see. But he was willing to do anything to make his companions happy.

“I’ve got it!” Seb shouted. “Eni, let’s head back to your folks’ place. I need to grab my things.”

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I need you to do two things for me. First, find me the cheapest ticket from here to Atlas. And second, I need you to get me all the dirt you can find on Zara Saladonus.”

“Why are you going to Atlas?” Nalla asked.

“To get us our damn engines.”