Foreign Imports

Somewhere else in Seranis, another Raider was examining a batch of M430s. Corvis knew the weapons wouldn't be enough to breach Cloudseeker, but it was a start. He kept the warehouse sanitized of most of the gadgetry his people were used to, with blueprints of the Cloudseeker printed out onto paper. Examining those blueprints was Heren Yox. The athletic tech specialist had porcelain skin and raven-black hair that was tamed in a bun.

"You sure these are accurate, Corvis?" Heren asked.

"They came from the Queen herself."

A surprised expression hits Heren's face. "Well, that's good to know, because we'll be betting our lives on them."

"I know."

Corvis looked at the mock kill house he'd made in the warehouse. It wasn't anywhere near the standards of the mock-up ships he used to practice on, but it could still be arranged to be a rough approximation of the room he'd have to storm to take Cloudseeker. Hopefully, the men who were coming would have the training and experience to compensate for the lack of preparation.

Heren moved up next to him. "Well, the good news is the fact the spec of the tech in Cloudseeker is dated and should be pretty easy to break. Bad news is we'll need to get to the command center in the War Room, which is the hornet's nest. You're gonna have a ton of the Royal Guard there, so you'll need to pull out all the stops to penetrate it."

Corvis nodded. "You leave that to me. With the proper breach, we'll have a solid defensive position and control of the command center."

"Okay, and then what? Even if I take over the sentry guns, we'll still have to make our way to the King."

"Well, I have a few options. Either we flush him out and **** him to the bunker, where he'll be trapped with a small squad of guards, or we **** him to barricade in the Royal Suites. Either way, he'll be cut off from the bulk of his protection detail."

"And if I can keep control of the missile defense systems, we'll be able to keep most immediate forces at bay."

"Exactly."

Heren took a deep breath. "This still isn't gonna be easy."

"Never said it would be. You still up for this?"

"I wouldn't be here if I did."

"Good. 'Cause I need you more than just about anyone."

"Yes Sir."

That's when Corvis' Wrist Computer vibrated. "I need to take this."

"Go ahead."

Corvis left the warehouse for the cold of the alleyway, where he accepted the call from Colonel Bravi.

"Corvis?" He said.

"Colonel."

"My men have informed me that they've arrived at the docks and are waiting for you."

"Excellent. What about you?"

"King Altan is letting me and four other men stay for as long as we need."

"Well, if things go to plan, that won't be long."

"That is good to hear. Keep me updated, yes?"

"I will. See you."

"See you soon. May the Braveman favor you."

With that, Corvis headed back into the warehouse to get into his Transportcraft. The boxy, tracked vehicle traveled along the snowy roads of Seranis to the docks. As he drove towards his destination, he watched the streets of foreign refugees. Ever since the Golden Age of Space Travel started, Seranis has become a hub for refugees and space travelers, with many becoming a part of the growing brutalist buildings made to accommodate them. The sort of place where people didn't like to ask questions, which suited Corvis perfectly.

He eventually made it to the docks, where twenty-four Black Daggers were waiting, fighting off the cold in thermal jackets. Untrained eyes would see only a bunch of foreigners struggling with the cold, but Corvis saw a group of hardened killers, ready to strike at a moment's notice. As Corvis approached, the shortest man of the group approached. He had a surprisingly portly build, with a thick mustache on his round face.

"Greetings. I am Ismak Kaltara of the Black Daggers. We are here to aid you and the Queen of Corr." The short man said.

Corvis nodded. "That you shall do. I'll need to transport you all in the back. I apologize if it isn't the most comfortable trip."

Ismak shrugged "If my men can't survive a rough trip they won't survive what's ahead of them."

He motioned to his men to enter the back of the Transportcraft, to which they offered no protest, in spite of the barren cargo hold not even coming with seats. Corvis went to the driver's seat, as Ismak took a seat next to him.

Corvis asked "I assume your men are ready?"

"They wouldn't be my men if they weren't."

"Good. We might not have long before we have to strike."

"Just say when."

"You're certainly confident."

"Wouldn't be here if I wasn't. The Braveman will favor us."

"You know there's a good chance not all of us will make it back."

Ismak nodded. If he was fazed by the words, his face didn't give it away. "I gave an oath to serve the Naseef Empire to the best of my abilities, and so did my men. We will die before we break that oath."

Corvis nodded, having made a similar oath to the very woman he loved and Ismak's men served.