Deep inside Corsair space, an Osiris Battleship pulled itself through the ether. It was heading to Tripoli Shipyard, newly commissioned and ready to see service in the defense of their ship yard facilities. Adrian Martinez, the commander of the new ship, walked down the corridors wrapped in silence. Completely absorbed with his own thoughts, he didn't notice his crew saluting, working on panels, or carrying on conversations. While there was a low buzz generated by the ship and people living in the ship, Adrian heard nothing.
He entered the massive room that housed the sensors. The Osiris had originally been designed for covert ops, and its ability to take in information via sensors only showed how good it had filled that purpose. His right-hand man, Angello, was standing in front of a large console, reviewing data spread out before him. By the look of his face, he didn't like it.
"Report," Adrian said offhand, while walking up to take a look over Angello's shoulder.
"Errmm... it's a match, sir."
"Damn! How?"
"Perfect match. I double and triple checked, sir. He is your son. Not even the infestation of cardamine could change his genetics too much. And there's something else: he could be allergic to cardamine."
"What? An Outcast allergic to cardamine?" Adrian asked, puzzled. His hatred of the Outcasts was skin-deep only, tempered by having met Catalina.
"Not an Outcast, a mix of Outcast and Corsair decent. The Corsair genes rejected the cardamine, obviously. He's allergic. And because his Corsair genes rejected the cardamine, there's a chance he can be saved from it."
"Hmm... yes. We'll turn my old boy into a Corsair. Clean all the cardamine out of him if we have to go to Atka to do it... Alright, but out a Bulletin: his ship is not to be attacked by any Corsair ship. Tell them that we captured him before and subverted him to be a spy for us. That should be satisfactory." Adrian was smiling to himself. The son he had never had was right there.
Zacarias loved Hokkaido. Especially the largest cloud in the southern half of the system. To him, the other two clouds paled in comparison. All because of Ainu Depot. The home to the only all-woman faction in Sirius. Let's just say that Zacarias loved moving cardamine here.
Zac was in the bed of some random Golden Chrysanthemum, enjoying her company. Of course, every time he came to Ainu, he always worried that while he was sleeping with one of them, the rest were stealing everything to the floorboards off his ship. The fact that Carina was there gave him no ease of mind; she might just encourage it, instead of stop it. She had the weirdest sense of humor he had ever seen. Maybe it was a malfunction... no way he made that.
His comm on the nightstand beeped. She whispered into his ear, "Ignore it." He would gladly have ignored it, if it hadn't been Carina. Rolling over, he picked up the comm-link and looked at it. The screen displayed a message, and Zac's heart sank. He jumped out of bed, quickly dressed, promised her he'd be back later, and ran to his ship.
When he got there, he climbed aboard and sealed the hatch, though didn't un-dock. He didn't know what to do. When a Corsair message says that you've been captured and subverted, when you haven't been near Corsair space for months, and have never been captured by them, what do you do?
If Carina could intercept the message out here, then Malta could probably get it, too. Zacarias decided to go to his ol' pal Willow, to see if he could explain things the best he could and maybe get some help.
It had been some time since Zacarias had popped into Willow's office; almost two months, to be exact. Ever since that last falling out with Willow, he hadn't really wanted to return. But now he was.
Instead of knocking like most would do, Zac hacked the security of the building, and gave himself complete access. He just waltzed right up to Willow's office and opened the door. Closing it behind him, he walked in.
Willow sat behind a plush desk, going over some paperwork. He looked up with a flick of his eyes, apparently too busy for much else. Seeing who it was, he put the papers down fast and stood up. Annoyance played across his face, as well as curiosity.
"Well, what do we have here? I didn't expect to see you again... or at least so soon. Now, make it fast, before I call the guards, or better yet, beat you to a pulp myself," he said without preamble.
So Zacarias told him about the transmission, how it was fake, and how he hadn't even been near Corsair space in a long time. At the end Willow was looking a bit worried.
"Could they know about Carina? Maybe that's what they're after... with that, they could..." Willow trailed off, afraid to contemplate what the Corsairs could do with such an advanced piece of technology. Or maybe he couldn't imagine something so bad.
"OK, I'm gonna check a few things. Meanwhile, I want you to act natural, and try not to go near any Corsairs."
Zac nodded, and left. He wasn't liking how this was gonna turn out.
Despite Willow's warning to lay low, Zacarias couldn't help himself. Inside a week, he was back pulling escort duty for the Blue Lotus Syndicate, the premiere Outcast smuggling organization. Landing a position in it had been a highlight in Zac's life, though he didn't brag about it. Much. He did leave Carina sitting on Malta, for her safety.
And the next two weeks passed like a blur, to where I am now sitting in my Sabre on Ibiza. For time reference, today is November 15, 815. I wrote this brief outline of my life in the event of my future death, which because of recent events is looking more and more likely. I hope that someone finds my body, and if you would be so kind deliver all the documents contained in the briefcase this file is located in to Esperanza Larez, 202nd Outcast squadron, who is always in my heart.
--- this note was found on the top of a locked briefcase, attached to the end of a brief outline of the important events of Zacarias Poncho's life. It was found floating in Omicron Gamma by a passing Outcast attack squadron, and has been circulated amongst the Outcasts. There was no sign of his ship. At the time, he was believed to be flying his Lane Hacker gunship, the MNS Carina. Many wonder what has befallen Zacarias, as no one can find a trace of him or his ship. Everyone assumes the worst....
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