Systems In Chaos: Dissention

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“You will make your way to Nar Shanni Spaceport and await further instructions from Tower Control.” That was the last thing the pirate captain said to them before she terminated the communications link. They were finally allowed to pass through the blockade which was made up of a pirate fleet.

Though the Tau Ceti system had no official capital planet, most regarded Nym as the frontrunner of the three planets. It was the most populated and most prevalent planet of the three, though Kor came as a close second. It housed the most powerful man in the solar system as well, the one they were headed there to meet, Uggra Gus. Qin was the smallest of the three, though still surprisingly populated. Just three of the five planets in the system had been settled, the remaining two simply floated about the sun as dead rocks. There were probably plans being made by someone who was vastly wealthy to terraform them and claim the rocks as their own, but because there was no real government of the system no one knew for certain.

The system thrived off of trade and tourism. Nym was the single largest supplier of silks and wines in the galaxy, there had been many other competitors, of course, but the Nymish always seemed to be able to buy them out or undercut them for so long they would fold into bankruptcy and close. There were many companies in the galaxy that sold wines, but the Nymish had crafted a way to give their drinks some kind of kick that could not be found in any other wine. Perhaps it was in the soil of the planet, but no one really knew for sure. They were fiercely protective of their secret. The only thing that people knew about it was that, whatever it was, it was a natural ingredient and it wasn’t that any of the wines were spiked with some sort of addictive drug. Though, knowing the Nymish, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they had tried that at one stage. Kor on the other hand was known for its games and competitions. People found a kind of odd excitement in watching a game of which its stakes were the lives of the players. Kor attracted the most tourists, by far. People wanting to experience watching such events live, or young adventurers looking to try and make a name for themselves in known space, were among a few of the groups. The Korish changed the game every couples of months to keep it fresh. Each time they hosted a series of games the planet made trillions. But, as there was no government, the only ones that got rich were the businessmen and women that sought to make a living off such attractions. Just the way the Korish liked it. Kor and Nym were also heavily invested in the slave trade, a trade which wasn’t restricted to the Tau Ceti system. If they sold slaves to customers in other systems, they simply provided a signed contract of indentured service to get around the law of the United Alliance. Qin dabbled in a bit of everything, it wasn’t really known for its wines or silks or games or slaves. What it was known for was its gamblers, half of the cities on that rock were casino jungles: havens for gamblers and loan sharks. And, also, its exotic dancers.

The Hadi had tried to invade the system to overthrow the planets, but the Free Planets had their ways of getting information. They had the best information brokers, insurgents and saboteurs in known space. The Hadi had come out of warp with their fleet ready to bombard the three rocks and land troops on their surfaces, only to meet a fleet of pirates and hired guns. When their wealth and power were at stake, the men and women that looked down on the rest of the people could manage to combine their efforts to raise an army and thwart the Hadi Empire. Since then the planets had blockaded each planet and started to heavily patrol the system. They spoke with every ship that entered the system and investigated each ship that landed on their rocks. It didn’t matter who you were, you had to be inspected before you could leave the spaceports, and had to be approved by pirates and spies to even be allowed to land. The men that spoke to the captains of approaching ships were men of deceit and lies, they could tell if you were up to no good. Which didn’t really matter to them, the system was known for its ‘mischief’. The only ones they were preventing from landing were Imperials, United Alliance officials, Hadi and Zeuti, as such the Commander had a hell of a time convincing them that they were only there for business. It hadn’t worked.