Andromeda's Gates: The story of Yseult Brenneaux

Chapter 13: Rendézvous

It had taken 3 days of walking to reach the rendezvous point. Emily's plan to send a transport to extract Vyken had hit a complication. Since Octan took Freegate, MANTIS had tightened its operations on Donwarr; it was getting nervous and the locals Vyken had been around the last few weeks were getting twitchy. After a long and drawn-out conflict, MANTIS had 'won' the quarrel and controlled everything from Jurin II to Freegate, but Octan were on the move again and the residents were worried about the potential turmoil. Vyken wasn't sure why... Why wouldn't they want Octancorp to retake the quarrel and bring its people the peace, prosperity and opportunity that Octan stood for. Instead, they lived with the uncertainty of MANTIS... An organisation that probably stole from itself so that it can sell its own goods on the black market at a higher price... He wished the people he had met could see how the Octancorp capital on Farmolis had developed under the guidance of one corporation's singular vision.

Without thinking, his hand reached to his left breast where, in one of his suits inner pockets, he kept his copy of the Corporate Handbook. A ceremonial gift from his Mother when he formally became an employee. It was a paper copy, sentimental more than it was practical but he kept it with him at all times. Over the last few weeks, he'd needed everything of value he could find or earn for food and shelter and eventually, access to the off-world Galnet. Only then had he been able to contact Emily, his protégé, and start the process of getting off this rock, so in the long nights, he had read his handbook... Speeches: 2:14. Without it's employees, a corporation is but an empty shell.

The rendezvous point was a clearing at the foot of the Viirven mountains where the trees thinned as the hard ground turned the lush deciduous forest into a region of flat, shrubby tundra, mixed with patches of damp boggy marsh-land stretching North until the soil changed again and hardy pines signified the next range of mountains. Vyken stood, waiting and inspected his sword to pass the time; a good swordsman knows every knick and scratch on his blade... His fight with Graves had added several more.

Eventually, the rustle of leaves and tweeting of the local birds was joined by a low hum and soon, emerging from behind a clutch of trees, a vessel appeared. It approached in a wide arc, the driver clearly gauging the situation before coming too close. Vyken was equally wary and instinctively held his sword behind him, obscured, but ready to used if needed. The vessel was a speeder, a hover-van. Vyken recognised the type immediately – a small 46-B local courier vessel. He had wondered if Emily was serious when he first saw her plan, having informed her of the tightening MANTIS security, she made arrangements for Vyken's extraction via 'alterative routes'. Turning up at Donwarr in an official Octan transport was going to get noticed, quickly, so she had used Octan contacts on Donwarr to get Vyken to a spaceport with false documents, a shuttle to orbit and passage on a freighter to Kaalin. There was a lot that could go wrong but he trusted her. After all, it was him that had shown that fresh-faced girl out of the academy how all that theory worked in the real world. If it could be done... She could do it.

As the hover-van landed, Vyken noticed the discoloured paintwork – this one had seen better days, probably abandoned after the push to take control of Donwarr earlier in the year has come to a halt. When Octan had decided to move its focus elsewhere, most of the resources it had ploughed into this planet were withdrawn but MANTIS' reaction had been swift, and vicious, and anything broken or under repair had been left. The local population had been swift to scavenge and repair what they could and transports like these were known as 'Oc-vans'. In the weeks that he'd been stuck here, he'd learnt that the basic design and cheap parts made them popular and they were now not uncommon. The rear door opened and a man in a white flight-suit emerged. Emily had arranged a pass-phrase; a pre-determined conversation that informed Vyken he was talking to his driver and not a random passer-by by accident... or worse. He couldn't help but smile when he read the phrase; Emily has nailed her wry sense of humour to it.

The man stepped down, his hands visible. The moment before he spoke hung in the air like a fog. "Did you leave something behind?" He asked. The right phrase. "Yes..." Replied Vyken, as he'd been told. "... How to use a sword... apparently." The man's face showed a brief moment of surprise. I wasn't supposed to say 'apparently'. "You should take up fencing". The man replied. It was the response Vyken had been waiting for. He stepped towards the man, holding his sword at ease. "I suppose DuPont sent you?" he asked. The man gave a nod. "Doctor Long's orders. Emily's plan. I'll brief you on the way..." He said, climbing back into the van. "... You have a shuttle to catch."