Galaxy of Heroes

Capt. Mina Casey stood in the Council Chambers before the Board of Directors of the Jod Corporation. Seven board members looked down at her from behind a high, semi-circular podium.

Only moments earlier, she had been swimming in the warm waters of the Gallos Sea. A courier had told her that the Board had requested her presence.

Capt. Casey’s short, jet black hair was still wet with salt water. She wore a black jumpsuit, black work boots and had an M-2 handgun strapped to her belt.

Her dark eyes scanned the faces of the humans looking down at her. She wondered what was their intent. This whole set up did not feel like a job interview.

The Chambers were on the top floor of the Founders Building—the highest skyscraper in Portogallos. The large windows that encased this airy room offered a panoramic view of the cluster of skyscrapers that made up this city. To the east were lush mountains covered in green foliage. To the west were the purple waters of the Gallos Sea. A strip of sandy beach ran north and south beyond the extent of the city.

Capt. Casey’s eyes were drawn outside to the violet sea that shimmered under the clear, pink sky.

The courier had told her that the Board of Directors was requesting information in exchange for possible employment with the Jod Corporation. She was now feeling uneasy about having agreed to come here.

She looked up at them—two Paltrans, two Megalans and two Portogallans—the Portogallans being of Heliac descent, same as she. Sitting at the center of the podium was the Chairman of the Board. His nameplate read Executive Jod.

The chairman—Verman Jod—had a freakish look. His bulbous head was oversized, his mouth large and toothy, and his prominent ears long and grotesque. He had a crown of wavy dark hair, piercing eyes, a colossal nose and a jutting chin. He was exceedingly thin, but sinewy, with huge hands and feet, and was nearly seven feet tall when standing.

From what little biographical information Capt. Casey could gather, she had learned that Jod had been born naturally to a Paltran mother, while his father was Megalan. His mother had given birth to him on some short-lived colony on a scorched, airless planet that orbited too close to its star.

Although strong like a Megalan, Executive Jod still wore mechanical prostheses on his joints like a Paltran.

“Captain Mina Casey,” Executive Jod said. His voice was deep and guttural. He clasped his long, bony fingers as he spoke to her.

“Yes, sir,” Capt. Casey replied.

“You piloted a frigate for the Heliac Defense Forces?” he asked.

“I’ve piloted a lot of different ships,” she answered.

Capt. Casey felt exceedingly uneasy standing in the glass-enclosed Council Chambers looking up at Jod and his cronies.

“Since the fall of the Heliac System, you have been a merchant spacefarer and have traveled to nearly all the known human outposts?” Executive Jod asked.

“What is this about?” Capt. Casey asked.

“Do you know Captain Jace Spade?” Jod asked.

“Jace?” she answered. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“The Board would like to speak to him,” Jod said.

“Who are you people?” Capt. Casey asked.

“Portogallos is lawless,” Jod said. “We are attempting to establish a government to bring order to this place.”

“You mean to establish control over this place,” Capt. Casey said.

“Portogallos is unruly and chaotic,” Jod said. “This city needs leadership.”

“You are running a business cartel and you’re trying to control everything,” she said. “Everyone is starting to figure that out. Look, I don’t know where Captain Spade is and I’m not interested in working for you. I’ve got to run. It was nice talking to you.”

Capt. Casey turned to leave.

“Halt!” thundered a Megalan member of the Board. His nameplate read Director Hatchett. “You were not dismissed!” Hatchett bellowed.

Capt. Casey kept walking for the door.

“Please do not leave, Captain,” a female Paltran, named Director Goba, pleaded. “It will be worth your while to hear us out.”

“A moment is all we ask, Captain Casey,” Executive Jod said.

Capt. Casey stopped and turned around to face them, looking up at them skeptically.

“This planet was a rare find, you know,” Jod said. “It was a precious gem undiscovered in this sector of the galaxy. It is ours now. The human colony here can only grow and prosper. However, at this time there is no order in Portogallos. We are in need of a governor and an elected council. We need to build proper institutions and a militia for defense. We need ships to patrol the boundaries of the system to protect Gallos from intruders who would do us harm. We need soldiers and pilots.”

“Give it a rest, Jod,” Capt. Casey said. “Everyone is happy here with the way things are. No one wants to take part in your empire building.”

“Portogallos is in a precarious situation,” Jod continued. “We are on the perimeter of the Craaldan Empire. Alien species are arriving here. Strangers arrive every day and we do not know their intentions.”

“I’ve seen Craaldans here,” Capt. Casey said.

“Yes, we are aware of them,” Jod said.

“It’s only a matter of time, Jod,” she said. “The Craaldans no doubt have reported to their higher command that we are here. Soon, all this will be gone. I know because I lived through it on Heliac. So all I can tell you is enjoy it while it lasts.”

“No,” Jod said. “The Craaldans that have come here are deserters. They are survivors of lost battles who have escaped war and empire. It is true that the Craaldan High Command knows we are here, but they are preoccupied with more pressing matters. We have a window of time, and before it closes we plan to build a society as strong as Heliac. We must organize as you did in your home system.”

“A lot of good that did us,” she said. “Hey, look, I really need to get going.”

“We are building great things here,” Jod said. “This planet offers hope for humanity and for a new tomorrow.”

Capt. Casey took a long look at the odd person seated above her next to his earnest henchmen. They were humans like her, and seeing them seated in this chamber as if they were somehow people of importance seemed somewhat pathetic to her. It was inevitable that any species dumb enough to colonize a planet on the perimeter of the Craaldan Empire wouldn’t be around very long.

It was too bad. Capt. Casey had only been on Gallos a few weeks, but there was no denying that she was falling in love with this place. After eternal voyages across space in the tight confines of her clipper, she was tired of space ships and space stations and dismal planets such as Meglos and Paltros and all the other barely inhabitable rocks that humans had been relegated to. This planet had an atmosphere with clean air you could breathe. It had a hospitable climate, mountains to climb and an ocean you could swim in. Its dense forests and vast plains were filled with large slow moving reptilian creatures with tiny brains that she had already spent hours watching, entranced by the strange and interesting animals that went about their business in their natural habitat entirely oblivious to the humans arriving by the thousands each day.

She had been thrilled by every second here. She loved diving into the sea and feeling the warm water against her skin, and swimming down deep to where the water became cold. She loved it so much that the thought of leaving for another endless voyage across empty space filled her with dread.

“We would like to speak to Captain Spade,” Executive Jod said. “Do you know where he is?”

She stepped into the elevator and turned and looked at Jod from across the chamber. “What do you want him for, anyway?” she asked.

“We hear he’s the best human pilot around and that he has no fear of fighters from the Inner Galaxy.”

“Hey, I’ve got more flying experience than him,” Capt. Casey said.

“Please bring Captain Spade to us,” Jod said. “He is of critical importance to the future of Portogallos. We will reward you for your efforts.”

Capt. Casey rolled her eyes and pushed the button to close the elevator’s doors, and the doors slid shut.