Page 28 of Argen Mate
Chapter Fifteen
Argen
After Zoey and I were reunited, I spent every shift for the next ten days shuttling people down to Farseek from theKurellis.I took the opportunity to fly over my family’s farm a couple times. Just before we reached Farseek, I learned that my mother was alive along with one sister and brother, though I hadn’t learned which siblings.
The Consortium was sending a crew to take theKurellisback into the Sargus Empire to rendezvous with Sargan ships returning our people. Only when they had accounted for all the people they took would theKurellisbe returned to them.
Far fewer people than we had hoped were being returned to us. Out of over a million people, we were getting back about three-hundred-thousand. So, they had killed far more people than they took alive. In the name of greed, Evzen Guryon incited the Sargans to commit genocide against our people.
Just the thought filled me with rage. Nothing we could do to him could repay his treachery. But stripping him of his wealth which he seemed to value above all else was a start. Allied with the United Galactic Alliance of Worlds, the Transtellar Consortium stripped the Sargus Empire of its power and its emperor.
The war was finally over for us and reality was still setting in for most of the Farseek Mercenary Brigade. We’d been fighting the war for ten years before which we trained for war. In our quest to retrieve our people we had destroyed at least ten Sargan Battlecruisers. But it wasn’t done in revenge; we did it to survive.
We were all given extended leave to return to Farseek and help with the rebuilding. Meanwhile, the Dreads were docked in the newly opened space station in high orbit around Farseek. That was another thing the Sargans destroyed.
The Uatu people did get revenge of sorts on the Sargus Empire. With the removal of the slaves and outlawing of slavery altogether in the former empire, their economy crashed as they predicted it would. They would recover eventually, but there was no rush to aid their recovery because they would be easier to control.
The day before we all went down to the planet, Commander Maktu brought us all together for third meal. He included his combat team, the shuttle pilots, and the support staff. They had all been together for the last three years. I had been with them almost eleven months, but long enough so I felt as though I belonged.
We ate together and talked across the tables like family in the staff mess hall. Every one of us except the Earth women had lost blood relatives in the Sargan invasion. The Earth woman had been stolen from their lives to support the Sargan slave economy as I had been.
But now, we were all family. We would probably not see each other like this again for quite a while once we went down to Farseek. Many had farms on the plains and others lived in the towns and villages spread across the main continent. Personal flyers were at a premium until the new shipment arrived. Most of us with farms were more concerned about the arrival of the farm bots to get our crops planted. But I digress.
Before we started our meal, Commander Maktu stood at the front of the room to speak.
“I decided to get us all together here as both a celebration and farewell. The fight to regain our people is over, and I am proud and honored to have served with all of you. With your help, the Brigade has rescued over twenty thousand people. That was no small feat for a fleet of ten dreadnaughts and about sixteen hundred warriors.
“We thought the Consortium betrayed us, but they were behind us all along, and now they are finishing what we started. While we can’t ever get back what we have lost, we can finally go home and rebuild our world and our lives. Our future is here on Farseek, may you all live long and live well.” He inclined his head in salute to all of us then took his seat at the table beside his mate.
Earlier that day Zoey had shared second meal with her three friends. She told me they had gotten all teary about getting separated after all they had been through together. I reminded her that they could still com each other every day if they wanted and share a four-way conference if they wished.
“But, it won’t be the same,” Zoe protested.
“Nothing is going to be the same,” I reminded her. “We won’t be living in space anymore. We will be in our home, and I hope eventually to start our family.”
“Of course, I do too,” she smiled at me, and I took her into my arms. “I’m just going to miss them.”
“But you won’t have to miss me,” I told her.
“Thank goodness. I don’t ever want to go through those last three months again. It was an ache in my heart that never quit. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you just as much,” I assured her, then kissed her long and slow and held her for a long time afterward. “I never want to do that again either.”
It was almost surreal the next day when the shuttle landed about fifty meters from our home. We got out with our small duffle bags that contained the few clothes we each had and our hand weapons. I carried my ion rifle over my shoulder as we walked up to the front entrance of our new home.
The door opened automatically as we came to stand in front of it and we went inside. I stowed my rifle in the closet by the front door. It could be locked by code to prevent anyone from using it without authorization. We put our hand weapons in there as well.
The house was just as pictured in the vids, only it seemed bigger as we were finally standing inside it. Zoe was pretty emotional as she looked around.
“I never dreamed I would live in a home this beautiful or this big,” she murmured as tears filled her eyes.
It was a modern version of the traditional Uatu huts from early times on our home world. Our farm had been expanded as each child was born into my family, and my new home had been built on my section of the farm. Since I was serving with the Farseek Brigade, I never invested in livestock.
My family had livestock, but if it wasn’t stolen by the Sargans, we still might never recover it if it were still alive. When I described it to Zoe, she said it sounded like a large breed of goat or small cattle. I thought we could possibly get some embryos to grow some breeding stock eventually. Or maybe we could find a few that were in the wild and bring them back. There was much to do once the rest of our equipment arrived.
“Why don’t we just leave our bags right here and take a look around outside? I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been ground side.” I suggested. It was a beautiful day and barely midday.
“That would be great. It’s beautiful out there though the greenish blue sky is going to take a little getting used to,” she said.
