Chapter 1: Army Surplus

Chapter 1: Army Surplus

T’sunk’al shifted nervously, hopping from one foot to the other. The human next to him smiled as she leaned against the hull of the Z’uush vessel.

“Relax, big T. You are going to pop out one of your eyes.” Sheila chuckled as she took a deep drag on her vaporizer and exhaled, blowing vapor rings.

“A state of relaxation is impossible,” T’sunk’al said miserably. “I am unused to criminal endeavor. We aren’t equipped for crime, unlike you humans.”

“And yet here you are.”

T’sunk’al looked around nervously and checked his sensors.

Sheila laughed at him.

“Jeezus, T.," she smirked, "We are on a rock in the middle of nowhere. There isn’t anyone or anything in the whole system.”

“Maybe we were followed.”

Sheila rolled her eyes.

“We weren’t followed. I checked. It’s an empty goddamn system. It’s not like we could miss them.”

“They could be cloaked.”

“T, if a cloaked Federation warship were tailing us, they would have gotten us by now.”

“They could be waiting for the seller.”

“Yep. They could very well be. We are committing a crime, after all. Fun, isn’t it?”

T’sunk’al started gulping air anxiously.

“Oh, by the creators, this was a bad idea.”

“Too late to worry about that now." Sheila chuckled. "Besides, isn’t a just cause like yours worth a little risk? If you can’t handle this, how the hell can you expect to handle the merchandise once you get it?”

The sensor started flashing, and T’sunk’al almost fainted. Sheila pulled out a communicator.

“Black Dragon, that you?”L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

“Yep. How’s it going, Sheila?”

“You think I would be selling relics to a non-human? These are old stock from early Independence War production runs on Terra. That is why they have the wooden stocks. We were running low on polymers there for a couple of years.”

“Can I have one?” Johnny tossed her an AK, and she squealed in delight. Johnny grinned over at a stunned T’sunk’al and opened another crate.

“These are Model 1911 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistols. The high mass and low-velocity rounds will cut right through deflector belts. The recoil might be a little heavy for a Z’uush, but you should be able to handle them with practice."

Johnny opened case after case of human weaponry showing off shotguns, rockets, and grenades.

“All of these goodies are completely chemically powered as requested, and all of them are proven effective against Federation, Imperial, and Collective forces,” Johnny said proudly.

T’sunk’al gulped anxiously as he looked at the list that his leader gave him. He started hiccuping.

“And... and about the....” The hiccups got worse, cutting off his ability to speak. Sheila and Johnny grinned impishly.

“Oh, yes...” He went to the back and rolled out a trolley with six long black polymer cases with bright yellow markings. He opened one.

“Here they are," he proudly announced, "Type-seven tactical nuclear weapons. They are fission-fusion hybrid explosives. I am sure you are familiar with these babies from the war.”

More speechless hiccups.

“These are just the warheads, mind you," Johnny continued, "You will have to find a way to get them where you want them to go boom.”

Sheila sighed nostalgically as she ran her fingers along one of the cases. She looked up at T’sunk’al with misty eyes. “Oh, you will like these.” T’sunk’al was about to pass out.

The transaction went smoothly, and several more Ravens landed loaded with arms. Sheila inventoried the goods and checked off the shipments. That was actually T’sunk’al’s responsibility, but he needed a little break and was sitting on a crate of AK-47’s breathing heavily into a respirator.

“Ok, T. You are all set. Everything is bought and paid for. Schematics, tutorials, and the like are on this.” She said as she handed him a data crystal. “Hey, Johnny, can I hitch a ride with you?”

“Sure thing. Hop on,” Johnny replied.

T’sunk’al was confused.

“You aren’t continuing to travel with me?” he asked.

“On a ship full of illegal arms including NUCLEAR WEAPONS that is heading through Federation space? Are you out of your fucking mind? Later, tater.”

Sheila waved as the Raven’s hatch closed, leaving a desperately gasping and hiccuping T’sunk’al holding his head in despair.

“I hate humans.” He mumbled between hiccups.