Dark Omega

CHAPTER 54 - BELLY OF THE BEAST

After Malachite had left, Murash addressed the group of twenty-one recruits. "Welcome to the starship Rubrum Dei Dextera—the Red Right Hand of God. It's a big vessel: we are currently in the aft main hold on the port side. This will be your home until we reach Amalfi in six to ten weeks.

"You are not to leave the cargo hold unless instructed to do so by one of the overseers. If you are found wandering outside, you'll be disciplined the first time, killed the second.

"There are eleven groups, more than two hundred recruits, most of them lifted from Protasia. More may join us en route, for we have several more ports to visit before we reach our final destination.

"You'll work for your passage. Hard. You will be fed, and you'll be allowed to rest between work shifts. But beyond that, how you organize yourselves is entirely up to you. Band together for security. Go hide in a corner. Doesn't matter to me.

"Just keep in mind that for the time being, you're not people, you're property. You belong to the Veiled Hand and have a value, however small. Feel free to rough each other up a bit. But kill or cripple another recruit, and you'll compensate the Hand for the loss with the only currency you've got: your own life.

"You have an hour to get sorted. Then we begin. Now go." He waved his gloved hand in dismissal. The youngsters stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, then began drifting after the groups into the gloom of the cavernous cargo hold.

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The vessel was massive, larger still than Haides's estimate, measuring more than two kilometers from the forward sensor spires to the aft drive baffles. It was a bulk freighter—Oblast-class, as ungainly as it was slow, in particular when loaded. It had been built hundreds of years ago and was now nearing the end of its lifespan.

Haides had imagined mercenaries would ride in lithe and deadly craft, black as the void and bristling with lethal weapons. This void leviathan didn't seem the kind of ship a clan of assassins would want to use, but here he was, trapped in the belly of the fat beast.

There were some advantages to using such a vessel. It was utterly inconspicuous, in a way that even the best stealth fields couldn't replicate. Old tramp freighters like the Rubrum dei dextera plied the space lanes of the Successor Kingdoms, their holds half full at best, struggling to make it in a galaxy where trade was increasingly dominated by a small number of trade guilds. The Red Right Hand could go anywhere without raising suspicion, could bring any number of assassins hidden inside its cavernous hull, and the Veiled Hand could even engage in a little profitable trade on the side.

The ship had some serious downsides, though, on top of being a slow and cumbersome space whale. It had a huge internal volume, countless decks, and endless corridors, and its great age meant stuff was always breaking down. The crew was working hard to keep it properly maintained, but there weren't enough skilled hands onboard to keep decay at bay.

Enter the new recruits. Maintenance—that was the work Murash had talked about. The youngsters were used as a source of unskilled labor, assigned to the million and one tasks that needed doing aboard the dying starship. There was always cleaning to be done, light maintenance work—like painting and removing corrosion—lots of carrying and sorting, mess duty, that sort of thing.

It could have been worse, Haides reflected, but not by much. The overseers had the recruits running ragged. Time for rest was kept at a minimum. A few brief breaks to drink stagnant water and to eat from the slop buckets. Nights were entirely too short. The would-be assassins were too exhausted at day's end for anybody to even think about doing something stupid.

For his own part, the fallen Ghost of Thira managed to retain just enough energy to remain inquisitive. He did precisely what was required—and nothing more. He was adept at not being noticed, skilled at being in the right place at the right time, and good at sneaking a little more food and rest than the others.