LENS

CHAPTER ONE

I’m way out on a limb here.

I’m temporarily posted up at a Stellardock Cashstation, piggybacking their signal. My ship is in desperate need of a total rebuild. I just resigned my position in the Corporate Army as the ranking Base Second Commander of a service battalion. They’re transferring me to a neighboring base as a commissioned mercenary captain, but I’m going to skip out on that assignment if I can find another battalion. Gotta get out of management and move to a different company if I’m going to create a little extra opportunity for myself on the side.

Soon as I can, a year maybe, I’m gonna dip under the radar, disappear off the faction map and start doing some strike and fade under my own orders. Raise my own army, maybe. Tired of fighting other people’s fights.

Staying with my mother’s people while I rebuilt the Duchess. They took me in when I was orphaned, and I’m grateful, but it’s never been… the most comfortable place for me. So I’m especially anxious to complete repairs. Had a few unexpected expenses put me behind. Still have to tear out the inside and refinish the compartments, install the new solar array, reconfigure the secondary console, put in the new power bank, replace some of the struts… it’s a big job. More expensive than I was planning on, too.

Once she’s space-worthy, I’ll still need an income while I set up my clandestine, ah, my new revenue streams. As a service battalion frontline merc, I’m entitled to keep whatever spoils I can capture, and I’ll only be involved in the battles themselves, no more behind the scenes effort and endless paperwork managing the Company’s enlisted and officers. That gives me more time to manage my own affairs. Varied as they are.

Last night’s affairs have concluded, in any case - I can still smell her on me. There’s love there, but we’re moving different directions, she’s jumping to a whole other region of space, and neither of us have any time to spend on this heartbreak in the making. What a mess.

Meanwhile I must infiltrate a couple other companies as a merc. Tomorrow I’ll forge my papers, my recent year as Base Second gives me access to some excellent credentials. Gotta pull in that loot to get my outfit together! Got a new comm unit, but I need to replace my whole computer system. Need to get the parts for the ship’s plumbing. And my recent lover, got me scheduling hours I don’t have to be with her, putting me behind. Gotta get back out in front of my plans.

Two weeks until I’m out of the current battalion. Four weeks until the Duchess is finished. Eight weeks until my lover leaves and takes my heart with her. Working hard toward the time I’m able to cut my last ties with the local star system and go out into the universe as a free agent.

I sure hope I know what I’m doing.