Jax was less intrigued by the interrogation of the pirates on deck, so he made his way down to help assess the damage from the pirate attack with the ship’s engineers. The Chief engineer, a woman Crustacean named Klaren, welcomed the Raccoonan onto her hovering platform as she piloted them down to the underbelly of the ship.

  “Thousands of years of sailing and well, floating, on the water and this design has never failed us once since it was invented.” The chief engineer pointed as she explained to Jax what he was looking at. “You see, instead of one puncture to the hull crippling the entire ship, we have two measures in place to stop us from sinking.”

  “Yeah, so you have two layers, and then multiple chambers within that middle space so only a small portion of the ship gets flooded instead of the whole thing.” Jax pointed to the thick metal hull that was bent inwards from the submarine. He then pointed to two walls on the inside of the ship that closed off that chamber from the rest of the ship.

  “Exactly right. I think it would take ten chambers if I remember right before we had an issue with getting home. Even then we could still limp along.” Klaren said.

  “Well, is there anything I can do to…” Loud banging from hammers and the hiss of welders interrupted Jax before he could ask what he could do to help.

  “Your crew isn’t attuned?” Jax tilted his head out of confusion.

  “It’s not for everyone. It’s not affordable to everyone either. Plus, you have to be certified to use attuned abilities before being allowed to make repairs on a ship unsupervised. These guys are in training.” The chief pointed back and forth between the junior engineers. “They have to know how to fix it by hand properly before they may think of how it’s supposed to be fixed with ‘Fabricate’.”

  Jax nodded to himself as it actually made sense. He had watched a ton of documentaries on how weapons and tech were made before he started using one of the first abilities you get when you attune to Connection. “Fabricate” allowed those attuned to Connection to take raw materials and command them to mold themselves to the vision the attuned had in their mind. Along with watching many shows, his father also owned one of the biggest retail companies in the galaxy and had a whole department dedicated to crafting equipment for contractors. He could job shadow whenever he wanted and did so frequently, especially in uncle Hix’s contractor division. Jax watched on as the engineers heated the metal then bent it back into place with hammers and another tool that looked like a rolling pin.

  Back on deck, faced with eight hours still left in their journey, the team moved their temporary camp of tanning and playing games to the deck by where the pirates were restrained. The receiving port had been notified of the incident and had reported that the authorities would be on site ready to receive the prisoners.

  “So which one of you is actually the captain?” Nate asked.

  “I wouldn’t say captain, I’d say more like team lead.” The Tigran with the long leather coat spoke up.

  “Team lead?” Nate probed.

  “Yeah, we have a holistic organizational structure. We have some leaders, and they kind of pick everyone from a lineup, starting with who is going to lead the thing.” The Tigran said.

  “What’s your name?” Nate asked.

  “Tony Killian the fourth.” Tony answered.

  Nate burst out laughing while the team adopted a look of bewilderment. “Sorry, it’s just funny that I’m meeting Tony the Tiger in real life and he’s actually a pirate.”

  “I’m quite fierce in my circle, I’ll have you know. That’s why I was picked to lead this job.” Tony said grumpily.

  “Oh, no doubt, buddy, that’s why you surrendered without a fight, right?” Nate shot back, still amused.

  “He’s got you there, Tony,” a Crustacean spoke up from down the railing a bit. The crew held in their giggles; only a few of them lost their composure completely.

  “Shut it, Phil!” Tony barked.

  “You guys are pretty casual with the fact that you’re going to prison for a very long time.” Dane chimed in.

  “I mean, it’s fine. We’ve been in prison quite a bit. You win some, you lose some.” Tony responded.

  “Guess it comes with the job. So why pirate?” Nate continued his line of questioning.

  “How long are these questions going to go on for? Like I’m all for company, but this isn’t exactly my idea of a good time,” Tony asked.

  “The tied-up bit is actually OK with me; it’s the going to prison bit I could do without.” Another pirate said.

  “We didn’t need to know that, Jake. That being said, I do know a specialist in that area back on the island who could help you with that.” Tony called back to him.

  “Tell me more about this base,” Nate cut in.

  “Well, every good Pirate lord has a base of operations; ours is on an island not too far from here. Lord Wild Beard has done quite well for himself there. Made a sort of castle in the shape of a skull. It’s actually quite cool.” Tony said.

  “Tony, what the hell are you doing telling them about the island?” A pirate barked at him.

  “What?” He said with a defensive tone. “It’s not like they are going to go there and blow up the whole thing. Plus with his connections, they would never allow a contract to go out for his capture.”

  “You don’t think we could take on an island full of pirates?” Dane said, looking down at him.

  “I think you’d get very far, and I think you’d be able to severely disrupt our operations. But Wild Beard is a category four attuned. He’d wipe the floor with you.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “That sounded like a challenge to me. What about you, Nate?” Dane asked.

  “That’s what I heard,” Nate answered, a smug smirk creeping along his lips.

  “Boys, we just did a mission. Can we have a beach day tomorrow instead?” Donna called out from behind Nate and Dane, where she and Lindy were back to tanning the most they could in the evening sun.

  “One beach day and then I think we fish for a contract to go play with the Pirate Lord.” Nate didn’t break eye contact with Tony the Tigran.

  The sun set before the Everblue began moving again. Through the night, the team took shifts in watching their pirate prisoners, making sure none of them attempted an escape or a daring but futile attack on them or the crew. Like their not captain but team lead Tony, they had more or less accepted their fate, having been beaten by a much smaller yet significantly more powerful and better trained group than their own. It was times like these at the end of a contract that Nate would meditate on why this series of events took place. His first thought always turned to the Union. Even though it was leagues and bounds ahead of Earth on many different fronts; capitalism and the ability to obtain power that could command the cosmic forces of the universe still left people behind.

  When Dee had died, he got a very up-close visual of how even with the best intentions, it would still be up to everyone’s individual choices that would determine if someone ate or not. If they had clothes to keep them warm, or a bed to sleep on. Arcane Gems — those that were used for attuning, turned out to be more expensive than Nate had ever realized. Even though most of the population had attuned, that attunement came from getting into a career that required it. An example of this were companies that produced a physical product. They paid for their workforce to attune to Connection as a benefit, while the company was really the one that benefitted from the increased productivity.

  Pirating, as one might guess, was not a profession that offered an attunement benefit. But, some pirate lord that Nate had yet to meet took it upon themselves to organize people to do something about their situation so they could eat, have clothes to wear, and a bed to sleep on. Just like on Earth, these pirates had turned to a life of crime, whether through being raised in it or out of desperation, Nate was unsure. The bottom line was that Nate had yet again encountered harsh realities during his journey. He had been hired to do a job, but if his path diverged, if he hadn’t been so blessed by the people that he met so early on, would he be in their shoes? He had saved lives today; he had done a good thing, but there was an underlying reason that made him wish he could have changed the circumstances for these people. At the end of it all, it would take more than just Nate trying to lift people from the bad hand they were dealt.

  The following morning brought beautiful blue skies, a tropical sun, and the end of their contract. The local law enforcement boarded the ship and hauled the pirates away to answer for their crimes. Iggy and Tessi greeted the team as they descended the gangway of the Everblue.

  “Pirates, submarines, and a potentially new investigation. Just another day, am I right? Did everyone make it back in one piece? No nudes of Gemini again, I hope?” Their diligent manager asked.

  “All good, Tess. Nate really wants to go after the pirate lord; everyone else wants a beach day.” Dane said.

  “Well, I’m glad you brought that up, actually! I talked with the shipping company, and they talked with the local government to permit a half-day use of one of the companies’ private beachfront parks. It’s private property they use for retreats and stuff, but they got permission from the government to allow it.” Tessi said.

  “I knew we made a good choice when we hired you.” Donna said, pulling Tessi in for a hug.

  “Tess, you’re the bess!” Lindy shouted, a phrase she made up as a play on words with Tessi’s nickname.

  “They showed me pictures, and they have a big, flat rock right on the beach for Gemini. Just please keep the nudity to a minimum.”

  Gemini was staring off into the distance with her headphones on, not having heard Tessi as she was deeply engrossed in her audiobook.

  “What about the pirate lord? Do we get to investigate them?” Nate asked.

  “I talked to the shipping company, who referred me to the local government, but my guess is that they won’t open one. I’ll make sure they will allow you to look into it on your own dime though. I mean, it is the law after all. I’m sure they will of course sanction it and take full credit as if they had opened a contract if you’re successful though.” Tessi answered.

  “Of course. Corruption at its finest. Isn’t there a code that allows us to continue an investigation if there is a greater threat or something?” Nate asked.

  “Could be fear too. If this guy is a Master-level attuned, then we should be concerned for our own sake. And yes, you’re thinking of, and the one Tessi referred to is the ‘Obligation clause’. If in the contract's course of fulfillment we uncover a greater threat to society, we are obligated to investigate and either neutralize it ourselves, or properly notify the local authorities.” Dane chimed in.

  “Is everyone okay with going after the pirate lord?” Nate held his hands out, looking at the rest of the team.

  “Beach today. The pirate lord can wait till tomorrow.” Lindy said, poking Nate in the middle of his chest.

  ***

  Since Nate grew up in Denver, he wasn’t accustomed to going to the beach whenever he wanted; he grew up going to a lake three hours away or camping in the mountains. Now that beaches were a couple portal hops away, the novelty had worn off. He missed the mountains and the crisp cool air at higher elevations when they would go to see the leaves on the trees change colors. Despite wishing for different scenery, he still enjoyed the time off with the team. Nate realized early on that it was important for the team to take time off and genuinely relax in between contracts, especially violent ones that involved fighting pirates. Going from one mission to the next, beating people and sometimes even taking their lives took a toll on one’s psyche.

  After their allotted time at the beach was up, The Arcane Operators packed their things and planned their next move to investigate the pirate lord that Tony the Tigran was so sure they wouldn’t be able to defeat. They gathered in their personal ship and listened to the research that Jax and Iggy had done.

  “Local intelligence says that the organization that Tony comes from is actually a medium-sized outfit compared to the rest of the pirate population of Calpentross. Since the entire planet comprises islands, this is going to be pretty tricky, but Iggy has some ideas.” Jax started.

  “We are going to use the census satellites to scan the local area for inhabited islands with a mix of species present that isn’t also a foreign investment zone. From there we will scan geography to look for the skull castle Tony the big-mouthed referenced.” Iggy signed.

  “That’s gotta be illegal, Ig.” Dane spoke up.

  “And that’s my cue to leave.” Tessi walked out of the ship into the nighttime ocean air.

  “Yep, I was enjoying my nice cold one here playing my little phone game. I have no idea what’s been said so far and will not be sticking around to find out.” Jans grabbed his beer and walked out of the ship after Tessi.

  Iggy paused before signing more. “It’s… Frowned upon. There is legal precedent for using Union satellites like this.”

  “So, get the lawyer on standby.” Lindy said.

  “We have a lawyer?” Nate asked.

  “Okay, so we find the island, then what?” Dane asked.

  “We will need a minute to analyze the structures, potential security gaps, threats, the usual,” Jax said.

  “Actually, I need to step out on this one. We got a bunch of orders in, so I need to get to work on those.” Iggy signed.

  “Oh, yeah, alright.” Jax said, surprised by Iggy wanting to work on orders rather than mission work with the team.

  “You guys got this; I just want to get a jump start, is all.” Iggy explained further.

  “No problem, Ig, what’s the worst that could happen?” Dane said.