A bargain aboard the flagship, a deadly lure in an abandoned shipyard
The Bridge of the Bloodfang flagship "Bone Shredder" was filled with a pungent smell of burnt metal mixed with cheap alcohol.
The aftershocks of the Directed Electromagnetic Storm were still lingering. Sparks were still flying from several control consoles, and a few bandits lying on the ground were groaning, not yet fully recovered from the brief paralysis of their nervous systems.
Gwen Stacy Stacy, "escorted" by a group of armed thugs, stepped onto the Bridge.
She wore a spotless grey-white business suit, the Liaison Office office. Her high heels clicked crisply and rhythmically on the stained and scratched alloy deck, a stark contrast to the mess around her.
The bandit leader, Hark, sat on his crude Throne, welded together from the wreckage of a warship, a single electronic prosthetic eye flashing an ominous red light as he stared intently at the woman who entered.
His face showed a mixture of anger and surprise.
The electromagnetic burst just now precisely paralyzed his prized Main Cannon fire control system and shipboard security network. There was no violent explosion, no counter-attack from energy shields, just a silent, Scalpel precise strike.
This is definitely not the kind of tactic an ordinary civilian official should employ.
"Liaison Office officers all carrying around these little gadgets these days?" Hark's voice was hoarse, with a metallic quality.
He pointed in the direction of Gwen Stacy's Shuttle.
Gwen Stacy stopped three steps in front of him, her gaze calmly sweeping over the chaotic Bridge.
"The Management Committee's assets have always been secured to the highest standards," she said, her voice soft but clear enough to reach everyone's ears. "This is just a standard defense protocol, designed to avoid unnecessary property damage."
Hark laughed in fury, slowly rising from his Throne, his tall figure exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
"Property damage?" He approached step by step, the chains binding him clanking. "You turned my Fleet into a pile of scrap metal in front of everyone, and now you're talking to me about property damage?"
He stopped in front of Gwen Stacy, looking down at her with a condescending gaze, the red light in his electronic eyes almost overflowing.
"Little girl, I don't care what mountains of gold and silver you have hidden on your ship, now they're all mine. As for you, I'll hang you on the bow so the entire sector can see the consequences of offending the Bloodfang Fleet."
A murderous aura swept over us.
The surrounding bandits let out bloodthirsty laughter and gripped their weapons tighter.
Gwen Stacy's face still showed no fear whatsoever.
She simply raised her head slightly, looked into Hark's eyes, and spoke in a flat tone, as if she were reading a work report.
"Chief Hark, you're wrong about two things."
"First, what I'm carrying on my ship isn't mountains of gold and silver, but rather a backup of the Liaison Office's third-quarter accounts. I imagine you're not interested in those things."
"Secondly, killing me is the worst deal you can make today."
Hark was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting that even on the verge of death, the other party could still bargain with him so calmly.
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow with interest. "Tell me, what could I possibly lose?"
Gwen Stacy raised her wrist and activated the miniature projector on her Personal Terminal.
A tattered, noisy Star Map slowly unfolded between the two. In the corner of the Star Map was a blurry but faintly discernible emblem.
Time Variance Authority, TVA.
"This is an abandoned energy shipyard from the early days of TVA, coordinates K-77b." Gwen Stacy's voice was completely flat. "They made an emergency evacuation during a spacetime anomaly, and in their haste, they left many things behind."
Hark's breathing suddenly became heavier.
His electronic prosthetic eye frantically scanned the Star Map, its greedy red light almost swallowing the virtual image whole.
He knew all too well what the abandoned assets of TVA meant to these bandits who scavenged for a living in the cosmic junkyard.
That wasn't a mountain of gold and silver; it was a miracle that could transform his Fleet.
"There are undiluted primordial isotopes, at least three still-functioning miniature fusion cores, and even a batch of 'time-stopping grenades' forgotten in the armory." Gwen Stacy's voice, like the devil's whisper, struck precisely at Hark's desires. "These things are enough for you to rewrite the rules of this wasteland sector."
A deathly silence fell over the Bridge, broken only by the heavy breathing of the bandits.
"Why do you have this?" Hark's voice was hoarse.
"Because the Management Committee is liquidating TVA's bad debts. This Star Map is just an insignificant page in the files I'm in charge of." Gwen Stacy put away the projector and looked directly at Hark. "And now, I want to use it to discuss a new business deal with you."
Hark fell silent. He stared at Gwen Stacy, as if reassessing the lamb that had wandered into the wolf's den.
What kind of business?
"A temporary outsourced escort contract." Gwen Stacy's words, still in that bureaucratic tone that baffled the bandits, "I need your Fleet to escort me to the T-03 Defense Zone. There, I need to conduct a... surprise inspection of the Management Committee's internal facilities."
She paused, then added, "Once it's done, this complete Star Map will be your reward."
Using the interstellar bandits as a weapon to investigate the Management Committee's own defense zone?
Hark didn't quite grasp it at first. But he quickly understood the key point: this woman wanted to use him to do something she couldn't do herself.
This is a case of getting something for nothing.
He tried to mobilize his entire Bloodfang Fleet with just a picture of dubious authenticity.
"Why should I believe you?" Hark sneered.
"Just for this."
Gwen Stacy opened the terminal again, and this time, an official authorization document from the Management Committee Liaison Office appeared on the screen.
[Authorization: Temporarily requisition the "Bloodfang" armed group as a special contractor for the clearing operation outside the T-03 Defense Zone of the Management Committee.]
[Operation Code Name: Audit Storm]
[Authorized by: Gwen Stacy Stacy]
A perfectly forged official document.
As Hark looked at the document and the bright red seal of the Management Committee, a calculating glint appeared in his one intact eye.
The picture may be fake, but the woman's intention to use someone else to do her dirty work is absolutely real. Behind this, there must be internal strife within the Management Committee. And it is often in these murky waters that the big fish are most likely to be caught.
Weighing the pros and cons takes only a moment.
"Hahahaha!" Hark suddenly burst into deafening laughter, extending his thick mechanical arm and slapping Gwen Stacy heavily on the shoulder. "Interesting! Very interesting! I like businessmen like you!"
He withdrew his hand, turned and walked back to the Throne, where he sat down with an air of grandeur.
"I'll take this job!" Hark roared, waving Bridge hand. "Pass on my orders! Fleet, turn! Target T-03 Defense Zone! From now on, we're the Management Committee's 'temporary workers'!"
The bandits erupted in a chaotic burst of cheers and whistles.
The crisis seemed to have been averted.
Gwen Stacy nodded slightly, maintaining a professional smile, "Pleasure doing business with you, Chief Hark. Well then, I'll return to the ship to prepare the handover documents."
"Please go ahead." Hark gestured for him to proceed.
Gwen Stacy turned around and walked back the way she came with a composed gait.
Just as her figure was about to disappear at the Bridge entrance, Hark on the Throne instantly lost his smile.
He raised his hand and, pointing to his adjutant beside him, made a slow, clear slicing motion with his thumb in front of his throat.
The adjutant understood immediately, gave a sinister smile, and silently retreated into the shadows, his hand already pressed on the emergency control panel that sealed off all exits of the flagship.