The life and times of the Fabulous Merricks
PROLOGUE
Meterran sea
Somewhere off the coast of south Iteria
The sun beat low over the vast blue expanse of the ocean, Iterian summer was in full swing, and the heat was scorching. the crew of the sea vixen clung to the lower decks in a vain attempt to stave off the miserable heat, anyone lucky enough to not be on duty lay slumped in a bunk or chair and hoped to wait out the day.
If Captain Elia felt the heat, she didn’t show any signs of it, she hadn't stopped grinning since she unfurled the map on the table. Harald frowned, he knew that look all too well, when Elia grinned it meant that things were going to happen and there was no guarantee that they would go good or bad. Her latest scheme looked set to be either the start of the most significant run of good luck or the beginning of a shitstorm that would get them all killed.
“How do you even know it's genuine, that ship went down with all hands seventy years ago!” Harald muttered skeptically
“Oh, it's genuine, seismic sensors picked it up when the telecom company was laying cables, it’s the Mapogo!” Elia replied her tone unrestrained excitement
Harald grimaced at the name, every sailor from Tyrooz to Armenalis had heard it and the tale was about as ill-omened as they came. The doomed ship had left port at the height of the fascist war carrying a vast cargo of gold bars bound for allies overseas, it had never reached its destination. No one knew what had sunk the vessel, some said sea mines others accused Skandan subs, either way, no one ever saw the Mapogo again. The ship was lost but rumors of its treasure circulated far and wide, it became a myth, the ultimate prize for salvagers.
“Assuming this isn't a fake scan one of your scammer friends back in port conned you with, this scan will get around and when it does every private army, pirate, and state is going to be hunting for its contents” Harald shot back in a wary voice
“Pfft you worry too much old man! it's on the down low, this is probably the only copy in Iteria!” Elia replied dismissively, waving off his warning
“You sound like your father, and I lost a finger the last time he convinced me not to worry” Harald grumbled
“Relax Harald, we’ll be in and out before anyone knows it's there, and hey, we need the money in case you hadn't noticed,” Elia said reassuringly, motioning to the rusted cabin they currently occupied, the vixen hadn't enjoyed a refit in months
It was true they lacked funds; contracts were drying up as most of the work got snapped up by shipping companies and other huge multinationals, and independent contractors had to get creative to survive. Salvage was as good a way as any if you could stake a claim and survive long enough to cash in on it. The Mapogo though, assuming it was the ghost ship, would draw more than a few interested parties and most wouldn’t be in the mood to ask questions.
“Fine...but we bug out at the first sign of trouble” Harald relented his voice resigned to the loss
“Sure, but there isn't going to be any because no one else knows about it, "Elia said with a confident smirk
KOSH HQ
BAYYAH NA TYROOZ
Faydan Kosh set down the glass of enriched protein juice he had been sipping post-workout, the image his lackey was presenting was astounding. The seismic scan had revealed a grainy but unmistakable outline, a vast wreck hidden beneath the waters of the Meterran, the Mapogo. Artifact collection had long been a passion of Faydans, it was the only thing that occupied more of his time than his fitness and diet routine.
“It's beautiful Temba! How quickly can you begin?” Faydan asked in an excitable voice
“I have a vessel and private military contractors, if the treasures are there, they will be yours” Temba replied in a confident, almost matter-fact, tone
Faydan lay back in his chair and smiled, the organic peeling mask on his face cracking slightly as he gave a wide and toothy grin, pristine whites gleaming in the light. He had searched for the mythical treasure for decades, he had funneled millions into its discovery, all earned by selling misery and death to the masses. Finally, it was within his grasp, he decided he would celebrate after his daily mud bath, his greatest dream was about to become a reality.
“Excellent, proceed at once!” He said with a cheerful smile and a wave of one of his many-ringed hands
Camp of the People's liberation front of Na Thembaland
North of Goshabis
Sakimbi scratched the stubble under his chin and examined the image with an appraising eye, it seemed legit, the telecom companies seldom scrimped on good data when laying their cables. If it was correct, the Mapogo had indeed been located, with enough gold within its hold to fund a revolution to make Prydania’s seem like a Friday night soccer fight.
“Okay Saul, it looks like we have a deal,” he said reaching out to shake the hacker's hand
Saul Olutembe was a weedy man with an unkempt head of curls and a skin condition that never seemed to go away, the pockmarked techie was presently sweating buckets in the humid jungle heat. A thick layer of moisture was visible on the wiry man's vest, not all of it was from the climate, he was scared, and rightfully so.
“o-okay that’s great! Pleasure doing business!” Saul replied reaching out
Sakimbi grabbed the smaller man's hand and held it in a vice-like grip, he locked eyes with the hacker and stared at him with a look that could give a man a urine infection. With his free hand, he drew the machete from its sheath and patted Saul’s cheek with the flat of the blade.
“One more thing, you are coming with us when we go to find this treasure, if it's genuine I will pay you what was promised plus a cut of the treasure...but...if you are lying to me, Saul....” He said ominously in a poisonous tone
He slammed the blade into the table next to them and grinned
“Well, we don’t need to go into that because you're telling the truth,” Sakimbi said icily, patting Sauls's shaking face with his now free hand
ASTRACOM REGIONAL HQ
RIO VERDE
“Carlos! Get the head of our security on the phone, tell him he has an hour to find this leak and plug it or I'll be putting out an ad for his replacement!” Ulani Mapofo-Cortez snarled as she terminated the conference call and rubbed her temples irritably
It had been a bad day, corporations could not afford to have bad days, least of all one of the biggest telecoms giants in Eras. Ulani tapped the slide on her laptop and the screen behind her lit up with a single image, a seismic scan taken by sonar drones, part of the latest deep sea cable laying survey. It was meant to be the start of a major deal between Iteria and Meterra, instead, they had found a ghost ship and a world of trouble.
The Mapogo was a fascist war legend, a warship carrying gold and diplomats overseas, it had been meant to shore up the war effort, but instead, it had vanished. Ulani didn’t much care to chase it, but she needed to know how seismic images had been so thoroughly leaked and that meant tracking down the source and silencing them before they could compromise any other data. The board back in Domesha would want answers, Ulani had no intention of coming up short with them.
“Carlos, tell internal affairs to audit our entire department and one more thing, get Blackwing on the phone, I'm going to need professionals for this job,” she said in a cold, commanding voice
Loose ends needed to be dealt with and that required them not to be tied up but severed entirely, there would be no boardroom niceties in this hunt.
My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na [Official Music Video]
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