Page 72 of Trove’s Purpose

Fetching Rinnicks’ painting was straight mercenary work and it felt like it was what they were always designed to do. It was easy, it was enjoyable, it felt right.

Yeah, Tanin was absolutely correct in steering them away from this.

The painting was a large one. Bigger and wider than Rok was tall, it was going to take two of them to carry just by sheer size – it probably wouldn’t weigh very much. At least, not too much for Rok. It was old, ancient even, painted on canvas. It originated from the akilli, a species renowned for their art and beauty. The painter was famous among their people, and the painting itself was considered nearly priceless.

Rinnicks had purchased it, fairly and legally, through an auction after the previous owner passed away and the new owners preferred the liquid assets. It was the kind of sale that happened only once every few lifetimes and would make art aficionados envious for generations to come.

Except, while en route to her personal collection – the same one that housed the cup – the painting had been intercepted and stolen. She had not hired the Humble Delivery Service though, so that was Rinnicks’ fault for choosing a substandard company.

She knew who stole it though. It was the person who had just barely lost the painting to her on the bid. Though she had no proof of it, she knew it was him. He was apparently known in their circles for taking what he wanted if it was denied him. And his weakness was old paintings from various cultures across the cosmos. He’d also been a little too smug at hearing of her loss. Rinnicks knew it was him, but with no evidence to make the accusation that would justify an investigation, she had no choice but to look to other avenues to retrieve her painting.

Mercenary work.

Fun work.

Their kind of work.

Using their resources, the twins found out that he had a secret, private collection that he kept in a private, self-run space station that was registered as a private refueling station. Such things weren’t super common with the availability of so many Coalition run space stations that were decently priced, and even some luxury ones that were priced to keep out the common folk. But some ultra rich preferred to build their own refueling stations. They usually weren’t as large or as full service as the Coalition ones, but they were built to their owners’ specifications. If someone had ships that ran a particular route often or they themselves had stop over points but didn't want to use a public one, even an exclusive public one, they could build and register their own space station.

It was not registered as anything other than a refueling station, however, the twins had managed to get their hands on the actual building plans and found the large vacuum controlled vault that had been built into it secretly. They also figured out that he had been there not long after the painting had been stolen, and shortly before his arrival, a starship he did not own requested ‘emergency repairs’ as an excuse to dock there. But they were only there a short time, just long enough to unload a painting but not nearly long enough for any kind of repairs, and then they were gone. That starship crew was also notorious for being mercenaries that would do anything for the right price.

They didn't have a picture of the male in question smiling at the stolen goods helpfully dated and marked with the location it was taken, but they could do basic math based on circumstances.

Sway plotted the course to the station. Tanin prepared the plan of attack. Trove provided the weapons. Vytln and the twins would be going in with Tanin to get the painting, Rok would stay on the ship as he and Alred ran defenses to protect the females. Trove and Sway would follow Tanin and the others but stay just outside the ship, guarding and watching for retaliation. Meanwhile, Alred would be working on the technical side to hide their ship’s registration and prevent scanning for identification.

It was all so easy. Almost familiar. They’d never done mercenary work before, but it was like being back on Rik-Vane. Not with the murder and cannibalism and stuff, but just the feeling. The way they worked together, planned, operated, moved. They protected their weak center – their females – by keeping them in the shelter room. A place that was much more comfortable than their old shelter room with nice chairs and stuff for entertainment. Rok stayed in there with them as their bodyguard as he was their biggest, toughest fighter. Tanin led the charge with the twins and Vytln at his back. Trove and Sway guarded the rear. Alred ran tech and, the moment they connected to the station, began breaking his way into their systems.

Familiar. Enjoyable. Easy.

And it all went off without a hitch. The male they were stealing from definitely expected someone to try to break into his space station vault, and his security was pretty good.

They were just better.

They couldn’t hide that they were coming up on the station. Where it was placed, there was nothing around it. Doubtless, that had been done on purpose.

But they sent them a distress call, requesting permission to dock for emergency repairs. And by law, they couldn’t refuse. Coalition law required any space faring vessel give free and unconditional docking rights to anyone who needed it in emergency. It was a way to prevent loss of life, and it was a requirement of all Coalition species to follow that law. If they refused them docking, they would be reported to the peacekeepers and investigated and his secret vault found.

They must know this was likely a trap, but they couldn’t refuse them. They were granted permission to dock. And after that, it was all done so quickly.

The twins took point, taking down the first people that came to meet them. Tanin and Vytln followed after, taking down any others as the twins ran off to take control of the bridge. Meanwhile, Trove hooked a cable in from the Vainglory to the station, giving Alred access so he could begin taking over their systems and locking them out. That would prevent them from closing any airtight doors and locking them out of the important places. It would also keep them from jettisoning the vault, like they could see was possible on the blueprints.

After that, Trove and Sway stood by the Vainglory’s docking entrance and took down anyone who came to try to take their ship or detach Alred’s cable. There weren’t many, because the others were good at their job, but it felt good to move his body again.

Trove didn't want to use a plasma pistol in here, no one was wearing envirosuits. And though he didn't care about the people they were robbing, he did care about his own team.

Instead of envirosuits, they were wearing simple, black suits with masks to conceal their features. Alred would destroy any footage, but they didn't want any potential witnesses being able to live and describe what they looked like. They weren’t trying to kill anyone, after all, but it was sometimes a little too easy to accomplish.

Yeah, they were made for mercenary work.

He could kind of see Sway having the same thoughts as Trove was moving the body of the male that had come running at them out of the way. He was alive, groaning and definitely hurting, but Trove hadn’t killed him. The male was a baemoth, the same species as Rok. Four arms, random patches of scales, and a horn that swept back over his head.

“Can you imagine if we could get paid for this?” Trove asked him, smiling.

“It wouldn’t be sustainable long term as we get older,” Sway mumbled like even he didn't believe his words.

Because it didn't need to be sustainable. Just long enough for them to gain enough credz to retire on for good. Then they could sell the Vainglory, retire somewhere nice and warm, take their females and younglings, live a peaceful life, and never worry again.

And Trove was surprised by the pang of longing in his chest as he imagined it. Living in a warm, bright, open home with Chee. They’d have their own shooting range where they could challenge each other. They’d have a big, wide bed so he could please her. They’d have a warm living space so the crew could visit often.