Fear and Loathing in Niiz K

Niiz K star system

Ademar, 3rd planet from the sun. Capital of the Niiz K Corporation

Circa 2,000 years before the Conglomerate invasion

Sebastian
Korngold was not the sentimental type. He'd had an abundance of
friends in school, but since graduating he never kept track of them.
He would try sometimes, but eventually he would just lose touch with
them. Same for work colleagues. Once they left, no contact. It's not
that he didn't like them. He just eventually gave up trying.

For
the last seven years at least of school, one of his best friends was
a girl in his class named Akari Kawamoto. She occasionally called him
after graduation to keep up, but he never called of his own volition.
Even when she entered the upper echelon of politics in Niiz K, he
never bothered. When he heard that she had been selected by
Presidential hopeful Lincoln Speers as his running mate, he thought
to himself “Good for her,” and promptly moved on to another
thought. When it was reported that Speers and Kawamoto had won the
election over the incumbents, Sebastian didn't even hear about it for
several more days. It simply never occurred to him to check on how
she was doing.

Until,
a few weeks afterward, when she called him.

He
didn't recognize the voice at first. It had been 13 years since he
had last spoken to her, but soon the infectious enthusiasm triggered
the memories.

“So
congratulations on the new job,” he said after the awkward pauses
and pleasantries had finished. “I certainly never would've guessed
the girl who tried cheating off me in Civics class would one day be
the authority.”

“Oh
my, I don't remember ever doing that. I'm so sorry.”

“I
was joking. Anyway, what's up? Why the sudden call?”

She
hemmed and hawed for a few moments until Sebastian was able to coax
the direct truth out of her. No wonder she made it in politics. She
never could get to the point.

“There's
a big embassy ball coming up. Representatives from all the nations
and fleets coming together.”

“Niiz
K is seriously letting all those people come to the capital?”

“No,
of course not, it's being held over on the Jaakobah world where we
keep all the embassies. But the thing is …” She hemmed and hawed
some more. Finally she spat it out. “I had some death threats.
People saying some very evil things about me. We know I'm safe as
long as I stay on Ademar, but the Jaakobah world doesn't have as much
security. It's meant to be fun and inviting to visitors. Clamping
down on the security and surveillance there would make people
uncomfortable. So I want a team of bodyguards.”

He
waited silently for her to continue.

“I
want to hire you as a bodyguard. Just for this event.”

Now
he replied. “Why me? Doesn't the government provide plenty of
guards for you?”

“They
do, but they've spent their whole lives on Ademar. And come on, it's
so safe there that they haven't had to actually *do*
anything to earn their paychecks for years. But you have experience.
I read about how you were one of the guards who protected the Rubik
Base from those awful thieves. You were in unfamiliar territory, with
unfamiliar attackers, and you managed to keep the data from being
stolen. You're skilled, you're adaptable, and that's what I need the
entire time I'm on Jaakobah. I'll still have the regular bodyguards,
but I need you to scope out the place, devise the plan to protect me,
and instruct them. And if stuff goes bad, you're the one I want
adjusting to the new circumstances.”

Sebastian thought about this long and hard. He had just gotten out of
the hospital after the attempted heist at Rubik Base. He could use
the work.

“I'm in. When does this embassy ball happen?”

###

For six weeks Sebastian had a crash course with Akari's bodyguards.
He was brought up to speed with the armor they used, the weapons they
carried, and strategies they had prepared. All of it was
exceptionally better than what he had been issued in his regular
police work, and what had been given him by Mara Rubik in defense of
the data.

After catching up with that, he went over to Jaakobah, the planet
furthest away from their sun. Setting up embassies here was a
convenient way to make foreign dignitaries feel welcome, but without
letting them actually get into Niiz K space and see the real place
themselves. Everything on Jaakobah was a facade, like a formerly
luscious tropical island paradise that gets cannibalized by greedy
magnates wanting to turn it into a commercial vacation destination.
It had one purpose, and one purpose only. To look like the planet
people wanted to believe Niiz K was so they could continue doing
business with them, without any of those pesky things that might
prick at their conscience. And did Jaakobah ever do that well. All
buildings were cleaned twice a day. Everything was renewable energy
with biodegradable products. All the staff providing the services
were smiling constantly. Malcontents were quickly assigned to
different responsibilities on different worlds.

All the embassies had been established within close range of each
other so the bulk of upkeep could be focused there. In the exact
center of this area was an extravagant ballroom. The chandeliers
alone could be sold off for enough money to feed a planet for a few
months. All pillars were pure marble, both the decorative and the
supporting ones. Everything wood was the finest mahogany and polished
so thoroughly you could see your reflection in it.

Sebastian could see why Akari had no faith in security here. Three
people with standard weapons could easily break in and hold you
hostage. The entire building was practically glass. Birds had to die
by the dozens every day flying into it. He acquired a blueprint of
the structure and set about double checking every facet of it with
his own eyes to ensure it was correct and there was nothing left out.
Once that was accomplished, he worked on how to secure every entrance
and exit, developed multiple escape routes, and planned on how to
cover Akari should anyone break in through the frankly absurd number
of large glass windows.

###

When the day came, the affluence almost sickened Sebastian. He had
been raised among the poorer neighborhoods of Ademar, so seeing
politicians flaunting their wealth had always disturbed him.

Everyone was here. Bastion had sent their Prime Administrator Sal Ochoa and their Foreign Ambassador Ilana Sinclair. From Fortuna there
was the President and CEO of the cybernetics division Omar
Villanueva. Tsukonia had sent Gaetano Croissant, second child of the
crown. Emperor Sencara of Shandücha was there with his entourage of
personal security.

Even Rumania had sent the Dude and a posse of other “assistants”.
Everyone knew Rumania had no form of government beyond the Dude, and
therefore the Dude herself had no assistants, nor did they have
reason for bothering to attend. However, these Rumanians did know
that embassy balls always had great food, so they came for that.
Plus, since nobody ever attends their parties anymore, they have to
take what they can get.

The
food itself was unlike anything Sebastian had ever seen. Each nation
sent, along with their dignitaries, samples of their delicacies.
Roast duck from Brewtan. Innumerable cocktails from Rumania. One
boiled egg from Los Lobos.

Sebastian stopped. Had he gotten here late? Had all the other eggs
been taken? He asked a nearby waiter who was attending the food
table, and he assured him that the lone boiled egg was all Los Lobos
had brought. The staff here at the ballroom considered trying to cut
it up into enough pieces for everyone to have a share, but realized
that would be futility. They had also considered the possibility
that, this being Los Lobos, perhaps it was a trap and they would
simply kill the first person to touch it.

In
truth, the dignitaries from Los Lobos were angry that no one *had*
touched the egg yet, viewing this as a personal slight against them.
They resolved at the next embassy ball they wouldn't put forth all
the effort of boiling an egg if no one was going to appreciate it.

Throughout the entire night, Sebastian kept his eye on Akari. She was
the perfect politician. She seemed genuinely overjoyed with the
company and very interested in what each individual had to say,
despite the fact that behind her eyes, she had never been so
terrified in all her life. He resolved more so than ever he would not
let anything bad happen to her, not even so much as a tear in her
snow white evening gown. If she was going to trust him, he was not
going to let her down.

After making the rounds innumerable times, he was satisfied that
there was no one here that hadn't been invited. Dignitaries,
security, and the wait staff was it for attendees.

He quickly became uneasy again. He hadn't personally reviewed the
wait staff. Pulling aside one of the other bodyguards, he instructed
her to keep her eyes peeled on Akari no matter what, and he departed
for the kitchen. Without bothering to announce himself, he searched
it just as he had done three times earlier that day. This time
however, something was new. Tucked into a metal cabinet at the back
of the room. He quickly examined it and determined it was an
explosive. He had never seen this type before, but it was impossible
to deny. Someone had put it here after the last inspection. The wait
staff was compromised.

Standing bolt upright he pulled his firearm and corralled everyone in
the kitchen into one corner and called for backup. Once more guards
arrived, he placed them under strict orders to shoot whoever moved.
He ran back into the ballroom. A quick survey told him there were at
least seven staff mingling among the crowd. Knowing Niiz K would
never accept an uproar at one of their publicized events, he quietly
issued orders for the remaining guards to gather up all the staff out
there into another corner so they could quietly and peacefully be
interrogated. It seemed to go according to plan until he noticed one
staff trying to move away from the guards before they reached him.
Sebastian moved slowly towards the waiter until he saw what the man
was moving towards Akari. Dropping all pretense, he ran at top speed
across the floor, knocking a small piece of shrimp from the hands of
a Los Lobos ambassador (and therefore nearly caused them to declare
war on Niiz K until attorneys managed to talk them out of it), and
leapt into the air, tackling the waiter. Opening the waiter's jacket
and vest he saw another explosive of similar design and promptly
threw him headfirst through the glass window into the lake.

Moments later the lake bubbled up as the explosive force escaped
harmlessly from the water. Sebastian turned around and saw the entire
room staring at him.

“He,
uh,” he offered, trying to find a satisfactory explanation, “he
said that the *Inaki and Lunette Story*
didn't deserve to win Best Picture last year.”

The room responded with polite applause and nods in agreement with
Sebastian's actions.

###

Having been quite pleased with his performance, Akari Kawamoto asked
Sebastian to be her personal bodyguard full time. He eagerly
accepted. Being a bodyguard to a beloved figure on the safest planet
in the known galaxy? What kind of a maniac wouldn't accept? And for a
short while, it seemed like the greatest job he could ever have.
Until the business half of Niiz K called. Mila Landa, personal
secretary to the CEO, wanted to arrange a meeting between them. He
was to drop everything and come immediately.

“You handled yourself very well at the Embassy Ball,” said the
CEO, Heinrich Gates. “We were very pleased that Akari Kawamoto is
still with us. She is, after all, the most widely supported
politician the Niiz K Corporation has ever had. It would be a shame
to lose her.”

Sebastian nodded in silent agreement.

Heinrich stared at him solemnly and then laughed. “You know how to
handle delicate conversations with ease I see. Say nothing, listen to
everything, make no assumptions. That's part of why you're so good at
your job.”

Sebastian nodded again.

Heinrich sat back in his chair and continued. “Not a man to mince
words. Good. We have an assignment for you. You know of course that
before the attack on Akari's life, there were death threats. Those
threats made it clear this was part of a plot involving more than the
one man you successfully threw out before he blew himself up.” He
leaned forward and looked directly into Sebastian's eyes. “My
private security force have located the others. Three of them.
They're hiding out on Salma.”

Sebastian knew it. It was the most inhospitable planet in their star
system, placed directly between Jaakobah and the sun.

“We need you to go there and take care of them.”

Sebastian finally spoke up. “Why me and not the police?”

“Because the police would have to arrest them. That is precisely
what we do not want. As I said, these people must be taken care of.
No muss. No fuss.”

He fidgeted a little in his chair. “But what about,” he paused as
he searched for the phrase. “Due process? What about that? Why
execute them immediately instead of a fair trial?”

“Simple. Trials provide publicity. And if these three have any wild
accusations they wanted to make, a trial would be exactly what they
need to spread these crazy ideas. We recognize the need to protect
our citizens from any of this terrorist propaganda.”

Sebastian continued to fidget in his chair. “Well, if it's in the
best interests of the nation...”

“It most certainly is,” replied Heinrich, a grin spreading wide
across his face.

###

The next morning he was on Salma. Gates' private security force
provided him with the suspected address of the three individuals. He
opted to stake it out for a few days to determine exactly what he was
up against. It became clear these people were afraid. They knew
someone was watching them, and took what seemed like every possible
precaution. Unfortunately for them, Sebastian was better at seeking
than they were at hiding.

Once he had their schedule down pat, he worked out a simple plan.
Wait until they're all in the building together, eating a meal around
the same table, and then kick in the door. It was weak. One volley of
shots should at the very least incapacitate them all, allowing him to
be slow and methodical about finishing them all off.

The first phase of his plan went off without a hitch. Door kicked in,
and volley of shots that injured each one of them and left him with
the upper hand. He was just about to deliver the execution when a
nagging question finally came blurting out of his mouth.

“Why Akari?” he asked.

The three terrorists looked back at him with a mix of pity and
disgust. “You can't be serious ...”

“I am, so answer the question! President Speers was there too. He
has more power than Akari. So does Heinrich Gates. Why go for the
third ranked person if you wanted to accomplish anything?”

“Because,” one of them began, gritting their teeth through the
pain, “she's popular. She's innocent. She's probably incorruptible.
If anything happened to Speers or Gates, they would just be replaced
and people would move on. But Kawamoto would be missed. There would
be an uproar. Instead of shrugging off her death and getting on with
life, the masses would look into it. And the more they dig, the more
they'll see the corruption.”

“What corruption?”

The wounded man was slowly bubbling up to a fever pitch. “What
corruption? Are you blind? The Niiz K Corporation is the textbook
definition of corruption! They installed two easily manipulated
puppet presidents to try to distract everyone from seeing the
problems! Almost all citizens outside of the rich zones are suffering
oppression! Why do you think so many people are fleeing and seeking
life in different star systems?”

“People aren't fleeing. I don't know of a single case of someone
fleeing Niiz K.”

“Didn't you ever have neighbors you lost track of? Friends? Ask
yourself, really ask yourself. What happened to them?”

He shrugged. “They moved. Life happens.”

The
angry wounded man tried calming down, and drawing an inward breath he
replied “When you get back home, try it. Try looking some of them
up. See if you can find *anything*
on them in the records. I guarantee you won't.”

Sebastian's hand began shaking ever so slightly. The angry man saw
this. He decided to capitalize on this apparent moment of weakness.

“Look, we haven't done anything to you. Why not let us go? We'll
get a ship and sneak out of the Niiz K system and never look back.
You can tell your boss you vaporized us or something. He'll be happy,
you'll get paid, everybody wins. What do you say?”

Sebastian thought long and hard about this. He lowered his gun. He
raised it back up. His hand wavered. He snapped off the safety and
moved his finger onto the trigger.

###

“Success?” asked Mila Landa over the com as he returned to
Ademar.

“Yep. You'll never have to worry about seeing those three again.”

He hung up and rested his head against the window of the shuttle, his
gaze drifting over the wormhole on the extreme edge of their solar
system. He rarely took time to look at it and appreciate how
beautiful it was. Gradually the gentle hum and vibration of the ship
got to him and he started to fall asleep. What a day.

###

Upon arriving home, he tried remembering the name of the boy his age
that lived next door when he was a child. They spent a lot of time
playing together. One day he came home and the family was gone. He
always assumed they'd moved. What was the boy's name? Gordon. Gideon?
No, definitely Gordon. He couldn't remember the last name, so he just
found the student registry from his elementary school. No Gordons
recorded during his time there. Maybe it was Gideon? Nope, none of
them either. Maybe he's remembering the name wrong. That must be it.

Then he thought about the girl he had a crush on in middle school.
Halfway through the school year she vanished. Her father had probably
gotten a job transfer. That was about the time the interstellar
highway project began. Lots of people were getting transferred over
to work on that. What was the girl's name? Peggy? Paige? Ah, there
was a Paige in the school registrar. But the picture didn't look like
her. He was probably just remembering her wrong.

###

He had worked for Akari Kawamoto for just two months, but was frankly
shocked at how many times Heinrich Gates (or more often, the
secretary Mila Landa) recruited him for another private assignment.
He was always strictly forbidden from sharing info about it with
anyone, Akari included. These jobs usually involved roughing up or
otherwise silencing someone in some way. Finally he had had enough.

“I cannot keep doing these jobs for you,” he told CEO Gates. “I
am not a hitman. I am a bodyguard. My job is to protect Akari and
that's it.”

“No, actually,” retorted Heinrich. “Your job is to do what I
tell you to do. I am your employer after all. Akari may think you're
hers, but do a little research into where your paycheck comes from.”

“But I reiterate, I am a bodyguard. I did not get into this work to
harm anyone.”

Heinrich
stared at him coldly. “You're a man who does not mince words. So
let me not mince mine. You will do exactly as I tell you whenever I
tell you. Frankly put, you have no other option. What are your
skills? What are you actually good at? You were a policeman, a
security officer, and a bodyguard. The only things you're capable of
doing involve bringing harm to people.” Heinrich stood suddenly and
began slowly pacing around Sebastian and the desk. “So with that in
mind … imagine a world where I am not happy with you. It would be
so, so, *so* very simple
for me to ensure nobody hires you for anything ever again. You will
go into poverty for the rest of your life. And if you even think of
speaking about this to anyone outside of this room, I can summon all
the military might of Niiz K plus a few of our allies to come after
you and break you like the little insect you are. Do you understand
me?”

Sebastian stared at the floor and nodded gingerly.

“Good,” he replied, the pace of his footsteps slowing. He leaned
in towards Sebastian. “Now imagine a world where I am happy with
you. You gladly do the things I tell you to. You are paid well. Even
better than you are now. You move out of your apartment into a
penthouse in the Mitra Towers complex. You have servants who wait on
you hand and foot. Your close companionship with the upper echelons
of Niiz K society bring you into government work, and soon you're one
of the most powerful men in the galaxy. And that giggly little
sideways glance Akari keeps throwing your way when she thinks no one
is looking gets acted on and blossoms into something beautiful. Now,
which of these two worlds seems better to you?”

Sebastian didn't respond. He merely looked into Heinrich's eyes and
nodded again solemnly, then returned his gaze to the floor. Heinrich
smiled widely again.

“Marvelous,” Gates responded, returning to his luxuriant leather
chair. “We're happy to have you back on board. As a token of
appreciation,” he reached under the desk to grab something, “have
a bottle of Emperor Ian's Premium Whiskey. Yes, it's technically
illegal everywhere, but there are an abundance of perks to wealth and
power. As you will soon see for yourself.”

Sebastian reluctantly accepted it, remaining otherwise still and
silent.

Heinrich continued “You know what, this has been a trying day for
you. Why don't you go home, and tomorrow I'll give you the details
about the job I called you in for today?”

Without a word he gestured to have Sebastian removed from the office.

For his part, Sebastian returned home as he was told, and immediately
began packing a bag. Ships left this system twice a day. It wasn't
suspicious to leave as long as it wasn't a one way ticket.

###

Vanessa Cuarón sat behind the desk in her office. She was bored and
couldn't be happier about that. Life had been hectic recently, and
she was hoping things would finally quiet down. She had a puzzle book
laid out on her desk and was idly fiddling with it, barely even
paying attention. The phone hadn't rang in three days, and she hoped
it stayed that way.

The phone immediately rang.

With great apathy she picked it up and didn't bother saying hello.
Maybe the other end would hang up.

“Hello?” shouted the speaker. “Is this Vanessa Cuarón?”

“Yes,” she sighed. “And what can I do for you today?”

“I, uh, have to be fast. My name is Samantha Korngold. I'm calling
from the Niiz K system.”

“Oh really?” Vanessa asked, inspecting her nails. One was
chipped. She would have to address that soon. “This must be an
expensive call to make.”

“The expense doesn't … oh, look, this is a dangerous call for me
to make so please listen.”

This got Vanessa's attention. She pushed aside everything that was
distracting her and gave the phone call her full attention.

“My brother Sebastian has gone missing,” the voice continued. “I
need to know what happened. Officials aren't doing anything about it.
I don't know why. Please look into it.”

“I'll try, but I can't promise anything. In its entire history Niiz
K has never filed a Missing Persons report. It's notoriously tricky
to try to address from the outside, and probably dangerous from the
inside.”

“Please try. If you could just - ”

Vanessa sat listening for nearly a minute. The call had completely
cut out. She was about to hang up when another click came, followed
by a man's voice. “Hello. I apologize for the prank call you just
received. The instigator has been apprehended and will be dealt with
promptly.”

“It didn't sound like a prank to me. She sounded genuinely
concerned about her brother.”

“What was the name of the brother?”

She groaned inwardly. She knew exactly what was coming. “His name
was Sebastian Korngold. Her name was Samantha.”

“Our records have no indication of a Sebastian Korngold ever
existing. Nor a Samantha Korngold. It must have been a prank call.
Who am I speaking to right now?”

“Uh,” she replied, unsure how much to commit to this
conversation. “Nobody important. Probably just a wrong number.”

The other end was stone silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Goodbye.”

And with that, the phone went dead.

###

Sebastian
made a beeline from the Niiz K star system to the neutral zone, the
central solar system inhabited by Rumania. It was a perfect place to
hide out for a while. Travel to anywhere else required ID, and Niiz K
would probably be wiping all trace of his existence, thus making his
ID invalid. Rumania however, didn't care. Everyone was welcome there.
And it was a perfectly believable story to claim he *had*
an ID but had lost it at a party in Rumania. Everybody would believe
that. It would still be difficult starting over without it, but at
least that story would alleviate some of the suspicion.

He
stood in the immigration line. For the purposes of putting the more
uptight nations at ease, Rumania had instituted what looked like
Customs. They would even have you fill out paperwork with your travel
information, but everyone knew it was a front. They kept no records
long term, rather, they burnt all the forms every night over a bon
fire, usually one attended by the passengers who had traveled in that
day.

But hey, at least they were trying.

As Sebastian came up next, the pretty young woman looked him over,
said a greeting, and asked him for his name so she could fill out the
form. He rolled his eyes, and she saw and laughed as they had a
mutual understanding of how ridiculous and obviously fake the entire
procession was.

“But really, I am supposed to put a name down,” she reminded him.

He shrugged and said “Whatever. John Smith.”

End