The Black Guard: Book II: Evolution (Black Guard Series 2) by C. R. Daems

Sapir. You have acquired
quite a reputation since you were last on the Leopard. I believe General Issak
feels you are the go-to person after New Kief."
    "It appears he thinks the situations are the same
or, at least, similar," I said, wondering if Helon agreed.
    "I don't think they are. If you have a moment,
Captain Lambar and I would like a word with you. We could bring you up to
date."
    "I'd appreciate that. My information is a bit sketchy
and probably out of date." I followed Helon as he led me to the captain's
office.
    Lambar stood when I entered and I gave him a low bow.
    "Help yourself to something to eat and drink,
Sapir, and have a seat." Lambar gestured toward an empty chair.
    I found hot water and made myself tea while clearing my
mind.
    After I sat, Lambar continued. "The last
information we had indicated two well-armed cruisers entered Heibei and dropped
four shuttles of raiders, who broke into the Heibei Technical Labs, HTL. But before
they could get away, the army surrounded the building and destroyed the
shuttles."
    Lambar stopped for a drink of his kaffa. "The
Heibei government immediately contacted the Jax and initiated a contract for
two cruisers and one hundred fifty soldiers. By chance, the Sabretooth was in
the general area with one hundred army aboard and arrived within a half day of
being notified and deployed the army units. Ironically, General Issak was also
in the area and arrived on the Lynx shortly afterward. The raiders haven't
attempted to drop any more shuttles since the presence of the Sabretooth
negated their ability to support the shuttles. And the army units are reluctant
to storm the buildings for fear that the raiders will kill the hostages. The
situation has created a standoff, which General Issak believes you can resolve
based on your performance at New Kief."
    "What is so important that it tempted two raiders
to attack the HTL facility?"
    "The HTL mines an element called Xallium-50, which
their lab processes into a crystal ten times harder than diamond. The quantity
is limited, only produced on Heibei, and in high demand. I believe the raiders
not only wanted to steal the current batch but also might have hoped to obtain
the process and equipment to make it. And that delayed them leaving."
    Lambar paused, and when I nodded, he continued.
    "And they would have succeeded if the space gods
hadn't conspired against them. An alert security guard identified those who
broke in as space-raiders and not local thieves—and notified the army.
The local police arrived quickly in response to the security alarm but were
unsuccessful in entering the building. The police presence didn't worry the
raiders, so they didn't panic. But the army arrived with military-grade weapons
and disabled the shuttles before they were ready to leave. Someone in the
government realized immediately the army was no match for two cruisers and
contacted the Jax. And because the Sabretooth was in the Merlin Commonwealth
Sector and the general area of Heibei, they arrived before the raiders'
cruisers could attempt to extricate the trapped raiders on the ground."
    Helon spoke up, obviously amused. "The question to
you, Dragon Sapir, is what do you intend to accomplish with only ten Black Guards?"
    "Petition the space gods for help," I said to
smiles.
    My duty , I
mused.
    * * *
    We arrived twenty-eight hours later and were delivered
planet-side without incident. The two raider cruisers weren't anxious to start
a fighting war with three Jax cruisers over one shuttle, which couldn't hold
more than twenty troops. Not surprisingly, a whole fleet of vehicles awaited us
and took us to their headquarters. On arrival, I was ushered into a large tent,
where General Issak and several high-ranking officers and two civilians stood
around a table filled with papers.
    Issak left the table and waved me outside before I could
give him a respectful bow.
    "Captain Sapir, I'm sorry I got you involved. I
realized too late that the current stalemate