"Hyperdrive systems are functioning normally. The power core is stable, all levels are green. We're safely away from Veldhern," Inari stated.
"Green all across the board?" Priya asked from the co-pilot's chair.
"That's affirm," Inari smiled as she stood and stretched.
"So, movie time?" Priya asked cutely.
"Sure! But I need to head down to the hold and double check the medical equipment we purchased. I want to be sure that we got what we paid for," Inari told her girlfriend.
"Really babe? You'd think with what we paid, they wouldn't chintz us with what we got," Priya replied while rolling her eyes.
"You know me, hon. I always like to be thorough," the Iranian woman told her.
"Well, if you're going down there, I'm coming to help with it. Never hurts to have a second set of eyes, now does it?" the East Indian woman asked her lover.
"No, it does not," Inari agreed. The two of them left the cockpit and boarded the elevator for the bottom level. They stepped out a few seconds later and made their way to where the purchased equipment had been loaded and stored.
"So, I remember you telling me about hanging around Prodosia once. You also mentioned a few friends there, but you rarely ever talk about it," Priya stated.
"For good reason. It's... painful to talk about and while I was there, I did things... things I'm not proud of," Inari responded.
"Well, why don't you talk about them with me? I mean, we are together now, right?" Priya inquired, making sure where she stood in their relationship.
"Yeah. I suppose I should tell you about it then. It's one of the few parts about my life you don't know about yet," Inari grimaced.
"Take your time, love. I know that revisiting old memories can be harsh," Priya soothed as they found the equipment they were looking for.
"Thanks, babe. You know about the bullshit that Briggs pulled and how I got discharged, right?" Inari questioned.
"Yeah. I was halfway into my second tour. Still had two-and-a-half years to go before it was over," Priya remembered.
"When I got discharged, I really couldn't find work anywhere in the Federation. Believe me, I tried. But after the whole debacle with Owen and Ashaki... my name was pretty much mud. So, I left Federation space and went looking for work elsewhere. I fell in with this mercy group, who were looking to hire on pilots to make supply drops to those in need," Inari started.
"Prodosia was your stop?" Priya inquired.
"It was one of many. This mercy mission was all about helping the disenfranchised citizens left behind in the Abandoned Frontier," Inari explained.
Priya's eyes widened, and a smile bloomed on her face. The Abandoned Frontier was a sector of space that was littered with Gaia class planets, which were largely ignored. That was because when it was first discovered by the Human Federation, it was a literal gold mine of colony planets. Since the Federation were the first ones there, they had first pick over which planets to colonize.
They weren't greedy and were willing to share with those who wished for worlds the Federation hadn't selected. Most groups who wanted a piece were eventually granted one, but not everyone thought it was fair. The Human Confederacy felt it had been gypped and cheated out of worlds that should have been theirs. Initially, nothing happened right out of the gate, but only because the Confeds were biding their time.
When they had built and marshaled a substantial battle fleet, they moved out, invading every world they could reach. The initial shock of their attack caught everyone by surprise, but it wouldn't last long. Not even a few weeks in, the Federation, along with every major government and empire in the galaxy, assembled to take back what was theirs. The only problem was that the Confeds had enough time to dig in, which resulted in a long and brutal war just to root them out.
After a long and bloody campaign, the Confederation had finally been defeated and sent packing, but the damage was already done. Because of the constant fighting and bombardments, many of the worlds had been left as utter ruins. Many of them were shells of what they had been before, with hundreds of thousands of dead in the conflict, most of them civilians.
Though the various worlds had been saved, the cost was a high one and many of the original colonists that survived, refused to be ruled again. Though each government tried to re-establish control, the locals weren't having it anymore. It took each group maybe six months to realize that these people couldn't be ruled. Not long after coming to this conclusion, many of them just abandoned the worlds, leaving the people on them to fend for themselves.
Since then, the Abandoned Frontier has been a haven for the dregs of society; smugglers, mercenaries, pirates, terrorists and all manner of people who don't want to be found. Though various patrols from the Federation and the UCW meandered on through from time to time, the planets didn't acknowledge them. The fleets and patrols were permitted to pass, provided they left each world alone, as each one had become its own independent fiefdom.
"So... you were a mercy runner... to the Abandoned Frontier?" Priya repeated incredulously.
"I was, and it was good work. The kind of work that I knew I could do well and that I could handle," Inari replied.
"I'm just... if we didn't have cameras and such around right now..." Priya suggested sultrily.
"Keep your panties on babe. For now, at least," Inari giggled.
"You're no fun! But seriously hon, Prodosia? That's one of the rougher planets in the Abandoned Frontier," Priya yipped.
"And the one that was most in need of aid and supplies. Given that I nearly snapped Briggs in half over what he tried to pull, I was and am more than capable of handling myself in rough places. Besides, the people there were desperate and needed help. I was one of the few who was willing to risk going in to bring them what they needed," Inari stated.
"Like what?"
"Food, potable water, medicine and so on. As bad you may think Prodosia is, it's far worse than what the vids make it seem to be," Inari told her lover.
"How much worse?" Priya inquired.
"Think after the Dark War, when we were nearly wiped out," Inari stated.
"Yikes! It's that bad down there?" Priya exclaimed.
"Yup. There are also times where it can get worse. Gangs and other wannabes rove around the planet surface, always looking for a quick score. They often rob what small groups that decide to band together for protection. Some can defend themselves, while others can't. That was where I came in," Inari smiled, remembering her early days as a mercy runner.
