The freighter shuddered as it neared the planet's surface, its retro-thrusters running at full burn to slow the ship's descent towards the starport. There was a grating rumble as the merchantman touched down, the ship skidding a couple of metres across the ferrocrete until the captain shut down the engines and the bulky vessel finally ground to a halt.
Governor Lucyna Novitsky relaxed her white-knuckled grip on the passenger's seat, wishing that was the last time she'd have to endure another re-entry. "Thanks for droppin' me off, Cap'n."
"Sure thing," he replied, turning to look her way over his shoulder. "I'll be planetside a while, then I'll wait for you in orbit. Just gimme a holler when you're ready to head back."
She nodded to the trader in gratitude, then grabbed her suitcase and took the stairs down to ground level. Her boots made a ringing sound as she crossed the metal decking, walking towards the airlock that Captain Glasbey had opened in anticipation of her departure. As Lucyna stepped outside the spacecraft, she breathed deep, enjoying the lovely pine-scented atmosphere of Brecken's World. A man wearing a slightly-crumpled suit was waiting for her at the edge of the landing platform and he began walking briskly in her direction.
"Welcome, Governor Novitsky," he said respectfully as he approached. "My name's Barnes, I work for Governor Vaughn. He wanted to meet you personally, but he's up to his ears in T-Fed bureaucracy at the moment. The supply convoy arrived this morning and we've been trying to get the freighters unloaded as fast as possible."
"That's okay, I understand," she replied, following her guide across the landing platform. "Bad timin', huh? Especially with everythin' else going on..."
Barnes glared at one of the supply freighters as they walked through the starport. "Fuckin' High Command... those assholes think they can just buy us off after what happened?" he hissed, keeping his voice low to avoid attracting attention. "That we'll just forgive and forget them leaving us to get fucked up by the Bugs?"
Luce grimaced at the unpleasant memories his angry venting stirred up. Her capture by the Kirrix seemed almost like a bad dream now, the memories blurry and fading by the day... but she could still recall the awful shame and humiliation she'd endured. Glancing at the man beside her, Luce could see those same emotions mirrored in his eyes too.
"They can never make it right," she replied quietly. "The Bugs took my whole colony... I know exactly how you feel."
He swallowed and looked away. "Yeah... I shouldn't have brought it up... I'm sorry."
Giving him a reassuring pat on the arm to show she took no offence, Luce followed her guide out of the starport and into the city of Valley Falls. Calling the settlement a city was a bit of a stretch, as it was basically just a large town that had grown around the starport. The streets were full of rustic bars and diners, catering to the off-world merchant traffic that came to Brecken's World for their primary export.
Luce stopped on the sidewalk beside Barnes as a procession of trucks rumbled past, their massive wheels taller than her and caked in mud. Each of the sturdy haulers were loaded with timber fresh from the surrounding lumberyards, all destined for the supply freighters docked in the starport. Now that those freighter captains had completed their supply run for the Admiralty, they were making sure they turned a tidy profit on their return home to the Core Worlds.
Her own colony, Valia Gate, was also a big exporter, although the primary material it possessed was silver. Most of the planets in the Outer Rim were in a similar position, with colonists settling on those worlds to exploit some form of abundantly available natural resource. All the ores, and timber, and precious metals were funnelled back to the Core Worlds, sent to feed the insatiable demands of those highly populated planets. In return, they shipped back all the equipment and supplies needed to survive the harsh conditions out on the frontier.
Luce stood and watched the huge haulage vehicles as they trundled along the cracked asphalt, wondering how their colonies were going to be viable if that supply chain was broken. The Outer Rim might be a huge source of raw materials, but all the manufacturing and production was carried out on the more established worlds in the Terran Federation. Valia Gate had only been founded fifty years ago, but some of the systems near Terra were settled seven centuries earlier, when mankind first took to the stars.
The Outer Rim turning its back on the Core Worlds suddenly seemed like a very foolish idea indeed. As much as Luce loathed the Admiralty, she knew that a dozen frontier systems breaking away on their own would face a very bleak future, even if they were allowed to leave peacefully.
"Governor Novitsky? Are you alright, ma'am?"
She jumped as Barnes touched her arm, breaking her out of the reverie. Luce realised she'd been lost in her thoughts, staring into the distance along the now deserted road.
"Yeah... I'm fine," she grunted, nodding to her guide to continue.
They crossed over the street and walked towards the colony administration building, an ugly ferrocrete monstrosity that loomed over the smaller shops and restaurants nearby. A detachment of T-Fed marines marched out of the admin complex, then stood guard as their commander spoke to an older man in a rumpled suit at the top of the entry steps. Luce recognised Governor Vaughn at once but made no attempt to get his attention. She followed Barnes around the building, taking a side-street that led to a disused loading dock, and the rear entrance to the administration centre.
By the time they entered the building, Governor Vaughn was waiting to meet them. "Luce, I thought I spotted you out the front! How was your flight?"
"Alright, I guess. Never did think much a planet hoppin'," she muttered dourly, her moment of introspection putting her in a foul mood. Luce shook his calloused hand. "Hope this ain't gonna be a waste of my time, Stefan."
He laughed, his weather-beaten face lighting up into a broad smile. "Cheer up, Luce. I promise you're not going to regret coming here... you'll be witnessing history in the making!"
Luce glanced at her escort, then pulled Governor Vaughn aside to whisper furtively, "Listen... I've been thinkin' about things on my way over. Even if we can leave the T-Fed peacefully, how are we ever gonna survive on our own? Don't get me wrong, I think it's amazin' you got those other systems interested, but there's what... nine of us total? We're totally screwed without the Core Worlds' manufacturing capabilities, let alone the fleets to protect ourselves from the Kirrix!"
"You always were a smart one, Luce... and you're absolutely right. Nine systems breaking away on their own just isn't enough to be viable," Vaughn agreed, his expression sombre. His eyes twinkled with barely suppressed glee as he continued, "That's why we're waiting just a couple more days for a whole bunch of others... plus the envoy from Nerus IV!"
"Nerus IV?" Lucyna muttered, frowning in confusion. Her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she made the connection. "Port Heracles?!"
