Lawrence Young arrived at the Port Vista South main office around fifteen minutes early for his meeting as he always had. An old habit that was passed down from his veteran grandfather and then his own father. The receptionist looked up from her flat screen computer monitor and smiled.


    "Can I help you?"


    "Yes ma''am, I have a meeting at 11:00, Young. It''s important." He added the last part to catch her attention and held her gaze as she looked a little closer.


    "I see, let me check if he''s in." She pressed and held a key on her computer''s keyboard. "Mr. Young is here to see you." It came out as a question. "Understood. He needs a few minutes sir, if you''ll just have a seat."


    Lawrence huffed. "Typical."


    There was a stack of magazines beside an extravagant fish tank. There was a sign hanging above it asking for the public to not feed or otherwise disturb the fish as they were all rare species from Earth and stressed easily. Another sign listed them and had colorful illustrations beside a short description of each. They were all saltwater species and were carefully selected to live together in harmony. It was an impressive display of wealth comparable to his old Earth Mustang.


    "He''s ready for you now." The secretary declared and electronically opened the door behind her.


    "Thank you dear. That''s a wonderful aquarium." Lawrence scrunched his face in a forced smile.


    The displays of wealth continued through the hallway with paintings of old Earth fishing vessels and cargo ships traveling the open seas. One of them was labeled "The Solent Strait" and showed a magnificent sunset with the wake of an unseen ship parting the water.


    "Larry, welcome." a voice called out before he had actually rounded the corner into the fully furnished office of his business partner. His hearing was superb.


    "I told you not to call me that. It''s disrespectful." Lawrence said as he entered and took off his jacket and hat, hanging them on a rack near the door. Hard canine eyes stared back at him and a grin formed, showing an array of meat shredding teeth. "


    "Apologies, Lawrence, please sit, I have much to tell you. A drink?" The fox gestured toward an empty glass on his desk.


    Lawrence liked to think of the Callidus as a fox, rather than a wolf. He could spar intellectually with a fox if he had to, but a wolf could just rip him to pieces at his will. Plus his fur was mostly reddish brown with some white patches on the chest and neck. Brute force was for soldiers, not business men, but both had their roles to play in a war, and a war was coming. They were among the few who knew it.


    "Loukios, it''s good to see you again." Lawrence said, pouring wine into a different glass than the one that Loukios had motioned toward. It was closer to the bottles anyway.


    "Is it? You don''t know what I have to tell you."


    "It is, regardless. Regardless of what happens next, your people have done more than the human race could have ever asked for. My ancestors would have never survived without your help in bringing us here. The human race would be extinct."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "Like the - what were they called - foxes? On Earth?"


    Lawrence pursed his lips, a rare tell of anxiety, but Loukios laughed.


    "Please, what have you learned?"


    "In a moment, first I was asked to check on you. The parasite, obviously it''s working, you can understand me. Are there any side effects yet?" Loukios asked while preparing a report for the doctor who had given it to Lawrence.


    "Yes the translator, um parasite, is working. As for side effects, none except for the dreams. I have very vivid dreams now, sometimes night terrors."


    "That is an unfortunate side effect. The parasite works because it feeds on our emotions. It translates what another being is saying because it wants you to feel things from that conversation. It takes great glee in strong emotions, therefore it gives you vivid dreams while you sleep. You also gave them to your crew correct?"


    "I see. A small price to pay. Yes I did, I bought them lunch and injected the food." Lawrence said, taking a full drink of his wine."


    "To business then." The Callidus said and straightened in his chair. "We cannot get you a production model ''Charlie'' as you humans call them, but there are other ways."


    "Wait, why not? I already payed you for it. What''s the hold up?"


    "Our military is the sole manufacturer of the system, and the politicians involved in my chain of command are concerned that the Sharlah will target our world next if they come into position of your ship and trace it or that they could use it against more species here in Andromeda. We don''t want them to have it, in other words."


    "I need that Loukios. Everything else fails without it." Lawrence said.


    "I understand. That is why I said there are other ways. One way really. I know someone who has a Charlie system and I''m having it shipped here as we speak. This one is - modified. He did not want to part with it, so it took far more convincing, financially, for him to let it go." The fox raised an eyebrow. Another debt was owed. Some day maybe humanity would break even.


    "Oh thank god."


    "Yes, your daughter will escape."


    "That''s not all that I care about Loukios." Mr. Young glanced at the wall beside him. "But thank you."


    "I have also secured the three armored environmental suits and they''re being manufactured to your specifications. The weapons however are a serious hurdle. Shipping, or smuggling really, those will be a delicate operation. I''ll have to use the Syndicate. Why not just get modern weaponry?"


    "For the same reason. I want them to be armed, but I don''t want sensor scans to pick them up when they make contact out there. I don''t even want our warehouse people to know."


    Loukios nodded. "I don''t know if they will succeed in finding help for you. The galaxy is a cold place. The Sharlah are your problem, a human problem, but at least your girl will not be here when they land."


    "They''re a human problem now. What happens when they''re done with us?"


    "Yes, I understand. We are all counting on your daughter, even if we don''t know it yet."


    <hr>


    Fleet Lord Skald fastened his crimson helm as one of the production crew fastened his flowing red cape around his neck. The message from Lord Cygnus of the Milky Way still burned in his mind like a chemical irritation that wouldn''t go away. An annoyance to start his new life, how fitting. He stepped in front of the camera which would broadcast his message to the fleet.


    "Sharlah. Today we are all warriors. Today we break the human fleet and take what is rightfully ours. Today marks a return to the Sharlah way. We are hunters. We are warriors. We take what we need and then take what we want. We need war. We need this planet and we will have it. Skald Clan will be the first Sharlah to step foot on a world of Andromeda and we will be the only clan to step foot in Andromeda. This galaxy belongs to us if we are strong enough to keep it. We will never return to mercy, farming, or asking permission. We will never return to the Milky Way. That means we must burn the ships who mean to block us. We are fighting for our very existence. Let us spill the first blood now. FIRE!"