Page 26 of Galactic Sentinels: Vol. 1
“Hey Aki! Wingo and I are heading toward the southeast quadrant of the galaxy. Please tell me you cracked the last file I sent and have something more precise for us.”
“Hey guys, how’s it going? You did a great job recovering that file. I’ve got some good news… and some not-so-good news.”
“I always do! Hit me with the bad stuff first so I can end on a high note.”
“Alright. The not-so-good news is, we found a document suggesting that one of the trafficking organizers is high up in the Confederation hierarchy. We’re not sure if he’s on Jaga-18 or Jaga-16, and we don’t know his identity. All we know is he goes by ‘The Unshakable’ and he’s involved in both human trafficking and illegal tech deals.”
“I see. And the good news?”
“You’re heading in the right direction. And thanks to the intel you stole nearly two years ago, the Coalition is now extremely cautious about transmitting unencrypted data. That info helped Agent 203 dismantle a slave market.”
“I remember that mission perfectly. That’s when I found Wingo.”
“Best day ever!” Wingo chimes in.
“Alright, I’m heading to Jaga-18. I’ll keep you posted on what I find.”
“Roger that! Good luck to you both!” he says, cutting the connection.
Wingo gives me a strange look.
“What?” I ask.
“Jaga-18… Isn’t that where the girl you’re connected to went?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I dodge. “The only being I’m connected to is a wingonogonogogo—plus a few extra gonogos—who’s been driving me nuts by leaving his toys all over my ship.”
I’m really not in the mood to talk about her. But the truth is, I’ve never stopped thinking about the one I left behind. I’ve come close to heading to Jaga-18 under a fake pretext, just to see what became of her. The only thing holding me back is knowing she’s probably better off with someone like the Governor than with a lonely spy like me.
“But yeah, remember that young girl!” he says, and I catch that look in his eye—he’s thinking about Ileana.
By the Flows… he’s got a sharp memory. And he’s smart.
“That sounds vaguely familiar,” I say, full of bad faith.
“Gnuffgnuff!” he laughs.
I just shrug and walk over to the main screen to check our progress. We’ll be making a short detour to MyFaS before heading to Jaga-18.
MyFaS—short forMy Fabulous Secret Base, as Wingo and I call it—is one of those places the Confederation earmarks for terraforming. When they find a planet or moon with the right conditions for life, they begin the long process. It usually starts with life bells.
A year ago, Akifumi gave me the coordinates for the next Jaga base, which is still in the early stages of terraforming. It won’t be fully operational for at least twenty years.
Right now, there are only a few bases under energy domes. The AI gradually expands the force field that holds breathable air. Life begins to take root—plants strengthen their roots, insects dig tunnels. When the AI determines the world can sustain itself, it slowly lowers the force field until only the star’s gravity holds the atmosphere in place.
Even then, the Confederation waits another ten years before allowing large-scale settlement. In the meantime, the place is deserted, left entirely in the care of the AI.
Thanks to Akifumi’s intel, MyFaS has become a private base—just for Wingo and me. It’s just the two of us on this little planet. Kind of amazing, isn’t it?
I’m planning to leave behind a few personal items here—my smuggler’s visual ID, my all-purpose Confederation jumpsuit. Things I don’t need to carry around anymore.
I’ve got access to nearly every piece of Confederation tech here, from analyzers to replicators. I use the replicator to make imperfect copies of certain items—just good enough to sell on the black market. Gotta keep up appearances as a smuggler, after all.
There’s also some pretty advanced fitness equipment here—stuff I can’t bring aboard the SIL. It helps me work on muscle groups I tend to neglect in space, even though I’ve got a retractable pull-up bar built into the cockpit ceiling.
And then there’s the regeneration sarcophagus. The kind everyone’s always looking for. Since I’m technically working for the Confederation, Akifumi managed to get me one. I set it up right here on MyFaS.
I even showed Wingo how it works—just in case. You can never be too careful.
