Project Prometheus Ch. 51 - Teaser (Patreon)

“Well, I was always told that I had a mind for seeing things that could transpire in a battle. I guess that extends to these… tactical games?” Kris replied, still unfamiliar with some of the terms that were used in the wider galaxy.

“With enough practice, you could well become a great tactician!” Dagan stated, glad to see that these ladies had much in the manner of untapped potential.

“I don’t doubt that she will! Now, tell us of why you are being chased and why you feel the need to run instead of fighting this… pirate queen,” Tawny told him as she put away the chess pieces and board.

“For that, I will have to go back to the days when I was a young man. When I was wide-eyed and eager to see the galaxy and everything it had to offer me. Back when I still had hair,” Dagan chuckled dryly.

“You, with hair? I couldn’t see it,” Tawny told him with a slight smirk on her lips.

“Well, I did have hair, and it looked good, but that’s not the point of this story. The point of it was how I have become the man I am now and it all started with my first job. You see, as I was eager to get out into the galaxy, I took a job on a merchant ship. We were shipping goods to various ports all across the galaxy and I would see many various and exotic locales wherever I went!” Dagan started, getting into a storytelling mode.

“I’ve seen and been to places all over and in many different empires all over! Salaagh V, Eden’s Dawn and I even had been to Veldhern once, back when it was still a whole planet. I was living a good life and had a plan to one day run my very own shipping business! It wasn’t long after that is when I met… her. Zerafima Khazarin, the woman who would one day become my wife,” Dagan told them.

“Wait, you have a wife?!? You’re married???” Kris asked, gawping at the man.

“I was, but not anymore. I will get to this point in the tale, as long as there are no more outbursts?” Dagan asked, fixing both women with a glare at being interrupted like this. Kris and Tawny looked chagrined and let the man continue with his story.

“When I first met her, like many a man, I was smitten by her good looks, strong will, intellect, and easy charm. The more I spoke with her, the more I fell in love with this woman and, as I said, I was not the only man who desired her. But, I was the only man who she allowed to get close to her, to learn more about who she was at heart. It wasn’t long after this that I learned she had come to care for me as I did for her,” Dagan went on.

“When it came to getting her attention, that was more than a little tricky. Many had tried to do what I had, and they all failed. Wooing her was more than an ordeal in itself, as she was exceedingly picky about she gave her time to. I would later learn that she never wasted time with those who weren’t going to help her in making her way forward in life. She would only associate with those who would propel her forwards, not hold her back,” the smuggler captain continued.

“How it is and why she chose me will always remain a mystery to me. But I believed that in me, she saw someone who would not only help elevate her, but a man who would stand by her, no matter what happened. That I would be the man who would be everything she ever wanted or ever needed in her life. And for her, I was. Or, at least, I tried to be,” Dagan said.

“Eventually, we did it. We finally got our own ships and started a shipping and merchant business together. It was tough at first, but after enough time, sweat, blood, tears and sacrifices, we made it work. Soon enough, we would have a business that was not only profitable, but respectable.”

“Over time, every deal we brokered would not only net us a new client, but others would hear of our business and wished to employ us to move their goods. Our prices weren’t the lowest, but we were the most honest shipping group in the sector. Sometimes, clients would come from several sectors away to seek out our business, because of the integrity we had,” Dagan stated as he got a faraway look in his eyes, as his mind hearkened back to better days.

“But, like many good things and good days, it would all come to an end. This end came in the shape of an old friend who I believed would help us in expanding our business. Little did I know that I would be making the worst mistake of my life that would not only see the end of my business, but the end of Zerafima and I,” Dagan said in a tone that spoke of regret.