By the Time I Get to Pellax

by Keith Dersley

  - 58 -

  After leaving the deck of the Tortuga, Prince Barratat Galerian was surprised to find himself materialising on a smaller ship than the Reynolds, one painted in bold, innovative colours and manned by a crew of misfits. His prisoner was also taken aback, as were his men, who drew their weapons. 'You may drop off your prisoner here, Your Majesty,' said a voice that Barratat knew. He turned to see Erl Spurgo come out of the newly-opened lift doors to greet him. For once the Prince was thrown. 'How did you do this?' he said, gesturing at the transporter pad he had just stepped down from. 'My new First Officer is talented in that line,' said Spurgo, nodding towards the android Barratat knew from Spurgo's apartment. 'She simply diverted you from the Reynolds to the Fish Eagle. She found it simple enough.' 'With help from someone aboard the Tortuga, no doubt,' said Barratat. Spurgo answered with an ironic smile. 'Your men will holster their weapons,' said the pirate captain. As Barratat's men hesitated, five or six unkempt villains moved towards them, brandishing knives and six-shooters. 'Sir, you are welcome to stay with us,' said the pirate captain to Venner. 'As for yourself and your men, Prince Barratat, I am sure you would be glad to see Captain Ravasio again, so please get ready to be beamed aboard the Reynolds.' Slowly, and looking down as if composing himself, the Prince got into position, as did his soldiers. Before the man at the console did his business however, Barratat pointed his finger at Captain Spurgo. 'If I ever get you in a pitched battle!' 'It's strange you should mention that, Your Majesty,' said Spurgo, 'because a pitched battle is something we always try to avoid, eh lads?' Then before Barratat could splutter out a reply, he was transported to the Reynolds along with his party. Spurgo moved over to the bridge, where Mitzi, his First Officer, made room for him. 'May we transport you back to the Tortuga, sir?' the pirate captain asked Venner. 'Maybe I should stay here for a while, if you will have me. You certainly seem as if you're a good ally to have against the Galerians.' 'We're happy to have you, by Gar,' said Spurgo, grinning broadly. 'Let's break out some Veloran red, shall we?''Wonderful,' said Venner. As it was, over the wine in the captain's ready room they discovered that they had a common friend in Drax Deerfield. (They were later saddened to discover that Drax was the man Venner had seen trying to throw Barratat out among the stars to cook, only to suffer that fate himself.) 'We have held our position here in order to check that the Reynolds withdraws, which l now see that it has. We'll have to bear in mind though that we need to watch for it, as well as the other two destroyers which may not be far away.' So Venner and Spurgo beamed over to the Tortuga. 'The Prince left some of his men on board here, didn't he?' Spurgo said to Commander Billy Flax as he and Venner stepped off the transporter pad. 'Oh yes, to cover his withdrawal, as he thought of it, to the Reynolds. Yes, they were here but he asked for them from the deck of the Reynolds after you had extricated Mr Venner, so we let him transport them over.' 'Oh, that's a pity, by Gar,' said Spurgo, carefully replacing a fingerless grey glove which he had just pulled off his left hand. 'We might have had a chat and heard a few amusing stories.' 'Not on the Tortuga, I'm afraid,' said Flax. The wide face under his shock of red hair showed two furrows above the eyes. 'Captain Cutter would not allow any, uh, unorthodox methods of interrogation.' 'Ha ha! What, not even a slapped cheek here or a tickle with a live wire there? Oh well, he's got his duties and he's got his superiors to report to, we mustn't forget that.' While Venner went to show his friends and Helen that he was well and master of his own destiny again, Commander Flax took Spurgo to see Captain Cutter.

  - 59 -

  Seated in the Captain's quarters with a cigar and a glass of rum, Spurgo made sure to keep his wits about him. Not only that, he had had two of his toughest and most intelligent crewmen beamed aboard. They were now standing just outside the partially opened cabin door. 'You have done some wonderful work today, my friend,' said Cutter. He was getting to like this bastard of a brigand. 'On the other hand, the true tale of it must never be told.' 'What, that you teamed up with a pirate?' said Spurgo, puffing blue smoke up at the ceiling. 'Well yes, that. Also, I can't be seen to have favoured either side in the war, if you like to call it that, which is being waged on Pellax between the powers that be and the Ralladarian contingent.' 'You just gave Lupo Venner a job, not knowing his origins, and paid his wages, then out of good fellowship helped him on his way, right?' 'That's the line that should be pushed, yes,' said Cutter. 'It also happens to be the true one.' 'Suits me. No one will know you provided me with information and, uh, technical help. So long as I get my part of the bargain too.' 'Ah yes, a chat with the lady concerned, and she, as a passenger on the Tortuga, being allowed to do what she wishes, whether that be to join you or continue her course with us ' 'Yes, she can have a little interview with me, even dine if she likes, and after that, who knows?' 'Of course.' The two men shook hands and the pirate, on his way out, checked his appearance in the full-length mirror beside the door. 'I was admiring the style of that jacket,' said the Tortuga's captain. 'Thank you, it's cut like the one worn by the Earth hero Horatio Nelson when he first met Lady Hamilton.' 'It could be appropriate then,' said Cutter. Spurgo ran a comb through the biscuit-coloured quiff over his brow. 'Well,' he said, 'I was acquainted with this particular Lady Hamilton some years back, so it's not a real parallel, is it?' Cutter, who knew his history, particularly his naval history, agreed. Mrs Clark had answered a hand-delivered letter from an old school friend and had suggested they meet in the bar, not far from the Coconut Lounge but more select and smaller, called Roderigo's. The place had red velvet chairs and carpet, and few customers at the moment. It was dusky in there, and large primitive paintings were spotlit on the walls. 'Even if the place had been full up, I would have known you among thousands, by Gar,' said Spurgo, as he reached for the hand she lifted towards his lips. 'You remember the days of the 'Pirates of the Cosmos'?' said Reianne Clark as he took a seat opposite her. 'And that tricorn cap, yes.' 'I have often thought of you in the meantime,' she said. 'Thank you, most humbly. I can, in all honesty, say the same.' He briefly commiserated with her upon her widowhood, and as their coffee was served he naturally put his hand over hers on the tablecloth. 'You must have such an exciting and varied life these days,' she said. 'I have had to keep on the move,' he said. 'Do you think it is the kind of life you could share?' She laughed and stared down at her lap in confusion, a girlish habit that Spurgo remembered from Mr Dashak's class. She looked up at him, and to Spurgo her turned-up nose, full lips and clear blue eyes were like precious emblems of Pluron in days gone by. She was still so young! 'How did you know I was here on the Tortuga?' she asked. 'For the past couple of years I have had to be aware of a lot of useful information one way and another. Then in all innocence your name came up on the data bank kept by my First Officer. So I started to keep tabs on you. I hope you don't mind.' 'Did your researches have anything to do with the business with the Pellacian Prince, this Barratat Galerian?' 'They did, as a matter of fact, but for the moment the less we say about that the better,' said Spurgo with a smile. Though there were only a few people in the place, he had learned to beware of public spaces like this when it came to business. Also, he did not wish to alarm Reianne by revealing that at one time the Prince had thought about bringing the Pellacian navy's firepower to bear on the Tortuga, not caring if he destroyed the ship and its whole complement of passengers and crew. Spurgo squeezed her hand. 'I knew he was going to have his chaps tramping about on the ship here, so I had to see what I could do, because I knew you were on board. One of those sods might annoy you, and I couldn't have that.' A crewman from the Fish Eagle appeared in the doorway of Roderigo's and raised his eyebrows, at the same time inclining his head in the direction of the transporter bay. Spurgo nodded and the man disappeared. 'I have to go. Things are in quite an upheaval out there at the moment, and I don't want to keep my lads waiting around in the line of fire of the Pellacian navy.' He got up and she sat higher in her chair, lifting her face towards him. So he kissed her cheek and hugged her. Her thin arms clasped him
with a surprising strength. 'I still feel as if we are part of each other's lives,' he said, colouring up. 'Definitely!' she said. 'And it's wonderful.' 'It is, isn't it!' 'We must meet soon, now that we've found each other again. So make sure you keep those tabs on me, please!' He bowed and walked away carefully, so as not to lose his cool and start skipping.

  - 60 -

  Lupo Venner walked the corridors of the Tortuga without a thought of what was going on beyond the ship's hull. He chose to keep himself as full of ignorant bliss as the most complacent, unpolitical, comfort-loving millionaire aboard as he searched for Helen Macready after finding her cabin empty. 'Have you seen Helen?' he asked a burly fellow stretched out on a bench with his legs over the arm rest. Hollis Pierpoint looked up from his Synapsis ereader. 'Ven! I was so glad to hear that you made it through. With the help of that crazy little pirate, yeah?' 'Yeah, thanks, Hollis. Helen. Have you seen her?' 'Me? No. She was there when you were led away by Prince Barratat, wasn't she. I'm assuming she knows you've managed to get back, but maybe not.' 'Ven!' shouted someone, a woman. Venner turned and saw Latonia Fletcher. She was beaming joyfully as she rushed to him and threw her arms around him. 'Oh, you're lovely,' she said. 'I'm so glad they didn't get you.' 'Tonia, where's Helen?' Latonia stood transfixed, with disappointment etched all over her face. She pointed back in the direction she had come from. 'Thanks.' Venner strode along through a hallway to a dimly-lit lounge area with a wall-sized curved window giving a view of space with star systems, planets and nebulae seemingly motionless. Sitting staring out was Helen Macready. 'Helen.' She turned and without hesitating got up and ran into his arms. They clung together, gasping and sighing, intoxicated by their reunion.'Ven! Ven!' It was the voice of Hollis Pierpoint dragging him back from fairy land to the deck of the Tortuga. 'I've had a message from Cutter,' said Pierpoint, pointing to his comm badge. 'I'm to help you get off the ship with as little commotion as possible. Priority. No expense spared, no detail overlooked.' 'To go where?' 'That's up to you. We'll have an armoured Wayfarer at our disposal, to take you wherever you want. After you leave, the Tortuga doesn't know you.' 'And Helen?' 'Do you wish to accompany Ven?' Pierpoint asked her. 'Of course.' So it was that Pierpoint ushered them through the ship and up the steps of a chunky Wayfarer that was soon speeding towards Pellax. Venner felt that, whatever happened, he owed something to Tak Vakrovar and the others behind the Patriotic Resurgence. There had recently been reports that the Galerians had suffered some reverses at the hands of the rebellious Pellacian contingent and their allies. 'Metropolitan Caram is clear of the scaly-backed Galerians, for now at any rate, and I hope they can keep them out,' said Pierpoint. 'Not that I am anything but impartial when it comes to planetary fol-de-rols.' 'It would be great to show you Caram, Helen,' said Venner. 'You're aware I take it that back there on your home patch an agent of King Lartis Galerian could step out of a bush at any time, or be waiting at some corner for you,' said Pierpoint. 'Yes, Hollis, I am aware. That's why I'm thinking of taking on another identity.' 'What, get into make-up the way poor Drax did before he made his crazy rush at Barratat? Not a bad idea. You can have it done permanent now, I believe, quite cheap. No maintenance, they say.' 'Stay as you are, Ven,' said Helen, pulling at the sleeve of his jacket. 'Be yourself.' 'There is that too,' said Venner. 'I could simply own up to who I am and let fate take it. See what happens, throne and all.' 'It would only take a word in the ear of Tak Vak,' said Pierpoint, lighting up a cigar. 'I could have done with some time to turn these things over for a while,' said Vanner, scratching the back of his neck. 'As it was, I left the ship so abruptly, I even forgot to say goodbye to Lonnie Pascoe.' When the Wayfarer landed outside Caram, Pierpoint sent a message from the cockpit to the officials of the Patriotic Resurgence that 'a person of heft' was keen to talk about the 'royal houses of Mazarat'. After the putative Heir's identity was tested by a few questions and answers (Hollis Pierpoint, being an unknown, could not vouch for him), a meeting was arranged between the 'Spokesman', Tak Vakrovar, and Venner. The three friends hailed an ordinary air taxi and glided into the city. Venner had expected scenes of jubilation in the streets. He had thought he would see some of his old haunts thronged with rejoicing Ralladar partisans, but the fact was that the fights with the King's forces, which included battalions of mercenaries as well as men and women from Mazarat, had left the Ralladar forces with a tenuous hold on the city but little else. 'I have no doubt that we will triumph, but it may take more than the twelve or fifteen months we had accounted for,' said Tak Vakrovar. He smiled tenderly at the youth he had been hoping would help resurrect the kingly fortunes of the Ralladars and tumble the whole race of Galerians into the dust. 'It would be wonderful to see you take your rightful place,' he said.

  - 61 -

  Some time later Venner had Pierpoint and Helen sitting with him in Bailey's, a bar he knew from the days when he had got drunk with his pals at the highly-illegal age of fifteen. He and Helen had decided to leave Pellax. Pierpoint said he would fly them wherever they wanted in the Wayfarer before returning to the Tortuga. Once that was agreed, the three of them put away a substantial meal and a couple of bottles of black wine. A group of workmen and their wives, outspoken supporters of the Patriotic Resurgence, were sitting at a corner table close by. They were now finishing their meal and bidding each other goodbye. As the last of them went out of the door, Hollis Pierpoint walked over to their table and picked up a paper free-sheet such as were handed out at the meetings of the faithful. These things often had articles by or about Tak Vakrovar and his colleagues, many of which mentioned the mysterious 'Heir'. Often they included artist's impressions of what the Heir might be like, but none of these bore any resemblance to Lupo Venner. 'What's that?' asked Venner as Pierpoint, after giving the leaflet a glance, folded it and put it in his pocket. 'Oh, nothing.' 'Let's have a look,' said Venner with a laugh. He unfolded the flyer on the table and saw that along with other material there was a picture of Drax Deerfield before he got disguised. His heroic and fatal attempt to assassinate Barratat Galerian was there in black and white. 'Good old Drax!' he said. 'Yeah, he was one of the best,' muttered Pierpoint. The writer of the article certainly agreed with that verdict. He even conjectured that Deerfield could have been the Heir. 'WAS THIS THE FINEST RALLADAR OF THEM ALL?' asked the heading. 'Seems as if the reporter unearthed the fact that Drax belonged to a branch of the Kleissenbergs,' said Pierpoint, 'and from that made the link to the Ralladarians. The fact that Drax very nearly sent Barratat out among the stars to fry gave him the hero rating.' Venner sighed. 'Drax was a prince among men,' he said.