by Frank Carey
"This is General Aymar. I need Major Hardy and an escort in here stat," Royce barked into his comm.
The lab door opened and an EMEF Marine walked in followed by four members of Royal Security. "Nayla, talk to your cousin," he said to the major. Turning to the escort team, he said, "Take Mr. Negrue to his ship and give him whatever he needs. Oh, and shoot him down if he tries to leave the planet."
Once he was gone, Royce took his wife and Queen by the arm and led her outside, leaving the two Hardy cousins some time to talk privately.
"Hey cuz," Nayla said.
"I take it you heard everything?"
"Yeah, kinda hard not to with all the mics open. I assume you're going to do something spectacularly stupid, right?"
"You've been talking to your sister, haven't you?"
"Yeah. You impressed her by chasing after Sheila, and Tayla isn't easily impressed."
"Do you think I should just sit back and let Negrue 'Take care of things?'"
"Hell no. On the other hand, you have to make sure the League is safe."
"Yeah, so no landing a ship on Cerberus because those fleas bite."
"And then some."
"How do you get a couple dozen people off a planet without using a spaceship while leaving the bad samsar behind? The damn thing's a cloud, for heaven's sake."
"By killing the samsar in totality before rescuing anyone. It would be nice to keep it around for study, but..."
"It's a weapon. A horrible weapon. My God, if you saw what I've been seeing."
"It can be controlled. Studied. Learned from," his Marine cousin informed him.
He looked at her in horror. "Imagine having your spine ripped from your body while you were wide awake. The look on your face would be pleasant compared to those on the faces I saw in those memories Murph implanted in my brain. I know that most of that was bullshit, but even bullshit has to start somewhere. No, Negrue is frightened of that thing down on Cerberus. It has to be destroyed, not studied."
"What if that means Sheila and all the expedition members have to die?"
"Then I will be joining them," he said as he walked out of the lab as angry as he had ever been.
"Dammit to all the hells, girl, you should have seen that coming," she chastised herself. She activated her comm. "General, we have a serious problem," she said while running out after Kel.
###
Kel stopped at Sheila's office, and after checking to make sure he was alone, he walked in using the spare key she had given him. "Damn, girl, I forgot your love for deco," he mumbled while running his hand over a display model of a 1935 NYC Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive from Earth's New York City. Everything from the throw rug to the wall clock was patterned after Earth's art deco movement. Carefully, he made his way around to where her very modern terminal sat, its status light blinking blue as it slept the night away.
Kel turned the desk lamp on before sitting down in Sheila's chair. When Sheila first brought him here, she assured him that the chair could handle twice his weight. It was months before he found out why she had smirked when she first told him that. "Minx," he whispered. Steeling himself, he sat down and activated the terminal by tapping the space bar three times.
"Rex is online," a burly voice said. Kel looked around and saw an old, green 1936 AWA Bakelite Empire State Radiolette on a shelf behind the terminal screen. The juxtaposition of old and new was striking.
"Rex, recognize Hardy, Kellen Matu. Authorization, Minty-Alpha-146."
"One moment, Dr. Hardy... What can I do for you?"
"Records search, Tegan Commonwealth."
"Working. No record found."
"I was afraid of that. What about the term 'Samsar,' S-A-M-S-A-R?"
"Working. No record found."
Kel looked to the heavens for guidance. "I need access to data about the samsar, its history, and the history of the Negrue family's involvement in all this. Somewhere, in the history, lays the method for saving my Sheila and my daughter, yet I can't access it. It was on some distant planet, out of my reach given the short amount of time I have. Where do I even start?" He looked down at the terminal, realizing that Sheila, a consummate hacker and thief, had designed it. He needed a hacker to operate it. "Rex, who is the best hacker currently on Ventos Prime?"
"Working... Maevis Guchel is considered to be the same caliber of hacker as Dr. Minty by Dr. Minty herself. Their rivalry dated back to high school."
"High school? I don't remember Sheila ever mentioning a Maevis Guchel..."
"Maevis Guchel is her nom de plume. Her birth name is Pris Mansa of House Mansa."
"Oh my," Kel said in shock. House Mansa was a notorious crime family on the Sokuhl home world, and Pris was made even more notorious when she ratted on the family to the authorities. In return, she was placed in witness protection and never heard from again. "Does Sheila know about Ms. Guchel's previous life?"
"Yes, they meet for lunch on a regular basis."
"Rex, locate Maevis and..."
"Dr. Hardy, an arrest warrant has been issued in your name by Royal Security."
Kel took his comm out of his pocket and crushed it. "Does R-Sec know about this office?"
"No, sir, and I do scan the R-Sec data banks on a daily basis."
"Rex, contact Maevis and have her meet me here within the hour."
"And if she asks why?"
"Tell her if she doesn't, Sheila could die."
Rex was silent for a moment. "Could the mistress die, really?"
"Yes, Rex, and it looks like the only people who can save her are you, me, and Maevis. Get her in here, and I will explain everything."
"Working... She has accepted the invitation and will arrive in five minutes, sir."
For Kel, it would be the first of many longest-five-minutes in his life.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
While he waited for his guest to arrive, Kel tried to call Sheila. "I'm sorry, sir, but all comm channels through the Alyson relay are being blocked."
"Dammit. Did they try to trace the call back here?"
"Yes, but I took the liberty to reroute the call through a coffee shop on Goranth. You may want to send the owners a tip after this is all over."
"Thank you, Rex, I will."
There was a knock at the door. "Scanning," Rex said. "It is Ms. Guchel."
Kel got up and opened the door. Standing in the hallway was a Sokuhl woman about Sheila's age, dark of skin with platinum-blond hair. She pushed past him without a word. With a final check of the hallway, Kel closed the door and locked it.
"My name is..." Kel said as he held out his hand.
"Dr. Kellen Matu Hardy, Professor of History and grandson of Zor Hardy, Patriarch of the Sokuhl. Your robot..."
A closet door opened and a biped robot emerged. It was alabaster white with an stylized art deco face. It walked over to where Maevis sat and stood over her. Crossing its arms, it said, "Ms. Guchel is armed."
She reached into her purse and pulled out a blaster which she handed to the robot. "Yes, Rex, you know a girl can't be too careful."
"The robot is now happy," Rex said as he dropped the weapon into a desk drawer on his way to a corner where he stood watch over the room.
Kel looked at Maevis with raised eyebrows.
"What? Rex and I go way back. Now, what's this about Sheila?"
Kel explained.
Maevis sat back in her seat and stared at the Basili historian. "How do I fit into this?"
"According to Rex, Sheila thinks you're the best hacker on Ventos Prime..."
Maevis smiled while pulling a stray strand of hair from her face. "She said that?"
Rex looked to heaven for strength.
"I need someone to find a way to hack into the Tegan Commonwealth database and grab every scrap of information they have on this samsar thing. I have to find a way to get Sheila and her expedition off Cerberus while leaving every scrap of samsar behind. I realize you're a busy woman and your time is valuable, so I can pay you..."
"She saved your life?"
"Yes, big time. Now, are you sure there's a problem?"
"Allow me," Rex said. The terminal screen filled with symbols and pictures, which then churned. Suddenly, the screen went blank.
"Well, old robot, what did you find?" Maevis asked. She got up and walked over to the bookshelf where she tapped a spine. Kel watched as the spines of ten volumes swung outward to reveal a hidden refrigerator. "Beer?" she asked.
"Water, if available," he replied.
She grabbed two bottles, closed the door, then looked at Rex with raised eyebrows.
"A search of the university for Dr. Hardy is underway. Security teams have locked-down the spaceport. Two cruisers have taken position around the transgalactic gate with orders to search every outbound ship. A squadron of five cruisers—Tralaskan, Ventosian, Earth, Ithian, and Goranthi—are staging for departure direct to Cerberus within two hours. A news blackout is in effect. Finally, Ambassador Irithyl is in route to the Tegan Commonwealth seat of government for an emergency meeting with their head of state. In a word, there is a huge problem and Kel is dab smack in the middle of it."
"Kel, do you have a plan?"
"Sort of. We find a way to kill this thing, then go to Cerberus, kill the samsar, and rescue Sheila and the expedition."
Maevis smiled. "You make naivete look cute. Do you understand what is really happening here?"
"I have to save my wife and unborn child," he said.
"Do you understand what is standing between you and that goal?"
"No ship?"
Maevis tilted her head back and rubbed her cold beer bottle against her forehead. "Both the League and the Commonwealth seem to want a sample of this samsar weapon and they will stop at nothing to get it. Why else send a fleet of five cruisers to a dead world? I have to give the ambassador credit for trying to broker a peaceful solution."
"What are you saying?"
"They're not going to let you kill it. Sheila told me about what you did on Alyson and why you did it. Devoted spouses scare the hell out of the military-intelligence community. It makes you unpredictable, and they don't like unpredictable. Still want to go through with this?"
"Yes, even if I have to do it alone."
Maevis looked at Rex. "What are your thoughts, robot?"
"I feel like some fieldwork. I miss the feel of a blaster in my hand."
"What the hell are you?" Kel asked.
"I'm complicated," Rex answered enigmatically.
Kel looked at the woman sitting across from him. "What about you, Maevis? Still interested in helping me?"
"Oh yeah. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Just one thing," she said.
"Name it."
"Call me Maeve, and I'll call you Kel. Deal?"
"Yes, Maeve, deal."
"Good. May I have your seat next to the terminal?"
"Of course," he said as he vacated the seat. Once situated, she typed commands into the terminal at high speed. "Is Negrue's ship still on the roof?"
"Yes," Rex answered immediately.
"Good. R-Sec has probably already hacked into his system, making things easier for me. Kel, this may take a few minutes."
"Fine. It's not like I have anywhere to go.”
###
Kel woke up to find Maeve shaking him. "Hurry, come to the terminal," she said.
Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he got up and walked over to the terminal. "What..." He stopped when he saw Sheila on the screen. "Hey, Sheila. I've been trying to get a hold of you," he said.
"Maeve's told me the whole damn story. Boy, this is the last time I take a last-minute pilot job."
"Yeah. Maybe something safe next time, say close-approach nova measurement?"
"Works for me. Now, listen up, Lug. You are not to do anything stupid, got it? No heroics like the last time."
He looked at her, his feelings welling up inside him. "Not going to happen, sweety. I'm getting you, the baby, and the rest of the expedition out of there, then I'm going to have words with a number of politicians."
"Can't talk you out of this, can I?"
"Nope. Not this time. I'm scared, and I'm angry, and I don't know which is worse..."
"Dr. Hardy, someone has initiated a trace on this call," Rex warned. You have thirty seconds.”
"Kel, kill the link!"
"I love you Sheila Minty," He said as he put the palm of his hand on the screen.
"I love you Kellen Hardy,” she replied as she put her palm against his.
"Kill it, Rex," he whispered. The screen went dead.
"Rex, did they find us?" Maeve asked.
"What, no robot? No, they didn't find us, though a coffee shop on Cora is going to see a real increase in customer traffic in a few minutes."
Kel looked at the clock on Sheila's desk, "Damn, two hours. What did you find?"
"A shit load," Maeve said. "First off, the League and the Tegan Commonwealth have quarantined Cerberus with no reason given. No one down; no one up; and no reason given. Next, I've downloaded copies of the Negrue Syndicate database and the Tegan Commonwealth database into our ship's databanks. All you need to do is find something we can use to destroy the samsar."
"Wait, what ship? You're a pilot?"
"Nope, but I know one, and he's chomping at the bit to help us. I think he has a thing for your mate."
"Excuse me?"
"No time. We need to go," she said as she typed a command into the terminal, turning it and the computer system off. "Don't worry, it'll scram itself if someone tries to log in without the correct password," she said.
"Where are we going?"
"A bar at the edge of town. It looks like hell, but it's food and drinks are top notch. My friend will meet us in the back lot in an hour."
Kel walked quickly to the door and checked the hallway with his scanner before opening it a crack. Seeing the corridor clear, he opened it, stepping out of the way for Rex and Maeve. He turned off the lights and stepped out, locking the door behind him.
###
Maeve's private conveyance was an understatement of utility. In fact, it was once an armored personnel carrier for the Elf Marine Corps in the days before the formation of the Elf Marine Expeditionary Force. On the outside, Bessy—her official designation was BS-918—looked like any APC of the time, but inside, she was a state of the art computer and scanner platform complete with quad-blasters hidden under the dorsal surface. This array was complemented by dual blasters buried port and starboard. Bessy was perfect for going to the market or surviving a zombie apocalypse. Now, though, it was parked between two buildings while it waited for Maeve's friend to arrive.
"So, who's your friend?" Kel asked.
"His name is Dashiell, but he prefers Dash. And he's a Logash."
Ah, the mythical Logash, beings who lived in this part of the galaxy 2,000,000 years ago, but died out when a hostile group of Alue came over from the Alue universe to attack and pillage the Logash empire. Somehow, pairings of Crystallanian elves and members of several League species would produce Logash offspring who would grow to maturity within a year, complete with all their parent’s memories. Each Logash came with glowing blue eyes and a glowing blue crystal embedded in their sternums. These crystals allowed the Logash to telepathically link with any sapient and move between dimensions, a method of travel known as shunting.
"I've never met a Logash," Kel replied. "Didn't they prefer neo-Logash to distinguish them from the six ancient Logash who spent two million years in cryostasis?"
"The 'Neo' is slowly being dropped. I think they got tired of being the 'New' Logash on the block."
"What's Dash like?" Kel asked.
Rex rolled his eyes. "He's reckless and a risk taker," he said.
"Like this stunt. He knows the risks, yet he jumps in feet first and eyes closed."
"You're here, aren't you?" Maeve pointed out to the robot.
"Yes, but that's different and you know it."
"There he is," Maeve said while pointing out the forward window at a descending ship. "Kel, ignore the robot. Dash is a great guy and one of the best freighter pilots in the sector."
"So, Dash is a merchant?"
"Hmmmm, sort of."
"Sort of?"
"He sometimes works off-book on a strictly cash basis," she explained.
"Cash... You mean he's a smuggler?"
"I hate applying labels to people," she replied.
"Yes, he's a smuggler," Rex answered for her. "A lot of freighter pilots make ends meet by smuggling. Hell, Ventos Prime is an unofficial smuggler's haven."
"Prince Lucien just can't give up his old habits," Maeve noted.
"Lucien was a smuggler?" Kel asked, amazed.
"Have you been living under a rock?" Rex asked.
"Actually, yes, sort of," Kel admitted.
"Long story short, Lucien Irithyl used to be known as Harmon Aymar, the Smuggler Elf. The guy's a legend in the smuggler world."
"I will have to leave this discussion for when I get back with my wife." Kel pointed out the window. "It looks like Dash has landed and is waiting for us with his tailgate down."
Maeve looked. "Yeah, I told him we were bringing Bessy. Hang on," she said as she put the APC in gear and headed over to the waiting ship. Standing at the base of the ramp was a Logash, his chest crystal pulsing quickly as he stepped aside to allow Betsy inside. When Maeve came to a stop, they could hear clunking noises from underneath the vehicle. "Not to worry, Kel, that's the Zephyr locking Betsy into the deck. Don't want the old girl to roll around during transit, now do we?"
"Zephyr?" Kel said. "Odd name for a converted frigate, isn't it? Where's he hiding the guns?"
"Historians know about these things?" Maeve asked while locking down the ship's controls.
"Historians know many things. That's why they grant us fancy degrees, and give us money to find out even more things."
"Fancy that. Come on, let's go meet Dash and get this party started."