The Star Cross: The Vorn!

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Possibly,” Kurt answered. “Only time will tell.”

  Chapter Four

  On Kubitz in the Gothan Empire, Grantz was inside one of his favorite pleasure houses. The music was loud and the female entertainment was quite alluring. There was a new dancer he had been keeping an eye on, and he was going to see if he could set up an appointment with her for later in the evening. Grantz was a former Marsten Profiteer. He was bipedal and slightly taller than a Human. His skin was a light blue color with coarse white hair on his head. His face, while humanoid, had larger than normal eyes.

  A cute server came over balancing a tray of food in one hand and a drink in the other. She was scantily dressed and her clothing left very little to the imagination. Stopping at Grantz’s table, she set down a plate containing a Merton steak and a small platter of Homalt eggs. Both were delicacies and hideously expensive. The server carefully placed the drink on the table and turned to leave.

  “Wait,” said Grantz frowning. “I didn’t order any Homalt eggs.” Those things were expensive, and he wasn’t going to let the pleasure house stiff him for something he didn’t order.

  The server stopped looking confused. “It was on the order. I’ll check and if it is our mistake, the eggs will be free.” She walked off swinging her hips enticingly.

  Grantz grinned. He loved free stuff. With an appetite he cut into the medium rare Merton steak, stuffing a large piece into his mouth. It was cooked just like he preferred it. He was about to reach for a Homalt egg when another Profiteer slid into the chair across from him. Grantz looked up frowning; he didn’t like being interrupted in the middle of his meal.

  Grantz recognized the Profiteer. This was one of the ones Grantz had threatened recently. The man was supposed to inform Grantz if High Profiteer Creed showed up on Kubitz.

  “I may have some information,” the Profiteer began, eyeing the Homalt eggs. “For a price.”

  “Take one,” Grantz said, indicating the platter of eggs. Since he wasn’t paying for them he didn’t mind offering one.

  The Profiteer reached out taking a large bite out of the egg. “I’ve never eaten one of these but they’re delicious.” He quickly finished the egg, reaching for another.

  Grantz reached out stopping the Profiteer from taking more eggs. “You’re information first and then you can have another.”

  The Profiteer nodded. “High Profiteer Creed is coming to Kubitz,” the Profiteer began. Then he stopped as his eyes rolled back in his eye sockets. He began to gag and seemed to be choking. The Profiteer reached for his throat and then collapsed across the table, his head ending up in the platter of Homalt eggs.

  Grantz stood up, stepping back and looking around apprehensively.

  Instantly two men were at the table. One touched the Profiteer’s neck for a moment before looking up at Grantz. “He’s dead.”

  The two men were the two bodyguards Avery Dolman had assigned to watch over Grantz. Grantz looked down suspiciously at the Homalt eggs. “I didn’t order the eggs.”

  One of the men picked up one of the eggs which had spilled out onto the table. He took a small device out of his pocket and took a sample of the egg, placing it into a slot. After a moment the device let out a small ping. “Poison,” he said, setting the rest of the egg back down on the table. “Someone wants you dead and they almost succeeded.”

  “High Profiteer Creed,” muttered Grantz, his appetite disappearing. He looked around for the server who had brought his food but she was nowhere to be seen. He had a strong suspicion she had left the establishment. Grantz shuddered upon realizing how close he had come to being poisoned. If the other Profiteer hadn’t shown up claiming to have information on Creed Grantz would be the one dead, not the Profiteer.

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Grantz. Patrons dying in the pleasure houses weren’t that unusual. A lot of business was conducted in the lower levels where the food and entertainment were, most of it highly illegal and profitable. Someone would be along shortly to take care of the body.

  The three turned and left, going out the main front entrance. A vehicle was parked across the street and soon they were on their way back to the Human embassy.

  “This is getting dangerous,” one of the men said. “This attempt to poison you indicates Creed is upping his game. He wants you out of the way.”

  “Plhtup!” uttered Grantz, his eyes narrowing. “It will take more than a little poison to do me in.”

  Grantz leaned back in his seat thinking about his next move. He was determined to collect the ten million-credit bounty Fleet Admiral Vickers had placed on Creed. At some point in time, Grantz would deliver Creed’s head to Vickers. Once he did he would be a rich man and would never have to work another day in his life. He would buy a large share in a pleasure house and live out the rest of his life in luxury and indulgence.

  Once Grantz reached the embassy he would make some calls. One of the people he would be contacting was Avery Dolman. Dolman knew about everything that occurred on Kubitz. For the right price, Dolman would sell that information. Grantz had a few people he wanted Dolman to locate for him. It was time for Grantz to set up his own hit team. While there were Marines at the embassy with orders to help Grantz locate and apprehend High Profiteer Creed, they would be hesitant to do anything which could be deemed illegal, even here on Kubitz. The people Grantz had in mind wouldn’t be concerned with the legality of what they were being asked to do. If things worked out as Grantz planned then High Profiteer Creed’s days were numbered.

  -

  In orbit around Marsten, High Profiteer Creed was meeting with Dacroni Clan Leader Jarls. They were on board Creed’s new battleship, the Ascendant Fury.

  “A ten million credit bounty,” said Jarls, tapping the large pistol strapped to his waist. “I might be tempted to collect that myself.”

  Creed gestured to two of his men who stepped closer, their hands resting on their weapons.

  Jarls burst out laughing, moving his hand away from his pistol. “I was only joking. We’ve made a lot of credits together.” Jarls was a Dacroni mercenary. His home planet was a high gravity world. Jarls was of humanoid form with bulky legs, torso, and arms. His face was similar to a Humans’ but more round and chunkier. His neck was shorter with his head almost resting on his torso.

  “And there will be more,” Creed said sharply. “I would hate to see anything interfere with our business relationship.”

  Jarls’ face took on a look of seriousness. “There are rumors going around Kubitz that the Destroys of Worlds attacked the Human homeworld.”

  “Really?” said Creed not wanting to admit he had heard the same rumors and been the one responsible for the Vorn learning of Earth’s location.

  “Supposedly they were defeated by Fleet Admiral Vickers along with the aid of the Glaymons.”

  Creed spat on the deck. “The Glaymons would have to come to his rescue. If they hadn’t Earth and Newton both would have been harvested and all their riches left behind. We could be in the gold vaults on Earth stripping the planet of its wealth.” Earth had some of the richest gold deposits known due to the fact much of the planet’s gold was near the surface and easy to mine. This wasn’t true on most worlds, making gold a very valuable commodity.

  “How did the Vorn discover Earth’s location?” asked Jarls, eyeing Creed suspiciously. “Earth is rather isolated and well off the beaten track of galactic civilization. There should have been no Vorn fleets around Earth.”

  “Human ships are everywhere,” Creed said carefully. “Perhaps a Vorn scout ship followed one back to Earth.”

  Jarls folded his arms across his powerful chest. “A few months back there were rumors of a Vorn language program for sale on Kubitz. A few days later it was reported that program was no longer available. I figured either the Controllers seized it as being too dangerous or someone managed to procure it.” Jarls stared directly into Creed’s eyes.

  “Never heard of it,” Creed said calmly. “I’m sure it wa
s only a rumor. Kubitz is full of rumors.”

  Creed could not afford to allow anyone to know he had purchased the program and then used it to give the Vorn Earth’s location. The Vorn fleet had come too close to the Gothan Empire for comfort on its way to and from Earth. Fortunately, it seemed the empire had escaped detection. If the other Profiteer leaders or the Controllers ever discovered what Creed had done, his career and most likely his life would be over.

  “My people on Kubitz say Grantz is looking to collect that bounty. He has sworn he’s going to personally deliver your head to Fleet Admiral Vickers.”

  “He’ll have to find me first,” Creed said dismissively. “I’ve taken some steps to ensure Grantz is taken care of. That blustering idiot will soon find he’s made a serious error in threatening me.”

  “You managed to shoot him once and he survived,” Jarls was quick to point out. “He might not be so easy to eliminate. He’s a pretty crafty Profiteer to have survived this long on his own.”

  “He has one serious weakness,” said Creed, his eyes narrowing. “Women and food.”

  “The pleasure houses,” Jarls said in understanding. “I’ve heard he can’t stay away from them and occasionally splurges on extravagant meals and female entertainment.”

  “Yes, that will be his downfall. He may escape one or two of my plans to eliminate him, but eventually he will let his guard down, and that will be the end of Grantz.”

  Jarls saw several gold bars lying on the table in the center of the room. “When you sent me the comm message you mentioned a job that might bring both of us some credits. With the threat of the Destroyers of Worlds very few raiding fleets are leaving the star cluster. My ships have been pretty idle recently since they’re not needed for escort duty. What do you have in mind?”

  High Profiteer Creed motioned for Jarls to take a seat at the table where the two gold bars were. “I was gone from the empire for a few days recently and came across several worlds the Vorn have harvested. I want to go and search these worlds to see what riches might remain. Every world keeps gold and other valuables in underground vaults. If we can find those vaults and open them, we may find the trip well worth our time.”

  Jarls picked up one of the gold bars, testing its weight in his hand. “How far away are these worlds? All of our fleets are being encouraged to remain in the empire due to the threat of the Vorn.”

  “Four thousand light years,” replied Creed. He had stumbled across these worlds on his trip to tell the Vorn about Earth. The surfaces had been ravaged but he was convinced some underground vaults containing riches must remain. “I just need ten of your battleships to serve as escorts. We may not be the only ones searching those worlds for what the Vorn left behind.”

  Jarls picked up both gold bars. “These two bars plus 40 percent of whatever we find.” Since the advent of the Vorn credits had been hard to come by. “If we encounter any Vorn we turn back immediately. I’ll not risk my battleships fighting them.”

  “Agreed,” said Creed. “I’ll have a contract ready for you to sign tomorrow.” Forty percent was high but he knew Jarls would not waver and go any lower.

  Jarls nodded. “I just hope it’s never discovered you had anything to do with the Vorn attacking Earth. If you did that could come back to haunt both of us.”

  “I wasn’t involved,” Creed said in a level voice. “It’s as I said earlier. A Vorn scout ship must have followed one of the Human ships back to Earth and then summoned one of their harvesting fleets.”

  Jarls stood up pocketing the two gold bars. “Let’s hope that’s what happened. I’ll come back tomorrow to sign the contract, and I’ll have the ten battleships you’ve requested here the day after.”

  “To riches,” said High Profiteer Creed as he stood up.

  “To riches,” replied Dacroni Clan Leader Jarls.

  -

  In one of the systems the Vorn harvesting fleets were gathered in Prince Lakat had just finished speaking to Military Leader Renwarld. Renwarld had taken command of what remained of Prince Caluume’s fleet. Many of our fleets are still waiting for a Collector ship, sent Lakat to Military Leader Dabbath who was standing a few feet away. The harvest is nearly at a standstill.

  Our own holds are only 40 percent full, replied Dabbath. We need to find another world to harvest.

  On our return from the world Prince Caluume led us to we passed a star cluster that contained numerous inhabited food worlds, sent Prince Lakat, wanting to finish filling his cargo holds. One of Military Leader Renwarld’s ships scouted the cluster, locating over sixty. There are most likely even more.

  That many food worlds are more than our cargo holds can handle, replied Dabbath. We would need more motherships and possibly even more cruisers. All of those worlds will have some type of defenses and possibly defending fleets of warships. We can expect some losses.

  I have spoken to Prince Lashall. While his motherships are all full he has indicated he is willing to accompany us. His fleet has sixty battleships assigned to it. He is making arrangements for his cargo to be stacked in the corridors of several other motherships. While this is not the best storage method, it will allow him to nearly empty his cargo holds. Once that has been done we will proceed to the star cluster and harvest it.

  I will begin readying the fleet, responded Dabbath. I will also contact Military Leader Renwarld and have him transfer over all data he has of the worlds his scout ship detected.

  Prince Lakat stared at the viewscreens with his multifaceted eyes. He clicked his mandibles thinking about the new food pellets his fleet would soon harvest. Perhaps there would be some suitable for his personal collection. Every prince in the fleet had their own private stocks. Some of these would be for personal use and others to trade for favors within the Royal Court.

  On the viewscreens were thousands of Vorn ships ranging from the small spindle-shaped cruisers to the large 1,200-meter battleships. On a few screens several of the massive motherships were visible. Prince Lakat wondered why the Collector ships were so late. He knew Prince Brollen had returned to the Conclave Habitat and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was part of the reason. Was there something occurring back in the home system preventing the staging system from sending empty Collector ships to pick up the harvest?

  It did not matter at the moment. He and Prince Lashall would harvest the food worlds in the star cluster Renwarld had discovered and then return with full cargo holds. Surely by then the Collector ship would arrive.

  -

  In the colony ship, Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers was once more in a meeting, only this time Fleet Captain Waelt was present.

  Fleet Captain Waelt was addressing newly promoted Fleet Captain Lilith. “I never expected you to return with so many ships. I greatly feared you would not be allowed to return at all.”

  “It came close to that,” admitted Lilith. “If not for Valen and Marshton I would still be imprisoned on the Dyson Sphere.”

  “I can’t believe Lead Councilor Lavin had you detained,” said Waelt, shaking his head in disbelief. “That is against our laws unless specific charges have been brought against you.”

  “There were none to the best of my knowledge,” replied Lilith.

  “The council is still split over becoming involved in the war,” explained Marshton. “I believe Lead Councilor Lavin wanted to keep Fleet Captain Lilith isolated where she could not speak to any councilors before the council meeting. While the majority are still opposed to going to war against the Vorn, we are making some progress bringing some of them over to our way of thinking. Talking to Lilith before the council meeting might have swayed even more to our side.”

  “Let us hope they come to their senses in time to save this galaxy,” said Waelt with a deep frown. “The ships we have now can greatly affect the length of time it will take the Vorn to conduct their harvest, but we don’t have the firepower to defeat them.”

  “The longer we can delay the Vorn, the more powerful the races who are willing to
resist become,” said Kurt. “Fleet Commodore Dreen’s Alliance is growing more powerful every day.” Mara had briefed him on Fleet Commodore Dreen’s plans for the Alliance before she returned home on the cargo ship. She had communicated with the commodore briefly before leaving.

  Fleet Captain Waelt turned his attention to Lieutenant Mays. “You have suggested attacking the Vorn harvesting fleets while they await the arrival of their Collector ships?”

  “Yes,” Mays answered. “Their motherships are full and they are all grouped together in just a few star systems. With the battlecruisers and battleships Fleet Captain Lilith brought we could destroy them. By destroying the harvesting fleets currently in our galaxy, it may set back the Vorn harvesting even further.”

  Fleet Captain Waelt looked over at Fleet Admiral Vickers. “And what do you think of this plan?”

  Kurt drew in a deep breath. “From what we’ve been able to determine, the Vorn harvesting fleets are waiting in six different star systems. We may not have this opportunity again. The presence of Glaymon battleships in the attacking fleets will be totally unexpected. The Vorn will also not be expecting to be attacked. With the advanced stealth fields they will not detect our ships until we drop out of hyperspace. We can take them completely by surprise.”

  “It is a daring plan,” admitted Fleet Captain Waelt. “However, I don’t believe we dare attack all six systems simultaneously. I do believe we can attack four with great success. I will lead one force; Fleet Captain Lilith, you will lead another.” Waelt’s eyes shifted over to Captain Tolmass. “Captain Tolmass you have shown an ability to make important decisions such as agreeing with Fleet Admiral Vickers to attack the staging system. I am promoting you to the rank of Fleet Captain and you will lead a third fleet.”

  Newly promoted Fleet Captain Tolmass nodded his head. “I am pleased to serve as a Fleet Captain.”

  “What about the fourth?” asked Lieutenant Mays.

  Fleet Captain Waelt grinned as he looked over at Kurt. “Feel like destroying a few more Vorn motherships?”