House of the Silent Moons

by Tom Shepherd

  “We’re sitting here in our underwear. I think we can dial back the taboo meter and be honest with each other, don’t you, Sunny?”

  She flashed a dazzling smile. “I like the nickname.”

  “Tut-tut-tut. You’re ducking the question.”

  “What does water fowl have to do with—?”

  Suzie explained in Kaboolik.

  “Oh. Ducking and dodging, like the ball game? Well, our Republic is a peaceful star nation. We have been so for nine centuries. But there are always voices who dream of galactic empire.”

  “We have such men, too.” Tyler discarded two cards and drew the fourth Jack. “Like Hideki Tsuchiya.”

  “You have your megalomaniacs. We have ours. A wise captain charts her course away from such people.”

  “What course does your father pursue?” Tyler showed his hand.

  She lay down the cards. “Fold.”

  The other players listened intently.

  “Tell us, Jool-Gheri,” Suzie said. “Please.”

  “I suppose I must. Or take off my bra.” She smiled. “Maybe both.” She started too peel it away.

  “No, stop!” Tyler said. “My hand. My choice. Truth, not bare.”

  “Why not both?” Playfulness glimmered her eyes

  “Well—”

  Tyler started to list the reasons against her suggestion but lost track of his thoughts when she slipped out of the bra. Perfect, supple breasts tumbled free but did not droop. Flávio gasped audibly. Paco’s eyes darted away, then back, and Dorla smacked the back of his head again. Lovey crossed her arms across a bare chest, obviously waiting to see what the Boss-man would do. Suzie remained frozen in place.

  “Do you not find me attractive?” the Parvian Lieutenant asked.

  “Oh, yes. Amazingly. But I am taken.”

  Jool-Gheri’s face contorted like she was in pain. “To Parvians, the concept of sexual exclusivity seems very, very, very odd. It struggles against the urge to scream for joy in a Cosmos full of potential lovers.”

  Tyler collected the cards, shuffled, and stacked them on the table.

  “Let me repeat. My table, my rules, my culture. I am in love with one woman in the Universe. She is sitting beside you. Your information is critical to the Terran Commonwealth, but it must be offered freely.”

  Jool-Gheri laughed. “I find you Terrans perplexing, but not without admirable traits. I think the game is over.”

  “If you wish.” Tyler said.

  “You know what I wish?” She wiggled into the bra and started replacing outer garments. “I wish you had a brother.”

  “I do,” Tyler said.

  “Really!” She beamed. “Someone not taken?”

  “Complicated story,” Tyler said.

  Suzie and Lovey Frost dressed while Flávio, who seemed to enjoy his half-naked status, sipped a beer.

  Jool-Gheri said, “Captain, may we go somewhere private? You, me, and Suzie, of course. I have personal things to discuss.”

  “Sure.” Tyler slid into his yellow M-double-I coveralls.

  “Secrets?” Suzie asked with a half-smile.

  “Pains and fears. These are things we do not share readily.” Jool-Gheri pulled her uniform top into place and tightened the belt.

  “I completely understand,” Suzie said.

  “We’ll talk in our cabin.” Tyler released the crew to their duties or free time as appropriate.

  * * * *

  When they were behind closed doors, the young Parvian flopped on the couch and asked for a strong drink. Tyler broke into his private stock and brought her a double shot.

  “Fair warning, Sunny. This firewater is pure Missouri moonshine, one hundred ninety proof.”

  Her nose wrinkled. “You require proof of what—my fitness to drink?”

  “No, no. It means ninety-five percent alcohol,” Suzie explained in Kaboolik.

  Sunny downed the sample in one gulp. “More.”

  Astonished, Tyler returned with a bottle of clear liquor and two extra glasses. He sloshed a hefty measure for each of them.

  “Rumor has it that a Parvian frigate lingers somewhere in this system,” Tyler said.

  “That rumor is incorrect,” Jool-Gheri replied.

  “Did you or anyone from your government supply attack drones to Sakura House?”

  “We don’t sell weapons. We don’t share weapons with pirates.”

  “Tyler, we came here at Jool-Gheri’s request to talk about personal things. Let’s put the Q&A aside for the moment.”

  “Sorry. You’re right, of course. I fell into lawyer mode.”

  Jool-Gheri nodded. “It’s about my mother.” She swallowed the second helping, slower this time.

  “Forgive us, luv. That is a very personal topic, indeed.”

  “She was aboard the Star of Parvia.”

  Suzie’s smile disappeared. “Oh, my God.”

  “Does Kaito know?” Tyler said.

  “Why should I tell a son of Tsuchiya, who sponsors pirates?”

  “Aren’t you traveling with him?”

  “He offered passage to Pirate space.”

  Tyler sipped his drink. “Why did you accept passage with Kaito, considering the Sakura House connection to piracy?”

  “Tyler—stop cross-examining my friend!” Suzie said.

  “No, no. I want to answer,” Jool-Gheri said. “My father seeks evidence about the xhjekuct who took my mother. Our intel people believe the trail leads here. Kaito offered passage.”

  “So, you’re Parvian Intelligence?” Tyler said.

  She nodded. “Among other things. I’m also an attorney, like you.”

  Another surprise. Apart from the adolescent, coquettish behavior, Sunny looked too young to be a law school graduate. Late teens, maybe twenty at most. But how old was this woman? Did all adult Parvians resemble teenagers, or was her youthful appearance protracted by a much longer lifespan than humans?

  “My turn to ask,” she said. “Do you have any information about the Star of Parvia? Someone in Port Royal knows, but they are afraid to talk. The fearsome reputation of the Republic makes it hard for witnesses to open up to me.”

  “We have people on intel missions right this minute,” Tyler said. “If they learn anything that might help you, I’ll pass it along.”

  “How are you holding up, luv?”

  Sunny’s lip trembled. “I miss her.”

  “Of course you do. If we can help find your mum, we will.”

  “Suzie,” Jool-Gheri set down the glass. Tears spilled from hazel eyes. “Do you think my mother might be alive?”

  “Your people are resilient. Let’s hope for the best.”

  “May I stay aboard with you?”

  Tyler nodded. “Of course. We’ll get you a cabin.”

  “I hope the Terran Commonwealth isn’t behind the attack that took my mother. My people have vengeful hearts, and I like you.”

  Tyler and Suzie joined hands. Suzie offered a hand to Jool-Gheri, and she accepted. They sat in silence and sipped moonshine while events unfolded in the town and across the galaxy.

  * * * *

  Later that night Suzie showed Jool-Gheri to her new quarters aboard the Howling Tadpole while Tyler broke out the Apexcom and talked live with his father and mother. He decided maintaining radio silence was moot with a shooting war against Tsuchiya Galactic going hot and brutal. M-double-I had already lost two hundred merchant ships and a score of attack vessels. But that wasn’t the worst news.

  “They struck Kansas City,” Noah Matthews said. “We lost the corporate HQ and thousands of employees.”

  Bianca said, “Thank God, your father was in Jerusalem conferring with Roland Rooney when the pendejos struck.”

  “Several key personnel were dispersed,” Noah said. “Lulu Treymore was off world.”

  “Nicolette Cloutier?” Tyler said.

  “En route Mars,” his father said. “Her ship was attacked and destroyed by Sakura House. We don’t have a body count
yet.”

  He detected a choke in his father’s voice. Nicolette had been his executive assistant over three decades. Tyler pushed through his own grief and briefed them on what he had learned from Lieutenant Jool-Gheri Zarx, also about how the case against Flávio was proceeding. He asked for advice, and to Tyler’s surprise his parents had already come up with a bold plan and the funding to back it up.

  Suzie joined them after comforting Jool-Gheri and seeing she was settled in for the night. Tyler’s fiancé asked if they had any news about J..B.’s mission to defend Bertie Winther in Ounta-Kadiis space. They had no new information.

  “The only good news I have is that after Tsuchiya’s attack on the Terran homeworld, the Commonwealth Senate declared war on New Osaka and Sakura House. A lot of corporations and nation-states passed calls to arms and people have begun to enlist in the Commonwealth Navy at record numbers. The Emperor of Japan has declared Tsuchiya outlaw. Sakura House has a real war on its hands now.”

  “Tsuchiya’s betting the Parves will back him,” Tyler said. “But they won’t.”

  “God, I hope not. Cultivate your new friendship with Lieutenant Zarx. I know her father. He is third ranking minister in the Parvian Republic. Tough negotiator, but leans toward peace and against neo-expansionism. We need his good will.”

  “Yes, sir.” Tyler blinked. Did I really call my father “sir”? War makes you crazy.

  “And get Flávio out of there by any means necessary,” Noah said. “He’s our sole link to the House of the Silent Moons. We damned sure don’t want that super-tech falling into the greedy chopsticks of Hideki Tsuchiya.”

  Tyler tried to smile but couldn’t. Too much pain. Too much danger ahead. “We’re Star Lawyers, Dad. We got this.”

  They chatted aimlessly until Noah was called away and Bianca said good night. Suzie curled up with Tyler on the bed and they fell asleep.

  Twenty

  Around dawn Julieta returned to the ship and woke Tyler and Suzie by hammering on their cabin door. Suzie made coffee while Julieta ran through a short review of her encounter with Augusto Cellar. One name leapt out of her summary, the person Augusto Cellar identified as a Parvian agent who authorized their act of piracy.

  Tyler whispered, “Orson Brick?”

  “Cellar didn’t know the name, but there’s no mistaking the holo-image.” Julieta displayed the copy she had made.

  “That’s him,” Tyler said. “Athletic, affable, gay. And now we add treacherous sonuvabitch to the list.”

  “What a bastard,” Suzie said. “Tsuchiya must have agents spread throughout the Commonwealth.”

  “Governments and corporations,” Julieta said.

  “It’s enough to make you bloody paranoid.”

  “Let’s hear it again from the beginning,” Tyler said.

  Julieta went into detail the second time, to include replaying excerpts from the deposition recorded during the night-long interrogation of Augusto Cellar.

  When her report ended, Tyler said, “Too many jagged pieces. Fragments of evidence involved in this case. I’m calling an ‘all hands’ meeting. Put everybody in a room and pull together what we’ve learned so far. Maybe a coherent picture will emerge.”

  “I need a couple hours sleep first,” Julieta said.

  “Good idea. We’ll convene after breakfast.”

  “Shall we include our Parvian guest?” Suzie said. “Jool-Gheri will want to hear Julieta’s report.”

  “That could be an explosive scenario,” Tyler said.

  “Why should we withhold information about her mum’s captors?”

  “To prevent a massive Parvian retaliation against the Terran Commonwealth,” Tyler said. “Need I remind you? Orson Brick is an official of the Energy Consortium, and they currently own the government.”

  “I think she is sophisticated enough to see Tsuchiya’s play here,” Suzie said. “If Parvia and the Commonwealth go to war, the Shōgun is free to expand his New Galactic Empire. Exactly what the bugger wants.”

  “Can we risk it?” Julieta said. “Parvians have a track record of taking vengeance on an epic scale. Do you trust her, Ty?”

  “I like her,” Tyler said. “But trust is earned.”

  “I trust Jool-Gheri,” Suzie said. “Let me invite her.”

  “One thing is for certain. Ain’t no way to keep this a secret and still use it in open court,” Tyler said. “Go ahead, ask her to attend. She’s bonded with you.”

  Each had things to do before the meeting. Julieta headed to her cabin for much-needed sleep. Suzie’s bioenergetic matrix required recharging time, so she ran a finger down the double helix tattoo on her arm and vanished into the Tadpole’s Main Library Computer. Tyler went to the Apexcom and contacted his father with an update.

  The clock was ticking toward Flávio’s trial, two days hence, and a clear defense strategy had not yet emerged.

  * * * *

  With no table large enough to seat everyone and a meeting space designed for a Dengathi crew to eat in shifts of seven, Paco improvised. He counted out enough chairs to seat all hands and Suzie’s plus-one. Chief Léon and Tyler arranged the seating in a tight oval, so the participants had to skootch into place with a hand’s width between chairs.

  Dorla Léon called the roll. She noted Mr. Arrupt, Andre Mercier, and Félix Koshka had volunteered to stand watch in the cargo bay, where Paco had assembled Flávio’s “treasure chests” for transportation to the court house as a combination of evidence and bribery. Dorla also welcomed Staff Lieutenant Jool-Gheri Zarx to her first Star Lawyers Corporation meeting. The lieutenant received a polite round of applause and returned it with one of her sunburst smiles.

  Tyler introduced his staff to their guest by name and position, then got down to business. “Okay, folks. We’ve chopped lots of hay. Now we gotta bale it for market.”

  Suzie rattled a furiously intricate explanation of the idioms into Kaboolik. Jool-Gheri listened intently, nodding.

  “Mr. Blue, what do you have to report from the market?” Tyler said.

  “Nothing.” He looked at the azure hands folded in his lap.

  “Husband,” Yumiko said, “our koyōshu has asked a question. Do you wish me to speak on your behalf?”

  “No, Yumi-ko.” Zenna’s eyes filled with tears, which streamed down his cheeks. “Friend Tyler, the pirates of this place are doing terrible things to the Groxbitz.”

  “We know, Indigo. They enslave them. They eat them. It’s sad.”

  “It is genocidal. The Groxbitz are sentient beings. I spoke with them through an interpreter. We cannot allow this to continue.”

  “You’re certain they are intelligent creatures? I imagined they had the intellect of Terran game animals. Deer, wild geese.”

  “Can wild geese do complex math problems or prepare a market for new customers daily? ” Mr. Blue asked. “Can a deer drive a skimmer?”

  “I thought the skimmers were on auto-pilot,” Tyler said. “I assumed the Groxbitz drivers were aboard to help with baggage.”

  “They drive. They think. They compose music.”

  “I’m sorry, Indigo. I’d like to help them—”

  “Then do it!” Zenna snapped. “The motto of Star Lawyers is, ‘Give me liberty, or give me death.’ What does that mean, if not liberty is the birthright of all sentient creatures?”

  “Forgive me, honey, but what can we do?” Lovey said to Zenna. “Our job here is to win Flávio’s freedom.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant Frost,” Tavares said. “But a line from a very old song comes to mind. ‘All men are slaves ‘til their brothers are free.’”

  “‘Lullaby for Medgar Evers’ Son,’ circa 1964 TCE,” Suzie said.

  “Sim, muito triste,” Flávio said in Portuguese. Yes, very sad.

  Tyler nodded. “I apologize, Zenna. Get me the evidence, and we’ll raise the issue in court.”

  “Do you think that will help, Boss-man?” Frost said. “It took long centuries of struggle to free my ancestors f
rom chains.”

  “I don’t know what we can do, Lovey,” Tyler said. “But if Zenna is right, we can’t sail away from Port Royal without trying something.”

  “Like what?” Lovey persisted. “Tell them the old bullshit about our prayers and thoughts are with them? Instigate a violent revolution? You’ve seen these creatures. They are pathologically cheerful.”

  “My ancestors said the slaves sang in the cotton fields because they were happy,” Tyler said.

  Lovey’s face looked stricken. “Bullshit. We sang because it gave us hope.” She took a breath. “Oh, damn.”

  “Zenna is right,” Suzie said. “Maybe nothing will change their status, but that’s no bloody excuse for inaction.”

  “I’ll entertain any ideas on this subject, but we have a lot to do here,” Tyler said. “Next report?”

  Julieta described her night with Augusto Cellar, to include his confession of piracy against the Star of Parvia and the probable locus of any surviving passengers in slavery on the Lutzak world Redo-Shia 3. Jool-Gheri’s eyes never blinked, but her fists knotted and face tightened as if she were gritting her teeth.

  “Lieutenant Zarx, do you have any questions?” Tyler said.

  “Doctor Solorio, did the Terran Commonwealth authorize this attack?”

  “No, Lieutenant,” Julieta said. “We suspect a rogue agent passed himself off as Parvian after unknown persons at Sakura House put him in touch with Augusto Cellar.”

  “Capitão Tavares, did you know about this act of piracy?”

  “After the fact, yes. To my utter shame, I discovered what Cellar had done when I was in hospital.”

  “Why did you not kill him?”

  “Hospital staff prevented me, although I tried.”

  “And why did you not contact my government?”

  “Cowardice,” Flávio confessed. “I did not know where the captives were taken, and feared for my life if I presented incomplete information to your people.”

  “Suzie, do you believe him?” Jool-Gheri said.

  “Yes.”

  She stood, and the whole Star Lawyers team rose with her. “Captain Matthews, will you excuse me from the balance of the meeting?”