“What was it?”
“How do the pirates in this system hide from the authorities?”
“There you go. It also gives us the next right question to ask Seth, hopefully?”
“Where do the pirates hide from the authorities?”
“If they’re successfully hidden,” began Seth, “how should I know?”
“Are you being a smart-ass, Seth?” asked John incredulously.
“Not intentionally. May I elaborate on the answer?”
“Never assume we want the minimum possible answer, Seth. Remember when you were telling me about the alien races? Be that verbose.”
“Understood. Residere Delta has traditionally been a hideout for pirates. There are two reasons why. One, the elected government on Delta has always insisted on a libertarian system, kind of like the one in place at Gleeful Complexium but more structured than the virtual anarchy on Alpha. Two, the government has enacted sweeping and strict environmental laws that keep most of the moon undeveloped. The result is a society that’s easy to disappear into, and with plenty of hiding places to boot.”
“They’re libertarians but they have strict environmental laws?”
“To do no harm to others is their creed. That includes the environment, which many Deltans believe is an entity in and of itself.”
“Sort of like the native Americans,” said Dana.
“Seems that way,” said John. “What’s Delta’s policy on going after pirates that may be camped out there?”
“They don’t care as long as the pirates do no harm,” said Seth.
“I meant their diplomatic policy with the SUF.”
“They treat their entire moon as a protected property. The SPF has to submit a specific warrant to the local authorities before they can look for someone, and even then the warrant has to be accurate to a one hundred mile area. Since Delta is sovereign entity the SPF has no choice but to follow their laws.”
“Is Alpha a sovereign entity? Because I thought that the Residerian government had jurisdiction there.”
“Alpha is not. Alpha and Beta fall under Residerian jurisdiction. Deltas refer to themselves as Deltas, not Residerians. Remember that the moon wasn’t even habitable until the Umberian-Z'Sorth conglomerate came along and processed it. It was their bad luck that the resulting government was so keen on environmental preservation.”
“Ah. But Delta is still part of the SUF?”
“Yes. They have the same number of delegates as any other member.”
“I got you. So, we should be able to camp out there with the shield off unmolested?”
“It’s a safe bet, but you’re still gambling. Nowhere is perfect.”
“It will have to do. Prepare for launch.”
Seth began checking various systems in a manner requested by John. Seth seemed offended that John would want a more quantifiable confirmation of the systems above his word, but dutifully sent the information to the Earth computers nonetheless.
“There’s something else, John,” said Dana.
“What?”
“I’ve been reviewing the data from our fight with the Zendreen defense satellites. I’m sure that our invisibility shield was properly blocking our energy signature. I think the satellites were homing in on the uplink with Talvan’s computer.”
“That’s good news, if you’re right. It means we really are safe while the shield is up.”
“I hope putting your butts on the line for these weapons doesn’t prove to be an unnecessary risk,” said Dana.
“I hope it does,” replied John, “because I’d really rather not be in a position to use them.”
“I’m sorry about that radio call, John.”
“Don’t be sorry about that. You should never keep concerns to yourself. You didn’t see the point in two-thirds of the crew getting wiped out for weapons we may never need. In retrospect, we may not have needed five people on the mission. However, the prospect of getting into another fight before we return to Earth is a very real possibility. Somebody needed to go get the Talvanium, and there were five of us who wanted to go. I’m not in a position to order anyone around and refuse them the chance to participate in a mission.”
“Are you patronizing me?”
John turned to face Dana, surprised. “What? What do you mean?”
“You’ve said before you don’t think going back to Earth is our best option. So why are you speaking as if it’s our only choice?”
“It’s certainly not to placate you!”
“But you’d rather find another way.”
“Yeah, I would.”
“So do me a favor and tell me what you have in mind.”
John sat down and crossed his arms. “I haven’t mentioned this to anyone else yet. Professor Talvan said that he was working on some sort of virus that would destroy the Zendreen, and that he needed access to better lab equipment to do so.”
“I remember.”
“So now you know why I’m so keen on upgrading our weapons.”
“Holy shit! You’re not thinking of trying to rescue Talvan, are you?”
John nodded. “Bull's-eye.”
“Bullshit! That’s suicide!”
“Maybe so, maybe not. You just said that our stealth field is probably sound. We should be able to waltz right in and pick him up. We have his location, triangulated from when we were in contact with him.”
“I said the stealth field is probably sound, not definitely so. Seth may still be right about the Zendreen’s ability to track us regardless of it.”
“I suppose if we show up and the satellites start to engage us again we’ll know for sure.”
“Yeah, except nobody knows where the Zendreen fleet is right now. Chances are pretty good at least part of it has been sent to bolster Umber’s defenses.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
“Going back to Earth and trying to build more ships there is still our safest course of action.”
John pressed his hands together into a V. “With any luck we’ll be able to hide out on Delta indefinitely. We’ll have plenty of time to continue researching.”
“I think it’s time to define what’s most important to us. We’re all willing to risk our own lives to liberate Umber, but are we willing to lose everyone? If we all get killed we won’t be doing Umber any good at all, and we’ll be dead. I thought that I’d accepted that possibility when we first left Earth, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Nobody here wants to die, Dana. I assure you that I’m not going to pressure the crew into a course of action that is unduly risky. We must assume some risk, but we’re not going to try anything we don’t think we can handle.”
Dana turned and looked out the window. “Except you took everyone with you to get the Talvanium and left me alone with a sociopath. Are you going to seriously tell me that you knew for sure you’d all make it back safe and sound? Your actions and your words aren’t dovetailing too well, Scherer.”
John stood up. “Damn it, Dana, we didn’t get this far by playing it safe! By coming out here we all agreed that the mission was more important than our own lives. The only exception to that was if we found out the mission was completely beyond our means to complete. But it isn’t! We can do this! We can and we will liberate Umber!”
“You can run a good line, Scherer, but your true colors are never far from the surface. You just make sure that you don’t get us all killed trying to satisfy your own ambition.”
Dana exited the bridge. John realized he was trembling with anger. He flopped back down into the pilot’s chair, and sighed.
“Shit.”
John was tempted to go after her, but decided to let her cool off first. Until then, he had to have a chat with Byron. He slowly and painfully got up and exited the bridge. His body was well past the point of needing rest. It seemed like torture as John made his way to the lower deck. The others had already vacated the cargo bay. He passed through the ventral gun room and unlocked the door to the cargo
hold.
“Are you here to continue the beatings?” said Byron.
John closed the door behind him. Byron was using one of the ammo cans to lift weight. He had a nasty bruise on his shoulder blade.
“Dana said you were being obstinate,” said John.
“I didn’t deserve to be smacked with a rifle butt.”
“I agree, but then I’m not a five-four, one hundred and twenty-five pound female trying to deal with a jack-diesel guy like you who outweighs her by sixty pounds. You scared her enough to use force, so I’m willing to call it even.”
“She could have broken my scapula or collar bone.”
“You’ve tested everyone on board. You know you can’t manipulate any of us. Why continue to act this way? It’s been said that one of the sure signs of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results each time. I know you’re not insane. Are you?”
“It’s kind of hard to tell when you spend so much time alone.”
“That’s your own doing. Byron, I’m not here to check on your welfare. I’m here to give you one last chance to shape up and act like a normal member of this crew. We can’t keep you in here forever and you know what the alternatives are.”
Byron put down the ammo can. “I know.”
“Listen, Byron. There’s something I haven’t discussed with anyone else yet. Seth was telling me more about the history of Umber. There’s a major religious sect on the planet that believes in a particular prophecy. In this prophecy, seven strangers from a distant land are instrumental in saving Umber from a great calamity.”
“Fascinating.”
“Most faithful believe the prophecy was fulfilled two hundred years ago when the largest city-state on Umber was sacked by a nomadic army. It was said that seven tribesman from the north rode down and taught the besieged people how to fight back more effectively. However, actual historical records only show six heroes. Because of this, some believe that the prophecy has yet to be fulfilled.”
“You’re saying that because our ship has seven crewmembers that we’re supposed to fulfill the prophecy?”
“I’m saying it’s one heck of a coincidence. If you hadn’t stowed away, we’d be one short.”
“Maybe there were seven in that war and one of them was just locked up the whole time.”
“What’s the point of being part of a prophecy if you’re just going to sit around and do nothing? We need all the friends we can get out here, Byron, and I want you to be one of them.”
Byron wiped off his brow and put a shirt on. “You’re not bullshitting me about this prophecy, are you? ‘Cause you know I believe in fate.”
“Seth, am I making up the Prophecy of the Seven Shepherds?”
“I don’t know, I’m just a computer,” said Seth.
“I mean the prophecy isn’t something I fabricated, is it?”
“No.”
“There you go. There’s more to it. The reason why some believe the prophecy has yet to be fulfilled is because the seventh shepherd, the last to join, is supposed to be brash, uncooperative, and willful. The six other shepherds are supposed to reject him at first, and only work with him after he proves his usefulness.”
“So how am I supposed to do that?” asked Byron.
“I don’t know. As a functioning member of this crew, you’ll probably find a way.”
“What do you want me to do, other than clean the ship?”
“Just stand by on the bridge and be ready for any task. You’ve seen how quickly things can get complicated.”
“All right. What about Dana and Christie?”
“I wouldn’t so much as look at them sideways for now.”
__________
A soft beeping sound roused Fernwyn from sleep. In the four hours she’d allowed herself to rest she had been dreaming about work, and for a moment while waking she forgot all about the mysterious ship and her crew. Glancing at the time while turning off the alarm was enough to remind her.
Fernwyn donned a robe and walked into her living room. Her computer was still dutifully working on the problem of the invisibility shield. She’d instructed it to analyze the data in hopes of finding a small variance in the field. If the shield could be seen at all, even the slightest shimmer, a work-around was possible. Whether certain imperfections seen on the security recordings were due to such a variance or simply a result of the recording was what the computer was trying to determine. Unfortunately there were only two or three seconds of video of the ship disappearing after it tore the hell off of the landing platform at Gleeful.
Pouring the last cup of cold yutha, Fernwyn began to brew a new pot. She thought about Nathalier as she did so. His black fur had a sheen to it that reminded her of yutha. He was kind of cute, for a Rakhar, and she thought he had a good personality. Fernwyn had never been physically attracted to a single male of any species with the exception of Umberians, and she hadn’t seen a single one of those in over seven years. Even then the way they wore their ear hair integrated into the hair on their heads was insipid. If popular culture on Beta was odd, it was downright bizarre on Umber. The fact that everything she’d learned about Umber was now wrong was sobering. Their entire culture had been destroyed by the invasion.
Fernwyn left the yutha to brew and sat down at the computer console. Next to it was the tracking module, which she’d left to recharge. She leaned forward and turned it on, sipping from her cup as she did so.
“Yuck.”
The yutha was too rancid even for her. Fernwyn grimaced and walked into the kitchen, where she poured out the bitter liquid. She leaned against the counter and tried to find the patience to wait for the fresh pot. It would be done long before the computer program finished looking for the ship.
Having loaded its software, the tracking module started to beep. At first Fernwyn thought it was the console, so she was surprised to see that the module was indeed receiving a signal again. She smiled as she looked at the coordinates and walked to the nearest window.
Fernwyn didn’t have to enter the coordinates into a nav program to know where they were. Her answer was glowing brightly in the sky. She turned and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower when her communicator rang. It was Nathalier.
“Good evening, sergeant. What’s up?”
“Not much on my end. I just thought I’d call to see how the work was going.”
“It’s only been five hours. How good do you think I am, anyway?”
“I don’t know, how good are you?”
“Good enough to mark one of those guys with a tracker, remember? As I hoped, they got sloppy. Their shield is down and their hiding place has been revealed.”
“Lemme guess, they’re down the hall from you?”
“No, they’re on Delta. I’m going to go check it out now.”
“Are you sure you don’t want some company, Rylie? Things could get rough.”
“I’m going to try to extend the branch of peace to them, not shove it up their ass. I’ll be fine.”
“Well, call me if you need help. I can get over there in a couple of hours.”
“I will. Thank you. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Fernwyn closed the connection, grinning. She hadn’t been this excited since her first successful corral.
“This much fun is just too good to share.”
__________
Gleeful Complexium was open all the time, but in the evenings there was much less traffic. That was fine with Aldebaran. It wasn’t that he had an aversion to large crowds, only that the more people there were around the more likely someone might actually recognize him by sight. Anyone who had seen his face in the last ten years was either on his crew or, as the stories said, lived not the tale to tell.
As an Umberian he still had to disguise himself a bit. A wolrasi-leather hat with a wide brim covered the top of his ears, the hair on which could be trimmed but was practically impossible to remove completely. The hat was borrowed from Harrish
and was of excellent quality, which meant it was probably a prize. The rest of his clothing was typical solar merchant fare. A satchel of dried Deltan herbs completed the costume, an addition meant to supply a cover story for any curious authorities.
A cover story was probably going to be necessary, considering that Aldebaran’s plan involved talking with security. The trick was going to be finding the right person. Aldebaran strolled through the food court levels calmly, watching everything without seeming to do so. Most people were ignoring him so far.
Since he insisted on carrying an obsolescent projectile pistol and nothing else, Harrish had insisted on coming along. Aldebaran knew that the fewer pirates that wandered through Gleeful the better, and had soon decided to go alone. He’d taken a transport from a nearby port town, paid in cash, and had arrived at the Complexium without leaving any electronic trail. His ship was ready to swoop down and make an exit by fire if need be. It was a necessary risk. Aldebaran almost never put himself in a position of weakness like this.
There were many sights and sounds that would distract someone who spent most of their time aboard a ship, but to Aldebaran it was all meaningless. He had a perfect clarity of mind about his goals, and was unhindered by physical desires. It was another reason why he decided to go alone. The delicious smells in the food court were not lost on him, he simply didn’t care about them; but to Harrish or the others it would have been a major distraction.
Aldebaran found the person he was looking for. A Rakhar with black fur sat outside of a cafe, a mug of yutha beside him. He had his head in his hands and he was obviously very tired. Aldebaran could see more than that, however. He knew something about the Umberian ship, and his mind was vulnerable. Aldebaran approached him and sat down at the table.
“Good evening, sergeant,” said Aldebaran.
“Can I help you with something?” said the Rakhar.
“I am me.”
“I’m Nathalier, nice to meet you. Would you like directions to a shop?”
“No, I want you to tell me about the Umberian ship that was here a few days ago.”
Nathalier looked confused for a moment. Aldebaran found an unusual amount of resistance for a Rakhar, but pushed past it.
The Tarantula Nebula Page 20