She thanked him, and he left, closing the door behind us. Mother Superior unzipped her coat and sat down in a single fluid move, crossing her legs and motioning me to do the same. “Duke Donheer is one of the big crime lords of this planet, and we have a long-standing agreement with his syndicate.”
Before she could continue with what she wanted to say, the thin man opened the door and said, “I am sorry for the delay, but we are ordered to be searched.”
She stood up and said with a sharp tone, “Who dares to order such a search? This ship belongs to Donheer himself, and I am the Mother Superior of the Sojonit Order.”
He bowed again. “Yes, ma’am, it is an outrage, and the Patriarch is furious and said he is sending Enforcers, but the Port Rats aimed their turrets at us and demanded we let them search the ship! No ship is to leave without them searching it!”
She inhaled sharply. “The Port Rats answer to Duke Malvit; let me talk to them!”
The man walked over to a wall console and made the connection. Three beings appeared on the screen, two of them looking like black furred cave bats with big ears and deformed-looking naked snouts and the third one in the middle was a strong-looking bald human. It was the human who spoke, with a barking unfriendly tone in his voice. “We accept no further delays; you are to be searched or destroyed.”
Her tone was just as sharp as she responded, “Your demand alone is an insult. Is Duke Malvit really prepared to deal with the consequences of his actions?”
He barked back, “No discussion! Grant access to be searched or we will open fire. Our duke wants to know who leaves this planet, and that is all you need to know.”
She terminated the connection and said to the thin man, “Prepare to take off. I have a feeling they are going to be way too busy. A friend of mine is sending a little distraction.”
Just as she said that a huge spherical-shaped ship descended, darkening the sky. The graphite giant was engulfed in the characteristic purplish shimmer of active TransDim Shields; on its side was the logo of SII Corp. It was about to land between us and the spaceport defense batteries.
The Port Rats had probably never seen a real battleship. They fired, perhaps aiming at us, but the shots sizzled to nothingness, absorbed by shields that could deflect solar eruptions.
Out tiny yacht climbed into the sky.
The SII ship returned fire, and most of the spider-infested spaceport building and the cannon turrets were gone, replaced by a smoking crater of molten matter.
She laughed. “That was one of the reasons we had to wait, so this ship could be here and give us a little protection. You see, private corporations do not have the same political limitations as the Union Fleet. Not the Cartel, not the Worm and not even the Kermac really want to make Schwartz Intergalactic angry.”
“I said the same thing to Captain Harris.”
“Was it when the old battleax gave you command over the Devi?”
“Yes.”
“Ever since the Corporate War of 3422, corporations are prohibited from having ships armed with military-grade weaponry, with the exception of those who built ships and weaponry for the Union. They can use and build ships as test platforms for new systems and such. Of course, no one stipulated how many such test platforms a corporation can have. It’s an open secret the entire galaxy knows; SII builds over sixty percent of all fleet tech and has a state-of-the-art fleet. The real secret is that SII’s security fleet is not much smaller than the Union Fleet and, in some aspects, even more advanced.”
“Is that not very dangerous to have such power in private hands?”
“Very much so! It is a two-edged sword. It means added security to Union assets. SII also controls GalNet, owns three of the seven space bus lines, three of the main banks, and produces most of the food consumed. SII is so interwoven in the Union’s daily lives that it would be almost impossible to fight them and win if that ever would be necessary. But SII keeps out of politics and most wars. They do not do business with the enemies and have saved the Sol System during the second Kermac War.”
Out small ship had left the last traces of atmosphere behind and was steadily accelerating to reach the trans light threshold. As usual, I could feel the fine vibrations and found that whoever owned this ship had not done a very good job in calibrating the engines. The harmonics of the vibrations were off.
Finally, the point was reached, and the stars outside the viewports became long streaks of light for the duration of a heartbeat and then it was completely dark. The viewport was obviously not quasi-space enabled, and normal human eyes could not see in this spatial condition.
The mother superior sat back down and said, “It will take us about seventy hours to Alvor’s Cove; there is a nice bath and comfortable cabins. The small crew will not come in so you can relax and take off the mask and the costume if you like.”
I sat down and did take off the mask and asked, “What is Alvor’s Cove?”
She took off hers as well and revealed a typical exotic-looking Saresii face with large purple eyes, ivory complexion, and long silvery hair. Despite the marks of advanced age, she was quite beautiful. “Alvor’s Cove is worse than Sin 4 in some regards, and a den of pirates and slave traders; it is much deeper in Free Space than Sin 4 and far away from Union Space.”
I felt disappointed, after the elation to finally leave that cursed planet. “I thought we were going home. I mean, back to Union Space?”
She smiled and dialed herself an orange-looking fruit drink from the Serv-Matic integrated into the coffee table before us. “We will be, my dear, but we are in the spy and spook business. This ship belongs to a crime lord on Sin 4. Its small crew always reports to him where they take me. Since there is a Sojonit temple on Alvor’s Cove, it is perfectly normal for me to go there. After a few days on Alvor’s Cove, we change identities and take a ship to Kaliment, a planet claimed by both the Togar and the Kertanians and occupied by both, a perfect place to catch a ship to Netlor. On Netlor, we become pilgrims, mingling with the thousands of other pilgrims. Several companies provide travel services from Netlor to Checkpoint 96 and they are a Union-controlled planet with a spaceport, space bus, GalNet, clipper service and a sizeable fleet base.”
She leaned forward and offered me the glass with the orange liquid. “Do try this; it’s Planuu nectar and it is delicious.”
I took the glass while she dialed for a second one and said, “It sounds we are going to be traveling for quite a while then.”
She sipped from her drink and looked at me from over the rim of the glass and nodded. “It will make sure no one can retrace our route. Most likely not necessary but old habits die hard, and in this business, one can never be too careful. Sojonites can operate and go anywhere, as they are considered expensive and neutral prostitutes and nothing else. Losing this reputation would be damaging and jeopardize the lives of Sisters everywhere.”
What she called Planuu nectar was fruity, ice-cold and sweet, perhaps a tad too sweet for my taste, but pleasantly flavored. “I understand the necessity for intelligence and clandestine operations, of course, but I prefer wearing a Fleet Uniform.”
Her lips curled into an impish smile. “Do you really? It seems to me you are very comfortable in what one might consider revealing and provocative.”
I had completely forgotten my true male persona, but as she mentioned it, I felt embarrassed. “I wonder why I am not able to make up my mind. I enjoy this, and it feels right, and yet I can’t make the final decision to be either way.”
“I suggest you enjoy both then. Be proud that you can so easily cross gender borders that are so rigid to others. It might be your greatest gift.”
Chapter 5: Alvor’s Cove
The rest of the flight to Alvor’s Cove was uneventful, and we descended onto a brownish planet that somehow did not just look dry but dusty, even from space. The Saresii woman, who was also the leader of the secretive Sojonit Order, dressed herself in a sand-colored voluminous cloak and handed me a similar c
olored garment. Then she said, “If you touch the side of your mask, about here next to the eyebrows and tap the spot twice, a shield of thin transparent Duranium seals your mask’s openings. The dust outside can be real bad and getting it inside your mask is bad.”
I did what she recommended, and an almost inaudible whirring sound hummed for a few seconds. She nodded, satisfied, and moments later went down the ramp and onto the surface of this world. The ramp behind us closed and the luxury yacht, which belonged to a crime lord on Sin 4, flooded its Arti-Grav cushions with positive gravitons and climbed back into the hazy blue sky without a single cloud but with smears of light brown colors.
A stiff wind caught the cloaks we wore as I looked around. We stood on a large plateau of bulldozed and leveled rock and compacted dirt. I estimated it to be about five klicks in diameter, and we were more or less in its center. The Sojonit mask zoomed in on things as soon as I squeezed my eyes and it mirrored environmental data directly onto my retina. This is why I knew it was exactly 48.9 degrees on the C scale and that the wind came from the west.
Beyond the landing field in the south and east was a cliff-like rock wall that steadily rose and blended in high mountain peaks in the distance. That cliff wall tapered off to the north, and when I looked into the direction from where the wind blew, flat, featureless land stretched as far as I could see. It almost reminded me of the oceans of Nilfeheim during Longnight—vast, flat, and featureless. However, here a bright white sun glared down and baked everything with merciless heat and shadeless light.
Like her, I carried a bag with a change of clothing and a few personal hygiene items. She put her bag on the ground and explained with a sweeping motion, “This once was a river delta; water would gush from that narrow canyon you can see to the east, spread out over this area and then join the waters of the ocean that once existed where you now see nothing but a featureless sand and dust desert. Of course, that was many million years ago. Whatever water is left on Alvor’s Cove is now deep underground.” She pointed to the sun and continued, “The local star flared for unknown reasons about a million years ago and became brighter and hotter, slowly cooking and vaporizing the oceans of this world.”
I wondered what she was waiting for, but I didn’t ask. I assumed she didn’t come all this way just to stand around a dusty landing field.
As if she guessed my thoughts, she said, “Flyers are very rare on Alvor’s Cove, and our transportation is on its way, but it will be a while till it is finally here.”
She sat down on her bag and shaded her brow with her hand. Not that she really needed to, as I was certain her mask had UV filtering built in that transparent material that now covered the eye slits, but it was a basic human unconscious gesture, and I thought that Saresii not only appeared but also acted as humans did. She used her other arm to point east and said, “There it comes.”
Out of a glimmering, mirror-like mirage, the heat conjured up over the flat surface almost like a slow surfacing submarine, a large lizard became visible. It had six legs and had to be as big as four Fangsnappers. The lizard’s color was almost the same as the dusty brown surroundings, and it was fitted with some kind of harness on which a covered wagon on four big wheels was attached.
At the speed the lizard and the attached contraption approached, I estimated it to take at least another thirty to forty minutes before it was actually here.
I gestured toward the approaching ground transport and said, “Maybe we should meet it halfway. It’s less than a thousand meters away. I can take your bag.”
She laughed but did not make any moves to get up. “Only you would suggest walking a distance like that in five-inch heels. Be patient, my dear, be patient. Not everything needs to be rushed or done right away.”
“Sorry if I appear impatient, but we are even deeper in Free Space now, and I am sort of anxious to return to Union space and meet my friends again. I want to finally graduate and get started on my fleet career.”
“I can understand that, but would that not mean you would have to be Eric again? I had the impression you enjoy this.”
“I do, but realize that I am also Eric and I have friends who do not know anything about this, and I am not sure if I want them to.”
“If they are your friends, would it matter to them?”
“I don’t know, and they are too important to me to find out it would.”
Together, we watched the lizard-drawn cart come closer.
From above, a sudden high-pitched whistle of misaligned Arti-Gravs made me look up and watch a Velorian Armed Merchant descent. The 180-meter freighter seemed loaded to the brim with whatever merchandise it was bringing and its Arti-Grav projectors struggled to keep it at decent descending speed.
Velorian ship architecture wasn’t the most practical in the first place, and from the sound of it, one or two Arti-Grav projectors had to compensate for another that was either completely out or as it could happen, misaligned and thus worked against the others. Arti-Grav projector alignment was an important job during any maintenance, something that had been overlooked quite obviously on the descending ship. Its shape strongly reminded me of those spiral-shaped sea snail houses one could find on the pebble beaches of my home world. The thought alone of the cool fresh air of Nilfeheim made me feel the heat of this world even more.
The woman next to me said, “Whatever you see now, I urge you to keep your cool and ignore it.”
I wondered what she meant by saying that in such an urgent tone. “I will.”
The organic-shaped ship had settled down on nine landing pads extending from its keel, about six hundred meters from where we were. Thanks to the zoom-enhanced vision provided by the Sojonit mask, I could see that three of the hydraulic landing gear were leaking fluids, and a fourth was bent so it could not retract or extend at all. The characteristic swirly red and black color scheme of silicone-carbon lattice ceramic hull was a result of the Velorian production process. The Velorians, like several other Galactic Council species, used ceramics rather than metals for their spaceship hulls. Ceramics had several benefits over metals, but also quite a few drawbacks. Why the Union preferred metal hulls was that they could be repaired relatively uncomplicated in the field, while ceramic hulls, once they were cracked or damaged, could only be repaired in specially equipped shipyards. I was recalling these lessons from basic engineering classes as I saw the large crack in the side of the hull. It had been repaired by bolting metal braces over it and the gaps filled with some kind of resin or perhaps even Duro-Crete. It looked crude, and I wondered who would be brave enough to actually go into space with something like that.
She also looked into the direction of that battered, badly maintained ship and said with a dry voice, “That is one of seven ships belonging to the Mulwhur Trading Company. They have their headquarter right here on Alvor’s Cove.”
“It doesn’t appear to be a pirate ship. I don’t see much in terms of armament, and I doubt it would be fast enough to be an effective raider.”
“No, it is not a pirate. It is something much, much worse.”
A hatch opened, and two Togar and four Oghar in crude but tough-looking leather and metal gear appeared. They were armed with long whips and long handled fork-like sticks.
Through the excellent optics, I could see them yell and holler. Moments later, naked human men, women, and children appeared, bound to each other by ropes attached to metal collars. They looked dirty, and some were caked with mud.
One of the men had a merchant marine tattoo on his arm. Those were Union citizens.
I got up, and turned to her, “What are they doing to them?”
“They are headed to the slave pens in the Canyon of Tears, and there they wait for the bi-monthly slave market. Togar and other slave dealers will then come and purchase them for the meat and slaughter kitchens of Togr, to the Death Fight arenas of Sin 4, to mines and fields of the Brnah, to the furnaces of the Kartanian smelter moons and a thousand other hellish places of no return.”
>
I almost screamed at her, “Maybe you don’t care about humans, but I see two Klack now and a Saresii woman. I am sure your optics are as good as mine! Don’t you see her?”
She nodded. “I do see her, and she will most likely end up sold to the Kermac, who will dissect her to find out why Saresii are better psionics than them. The Kermac hate us Saresii far more than they dislike Terrans, and her fate will be gruesome torture and then a painful death.”
“We’ve got to do something! We must!”
“What would you suggest we do?”
“Call the fleet somehow. You said there is a Sojo Temple here; don’t they have GalNet terminals?”
“Alvor’s Cove is beyond the reaches of the GalNet network. We use extended reach terminals on Sin 4, but even if we could reach fleet command, what can they do? This is Free Space, and they won’t risk intergalactic war to free those slaves. Alvor’s Cove once was Togar space; they only abandoned it because it was useless to them. The fleet coming here would mean the Union would have to fight the Nul, the Galactic Council, the Shiss and all of Free Space, including the Togar, at the same time. It would mean decades of war and countless lives!”
I stared toward the slave trader ship. “I am a Union officer and I have sworn to protect the Union against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Those slaves are Union citizens, and the Assembly should discuss nothing else day and night to make sure they are rescued and safe! If it means war, then so be it! Every last space man and marine should fight and die to the last breath to ensure their freedom.”
She clapped her hands together. “You speak like a Terran and sound like Stahl. As it may be, my Terran friend, we can do nothing at the moment and must maintain our cover.” She got up as well and took her bag. “Our ride is here.”
Eric Olafson: Space Pirate Page 9