Solbidyum Wars 3: Pirates of Goo'waddle Canals

by Dale Musser

  I walked toward him in a relaxed pose and smiling, extending my hand as if to congratulate him on a good performance. He appeared to relax for a second. When he did, I grabbed his arm, quickly turning into him and throwing him across my shoulder. I was surprised to feel his hand grab the front of my shirt just as I was letting go of his arm. Before I realized it, he had ahold of my shirt with both hands and pulled me after him.

  Now it was my turn to go flying through the air to tuck and roll and spring to my feet. But by then, Padaran was already on his feet and moving in on me. I dropped quickly, grabbed him by the legs as his arms swooped over me, and then heaved upward, throwing him completely off balance. He landed hard on the floor. This time he was not so quick to regain his balance or position, as the wind was knocked out of him. Instantly, I had him in a controlled position from which he could not move.

  “Well done, Padaran,” I said as I got to my feet and helped him up. From the table, I heard Kerabac and Marranalis applauding.

  “Damn, Tibby, the kid’s not bad. I never would have expected that from him,” Marranalis said.

  “Precisely, which is why I think he might be an excellent choice for this mission. Padaran, I’ve not finalized my choices at this time, but you’re high on the list. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

  Padaran grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you, sir. I promise I won’t let you down.”

  “You’ve not been chosen just yet, so don’t get too excited.”

  Padaran turned, and I thought for a minute he was going to jump into the air and click his heels. But instead, he adjusted his clothing and sort of strutted out the door, nearly bumping into a lovely, dark-skinned woman who was entering the room. As she approached us, I noted that some of her facial features appeared to be much like Kerabac’s, but she was much lighter in complexion and a full head shorter.

  “Greetings, Honored First Citizens,” she said, nodding to both Kala and myself. In typical Federation fashion, she did not directly address the others, as generally persons in the Federation only addressed the highest-stationed individuals in a group. Since both Kala and I shared the honor of the highest status the Federation bestowed on its citizens, we were both addressed in unison.

  “My name is Endina. I wish to present myself to be part of the crew for your undercover mission.”

  “Greetings, Endina. What role do you think you could best serve on this mission?”

  “Sir, I am a trained navigator and also served as a patrol ship pilot with the Federation.”

  I looked at Kerabac, who seemed to be giving Endina an appraising view. “You appear to have some Ruwallie Rasson ancestry, judging by your appearance.”

  “Yes, Captain. My grandmother was white and was a slave of a Ruwallie Rasson before slavery ended and the planet joined the Federation. After they became part of the Federation, my grandmother was freed and moved to Aburn. At the time, she was pregnant and gave birth to my father there. He met up with another woman whose mother also had been a Ruwallie Rasson slave freed under the same circumstances. The two of them fell in love and bonded and my brothers and I all share both white and Ruwallie Rasson blood.”

  “Tibby, she would be a good choice for a crewmember, at least in the eyes of the Ruwallie Rasson. Even though they do not see half-bloods as equals, they do have a certain affinity and affection for them, and generally hire them in their businesses. Having her on the ship as a free member of the crew would be most acceptable, and would appear normal. It would be no problem to pass her off as first officer, pilot, and navigator. Tell me, Endina, how are your combat skills if you needed to use them in a real situation?”

  “I am nowhere near the levels of Tibby’s security force, but I have served in combat with the Federation at Hugulsa.”

  “Hugulsa! That where I was shot down and where Reidecor saved me,” Kerabac said, turning toward me. “Tell me one thing more, Endina. How cruel can you pretend to be? If you are my second in command on the freighter, it will at times be necessary for you to be responsible for the male slaves and direct their labors when they load and unload cargo. Are you able to appear tough and ruthless and, if required, administer shocks and beatings?”

  “Yes, sir, I think I can. I won’t like it, but I will do my part.”

  I rose from my chair and walked over to Endina. “I want you to look as angry as you can and slap me as hard as you can across the face.” Endina froze for a moment, and then her face snarled and she slapped me so hard I saw stars for a moment. I had no doubt at all that there was going to be a red mark on my face, and possibly a bruise, as well.

  “Uhh, I think she will do, Kerabac. I certainly do not need any more convincing.”

  Kerabac and everyone at the table were laughing as I rubbed my cheek and took my seat once again.

  “Sorry if I hurt you, First Citizen, but you asked me to!” Endina said, placing her hand on my arm.

  “No, no, it’s quite alright. You did exactly what I asked and your delivery was – um – excellent.”

  Turning to Kerabac I said, “One thing we will have to do as soon as we finalize the team is to come up with new names for most of us. From now until this mission is over we will have to call each other by those names so we become used to them to the point that the names are automatic. We certainly can’t have any one addressing Kala and me as ‘First Citizen’ on this mission; and ‘Kalana’ and ‘Tibby’ are too well known by now. Likewise, your names and feats have also reached this sector of the galaxy.”

  “Alright, what names do you think we should have?”

  “For me, I would suggest ‘Tagar.’ I can easily remember that, I think, and for Marranalis, ‘Ogan’ will do nicely. Kalana can be ‘Cara.’ We won’t need to bother with Sokaia or Padaran, as I seriously doubt anyone would know of them.”

  “I agree, Tibby,” Kerabac replied, “and I think we will also have to change your hair color. Your red hair is not that common throughout the galaxy, and people readily identify it with you. I think a dark brown would work better.”

  By noon the next day, I had thirteen more applicants all wanting to be crewmembers on the freighter. This was by far the safest role in the mission, as the freighter had been outfitted with both an RMFF and a cloaking system. With these systems in place there was little that could be done to harm the ship and its crew; nevertheless, it was not without danger, and we needed the most skilled volunteers for these roles.

  It was late in the evening when I received a message from the bridge that we were approaching the rendezvous point with the MIZBAGONA and that we had received a message from Captain Felenna confirming their arrival. The reunion was pleasant. Captain Felenna had played a crucial role in the defeat of the Brotherhood at Alle Bamma, even though she had once been a member of the Brotherhood herself. She had seen their darker side and switched her allegiance in order to help end the enslavement of the natives and the production of the drug, God’s Sweat, which the Brotherhood produced there. I chose to assign Felenna as Captain of the MIZBAGONA and left her in charge of a small fleet of ships to protect the planet and prevent the Brotherhood from regaining a hold there. Although it was later than the normal dining hour, I had the evening meal for our officers withheld until her arrival so a shuttle bring Felenna to the NEW ORLEANS to dine with us and discuss the recent developments. Commodore Stonbersa, Kala, and I met her in the hangar area. “Captain Felenna, it’s great to see you again,” I said.

  “Honored First Citizens,” she replied, nodding toward Kala and I, “and Commodore, it’s a delight to see you again and to be aboard the NEW ORLEANS once more.”

  “Always an honor, Captain,” Stonbersa replied. “Won’t you come this way? We’ve prepared a meal in the Starlight dining area with most of the senior officers.”

  “It’s always a pleasure to dine aboard the NEW ORLEANS,” Felenna responded. “While the food on the MIZBAGONA is excellent, it doesn’t compare to the exquisite meals here. So tell me, Tibby, what’s this mission all about and how
can I be of assistance? The message I received was somewhat cryptic.”

  “All in good time, Captain. Right now, let’s proceed to the dining room. It’s easier to brief everyone at once.”

  “Ahh, yes…that’s something I am coming to understand. I never realized how much work it was to be a captain of a ship, let alone be responsible for a squadron of ships, until you left me in charge at Alle Bamma.”

  “Indeed, Captain,” Stonbersa interjected, “I’ve seen the reports you have sent me, and I am most impressed with how well you have been handing matters there. I understand that you had a few Brotherhood ships attempt to sneak back to the planet after our encounters there, but that you successfully resisted them.”

  “It was hardly much of an encounter. To be honest, I think they were unaware of the events at Alle Bamma and were returning as part of their routine route to pick up more God’s Sweat, only to find us there barring their access to the planet. There never was any real danger to us or any of our ships.”

  We arrived in the dining area just as Felenna finished commenting on her fleet’s patrol of Alle Bamma. Piesew directed us to our seats, placing me at the head of the table with Commodore Stonbersa to my right and Captain Felenna to my left. Captain Kerabac was also there, seated next to Commodore Stonbersa, having left the bridge in charge of a first officer while we dined. Kala sat at the far end of the table opposite me; Marranalis, Cantolla, and A’Lappe were also present.

  “Well, Tibby, we all are here now,” Felenna began. “I don’t imagine you brought me all this way just to have dinner. What new adventure have you gotten into and just how can I help?”

  “I’m not sure how much information our team has passed on to you, but I’ll start with telling you that a solbidyum shipment intended for the planet Duepras was intercepted and we believe it was taken outside the Federation territories. Our intelligence sources tell us it was originally a Brotherhood plan to steal the solbidyum. They managed to get the coordinates from their infiltrated sources inside the Federation; however, they made the mistake of letting a pirate smuggler named Logden know about their intentions — either accidently or perhaps as part of a plan to use him somehow in their theft operation. Regardless of the situation, Logden decided to beat them to the solbidyum and took it for himself. Now we and the Brotherhood are both looking for him. We have every reason to believe he is holed up on Ryken, Yentum or Goo’Waddle. The Brotherhood has amassed as many ships and men as they can to patrol the region. They’re detaining every ship that departs from these planets for a thorough search before being allowed to pass. The Federation doesn’t want to start a war by going into territory that is not part of the Federation, so the admiral has asked us to go in covertly do what we can to recover the solbidyum.”

  “I see,” Felenna said, “and just how do I fit into this plan?”

  “I want the MIZBAGONA there as a backup warship. A’Lappe will make some minor modifications to the RMFF and improve the speed of the MIZBAGONA and its fighter and patrol ships. He will also install some upgrades the shielding and cloaking systems of your smaller spacecraft. Our combined fleets and firepower will make us stronger than anything out here and will nearly eliminate any danger to our crews.

  “I had also thought about possibly using you as part of an undercover team that will be visiting the planets’ surfaces. Your knowledge of the Brotherhood and their ways would certainly be useful. But I have decided against that idea. The chance that stories of your desertion and participation in events at Alle Bamma have reached the area and the risk of you being recognized by Brotherhood members puts you at too high a risk. All it would take is for one Brotherhood member to identify you and everything would be blown. Nevertheless, your knowledge of the Brotherhood and their operations can help us immensely. When the time comes, we will return with the solbidyum, at which time I may need you to help take out as many Brotherhood ships as possible when we leave this area and return to Federation space.

  “Tell me, have you ever heard of a Brotherhood member named Shydak?”

  Felenna’s eyes widened and she stiffened when I said the name. “Yes, everyone in the Brotherhood has heard of him. He’s a hardcore member, with a real hatred for the Federation. Are we going up against him?”

  “Possibly. We know that he was part of the planned operation to steal the solbidyum. The Brotherhood planned to use the funds from the sale of the solbidyum to finance the construction of a large order of new warships. Logden’s theft of the solbidyum has put a real hurt on the Brotherhood’s coffers, as they had ships on order at the Gaimseian shipyard and now can’t make the payments. Last we heard, Shydak was headed there to work out some sort of arrangement or, more likely, to intimidate the Gaimseians into submission. After our covert raid there to recover the Mirage Fighter stolen by the Brotherhood and the subsequent damage we inflicted on their shipyard, I don’t think the Gaimseians will be too receptive when he arrives.”

  “From what I have heard of Shydak, he’s not one to run away from a fight. If you manage to recover the solbidyum and he discovers you have it, he will pursue you as long as he has a ship to do so,” Felenna replied between bites of food.

  “Good. I hope he does! Once we have the solbidyum, I hope he brings every ship in the Brotherhood to pursue us — it will make it easier for us to destroy their fleet.”

  During the rest of the meal, I outlined the plans to Felenna and my crew. The MIZBAGONA would be shielded, cloaked and positioned on one side of the sector of space wherein Ryken, Yentum and Goo’Waddle were located and the NEW ORLEANS would remained cloaked and shielded on the other side — just in case Logden tried to make a run for it. If necessary, the two starships would have to take out any Brotherhood ships trying to stop Logden while also making sure he didn’t get away.

  Kerabac outlined the plan to be followed by the surface team and Felenna clued us in on methods commonly used among Brotherhood members to identify each other, as well as other habits and operational methods they followed. It was going to be much easier to spot them outside the Federation, as they operated openly here in the same way that the Ruwallie Rasson did.

  After dining, I met with Kala, Kerabac and Marranalis in one of the smaller conference rooms to finalize the list of people we would be using for the covert surface missions. It was decided that Kala, Sokaia, Marranalis, Padaran and I would be the ones posing as Kerabac’s slaves. Endina and Norkoda, as well as seven other crewmembers, would pose as crewmembers onboard the freighter with Kerabac. A meeting was set up to fully brief all candidates early the next morning and begin preparations. We were about to end the meeting, when I decided to call on our invisible guest.

  “A’Lappe, do you have something you would like to contribute before we break up?” I had detected that ever-so-faint cedar scent in the air that always alerted me to his presence. Suddenly, A’Lappe appeared in our midst, giving me one of those How do you do it? stares.

  “Honored First Citizens,” he said with a nod in our direction, “I think I may have something that will make your mission preparations a little less painful. At least, I hope so.” From a bag he had slung over his shoulder, he produced a small device about the half the size of the palm of my hand. “This should allow you to create convincing bruises without having to injure yourselves severely by actually getting beaten. If I may demonstrate.”

  He walked over to Padaran and placed the object on his arm. Padaran instinctively started to pull his arm back. “No need to fear, Padaran, you will not feel any pain.” A’Lappe pressed a button on the side of the object. There was a slight humming sound. After about five seconds, A’Lappe removed the object to reveal a nasty-looking reddish-purple bruise.

  “Wow,” Padaran exclaimed, “that didn’t hurt at all.”

  Marranalis looked at Padaran’s arm closely. “How long will that last? Will it wash off?”

  “It will last as long as any other bruise lasts,” A’Lappe replied. “It’s a real bruise; it won’t wash off. This device
causes small capillaries under the skin to rupture and create the bruise; but unlike a bruise sustained in a fight or a beating, you won’t have any of the stiffness or pain. Your normal reaction time and movements will be unaffected, so you will not be compromised if you have to get into a fight. You can use these devices to apply appropriate-looking bruises as needed.”

  “A’Lappe, you’re a genius,” Kerabac said with a look of relief. “It truly bothered me to imagine my friends having to suffer blows to get bruised up for this mission.”

  “This isn’t going to do away with the possibility that, at times, you and others in the crew may have to strike or beat us for the sake of show,” I interjected.

  “I know, Tibby, but at least it won’t be a daily beating session.”

  “I also have something else for the slaves,” added A’Lappe. “At the moment, your hands and feet are too soft to be those of slaves — at least those of the men, anyway. I have a lotion to be applied to your hands and feet once a day before going to bed. Use it as long as you’re on this mission and you will have tough calluses that will make you look like you’ve been toiling as a slave for years. One more thing,” he said while producing from his bag a rather haggard-looking wrist communicator. “All the slaves will need wrist communicators linked to Kerabac as your master, so he can provide you with commands when you are out of his sight. These devices will perform that function in the normal sense, but they have other hidden capabilities. Keep in mind that, because of their small size, these are very limited functions that are available to you only once before recharging.

  “There is a cloaking mechanism, but it will work only for a duration of approximately three minutes; after that, it’s done. There also is a weak but deadly laser feature; it also has only a one-time functionality. Now, I’m afraid it’s an either-or situation; if you use the cloak, you have no laser, and if you use the laser, you have no cloaking capability. I simply cannot cram enough power into a com this small with all the other functions and give you both. There is one more item – a built-in solbidyum detector. If you get within a meter of the solbidyum, it will begin to vibrate.