by Dale Musser
“Wow!” Padaran exclaimed. “This man had a major fortune.” Padaran picked up several of the boxes of chips and handed some of them to the old man and some to Kerabac. “Here, could you help me carry these out to the main hall?”
The old man and Kerabac took their loads out of the chamber and Padaran handed me a few boxes, as well. Together we headed out to the main room. Padaran called each of the slaves forward and handed them each a box, telling them that it was theirs and they were now free. When he did, the slaves broke out crying and laughing, and leapt about.
“How much did he give them?” I asked Kerabac.
“Enough to set most of them up for life. They will easily be able to educate themselves and set themselves up in business if they want or, if they’re careful, they could live the rest of their lives with what he gave them.”
Oddly, after he had paid the slaves and set them free, several of them didn’t want to leave and asked Padaran if they might be allowed to stay on and serve him.
“Tibby, what should I do?” he asked me nervously.
I chuckled. “How should I know, Padaran? You’re the expert on the Ruwallie Rasson. Just what exactly are your plans when the time comes for us to leave?”
“That’s what I mean, Tibby. I’ve just sort of been making things up as I go. I have no idea. For example, I have the Ruwallie Rasson set up to go after the Brotherhood, and to take some of their ships; but once they do, who gets the ships? It’s not like I can just turn it over to one of the Ruwallie Rasson — the others who participate would not go for that. If they sell it off and split up the money, the possibility of the Brotherhood coming back to retaliate is all too real and the whole thing will backfire.”
“You have an interesting point there,” I said.
“Maybe you could organize the Ruwallie Rasson into a sort of mercenary group whose ordained mission is to specifically target the Brotherhood of Light throughout the galaxy,” Kerabac interjected. “Let them hunt them down and destroy their businesses and operations. As long as they focus their actions only against the Brotherhood, the Federation won’t bother with them if they happen to cross over into Federation space; and it would certainly reduce the Brotherhood’s capabilities against the Federation. The crews of the Ruwallie Rasson vessels could split up any treasures they acquire, like they have always done.”
“We had a situation like that back on my home world several centuries ago,” I said. “Two countries were competing for the development and colonization of a newly discovered land mass on our planet. One side, called the English, sanctioned privateers to intercept ships of their rivals, the Spanish, and plunder their wealth. They also attacked ports and pillaged villages.”
“How did it work out?” Padaran asked.
“It worked well for a little while, but then politics started to complicate the situation, as the Spanish and English leaders decided to bring an end to their hostilities. The privateers didn’t want to give up their conquests, and many of them continued, in spite of the movement toward peace. Only then, they no longer restricted their attacks to just the Spanish, but began attacking and raiding the English, as well.”
“Hmm, I see what you’re saying, Tibby. If we set the Ruwallie Rasson up as privateers against the Brotherhood, what happens when the Brotherhood are vanquished?”
“Exactly. The idea has merit, I must confess, but you need to have an exit strategy instilled in their code from the outset.”
“Maybe you can set it up so a generous portion of the loot they take goes into a common fund. Each member will only be allowed to collect their share once the Brotherhood is defeated and the privateers formally disband, or when one of them is disabled or needs to retire from their service because of age or health issues,” Kerabac said.
“The pirates on Earth tried something like that by burying portions of their treasures with the intent of retrieving them later on. But, if memory serves correctly, it seemed that most of them never collected.”
“What if they put their treasures in safekeeping in the banks at Weccies?” Padaran asked.
“What is so special about Weccies?” I asked.
“Weccies is a planetary system that has never joined the Federation. They pride themselves on their security, as no one has ever been able to steal anything deposited there. The Weccies themselves have a very high sense of pride and believe their worth is in their honesty and loyalty in carrying out any agreements they make. However, they are not at all opposed to setting up accounts for anyone, regardless of how they acquired their money. Also, according to their code of conduct, they do not reveal any information about their clients or their accounts. Anything deposited with them is safe from the outside worlds and only the rightful owners can reclaim it. There are a lot of unscrupulous people who hide their ill-gotten gains there; but there are also lots of good and honest people who do as well, especially ones from non-aligned worlds where things are unstable and there is little security in terms of law enforcement.”
“How do they protect these deposits from outside raiders and pirates?”
“To begin with,” Kerabac started, “they have an incredible fleet of highly advanced warships and other weaponry. Large regions of the sector are peppered with minefields that are supremely difficult to penetrate. No outside ships are even allowed to fly directly to Weccies itself; instead visitors must stop at one of six space stations on the outer edges of their solar system to make their deposits. Anything of value being sent to Weccies for safekeeping is transferred to one of Weccienite large carrier ships, which are armed like nothing you have ever seen. These ships then transport the items to Weccies, where they are stored in large vaults deep inside the planet itself.
“Weccies is barren on the surface — nothing but rock. There is only one city and no one other than Weccienites are permitted to set foot there. In fact, no one other than Weccienites are permitted inside the orbit of the six space stations – and this is most strictly and severely enforced. Once, about a hundred years ago, some Bunemnites tried to commandeer one of the Weccienite ships to fly to the planet. They had taken its crew hostage and threatened to kill them all if the Weccienites didn’t let them through. Without hesitation the Weccienites chose to blow up their own ship, sacrificing their own people who were aboard, rather than allow the Bunemnites passage to the surface. Since then, there have been no further attempts to breach their security.”
“Hmm. I can see where setting up accounts there might work, if it’s set up with enough forethought. If the Ruwallie Rasson know there is a fortune waiting for them upon the defeat of the Brotherhood, there is no reason for them to continue being pirates. At the same time, it gives them an incentive to go after and capture as many ships and Brotherhood cargos as possible.”
It was dusk when we got back to the Dormon estate. Kala called me aside. “Come, Tibby, I have something I want to show you,” she said as she took me by the hand and began leading me through the maze of rooms in the house.
“What is it?”
“Just wait, you’ll see, and I know you’ll like it.”
Kala led me through the house and then down a side hallway to a door that opened to a private garden on one side of the house. Because of its configuration at on the corner of the calgana with the house at its back and canals on two sides obscured by the layers of landscaping and shrubbery, it was totally enclosed and private. There, situated in the middle of the ribbons of flowerbeds and trimmed lawns was a lovely pool of clear water.
“What do you think, Tibby? Our own private swimming pool.”
It seemed like forever since Kala and I had last gone swimming together. Swimming had become a regular part of our activities together and was one of the first recreational things we had shared after we met. Both of us were competitive swimmers, and Kala really pushed me to the max when it came to the challenge of racing laps against her.
Before I knew what was taking place, Kala had slipped off her clothing and dived into the pool. “Well,�
� she said, “what are you waiting for?”
As soon as I was undressed and in the water, I immediately felt better. I began a nice slow, steady stroke across the pool. While the pool was not rectangular like a normal exercise pool, it was long enough and wide enough to stride through some serious laps. The pool seemed to be of a uniform depth — just deep enough so the water came to Kala’s shoulders when standing flatfooted on the bottom. The temperature was just cool enough to be refreshing without giving me a chill; and it was not long before Kala was matching pace beside me with strong, steady strokes. After swimming about ten laps, we reached one end of the pool where Kala and I stood silently in the water and embraced. It felt really good to hold her in my arms again; it felt right and natural.
Kala kissed me sweetly and then got a serious look on her face that I had not seen before. “Tibby, there is something I’ve been wanting to tell you for the past few days, but with all that has been going on I wasn’t able ….”
She was about to say something more, when suddenly I felt her tense in my arms. Her gaze shift intently to a spot over my shoulder and up in the air. Just as quickly, she looked down and whispered, “Tibby, there’s a man. He just ran across the roof of the house and dropped down through the open skylight.”
I turned and looked quickly, but didn’t see anyone. “Did he see us?”
“I don’t think so; he seemed to be focused on the skylight.”
I quickly climbed out of the pool and didn’t bother to dress, but slipped into the house as stealthily as possible, heading in the direction of the room where the skylight opened into the great room. When I arrived and peered around the corner, I was surprised to see him still there, as well as a second intruder who was dropping down into the room to join him. The first thing I noted was that they were dressed all in black. The second thing I noted was that they were not Ruwallie Rasson.
I was near one of the entrances to the secret tunnels in the wall, so I slipped inside and moved to one of the stations that allowed me to monitor their movements and conversation. My first hunch was that they were Brotherhood goons; but they just as easily could have been some of Agama’s – but it didn’t make any sense for Agama’s men to enter the house by these means. Once the second man was inside, the first man pulled out a small vid pad and spoke into it while the second man stood watch.
“We’re in, which way should we go?” the man with the vid pad whispered.
I could faintly hear a voice come back over the vid pad. “I’ll display the map on your screen. Follow the map and place the bomb where the red spot appears on the map, and then get out of the house. I’ll detonate it remotely from here in thirty minutes. That should give you enough time to plant the bomb and get back out of the place.”
“Right, boss,” he said, as he examined the vid pad. He finally looked up and pointed toward one of the doors leading out of the room. I was wondering where Kala had gone to by this point; but I was sure she wouldn’t do anything to confront the men on her own. I stayed inside the tunnel and moved from one room to another, following the men as they moved past each consecutive viewing port. At one point, they stopped and hid themselves behind some pillars when a servant passed through. Once the servant was gone, they moved rapidly to the assembly hall where Padaran had met with the Ruwallie Rasson leaders.
The men roamed about the room and then moved to a statue that stood next to the Dormon chair where Padaran had been sitting the night before.
“Shydak said to hide the bomb in here someplace. He said it didn’t matter where — the bomb is only intended to do damage, not to kill anyone. He just wants to send a warning to Kerabac that he can’t hide, and that he better cooperate or else.”
“Let’s just set the damn thing and get out of here. I’m not thrilled about the thought of running into a bunch of Ruwallie Rasson warriors,” the other man said.
“Shydak said that there are only a few servants here, now that the young guy the Rasson seem to think is divine has made them set their slaves free.”
“Yeah, I wonder what that’s all about.”
When the men left, I followed them again from inside the secret passageway. Instead of going back to the room with the skylight where they had entered, they headed to the outdoor pool where Kala and I had just been swimming. I held my breath in the hope that she wasn’t still there as the men headed out the door. I quickly followed and cracked the door slightly in time to see them climbing through the dense shrubbery and leap from the edge of the calgana wall either into a waiting boat or into the water — though I seriously doubted they would purposely jump into the polluted water of the canals. Once they were out of sight, I immediately went back into the house to look for everyone. I found them gathered in the main living room, all stationed around the perimeter and prepared for action, as Kala had managed to get to them and alert them of the intruders. They relaxed when they saw me, but only for a moment.
“Marranalis, I need your expertise,” I exclaimed. “There is a bomb planted in the assembly hall set to detonate in about twenty-five minutes. Everyone else, get to the far side of the house and stay there until we indicate that everything’s clear.”
Marranalis and I headed quickly to the assembly room, where I pointed out the location of the bomb. Marranalis took one look at the bomb and quickly began working on the device; it only took him a few seconds to defuse it.
“Not much of a bomb, really,” he said. “I doubt it would have done more than break the windows and char the room a bit. You would literally have to be sitting right on top of the thing to be seriously hurt.”
“I heard one of the men say it was only intended to act as a warning to Kerabac to let him know that he could not escape selling the RASSON BEDAN to them, and that he would face the consequences if he didn’t comply. I wish there were some way of knowing where their headquarters are located. I would love to sneak this bomb into their own nest and have it explode in their laps.”
“Hmm. Maybe Tondor knows where the Brotherhood hangs out here on the planet.”
“Speaking of Tondor, where is he? I didn’t see him in the room with the rest of you.”
“Tondor has been living in the servant’s quarters since turning the place over to Padaran. Padaran can call him if you like; he’ll respond immediately.”
By now we had made it back to where everyone had assembled. Kala, Endina and Sokaia were protectively circling the children as Kerabac and Padaran guarded the doors and windows in the room.
“All’s clear,” I announced. “The bomb has been diffused. But we’re hoping that Tondor might be able to tell us where the Brotherhood has their headquarters. We would like to return this bomb to them as a little gift.”
Padaran used his wrist com. “Tondor, do you know where the Brotherhood has their central headquarters here in the city?”
“Yes, Dormon, but I do not think it wise that you go there, if that is your intent.”
“Actually, the Brotherhood dropped by here a few moments ago and left a bomb in the assembly room where we met last night. I’m planning to have some of my men return the bomb to them as a sort of surprise.”
“No disrespect meant, Dormon, but…but… it that wise?” Tondor asked.
“It is wiser than allowing it to blow up here in our house,” Padaran stated, “and it will send a message to the Brotherhood that we are better prepared for their antics and more capable than they think.”
“Very well, Dormon. I will personally take you to the Brotherhood’s meeting place. However, I think it would be best if we took one of the smaller and faster watercraft, in the event we need to make a rapid departure.”
“Very well, Tondor. We will need a craft large enough to carry two others besides yourself,” Padaran said before disconnecting his com link.
“Padaran, I want you, Kerabac and the others to stay here. Marranalis and I will handle this matter,” I said. “If all goes well, we should be back shortly.
We may need to use the cloaking de
vices,” I said, turning to Marranalis. “Is yours sufficiently charged?” He nodded to me just as Tondor arrived.
“Tondor, I want you to take these two men and their cargo to the Brotherhood headquarters. Wait for them to return and then get them back here as quickly as possible,” Padaran commanded.
“As you wish, Dormon.”
Tondor led us to a small cove on the side of the calgana. There he revealed a sleek boat with lines similar to the racing boats that were common on Earth. The boat could have carried about eight people, so we weren’t crowded. Tondor navigated into the main canal and then activated a screen that displayed the canal as if it were broad daylight. A second screen displayed an aerial map, showing our location on the canal, as well as any obstacles in the waterway and other craft nearby.
Tondor opened the throttle on the craft and we moved through the canals at an incredible speed toward our destination. Our boat was producing quite a wake, and I wondered how the waves it created would affect the smaller boats on the canals where the poor people lived and slept.
“It looks as though someone else is heading toward the Brotherhood headquarters ahead of us,” Tondor said as he pointed to the map screen. I looked where he pointed and guessed the object, clearly a boat, to be about a kilometer ahead of us and moving rapidly through the water in the same direction. Like us, that boat was moving at considerable speed, taking into account that it was nighttime and there were large number of smaller boats lining both sides of the canal.
“I have noticed that the Dormon does not treat you like a slave, nor does he treat you like the others,” Tondor said, looking at me. “It is most strange, his behavior toward you. Might I ask – are you his father?”
This comment caught me completely off guard and I was not sure how to answer.
“Ahh, no, I am not his father, though perhaps he looks up to me much in the same way that a young man might look up to a father,” I said, hoping that might suffice.