"Doesn’t sound very appealing," agreed Jamie, trying hard not to laugh at Snark’s reading tone.
"This part of the galaxy is full of it," Snark grunted under his breath.
"Talking about being interested in a good t…"
Jamie got no further as an alarm buzzed on the scanner display. He quickly turned down the noise, and took in the display.
"Ships coming this way. On a direct intersect course. Hope they’re not lonely worm-beings," he added with a short hiccup-laugh. Jamie popped up a hollo side screen so Snark could see. "Looks like a flotilla of ships, quite close! How did they get the jump on us?"
"Looks like they were hiding in the shadow of a moon orbiting the last planet. They would have been in our blindside." Snark did some calculations. "Fight or run?"
"They don’t look friendly. Seems they’re heavily armed. Pirates, I’d say."
"We run!"
"We fight!"
They both decided at the same time, looked at each other, and changed their minds.
"We fight!"
"We run!"
"Make up your minds, boys," said a low voice, and Brindle came into the room.
She was holding a plate full of fish cakes, from the smell. Both of them helped themselves absentmindedly.
Snark ate his grumpily as he said with his mouth full, "They’re fast."
"We’ll still out-run them. Not worth getting distracted."
Snark agreed. He jumped over to the helm, and increased their speed. The pirate ships also increased theirs, but Seasprite was much faster.
"Receiving a coms message."
Jamie finished off the last morsel of what were to him very small bites. He licked his lips in appreciation. He called up the audio.
"Greetings, Seasprite," came a gruff voice over the bridge coms. "We are not hostile, I repeat, not hostile."
"Pigs might fly," said Jamie sarcastically
"Let me introduce myself." An untranslatable name followed. "I'm the leader of my merry band of fellow, let’s say, entrepreneurs, opportunists, and traders."
"Pirates, you mean," said Snark, in a 'tell it like it is' tone of voice.
"Oh, what an unkind word that is," came the voice. "We like to think of ourselves as liberators. You have it, we liberate it!"
A baritone laugh followed, accompanied by some static.
"But that’s not what we have on our minds at the moment," he quickly followed on. "We have something we think we can trade. Something you want."
"I doubt that verra much," piped up Jamie.
He was signalling to Snark. How did they know who we are? Snark mimed back with a questioning shrug. Brindle took a bite of a fish cake, looking at it speculatively.
"Ah ye of little faith. If I said the magic words, Brotherhood and Destiny Stone, would you be interested?"
Jamie, Brindle, and Snark looked at each other enquiringly.
"We might," suggested Snark.
A boom of laughter came over the speakers.
"So fellow travellers, what do you say to a rendezvous. A little meeting of minds?"
"What do ye have in mind?" asked Jamie.
"A neutral meet, say Poker Station?"
"We might," said Snark. "Then again we might not."
"Up to you," the voice rang out clear and deep. "I’ll send you a time and place, and if you’re interested, you’ll be there." He chuckled slightly. "I’m sure you’ll be there."
The coms cut out suddenly.
"Will we be there?" asked Jamie sarcastically.
Snark bounded back to the comms seat. The message was coming through with more information. A few more hooks to get them interested.
Snark read the message and looked at Jamie.
"Perhaps."
"Meeting?"
"Yes, we’ll all need to sign off on this."
Brindle held the now empty plate aloft.
"Wake the others?"
"No, let them sleep. The pirate meeting time isn’t for a while. We can meet in the morning."
Snark was businesslike. Brindle smiled.
"Porridge all round then."
And she flounced out. Jamie and Snark looked at each other.
"It may be worth getting more information."
"Or it may be a trap."
"Agreed," said Jamie.
He sighed. They still needed all the intelligence they could get. But it would be up to a vote. And who would trust the word of a pirate?
"Poker station," reflected Snark.
"What’s it like?" asked Jamie.
"A bit rough," was all Snark could say about it.
He knew it was more than rough. It had all sorts of cut-throats, murderers, thieves, pirates, cheats, and mercenaries, hiding out from any kind of authority.
"We can handle rough," asserted Jamie.
Snark grunted. Could they?
The following morning, the meeting was heated. Snark and Jamie outlined the conversation of the night before.
"We know where we’re headed."
Anna was adamant about continuing on without detouring to Poker station. Sissness put up a hand.
"The star chart analysis points us in a direction," she carefully pointed out. "We think we know where we’re headed. But any information which supports this, or gives us information about the Brotherhood would be useful, in corroborating the information we have, and making the case more sound for our next course of action."
Anna looked askance at this.
"It’s clear we’re headed for the Scylla system. Let’s just get on with it."
"We think we know…" Sissness repeated, but was interrupted by Patters.
"We should find out what they know," she ventured. "They know our ship name, and our business. We need to know if this is widely known, and if they have information we could use."
Jamie agreed.
"They know something. It won’t hurt detouring, and finding out what it is."
Anna was looking thunderous.
"You’re all mad!" she cried. "This is a wild goose chase, and worse, a trap. The whole galaxy probably knows what we’re about by now, so what’s the problem? We avoid chancers like this pirate."
Snark was reluctant to make a decision. The team were pretty much divided, with Brindle not voicing an opinion one way or another. Snark’s vote would really decide it. Even though most beings were in favour of finding out what the pirates knew, he was also hesitant. He knew what the station was like.
In or out?
"I think we check it out," he said firmly. "It’s not about a detour," he acknowledged Anna. "It’s more about making sure we have the most up to date information we can." He paused. "But we have to be careful. This could easily be a ruse to get control of Seasprite."
Anna sighed heavily. It was obvious how she felt.
The others started making suggestions about their approach to the situation, and making sure they stayed out on top. Anna detached herself from the group, and as they got into heated discussion, withdrew from the lounge.
Jamie caught up with her.
"I know you just want to get on," he started.
"Yes," she retorted. "This obsession with gathering information is dangerous. It opens us up to every charlatan in the galaxy. And we get no further along. We should just go where the star charts indicated, and be damned!"
She stalked along the corridor towards her room.
"Anna!"
Anna turned and for the first time really looked at Jamie. All his longing was in the word. She didn’t know how to respond. She liked Jamie, he was very attractive, but…
"Thanks Jamie," she said softly. "It’s just we’re a democracy where I think we need some tough decision making by one person."
He didn’t respond.
She felt she'd let an opportunity slip by, but didn’t know how to make it right.
"I ken where ye’re coming from," Jamie said finally. "But I think we’re doing ok so far."
He walked off in the opposite dire
ction.
Anna sighed again. Why was it all so difficult? If she was on her own, she’d be fine. She quickly scotched this thought. If she was alone, she’d be dead probably. She relied on these beings as much as they relied on her. Or did they? Was she the problem?
She shook her head, and turned to go to her room.
Eleven
The station had another unpronounceable name, but Snark, traders, and general space scum, knew it as Poker Station, mainly because it was a long narrow tube with ports at various points along its length. A poker in this part of the galaxy was a nasty long sharply pointed instrument used for cleaning out blocked sewerage conduits, and for beating off the local rodents who were particularly prevalent, and on this station, in plague proportions.
The meeting was for the station gathering place, which was of course, a drinking establishment. The team thought it would be neutral, but they would go armed, with suit belts set for rapid protection, and an assortment of weaponry. Patters would take bow and arrow, and also, conventional arms. Snark assured her this was a meeting place of the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the unknown, so no one would be curious about her ancient weapons. Or they may be curious, but nothing out of the ordinary, as everything was out of the ordinary. Sissness would stay on Seasprite, and act as coordinator if they got separated.
Snark and Jamie went to reconnoitre the bar before the meeting. A dark and dingy place, it had multiple entrances and exits, a central bar in the middle, and no real places where you could be sure of your back. The entertainment seemed to be a female snake-being singer, with a scratchy high register. She didn’t sing very high, as most of the songs seemed to be dark, depressing blues numbers. No band, just a synthesiser which the singer played. Not a great place all round for this meet. They returned to Seasprite to make plans with the team.
The pirate with the unpronounceable name, had been plying his trade for some time. Successful, due to his policy of never forgetting a favour, a face, or an infamy against him, he was ruthless in following up treachery, and always kept a promise. Mostly promises to kill, maim, or otherwise disadvantage the perpetrator of the wrong against him.
A strange species, even for this part of the galaxy, to a human, he didn’t look like anything they’d previously had experience of. A greyish green colour, the usual centaur body construction with four legs, scaly skin, and three arms, but quite stocky. The upper body looked more like half an egg ready for cracking, two eyes widely spaced, and a wide slit of a mouth below two breathing openings, but no nose structure. The arms sprouted from under the mouth, as there was no chin or neck structure.
He saw the humans enter the bar, and waved them over to his table. Jamie looked around carefully, noticed Patters behind the pirate’s table and off to one side, drinking on her own. She was wearing a cloak with a hood pulled up over her suit, and cat's eyes glinted from the shadow of the hood. Her bow and arrow were ready on the table, with spare arrows in the quiver behind her back.
Brindle had taken up a position at the central bar, where she could see most of the action in the whole bar, if she swivelled. She seemed to be chatting up the being next to her, a taciturn camel-being, who didn’t seem to be very interested. Jamie hoped she would keep on task.
The singer was in the middle of a dirge-like song, singing "He did me wrong, he did me so wrong, love is a turd…"
Jamie grimaced. Some culture just wasn’t translatable.
They made their way through the throng in the bar to the pirate’s table.
Jamie was thinking of 'Humpty-Dumpty' from ancient nursery rhymes in relation to the pirate’s looks, while Anna was trying not to show her distaste. Snark’s lips curled, and he recognised the pirate from reputation at least.
The pirate stood and held out his arms welcomingly. He seemed to be alone, but any of the denizens variously drinking, arguing, and dealing could be his associates.
Anna, Jamie, and Snark sat, taking the best positions they could to keep an eye on the pirate as well as be able to glance at the rest the bar, and keep Patters and Brindle in sight. Difficult, but at least each one of them could have different parts of the bar covered.
"So, my fellow travellers, welcome to Poker Station. Do you like my favourite bar?" he waved generally to the room, where a fight had broken out amongst a group of camel-beings and not-crocs, fists being waved, and finally shots ringing out.
A camel-being sprawled across a table, blood oozing out amongst the fallen drinks. A Hippo bouncer appeared and ‘escorted’ the rest of the beings from the room, while some other staff came to remove the body. The singer didn’t stop her mournful tune, and kept on bemoaning her lover in a deep raspy voice.
Snark smiled sarcastically, wondering if not-camel was going on the menu shortly.
"It certainly has an atmosphere."
He stopped short of naming the atmosphere.
"So, my friends, if I can call you that, and do think of me as your friend," burbled the pirate affectionately. "I thank you for coming to my little rendezvous here, and I’m sure you will not regret it."
The others nodded, and a bat waiter came to the table to take drinks orders. Orders placed, they all sat looking at each other, and sizing up possible sites of weapons, and general capability for a fight.
The pirate started again.
"So, how are you going with your quest?"
He smiled, and the wide slit of a mouth extended further at each end, but didn’t open.
"Fine," said Snark simply. "What do you know of it?"
The pirate chuckled to himself.
"It’s widely known in this part of the galaxy now. Humans and cats travelling in a human ship, looking for the Destiny Stone, which will give the owner great power." He added as Anna looked away, "It was no secret Bhatet was after it, but since you’ve done us all a favour, and bumped him off for us, I’m assuming you will be on your way to look for it."
"And your interest?" asked Jamie.
"Well now. My interest."
He paused as the bat waiter returned with their drinks, and left. He took a sip of his drink, an evil looking green concoction, and continued.
"I’m always interested in power, but I don’t think it’s part of my core business to be looking for Stones." He smiled again at his own wit. "Gem stones, maybe, if they have some monetary conversion worth, but otherwise no." He made himself more comfortable. "My interest is making sure I make money out of helping you in your journey."
"And how can you help?" Anna asked.
"Information."
The others waited for him to elaborate, and sipped their drinks.
"I have in my possession, information about the Brotherhood’s interest in the Destiny Stone, specific names and whereabouts of those involved, and their plans so far." He looked at his paw, and examined his claws. "Of course, I would ask for a small payment to compensate me for my time and trouble."
"How ‘small’ is small?" asked Snark.
"One thou gals." He paused as Anna gasped, and Jamie and Snark looked neutral. "It’s not easy getting access to this kind of intelligence."
"How do we know it’s good?" asked Snark sceptically.
The pirate laughed, finally opening his mouth, and showing off a line of perfectly formed small but sharp-looking teeth.
"Whatever happened to trust between friends?"
Snark looked at the others.
"So, let’s say we trust you. Where is the information?"
"When the funds reach my account, I will fulfil my part of the bargain, and forward the information to your ship coms unit." He smiled, and his eyes glinted evilly in the darkness of the room. "Take it or leave it."
"We leave it!" said Anna flatly. To the others she flicked her head to an exit. "Let’s go."
"Wait," said Snark, as Anna stood up. "Five hundred gals."
"You insult me, my friend."
"Seven fifty."
"Nine hundred."
"Eight fifty."
"Done!" The pirate s
miled again. "So nice to do business with reasonable beings."
His face beamed its wide thin smile. Snark smiled back. Anna looked daggers at Snark. Jamie looked on in bemusement.
A series of gunshots rang out, and their protective suits immediately activated as they took several hits. Anna and Jamie's covered their heads, with sight now available through suit sensors sending images to their PC's. Snark's still left his eyes vulnerable, as he would otherwise be unable to see. But since no shot had come near his head, it hadn’t been necessary. After a few seconds of nothing further happening, their suits changed again, leaving heads exposed.
Egghead the pirate, who'd also taken hits to the body, collapsed off his chair, and rolled under the table.
Snark, Jamie, and Anna swiftly drew their weapons, Snark and Jamie looking for where to fire. There. A robed figure running through the bar towards the exit. Jamie aimed but didn’t know whether to shoot or not. What if he hit innocent bystanders? Snark seemed to hesitate as well. Anna didn’t trust herself to fire, and was just holding the gun to look the part. Patters however, didn’t hesitate, with an arrow already winging towards the running figure, and burying itself into its back.
Brindle jumped the bar, and hid behind the bar itself, peeping up to see what was going on, her weapon out.
The patrons variously hid under tables, hit the ground, or found protection behind barrels at the back of the bar-room.
There was a hush as everyone held their breath, and the assailant slowed, and fell to the floor. Then a rumble of voices as beings started to get up carefully, or called to each other on the ground. There was a scream from someone near the downed figure, as blood seeped from under it, and pooled on the ground around it. The singer played a couple of doleful chords as a tester, and then took up where she left off.
"I’ve got those love forsaken blues…"
Destiny Stone (A.I. Destiny Book 4) Page 6