by Frank Carey
"Fancy that. Come on, let's go meet Dash and get this party started."
Outside, Dash was busy connecting Betsy to the Zephyr's utilities. "Dash! Take a minute!" Maeve yelled over the noise of the ramp raising. Dash gave a power coupler a final twist before walking over, wiping his hands in a red shop rag. "Captain Dashiell MacFarland, I'd like you to meet Dr. Kellen Hardy."
"Pleasure to meet you," Dash said as he grasped Kel's hand. He immediately pulled back when a low-level link formed. "Shit, Man, where the hell have you been?" he asked.
"Field of dead bodies?" Kel asked.
Dash nodded.
"Those aren't my memories, and I don't intend to add ones of my own," the historian informed the captain.
"Good, because I really wouldn't want to be there. Come on, time to get out of here."
The four of them headed into the ship, sealing hatches behind them as they went. "We've got a twenty-minute window through the gate coming up, and I don't want miss it," Dash said as he led them onto the Zephyr's Bridge.
Kel looked around at the large room, empty except for a control console at the forward-center location. "You run this all by yourself?" Kel asked.
"Me and Gracie run this whole ship," he said.
"Hey, Gracie," Rex said to the empty room.
"Hello, Rex. Hello, Maeve. Nice to meet you, Dr. Hardy," an extremely feminine voice, reminiscent of a certain, deep-voiced actress of days long past, said from speakers built into the walls.
"A pleasure to meet you, Gracie," Kel said.
"Doctor, are those wings functional?" Gracie asked as the control station lit up with activity.
"Fully," Kel replied. "They're also bullet resistant."
"How handy," the voice replied. "Perhaps Dash should get a pair?" she noted.
"Funny, Darlin. Bring up the preflight checklist, please. Maeve, could you show our guest the lounge?"
"Sure. This way, Kel," she said while hooking his arm with hers. Kel noted that Rex stayed behind.
"It's odd that Sheila never mentioned you four."
"Your Sheila knows many people. Oddly, none of them know you. It's as if my dear friend has compartmentalized her life—there's us and then there's you. I will definitely have a talk with the young Dr. Minty when she gets back from her vacation. Ah, here we are," she said, reaching a door labeled "Lounge."
Reaching down to open the door, she stopped when Dash's voice sounded over the PA system. "You two need to get back up here. We have a problem."
CHAPTER TWELVE: Flashback
Scully's was a quintessential dive bar on the outskirts of the Ventos Prime spaceport. As bars go, Scully's had all the amenities: half the electronic games that lined the walls were non-functional, the windows were too dirty to allow light in, the floor was coated with a substance so sticky that several of the chairs were literally mired into place, and the whole bar was infused with the aroma of something dead.
At the bar sat a young river Storen. His fur pushed the red part of the spectrum except for the white stripe running from the top of his head to the tip of his nose. Crevitch was his name, according to the nametag on his one-piece jumpsuit, and drinking was his current game.
A tall, raven haired, human male sat down next to him and ordered a drink. When it arrived, he took a long drink before setting it down to address the young Storen. "Mr. Crevitch, it is truly good to finally meet you."
Crevitch turned to the human, a blaster suddenly materializing in his hand. "I'm Crevitch, and I don't know you. What do you want?"
The stranger turned and smiled. "My name is Thomas Collins, and I'm a skip tracer. It seems that OffSec wants to talk with you, and they were kind enough to hire me to find you."
"Tom Collins? Really?"
"Blame my parents. Now, I have an outstanding warrant for your apprehension and arrest, Mr. Crevitch. Will you come quietly or do we have to do this the hard way?"
Crevitch thumbed the pistol to full power, causing the barkeep to disappear behind the blaster-proof bar. "Really? I seem to have you at a disadvantage." He started to laugh but stopped when he felt a blaster's pulse emitter press against the back of his head followed by the sound of a weapon going to full power.
"Put the piece on the counter nice and slow like," an oddly familiar voice said from behind him. Crevitch did as instructed. Slowly, he turned around and found a Storen staring down the barrel of a blaster at him. The young male was wearing a one-piece ship's coverall, its shoulder emblazoned with the name River’s Edge, and a nametag that said "Gus."
"You! You're dead. It was in the news. You suicided..."
"Listen, shit-for-brains. You're in deep doo-doo. Tom here is going to take you to R-Sec headquarters where you'll be handed over to OffSec for interrogation, transportation, and prosecution. Now, as the last surviving grieving party in the legal action against you, I can put in a good word for you, but you need to give up some information."
"I'd rather be dead..."
"Did you know that since you and your buddy, Glant, pirated a Storen-registered ship in open space, you are subject to some rather draconian laws."
"Wha... What laws?"
"Laws against piracy and murder committed during an act of piracy to name but two."
He stared.
"Sir, if memory serves, the penalty for just piracy is burning at the stake after which you are dragged down three miles of bad road," Tom noted.
Crevitch blanched. "What do you need to know?"
"Where's the crate you stole and where's Glant?"
"We delivered the crate to an estate on Olympia. Some big wig paid big money for it."
"Any idea what it is?"
"An ancient artifact called "The Statue of Leopodopolis. The client said it once stood on the Olympian home world before they left for Earth."
Gus nodded to Tom who freed the perp's right hand. "Write down the name and address."
Crevitch wrote like his life depended on it.
"Good," Gus said as he put the paper in his pocket while Tom replaced the handcuff. "Now, where's Glant?"
"No one knows. The Simmaron family put a huge contract on his head. He's gone, man. Some say he ran to the Martok territories. Others say he went to Cora and had a body rebuild."
Gus grabbed Crevitch's chin and pulled his face close to his. "Did you know that the dead can read souls just like the Venlantens?"
"Are you going to rip out my soul?" Crevitch wailed.
Gus dropped the chin. "No, not today. Tom, he's all yours. I'll send you an invoice for 25% of the warrant fee."
"Buddy, is that enough? I mean, you did do all the legwork."
"Yeah, but you're going to have to pay to have your conveyance cleaned." Gus got up, drained his beer, then threw down several bills. "Barkeep, they're on me."
The Katalan bartender nodded while he scooped up the money. "Goodnight," Gus said to Tom as he headed to the door.
"Where the hell are you going?"
"Olympia," Gus replied just as the door closed behind him. No one noticed the tall, muscular person who followed him out into the night.
###
Gus took a sip of tea before making the call. Outside, Olympia slowly turned below the orbiting ship. "Olympia Control, this is Gustav Curran aboard the Ventosian Scout Ship Furball. I need a link with Olympian Security, please. I'm a licensed finder and private investigator. Finder ID 756832."
"One moment, Finder Curran... Sir, your ID checks out. Let me connect you with Director Themis Demeter. One moment..."
"This is Themis."
Gus Identified himself. "Director, I have information on the location of an artifact called 'The Statue of Leopodopolis.'"
"What did you just say?"
He repeated the information.
"Get down here, now. I'm transmitting coordinates and sending an escort squad."
"Yes, ma'am. I'm on my way." In moments, he had the coordinates and had them input into the NAVComp. The radio crackled. "Furball, Olympia control. You
should see your escorts by now. You've been given priority status, so just follow them down. I don't know what you said, or to whom you said it to, but it seems to have worked. Olympia control out."
After a brief flight, Gus landed on the roof of an ornate building. Waiting for him was an honor guard of ten warrior women in modern battle gear. Standing in the doorway was the Director. Gus recognized her from a picture on the Olympian Security website.
Gus exited the Furball and was immediately met by the honor guard who took him to the waiting director. "Director Themis Demeter. It is an honor to meet you," he said as they gripped forearms. As she led him inside, she asked, "Where is it?"
He handed her the piece of paper he obtained from Crevitch. She came to a dead stop. Her honor guard came to an immediate stop as well. Gus almost ran into her. "Do you know who this is?"
"According to the InterWeb, she's one of the richest women on the planet. She's also your sister." He gently took her arm. "I know what it's like to deal with family. I had one, once. How about you let me take care of this."
They continued to walk down the corridor. "What do you have in mind?"
"I steal it."
"Excuse me?"
"I steal it. She probably hasn't been too successful opening the crate it's in."
"Why is that?" she asked as the two of them walked into her office, leaving the guards outside. "Drink?"
"Iced tea if you have it. As for why, the statue was shipped in a Markson-116 secure shipping vault inside a standard synthwood shipping crate. The Markson has a biometric lock that is programmed to be opened by an officer of the shipping company. That person is dead. The only other way is by a representative of the Markson Corporation."
"Go on."
"If they try to jimmy it open, a signal is sent to Markson via the InterWeb. As far as I know, no Markson has ever been jimmied open without sending the signal."
She looked at him for a moment, then typed something into her terminal. Her eyes went large. "Mr. Curran, you have my condolences and apologies. Your plan is approved. How will you get it out of the building?"
"Carry it. It's only two feet tall and weighs in at ten kilos. I should be able to manage. I'll seal a note inside the case for your sister to contact you. Will that work?"
"Yes. Now, what do you want in return?"
"The reward minus the shipping charges you paid The River’s Edge Corporation plus twenty percent loss penalty. You can find the details in the contract your government signed with my... the shipping company."
Themis walked over and gave him an uncharacteristic hug. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me until you're holding the statue. We still don't know if it’s even authentic."
"If my sister bought it, I can guarantee its authenticity. Good luck."
Gus nodded. "Can someone drop me off somewhere outside her estate?"
"Of course. I'll do it myself."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sheila walked around the compound while waiting for the meeting of scholars to finish. Jarrus had decided to be straight with his crew by telling them about the bodies, which is what was going on in the main tent. She could tell from the sounds coming from the inside that the scholars were not happy.
"Dr. Minty?" a young Malroth post-doc said as he walked up to her. "You have an urgent call from Ventos Prime. A woman named Maeve."
"Shit... Sorry. Which way?"
"Follow me, please, Doctor."
He led her to the comm tent and a terminal. When she finished, one of the comm techs handed her an eyes-only message for Dr. Miln which she scanned as she hurried over to the meeting tent. "Dr. Miln, a word, please," she said loudly once she was inside.
He walked over to where she stood. "Thanks," he said. "The crowd needs to cool a little."
"You won't thank me after you read this and hear what I have to say." She handed him the message.
He opened it and quickly read through it. "Damn, we're not to leave the planet. We've been quarantined, but I don't know why."
"I do, but I don't think we should tell the kids, at least not yet."
The Malroth scholar looked at her. "Why would that be?"
She explained about the samsar. "I think this samsar may be what killed those people in the crypt."
Jarrus looked back at his people. "We aren't fighters," he said.
"Good, that makes my job easier."
Sheila turned and found herself staring at the bosom of a woman. She looked up and saw a very unfamiliar species staring down at her. "Who and what the hell are you?"
"My name is Danyr, and I'm the leader of the Tegan Freedom fighters. I'm a Tegan, by the way. Who and what are you?"
"Fair question. My name is Dr. Sheila Minty and I'm the pilot of that ship out there, the Nelly Bly..."
There was an explosion outside. Everyone turned to the front entrance just as a dozen armed Tegans walked into the room and surrounded the expedition.
"You're now out of work, Doctor. Everyone, my men and I are here to retrieve something, and we need your help to find it. Cooperate, and we will be on our way. Don't cooperate..." She took her weapon out of its holster and fired it at a statue standing off in a corner. The artifact disappeared in a flash of light. "Catch my drift?"
Every female in the room immediately went into threat display, a trait common to all the people living on both Arctillus and the Sokuhl home worlds.
"Is that supposed to mean something?" Danyr asked nonchalantly.
Sheila walked up to the rebel leader and looked up into her eyes. "You ever threaten any member of this expedition, you have my word that the last thing you see in this existence will be your still-beating heart as I tear it from your chest."
Danyr started to chuckle, then stopped when she saw the look in the Sokuhl's eyes. "Very well. Everyone, get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Nero, take them to their tents and see that none of them wander off."
"Yes, mistress," the young Tegan said. "Come, on, people, time to hit the hay."
As the scholars were led out of the tent, Danyr pointed to Jarrus. "You, stay a moment."
When everyone else had left, Danyr turned to Jarrus. "Identify yourself."
"Dr. Jarrus Miln, Malroth and leader of this expedition."
"This is my first officer and brother, Quinto. Who is this Dr. Minty?"
"She's your worst nightmare. She's a full-blooded, pregnant Sokuhl female who's been trained by at least two security organizations."
"Doctor, do you know what I am?"
"A criminal?"
"Yes, there is that. I'm also a female Tegan who's prone to berserker rages. I could tear Dr. Minty in half."
"Really? You want to get into a pissing match? Fine. Dr. Minty is married to one Dr. Kellen Matu Hardy, an old school Basili from the ancient home world of the Sokuhl and Basili."
"Another scholar..."
"He's over two meters tall with bullet proof wings, a knife-bladed tale, and fire breath that could turn you into a charcoal briquette. Oh, and he is so totally devoted to Sheila that he once stared-down a mutagenic weapon...and won. I really don't think you need to worry about her because, from what I've heard, he's probably on his way here. I suggest you get on her good side before he arrives."
Danyr nodded to one of her men. "Take him to his tent." She waited until Jarrus had left before turning to Quinto. "Get on the comm and find out everything you can about this Kellen Matu Hardy."
"Yes, mistress. Danyr, are you worried about this Kellen Hardy?"
"Brother, I am worried about anything or anyone that can get in our way. Get me that information."
"Yes, mistress."
###
Sheila stormed into the communal sleeping tent, but stopped when she saw the faces of the scholars. They were filled with fear. She realized that she may be the only expedition member with any kind of combat training.
"OK, things may look bad, but they're not desperate. Who here has had any type of security, law enforcement,
or military training?"
No one raised their hand.
She mentally shrugged. Don't panic. "You, the girl with the purple streaks in your hair," Sheila said to a young female Sokuhl researcher with formidable muscles. "What's your name?"
"Kelsey, ma'am."
"Kelsey, watch our friends outside and let me know if they react to anything I say."
"Yes, ma'am. And what if they notice me?"
"They seem intimidated by females so either intimidate them or seduce them."
"Seduce them? How?" she asked. The other researchers rolled their eyes in disbelief.
"Kelsey, have you looked in a mirror lately?" a Basili asked.
"You'll figure it out," Sheila said as Jarrus entered the tent. "Are you OK?"
"Yes. Sheila, I told them about Kel. I suggested he may be on his way."
"That moron probably is. I swear... We need to tell them."
"Tell us what? Kelsey asked from her position by the front entrance."
Jarrus looked around and saw everyone looking at him. Shrugging, he informed them about the Tegan's intentions and about the samsar.
"You mean those bodies are relatively new?" A researcher asked as her hair changed styles unbidden.
"They're about a year old," Sheila said. "At least that's what Kel's Tegan contact claims. Look, we're dealing with an adaptable nanorobotic weapon system that sounds as sketchy as hell. Gods only know what Danyr and her motley crew want with it."
"You heard her. She's a liberator. On Arctillus we call them terrorists," Jarrus noted. "They don't like the way things are being run, so they force change using violence."
An argument about the pros and cons of insurrection broke out among the historians, but was quickly quashed by Sheila. "Quiet! The important thing is they have guns, and we're being held captive by them. For now, do as they say. I don't think they'd hesitate to eliminate any of us if we become a nuisance."
"What about the samsar?"
"According to my source," Sheila explained, "the samsar goes into hibernation once it's finished with a world. Let's hope this one stays quiescent until after we leave, assuming it's still here."
"Everyone, I think we need to get some sleep." He pointed to two young, burly, male researchers. "Rolph, Melk, I want you two to switch off keeping watch. Kelsey, get Dr. Minty a cot and some blankets."