by T. R. Harris
But if they did, a ship like this could go a long way in making an impact.
Taking a chance that Aric wouldn’t kick him out, Coop went to the bridge for the landing, wanting to take advantage of the narrow windows to get a view of the planet Liave-3 from above. There were no other portholes in the Gracilian ship. Aric ignored him, instead appearing lost in thought.
From high up, Liave-3 didn’t look much different than he remembered, but as they dropped lower, the changes became apparent. There was a massive, disorganized settlement stretching from the shore to the foothills, with the Us’nor River dissecting part of it. Along the coast, his beloved Balamar was now all but incorporated in the urban sprawl. And just east of the town was a huge spaceport that was still in the process of expanding. Cleared sections of raw brown dirt lay to the south where more of the jungle had been cleared, and now awaiting improvements. And further to the south were two additional blotches on the landscape; the recently added military garrisons of the Union and the Expansion with their tiny spaceports. This wasn’t like anything he remembered. He struggled to get a glimpse of his old shipyard lying to the south of Balamar but couldn’t see it. He hoped it was still there. He hadn’t had contact with Sherri or Adam in over two years; maybe they sold the property and it was now part of an alien shopping mall. That would be a shame.
The fancy Gracilian starship landed at the main Kanac Spaceport. Even the landing jets were high-tech, producing only about half the traditional roar and exhaust gas as a conventional system. Although his job as a starship repairman was only Coop’s cover story, he still would have given his eye-teeth to spend a week going over this magnificent vessel. But that wasn’t going to happen. The moment they landed, Aric motioned for him to follow and led the Human to the aft section of the ship, past his makeshift stateroom, and to the open rear hatchway.
“You cannot stay in the cargo hold while we are here,” the alien told him. Because you have to fill the cargo hold with a shitload of Juirean credits? Copernicus surmised. “So, I have made arrangements for you to stay at a nearby temporary residence.”
“How long will we be here?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Then where are we going after that?”
Aric eyed the Human suspiciously. The Gracilian was not the same shrinking violet he’d been in prison. He had taken on a whole other persona. The crew accepted it without question, which made Copernicus believe this was the real Aric Jroshin and not the one from the prison.
“If you persist with these questions, you may not be going anywhere,” Aric stated firmly. “I will subtract the fee for the residence from what I owe you.”
“Which—if I may—we never agreed to an amount.”
“It is too late for that, Copernicus Smith. Suffice to say I will be paying you one hundred thousand JCs for the escape and an additional ten thousand per ten-day period of the guard detail. Before you speak, the security fee is much higher than I pay my other guards. I do this only because I have seen you in action. I sincerely hope you do not intend to negotiate with me. I am in a position not to have to pay you anything, either for the escape or to employ you in guard duty.”
Copernicus held up his hands. “No, no negotiation. I’m fine with that. Can I have a little now so I can go out and get something to eat, maybe a change of clothes.” He swept his hand over his dirty tan tunic. “I’m still dressed in Panorius prison garb.”
Aric appeared frustrated. “I will arrange to have some credits delivered to you. I do not have the need to carry them on my person. I will have to get them from the captain.”
Copernicus stifled a laugh. Here was probably the most senior member of a planetary race of genius beings, in control of the most advanced starship in the galaxy, and he couldn’t come up with a few bucks to help a buddy out without having to borrow them from someone else.
“That’ll be fine. I appreciate you helping me, Aric. Escaping was one thing. Having a life afterward is another.”
“From now on, you will refer to me as Si-Vad. That is my official designation within the Norina and the Gracilian government. Calling a person of my high status by their primary name is not allowed, except by other Si-Vads or in private.”
“Understood, Si-Vad. And I go by Mr. Smith.”
Aric gave the Human a long, steady stare. “Go along now, Copernicus Smith. A transport is waiting. I will call upon you in a few days when we are preparing to leave.”
Copernicus smiled then stepped out of the aft cargo hold and onto the surface of his old home. He had a lot to get used to—including Aric’s new-found arrogance. It was obvious that Coop’s job was far from over.
10
The hotel was only a few blocks from the boundary of the spaceport, meaning Copernicus had trouble sleeping through the constant take-off and landings taking place. That was fine; he didn’t sleep much. He also didn’t stay in the hotel, not long. After retrieving the four hundred Juirean credits left for him at the front counter, Coop spent most of his time at the terminal building of the spaceport, watching Aric’s ship. The alien would eventually make a move to recover his fortune, and Coop wanted to know when that happened.
During his vigil, he noticed others were taking an interest in the sleek alien starship. Aric’s ultimate destination hadn’t remained a secret for long, a testament to the investigative talents of galactic bounty hunters on the scent of a major score. Teams were arriving on the planet in small personal transports, hardened soldiers from a variety of races. They paid particular attention to the Gracilian ship before leaving one or two of them to watch the vessel while the others went to set up more long-term living arrangements. The bounty for Aric’s capture was set, and it was high enough to attract the heavy hitters from across the galaxy.
Coop had engineered the escape, so he wondered how high the bounty was for him? The thought made him more cautious about being out in public. He shrouded himself in an oversized bundle of clothing he bought in town and laid low.
The first two days passed without Aric leaving the ship, at least as far as Copernicus could tell. He began to think he might have missed him. He was bone tired by then and thinking about calling in the calvary to help. He wondered if Sherri, Adam and Riyad would be willing. The problem was he couldn’t tell them the truth, at least not all of it. He decided to wait another day to see what the Gracilians did.
It was nearing dusk on the third day when Copernicus noticed a cargo truck pull up to the open rear hold of the Gracilian starship. Supplies began to be loaded. Then in one of the shadows, he noticed how a stray crate suddenly appeared on the bed of the truck. After a while, the vehicle pulled away, with the extra crate still aboard.
A group of bounty hunters Copernicus had been watching saw it, too. They scrambled into action, one of them holding a communicator to his ear. The two lookouts sprinted for an exit gate to the spaceport.
Copernicus was on the move as well. At some point, Aric would leave the crate and enter a more conventional mode of transport. The Human had to know where and when. He also had to keep others from tracking the Gracilian.
The two bounty hunters ran to the side of the frontage road, looking in the direction of Kanac. A moment later, headlights appeared as a transport sped toward them. Copernicus slipped out of the terminal building and hugged the early evening shadows moving closer to the bounty hunters. He was unarmed. But he was also a Human, and with the element of surprise.
Perhaps it was a little reckless on his part, to take on four heavily armed bounty hunters by himself. But Coop saw this as a win-win. He needed to stop the bounty hunters from following Aric, and he needed a car.
The two alien sentries ran up to the transport and opened the back door. Coop was upon them a moment later, grabbing one by the collar of his shirt and tossing him ten feet away to the tarmac. He slid into the back and greeted the second sentry as he entered from the other side of the car with a clenched fist to his flat nose. The alien tumbled out the way he came. The t
wo bounty hunters in the front seat were confused, unsure what was happening in the dim light of the backseat. Then Copernicus took both by their heads and smashed them together. It was effective. Each crumbled in their seats, unconscious.
Coop climbed out of the back and reached into the front seat, cleaning out the refuse before sliding into the driver’s position. He pressed the joystick speed/steering lever forward, following the dim taillights of the cargo truck as it sped away from the spaceport. It had exited the grounds and turned south, skirting the newer urban sprawl from the city of Kanac. Copernicus caught up to the vehicle and then slowed, keeping a respectable distance between the two. The truck turned left into the city and wound around a few city streets before sliding up to a sidewalk and a waiting transport.
Coop stopped at the corner and turned out his lights. As suspected, the lid of the crate opened, and Aric Jroshin climbed out. Two other Gracilians met him, handing him a small briefcase and a satchel. Then Aric moved to the car in front of the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat. He was the only one who entered.
Copernicus laughed. The alien trusted no one else to know the location of his stash, so he was going alone.
There was quite a bit of traffic in the city, but Copernicus was able to keep up. Aric wasn’t going fast, being timid while navigating the congestion. There was a very good chance he hadn’t been back to Liave-3 since the time he hid his treasure here. The city of Kanac wasn’t there at the time, and neither was the spaceport. Copernicus could relate. It had even been longer since he’d been to the planet. Everything was all new to him.
Eventually, Aric reached more familiar territory, both for him and for Copernicus. It was a road heading south, an ancient roadway—not much more than packed dirt in Coop’s day—but now paved and twice as wide. It led to the mountains and the mining region that the inhabitants of Liave-3 had worked for a hundred years. With the rapid growth of the planet, he was sure the mines were popular now more than ever, as the need for raw materials escalated; however, there was little traffic on the road this evening.
After several minutes, the road began a long, gradual climb into the foothills. Here it straightened out, and any vehicle coming or going could be seen for miles. Coop turned off his headlights and slowed down, not wanting to run off the highway or strike some errant dinosaur in the dark. He could clearly make out Aric’s transport far ahead.
That’s when he noticed a set of headlights in his rearview mirror. They were approaching fast. Suddenly, the lights vanished.
It was another car following Aric. This complicated things. He didn’t want to become part of a parade leading to Aric’s secret stash.
If memory served him right, the mountain road only went to one destination, and that was the hundred or so active or closed mines. They were clustered together, which would help. Copernicus hoped he could locate Aric among them—after he disposed of this second set of bounty hunters.
He pulled off the road, thankful that alien transports didn’t have brake lights, just tail running lights, which he had long since extinguished. A few minutes later, a long, heavy transport raced by in the dark, not hesitating as it passed his position.
He pulled back out on the road and began to follow.
A little while later, the chase car pulled to the side of the road, just below a low rise in the highway. Anyone coming down the mountain wouldn’t see the other side until it was too late. Copernicus pulled over and watched as dark shapes began setting up an ambush, positioning themselves on either side of the road.
Dammit, he thought. He should have continued after Aric when he had the chance. Now he couldn’t get into the mountains without passing through the ambush. The one saving grace was he now had some idea where Aric had hidden his part of the Gracilian treasury, along with various other items the Human was after. But that wouldn’t be enough. He also had to keep Aric from being taken captive.
He sat in the dark for an hour, waiting for the alien to come back down the hill. He began to relax a little, realizing that the small transport Aric was in wasn’t nearly large enough to carry the fortune in Juirean credits the alien said he had. He could be a survey mission something to make sure the credits were still there. That gave Coop hope that Aric would eventually lead him to the hiding place.
Then lights appeared on the roadway, heading down the mountain. They were the right size as those on Aric’s car. They were also the only lights coming or going along the deserted mountain road. Aric was on his way back down and heading straight into a trap.
Copernicus pulled his car back onto the road and began to creep up on the ambush site. Aric was approaching quickly from the other direction, taking advantage of the downhill slope to pick up extra speed. He would hit the hill in a matter of seconds.
Copernicus gunned the motor, sending his transport racing forward. Then just as he reached the point of the ambush, he flicked on his lights, set on the brightest intensity.
Aric’s car shot over the rise in the road and directly into the high beams. The car swerved, slamming into the overgrowth at the side of the road. Coop continued down the centerline as gunfire erupted from both sides. Gunfire? That was unusual. He was expecting flash bolts.
Aric’s car regained its footing and fishtailed back onto the road. Copernicus caught a glimpse of it, speeding past the ambush site and accelerating down the hill. Coop then suddenly lost control of his car. Bullet holes perforated the siding and he felt the back tires explode. He jerked to the left as the car plowed into the jungle at the side of the road. Soggy leaves and branches slapped against the windshield, shattering it. Copernicus ducked down as glass rained down on him.
The car lurched to a stop, the motor still humming wildly with the rear tires whining in the dark. Then all fell quiet for a moment.
People were outside the car. To his amazement, the driver's side door was ripped off its broken hinges and tossed aside. A massive, fleshy arm reached in. There was an oddly familiar tattoo on the enormous bicep.
Copernicus was taken by the baggy clothing he wore and hauled out of the car with little effort. He was thrown to the muddy ground, as lights blinded him.
He heard audible gasps, then the lights moved away, giving him a ghostly image of his assailants. He raised his arms and smiled.
“Hi, guys,” he said. “How’s it going?”
“Copernicus! What the hell?” yelled the tiny blonde Human, Summer Rains. She lowered her weapon, as did her big bull of a father, ex-Navy Master Chief Monty Pitts. The Juirean bounty hunter Tidus Fe Nolan kept his M-102 rifle leveled on Coop. “What are you doing here … and screwing with our bounty?” Summer asked.
Cautiously, Copernicus climbed to his feet.
“It’s a long story. Why don’t we run down to Adam’s place in Balamar and I’ll explain it to you. It’s quite an amusing tale.”
11
A gaggle of three Humans and one Juirean was the last thing Adam Cain expected to see walk into his bar. Kaylor and Jym were also stunned, and soon, the center of the dining area filled with hugs, handshakes and loud laughter enough to draw Riyad from his office next door and Sherri from her hotel. When the two latecomers realized who was there, the cheerful greetings started up again.
By then, most of the remaining customers in the restaurant had decided to leave the raucous celebration, especially since the dangerous and unpredictable Humans seem particularly agitated. It was near closing time and most already had their fill of food and drink for the evening. The customers were made up mainly of the cleanup crew for the nearly-completed Maris-Kliss Resort down the street and would be content to wait outside for the shuttle and the final run back to Kanac.
Sherri and Copernicus shared an especially long embrace and full-on kiss. They’d been a couple for over five years, and obviously, the three years since they’d last seen each other hadn’t cooled the attraction.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sherri asked breathlessly through a far-too-wide grin. She glan
ced at the others. “Are you together? Are you working for PA now?”
“No, he’s not,” Summer Rains answered acidly. Adam noticed that the joy of the reunion didn’t last as long in the diminutive young blonde as it did for the others. She was one of the last to join Adam’s tiny band of renegades and galactic heroes, so her memories didn’t go back as far as Coop’s.
“Then what? Why are all of you together?” Sherri asked.
Copernicus smiled, albeit awkwardly. “Actually, we aren’t together. It’s also not a coincidence that we showed up here at the same time.”
“Now you’ve lost me,” Sherri said.
“Come, everyone, sit,” Kaylor prompted, interrupting Sherri’s question. He and Jym had pushed a couple of the tables together, and now they sat down, with the seven-foot-tall Juirean, Tidus Fe Nolan, dominating the gathering.
Adam shook Tidus’s huge hand. He didn’t like Juireans, but of the two he could call friends, one was dead, and the other was Tidus.
“You’re looking well, Adam, although I see you’ve put on some weight,” Tidus said. “Age is catching up with you.” He was the most Human-like Juirean Adam had met, an outcast from the Authority who’d spent twenty years in the galaxy among the natives and away from the rigid Juirean culture. He understood most Human slang and could feed it back as fast as given.
Adam looked behind the huge, elongated head. Most Juireans wore their hair in bouffant style, billowing high above their heads before cascading down their backs and dyed to match their occupation within the Authority. Tidus’s was nearly all grey and worn in a long ponytail down his back. There was nothing traditional about the alien.