I looked at my shoulder. "The cut is deep, but not fully through. It will heal."
As Garrett looked over the wound, the room began to slowly spin.
Garrett spoke. "You don’t look so good. We better get you to a doctor."
I raised an unsteady hand. "I will be fine."
As I turned to continue toward the podium, I began to lose my balance. I fell face forward onto the floor. As I rolled over on my side, the voices in the room quieted as the lights grew dim. I was falling unconscious.
Two days passed before my eyes again opened. Garrett was sitting in the chair at the end of a bed where I lay, talking with a Banton doctor.
The doctor pointed. "Your friend is waking."
Garrett turned back towards me with a smile. "Great! Thanks for your help, Doc."
The doctor nodded as he turned to leave the room.
Garrett pulled his chair closer. "I thought we had lost you. The blade the Valen used was covered with a deadly poison. The only reason you are alive is because of that thick Grunta skin you have, and the docs here have an antidote. Usually, though, the victim is long dead before they can make use of it."
I glanced down at the bandage on my shoulder. "The bandage is not necessary. My skin will heal well without it."
Garrett laughed. "Well, not exactly. After having such a tough time injecting the antidote, the doctors took a look at that cut. There was enough poison still in it to kill half the people in that room. They basically had to neutralize it with a high-powered laser. That arm may be out of service for a few weeks yet. They aren’t familiar with Grunta physiology, so they just did what they knew."
I nodded as I looked over the bandage. "I would ask that you thank them for me."
Garrett sat back in his chair. "No need to thank them. They were happy to do it. I think everyone else in that room was so taken aback by that attempt that they all signed the agreement you had outlined. They want Governor Marcos, and the criminal element that runs with him, gone. If anything, the Valen did you a favor."
I looked toward the door of the room.
Garrett continued, "Don’t get any ideas of leaving. Doc says they have to wait a few days for that burn to heal before they can check for further existence of the poison. If there is any left, when that injured skin makes it to the surface, you would be sloughing off the poison, putting others at risk. It only takes a tiny amount of that stuff to kill."
I looked into the hallway at two Talisan guards that were standing just outside my door. "I suppose they are here to prevent me from leaving?"
Garrett laughed. "Those two? You are their Emperor. They would happily do anything you ask. No, they are out there to prevent any further attempts on your life. You know, had the Valen been successful, he would have become the new Emperor. If he had then been arrested, a single word from him would have brought war to this planet. And my guess would be that the Valen would not be very friendly with his attacks."
I replied, "I will remain here until the doctors release me. If the other Governors signed the agreement, we have accomplished what we came for. Perhaps we should use the next few days to plan our confrontation with Marcos."
Garrett sat down. "I say we just march in there with a Talisan armada and arrest him."
I shook my head. "I believe that would trigger a response by the Saltons. They can’t have a security station taken over, even if it is being run illegally. What we need is a way to convince Marcos to leave on his own. Once he is away from the station, we are free to arrest him for the criminal that he is. If the Saltons get involved, they would want to investigate, and that could take years, with everyone just trying to protect themselves from any incrimination."
Garrett put his arms up behind his head as he leaned back. "The only thing Marcos cares about is his treasure; maybe if we steal all or part of that, he will come out looking for it."
I nodded. "Perhaps. I would be interested in looking over the other AMP artifacts that he possesses."
Garrett smiled. "He keeps all of that in a single room. Our problem is that we don’t have anyone on that station that we can trust. We need access, and most of those in a position of access are his personal goons."
I thought for a moment before my reply. "How about this. We storm in with a few hundred Feldon volunteers. Go right for his treasure stash, steal what we want, and then leave. He won’t report that to the Saltons. If he doesn’t come out looking for it, we go back in for more of it. We will take it back to Effica and let the word out that it’s being kept there."
Garrett replied, "We will have to blast our way in there. He has his henchmen stationed all around those treasure rooms."
Garrett held up his hand. "We have another issue as well. If you want Feldon volunteers for this mission, I would suggest we step up the timetable for them to be relocated from Telfor. That in itself would probably generate a few hundred volunteers."
The following week was spent planning our pillaging raid on SS241. My shoulder injury was well on the way to a full recovery. The Banton doctors had declared the wound to be poison-free. A trip to Telfor had a group of two hundred volunteers who were eager to get their own retribution on Governor Marcos. His alliance with the prior Talisan Emperor had led to the expansion of the slave trade in Omega.
A group of fighters had been selected and was receiving training inside the bunk room of a prior mine. When word came in that the Heap was landing just outside, I walked out to greet Go. I was not expecting the ship that landed.
A lengthened warship with thick hull plating and an array of multi-blaster turrets was parked just in front of me.
Go stepped out through the gravity wall in the cargo bay. "Well, what do you think?"
I replied, "If that is the Heap, it doesn’t look like the same ship. What do you have, half a dozen cannon turrets on that hull?"
Go smiled. "We have eight. It offers a full 360 degrees of coverage by at least three cannons at once. The armor is thicker than anything in this sector, and she’s fast too. Come check it out!"
I followed Go up through the gravity wall and into the cargo hold. "This looks a lot bigger than before. Is it longer?"
Go replied, "Yes Sir! We added an extra fifty meters’ length to her. The Talisans had a decent nav computer and an actual battle computer. She has been updated with those as well. There is enough bunk room for a few hundred soldiers as well. Garrett sent me the plans for the attack on Marcos. I added the bunks so you could take this ship in on the raid. It currently has no transponder, so as far as any administrators will know on that station, it’s just a pirate vessel."
I looked over the cockpit and smiled as I inspected at the new equipment. "I can’t believe you were able to pull this off in such a short time."
Go grinned. "It’s not all that hard when you have been given a complete shipbuilding dock to do whatever you want with. I hoped to have you present it to Jallis and Layda, but I think this mission is an even more fitting use for it. This ship may become a thing of legend in the Feldons’ history. Imagine, the Heap is the ship that freed a whole sector, and I was there!"
I smiled as I placed my hand on Go’s shoulder. "I’m sorry to say that you won’t be going along on this adventure. I will be placing you as second in command of the Talisan Empire. Should anything happen to me, you will be responsible for straightening this sector out."
Go scratched his chin. "I should be upset with that, but for some reason I’m not. I’ll do as you direct, Mr. Beutcher. I’ll say one thing about the prior Emperor. He was a good manager. The offices under your control are well staffed, and they are run very efficiently. It’s strange. Here we have a species with such uncivilized behavior as slave trading, and yet they are well organized.
"Goonrag was a micromanager, but only with the things immediately around him. That’s why the mines were run so poorly. He wasn’t there to organize them. It’s a shame he had no morals. He would have been a good leader in this sector."
The planning for th
e raid moved along smoothly. One hundred sixty-four Feldons trained with blaster rifles for two solid Telfor days. The hallways on SS241 were displayed on a holo-screen, and each phase of the assault was gone over in fine detail. Everyone knew their tasks.
As we closed on SS241, Garrett hacked into the station surveillance cameras with the Jess’s hardware. The feeds were patched through to my arm pad, giving us a forward look at whatever resistance the Governor’s men would throw in our way.
The Heap pulled into the space dock registered as a Banton ship. Four armed guards approached as the level of the gravity wall dropped. The Feldons began to pour out. Two guards perished in the initial exchange of ion fire. The remaining two quickly surrendered their weapons.
We moved in a single column, at a slow run, weaving our way to the stairwell that would take us up from the forty-first level to the fifth. Two additional guards were dispatched before our troop of raiders reached the target floor. It was the floor where Governor Marcos kept his most prized possessions, the AMP artifacts.
As we moved down the hall towards the stash, three Human guards, mercenary guards, opened fire. The compressed training session given to the Feldons was no match for the experienced thugs the Governor had employed. Five Feldon fighters lost their lives before Garrett managed a shot that took out the first of the guards.
I yelled down the hall, "Look, we have the firepower and the manpower to overrun your position. Surrender your arms and you will remain unharmed!"
One of the guards yelled back, "Hahahaha! You think we are scared of a bunch of Feldons? Haha! Bring it on!"
I began firing repeated bolts at the wall just behind their position as Garrett sprinted down the hall. As he reached the corner behind which the guards were taking cover, he dove onto the floor, sliding out in full view of his targets. Two ion bolts exploded in the chests of the two men as they attempted to counter the threat. As the explosions settled, Garrett waved his arm that all was clear.
The door to the Governor’s treasury was locked and sealed. I fired a low-power bolt into the lock mechanism and followed up with a hard kick from my boot. The door flew open, revealing two additional doors inside.
Garrett spoke. "The AMP artifacts are on the right. I walked here once with the Governor, but he wouldn’t let me in."
The door to the artifacts room was soon breached. The room was small, and the collection was far less impressive than what I had envisioned. The suit Garrett had delivered was by far the most impressive item the Governor had acquired. There were battle suits from various other species, none of which were as interesting or feature rich as the powered Human suit.
A robotic arm was laid out on a table. A laser hand weapon was showcased on another. In a back corner of the room were two kinetic weapons and a metal device with a pull pin that would fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.
I spoke as I picked up the pinned device. "I’ll carry this one. I like the feel of it; it’s heavy."
The crude steel makeup of the kinetic weapons had a certain stylistic appeal, but I couldn’t fathom what purpose they would serve while in combat. I reasoned they might have been the weapons of a species the early AMP creators had done battle with.
The remaining items appeared to be various electronic devices from that period, including a precision measuring device and other hand tools that appeared to be useful for crafting metal objects. A steady stream of Feldons began to carry the items out of the room.
Garrett said, "The Governor knows we are here. I’m seeing activity on the top three floors. It looks like he might have as many as fifty to seventy-five of those guards. We need to get out of here fast, or they are going to be riding our asses all the way back to the ship!"
I pointed to the last Feldon as he exited the room with a soldier’s uniform from a species called the Gambits. We were soon moving back down the stairwells as the guards entered from above.
I grabbed Garrett. "Take that wall over there. You and I are going to slow them down."
As the Feldons stomped away on the stairs below, I waited with Garrett. The first two guards that raced down came into view without having their weapons at the ready. Two well-placed ion bolts ended their rapid advance, also bringing the progress of the others to a stop.
I gestured to Garrett as I spoke. "Move down another five floors, and we’ll do the same thing again."
We quietly moved down the stairwell as the guard voices from above indicated they were having an argument over how to proceed.
As we lay in wait to hand out another ambush, Garrett spoke. "Uh-oh, we’ve got a problem. There is an elevator unloading three floors below us with five of those guards."
I looked up, Garrett and I each began to race down the stairs. Garrett moved past the door as it began to open. I fired an ion bolt into the opening, blowing the door from its hinges and sending the approaching guards scattering, just long enough for me to quickly move by.
When we reached the forty-first floor, three guards had the Feldons pinned in a hallway just outside of the docking bay. Our bolts could not reach the guards. Heavy fire from the guards prevented our group from crossing the hallway to the docking bay doors.
I moved to the front of the group as Garrett fired the occasional bolt back up the stairwell. I looked over the ancient device in my hand.
One of the nearby Feldons spoke. "What is it?"
I replied, "It looks as though it’s something you throw. When this pin is pulled, the weapon, if it is a weapon, would be activated."
The Feldon replied, "Well, pull the pin!"
I nodded as I slid the pin out of its hole. A lever sprang outward. I waited for an indication that something had happened. There was none.
The Feldon spoke. "Perhaps you have to throw it."
I again nodded. "Doesn’t hurt to try."
I took careful aim and rolled the crude device down the hallway toward the guards’ position. The device rolled to a stop only three meters from the cover they had chosen. Again, as we waited, nothing happened.
The Feldon shrugged.
I spoke. "No sense in letting the Governor have it back."
I knelt and took careful aim. As the ion bolt from my hand blaster impacted the device, it exploded with a fury. My reaction, although stunned, was to race out into the hall, taking a position just inside a doorway that offered a shot at the guards’ position. Two well-placed shots sent one guard to oblivion while the others moved farther down the hallway they had held.
The Feldons moved quickly across the hall and into the docking bay. I followed Garrett through the doorway.
As the last of the Feldons boarded the Heap, I fired two final bolts at the hallway doors, blowing them from their hinges and catching the advancing guards by surprise. I dove through the gravity wall as the Heap began to lift off the deck.
The repeated strikes from the guards’ blaster rifles did not penetrate the Heap’s newly thickened hull. The Feldon flagship shot out of SS241 and was soon on its way to Effica. A direct course was set, giving the Governor’s men a path to follow.
Chapter 21
Garrett opened a comm with the Governor. "I’m sure by now you saw that I was behind the attack on your collection. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong stash to take. I thought your AMP artifacts might have some value, but they are useless. I spent a lot of credits hiring the crew and ship that I used. I would be willing to trade the artifacts for my initial investment. After that, you won’t see me again."
The Governor replied, "Mr. Williams. Why am I to trust anything you say? I saw on the video that you had the Grunta working with you."
Garrett laughed. "The Grunta, just like those Feldons, was looking for work. He seemed like an easy way to add muscle to the venture. Cost me two thousand credits for him alone."
The Governor shook his head. "Mr. Williams, I was so disheartened when I saw it was you who was involved. I had thought you to be above such. But I do admire a man who takes the initiative to better his position. While I
am unhappy at the loss of the artifacts, and of a good pilot, I would be willing to compensate you for the return of my items. What sum did you have in mind?"
Garrett replied, "I have twenty thousand credits into this thing. Bring me that, and you can have your collection back."
The Governor laughed. "You think too small, Mr. Williams. I would have gladly paid five times that amount. Return the items, and you shall have your credits."
Garrett half smiled. "Ah, no. Here’s how this is going to happen. I will designate a place and a time, and you will come get them. And when I say you, I mean you personally. And to sweeten the pot, as a gesture on my part to reduce your desire to put a bounty on my head, I have another artifact for you. It’s a helmet that goes with that suit I brought you recently."
The Governor sat forward in his chair. "You have the helmet?"
Garrett smiled. "I have the helmet. I came across it after following up a few leads. I don’t know what your fascination is with that stuff, but if you are willing to make the trade, I will throw in the extra for, let’s say, two thousand credits?"
The Governor nodded. "I will gladly pay you the twenty-two thousand credits for the return of my items, plus the helmet. If you return those items as you say, I will also forgive this transgression, completely. There are other artifacts out there, and I would like for you to continue to gather them for me. With this new item, you have shown that you have an aptitude for the search and recovery of such. I would also reward you with a standard salary and then handsomely again for any further items."
Garrett offered a half frown. "How do I know I could trust you in such an arrangement? How do I know you wouldn’t just decide to kill me at some random point in time?"
The Governor again smiled. "You wouldn’t. Consider that incentive to continue searching. I am much more interested in acquiring artifacts than doling out retribution for petty indulgences. Even in the business of thievery or with other less-than-legal activities, one must maintain a certain level of trust in his word if he is to do business with others. Consider this my word, Mr. Williams. Do we have a deal?"
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