Galactic Assimilation 2:: Empire Rising

by J. K. Mabrey

  "I'll prepare us for lift-off and set our course for Urdanis," Dani said.

  "I hope there's a place to buy some Rovun whiskey," Charra said. "I've got twenty-five of Brax's creds just waiting to be spent."

  Chapter 9

  Dani lifted the Rinada off from Garos and moved out of the atmosphere. She took a portal from Garos to Earth and then jumped to Erie before heading to Urdanis. After all the flying and queuing it took about an hour to travel from Garos to Urdanis. It would have taken four days to travel that far with a lightdrive. Zavik tried to remember what advantages a lightdrive provided, and then he remembered they were drawing funds from the U.E.F. His computer lit up and showed a debit of one hundred fifty credits from the account. A trip directly from Garos to Urdanis using a lightdrive would only cost about ten credits worth of fuel. That was pure profit to a shipper.

  The Pakals colonized Urdanis tens of thousands of years ago. After the system won independence from Reclume, the Pakal homeworld, other races moved in and settled on the planet. Large oceans covered the planet and kept the atmosphere moist and the land fertile. The other races moved in and set up large trade agreements with some of the less agriculturally productive systems.

  The largest trade group, the Muelnis Holding Company, run by an ambitious group of Rovuns, had taken control of over forty percent of the off-world trade. They had quickly grown to be one of the largest trade facilitating entities in the Galaxy. If anyone was capable of sparing some extra capacity for a growing colony, it would be them. The information in Rudy identified them as a primary target for Garos’s needs. General Walters even took the initiative to set them up in a meeting. If it were all this easy, this contract would be one of the best he ever took. The only other information Rudy had on the Muelnis Holding Company was that their local headquarters was in the city of Falughal.

  Dani brought the Rinada in low over the city. Small buildings bloomed out from the active center. An ocean to the west stretched out to the horizon. A few miles from the city, Zavik could see a vast array of croplands, machines working the fields to strip them of their valuable possessions. She landed the Rinada in the center of the city.

  The Muelnis Company's local headquarters was located in a building not far from them. She shut down the Rinada's systems and went to the living area where Charra sat at the table, Zavik was calibrating the life support systems to equalize with the environment, and Rudy was standing in the center, running a diagnostics on how own systems.

  "I'm almost finished," Zavik said.

  Dani went to Brax's door and banged on it twice. "Let's go!"

  He popped out quickly and said, "How's one suppose to get any sleep around here with all the shouting and rough flying. I take it Zavik landed us?"

  Zavik slowly shook his head and Brax's eyes turned to Dani. He smiled and said, "Oh, I mean, it was such a smooth trip I must have lost track of time."

  "Right," Dani said, "next time, you get to fly."

  "Really?" he asked. His eyes opened wide and his hands came together. Charra walked up behind Dani and looked similar.

  "No!" Dani and Zavik said together.

  "Awhh," Brax and Charra said with a contrasting look of defeat on their alien faces.

  "Sir, I have finished my diagnostics and found only one abnormality in my systems," Rudy said. "That is acceptable. I am available to use as necessary."

  "That's great, Rudy," Zavik said, unsure of anything Rudy was saying. How could a new robot have any abnormalities? "Bring our breakdown of supplies we're looking for."

  "Of, course, sir."

  Zavik locked up the Rinada and paid a deposit to a Savin controlling the docking bay. His eyes were focused on Charra the whole time. Better him than Dani. The air was humid and hot. The sun sat high overhead, its golden rays blanketing the surface through the clear sky. The round structure was about half full with three other ships there. Two were smaller personal transport ships, and the other was a freighter a little larger than the Rinada. Four Bacarians stood around it loading cargo into its hull. Blaster rifles hung from each of their shoulders. Charra kept a keen eye on them as they walked across the docking bay, his head twitching at his side, almost like he wanted them to make a move.

  They reached the Muelnis Corp. headquarters and stood before a tall building enclosed in glass. Large letters sprawled across the top of the building highlighted the business. They went through revolving doors into a large open area on the bottom floor.

  A receptionist greeted them when they entered. "Good afternoon," the female Savin said, "you must be here to meet with Mr. Enduli."

  "Yes," Zavik said. "I believe General Walters set something up for us."

  "Indeed. Mr. Enduli would be grateful if you would join him for lunch. He has something prepared in the dining hall upstairs."

  "We would be honored," Zavik said, shifting his gaze to Dani.

  They followed the receptionist upstairs. The dining hall housed a long polished table, set for five at one end. Tall wooden chairs engraved like thrones surrounded the table. A large crystal chandelier hung low from the ceiling, catching the light as it danced around and shining it back in their eyes. A stream of light from the early afternoon sky flowed through the two square windows in the room.

  A Rovun sat at the head of the table looking intently at his guests. An orange glow bathed the finely groomed gray hair that covered his face. A thick, raspy voice, a trademark of the Rovuns, filled the room. "Welcome to Urdanis. Please have a seat."

  Zavik moved to sit next to Enduli, as the others hesitated.

  "My name is Alberit Enduli," he said as he remained seated. "I am vice president of the Muelnis Holding Company. Please," he said as he motioned them to sit. "Fix them a drink, will you?" he said to the receptionist.

  "I'm Zavik Khan, and this is my crew: Dani Epson, Brax Miro, Charra Lokel, and...Rudy."

  "I'm afraid I did not realize you had a robot in your crew," Alberit said as he eyed the metallic figure, a hand rising to his cheek. "I only had seating for four added."

  "He'll be fine to stand," Zavik said. "How did you know we had four people?"

  "I scanned your ship, of course."

  "Of course."

  “It’s nothing personal. I scan all ships that enter and exit Urdanis.

  The receptionist placed glasses full of an amber liquid in front of them.

  "But may I say, what a pleasure to see such a diverse group," Alberit said. "A Rovun and Chokmnd working together, with humans, and doing a job for Earth at that. Not something you see every day, even every decade."

  "We get along well," Brax said.

  "Really?" he asked. "What about you, Charra Lokel? Do you agree with that assessment?"

  "Of course," Charra said trying to match Alberit's deep tone but failing, "we're companions. Friends."

  "How interesting," he said. He lifted his glass and took a slow sip from it. "It's not often I see such a group. I usually deal with a Rovun crew or Savin group. They have the occasional other race mixed in with their crew, sure, a couple humans even, but there's clear leadership among them. The dominant race calls the shots, and you can always tell the dominant race."

  "We're not like that," Zavik said. "We all work together and listen to each other to get the job done."

  "But it is your ship, Mr. Khan, is it not?" Alberit asked.

  "Yes, it's mine."

  "And he doesn't pilot it with an iron fist?" he asked looking from Brax to Charra. "Doesn't make you do the jobs he wants, even when there is a consensus to do something else?"

  Brax and Charra both sat silent for a moment. Brax finally cleared his throat and said, "It's Zavik's ship. He's the captain, and we follow his orders. They've usually proven to be the right course of action for us, so I've never seen a reason to question his direction. If I didn't trust him, I'd be gone by now."

  "Zavik’s always done right by me," Charra said. "For now, I like it on the Rinada."

  "The Rinada. Guarten origin, right?” Al
berit asked.

  "Yes," Zavik said. Alberit had clearly done his homework. Zavik hated meeting with someone who had more information on him than he had on them. He shifted in his chair and said, "Although most would be hard pressed to tell that now."

  "Hard pressed indeed," he replied. "With the modifications you've had done, and some you've no doubt done yourself, one could think you were involved in more than just shipping goods."

  "I like to be prepared for anything," Zavik said.

  "That preparedness has come in handy, has it not?"

  "I don't take your meaning?" Zavik asked.

  "It was just a few years ago that that ship, under your command, became heavily involved in a conflict between Earth and Red Moon."

  "What bearing does that have on this job?" Zavik asked.

  "Everything," Alberit said. "That ship has half the Red Moon remnant looking for it, which may not mean as much as it once did, thanks to you. Half the galactic underworld wants to kill its pilot and the other half thank him. Don't be alarmed. I for one would fall on the thank you side, but my problems with Red Moon were few and far between. I am a legitimate businessman, in almost all respects, so we never got into too many disputes. Though the Council did tend to award them more contracts than they should. But I should blame the Chokmnd Councilor Paquiko and the other Councilors for that transgression, not Red Moon. They lobbied Paquiko enough that's for sure. Right up until they had him killed. Tragic story really."

  "Indeed," Zavik said. The Council released only a select amount of information regarding Paquiko's death. It was left out of the reports that Zavik and his crew were almost framed for his murder, in an attempt to shield them from any lingering hostilities. The Council just said that Varin murdered Paquiko when his identity as Red Moon's leader was leaked. It was true enough for the public.

  "With Red Moon falling apart, business has not really changed for me," Alberit said. "So, you see, I am really kind of neutral in the whole Red Moon ordeal. They hate you, I'm sure you hate them. That does not concern me."

  "What does concern you?" Zavik asked.

  "Payment."

  "Of course, we'll pay you," Zavik said. "We're not here to rob you."

  He laughed and said, "Payment of credits for my goods is a given for everything I do. I'm not a charity, but I want something more."

  "Why?" Zavik asked dryly.

  "Because doing business with humans and their new colony can be bad for my image, and my image is everything. So you do something special for me and I will have your food supplies for your precious colony wrapped up, waiting for you to take back to the starving boys and girls on Garos."

  "We have other options," Zavik said.

  "Yes, but these are available now," Alberit said. "What are your other options? Go to Terekun and wait four more weeks for the harvest to be done. Or see if there're enough supplies left on Yalerium to support your whole colony. I have news for you, Yalerium exports its entire yearly yield in under three weeks, and the harvesting ended two weeks ago. Their entire yield is already spoken for. Now, it's possible you could find some still out there, but the prices will be extraordinary. My prices are reasonable, even knowing your circumstances, and all I'm asking for is one little favor."

  Zavik played over scenarios in his head. He was right about Terekun and their harvest being another four weeks out. That would push their schedule back considerably. He was hoping to have the whole contract filled in no more than two weeks. Yalerium was a hot spot for food exports and did tend to sell out quicker than any other system. They had numerous portals with low fees that made shipping from their system cheaper than almost anywhere else in the Galaxy, but when the supplies started running low the prices could skyrocket.

  One year a bacterial growth in the harvest began making people sick. The whole planet's supply was tainted but the outbreak didn't start until a few weeks after the shipments were complete. One company that was holding onto a large supply of grain until the price reached the right height ended up being stuck with over twenty million tons of unsellable grain. Zavik heard they went bankrupt shortly thereafter and the owner of the company disappeared around the same time. Rumor had it they were playing the grains market with the help of some black market business partners who were not happy when they lost hundreds of millions of credits on a bad gamble.

  There always seemed to be a group of suppliers that held onto food stock until the last possible moment, hoping to get a huge payday out of some desperate system. Zavik didn't want to make Garos that desperate system.

  "What would you have us do?" Zavik asked.

  "I had a supply shipment on route from Valier to Dracona. While I am fond of the new lightdrives, this shipment required a much quicker turnaround. They were scheduled to go through the Rashala system's portal. Now, I have assurances that my ships did indeed leave Valier with the supplies, and went through the portal to Rashala. From there I have no record of their movement or knowledge of their current whereabouts.

  "Rashala can be dangerous," he continued. "The government assures the Council that they do everything in their power to stop all illicit traffic through the system, but everyone knows better."

  "Was your shipment illegal?" Zavik asked.

  "It wouldn't matter if it was," he said, "but if it makes you feel any better, no. It was merely a large order of weapons for the local security. Nothing too powerful, and nothing illegal. My company provides security for many systems that fall outside the purview of the Council. A small uprising on Dracona has occurred after a strange attack on the system. I need those weapons to help stabilize my interests."

  "An attack?" Zavik asked.

  "Yes, nothing major," he assured them. "Reports were that a small group of strange ships shot down a space station and then bombed a local supply depot. The Galactic Council is quietly looking into the situation, but they suspect it's just local pirates with fancy new ships."

  Zavik glanced over at Dani but didn't dare make an effort to look at Brax or Charra. "What do you think they are?" Zavik asked.

  "What I think is none of your concern. What is your concern, is that supply convoy. Somewhere between Rashala and Dracona it disappeared with a stash of weapons I need. I want you to find out what happened to it."

  "Don't you have your own people who can investigate this?" Zavik asked.

  "I do, and they are, but I fear one of my own may be involved, willfully or not. You have no ties to me or this organization. You won't raise any alarms. If someone in this organization is involved, I don't want them to run and hide. They must be found, but more importantly, those supplies must be found. Otherwise, Garos will need to find someone else to supply them with food. Agreed?"

  "Agreed," Zavik said.

  Chapter 10

  The Rinada drifted through Rashala space and Zavik sat in the cockpit looking at the calm yellow world.

  "Rashala was once a joint colony between the Savin and Rovun," Rudy said from behind him. Hearing his voice in the eerie silence of space sent chills up Zavik's back. "Now the system is heavily influenced by the Blue Blazes Organization. Do you require a briefing on that organization?"

  "No, thanks, Rudy," Brax said as he sat beside Zavik. "I think we've all had dealings with them before."

  "Very good."

  "I can't believe you took his offer," Brax said.

  Charra stood in the doorway of the cockpit and stepped aside as Rudy marched through. "What did you want to do?" he asked. "Wait at least four more weeks to get the colonists food?"

  "It's better than being an errand boy for some low-level thug," Brax said. "He really can't locate his own missing ship and find the traitor? If that's the case, how can we be sure he even has access to the supplies we need?"

  "He's a contact we got from General Walters," Zavik said, "so I think he's got the goods. Look, I'm not thrilled about being out here either, just drifting through space, but this is the quickest way to get the supplies."

  "Where should we start?" Charra
asked.

  "Someone on the planet might have seen something," Brax said.

  "He's right," Dani said squeezing past Charra to sit in a back chair. She flashed a dirty look to Zavik who was sitting in her usual seat at the flight controls. "If they were ambushed here and there was a battle in space or on the planet, someone might have information on it. But how could we find them?"

  "Gamblers are always looking to give out information, at a cost," Zavik said.

  "Don't we know from experience," Brax said.

  "Yeah, from both sides. There's a dashball match today between two premier teams. I imagine we'll be able to find a few gamblers desperate to make some money if they saw something."

  "Do you know any places on Rashala?" Dani asked.

  "Not especially," Zavik said, "but I'm sure Rudy can narrow down a list for us. Can't you?"

  "Of course, sir," Rudy replied. "It is one of my main programming functions to serve your needs, and I am quite capable of determining the best location to continue your search. I can cross reference the date and time the ship arrived and determine what sectors of the planet could have seen anything. Calculating. Shall I search those locations that specialize in gamblers, degenerates, and lowlifes?"

  "Sounds like just the type of places I want to see while traveling abroad," Brax said.

  "What does he mean by lowlifes?" Charra asked.

  Rudy replied, "Lowlife: morally ambiguous person. Typically associated with such persons as thieves, drug dealers, drug users, or gangsters."

  "Let's go light on the lowlife search," Brax said.

  "Agreed," Dani added.

  "Very well," Rudy said.

  Rudy gave them three places in the heart of Brinton that specialized in sports betting and was attractive to his search parameters. Two were run by the Blue Blazes and a third was run by a small-time local group called the Trials of Timbana. None of them had much knowledge of this group, and Zavik hoped they would have little on them. The five, including Rudy whom Zavik wanted to leave behind to clean up breakfast, went to the Trials of Timbana's sports bar, a short walk from the local spaceport.