“There is nothing really. I can’t even articulate the feeling I have, much less see any reason for my mood.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “Maybe you’re becoming more female than you realize. They tend to have unexplainable moods.”
Shea cleared her throat. “That might have been true a few thousand years ago, maybe because of all the hormonal changes due to our reproductive cycles. But that problem has long been solved. Besides, the captain has not been changed that deeply.”
Elfi also chimed in. “I am sure Cateria can remedy that. And make the change complete.”
Whatever strange feeling or mood I had was forgotten and replaced by feelings of embarrassment and a little anger. “You guys realize I am the captain and bridge audio is available to all in the ship?” I pointed to the main viewer and changed the subject. “Do you think we can find the Mighty Nine again?”
Narth answered. “Yes, captain. It was left drifting before our engagement with the Xandrao. It had no crew and is not under active propulsion.”
“Let us hope no one else found it.”
“The mathematical possibility of someone finding a drifting ship in intergalactic space is 4.623 billion to one, captain. Taking into account the size of the ship, frequency of traffic—”
“Thank you, Mr. Narth.” I got up and stretched my legs. “Mr. Ndebele, get us there as fast as this simulated rust bucket can go.”
Shea smiled and said, “And where are you going, captain?”
“Taking a swim. That usually does wonders to my mood, just in case I do have one.”
Chapter 5: Motherlode Tavern
Two days ago, we had indeed found the Mighty Nine, and, according to Narth, it was only 3,123 kilometers from where we left it.
So far, nothing noteworthy had been detected by our sensors. There only were a few sporadic contacts at the very scanner horizon.
Once again, the Thalim Nebula was prominently displayed on our main viewer.
A large part of that nebula had recently been claimed by the Union and much of what had been controlled by the Nogoll, who had been a Galactic Council member in that area, had become Union Space only very recently as a result of the Union-Nogoll War, and it was still in turmoil as the final boundaries were subject to heated dispute and new friction between the Union and Galactic Council.
Cateria, our chief medical officer, rarely spent time on the bridge. Today, however, she stood with her arms crossed next to the nav-tank and stared with a brooding gaze at the main viewer, currently showing a spectacular image of the Thalim Nebula.
I still did not know much about her. She always appeared cold and didn’t seem interested in social interaction. Sitting in his seat next to me, Har-Hi was doing his best Cateria impression, with crossed arms and an even more serious expression than usual, staring at the image of the nebula.
I asked, “I know it is exceptionally beautiful with all the purples and yellows but I would think that you two have seen such sights before. What is it that makes you stare at it like that?”
Har-Hi gestured toward the main viewer. “Just a little over four standard years ago, my clan and many others fought a terrible battle on the other side of that nebula. Dai fighting Dai with great anger and a Union fleet under Stahl taking a terrible toll. It was also my first deployment in a real battle. Not a pirate raid but a full-scale war against my own kind. Looking at that nebula, I was reminded of that and I wondered just how many Dai spirits were added to these colorful swirls that day. Only now, I know our captain was nearby as well, in a civilian yacht no less.”
Shea swiveled her seat. “The probability that five suns went supernova at more or less the same time and so close together is—”
Cateria interrupted her with a coarse voice. “It was not a natural event. These were five vibrant Seenian Star Systems, with many billions in population.” She pointed at the screen. “This gaseous cloud of matter and debris within is where Ataci was, a world as beautiful as Para Para, My mother was born there. Over there, that purplish swirl, was Palingoi. The third planet of that sun was my home world.”
She sighed deeply and with more emotion than she ever had displayed so far. “If there are such things as spirits or souls then the Dai spirits of that battle you speak of have joined billions of my kind.”
“What would it take to snuff out five suns just like that?” I wondered.
“The War machines of the Dark Ones,” Cateria answered.
Mao turned and said, “I don’t think Union technology is all too far away from that. I mean, we do have Wurgus solar bombs. They are huge and need to be towed into place, but a hundred of them or so can turn a main sequence star into a supernova.”
As Mao said that, I wondered if a translocator cannon could be built large enough to transmit solar bombs or if the bombs could be made smaller.
Narth, shrouded as usual, turned and said, “Considering our captain’s train of thought, it is good we Narth decided to be part of the Union.”
His response made everyone turn and, despite his shrouded appearance, I was certain he was amused.
Shea asked, “What made you say that?”
“Our captain was thinking like a real Terran and contemplating quite frighteningly realistic ways of accomplishing the feat of killing suns. The decision of Narth to join the Union and thus be allies instead of potential opponents is therefore a good decision.”
Har-Hi had his arms still crossed high before his chest as he usually did and gave me a glance from the corner of his eyes. “From everything I know about you Narth, there should be nothing that could harm or threaten you. But knowing our captain, I tend to agree with you. There is no race or civilization more warlike than those Terran Humans.”
I sighed. “Not you, too. I’ve heard that accusation several times before. I don’t think it is true. Terrans love peace. Besides, I am not a Terran. I am a Norse from Nilfeheim.”
Cateria leaned forward and for the first time, I actually saw her grin. “Yes, that is a much more peaceful society.” She then looked to the ceiling. “SHIP, wasn’t it you who told me about Nilfeheim? What is their favorite pastime again?”
Even SHIP’s voice had an amused tone as she said, “Skull bashing, if I heard the captain right.”
Now it was me crossing my arms and pretending to be offended. “What a fine crew I have, ganging up on me. Not even my own SHIP is on my side.”
Shaka raised his Virtu Helmsman helmet and looked over his shoulder. “They always pick on us poor, defenseless Terrans, but they are sure glad to see us when they pick a fight with someone they can’t beat alone.”
Narth spread his arms. “Our helmsman reinforced my earlier statement.”
I wasn’t sure if I should have been proud or ashamed of my heritage and its reputation. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard non-Terrans say this in a similar way.
My musings were interrupted by SHIP. “We are reaching the last waypoint before we drop out of Quasi Space and reach our destination.”
I cleared my throat and said, “Well, back to business, guys.”
I sat up straight and the Intu-Controls slid under my hands. SHIP was getting more and more in tune with me. She was able to read my body language before I even consciously thought about what I wanted to do.
“Shaka, drop us out of Quasi, reduce to drift, and keep emissions low. Shea, SHIP, and Narth, scan the area and get me a tactical on battle view. Mao, please launch two KELPIE drones and park them on apex and nadir position above that brown dwarf.”
My bridge crews’ voices resonated in my audio relay as I raised the seat into the battle dome position. Even though there were no indications of any hostile contacts, I liked using the battle view to make myself an overall picture of the situation ahead.
We were about to approach a well-known pirate nest. The battle dome gave me an unobstructed view of space. I could turn and see into any direction with a mere move of my eyes. The displayed images were simulated and computronic enhanced
so my limited natural senses could see what otherwise would be too fast, too far, or too dim for me to see on my own. Our sensors picked up several energy sources right away and the system associated a cluster of symbols to each, giving me the analytical results from science and tactical.
The KELPIE drones were part of new special NAVINT equipment we had received at Nebuchadnezzar station. Football-sized drones, cloaked with special diffuser fields scrambling their already minute engine trails, and loaded with the most advanced scanner and sensor technology our society could engineer. It was the first time I’d used them, after getting a Neural Upload briefing of their capabilities just a few days ago.
Narth reported first, as it was his job as the OPS officer. “Fifty-seven artificial energy sources, 38 belong to fixed installations, consistent with asteroid mining bases of Tech Level Six. Fifteen energy sources are analyzed and belong to small spacecraft with very limited FTL capabilities. Three belong to larger signature spaceships and the main energy source belongs to a central construct consistent with the reported position of Brahma Port.”
Now Hans delivered his report. “We have one of the signatures on file. It belongs to a known pirate ship, the Bloody Mary of Captain Crimson Curse. It is a heavily modified Karthanian War Cruiser. The others are not on file.”
Shea said, “While it appears this is simply an old star system and science data suggests natural causes for the collapsed star, there is enough asteroid and planetary matter for about 12 planets. This suggests the planets have been destroyed after the sun cooled down. Maybe this is something we should look into.”
Even though he was not a senior officer, I still blinked at Sobody’s symbol.
He immediately responded, “The system is locally known as Bennett’s Field, referring to the large family enterprise running the local operations.”
I lowered the seat and said, “I think I’d like to check things out. Some sort of low profile before we officially make our entrance.”
Har-Hi said, “We could use the Tullerman Dinghy that came with the Mighty Nine.”
Sobody explained further, “Tullerman Dinghies are very common around these parts, often used by scavengers. Most likely a small crew of unlucky scavengers crossed the path of the Mighty Nine.”
***
The tavern was called the Motherlode and had been chiseled and burned directly into the rock of the asteroid. The floor was made of metal grating placed in metal frames over more rough rock. Something small skittered between the pieces of waste and garbage that had fallen through the slots in the floor.
The bar of the tavern occupied much of the left side, while a viewport with a good view of one of the asteroid base’s mooring arms was on the other side. The shabby-looking Tullerman brand 25-meter dinghy we had used to come here was now moored next to two much bigger ships and two ugly banged-up looking miner tugs. The tavern was filled about to half its capacity with the roughest-looking bunch of Humans and non-Humans I had ever seen.
The air was putrid, not just because of the strong and alien drinks served and consumed, but also of rancid body odors of unwashed and unkempt individuals of a dozen species or more.
As per Har-Hi’s suggestion, we had taken the Tullerman ahead of the disguised Tigershark to get a feel of the situation before I made our official entrance. This would be the first official appearance of Black Velvet and her crew, after all. I wanted to see and feel how other pirate captains talked and acted.
For this, Har-Hi and I had disguised ourselves as Freespace Scavengers, a disguise suggested by Sobody. Scavengers were mostly ignored and at the bottom of the feeding order of the galactic spacefaring community and so we were pretty much ignored here on Brhama Port. We had settled down at a quiet table in a corner and nursed our drinks while keeping our eyes and ears open.
Har-Hi was for the first time in a true disguise, Shea and Elfi had done a great job, as he looked now like a dark-red, furred Jooltar, a canine species believed to be distantly related to the Attikans.
Unlike the Attikans, however, they did not live in the Large Magellanic Cloud, but were a small independent species that made their home somewhere in a small sphere of influence beyond the Karthanian Conglomerate. The Jooltar were only briefly mentioned in Xeno Class but it was generally accepted knowledge that they had stolen most of their technology instead of inventing it. To complete his fur-covered body costume, complete with an animated bio-flex mask, he also wore an outfit that was diced together from several questionable sources and none of the armor and clothing pieces looked new or in good repair. That the costume he chose had to be red was something he insisted upon.
I was made up to look like a black Nogoll, wearing a similar set of clothing and equipment pieces over the black fur that covered me from head to toe. Since Nogoll space was not far from here, and the black Nogoll didn’t fare too well in the still very recent Union-Nogoll conflict, Sobody said it was a good choice for a costume, as encountering a black Nogoll in Freespace wasn’t unusual.
Har-Hi had dropped a few small polo coins into a slot next to the table and selected a simple battle strategy game that was now displayed on the table surface. We played it and apparently paid no attention to the surroundings, but we both carried Nano-fiber periscope optics and directional microphones. My Nogoll horns carried the optics and the large Nogoll ears the directional audio sensors. Har-Hi was similarly equipped and that allowed us to focus in on any conversation and watch without appearing to watch at all.
The barkeeper was a three-armed Pertharian. Either his business was not very good or he had other problems saving money for a cybernetic replacement or a re-grow therapy but he tried his best to keep at least the glasses and the bar counter reasonably clean, as he kept polishing glasses whenever he did not serve drinks.
Two more Pertharians came in and sat down at the other end of the tavern’s guest room. I was around those giants long enough to notice the barkeep was not too pleased to see them and he didn’t speak to them. The atmosphere of the tavern was not very cheerful or lively. Everyone kept to their business and, while there was a constant din of voices, no conversation was held loud enough to carry far. On a table not far from us were three Oghar, I was not sure of what subspecies, playing a game with dice. They appeared to be miners from one of the asteroid mines in the system.
It wasn’t long after the arrival of the Pertharians when a man with distinctive Dai features appeared. He even wore Dai armor, however, his was not red but black and adorned with purple panels. His harness did not carry a clan glyph. He looked around and went straight to the table of the Pertharians. I zoomed in on that table using a sub-dermal sensor track on the side of my index finger and rubbing my thumb over it. The other horn of my bio-flex mask contained the latest in NAVINT communication technology, a picto-burst GalCom transmitter, which connected me with the Tigershark. So, they could see and hear what we did. The images were directly sent to my visual nerve. Without moving the jaws of his fierce canine predator mask, Har-Hi said, “That is an ancient Assassins’ armor suit. The long extinct Mar-Do tribe was famous for those. He wears it in a way that I am certain he knows how to use it, but he is no pure-blood Dai from the looks of it.” Through the crisp optics, I saw him placing a complicated folded small piece of paper on the table and one of the Pertharians produced one that matched it.
Hans, who was, of course, watching the scene back on the Tigershark said to me, “This is a Narly Angularity. They use these complicated three-dimensional shapes to identify themselves.”
He said to the two giants, “It is quite foolish to dress up like Pertharians. There is hardly a more loyal species to the Union and only a handful ever went astray. There is already one tending the bar, and he carries the price of his betrayal openly. His family most likely ripped out that arm, and he has enough honor left not to replace it. Seeing you with all four arms is not sitting well with him, I can tell.”
As it turned out, we weren’t the only ones pretending to be someone else. I wo
ndered if there were even more like us in this room.
One of the giants said, “We are aware of this but our size restricts us to few species we can portray. It is, however, pleasant to meet you once again, Damon Honsu. We would not agree to meet anyone else.”
So, the half-Dai had a name. Shea flashed a message over my retina display. Intel report on Damon Honsu is very sparse, but biometric analysis suggests he is half-Dai and half-Asian Human. SHIP is certain to 98.99 percent that the voice is created and not natural. Chances are he is not what he appears either. Visual Data Analysis on the false Pertharians is more revealing, and we are certain these are Nul agents.
I acknowledged her report with a blink and focused on the dialog on that table that turned out to be much more than a chance meeting of pirates or freelancers.
The man named Honsu said, “This is Brhama Port, guys. You could be all yourself. Two Nul be less suspicious than two Pertharians. No one around here is a particular fan of the Union and Pertharians are as Union as Terrans.”
“Let us not dwell on our choice of disguise, Mr. Honsu. We are certain you are not always Damon Honsu to the world either. You do business with us long enough to know that we are no fools.”
The half-Dai sat down, folded his hands on the table, and said, “Indeed, I know, and I am glad you have agreed to meet with me.”
“We agreed as we, too, have an agenda we must discuss with you, but for now, tell us why you wanted to meet us.”
“I am here to see what the chances are for you to meet with my Kermac contacts.”
The same disguised Nul answered, “We are not interested in meeting the Kermac. For it disgusts us to deal with these squealing, self-important, meddling dwarfs. It is true we don’t like the Union but we much prefer them over the Kermac. If the Union ever decides to move against them, we won’t stop them.”
Now the second disguised Nul spoke for the first time. “However, there are two recent developments of great concern to us. We believe you can help us with the first, and we might consider information exchange with the Kermac regarding the other event.”
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 102