I had to remind myself to move my piece and keep pretending to play as the conversation went on.
Honsu said, “Can you be more specific?”
The second Nul answered, “The first Gray-born Nul in decades has disappeared. Grays, you must know, are of tremendous importance to us. Decades can pass without one being born, and sometimes even centuries. Whenever a Gray is born, an important event is about to take place; it always has been so. Sixteen Nul cycles ago, a Gray One was born and not just to any family pod. He was the first offspring come to the plane of life from the loins and line of our wise leader. This event was hailed as tremendous omen. The Gray One was to be our next leader, and he was trained in all things. The Gray One exceeded our greatest expectations and all Nul rejoiced as he would be our second All-Gray ruler.”
The other Nul chimed in and explained further, “We are a very violent race and made ourselves almost extinct in seven great wars. Seven wars that destroyed our civilization and reduced our home world to a lifeless planet covered in ashes. Out of these ashes rose the first Gray One, the greatest leader and ruler. He prevented us from doing that again.”
The other disguised Nul grunted in agreement. “The path to Nul leadership has many stations and elements. The most important one is the Purification Bath in the Holy Ashes of Narl Gatu, the ashes of our first civilization. To do so, the Gray prince entered the purification sleep and was sent aboard the Narl Tompe Barge on his way to Narl Gatu. The prince never arrived.”
The first Nul spoke with agitation in his voice. “The Nul Realm left no trace unchecked and we concluded he had been abducted, captured by pirates or freelancers daring enough to infiltrate Nul space. We know he is still alive and somewhere in Freespace, and we will pay you whatever price you demand if you find our prince. You have six months to find him. After that, we will search for him and no planet and no asteroid will be spared in our search. Of course, that would mean the end of the Freespace Treaty and war.”
I held my breath under the warm fur mask and for a moment forgot to play the game. The potential of Intergalactic war was being discussed on a shabby table inside a low-class tavern somewhere deep in Freespace.
The man in the dark Dai armor said, “I will do my best to find him. If he is alive and in Freespace, I am sure I can find him. Captured Nul are always news.”
The half-Dai played with the folded paper thing and added, “Could he not have been taken by the Shiss or the Union?”
“The possibility that it was the Shiss is still considered and if we find evidence it is so, then we will increase our efforts to unprecedented levels to annihilate all that is Shiss.”
His companion said, “While it is not completely impossible that it was done by the Union, it is not how they operate usually. They would much rather test our resolve with entire fleets and probing our strength by provoking large-scale skirmishes. The Union respects us, we know. They, however, do not fear us. Agitating us by abducting the prince is simply not their style.”
“I will keep my eyes and ears open. If there is a Nul warrior kept prisoner or sold in Freespace, I should be able to hear about it. Can I ask how you know he is still alive and in Freespace?”
“It must be so. The seer of Narl Gatu said we have six months before our prince, who according to the seer is in a strange land, will transform forever. The seer was brought to the last position we knew the prince was and the Seer pointed toward Freespace.”
Now the first Nul spoke again. “Our leader believes that the prince is transformed from being alive to being dead.”
The half-Dai snorted and made an amused facial expression. “I thought your investigation was done with sensors and tracing engine trails. You place too much trust in a seer. I know a thing or two about psionics and no psionic gift can predict the future. Maybe he simply went off course and burnt up exiting Quasi Space too close to a sun?”
The first Nul said, “The Seer of Narl Gatu is not a psionic user. We Nul have no talent or use for psionics. But the seer is no mere Nul and he has been with us since we Nul rose from the Ashes of Narl Gatu. The seer has always been correct, always!”
Honsu did not respond to that but waved to the barkeeper and ordered thil. Thil was a watery, weak beer-like drink. I moved a game piece, not even knowing if it was my turn and kept listening.
The half-Dai said to the disguised Nul agents, “Let us talk about the second event then. The one you mentioned could make you consider a meeting with the Kermac.”
“We like to make it clear that we only agree to a form of information exchange, nothing more. I personally would rather join the Union than deal with these meddlers.”
Honsu shrugged. “I am only the enabler, I make the connection. The Kermac have asked me to make contact with the Eye of Narl. What you then discuss or agree upon concerns me not.”
The first Nul said, “The Golden are no longer neutral. As small as this civilization appears to be, they have considerable technology, immense knowledge, and contacts to species and civilizations none of us have heard of. Their resources might even equal those of any of the Big Four.”
Honsu put down the mug he had just received and waved his hand. “Are you sure this is correct information? The Golden are synonymous with neutrality and have been so for eons. Have they decided to join and side with the Kermac?”
“We are surprised you have not heard of it, Damon Honsu. The Golden have applied for Union membership and it has been granted just a few days ago, much faster than this process usually takes. They are full members of the Union. We just received a message from our diplomat at Pluribus, which traveled per GalNet to Bokta, a Union outpost where we maintain a trading post and was then transmitted via Myon Corresponder to Natu Toth, our throne world. Since we do not have the benefit of instantaneous messaging as the cursed Union, all this happened about four to five weeks ago.”
The half-Dai no longer sounded as certain as he had before as he said, “Could it be a trick, propaganda, or false information? Sobody the First Merchant would never agree to something like that.”
“Would we be here and consider a meeting with the Kermac if it was a trick? Sobody the First Merchant never made a secret of his admiration for the Terrans and, according to our source, he has retired. A delegation of Golden Elders is still on Pluribus. We still try to gather more details, but the entire Golden Fleet has already been turned over to Union Fleet control, and we know from reliable sources that the first Golden Spheres have been seen on their way to Arsenal to be fitted with Translocator Cannons, no doubt.”
Honsu cursed, “Violent gravitons, Gantoor’s ghost be damned. Golden Spheres are almost equal to their battleships already and their sensors are second to none.”
“This is not just a one-planet society joining the Union. This is as historic as the Klack making that decision.”
The second Nul spread his upper arm pair. “Not to mention that we have information that the Narth are now active Union members and even sharing some of their technology. With all this, they might listen to their warrior admiral and attack and be done with all Kermac and perhaps all that is Nul once and for all.”
Honsu leaned back. “It is true, the Narth are suddenly an active member. They have strengthened that cursed PSI Corps, and no spy, mole, or traitor is safe from their powers.”
The first Nul sounded just as concerned as his partner. “With the Union that strong, and getting stronger by the day, all it takes is a spark of an incident and their Assembly will call for war. I have been a diplomatic guest during their last Union Week Celebrations, and I have seen their parade. It takes a lot to frighten a Nul, but I won’t forget the sight of Union Battle Groups and there were Dai Mothers filled with Dai fighters in Union gray.”
The first agreed with his colleague and said, “Find our prince and if he is alive and returned to us, we will agree to meet the Kermac and discuss what options we might have to address these developments. If he is not found, Nul will go to war and all diplomacy and su
bterfuge will end. The Nul will perish, we know, but until that day, the Galaxy will be a place of death and destruction never seen since the days of the Dark Ones, that is the word of our First Nul.”
The half-Dai got up and said, “I will search for your prince with all haste and all efforts. Such a war must be prevented.”
With these words, he left. I wished I could follow him and find out more about this character, but something else happened and prevented me even contemplating how to accomplish that.
The barkeep stomped from behind his bar to the table of the two disguised Nul and pointed all three of his arms at them and said with a loud voice, “I don’t like anyone mocking me or my species. I paid the price of looking to the Arcane Order and I live here in exile but you are not Pertharian; you are something else in disguise. Now why would anyone come to this station pretending to be Pertharians? I think you are spies of some sort!”
Now everyone in the tavern was paying attention and almost everyone was pulling weapons. Both disguised Nul got up, toppling the table, and the first raised his hands. “We are not Union!”
The barkeeper growled with anger. “You are also not Pertharian!”
“We are Nul. We had no intention to insult you, but we will not be threatened.”
“This is Freespace and since there are no Nul traitors or Nul freelancers, you are government spies. No real Pertharian would ever sit in a bar where a Tark like me serves drinks.”
Before the situation escalated, three men in Kermac battlesuits stomped in. They looked exactly how I imagined half-Kermac half-Shiss would look and their leader said, “We are the Bassetts, and we welcome everyone on our Rock, except spies of any kind. Be it Nul, Union, Kermac or from wherever else. We also don’t allow fights with power weapons, so we want you to leave now and don’t you ever come back.”
I had the strong feeling that this was a staged show, pre-arranged in case the Nul would be discovered. The barkeep, however, was satisfied and so were the patrons. This also allowed the half-Dai to slip away.
I gave Narth the mental signal to approach officially with the Tigershark.
It didn’t take long and one of the station’s owners, a male Humanoid with distinctive Shiss features walked over to a big centrally located table where two beings sat and drank.
One of them was Captain Swift. I recognized his face well from the recordings of the Danny Houston.
My audio pickup overheard the half-Kermac say, “It might be of interest to you that we just received the docking request of a ship called the Silver Streak, commanded by Black Velvet. She is towing in the Mighty Nine as a prize to sell.”
Captain Swift was Human, no doubt, but I believed he had some non-Human genetics in his DNA as he appeared unusually tall, even sitting down, and his skin had a yellowish waxen hue. He looked up and said with surprise in his voice, “Are you sure it is the ship of that cut-throat Volting?”
An Oghar with elaborately decorated lower jaw tusks and rough-scaled skin, sharing that big round table with Swift, touched one of his gold and jewel-encrusted teeth and said, “I have heard many rumors and stories about Black Velvet, but nothing really substantial. No one has really seen her, no one knows if she is the same one who supposedly was active 500 years ago, or just someone using the same name.”
Swift shrugged. “I haven’t seen her either, but I know she is on the top 10 wanted list of the Union and that takes some serious crimes. They don’t put ghosts on that list.”
Shea informed me silently, “The Oghar is Crimson Curse and his ship is the Bloody Mary. He is one of the most successful and experienced pirates of Freespace and he has been in business for over 40 years.”
Now my disguised ship became visible in the bright floodlights of the mooring arm and despite the crudely added oversized ISAH pods and the shoddy welded armor plates around its nose cone, it looked quite dangerous. I loved the modern, sleek, and foreboding look of its true form, as it was my ship, but even in its disguise as Silver Streak, it looked very dangerous and like a ship that had been from one end of the Galaxy to the other.
Right behind her, the Mighty Nine slipped onto another mooring point. Hans and Mao were aboard the captured pirate ship and maneuvered it into the parking position. Everyone in the tavern was watching.
The Oghar said, “It is the Mighty Nine all right, looks like she’s missing one drive pod and someone clipped her claws real good. Two turrets gone and the third damaged, but leaving everything essential intact. Looks like the Silver Streak has an excellent gunner.”
Captain Swift pointed at my ship and said, “That old Karthanian has some serious firepower. Look at the size of those Nul froth casters. Those aren’t easy to come by and even harder to install.”
The Oghar kept fiddling with his tusks and grunted. “Them ISAH pods look like the old 3-90 B series. State of the art 500 years ago, and I bet my left tusk they are Type XI. With four of those, I bet she is likely to make 350 to 400 klicks to the square second.”
“I’d take genuine ISAH Pods over that Karthanian scrap I got anytime,” Swift added.
Har-Hi and I used the distraction to silently leave our table and enter the ghastly washroom of the tavern.
Har-Hi covered the false muzzle of his mask and said, “By the lords, this stinks worse than the Enviro Tanks we had to clean.”
We watched a burly Oghar leave one of the open stalls, trailing a gagging cloud of stench and I said, while trying to keep it down, “Can you imagine the Enviro Tank on an Oghar ship?”
Narth popped out of thin air after we were certain we were alone, touched us both, and teleported us back to the ship.
Shea, who was dressed in my usual Black Velvet outfit to pose as me for the initial contact with Brhama Port, greeted us on the bridge. “There were no problems at all. They granted us mooring permit, but requested that we pay a mooring fee of 500 polo full weights for each ship.”
I pulled off the Nogoll mask, and she waved her hand before her nose. “Was the costume not enough? Did you have to adopt the smell, too?”
I glared at her. “You should have seen or smelled what they called a washroom.”
Har-Hi was already halfway to the elevators and I followed him, adding, “After Har-Hi and I change, we will make our official entrance and then stay as long as the Swift Profit. That ship will be our next target.”
Chapter 6: Dentar Bloom
The half-Kermac sitting behind his desk eyed us suspiciously as I placed a heavy plastic bag with the 1,000 polo coins before him. He had the same paper-white skin and the characteristic small nose and mouth of a Kermac, but unlike them, he did have black hair and eyebrows. His eyes, I noticed, were neither Kermac nor Human and looked more like the reptilian eyes of a Shiss.
He took the coins without counting and placed them in a drawer behind him, and then he said, “You have never been here, Captain Velvet, but you have a reputation that precedes you. The rules here are simple. We like the business your kind brings, but not the trouble. Fighting is allowed but not with any energy weapons or similar destructive devices. I don’t think you are interested in mining, but I tell this to all newcomers to Brhama Port. Don’t raid mining camps or ships around here and don’t start mining on your own. If you need fuel, we sell that for 140 polo full weights per standard 1023 Nogto Bulb. That is about 500 Nul roos or 992 Union kilos.” He spread his arms. “That is about all there is. Welcome to the Shattered Star System of the Bassett family.”
Har-Hi, Shea, and Narth were with me, and all three stood behind me with crossed arms. Narth actually wore black leather and steel armor over his shroud and even carried a Nul Gravitor rifle over his back. His face and head were hidden behind a black helmet with mirrored faceplate he had borrowed from Three-Four. Har-Hi wore his red Dai leather with all the knives, weapons, and swords in place. He had covered the glyph of his clan.
Shea wore a shoulder-free bodice of white leather, matching knee boots and a fur cape that looked much like my old Fangsnapper coat.
She had her hair tied in a ponytail and wore a white half-mask up to her nose. Besides the long Attikan Sniper Blaster, she carried her mysterious sword. In my opinion, she looked dangerous and very sexy at the same time.
That there was plenty of Human DNA left in the half-Kermac was evident as he had a hard time making eye contact with me and shifted his eyes to my chest.
I said to him, “I am not interested in mining but I have a spare ship I would like to sell and was told it could be done here.”
He nodded. “To be truthful, you will not get the same price you would get at Kaliment or Sin 4, but I am sending my brother Kooornt, and he will check the ship. I will contact you later today with the price we are willing to pay.”
I agreed that this would be acceptable and left the asteroid manager’s office.
We went once more to the tavern, this time, however, openly to make our entrance as the pirate crew we pretended to be.
The barkeeper eyed us with interest for about five seconds, took our orders, and lost interest after we paid him. We found ourselves a table and sat down.
I had no clear plan what we should do next and at this point, I decided to just stir the pot a little and wait to see what would happen.
One point on my agenda was to put the Bassett family out of business permanently. If I could manage to somehow destroy this asteroid base, it would take away a pirate base and hideaway. The fewer bases and posts they had to hide at the better, and these so-called ‘miners’ aided and enabled these crooks by providing these services.
However, I could not do it openly as Black Velvet, but perhaps a few well-placed timed charges going off a day or two after we left would do the trick. There weren’t many options. To destroy a huge object like this asteroid required serious firepower; more than even the Tigershark had. Of course, a few well-placed translocator shots into environmental engineering would make this place quite inhospitable. Another option was to set off a P-bomb, but that was like leaving a Union tech calling card.
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 103