“Yes Commander, I think I do. I gave you my word and you are not a prisoner. I will take you and your crew to Kaliment, but I don’t have the resources to deal with a potential Togar riot so I think they are better off sleeping.”
“I understand Captain Black Velvet. The ship must always come first. It makes no difference to my fate if I arrive at Kaliment or not, but I thank you for my crew.”
“Tell me Commander, this is an unusual move calling us for help, could you not have waited for Togar aid. We are not that far from Togar space and I noticed you chasing a Dai warship, perhaps all that was left after your fleet dealt with the tribe it belonged to? There isn’t perhaps someone important in your crew that needed saving?”
“Yes your conclusions are quite correct Captain, normally we were just an Attack Cruiser with no concerns about our own safety, but both of my children, my son and my daughter are among the crew. As a Togar I am proud they have chosen to become space warriors and follow my lead. As a Commander I was worried to have my own off spring among my crew, affecting my command decisions and as a father I had no second thoughts to do anything for their survival. I broke all traditions and rules. I lost my honor, forfeit my life to save their lives.”
“Alright Commander let us believe that for the moment and pretend I buy your story, tell me more about your mission and the violent end of a chase we witnessed. I have other things to do than to sit here and talk to a human trading, man eating Togar commander.”
While I spoke to him I had to admit he was a magnificent looking member of his kind, but I also vividly remembered the ship full of stacked human body parts and whimpering slaves and wondered just how many humans had to witness other humans being butchered and eaten, knowing they were next. I wondered how many times he had sunk his formidable teeth into a human thigh or laughed as they tortured a human prisoner just for entertainment. Ever since we had found that ship of horrors, I had collected other reports of GalNet and knew they loved to play with their victims before they did the actual kill. There were many stories about the hunt parties on Togar worlds. Naked slaves released into fenced parks only to be chased and killed by Togar hunters. I also remembered the Slave pens of Alvor’s Cove and the Togar buyers picking human slaves like groceries for their meat pots.
“Captain Velvet, I am guilty of being Togar, I have been demoted from Section Commander to be the Shipmaster of a simple Cruiser because I am male and dared to question the queen and I have been guilty of thinking and voicing my critical opposition too much. I am thankful for what you did and I know I have no honor left but I won’t sell you the last shards of whatever dignity I have left.”
I said, while getting up, “I tried to be civil. You haven’t told me what I wanted to know...”
Cateria still standing close said. “Maybe we should simply drag him over glowing steel rakes and then have TheOther beat a confession out of him before we do a brain dump and just to make sure he knows you hate Togar. We then have him skinned alive and add his pelt to our trophies.”
I snapped at her. “Have you seen…“, but I stopped myself in mid sentence. She was right and truth to be told I didn’t want anyone to judge Neo Vikings on the actions of my father or the things we did during the Pirate years. The Y’All did much worse things and on an entire different scale than the Togar and I never blamed TheOther because I was not alive when they had invaded. I didn’t trust that Togar Commander but I was not even giving him a chance and again judged an individual by his association to a species. I realized that there was a dark unforgiving hateful spark deep inside myself. Part of my motivation coming down here and see him was indeed just to find an excuse to torture and mind dump him just as Cateria said. I wanted to kill him, best with my own hands and that was a dangerous slippery road my own emotions were leading me. I took a breath and promised myself once again, to be as Egil wanted me to be, judge every situation and every being from all sides. Especially since I still hated unfair situations and he certainly was in an unfair situation right now.
He was a big cat and a strong individual, yet cared more for his crew and his offspring than a Togar supposed to do. He had lost his ship and was on his way to be prosecuted and executed by his own kind for accepting help.
I gave Cateria a long look, our CMO was not afraid to speak her mind and for that she rose quite a few notches in my personal oppinion about her. After all I had treated her quite similar when I encountered her the first time. I gave her a thankful nod and then said. “Thank you for reminding me, who I am, who we are.”
The Seenian woman who had become my CMO had also disguised herself in civilian clothing and what she thought a Pirate would look like. Her always stern and cold face did no chance expression but her voice lost the usual edge. “You are welcome Captain..”
I returned my attention to the Togar. “Maybe we need to start over and before I ask you what I want to know, I would like to know what I can do for you. Maybe you can remain aboard and not leave on Kaliment. We will reach Itheamh later on and maybe you can find a new live and a new career away from the Togar Empire.”
He looked down on his big paws and they were shaking, so I got up walked around the table and took a seat next to him and without really thinking and following an impulse I put my hand on his arm. “Commander Roghor, some humans drink a hot cup of tea to calm their nerves, others like a shot of alcohol. I personally prefer coffee and a cigarette. Is there anything you Togar consume while collecting thoughts? I doubt one of my human crew-members will volunteer so you can have a snack but is there anything else?”
He made a deep rasping sound that appeared to be the Togar equivalent of a sigh and he said looking at me and again I was taken aback by the intelligence and the humanity in those yellow non human eyes. “We don’t just eat humans, and most male Togar don’t ever have the chance to even try. There are 600 Billion Togar and I doubt there are more than 5000 to 6000 humans reaching our markets during a standard year.”
He spread his fur covered arms. “I am not defending our ways, I just wanted to illustrate how rare and how expensive human flesh on Togr markets is. Since it is so rare, it is reserved for the very rich and very important females.”
I actually believed him. “So what is it you want?”
He returned to stare art his paw like hands. “I don’t know Pirate. When my ship was about to explode it seemed to be a good idea to ask and accept help. Now I am not sure if I doomed my son to live with his father’s shame.”
“How about your daughter?”
“She is female and already on her way to the upper echelon of command; her father’s deeds or name mean nothing in our society.”
“So if it isn’t humans what do you eat?”
“We eat any kind of meat and we usually drink only water. Alcohol is dangerous to us; even a little makes us very drunk and can be lethal.” He added .”We Togar don’t share much of our culture with others and what others know about us is only a shadow of the truth. There is a human, his name is Alex Enroe and he managed to become friends with the queen herself. He sells us bacon and pork meat, but he is from the Union and not Freespace.”
Cateria said. “I check the galley and see what we got in terms of bacon.”
The Commander rattled his Togar sigh again. “You are an enigma, Captain Velvet, you hide your face behind a mask and even we Togar have heard rumors of you. Your ship is an old Karthanian, yet it sports the finest Nul weapons and genuine Union Isah Pods, your crew includes a Y’All. They say you are a ruthless pirate, dealing with slaves yourself and we know you captured another known pirate vessel, yet your Crew acts like professionals not like the throat cutting dreg usually to be found on pirate ships.”
I shrugged. “We all have our own styles I guess. I prefer professionals running my ship over the dreg kind you mentioned.”
He returned to answer my original question saying. “Maybe I can make my way into the Union region somehow. There is a rumor Alex Enroe helps Togar. But Union space is far
and I am without any means." He licked his chaps in a nervous,my unconscious way. “The empire is still looking for you and a pirate by the name of Curtis Profit. It is about the white furred Togrie you purchased at the Bennett’s rock.
“Why would a single female Togar justify all this effort?”
“I am male and do not know all the details, but White fur is sacred to us, and this particular one was white as snow. Not only was she the most beautiful of all, she was according to the temple born under the magnificent spirit Malmoru. This birth was foretold in our most holy scrolls. In a very public trial she was accused of bleaching her fur and obscuring the real story of her birth. She was charged with high treason, crimes against the spirit and plotting to kill the queen by acting as an agent to the Dark Spirit.
Narth who had silently joined us moments ago said.“I am often amazed by the amount of superstition and illogical religious reasoning that motivates societies that advanced technologically so much they opened the door to the stars.”
I said.“But that still does not explain why the Togar Queen puts so much effort finding her. She was sold as a slave and from my experience, slaves sadly don’t survive for long in captivity.”
“Because all Togr is at the brink of revolt. That she escaped hiding on a slave transport is not believed by the public. Many believe she has been rescued by the spirits themselves. Some say it was Marmou himself who took his daughter only to return her one day with great powers and to take her rightful place as the true queen. The queen knows that if the White fur returns, the revolt will tear the empire asunder and certainly doom her and the reigning families. The news that a white Togar was sold on Brhama port caused deep concern in the ruling families and of course for the queen.”
Suddenly changing the subject the Togar commander said. “The reason why our Queen protects the Bennetts and the Dai want control over the system is the secret Backdoor.”
“The backdoor?”
He blinked his eyes again by squezzing them. “There is a stable artificial worm hole nearby. We Togar believe it has been created artificially by a long gone civilization, perhaps the Celtest. It leads deep into Union Space and is used by the Bennetts to smuggle Union Mil Tech, Slaves and other prohibited Tech out, and drugs and other illegal things in. The old Bennett owns an ancient alien device that controls that worm hole. They kept it secret for many decades, but our Queen knows about it and in return for restricted Union tech, she made a pact with the Bennetts to protect them. Our high command believes the Vun Dai tribe has known this secret for a long time and also had a deal with the Bennetts and this is why we have standing orders to engage the Vun tribe preventing them to share this with Cam Elf Na.”
I could not contain myself, cursed and said. “So any fleet built up at the border won’t do any good. How big is that worm hole?”
He made a wide gesture and said. “Big enough for the largest Dai Mother, and perhaps even for that tremendous Demon ship the Union has.”
“Do you know where it terminates?”
“I never went through and its existence is supposed to be a tight guarded secret. ”
“And now the Dai fight the Togar over it?”
“We are not sure if all the Dai know about it, but once they do, we are certain open hostilities will follow. The Queen is certain that all the Dai will eventually learn about it and discover the exact location, we are to hunt any Dai around the Shattered System. We are also to find the White Fur Demon. The Queen herself has decreed that we search any pirate ships, slave traders and slave markets for a White furred Togar Female. She is to be destroyed on sight.”
His triangular nose started twitching quite violently and his tongue became visible as it licked his chaps.
Cateria had returned with a big plate full of crisp bacon strips and placed it before the Togar. “The Galley didn’t know what kind of bacon you prefer so they gave you a sample of all the kinds we had.”
He really tried to be dignified and polite restraining himself but his nose and tongue had a mind of their own. It seemed to have the same effect it had on Jolai and I said to him. “Go right ahead Commander, I leave you to it and I will have some suitable quarters arranged. Under guard and confined of course until we reach Kaliment, or we find a better solution.”
He sighed.”
“Thank you.”
I got up and he put the first piece of bacon in his mouth and his non-human beast like face clearly showed bliss as he chewed. “This is the real treasure of your ship!”
Before I had turned completely he said. “I have nothing left. No home and I am doomed to die at the hands of my own kind, yet I found mercy aboard a ship of outlaws and pirates. I am now an outcast myself. Will you allow me a knife or perhaps a moment in one of your airlocks”
He paused as I turned back to face him, having a good idea what he was contemplating. I also saw the conflict in the magnificent looking cat being. He had been a loyal officer all his life and I had to admit that this being would have been chosen to become a Captain if he had been born on a Union world and made the decision to join the Fleet. He stood before the ruins of his life and had few options.
“I will of course honor your wish if that is the only option you see, but as I said to another Togar not so long ago, death comes to us all, and there is no need to seek it out. Death is not a solution, just an end. Maybe you should wait with that terminal decision. There is always hope and the day may come when you can return to your home. If there is a revolution looming, it might happen and in turn change the conditions that prevent your return home now.”
He stood there, despite him not being human I was certain what went through his mind. He looked around and then back at me. “There are beings of all kind in your crew, even a Y’All and a Nul...”
I sighed and sat back down. “Yes, Commander and there are many more and there might be room for a Togar too. There are voices in me warning me, but I have more often than not disregarded them and acted on my instincts.”
I sighed. “This is a very special ship indeed and we are on a strange journey to say it mildly, but there might be a place for you in my crew.
He made a growling sound. “Yes, this we share. I have not many alternatives, being a hunted fugitive without means, perhaps ending up on a Karthanian smelter moon. Short of suicide asking you to accept me in your crew was indeed a glimmer of hope that grew in me. I do know little about what it means to be an outlaw, but an outcast I am. I have nowhere else to go.”
His paw like hands were trembling. “Captain Velvet, do you have room for a Togar among your crew?”
“I can’t guarantee you like it. Should you decide to accept my offer, you will not be able to return to Togr and your life will change forever.”
“It already has, to the realm I am already dead. I will follow you and accept you as my Captain, but despite what you think about Togar, I am not a coldblooded killer and might not be able to commit all the crimes you are accused of committing. However I will do any chores, nothing will be beneath me.”
I undid the laces of my mask and removed it. “What you just said Commander Roghor, is the reason I accept you as part of this crew. It also affirms that I can trust my instincts, at least most of the time.”
His non human face clearly expressed surprise.
Cateria’s stern face was again graced by a smile.” Mr. Roghor welcome aboard the USS Tigershark and meet Captain Erica Olafson.”
He inhaled sharply. “Union, you are Union! But the crimes, the slaves you buy. The many reports...”
It was my turn to spread my arms and grin. “Well not all reports are exactly true.”
I got up again, “I think I can trust you, Commander. However you understand that I must say this. We are Union and on a very secret mission. The mission and the ship comes first and before I can fully integrate you, there will be training and vetting to make sure that you are indeed aware of all the details this decision entails.”
“I understand, Captain Olaf
son. Perhaps the first step is to abandon calling me by my Togar rank. I am a Commander no more.”
“I have the distinct notion, Mr. Rohgar you might regain that rank eventually, just perhaps not on Togar side.”
Har-Hi stepped through the curtains, wearing his Union uniform. “I am the XO of this ship, Mr. Rohgar and it became one of my duties to integrate new members. I assure you this happens more than one would think, especially aboard a ship that operates deep undercover.”
“At least I was not involved this time.” SHIP chirped in.
Back on the bridge, I asked Elfi.“How fast can we reach space where GalNet is possible?”
“We will be able to pick up GalNet, near Itheamh again.”
“Anything in sensor range, Mr. Narth?”
“No artificial contacts within sensor range.”
“Mr. Ndebele, disregard our disguise imposed limitations. You got your wish, go as fast as we can. We have very important news we need to convey.”
Shaka responded with an enthusiastic .“Aye, captain. Our ETA of 2.7 days has reduced to 21 hours. That is safe cruising speed captain. ”
I acknowledged.
Yeoman O’Connell coming down the ramp from the back of the bridge carrying my monster cup said: “Itheamh is no longer in Freespace, Captain. No more loopholes or justifications necessary. No treaties with the Union exist or limit what we can or cannot do.” I smiled at her and asked,
“What do we know about Itheamh, anyway?“`
Sobody sitting in the Observer seat that was rarely used on Union ships but had become his station. He even had a console raised from its usual stowed away position. Technically he had no real bridge function but he was invaluable to me.
He said, “l believe the Golden Databanks are now accessible to Union Fleet information requests and there has been a Golden trading post for,a very long time.”
He shifted in his seat so he could address me more directly. “Itheamh is an independent planet, but very close to Karthanian space. It is, if you will, a gigantic Junk yard, space ship market and repair place. It is also an outlet for Karthanian products, spare parts and so on. Remember the scrap we bought on Sin 4?”
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6 (The Galactic Chronicles Series) Page 135