by Musser, Dale
“It’s all recorded in the bridge records. We can easily backtrack to retrieve their points of origin,” said Stonbersa.
“Good. As soon as we finish reducing their fleet to rubble we need to go back to the surface and free the natives that they’re holding as slaves before we can blow up their bases.”
We watched calmly as the first of the Brotherhood ships arrived and fired at the NEW ORLEANS. Due to the RMFF, their shots were absorbed as the familiar bursts of energy. We watched the lightning patterns play on the surface of the field of the ship, waiting for the rebels to realize the futility of their assault. Meanwhile, I hoped that the cloaked Mirage Fighters were far enough from the line of fire to keep from getting hit by an errant shot.
More of the Brotherhood’s ships arrived and joined the assault. Though we were safe, it was becoming difficult to see beyond the shield that was constantly distributing the energy flashes from the barrage of gunfire.
“Well, Captain, would you like to give them the option to surrender before we swat them like a bunch of flies?”
Stonbersa grinned and moved over in view of the bridge’s vid screen, then nodded to Kerabac, who had resumed his normal station on the bridge. Kerabac opened a universal communication channel and the captain spoke.
“This is Captain Stonbersa of the space yacht NEW ORLEANS. Do you wish to surrender now or would you prefer we destroy your fleet?”
A moment later a rather rugged individual wearing a Brotherhood captain’s uniform appeared on the screen. “This is Captain Ruraldo of the corvette MIZBAGONA. You must be high on God’s Sweat if you think your space yacht is any match for our ships. However, if you wish to surrender, we’ll be most happy to take that fancy play toy away from you.”
Laughter could be heard in the background on the MIZBAGONA.
Stonbersa said, “I see. Would you like us to pick you off one at a time or a bunch of you at once?”
On the screen we could see Ruraldo laugh arrogantly. “Why don’t you pick us off in a bunch? I’ll enjoy the laugh.”
Captain Stonbersa glanced at me and smiled and then he said to Kerabac, “Tell the Mirage Fighters to open fire and knock out their bigger ships.”
“Yes, Sir,” replied Kerabac.
A few seconds later the skies over Alle Bamma were lit up with an inferno of explosions in every direction. The shots from the NEW ORLEANS totally vaporized every ship under their fire. The collective rapid fire coming from the cloaked Mirage Fighters quickly decommissioned Brotherhood ships across the broad expanse between the NEW ORLEANS and the planet; and in less than a minute there were thirty ships either gone or out of commission, prompting the rest to flee back to the surface.
One by one, the Mirage Fighters decloaked and pursued the retreating enemy ships, which didn’t get very far. Rising from the planet were three patrol ships and another Mirage Fighter – the ALI. Guns blazed as they intercepted the scattering rebels and more Brotherhood ships ceased to operate. Captain Ruraldo and his crew, however, were still actively transmitting; and the look on Ruraldo’s face was priceless.
“Would you like to reconsider your decision?” Stonbersa asked calmly; but before he could finish, Ruraldo terminated the vid transmission and turned his ship to flee like the others.
“I wonder how many more ship they have on the surface,” I said. A’Lappe had not left the bridge yet so I instructed him to send word to Admiral Regeny to apprise him of the situation. As he transmitted by way of the instant communicator, the standard communication system activated and Marranalis appeared on the screen.
“We have more ships heading our way – and real fast,” he said. “Do you want us to re-cloak or to take them out?”
Stonbersa looked at me. I ordered, “Take them out! We don’t have time to play games; they’ve made their choices.”
We watched silently. A few seconds later the sky danced with flashes of light. Explosions filled the vid screen, as our returning ships wreaked yet more havoc on the Brotherhood. Even so, three ships managed to elude the Mirage Fighters and return to the planet where they disappeared into the jungle. Before they vanished, Stonbersa broadcasted one last message to them.
“You still have a chance to surrender before the Federation ships get here. If you think this little ‘fancy play toy’ damaged to your ships, wait until the Federation get here with their big play toys – and they’re a lot closer than you think.”
“May your ass roast in the sun!” Ruraldo spat. “This fight isn’t over yet!” and he terminated transmissions.
“I suspect that morale in the rebel camp is going to be very low tonight,” I said.
“Tibby,” said A’Lappe, “the admiral says to tell you that his fleet is still in pursuit of the Brotherhood ships that escaped after the battle at Plosaxen. He wants to know if you want him to launch the Mirage Fighters to catch up with them and take them out there before they get to Alle Bamma.”
“Tell him that I think it may be more enjoyable for him to nail them here, but it’s up to him. In the meantime, I’m taking some of my security forces to the surface to free as many native slaves as I can and blow up a few of the Brotherhood drug labs while we’re at it.”
“The admiral says he understands and he appreciates what you’re doing.”
After A’Lappe sent the message he announced he was going to look over the RUNANA and turned over his seat at the communication console to a cute blond female officer that I had never noticed before. It wasn’t surprising that I didn’t recognize her, as my ship was very large and staffed with so many people that I had so far become acquainted with only a few of the key personnel. Most had been hired by Kala, Stonbersa, Piesew or Marranalis, all of whom I trusted implicitly. As A’Lappe left, she positioned the headband on her head that facilitated the thought amplification required for successful and instantaneous communication across vast distances.
“Excuse me,” I said, “is that thing difficult to operate?”
“No, not really,” she said with a smile.
“How does it work? How do you direct your message where you want it to go? I mean, if all you know is the name of the ship and not the operator at the other end, what happens to the message?”
She laughed at my confused question. “I asked A’Lappe that same question and his answer was, Don’t try to figure it out. You will never be able to understand it. He said even he and Cantolla don’t fully understand it. Basically, all you have to do is to think about the destination of the message. For instance, I think of the particular ship where the message is to go; and somehow it hooks up to whoever is wearing the headband on the other end. A’Lappe thinks it has something to do with what he refers to as universal consciousness. He says everything is made of the same energy; therefore, all things are connected. Cantolla thinks that his idea is rubbish, but she is at a loss to explain exactly how it works herself. All that we know for sure it that it works.”
“Ah, I see. Thanks. By the way, I’m Tibby. And you are…?”
She giggled and said, “Yes, I know you’re Tibby, everyone knows who you are. I’m Verona. I began working for you just shortly before the NEW ORLEANS left Megelleon.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Verona, and thanks for the explanation… I think.”
I left the bridge and went directly to see Kala again. Even though she was still in stasis, I needed to see her and I went to the room where she lay in the chamber. When I last saw her, the room was stark and barren, except for the stasis capsule. I had instructed Piesew to bring plants and some of her personal possessions into the room with her. Even though I expected to see a change, I was surprised to find it tastefully decorated with flowering plants from the many atrium areas of the ship and several comfortable chairs positioned around the room, two of which were occupied by crew members. As I approached the stasis chamber, I saw Piesew gazing at several picture cubes of Kala’s family and friends. The pictures were arranged on shelves that stood between vid frames mounted on the walls to display
pictures of her favorite places. As I entered, the two crew members rose and left quietly, but Piesew remained.
“First Citizen Tibby, I am glad to see you have returned. I trust you were successful in acquiring the materials necessary for Kalana’s recovery.”
“I’m afraid not, Piesew; but we will have them soon, I hope. I just needed to check in on Kala and see her before I continue the effort,” I said as I walked over and looked into Kala’s stasis capsule.
She looked exactly as I had last seen her. I felt like she would open her eyes and smile at me at any moment and everything would be as it was before. I sighed as I realized that was not about to happen; and tears filled my eyes. I lifted my head and looked about the room. Arranged throughout the space around Kala’s chamber were several tables, on which I saw what appeared to be thousands of coins. I walked over to one of the tables and picked up one of the coins to examine it. On one side was a circle that surrounded an oval with a smaller circle inside it, within which a rust-colored stain was visible. On the opposite side of the coin was a circle inscribed in a triangle. I looked at the other coins to find that they were all inscribed with the same symbols and that each had the same rust-colored stain in the small circular marking.
“What are these?” I asked Piesew.
“They are life tokens.”
“Life tokens? I’ve never heard of them before. Can you explain them to me?”
“Life tokens are used commonly throughout the Federation as an expression of concern and wishes of wellbeing for a person in a critical health situation. It is believed that the practice of offering these tokens originated on the first capital planet before it was destroyed in the war that was waged when the solbidyum disappeared.”
“What is the stain?”
“What you see on each of those tokens a drop of blood from the well-wisher,” said Piesew. “Originally it is believed that small pebbles were used instead of the tokens. Back then a person would prick their finger and place a drop of blood on a pebble before leaving it with the person in critical condition. It symbolized the concern of the well-wisher and also acted as a pledge on the part of the well-wisher to do whatever they could – even at the cost of their own life – to see to the recovery of the individual. The brown stain you see on each token here is a drop of blood from each crew member on the NEW ORLEANS who has pledged their life to see to First Citizen Kalana’s recovery.”
As Piesew explained what I it was I had in my hand, I broke out in tears and fell to the floor on my knees.
As I sobbed, Piesew approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “She will be alright, Tibby. She is safe in stasis; and I know you will find the ruguian eggs for the cure.”
It took me a few moments to recover my composure; and when I got back to my feet I asked Piesew to tell me more about the symbols on the token, as I looked through the capsule at Kala.
“The oval inscribed with the circle is the recognized symbol of life throughout most of the Federation. It was not always so; but slowly it became accepted universally by most worlds as such. The outer circle represents the universe. The triangle on the back of the token represents the three aspects of a person’s life – body, soul, and spirit.”
I was shocked when I heard him say this, as many religions on Earth believed in the same concept of a triune nature of life in a person. Body and soul I thought I understood; but as to the validity of the spirit part, I was unsure. In any case, I was at this point hoping and praying that they existed and all were well in Kala.
“How many tokens are in here?” I asked Piesew, as I scanned the collection of tables covered with the symbolic coins.
“How many members do you have in your crew?” came Piesew’s answer in the form of a question. “There is one token there for every member of the crew.”
I choked up again for a few moments; and when I regained my composure I said. “Thank you, Piesew, and please find a way to express my thanks to all the crew for their efforts and concerns.”
“I’ll leave you alone with First Citizen Kalana for a few moments. I’ll be waiting outside when you leave,” He said as he departed the room. It was not until after he left that I realized when he was trying to comfort me, Piesew had dropped all honorific formality and called me Tibby; and I knew him at that moment for the true friend that he always was and continues to be.
I stayed a few moments longer with Kala; but I soon realized that if I was going to get her the cure, I needed to rid Alle Bamma of the Brotherhood and I needed to do it quickly; so I said goodbye to Kala and left. I needed a shower and a shave, as it had been several days since I had either.
When I came out of the shower, I noticed Piesew had returned to my suite. He paused in the doorway, holding the soiled Brotherhood uniform in front of him and away from his own clothing.
“Excuse me, Honored First Citizen, what do you wish me to do with these articles? Do you wish them cleaned and preserved or shall I dispose of them?”
“Hm, good question, Piesew. For now I think it might be best for us to clean and preserve them. They might come in handy for future covert operations.”
“As you wish, sir. Would you care for a meal, sir? You look as though you have not eaten in the past few days.”
Up until then I must confess that I had not thought about food; but now that Piesew mentioned it, I found I was quite hungry. “Yes, Piesew, I would like to eat, but I think it would be best to make arrangements to dine with Captain Stonbersa, Marranalis, Kerabac and A’Lappe. Could you see if they are all available to meet in about an hour here in my personal dining room?”
“I will see to it, sir. Will there be anything else?”
“Yes, Piesew, I want to thank you for all you are doing for Kala. Have the medics said anything at all about her? Are there any changes since she was placed in stasis?”
“Nothing has changed, sir, and as long as she is in stasis, nothing will change. Will that be all?”
“Yes, Piesew. Thank you.”
My wrist com sounded the reminder for dinner and I once again gathered my thoughts around planning the next phase of operations on Alle Bamma. I realized that I would need to find Jnanara as soon as possible and find out if she knew where and how many other Brotherhood bases were spread across the planet. We knew where some were by tracking their liftoff points during the day’s earlier conflict; but there could be others as well.
As I emerged from my room, I heard the low voices of Piesew and two other attendants in the dining area where they finished preparing for the arrival of my team. One wall had been moved to expand the space and the table was enlarged, all done with the touch of a button on a control panel. Piesew’s staff finished arranging the linen and place settings and took their stations at the perimeter of the dining room. Shortly after, Piesew opened the door to Captain Stonbersa, Marranalis, Kerabac and A’Lappe, who arrived together. I greeted each guest individually and motioned for them to be seated.
“Things are going to be very busy around here the next few days. I don’t have time to meet with you separately for updates and orders; so I thought we might accomplish it while we dined. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, Tibby. You are the busiest man I’ve ever seen; and to be able to spend just a few minutes with you is always a delight,” said the captain.
“Ha,” said Kerabac. “You haven’t had the pleasure of spending a night with him inside a hollow I’aban tree after hunting for ruguian eggs in a storming rain.”
“No I haven’t, Kerabac, and I think I will pass on that, even as adventurous at it sounds.”
Everyone laughed and Piesew and his staff began serving the food.
“We were unable to get more than a few ruguian eggs before we ran into the Brotherhood. We need to collect more; but before we can, we need to make sure there are no rebel forces running about or operating on the planet. We also need to free the natives from the slavery they are suffering at the hands of the Brotherhood.”
“Ker
abac told me about that after you left the bridge,” said Captain Stonbersa. “They sound primitive and barbaric.
“The natives are certainly primitive, but it is the Brotherhood that is barbaric. I suspect we don’t know the depth of horrors that has gone on there; but we don’t need to in order to put an end to it. Here’s what I think we need to do – and if any of you see problems or have any better ideas or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to bring them up. As I see it, we need to deploy several of our security tactical units to the surface – fully armed and equipped with personal cloaking devices – to free the natives and take out the Brotherhood bases. We need to either destroy or capture as many of their ships on the ground as we can. I’m hoping they have more ships like the RUNANA that we can perhaps capture rather than destroy. Once things here are cleaned up and the Brotherhood is ousted, there needs to be a force left behind as a deterrent to the Brotherhood or any other unscrupulous group that might try to return with the intent of restoring drug operations, enslaving the natives again, or profiting from their frailties in any way. The Federation won’t protect them from such threats, because it’s not a Federation planet or even a candidate for membership; but I can do it – and I would like nothing better than to do it using ships that once belonged to the Brotherhood.”
“I think we have a good chance of taking the ships at one base,” Marranalis interjected, “but I doubt we will be able to pull it off again at a second base. I don’t think the Brotherhood yet realizes that we have the ability to cloak our troopers; so we can enter the first compound and seize their ships with relative ease. But if the word gets out that we can cloak individuals, we won’t have this advantage again. Communication here between bases is instantaneous, unlike their communications between solar systems. It only takes one broadcast advising other operations that we have personal cloaking capabilities for every base on this planet to be alerted to that fact. At that moment every rebel ship will be sealed.”