by Sam Lippert
“Can your friend be trusted?” Winette asked, nodding towards Tranda.
“Tranda?” Nathan asked. “You won't find a more trustworthy person in the Consortium! As long as you aren't at a Janga table, that is,” Nathan smiled. “Tranda will do whatever is necessary to win, which happens more often than not.”
“Janga, eh?” Winette chuckled. “Good! After the shuttle docks at Axis, stay aboard and purchase tickets to Vegas. Once you are there, meet me at this location.” She handed Nathan a piece of paper, got up, and let loose with a good slap across his cheek. The operative 'harrumphed' and moved aft in the shuttle. Tranda sat down moments later.
“Damn, Nathan, how do you do it?” Tranda asked. “I step forward for a few minutes to use the head and you manage to find lady trouble.”
“If you only knew...” Nathan said to his friend.
* * *
Devka Jardinay had joined Kalifet Imperial Intelligence when she turned twenty-one, following in the footsteps of her mother and father before her. In her seven years as a KII operative, this was the first time the plan for an operation had come to Devka in a dream. Startled by this strange occurrence, she had gone over every detail of the plan after she woke, and she had to admit it was good, quite possibly her best work yet. Maybe she should dream plan more often.
In all actuality she had put the plan in motion, without even knowing it, back aboard the Nola when General Marag had sent her to finish off Daniels. Her on the spot determination had been that it was best to leave him alive, even though she would be at risk of blowing her cover.
The next step she had executed a few days ago after her dream. A coded communication to the Palace was all it had taken to have Marag's benefactor's numbered account frozen. The Empress had exerted diplomatic pressure on the bankers in Axis, stating that the account was being used to fund treasonous activities within the Kalifet Empire (true) and any Kalifet citizen attempting to access the account should not be detained, but only told that there were no funds in the account.
Devka had Mory to thank for the account number, although how the Verstaten priest had come by that information was beyond her. In return Mory had simply asked for her to approve the necessary documents allowing him to leave Kurufet Rising with Omany's body once they were docked with Axis. As the ship's purser this was an easy request for Devka to grant, especially since Marag wanted the body gone anyway. The General had been hesitant to order the body dumped given the high priest's relationship with the Royal Family. She was still unclear how the old priest had died as Marag had ordered that only non-lethal weapons be used in the attack. Perhaps it had been a heart attack, or someone had ignored the non-lethal order.
Without access to his numbered account, it was necessary for Marag to find another avenue for funds. She had expected Daniels' cargo to be the obvious choice. Sure enough, Marag himself was supervising the transport of the fine artwork by Consortium shuttle to Vegas, where he intended to use it as collateral for a loan. She believed the Old Earth term for what he was doing was 'pawning,' or something of the sort.
With the General off of the ship, it was time for Devka to go into action in a more overt way. The Princess' suite was monitored, but the feeds led directly to Marag's office and nowhere else. Even though he was a traitor, as head of the Royal Guard the General trusted no one else with the ability to watch Princess Remini's every move. There were no guards on the suite either, as Marag trusted the combination of Twilight gas and computer controlled locks far more than any of his traitorous crew.
Devka checked the contents of the satchel. Had she not been purser of Kurufet Rising, it would have been far more difficult for her to collect the items necessary to execute her plan: a full crew shore uniform, a forged crew ident, a hypoderm of Twilight antidote and a Consortium comcard that drew on the Kalifet Diplomatic Account.
The crew had been granted shore leave when they were off watch, to do otherwise while in the Consortium was inviting mutiny. With appropriate apparel and ID the Princess could walk right off the ship.
Carrying the satchel Devka made her way to the Princess' suite. Getting in would be no problem. As Purser she had access to override codes for most of the locks on the ship. Those she did not legitimately have access to, her KII training had granted her illegitimately. It took her only seconds to be through the door.
She found the Princess where she expected, unconscious in her bedroom. She pulled the hypoderm out of the satchel, pressed it against the Princess' arm, and was about to trigger the injection, when Remini grabbed her wrist.
“That is quite unnecessary,” Remi said as she sat up and smiled.
“Your Highness, I am Devka Jardinay of Kalifet Imperial Intelligence. I am not sure how much time we have, so I will make this short. Things are not as they seem. You did not have Tenguary fever. General Marag is a member of the faction that wants to destroy the peace with Rathshelliam. I am here to get you off the ship.”
What Devka did not know was that Remini had been the principal architect of the plan she was now executing.
* * *
Omany watched from the spirit plane as Mory retrieved his body from the morgue. There was a slight air of nervousness surrounding the young priest, even though he had all of the necessary clearances to transport a dead body off the ship. Of course, Mory did know that the body was not in fact dead.
The crew in the morgue had quickly and efficiently loaded his body into a refrigerated sarcophagus that was supported by repulsors, thus making it possible for one person to transport what would otherwise take six.
It was an easy trip to the airlock, where Mory presented his Ident and was cleared to leave the ship. Once clear of the lock, on the Axis side, Mory adjusted the temperature on the sarcophagus so that over the next few minutes Omany's body would become a more inviting place. As Omany watched the young priest proceed down the corridor, Remini also came safely through the airlock. If he had been inhabiting his body, he would have breathed a sigh of relief.
Axis was a veritable hive of corridors, from some barely wide enough to accommodate a person to some that could (and did) accommodate several 'lanes' of pedestrian and scooter traffic. Mory made his way, with his charge, down one of the smaller corridors, which dead-ended at a trash bin. There Omany re-entered his body and started the painstaking process of reanimating flesh that had been left unattended for far too long. Much to Mory's surprise, the Princess arrived within moments.
Thirty minutes later Omany was able, just barely, to stand. Remini gave him a welcoming embrace, then kept an arm around his waist to steady him, with his arm over her shoulder.
“Although chilly,” Omany said, “It is good to be back.” The pair thanked Mory and made their way to catch the shuttle to Nexus, happy to be on their way back to the Nola at last.
* * *
Waiting was hard for Nathan. It was especially hard when he knew that Remi was less than a thousand meters away, but if he did anything but wait it would put her in danger. Worse yet, he was actually waiting for the shuttle to take him farther away from her!
Explaining to Tranda that they were continuing on to Vegas had required Nathan to 'admit' that he had no connection to the Empress of Kalifet, and he had gone off the deep end when he had asked Tranda to help him place three calls to her.
He doubted he would ever hear the end of it.
The shuttle crew were beginning to seat the new passengers. Just a few more minutes and the shuttle would be on its way. At least with the shuttle in transit it would not feel so much like he was waiting. Tranda had been of no help through the intolerable wait, having leaned back for a nap after what was deemed an appropriate amount of ridiculing.
Nathan decided to occupy himself by watching the oncoming passengers.
First to board was a stocky gentleman from the high gravity world of Dwar. The high gravity environment led to much shorter and stockier frames on the humans who chose to live their lives there. In a true case of 'opposites attract' the Dwa
r's companion was a stunning lady from the low gravity world of Trice. She was roughly three times the height of the Dwar, matching every part of his short and thick frame with one long and thin.
Nathan was starting to amuse himself with the thought of the Dwar and the Trice in bed, when he caught sight of the passenger immediately behind them: Marag.
CHAPTER XI
Remi and Omany had not traveled more than fifty meters towards the shuttle dock before they were confronted by an Axis security officer.
“Hold it,” the officer said, stepping in front of the pair. “Sir,” he continued, speaking to Omany. “Sensors indicate that you do not have a comcard. Consortium regulations require comcards at all time to ensure proper debiting of accounts.”
Omany raised his head to look at the officer, this was an extreme effort as his flesh was still weak. “I am sorry, officer, it was an oversight. I did not feel well when I got up this morning. I must have left it in my quarters. Perhaps my charges can be billed to my companion's card?”
A comcard for Omany had been the weak link in their plan. Devka would not have seen any reason to obtain a comcard for a dead body, therefore it could not be included in the plan planted in her dream. Mory could not request one from her for the dead priest without inviting questions that would be better left unasked. In the end they had just crossed their fingers and hoped that with Remi using her comcard to pay for the shuttle, they could make it to Nola before anyone noticed.
“Sir, I do not think you understand,” the officer said in very measured tones. “Biometric scans identify you as Omany, of the Verstaten, yet we have no record of a comcard being issued to you within the last two years. I'm going to have to bring you in while we straighten this out. If you would follow me.”
* * *
The trip to Vegas was excruciating for Nathan. When he had noticed Marag boarding the ship, he had immediately turned his head away so as not to be noticed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the General had taken a seat towards the bow of the shuttle. Sadly, this placed him between Nathan and the shuttle's head.
Winette had made it clear that Remi's safety could rely on Marag continuing to believe that Daniels was dead. This meant that Nathan could not risk being seen or heard by the General. His conversation with Tranda devolved into mostly a series of grunts, and for the last hour of the trip he quite painfully needed to use the head. The time dragged on for what seemed like years, but eventually the shuttle docked. Tranda made to exit with the other passengers.
Daniels grabbed Tranda's arm. “Wait,” he said in a near whisper.
“What the hell?” the Saffronite intoned. “You promised me some Janga!”
Nathan took advantage of the noise from the exiting passengers to explain to Tranda that the person who led the assault on Nola was here on the shuttle, that person thought Nathan to be dead, and it was vitally important that he continue to think so, so would Tranda please sit down and shut up until said individual had exited the shuttle!
“Well, why didn't you just say so?” was the Saffronite's response.
Daniels had been extraordinarily lucky. When riding things like public shuttles, he endeavored to sit as far back as possible, so that he could constantly monitor the entire conveyance for potential trouble. (He still didn't know how Winette had managed to appear in the seat next to him without his noticing!) As Marag had been one of the last passengers to board, his seat was well to the front of Nathan's. This allowed Nathan to watch the General without being discovered.
The pair watched as Marag disembarked, then waited a few extra minutes to make sure he was clear of the area before leaving themselves.
Vegas had been built before the advent of artificial gravity, and as was typical of artificial habitats of the time, it was a single large cylinder that rotated about its axis, providing centripetal acceleration that was a rough approximation of gravity. It had taken just over ten years to build Vegas, and midway through its construction artificial gravity became available, but it was too late to change the design of the station. Although Nexus and Axis were the epitome of modern space habitats, Vegas remains an unwitting tribute to the stations of the past.
As with all stations of its type, the designers of Axis faced the question: How do you dock a ship with a spinning cylinder?
Most stations of this era were built with a stationary hub, around which the station rotated. Ships would dock with the hub and cargo and passengers would be transferred through a short period of microgravity, to the spinning portion of the station. By this method the station would be entered on the axis, where the centripetal acceleration is the lowest. Since the station had various 'levels,' all essentially cylinders within the larger cylinder and each having a different diameter, and therefore a different 'artificial gravity' it was fairly easy to work your way to whatever level you desired.
Vegas had no levels. The designers had wanted to replicate the splendor of its namesake on Old Earth, complete with towering skyscrapers, neon, and the feeling of openness. They could have still opted for the static hub, transferring visitors to the one and only 'level' using a very sophisticated elevator. But, the designers felt this would be disruptive to the experience that was Vegas. Their solution was unique. It also scares the hell out of any space traveler that actually takes the time to think about it.
A spacecraft approaches Vegas along the station's axis, aligning its Universal Docking Port (UDP) with the station's axis. At this point, the pilot slaves the ships piloting computer with the Vegas mainframe. The slaved computers fire the ship's maneuvering thrusters until the ship is rotating about its UDP in a way that matches the spin of the station. The ship's UDP is then joined with a UDP on the axis of Vegas. Now here's the tricky part: The joined UDPs now migrate along a radius of the station to the circular surface of the cylinder, with the ship's thrusters firing in just the right fashion to adjust the spin and orient the ship so its deck is tangent to the circular surface upon arrival. Passengers then disembark directly onto the 'streets' of Vegas.
Nathan never brought the Nola directly to Vegas.
The meeting place Winette had suggested was a small jazz club a few hundred meters from where the shuttle was positioned after docking. Throughout history jazz clubs were always high on the list for those engaged in subterfuge, as the ambient music was both soft enough to encourage conversation, and loud enough to make eavesdropping a difficult proposition.
The Joint, as it was called, was not crowded as it was still early afternoon in Vegas, and jazz was much more of a late night musical genre. There were a few odd patrons, but not enough for the club to turn a profit. The Joint would not even be open, except for the regulation that all business operated in Vegas must be open continuously. The same station regulation stated that service and amenities must be the same, regardless of time of day.
Since The Joint offered a live band at night, they were required to have a live band in the afternoon. However, whereas the nighttime bands were seasoned professionals, the afternoon group was very obviously in need of many years worth of additional practice. If he didn't know better, Nathan would have sworn the bass player was all of seven years old.
The lack of a crowd made spotting Winette easy.
“You will be happy to know,” she said as the pair slid into the circular booth, “That Remi and Omany are safely off Kurufet Rising. They were temporarily detained by Axis security, but that issue has been resolved.”
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, “Omany? I thought you said the old man was dead.”
“Apparently the tale of his death was greatly exaggerated. Even the best intelligence has holes.” Winette sipped the brandy she had in front of her and motioned to a waitress. The glasses in front of Nathan and Tranda were immediately filled.
“Wait a sec!” Tranda's face contorted in confusion and he turned to Nathan. “This is the woman who slapped you on the shuttle, and now we are in a club having drinks with her? Again, I have to say you ne
ver cease to amaze me!” Tranda's brandy was lifted in salute. After a long sip, the Saffronite continued. “Who the hell are Omany and Remi?”
Nathan and Winette exchanged a glance. The years she had spent with Remi made her an easy read for Nathan. Her eyes were saying it was time to tell Tranda everything.
“You see Tranda, about eight weeks ago...” Nathan told the Saffronite the whole story, with Winette backing him up on the parts that Tranda didn't believe, and filling in the gaps where Nathan's knowledge fell short.
“So,” Tranda said as Nathan wrapped up. “This General Marag, he was the one from the shuttle, right?” Daniels nodded. “He has your cargo, and is using it as collateral to get seed money to play the Janga tables? And he is seriously good enough, or at least he thinks he is, to turn it into enough cash to make an imperial yacht disappear for nearly two years? I thought you had a big head, Pretty Boy!” Again came a salute with the brandy snifter, followed by another swig.
“The General is definitely good enough.” Winette chimed in. “Good enough that we can't just let the Janga pieces fall where they may. We need you to play him, to make sure he loses.”
“But if the Princess,” Tranda's head shook, and a laugh followed. “Sorry, I can't get over that.” After recomposing, Tranda went on. “Is no longer in danger aboard the Kurufet Rising, what does it matter if this Marag wins or loses?”
“Well, I would like my cargo back.” Nathan grinned.
“More important than that,” Winette said emphatically. “If Marag is successful, he will have enough money to relentlessly pursue the Nola for the next year. The next time he catches up with you, it might not go as well as it did this time.”
“You really consider this time going well?” Nathan intoned.