by Sam Lippert
“No, the stuff is worthless on T'rv'l,” was Nathan's response. “If they don't like the cargo, I'll probably have to sell Remi, so let's hope it works!” Prescilla and the captain both laughed.
Remi had never heard of T'rv'l, so while she was hopeful that Nathan was joking, she was not absolutely sure.
“What's the cargo?”
CHAPTER XVII
“Nola, I hate to say it sweetie, but if I'm right, and this Prescilla Anderson has Nathan and Remi, we are not going to be able to launch any type of successful rescue.” The pair had spent the night pouring over terabytes of information, some public, and some that had to be decrypted. “She was the most wanted person on the planet even before the events of two days ago, and every conglomerate has put a substantial price on her head. Because of that, only the most loyal of her Revolutionaries know the location of her headquarters.
“Even if we could find it, the rumor is it is buried nearly a mile underground, with only one entrance and exit. Negotiation may be an option, but we will have to wait for her to make the first overture, as the conglomerates are actively blocking all known inbound communications channels with the revolutionaries in an attempt to keep their organization from growing.” It hurt Winnette to come to the conclusion that there was nothing she could do to help her sister the Princess.
“What do we do, Winnette?” Nola asked with a whine in her voice, sadly Winnette was getting used to it. “Just sit and wait, hoping that they all aren't dead?”
“Not exactly, sis,” the KII agent responded. “I think we can make some progress on the Omany front. He isn't the kind of person who would take a radio and then not use it to report in, unless he was in a situation that could be compromised by use of the radio. Even then, he would have found a way to call sometime in the last forty-eight hours.
“I think it's safe to say he's been captured somehow, by someone. I say captured, not killed, because he is nearly impossible to kill. I find it hard to believe he has even been captured, but I really see no other logical conclusion.”
“But, sister,” Nola really liked being able to use that term with Winnette, especially since all the rest of her 'family' was incommunicado. “If Omany has been captured, won't he be as hard to free as Nathan and Remi?”
“He would be if he were in the hands of the Revolution, but I don't think that is the case.”
“I don't see how you can reasonably come to that conclusion. He went out after Nathan and Remi. The most probable outcome is that he was either captured attempting a rescue, or was discovered while in pursuit.” The AIs face contorted into a puzzled look.
“Discovered, yes, but not by members of the Revolution. Omany, as with all Verstaten priests is extremely good at the art of distraction! If he is following someone, they will not know it unless he desires them to have that knowledge, which he would only some do as part of a larger plan. He also would not attempt a rescue, even to save the Princess, unless success were all but guaranteed.” Winnette sighed. “That leaves only one real possibility: while his attention was focused on Nathan, Remi and the Revolutionaries, someone got the drop on him. The only question remaining is who and why.
“Nola, can you do a broad based search on the Net, pertaining to Verstaten priests in general, and Omany in particular? Maybe there is some nugget of a clue out there that can help us.”
* * *
The only thing Nathan ever found more frustrating than not being on the Nola was not being able to get to the Nola because she was on the wrong side of a security perimeter. Sadly, given the nature of his life, this had happened more often than he cared to think about.
Nathan and Remini had returned to the spaceport in a cargo transport driven by one of Prescilla's lieutenants, only to find the gate closed and locked. Utilizing the call box located there they had an informative but non-productive conversation with the owner of the facility where they were told that due to the civil unrest, which had gotten worse in the last forty-eight hours, he was not letting anyone onto the property that did not come down from space. Between unstable revolutionaries and unpredictable security forces, he had decided it was in the best interest of his business and his life to hunker down and wait for the dust to settle. The owner then went on to discuss, in detail, the latest in 'shoot to kill' automated security devices he had recently installed and activated.
The situation, while annoying, had not been completely unanticipated. Prescilla had warned them that the owner of the spaceport had stubbornly refused to take sides in the revolution, and although there were revolutionaries on his payroll, he had sent all of his employees home for the duration of the crisis.
“It's too bad we weren't able to contact Omany,” Nathan thought aloud. “Having a man on the 'inside' right now would certainly be helpful!” For security reasons, the Revolution had no n-wave or even EM radios and communicated solely by using matched quantum particles. In the early twenty-first century it was discovered that certain quantum particles could be paired, and once paired a vibration induced in one particle produced an immediate and identical vibration in the other, no matter the distance that separated the two particles. A pair of matched quantum radios were the most secure form of communication ever developed, as a signal cannot be traced or intercepted. Due to the fact that the quantum matching only occurs in pairs, effective use of matched quantum radios in everyday communication is extremely impractical.
“Nathan, isn't the Nola currently tethered to the spaceport's systems?” Remi asked.
Nathan nodded.
“Why don't we just ask to be able to talk to the ship?” Daniels did precisely that, and within moments they were speaking with a very relieved AI.
“Nathan? Is that really you? Is Remi with you? Are you both alright? How did you get away from the Rebels? Did they hurt you? Why...”
“Hold it right there, kiddo,” Nathan interrupted. “I promise to answer all of your questions, but right now you need to put Omany on the line.”
“I'm sorry, Nathan, but I can't do that. Omany went out to look for you two when the trouble started and he hasn't returned or contacted me since.” Nola paused, and Nathan was forced to reevaluate their options. When the AI continued with a bit of a whine, Daniels felt like he was being reprimanded by a child trying desperately to be an adult.
“Please, please take a radio with you when you leave from now on Nathan! Because you didn't have one, Omany left and I was ALL ALONE and soooooooo worried. Until Winnette showed up. Then I was still worried, but at least I was no longer alone!”
“My sister is here?” Remi asked, more than a little surprised.
“You mean our sister, sis!” Nola corrected her, proudly. “And, yes she is. Having her here helped with the loneliness, but not with the worry, because we simply couldn't think of any way to spring you from that evil Prescilla lady!”
“Prescilla is not evil, Nola.” Nathan said gently. “She's actually an old friend, and she's helping us. Could you put Winnette on? No offense, but we're in a bit of a pickle here and we are going to need some human help.”
“Not to worry, Nathan. She's sitting right here. Say 'hello' sis!” The AI cut it the mics in the control room.
“Go ahead Nathan,” Winnette said. “What is it you need?”
“Winnette, somehow you have a knack for showing up right when I need you most! You are going to have to let me know how you manage that.” Nathan smiled, even though the connection was audio only. “Here's the thing. We are right outside the gate of the spaceport with a ground transport full of cargo the Revolution has given us. We get the cargo in exchange for the gold we have on board Nola, with safe passage into orbit guaranteed once the gold is in Prescilla's possession.
“The problem is, the 'port owner isn't planning on opening his gate until the dust settles on the Revolution and he knows which side he needs to be on. Do you think you can persuade him?”
“Sure, Nathan. Just give me ten minutes.” Winnette said in a matter of fact manner.
>
“Ten minutes?” Nathan questioned. “Are you sure that's all you need?”
“I can be very persuasive. Just ask Remi!” Winnette cut the connection.
“It's true,” Remi confessed. “One time she managed to convince me to go skinny dipping with her in Reolth Lake, in the middle of the winter! I still get a chill when I think about it!”
“I'm getting a chill thinking about it. Albeit for entirely different reasons.” Nathan responded with a chuckle, earning him a punch in the arm from Remi.
True to her word, Winnette had the gate open just under ten minutes later, and met the transport at the base of Nola's cargo ramp. After an exchange of pleasantries and instructions from Nathan, the pair of revolutionaries who had accompanied the transport on the trip began the exchange of cargoes, freeing Nathan, Remi, Winnette and Nola to discuss the Omany situation, which they did in the cargo bay, while keeping an eye on the transfer.
“So, Omany went out to look for us, and you haven't seen or heard from him since?” Remi restated the obvious, in the form of a question, in order to get the conversation going. “That is very unlike him!”
“Exactly!” Winnette and her sister exchanged knowing looks. “With Nola's help I have scoured information available on the Net and found that Omany is not the first Verstaten Priest to go missing on Rand! In fact, he is the thirteenth in the last year.” Nola's little girl avatar on the nearest view screen was replaced by a collection of news stories about the missing priests. Nathan was still as confused by this change in Nola's appearance as he was about Winnette's appearance on Rand, but right now Omany was the more pressing issue. “I think someone has been kidnapping them...”
“That's impossible!” Remi interrupted the KII agent. “A Verstaten Priest cannot be held captive without someone knowing about it.” Both Nathan and Winnette looked at the Princess quizzically. “I can't say any more than that, and even that is probably too much.”
“The only other options are that the missing priests are dead, or disappeared willingly. Either way, it means trying to find Omany is useless.” Winnette looked at her sister for her reaction.
The Princess mulled it over. “Even though successfully kidnapping and holding a Verstaten priest is impossible, it is more likely than the other two options. If Omany were dead, I would know it, and he simply would not choose to disappear.”
Nola chimed in, “Given that sister and I have spent the better part of the last two days working from the assumption that Omany was kidnapped or otherwise captured, I am relieved to hear you say that.”
“So, what did you girls come up with?” Nathan asked.
“Winnette and I both agree that Omany is most likely in the hands of Joe 'The Collector' Morrison.”
Nathan let out a long whistle.
“Am I the only one who doesn't know who this guy is?” Remi asked.
“Joe Morrison is the CEO of the biggest conglomerate on Rand, which by extrapolation makes him easily one of the richest people, if not the richest person, on the planet, maybe even in the quadrant.” Winnette explained. “His nickname 'The Collector' comes from his penchant for using his wealth to collect things that are extraordinarily difficult to obtain.”
“He's rumored to have thirteen of the Plates of Tourag.” Nathan added.
“Tourag guards the antiquities of their First Civilization better than a Eunuch guards a harem. I've been there.” Remi said, disbelieving. “For this man to have one of the Plates would be unbelievable, but thirteen? That's..”
“Impossible?” Nathan finished. “Kind of like capturing thirteen Verstaten priests and keeping them on ice? That's exactly why he likes to collect things in groups of thirteen. Anything less than that, in his opinion, could be attributed to luck, but to obtain thirteen of something as hard to get as the Plates of Tourag, can only be done with a tremendous amount of money.” Nathan turned to Winnette and the view screen which once again held the image of an eleven year old redheaded girl. “If we assume that Omany's disappearance is connected to that of the twelve other Verstaten Priests, then I agree with you that The Collector is probably behind it, and if he is, we are going to need some help to get Omany back.”
Nathan got the attention of one of the revolutionaries moving cargo.
* * *
Every minute felt like an eternity, not in the good relaxing way that comes with meditation, but in the painful stress-filled way that comes from the sudden realization that you have no clue where your child has wandered off to. Every eternal moment was filled with pain, pain unlike anything Omany had ever felt. The priest had experienced his share of pain, both emotional and physical, but it had been decades since he had done so without the Ways to dull the effects. The enormity of the sensory input he was being subjected to was such overload that his mental discipline was completely useless for screening it out.
Or so his mysterious captor believed.
Humans, being what they are, were unable to design and build any type of mechanical or electrical system that was completely without flaws, and since the sensory overload chamber was of human design (no other known race had ever been quite as good at devising ways to inflict pain), there were flaws.
It had taken Omany what seemed to be an eternity of eternities to notice it, but if he was not mistaken, there was a cycle of sorts. Every so often, in a definable pattern, the input to one of his senses would dim, as if something within the device needed to recharge. It was virtually unnoticeable at first, as the overloads in the other senses were distracting, but as a Verstaten High Priest, he was better trained than most to not be distracted.
The dimming was never total, but it was enough, especially if he could anticipate it, to allow for a level of concentration that might just allow him, given enough time, to erect the necessary barriers to render the chamber useless. It would be a herculean effort, impossible for anyone below the level of high priest, difficult even for one of the Elite, but it could be done. It would be like building five brick walls, placing a brick at a time in each, in the dark, while being buffeted by one hundred kilometer-per-hour winds from five different directions, and having to place the brick when one of the five winds briefly dies down to thirty km/h.
Taste dims, place a brick, wait an eternity.
Sight dims, place a brick, wait an eternity.
Sound dims, place a brick, wait an eternity.
Touch dims, place a brick, wait an eternity.
Smell dims, place a brick, wait an eternity.
Taste dims...
CHAPTER XVIII
Even Nathan had to admit that as plans go, this one left much to be desired, but it was the best that he, his friends aboard Nola and his allies among the revolution were able to come up with.
Prescilla had agreed immediately to assist the crew of the Nola in rescuing Omany. The Collector was not only a linchpin in the Rand socio-economic system, but his enormous wealth and how he chose to spend a small fraction of it symbolized everything the Revolution was fighting against. Prescilla and her colleagues desperately wanted to put him on trial in a very public fashion. However, their efforts to do so had been hampered by the security perimeter around The Collector's estate.
“The walls are just the beginning,” Prescilla said via video connection. The strategy session had convened in the galley once Nathan had patched the borrowed quantum radio into Nola's systems. Nathan, Remi, Winnette, and the two Revolutionaries were seated around the galley table with Nola as a split screen image with Prescilla. “Extending up from the walls is a military grade shield that forms a dome over the estate. Automated 'shoot to kill' systems line the inside of the walls. They are, of course, aimed into the grounds of the estate, in order to limit The Collector's liability, so we at least have that going for us when it comes to getting close. Finally, the security system is linked to the local Security Forces field office by quantum radio, causing the SF to be called out if anyone even approaches the perimeter.
“Every time we get close, a SF pers
onnel transport shows up before we can even think about breaching the perimeter. We do have a Resistance member at the SF field office who can interfere with the transmission, thus ensuring the SF do not arrive, but it can only be done once, because his cover will then be blown.” Prescilla paused.
“What happens after the Security Forces arrive?” Winnette asked.
“The cruiser generally does a lap around the perimeter, deploying non-lethal crowd control measures, then the shield is lowered for half a second so the transport can land inside the compound, where roughly thirty SF troopers disembark and take up various positions on the walls around the compound.” The leader of the Revolution explained.
“Prescilla,” Remi spoke up. “I know you have many revolutionaries in the Security Forces. Is there any chance you have access to a Personnel Transport, which we could utilize as a Trojan horse?”
“Sadly, no,” Prescilla explained. “The nearest Rebel controlled personnel transport is over one thousand clicks away, making it impossible to achieve a believable response time. We can't move it any closer without arousing suspicion.”
“Nathan,” Nola interjected. “I have detected a set of Quinfeld Seven holoprojectors integrated into my systems. Am I correct in assuming these are mounted on the exterior of the ship?”
“Yes, Nola,” Daniels replied. “I have several simple holo patterns installed to cloak the ship when it is necessary to land on a primitive world without attracting attention. I don't see how that will help us.”
“Well, since they are patched into my systems, I have control of them, and I can certainly do more than project sand dunes with them! I mean seriously, Nathan, sand dunes?” Nola shook her avatar's head. “I have looked up images of a standard Rand Security Forces personnel transport. I am confident I can use the holo projectors to make the ship appear as one, giving Remi her 'Trojan Horse.'”