Koban 5: A Federation Forged in Fire

by Stephen W Bennett

  “How did you get them aboard your ship?”

  “They were lightly drugged then by the people that sold them to me, and were held in an electrified fence corral, with a chute to my main ramp and extending to this pen. I have some of that fencing in storage, but it would take more than a day to set up and it won’t reach to that arena. I don't have the drug they used, and I don’t know enough about their metabolism to risk a tranquilizer intended for Earth animals. These big grazing animals are not as dumb as you might think, not as they would be on other worlds. They’re relatively bright, and they know an electric fence when they see one. They don’t try to test them, but I don't have very much fencing with me.”

  “Then perhaps we should fly close to the arena and offload them there. There are wild animal pens under the seating area and below the arena floor.”

  “You’ve seen the size of the Falcon and know the size of that arena. If it’s open to the sky, do you think I will have room to land inside the coliseum and let them walk down the ramp? How big are the events and entertainments held there?”

  “I don't know if you are familiar with the history of ancient Rome on Earth, but think of gladiators, or small well trained forces armed with swords and spears, animal predators from multiple planets matched against people armed with hand weapons, or animals against other animals. The sheiks each host competitions with each other, for best fighters, best animals, or most interesting executions. Those are always entertaining, but the largest ones, only two or three held per year, are amazing spectacles and held at the largest arenas. Sheik Sayed had thirty thousand guests at his last hosting, nearly six years ago, and although not the largest in size, his arena will have room for this ship if it can land precisely vertical. Your animals have him interested, if they prove to be as formidable and dangerous as they seem. Only the antelope seem too tame for arena use, but they are attractive for display.”

  “Believe me when I tell you that underestimating any animals from the home world of these is a mistake. It would be difficult to capture them, but there are dinosaur analogues there that are much larger and stronger than these animals are. That half-grown feathered whiteraptor is a cousin to the dinosaurs, and its small compared to some of those giants. I think I can attract many customers with those if I can learn how to transport them. I had no idea the entertainments here were so extreme.”

  “We don’t let it be known. From what you just told me, you could become very rich if you can provide proof of these animals and be able to deliver them here. But that’s for later. We only have today and part of tomorrow to get ready for the presentation, because the Sheik is very eager to act. You appear to have gained his interest. You are unusually fortunate, and would do well to cultivate more of that good fortune.”

  Haveram grinned. “I’ll do my best to deliver everything the sheiks of Khartoum deserve.”

  ****

  The rhinolo transfer had gone very well, at least as far as Captain Kadar and Sheik Sayed was concerned. Only two of their men were killed, when a motorized steel arena door was shut but not latched, with the heavy pins at the top and bottom never inserted into the steel frame. The big bull, after the four rhinolo charged towards the outside light from the Falcon’s deployed ramp, rushed around the arena snorting and bellowing, shattering several two foot thick wooden posts embedded in the floor of the arena, equipped with wrist shackles.

  While the bull was occupied with doing that, Haveram used his Normal Space drive and quietly lifted off as soon as the rhinolo were down the ramp. He was hovering and moving away, under the watchful eye of Kadar and two of his men behind him on the Bridge, as he drifted to land at the side of the coliseum, to allow unloading of the other animals. They saw the bull charge back through the place where the Falcon had been, charging right into one of the gray painted twenty by twenty foot doors. It dented only slightly at the middle, but the problem was that the bull had thrust up and to the side as he pulled up his rush, choosing not to simply run into the solid surface at full charge.

  The door, not being securely pinned, slid open almost a foot on the right side, revealing a slender view of the open topped corridor used to feed animals or fighting forces into the arena. The other end of that hundred-foot long passage had a duplicate sliding steel door, which was securely latched. In between the big doors were the two animal handlers that had assumed that a closed but unsecured arena door was good enough. They had turned back to the simple motor control to close the door again and latch it, when the bull used its nearly four-foot horn to hook the door. His massive neck muscles, used to fight other bulls to defend his breeding rights with his cows, slammed the multi-ton door wide open along its track. The next targets for its horn and fury were the two men, who fought each other to see who would be first to reach and enter a personnel door, one placed on each side, midway down the passage. They both lost that race.

  Haveram was shocked, and felt helpless as he looked down and saw what was about to happen. Kadar and his men simply appeared intrigued while observing the mayhem. Later, after the broken, dismembered, stomped and crushed bodies were removed with shovels and buckets, the captain was forced to apologize to his master, when the sheik eagerly asked to see the video replay.

  “Sir, I’m sorry. There was no active arena Tri-Vid camera positioned to catch what happened down that passageway. Nothing was supposed to happen back there so they had not been activated. Several arena cameras shows the bull ramming into the door, then when he saw the narrow gap that his hit caused, he shoved it wide open with his horns and snout. The two handlers were not in the frame of any of the active cameras when they were attacked, but I saw it all. They each were initially speared by the horn through their legs. Then, one after the other, still alive and trying to crawl away, they were hooked again in the legs and tossed high into the air. Unbelievably, they were caught on the longest horn again as they fell, stuck through the center of their torso this time. They were shaken so violently sideways that their bodies were torn open. Because this happened twice in the same manner, I think the bull had the skill to toss and catch them like that. It was a surprising display of precise movements by such a massive animal.

  “He was literally bounding down that corridor after them, at times as high as three or four feet off the ground with all four feet. I think it weighs over four tons, but it looked nimble under our gravity. Captain Haveram says all of these animals come from a heavy gravity planet. After the men were dead, the bull backed away and snorted, and seemed to call to the other three. The bodies were then trampled and tossed by all three of the other rhinolo, who took turns by their age I think, the male calf going last.”

  In apparent answer to a question, he shook his head. “No, I think these are stronger Sir. Sheik Al Mady’s Hybrid African tusked war elephants are certainly heavier and larger, and Sheik Nami’s pseudo-rhinos from Trandor are about the same size, but I don't think they would stand a chance against these beasts, not in strength, and certainly not in speed or agility. I think that bull, all by himself, could beat several elephants and pseudo-rhinos in the same arena with him.”

  Haveram naturally could only hear one side of the transducer conversation, but Kadar said, “Yes Sir. We have a number awaiting your judgement at your next hearing day. No Sir, none are accused of infractions that severe. Perhaps loss of a hand or foot, with a med lab regeneration after however many months you decided. Yes Sir, I’ll have them brought to the arena and held for tomorrow.”

  When his master disconnected, Kadar, seemed relieved he’d not received a punishment for his not having had better camera coverage. “I thought I might be facing that bull tomorrow, but we have prisoners awaiting the Sheik’s court next week, to hear what they would forfeit in retribution for their offenses against his laws and decrees. Now it seems the four of them might forfeit everything.”

  “Were these violations for what I heard called sharia laws?”

  Kadar shook his head. “Centuries ago the violations may have been
judged that way in this sheikdom. Under a few of the more devout sheiks, those poorly defined laws are still in effect. Under Sheik Sayed and his recent ancestors, and in many sheikdoms that agree with his family’s evolved positions, the laws here are what the Sheik says they are. After enough time the laws have stabilized, and they change now only gradually.”

  He seemed completely untroubled by this excessive punishment for what were probably minor offenses here, and that his comment that change in the laws came gradually was negated by the whim this Sheik had just displayed. The original punishment anticipated appeared to involve amputation, with a specified period of living with the deliberate crippling before the offender earned the “right” to have the lost appendage or limb regrown. Haveram wondered how many “average citizens” around here were living with replacement parts, or had triggered the whim of the Sheik and died in the arena.

  Haveram didn’t bother glancing up to the ceiling, because Thad and Sarge had quietly departed when Kadar’s men removed Billy from the ship, and he was then driven to the palace in the back of a truck under heavy guard. The number of guards reflected the boy’s value to the Sheik more than the boy’s perceived risk to him. They definitely had that backwards.

  He wasn’t sure where the other eight Kobani were, but it didn’t really matter to him. For the moment Haveram, Saber, and the rippers all appeared to be in the good graces of this despot sheik. Some of those that came with him would have spread out around the small spaceport, waiting for the arrival of VIP guests tomorrow, or like Thad and Sarge, had headed for the palace. They didn’t know how many sheiks were invited, but there were over two dozen known to be on the planet. From what data Haveram had extracted from the captain and first mate of the Delta Dawn, not every sheik here was engaged with human trafficking, at least not as far as kidnaping victims from other worlds. The majority of them engaged in smuggling of some type, much of it illegal drugs, stolen goods, and arms, but not always items consumed on the home planet, where drugs and alcohol consumption was frowned on in general. The sheiks were intermediaries for many trades and activities they didn’t permit on their own world. They used the revenue to pay for the Hub world luxuries they craved, to maintain their expensive lifestyles.

  A number of more devout sheikdoms and their sheiks avoided any involvement in off-world activities that they believed violated their version of Islamic faith. Their beliefs and practices clearly violated PU laws regarding women’s rights, but not the tenants of their faith. As it happened, those conservative sheiks were not among those Sayed had invited tomorrow. Sayed’s invitees tended to gravitate towards the shared corrupt and perverse taste of absolute despots everywhere in every time, who earned money illegally that solidified their control and power over Khartoum’s Destiny. The worst of the lot was coming to see what Sayed had to offer, via his new off world resource, Chief Haveram.

  The first day was spent moving the animals, and guiding the Master of the Menagerie in their needs, which occupied most of Haveram’s time. He was in touch periodically with Saber, but the Sheik was busy with setting up his rush reception in such a short time. He had some playthings and harem decorations, as he termed them, for sale or trade.

  Kadar, in reaction to a question from Haveram, was indignant when he asked if some of the females that were to have been delivered by the Delta Dawn, with the Christoph boy, were intended for a sheik’s harem.

  “No! The youngest were playthings for sale or trade, and the oldest, at fourteen or older, could have been concubines to be trained by the most influential harem wives, if they proved suitable and trainable. They were not of the faith, and could never become a member of a harem.”

  “I see I have much to learn of what is most valuable to the sheiks. I’m willing to pay you for my education.” He offered Kadar ten percent of his commission on the animals.

  The haggling went on for a time, before Haveram agreed to ten percent of what he earned for delivering the boy, which could be a very large sum, and twenty-five percent of what he earned from the animals. He knew he’d been taken advantage of, but since he didn’t intend to pay him anything, it didn’t matter.

  Haveram acknowledged his ignorance. “I had thought the youngest girl recovered by the Poldark authorities was to be raised here as a servant, since she was sexually immature. There were two somewhat older girls, and I assumed they were to fulfill a different role in a harem. I tried to purchase all of them through my same government contacts as I did the boy, but I was told they wouldn’t risk that sale for the lower prices they would bring. They needed to have something to turn over to the police anyway, to show what they recovered from the jettisoned escape pod from the Dawn. My contacts knew the boy was the real prize, because they assumed he was being taken for ransom. I paid a lot for him.”

  Kadar nodded his approval. “You made the better bargain, to buy the boy instead of the girls. The Sheik wanted that boy very much. If his father retains access to the wealth he inherited, and to what he stole from the Sheik, it will be a great deal of money. All of it in Hub credits.”

  “So the girls were not valuable? I assumed I could obtain more like them on many Rim Worlds. They would be much easier to obtain than wealthy brats for ransom.”

  “I didn’t mean they were not valuable at all. They are, particularly if young and fair, and virgin. But they did not have the same potential for pleasing my Sheik. He’ll reward you well for the boy, even if a ransom isn’t possible. He was going to sell the girls anyway.

  “My Sheik has many fine wives to provide him male heirs, and daughters to marry off for advantage, but his personal taste does not include young girls. He wanted that boy several years ago, when he was even younger. If there is no ransom, the short miserable life of that boy will end very badly. Only a vast sum of money will save him, and even then he will require reconstructive surgery if returned alive.”

  “So pre-teen boys would be a better cargo for Sheik Sayed?”

  “For my Sheik, sometimes yes, but he makes them last for months, so he doesn’t need many. In truth, he loves money, trading, and coliseum games more than most boys. Young pretty girls for him make for excellent haggling and trading with the sheiks he invited here, to buy their fighters, to view other boys they may have to offer in trade, and for exotic animals, or fine horses or camels.

  “The prestige of what you brought him for haggling is what has made him happy and excited. Alien animals may not thrive here, so he wants to sell them quickly. When he’s happy, my life and those that serve him are happy.”

  “Then his meeting me, with my contacts on the Rim and beyond, may prove life changing for these sheiks. When will I meet him?”

  “Tomorrow, for breakfast. I will fetch you after the protocol instructor and tailor have visited you today and again early tomorrow. You need to rise early. Being late isn’t acceptable. I have other duties now, to prepare for security when our visitors arrive. Several of my men will remain with you. One of them speaks Standard well and he will guide you to your quarters below the floor of the arena.”

  Great, he’d get to smell the exotic dung of the animals kept down there, as well as that of those he’d brought. At least he’d be with Kim and Karl, since the Sheik wasn’t trusting enough to have them inside the palace, even if caged.

  After Kadar left, he entered the shower stall in his quarters, housing which was considerably larger and nicer than he’d expected. The protocol instructor would be there in an hour, accompanied by the tailor, so he needed to get the day’s stink removed. He firmly pushed one of the men Kadar left behind out of the bathroom. He wasn’t going to be watched that closely, even if his Comtap links were one hundred percent private.

  “Bill. How are they treating you? Has Sayed been to see you?”

  “Hey Chief. Doing fine. They left me in our own restraints, but let me out of them long enough to shower and put on some flowing pastel colored robes. I’m in a locked and guarded sort of bedroom, with bars on the windows and on this side of
the door. Then some girly looking man sprayed me with perfume, even under the damn robe. I wanted to scramble his brains, but Sarge talked me out of it. They took my underwear, boots, and clothes. I have on some damned sandals, and they put our wrist shackles back on me. There are other primitive looking restraints hanging from the walls here. A bizarre form of decoration I guess. Sayed only stepped into the room briefly, never spoke, but looked at me with a strange eager glint in his eyes. I don't know what that was all about.”

  The mental image of a tall, medium toned skin man, with a paunchy build in flowing white robes and a headdress was sent to him by Saber. Haveram knew what that glint in the man’s eyes was all about, and what the wall décor was really for, but he didn’t think telling Billy any of that would help the kid’s disposition. The boy sure as hell wouldn’t let the Sheik survive any attempt to take advantage of his presumed helpless prisoner. A Krall might reluctantly decide to eat you, despite your poor taste. They would never try to bugger you.

  Thad, from a secure stealthed perch on a high ledge out of anyone’s way, informed them that Sayed was bustling about the palace, shouting orders, bullying his hundred member staff on details of food, guest room preparation, décor, fresh flowers, and a hundred other trivial things.

  Haveram shared with the team what he’d learned of Sayed’s liking of boys, his apparent sadism, and that his invited guests were of similar dispositions, but usually preferring young women or small girls. Fortunately, it appeared the Sheik would be too preoccupied today to find time to get his perverted ass killed by provoking Saber. Sayed really wanted the gathering to happen on schedule, and it seemed that most guests were expected to arrive by close to midday tomorrow.

  ****

  Before the sun was above the horizon, the protocol instructor and tailor had returned to Haveram’s quarters, followed soon by the Master of the Menagerie. Haveram stood to be fitted as he was also being instructed, and fielded questions about the animals.