by Saxon Andrew
The computer replied, “It will be here in ten minutes. It’s still to far away to determine what type of vessel it is.”
Gregor winced and lowered the volume some more. The computer’s words hit his brain like a hammer and his headache grew worse. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the display with his eyes half closed. The blip came roaring up and passed the freighter at high speed; it was moving too fast for him to see it. He waited for the computer to tell him who is was but it was silent. “Well, did you see it?”
“Gregor, it was a Dragon Warship.”
Gregor’s eyes went wide, “You’ve got to be wrong about that!”
“No, Gregor. It was a medium Dragon Warship moving at maximum speed. I’m sending the image to your display now.”
Gregor looked at his screen and his eyebrows came together, “Why would the Venzel Dragons want to follow me? I’ve never been anywhere near one of them and I’ve certainly never entered their territory. They must be doing something other than coming after me.”
“Gregor, that warship began accelerating the exact moment you sent that bug into the cycler. The odds of that being a coincidence are too large to calculate. It’s slowing down now and has arrived at the intersection. I can tell that it’s scanning all eight filaments looking for something. It just moved to the most heavily traveled filament and is accelerating to high speed. Gregor, there is no doubt that Dragon is looking for you!”
“No it isn’t,” Gregor said as he looked up and rolled his eyes.
“It has to be. Why else would it have gone to high speed when that bug was destroyed in the cycler?”
“It didn’t do that before the bug was destroyed. Up to that moment, it was just following us. It’s after something else and expected me to lead them to it. If it was me they wanted, they probably didn’t need to use a bug; they could have just taken me when the bug originally jumped on me.”
There was a long moment of silence and the Computer replied, “You’re right. What are you going to do?”
“I’m moving my ship under the rear thruster deflector on this freighter and settle in behind the rear stabilizers. I’ll be covered on three sides and the only way they can possibly see me with their scanners is to move to this side of the filament and scan the freighter over the top while moving against traffic. I suspect they’re not going to be able to do that without violating some major traffic ordinances and even the Dragons aren’t going to lose their rights to travel the filaments. Either way, we’re going to stay put for a while.”
“Are you still getting off at Damnoth?”
“Hell no! They knew I was originally headed that way before their bug bit the big one. I’ve learned the hard way over the years that when you know you’re being chased you don’t do what’s expected.”
“Gregor, you’ve never been chased by anyone with anything remotely close to the Dragons’ military grade technology and it’s common knowledge that they don’t give up when they’re on the hunt.”
“It doesn’t matter how good their technology is; they are bound by the same laws of physics that any other pursuer has to deal with and scanners don’t see through metal. The last place they think I’ll go is on my former route and that single ship can’t check all the filaments to find me. I should be fine.”
“Gregor, two more Dragon Warships just came through the intersection and took two different filaments. Make that four Dragon Warships.”
Gregor’s eyebrows slammed together, “This is getting ludicrous!! This is costing them more than my ship is worth if they’re really looking for me.”
“I have no doubt they are looking for you and once they accelerate past the maximum distance you could have traveled without using your boosters on those filaments, they’ll come back and move down the others.”
Gregor began to experience a certain amount of anxiety in spite of being numb from the amount of alcohol he’d consumed. The fuel expense of sending one ship at high speed on the filaments was crazy. Sending five was past insane. He had learned the lessons of avoiding pursuers the hard way during his pirating days but he never had five high technology warships chasing him. “Shut it all down except for the air system, Computer. The rear light on the freighter’s thruster assembly will give us enough light to watch what’s happening around us. Check the filament map and tell me how many intersections cross those eight filaments inside the range we could have moved.”
“Three of those filaments have intersections within the range.”
“How many filaments in each intersection.”
“I’m checking the Cartian Map now; two, four, and, oh are you lucky, fifty on the third. What are you going to do?”
“Well, if they really are chasing me, they have to suspect I took the filament to the largest intersection. Five ships will spend a month chasing all of those down. For the moment, I’m going to have a few more brews and see if I can sleep through this.”
“If anything happens, I’ll try to wake you.”
“If they find me, don’t bother waking me. I don’t want to be awake when a Dragon bites me and injects the poison. Matter of fact, if one breaks in, just use the intruder defense to just kill me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Consider it an order. Besides, it would be a welcome relief to this headache.”
“You drink too much, Gregor.”
“And you use too much fuel!”
“That’s different.”
“If you say so. Wake me after we leave Damnoth. We’re going to need to find another ride. I suspect when those Dragons don’t find anything on those filaments, they’ll start checking the hundred ships that were around me on the filament when they lost me. I was stupid to go to Damnoth anyway but I know of a good tavern at the spaceport. The rest of the planet is just like its name suggests, ‘damn nothing’ there. I can find another planet with a tavern once we dump this freighter. As I think about it, the only reason I was going to Damnoth was to tie one on in that tavern. I don’t know anyone there so they have to be cra-cra to think I’m leading them to anything other than a bottle of Oily’s Finest Brew. This is insane!” Gregor reclined his chair and after a moment opened another brew. He was asleep before he finished it and it spilled on his shirt as it fell out of his fingers. He didn’t even notice.
• • •
“What do you mean you’ve lost it!?”
The Dragon Warship Commander sputtered, “It disappeared from our scanners and there’s no trace of which filament it took. When we arrived at the intersection we could see it was no longer moving on the filament to Damnoth and the scanners couldn’t detect it on any of the other filaments. I called in four other ships but none of us could find it, Majesty.” The Venzel Monarch stared at the Commander of the warship assigned to follow the small vessel bowing in front of it and leapt across the distance between them in an instant and bit the Commander in the arm before it could react. “But Majesty…” was all it could say before it collapsed and died.
The Monarch looked at the other warship commanders and snarled, “I do not accept failure. If this miserable excuse for a warrior had simply moved his ship forward at a slower speed it could have kept the target on his scanners. His stupidity is beneath contempt.” The Monarch continued to stare at the other four Dragons lined up in front of him and he saw they were petrified. “What do you have to say for your failure?”
One of the Dragons said, “The target must have landed on a ship close to it and rode it away.”
The Monarch’s large yellow eyes half-closed as it bit the speaker in the throat. It fell to the floor and shook in savage tremors until it died a few seconds later. His mate sitting on the throne next to him raised her snout and looked down it at the Monarch, “Why did you kill that one? What it said makes sense?”
“He shouldn’t have been able to think clearly in my presence at all. He would be a future danger to us.”
“Ahhhh, I can see you’re right. What about these others?”
“Do you honestly think that will work?”
“The message will be sent to all the places that serve that fluid the target is addicted to. Something will turn up.”
“Once again you please me with your wisdom. I think I’ll allow you to live a little longer.” The Monarch bowed to his mate and knew he was living on borrowed time. She was the dangerous one in the room.
• • •
Gregor began hearing annoying sounds interrupting his slumber. He turned on his side and the noise was louder. He blew out a snort, opened his eyes, and immediately closed them. The light was blinding and he said, “Close the freaking viewport!”
“It is closed.” Gregor opened his left eye and saw the viewport had the armor cover over it. “You know you’re light sensitive when you wake up from a drug induced coma.”
“I don’t use drugs! They’re bad for you!” Gregor slurred. He sat up and rubbed his mouth, “I feel like I’m using a pair of borrowed lips.”
“And alcohol isn’t a drug?” the Computer asked.
“No, it’s the nectar of the gods.” Gregor opened his eyes slowly and forced himself to acclimate to the light. It was like the computer said, only the interior lights were on. “Where are we?”
“I switched ships four times since you passed out. The one we’re currently riding is headed back toward Oily.”
“And you’re going back there because…”
“We need to find out where that bug was planted on you. Someone you know had to do it.”
“Not necessarily.”
“And you say that because….”
“Hey, computer, don’t steal my lines.” Gregor shook his head and felt the room start spinning. He grabbed his head and shut his eyes until the vertigo passed. He opened them slowly and took a deep breath. “If you remember, I was unconscious several times during the time I was on Oily and Jester.”
“You probably don’t know this but even when you’re out of it, no one can get near you without you throwing a punch.”
“What?”
“I don’t have any idea how you’re able to do it but I’ve witnessed it numerous times in the past. The only time you don’t do it is when you know the one approaching you.”
Gregor sat in his chair and stared at the far wall with half-closed eyes. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m not. Whoever put that bug on you had to get close to activate it and allow it to run up and get on you. They had to be close to make it happen. Someone you know did it.”
“Ummm.” After a minute Gregor said, “Would I have to be unconscious for it to be put on me?”
“No. That thing only had to be within arm’s length to run and either get on your skin or clothes. It was designed so that it was not felt either way. Hiding in your beard was the best place for it go.”
“And pray tell why that is?”
“Because you do undress occasionally and take off the brew covered, rotten food smell, filthy uniforms you wear.”
Gregor looked down at his shirt, “What’s wrong with my clothing?!”
“Take them off and walk away from them for ten minutes and then come back and pick them up.”
“And what do you think will happen if I do that?”
“The smell will buckle you knees.”
Gregor sniffed under his arm and said, “I don’t smell anything.”
“If you stand behind an Ogrenda Ox long enough, you’ll get used to the smell.”
“Now you’re being ridiculous. The smell of that Ox has been known to paralyze…”
“Exactly. Please do me a favor and give it a try.”
“Why, you don’t have a nose and you certainly can’t smell me.”
“I don’t have to smell you to know how bad you stink. My atmosphere analyzers can pick up the odor and determine that it is highly concentrated. In comparing the analysis of your smell with others that are considered foul, you rank close to the top. You used to take better care of yourself but now you’ve become little more than a bum. If you won’t do it for me, do it for Emmett’s memory. He would be ashamed to see you like this.”
Gregor’s eyes narrowed and he stripped off his shirt. He unbuckled his pants and took them off as well. He tossed them over his shoulder toward the large mound of empty brew cans and said, “Satisfied.”
“I had no idea anyone could be that dirty under their clothes. The combination of the grit from cleaning boosters coupled with your sweat makes for a deadly combination.”
Gregor looked down and saw that his chest was nearly black with the grit from cleaning boosters. The grit had gotten into his skin pours and made him look like his skin was very dark. The only place lighter in color was where he had on underwear and even that was darker than his normal skin color. “I’m going to go and soak.”
“Please!! That stuff you’re wearing could foul my electronic circuits.”
Gregor snorted and stumbled off the bridge.
• • •
An hour later he came back in wearing a clean uniform and a smoothly shaved face. He looked around expecting the computer to comment but silence greeted his arrival. He looked over at his dirty uniform on top of the empty brew cans and walked over to pick it up. “Gaaaaa!”
“I told you.”
“Shut up!” The smell nearly gave him a case of dry heaves. He went to the corner and took out a long sword from its scabbard and extended it toward the filthy uniform. He moved his head away as he lifted the shirt with the point of the sword and moved toward the cycler bin.
“Don’t even think about putting that in the cycler, it could destroy the whole system. Put it in the drop chute!”
Gregor walked over to the wall and pressed a button as he held the sword at arm’s length. A door opened and he dropped the shirt in it. He made two more trips to remove the other dirty clothes from the mound of cans and saw that his belt was still in the pants. He stared at it and then decided that the belt had to go as well. He dropped the pants in the chute and pressed the button again. The door closed, he pressed another button, and heard a ‘whoose’ sound from behind the door. “How long have I smelled like that?”
“At least a month.”
“You’re right about one thing.”
“That you smell atrocious?”
“No, that whoever came close enough to plant that bug had to know me and be willing to get through the smell. I don’t know that I could have done it.”
“Whoever did it must have been paid well to do it.”
“I’ve been wondering why all the ladies in the taverns have kept their distance lately.”
“I find it incredible that you’ve been able to find establishments with Human Females in them that would allow you to enter as dirty as you’ve been. I’m also constantly surprised that you’re able to find taverns with human females in them.”
“It’s not so hard if you just pay attention to the names of the places.”
“What?”
“If the establishments have a human term included in their name, it indicates to human males that females are present. A very large number of humans are now wealthy ship owners so many taverns cater to them.”
“I should have noticed that; I never made the connection. You could be wealthy if you signed on board a commercial vessel as their chief engineer.”
Gregor shook his head, “Not my style; I don’t play well with others.” Gregor sat back in his chair a
nd could still smell the rotten odor of his clothes. “Hey, what about filtering the air.”
“It won’t help. No filter in existence could remove that stink.”
“Then blow it out and replace it”
“Good idea. Get in your spacesuit.” Gregor looked up and rolled his eyes. He went to the storage compartment and pulled out the suit. He put it on and said, “Even this stinks.”
“You used to take better care of yourself. It serves you right.”
“You must be a female.”
“Why do you say that?”
“All you do is bitc…”
“And you don’t!?”
“Just blow it out so this smell will go away.”
“We’ll need to land on a planet with compatible atmosphere to refill the tanks.”
“Then, I guess we need to go to Jester first. Oily’s atmosphere leaves something to be desired.”
“Jester it is. Gregor.”
“Yeah.”
“You might need to lay off the brew for a while.”
“Why is that?”
“Because whoever put the bug on you will let the Dragons know you’ve shown back up and you need to have your wits.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“Are you able to say no to a drink?”
“What if I told you I wasn’t?”
“Then I’ll turn us around and not go back.”
“It won’t be easy but I think I can bear up long enough to see what’s going on. My main concern is that I’ll be immediately recognized by the one that put the bug on me.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about it too much?”
“Why not?”
“Because most of those that know you think your hair is black and your skin is dark and not the pale white color it is now. You’ve been dirty for a couple of years and being clean is not something anyone has seen. You started drinking after Emmett. I suspect you won’t be recognized if you wear something other than your normal uniform.”