by Saxon Andrew
“How many places have we been to that are listed in your database?”
“About ten thousand or so.”
“Do you honestly think the Dragons are going to be able to stake out all of those places with a warship? They’ll focus on places that we’ve been to numerous times not the ones that we’ve infrequently visited once or twice.”
“You’re putting your life on the line running that risk.”
“What about this? I’ll get Harmony to pick me up and take me to the planet where he’s buried.”
“If they’re there, they’ll recognize you.”
“No, they won’t. The Dragons saw the recording of me on Jester but I’ll change my appearance for this trip.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“No, I guess I don’t.”
“Turn around and start heading back.” Gregor saw the ship start moving across the giant filament and leaned back in his chair. He waited until he was four days out before he contacted Harmony.
• • •
The small shuttle moved toward the planet’s surface and Harmony looked at Gregor, “I’ve never told you how sorry I am about Emmett.”
“It’s alright. I know you were on the run.”
“It was you and Emmett that drew the bounty hunters off my trail. You saved my life.”
“Harmony, you need to pick your targets with a little more caution. The Otolian Realm is not one to be trifled with.”
“I know but the reward exceeded the risk. Anyway, thank you.” Gregor smiled and looked at the planet growing larger in the shuttle’s viewport. Harmony was a Momett. Her species evolved on a high gravity world and she was about three times larger than Gregor. She was wearing a Caregivers Uniform, which many of her species wore in their daily jobs. The Mormetts were incredibly strong and lifting another being was something they could do with little or no effort. That inherent strength made them excellent caregivers for beings who lost their mobility. “Why the disguise?”
“I’m on the run.”
“Who’s chasing you?”
“You really don’t want to know. However, I think we’ll be alright. My ship is holding station on the filament just outside the intersection and we’ll have plenty of warning if anyone shows up looking for me.”
“So how do we play it?”
“You’re going to take me to the burial site and leave me there in the gravity chair. I’ll call you back when I’m done.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
• • •
The small shuttle landed in the concrete strip next to the burial site and Harmony pushed the gravity chair out of the port. The old man sitting in the chair had a blanket covering his legs and his grey hair was down to his shoulders. He had on thick glasses and he had his hand shading his face from the afternoon sun. Harmony was surprised at the effort Gregor had gone to disguise his appearance. She rolled him up to the burial plot next to Emmett’s and lowered the gravity chair to the ground. She leaned over and said, “Call me if you need me.”
“Will do.” Harmony walked away and Gregor activated the small device in his pocket. He listened and heard nothing. No one was scanning him and there wasn’t an electronic field within a hundred yards of him. He sat in front of the tombstone next to Emmett’s grave and stared at it for an hour. Finally, he removed the blanket from around his legs and used the cane shaped scabbard to push himself up to his feet. He slowly stumbled over to the plot in front of the tombstone, sat down on the ground, and began pulling weeds and vines out of the soil. The guard standing next to the concrete strip watched the old alien start pulling weeds and smiled, he was saving the groundkeepers some work. He wondered why humans visited the cemetery more than any other species that were buried here. He shrugged and walked further down the strip to tell a newly arrived shuttle that it was too large to remain where it landed.
Gregor pulled another weed and moved over next to Emmett’s burial plot. He sighed and said, “Forgive me, Father,” under his breath, as he took the hollow rod off the scabbard. He sent a ping from his link into the soil and immediately received an answering ping. Emmett’s link was still operational. He saw his link designate a place in the ground next to him and he took the hollow rod and jammed it into the soil.
Emmett’s urn was buried ten inches below the surface and the hollow rod broke through the seal in the top of it. Gregor twisted the top of the hollow rod and he heard a clink. He pulled the rod out of the ground and reinserted the scabbard into it. The link fell out of the bottom and he palmed it. He used the fake cane to push himself to his feet and went to the gravity chair: so far, so good. He sent Harmony a signal and waited for her to return. He sat there staring at Emmett’s plot and decided that one day he would return and put a marker on his grave. He thought about what he’d have written on it and suddenly jerked his head around; the woman from the tavern was leaning on a grave marker behind him. “You moved your head pretty fast for an old man.”
Gregor’s eyes scanned the area around the woman and she said, “I came here alone.”
“Why?”
“I understand that your ship is no longer communicating with us. I wanted to find out why.”
“How did you find me!?”
The woman shrugged, “I saw a vision of this cemetery and you were in it.”
“You’re lying.”
She smiled, “I don’t do that. I think you should come with me. You’ll be a lot safer if you come in; the Dragons are going to extensive measures to find you.”
“They’re actually looking for your organization. I’m secondary to their search.”
“No you’re not.”
Gregor stared at her as Harmony walked up behind the woman. The woman glanced over her shoulder as the huge Momett moved behind her and turned back to Gregor, “Why have you stopped communicating?”
Gregor ignored her question and said to Harmony, “Is everything ok?” Harmony glanced at her hand scanner and nodded. Gregor took Emmett’s link out of his pocket and linked to it with his link. He sent a command to the link and he saw the woman flinch. “I’ve just sent you the contents of my Father’s link. Take a look at it and you’ll see why I want nothing to do with you. Now if you don’t mind, we’re leaving and if you ever come near me again, it will be the last thing you ever do.”
“He wasn’t your father.”
“Blood is not the only thing that makes a family! Be thankful I don’t kill you now.” Harmony stepped around the woman as Gregor activated the gravity chair. She pushed it past the woman and quickly moved into the shuttle. Gregor jumped out of the chair and said, “What is she doing?”
“She’s sitting on the ground in front of Emmett’s grave with her eyes closed.”
“Get us out of here!!” The shuttle lifted and Gregor saw the woman still sitting on the ground as the planet’s surface flew away on the monitor. They rushed out of the shuttle and ran to the bridge as Gregor yelled, “Are there any ships moving toward us?!”
Harmony fired up the engines and shook her head, “Nothing on my scanners.”
Gregor’s eyes narrowed as he wondered how that woman had really found him. Seeing him in a vision was Gremean Crap. The ship blasted out of orbit and was on the filament ten minutes later. He looked at Harmony and she shook her head, “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
They arrived at Gregor’s ship and he stood up to leave, “Thank you, Harmony. I really appreciate your help.”
“Wait, before you go I have something for you.” Harmony went to a closet in the landing bay and took out a box. “Take this with you.”
“What is it?”
“Take a look.”
Gregor opened the box and his eyes went wide. Inside were twenty rectangle shaped blocks that were silver-blue in color. “I can’t accept this!!”
“Gregor, this is part of what I stole from the Otolians. I would have never gotten away with my theft but for your drawing them away. Don’t worry, I still have s
everal hundred cells to use to trade.”
“This is enough fuel to last ten years.”
“Actually, those blocks are much purer than normal fuel cells. They should last at least twice as long as normal. Use them wisely, Gregor, this is your percentage of the take. You deserve every block!”
Gregor shook his head and looked up at Harmony, “Thank you. If you ever need me…”
“I know how to contact you. Now get out of here before that woman calls in help.”
Gregor went on his toes and kissed Harmony on the cheek, “Stay out of trouble.”
“You know me.”
“That’s why I said it.” Gregor saw the green light illuminate as the port opened. He ran through the port and it snapped closed behind him. He ran to the reactor room and opened the top of the containment vessel. He took a block out of the box and inserted it into the receiver. He closed the lid and said, “Get us moving!”
“Where did you get that fuel block?”
“Harmony gave me twenty, now get moving.”
“With this much fuel, I can use maximum boosters.”
“Don’t do it just yet! We might be watched by Movement Ships and they’ll detect the gas coming out of the boosters. Just get us moving back to the main filament.”
“Did you get the link?”
“I did. We’ll take a look at it when we know we’re not being followed.” Gregor went to his chair and saw the filament just ahead of the ship. The ship moved into the filament and the planet instantly disappeared in the distance. “Let me know if any ships around us change course.”
“None are showing any changes. What has you worried?”
“That woman from the Tavern on Jester was waiting for me at Emmett’s grave.”
“WHAT?”
“She said she came alone and I’m starting to believe her.” Gregor’s eyes narrowed and an hour later after the ship arrived at the filament intersection and change course, he began to believe the woman must have been telling the truth when she said she had come alone. But why would she do that? It didn’t make sense. And how did she manage to slip up on him without being detected by his link? There was more going on than he could understand. Maybe Emmett’s link could clear some of it up.
• • •
“Drop off the filament here and move away. Shutdown our external systems and keep a scan running on the filament.”
“What are you looking for?”
“I just find it impossible to believe that woman came alone. We’re going to take a look at Emmett’s link and this is a good place to see if we’re being followed. Set the scanners to look for energy weapons.”
“Most ships don’t have blasters on their hulls.”
“I know that but most ships that do are not feeding power to them; they can’t afford to waste the energy. Scan for any ships with powered blasters on their hulls. Those will be the ones looking for trouble.”
“Done.”
Gregor looked at Emmett’s link and frowned, “This link has scorch marks on it and they’re pretty dark. I’m genuinely surprised this thing is still operational. I’m sending the contents of this link to your databanks.”
“I’m ready to receive it.”
Gregor used the link in his head to connect to the other link and send the data it contained.
“Got it.”
“Look through the contents for the day Emmett left the ship without me.”
“Give me a few minutes.”
Gregor waited in silence and was once again amazed at the technology used to create the links that were critical to flying a starship. The items were the size of a small sliver but could house the experiences of a lifetime inside their storage cell. They connected with a computer easily and it didn’t matter who built the computer, it would link with no problems. The original species that built them lost the rights to them thousands of years ago and now they could be purchased on most civilized planets. Competition kept the price down so anyone could afford them. Even citizens who lived their entire existence on planets and never flew on a star ship purchased them to help linking to their ground based computers.
“I’ve found it.”
“Put it on the monitor.”
“I need to start the day before.”
“Start it where you think best.”
The wall monitor came on and he saw a display in front of him. A face appeared on it and he heard Emmett say, “Jimmy! It’s so good to hear from you! Where have you been hiding out, I’ve not seen you in over a year!”
Gregor’s heart almost broke hearing Emmett’s voice again but he wiped his eyes and continued to stare at the monitor.
“I’ve been doing a few takes and steals, you know how it is. I just wanted to contact you and see how you were doing.”
“Fine, Jimmy, fine. Things are going smooth. Why do you ask?”
“No reason, I was just wondering if you were ok. Is everything going ok?”
“Yes. What about you?”
“I’m fine, Emmett. I’m fine. If you get by Agema stop and come see me. I’ll be here a few more days.”
“I will, Jim. You take care and stay out of trouble.”
“You know me, I stay in trouble.”
• • •
The images on the video flashed forward and suddenly stopped. Gregor heard the computer say, “Emmett, Control is asking if anyone has seen Jimmy Jones.”
“Put them on my screen.” An image appeared and Emmett said, “I understand you’re looking for JJ.”
“Yes, we are. Have you seen him?”
“No, but he contacted me from Agema yesterday. He should be there a few more days. Is anything wrong?”
“No, we’ve lost the frequency of his link and wondered if he purchased a new one. We’ll see if he reports in with the new frequency.”
The man on the display disappeared and Gregor heard his younger voice, “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, Gregory. I’m just sitting here wondering why someone who never gets in trouble told me he stays in trouble.”
“Maybe he’s changed.”
“Maybe he has, Gregory. Or something else has changed. Plot a course for Agema.”
“Do you want me to report it?”
“No, let’s keep this to ourselves, Computer.”
The images flashed forward again and Gregor heard Emmett say, “Don’t wake up, Gregory. I’m going down to the planet. Take the ship back to the filament until I call you.”
Another flash-forward and the image changed to a seedy hotel. Emmett was staring at the hotel from across the street. It was clear he was behind some shrubbery because he kept ducking behind it. It was early morning and the sun had just come over the horizon when they saw a vehicle pull up in front of the hotel and two aliens get out. One held up a device and scanned the hotel while the other watched to see if they were being watched. The one with the scanner pointed at one of the rooms and the watcher looked around one more time and ran to the room. The one with the scanner looked around and nodded.
The alien at the door fired a device into the door and it immediately swung open. The alien went in and they could hear the scream in Emmett’s ears. There was a flash from the inside of the room and the alien ran out and jumped in the vehicle just behind the other alien. They turned around and sped away.
Gregor watched Emmett’s view as he stood up and walked across the street to the still open hotel door. The view moved inside the hotel and they saw the man that was on the monitor the day before was lying dead on the floor. Gregor knew it was the same man because he was wearing the same clothes. The man’s head had been blasted into mush. Gregor heard, “Oh, Jimmy. What did you do?” The view moved around the room and Gregor saw a deck of cards next to the bed. Emmett went to the box of cards, lifted them and put them in his front pocket as he ran out of the room. Twenty minutes later, he took a shuttle back to the ship. He went to his quarters after he ordered the ship to leave for Oily.
The images flashed forwar
d again and Gregor saw Emmett remove the cards from the box. He found the jokers and saw writing on one. Gregor enlarged what Emmett was seeing and read,
“I was hoping you would come and if you’ve remembered this way of communicating, I hope you’re the one reading it. I’m not going to mention your name because, if you are not reading this, then you could suffer my fate. I know the Movement has sent their minions to remove me. The Movement is not what they tell us they are. They are planning conquest on the largest scale and I’ve uncovered how they’re going to do it. Unfortunately, they discovered that I found out their plans and they are not happy. I had my link removed but I think that will only slow them down. I contacted you to try and warn you cryptically to watch out for yourself. I love you like a brother and I hope you don’t let them know you’ve learned my secret. It’s impossible to avoid them but do your best to not draw attention to yourself. I love you, Emmett. Take Gregory and try to find a place to hide.”
Gregor leaned forward and put his head in his hands. He had given this information to the woman at Emmett’s grave. They now knew he possessed their secret. “Get us out of this sector as fast as possible!”
“Moving out to the Chenerera Super Filament.”
“Use the boosters to get us there and use them again once you connect.”
“Do you have a suggestion on where to go?”
“Home!”
“That’s a long way from here, Gregor.”
“It’s still not far enough. Get us going…NOW!!”
The ship leapt forward on its boosters and the computer said, “I understand why he started avoiding them.”
Gregor nodded, “He was the one that told the Leaders of the Movement where Jimmy was located.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t come after him.”
“You’re thinking they would suspect Jimmy told Emmett about their secret plans.”
“Something like that.”
“The fact that he told them where Jimmy was hiding removed their suspicions. They knew Emmett and Jimmy were extremely close and if Jimmy had told him about their plans, he would have never given them Jimmy’s location.”
“If that’s the case, why did they have him assassinated?”